Thursday 2 July 2020

More nothings





In a queue
Typical greek women. All dressed in black.

There may still be a nasty virus amongst us but the island is full of summer visitors.  Mainly greek I suspect but there are a few foreign faces.  The summer mini-invasion shows in the photo above.  Yesterday for the first time I had to queue outside a shop before being allowed inside.  As one customer left, another was called in.  Only three customers are permitted in this small shop.

Inside the shop even with only three customers I still had take steps backwards as the other non-mask wearing shoppers almost pushed me aside to get to the toilet paper and the washing powder.  Some wear masks, but most don't.  Few are worried about contact, at the moment. I wasn't wearing a mask this time but next time I will be. Too many outsiders for my liking.

On the next door island of Aegina they have their first case, brought in by an outsider.  I can imagine the worry.  It is not 'just the flu'  in many cases.  I don't want to catch it. I don't want to find out just how bad it is. Very bad for some. Fatal for around 200 here in Greece.

Also, it's summer. Too hot to get I'll!




Here is a photo from the web showing the Korinth canal as a large cruise ship passes through, with a pilot on board naturally. No scratches . Dozens of these, used to, pass through every season.

You can bungy jump from the bridge above, or like us, just stop with visitors to take a photo.

Finished in 1893 it is just over 6kms long. It cuts off a long journey around a peninsular for these boats.

In the golden days of tourism there used to be a weekly cruise from Poros, to, and through, the canal and back again. Just a small cruise boat, a fraction of the size of this giant.
A cruise, a picnic on board, a swim on the other side and lots of time to get sunburnt.



Thesaurus.com have a word of the day.  As a frequent thesaurus user I always look at these words, most of which I know of, sometimes vaguely.  I get a wee refresher course but also a dive into the mysterious world of the lexicon.

Today's word is mondegreen. 

 Never heard of it.  
Meaning: a word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of another word or phrase, especially in a song or poem.
Oh yes, I'm a sufferer of this malady. You wouldn't believe what I think I hear.

This word was coined by US writer Sylia Wright.  She wrote 'when I was a child my mother used to read to me aloud and one of my favourite poems began

'Ye highlands and ye lowlands
Oh where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl Amurray
And Lady Mondegreen'

The last line was a mishearing of 
'and laid him on the green'


Someone else wrote 'Even though I know Creedence Clearwater Revival is singing
'There's a bad moon on the rise'   lately it sounds suspiciously like
'There's a bathroom on the right'.

I can identify with that!!

13 comments:

  1. A commanding officer asked his soldiers to
    pass the following mess on: "Get into line we are going to advance".

    The officer walked to the last soldier and asked him what the message was?

    " Get two and nine we're going to a dance".

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mondegreen. Great word. I think I suffer from it as I am always mis-hearing words. Too embarrassing to admit to any of them here though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My hearing is fine. Say I. But what I hear and what is actually said to me is often the source of great laughter.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the photo of the cruise ship. The canal is huge. Stay safe with all those tourists around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those big ships only just pass through. They need an experienced pilot

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  4. My late best friend used to hear words in songs wrong all the time. And they never even sounded vaguely like the real words omg Id laugh until I cried when I would hear her sing.
    Now whenever I hear one of those songs I laugh and smile and it’s a wonderful memory
    So they aren’t so bad after all those mondegreens

    ReplyDelete
  5. Stay safe and yes, wear a mask. This virus is definitely not like the flu even though many would like us to think it is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always have a mask with me and I'm going to use it

      Delete
  6. Awesome picture of the cruise ship, and loved learning about mondegreens. I'm not sure if it is good or bad to have tourists around the place. I guess they are needed economically but one hopes they don't spread the virus around more. Take care and stay safe, xx

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  7. Is everyone on Greece in mourning, or do some people simply were black because it is stylish? My Scottish colleague always wears black in summer in Greece but I'm afraid to ask.
    Mondegreens are great aren't they? Mr B's nephew has some truly great ones in misheard songs.

    ReplyDelete