Summer Celebrations and Catastrophe

25th July Saint Anna
The little church across the waters opens its doors for its celebratory church service.  The maiden aunts and a m-in-law live just round the corner and look after the church.  They have been cleaning, arranging flowers and baking bread to be blessed on this morning.

Agia Anna

26th July Saint Paraskevi
This is the day our little church has its fiesta.  The neighbourhood fills up every year for this Saint's day.  All our neighbours have arrived from Athens and beyond to dust out their family homes, fire up the oven and prepare to celebrate.  

The land around us was owned once by the Poulaki family.  The five sons built houses, some of the land was parcelled out to relatives and our house was eventually sold to us by a cousin's daughter who no longer wanted to own an old house on a small piece of land in the middle of nowhere.  

The brothers have scattered but always return for the church service and a family get together.   

Last year and for many years gone by the biggest party took place on the beach below us.  The boys at the beach canteen arranged for suckling pigs to be roasted, extra fridges for the beer and a truck load of rented chairs and tables.  The music was always a live band and the revelry went on till sun-up the next morning.  

This year there is no beach bar.  The party has moved up to Paradise Taverna at the top of our hill.  There will still be roast pig and cold beer 

There is not enough room inside so chairs are placed outside

You sit where you can find a seat

The five loaves are stuck with candles ready to be blessed

The icon of Agia Paraskevi is carried round the church

There follows a long lecture from the Monastery priest about women covering themselves from head to foot and men not touching any woman till he is married, in church.  Finally a great many loaves are cut (no fishes) and given to the crowds

These are photos from the service on the eve of the Saints Day.  There will another, longer service tomorrow morning.

I lit a couple of candles.  Always one for myself and one for all the victims of those horrendous wild fires on the outskirts of Athens.  So many people killed in such a horrific way.  The flames were fanned by very strong winds and the fire reached these seaside villages before the people were aware they were in danger.   

We live in the same sort of area, with dry grass, pine and olive trees around us.  We are so careful during these dry months but all it needs is a careless spark.

If the fire is caught in the first minute it can be put out with a glass of water

After two minutes a bucket is needed

three minutes a tank of water

four minutes and it is too late.

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