Daily life on a greek island through the eyes of a local-alien, still 'foreign' even after more than 40 years residence. This 'foreigner' is a local-KIWI-alien so there is a New Zealand flavour to my writing. Photo above is the tranquil view from Pukehina Beach, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
Gerard Butler, the Scots actor who played Leonidas in the film '300' came to Greece last week to take part in yet other celebrations. It is 2,500 years since the Battle of Thermopylae, in 480BC The film '300' is the story of Leonidas, King of the greek state of Sparta, who with his 300 Spartans and about 2,000 soldiers from other parts of Greece, faced the Persian army. They held the narrow pass at Thermopylae for 3 days. Leonidas and his men were all killed. The rest were either killed or surrendered. Spartans never surrendered or showed weaknes. Spartan mothers expected their sons to either come home victorious or be carried back dead on their shields. The Persian forces are thought to have been between 100,000 and 300,000. When the Persian ambassador ordered the Spartans to lay down their weapons Leonidas yelled 'come and take them'. All fesitivities have been cancelled but Butler did manage to take part in the first day of the Olympic torch relay, carrying the flame into the city of Sparta. When he reached the statue of Leonidas he shouted out 'This is Sparta' much to the crowd's delight.
Smelling of Sriracha
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My internal clock is fucked
Slept yesterday until 3pm then got up walked dogs and made pad Thai noodles
with crispy chicken and ate them with chopsticks as...
Puss In Coal Bucket.
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Well I have heard of Puss In Boots. But never in a coal ("smokeless
fuel") bucket.
I called her "Minnie Mouser". But everyone who lives here seems to...
Democratic in their belief.
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Every so often a business jet flying low overhead breaks the silence of the
village. The aircraft come in from the south, do a long gradual turn over
...
Silbury Hill
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Rising, conical perfection, out of the surrounding flatness, Silbury Hill
is considersbly larger than my photo suggests.
It is younger than Avebury Henge ...
Maya Angelou, DID's.
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For those who may not know, Desert Island Discs (DID's) is an iconic BBC
radio show where guests are invited to select 8 records to take to a
fictitio...
Bouges flowers
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The Chรขteau Bouges was owned from 1917 until 1966 by a wealthy businessman,
Henri Viguier, who also owned the famous Paris department store called Le
Ba...
Morning Tea For One
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Crackers with cheese and some kind of relish. This has become my standard
mid-morning snack (sometimes I add a piece of fresh fruit as well) and
seem...
Otatara Pa
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During our trip to Taupo 3 years ago (I had forgotten I'd taken these
photos), we spent the day in Napier as my grandmother on my mother's side
grew up t...
BOYS... AND BRAID RUNNERS
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*Today is going to be a stay at home day with the boys.*
*I spent a bit of time out yesterday and didn't get much work done.*
*So, I've got an activity ...
Another Monday
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Between the weather fluctuations and now the spring forward time change I’m
all at sea with my sleep cycle
I didn’t actually fall asleep until the wee sma...
Early Autumn Days
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These first few days of Autumn, a little decorating, a little gardening, a
little relaxing
Nights are drawing in fast, dark before the clock strikes sev...
WE ARE STILL HERE
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and spring is on its way although it doesn't feel like it today. The
N.S.W. Waratah are in flower and Doug took these photos from our kitchen
window. ...
Autumn Colour
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I took these pictures yesterday but am writing the post today. The weather
is the perfect Autumn weather- warm in the day, cooler in the evening.
Trees ...
William Wallis, Horeke
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This is one of the many sad tales belonging to the residents of the
Mangungu Cemetery in Horeke.
William Wallis was born 11th May 1815 in Poplar, London, ...
Untitled
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*I'm afraid that when I really want to write here again, I won't remember
the technique of uploading the posts, so this is an attempt.*
Life around here ...
Books 25 -30
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Abby Kane FBI Thrillers by Ty Hutchinson
Book 1: Corktown
Book 1. The Doctor Is Back.
In the quiet Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, a mutilated body has ...
I am tired.......
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See all that tsoureki? We made the dough, waited awhile for it to rise,
braided it, egg washed it, put sesame seeds on it, baked them, put them on
rac...
I must be getting old
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There is not a lot of stuff on tv here that interests me and Hubby doesn't
watch much at all. One thing we watch most evenings is 'The Chase' but the
adv...
Catching up!
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Oh dear, nearly six months since I last posted a blog. It is not that I
have been bothered to write to you. Oh no. It is because words have been
absent ...
Sunday
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Sarah and Paul are spending another day at the cottage scraping old paint
off the walls and sanding down. I can't really be of much help at this
stage ...
Mincemeat and Quince
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The days are getting shorter and the trees are beginning to shed their
leaves. The quince tree has done magnificently this year. The fruit
enormous a...
I write. I create. I observe and record my life, after 40 years, in Greece. I love to create either with my handy craft, cooking or writing. Freeform always. Keep it simple, keep the interest, make it useful. I write about my garden sometimes, my grandchildren and the different culture and traditions. My New Zealand up bringing was so different from this way of life that I do truly feel like an alien at times. Greece is home but so is my kiwi 'homeland'. I am a citizen of both and an alien in both.
Isn't he gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHe looks rather naughty to me
ReplyDeleteTall, dark and dangerous.
DeleteGood that he was there.
ReplyDeleteHe just managed to get in and out before the worst came. The crowds waiting for him at Sparta were the reason for stopping the Olympic torch relay
DeleteExcellent pep talk by him!!!!!!
ReplyDelete"Tall, dark and dangerous" Doesn't get much better than that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stay wise, clam, safe.
Turn off the ๐ฑscreaming๐ฑ sources.
Listen to your local County Public Health source.
๐๐ท๐ฑ๐ท๐
I hadn't really heard of him till this celebration came up. I'll look out for his films now
DeleteI love historical movies and he is one of my favourite actors, we will have to check that one out.
ReplyDeleteThey've shown it here a couple of times on TV but I haven't seen it. After reading about the film I will watch it next time. Looks good
DeleteThe glory days of Ancient Greece. Makes us all proud
ReplyDelete