YES or NO that is the question, EURO or DRACHMA, AUSTERITY or POVERTY

FRIDAY. 
While the elderly are struggling to understand and use their new bank cards  and withdraw a measly 60 euros an official high up in the govt gives himself a 110,000 euro raise. He got demoted, not fired, and lost his 'raise'.

Supermarket in Athens suburb 'invaded' by 30 people who threw leaflets and grabbed bags of food.

This reporting reminds me of the Brisbane floods when Paul was trapped in a flat in a high rise building and sending us updates.  Quite exciting as long as it is not you!   Hope our troubles recede as fast as the flood waters.

ANCIENT THEATRE OF EPIDAVROS

POROS HARBOUR

 

Just seen on the NZ Herald's  facebook page:

What's the capital of Greece.  About 10 euros!

The President of Venezuela sent a message for Greece.  So nice of him to tell us that 'NO' is the only way to go.    His people ate dog food to survive but they will recover and so will Greece if only we say 'NO'

I say 'NO' to eating dog food.

Greek phone company Cosmote has given me 400 minutes free talking time on my mobile until Tuesday after the referendum.  I vote Yes for Cosmote.  I have had no money on my mobile for over a month. Way to go. 

SATURDAY
Tourists still here and enjoying the sun and the sea.  Those who have booked holidays though are cancelling as they watch the news and are uncertain about the conditions they will find here.
Tourists with foreign bank cards can withdraw as much as they want - as long as the ATM has money in it.  I wasn't happy to have a tourist in front of me yesterday when I went to withdraw my 50 euros.  They withdrew a wad of bills but fortunately did not empty the machine.

EU says a majority 'no' vote will mean that Greece has a very weak negotiating position and a deal will be difficult.
On the other hand Tsipras says a majority 'no' vote will give Greece a strong case for negotiations.

Tsipras says he will sign a deal within 48 hours after the referendum and banks will open on Tuesday.

  Banks may open but they won't be giving anyone any money.

No political discusions on TV  today.  Back to old black and white greek movies, music shows and cooking programmes.

Visited our  neighbours tonight for fish that Kostas caught and a bottle or two of their wine.  Beautiful evening under a waning moon, the only sound was the wind in the grape vines and a cricket or two, plus our loud voices.

We laughed at ourselves, our politicians and the way the greeks enjoy life no matter their circumstances.

SUNDAY  referendum
Poros was not busy today.  We went and voted and then sat down for a coffee.  The cafeterias were half empty and for once there were parking spaces.

We ended up with a crowd of friends and neighbours all having a 'last coffee' and drinking to the good old days of wine and roses.

Conversation was varied and heated as usual.  I learnt how to salt pork and use herbs as medicine. The subjects ranged all over the place from  what it was like to live here during the german occupation, how greeks have to change their habits and way of life if they want to save their country.

7pm.  Voting is over.  Looks as though the 'NO' vote is winning.  At least the referendum is over and we get to the next stage, whatever that may be.

Celebrations in Athens.

With friends watching all the results, speeches and theories for the immediate future.  Making a new shopping list for early next morning.  At least we'll sleep easier knowing that we can provide for the larger family and ourselves in the next few weeks or months.

Leader of the opposition and ex-Prime Minister resigns.

Some really clever comments on Facebook - in greek.  They're giving us all a belly laugh.  Just what we need right now.





Bombshell. Associate Minister of Finance announced that once banks open, clients can go to their safety boxes with an employee of the bank and may remove anything in the box except money.  She said the bank would not take the money and it would be safe....YE who's she kidding.

MELTDOWN

FRIDAY- Payments of wages and pensions in doubt.  Rumours once again that they will not be paid in full, or not paid at all



SATURDAY.   A rumour circulating that  pensions have been paid in early. I was sent urgently to go and draw it all out. Incredibly this rumour is true, Long lines at the atm. Poros ATM  empty  by 12.00 midday.  Parliaments ATM emptied and refilled immediately. 

This rush to withdraw is due to a rumour that banks will close.   We've heard that before but this time it seems to have some basis in truth.  The news early this morning is that there will be referendum.  Now we're really frightened.

 

WHY a referendum?.  Is the Prime Minister, as  a german newspaper says, a coward and unable to lead the country and make decisions. 
Is he only going back to the people who voted him in to STOP austerity measures - because Europe wants to make measures even worse.  If the result of the referendum is 'yes' does he then sign the new agreement, however harsh, and then say 'that's what the people wanted'.  But if they vote 'no'?  WHAT THEN
Or is it all part of some cunning political plan to take us back to the drachma.

1.3 billion withdrawn in 24 hrs from ATMs

SUNDAY.  ATM still empty.  Tourist who couldn't get money says 'fuck greece'.

People frightened.  Will they chose Europe and even worse austerity or take the risk and rid themselves of the fear and blackmail from Europe, go back to the drachma and suffer years  of destitution.  And is that what the referendum is all about?


Lines at petrol stations

Demonstration in the centre of Athens- pro-Europe.  Very peaceful.  No Molotov cocktails or throwing of marble paving stones.  Other demonstrations for a 'NO' vote.  Also peaceful.
.

MONDAY.

Banks closed for one week, maybe longer. ATMs not operating today

24 hour analysis and debate on almost every TV channel .  Waiting.  atms still not working here.    Everyone scared and no one really knows what the referendum is about and what the consequences of voting yes or no will be
.

No panic shopping  . supermarkets quiet.  Everyone just spending to get the bare essentials for this day, or so I thought.  Danae saw a different story.
 - shelves were emptied of macaroni, flour and whole heads of cheese. Then refilled.

 Greek saying -' a time of poverty should be a pleasant time'  first the cheese was bought and then the macaroni

TUESDAY
ATMs operating but limit of 60 euros a day - or 50 euros if they run out of 20 euro notes

New offer on the table from Jean-Claude Junker. 

Tsipras puts forward their own proposal.  Lower VAT for the tourist industry and islands, no more wage or pension cuts.

Every one and their dog on tv spouting their opinion.  Bombarded by conflicting information.


MIDNIGHT - DEFAULT ON IMF loan, end of current EU programme of aid to Greece.  European bank stops supporting greek banks.

WEDNESDAY.
Chaos outside banks as elderly without bankcards line up to be given 120 euros from their pensions.

Greek credit cards no longer work overseas, stranding hundreds of students and travellers.

Ferries are being cancelled because people are not moving around and empty ferries mean loss of money, waste of fuel.

Trucks carrying supplies and produce to and from the islands are also stopping because of lack of cash.

The island of Ikaria has run out of petrol. 

A speech by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.  Says whatever the referendum's result we will stay in the Eurozone.  But rumours are getting stronger that the drachma is already being printed.

Tsipras did not mention the latest proposal he sent to the EU.  Merkel says there will be no more negotiations till after the referendum.

THURSDAY.  When I passed the national bank there was a line of wobbly elderly people who have no bank cards and no idea about bank cards.  These old age pensioners can withdraw 120 euros this week from a bank teller.  Some of them come from villages miles away.  They have to get on the early morning bus to Galatas on the mainland, come across on the water taxi, hobble along the waterfront to the bank, wait in line for probably about an hour and then do the return journey a few hours later.  Of course they meet a few friends and learn some new gossip but this is an incredible inconvenience.  And they will have to do it again  next week and so on until the banks open again which I doubt will be Monday after the referendum.

It is the beginning of the new month and we all have a pile of bills to pay.  120 euros will pay for their medicine, a little food and the journey to and from the bank.

I paid our tax bill this morning at the Post Office, which is still open, but all other bills are on hold.  Food comes first. 

All payments, tax, phone, electricity, insurance are officially on hold till banks reopen but the anxiety is still there. 

Put some petrol in our car even though we rarely use it in the summer.  It is there in case of an emergency, touch wood.  Now at least we can get to the nearest hospital. It is parked under the olive tree.  Hope the mice don't chew up the wires again.





OBSERVATIONS -

FULL MOON -   Is this the reason for all the present insanity?  My son-in-law Kyriakos (and his son, my dear grandson Jamie) have a certain madness at this time.  He assures me it is only as the moon is growing.   The moon is full tonight. Sunday is a waning moon. Maybe reason will reign.


RAIN -  July, normally a time of heat waves and tonight it is raining.  One of our neighbours has just turned up for a chat (intense discussion) and a few glasses of wine.  He watches the the clouds, the plants, the birds and the bees, the fishes in the seas and says that summer this year will be very short and not very hot. 


 Ex PM of Greece, George Papandreou visited Poros last week.  A small crowd gathered at the taverna where he was eating.  They booed him off to his hotel room.  This is the PM who took Greece to the International Monetary Fund in 2010.   This is NOT  a good time for him to appear in public.  He is blamed for most of Greece's woes.

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF , overheard at a Eurogroup meeting saying to another official about Greece's Minister of Finance "I don't want to talk to that arch-criminal"


Thank goodness for the TV game ' Wheel of Fortune' - in Greek.  I can turn the sound off and enjoy it in silence, with a glass of wine

to be continued.......................

The lads toast to better times, KOSTAS, friend Georgio, KYRIAKOS

ST JOHN'S EVE

 Burning the May day wreath.

24th June.  Midsummer in some countries.  St John's eve here in Greece.  It is the day we burn the May Day wreaths. 

IN THE OLDEN DAYS
 The wreaths were burnt in a fire at crossroads and kids jumped the fire to be free of fleas for the summer.  This St John was known as 'St John-of-the-fleas.  Very soon there is another St John celebration.  At the small church of this St John the children crawl through a small window into the church and leave some underwear behind and are assured of good health for the coming year.  Son-in-law Kyriakos left some underpants there quite a few years ago.

YEARS AGO we did burn the wreaths out in the road and had a street party with a bbq, meat on sticks (souvlaki) and cold beers.  Now the fires are forbidden and our neighbours disagreed with the smoke from the  bbq on the street so we have a family and friends party and throw the wreaths on the rubbish.

It is solstice of course, the longest day and shortest night.  Always seems so weird to have the longest day at the very beginning of the summer.  It is daylight now at around 5 am and gets dark at 9pm.  But the days will be getting shorter from now on.

The blog post before this on greek austerity/poverty/idleness
is just one of many I have written since 2010.  Same old-same old.  

May Day wreath photos are old ones but you'll get the idea.

 

 

 LIGHTING THE FIRE IN THE OLDEN DAYS

 BBQ AND BEER

ABOUT TO JUMP AND BE FREE OF FLEAS

THE WAITING GAME

Greeks are tired of this continuous/al game.  Europe is tired.  Once again we are under the threat of the direst poverty.  We are waiting while the Eurogroup/ the Brussels group/ the Working group/ the IMF and our PM play chicken with each other. 

Will Greece go bankrupt/reneg on its repayments/stick its finger up Merkel's nose or buckle under.

Last night we had a few bottles of home made wine, the fried innards of our neighbours goat and my homemade bread and laughed it out while we once again waited for news. 

No news last night, no news today.  It's going to be another lastminuter.  Monday is Payday to the IMF, Monday is the last day of our 4 month reprieve.

Our neighbour has stored 100 packets of macaroni and the same of tomato sauce.  Plus kilos of rice, beans and lentils.  I have about a third of that stored away as well plus 2 months supply of loo paper.  I hope we'll be eating this macaroni with a rich  bolognaise sauce and lots of pork chops and moussaka.  We always get bailed out....only this time it is touch and go.  If we don't get bailed out any visitors please bring cheese.

Here on Poros we are the lucky ones.  If the electricity gets cut off we can cook on the bbq, plus we have a gas burner and 2 big gas bottles.

K has his fishing boat and even if he can't afford the petrol to go fishing he says he can fix up a sail.  We eat 'weeds-from the-fields' anyway. Stinging nettles are extremely healthy They just need a bit of rain.  There are dozens of snails in the garden and all greeks love boiled snails.  Vasso, our old greek neighbour told us when she was young they often survived on lemons and boiled carobs.  Her family was a big one and they lived from their goats and what they grew in the fields  .  Exactly what we'll be doing soon.  The carob tree next door is loaded, we have a walnut tree, lemon trees and the bitter orange tree is loaded.

I already have 25 kilos of flour in K's shed and a tin of oil.  We'll be fine.  Wine may be a problem but our neighbour has promised she'll give us a few bottles and Danae's family has a few barrels.  K's wine has turned sour in the summer heat.  We will have plenty of vinegar.

Meanwhile down on the party island of Myconos they are breaking open 12,000 euro bottles of champagne.  I hope they are at least paying tax on that.

 

 

 K's boat under the olive tree.  He had it up here outside the house for almost 6 months.  Here it is after having the paint burnt off.

 

 

VILLA LINDA

FIESTAS, NAME DAYS AND CELEBRATIONS photos and writing

Celebrating with Paul and Karen, Linda and Danae close right

a mid winter visit January 2015

the girls - Elli ,Danae and Karen

leftovers, giant beans (gigantes), fried fishes and duty free toblerone !!!!!!!!!

.

......................................................................................

The holy bones of Saint Barbara have arrived in Greece from Venice where they have been held for the last thousand years.  St Barbara, or part of her, was welcomed with state honours by the Archbishop of Greece and will be on display for two weeks before being returned to Venice in a frigate of the Greek Navy.  More than 200,000  so far have waited in long lines for hours every day to worship the relics. 

The lines outside the church of St Barbara in the suburb of St Barbara in Athens are made up of Greeks of every age and social status.  It is not just a crowd of the elderly or the lame.  Young and old, everyone is there waiting patiently.  There will be the usual prayers for health but also no doubt quite a few prayers for a job or a little wealth to ease the tax burden and quite a few pleas for a bit of commonsense and logic for our political leaders.

The church is at the same time collecting medicine, either those that people have at home and no longer need or medicines and supplies that they buy and donate.

Greece is green and warm and mainly dry.  If only this weather would continue for the rest of the summer.  May is the best month of the year to visit.  The weather is warm enough to sunbathe although the seas are cold.  And the temperatures are perfect for sightseeing.

May 20th is Lydia's name day  and May 21st is the fiesta of Saints Konstantinos and Eleni.  The name day of Kostas, daughter Elli (Eleni), sister in law Dina (Konstandina), Nels (another Eleni) and her other grandmother Eleni and a few other aunts and inlaws.

It used to be a HUGE celebration.  Pigs roasted on the spit, baking dishes of lamb and potatoes, crates of beer and barrels of wine. And crowds of locals, friends, relatives, neighbours and acquaintances who knew where they'd get a feed.  It would start about ten in the morning and go on till  the wee hours when someone would have to carry the main celebrater off to bed and I would try and get rid of the stragglers and start sweeping up the debris.

Everyone brought bottles of expensive whisky, the best ouzo, boxes of sticky cakes and even a few items of name brand clothing.  K usually gathered in enough whisky to set him up till his name day the following year.

This years party was a very modest affair.  We had  a  leg of lamb roasted in the oven.  This had been given us by a friend who has sheep and slaughtered some over easter.  Then  some roast potatoes, greek style with lots of lemon juice, garlic and oregano.  Tzatziki, greek salad and bread.  Wine only and that from a friend's barrel.  Ours is finished.  There was feta cheese as well but I forgot it and it stayed in the fridge and wasn't missed.  What a difference.  But 'everyone' had a good time.  A neighbour and his wife and a friend of mine plus a short visit from one of K's nephews with a son-in-law and a stopover by another neighbour on his way to someone else's party.  Good company and good wine, plus a few olives, that's all that is needed 'so they say'.....now.  And it turned out to be true.  It was even warm enough to sit outside surrounded by the grape vines on the balcony.

K still managed to get 2 bottles of whisky, one of ouzo and a box of sticky cakes.

Today June 3rd is a big fiesta across at a tiny church beneath the lemon forest on Galatas.  The road leading to Galatas is lined with stalls selling any sort of junk you could think of from knickers to toys to bags and underwear plus the 1 euro stall where everything's a bargain. Local entrepreneurs (I have no idea any longer how that word is spelled) cook whole spit roasted pigs which are dismembered and sold by the kilo, wrapped up in greasy paper.   And 'loukoumathes', a sort of donut fried and covered in runny honey syrup and cinnamon and even chocolate covered nowadays.  Yum.

Little water taxis load up and chug across full of people from around 5pm when the church service starts till the early hours when the music stops.  The little taverna there brings in a big name singer and sells their own roast pig and cans of beer.         We used to stay for a few hours and K probably still would if not for the economic crisis.  Chairs and tables are set up in the sand, beer is sold by the can, pig is served in grease proof paper with plastic forks and paper twists of slat and pepper.  You are supposed to go and light a candle at the church before starting your shopping or merry making.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

Mould after the recent flooding.  The water came pouring through the walls in the lounge and came in through the ceiling here.  The lounge wall is sodden, has some sort of white stuff growing out of it.

 Red wine, fish soup and spinach pie
2015 HERE WE COME

 

  We have snow all along the tops of the hills above Galatas. (the village just across the waters on the mainland) And it is COLD.  

 

The day started off with heavy rain and my son-in-law Kyriakos decided not to go to work.(Kyriakos runs a taxi boat from the island to the mainland)  High winds as well.  No flying dolphin or boat today from Athens but the car ferry is still working.  We are going down to Elli for New Years eve.  Kyriakos (Elli's husband) is doing miracles with duck and salmon.  He's cooking tomorrow as well.  His mother lives next door to the cheap german supermarket (LIDLS for those who might have seen it in Europe) so we get cheap duck and salmon.  One up for the germans - but they still owe 'us' millions from wwll.

 

Anyway, no babysitting because Kyriakos has the kids so I don't have to go down the mountain and we have settled in for the day with K's wine from his barrel(red from a cardboard box for me). The wood burning fire which has an oven on top has already cooked a spinach pie and I'm thinking of hot cheese bread as well.  Our neighbour brought in a plate of xmas cookies - she and her sisters are excellent cooks and these honey cakes and almond shortbread (Traditional greek ) are just waiting for me to taste them.  She has decorated the plate with a handful of choccies so all is well.  Can't 'do' cold without chocolate.

 

Kostas has made a big pot of fish soup......and we still have Kyriako's cooking tonight. I'm stuffed just thinking about it all.

 

'Someone' won't be drinking too much tonight.  The road down is officially closed but someone (not us) keeps on pushing the signs out of the way and cutting the tape and we all use the road, because otherwise it's an extra 3 ks.  But after the floods the sides of the road are falling away in places and there are piles of rocks and dirt. This is why Greece will always be the 'problem child' lol.

 ps The 'someone' of course will be me.  But Elli and I only have one bottle of sav blanc from Marlborough.One bottle between two, hardly enough to wet the larynx.

 

 

 

 

 

Up in the Balkans temps are down to -20 ... -10 in northern Greece and snowing in northern suburbs of Athens.  Weather getting better on Saturday and new cold front coming in on Tuesday.  Paul and Karen, you might just see a totally different Greece - though you suffered the 'cold of the bears' that time you came in November. Don't think we'll be visiting the mountain villages or wine tasting.  The motorway in the Nemea (which is where I thought we might go to taste some good greek wine ....oxymoron???) is covered in snow at the moment and the road waiting to be snow plowed.

 

If there are no boats when you arrive we'll have to come round by car.  But anything can happen in the meantime.  The sun may even shine.  We need that sunshine now to dry out the rising damp in our walls.

 

There is a HUGE FEAR CAMPAIGN been launched by Wolfgang Schroider (or whatever his horrible name is), all of Europe and the rest of the world to make us vote 'correctly' in the elections at the end of January.  You can smell the fear (theirs, not ours).  Will Greeks vote in a rebel who will bring Europe to its knees?  And these elections are being held just because this parliament couldn't vote for the new President who is just a figurehead and no-one gives a damn who he is.  We're being taunted again with bankruptcy , an economy worse than some povery stricken African nation, being thrown out of the European union, more pay cuts, no pension payments etc etc  But we've heard it all before, for years now, before every major decision which affects the economy.  Been there, done that.  Who do we vote for??  Haven't got a clue.

 

Hope you're all a little warmer than us and a little drier.  HAPPY NEW YEAR.   HAVE A GREAT 2015....WITH LOTS OF LOVE, HAPPY FAMILIES AND GOOD HEALTH.

 

 

 

PICKLED OLIVES, RED PEPPERS FROM THE GARDEN

MINI XMAS STOCKINGS - 50 MADE, 20 TO GO

NELS AND ME AT A BAPTISM....HELL, I'M GETTING OLDER

KIDS IN THE STOREROM ABOVE THE BATHROOM
FRIEND YIANNIS, LYDIA, JAMIE, NATALI

A GOOD CATCH

GEORGE'S HALLOWEEN

OUR NEW HEATING