52 weeks in Tsirigo – week 3

The island is gripped with ‘Yiortes’ fever. As lead into the sobriety of Christmas Day, and the upside of Greek Orthodoxy (faithfully practiced by few) is the string of Saints Days like Ayiou (Saint Andrea), Ayiou Nicholas and of course Agia Annis (Annals not anus ok). As I am not christened Anna, (I am actually christened Thaana, which becomes Thangool, Annual Anna – it’s all very Chekov) I still had to shout ouzo & meeds in the Potatoes Plateau on Sunday.
At one stage there were about 10 of us. And Ilia-the bbq octopus guy couldn’t keep up with the octopus plokamia (tendons).

While the party revs up (the island now boasts its own transvestite bar- woman) there seems to be dullness amongst the thinkers & dreamers. The hotbed of philosophical exchange this winter is the renowned Lily’s in Potamos. a tiny café with startling red lounge chairs and a massive wooden table for all to sit at and converse. Australian –born Lily makes the best cappuccinos on K and her cakes and crepes are scrumptious….what I am trying to say the place has attitude and so do you if you hang-out there. Anyway I ran into local. Composer Panayiotis Lefteris (who in Sept release his CD Sinaxis –www.kytherosmusic.com) and he seems to be going through a writer’s block as is internationally exhibiting artist Daphne Petrohilos. What to do if you can’t do???? Party?????

I have enrolled in the Organic Farming course at the newly re-opening Agricultural School of Karavas. We have been sitting for our mid-term exams, but I haven’t really fretted 'cos I have a healthy dose of aneastisia (carelessness) and I am doing the course for practical reasons though I am proud to say I got 19/20 in Organic Farming. But Italian well…….

The reason I write about my endeavours into further education is that we also do a subject called Ecology and have been approaching local businesses about using cloth bags if we source at best wholesale prices and guess what….they are keen. So ask them next summer.

filakia