ASDA home delivery supreme.....

I have tried supermarket home deliveries in the UK, but this is the first time one has come to me here. Joanne, pictured arriving in the village square, brought me two big bags of goodies from ASDA, including 8 kilos of my favourite breakfast cereal (ASDA crunch with raisin, honey and almonds). Thank you so much Joanne.....if anyone else is coming out I can e-mail a wish list ;-)

Demon Huntress - a first!!

Well Jessica the demon huntress has excelled herself....in one day she brought a bird home....nothing unusual there you might say....but then after I went to bed, she came home and dropped something on the bed. It fluttered and I thought Oh dear a bird, I better get it out quickly....went to pick it up and it BIT ME! confused I tried to understand how it had done until I turned on the light and realised it was a BAT!! Well it took until this afternoon to free it from the house and I now have all my friends watching in case I start to froth at the mouth...

RIP Ginger

Easter started off as a really happy time and we all enjoyed the special time and the spectacle that is Easter here. I went to the church on Saturday night to light my candle and then came home to put the cross above my door to bring good luck. This obviously did not work this year. When I came home the cats, Ginger and Jessica, were hiding in the back bedroom despite the TV being on loud to drown out the noise of the bombs. I then went to my friends to eat and returned home around 2.30 am. In the time I was gone, Ginger went out. She still has not returned and no-one has seen anything of her. I am very sad to say that I have to conclude that something really bad has happened and that she is now dead. Poor Ginger, she was such a wonderful cat, very loving, with a fantastic temperament and such a good mother to her kittens (pictured above at around 2 weeks) despite her only being a kitten herself at the time she had them. Jessica, her daughter that we kept (pictured front right of the picture above) is distraught and keeps crying for her all the time. A very very sad end to a celebration.

It's started!

Well, the quiet of Lent has now officially finished. At seven this morning the Church service started.....and the bombs....and the Church bells....3 and a half hours of it.....I couldn't hear the service over the loudspeakers for the other noise, but will be attending the service tonight and following the cross, walk round the central churches. More later.

Carnival kids programme

We are underway and the Kids are really enjoying themselves, some of the parents are partying already too......here are just a few photos to keep you going. I am not sure about how tonights pictures will come out in the dark, but I will try!

Carnival - second attempt!

Well it is the re-arranged Carnival day and the sun is shining, the village is full of people already and the atmosphere is buzzing....I have taken a few photos this morning, one of my neighbour and his grandson going up the the square with a little tractor carrier thing and some of the sound system and lighting rigs being taken out of plastic ready for tonight. I then went for a walk with it being such a nice day. I took some photos of the Lassithi mountains looking beautiful with all the snow on. Look out for more pictures late afternoon, which should be of the childrens events and the Cretan music and dancing. Then I am going to party....the pictures from tonight should be loaded up tomorrow.

Carnival

Well we were not sure if it would take place, but the weather was looking better so we started.....the souvlaki (just a few!) arrived and were distributed round the stands were they were to be cooked and sold.....a few hardy people turned up in fancy dress ready....and then the heavens opened.....and it poured.....and poured.....and the water got into the sound system wiring....it went down....and took all my side of the village with it.....they sorted that out....and...then very sadly a lady visiting the village for the carnival had a heart attack and died....needless to say, everyone agreed that the carnival would not take place.
Hopefully it will now take place on Sunday 1st March, if the weather is too bad this day, then we will not have one this year.
It was a sad day, both for the family and friends of the poor lady who died and for the committee of the carnival who had worked so hard to get everything ready. If anyone reading this knows the family of the lady involved, would you pass on my condolences?

Will it or won't it?

Well, its Carnival day and the weather is really bad.....we are still waiting for final confirmation that it will go ahead....the outlook is that the rain and hail we have had this morning will turn to snow overnight and through Monday/Tuesday....here are a few pictures of the stalled preparations...the fire is going (but has already gone out once today) and the soup is on the go...nothing else to do but wait.....

International New Year Party

Delia and Antonis had an international new year party at their new home. There were Greeks, Germans, Irish, Scottish and English. I organised party games which totally confused the Greeks as they havent played grown up party games before.We took pictures of some of the more sedate games, the rough ones we have to remember. Just before midnight we went up to the square to let in the new year. We were greeted by Papa Manolis singing under an umbrella in the middle of the square. At midnight fireworks went off and the tavernas closed leaving bottles of whisky on the tables for anyone visiting. Most of the party then went back to the house until the early hours. We all had a great time, Thanks Delia and Antonis.....