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Published: August 13th 2009
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Aris Stadium
When the soccer teams run out, the fans go crazy and let off fireworks and flares Week 38 in Greece
2nd August
George, Aleka, Sofoula and Sakis (Michael’s cousins) come out around 9am. Then Soufoula goes with George to buy some fish for lunch from Mihanonia. George takes Souflula, Sakis and me to the beach and we stay there for one hour before ringing George to come and pick us up. (what luxury, as normally Michael and I walk the 15 minutes back home) George grills the fish for lunch. Soufoula made a lovely eggplant dip for lunch and Aleka made halva, a semolina dessert. We had a lovely day talking and catching up. Michael showed our house to Sofula on Google Earth. Also we spoke to Tony on Skype and Sofoula and Takis took the opportunity to say hello too.
5th August-I show Yirrakenna how to make pavlova using eggs from Mama’s chooks when we went to their house. Their apartment is on the 6th floor and you can see the nearby soccer stadium of one of the local Salonika teams- ARIS. She had made a cake, a huge tray of cheese pitta and also bougoutsa.( sweet pastry item) That night there was a match between Aris and a team from Argentina. Aljazera TV bought the
Lunch at Perea
Sofoula, Sakis, Michael and Aleka and Mama TV rights and will show it to the South American countries. At the start the crowds let off flares, fireworks and threw streamers. Quite amazing really from our vantage view point. We talk them into going to the Dalaras Concert on Saturday and they will pick us up.
I told Yirrakenna yesterday that I had a sleep in the afternoon as it was too hot, but how she had been busy and had cooked the 3 items. She replied she has a family and so she had to work, hot weather or not. Felt pretty chastened about it, as I am getting a bit lazy really.
Only 23 degrees at lunch time and needed a jacket on for a bit. Then it warmed up quickly and at 5pm it was 32C on the verandah.
We have tea and then wander down to the Perea Beach where there is a young group of 5 musicians and a female lead singer playing. The local (Thermikoy ) Council has sponsored them. Supposed to start at 9pm, but only got started at 10.15pm. Working on Greek time, I guess. Most of the music in English, although they were Greek and called "Alpha". So stayed
till 10.45pm and then wandered home. Plenty of people with families, kids riding bikes, gypsies selling hot air balloons and single roses and also kids toys that glowed in the night. All the restaurants/ cafes around the main beach area where the music was, were filled. But I noticed one beach side café down near Aegli Hotel where the Ryans and Youl’s stayed saying all the Amstel ( Greek) beer you could drink on Monday and on another day, females got their meal 20% cheaper. So perhaps they are feeling the economic crisis too and trying to boost business.
8th August
Thodera and Yirrakenna come around 7pm to pick us up to go to the Sani Resort in Halkidiki where George Dalaras, the singer, was singing Rembetika, the Greek Blues . These were sung by the Greeks when they had to exit Turkey/ Asia Minor as it was then called in 1922. He had 11 musicians in his band and 2 female and one male backing singers. Fantastic. We got there about 1.5 hours before it started, as we had unreserved tickets. But comfortable chairs all set out on this slight hill with the stage having a background of an
Michael&Yirrakenna
Yirrakenna and Michael at Sani Resort with lovely sunset old castle and the other end was the ocean. Must have been an old monastery before it was bought off some monks in 1960 to become a resort. Talk about swanky- own marina and you should have seen the boats/ yachts moored there that oozed money. Anyway, thousand or more people there. Nearly all the people were joining in and singing the songs and some parts Dalaras would stop singing and only play the guitar and the audience would sing. Apparently they were also videoing it and also audio recording it. At the start the compere said in English and Greek "no photos or videos", but it did not stop one guy from videoing the whole show on his own little video camera, sitting in the crowd. There was a helicopter at the start, buzzing around, taking photos of the concert setting and the growing crowds. Dalaras came on the stage around 9.40pm, about 10 mins late. The people had started clapping on and off from 9.30pm when it was scheduled to commence. This was to show that the wanted the show to start. There were a lot of security and other workers with the Sani Festival T-Shirts on, but
Michael and Gwen
Before the Dalaras Concert the crowd was very well behaved . At 11.45pm they played the last song and the other 3 singers left the stage, but Dalaras came back and played another 2 songs. And at 11.55pm the lights went off the stage and that was it. Earlier in the evening when we were waiting we went for a little walk and the sunset going down over the ocean rivaled that of Santorini Island. At the end, nearly 3 hours later, we managed to get walk down the fairly steep hill out to the car and drove off before the masses descended, as we had got parking very close to the resort. Then went to Sana, Thodera and Aleka and Yirrakenna's village where they were born. It was about 80km from the Sani Resort and the same distance from Salonika. Yirrakenna's parents still live there. They are farmers, producing wine and wheat. When we arrived we took a little tour around the town at 1pm and there was this singer and musician at the local pizza cafe place with lots of people in attendance. Our outside table was number 33, so well supported. Michael ordered some beer and a pizza, as we had
not eaten tea. We stayed till 4am and got to bed 5am, the latest I ever remember going to bed. The next morning, whilst we were waiting on the verandah for Yirrakenna & Thodera to get up, the next door neighbour was watching us and went and started his tractor and then reversed it and switched it off- just to let us know he was there. Anyway when they got up, they called him over. His name was Lakis and he can not talk- only talk with a hissing sound for the words. Apparently he thinks the chemical sprays he used to use on the farm have given him cancer which has affected his voice box, his eyes and ears. He stayed for about one hour. Yirrakenna asked him if he had any eggplants and he comes back with 4, plus some tomatoes, and 2 large cucumbers. He has 3 kids and has irrigated vines which he makes wine and chipporo, a very strong hard liquor. He made 2,000 bottles of wine last year and sells them at 5 Euro a bottle to the taverna where his son works as a waiter ; the taverna sells each bottle for 25
Dalaras Concert
Not a great photo, as only used my little camera. Euro. Now that is a mark up. He also said how a vulture had got into his hen house and killed 12 chooks last year. He managed to kill it, but ended up with some scratches from the bird- had a wing span of 1.8 metres..
We had lunch at Thodera's parents old house. They are both dead now, but Thodera and Yirrakenna are really the only ones of their 3 kids who go there regularly and they have maintained it very well. All painted and spotlessly clean. Thodera borrowed a ute from the next door neighbour Lakis and got a little bbq from Yirrakenna’s parents. They cooked chops, peppers and eggplant over the grill for lunch. When we were talking in the afternoon with Yirrakenna whilst Thodera had a longer sleep, she said how during the Cyprus Crisis in 1974, her father got called up for military service and she was only 10 years old and her sister 8 years old. She said that her father had tobacco which needed to be picked and threaded. She said she did it, but had to coax her younger sister to help. Then we went for a walk around the village at
Gwen, Yirrakenna & Thodera
Outside on the verandah at Sana 9pm. I took some photos of some old women enjoying the evening coolness. One wanted to take her apron off before I was allowed to take the photo. There are about 150 people who live in Sana permanently, but most are retired people. When we returned, we packed up and left for Perea. Got home 11.45pm. A lovely weekend.
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