“Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.” – Ausonius
July is named after Julius Caesar. This name was given to the month after Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, in order to honour the killed leader. Before that time, the month was called Quintilius meaning the fifth month (Martius being the first month in the old Roman calendar). It is of significance that this month had 31 days, because anything less would not have been good enough for honouring the dead Caesar! In Anglo-Saxon the month is called Litha, meaning the month of the Midsummer Moon. In Gaelic it is Am Mios buidhe, the yellow month. In Welsh, July is termed Gorfennaf, meaning the “Month of Completion”. Hot July brings cooling showers, Apricots and gillyflowers.
In Australia of course, July is the midwinter month, equivalent to the Northern hemisphere January. July 1st is also the beginning of our financial year and I ma immersed in the budgeting process for this financial year, at work!
The birthstone for July is the ruby. The name of the gem is derived from the Latin rubeus, meaning red. The best rubies are said to be of a dark red colour identical to the colour of pigeons’ blood. Natural, large red rubies are the most expensive of gems. It is an aluminium oxide, a variety of corundum. India and other Eastern countries such as Burma are associated with the mining of beautiful natural stones. Nowadays, however, synthetic rubies abound and it may be difficult for a non-expert to tell a natural from a synthetic gem. The water lily symbolises July.
Lorsque vole bas l’aronde attends alors que la pluie tombe (When the swallow flies low wait soon for the rain to fall) French weather rhyme
Juillet sans orage famine au village (July without storm famine in the village) French weather rhyme
Gather up the wheat and tie it Thresh it, bundle it up and mill it To your health this good cup Give a piece of bread to me to sup. Greek folk rhyme
Today is Canada Day, so best wishes to my Canadian friends. Canada is the world’s second largest country with an area of close to 10 million square km and a population of just over 33 million people. It was created in 1867 by the British North American Act. It comprises the great barren Arctic Ocean islands in the North, through the huge grasslands in the central South and the Rocky Mountain chain in the West to fertile farmlands in the East close to the great lakes. Mineral resources, oil, gas, timber, extensive farming have contributed to Canada’s economic success, but the majority of the country remains greatly unexploited. The capital city is Ottawa and other cities include: Montréal, Québec, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and Halifax.
“Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you.” - Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Imagine having a wonderful talent, a divine gift that makes you special, makes you shine, a wonderful ability, which elevates you to the heights of glory. Imagine becoming rich and famous, enjoying the adulation of millions. Imagine then suddenly, at the height of your success, losing that talent and having to live day to day with the knowledge that you were once capable of true greatness but it exists now only in your memories and in the records of your success that immortalise you but at the same time torment you…
Such is the subject of the film we watched at the weekend, Franco Zeffirelli’s “Callas Forever” (2002) with Fanny Ardant and Jeremy Irons. The film examines the final few years of Maria Callas’ life in a highly fictionalized account, which nevertheless is appealing and gives Ardant a magnificent opportunity to pull all stops out in order to bring to life the talent of Callas. She is ably supported by Jeremy Irons and their performances feed off one another in a very sensitively portrayed duet that brings to life the “difficult” relationships that Maria Callas had in her professional life.
The film looks at Callas’ last years when she was living in her Paris apartment as a recluse, knowing full well that she had lost her voice. Her ex-manager visits her and convinces her to make a comeback through the magic of technology. He proposes that Callas act in a movie version of “Carmen”, an opera she recorded, but which she never played on stage. They will use the excellent recording from the 60s and she will mime through the action and during the playback. Callas has qualms, but she is convinced and the film is made, a successful project in every way.
Just as the film is ready to be released, thus signaling Callas’ return to the public, the great diva begins to grapple with her conscience. She regards this technologically assisted production a fake and she cannot allow herself to be a party to this fraud. Instead she wishes to make a film of “Tosca”, but this time she will sing the role anew. The producers back down…
This is a well-produced film, with great performances and the voice of the diva used throughout. There is a chance to see Carmen as it may have been acted and sung by Callas and Fanny Ardant manages to complete the illusion. Recommended for al opera buffs, but also for anyone who may enjoy a good story full of emotion and spectacle.
Art Sunday today is dedicated to Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, better known as Parmigianino, as he was born in Parma. He became Italy's most influential Mannerist painter in his brief twenty-year career. His father and uncles taught him the techniques of painting, and by age sixteen he had already completed an altarpiece for a local church. Beginning in 1520, the celebrated Renaissance artist Correggio became his primary inspiration. Scholars believe that the younger artist may have assisted Correggio with his frescoes at a church in Parma, where Parmigianino may also have completed his own frescoes.
In 1524 Parmigianino visited Rome to present a self-portrait to Pope Clement VII. There the young artist experienced Raphael and Michelangelo's art firsthand, and his style became more grand, elegant, and noble. Following the Sack of Rome in 1527, Parmigianino escaped to Bologna, but within three years he had returned to Parma, where he received a commission to paint frescoes in another church. At this time, according to some accounts, Parmigianino became a devotee of alchemy, transforming himself into a lunatic and completing little work at the church. He was imprisoned after nearly a decade of slow progress but escaped. Scholars believe that Parmigianino was the first Italian artist to make etchings, and his work significantly influenced the art of printmaking.
The term mannerism is derived from the Italian “maniera”, meaning simply “style,” mannerism is sometimes defined as the “stylish style” for its emphasis on self-conscious artifice over realistic depiction. The sixteenth-century artist and critic Vasari (also a mannerist himself) believed that excellence in painting demanded refinement, richness of invention, and virtuoso technique, criteria that emphasized the artist’s intellect. More important than his carefully recreated observation of nature was the artist’s mental conception and its elaboration. This intellectual bias was, in part, a natural consequence of the artist’s new status in society. No longer regarded as craftsmen, painters and sculptors took their place with scholars, poets, and humanists in a climate that fostered an appreciation for elegance, complexity, and even precocity.
Parmigianino’s “Madonna dal Collo Lungo” (Madonna with Long Neck), painted 1534-40 (Oil on panel, 216 x 132 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) is a typical mannerist work. It was painted for the church of Santa Maria dei Servi at Parma. It is the masterpiece of the culminating period in the art of Parmigianino, done almost the same time as the frescoes of the Steccata at Parma. The painter worked upon the picture for six years, but this notwithstanding, it remained unfinished. It is a work of intense if somewhat aloof poetical feeling, this effect mainly arising from the splendid abstraction of the forms, so smoothly rounded under the cool and polished colour.
The painting takes its subject from a simile in medieval hymns to the Virgin which likened her neck to a great ivory tower or column. Appropriate to the traditional understanding of the Virgin as an allegorical representation of the Church, this imagery was also exploited in poems. Thus the exaggerated length of the limbs of the Virgin and her son, as well as the presence of columns in the background of the painting, are not contrived merely for their decorative value, but clearly signal the painting's religious meaning.
“The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.” - John Vance Cheney
Artists are a closely knit group and as such develop symbiotic relationships with one another. Birds of a feather flock together and one artist will attract another, not necessarily just physically and in space, but often, also through time and spiritually, through their art. Art is very much a derivative pursuit and an artist may be inspired through contemplation of another artist’s art. The world becomes richer through this approximation, which although derivative is no plagiarism for a new art piece is created, fresh and different.
For Song Saturday today, Austrian, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Dominican, Juan Luis Guerra (1957-). The former everyone knows, the latter not as many. Separated by centuries and both composers. Mozart has inspired Guerra, in at least one piece, and how different the original from the derived work! But there is that little matter of time and space that lies between them…
In any case, in both cases the mood is tearful, the music lovely and the emotions run deep.
Lacrimosa (Juan Luis Guerra – Inspired by "Lacrimosa" from the Requiem of Mozart)
Sueño es todo lo que queda de ti una cruel ilusión que marchita mi vida Eres un rosario que nunca rezó un enredo fatal que me arrastra sin camino Canto la amargura de mi corazón hoy me queda un hilito de luz y lo pierdo contigo Santa yo te hacía bendita, mujer pero se equivocó mi querer y me hundo en el olvido Lacrimosa un puñal es tu cariño no me lo claves que aún vivo curando las noches de amor que te di quiero beberme tus ojos llorarlos sin fin Lacrimosa ni un pañuelo me has dejado para secar el pasado de besos mojados que hoy suda mi piel quiero beberme tu boca besarte, mujer Oh... Quiero me devuelvas el pacto de amor que la luna celosa nos dio sobre un papel de arena Vete si te dicen que pierdo razón es que en mi corazón la verdad miente de pena Si te alejas, vida...
Nota: El último fragmento de música de la mano de Mozart son los ocho primeros compases de "Lacrimosa". La pieza, al igual que varias otras secciones del Réquiem, fue completada por su alumno Franz Xaver Süssmayr.
Lacrimosa (Teary-Eyed) A dream – All of you is a cruel illusion That has withered my life.
You are: A rosary that entangled me And holds me back, making me lose my way
A song, It’s the bitterness of my heart. Today I have left only a single ray of light I lose it and with it, you
A saint! I blessed you, woman, But I was mistaken, And I need to sink into forgetfulness.
In tears, Your love is a dagger That stabs me, but still keeps me alive, Curing the nights of love that I gave you. I want to drink your eyes To make them cry endlessly
Teary eyed, Not even a handkerchief have you left me with To dry the past passionate kisses That even today make me swoon. I want to drink your mouth, Kissing you, woman.
Oh! I want you to give me back the pact of love That the jealous moon gave us, Written on sand, as if on paper.
It’s forbidden… If they tell you that I’m going crazy, It’s because my heart lies about the pain. If you go away, I’ll lose my life…
Note: The last fragment of music by the hand of Mozart in his “Requiem” is the eight first notes of the “Lacrimosa”. The piece, like several other sections of the Requiem, was completed by his student, Franz Xaver Süssmayr.
“A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” - Elsa Schiaparelli
There is no doubt we are in the middle of winter in Melbourne. The nights are long and chilly, the days short and often a little wet (but still no decent rain!). And the weather is just right for soup. Here is a favourite for this time for the year, a slight variation of a French classic:
Celeriac, Onion and Potato Soup
Ingredients 30g butter 2 large (400g) brown onions, chopped coarsely 1 clove garlic, crushed 1.5kg celeriac, trimmed, chopped coarsely 1 large (300g) potato, peeled, chopped coarsely 1 litre (4 cups) salt-reduced chicken stock 2 cups (500ml) water 300ml cream celery salt and freshly ground white pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Method Heat the butter in a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Add celeriac, potato, stock and water; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are very soft. Blend soup, in batches, until smooth. Return soup to cleaned saucepan; add cream, stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with chives.
“Economic advance is not the same thing as human progress.” - John Clapham
Madagascar has always fascinated me. I remember in primary school during geography lessons looking at this huge island sitting in the ocean to the east of southern Africa and looking at the few pictures accompanying the sparse (yet intriguing) text in the geography book. Exotic names: Lemurs, baobab trees, chameleons, thorn trees… Fascinating yet alien, exotic but strangely inviting, faraway and yet seemingly so welcoming.
How did I remember it? My calendar says that today is Madagascar’s Independednce Day, celebrated since 1960. Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island with an area of 600,000 square km, a population of 12 million, and home to the Malagasy Republic. The capital city is Antananarivo with Toamasina, Fianarantsoa, Toliara, Mahajanga and Antsiranana being other major cities. It was a French colony from 1896 until 1960 when it became independent. The landscape is richly varied with a high central plateau of arid scrub and savannah with deserts in the South. The East coast is hot, humid and covered by tropical rainforest. Little of the land is cultivated although most of the population are subsistence farmers. Cloves, vanilla, coffee, sugar, rice and cassava are the major products. Deforestation by a burgeoning timber industry is threatening this island’s unique flora and fauna.
The relatively recent animated Disney movie “Madagascar” (2005) may have alerted many people to the delights of Madagascar, but in these days of environmental destruction and threatened biosphere, this movie may be a timely reminder for the wholesale environmental ruination of a unique and wildly beautiful place in the world.
And for our Word Thursday, something apt:
lemur |ˈlēmər| noun an arboreal primate with a pointed snout and typically a long tail, found only in Madagascar. Compare with flying lemur . • Lemuridae and other families, suborder Prosimii; includes also the sifaka, indri, and aye-aye. ORIGIN late 18th century: Modern Latin, from Latin lemures (plural) ‘spirits of the dead’ (from its spectre-like face).
“He only lives, who living enjoys life.” – Menander
Some places draw us like magnets and make us feel a special enervating energy as we tread the ground. A sense of mystery, an awe, a deep-seated feeling of a diachronic present tense, which nevertheless is imbued with the import of centuries suffuses our soul as we walk though those unique places. One may sense it in the centre of Australia, walking amongst the Olgas or around Uluru. Or as one is walking through the Acropolis, in Delphi, in Notre Dame in Paris, or in Chartres cathedral. In Stonehenge or under millions of tons of stone in the Great Pyramid of Giza…
I felt this in my recent trip while walking through ancient sites. In Sounion, in Athens, in Salamis… Here is a poem that I wrote trying to capture something of this feeling of time and space as they relate to a special place of such a kind.
The sun, wild, Lashes without pity Naked bodies. The ancient marble lolls Strewn amongst the pine trees And the noontime silence Is mirrored in the Midsummer heat.
Somewhere in the forest, Dense and shady, A fountain trills Like Pan’s flute. In the heart of the mountain, Deep in the rocks, Cyparissus Sleeps lightly.
It’s enough to find a magic word, A word both true and ancient, And if you murmur it, Twenty five centuries Will shatter like glass And crash in front of The violet-tinged temple, Raised from the ground anew.
“Murder may pass unpunish'd for a time, But tardy justice will o'ertake the crime.” – John Dryden
For our literary Tuesday today I am reviewing a book that I read while on my holiday. It is the crime novel “A Taste for Death” by British writer P. D. James. This is the pen name of Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL (born 3 August 1920) who is a life peer in the British House of Lords. She only started writing when she was 30 years old and has written abut 20 books, including an autobiography, a science fiction novel and a mainstream novel. However, her forte is crime fiction, a genre that she excels in. Her investigator extraordinaire is Adam Dalgliesh of the New Scotland Yard, who also happens to be a poet. Her first Adam Dalgliesh novel “Cover her Face” was first published in 1962.
“A Taste for Death” (seventh in the Commander Adam Dalgliesh series) is a satisfying crime novel, but also a study in human character and a wry look at the complex motivating forces in people’s lives. One can often forget the crime in a PD James novel and rather concentrate on the characters’ emotions, psychology and ideas. PD James writes beautifully and her prose often lapses into a style that is more fitting to a “serious” novel, rather than the typical crime fiction. However, in this way she resembles the other “mistresses of crime fiction”, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Ruth Rendell. This particular novel of James won the Silver Dagger in 1986, and has also been adapted for a 1988 UK television miniseries.
The plot of the novel revolves around the murder of an acquaintance of Commander Dalgliesh. In the dark and shabby vestry of St. Matthew's Church, Paddington, two bodies are found with their throats slashed with an old fashioned shaving razor. One of the victims is an alcoholic vagrant, and the other is Sir Paul Berowne, a baronet and recently resigned Minister of the Crown. Adam Dalgliesh investigates a convoluted murder case which involves both himself and his assistant, Inspector Kate Miskin in a web of intrigue and danger.
I can recommend PD James’ works and especially this one, so if you have not sampled her oeuvre, here’s my encouragement to do so. The style is relaxed, the narrative slow and deliberate, the action at sufficiently paced intervals to keep one’s interest up and the characters varied, believable, with great depth and complexity so as to keep the reader’s interest up.
“If ridicule were employed to laugh men out of vice and folly, it might be of some use.” - Joseph Addison
I hate watching movies on planes, but sometimes it is something that I resort to after having worked on my computer a little, having read a little more, having solved some crosswords and having run out of power on my computer after working on it more. And when that is the case, the movie I usually choose is something light and escapist that requires the least concentration, as distractions are many and varied during the flight.
On the way back from Singapore, I watched the 2008 epic “10,000 BC”, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Steven Strait and Camilla Belle. This is the perfect sort of movie to watch out of the corner of your eye while all sorts of other things are going on in the plane around you. Remember the ridiculous “One Million BC” of 1940, and the still more ridiculous “One Million Years BC” of 1966? Well, add to those two films, the sublimely ridiculous “10,000 BC” of 2008.
A group of Ice Age hunters (who we know didn't live in large groups), lives in Europe in a village (hmmm, remember your history saying they were nomads, they didn't live in permanent villages, right?), are spending winter in the mountains (that’s one of the reasons they were nomads, not to spend the winter up in the mountains!). They hunt for any mammoths that happen by chance to wander by, chasing them with spears and killing them with single spear throws! ( highly dubious). There is some supernatural mumbo-jumbo, a blue-eyed beauty who gets abducted by more civilised riders and a weakling who then decides to rescue the woman by tramping with his companions through East Asian bamboo jungles to sub-Saharan Africa and finally to what looks like ancient Egypt, over the course of a few weeks. Did I mention the mammoths were helping to build the pyramids? Or that people from Atlantis were running the show? I was expecting Santa Claus and the Martians to walk in at that stage.
The plot is weak to non-existent, the assumptions the audience is expected to make immense and the tolerance level of the viewer enormous. The acting is cheesy, the dialogue inane and the stone-age people sanitized beyond redemption. Some special effects and CGI attempt to make the movie appealing, but overall, a movie to watch while you’re not watching a movie on a long flight to while away the long hours. Otherwise, don’t bother!
“Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?” – Pablo Picasso
The ancient Greeks were quite proficient in the art of painting. Not only vase and wall painting, but also in easel painting on panels of wood or marble. What we know of easel painting of the classical era we know from contemporary descriptions of the life of artists and their works. However, no ancient Greek easel painting of the classical era has survived. Many artists such as Zeuxis and Parrhasius, Timanthes, Pamphilus and Pausias, Apelles and Protogenes are described as masters of their art, and their paintings make many writers wax lyrical about them.
One set of examples of ancient Greek art on a wood panel we have, was discovered in the sacred grotto dedicated to the nymph of Pitsa near Corinth. This is one of the rare examples of "Archaic" Greek painting, and it can be dated about 540 BC. It represents a short procession of donors approaching a low, bare altar at the right. Offerings are being brought by garlanded women and youths: Wine by the imperious woman leading the group; a lamb by the boy behind her; flowering branches by the serene figures behind a pair of musicians. It is the best preserved of four tablets found in Pitsa, which constitute, together with the pinakes of Penteskouphia (now in Berlin), the most ancient documents of that painting which historians assure us was born in Corinth. Proof can be found in the analogous quality of the vase painting, in a similar employment of judicious, yet joyful, dramatic variations that do not disturb the outlines of the compositional cadences. The name of the artist was inserted in the writing at the top, but today this is unfortunately lost. All that remains is the eponym "Corinthian." which is, nevertheless, useful information. The small painted tablets called pinakes were suspended on the walls of little chapel-like structures in tombs.
The tablets are thin wooden boards or panels, covered with stucco (plaster) and painted with mineral pigments. Their bright colours are surprisingly well preserved. Only eight colours (black, white, blue, red, green, yellow, purple and brown) are used, with no shading or gradation of any sort. Probably, the black contour outlines were drawn first and then filled in with colours.
Those familiar with Christian church services might assume that Greek hymns were sung inside ‘god’s house’, i.e. his temple, perhaps before the cult image itself, which was (usually) placed seated in the cella. But Greek religion was conducted largely out of doors: Processions and sacrifice (both typically accompanied by hymn-singing) focussed on the spatial transition from town to temple and in particular on the altar erected outside the temple entrance. Aristophanes (in his plays “Clouds” and “Peace”) mentions ‘most holy processions to the gods’ (prosodoi makaron ierotatoi).
This precious painting and three more from the same location can be admired today in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens!
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus
It is Winter Solstice today in the Southern hemisphere and suitably the day has been grey and gloomy, wet and cold. The shortest day of the year has been and gone and now for the longest night. From tomorrow, the days begin to lengthen although most of winter is still ahead of us.
For Song Saturday, a piano piece by Michele McLaughlin called Winter Solstice. Here is what the composer has to say about the piece:
“From my concert with Jennifer Thomas on November 24, 2007. The song, Winter Solstice l, is from my holiday album, Christmas - Plain & Simple. Learn more about me and my music at http://www.michelemclaughlin.com. Thank you!”
“Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.” - Colleen C. Barrett
No sooner am I back home and I have to travel to Brisbane for work – so it was very much a case of out of one plane and into another. Fortunately, I did get a very good night’s sleep the night before and had no jet lag, so that made the trip much easier to cope with.
Several pressing matters had waited for my return and urgent attention, which could wait no longer so I spent two days away, working quite literally without respite, from early in the day until late in the evening. However, the up side of this was that a lot got done some minor crises were resolved and the feeling of a job well done accompanied me on my return to Melbourne.
Needless to say, I shall be spending a very quiet weekend at home, relaxing and only travelling that I shall be doing will be from the bedroom to the kitchen, from the kitchen to the living room and then the same trips in reverse! Word Thursday is once again suitably apt:
aeroplane |ˈe(ə)rəˌplān| noun British term for airplane . ORIGIN late 19th century: From French aéroplane, from Greek aér ‘air’ + Greek -planos ‘wandering.’
“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.” - Pearl S. Buck
Today was my first day back at work, after getting a very good night’s sleep at home after our trip abroad. The day absolutely flew by as I was catching up with 3 weeks of accumulated backlog. The parcels of books that we had sent from Greece had already arrived and it was good to see them waiting for me in my office.
Seeing it is poetry Wednesday, I am sharing with you a suitably reflective and apt poem for a homecoming after a trip. This comes out of “The Lord of the Rings” and is quite lovely:
I Sit Beside the Fire
I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen, of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were, with morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be when winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things that I have never seen: in every wood in every spring there is a different green.
I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago, and people who shall see a world that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think of times there were before, I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.
“Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” - Victor Hugo
We got up rather early on our last day in Athens, wishing to pack our luggage carefully, ensuring of distributing the weight evenly between our two suitcases and hand-luggage. Although we had sent back about 100 kilos of books, we managed to accumulate another 15-20 kilos more of them (with my Bible alone contributing to about 4 kilos of that!). That done, we decided to go to the airport early and left the hotel at about 11:00 am for our 1:30 pm flight. Once again, the traffic was light given that this was Whitmonday, and hence a public holiday.
Our flight to Singapore was uneventful and we managed to get some sleep on the plane. The downside of not stopping over in Singapore for a day and night was having to spend 5 hours in the airport waiting for our connecting flight. Admittedly, this is not too bad in Singapore airport, which in my opinion is the best airport in the world. The tremendous variety of indoor plants in the terminal alone are worth the visit and when adds to that top class facilities and services for the traveller, one cannot but admire the Singaporeans for their enterprise and genuine concern for the comfort and enjoyment of the passengers travelling through their country.
The flight back to Melbourne seemed long, even though we managed to get a little sleep through it, but our fatigue must have elongated the relatively shorter flight (seven hours compared to the eleven hours of the previous leg). One of the best things about travelling is the homecoming at the end. No matter how enjoyable a trip is, it always pleasant to come back home.
Sunday in Athens was an extremely quiet and peaceful affair this weekend as many people had left the city for the long weekend. Nevertheless, the people remaining behind were out and about and early in the morning were doing the regulation buying of the Sunday newspapers. This is an amazing experience in Greece as there are enormous numbers of newspapers, magazines, periodicals and books that are offered for sale daily, but on Sunday there is the added bonus of the “free” offers that are included with the publication. These range from CDs and DVDs, to magazines, to books, cosmetics, sunglasses, clothing, bags, and whatever else you may imagine. It is interesting to note that many newspapers come in two forms, the “no-frills” cheaper version (newspaper alone or with a basic TV guide magazine included) for about one euro or so and the same newspaper with the added goodies (for example, I bought a newspaper with a CD, a DVD and a special interest holiday magazine) for 4.50 euros. Both the CD and DVD were commercial quality and relatively recent (i.e. not new releases, but certainly within the last 10 years).
One can have great fun in newsstands and kiosks that sell these publications and it is mind-boggling to work one’s way through the various offers and finally decide on one’s purchase. Some are not worth it, but others are a great way of getting some great music or films relatively cheaply. We made our way to Monastiraki and had a last forage in the second-hand bookstores. On Sunday, there is a trash and treasure market held here and this is a good place to wander in and there is no predicting what one may find here and one may pick up a great bargain, as we did! My discovery was a wonderful edition of the Bible in Greek, in large format and copiously illustrated with Gustave Doré’s full page etchings on every second page, in remarkably good condition for the paltry sum of 2.50 euros! The down side was it weighed about 4 kilos, but I was not leaving this treasure behind.
After walking around for several hours, making a few more purchases, we finally flopped down on the seats of a café and had much needed refreshment. It was interesting to watch the people (mainly tourists) going back and forth and to enjoy the glorious weather, knowing that in 48 hours we would be braving the elements of a Melbourne winter once again. We walked back to our hotel to deposit our treasures, freshen up and rest a little before heading off to our friends’ house in Aigaleo, where we had been invited for the afternoon and to dinner.
The afternoon was very pleasant and we spent it chatting and then playing cards. The highlight of the afternoon was me excusing myself to go to the bathroom and locking myself there because the key snapped the lock. This was an interesting state of affairs as the only exit from the windowless room was a small (50 cm x 35 cm) skylight that led to an attic above the bathroom through a light well that went up to the roof almost two metres above. We firstly tried to get the door open on both sides by unscrewing the door handle (unsuccessfully). Then by using a similar key from the outside (to no avail). And finally, me climbing up (very athletic!) through the skylight (a tight squeeze) onto the attic through the light well. When I climbed down from the attic and outside the bathroom, I was able to use the key that George had tried to open the door with and successfully unlock the door.
With that excitement over and the keys being banished from the bathroom door forever (a simple latch on the inside would ensure privacy) we had a delightful dinner on their terrace overlooking their lush back garden. It was soon time to make our goodbyes and such times are always sad, but we did promise to try and return to visit them soon. We took a taxi to our hotel and were surprised at the low fare (about 3.50 euros), but this was due to light traffic and a very direct route taken by the taxi driver. We had a good night’s sleep knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long and busy day of unrelenting travel.
We took the bus from Pireos St, near Omonoia Square in the centre of Athens and for the very cheap fare of 0.80 cents we got to Perama, a port to the West of Piraeus. It is from here that ferries leave fro Salamis. We got on a little passenger ferry and for another reasonable fare of one euro were transported 15 minutes later to Paloukia, the main Northern port of Salamis. This is an unprepossessing little town, with a very provincial feel to it. Apparently many people live here and work on the mainland, with daily commuting trips on the passenger ferries.
A bus station close to the ferry terminals connects Paloukia with all other town and settlements on the island. We took the bus and visited Ambelakia and Selinia. Selinia is a small holiday township on the coast, popular with Athenians as a summer holiday destination. Many have their holiday houses here, but it does not have a resort town feel about it and it looks fairly sleepy and innocuous, with the exception of a few tavernas and restaurants it could well be any other provincial town.
We wandered around and were surprised at how dry the island is with not much tree-covering or vegetation. Water must be a real problem and I am sure the inhabitants must be used to restrictions every summer. However, as far sheltered beaches go, this is a fairly good destination, although as is the case with most Greek beaches fine pebbles rather than sand will greet your bare feet when venturing into the sea.
In our promenade we searched for some postcards of Salamina, but were unsuccessful. Instead, we found an author who was looking after the book and stationery shop of her daughter. We started to chat with Ms Hara ….. after she told us that she had no Salamina postcards and we found out that she is a staunch defender of the Greek language, abhorring the way it is being abused nowadays and having written several books on the topic. Although she was very conservative linguistically (an adherent of the polytonic system and using much formal katharevousa idiom in her speech), she was very nice and hospitable and we chatted with her for about 30-40 minutes. We expressed the desire to buy one of her books, but she very generously made us a gift of it. We exchanged contact details and we left.
Salamina is the main town on the island and is very close to Paloukia (only about 2.5 km to the West of it, in fact), but on the other side of the island. It has a population of about 25,000, out of the 31,000 population for the whole island. It is an unprepossessing little town with a no-nonsense feel about it and much effort is being expended in order for it to be beautified and for resident services to be improved. An amphitheatre has been built on a hillside and has been grandly named the “Euripideion” after Salamis’ famous ancient playwright son. The landmark of the town is the rather severe-looking late 19th century town hall.
We got rather hot and tired at this stage and decided we had had enough of Salamis sight-seeing and decided to go back to Athens. It was fairly simple to take the bus and ferry back and shortly we were back in our hotel.
“No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow.” Euripides
This is a long weekend in Greece with the holidays of Soul Saturday today, the Orthodox Pentecost on Sunday (Whitsunday) and the Holy Spirit Day on Monday (Whitmonday). “Psychosavvato” literally means “Saturday of Souls” and it is essentially a memorial day set aside by the church to remember and bless those in one’s family who are departed. Special masses in church are offered for the repose of their souls and it is customary to make “kolyva” on this day. The offering of kolyva as a memorial for dead relatives has its roots in ancient Greece but has been syncretised with the Christian teaching and incorporated fully with the religious traditions of Greece. Kolyva is a tray of sweetened boiled wheat which is a symbolic way of praying for the “blessed resurrection” of the deceased. It is based on Jesus’ teaching that compares the sowing of wheat grains with the Resurrection of all the dead in the second coming. In the context of the resurrection of Lazarus, St. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).
Kolyva is primarily made of boiled barley or wheat grains. It is then lightly dried and mixed with sweet tasting raisins, pomegranate seeds, chopped nuts and chopped glace fruits. The mixture is placed on a tray in a low mound that resembles a grave. Powdered sugar is used to cover it, with silver coloured dragées and sugared almonds used to inscribe a cross and the initials of the deceased.
The Kolyva is a symbol of our prayer that the deceased be blessed with a happy and sweet resurrection, since there is also the resurrection of judgment and eternal damnation. When one goes to a Memorial Service one should pray for the deceased during the mass. Afterwards, the kolyva will be distributed to all in attendance. As one eats it, one says “Theós schoréston” (“May God forgive him”) The “kollyva” gives substance to prayer and honours the deceased.
KOLYVA RECIPE Ingredients 2 cups of wheat berries 2 cups of sugar 1/2 cup of ground roasted yellow chick peas 1 cup of ground walnut meal 1/2 cup blanched, roasted almonds, chopped 1 cup of pomegranate grains 1/2 cup of sultanas 1/2 cup of glace, chopped citrus peel 1/2 cup chopped crystallised cherries 1/2 teaspoonful ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoonful ground cloves 1/2 teaspoonful ground mace 1/2 cup chopped continental parsley Icing sugar to decorate Silver dragées to decorate Sugar almonds to decorate
Method Rinse the wheat and place in a large saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 5 cm, along with a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the wheat is tender and beginning to split but not mushy, about 1 and 3/4 hours. (Add more water to the pot when the liquid reduces to the level that the wheat no longer floats, and stir from time to time so the it doesn’t stick to the bottom.) Drain well and spread on a clean, linen, tea-towel and leave to dry for a couple of hours. Mix the wheat with the sugar and chick pea meal. Add the nuts, fruit, spices, parsley and mix well.
Pack well into a cling filled lined baking tray and refrigerate for a few hours. Remove from the refrigerator, and drain off any liquid. Invert on an oblong platter and decorate with packed icing sugar all around, pressing well with a spatula. Outline the shape of a cross with the dragées and use the sugared almonds to decorate. The kolyva are blessed in church and distributed to the congregation.
We spent the day in Piraeus today. Using public transport is very convenient, and especially so the metro. For 0.80 cents one can buy a ticket for any means of public transport and is able to use this ticket for 90 minutes. An extremely good alternative to car or taxi travel and much cheaper and faster, of course!
Piraeus has been the Port of Athens for more than 2500 years, feeding the capital city with ships filled with traders, goods, pilgrims, and now, tourists. If you arrive in Athens via water, your journey will take you through Piraeus. For most visitors, it’s a dimly-perceived backdrop after a lovely cruise, or a quick stop while waiting for a hydrofoil or ferry. It can seem threatening, overcrowded and for some people even dirty and menacing.
However, if one explores Piraeus one discovers that this bustling port has charms of its own and much to offer the tourist or casual visitor. The Academy Award-winning Melina Mercouri 1960 film “Never on Sunday” was shot in Piraeus. The port is the site of the University of Piraeus which features studies in maritime history among other subjects. The Archaeological Museum of Piraeus offers a fascinating collection of artifacts from the area. It's open daily (except Mondays, remember!), and makes for a pleasant, informative stop. The huge bronze statues of Athena and Artemis are particularly worth seeing. If you're just passing through Piraeus on your way to the hydrofoil, allow some extra time to enjoy this museum.
The Municipal Gallery of Piraeus features an extensive collection of modern sculpture by Georage Kastriotis and a collection of theatrical memorabilia donated by Manos Katrakis. It's all located at the Piraeus Municipal Theatre, on Korai Square. Piraeus is also the home of the Yacht Club of Greece, a long-established organization sponsoring a number of yachting events at Piraeus and elsewhere each year.
There many shops, shopping centres, malls and markets in Piraeus, some of them offering bargains not available in Athens. A lovely cathedral church is to be found here and it is consecrated to the Holy Trinity. One cannot miss it as it centrally located, close to the main port and the terminus of the metro. Many other churches are in Piraeus, including the church of St Spyridon, the patron saint of the port.
Piraeus offers hotels, though these are generally filled with those whose business takes them to the port and, to a lesser degree, tourist overflow from Athens itself. As to be expected from a busy, working port, Piraeus restaurants are renowned for their seafood, especially those in the small harbour of Mikrolimano.
For some Piraeus Trivia: What ancient holiday was held on March 5th? If you answered, "Ploiaphesia" or Navigium Isidis, you get a hundred points and a pat on the back for knowing navigational history. Like many ports in the Aegean, for hundreds of years Piraeus celebrated the "Launching of the Ships" honouring the goddess of navigation, Isis. At this time, the stormy winter sea is calming and trade and travel can begin again. While modern shipping doesn't follow as strict a schedule, Mediterranean captains still must breathe a sigh of relief as spring begins and the high seas of winter depart.
Piraeus had a reputation in Athens as a “poor relative” in the past. Living here was cheaper than the in the capital itself and many poor people were able to make a living amidst the life of the port. Nowadays this reputation is not justified as Piraeus has nothing to envy Athens for and living in many parts of the Port is very chic and “in” (with prices to match). We always like visiting the port as it has a special atmosphere of its own and watching the sea craft going in and out of the ports (the main harbour as well as Mikrolimano) is always an enjoyable experience.
“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” - Salvor Hardin
A very full day today all around Athens, finishing a few jobs, tying up some loose ends and going to the post office for the umpteenth time. The neighbourhood of Exarcheia was one of those lovely ones in the past that was immediately adjacent to Omonoia Square and was full of life, university students, bars, cheap but good restaurants, intellectuals, antique shops, bookshops, full of character and with a bit of a left-bank-of-Paris feel to it. Walking through it today makes one very sad.
The Exarcheia of 2008 has been taken over by anarchists and the so-called “koukoulofóroi” (hooded men) who go out on rampages, destroy property, loot and burn, clash with police, besmirch every available wall with graffiti, and make the residents and shopkeepers live an existence full of fear and apprehension. While on most days it is fairly safe to walk through here, when there is a “demonstration” in progress one should avoid this place like the plague. One is likely to be involved in street clashes, breathe in tear gas and even be arrested, while the “hooded men” remarkably never are. This is a disgraceful state and talking to the locals in the area one is overwhelmed with stories of frustration, anger, rage and disempowerment. It seems that the police is unable to put a stop to these demonstrations, more and more destruction goes on and on and may locals have been forced to abandon their property and move away.
When one walks through the are on a good day, it is surprising as it appears like any other neighbourhood (with the exception of the graffiti and visible signs of the clashes, here and there as far damage to property is concerned). Still there appear to be some semblance of normality as there are many bookshops and publishing houses in the area, some bars, some other shops. It is a great pity and I deplore these acts of vandalism and destruction. I would quite happily send such people to gaol with hard labour included so as to teach them social skills and how it is much harder to build something up than to destroy it.
One of the bookshops in the area that gets targeted and damaged every now and then belongs to a member of parliament by the name of Adonis Georgiades, who also has a publishing house. A couple of days ago his shop was once again attacked and torched with enormous damage to the books and fittings. It is the tenth or eleventh time one of his bookshops has been destroyed. I may not agree with the politics or ideas (extreme right and nationalist) of Mr Georgiades, however, I deplore these attacks against his property. As Heinrich Heine once said, "Where one burns books, one will soon burn people." This was already proven true, one only has to remember the Nazi book burnings as one example…
This afternoon we met our friends and played some cards, having a coffee, chatting and generally catching up. Then, dinner out in Monastiraki. We went to a very famous taverna called Bairaktaris, right on Monastiraki Square. It was very crowded and with the fencing up for the renovation work on the square it was rather claustrophobic. The food was disappointingly average to bad, the service indifferent and the atmosphere very much geared to towards the tourist trade. However, we enjoyed ourselves as the company was compatible and we chatted merrily on, despite the adverse circumstances. We were truly epicurean in our meal tonight because as Epicurus said: “We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink...”
The trip is drawing to its end, slowly yet inexorably. We shall be catching the plane to go back home on Monday and then back to work on Wednesday. On Thursday morning I am flying to Brisbane for work.
I have been blogging daily on this platform for several years now. It is surprising that I have persisted as the world is changing and "microblogging" is now the norm. I blog to amuse myself, make comment on current affairs, externalise some of my creativity, keep notes on things that interest me, learn something new and to surprise myself with things that I discover about this wonderful, and sometimes crazy, world we live in.
I sometimes get the impression that I am on a soapbox delivering a monologue, so your comments are welcome.
