Skopelos Scramblers walk on the 2nd of April

Last Sundays walk was along various paths, beautiful open areas with amazing views and along the heliport to the Devils Schism. It was delightful with nine scramblers and three pouches. The end of the beautiful walk was in a picnic area with an wonderful sea view.

Sunday 2nd April

This Sundays walk will take us to the Sendoukia Graves. Meeting point as usual at Sklavenitis supermarket car park at 10.30am where transport will be organized. The starting point for the walk will be the crossroad that heads for Elios/Skopelos and as usual we will pick out a nice spot at the end of walk for Muriel’s blue checked table cloth on which the Scramblers will lay out a shared picnic. Please bring a small snack.

Feel free to join the group on this walk where you will be made very welcome!

For more info please call Muriel on 6983010118.

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Scramblers walk on Sunday the 26th of March

Please be aware that the clock will go forward an hour around 03.00 hours on Saturday evening

The last “official” scramblers walk was to Glysteri. We had a wonderful sunny walk over several old donkey paths and had a lovely picknick on Glysteri.

This Sundays Scramble begins at the Sklavenitis Supermarket carpark at 10.30 am. From there the group will drive up to Villa Dunlop, where they will park the vehicles and the walk will commence. We will walk along the ridge to Prof Ilias church and then the scramble will begin for real to Skopelos helicopter port. We will then make our way to the main Stafilos road and the turn of for The Devils Schism. Having reached there and enjoying the beautiful sea views the famous blue checked table cover will be spread out to take the groups shared picnic. There will be a vehicle at the picnic spot to take drivers back to starting point should they want to but Muriel will be walking back a slightly different but more direct route. We hope you join us!

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Independence day

Tomorrow it is Greek Independence day. In many villages and cities in Greece but also abroad this day will be celebrated. Many shops and offices, on Skopelos, will be closed tomorrow. Restaurants and bars will be open. The parade of schoolchildren, the cultural association and the water scouts will start around 12 noon in Skopelos town. About the same hour or earlier the parades in Glossa and Elios will start.

Greek Independence Day, national holiday celebrated annually in Greece on March 25, commemorating the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821.

It coincides with the Greek Orthodox Church’s celebration of the Annunciation to the Theotokos, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear the son of God.

Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1453. The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry “Freedom or death” became the motto of the revolution. The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. By 1827 Athens and most of the Greek isles had been recaptured by the Turks.

Just as the revolution appeared to be on the verge of failure, Great Britain, France, and Russia intervened in the conflict. The Greek struggle had elicited strong sympathy in Europe, and many leading intellectuals had promoted the Greek cause, including the English poet Lord Byron. At the naval Battle of Navarino, the combined British, French, and Russian forces destroyed an Ottoman-Egyptian fleet. The revolution ended in 1829 when the Treaty of Edirne established an independent Greek state.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-Independence-Day

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Possible boat strike on Thursday the 16th of March, strikes may be extended to shops, offices etc. too.

Greek unions call 24-hour national strike on Thursday over Tempi train crash

The General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), representing private sector employee unions, has called a 24-hour strike on Thursday (March 16), it said during its congress on Sunday.

GSEE, which is wrapping up its four-day annual congress, will also hold a rally at Syntagma Square for 11:00 am the same day with the motto “All lives matter”.

“For all workers of Greece, the in-depth investigation and the attribution of accountability, as well as the implementation of measures to prevent having to mourn over lost human lives, is a key demand by society and will be the focus of our strike action,” it said in a statement on Sunday

It added that responsibilities of governments and the systematic undermining of railroad infrastructure also highlights the loss of lives of employees who died at work accidents in recent years.

“For the Federation, the three basic questions that should directly be answered are as follows: How did we get to this tragedy? Who is responsible? How can we prevent it from happening again?,” it said.

The train is a means of travel that “mostly serves the transport of workers, young people, poor people, and people with low or non-existent income. The state has an obligation, if nothing else, to guarantee basic things: safety in travel and high-quality service,” GSEE underlined

On Saturday evening, the federation of public sector employees (ADEDY) also called a 24-hour strike on Thursday, March 16, over the deadly Tempi train collision accident.

The national strike will affect public entitities and services.

In a statement over the strike, ADEDY demanded that those who are truly guilty over the train accident should be found and made accountable, while the privatizations and the operation of public services on private business criteria, which puts profit over people, should end.

“The Tempi crime will not be covered up. We demand the life we deserve, a life with contemporary rights, and a better future for us and our children,” a statement said.

Source: amna.gr

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