Poetry night with Maro Vlachaki on Tuesday the 7th of July

On Tuesday the 7th of July a special poem night is organized by IDEA cafe and Emporium, Spira Skopelos brewers and Veranda cafe bar, (the venues are situated close to the Agios Michael church and the police office)
The evening will be presented by Mrs. Eleni Spilioti.
The poet Mrs. Maro Vlachaki will read from her own poems. The actor Angeliki Lemoni will read from the poet’s work.
Live music will be played afterwards by Niko Jiannato and Vangelis Karamintza.

The evening will start at 20.30 hours

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Language spotting on Skopelos

Language Spotting on Skopelos is an fantastic, alternative way for people who want to start learning the Greek language and find out about Skopelos culture and traditions as well.

The language spotting course consists of three meetings in three different amazing spots, one by the seaside, another in the country side and the last one up on a mountain. Each venue will offer you a taste of the amazing nature and views of the island while you are taught key words and expressions that will help you interact with locals.

You will learn to introduce yourself, ask for directions, order in a restaurant or in a bar. It is all a piece of cake after you have participated in the Language Spotting course.

So if you are longing for an exciting summer experience learning some Greek, visite amazing places, getting to know Skopelos traditions, tasting local products and making new friends, then join the Language Spotting project!

Please contact: Efcharis Mascha
Telephone: + 30 694 870 3079
Email: language_spotting@yahoo.com

Als oon facebook and Instagram

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We have to keep going and monastery Kontronaki

It is nice to visit a “new” beautiful place on Skopelos. I knew of its existence but I never visited the place. Monastery Kontronaki close to Skopelos town on the road to the Agia Marina spring and church.

Unfortunately this monastery opens once or twice a year for a couple of church services. My husband an me were lucky to go inside because some maintenance had to be carried out. The whole monastery was renovated in 2004.

On the grounds are a church, several offices, bedrooms, an open kitchen, storage areas and a beautiful garden. Everything is kept immaculate and the guardians of this monastery were busy for many days to get it ready for an annual feast.

In the meantime on Skopelos visitors are trickling in. Mainly by car from the mainland and via the two main airports in Greece. Up till now everybody gets tested at the airports and needs to go into quarantine for at least a day until the results are known. Then you can travel further but you have to leave details behind where you are going. From the first of July these protocols will probably change.

During the voyage by bus or boat you need to wear a mask and keep a safe distance from other travelers. Go earlier to the boat ticket office to fill out a form with your details. I have given the link in an earlier post.

This is the form you need to fill out when coming in via an airport.
Passengers arriving to Greece from specific countries are required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Information Form.
The form must be filled out by passengers arriving from Albania, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Travelers from other non-EU countries will also have to fill out the form.
Passenger information form

At the moment the amount of new Covid 19 cases is fairly small but the Greek government is testing everywhere to make sure not a lot of new cases turn up. From the first of July a lot of visitors will be arriving via charter flights. Everybody needs to be careful and follow the instructions that are given. Anywhere that food is served you need to make sure that the staff wears masks and that the distance between chairs and tables is more than 1,5 meters.

Beaches like Milia have visitors but not so many and therefor it is possible to keep a distance from each other. We went yesterday afternoon and it was amazing staying there for a couple of hours. In other places where there are beach bars make sure the sunbeds are at a distance that you feel comfortable.

In one of the bigger supermarkets you will be given a paper with a number so there are not too many people in the supermarket. When the amount of people has been reached you wait outside until you are let in.
The other supermarkets are not so busy so everybody can go in but check out, in general, how many people are inside and take heed. The supermarkets will enforce the rule when it is necessary. Wait if you do not feel comfortable.

The Skopelos health center has a new office outside the health center where people can get tested if there is a suspicion that they have the corona virus. The office is there just in case. The last few days the minister for the protection of citizens is travelling to all the local airports in Greece to make sure all the health protocols are met by the employees of the airport and the airplane companies.

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In the meantime; a wonderful initiative on Skopelos takes place

The two classes of the second kindergarten school on Skopelos have launched a wonderful initiative. The three teachers, the parent’s board and the parents did not want to lose contact whilst being in quarantine and opened in the second week of the lock down a Facebook “members only” group for the parents and their children.

Teachers Lia Pegiou, Ioanna Diamanti and Fenja Dakou give the pupils different assignments and tasks and the results are uploaded on the page. Various themes like the spring, Easter, mother’s day, basic colors, playing with letters are combined with drawing, playing with clay, cooking etc.

The teachers upload videos where they read a book or teach something. Here one of the teachers shows a trick with milk and liquid colors.

Once in a while the children have face time meetings with the other children (37) One time they sang a song together. I can imagine how that went with 37 children! Also parents and children make videos together and upload them.

To eat healthy is also something the teachers pay attention too and several videos of children cooking (with adult supervision of course) have been uploaded. In the group they also celebrate birthdays of the children and the teachers read books for the children every other day.

Everybody is very happy with this wonderful initiative where parents work/play together with their children and the teachers keep in contact with the pupils and the parents.
The children like it very much but they would rather be together in the classroom again. That is really what they are looking forward to!! Hopefully they will will meet soon again.

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What would it be like

Yesterday I got a text message from Tam Nightingale, a Skopelos resident and he told me that a friend of his Mr. Steve Bently (he and his wife Anita have been visiting Skopelos for years) had send him a poem. Tam after that composed the music and lend his voice to the poem.
The poem is about the time we all live in now. Corona time. Mr. Bentley says it more eloquent…..

“The lock down due to the corona epidemic has had an impact on everybody and it has inspired many people to do many things, not just on the caring side but also in terms of poetry and songwriting.

Up until yesterday I myself had not been particularly inspired to put pen to paper, but during a beautiful walk with my wife yesterday, a few words started to come to me. They started to flow shortly after we came across a Roe Deer feeding in a field. It watched us but just carried on grazing, not the least bit concerned by our presence.

I’m not saying it directly inspired me to write the poem but maybe the fact that it just carried on set something going. Anyway I decided to try and look at the current situation from a time before it all started, to try and imagine what it might be like if the things we took for granted were suddenly taken away. 10 minutes later, the poem was finished.

So I sent it to Tam and he did the rest. I really like what he’s done with it and it makes me feel that although we’re a long way away, a part of us is in Skopelos right now”.

Thank you so much Steve and Tam! Let’s keep inspiring each other!

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Check

Not certain whether you can go out on your motor bike or car today, Easter Monday ? Call the police. (0030) 24240 22235.

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No cars, no motorbikes

Tomorrow Easter Sunday it is forbidden to drive a car or a motorbike for any reason except an emergency or work (for work you will have the papers explaining this with you) Skopelosnews has verified this with the police. If you need any last minute shopping call the supermarkets to get it delivered.

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Easter Friday

Today is Greek Orthodox Good Friday. Churchgoers normally would , from a very early hour, be present in the church on this day because tonight the epitaph/επιταφιο is there and Christ being on the cross would be remembered.
The whole week church services have been performed but with the doors closed and only priests and other personnel present. Nobody else is allowed to attend. Church services can been seen on TV channels.

An epitaph is the symbolic funeral bier of Jesus Christ. It is covered completely with flowers, and flowers are wired to the supports of the canopy and the canopy itself.

Many places in Greece have their own religious customs to show their sorrow.
The epitaph is carried around in the villages, around churches and even floats in the sea after the walk in town. These are the two Good Friday lamentations that are heard all over Greece. They are called Ω γλυκύ μου έαρ/ My sweet spring and Αι γενεαί πάσαι/ all generations.

Due to the corona epidemic we will celebrate a completely different Easter this year but it will be an Easter where we are so thankful to be alive and able to celebrate that life. Our Easter eggs have be painted red and are ready for Sunday so we can do the τσουγκριζμα/clinking of the eggs and sweet Easter bread tsoureki/τσουρεκι is ready (not made but bought) The rest will be cooked on Sunday.

The weather is fantastic and begs us to go out. We went to get our drinking water in Saint Marina. After the heavy rainfall a couple of days ago, this is the result.

Happy Greek Easter for those who celebrate it. Have a good weekend everybody!

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A changing world

This is a hoopoe bird/Τσαλαπετεινός that we saw in our garden a few days ago.

At the moment there are many of these birds around on the island. What is so stunning about the birds is that when the land on the ground or are excited they extend the feathers on their head like a fan. Just beautiful! It might be my idea but I think I see a lot more birds this year than I did last year. Not so much traffic on the roads?

Some news about the corona epidemic in Greece particularly. A lot of experts talk about the use of masks and gloves. Whether to use them or not. What I have gathered (official press conference here in Greece) is that it is not mandatory to use them as the general public but it is when you are ill or working with corona patients.

An outbreak of corona patients in a neighborhood (thank you for correcting me M. it was wrong saying it was a camp) where a lot of gypsies live, in Larissa has caused a lot of commotion and severe quarantine measures have been taken. The patients have been isolated and the area that they live in is in complete lock down. Food and medicines and other help will be provided daily.

Mr. Tsiodras has emphasized yesterday in the daily press conference that now is not the time when the people of Greece should be divided and hate and racism should not be spread when the virus is found in a vulnerable group of citizens. We have to fight the virus together and together we will conquer it he said. No open air markets will be held anymore in the province of Thessalia and sales of goods from trucks, on the street is forbidden.

Schools, universities will remain closed until the 10th of May.

The last couple of days have been full with sunshine here. Maybe it reflects the optimistic news about corona patients in the country. We have to stay inside though as much as possible and see how the next two weeks will evolve in Greece and of course in the rest of the world where maybe other measure will be taken.

Today and tomorrow it is Easter in many places in the world. Everything is different but I am sure people will celebrate these days in a new way, with a lot of meaning. Today in Greece it is Lazarus Saturday, tomorrow Palm Sunday. No church will be open for the public but services can be followed via television, radio and the internet.

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It’s good to remember

Two days ago I received a message with an invitation to go to the church on Saturday morning to remember somebody who died a year ago. I knew A. well. She was the grandmother of the girl that baptized our son. We called each other “κουμπάρα/koubara”

In the Greek orthodox church it is a custom to remember somebody publicly at certain times after their death. Today was the year mark for A. A’s daughter’s and son and their children were there along with more family, friends and neighbors etc. I think it is good to remember those have passed away and that you loved, it lightens your sorrow a bit and I think it helps the bereaved to talk about that person and remember events that they were part of.

The family had a table decorated with flowers, a candle and a plate of koliva and all churchgoers received some koliva and other “treats” in rememberance of the deceased. May we remember her forever as the church says.

Koliva

Koliva is made for funeral and memorial services and distributed to those in attendance. Koliva is made primarily of wheat, which is symbolic of life and regeneration.

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