In memoriam Papa Kostas

Today Skopelos lost a beloved priest, a scholar, a writer but above all, a very nice and gentle human being. We offer our condolences to his wife Ourania, his children, his family  and especially to Alexandros, his son.

I will never forget that Papa Kostas came up to our house some years ago to officially bless a small shrine we built. We talked long about anything except the blessing until it got dark and I asked him if we could do the blessings. “Oh yes he said I almost forgot”. He liked to talk about the history of Skopelos and he has written quite a few books. We have his blessing here at home and that feels good.

Skopelos will miss him dearly.

The funeral will take place tomorrow, the 30th of April at 11.30 hours in the Pandelemon church near Mylos square.

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Home is where the hearts are

A simple cake brought tears to my eyes today. It was just given to me by my landlady. She said she made one and gave me these two pieces and she was then going to give another two pieces to her mother, who lives opposite the street during the summer. I put the pieces on my desk without looking at them but when I started to smell the cake it suddenly brought tears to my eyes. These simple things make me realize again and again why I love living here. The people, their kindness! Home is where the hearts are.

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We will hold you

Island life for most islanders, especially in the quieter months, revolves around recouperating after a busy summer, taking a vacation, getting health check-ups, tying the knot, baptizing their children, catching up with family and friends and planning for the summer ahead.

Many people will attend festive celebrations that are held in this period because they have the time and they want to spend it with friends and family who they did not see a lot of during the summer. It is not a secret that many wedding and baptism ceremonies in churches can have many guests. For the ceremonies you are invited by cards and an inhabitants log from the municipality serves as a start for the invitation list.

The sadder news on the island, I have experienced in the almost 30 years that I live here, arrives differently. Once the sad news is heard, it bounces like a ball over the island, the bouncing resonates in all the corners of the villages, the hills and valleys and the echo spreads quickly. The sad news makes a loud noise, it wakes you up, it slaps you in the face and shouts at you “yes ! that is how fragile life is, did you forget?”

So that is when the islanders rally together. They abandon everything that they are doing to pay tribute and they show up where you need them. They want to mourn with you, they will listen when you want to talk about it, they will be there when you remember all of it and they will hold you.

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Burning

Today, the day before Christmas on Skopelos in 2023 we experienced an almost summery day with up to 20 degrees C. Whilst visiting some beaches we met some friends who decided to take a drink to the beach and we were invited to drink it with them. Such a kind gesture! We spoke about how fortunate we are, living on Skopelos. Earlier in the day we stopped twice and stepped out of the car to invite and hear some youths sing the Kalanta, christmas songs. These children are out in the street for hours to collect money=presents. Later in the morning I spoke to a friend who I suspected is going through a tough time. I hope she knows how much I love her and that she can always ask for help or that I am here to just listen to her.

We need to stay empathetic in this changing world where more and more people stand opposite each other because they are made to believe they cannot stand next to each other. Made to believe this by social media platforms and people of influence.

We live in a world where everything that happens in it, is immediately visible. At the moment many places are burning and people are being killed. If you follow the news you must be a total a..hole to not be moved by what is done to humans, everywhere in the world. Whatever the stakes are, whatever you want to protect, you have to watch out for humans, any human.

The need to protect somebody next to you, that goal, that feeling is lost in many places, at the moment. There are too many players in the field, too many people with hidden agendas and the need to choose sides from those that are also involved. That makes it almost impossible, it seems, to go back to the fundamental truth that lives can be saved without losing face. You can stand next to each other for a common goal, even when you are very different people.

We need to make an effort, only together we can put out the fire.

Merry Christmas

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Valandis and Dukas (Duke)

”This is something I always wanted to do” Valandis told me today. To work with animals. We always had animals, small and big. Two years ago Valandis changed jobs and started this work. Today he is with with Dukas. In areas of Skopelos town where a car cannot come they pick up rubble or bring supplies. Valandis also stores wood for fireplaces and woodburners. He is hoping it will be a cold winter!

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Help if you can

The municipality of Skopelos wants to help the victims of the recent floods in Thessalia.

The social department of the municipality will collect the following products every day from 10.00 until 14.00 hours. Please bring something if you can.

-Food with long lasting expiring dates
-Babyfood and milk
-Baby pampers, baby wipes
-Womens hygiene products
-Cleaning products, chlorine, Ajax etc.
-Medicines, pain killers, anti fever medicines etc.

The social department is housed at the beginning of the children’s playground. This is their logo which is attached on the outside wall.

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Act human, be human

Our thoughts at the moment are with all the people in Greece who have been hit by the recent bad weather.

Whether the climate change is to blame or the non-implementation of measures against flooding and other extreme weather phenomenons, the fact remains that,in my opinion, these events should bring a change in thinking and changing the way we can live on this planet and spending of money should be geared towards prevention.

For the people who have been affected it is unreal to be alive but not know what the next hours, the next days will be like. It is unreal to not be able to make plans for the near future because you don’t know where you will be. They cannot fathom how they will be able to afford to live somewhere. They cannot think of ways to get out of this situation. Everything is a blurr. The only thing they can do is to take one step at a time. Make sure they and their family are safe and for those who have not been hit and want to help: Find a way, there are many ways. Be human, act human

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R.I.P Jannis Sklavos

Today we say the final goodbye to Jannis Sklavos.

His heart and mind were too full of things he still wanted to do with his family, people to help.

His heart could not keep up and gave up on Sunday.

He was only 51 years old. A gentle soul, a family man, a loving husband and proud father.

Always in for a joke, always wanting to help people out.

We will miss him dearly. Skopelos is a less cheerful place without him.

We wish his wife Alekka, his sons Panajotis and Stelios and his family and friends all the strength to move on without him.

‘He is gone’ by David Harkins

You can shed tears that he is gone,
or you can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he’ll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all he’s left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember only that he is gone,
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he’d want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on

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One for the road

The road to Limnonari beach (copyright of the picture belongs to Max Mury)

Max and Elli Mury were great friends with Apostolis Kosifis who unfortunately died the end of December 2021. Max, together with musician and restaurant owner Panagiotis Asteriadis of Skopelos have made this song for Apostolis who had a favorite saying: “one for the road”

Hear the song dedicated to Apostolis; one for the road.

The lyrics of the song:

ONE FOR THE ROAD

We‘ve been friends for so long

but we didn’t had a chance to carry on

known each other pretty well

and we met all the years the same place I can tell

celebrating our life

and time was always on our side

sitting here having fun

raising our glasses yamas and then goodbye

and you said

One for the road

And another one we take for Hope

and you said

One for the asphalt road

and another one for the long and dusty road

We saw the sun rising up and we shared our minds

and we never had enough

time was endless in these times

we felt invincible we had the best part of our life

hard to tell that that’s all gone

and for me that island will be a different one

but I’m sure when I get back

I will go where we always used to stay and

I will hear you say

One for the road

And another one we take for Hope

and I will hear you say

One for the asphalt road

and another one for the long and dusty road❤

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Ach Apostolis!

Today we remembered Apostolis Kosifis with a 40 days memorial. Family and friends were around. It was good to see.

For me the words of Téa Obreht in the book “The tiger’s wife” give me comfort.

“The forty days of the soul begin on the morning after death. That first night, before its forty days begin, the soul lies still against sweated-on pillows and watches the living fold the hands and close the eyes, choke the room with smoke and silence to keep the new soul from the doors and the windows and the cracks in the floor so that it does not run out of the house like a river. The living know that, at daybreak, the soul will leave them and make its way to the places of its past — the schools and dormitories of its youth, army barracks and tenements, houses razed to the ground and rebuilt, places that recall love and guilt, difficulties and unbridled happiness, optimism and ecstasy, memories of grace meaningless to anyone else — and sometimes this journey will carry it so far for so long that it will forget to come back. For this reason, the living bring their own rituals to a standstill: to welcome the newly loosed spirit, the living will not clean, will not wash or tidy, will not remove the soul’s belongings for forty days, hoping that sentiment and longing will bring it home again, encourage it to return with a message, with a sign, or with forgiveness.

If it is properly enticed, the soul will return as the days go by, to rummage through drawers, peer inside cupboards, seek the tactile comfort of its living identity by reassessing the dish rack and the doorbell and the telephone, reminding itself of functionality, all the time touching things that produce sound and make its presence known to the inhabitants of the house”

Apostolis is around and will always be.

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