In GW 05/2022 and LinNG 05/2022 I referred to the murder of Alkis Kambanos, an Aris supporter who was killed, it seems, by rival PAOK fans. Alkis was stabbed in the buttocks. At the time I wondered if there was a ritualistic element to this. The answer is yes and no. The ‘no’ is the... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 05/2022
οπαδός – a fan In LinNG 05 I referred to the murder of Alkis Kambanos, which has received a lot of press, radio and TV coverage. My word of the week, οπαδός, is the everyday word for a sports fan. A synonym is φίλαθλος. Kambanos was a victim of football violence, translated here as οπαδική... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 05/2022
Our fourth session got underway on Sunday 13th February. Another enjoyable afternoon in a wonderfully busy pub. Great to have been there. Next one up is 13th March, the St. Patrick’s session. Ken, the manager, has also arranged a party for the day itself, the 17th. Currently, I am reading Mark Mazower’s The Greek Revolution... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 05/2022
One of the infuriating things about the UK media is their foot-dragging when it comes to identifying Muslim terrorists. When Sir David Amess was murdered, it was not until the next day that the fucker was named, whereas when the MP, Jo Cox, was murdered, we knew within minutes that the perpetrator was a white... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 04/2022
A quiet period. Our last scheduled practice had to be cancelled and rescheduling was not possible. However, music is back so our next session will take place on Sunday, 13th February at 4:30pm. Let’s hope it goes well. The problem with a session is the “unknown”. Who will turn up? How many? What time? We... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 04/2022
In the space of two months, two former presidents have died. Karolos Papoulias in December and Christos Sartzetakis yesterday, 3rd February. Both men were 93. Both men were northerners, Papoulias from Epirus and Sartzetakis from our own Thessaloniki. Both men were equally well-known in Greece though Sartzetakis was better-known internationally. This was because he prosecuted... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 04/2022
σκρόφα What a great word. It sounds as if it means something bad and indeed it does. If you didn’t speak Greek or any of the Romance languages, some rogue might be able to convince you that putana meant something nice like a species of pear or a child’s toy. It has a nice sound,... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 03/2022
In 1986-87 Greece was covered in a blanket of snow. At the beginning of 2019, snow covered the north of the country. This month, very unusually as it turns out, Thessaloniki has escaped the worst (sunny but very cold) while Athens is in chaos and some of the islands are snow-covered for the first time... Continue Reading →