12th January: Yesterday was a bright and sunlit like a May day in north Europe. Overnight, cold, wet and wind have taken over.
Violence against women is in the news again. This time perpetrator and victim are described as elderly. The husband stabbed his wife in the throat while she was helpless in bed. She has survived the attack, and he has been charged with attempted murder, and illegal possession and use of a weapon. https://www.voria.gr/article/paraligo-gynaikoktonia-sti-thessaloniki-ilikiomenos-apopeirathike-na-mahairosei-tin
28th January. Maybe I am speaking too soon, but we seem to be having a mild winter. Earlier in the month, the country experienced really bad weather, but the Thermaic Gulf seems to have escaped the worst of it.
We played in the Dubliner on Sunday, getting there earlier than usual because of a demonstration at Kamara (The Arch of Galerius). It was one of 110 marches in throughout the country to protest about the snail-paced inquiry being conducted into the Tempe rail accident two years ago next month. I hope the protesters’ message got through to the authorities, Here is a report: https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1259904/critical-answers-pending-for-tempe-tragedy/
One of the problems with Greece, however, is the length of time it takes to get anything done. You could retire and die before the first instalment of your pension is credited to your account. The accident happened on New Democracy’s watch, but blame will stretch back to the previous Syriza/Independent Greeks coalition, and probably all the way back the George Papandreou’s administration. I’m not even sure which George I’m talking about, the living one or his late grandfather. Anyway, the findings of the inquiry are due to be published on 28th February, the second anniversary of the accident.
Still on the rails, the metro has had one or two teething problems but it is now a feature of urban life. However, ticketing is still an issue. It is still not possible to buy a ticket that can be used on both bus and metro. On Thessaloniki’s buses shiny, new contactless machines have been installed, but they are not working. The old machines, orange boxes that date- and time-stamp your ticket, are in a dire state. They either have no ink or they simply don’t work. My last trip into town cost 30 cents. On the second bus, the first two orange boxes failed to stamp my ticket so I said, “Fuck it.”
On my first trip on the metro, I grabbed the snazzy brochure, reproduced below.
You will notice that the body running the metro is called THEMA, quite apposite as θέμα can also mean an issue in the sense of problem. In the transport world it is probably the worst christening since Olympic Airways called its frequent flier scheme “Icarus”.
Finally, I have just noticed an article about an Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who has snagged a top European job for himself. The surname rang a bell and, sure enough, he’s the son of the late George Tzitzikostas, a New Democracy minister. I started writing about Greek nepotism a few years back. Maybe it’s time to finish it.
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