Irish music and life in northern Greece
30th November. It has finally happened. We have an underground railway, 9.6km long with thirteen stations. I switched on the TV to watch the opening ceremony expecting a quick 20-minute speech from the PM followed by the pressing of a button. It did happen except that there were about six speeches and a religious blessing... Continue Reading →
16th November. I can’t believe I haven’t written anything since late summer. Politically, the shenanigans within Syriza have dominated the news. I wonder if the madness is spreading to New Democracy. This morning I said to my wife that the only thing that can undo the governing party is the party itself. Then I wake... Continue Reading →
Saturday 9th November. Our November session is tomorrow. We were supposed to have a band practice on Thursday, 7th, but two band members were missing, so I suggested we practise the new pieces for tomorrow’s session. Just as well. It wasn’t pretty! Again, it’s my fault as I have included too many new pieces. The... Continue Reading →
A word that’s been in the news recently with all the fuss surrounding the dissolution of Syriza. It’s also a timely reminder of the dangers of not digging deep into etymology. I knew καρατομώ meant kill, but I assumed 1) it was in the sense of gutting someone or cutting them into little pieces, and... Continue Reading →
23rd October 2024: The session officially entered its fourth year on October 13th. Musically, we were better this time round compared with our September efforts. It was great to see Manos and Ersilia come back. On top of that, we had two visitors from the UK. Dave and Kate had been attending a two-day conference... Continue Reading →
24th October 2024: A few days ago, a loud-mouthed, self-promoting cretin, Lidia Thorpe, hurled abuse at Charles III during his first visit to Australia as Head of State. The BBC described her as aboriginal. If Thorpe is aboriginal, then I must be from Outer Mongolia and typing this from my yurt. My guess is that... Continue Reading →
After listening to James Gavin and Adrian Lever on the 13th, my enthusiasm for our 15th September session began to wane. Also, the usual fears crept in; who and how many would come? It turned out to be a brilliant afternoon – more socially than musically, I hasten to add! Nobody (myself included) had practised... Continue Reading →
You might well ask why I have chosen a common word that has remained more or less unaltered through the millennia. It is a false friend (faux ami) that can confuse the English speaker in one particular circumstance. Between French and English there are dozens of false friends. For example, déception and délai translate as... Continue Reading →
Autumn has come early. Today (18th September) is what the Scots would describe as ‘dreich’ – wet and miserable. My wife and I escaped the heat of late summer as we were on the road in Europe on a mission: Operation Odin. We delivered our son’s dog to him in London. Here is the dog's... Continue Reading →
The summer is over. The sessions resume tomorrow, but it has been a busy week. On Saturday (7th September) Kathleen hosted the session stalwarts and a delightful guest from Malta. Anne Poulhies plays a low D whistle. She’s a Frenchwoman who is based in Malta. Lawrence and Jaqui Porter set up Zoom sessions during Lockdown.... Continue Reading →
Whenever I see anything with the root εργ (work) in the same sentence with ex-Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, I have a little giggle to myself. On the few occasions I have been asked to give my opinion on Tsipras, I have replied, “Είναι ένας άεργος, άνεργος ακάματης.” A workshy, unemployed lazy fuck. His whole life... Continue Reading →
Northern Greece has escaped so far, but the area north of Athens is in flames. It is never clear how these fires start. Arson is certainly a factor. High temperatures can be another trigger. A third might be smoking. I have noticed lately that a lot of people smoke in their cars, often with the... Continue Reading →
No, I’m not morphing into David Attenborough. Weever fish a few days ago and now a snake. It’s just that I hear or read words and, if they grab my attention, I post them. My mother-in-law was born in Epirus in a tiny village near the Albanian border. When we go there in the summer,... Continue Reading →
Recently I posted the word σταρχιδισμός, which means “je m’en foutisme”. There is no neat equivalent in English, and certainly not a very Anglo-Saxon counterpart to “insouciance”. My small village has a street market every Friday. And every Friday arse-holish parking becomes a serious issue. Every Friday some lazy bastard causes chaos by parking on... Continue Reading →
A Greek friend had a serious medical episode following contact with the above. The original meaning is a female dragon (δράκος), an ogress, and its dorsal spines can inflict serious pain if you accidentally tread on it. The δράκαινα lurks in shallow waters and mudbanks, making fish and human contact more probable. Why ‘weever’? Nothing... Continue Reading →
The scene is dead. The resurrection in both Thessaloniki and Athens will happen in September. Personally, I haven’t done much practice, but I have added a lot of tunes my collection. I have also published the music for the September/October sessions as well as completing a draft for November/December. One of my current aims is... Continue Reading →
One indicator of progress in language learning is one’s ability to produce synonyms. Greek has several words for slap. A small list of nouns and their verbs: χαστούκι χαστουκίζω σφαλιάρα σφαλιαρίζω μπάτσα μπατσίζω (μπάτσος is also slang for a policeman!) κόλαφος κολαφίζω (used mainly metaphorically) But one should never underestimate the capacity of Greek to... Continue Reading →
It’s nearly July so we are aestivating. Our next sessions will kick off on September 15th. My mind is more preoccupied with the UK election and the football (Euros) than with the music. The Athens Irish Festival was held at the end of May in Peristeri Park. It was a lovely setting. The Session –... Continue Reading →
It has been a busy few days here. Sunday, June 23rd, was Pentecost so Monday was a bank holiday. We have had a lot of tourists from Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria. As most of them are Orthodox like the Greeks, they also took advantage of the long weekend. I haven’t found much of personal... Continue Reading →
απέχω παρασάγγας (από) = to be a far cry from, to be wildly different, be miles away The παρασάγγης was a Persian unit of distance, approximately 5,243 metres according to Babiniotis. www.wiktionary.org states it was the equivalent of 30 Greek stadia or 5,554 metres - or the distance a foot soldier could be expected to... Continue Reading →
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