The Dubliner’s website has been updated. Our next session is being advertised so we are getting ready for Sunday 13th March. I have talked previously about Grevena’s St. Patrick’s Festival and its cancellation in 2020 and 2021. It will not receive any support this year either, but I have been asked to organise a session... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 06/2022
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 →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 03/2022
Some very sad news. A young Irish primary school teacher was murdered while jogging on the banks of the Royal Canal near Tullamore. Her name was Ashling Murphy. She was only 23 years old. Ashling was one of us, an accomplished fiddler. Here she is when she must have been a very young teenager. You... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 03/2022
Two words for the price of one this week. πακετάς, plural πακετάδες = a delivery person. Walking past a γυράδικο today, I saw a job advert on the window “ΖΗΤΕΙΤΑΙ ΠΑΚΕΤΑΣ” I was wondering why anyone would be looking for someone to wrap and box food for takeaways. Small eateries don’t usually have that level... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 02/2022
A bit of a mouthful this week in which ‘f’ and ‘th’ sounds are pronounced in succession. αυθυποβολή = autosuggestion It is made up of three components: αυτο + υπο + βολή. You might be wondering why or how αυτο has become αυθ but more about that later. The word came in this headline: Έρευνα:... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 02/2022
The reason why I didn’t go to Evosmos is because I looked at the map and saw that it was very built-up. I thought parking would be difficult and queuing long. Moreover, I couldn’t find information on which vaccine they were doling out. I decided to stick with my local health centre and finally managed... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 01/2022
αναμνηστική = a booster injection. αναμνηστικός/ή/ό is an adjective which means ‘commemorative’, but αναμνηστική [δόση is understood] seems to be the favourite word currently for a booster injection. I have been unable to find out how it has come to mean booster. You can also say επαναληπτική, which makes more sense as it means ‘repeat’.... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 02/2022
12th January 2022. It has just been announced that the music ban has been extended until 23rd January. In today’s www.voria.gr there was an article saying that the music ban alone has resulted in a 50% drop in turnover for the catering sector. Lockdown cost the sector even more. It seems pointless too. Though new... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 01/2022
We ended 2021 and began 2022 with a negative. No session on 9th January. There is a small chance it might happen on 16th as the restrictions are due to end on that date. I am assuming that they end at 6am on that morning. As a band we sing the song Salonika and segue... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 01/2022
A very happy new year to everyone. Today, 3rd January 2022, we went to a fish restaurant where I learnt that my vaccination certificate/Covid pass had expired. I have already booked my booster, but it looks as if I am going to have to bring it forward if I can. Digital or e-government has really... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 27/2021
I have briefly referred to the problems with Radio Arvila in GW 26/2021. Greek Reporter has covered the story in depth and goes out of its way to show how people have been driven to suicide on discovering intimate images and video clips of themselves have been uploaded. https://greekreporter.com/2021/12/15/revenge-porn-greece/ The other three presenters of Radio... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 27/2021
ανασκουμπώνομαι – anaskubonomai – get down to work/roll up one’s sleeves. A quick one this week. Ανασκουμπώνω literally means to roll up one’s sleeves. Sometimes I choose words simply because I like the sound of them. This is one of them. The word appeared in an article about a physiotherapist in the Serres area who... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 26/2021
πέφτουλας – peftulas - (plural: πέφτουλες): a sexual chancer, someone who makes uninvited passes or advances on women. One of the presenters of Greece’s most popular TV satirical shows Ράδιο Αρβύλα has been sacked following the discovery of revenge porn clips he uploaded. Αρβύλα is a military boot but it has the additional meaning of... Continue Reading →