There were several candidates for Word of the Week, mainly words to describe a fondness for bad language: αθυροστομία, βρωμολοχία, υβρεολόγιο but the winner is another word from www.menshouse.gr άμπαλος = abalos I had difficulty working out the meaning because my first instinct was to read it as “ambalos”. Had I read it as “abalos”,... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 8/2021
The music scene has blossomed technically and online. My lack of computer savviness (apparent in the design of this blog) has improved. I’m downloading video clips, converting them to mp3 or mp4, changing the key or tempo as and when necessary, converting PDFs to jpeg. Small beer, admittedly, but a big personal improvement. Our Sunday... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 8/2021
Usually, I focus on words with non-Greek roots, so-called “loan words”. Why do we call them that when we never give them back? Anyway, this week’s word is Greek through and through unless someone wants to take me to some dark corner of Indo-European historical linguistics to prove otherwise. επιστράτευση – epistratefsi = mobilization. The... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 7/2021
μανούλα = mummy, but… From 6am today, 4th March 2021, the Greek government further tightened the restrictions already in place. Schools are closed again. If you want to go out, you have to send a text to 13033 and enter a number between 1 and 6, your name and address. The numbers are code for... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 7/2021
While it is true that Greece has handled the Covid-19 crisis better than most other EU member-states, the vaccination rate has been lagging. Unlike Hungary, Greece hasn’t gone rogue and started importing the Chinese or Russian vaccines. I did a little online research to estimate where I stand in the queue. The population of Greece... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 6/2021
λαμαρίνα = sheet metal. Though the dictionaries don’t tell you, λαμαρίνα also refers to the bodywork of a car. Most of the words I choose tend to be words that I have heard. Λαμαρίνα is one of the few exceptions. I was watching a Norwegian series called ‘Accused’. As the series was on Nova on... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 6/2021
My original aim in this blog was to talk about Irish citizens and Irish music in Northern Greece with some observations on Greek life thrown in. Covid has severely affected developments in Irish music. Moreover, the Irish community has shrunk since 2008 and, combined with the ravages of Covid, those of us who remain are... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 5/2021
παρενόχληση (parenokhlisi) = harassment, especially σεξουαλική παρενόχληση, sexual harassment. Making a change from the stressful boredom of endless Corona updates and scaremongering about new strains and mutations, the “Me Too” movement has finally arrived in Greece. It began around two weeks ago when a female athlete accused her former trainer of abuse. By the end... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 5/2021
There seems to be a general panic in government circles. The panic has been caused, not by the number of cases, but by the levels of Covid in the city’s effluent. Some scientists believe there are 80,000 infected people in the capital area. Accordingly, the curfew in the Athens area and Thessaloniki has been extended... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 4/2021
Not too much to report. We are still in lockdown. Cases and fatalities are much the same as last week, but ten mutations were found today (28th January 2021). How is Greece doing? According to this study by the Lowy institute https://interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/covid-performance/ the answer is very well. 32nd in a list of 98 countries, and... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 4/2021
μπουρλότο – burloto, literally a fireship, a small vessel loaded with explosives and/or combustible materials sent towards an enemy ship in order to destroy it. Maybe it comes from the French brûlot. (The switching of the “r” like fromage and formaggio in French and Italian respectively, is called rhotic metathesis.) Amusingly, in what must have... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 3/2021
καριόλης/καριόλα kariolis (man), kariola (woman) “Κανένας κα ριόλλης απο αυτούς που κανόνισαν αυτή την συγκέντρωση θα πάει ΦΥΛΑΚΗ!!!!!!! ΓΑ ΜΗ ΜΕ ΝΟΙ!!!!!!!!” If we employ certain words on a post, sensors kick into action followed by censors banning our posts. Which is why we employ tricks like sh!t or f@ck to get round any potential... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 3/2021
Just a couple of questions on the Epiphany diving accident I mentioned in my last post. The report below does not really give much information, and most of the pertinent questions are raised in comments following the article: https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/amarynthos-tetrapligia-24hronos-boytixe-theofania Why did the dive take place given there was a ban?Was the dive moved to Amarynthos... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week 2/2021
ποστάρω (postaro) = post something online My word of the week is loosely connected with my post on this year’s Epiphany. I mentioned a tweet posted by Professor Dermitzakis. The headline said: “Ο Δερμιτζάκης πόσταρε δύο φωτογραφίες…” = “Dermitzakis has posted two photographs…” I was taken aback by the verb ποστάρω because I thought the... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 2/2021
Today, 6th January 2021, is the Epiphany. Though ‘epiphany’ derives from Greek, the feast is called ‘Theophany’ (Θεοφάνια). I have not been following the debate closely, but it seems that the Church and government reached a compromise: the churches could open but the ritual blessing of the waters would be prohibited. This ritual involves priests... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Covid Episode #16
With everything shut because of Covid, I am seeing in 2021 in my little study/music room, with a small can of Heineken and some crisps. It is 10 minutes to midnight, but some people have already set off fireworks. It has gone silent again. The Greek health services seem to have regained some control over... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #16
A few days ago I made a mess of the two doors on the driver’s side of my car. Bollard 1 Car 0. I took it to the dealer who quoted a price not much lower than the car’s current value. My neighbour told me I should take it to the nearby φαναρτζή. I replied... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene Episode #15 & Covid in Greece
As of tonight (Dec 21st/22nd) all flights to and from the UK will be cancelled indefinitely. This is because of the new mutation of Covid 19. Apparently (and hopefully), it is not worse than its older brother, but it spreads more easily. The UK health secretary, angry at the mass exodus from London, stated that... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #15
φράγκο = franc, nowadays more generally money, especially in certain expressions. After Alexander, Greece suffered many invasions. First it was the Romans (οι Ρωμαίοι), then the Franks (οι Φράγκοι), Venetians (οι Ενετοί or οι Βενετοί) and Turks (οι Τούρκοι); and their periods of rule in Greece are called η Φραγκοκρατία, η Ενετοκρατία and η Τουρκοκρατία... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #14
τσιφούτης – tsifoutis = mean, stingy Recently I wrote that for a nation of moderate drinkers (by north European standards, at any rate), Greeks are not lacking in expressions for ‘drunk’. It is the same with parsimony. If one were asked to describe Greeks in one word, I imagine ‘mean’ or ‘stingy’ would be far... Continue Reading →