Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 16/2021

The dominant stories in Greece are forest fires and Covid. Covid cases are increasing. The table below shows figures for the beginning and end of August. Date (24 hours leading up to 3pm on)New CasesDeathsIntubated2 – August - 212,156818827 – August - 213,0762233728 – August - 213,0643533330 – August – 21*2,34319338 Numbers are generally lower... 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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Irish Music Scene Episode #14

I spoke too soon when I said restrictions would be lifted by 14th December. The Greek government announced last night (8th Dec) that it would extend the restrictions until 7th January. I suppose the good news is that Christmas is going to cost around €14! A Greek friend of ours who plays in the band,... Continue Reading →

Irish Music Scene Episode #13

Covid continues to rage through the country. Some shops will open on Monday 7th December and others will follow on 14th, but restrictions are going to persist well into January when, it is anticipated, the vaccine should start to roll out. At the moment, deaths are running at around one hundred a day, with Thessaloniki... Continue Reading →

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