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 →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 26/2021
2nd December 21. Sadly, the 38-year-old that I referred to in IMLiNG #25 has died. Her name was Parthena “Patty” Koutmeridou. Even while the poor woman’s corpse is still warm, a huge row has broken out. And in these circumstances the favourite weapon of choice is the blame-thrower. Some say it was her gynaecologist who... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 25/2021
Thessaloniki 26th November 2021 A headline in a newspaper the other day claimed: “Matters are getting out of hand”. A customer, denied access to a café because he did not have a Covid certificate, bit the proprietor on the cheek. The full story is here: https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/andras-naoysa-dagkose-idioktiti-kafe-magoylo Even more surreally (the apt word), a young actor... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 25/2021
After the fuss surrounding the production of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, it has to be ντάνιασμα = stacking in an organised way. In the fuss surrounding the play, it has been translated as ‘segregation’. The root is ντάνα from the Italian tana. Βικιλεξικό makes it clear that it is a στοίβα (pile) από διάφορα πράγματα με τάξη το ένα πάνω στο άλλο. In... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 24/2021
χριστοπαναγία or χριστοπαναγίες - Christopanayia or Christopanagies = cursing and swearing. Χριστοπαναγία is a composite of the Greek words for Christ (Χριστός) and the Virgin Mary (Παναγία). A common Greek curse is “Χριστός και Παναγία”, which reminds me of my Catholic mother’s frequent imprecation “Jesus, Mary and Joseph”. At home there was a distinction between... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 24/2021
Monday 22 November 2021. A bad day for Covid. Nearly 7,300 cases, 608 intubated and 105 dead – the highest daily death toll since 3rd May when 135 died. In spite of these numbers, there are some facts which seem to be immutable. These include: slightly more men than women are infected, intubated or dead... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 23/2021
ψεκασμένος – psekazmenos – literally “sprayed” from the verb ψεκάζω. By extension, a conspiracy theorist. A frequent sight during Greek summers is the yellow aircraft with red tips on their way to fight another forest fire. Inevitably, there are those who believe that more than fire retardants are being sprayed from the skies. Anything from... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 23/2021
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 23/2021 Sunday 14th November. Our second session went very well. Encouragingly, at least four of the ten players were Greeks under 30 years old. I say that because it is pleasing to witness people with no connections to Ireland getting into the music. The second reason is... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene & Life in Northern Greece 22/2021
1st November 21: I feel as if I’m between a rock and a hard place or – to show off a little classical education – between Scylla and Charybdis, the Scylla of British infection insouciance and Charybdis of the looming Corona crisis in Greece. Yesterday witnessed the highest infection figures since the start of the... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 22/2021
ντελιβεράς – deliveras – a delivery person A couple of weeks ago, a friend visited us quite late, so we ordered pizza. When the order arrived, the delivery ‘boy’ turned out to be a man in his fifties. More on this below. The Greek purists will be up in arms over yet another borrowing from... Continue Reading →