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 →
Greek Word of the Week #13
σιχτίρ – sikhtir I must confess that for an unduly long period I thought the word was ασιχτίρ because it is nearly always preceded by άι, a sound similar to aye in English. I make this confession to illustrate how easily one can get things wrong. Many Greeks like to think (much like Mr. Portokalos... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene Episode #12
After managing the Covid crisis so well, the disease is now raging all over the country. Over the past ten days, the total number of deaths has equalled or even surpassed the total number of deaths that occurred between March and October. Even more depressing is that the average age is decreasing with the result... Continue Reading →
Greek word of the Week #12
τσακ μπαμ – tsak bam. An adverbial that means ‘quickly’. στο πι και φι στο άψε σβήσε Below is an example of it being used in a noun phrase though the meaning remains adverbial: Στο τσακ μπαμ τις λύσαμε τις ασκήσεις…
Irish Music Scene Episode #11
This time the practice was in town. Age, illness and Covid are slowing us down, so only three of us managed to turn up. This meant a practice that focused almost entirely on instrumentals. We also took the opportunity to measure the length of some instrumental sets. Not out of nerdiness, I must add. Depending... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #11
λιάρδα – liardha One of the big societal changes over the past thirty years in Greece is the increase in alcohol intake among young adults. They seem to drink as much as their northwest European counterparts. In upmarket “pubs”, however, where a beer can cost as much as €5 or €6 for a half litre,... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene Episode #10
On Tuesday (15/9/20) I took the Thessaloniki Water Bus from Nei Epivates to the Port of Thessaloniki. The €5 single fare was well worth it. It’s a pleasant walk from my home to the harbour wall and, at the end of the trip, the walk from the boat to the port gates is also very... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #10
μουνίκακας – munikakas My last entry promised that this week’s word would be a lexical item not used in polite circles but, first of all, allow me to give you a little vocabulary lesson. Here are two English words which come from the Latin word for wife: ‘uxor’: uxorial and uxorious. The first is just... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #9
μπουχέσας – buhesas Not in any of my dictionaries. The online app Word Reference translates μπουχέσας as ‘blimp’. I think the word is a lot more offensive than that. The middle syllable (whether deliberately or coincidentally – I do not know) adds to its vulgarity. This is because ‘χεσ-‘ is the root of the Greek... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene Episode #9
Last night’s and last week’s practices were limited to three people, two old-hands and a new guitarist. So, they were technical get-togethers to see how the guitarist was coping with unfamiliar material as he is new to Irish music. I’m pleased to say he’s coping very well. The last two practices have concentrated solely on... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene Episode #8
It’s been nearly three months since I posted anything. The unFamous Five finally got together in a garden on Saturday, July 25th. Even our tin whistle player made it. He’s on holiday from his workplace in Bulgaria. We have more or less agreed on a playlist which has now – with sheet music, chord frames... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #8
αβγατίζω – avghatizo It means to amass, increase I thought it derived from the Greek for egg [αυγό] and I imagined hens sitting on eggs to help them hatch. Something akin to “nest egg” in English. Totally wrong, apparently. It derives either from an unrelated (to egg) Ancient Greek word or the Latin augere meaning... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #7
ασκέρι – askeri Greece – or parts of it - was under the Turkish yoke from the 14th century until the 20th century. Unsurprisingly, a lot of Turkish loan-words (τουρκικοί δανεισμοί) entered the language during that period. On closer inspection, many of these loan-words entered Turkish from Arabic before being borrowed by Greek. Ασκέρι is... Continue Reading →
Irish Music (un)Episode #7
Maybe I should coin a new word - “unepisode” - because nothing is happening. Could "απεισόδιο" exist in Greek as the opposite of επεισόδιο?? Moreover, virus or no virus, it seems that the idea of establishing a session in the Thessaloniki area is going to be a non-starter for the foreseeable future. One other setback... Continue Reading →
Greek Word of the Week #6
We live in a time of Covid 19. The Greek government seems to have handled the situation very well. Germany is held up as the poster boy of Europe, but Greece’s per capita death rate is much lower than Germany’s; Greece has 13 Covid deaths per million people, whereas Germany has lost 76 per million... Continue Reading →
Irish Music Scene Episode 6
Covid 19 and the general shutdown of daily life have put my blogging on hold. I continue to practise almost daily, but I prefer to practise with a goal. I’m trying to learn reels that I ought to know and ought to have known for decades but never got round to learning them. I’m too... Continue Reading →
Irish music scene Episode 5
The music is at a standstill. Covid 19 has seen to that. The Grevena St. Patrick’s Festival was cancelled – or postponed till May – and our St. Patrick’s mini event in Riley's Bar in Peraia is also cancelled as all bars have been closed. I have received my personal belongings from Saudi Arabia among... Continue Reading →
Greek word of the week #5
κουρμπέτι – (kurbeti). I should say something that I should have said at the beginning. There is no rhyme, reason or pattern to my choice of words. The words simply catch my attention when I hear or read them. By a long circuitous route το κουρμπέτι has come to mean the marketplace or workplace. Βγαίνω... Continue Reading →
Irish music scene Episode #4
On the plus side, we have been practising and, hopefully, improving. Unfortunately, we have failed so far to attract more interest from other musicians. The session will go ahead as planned on 29th February in Riley's Irish Bar, Peraia, but it looks as if it will be limited to my three comrades and me as... Continue Reading →
Greek word of the week #4
τσίκνα – (tsikna). Today, Thursday 20th February 2020, is Τσικνοπέμπτη (Tsiknopempti). Τσίκνα is the smoky smell that comes from meat roasting on a grill, so today is Smoky Thursday or Barbecue Thursday, and in towns all over Greece you will see plenty of activity around barbecues. The Orthodox Church does not have Ash Wednesday or... Continue Reading →