τζαναμπέτης = a difficult, awkward person. Plural τζαναμπέτηδες. It is amazing how many so-called “Turkish” loan words are actually Arabic in origin. A case in point: “rishwah” means a bribe in Arabic. I was talking to a friend who is married to a lovely Turkish lady. While discussing one or two experiences with corruption in... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 10/2022
Finding a practice venue is a perennial problem. Some people are reluctant to have seven or eight unrelated people in their homes as Covid is still an issue. One or two want to practise in the open air out of similar concerns. Unfortunately, April has been a surprisingly cold month. On Thursday we gathered in... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 10/2022
I promised murder and mayhem at the end of my last post. In GW 11/2022 I referred to Roula Pispirigou (Ρούλα Πισπιρίγκου) who is accused of murdering her oldest daughter. She is also under suspicion for murdering her two younger daughters and, possibly, her landlady. The forensic evidence points to her guilt but, as in... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 11/2022
Greek Word 11/2022 κακαρώνω especially preceded by τα as in τα κακαρώνω = to die It is not very respectful, however. The biggest current news story in Greece concerns a woman, Roula Pispiringou, who is accused of murdering her oldest daughter with ketamine. She is also under suspicion of murdering her other two daughters and... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 09/2022
11th April 2022: Yesterday’s session was a little different. We started 30 minutes earlier to accommodate a live YouTube broadcast from the Ukraine. Jolly’s Irish Music Band are based in Odessa. Their income is now near zero as they cannot perform, so they are trying to earn some money by doing YouTube broadcasts. The manager... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 10/2022
καπάκι – lid, just the humble cover for a pot, jar or bottle. Another borrowing, from the Turkish ‘kapak’. It also has other meanings. For example, the καπάκι is the soundboard or resonator of a stringed instrument. www.slang.gr also claims καπάκι can also mean a motorcycle accident, specifically the result of a doing a σούζα... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 09/2022
1st April 2022 “The winter it has passed And the summer’s come at last” April greeted us with a sharp increase in temperature. The seafront has sprung into life. In a nearby restaurant, Αλμυρίκι (Tamarisk) people were cleaning inside and painting outside. The same was true of the last restaurant on our stretch, Γοργόνα (Mermaid).... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 08/2022
4th April 2022. The notice has gone out for next Sunday’s session in the Dubliner. On Saturday we met at the home of our newly found mandola player for a band practice. The home lies on the outskirts of a village called Triadi. You might be wondering how a village can have outskirts, but that... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 09/2022
φλομώνω = choke, fill with smoke, smoke someone/something out, smother, suffocate. At least that is what Word Reference tells us. Βικιλεξικο gives two definitions. Literally, it means to fill a place with smoke or an unpleasant smell; metaphorically, it is bamboozling people with nonsense, lies or empty promises. (κυριολεκτικά) γεμίζω με καπνο ή με μια άσχημη μυρωδιά έναν χώρο(μεταφορικά) ζαλίζω τους άλλους με αερολογίες, ψέματα ή... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 08/2022
λαζαρέτο – lazaretto, a maritime quarantine station. Lazarettos (or lazarets) could also be ships permanently anchored offshore or islets. There is an obvious connection with the parable of Lazarus the beggar, and lazarettos were strongly associated with leprosy or plague. Babiniotis cites Santa Maria di Nazaret, a quarantine facility, as being the root of the... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 08/2022
19th March 2022. It’s years since I have been to a museum yet in the past 10 days I have visited two. My brother-in-law loves military history, so he asked me to visit the War Museum here in Thessaloniki or, rather, the Thessaloniki Branch of the War Museum (in Athens). ‘Branch’ was how παράρτημα was... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 07/2022
The adventure continues. A week and a half of success. Our session on Sunday 13th March went very well with 15 musicians turning up. We returned to the Dubliner on Thursday 17th March for the St. Patrick’s party and to hear Tir Fada. They were really on form as were the blues band that followed... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 07/2022
κυβερνοεπίθεση – cyberattack The Greek Postal System, ELTA (ΕΛΤΑ), has been hacked. This has resulted in a temporary shutdown of all the computer systems in every post office branch in the country. The story is here: https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1224191/kuvernoepithesi-sta-pliroforiaka-sustimata-ton-elta/ And in English: https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1180274/greek-postal-service-reports-cyber-attack/ Here are some other ‘cyber-‘ words. Although the English word ‘cybernetics’ is a borrowing... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 07/2022
4th March 2022. Salonika slopes downwards from the Seikh Sou Forest to the sea. About 40 years ago the “peripheric” ring road was built cutting through the forest. The areas that were city-side have since been built up. My mother-in-law’s home is near the forest, and I used to walk to the highest point, from... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 06/2022
ημερίδα – a seminar In all the years I have been involved with Greece and Greek, this word escaped me until a week or two ago. It is not a word I have known previously but forgotten. I’d managed to get through life without ever seeing it or consciously hearing it. I’m sure the following... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 06/2022
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 →