Start of Lent in Greece
It’s the start of Lent today in Greece, and the day is usually marked with picnics and kite flying and clearing out the foods you’re not supposed to eat for the next 40 days. That’s why it’s called Clean Monday, I guess. I was chatting to an Orthodox lady on Saturday who told me that the first week of the fast was hard as it’s literally only vegetables and seafood (with no blood), not even oil. I like salads but having one without pickle or mayonnaise would be, for me, a step beyond the call of duty. The same regime applies to the end of the fast but the weeks in between, apparently are a little easier.
I am actually writing this on Sunday, as I do, so I have no idea what the state of weather-play is going to be tomorrow (today), though rain is forecast, which won’t be fun for the barbeques. But then, so it was today and, so far, there has been no sign of rain. The sky is a bit grey, the sea is a bit windswept by not white, so hopefully by the time you read this, any bad weather would have passed and everyone who is celebrating with a seafood barbie will be having a good time.
Also, at the weekend, the ‘cinema’ was showing an old favourite (see below). I wonder if anyone dressed up and got into the part? ‘Pan it, Janet!’ and all that. Sunday was also carnival day, the last blast before Lent starts. Children and some grown-up children have already been out and about in costume, scaring people with elaborate rubber face masks; old crones, warty women, politicians, you know the sort of thing.
Another piece of news for you is that later this year Neil will be bring out next year’s Symi calendar, as he does, but will also be bringing out a cat calendar, with images of local cats. This is a popular subject for calendars, there are hundreds of them every year, but hopefully this one will have some Symi appeal too. Here’s an example: a young cat camping out among the chains by the harbour anchors.
And as for me this week, well, I won’t be fasting or even giving up anything for Lent as that’s not what I do, but I will be working on the Donkeys book, my scriptwriting course and hopefully my typing as I try and advance from the first row of letters to the next. Apart from that, it looks like it is going to be a quiet week ahead. Famous last words?
