Talking wind
It looks like we could be in for some rough weather again over the next couple of days. The sites I look at (Windfinder and Poseidon System) are both showing the wind getting up to force seven with gusts to eight on Wednesday afternoon and overnight. They also show some rain on the way later in the week. Good for the water supply.
Wind is often a problem here, and I am not talking the aftereffects of a Greek salad and humus, I mean the άνεμος, the wind. But when I say ‘problem’ I probably mean annoyance. Yes, if the weather is harsh and particularly the wind, then the boats are not allowed to travel and that can mean no fresh supplies, no Rhodes visits, and basically not being able to get off the island until it dies down. But these things tend not to last for long and, as I always say, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a relative.’ By which I mean, the wind issue is relative to your urgency. If you need hospital treatment like, right now, then other forms of transport are provided, assuming the helicopter can land and/or the coastguard boat can go – in an extreme emergency. Otherwise, you simply have to re-plan and make do. And the winds tend to be more amenable in the summer and it’s very rare that anyone misses a flight from Rhodes because if it. Anyway, back to άνεμος.
Village shadows
The word, άνεμος, can be found in some English words as I am sure you know. Anemophilos, pollinated by the wind, from άνεμος and also φίλος, for friend. And also, anemometer, an instrument for measuring the wind. But I wonder about the word that comes between the two in my dictionary, anemone. A little research reveals that this word, which is a plant of the buttercup family and also an underwater animal, comes into English (in the 16th century) from the same word in Greek. An anemone or ανεμονε (with a couple of ancient Greek accent included that I can’t reproduce here) was a ‘wind flower’ so called because the petals were said to open only when the wind blew. Sweet.
Another Mousecatsle view
Well, the wind flowers might be up for a challenge if we do get they force seven or above tonight and tomorrow, there may not be any of them left standing. Let’s hope it turns out not to be as bad as forecast, as that’s what very often happens.
