Selling second-hand books online

From Mail Online

Lucy Manfredi, artist

Very appealing work, full of insight and understanding.

"Lucy loves observing, painting characters, people on the street. men, women and children from all walks of life. The characters all represent the personalities of the people, or are ‘characterisations’. Often these people are in a scene or in an interior, or as a portrait. Lucy Manfredi is also a newly elected member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts (MAFA) as of 2018".


"Waiting for Chips"


More of her work, Colourfield Gallery, Poynton


Lucy on Facebook


About Colourfield Gallery


Colourfield Gallery
7 London Road South
Poynton
SK12 1JX


"Colourfield Gallery located in Poynton, Cheshire specialises in Northern Art, the term given to the gritty 20th Century works of industrial and urban landscapes as well as men, women and children particular to the North West of England and best epitomized by the works of L.S.Lowry, he captured the spirit of mills, factories and working class life.

Today’s new generation of Northern Artists bring the contemporary cityscapes and people of the region in the 21st Century alive, whilst remaining true to the heritage and culture of the region. Heritage and artistic honesty go hand-in-hand with the gleaming architectural showstoppers and pedestrian streets of rejuvenated Manchester and the surrounding districts as well as generations of city dwellers and workers who long since left their terraces behind.

Colourfield features the work of over 50 Northern Artists, the gallery has dedicated over 30 years to building relationships with artists and collectors alike".

EU citizens applying to stay in UK

More than 750,000 EU citizens apply to stay in UK after Brexit - here's where they're from, Euronews

Ultra-processed food, health risks

Ultra-processed food linked to early death, BBC News, James Gallagher


"Prof Maira Bes-Rastrollo, from the University of Navarra, told BBC News: "It is said that if a product contains more than five ingredients, it is probably ultra-processed."

"Examples include: • processed meat such as sausages and hamburgers • breakfast cereals or cereal bars • instant soups • sugary fizzy drinks • chicken nuggets • cake • chocolate • ice cream • mass-produced bread • many "ready to heat" meals such as pies and pizza | meal-replacement shakes".

Plastic Rubbish from UK - 'Recycled' Plastic Waste Dumps in Malaysia and Indonesia; Canada and Philippines Dispute

It seems we export much of our plastic waste, and import radioactive waste from other countries for reprocessing in the UK...


BBC Radio 4, File on 4, A Load of Rubbish

"Households in Britain are recycling more than ever, with millions of us dutifully sorting through our rubbish every week in an effort to help save the planet. But when the blue, green and brown bins are taken away, what really happens to our waste? File on 4 goes digging through Britain’s multi-million pound recycling industry - and discovers it’s a dirty business. The UK sends more than half its recyclable packaging overseas, selling our sorted plastics and paper to countries which need the raw material and will recycle it. But when File on 4 tracks where shipments are being sent - we discover they can have a devastating effect on the developing communities where they end up".

The Times, May 27, 2019

20-foot high mountains of 'recycled' British rubbish found in Malaysia, Mirror

UK plastic waste found near Ipoh, New Straits Times


Malaysia to send tonnes of plastic rubbish to UK in war against illegal dumping

Malaysia to return 3,000 tonnes of contaminated plastic waste, FT

Related:

Philippines rejects Canada's late-June plan to bring back garbage | Power and Politics


Canada to take back rubbish sent to Philippines


Philippines ships 69 containers of rubbish back to Canada, The Guardian

Listen to BBC World Service, Business Matters, 30 May, 2019, from 26.44 point:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172wmwv4bbg3mp

"As Canada arranges for 69 containers of its own household waste to be returned from the Philippines, we discuss whether developed countries should be sending their waste overseas for recycling".


69 containers carrying mislabeled waste returned to Canada from the Philippines, Euronews

Waste giant Biffa guilty of sending nappies to China, BBC News

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

Basel Convention Text (pdf, 120 pages)


A timely workshop:

Workshop on the Environmentally Sound Management of Plastic Wastes for the prevention of marine litter and plastic pollution - Jakarta, Indonesia from 18 June to 21 June 2019

From July 2017, The Guardian:


UK threatens to return radioactive waste to EU without nuclear deal


What is reprocessing? Gov.UK

Gin Bar, Bowleaze Cove, Weymouth

The Tube Train, London, 1930's.

From The Met

Linoleum Cut Print by Cyril E. Power, circa 1934,

From The British Museum

Curator's Comments:

"According to the artist's son, Edmund Berry Power DSC (letter to Sheila O'Connell, dated 17 October 2003), the print "was inspired by the rush hour trains on the District line at Hammersmith". Power had a studio in Hammersmith during the 1930s.

Text by Stephen Coppel from Frances Carey & Antony Griffiths, 'Avant-Garde British Printmaking 1914-1960', BMP 1990, no.62. 

An expressionistic distortion similar to that in 'The Exam Room' characterises this depiction of mask-faced commuters enduring the monotonous rocking and rattling of the London Underground District Line train on its nightmarish rush-hour run. 'The Tube Train' is one of several lino-cuts of the Underground made by Power. Annotated sketches of the interior of a Tube train are recorded in an undated sketchbook addressed on the flyleaf "22 Buckingham Street Adelphi" (ff.14 and 19); although these sketches are devoid of human figures, they do include such telling visual details as the hanging straps, overhead lamps, sliding doors and the advertisements found within an Underground train compartment.

An experimental proof of this print (now in the Australian National Gallery in Canberra) shows how the artist at one stage contemplated printing the third block in viridian before finally deciding upon the light cobalt blue used in the edition. The existence of such proofs is evidence of the care with which Power selected his colours in order to achieve an effect of heightened tension.

'The Tube Train' and 'The Exam Room' were each offered for sale at 2 guineas by the Redfern Gallery in 1934. The British Museum's impression of 'The Tube Train' still bears the original price marked by the dealer in the margin".

Greece heading for snap elections

Some press comments:


From Euronews - Greece headed to snap elections after Syriza defeat in EU vote


Final Results,European Elections, Greek Reporter

Voters send clear message after ND win in EU elections, eKathimerini


Resounding Defeat for Alexis Tsipras; Early Parliamentary Elections Called in Greece, Pappas Post


Greek PM comes unstuck over Macedonia, austerity in European vote, Reuters


Seven Reasons Why Greek Voters Punished Tsipras on Sunday, Greek Reporter


Greek conservative party well placed ahead of snap election (?), The New Athenian

Corfu: Local Elections, Round One:


Central Corfu


Ydraiou Meropi-Spyridoula
33.13


North Corfu


Macheimaris Georgios
46.83


Paxoi


Vlachopoulos Spyridon
55.29


South Corfu


Lessis Konstantinos
46.14

European Parliamentary Election 2019, Results for South West England

Results, SW England


Euro Election: Brexit Party wins the South West, Dorset Echo


Dorset, South West:



The Brexit Party

41.9(+41.9)


Liberal Democrats

22.4(+12.4)


Green

14.9(+5.4)


Conservative

10.1(-23.4)


Labour

4.0(-5.7)


UKIP

3.6(-30.6)


Change UK

2.5(+2.5)


English Democrats

0.5(-0.6)


Neville Seed

0.1(+0.1)


Larch Maxey

0.1(+0.1)


Mothiur Rahman

0.1(+0.1)


These are detailed results for your local area and do not cover your whole EU constituency, which is South West,

Did Brexit parties really win in the European elections? Euronews

ΤΑ ΠΑΡΑΠΟΝΑ ΣΟΥ ΣΤΟ ΔΗΜΑΡΧΟ (Corfu Complaints and a Video)

The latest Facebook Group photographs and comments are disheartening.


Another rubbish pile fire in Ipsos, Enimerosi


Corfu (Tebloni) Waste Tip Facebook Video


https://www.facebook.com/Silogos.Temploniou/videos/723130511435099/

A Likely Lad (in Poynton, Cheshire)

I was wandering around the graveyard of St. George’s Church, Poynton, in Cheshire, searching for the headstones of some of my Poynton and Adlington ancestors (on my father's side of the family).

Many of the graves were overgrown or the inscriptions were covered in ivy or other creepers.

Two police-women suddenly appeared and asked me if I’d seen “two likely lads” prowling around a few minutes earlier: they’d received a tip-off that they were acting suspiciously.

As I was on my own (my wife was waiting in the car), I assumed that I was not “a person of interest” or a “likely lad”, with my camera slung around my neck and a good reason to be there.

I hadn’t seen the lads (although I did see two young men fitting the description when I returned the following day; one of them was carrying a large black bag). They seemed innocent enough.

I eventually found the last grave I was seeking, and although I’d brought no tools apart from the pair of pliers I kept in the car, I managed to clear some of the long grass, prickly wild holly and weeds. 

I gave two of the headstones a wash-down so that the letters and dates became clearer.

I arranged for the kind volunteer with a strimmer to complete the job after we’d left.

If only the tombstones could talk...

Xylella- Spittle Bugs; Olive Trees At Risk

From BBC News

From Olive Oil Times - Stopping Xylella a ‘Top Priority,’ Greek Official Says


Vassilis Kokkalis in Corfu (January 2018): “Xylella Fastidiosa is an aggressive pathogen found in neighboring Italy with no remedy yet available, causing thousands of olive trees to be cut down. The top priority for the Ministry now is to prevent the pathogen from entering the country.”

Dorset's Waste: where Dorset's materials go to be recycled

What happens to Dorset's waste?


From Dorset Council


Information Graphic

Leonard Cohen's Letters to Marianne Ihlen

From Christie's Online Magazine

"This June Christie’s brings to auction more than 50 letters from Leonard Cohen to his muse and lover, together with seven of Marianne Ihlen’s own letters. Together they offer fascinating glimpses of the young poet’s yearnings and artistic struggles".

British Council Celebrates 80 Years of Presence in Greece

From Greek Reporter

"The Council opened its first office in Greece in 1939 in Athens".

80 χρόνια παρουσίας στην Ελλάδα

Number of Greeks studying in UK rising, says British Council head, eKathimerini

YouTube Video

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Simon Armitage Translation (BBC Sounds)

Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage's translation of the medieval verse romance is narrated by Ian McKellen.


Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - "Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poem of the knight who interrupts King Arthur's Christmas celebrations, challenging someone to chop off his head if he can do the same in return".

Poet Simon Armitage on his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The First Language, Michael Rosen, BBC Radio 4, Word of Mouth

The First Language - listen

"There are thousands of languages today - is it possible to trace them back to a single ancestor? Michael Rosen and linguist Dr Laura Wright investigate our earliest languages".


Also from Word of Mouth:

Romani

"Damian Le Bas talks to Michael Rosen about the Romani language and his experience with using it. Damian is the author of The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain".

Prestbury and Cheshire's Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle (Wikipedia)

Prestbury:

River Bollin

St. Peter's Church, Prestbury

Searching for the grave of an ancestor.

Victoria Pit Moorings, Macclesfield Canal

 With thanks to Roland

About Victoria Pit Moorings

Coal and Canal:

Culture and Sustainable Development, UN Debate

High Level Meeting in New York 

"In accordance with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 72/229 on “Culture and Sustainable Development”, the President of the General Assembly convenes a one-day high-level thematic debate on this important topic, in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The transformative power of culture for social inclusion, resilience and sustainable development is increasingly recognized as a key enabler for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marked a major turning point in global efforts to address development challenges and opportunities, as the local authorities and communities take an increasingly important role in this global momentum alongside international and national actors and other relevant stakeholders. Culture is also an essential component of human development, representing a source of identity, innovation and creativity for all, it provides sustainable solutions to local and global challenges.

The debate will focus on the contribution of culture to the achievement of the sustainable development goals from the national, regional and international perspectives, building on national experiences, existing policies and frameworks and cooperation. The debate will also mark two important United Nations milestones, which acknowledge the importance of cultural diversity and recognize the critical contribution of indigenous cultures to sustainable development. In this context, the debate on 21 May 2019 will also mark the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May) and the International Year of Indigenous Languages (2019)" - UNESCO

The programme details (pdf)

Nina-Maria, Moderator:

Sisi: Empress Elisabeth of Austria

From National Geographic

BY MARÍA PILAR QUERALT DEL HIERRO

Guest houses financed with EU funds; EU Funds Misused to Build Private Accommodation?

Not just in Bulgaria?

Bulgaria announces probe into all guest houses financed with EU funds (The Sofia Globe)

"Bulgaria’s Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov has ordered the police to carry out an investigation into all guest houses in the country financed with European Union agricultural funds for rural development, to establish that they were being put to their intended use, the Prosecutor’s Office said on April 24".

Updates:

"An investigation is underway into 746 guest houses in Bulgaria developed with EU money, following allegations of the money being used to build private accommodation instead of it being used for its intended purpose".


"The investigation is specifically focusing on whether EU funds were used by Bulgaria's State Fund Agriculture department to build hundreds of private guesthouses", Euronews., 14 May, 2019.


European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development - https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rural-development-2014-2020_en


European Regional Development Fund - https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/


Related (Google online): Guide on EU funding for the tourism sector (EC pdf file)


In some member states, EU funding and subsidies (of 45% to 50%) are available for small-scale or alternative tourism projects, or for hotel accommodation projects within traditional settlements, on condition that the unit or facility operates for at least five years.

China and America: The Economist Special Report

Published in The Economist today, David Rennie's thirteen-page print edition Special Report on China and America

Trade can no longer anchor America’s relationship with China - The world should be worried about that, says David Rennie. Current edition dated May 18th, 2019.

China and America: Trade can no longer anchor America’s relationship with China 

The view from Washington: In Washington, talk of a China threat cuts across the political divide 

The view from Beijing: In Beijing, views of America have become deeply cynical 

Down on the farm: Why Iowa is Xi Jinping’s favourite corner of America 

Slow boat: Ordinary Americans and Chinese seem to be drifting apart 

Competing in technology: America still leads in technology, but China is catching up fast 

Military development: America’s military relationship with China needs rules 

Trade: The trouble with putting tariffs on Chinese goods 

The future: America and China must manage their rivalry or risk disaster

Czech transformations after 1989, Ondřej Slačálek, Eurozine

From Eurozine:

Of hopes and ends, Czech transformations after 1989, Ondřej Slačálek

Corfu, Greece: Nine Blue Flag Beaches, 2019; ΓΑΛΑΖΙΑ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ

CORFU/KERKYRA MUNICIPALITY

Canal d’ Amour

Agios Ioannis Peristeron/Marbella Corfu

Alykes Potamou/Family Life Kerkyra Golf

Dafnila/Grecotel Daphnila Bay Dassia

Issos/Labranda Sandy Beach Resort

Kavos/Mayor Capo di Corfu

Kommeno/Corfu Imperial

Kontogialos/Mayor Pelekas Monastery

Kontokali/Kontokali Bay Resort

PRESS RELEASE (Greek)

Δελτίο Τύπου Ανακοίνωσης - Γαλάζια Σημαία 2019 - Βραβεύσεις ακτών, μαρινών και σκαφών

• Γαλάζια Σημαία 2019 - Δελτίου Τύπου Ανακοίνωσης Βραβευμένων Ακτών και Μαρινών
• Κατάλογος Βραβευμένων Ακτών και Μαρινών 2019  (Ελληνικά)
• Blue Flag-awarded beaches and marinas 2019 (English)
• Blue Flag 2019 - poster english (pdf)
• Blue Flag 2019 - poster english (high resolution pdf)

Elsewhere in Greece:

Greece Takes Award for Second-Best Beaches on the Planet, Greek Reporter


My nearest beach (England): Blue Flag and Seaside Award wins for Weymouth Beach, Dorset Echo

Where Are You Really From? Two Podcast Episodes with Louisa Adjoa Parker; Rural Dorset

Listen on Soundcloud


Dorset Echo article - New podcast reflects on experience of growing up as a minority in rural Dorset


Race and place explored in former resident's poetry anthology, Bridport News

A US-China game of nerves (Money Talks, Economist Podcast)

Listen to the podcast

The History of Rock 'n' Roll, Song by Song

Spontaneous Lunacy

Try this!

BIG JOE TURNER. Shake, Rattle & Roll. Live 1954 Performance from Rhythm 'n' Blues Revue

Plastic Waste: Stemming the flow of plastic waste into poor nations

From The Guardian:

"Nearly all countries agree to stem flow of plastic waste into poor nations. US reportedly opposed deal, which follows concerns that villages in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia had ‘turned into dumpsites’".

The Durrells Leave Corfu

The Daily Mirror, 11th May, 2019

Corfu Literary Festival, 23-30 September, 2019

I'm looking forward to participating this year.

Short Stories – Collections and Assemblages - 

Elizabeth Speller and Jim Potts in Conversation  with Charlie Campbell (Municipal Gallery, Palace of St Michael and St George, at 8.30pm, Saturday evening, 28 September).

I feel very honoured to have been invited. I expect to be discussing my forthcoming collection of forty three stories, This Spinning World.

ISBN 978-1-912788-02-6 (or, in machine-readable form: 9781912788026).

List of events (provisional):

https://www.corfuliteraryfestival.com/events-2019


Enimerosi article

Cricket in Corfu!

Bluegrass Blues

Shared country roots - it seems I'm still back in the USA:


Dim Light, Thick Smoke and Loud, Loud Music,  Flatt and Scruggs (YouTube)


A country song in the same vein:

Jerry Lee Lewis - It All Depends (On Who Will Buy The Wine) (1958)

Charlie Walker, Who Will Buy the Wine


Of the less secular bluegrass songs, this is one of the best:


Rank Strangers, The Stanley Brothers


Also:

Doc Watson, Farther Along


The Carter Family, The Church in the Wildwood


The Carter Family, Keep On the Sunny Side


Strangely, I find a link between this type of song (Bluegrass Gospel and Appalachian folk music) and the Dorset poems of William Barnes! I wonder if Cecil Sharp would have sensed it when he was collecting songs in Appalachia?

A further example: Bill Monroe, Y'All come

Cecil Sharp in Appalachia

Cecil Sharp's Appalachian Diaries

The geate a-vallen to.

In the zunsheen of our zummers

Wi’ the hay time now a-come,

How busy wer we out a-vield

Wi’ vew a-left at hwome,

When waggons rumbled out ov yard

Red wheeled, wi’ body blue,

And back behind ‘em loudly slamm’d

The geate a’vallen to.

Drough daysheen ov how many years

The geate ha’ now a-swung

Behind the veet o’ vull-grown men

And vootsteps of the young.

Drough years o’ days it swung to us

Behind each little shoe,

As we tripped lightly on avore

The geate a-vallen to.

In evenen time o’ starry night

How mother zot at hwome,

And kept her bleazen vier bright

Till father should ha’ come,

An' how she quicken'd up and smiled

An' stirred her vier anew,

To hear the trampen ho'ses’ steps

An' geate a-vallen to.

There’s moon-sheen now in nights o’ fall

When leaves be brown vrom green,

When, to the slammen o' the geate,

Our Jenny’s ears be keen,

When the wold dog do wag his tail,

An' Jean could tell to who,

As he do come in drough the geate,

The geate a-vallen to.

An' oft do come a saddened hour

When there must goo away

One well-beloved to our heart’s core,

Vor long, perhaps vor aye:

An' oh! it is a touchen thing

The loven heart must rue,

To hear behind his last farewell

The geate a-vallen to.

William Barnes

John Blackmore song setting (listen on Soundcloud)

The Vaices That Be Gone

When evenen sheädes o' trees do hide

A body by the hedge's zide,

An' twitt'ren birds, wi' plaÿèsome flight,

Do vlee to roost at comen night,

Then I do saunter out o' zight

In orcha'd, where the pleäce woonce rung

Wi' laughs a-laugh'd an' zongs a-zung

By vaices that be gone.

There's still the tree that bore our swing,

An' others where the birds did zing;

But long-leav'd docks do overgrow

The groun' we trampled beäre below,

Wi' merry skippens to an' fro

Bezide the banks, where Jim did zit

A-plaÿèen o' the clarinit

To vaices that be gone.

How mother, when we us'd to stun

Her head wi' all our naisy fun,

Did wish us all a-gone vrom hwome:

An' now that zome be dead, an' zome

A-gone, an' all the pleäce is dum',

How she do wish, wi' useless tears,

To have ageän about her ears

The vaices that be gone.

Vor all the maidens an' the bwoys

But I, be marri'd off all woys,

Or dead an' gone; but I do bide

At hwome, alwone, at mother's zide,

An' often, at the evenen-tide,

I still do saunter out, wi' tears,

Down drough the orcha'd, where my ears

Do miss the vaices gone.

William Barnes

Come down to-morrow night; an, mind

Don’t leave thy fiddle-bag behind;

We’ll sheake a lag, an’ drink a cup

O’eale...

We’ll snap the tongs, we’ll have a ball,

We’ll shake the house, we’ll lift the ruf,

We’ll romp an’ meake the maidens squall...

Popular Music of the Greek World, Conference in Athens, 17-18 May 2019

https://www.bsa.ac.uk/events/popular-music-of-the-greek-world-conference/

All information below from the British School at Athens:

"The diversity of Greek music is apparent from the rich variety of local traditions and from the richness of urban popular music both established and emerging. This conference aims to explore and evaluate that diversity, and its causes, from broader musical, sociological and artistic perspectives. This is of great value in itself and also sheds light on the ethnomusicology of better-studied aspects of Greek music such as Rebetika, which also features as one of the subjects of the conference.

The Organising Committee comprises: Roderick Beaton (King’s College London), Eleni Kallimopoulou (University of Macedonia), Panagiotis Poulos (University of Athens), Chris Williams (KCL/BSA), John Bennet (BSA). The following have confirmed their participation: Nikos Andrikos, Stathis Gauntlett, Ofer Gazit, Labri Giotto, Reguina Hatzipetrou-Andronikou, Michael Herzfeld, Eleni Kallimopoulou, Tony Klein, Daniel Koglin, Leonidas Oikonomou, Chris O’Leary, Nikos Ordoulides, Risto Pekka Pennanen, Nikos Poulakis, Panayiotis Poulos, Venla Sykäri, Aspasia Theodosiou, Dafni Tragaki, Ioannis Tsioulakis, Tassos Vrettos and Vassiliki Yiakoumaki.

A more detailed programme is available here.

Since space is limited, please register for the conference – without cost – via Eventbrite here.

With thanks to: The A G Leventis Foundation, Chris Williams, Nicholas Petmezas and the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King’s College London

Conference
When: May 17 - May 18
Where: British School at Athens, Upper House – Athens – 52 Souedias Street


Related:

An update of my April 2009 posting on Rebetiko and General Scobie

Some poems:

A recent book:

LAMENT FROM EPIRUS, AN ODYSSEY INTO EUROPE'S OLDEST SURVIVING FOLK MUSIC, by Christopher C. King

Mediterranean World Heritage Sites at risk from sea level rise; Corfu Old Town; Climate Change; Global Warming; Corfu, Greece

From Carbon Brief  "Mapped: The Mediterranean world heritage sites at risk from sea level rise"

From GTP  "UNESCO Sites in Greece Among 47 in Danger Due to Rising Sea Levels"

From Smithsonian  "Rising Seas Pose Imminent Threat to Dozens of Historical Sites Across the Mediterranean"

Corfu Forum  "Is there a serious discussion anywhere about the problems that big parts of coastline Corfu will face in the coming decades as a consequence of global warming and sea level rise?"

The answer can be found here:

A fictional, allegorical prophecy of how the end might come (although it won't need an earthquake or a tsunami) - an extract from To Poulima tis Panoreas (2008); English translation included in When the Sun Goes Down, Island Stories, 2013, by Maria Strani-Potts (also available as a Kindle edition)

The wind was blowing from all directions. The Sea became wild.

    “I’ve also had enough. We must save ourselves,” the Sea screamed, retreating rapidly from the shore and from her friends, and rushing away towards the far horizon.

      The dogs barked. The mice ran and hid under mountains of rubbish. Stars started falling from the sky. The earth shook. Those among the young and old who were asleep at home awoke in horror. The rest of the clan, who were passing away the night having fun, abandoned their amusements and ran towards the shore.

     “Panorea, what’s going on?” they shouted.

      “I’m thirsty! Water, water!”

      “Well, that’s not a reason for an earthquake. Calm down, come and drink a bottle of water.”

       The roaring intensified. The people couldn’t hear each other speak. The moon vanished. Suddenly the sea changed direction. She turned back towards the shore. Although it was dark, she could be seen charging towards them. A bright beam emanating from Kalosinatos’s palm lit up the waves and the horizon and broke the darkness of the night.

       “Kalosinatos, the sea is coming towards us. We’ll be drowned. Do something!” they all screamed.

        A second earthquake shook the land. Mountains split in the middle. Houses collapsed. Chunks of cement, bricks and iron bars fell on the heaps of rubbish scattered all around. The clan members were yelling. They saw the swimming pools bursting. The water was pouring down towards the sea, taking with it dead cats, drowned rats, plastic and cars.

        “Panorea, Kalosinatos, Eternal Beings, save us!”

        Twelve-foot-high waves were chasing in, one after another. Thunder and lightning were followed by a hailstorm. Hail stones as big as rocks were landing everywhere, hitting everything.

         The shore where Panorea and Kalosinatos were sitting broke away from the land. The great chasm thus created sucked in whatever was nearby. Panorea and Kalosinatos were nowhere to be seen. The men in charge of the supermarket where Kalosinatos was forced to sell his wares were running away in despair, only to fall headlong into the widening chasm, still holding their huge bags full of money. The Sea swallowed up whatever managed to escape the widening chasm.

         The turmoil had brought the birds out of their nests; they were flying in crazed circles above the devastated land. Following the mysterious light, they saw a single majestic white wave travelling out to sea at an amazing speed, leaving all the devastation behind. The birds suddenly saw Panorea and Kalosinatos lying peacefully upon the wave. They were holding hands. They, in turn, saw the birds and smiled.

        “Come and join us!” they called.

        The birds hovered above them a little and then sat on Panorea’s lap. She stroked them gently and they grasped her torn skirt for safety.

         The tempest lasted until daybreak.

         Nobody could have predicted such a disaster in the Mediterranean. At dawn the Sun appeared, pinkish, warm, timid. He emerged from behind the grey mountains and looked around for Panorea. A rainbow had appeared. The Sea was now calm and had returned to her usual seductive shades of blue. The Sun couldn’t see Panorea or Kalosinatos anywhere.

         “As soon as I warm the place they will come.”

         He looked closely at the land and saw ruins everywhere. Broken fridges, burnt-out cars, iron pipes, great chunks of cement and wrecked and capsized boats were scattered all around. There was not a living soul to be seen.

        Then the faint bleating of sheep was heard in the distance, mixed with the gentle cries of babies. “Any minute now they’ll turn up. They must have gone somewhere, but they always come back,” said the Sun to himself, with a knowing smile.

THE END