Greece, New Unified Property Tax (ENFIA): More than 50,000 Appeals (η αντισυνταγματικότητα του Ενιαίου Φόρου Ιδιοκτησίας Ακινήτων;)

From Kathimerini

Every unpopular new law, tax or action which is unpopular in Greece appears to be described as "Anti-Constitutional" or "unconstitutional".

That line of argument is seldom used in the UK.

Listen to A Gael in Greece, on BBC Radio Scotland - DAMIAN MAC CON ULADH

More commentary (Protagon)

Chronicle in Stone: A Novel By Ismail Kadare (Kronikë në gur)

Kadare's family home (right), Gjirokastër (Argyrokastro, Αργυρόκαστρο)

after the fire, before restoration

The opening chapters are extraordinary

I love the description of the town built of stone, of the cistern beneath the house.

"The top of one house might graze the foundation of another, and it was surely the only place in the world where if you slipped and fell in the street, you might well land on the roof of a house- a peculiarity known most intimately to drunks."

I know other places exactly like that, in the Zagori (Greece).

A short biography of the author

The novel (Wikipedia)

More (Gjirokastër, pictures, Wikipedia)

Map of house location 

Rruga Fato Berberi 16
Gjirokaster
Albania

Greece: The Acropolis, A Rockfall Problem - "Not Falling Apart"

An official Greek announcement

"General Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Lina Mendoni, said yesterday (2.10) that "Some rocks have fallen down, but that does not mean that Acropolis is actually falling apart, let’s be serious".

Sky News

MSN News

International Business Times

An EU Committee Grilling- Before Approval

Lord Hill faces the MEPs

Committee hearing for the UK's Jonathan Hill, the nominated commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union in the next European Commission. Lord Hill was announced as the nominated commissioner for financial services by Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker earlier this month (BBC Democracy Live).

What The Telegraph wrote

Wall Street Journal

The second grilling (Telegraph)

Lord Hill came out well from the second grilling. He performed impressively, with conviction.

Euronews report

Updates:

Lord Hill approved.

The pot calling the kettle black (Charlemagne, The Economist)

"Epirus", A Lecture in Stockholm; "The Ionian Islands and Epirus, A Cultural History", Jim Potts

I have been invited to give a lecture on Epirus, and on my book "The Ionian Islands and Epirus, A Cultural History" in Stockholm later this month.

Details

Here are some of the very generous past reviews:

"If evidence is required that Greece can enchant, enthral and engage, then Briton Jim Potts' book is just that...What he produces over the course of 280 pages is a wonderful and inspiring miscellany of all things Ionian and Epirot...it makes accessible a rich cultural depository to the discerning and cultured tourist- and resident...The Ionian Islands and Epirus takes a refreshing look at the islands and mountains of western Greece...This little gem of a book will provide the discerning traveller with something grossly lacking from other tourist guides: a real cultural history with which he or she can contextualise the wonderful experience that is the Ionian Islands and Epirus."

ATHENS NEWS

2-8/4/2010

Damian Mac Con Eladh,"Getting the feel for a place" 

"Fastiduously researched, the book reveals Potts’ immense knowledge and love of the subject. This kaleidoscope of ideas and imagery, of real and imagined stories, conceived over centuries, gives a profound insight into the history the islands and Epirot mainland, and the cultural legacy that remains. It is a work which goes far beyond the fare of any conventional tourist guide. This important book is a ‘must read’ for any discerning explorer of this beautiful, distinctive part of Greece".

ATHENS INSIDER

July/August 2010

Mike Sweet

"An important book that will kindle new research and thinking on the political and literary history of the region."

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

11 February 2011

James Pettifer

Athens News, 2-8 August 2010, 

Book Review, Damian Mac Con Eladh

Athens Insider, July/August 2010, 

Book Review by Mike Sweet

Times Literary Supplement, 11 February 2011

Book Review by James Pettifer

To Zagori Mas, Aug-Sept 2011,
Book Review by Demitris Dallas

Pete Shutler of The Yetties

Pete Shutler will be greatly missed for his sense of humour and for his musicianship.

I only read the sad news yesterday, in The Times.

Obituary, The Guardian

Western Gazette

Express

Sherborne, Weavers Club (my blog posting)

In Czechoslovakia, Roll Out The Barrel

Dorset is Beautiful

Remembering The Yetties - Fiddler's Green

Fiddler's Green is a legendary supposed afterlife, where there is perpetual mirth, a  fiddle that never stops playing, and dancers who never tire. In 19th-century maritime folklore it was a kind of afterlife for sailors who have served at least 50 years at sea (Wikipedia)