Zagori: Stone Saints of Vikos

Church of Saint Trifonas (St. Tryphon), Vikos Village

 

Source of the Voidomatis, below Vikos Village

Etta James - Soul Singer

I've got dreams to remember

Vimeo video

I'll Drown in My Own Tears

I've been loving you too long

In the Evening

A Guardian Interview

Obituary, The Guardian

I think it must have been sometime between 1989 and 1993 that I saw Etta James perform in a live concert. 1993, most probably, in London.  Raunchy and sensitive at the same time. It would have been shortly before I left for seven years in Sydney, Australia.

Greece and Modern History, Richard Pine

From the Irish Times, Richard Pine - Greek Letter: Rewriting history has become a national pastime -"Civil war and occupation have led authorities to value power of forgetting over memory"

"One of the few writers to mention the civil war in Corfu, and its aftermath, is Maria Strani-Potts, in her stories The Cat of Portovecchio. When she writes “Two sides of the same coin can never face one another, yet they are as close as can be” she identifies the twin issues of commemoration and denial which beset any attempt to honour the dead of Lazareto – most of them young communists".

Some of my own Lazaretto Island photographs:

Corfu, neutrality and Mussolini - Richard Pine, Letter to The Irish Times


The Greek Connection: Irish Poets and Contemporary Greece, IRELLAS, Richard Pine interview

Between Ireland and Greece, INTERVIEW WITH PAULA MEEHAN, conducted by Joanna Kruczkowska, Poeticanet

Zagori: Down the Vitsa Steps to the Bridge of Misios; Dogs and a Bear

With the grandchildren, early this morning:

A pleasant walk - apart from two (potentially aggressive) barking sheepdogs and the proximity of a bear...I was in 'loco parentis' defensive and protective mode, unsure which might pose the greater threat, an unrestrained Molossian hound or a hungry bear! I learnt later that a bear was seen by Ilias the day before, at about the same time that we descended the gorge. The dogs were not interested in us: they were chasing the bear.

Ursus arctos (not a grizzly, as in this recording - Ursus arctos horribilis)

Play Dead? A Survival Myth

Although I'm not at all crazy about caves, I took the grandchildren to visit the Perama Cave. No photography allowed, except briefly, on the way out. A shame, because there are some amazingly impressive "halls" and formations. A relief, because a large number of flashing or clicking cameras would have spoiled the whole experience.

Gallery of photographs

In the cave they found the bones of a bear, which probably died  about 50,000 years ago.

About the Bear Cave - Σπηλαία Άρκτος- Ursus etruscus (or Ursus spelaeus - a cave bear?)

Dodoni, Ancient Tragedy on 20 July, 2016.

Thanks to Charmagne for the link.

We won't be here (heading for the coast again) but it should be a fascinating evening, with actors from eight countries:

Αρχαίο θέατρο Δωδώνης: Ηθοποιοί από 8 χώρες παρουσιάζουν αρχαία τραγωδία στις 20 Ιουλίου

Competing attractions on the same night: panigyria in Kapesovo and Papingo.

Dorchester, Dorset: Princess Elizabeth's visit to Dorchester - The Queen visits Maumbury Rings, Dorchester, 1952

From The Dorset Echo - LOOKING BACK: Before she was Queen - Princess Elizabeth's visit to Dorchester