Dilofo, Central Zagori: A Talented Website Designer

Some of Stratos' website designs, at oistros.gr

Ολοκληρωμένες Διαδικτυακές Εφαρμογές

Ηλεκτρονικό Εμπόριο
Βελτιστοποίηση Ιστοσελίδων (SEO)

Visas for France?

Britons could need VISAS to travel to France if the UK crashes out of the EU with no deal, leaders warn, MailOnline

"The French government ramped up its preparations for a no-deal Brexit and said Britons would become 'nationals of third parties' and would probably need travel permits to visit. France was the first to ratchet up the tension yesterday, publishing guidance on the Senate website. It said Britons would become 'nationals of third parties' after March 29 next year if there is no breakthrough in talks and that visitors would 'in principle' need a visa to visit the country. Those wanting to stay for longer than three months would need a 'long stay visa'.Britons currently living in France would become 'illegals' and need to apply for residency status and work permits. There will be 'consequences' for certain professionals, including British doctors, pharmacists or tobacconists, who may no longer be able to practise in the country".

The Rising Sun, Greece; William Haygarth and Lord Byron

A stranger, deep in thought.

Son of the morning, rise! approach you here!

Lord Byron

His last sunrise on the island?

Maybe he's missing the mountains over on the mainland.

Maybe they're calling him...

"Land of Albania! let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men!"

Lord Byron

"O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall 

Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap 

May who ne'er hung there."

Gerard Manley Hopkins. 

Morn dawns; and with it stern Albania's hills,

   Dark Suli's rocks, and Pindus' inland peak,

   Robed half in mist, bedewed with snowy rills,

   Arrayed in many a dun and purple streak,

   Arise; and, as the clouds along them break,

   Birds, beasts of prey, and wilder men appear,

   Disclose the dwelling of the mountaineer;

   Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak,

And gathering storms around convulse the closing year.

Lord Byron

No city's towers pollute the lovely view;

   Unseen is Yanina, though not remote,

   Veiled by the screen of hills:  here men are few,

   Scanty the hamlet, rare the lonely cot;

   But, peering down each precipice, the goat

   Browseth:  and, pensive o'er his scattered flock,

   The little shepherd in his white capote

   Doth lean his boyish form along the rock,

Or in his cave awaits the tempest's short-lived shock.

Lord Byron

From Greece, A Poem, In Three Parts, 1814

William Haygarth

(Part 1)

Ascent of Mount Pindus

With what impatience do I spring to thee,
 Eternal Nature ; how I love to steal
From the rude jar and clamour of the world
To thy retirement, where I may compose
My ruffled brow, and lay my limbs secure,
 And listen to the blast which howls afar.
0 let me seek thy haunts upon the brow
Of Pindus, where thou dwell'st 'midst solitudes
Of stern sublimity : with slow, slow step,
 Painfully press'd upon th' unyielding rock,
1 scale its rugged steeps ; the dang'rous path,
 Now lost behind a broken mass of crag,
And now along the precipice's edge
 Trac'd fearfully, eludes at length the eye,
Its course just shewn by a long line of flocks,
On whose white fleeces ev'ning's level beam
Glances. Wilder, and sterner to the view,
The prospect opens : here the torrent pours
Its waters, breaking into gems of foam
 O'er the black rock, that midway in its stream
 Rears its rough front; or round the shatter 'd root
 Of some vast tree, torn from its parent cliff,
Curling in silv'ry eddies : there the pine
Stretches his giant limbs, scorch'd by the fires
Of Heav'n, and stands to guard yon narrow pass,
An aged warrior, cover 'd o'er with wounds.
More distant the brown woods around me rise,
 Range over range, a sylvan theatre,
Their tops illumin'd by a flood of light,
The rest deep sunk in shade ; whilst far above
The broad bare peaks shoot boldly to the clouds,
Flinging from their bleak bosoms the last hues
Of day; yellow and purple melting soft
 Into the russet tints that sleep below.

Summit of Mount Pindus
(an engraving of a sketch by William Haygarth)

Pindos, Epirus: Illegal Trade in Wild Orchids; Dr. Kalliopi Stara

Illegal trade putting Pindos wild orchids at risk, scientists warn, eKathimerini

“The wild orchids are strictly protected under Greek laws but most people don't know this. Even though our results show that local traditional collection is of a relatively limited extent and scale, in recent years the phenomenon of poaching is increasing, Kalliopi Stara, who heads the team, told Athens-Macedonian news agency (ANA-MPA).

“This also concerns other medicinal plants, herbs, edible mushrooms and truffles as a result of global pressure for ‘wild’ and ‘traditional’ products,” Stara said adding that what used to be the food of the poor is becoming food for the wealthy.

See also: Pindos Wild Orchids at Risk of Extinction from Illegal Harvesting, Greek Reporter

Greece: potential of the food and agricultural sector

Untapped potential in Greece’s food and agricultural sector, eKathimerini

Dorset NHS shake-up plan referred to Matt Hancock

From BBC News

"The county council voted to refer the plans to Matt Hancock over concerns about patient travel times and the role of community hospitals".