There’s a goat on the roof of your car!

You can’t visit Greece without seeing the odd goat or two (or twenty). They are to be seen all over Greece, merrily munching on some thorny bush that would defeat any other animal. Sunshine is also a fact of Greek life and it is no fun to return to a boiling hot car. The obvious answer is to park your car beneath a tree and take advantage of the shade that it offers.

Or is it?

When we went to Greek lessons, we learnt lots of useful and interesting Greek phrases.

Υπάρχει μια κατσίκα στην οροφή του αυτοκινήτου σας!
[There’s a goat on the roof of your car!]

was not one of the phrases we thought that we would ever need……until today!

Video from moni limonas – kalloni

 

Sappho: Love And Life On Lesbos

Sappho: Love And Life On LesbosThe BBC spelling of Lesvos as Lesbos is a little embarrassing but I have presented the programme title and review as written by the BBC. Please accept my apologies.

With a PhD in Papyrology, Margaret Mountford (The Apprentice) goes in search of the truth behind the legend of Sappho, the most controversial writer of the ancient world and the first authentic woman’s voice in western history. 

Watch the full program on YouTube here.

A lost papyrus inspires Margaret to go on a journey of exploration. From the fragmentary documents, ruined temple architecture and surviving oriental jewellery, we conjure the real world of the woman, whose erotic writings gave us the words ‘sapphic’ and ‘lesbian’, after the island of Lesbos the place of her birth.

Was Sappho indeed the first lesbian – a priestess, prostitute, stern schoolmistress or aristocratic lady of leisure, as readers over the centuries have variously alleged? Margaret looks at how each generation’s view of the archetypal liberated woman of letters tells us as much about us and our fears and concerns as it does about her.

Commissioned by Greg Sanderson, BBC Commissioning Editor, Arts, Music & Events, the 1×60 film is produced by Maya Vision International’s Sally Thomas and directed by Jack MacInnes.

Visit the BBC website Sappho: Love And Life On Lesbos

The Colours of Spring

Lesvos has a different ‘coat’ for each season and each coat has many different colours. The colours can sometimes be subtle but frequently the colours of spring are bold and beautiful. They can take your breath away.

Close up the colours become even more vivid. Below are a few photographs with just some of the many colours of spring.