A falling out in the village
There were long faces outside the kafenion. The village panygyri, the long-awaited festival to celebrate St Paraskevi, was off. With a week's notice, the organisers were told by the owner of the field where the festival has been held for years: 'Oxi.' Which, in Greek, means no. It was a blow for the village, for community life. It was a blow for the organisers, who work hard to put on these events for the benefit of all. And it was a blow to us, too, as my brother and his family had booked their holiday dates around it. They're due in later today and were looking forward to the festival tomorrow night. When you see this YouTube video, you can see why. The reasons for the refusal, as conveyed to Mr Grigg and me, seem pretty petty. You couldn't make it up. Village politics, eh? Still, there are always two sides to every story and this blog is not the place for a rant. But to say we were excited about the event was an understatement. We have walked pas...