Concert with Anda

Mattias has a friend, Anders, that he is playing Swedish folkmusic together with in a duo, Anda. Anders was planing a visit to the island and it was decided that they would do a Christmas concert together. We've been putting up posters and hoping for word of moth to be a good advertiser.
Anders was planing to come here on Tuesday but missed his train from Skopje and then on Wednesday there where no ferrys because of strike and on Thursday we still didn't know if he would get across to the island since it started snowing and some ferrys was canceled.
But he did make it across and we were having a beautiful evening in the culture house.

Dimitri and Kenneth outside, welcoming peopel to the consert.

Mattias in playing a lute from this part of the world
(being in Greece we don't have to go into details since it's a Saz from Turky :-)

In the early Christian life of Sweden the old gods and ways where still in use.
In one of the songs that was sang it's telling about this as it's sharing the story of tree brothers, three fishermen, that on the night of Christmas eve are going out fishing. When the storm is getting stronger they are throwing their brother, the navigator, in the sea to plead the gods. But the storm is not ceasing and without their navigator they don't find their way so they are calling out to God almighty and a dove (a picture of the holy spirit) is appearing, sitting in the front to guide their way.

Anders is playing a Keyed fiddle, a traditional Swedish instrument.

If you want to hear or read som about Anda you can look at these sites
http://www.anda.info.se/ and http://www.myspace.com/andafolk

At the end Kenneth was sharing a word. He had brought a picture from a quite remarkable and fun story, a women that happend to brake her plastic santa Clause and found Jesus inside. I think it's a good picture of what Christmas is all about! www.aftonbladet.se
We have to let go of that which is not true in our lifes to be able to see Jesus.

Snow :-)

For a couple of days we have had beautiful views
as the snow covers the mountaintops!

This morning we didn't have much of a view, but snow covering the rooftops :-) and it's still snowing...

Harald took his teddy and made himself comfortable inside where it's dry and warm.
While we made our way to the church for work and plesure.

I guess our Geraniums don't quite fancy the snowy weather...

December 6

December 6 is not only the birthday of Ulf Ekberg from Ace of bace...
my focus will neither be on Finland though it is their national day...
now someone might have in mind that this was the day that London became the world's first city to host licenced taxicabs...
but my focus will naturally be on Greece as this is one of the days that will fall into my study of important Greek days.
December 6 is the day of άγιος Νικόλαος (saint Nicholas)- Nicholas the wonderworker!
He is the saint for the kids and the sailors. Said is that he had a habbit of putting coins in peopels shoes.
In Greece (in differens from other europen countrys that are celebrating st Nicholas) he does not come with gifts, the greek children has to wait till new year to get their presents.
But I guess st Nicholas is the reson that Greeks are decorating their boats like Christmas trees at this season.
And then of course, it's another day for the kids to be off school and for the shops to be closed.

Two years ago this day also was given another mening as a young boy, Alexis Grigoropoulos, was killed by a police. Read more about it here.

Creative evening.

We had a very fun evening with the kids.

The kids were buzy doing christmas decorations.

Beautiful creations

Mr and mrs Pelidi (pastor and wife)

Julpyssel

This comming Saturday we are having special
X-mas addition of Lenas open church.
We are prepairing with good ideas,
toilet roles, stars, glitter, paper etc etc.

Tomorrow I will run around our town
and put this nice posters in every corner :-)

Enjoying a nice weekend with the congregation.

The Thassos Christian Fellowship went last weekend to Halkidiki to some friends of ours, Tod and Evys house to spend some time together. It was a very nice time, and Lena made another discovery, they had just the same sort of mug as she used to have when she was little.

Fiona and her daughter Lea are deaply focused on an article in a gardening paper.

YO MAN! Totally wicked!!! Yo! (Or what ever they say nowadays when they rap)
Pastor Dimitri giving the word.

Dimitris wife Marjo coocking us some nice food.

Very much enjoying the fireplace!

On Sunday night Mattias and Carina came with their camper from Sweden. They plan to stay till February and we are so enjoying having them here! They will help us some, enjoy Greece some, find their own stuff and hopfully learn to love the island so that they will come back and spend more time with us here on the island :-)

Back to Thassos

November 17

Ok, I confess, I don't know much about Greek history, but living in Greece you need to know it! So in my study of Greek important days we will today start by going back to April 21 1967, the day when the military did a "revolution to save the nation" from the "communist conspiracy". But it was followed by seven years of regime of terror including arresting of political dissidents , torture, strict censor and a controlling of the people... so much for saving the nation.
But on November 14 1973 the students started a revolt by barikading the Politechnios in Athens (technical university) that had its end on November 17 when the military with brutal force stormed the university area and caused many peoples death. This was the beginning of the end of the junta regime.

One of the persons being inprisoned by the military junta was Mikis Teodorakis, he was in 1970 freed and had to go into exile. At one point he ended up in Finland where Arja Saijonmaa was singing one of his songs translated into finish (listen to it here). In Greece his music was forbitten but in secret with hearphone you could listen to this "rebell". Or as in this filmclip :-). Don't ask me about the lyric, but maybe some finishspeeking reader can help us with the first clip.

And the winner is...

... the dentist!
Yesterday the new mayor finally was elected.
Don't know his name but it's the one that most of the people I know was hoping for.
The old one, that has been in power for 12 years now (3 periods), is gone and the new one is celebrating his victory.
According to what I heard the old one already have had too much time to waste money on his own interest. Now we pray that this new one will be working more for the common good.

So why did it take all this long?
Because in Greece they are first selecting two from the five (here on Thassos they where having five candidates) and then the coming Sunday (yesterday that was) they have a new election to find out which of these two that are the most popular. Quite fair, even though it's a lot more fuss to have election two weekends instead of one.
The kids love it though, because they are off this Friday and Monday aswell!

Olivepickingseason

Some friends from the church (and other fellows) are busy picking olives. We went to take some pictures of the hardworking men... but when we came they didn't look too busy :-)

Ditmar is responsible for about 50 trees that need to be taken care of.

They use short rakes to get the olives from the trees, they let the olives fall into big nets from where it's then easy to collect them.

teamwork

Loading the car, for transport to the oilfactory.

All around the factory their is piles with olives, no 35 belong to Ditmars.
His oil will be taped in half liter bottles and sold in Germany.

Recycling

Old pallets will be recycled.
Some taking apart, some sandpapering (thank God we have some machines),
some sawing and putting together will give us a unique, wonderful shelves!

We're very proud of our new creation, the shelf.

Our billbord is getting full...