Yesterday I reported a foreign dog in the camping which turned out to be Vagelis’ dog Leo. He was tied up outside one of the rooms at the entrance whilst Vagelis was moving his stuff in.
We have now learned that Andy, the Albanian guy, who returned to Albania on Boxing Day, has been in a spot of bother – a fight or something, so he will not be returning to Grammeno. Vagelis started today so we walked around the camping talking about things which needed doing and things which could be done in order to maximise the income from the camping and increase the clientele.
From what I can see, I think Vagelis and I are going to get on well as we’ve already met up at Georgia’s for marine creatures and Ouzo. As far as I know, Vagelis is Georgia’s brother. He owns a RIB, which is an 8 person inflatable with semi-hard hull, and a smaller inflatable for short coastal work. With either I understand it is possible to go to Gavdos so I’m hoping to con him into taking me along one time.
With Leo, his dog on the camping, we have to change procedure a little as I leave Boris out tied up to a tree to stop him from declaring war on Georgia’s dogs. Anyway, Leo seems a pretty cool dog and he and Dave seemed to get along reasonably well when we did our tour of the camping earlier.
Last night was a little different as Leo was tied up at this end of the camping. He barked, Georgia’s dogs barked and then the puppies barked. And so the cycle continued. Added to that the fishermen in their boats with the lights on at 04:30 and the night can be a little interrupted. I had to get up to shut up the smallest as he was freezing on his own. I have taken to rolling up a pet blanket either side of him and jamming him in the middle then covering him over with a bit of the CJ at Skippers blanket. The other half of the blanket is over the front of the larger cage so that they don’t see the lights from the boats. I have blanked off as much as I can in the hope of a quieter night. Vagelis is going to make arrangements for Leo and perhaps we will all go for a walk together to see how they all get along.
Boris seems to be making remarkable progress towards the puppies and allows them to steal his ball without biting their heads off. Sometimes he just stands pathetically by watching as they play with his ball. I shout at him to tell him to be a little more assertive! He can ask nicely for the return of the ball without raising his heckles or growling. Not every time as, like everyone, he too has bad days.
This is a holiday weekend as Monday is Clean Monday. There are already several regulars on the camping and Georgia was mentioning something about food, wine and ouzo during the weekend. I have a feeling it might be a little like New Years but we will see…
Here is a bit on ‘Clean Monday’:
Clean Monday begins the season of Great Lent in Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Great Lent corresponds to Lent as found in Western Christianity, though the length of the periods are calculated in different ways. They both use a period of 40 days between the beginning and end of Lent, because of the 40 days that Jesus is said to have spent fasting the desert. However, Western Christendom doesn’t count Sundays because Jesus is recorded as having resurrected on a Sunday, whereas Eastern Orthodox churches do count Sundays.
This first day of Great Lent is called “Clean Monday” because Christians should begin the holy season with “clean hearts and good intentions.” It is also because the season of Lent is regarded as a time for when Christians should clean up their spiritual house, coming to terms with their lives and rededicating themselves to a more holy and righteous way of living.
Clean Monday is a day of strict fasting. Christians are not allowed to eat from midnight to noon and can have no meat at all. Christians are also expected to spend extra time praying during the day and reading from the Bible.
Because Clean Monday is also considered to mark the first day of spring. Hence Greeks tend to celebrate it with outdoor activities and picnics rather than fasting and prayer.
Traditional foods include olives, octopus, and shrimp. In addition to picnics, outdoor activities used to celebrate the day include flying kites, dancing, music, etc.
So there you have it!
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