Sad day... R.I.P. Papa Yannis

We had a call from Spiros our landlord whilst we lived up in the mountains at Assos on Monday asking us to come for a meal on Tuesday which we declined.  A couple of hours later Jorgos rang from Assos to say that Yannis, who lived on the ground floor of our old house had died.  I guessed that that is what Spiros had been trying to tell me earlier as the funerals here are always followed by a meal.  Spiros didn't have sufficient English to explain this to me and I didn't have sufficient Greek to get it out of him!  So we rang his son back who speaks quite good English and found out that he had in fact died peacefully that morning on his ventilator (he suffered from emphysema).

Papa Yannis in his kitchen in better times last year

The funeral, as is typical in these parts was to be the following morning at 10 o'clock and the family would like us to come as he had really liked having us as neighbours even despite the obvious language barriers.  Yannis was a big part of our lives in the time we spent up there and we could hardly refuse so our planned day was put on the back burner and we set off for the mountains at 7 AM the next morning allowing us plenty of time to go and see Jorgos to find out what the form was for the funeral as we didn't want to do something disrespectful and show ourselves up.

Yannis with his blackbirds waiting to become an evening meal.

We started off viewing the body in an open casket laid in his front room along with perhaps sixty or seventy of his close family and friends.  His children had come from all corners of Greece and his daughter made the journey from Germany overnight, it must be quite a challenge when you only have 24hrs to get flights and make the arrangements necessary to get there on time.  The undertaker then came and took the still open casket to the church in the upper end of the village (North Vietnam as Jorgos calls it (the village used to be two villages which historically were very divided and warlike)).  After the service which had two priests and two men doing the chanting, Yannis was taken up to the cemetery still in his open casket where he was interred in his family plot for a few years until his bones are ready to be taken out and placed within the charnel house.  It was all done in typical Greek stretched out fashion but very dignified, in fact I think I would rather go to another funeral than another christening which I found quite traumatic.  After this was over close family and friends, which included us went to the local taverna in the village for a meal and wine to celebrate his passing.  Yannis was 88 years old and had a very eventful life.  R.I.P. Yannis.

On a brighter side, we spent the weekend with our very special friends Tony and Liz going out to the cinema on Friday night and then on for a super meal later.  Saturday Tony and I set about bringing the garden back into shape ready for the influx of tourists to his villas in the summer months.  Saturday evening was off to Nidri for a birthday party Janet at the Mama Mia Taverna and excellent time was had by all but unfortunately my ulcers meant food was definitely off for the night as far as I was concerned.  Sunday and time for Tony to start being the chainsaw expert and getting some very overgrown  holly oaks chopped down around his property, in spring they fill his swimming pool with blossom and other bits of debris making it impossible to keep clean.  We've got a couple of good solid bougainvillea's now to cover the wall which has been exposed with the demise of the trees.  The only trouble is they are vicious I came out of pruning his existing ones looking like the result of the Texas chainsaw massacre.  I have renamed it's Latin name to maximus man-eatii.   By the time Tony and I had got finished Liz had prepared a lovely roast chicken dinner and lemon meringue pie for afters.  Thanks Liz!

Monday evening and we went to the quiz night in Lefkas town at Chicken Bills place.  We picked up David and Janet as we were passing Nidri anyway and it saved them some petrol so we are doing our bit for the environment.  Dave, Janet, Sandra and I won the quiz and the also two bottles of wine so it was a good night at least from our point of view the only downside being that as winners we have to organise the next quiz night, Hmmm time to get out some of the old music and think of testing questions I think!

This morning we have booked our return ferries and accommodations for the trip back to the UK for summer.  For anyone who may be interested here is the breakdown and coast, there is a 30% saving with ANEK if you book before the end of this month.

Igoumenitsa to Venice two people with inside cabin and car return 289.50 Euros http://www.anek.gr/
Over night in Germany One room two people within 1/2 a mile of the motorway at Kepple-Grafenhausen 62 Euros it's just half way between Venice and Zeebrugge if you go the Belgium, Germany, Switzerland way.
http://www.eurobookings.com/kappel-grafenhausen-hotels-de/euro-hotel.html?label=gg_en_bh_64301-germany-kappel-grafenhausen-euro-hotel&gclid=CMmfn63o_aYCFUENfAodlwNbZg

Zeebrugge to Hull return two people with inside cabin and car £322 http://www.poferries.com/  in our case it save us another overnight stay and also the travel from the channel up to Yorkshire so it's competitively priced.

We've Also booked Sandra's Dads one way ferries to go back with us in June, all in all it's been a busy week.