Georgos and his wife Natalie opened a taverna in Litsarda and after only a few months it has closed. This is the third business Georgos has opened and closed that we know of. In Vamos he ran an obelisterio (fast food) in the square and lost it, I don’t know the whys and wherefores of that. Then he opened a butchery and greengrocers close by and that was doing very well. We patronised it a lot because his produce was first class. Then suddenly one day it was no more. The shop was stripped and empty. It seemed that his father who runs one of the two small supermarkets in Vamos objected to this enterprise as it was taking custom away from him so he literally, son or no son, put the kybosh on it and Georgos was out. We first knew Georgos when he actually worked for his dad as a butcher in the supermarket. Then the old pizzeria in Litsarda was no more. Eleni and her family had decided the rental had become exorbitant and as they had a piece of land opposite they built themselves a new pizzeria, twice the size and with two flats above and a wonderful view to the mountains. The Litsarda pizzeria as I have mentioned before is famous. People come from miles away to patronise it. The village itself is very small so imagine our surprise when Georgos and Natalie took over the old building to open their pizzeria/taverna. We really did shake our heads in disbelief. The food was good, the prices moderate but it didn’t take a genius to know the enterprise would fail. A great shame really but obvious from the beginning. I don’t know how much money was lost with the rental at 600euro and very little custom. Georgos is now gainfully employed in a factory so at least they have an income. Maybe he should just stick to it. He is no entrepreneur, leastways in his choice of businesses. I feel so sorry for them as they are truly a very nice couple who don’t deserve that kind of luck.
But it has been a bad time for a great many and next year is going to be worse by all the forecasts. Kython TV, the company Chris and Douglas worked fort for a while, has laid off virtually its entire staff and the studio is running at an absolute minimum.
I have at last finished reading “Ginger Rogers – My Story” and it has taken longer to read than the writing took of Thornton King number five, twice as long in fact. Admittedly it was bedside reading so only a few pages at a time thank you – any more would have been impossible. It was like wading through treacle and almost as sickly but I was determined to stick it out. I don’t know how someone who lived such a varied and what most people would consider a truly exciting life could write about it in so boring a fashion. Her tendency to push God, her prayers and her Christian Science at every opportunity didn’t help. Christian Science got rid of a hundred warts overnight and even lanced and drained boils in the same time slot. Her men seemed to be an unhealthy lot so bully for C.S. I’m surprised though that if she was that close to God He didn’t give a helping hand in the writing of her book.
The making of the stained glass windows for Roger and Jane has been a saga to end all sagas. First of all, despite constant badgering, Chris had to wait literally for months before he was given accurate measurements and could start work. Then there was the small matter of the lead from Athens. That held fire for a couple of months and eventually he was informed they couldn’t supply the size he needed so lead had to be ordered from England. It arrived (the carriage cost twice the price of the lead) so he was ready to use it as during the wait he had cut the glass for every window and stored it ready for assembly. The finished window lying on his workbench at the moment looks absolutely super but guess what – night before last he took a nasty tumble and has fractured his right wrist!
That hand is completely out of action (he’ll have to use his left ha ha!) and the doctor reckons it could take up to eight weeks to heal. Poor Douglas, as though he didn’t have enough to do, with both of us out of action everything is on his shoulders. And poor Roger and Jane; they have been so patient waiting for their windows but (a) this is Greece and (b)…man proposes, God disposes. Let’s hope He disposes well in 2011 and in case I don’t get another opportunity, from me a wish to you for a Happy New Year.