Contents
Around Town
Paving the Way
Singing all together now: ‘I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. And that dust from the drill is going right up my nose. As for that ringing in my ears, not sure I can really say cheers….etc. etc.’ By now you might have guessed that we are experiencing repaving in our neighbourhood. But, no pain, no gain as they always say, and on the basis of past experience it will look lovely when it’s finished. Heaps of renovation / good works going on in Rethymnon right now and great to see that after many years of neglect the Old Town is being given a loving facelift. We’ll keep you posted!
Sport: Kit Kat Time
'Let’s have a break from winter team sports and a re-group whilst we think about this’ was the initial comment from our newest sport pundits Dizzy and Django when asked to file their monthly report. ‘We seem to be a little bit low on Whiskas Junior Crunchies which we seriously need if we are going to submit an article of any worth’ they added and ‘delicately cooked small fish would help if you want us to do overtime’ they also happened to mention. The managerial committee took note and supplied the necessary. For those of you who are wondering, Dizzy is the one in the blue flowerpot, Django is the one in the basket. Here is their article:
The competitions for the winter sports have all finished, and the Rethymnon teams didn’t really have a shiny season, except of course for the women’s volleyball team from OPER. Nobody would have predicted that the newly promoted team would make it to the play-offs at the end of the season, but they did. Congratulations to all involved with the team. Django says: ‘purr, purr, to OPER’.
We can’t say the same about our other teams we have been reporting on unfortunately. Krisses, the women’s football team got relegated from the national league. A drive to recruit more local players has already started. We wish them luck for next season. As Dizzy says: ‘It’s not quite the same as starting from scratch, and we shouldn’t hiss and spit too much’.
Rethymnon Aegean, the men’s basketball team did not deliver this season. They started with high expectations, but they never looked like fulfilling them. At the end, they were very pleased not to be relegated. Their away form has been abysmal all season. We think there is a lot of work to be done in the summer. Dizzy’s comment: ‘Time to sort out the mice from the men’.
Asteras Rethymnon didn’t have high hopes at the beginning of the year. Starting with almost a completely new team, they knew they wouldn’t be competing for promotion; there were some impressive wins though, but in the end, the lack of experience and maybe not quite the right balance within the team meant that they ended up 35 points behind champions Hania, but still in 5th position. This possibly says something about the quality of the other teams in the division. Next season, they will be joined by another Rethymnon based team, Rethymniakos – which promises some good derbies ahead. Django’s view: ‘Loads of minnows to think about when you’re trying to put the ball in the back of the net’.
Kallikratis: Do You Know Where You Live?
Parliament has voted to ‘accept’ the administrative reformation of Greece, a process that was started under the previous government. The programme is called Kallikratis and its aim, according to Prime Minister Papandreou is to save money, reduce bureaucracy and make local government more effective…. The result of this administrative reshuffle for the Rethymnon prefecture is that the number of municipalities will be reduced from 11 to 5. The newly created municipalities are as follows: 1) Rethymnon Municipality, incorporating the current municipality of Rethymnon and those of Lappeon, Nikifora Foka and Arkadi; 2) Mylopotamos Municipality incorporating Gerapotamos, Kouloukonas and the Community of Zoniana, the proposed seat of the municipality is Perama; 3) Amari Municipality - to include Syvritos and Kouriton, with the proposed seat in Agia Fotini; 4) Agios Vasilios Municipality, enveloping the current municipalities of Lampis and Finikas, with its proposed seat in Spili; 5) Municipality of Anogia – no change there! These changes have taken place despite some serious opposition….
Local elections in November 2010 will be conducted according to the new administrative boundaries. Permanent residents who have a passport from one of the countries of the EU are entitled to vote in local elections. You need to put your name on the electoral roll, however, in order to vote. To do this you will have to go to your local town hall before the end of June and register with the elections office. According to the information we have from Rethymnon town hall, all you need is your passport and a utilities bill (water, electricity etc). A few weeks (or days perhaps?!) before the elections you will be notified by the authorities about the location of your respective polling station.
