World Animal Day, Οχι Day, Halloween….

The tourists may be heading home, but there is still plenty going on ’event-wise’ in October to keep us busy! At the beginning of the month, on October 4th, we celebrate World Animal Day. Local animal welfare charities including Friends of the Animals and Cat-A-List will be hosting an event outside Rethymnon Town Hall from 10am - 2pm. You will find further information about the activities they have planned on our Community Page.

October 28th is a national holiday: ‘Οχι’ Day. This commemorates Greece’s ’entry’ into World War II on 28th October 1940. (We featured this event last year on our ‘Spotlight’ page, you will find the article in the October 2007 edition in the archive section) As on any public holiday, banks, offices and many shops will be closed throughout Greece. In Rethymnon the event is traditionally marked by a ceremony at Agnostou Square (Square of Unknown Soldier) and a military and civil parade (the ceremony usually starts around mid-morning, but check local listings and www.rethymnon.biz nearer the time for confirmation).

At the end of the month, on October 31st, many members of the international community will be celebrating Halloween. Here at the Bugle we are absolutely delighted to be able to announce that our dear friend Laina (back by VERY popular demand) will be kicking off her new winter programme by hosting a Halloween Party with free buffet and disco at the Acropolis Taverna in Platanes, starting at 8pm. For directions, and to find out more about other events that Laina has in the pipeline, please see our ‘Autumn Fun at the Acropolis’ piece on the next page.

As if all this excitement wasn’t enough, October is also ‘new raki’ time (which is a faintly frightening thought for those of us in the know). In many villages in the region people will be celebrating the production of this season’s ‘Cretan Grappa’ by hosting kazani (‘still’ as in ‘distillery’) parties. Expect some sore heads….

The Times They Are a-Changin’

European Summer Time ends on Sunday 26th October, so don’t forget to change your clocks. Lie back and enjoy that extra hour in bed - or, alternatively, think about the extra hour you might have enjoyed in bed if you hadn’t had to go round every room in your house resetting the clocks on your electronic devices. Ah, the joys of the digital age….!

Autumn Seminars at the Lykeio Ellinidon

The Lykeio Ellinidon (Lyceum for Women) has been running community education programmes for many years now. This semester a course of seminars centred round the theme of ‘Emotion’ will be led by Sofia Trilivas of the University of Crete. The seminars take place on Wednesday evenings, starting at 7pm and last two hours. This year the autumn programme is scheduled to run from Wednesday 8th October for 10 weeks (check local press for confirmation of times and dates). Sessions, which are conducted in Greek take the form of structured group discussions. The community Lykeio building is on the beach road near the old harbour, next to the Savodor Sandwich shop. Further information about the Lykeion Ellinidon may found (in Greek) online at the www.lykeioellinidonrethymno.com website.

Thinking of Stopping Smoking? Read On….

Looking ahead to next month: Pete Shepherd, based in Vrysses, Apokoronou, will be running a course devised to help people give up smoking which will start on November 4th. The Course lasts 6 weeks, runs on Tuesdays from 2-4 pm and costs 72 euros in total. We hope to be able to provide you with more details about the programme components in our November issue In the meantime, if you are interested in joining, or want to know more, give Pete a ring on 6943683064.

Bugle Outlets and Contacts

Hard copies of the Bugle are distributed in a variety of locations around town. These include: SVEA’s Swedish Coffee Shop (CIC Coffee Morning, first Thursday of each month), NewsStand (Square of Unknown Soldier), Camping Elizabeth (Misiria), Satellite Tourist Services (Sof Venizelou 21, by the Marina), Tapas y Vinos (Melissinou 14), Chryssafenia’s Nature House ( Messologiou 9) Odysseas the Cyclist (A Velouhioti 31), Second Hand Shop ‘Magpie’s Nest’ (Siphi Vlastou 28), Galero Bar (Rimondi Fountain), Mediterraneo Bookstore (Paleologou), Nikos Siragas, Wood Art (Petalioti 2), Octopus (Tsouderon 13), Τέχνης ‘Εργα (Furniture shop at Koundouriotou 153) and Cretanagora Property Sales in Spili.

To contact The Bugle, phone Kate on 28310 54594 / 6942635515, email editor@rethymonnnews.com – the deadline for the next issue is 24/10/2008.