General Elections and Οχι Day

At the beginning of September, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, leader of the Conservative New Democracy Party (ND) formally announced a snap general election which will be held on October 4th – just halfway through his four year term. In the last year the government has been rocked by a series of financial scandals. ND has also been heavily criticized for its management of the economy and for its handling of the December riots and the recent wildfires around Athens. ND has the slimmest of slim majorities in parliament (one seat!) - and when the final official opinion polls were published, opposition party PASOK were some six percentage points in the lead. We’ll wait and see! Around election time the country effectively grinds to a halt in terms of public administration - so don’t expect to get anything done that involves paperwork at the beginning of this month!

October 28th is a national holiday: ‘Οχι’ Day. This commemorates Greece’s entry into World War II on 28th October 1940. (You can read more about this event on our ‘Spotlight’ page, in our October 2007 issue). As with 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.

October 25th: Time for a Change

It may be stating the obvious but summer officially comes to an end this month. The tourist season is already starting to wind down, and according to some people we have spoken to, many seasonal businesses are about to call it a day and will close for the winter in the next couple of weeks. By the time the next edition of the Bugle comes out, the last charter flights will have gone back home. So, now is your last chance to have one of those long lazy lunches at a beachside taverna (always assuming that we get some better weather soon, that is!). In line with most countries in Europe, Greece turns the clocks back an hour to winter time on Sunday October 25th. It’s also worth noting that many bus, ferry and airline companies will also be changing to their winter schedules, so check those timetables!

Winter Music, New Raki and Halloween

So the summer barbecue season is all but done and dusted, and we are changing from flip-flops and shorts to sweaters and wellies. Are we downhearted? Not a bit of it! There is still plenty of fun to be had in and around town. As the tourists leave the winter music season starts, with many bars and tavernas having live music at weekends. We hope to bring you more information about this year’s winter music scene in our November edition of the Bugle. Here on Crete, the last weekend in October is ‘New Raki’ time and in many villages people will be hosting kazani parties (‘Kazani’ means ‘still’ as in distillery). Enjoy with caution is our motto!

And of course, many of the international community will be celebrating Halloween on 31st October. And although this is not in any sense a traditional Cretan festivity, you may find that there suddenly seem to be a huge amount of pumpkins on sale in the grocery shops in Rethymnon….

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), Odysseas the Cyclist (A Velouhioti 31),  Galero Bar (Rimondi Fountain), Mediterraneo Bookstore (Paleologou), Octopus (Tsouderon 13), Τέχνης ‘Εργα (Furniture shop at Koundouriotou 153), Friends of Animals Charity Shop in Pigi and Restaurant Paradiso in Agia Galini. To contact the Bugle, telephone Kate Brusten on 28310 54594 / 6942635515, or email editor@rethymnonnews.com – the deadline for the next issue is 23/10/09.

All previous issues have been archived on this site and can be viewed through the archive section.