Santorini - we are back

We visited Santorini three years ago and had a nice time there. We stayed in Kamari, a small town on the beach with a street by the beach full of restaurants, hotels and shops. Luckily we stayed in a lovely hotel Anthena on a slope going up to the hill. We discovered Perissa beach, a relatively quiet beach where we can relax and have a good swim. I remember getting the first boat out to Perissa every morning, the beach umbrellas made of hay swaying gently in the wind and watching sunset in a restaurant on the beach. Oia was a bit overrated, watching the sunset in the sea with hundreds of people is not my type of romantic experience.

We decided to come back and stay in Perissa for a week this time. We booked Zorzis hotel based on recommendations from tripadvisor. It turns out to be a lovely place to say. The rooms are small, but with balcony and a nice pool and lush plants and flowers around, it is a very enjoyable place. I especially enjoyed the evenings we came back from our dinner, the hotel owner Spiros would invite us to join him for a glass of wine, sitting in the courtyard and chatting into the night. He was a captain on trade ships going around the world. Under the dark blue sky dotted with bright yellow stars, he started telling us about his first love. It was Roseline, she is an English girl, they met when she was 20 and he was only 19 working as a sailor. "She was a good girl", he said in a deep and gentle voice, his eyes looking into the distance, "I loved her, We were together for four years. she wanted to get married, but you know when you were only 19 and had no money, this was not possible." I sensed the sadness spreading, like a delicate flower dropping from the tree, only a light sweet aroma still lingering in the air.

Perissa seems to be a little quieter than last time we visited three years ago. We were surprised to learn from Spiros that there is no main water supply system here in town, so water is brought in by a lorry every week to all hotels and houses. There does not seem to be much urban planning either, I guess anyone can buy a piece of land and build a house. It is a beautiful town by the beach, with better planning it would look much more attractive than it does today. There are quite a few cats gathering outside the house in the afternoon when the owner put out food for them, apparently in the winter time, there are only a few hotel/restaurants staying open, so the number of cats increase by two fold. We had a rather lazy time there, I did a few sketches, a first attempt in my life, and I was quite pleased with the result. I read the novel "one day" and found it slightly disappointing as it is a bit too predictable as one of my friends warned. I read the Obama book "the dreams of my father". I only picked it up from a pile of books left by the hotel guests. To my own surprise, I was quite drawn into the book, especially the part about his childhood.

The Economic situation in Greece is pretty dire, people worry about putting money in the banks because they think it is highly likely the government will pull out from Euro zone and they will be issued with local currency replacing the Euros they saved in the bank. And of course high inflation is the only to get out of the deep debt. This year, there are very few people from Atheners coming to Santorini. Spiros is worried the Italians might stop coming next year judging from their economy. We assured him the British would still come, well, given the rainy weather we have in Britain, we have to come here to soak up the sun - for our sanity really. We found a few nice restaurants in Perissa, the gods garden and the volcanos are the best ones. I like greek food, it is honest, fresh and good hearty good, the trick is not to indulge yourself too much...The greek are nice people too, they have a relaxed attitude towards life, and I really hope they will pull through this crisis.

London is on fire

London is calling and London is on fire!!!

I think, many people like me, still find it hard to believe this is happening at our door steps, one of the most dynamic and vibrant cities in the world. I am sure there will be a lot of soul searching after this, but at the moment, I believe we should not try to justify the riots in any way. It is a slippery slope, it does not get us anywhere. Whatever issues and challenges we face in the society, the ruthless damage and complete lawlessness must stop - unconditionally. The government and the police are here to protect innocent and decent people in the society, not the criminals. In this green and pleasant land, we can not accept the behaviour that undermines the very basic moral values. We are in the deep recession, the last thing we need is loss of public confidence and national image.

I find the government here is too soft, too concerned about being politically correct. The society is built based on trust and respect, and innocent people and their hard earned livelihood. The police apparently has been timid since the shooting of young boy in Totternham last week, but they need to be empowered with the necessary tactics. The home secretary said water cannon is not allowed. Why not? When these young people turned violent and started burning down houses and looting shops, they have lost the decency and dignity, the trust and respect is broken, so they must be told and learn in a hard way this is not an acceptable behaviour in a modern and civilised society. They are not "kids", even they are still young, but they are old enough to know this is not right.

I don't buy the argument that young people have to turn violent and destroy the very community they live it to get the attention from the authority. This is not a political statement, you only need to see the decoded messages they send through the blackberry "it doesnt matter what gangs you are from, join us and get in there and get free stuff". I am sorry, but this is not a way to call for change in the society.

There are a lot of challenges today in Britain, and the young people naturally are more affected naturally. But they can't blame the government or community for all their problems. I find a lot of young people here are simply not hard working and driven enough to make a difference in their lives. One of my nephews from my husband side decided when she was 25 that she wanted to become a single mom because this is the best way out. She does not want to get a job (ever!), becasue she has to get training and practice that she didn't want to bother. She was given a nice flat with a garden after the child was born, she immediately kicked out her boyfriend who had been supporting her financially. Now she is happily living on benefits, spending her days going around to see her friends in similar situation and now has a new boyfriend and planning to have another child so she can get better accomondation. She is a sponger of the society, creaming off what she can get from other hard working people. And you want parental control? It is impossible if you have a system that encourges single moms and runaway fathers. And we all know broken family has its consequences on the child's education.

Authority sometimes is considered a negative word in the west, but it does not have to be. You look around Asia, Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, the list goes on. Law and order is needed in any society, and so are the discipline, and this starts from parenting. The kids need to be told what is not acceptable and the consquences they have to face. And young people have to be prepared to work hard and have self discipline and esteem and respect for others.

There is high unemployment among the youth in Britain, but you have millions from other parts of Europe livinng and working in Britain, most of them are not skilled workers. Today, you will hardly find any English bartenders or waitresses/waiters in a cafe/bar/restaurant in London. Why? Because the young people her don't want to do this kind of low paid jobs. Same thing with a lot of low skilled building works, now dominated by easter Europeans.

The benefit system is killing this country. Young people need to understand working is the only way out of the dreadful trap they are in. They can't expect a life all crafted out nicely for them. They need to look up the role models who come from a unpreviliged background and become successful. There is no short cut to success in life. It is years of hard work, sweat and tears. It requires sacrifice and discipline. That is the succesful formula that is proven in Asia.

You can never give a person enough state social welfare. The society will not progress when there are too many spongers.

There is no silver bullet for building a harmonious society, it is a tough balancing act between Keynes and Friedman. Too much state benefits encourages laziness, too little create unstability. My personal view is that free health care should be provided for everybody, but state should provide very little benefits for other benefits. You will be surprised to see how people's potential can be unlocked.