St Reg (again)

Skopelos Town is amphitheatrically shaped, at sea level. In many ways it resembles my bathroom washbasin. When the rainfall is too heavy to simply soak into the ground it makes its way down and round and round and down to the town centre.

A couple of weeks ago I showed you the dramatic spot where Skopelos' patron Saint Riginos chased a dragon into the sea. This shrine to him stands at the junction between the ring road and the arterial road, on the spot where he was beheaded. It also happens to be the point where all the dry waterways converge and the arterial road forms a culvert. This therefore was the point in the system that failed so devastatingly on 21st/22nd September when cars were washed out to sea.

Sadly once more the little camera grumbled and despite the fact that no car was parked in front of the shrine obscuring its refurbished ornaments, no pictures from the front were usable. Strangely though, round the back of the shrine, devoid of ornamentation, the camera was happy as Larry to take pictures of the back of the shrine, the car that had just parked in front of it, the car owner asking if I minded his car being in my shot, the top of the culvert, and all the little flags still waving since his name day on 25th Feb. It was also happy to take a shot backwards of the confluence. (extras)

Sunday evening had seen me attending the meeting of the Glossa Business Association. Several motions were raised and swiftly agreed but the one real sticking point was raised by our chairman/president who, though he has lived on Skopelos these last 40 years, hails originally from Crete. He wanted to know why it is, on an island as small as Skopelos, there is such a feud between Glossa and the main town that the Glossiots will not acknowledge Saint Riginos, will not celebrate his name day, will not close their businesses for the day. Harrumph! The argument rumbled into the night like thunder across distant hills.