Tag Archives: Mani

Grey Britain, Canada, Greece: a philosophy of travel

Posted on March 4, 2013 by BarryH

It is widely believed that in the UK when the weather is dominated by high pressure the sky is blue and the sun shines, luxuriatingly hot in the summer, icy cold and exhilarating in winter.  It can be but is … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Grey Britain, Grumpy Old Men, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rambling through 2012, a year in pictures: Part 2, Greece

Posted on December 31, 2012 by BarryH

The task of selecting a bakers’ dozen of images from the hundreds I took in Greece this summer was more daunting than choosing those for Wales.  This is partly because many of the places I went were new to me … Continue reading →

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Solstices: looking back and looking forward.

Posted on December 23, 2012 by BarryH

The Winter Solstice this year began gloriously but soon went downhill weather-wise.   Still, as it recedes into the background and the days begin to get longer again it’s maybe time to remind ourselves of what the annual phenomenon is all … Continue reading →

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November Daily Blog 24: Footpaths – Grey Britain, Greece, Canadian Rockies.

Posted on November 24, 2012 by BarryH

The weather in the UK has been pretty grim over the last few days with dark grey skies and rain varying between heavy and torrential.  For 4 days now there have been 200 or more flood warnings with the South … Continue reading →

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November Daily Blog 21: The news. Informative? Depressing? Trivial? Necessary!

Posted on November 21, 2012 by BarryH

I used to be addicted to TV news, pride myself on knowing what was going on in the world..  I would hush the family so I could watch catch every morsel of it as we ate our evening meal.   I … Continue reading →

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November Daily Blog 16: feuds and buses

Posted on November 16, 2012 by BarryH

When I arrived home after spending the summer in Greece I start to turn the daily blog into a diary partly to keep the memories alive as long as possible and partly to remind me in years to come (assuming … Continue reading →

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November Daily Blog 9: reminiscences of gorges, waterfalls and footpaths.

Posted on November 9, 2012 by BarryH

My visit yesterday to the Brecon Beacons ‘Waterfall Country’ reminded me of the Viros Gorge running from the Taygetos Mountains to Kardamili on the west coast of the Mani Peninsula in the far south of the Peloponnese.  The two weeks … Continue reading →

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Symi, Kardamyli and Cricieth: a short tale of literary connections.

Posted on October 31, 2012 by BarryH

One of the pleasures of travelling is meeting people.  One of pleasures of returning to familiar places is renewing friendships. A conversation with a friend in a taverna on Symi in 2010 sparked my interest in the author Bruce Chatwin.  … Continue reading →

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Down to earth with a squelch, naked garlic, blue sky thinking

Posted on July 5, 2012 by BarryH

Arrival back in the UK from Athens was not as unpleasant as the avuncular pilot predicted at takeoff.  Rather than raining and 14oC, the weather in Manchester was about 18oC, dry with sunny intervals and there was a modest amount … Continue reading →

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Leaving Athens: the end of the trip

Posted on July 1, 2012 by BarryH

I woke up ahead of my alarm going off on Friday with one  of those crystal-clear wakenings which renders the ‘snooze’ button pointless. Written large in the early-morning grogginess was the inescapable message “Going home today”.  That stark message meant … Continue reading →

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