February 2021

Here we are grinding through the winter, but a general lightening of atmosphere took place with the arrival of Aphrodite, my fifth grandchild and second granddaughter. She was born on the 13^th of January, and in my head I call her The Whopper: she had a birth weight of 4kg 360 gm, or 9lbs 10oz approx in the old money (!) An early photo of her showed a red face and battered, puffy eyes, but she was holding her head up very steadily for someone who was not even 48 hours old when the photo was taken. Mother Nina can be considered Wonder Woman, as she took only 6 hours to produce this miracle. Now they are both home, and things are going well, with brother Orestes and sister Natalia squabbling over whose turn it is to hold the baby. Par for the course, I suppose, and I also suppose that the novelty will wear off soon.

Another lightening of winter atmosphere took place with the Inauguration of President Biden on the 20^th of January. I watched it all, full of foreboding, heart in mouth and so on, and was mightily relieved when everything seemed to go without a hitch. I found the proceedings very moving, and I certainly hadn’t expected to. The new President’s speech was impressive, and just what the country needed, it seems to me. He comes across as a decent man, and as a hard worker: he went straight to his desk and proceeded to sign several executive orders before changing his clothes or even having a bite of lunch, at least as far as I could gather. There was an apt comment on Twitter this morning: It is good to see a President concentrating on governing, rather than on playing golf. Something like that: how true and how reassuring.

Well, Covid fortunes continue to fluctuate practically everywhere. Greece was on the point of relaxing certain restrictions, but things have tightened up again because of a worsening of numbers: Attica is now a hot spot, as are various other places around the country. Students who are in Years 7-9 are allowed to go to school tomorrow, the 1^st of February, but those who are in Years 10-12 have to continue with online lessons. It is generally agreed that these are good in their way in that they provide some maintenance at least, but nothing quite replaces that school room experience. My elder grandsons are able to return tomorrow, so we are all pleased about that. I’m not pleased about my inability to get to Athens (travel restrictions are still in force), but there is, of course, nothing I can do.

The virus seems to be following a fairly predictable pattern, at least in Greece, in that 85% of deaths have been in the age group over 65. In any case, that is the trend so far.

The world keeps turning despite everything, and amazing discoveries continue to be made. A simply huge dinosaur was discovered in NW Patagonia in 2012, but excavations of its 98-million-year-old remains are not yet complete. Palaeontologists are now calling the creature a titanosaur, appropriately enough, and believe it is the largest creature ever to walk the earth. Should the film Jurassic park be remade? Little boys everywhere will have to add to their collection of models. (In my fairly wide experience most little boys go through a dinosaur phase, usually when they are six or seven.)

Closer to home, a fossilised tree was recently discovered on the island of Lesbos. It is thought to be 20 million years old, and was discovered during road works. As a BBC commentator remarked (they never can resist) this gives new meaning to the label of trunk road. But such discoveries should also give new impetus to the desire to care for the planet and to heed the various warnings made by it.

I do not look forward to February, the month during which winter plunges to unpleasant depths, at least here in the Peloponnese. And the bad weather seems to have started early this year: more evidence of climate change? Yesterday saw clouds lying very low, so that there was a virtual wall of fog to be penetrated by those spirits brave enough to venture out. Today is better, with some sun struggling through. People who have a better view than I have report a lot of snow on the Taygetus mountains.

But there are signs of spring, thank goodness. Carpets of chamomile are everywhere, and this means that the paparounes, the red anemones, will soon follow. And the wattle trees, which always do very well in Greece, are ready to burst into bloom, and will soon make, as my Grannies would have said, a glorious show.