March 23

One does not like to start writing with bad news, but it is impossible to ignore the horror of the train crash that took place in northern Greece just before midnight last night. (February 28). The accident happened near the picturesque Vale of Tempe, when a goods train and a passenger train carrying 350 people collided head-on, leaving 36 people dead and at least 85 injured. The cause of the accident is as yet unknown, but the most upsetting part of the episode concerns the fact that many of the passengers were students travelling at the end of a long weekend that included Clean Monday, a public holiday for the start of Orthodox Lent. Rescuers were very much hampered by difficult conditions and darkness. Now the emergency services are at least working in daylight while all Greece, I imagine, waits with bated breath for further news.

It seems quite a long time since I was in Warsaw, but my interest in the place continues. I have remarked on the reconstruction of the city, which was simply a flattened ruin in 1944. Since I last wrote, I have discovered that post-war university students had to give up part of every weekend in order to take part in making bricks or building. This was a sacrifice, but one the young could all be proud of.

In this part of the world, Carnival precedes Lent, and is much enjoyed by the young. And by the old, too, although I imagine that most of the latter group have passed the stage of wanting to dress up. I certainly have. A lot of partying goes on, and a lot of throwing of confetti. Two of my youngest grandchildren were bidden to a party at one stage, and chose to go as Harry Potter characters: my 10-year-old grandson went as the villain Voldemort, and his younger sister temporarily became Bellatrix Lestrange. Their mother reported that they had a wonderful time. She knows a lot about the application of makeup, so the children really looked their parts.

One of the down sides of the Greek climate is the periodic occurrence of the sirocco, a wind that blows from the south, and dumps vast quantities of red dust on parts of Greece. As can be guessed, the Sahara Desert causes this, and Crete is always worse off than the Peloponnese. But here we have just had four days of this freakish weather, which includes a heavy pall of cloud through which the sun burns as best it can. Nobody’s temper is improved by this weather pattern, so that I would not be surprised to learn of a peak in crime statistics at such times.

There is still windy weather after the sirocco stops, so this is the time for the flying of kites. Gypsy vendors set up rows of the latter in long rows along the water front and elsewhere. The kites usually come in the shape of hexagons or triangles, with fringes and glitter attached. You can buy Disney figures and kites that feature your favourite football team. But in all these years I have never seen a box kite: my old Dad was very good at making these, I recall.

Despite climate change (we are very short of rain at present) the wild flowers are continuing to bloom right on schedule. Carpets of chamomile are still here, and have recently been joined by the blood-red poppies that spring up everywhere at about this time. They are really anemones, but the Greek name for them (paparounes) helps the poppy label along. They last and last, because there are eleven different species of them.

I’ve just checked for the latest news on the train crash. The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is on his way to the scene, and the President and Parliament have decided to have three days of official mourning, during which time flags on public buildings will fly at half-mast and public functions will be cancelled. This sad happening is Greece’s worst-ever train disaster. In one positive development, the Turkish Foreign Minister has called his Greek counterpart and has offered his condolences. As the two nations are always wrangling, this has to be a good sign and a demonstration of some sort of solidarity. Greece also sent help as quickly as possible after the recent disastrous earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Another good sign? Perhaps a rapprochement? We can always hope.