13/04/24

[Maik]

Today’s bank rates:   
1 €UR = $ 0.8832 GBP   £1 GBP = 1.1322 €UR
1 €UR = $ 1.1056 USD   £1 USD = 0.9044 €UR
1 €UR = $ 1.6967 AUD   $1 AUD = 0.5893 €UR
   
Based on National Bank of Greece exchange rates.   
Other banks likely to offer rates which may be marginally higher or lower.    
Banks and foreign exchange offices normally charge standard 2% commission.   
You may get a better rate changing your holiday money in advance at e.g. the Post Office.   
NB: some f-ex agencies advertise "No Commission".    
Invariably, they deduct commission before they (don't) advertise the rate.   
Foreign exchange offices are businesses, not charities.   
   
Ten day weather forecast for Kefalonia:   
This is an overall forecast, due to the mountainous terrain the weather can be very localised.   
Updated forecast @ weather.com   
   
Day, Date   Hi°/Lo°   Wind sp   Wet   Forecast   
Sat 13/04   26°/15°   16 km/h   01%   Sunny    
Sun 14/04   26°/15°   10 km/h   03%   Sunny    
Mon 15/04   26°/16°   09 km/h   04%   Mostly sunny    
Tue 16/04   23°/15°   10 km/h   24%   Cloudy    
Wed 17/04   21°/12°   20 km/h   40%   Light rain possible   
Thu 18/04   18°/12°   28 km/h   17%   Sun & cloud    
Fri 19/04   19°/11°   26 km/h   24%   Sun & cloud    
Sat 20/04   18°/11°   27 km/h   24%   Mostly sunny    
Sun 21/04   20°/12°   18 km/h   02%   Sun & cloud    
Mon 22/04   20°/13°   21 km/h   06%   Sun & cloud    
   

[Maik]

Road closures in Argostoli today and tomorrow between 08:00-14:00 as follows: entire length of Yiros tis Lassis from Maistratto / odos Areos and Katovothres to Italian Memorial due to Kefalonia Backyard Ultra. Diversions in place.


Edit: Typo

[Maik]

Tourism provides third of Greek GDP, most jobs

One in three euros that Greece earns each year comes from tourism, demonstrating the Greek economy’s dependence on the sector.

https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1236326/tourism-provides-third-of-greek-gdp-most-jobs/


Recent headlines along the lines "Greece demands no more tourism" are very misleading. The government and tourism professionals want more, more, more every year. The people who don't want tourism are those who can't afford the high rents caused by AirBnB and those whose neighbourhoods have become caricatures of communities.

[Maik]

Legal online gambling contributes €500 mln in taxes

Legal online gambling contributes €500 million in taxes while illegal gambling sites cost the state coffers the same sum in lost revenue, the Delphi Economic Forum has heard.

https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1236393/legal-online-gambling-contributes-e500-million-in-taxes/

[Maik]

Bergerac reboot to begin filming in Jersey this summer

A reboot of the detective series Bergerac will begin filming this summer.

The original BBC series, based in and depicting Jersey, aired from 1981 to 1991 - featuring John Nettles as detective Jim Bergerac.

Broadcaster UKTV announced the "modern re-imagining" of the show would have a six episode release in 2025.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-68796640

[Maik]

Baffled Brits book £200 holiday only to find pool closed and they’re the only guests

Two Brits were left completely baffled when they arrived for their Corfu holiday only to find they were the only guests in their hotel - and everything in town was closed

https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/news/baffled-brits-book-200-holiday-32569958

 

[Maik]

Body of a 52 y-o foreign female recovered yesterday afternoon from the sea at Nea Paralia, Thessaloniki.

[Maik]

A 60 y-o female tourist rescued by Coast Guard yesterday afternoon after injuring her leg on a rocky path to a remote beach on northern Corfu. Fire service attempted rescue but eventually Coast Guard managed recovery by boat.

[Maik]

The fire season will officially start slightly earlier this sumer with a ban on any activity that could cause a wildfire, e.g. burning off stubble, banned from Monday, 15 April, according to the Commander of the Fire Service of Kefalonia.

[Maik]

Search and rescue operation underway for overboard ferry passenger

A search and rescue operation got underway southeast of Hydra to find a ferry passenger who fell into the sea in unclear circumstances.

https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1236416/search-and-rescue-operation-underway-for-overboard-ferry-passenger/

[Maik]

Greece in a losing battle to tumbling birth-rate, small villages have it worst

Much like the rest of Europe, Greece is struggling with decreasing birth-rates and experts say it will be hard to reverse the trend.

According to Reuters, recent data shows that the record low numbers of births are driven by the debt crisis that led to years of austerity, emigration and changed attitudes among the young.

2022 saw the lowest number of births in 92 years and preliminary unofficial data indicate another drop for last year.

Greece’s fertility rate is one of the lowest in Europe with some villages having not recorded a single birth in years.

https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/04/13/news/greece/greece-in-a-losing-battle-to-tumbling-birth-rate-small-villages-have-it-worst/

[Maik]

Why Byron’s a punchline in Britain – yet a god in Greece

200 years after his death we sneer at the warrior-poet – but Athenians worship him as a national treasure

https://archive.ph/ti5GJ#selection-2493.4-2497.109

[Maik]

The vice-president of the association of gas station owners and fuel traders, Giorgos Asmatoglos, has predicted the price of petrol will reach 2€ / litre over Easter.

[suzie]

The vice-president of the association of gas station owners and fuel traders, Giorgos Asmatoglos, has predicted the price of petrol will reach 2€ / litre over Easter.

It's already over 2 euros a litre here.