31/07/18

[Maik]

Tragedy in Katelios yesterday when the body of a middle aged woman, thought to be Greek, was recovered from the sea. First aid administered but without success.

Almost a tragedy in Poros later yesterday when an elderly man nearly choked after ingesting sea water. Emergency aid administered locally and transferred to Argostoli hospital where he recovered.

Body of a 28 y-o swimmer recovered from the sea at Limnionas, Zakynthos, yesterday morning.

Body of a dolphin discovered on Avithos beach yesterday. Removed for disposal.

Australian-flagged yacht Invictus confined to port in Argostoli yesterday midday after the captain reported mechanical failure.

[Maik]

Seven beaches on Kef have lost Blue Flag status:

Ammes, Antisamos, Avithos, Lourdas, Myrtos, Platys Yialos, Skala

Still good natural beaches, they just don't have the trappings required by the Blue Flag organisation.

[Maik]

Smart meters will let companies change cost of electricity every 30 minutes under 'surge pricing'

Smart meters will allow energy firms to introduce "surge pricing", one of Britain's biggest gas and electric providers has admitted for the first time.

New deals which will mean the price of energy fluctuates every half an hour will be introduced as soon the energy regulator has given them the green light, Scottish Power told the Telegraph.

The controversial tariffs rely on smart meters and will radically change the way households consume energy, leading to them paying more for watching television, charging gadgets and running the washing machine during popular times such as in the mornings and evenings.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/30/smart-meters-will-let-companies-change-cost-electricity-every/

JMO, but really not sure 'smart' meters will benefit consumers.

[Maik]

Bad day for Zakynthos yesterday: another body recovered from the sea, this time a 47 y-o during the evening at Selina beach, northwest Zakynthos.

[Maik]

Kef police been having a purge on motorists during the past 24 hours, 34 arrests for offences such as speeding, drunk driving, no crash helmet, no licence.

[Maik]

Greeks love landlines, not very keen on email

Greeks are top-of-the-table in the European Union in their use of landline telephony, but languish at the bottom of the chart in their use of email and instant messaging.

They are also trailing when it comes to use of internet telephony, and despite the expansion of applications such as Skype and FaceTime, very few Greeks use video-telephony as a means of communication.

Furthermore, Greek citizens have the lowest level of recognition of the European emergency number (112) among their EU peers.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/231267/article/ekathimerini/business/greeks-love-landlines-not-very-keen-on-email

[Maik]

Greece may be looking to replace some Canadair water bombers with Japanese made ShinMawa US-2 'planes, pic and story.

Might face competition from Viking Air who, in 2016, bought out the rights from Canadair/Bombardier for the familiar CL-215 and CL-415.

[Maik]

Seems a 60 y-o Greek tourist passed away in the sea at Ammes beach yesterday despite efforts to revive him.

[Maik]

Two black bin bags wrapped around narcotic substances, possibly herbal extracts of cannabis, washed up at Ortholithia bay, Paliki, yesterday evening. Total weight 51,600 grams, although it appears the contents were contaminated with sea water. Coast Guard investigating.

[Maik]

Couple of new projects ahead to help deal with natural disasters: 2,807,269€ goes to the Ionian Islands Region in collaboration with the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Ionian University, the TEI of the Ionian Islands, the Regional Union of the Ionian Islands and the Technical Chamber of Greece / Corfu for a project concerning natural risk management in the Eptanisa. Another 1,673,520€ will be heading to Kefalonia to enable the municipality to respond to its responsibilities in the event of fires. Separately, 3,500,000€ is heading to Fire Brigade HQ for equipment - I suspect that's across Greece, not just Kef.

How much necessary resources will filter down to the guys on the ground (or in the air)...

[Maik]

Tourist, said to be British, drove a hired quad bike through a shop window in Argostoli earlier today.

[expat]

Will we be crowd funding the repair bill?

[TonyD]

Which shop?
We might want to crowd fund the hire charge.