No news is...well...no news actually

It is quite easy to slip into a bit of a news and communication black-hole here in Crete.

We do try and watch the news in Greek on the main channels, but as one letter recently put it in the Athens News, TV is full of "bimbos, breasts, buttocks and bollocks". Most of the news shows here seem to spend a couple of minutes on the latest scandal to afflict the ND government, and then devote the rest of the bulletin to some daytime TV hottie nearly falling out of her dress, or putting on weight, or being caught on camera on the beach in her bikini.

The ΣΚΑΙ channel evening has bulletins from the BBC, but these are dubbed into Greek. We often watch them anyway, as at least you get a more international perspective on events around the world, you can sometimes pick up bits of the English, and seeing the moving images explains stories you might have only read online.

We were over-joyed at Christmas, when ΣΚΑΙ started running live BBC World news for an hour-and-a-half in the mornings. Claire would eagerly get up at 7am, make herself coffee, and then settle down for an hour of news in English. Sadly it seems that this was only a measure for during the holiday season, as it disappeared as soon as we got to the second week of January.

We've lost our source of local news as well. Every evening ΚΥΔΟΝ TV used to have 'Crete News and Life' with Sally Heard and Emma Perkins reading the local, national and international news in English. It wasn't always the most informative show - there are only so many stories about this local union threatening to strike over something you can take - but it was a valuable lifeline to what was going on locally. It went off air before Christmas, which we assumed was for a holiday break, but it is yet to re-appear.

Which leaves us with just the English language version of the ΕΡΤ site and the weekly Athens News in English to get our local news - neither of which have a great deal of coverage of Crete.

Well, unless we improve our Greek to beyond ordering coffee and beer, of course...

Comments

[James Payne]

Ha, that's pretty funny. I'm even worse when it comes to DIY. I put up a stairgate for our children and it's fallen down twice. Must be something in the E17 water.

Enjoying your blog by the way!

[papalaz]

We think Sally's program has been scrubbed - permanently

Try BBC news on the web - you get to choose what you read - it is very very good - or alternatively hook up to Radio4 on the web - the Today program will give you your fill of news (we do every day)