This is my first (and last) blog post in what has been a very busy month. I write just hours before leaving for my annual holiday to Greece.
Early tomorrow morning, we’re flying out to Greece – we’ll be staying in Γαλησσάς (Galissas) on the island of Σύρος (Syros): getting there involves flying to Μύκονος (Mykonos) and then getting a ferry.
Looking forward to practicing my Greek properly: Its been too long since we were last in the country!
My busy month started though with the Phoenix Festival in Cirencester: two days of great music by local artists. I, along with Cameron MacGregor, recorded the event and interviewed most of the musicians for Corinium Radio – and we played it out overnight. I enjoyed every minute of it, and the response we got from festival organisers, the bands, and listeners, was fantastic. If you missed it, listen to the whole thing on MixCloud.
The festival was followed by the Summer broadcast of Corinium Radio – my last broadcast as Head of Tech (that’s the official line anyway). This time round, I presented the Breakfast Shows, as well as a short programme about local charity Cirencester Housing for Young People. Take a listen to all my shows at fred-hart.co.uk/fredhartshow.
The weeks following from the broadcast were spent uploading programmes from the broadcast to the Corinium Radio website – as I write, I’ve still got to get through Sunday’s programmes… but they’ll have to wait until I get back from Syros!
It wasn’t all radio though: the heatwave we had in early/mid July took temperatures in this country above the temperatures in parts of Greece (I have been monitoring the official readings taken by EMY, the Greek Met Office).
I spent much of these warm Summer days dreaming of being in Greece, listening to Greek music, living the Greek way (that is: taking a siesta during the day and eating late – post 11pm in some cases). I love that sort of warm weather!
I even learned some new recipes and a couple of weeks ago we did our own Greek evening – I baked some pitta bread, Dad made some souvlaki and cooked them on the BBQ, and Mum made some tzatziki and hummus. We filled the pittas with the souvlaki and enjoyed it a proper Greek meal!
Of course, the warm weather is no substitute for being in Greece: 90% of the reason I love Greece is because of the different way of life there – the people are so friendly, food tastes a lot nicer than it does here, I can practice my Greek language skills, and things are generally more relaxed than they are in the UK.
It is for that reason, that I am now about to shut down my computer and head off to Greece for the next two weeks.
- Sim card swapped to my Greek one.
- My out of office is switched on.
- Bags packed.
- Phone charged.
- Cats in the cattery.
All I’m waiting for now is Dad – when he gets back from work, we’re off to a hotel near Gatwick for the night.
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates – and I’ll post photos and other information about Syros when I get back.
Bye for now.
FH.
