Breaking News or "The News When it Happens as it Happens"

• On Saturday night 16th there was a partial lunar eclipse which started around 8pm and had obscured most of the moon by around 9.45pm.  Watch our "What's New" for pictures of the event.
• Friday 15th is the festival of Panagia which is celebrated from 7pm onwards in the Old Village with a recreation of a traditional Alonissos wedding followed by food and dancing in the bus stop area.  The bus normally runs a special timetable finishing around 2am when the festivities generally come to a close.
• There is an ongoing problem with mechanical failure to Flying Cat 6 which is causing disruption and delays to the timetables.
• A new bypass road is in the process of being created which will take through traffic out of the main streets of Patitiri.  The road is still in the making and most now has a cement and gravel surface and starts opposite the entrance to the Hotel Nereides in Paleohorafina and goes over the hillside and emerges near the football pitch opposite the Old Village.  The road then splits and one road goes straight on and emerges near the OTE turn on the main road, while the other goes down the valley and emerges at the final sharp bend before Megalos Mourtias.  More news to follow.
• The IT group of ASAP (Alonissos Society for Animal Protection) have successfully managed to have their web address hijacked during the renewal process by Canadian fraudsters who have had the name re-registered to them.  Apparently the fraudsters have created an anonymous automated site that uses the ASAP address to build commercial traffic and host "spyware".  If you have the old web address "www.asap-animals.org" in your favourites then please delete immediately and we will post the new address when available.
• An earthquake registering 5.3 on the Richter scale occured around 3.39am on Sunday 3rd August in the seas around 50 kms (31 miles) north of Alonisssos.  No injuries or damage has been reported and we slept through the initial quake and the subsequent aftershocks.

• An evening of Ukranian dancing was held on Tuesday 29th at the bus stop area in the Old Village.  The teenage group performed for about an hour and some of the dances were extremely intricate and complicated.  A good evening was had by all.
• A music evening was held in Plateia Iroon by the war memorial in the upper Old Town on Monday 28th.
• For those that are interested Father Avram will hold a Vespers service in English in the church of Agia Paraskevi on Wednesday evening from 7pm to 7.30pm.  Everyone welcome.
• An evening of Ukranian dancing was held on Saturday 26th at the harbour front in Patitiri.  We missed the spectacle as we were having a gastronomic experience at the new Italian restaurant Acquasanta in the Old Village.
• A demonstration of traditional corn threshing will take place at the Alonia (corn circles) on the evening of Thursday 24th.  If the event is similar to last year there is also the opportunity to try the porridge made with the ground corn.
• The is a major religious weekend on 26th and 27th as these are the saints days for Agia Paraskevi and Agios Panteleimonas whose churches are at the back of Patitiri and near the helipad in Votsi respectively.
• There will be a quiz night hosted by Jan and Jeff Moon at the Paradise Hotel in Patitiri on Sunday August 3rd starting at 7pm.  All profits to the animal charity ASAP.
• The Aloni band are now playing every Thursday night during the summer at the Pleiades Apartments above the harbour in Patitiri.
• The bus is now running an extended summer timetable with the last journey from Patitiri to the Old Town at midnight.  We will post the new timetable on our Alonissos bus page in due course.
• A Moon Festival was held on Saturday 19th at the Alonia (corn circles).  We unfortunately can't report on the event as we were at Mary's Bar meeting Andrew Kerrigan and his wife Maria.  Better luck next time.
• A new Italian restaurant opened in the Old Town yesterday evening (16th July).  Called Ristorante Acquasanta it is located at the old Taverna Nappo site.  Walk up from the bus stop to the plateia, then passed the Church of Christ on the left and just before the steps toward the Naval bar there is a passageway on the right.  Go passed the "Rent Rooms" sign and the taverna is down the steps to the right.  We will try the food sometime next week and report what we find on our Lower Old Town Tavernas page.
• Have posted up the pictures for the Traditional Weekend last year.  Due to the fact there are only 30 minutes in every Greek hour it is difficult to get everything done in one day and if things get forgotten, then they often get overlooked.  However, you can now see the pictures if you go to the Traditional Weekend page.
• The annual Fish Festival will take place on Saturday 12th July at Kalamakia, as per last year.  A free bus will be going to Kalamakia from the harbour front in Patitiri all evening.
• A traditional Greek shadow puppet show will take place on Tuesday 8th at the amphitheatre in Patitiri from 9pm and at the same time on Wednesday 9th at the war memorial plateia in the Old Village.
• The bus is now running the summer timetable with the last journey from Patitiri to the Old Town around 10.30pm.  There are now 3 trips per day to Steni Vala.  We will post the new timetable on our Alonissos bus page in due course.

• An EU Leader+ sponsored cooking competition took place in the Old Town on Saturday 28th June with entries from people on the island.  A web page will follow shortly so check What's New.
• The island is currently beset by a mini-heatwave with temperatures into the low 30's C and high humidity this weekend and getting into the mid 30's C by next weekend.
• The GA ferries Milena and Daliana are running down through the Sporades and Cyclades to Crete but are only docking in Patitiri on the way back to the mainland, not on the way down to Crete.
• The ferry service by the Skyros ferry Achilles from Skyros to Skopelos via Kimi on Evia and Alonissos has definitely started on the 21st June as we watched the boat sail passed to Skopelos and back to Alonissos as we were sat on the veranda having lunch.
• Monday June 16th is Pentecost (50 days after Greek Easter) and is a national holiday for public sector workers - banks, post office, government offices and companies.
• The ferry service by the Skyros ferry Achilles from Skyros Island to Skopelos via Kimi on Evia and Alonissos started on the 21st June as the boat sailed passed to Skopelos and back to Alonissos as we were sat on the veranda having lunch.
• A music weekend is taking place at the Arhondostasi (Mary's Bar) on 13th, 14th and 15th with a trio from Athens.
• Alonissos apparently has its own TV station.  Only pictures and cards with no sound.  More information to follow.
• Alonissos featured on the ERT programme "Sunday in the Village" on Sunday 8th June.  Filming around the island took place when we were visiting the UK at the end of May.
• A team of dermatologists arrived on the island recently and held a clinic for people with skin problems.  Unfortunately no-one found out about it until it was almost too late because the only sign was apparently in the butcher's shop.
• The cicada's have started and life will not be the same again until the end of the summer.
• Taxi fares have increased for the first time in quite a few years and a cab from Patitiri to the Old Town has gone up from 5 euro to 6 euro.
• The current bus timetable has now been posted on our Alonissos Bus page.  Fares are now 1.40 euro single to the Old Town and 1.50 euro single to Steni Vala.

• Third week in May and the board at Alkyon Travel indicates that the Express Skiathos will now run daily to Volos from Alonissos at 7.10pm.  This is the first daily ferry service of the year.
• Two of Galileo's balls have dropped 3rd week in May!!  For the first time this year the indoor temperature has risen to 68F and the second ball in the Galileo Thermometer on our mantle-piece has dropped.  Summer is approaching fast.  Outdoor temperatures in the low 80's F.
• The 4th Alonissos International Multi-terrain Marathon will take place on the 31st May.
• The summer bus service has now started operating and we will get a copy of the timetable and post it on our Alonissos Bus page in due course.
• Ria & Yianni opened Taverna Megalos Mourtias on Saturday 17th May.  We went down on Sunday and it is great to have their taverna open again for the season at our favourite beach.
• Posters have been put up in some of the travel agents in Patitiri advertising a ferry service by the Skyros ferry Achilles from Skyros Island to Skopelos via Kimi on Evia and Alonissos.  Posters are only in Greek and have no start dates as yet for the service.
• Most of the tavernas in the Old Town and Patitiri are now starting to get ready for the start of the tourist season.  The rumour mill suggests that the old Taverna Nikos site in the Lower Old Town is being refurbed and will again re-open as a taverna.  Also some new-build shop outlets opposite will house an ice cream parlour (good for Dave but bad for Gerry), bakery outlet and a shop selling wood products.
• The first day trippers have started arriving onto the island from the neighbouring islands of Skiathos and Skopelos.