I haven't blogged anything for a couple of days, as I haven't really had anything to say of interest.

 I guess I'm in a bit of a 'downer' for this point in the season.  All the figures we were quoted for bookings showed an increase - nobody here has seen it: this is great for the visitors - no problems on the beach, no booking for dinner - but not good for businesses - Where is everyone!!

Well, todays' thoughts are a bit of a moan concerning publishing houses...

Now, this has been a constant thorn in our sides for the entirity of our tenure here in the bookshop.  Considering the decline in the independent bookshops, wouldn't you think that the major publishers would be helpful to us small outlets?  The answer I'm afraid is a resounding NO!

We have a limited space in our shop, so we can't hold a lot of the same book - just not practical.  As a result, we want only a few copies of current titles at a time, with a view to ordering on a regular basis, depending on turnover.

Does this get any help?  No!

So many of the large publishing houses put a limit on numbers ordered( say 50 per title), or a HUGE minimum order value on, so by the time we add in shipping costs, it becomes a joke...
As ever, not one to be put off, I'm now contacting other publishers I've found via Twitter, Google, and through recommendations...here's hoping they can be 'bigger' than the others (Penguin et al.)


OK...that's the moan of the week over!  Just to give you an idea of what we look like, I found a couple of pics from last season...hope you like them :)

Of course the views stay pretty much the same - although we have done a lot of work on the garden plot outside the shop - here's what I mean...

And today John added the new 'arrow' sign on the road...looks good, and I'll take some pics tomorrow as we walk down to the shop.

well, I've managed to cheer myself up a bit, and the seats pictured above are calling...need to go watch the boats, swimmers and soak up some sun while it's quiet...we live in hope that the evening won't be!

Superb Sundays...

Well, good morning - or as I've just noticed - Good Afternoon!
Sunday is a lazy day here.  We have found in our 3 seasons  that there is no point in busting a gut to open at 09.30 today...folks like to have their lie in, go to the beach, or just plain take it easy on Sunday mornings...so we don't open till 11.00 and get a chance to do a few things ourselves!

When we first took on the shop, we decided that to make a success of this, we had to open every day, right through the summer, to offer the services to the visitors that they would want - at this time of year, and through August, it's pretty hot, and even at night somebody may want a book!  what we've found is that Sundays are still the day of rest: 'change over days' are not what they were (more flights available on different days): people read the stangest things, and we basically know nothing!

No book is too obscure for somebody to want it, everyone wants information, and we LOVE to chat!  Don't get me wwrong, we will never be millionaires, and the big publishing houses are not the most helpful for small independent bookshops (what is this idea that we all have enough space for 50 copies of one book, and can afford a minimum order of £1,000??)  but we love our life and our home.

The history that surrounds us is phenominal - check wikipedia for a brief insight...I'll give you some pointers in a little bit...and the people we meet: just beyond belief really.  We've had writers, musicians, poets, and folk just like us; the world comes to Elounda, and the readers come to Eklektos!  So many friendships made and strengthened over the seasons, and the locals are beyond comparison!  I come from the English Lakes, which I thouht was a friendly place, but here it's just more.

If a Cretan calls you friend, that is for life, and no matter what the distance in miles or time, that will never change.  Their language is vocal and emotive, and is always accompanied by gestures, smile and a gamut of facial expressions.  this is their way.  what seems like world war 3 is a heated discussion over the cook on TV, and whose mum makes the best mousaka...you live and learn here!

OK, enough with the ramblings for today!  Below are some web addresses for information and history that you might like...this is the tip of the iceberg folks, and once you start looking, the searches can take you to many a magical site, trust me!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elounda
gogreece.about.com/.../eloundamermaids.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/crete-treat-mystery-and-history-in-elounda  *
 * this is an older article, but so well written it neds to be seen!
eloundafishingvillage.wordpress.com/few-words-about-the-history-of-el...

Good reading fols :)  

As the temperature climbs here in Elounda, I would have expected to see a few less people moving around.  from the last 2 Seasons here, it's what we have known - folk just don't move in the heat of the day.

Strangely, we have been HEAVING with people today from all over the world...Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Russian, Canadian, Far East, British, German...the whole gamut!

now, this might sound smug, but it's just so much fun!  Talking to people that you never would ordinarily meet, swapping ideas, good reads, and the chat of new aquaintances, it's what this place is all about!

sometimes you can want to get on with a few jobs, or you maybe don't feel like being sociable when you first open the doors, but it doesn't take long for the happiness of holidaymakers to work their magic.

It's so satisfying for me too when thery say they have seen us on the web, Trip Advisor, Facebook - as many of you will know, that's more my area than Johns - it makes all the efforts to be bright and helpful worthwhile...
Living in Elounda it's not hard though - this place has a magic of legend and history that just sucks you in and makes you want more like a vampire searching for another virgin!!Ancient cities, conquests, pirates (yes, we did) revolts, uprisings, battles and heroes...yes, Elounda and more generally Lassithi has had it all!

tomorrow, I'll post some links to some sites and a bit of info, but for now, try this- pictures thanks to Elounda Crete Facebook page...

We sat and watched a film about Troy on Greek TV last night...unfortunately we missed the start, so I don't know the title, but it was fascinating!
A much more gritty telling of the tale without a God in sight, it was compelling.

This lead to a discussion about Troy, the Gods, the truths and the myths..  After some rather heated points of view, John and I decided to do a bit of research today, as we both realized that we had gaps in our basic knowledge....good old wikipedia got us started, 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy
 and then we found this...
www.destination360.com › Destinations › Europe › Turkey

Wow!  what a Sunday this is turning out to be!

It all started to go wrong when we realized that Saturday and Friday had been so bad, we couldn't go for our usual sunday morning English Breakfast.  So, down to the shop we go, and it's been bedlam!

We met earlier this week, a lovely young couple from Italy - the German border area - and they came in the shop, greatly distressed.  They had found some puppies and their mum, abandoned, and they wanted to take them back home with them.
Now, I'm not quite sure why they asked us to help, but it's what happens to us, often...

so, it's all hands to the pumps, make phone calls, messages on Facebook, run around trying to get help: all the usual dramas... and John bless him kept us all supplied with coffee and biscuits to help the young ones feel a little better.

thankfully, I managed to get hold of one of the founders of the Angel Hope Animal Sanctury, and she's coming to rescue the pups, their mum, and to sort out for the dogs to travel to Italy.

There are some amazing people on this little island - Cretans and Ex-Pats alike.

Some info for you - these kind people are desperate for donations and sponsors...if you can help, please do!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/776033299095753/


Angel Hope Animal Rescue is based just outside the city of Heraklion, Crete. This is a shelter for dogs, abused, abandoned, or in other need of help. The organization was formerly known as Angel Ark, and based just outside Chania.

We are happy to inform everyone that the animal shelter Angel Hope Animal Rescue now is a registered, legal organization in Greece in association with Friends of The Animals. (Look below) This means a lot to us of course, but for the dogs we all love it will change everything. The organization is registered as Charity, reg. nr 540/1998

Our new shelter is relocated to a site 20 km west of Heraklion on Crete. It is a wonderful place, large areas where most of the dogs can run around free within a fenced area. Just look at the pictures in the Photos tab. Some dogs for various reasons have to be kept in big kennels, and all new dogs need to be quarantined for a short time before they can meet and mingle with their new friends.

As we now are a part of this wonderful organization, we have changed the name of our organization to the name above. We have also published this new Facebook-page, filled up with new pics and info about the dogs we have rescued, and who now are safe in the shelter. This is the only page on Facebook that will be updated from the people connected to the shelter, and the only place that will issue correct info on the progress of building the new shelter, with all the dogs. We will do our very best to update this site on a daily basis to keep people informed.

Building kennels and at the same time picking up dogs that are in the need of help takes so much time, the days are very busy for us. We now have a total of 130 dogs, many of them puppies, and many that need special care. It is important for all to know that there are new dogs rescued every day.

Our main goal is to find adoptive parents for all our dogs. That is the important thing. We hope to be only a stop on the way for these dogs to a much better life. To run the shelter, feed the animals, take them to the vet, we are 100% dependent on donations. So, please, if you have the possibility to donate any money, do so. The life and happiness of all the dogs you will see on this page depends on this. All amounts count.

For donations please use:

PayPal sam1spike@hotmail.co.uk
Account holder Samantha Ockwell

Friends of the Animals has a long history here on Crete. Since the current owner, Ann Adamaki, took over in 1997 they have rehomed thousands of animals to different countries. Earlier, Friends of the Animals also had a shelter, but will now prioritize founding and rehoming. Ann has known Steve and Dawn for a long time, and is aware of all they have done for the animals on Crete. That is why Angel Hope Animal Rescue is trusted to be a part of this.

Well, I've been told to start a blog about our adventures and experiences in Elounda, so here we go...

Hello!

Our story actually starts in 2011 when we came on holiday to Ag. Nik Crete.  John and I loved it so much, we decided it was the place we wanted to retire to.  We spoke to a lovely lady Hilary who promised to help us make our dream a reality through the agents she worked for, and sadly had we headed back to Barrow.

Hilary was as good as her word,and found some old wrecks that we could view with the idea of coming over 2/3 times a year while our retirement home was rebuilt for us...then we got THE MAIL!

Hilary sent a mail saying that viewings had been arranged for us in November, but she had heard there was a bookshop for sale in Elounda...did we want to take a look?  We decided that we might as well, so said yes...

Eklektos was the first place she brought us, and we never got any further!!

Within 24 hours, we had shaken hands on the deal for the shop, and were starting to plan for a quick move to Crete.  That was November 2011, and on January 2012, we arrived to stay permanently.

So, that's a potted history of the beginning.
I'm not sure how this blog is going to work, as I've never done it before, but we'll see in the next couple of months if it works, and whether I'll ever be a successful blogger...