FIRE ON THE HILL

First, thanks to everyone who responded to my SOS. It was a faulty memory card. I am very relieved that it wasn't my fault, always a dark suspicion. The advice re whisky was attractive but it almost ruined the camera.

The farmer above the church is burning the branches pruned from his olive trees so this is a controlled fire. Burning anything at all is banned until 14th September due to the danger of forest fires but once the ban is lifted, the hills and valleys are filled with plumes of smoke. There is bit of the arsonist in most men. Actually, our 87 year-old neighbour, Marina, is not bad at it herself.

This church is now without a priest of its own. The effete and sincere young priest, whose pride it once was, became too ill to cope. He also got very depressed about the sparse attendance except at marriages, christenings and funerals. Now there are circuit-riding priests and those devout enough to go to church go to one in the valley where they can be sure of seeing the same priest every Sunday.

This is not an old church, mid-1800s at a guess. The tower is very much older and went with the very old church that once stood in this spot. The bells that ring come from a CD.

This pic was taken early in the morning when the sun was just creeping over the hill. It was riddled with power liness which, in a very ham-fisted way, I have removed. It took five minutes to get a decent shot; it took an hour to remove the power lines. There is a pylon at the top of the hill and cables as thick as boa constrictors sweep down the valley.