NS August 27th, 2007

Apologies for the long absence and horrifying lack of posts for the past two weeks, but I’ve been away on holiday and just got back late on Friday night. I actually could’ve posted a couple of things from the hotel but honestly, I just didn’t want to. I only got online twice, each time for no more than 10 minutes. I didn’t read any newspapers, didn’t visit any news sites or my regularly-visited forums or blogs and didn’t email family with ongoing news of our time in Greece. I wanted a technology-free vacation and didn’t want to discuss, read or even think about current events, which is lately otherwise known as Bad Things Happening To Children and Bad Things Happening In War. I had enough of both in the book I took with me to finish, What Is The What by Dave Eggers, which I wrote a bit about earlier.

As expected from my glowing review when only halfway through this hardback, I loved it. It made me smile, it made me wince, made me cry and, ultimately, made me truly care. The tears streaming down my face when I slowly closed the cover and watched the title words blur and fade were ones of happiness at finding such an amazing and inspiring book, of anger and sadness at the state of the situation in Sudan and of helplessness, as I wished with every fiber of my being that I could do something to help heal those injured souls and broken bodies. That this goes on still absolutely astounds and sickens me. That I was on holiday on a Greek island, laying by a pristine swimming pool and going out to eat every night while entire families, villages and swathes of people, entire tribes and populations, are being destroyed sickened me as well. First world guilt is a powerful, ugly thing sometimes, though I know that it is that same guilt that often inspires people like you and me into action. I can only hope that this sticks with me and that somehow, in some way, I will be able to do something infinitesimal, something minute and hardly significant — but still something — to help someone who has been caught up in this terrible tragedy. Perhaps the technology I avoided on holiday will be the key to raising awareness, who knows. It will either kill us or save us, that’s for sure.

Before you think my entire stay in the beautiful island of Crete was completely shrouded in the darkness of death and guilt, let me just say that I actually had a great time. I didn’t do anything exciting, didn’t explore any ancient ruins or go on any diving excursions, didn’t drive to scenic spots for fabulous views (though every view I saw along the way was utterly gorgeous), didn’t visit nightclubs or five-star dining establishments, I just relaxed and read. Swimming, eating, drinking, reading, minimal walking — these were the main components of my time there, and I loved every precious minute of it. It’s exactly what I went there to do and it’s exactly what I did. The sweet bliss of nothingness was what I needed and craved, before everything gets busy and crazy and swept up in the real world again.

This holiday confirmed for me why I adore the Greek islands (well, at least the two I’ve now been to) — the food is excellent, absolutely delicious, the people are friendly and efficient, the lifestyle is so relaxed that I felt as if I should float horizontally and the island itself is breathtaking. I will definitely be going back there again, after I’ve visited a few other places previously unseen. I highly recommend it.

The Greek wedding was as expected — huge, fun, full of life, and traditional. No plate smashing, to my great disappointment, but plenty of Rakki, my new favourite drink (they put it on the tables in carafes as a matter of course — how wonderful is that?!), Greek dancing (which us non-Greeks managed to pick up a tiny bit and had great fun doing so) and yummy food. There were indoor fireworks in the venue, which overlooked the bay and was partially open air. With 450 people in attendance, it was like being in a concert hall or theatre. The sea of faces went on for what seemed like miles from where we sat at the head table, up above the stage. Amelia was cute as ever, twirling around on the dance floor at one point, between dances, clapping along to the music. And to end on that happy note, here is that tiny dancer herself. More photos of the trip and both weddings will appear in the Photos section in the next day or two.

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