Αναθεώρηση Part 11: Πρόβλεψη / Outlook For 2012

Over the last 12 days - the first of 2012 - I have reviewed and reflected on different aspects of my 2011. From people to places, sounds to images etc. It has been a pretty thorough review and at times quite raw and difficult.

So . . . what does it all mean? Where am I going to go with all the things I’ve digested, created, learned and shared in 2011? Who am I going to spend time with? How am I going to spend my time? Where am I going to spend my time?

I don’t believe in resolutions or New Year promises that exist as a stress and only to be broken. I am much more interested in exploring the things that I really WANT to do. If the things I WANT to do align with the THINGS I “should” do then I may have a chance of doing them, n’est-ce pas?

Most of the things I want to do in 2012 are really just building on what I’ve been doing in 2011 (although there are some things I did in 2011 or happened to me in 2011 that I definitely want to avoid). Some, however, mark significant departure and change…

Here are the 12 for 2012:

1. Be more compassionate . . .

I want to continue to work on being compassionate – first to myself and then to others. I am sometimes rather hard on myself – and often allow myself to feel very disappointed in myself and the things I do. While it is perhaps helpful to be self-censoring and to maintain a level of self-criticism or at least slef-awareness, it is important not to end up being tougher on oneself than one really needs to be.

So I will forgive myself, I will give to myself and I will take care of myself by respecting who and what I am and valuing that properly and appropriately.

I include a short video on compassion from The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University in California. I think it is great that a university like Stanford has set up a center like this and is focusing on this area. People are taking this compassion business pretty seriously . . .

http://ccare.stanford.edu/sct/why-cultivate-compassion

2. Let go of the past . . .

I want to put the past  - not just 2011 – behind me. Not to forget about it – obviously – but to leave it where it is. In the past.  I love history and all that it can tell us, but I believe I have relied too much on the past in my life and need to be much more present in the here and now.

Talking of letting go of the past – and binning it - check out this amazing initiative which a friend shared on FaceBook – really impressive and a neat idea. 

http://www.tiralopeorde2011.com/en/

3. Play, write & listen to more music . . .

I didn’t play or write as much music as I could have done in 2011 – mainly due to injuries and time.

This year I want to work on my piano playing, write more music and songs and most of all I want to listen to more music – especially classical and jazz.

It’s a simple thing and I know it will feel great. I’ve missed my music!

4. Giving up things (to take care of myself better) . . .

I have given a lot of thought to the things I really don’t need in my life and which prevent me or obstruct me from taking better care of myself.

There are few things which I think it is right to give up absolutely – other than cigarettes (which I have almost given up but still indulge in periodically) – but there are several things which I can stop pushing and relegate significantly in terms of my involvement / consumption / interest.

I am going to reduce the amount of motorcycles I own and the amount of motorcycling I do. I am going to continue to ride occasionally in the desert and will probably do a little bit of touring in Europe or the US, but I think that starting track riding and racing, continuing a lot of road riding and so on is pushing my luck in terms of age, injuries and resilience. Not time yet to hang up my helmet, but definitely time to accept I’m not 20 any more and make this a smaller part of my leisure time.

I’m also going to reduce my other bad habits - such as bad food, over-travelling and over general over-indulgence . . .and hopefully get a little bit of a better balance in terms of how I spend my free time.

I want to become more moderate and not push myself so hard to do things which are dangerous, tiring or just plain bad for me.

5. Taking up things (to take care of myself better) . . .

To balance some of the things I am going to reduce, I want to increase some of the things that are actively good for me.

No extreme targets or promises here, but simple recalibration of time and effort to include more healthy and soothing things – including regular exercise -  even if it is just a brisk walk, get back to doing some basic and simple yoga, continuing a healthy balanced diet, and perhaps most fundamental of all – getting plenty of good rest and sleep.

Simple – but worth focusing on a little.

6. Relationships . . .

Life is too short to spend it with assholes, losers, painful people, rude people, stupid people. We all know that.

But life is also too short not to spend the maximum amount of time with the people we really care about and who really interest us.

This year I want to spend time on the relationships that are most important to me. On my family, my close friends, my good buddies - and also on the random but important and valuable connections I have made with people across the globe.

But not on "acquaintances" and the like - I'm sorry but that time belongs to my friends.

And if you are wondering which category you fall into, you have probably just answered your own question.

7. Travel a road less travelled . . .

I mean this in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

I want to do more travel to places I don’t know instead of places I do – or at least bring that back into a better balance. I’ve fallen into the habit in the last few years of spending my leisure travel predominantly in places that I know and have been to before. I want to see some new places in 2012 and have some new experiences.

Metaphorically I also want to try new things, think in new ways and encounter new experiences in all forms. I love change and have appetite for new things – and I am working on being more open minded about the opportunities to do these kind of things.

Here’s to the road less travelled – I’ll write about it when I get there.

8. Write a short story (or maybe two) . . .

I’ve done a lot of writing this year – mainly essays on this blog, some travel pieces, and food writing and a little “creative” writing.

A number of kind people (and I hope in possession of intelligence and good judgment too) have said positive things about my writing and encouraged me to do more.

As writing provides both therapy and self-expression for me, I am not at all adverse to this and have decided that I am going to focus on writing one (at least) fictional short story this year. Something that I will write with great care, that I will edit with sensitivity and brevity as equal goals – and which I hope will reflect both my creative passion and my point of view on the subjects I write about. I hope I can produce something evocative and inspiring.

To the few people I have mentioned this too already – thank you for the kind offers to proof read, criticize, comment and generally support.

9. Spend more time in Greece . . . 

This may sound at odds with point 7, but I have realized that I have never really gotten over my love affair with Greece and remain deeply attached to her. To this end I must spend more time there to allow myself to feel comfortable and satiated.

If you’ve ever loved a place that’s not your home, you will know what I mean.

10. Love a little better . . .

This applies to all the kinds of relationships I have – friendship and beyond. I don’t consider myself weak or deficient particularly in this area - but I know I can be a little more thoughtful, a little more sensitive, a little less demanding and just a little “less” sometimes.

As Ovid, the Roman poet wrote: “If you would be loved, be loveable”.

11. Get to know my brother . . .

As referenced in my first piece in the review of 2011, I have neglected my relationship with my brother and I realize this has cost me – and him – and I wish to rectify that.

I plan to spend more time with him this year and to spend specific time travelling with him to get to know him better.

I am looking forward to that journey.

12. Epilogue . . .

In conclusion, I’m simply going to enjoy more of the things I love in life, and do less of the things I don’t want or need anymore.

And I'm going to keep on writing about them - whether just plain description and observation or more analytical and philosophical - because I enjoy that too.

I leave 2011 with this quote – from a slightly unusual source perhaps – but I think it says a lot:

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.” 

Elizabeth Gilbert – Eat, Pray, Love

Αναθεώρηση Part 2: Places . . .

Picking out some of my favourite places of 2011 has been hard too - not least because I travel a great deal for both work and pleasure.

With the exception of #11 - all the other places are places I have been to before, and in most cases many times. I suppose they make this list because these places were either significant this year in a particular way (although that is more covered in a later part of this review when I look at "moments" which by definition have both a place as well as a time) or because my great love or affection for these places is what took me back this year to revisit them...

If anyone reading this was in any of these places with me this year - thank you. For it is certain I enjoyed them even more because you were there...

Let the journey begin:

1. Cape Town

I began 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa. The weather was beautiful, I was with a nice bunch of people who I didn’t know well and started the year on a positive note.

I have been to Cape Town several times before and indeed went back again for business later in the year, but on Jan 1st 2011 it was really a lovely place to start the year and also some great friendships.

2. Egypt / Cairo & Alexandria

Early in the year I travelled to Cairo - a city I know reasonably well having been there many times in the last 7 or 8 years - shortly after the first phase of the revolution.

The feeling of change was palpable. Hope. Belief in a better future. Faith in human values. The value of the individual. All this against a backdrop of burned out buildings, damaged property, violence, chaos and pain.

Alexandria in the early summer was similar. A different scene by the coast with the Mediterranean as a backdrop. I spent a weekend with a group of what are best described as Egypt’s elite in terms of businessmen, intellectuals, commentators, artists and young up-and-coming leaders. Excitement, opportunity, nervosity, anxiety provided a heady cocktail for discussion on the beach and at the parties in the evenings.

Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and home to around 80 million people. The change there, while catalyzed by the earlier regime change in Tunisia, really marked Arab Spring as the defining political and social event of the decade and of the millennium so far in the Middle East. And it is still unfolding. . .

3. Aristi

I spent my birthday with a small group of friends in the mountain village of Aristi in the Zagarochoria area of Northern Greece – a little further north from the lake town of Ioannina.

I have been to Aristi several times and always stayed in the wonderful Aristi Mountain Resort (http://www.aristi.eu/en/&gclid=CMv9u6XFrq0CFUoa6wodWxU0mg )

The hotel is absolutely lovely and the staff very friendly and helpful. The food is a nice combination of local traditional dishes with a twist of modern flair and there is a fine selection of great earthy red wines to settle into sitting by a wood fire.

We had a pretty lazy time while there and a lot of great laughs and food. Good company around a dining table can never be bettered in my opinion and our discussions ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous over the nights we were there.

Spring time was in the air and the first mountain flowers were spreading across the landscape like a multi-coloured quilt while the fresh bracing air the accompanies such altitude made the idea of a cup of mountain tea - or perhaps something quite considerably stronger - a popular option during the mornings and afternoons.

And we roasted a goat for my birthday celebrations as I stepped into my 40^th year. (More on that in another part of my review of 2011)

Aristi - One of my favourite places in Greece and a refuge from the world. Bliss.

4. Stresa

During my Odyssey to Greece from the UK on my motorcycle – which is well documented elsewhere in this collection of postcards – I stayed at Stresa on the shores of Lake Maggiore. While the hotel disappointed and the food I ate wasn’t the very best, the lake was beautiful. In particular the morning of my departure as I drove along the shoreline.

What was memorable about this in particular was my recollection of my father John.

We had spent a summer holiday in Stresa when I was a child. My father never had time to spend with us kids when we were growing up as he was always busy at work. He never saw me play sports or compete in athletics – those attendances were always carried out by my mother who was the token dad on the touchline. 

But on holidays my father would have more time and I remember in Stresa we got a small rubber inflatable boat and rowed out to the lake (it must have been incredibly dangerous if my memory serves as the rubber boat was flimsy and tiny – but hey, we survived). 

My dad taught me and my brother to row, and also how to fish with a spinner (not that we caught anything mind you!). I remember it fondly as one of the few moments of “father & son” time in my childhood – or at least at an age when I was still receptive to my father and his instruction / guidance.

Stresa brought back those memories and other memories of my father. It never ceases to frustrate the hell out of my that he didn’t live long enough to see anything of the things I have done in my life that would have made him proud. A curse indeed.

5. Urbino

Urbino – city of the Dukes – was also a place I visited on my odyssey to Greece this last summer.

Another place I have been to many times and which I have written about elsewhere in this blog.

I remember clearly this summer – as at all the other times I have been – the delight of turning a corner on the windy hilltop road and seeing the resplendent red brick of Urbino's renaissance buildings perched on the top of the hill. The steady rewinding of time as one climbs up and wanders through the cobbled streets. The peace and quiet of a place with very few - if any - motorized vehicles. The history oozing out of every corner, the sense of learning perpetuated today by the university, building on the humanist principles of the Dukes and their courtiers from centuries gone by.

And of course wonderful strolls or "passeggiate" round the town and the delicious food . . . Urbino is a divine experience and was a high note in a journey of high notes.

6. Parathalasso

The Parathalasso at Monastiraki Nafpaktou – outside of Nafpaktos – was where I settled down to spend my time during the summer in Greece.

It was my paradise for a week or more where I spent my days writing, reading, cooking, drinking, discussing, playing guitar and sleeping. I was alone for most of the time, but had visits from my lovely friend Iris with her husband Giannis (a fellow biker!) and someone else who came right at the end of my stay.

Some wonderful conversations with myself as well as with others, in the heat of the Greek summer sun and washed down with gallons of rough wine.

It combined pretty much the entire essence of Greece for me this year and I was truly happy there.

7. Istanbul

Istanbul is one of my favourite cities in the world – and I have written about her many times, and photographed her also.

I didn’t visit as frequently this year as in previous years, but some of my most powerful moments played out there in 2011.

It always symbolizes to me a meeting place. A meeting of east & west, of ancient and modern, of people, of cultures, of ideas, of cuisines.  It is a crossroads and a stopping off point. An arrival and a departure in one.

8. London

I have started to rekindle my relationship with several cities this year – stimulated by a number of things, both circumstantial and existential.

As a non-resident former resident, I return to London with a mix of emotions, but usually with the intent of taking the best out of the city which is easy to do when you don’t live there full time and have a little money…

Of course I have friends in London also so I can combine visiting people with visiting favourite places – from pubs to clubs, restaurants to cafes, galleries, bookshops, favourite streets, exhibitions, shops and live music . . .

London has a lot and is a place that is also partly home partly not home. One day I suspect I will live there again and I will be proud again to be a Londoner.

9. Paris

I hadn’t been to Paris for many years before my visit late in 2011.

I confess I went on a whim and to escape from myself for a couple of days. To reflect and connect, to be in a place full of culture and romance and to immerse myself fully into a place of dreams to avoid my nightmares – and Paris did exactly what I needed.

Of all the things I wrote this year, one of my favourites was the “Carte Postale” from Paris (http://osapp.blogspot.com/2011/11/paris-3-carte-postale.html).

I thoroughly enjoyed Paris again and decided that I must return again soon and not leave it another 20 plus years. But next time I go with a woman I’m crazy about, a fellow gourmet or an artist – not on my own.

10. Athens

Another city I fell back in love with this last year is Athens.

I used to live and work in Athens for around 6 years and knew the city pretty well – although as a resident does, and not as the visitor. Just as I used to know London before I became a visitor (i.e. hardly ever going to museums, galleries, shows, exhibitions etc and just flitting from one bar to another and restaurant grazing in the main – not that this is bad, but the visitor makes more effort in a city.)

I have missed Athens terribly I realize – and with it Athenians and the Athenian way of life.

Of course things are tough in Greece right now and people are hurting – including and maybe especially Athenians – but life goes on and people still eat, drink, discuss, argue, consider and debate when not at work. And Athenians do it in an environment ideally adapted to these things. Their city.

I have been several times this year to Athens and each time have the combination of warm memories from the past and a thirst and hunger to live experiences there now.

I missed the long lunches that turn into drinks and then into dinner. I missed the grazing around the cafes and restaurants of Kolonaki, or the mezopoleia in Gazi or Kerameiko. I missed strolling around the Acropolis, stopping to drink a coffee and read the paper in Thiseio. I missed sitting down for fish and ouzo in Nea Filadelphia or down in Pireaus.

Most of all I miss my friends from Athens with whom I did a big portion of my growing up and whose company and conversation sustained me.

So I’ve been going back, and hanging out. Seeing people and the city.

My last trip was just before Xmas and while I went primarily for one meeting, I met up with a lot of friends and had a great time. And when I went to leave for Dubai, I didn’t want to go…

So Athens will feature more frequently in my 2012 agenda, and I cannot wait to organize a trip there with my Dubai based friends and show off my “second home”.

11. The Places I Haven’t Been Yet

Another favourite place is the place I haven’t been yet, but dream about constantly as I try endlessly to reshuffle the deck of priorities in my future travel plans . . .

There are many places I want to go next year and beyond – including some of the places mentioned above, but four specific places that I am curious to visit are New Zealand, Argentina, Japan, Vietnam.

New Zealand sounds like a natural paradise with a reputation for unspoiled nature, peace and quiet, wonderful gastronomy and of course great wines. Friends of mine have done motorcycle tours there and that sounds like a great way to see the place.

Argentina has been calling me for a long time – Buenos Aires and its grandeur, the countryside with Gauchos and the wonderful meats and the drama of Patagonia. I’ve never been to Latin America and Argentina is where I want to start.

Slowly, slowly I have been visiting Asia more and two countries I am dying to visit are Japan and Vietnam. Both for their cuisine, but also their history and in the case of Japan, its very different culture / way of life which fascinates me.

Finally, there is one journey I want to make next year – the Camino De Santiago. The 800km pilgrimage by foot from the south of France to Compostela in North West Spain. It is one of the oldest pilgrimage routes in the world and while I am not planning on doing it for religious reasons, I do believe that it will be spiritually rewarding as all road trips are. Just this one will be on foot and not in a Mustang or on top of a motorcycle!

Odyssey - the journey to Greece (2011) - Part 5 - ARRIVAL

After 2,200kms of bike riding across 6 countries, I have now arrived Greece.

My day since has roughly gone like this:

1. Coffee & conversation with friends.

2. Beer & nutrition with friends.

3. Shopping to stock up the house.

4. Music, beer and tavli (backgammon) with friend.

5. A brief name day celebration with neighbours.

6. A grilled sea bream, some "local" wine, salads, bread, political analysis of where the world has gone wrong and discussion of the world's third biggest explosion - with friends.

7. Home, bed, rest.

I am hopeful that the rest of my stay will go along similar lines - although with perhaps less shopping...

And now to sleep

Odyssey - the journey to Greece (2011) - Part 4 – Ancona Ferry Terminal - Berlusque-oni

As have I travelled through Italy the last couple of days a recurring set of thoughts had gone through my head relating to the country's identity and how people shape the identity of countries and their reputations.

When I was at University studying Italian, I was truly in love with Italy - and all things Italian. The culture, the language, architecture, music, literature, Italian style, design, the cars and the food. There was nothing I didn't love. To say I was passionate about Italy would be an understatement.

My passion was tempered by reality when I came to live here - first in Florence for a few months and then later for a year in Padua where I went to University for a year.

To say I studied in Padua would be a slight untruth - as in fact the terms of my European Exchange scheme - Erasmus - meant that I had to follow only two courses to graduate the year and pass an exam in only one. I chose English Language (at which I did rather well until being kicked out of the class on a technicality - being English) and International Art House Cinema (only in Italy!). The cinema course - on which I was examined and gained 100%) involved watching a movie every Friday and then attending an optional tutorial / seminar. Tough gig. I did my exam on a Peter Greenaway film - I forget which one - but probably The Belly of an Architect or A Zed & Two Noughts.

Instead of studying I got use to Italian bureaucracy, hung out with girls a lot, travelled all over Italy on my motorcycle and on the train, spent nearly every weekend in Venice, ate a lot of great food, learned to cook better (to impress girls) and worked on my guitar playing. There all seemed to be very good things to do with my time and a valuable education in a young man's life. Much better than slaving over books in dusty libraries.

As my familiarity with the country and its people grew, my impression of Italy became more real, more concrete. My love remained, but became a love borne of knowledge and not just ideas and aspirations.

I moved to Greece shortly after my time in Italy (one of the girls I met in Italy was Greek - and at that age one follows one's instincts and to hell with the rest of it!) and my visits to Italy became sporadic for the next 20 years.

My love for Italy faded, but it always remained a place I was fond of, but not as fond as I became of the country that has been the love of my life - Greece.

Instead Italy became a love of memory - a Proustian collection of moments, events, feelings all washed over with a varnish of time and selective recollection.

This trip I reignited some of those memories but found myself seeing Italy through a prism of headlines and figureheads.

There is a great deal of truth in the idea that people who represent their country become icons and prisms for the view of that country. Their image shapes the image people have of their country.

Luciano Pavarotti, Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini, Max Biaggi, Antonio Carluccio, Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rosselini, Federico Fellini, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Zucchero, countless footballers etc. All endow Italy - or endowed Italy with its "brand essence". All reflected good or bad, their country and its people.

However today the face that is synonymous with Italy is its top political official, its holder of highest office, Silvio Berlusconi. Or perhaps better written as Silvio Burlesque-oni - for he really had brought the burlesque and worse to the country's highest office and political affairs.

A billionaire dictator with a problematic hair issue, a libido that cannot be quenched even by the youngest most sordid prostitutes, a business background that keeps several law firms busy 24/7 and an attitude that shames the people he represents - and yet, he is an ELECTED official. The democratic process in Italy has seen him elected repeatedly - only to bring more shame on his country and his office and now, to ruin the economy.

It is sad that Italy's beauty, cultural contribution, spirit and joy can be marred by one man's image and reputation - but it is not an overstatement to say that it has been and is.

Corruption, graft, nepotism, gangster like behaviour - I suppose they have always been associated with Italian politics and the tumultuous post war succession of governments - but previous PMs were discreet and did not publicly exemplify so strongly these faults. Giulio Andreotti - involved with the mafia and murder on a large scale - was a quiet little man and didn't attract the headlines that Silvio does. And didn't bring nearly as much shame on his country until the end of his time.

Italy is still a great country - but it really is time for a new leader who will represent the good that Italy has and not the bad.

Time to get rid of the walking, talking hard-on with a bad wig, worse morals and an arrogance that is astounding. He's not a leader - he's a caricature. And not a very nice one.

And on that happy note - I am about to board the boat to Greece! Hooray!

Under The Greek Summer Sun

I am in Greece for a long weekend which will culminate with the wedding of two friends who I happened to introduce to each other some years ago. I figured I ought to witness the outcome of my random act!

But before the wedding I am spending the days by the sea near Nafpaktos on the Messolonghi strait which Lord Byron famously tried to swim across.

I'm here to relax and get some much needed rest and I cannot think of anywhere better in the world to do it. I'm staying with old friends George & Nadia in their summer houses - built from stone and set up on a little ridge overlooking the sea.

The weather is hot by Greek standards but pleasant by Gulf measures and I am thoroughly enjoying the pace of life that rural Greece offers. I confess to missing Greece - I lived here for nearly seven years and am a fluent Greek speaker - and most of all the pace and approach to life.

Over some cold beer in a small square and later on over home made wine in a family run taverna in a village I discussed this "Greek-ness" with my dear friend George.

He thinks it's a matter of maybe 15-20 years before rural Greece with its chicken pens, goat herds, crowded churches and summer festivals - part Bachanalian part Christian - disappear in favour of industrialisation, urbanisation and in the name of progress. If this is true it will be a huge shame.

The gentle pace of life, the quiet celebration of simple things like breaking bread with friends and family and the occasional impassioned argument or outburst on a political or philosophical matter of little general importance are hugely appealing for someone who lives on a hamsters wheel in the commercial & material rat race that is Dubai or indeed any major global metropolis, East or West.

The Greek emphasis on hospitality, social integrity, community spirit and the family seem somehow "retro" in a world obsessed with credit, cashflow, consumerism and crisis. But not here.

Not that these things don't exist in Greece - they do. But they are not as important to people as they are elsewhere because there are still other things that matter. The same exact condition can be found in Turkey which is another reason I enjoy that country so much. I feel at home there just as I do in Greece...

This is still a nation where discussion - and sometimes argument - is commonplace among both friends and strangers. One of my greatest pleasures is talking and debating with friends at the dinner table and long into the night, fuelled by wine and intellectual curiosity. Philosophical positions are argued with rhetoric, dissected with hypothesis and analysis and synthesis - all Greek words and concepts - and may involve laughter, tears, joy and sadness the course of the evening. But you know you are alive. You know that your heart and your mind are both functioning. This vitality is enormously refreshing and healthy - and it gives soul to life.

After concluding our meal in the taverna and chatting with the former bank manager in the town and his wife (relatives of Nadia - but everyone knows everyone here anyway) we headed to the house. Nadia watered the plants and trees around the property while George and I sat outside under the clear sky with stars lit brightly above and faced the sea. We've been friends for more than 10 years and were business partners for 6 years so we don't need to talk much to enjoy each other's company.

George drank bourbon - Makers Mark - and smoked a Cuban cigar while I drank wine from Montenegro. We listened to country music starting with Willie Nelson and moving through Lucinda Williams to the Gospel sounds of The Blind Boys Of Alabama - finally concluding with some of my own recent songs. We exchanged perhaps 20 words in two hours as we quietly contemplated the day, what the next day held, life, music, love and death. (At least that's what I contemplated, George may have been thinking about hedge trimming and golf...).

The night ended listening to the incredibly beautiful and haunting voice of my friend and fellow musician NK. Her songs filled the silence of the night and her voice and soul covered our hillside ridge like a sheet across a bed.

The last drop of wine was drained and a fine and deep sleep was enjoyed.