I say "mama we're all crazee now"

Its the festival of St. Dionisios week or the festival of St. Dennis. It all gets a bit manic while the festival is on, there is a market here for 5 days selling all end of line stock and clothing rejects but you can pick up some real bargains if you can be bothered to rummage around in the heat of the day. Been to the market 2 mornings on the trot (Sunday, Monday) and all i could find to buy was a 20 metere hose pipe, it is a lovely hose pipe though, green re-inforced with a adjustable nozzle, not that you people in the UK would know what a hose pipe looks like what with the hose pipe ban after having only 2 weeks of sunshine haha. I did fancy buying a couple of chipmunks (real ones not Chip & Dale the Disney ones) but they would have to fend for themselves through the winter so they had to stay put. The main day of the festival is the 24th August when the main man himself St. Dionisios is paraded around the streets to thousands and thousands of people almost every Zakynthean from all over the island from every little village makes their way to the town, add to that the tourists on trips with the tour companies and tour shops and the ones who make their on way there so its a pretty crazy day. I went to see it in 2002 and that was enough for me.

This week has been a strange old week, one night full the next night half full, one night all cocktails, the next night beers and soft drinks, most probably my most unpredictable week i've ever had since Oceanic opened.

I read through most of the websites linked to Zakynthos and there is alot of talk of whats better in a resort or whats changed and why its changed so i thought i would share my unwanted views with you, my avid readers, are you sitting comfortably?

When tourism first began many many years ago people went abroad to have a taste of other countries cultures and food, as time progressed tourists would plant seeds in the business owners minds, you know the sort of thing "Do you know what would make your bar busier, showing football" so the bar evolves over the years in to an entertainments bar. So then that has a knock on effect to the resort which also elvolves to bigger, brighter, louder. Now in saying that there are Greek islands that have stuck to the traditional roots and these places are still very busy. On the down side of this you only have to look at resorts that have changed to much and are now dying or are dead, Faliraki was once a real party resort for years but then it died off till it was nearly empty due to its bad publicity and the locals deciding enough was enough of the bad behaviour from the 18-30's, Aiya Napa the same happened to that, Malia in Crete has died off from what it used to be and so has Laganas. These types of resorts attract the younger crowd and for some reason people seem to think this age range of tourists have money to spend which in fact they don't, they buy cheap spirits and wine from the supermarkets get drunk even before they leave their rooms and then spend very little in bars that then puts a strain on the businesses in the resort which eventually and sadly leads them to close.

In Tsilivi there used to be 2 large clubs which were busy at one point in time for about 2 seasons but due to Tsilivi being a family resort these types of venues weren't wanted by the people visiting the resort and now they are closed. Argassi had 3 clubs which for such a small resort seems excessive but now 1 is closed, 1 is never busy and the other has mainly locals and the younger tourists that visit the resort. Laganas well what can you say, i have 3 friends who have or had bars in Laganas and for the ones still open it is their worst season ever and they may even close at the end of this season. One of the owners had 7 people in all night one night and he is on the main beach road strip of bars. And so to Kalamaki I've lived in Kalamaki for 5 years now and even within that short time have seen many changes but there is one main thing that stands out for me which is that all the businesses that were set up to be bar/clubs have now gone within 2 seasons and now all that is left are bars and restaurants and its a real shame these businesses have closed as no one wants to see anyone close up after the hard work these people have put in to it. Now i'm not saying they are the only businesses that have closed as others have but for the most its been the bar/clubs. Kalamaki has always been a more family and couples orientated resort than a younger persons resort and as soon as you hear the word "club" associated with somewhere you immediately think loud music, dark lit room with flashing lights and drunk people which would deter the sort of tourist Kalamaki attracts from visiting these businesses. Do i think Kalamaki needs a club? Yes because i believe the younger tourists that come out with their families needs somewhere to go but there are plenty of good bars with entertainment to keep the whole family busy. Does Kalamaki need a club? Maybe not from what i've been reading as a majority seemed to like the quieter Kalamaki. The sad thing is that proof has shown that clubs in Kalamaki don't work apart from the short period of time after the exams are finished or at least clubs that are aimed at the younger tourists don't work as they don't have the spending power some seem to think. Its all about what the individual wants from a business, if you want cheap drinks there is a bar for you, if you want karaoke theres a bar for you, if you want sport theres a bar for you, everyone is different but the facts show there wasn't enough people wanting clubs, if there was Kalamaki would still have one. Islands and resorts don't have to advance and move on just because technology does and because people expect it to, just take a look at Kefalonia, Santorini and Thassos, these islands are still more traditional and are still very busy with tourism. Zakynthos was hit hard in the papers because of progression due to Laganas and the island hasn't really recovered since that summer of headlines in the UK press so perhaps the island should step back in time a re-build for a better future so everyone who has a business on the island can survive.

Update from The Lighthouse, have spoken to Veronica this week and she is due to have a check up soon and is feeling a little better but will be glad to see a doctor, Veronica and Derek are missing everyone terribly and hope everyone understands that veronicas health comes first but as soon as she's up and running again they''ll be back.

As for me i'm looking forward to a holiday of some sort as its been a hectic season (shame about the high tax rate gggrrrrrrrr!) and the Oceanic tours start again on the 5th November with a trip to Manchester for 3 nights but will post about that in more detail closer to the date.

Place the firework in a solid foundation, like a bucket of sand. Light the blue touch paper at arms length with a fire lighter. Stand well back. If the blue touch paper does not light DO NOT approach the firework, even though you may not see it lit it may be smouldering. Taking these actions will secure you a safe and happy bonfire night.