Being, as we are, quite unused at this time of the year to actually havng the odd day off, as the season winds down to its finish next week, we took ourselves off for a nice walk down to the local Gré Cafe this morning for a frappé and a good dose of people-watching.
Time was when if you sat in a café here in Greece of a morning the audible buzz would be close to deafening as the clientele argued vociferously over politics, the economy and sport. It was one of the aspects of siting in a café that I really loved. Greeks will shout over eachother in such a way as to convince the unitiated that they're about to resort to fisticuffs, when in fact they're all bosom buddies simply discussing things in the way that Greeks do - vehemently! They'll aways arise to leave and part as dear friends though, no need to worry. I remember many years ago, when, after having been married a while and got used to the way Greeks discuss things, the better half and I were often accused of always arguing in front of our friends, when all we were doing was discussing things à la Grec! I'd simply acquired the technique from her family and we still use it to this day, unconsciously of course, but it hasn't stopped some who don't really know us from thinking we're at eachother's throats!!
Down at the Gré Café this morning there were plenty of Greeks among the clientèle, plus a smattering of tourists and what appeared to be hotel workers from other countries too, preparing for their imminent trips home. It didn't take us more than a few sips of our frappé though to detect a decidedly more muted atmosphere than of old. The reason? Mobile phones. I surrepticiously took a couple of snaps, look...
Now, what do you spot in both photos? Everyone, and I mean everyone, is on their perishing phone! In the far right of the 2nd photo above is a priest and his women (?!), yet they too are busily isolating themselves from the society around them in the same manner as everyone else. Where was the bonhomie and spirited chat like in the olden days? I'll tell you, it was given up to the constant search for that next text message, or for some trivial post on a social media site, I could go on! Don't get me wrong there either. I'm on Facebook. My point is - we are becoming slaves of things that ought to serve us!!!
Call me old fashioned, but am I alone in fearing for the structure of human society as we knew it? Note the past tense there. OK, so I have a mobile phone, I have a laptop and an iPad. I love technology folks, but oughtn't it to be our slave and not the other way around? No one seems to know how to talk to eachother any more. That couple in the first photo, they sat there for over a hour and not a word passed between them!! It's bad folks, bad!
So, to lighten the mood, here are a few shots I took randomly of late...
Time was when if you sat in a café here in Greece of a morning the audible buzz would be close to deafening as the clientele argued vociferously over politics, the economy and sport. It was one of the aspects of siting in a café that I really loved. Greeks will shout over eachother in such a way as to convince the unitiated that they're about to resort to fisticuffs, when in fact they're all bosom buddies simply discussing things in the way that Greeks do - vehemently! They'll aways arise to leave and part as dear friends though, no need to worry. I remember many years ago, when, after having been married a while and got used to the way Greeks discuss things, the better half and I were often accused of always arguing in front of our friends, when all we were doing was discussing things à la Grec! I'd simply acquired the technique from her family and we still use it to this day, unconsciously of course, but it hasn't stopped some who don't really know us from thinking we're at eachother's throats!!
Down at the Gré Café this morning there were plenty of Greeks among the clientèle, plus a smattering of tourists and what appeared to be hotel workers from other countries too, preparing for their imminent trips home. It didn't take us more than a few sips of our frappé though to detect a decidedly more muted atmosphere than of old. The reason? Mobile phones. I surrepticiously took a couple of snaps, look...
Now, what do you spot in both photos? Everyone, and I mean everyone, is on their perishing phone! In the far right of the 2nd photo above is a priest and his women (?!), yet they too are busily isolating themselves from the society around them in the same manner as everyone else. Where was the bonhomie and spirited chat like in the olden days? I'll tell you, it was given up to the constant search for that next text message, or for some trivial post on a social media site, I could go on! Don't get me wrong there either. I'm on Facebook. My point is - we are becoming slaves of things that ought to serve us!!!
Call me old fashioned, but am I alone in fearing for the structure of human society as we knew it? Note the past tense there. OK, so I have a mobile phone, I have a laptop and an iPad. I love technology folks, but oughtn't it to be our slave and not the other way around? No one seems to know how to talk to eachother any more. That couple in the first photo, they sat there for over a hour and not a word passed between them!! It's bad folks, bad!
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So, to lighten the mood, here are a few shots I took randomly of late...
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| The Petalas Taverna on the beach at the "Real Kiotari". If you've been before it may confuse you because up until this season it was called the Paralia. |
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| Early morning late September, above St. Paul's Bay, as I was arriving with my guests for our last Bay-to-Bay excursion of the season. |
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| Can I have your attention please? |
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| Right! That's much better. |
You are old fashioned!
ReplyDeleteThanks, well I did ask...
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