Wishing you a Very Happy Christmas
from the Morisons
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Roxy has now been at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for more than a year. She loves it. The work is varied and highly stimulating, and her report, this month, formed the basis of a major speech by the incoming CEO. She has moved flat – about three doors down the road – and is still walking distance from work! We had a lovely visit to London in November, celebrating Heather’s birthday with friends at a great Polish restaurant, and seeing the simply wonderful The Book of Mormon. (Theatre is about the only thing I really miss about not living in the UK.) Remember that we have a spare room (or two) here and would love to see anyone of our friends who is passing by these parts.
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Murray has completed (all bar a few bits of copy editing) part two of the time-pathway novels, Time Knot. In it Rhory time slips to Alexandria catching the destruction of the famous library, and helping Hypatia; he also arrives in Sweden at the start of the Reformation, where he meets the Alchemist Paracelsus. Watch for this coming out in 2016.
Murray was invited in the summer, to take a lead part in a promotion video for the Sitia region. Four days of filming were distilled into a fairly hilarious minute and a half (the long version!). I think Roxy is pleased the disco dancing sequence ended on the copy edit floor!
You can see the whole short video here. Or see the video below. "It's so hard to say goodbye."
You can see the whole short video here. Or see the video below. "It's so hard to say goodbye."
Dancing
In a beautiful village in Sitia, we danced (as best we could!)
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With the Director
The director, Theo Papadoulakis and Murray, at the end of the shooting. he is a great guy to work with, very creative.
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Riding
'Can you ride a donkey?' they asked. I said 'okay'. And ended up metres in the air on a huge horse.
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It has been interesting this year, to say the least – to be in the eye of a political storm with huge ramifications. Many people kindly wrote to ask ‘how we were doing’. Heather and I have been doing fine, but no one living in Greece has been untouched by the various tragedies as they have unfolded. The political crisis in the first part of the year and the huge challenges caused by the immigrants and refugees, arriving primarily on the tiny Greek islands closest to Turkey, have brought out the best and the worst of people here.
It will be for history to decide if the Greek politicians elected at the beginning of the year played their limited hand with skill or foolishness. A Christmas letter is not a place for opining in a partisan way on such issues, but living close to the day by day unfolding of the crisis of the Greek debt, and wondering if banks would have any money, or shops have any food, reminded us that this was a very serious situation.
One statistic may bring the issue into focus. A Greek care assistant, working full time – five or more days a week – can now expect to be paid (assuming they are paid at all) €500 per month (no that is not a typographical error, and is about £17 a day). Although the cost of living in Greece is lower than Northern European countries on the whole, it is not by that much. People are really struggling. And into that struggle thousands of refugees are arriving everyday, while the borders of countries to the north of us are being closed.
Crete, situated in a large expanse of ocean, is not so directly affected by refugees, as Athens or Lesvos; in Chania, it is clear there is still money being spent and the tourist income remains buoyant. For us, life has gone on more or less as normal, with writers’ groups, a thriving poetry society, bi-monthly meditation groups and Greek dancing, providing a wide range of very interesting friends.
And A Happy New Year
With love from Murray, Heather and Roxy