Snow on Kythera in 2004

They say it’s seventeen years since the last proper snow fall on the island, and around one hundred and thirty years since there has been this much snow in Greece. The whole country has been snowed in, from the eve of Friday the thirteenth, and for the next few days everything came to a standstill. Schools closed, villages were snowed in, airports closed, roads were blocked. Meanwhile, on Kythera, we all celebrated a day off school, the pipes broke from the ice for what is probably the first time in recent Kytherian history, and everyone awoke to a winter wonderland shining through the window on Friday morning. The snow was delightful, and cars stopped on the road to allow their occupants to spend a few minutes throwing snowballs at each other before they continued on to another day at work. Some snowmen are even reputed to have appeared. The big white flakes came down thick and fast, and no one could help smiling at the beauty of the snow covered hill sides. Valentines day found the island still in bridal white, meanwhile radio stations were being snowed in (and I missed my favourite DJ again!), the roads were building up layers of ice, the water cut off (nothing new there!) and the A class of the lyceum sighed and shivered in the hall alone and wished they had cancelled their dance on account of the snow, as hardly anyone seems to be showing up.


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Sadly perhaps, it didn’t snow anymore, and the bridal gown slowly evaporated to reveal a rather withered morning-after Kythera, with water shortages, ruined gardens, and lots of disgruntled children who all agreed it would have been nice to have a few more days off (not to mention the rest of the term!). So it ended, however it has been captured for your entertainment in photographs included on the site, so run along and have a look, but first let me just say to anyone who wasn’t here in those few beautiful white days… did YOU ever miss out!



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