Blog: Hello everybody from a very hot Kefalonia. It’s been between 80-90 over the last few weeks — great for holiday makers, but hell on earth for those who have to work. I’m very thankful that I’m retired and out of it, writes Shropshire ex-pat Colin Dodd.

The island is well into tourist mode now. There seems to be a decent amount of people here. The main roads sound like an angry wasps’ nest with all the hired scooters buzzing around. I have seen quite a few skinned knees as well; these roads are not suited to these scooters with their tiny wheels. The surface is very slippery, even in the heat, and the potholes, well, you could bury a sheep in some of them. So, if you come over and hire one of these contraptions, do be careful. It’s better to be ten minutes late in this life than arrive ten years early in the next.

The debt crisis rumbles on ad nauseum. There were more strikes a couple of weeks ago, taxi drivers this time, protesting against the Government plans to de-regulate them. However, the Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court, ruled on August 31, that ALL closed professions in Greece are unconstitutional. This is a much needed shot in the arm for the ruling Pasok Party, led by Prime Minister George Papandreou, who were facing massive opposition to their plans. Now, all these regulated professions will be open to anyone — ‘and about time too’, is the general reaction of the public here.

The following are just a few examples of closed shop jobs: beauticians, drama and dance teachers, bakers, antiques dealers, insurance agents, insurance consultants, employment consultants, diagnostics centre staff, translators, divers, newsstand owners, electricians, sound technicians, tobacco sellers, hairdressers, private investigators, port workers, real-estate agents, lifeguards, carpenters, financiers, opticians, auditors and even car mechanics.

As you can imagine, with no scope for competition, these trades have been on the gravy train for decades, hence the violent opposition to de-regulation. The public sector staff have not escaped either. They are having their wages capped, more or less in line with the private sector, currently around 700 euros per month. They are NOT happy bunnies at all, and the public reaction here is — TOUGH. Again, decades of over the top pay and pensions, all contributing to the mess the country is now in, and the strange thing is, when asked what the alternative is, they say ‘Who cares, we want our money’. Blinkered indeed.

Another positive this week, Alpha Bank and the Eurobank EFG have merged to form the country’s biggest bank, displacing the National Bank of Greece. This was achieved with an investment of 500 million euros from Qatar. The problem before was that Greece, a small country, had a very large number of small banks, which was, economically, senseless. None were really strong, and thus, the economy was on a knife edge. Hopefully, this latest development will inject some confidence in the economy. A small step, but at least it’s in the right direction.

Greece is not out of the woods yet, but maybe we can see the path.

I’m now off for a siesta, with a big fan for company. Evening is going out time now, when the sun has gone down. It’s still damn warm but bearable. Goodbye all, and wherever you are holidaying this year, enjoy and be safe.

All the best,

Colin