Beauty Pageant Minute: Miss USA 2012 Preliminary Competition Evening Gowns

The Best of the Preliminary Gowns...

Miss New York USA Johanna Sambucini--keep reading for what I thought of her and her Evening Gown...

Continuing with my "Beauty Pageant Minute" postings---we are DONE with looking at those oh-so-last-week Evening Gown Portraits...it's all about what the "Miss USA 2012" contestants actually wore on last night's very important "Preliminary Competition" which was held at the site of Sunday night's LIVE telecast, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

This is the night where the Top 15 Semi-Finalists are picked by a panel of Preliminary Judges. Usually the Preliminary Judges are comprised of local dignitaries and/or "industry" insiders in the pr, entertainment and/or fashion and beauty world--as opposed to the LIVE telecast where the judges are usually from the NBC/Universal "family" (since the telecast airs on NBC) and/or actors, well known celebrities, and yes, a sports figure sometimes. Some of the Preliminary Judges included Alison Taub, an Associate Producer with "Inside Edition", Kim Wagner, Co-Anchor of "Wake Up with the Wagners", Randall Winston, Producer of "Scrubs" "Spin City" and "Cougar Town"and Renee Simon, Vice President of Current programming at the Style Network.

Miss USA Alyssa Campanella co-hosts last night's Miss USA 2012 Preliminary Competition

The Preliminaries were hosted by the reining Miss USA, Alyssa Campanella and Chet Buchanan, host of the local Vegas radio show "Chet Buchanan and the Morning Zoo" on KLUC 98.FM. The show was streamed live on the web via UStream. OK, now that we got all that out the way...Wanna know what I thought of the Gowns?? Well, here were my Top Picks:

Go On Mija! Miss New York USA 2012 Johanna Sambucini: 25 year old 5' 9" tall Johanna was born in the Dominican Republic and HUNEY, it shows! She WORKED it overtime in the gown portion of the Miss USA 2012 Preliminary Competition. She wore a see-through nude-colored halter-neckline style gown with encrusted crystals. I wouldn't be surprised if her gown was by one of those Puerto Rican and/or Dominican fashion designers who design for Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Dominican Republic Universe. Or if she went straight to the "Pageant Gown" Source and payed the extra thousands for a Venezuelan pageant gown designer. Whatever--and whoever she chose--it was FABULOSO!

Miss Oklahoma USA 2012 Lauren Lundeen: Next on my Top Picks List is this lovely woman representing Oklahoma. Not sure if it is a coincidence but she wore a similar gown to "Miss New York USA 2012". It had a nude-colored base, fitted and filled with encrusted mirrored crystals. The difference, it was not a halter-neckline style. The 5' 9" beauty once again, vibed her best "Miss Venezuela" confidence/look, and went for it, when it came to her evening gown. Love the hair, make-up, the fit of the gown. She's basically a TIE for "Best Dressed" of the Miss USA 2012 Evening Gown Preliminaries. At least for me. Only negative: those shoes! Too big, too stacked heel, too Drag Queen/Stripper. A pair of gorgeous silver strappy ones would have been perfect. 

Miss California USA 2012 Natalie Pack: Interestingly enough, Natalie wore the same gown she was featured in the "Miss USA 2012 Website Evening Gown Portraits". I liked this gown there and I still like it now on her. As you know, she was a contestant on "America's Next Top Model" so hopefully she knows how to work a runway and a gown. It's funny how she looks very UN-model and more-Miss Pageant. There is a difference. I like the peachy-pink color on her and the diagonal asymmetrical gathering and draping. The slit IS "HOOCHIE" HIGH but oh well, you can't win 'em all...

Miss Nevada USA 2012 Jade Kelsall: Jade looked like Beyonce-Meets-Cleopatra...in this white strapless gown she wore for last night's Miss USA 2012 Preliminary Competition. Except for the too-high stacked heel "Disco" pumps (seriously Ladies, why all the tacky shoes with these gowns??), the dress was stunning, elegant (HELLO: No HOOCHIE slit, nasty boob-revealing neckline!). I love the gold and silver metallic midriff section. I just want to be fanning her and serving her grapes!

In the Red Category, these two ladies--and their gowns--were my favorites:

Miss Tennessee USA 2012  Jessica Hibler: Jessica is only 5' 6" (these pageant girls--especially the ones who are winning as of late--seem to be on the 5' 9" or taller height spectrum) but with that said, she looked GLORIOUS and statuesque in this strapless gathered bust/draped chiffon lipstick-red gown. The big ol' bun on her head adds height and I am happy she didn't do the "Pageant Tacky" and put on 12" platform Drag Queen/Stripper heels to make herself seem taller. The gold pumps were a good choice. P.S. to all short(er) pageant girls: I've spoken to actual Miss USA and Miss Universe judges and they've told me that (they) can see the 12" platform heels and the first thing they think is "Oh Huney, she must be SHORT!". Just saying. Back to the gown--it's very "Hollywood Glamour". Nothing directional or overtly sexy but it looked very nice on her.

Miss Utah USA 2012 Kendyl Bell: Yes, she's very "Pageant Betty Elegant" in this, but that's why I am giving her "Pageant Gown Props" for it. She could have gone "I am a 55 year old 'Real Housewife of Orange County' at a Black-Tie Wedding" (wait until you see my "Oh Huney" posting!) but she chose to go for a more "Pageant Classic". This red gathered bustier with fitted taffeta gown with a one-shoulder sequined trim is a very standard Pageant/Prom/Evening Dress that one can find online or at a "Pageant and Prom" boutique, but at least she chose one of the better ones. Nothing wrong with this look on Miss Utah USA...except, for yes...those PUMPS!!!

Miss Illinois USA 2012 Ashley Hooks: I like Ashley's gown and therefore I felt she was one of the better ones from last night's Miss USA 2012 Preliminary Evening Gown Competition. It fit her like a glove, yet not too tight, I like the high-neck halter style, open back, degrade sequins and iridescent gold color. She looks like a "Miss Bermuda" at a Miss Universe or Miss World competition and that's fab for me!

Finally the Gionni Straccia Girl:

Miss Nebraska USA 2012 Amy Spilker (left): Amy's gown is very similar to a gown designed by Venezuelan Pageant-Go-To Fashion Designer Gionni Straccia. It's also similar to the gown that
Morgan Woolard Miss Oklahoma USA 2010 (right) wore two years ago and in which she almost got the Miss USA title (she was First Runner Up). I'm assuming the gown Miss Nebraska USA 2012 wore last night is by Straccia. If not, he might want to sue someone. Just saying. Irregardless, I like this white strapless gown on Amy and especially, the coral-colored sequins highlighting the Empire/underbust and high-hip area.


**Up Next: My "OOOOOH GURL, Is it 1988...and Why Are You Dressed like a Peacock?" Girls from the Miss USA 2012 Preliminary Evening Gown Competition

APTET June 2012 Answer Key Paper 1,2 | aptet.cgg.gov.in

APTET June 2012 Exam on 1/6/2012 Paper 1 & 2 Answer Key Download :


Andhra Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test (APTET) is successfully conducted on 1 June 2012 by the government of AP in all 23 districts of the state.Almost 80% of the registered candidates are appeared for the Paper 1 Exam.And 94% of the candidates appeared for the Paper 2 and now they are looking for the Answer Key or solutions.Generally the answer key will be released after the 10 days of the commencement of the exam officially.But from the other sources we will get the preliminary/initial answer key for both Paper 1 & Paper 2.We will update the answer key as soon as possible.


APTET June 2012 Exam answer key is expected to be available soon.(Available now...)


APTET Initial Answer Key From Official Website

Question papers for paper 1 & paper 2 are available visit:


http://thewebeagles.blogspot.com/2012/06/aptet-june-2012-question-papers-1-2.html  (Available now...)


since the examination having two papers,it will take some time to prepare the key.When the key is released the candidates are able to check their answers written with it so that they will get an idea.

APTET June 2012 Answer Key Paper 1,2 | aptet.cgg.gov.in

APTET June 2012 Exam on 1/6/2012 Paper 1 & 2 Answer Key Download :


Andhra Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test (APTET) is successfully conducted on 1 June 2012 by the government of AP in all 23 districts of the state.Almost 80% of the registered candidates are appeared for the Paper 1 Exam.And 94% of the candidates appeared for the Paper 2 and now they are looking for the Answer Key or solutions.Generally the answer key will be released after the 10 days of the commencement of the exam officially.But from the other sources we will get the preliminary/initial answer key for both Paper 1 & Paper 2.We will update the answer key as soon as possible.


APTET June 2012 Exam answer key is expected to be available soon.(Available now...)


APTET Initial Answer Key From Official Website

Question papers for paper 1 & paper 2 are available visit:


http://thewebeagles.blogspot.com/2012/06/aptet-june-2012-question-papers-1-2.html  (Available now...)


since the examination having two papers,it will take some time to prepare the key.When the key is released the candidates are able to check their answers written with it so that they will get an idea.

UPSC Engineering Services(IES) Admit Card 2012

UPSC Indian Engineering Services(IES) Exam 2012 Admit Card Download :


Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct every year Engineering Services Exam (IES) all over the country.Many students will write these exam as these are the prestigious engineering jobs present in the country.This year the examination is going to be conducted on 17 June 2012(Sunday).For this exam the admit cards are being issued by the UPSC for the registered candidates.The Admit cards are now uploaded on the website of UPSC.The e-Admit Cards are being started issuing from 29 May 2012.


So,Students who are registered for this Engineering services exam can download their e-Admit cards from the website given below:


Download e-Admit Card For Engineering Services Exam : http://upscadmitcard.nic.in/


Enter your application number after visiting the above link to download the admit card.

UPSC Engineering Services(IES) Admit Card 2012

UPSC Indian Engineering Services(IES) Exam 2012 Admit Card Download :


Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct every year Engineering Services Exam (IES) all over the country.Many students will write these exam as these are the prestigious engineering jobs present in the country.This year the examination is going to be conducted on 17 June 2012(Sunday).For this exam the admit cards are being issued by the UPSC for the registered candidates.The Admit cards are now uploaded on the website of UPSC.The e-Admit Cards are being started issuing from 29 May 2012.


So,Students who are registered for this Engineering services exam can download their e-Admit cards from the website given below:


Download e-Admit Card For Engineering Services Exam : http://upscadmitcard.nic.in/


Enter your application number after visiting the above link to download the admit card.

Friday My Town Shoot-out - The Rule of Space

This week's Shoot-out is about the rule of spce - giving the subject room to move within the picture to emphasise it and help it to stand out.  I haven't been out this week so once again I have chosen to use my brother's house in the Outer Hebrides near the town of Stornoway as "My Town".  These were taken in the space of a couple of days in May 2008.


Space to sail into.  (Does a ship that isn't a sailing ship still sail??)

 Space to motor into.

Space to fly away.

Space to move around the kitchen and make dinner.

 Leaving space for GB to fall in - but he never has done.  I think he's waiting for a day when the camera is not on him.

Space to meander into.

Space to skate into on the pond.

Now this is a problem - I couldn't decide which way  the space should be??

If you'd like to see more examples of Friday Shoot-out folk showing the rule of space please visit http://mytownshootout.blogspot.co.uk/.

Gujrat 10th Class Results 2012 (gseb.org) | SSC Results

GSEB Gujrat Secondary Board 10th Class/SSC Results 2012:


Gujrat Secondary Educational Board confirmed that the results of SSC or Class 10 will be released on June 3 2012.More than 10 lac students appeared for the SSC exams being conducted in the month of March by GSED.And now the students are waiting for the results.The results will be published on the official website of GSEB.


Already Gujrat 12th results are declared only 10th class results are to be released.So,when the results are released on 3/6/2012 students who had written the exams can check out the results from the websites given below:


www.gseb.org/


After visiting the above link enter your roll number or hall ticket number to reveal the results.

Gujrat 10th Class Results 2012 (gseb.org) | SSC Results

GSEB Gujrat Secondary Board 10th Class/SSC Results 2012:


Gujrat Secondary Educational Board confirmed that the results of SSC or Class 10 will be released on June 3 2012.More than 10 lac students appeared for the SSC exams being conducted in the month of March by GSED.And now the students are waiting for the results.The results will be published on the official website of GSEB.


Already Gujrat 12th results are declared only 10th class results are to be released.So,when the results are released on 3/6/2012 students who had written the exams can check out the results from the websites given below:


www.gseb.org/


After visiting the above link enter your roll number or hall ticket number to reveal the results.

PSEB 10th Class Results 2012(results.pseb.ac.in)

PSEB Punjab State Matriculation / Class 10 Results 2012 :


PSEB soon going to release the results of the matriculation or class 10th results on the results portal of the punjab board.At this time the results are not yet declared and the board recently in a press note confirmed that the results will be released soon.


So,students who had written the matriculation exams can checkout their results from the links provided below:


http://results.pseb.ac.in/


After visiting the above link enter your hall ticket number or roll number to get the results.Remember the results will be released soon and they are not up to now declared.


More than 6 lac students appeared for these examinations,after this matriculation the students will take admission into the class 12 (+2).


Punjab state 12th class results will also be released soon expecting that they will be released after the release of class 10 results.

PSEB 10th Class Results 2012(results.pseb.ac.in)

PSEB Punjab State Matriculation / Class 10 Results 2012 :


PSEB soon going to release the results of the matriculation or class 10th results on the results portal of the punjab board.At this time the results are not yet declared and the board recently in a press note confirmed that the results will be released soon.


So,students who had written the matriculation exams can checkout their results from the links provided below:


http://results.pseb.ac.in/


After visiting the above link enter your hall ticket number or roll number to get the results.Remember the results will be released soon and they are not up to now declared.


More than 6 lac students appeared for these examinations,after this matriculation the students will take admission into the class 12 (+2).


Punjab state 12th class results will also be released soon expecting that they will be released after the release of class 10 results.

Spinalonga – The Island

Spinalonga - "The Island"

Few places are imbued with the pervasive sense of pathos as the place known in Greek as the “Island of the Dammed” which I visited a few days ago. Made famous by Victoria Hislop’s book “The Island” Spinalonga was Europe’s last Leper Colony in the days when the disease was incurable, operating from 1903 until its closure in 1957.

Spinalonga seen from the village of Plaka on the mainland

The black flags flying from the upper bastion symbolising
Spinalonga's past as a Leper Colony

The entrance tunnel to the Venetian Fortress. It is now mirrored as part
 of a series of artworks  to symbolise the island's history.
The Lepers never had mirrors.

It was one of a chain of Venetian Fortresses defending Crete from Turkish invasion. The island of Crete, then known as Candia, remained Venetian for almost 400 years before succumbing to the Ottoman Army of Yussuf Pasha in 1669. The Siege of Candia (modern Heraklion, Crete) was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled city and were ultimately victorious. Lasting from 1648 to 1669, it was the longest siege in history. Spinalonga, along with Gramvousa and Souda, remained in Venetian hands even after the rest of Crete fell to the Ottomans in the Cretan War (1645–1669) until 1715, when they fell to the Ottomans during the last Ottoman–Venetian War. These three forts defended Venetian trade routes and were also useful bases in the event of a new Venetian-Turkish war for Crete. Many Christians found refuge in these fortresses to escape persecution from the Ottoman Turks.

"Main Street" - Spinalonga

The island of Spinalonga (Kalidon) has captured the imagination of many over its long history. One of the most visited tourist attraction on Crete, thousands of visitors every year walk along the narrow streets through the village on Spinalonga. The name Spinalonga is Venetian, meaning "Long Thorn." The official name is Kalidon, but so well known as its former name Spinalonga not even the sign posts and the boats that take you to the island will call it anything but by its Venetian name. The Venetians called it Spinalonga after a small island near Venice which is now days been renamed Giudecca. The fortress on the island was built by the Venetians using building materials from an original ancient fortress on the island. It was founded in 1579 by Luca Michiel and the island was used as in defence of Crete usually against the ever expanding Turks and pirates. The Venetians were defeated by the Turks in 1669 however the island stayed in Venetian hands until 1715. Later in history it was inhabited by Ottoman Turks until 1903 and when they left the island became a leper colony by order of the Cretan Government of the time. After Crete was joined in union with Greece on 1 December 1913, lepers from all over Greece were moved to the island which had a population around 400/450.

Map copyright PlanetWare.com

Today, we do not quite understand the stigma of Leprosy which was then incurable and condemned the sufferer to a life apart. At the time sick people with Leprosy were known as the untouchables, because the illness was incurable and wrongly considered contagious, and was also known already from the Old Testament as a punishment from God to incredulous and impure people. Leprosy is caused by a slow-growing bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae. It is transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth of untreated patients with severe disease, but is not highly infectious; indeed 95% of the population have a natural immunity. If left untreated, the disease can cause nerve damage, leading to muscle weakness and atrophy, and permanent disabilities. Today, Leprosy can be easily treated with a 6–12-month course of multidrug therapy. The treatment is highly effective, and has few side-effects and low relapse rates; there is no known drug resistance. It is also known as Hansen’s disease after the Norwegian physician who first developed a treatment in the 1870’s and identified the main symptoms and the parthenogenesis of the disease. His treatment stopped the disease progressing but it was only in the 1930’s that multidrug therapies were developed which reversed the disease’s progress. The disease originated in India and was brought to the Middle East by the armies of Alexander the Great. The Crusaders are reputed to have brought it to Europe where the superstitious medieval mind needed little persuading that the very visible suffering of those afflicted was a punishment from God and with its grotesque progress those sufferers were dammed on Earth.

Lepers on Spinalonga

Doctor, Priest and Inmates, Spinalonga, 1931

There were two entrances to Spinalonga, one being the lepers' entrance, a tunnel known as "Dante's Gate". This was so named because the patients did not know what was going to happen to them once they arrived. However, once on the island they received food, water, and medical attention and social security payments. Previously, such amenities had been unavailable to Crete's leprosy patients, as they mostly lived in the area's caves, away from civilization. Living conditions were very poor and eventually the lepers formed their own community with its own laws. In the 1930's a generator was installed, and a library, school and churches were built - things began to improve. Plaka began to grow as villagers from the area used it as a base to sail to the island to sell produce to the colony - by now the lepers were given a small pension. Shops began to appear on the island including raki bars and a bakery.  Improvements continued throughout the 1940's and 1950's, but the feeling of isolation remained and the residents of Spinalonga began to lobby the Government to be moved.  In 1957 the last lepers were moved to a colony near Athens, and Spinalonga fell into ruin.

Even today along the “main street” on the island there are Turkish and Venetian areas. In the 1930’s conditions improved and lepers on the island were paid a pension which they could use to buy goods and services from the mainland. After WW11 new accommodation blocks were built and many of the families moved out of the houses into these. This ironically meant that they were often better off than the mainlanders in the adjoining villages of Elounda and Plaka who became economically dependent on “The Island.”

"Dante's Gate"

It is this symbiotic relationship between the islanders and the mainland which is explored in Victoria Hislop’s book which is set on Spinalonga and on the village of Plaka which lies within swimming distance across from it. The Island tells the story of Alexis Fielding, a 25 year old on the cusp of a life-changing decision. Alexis knows little or nothing about her family's past and has always resented her mother for refusing to discuss it. She knows only that her mother, Sofia, grew up in Plaka, a small Cretan village, before moving to London. Making her first visit to Crete to see the village where her mother was born, Alexis discovers that the village of Plaka faces the small, now deserted island of Spinalonga, which, she is shocked and surprised to learn was Greece's leper colony for much of the 20th century. It is here that Alexis meets an old friend of her mother's, Fotini, who is prepared to tell her for the first time the whole tragic story of her family. What Fotini tells her is shocking and tragic; it is the story which Sofia has spent her life concealing: the story of Eleni, her grandmother, and of a family torn apart by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island and with the horror and pity of the leper colony which was once there, and learns too that the secrets of the past have the power to change the future. “The Island” is a vivid, moving and absorbing tale, with its sensitive, realistic engagement with all the consequences of, and stigma attached to leprosy.

Spinalonga (and Crete’s) darkest moment in modern times came during the German occupation. The Battle of Crete in 1941 was vicious with the German Airborne division sustaining 7,000 casualties with not just the Allies but ordinary Cretans attacking German Paratroopers with anything they could find. The resistance continued throughout the war with the people paying a terrible price with German executions of anybody suspected of resistance becoming commonplace. By 1945 with the help of a small group of Allied commandos and supplies the Cretans had retaken most of the island with the Germans under siege in Chania in the west. They even helped (and paid a high price) to capture the German Commander of Crete in 1944, General Kreipe, and to spirit him off the island to Cairo. The event was later immortalised in the book 'Ill Met By Moonlight' by Billy Moss and the film of the same name. The Germans were forbidden to enter on the island of Spinalonga which became a refuge for those fleeing the occupation. Instead German soldiers would take up position on a concrete domed water tank in Plaka opposite and use people swimming to and fro for target practice. Many died this way trying to escape or going back to the mainland for food.

The effect of Spinalonga on the villages of Plaka and Elounda was strange. Because of the Leper Colony many in these villages had jobs on the island or made money supplying goods or services. On the one hand you had the dread of leprosy and on the other hand you had this symbiotic dependency build up between the people of these economically depressed villages and the leper colony which people could not leave but where they had a steady income and a thriving community. Indeed on the island you had shops and cafes and social events. More than that the people felt protected and there were marriages and children, so you had affected and unaffected people living side by side on the island. At the end many were fearful to leave and feared being shunned back in the “world.”

Church of St Panteleimon on Spinalonga which was used by the Lepers. 
Known in Greek as Παντελεήμων "all-compassionate" 
he is also referred to as Panteleimon the Healer, 

hence the dedication of the church to him on the Leper Colony.

Elounda, where most of the ferry’s leave from for the island, is located in east Crete, north of Agios Nikolaos and south of the seaside resort of Plaka. It was once a picturesque fishing village in the lovely Mirabello Bay, so named by the Venetians for its “lovely view.” The inhabitants lived from farming, fishing, salt extraction from the Venetian saltpans, and emery mining. In the hills around Elounda is found a mineral unique to Greece, “akonopetra” or whetstone, a type of fine emery used to make whetstones and emery paper to hone tools used in many different jobs. The emery of Elounda had long been known in Europe by the name of “Turkey stones” or “Naxos stone”. More recently from the early 1930s to the outbreak of World War 2 Flying Boats of Imperial Airways used the sheltered bay at Elounda, between the town and Spinalonga Island (known then as Mirabella Harbour) to stop on the flight from London to South Africa, the Far East and back.

The former Prime Minister of Greece Andreas Papandreou was particularly fond of Elounda and came here on holiday at least once a year. He introduced it to French President Mitterrand and Libyan leader Gaddafi, while Elounda was also a favourite resort of Kostas Simitis, another more recent Greek Prime Minister. Apart from politicians, Elounda often welcomes Arab princes with their large families, film and music stars, Russian tycoons and other VIPs from all over the world.

After its years of dereliction Spinalonga is coming back to life as a restoration programme continues and there are interesting and often poignant displays of life on the island with many artefacts from the period. There are two churches on the island as well as the hospital and newer buildings. The most poignant place is the graveyard for the lepers never left the island even in death. They were buried in temporary graves and after three years their skeletons were dug up and removed to an ossuary adjoining the graveyard. Earlier visitors speak of human bones being visible. The earlier neglect by the Greek State was redeemed by the colony itself and enlightened administrators who both built a real community on the island and improved the care and medical treatment of the inhabitants. When the colony was closed in 1957 there were only 30 nervous patients left who were transferred to the Hospital of Santa Barbara in Athens.

The other church on the island, Agios Georgiou. St George was
Patron Saint of the Crusades which is somewhat ironic as
the Venetians acquired Spinalonga and indeed all of
Crete as a result of the 4th Crusade which instead of recovering
the Holy Land resulted in the shameful Rape of Constantinople.

http://daithaic.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/fall-of-byzantium.html

Spinalonga is a natural rock formation which the Venetians probably made into an island by cutting a channel to separate it from the Kolokitha Peninsula.  The original fortifications and dwellings are at the base of the island with two artillery bastions and musket points at the corners. Within these walls are also cisterns which collect rainwater from the rock as there are no groundwater sources on the island. Later, upper fortifications were built on top of the rock to cover the lower fortifications. This had the effect of making the Fortress of Spinalonga impregnable as the lower bastions were covered by artillery fire and the upper guns were out of range of attacking ships.

The Graveyard with the temporary unmarked graves

The ossuary where the bones of the lepers were re-interred
in boxes after three years in the graves

And what of Victoria Hislop and her book “The Island?” Well it would be wrong to say she is admired and respected on the Island of Crete, although undoubtedly she is. Rather she is loved; loved as a Xeno for learning Greek and talking to people on Crete about the reality of Spinalonga, the reality on the island and on the communities of Plaka and Elounda. Loved for telling the human story of the colony for it has allowed the Greeks to talk about something which was dark and hidden. Now the book in Greek and other languages is for sale all over the island and Spinalonga is the most visited tourist attraction on Crete after the Palace of Knossos. Victoria still has a house there but on the far side of Agios Nikolaos from Spinalonga.

The one downside is that the Island is run by the dead bureaucratic hand of The Ministry of Culture which knows as much about running visitor attractions as I do about banana ripening. So with 3,000 daily visitors in season paying 3 Euros a go what toilet or catering facilities are available on the island? The answer my friends are none, zilch, diddly squat or to use the Greek, ZERO. This is doubly strange because a Kafeoin and toilets have been built (no doubt with EU grants) but the lazy bureaucrats in Athens can’t be bothered to open them, no doubt citing budget cutbacks but forgetting their paying guests are entitled to some facilities and dignity. They will never improve because this stultifying Ministry does not speak to tourists but do of course speak to each other about their self-important jobs. Indeed I must not be unfair and I must assume, despite the evidence, that some of them have actually applied for their jobs.

Victoria Hislop and Manoli Foundoulakis, a former leprosy sufferer who lived 

in the hills overlooking Spinalonga, in the village of Ano Elounda. 

He died on 28 May 2010 peacefully at the age of eighty-seven.

With the passage of time the small village and walls of the fortress have begun to crumble, however much work has been done on the island over the last few years to repair its fabric and this continues. But no repairs will ever plaster over the all pervading sense that this island is a special place where every stone speaks to you of the pathos and melancholia of those who came to live and to die without ever leaving the Island of the Dammed.

A sculpture on the upper bastion depicting an inmate about to jump.
 In fact during its 54 years as a Leper Colony there were
no suicides on the island and no visitors caught the disease.

                                                                                                                                                           
For more on the history of Spinalonga and tours of the area see Victor Zorba’s website. He has written a history of the Island and has been running tours for 25 years.

http://www.victorzorbas.com/eng_index.html