YOUR STUDY OPTIONS FOR SEPT & OCT 2020
The summer season got off to a late start in Greece, but it has started and everything is open. The local airport of Preveza opened a couple of weeks ago, mostly for flights from the UK. Other tourists here are at the moment are mostly Greeks as there are no restrictions on internal travel. Otherwise there are very strict border controls for anyone coming overland and nobody can cross a land border without proof of a negative Covid test within the previous 72 hours.
This does not apply to those flying in from the UK. There is random testing at the airport on arrival but, so far, no virus cases have been detected amongst tourists already here. If you are tested at the airport and if you were unlucky enough to test positive you would be contacted immediately.
Greece has done brilliantly with their early lockdown and now enforcement of distancing and hygiene rules. The wearing of masks is compulsory in all shops and places of business, such as the banks, post office etc. Nearly all bars and restaurants are in outdoor spaces but even so social distancing is being observed with tables and seating areas being spaced out. Every time I go to the beach my sunbed is disinfected before I’m allowed to lie on it!
There have been 210 deaths in the entire country, which compares staggeringly favourably with other European countries, such as Spain with nearly 29,000 deaths or Italy with 35,000, France 30,000 and Turkey 6,000. So far on the island of Lefkada we’ve had two virus cases amongst locals, one back in April who recovered, and one a few weeks ago which was a taverna owner in a small village, who then quarantined at home. Fortunately neither of these people spread it amongst the community and that’s the state of play at the moment.
COURSES RUNNING
Sally Kirkman has definitely moved her Making Predictions course to next year but the Summer School is going ahead with four courses through September and going into October. These are two courses with me followed by two with Elisabeth Brooke –
- Wednesday 2nd September – Practising Astrology – Chart Interpretation & Predictive Techniques (with Joanna) – The aim of this course is to discover how to “move” on a horoscope, how to convert the astrological information into meaning and bring each chart to life with accurate interpretation. We will revise the traditional symbolism of signs, planets, houses and aspects with the aim of deciphering patterns, locating “teams and themes” and applying this technique to as many charts as possible, including your own. You’ll learn how to bring the natal chart to life with transits and other timing techniques for predictive work. You will need to send me your personal data at the time of booking, ie your date and place of birth, and time of birth as accurately as possible.
- Wednesday 16th September – Cards on the Table – Tarot for all levels (with Joanna) Tarot is magical, fun, easy to learn – and incredibly helpful! You can do everything from looking at daily concerns to your picture for the next six months to asking specific questions – such as love, money, work, moving or anything that is currently close to your or your client’s heart. You will learn the card meanings in depth, how to choose spreads and how to develop your psychic sixth sense in order to arrive at accurate judgments. The course material is designed in such a way that this course will be suitable for all levels. You will need to bring your own pack of cards with you, preferably the Rider Waite deck.
- Wednesday 23rd September – Astrology, Karma & Destiny (with Elisabeth Brooke) – Your birth chart shows your Soul’s journey, how you chose to come in to this life. The Sun, Moon and planets illustrate how different aspects of your destiny work out in your everyday life. Working with your own chart, and those of famous people, you can begin to understand how to maximise the gifts of your horoscope and how the issues and challenges of your personal astrology appear both in your life and those of loved ones. This course offers you the opportunity to discover creative ways to surmount challenges. Knowledge is power, and understanding our deepest motivation allows us to live the best life possible.
- Wednesday 30 September – Astrology, Herbs & Health (with Elisabeth Brooke) – Your birth chart shows how you can attain optimal health by working out your innate constitution or temperament with reference to the four elements, Fire, Air, Earth and Water and the four Temperaments, Choleric, Phlegmatic, Sanguine and Melancholic. In Traditional Herbalism healing herbs are ruled by the seven planets, so you will learn which herbs best suit your Temperament and their individual medicinal virtues. A day trip to look at some of the beautiful herbs growing around Nidri will be arranged as part of the course.
FLIGHTS
Both Easy Jet (Gatwick) and British Airways (Heathrow) now have direct flights to Preveza. On some weeks flights with Olympic Holidays are also available. You can also mix and match these flights if you want to fly out of one airport and back into the other. Prices below are for the return flights with the same airline and do not include hold luggage allowance
- Wednesday 2nd September – Practising Astrology – BA £113.00, Easy Jet £203.00,
- Wednesday 16th September – Cards on the Table – Olympic Holidays £98.00, BA £118.00, Easy Jet £150.00
- Wednesday 23rd September – Astrology, Karma & Destiny – BA £171.00, Easy Jet £123.00
- Wednesday 30 September – Astrology, Herbs & Health – Easy Jet £60.00
SIZE OF GROUPS
At the beginning of the year many of the courses were nearly full, we were looking at the busiest ever year of the Summer School, but then obviously it all came to a screaming halt! A few students transferred flight tickets rather than taking a refund but overall I’m anticipating taking groups of much lower numbers for these few courses, between 4 and 8 (rather than 10 – 12 as usual). New garden furniture has already arrived, a lovely long pine table with benches in addition to the big round table that some of you know, to ensure that we can easily observe social distancing spacing during class hours. And it all fits comfortably under the shaded area too.
HOTEL
The Summer School hotel – for those who arrive on flight only rather than on a package deal – is The Palmyra, just along the beach from The Christiana where many students have stayed over the past few years. It’s a more upmarket venue, including swimming pool, bar and private beach area. It’s a small family run place, and the owner Savva and his wife Vicky both speak excellent English. So does Katerina who runs the bar, and I’ve known her for 25 years. They are all very friendly and helpful.
I strongly recommend that you take your own room rather than sharing as when you’re on a study holiday you need your space and your sleep. Over the last 18 years of running courses anyone sharing rooms has always run into problems. The price includes breakfast and for this season is a substantial discount on their usual rates, an excellent deal.- contact me for details.
You don’t have to stay at The Palmyra but you will be hard pushed to find a better place at this price. It’s much nicer to be part of the group at the same hotel and also this is the venue for the taxi pick up on the four study days, from the hotel to my house and back again, a service which is included in the course fee. Transport becomes a problem for anyone staying in different places, especially if they’re off the beaten track.
HEALTH INSURANCE
We have an excellent local surgery with a 24 hour call out service. We also have a brand new hospital in Lefkas town, 15 minutes drive from Nidri. You are covered for health care with an EHIC card until Brexit happens. Please make sure you bring your EHIC card with you or ensure that you are covered by other private health insurance.
Do get in touch if you have any questions, no matter how small, and you can also contact Elisabeth direct –
Love from Greece,
Joanna xx
