Things Textiley in Greece - 12 Parts of the Greek Evzone Guard Uniform

Here is one of those pesky tourists standing beside one of the famed Greek Evzone - guards of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the president's mansion, dressed in his Sunday uniform.

To join this elite division of guards one has to be over 6' 1.3"/1.87m tall.

The guard's uniform evolved from the Klephts' traditional clothing. 

The Klephts were Greeks who avoided Turkish rule by escaping to live in the rugged mountains. While surviving as thieves they formed the core of the resistance to the Ottoman occupation of Greece and with Greek independence became national heroes. 

Costumes in the Nafplion Museum.

Of the 12 parts of the uniform, the most striking and symbolic is the kilt-like skirt - the fustanella. Made of a 98'/30m length of cotton, each soldier irons in 400 pleats then his partner helps him to belt it to his waist. The 400 pleats symbolise the 400 years the Greeks endured Ottoman occupation.

The blue and white waist fringe, also held in place by the belt, are colours symbolising the modern Greek nation, the colours also in the national flag.

Over a white cotton long-sleeved shirt is worn another white shirt - the ypodetes - with its very wide long sleeves that billow out as the soldier marches.

The scarlet, wool fez - the farion - has a long black silk tassel. The soldier's aim is to hold his body upright while marching to avoid tangling the silk tassel.

The waistcoat - the fermeli - is densely hand embroidered wool. Traditional designs are worked in white and gilt thread. One of the coded messages in the embroidery is the military rank of the wearer.

Silk tassel garters, 2 types - the epiksclides and the anaspastos -  hold in place 2 pairs of white woollen stockings - the periskclides.

A rifle with a bayonet is part of the uniform.

The red, leather clogs - the tsarouchia - have a pointed toe adorned with a black pompom. One source says the pompom is to keep water out of the hand sewn join where the 3 pieces of leather meet at the toe. It is also known as a place to hide a small blade.

Each clog has 60 nails embedded in the sole and a horseshoe-like metal plate on the heel. Apart from making the clogs very heavy, up to 7 lbs, the nails help the soldier from slipping on the stone tiles. As a group of soldiers raise their right legs high then strike the ground forcefully with their clogs it is said to make a sound of war.

This year our family holiday was spent in Greece.

Backyard Project: Multi-function Propagation Room East Wall

The east wall of the Propagation Room serves several important functions.

At one end it is attached to the house so that it and the house are part of the deer fence.

It supports a roof that is accessible from inside the house. 

This wall has helped change the structure from a deck that was stuck onto the house, which we removed, to a room where we transition from the inside to the outside.

Josh making sure the wall is straight.

This east wall is also part of the ventilation system for the plants growing in the room. 

Air can easily pass through the punched metal screen wall.

The east wall also provides structural support for the propagation table inside the room.

The wall also provides shelter and privacy to the patio on the other side of it.

It is also the place where the gate slides back out of the way when we want to enter the garden, more on that when the gate is built.

The many functions of this one wall of the propagation room show how well integrated it is into the overall design of this area of our Backyard Project.

BackYard Project: The Big Pour Happens on a Snowy Day

The Big Pour Day

Taylor and a Pumper Truck crew member.

Earlier in the week Josh and Taylor worked on constructing the formwork for the concrete walls of the Garden Sheds and yard.

At the end of each day, when the construction site was quiet, I would walk around the now defined spaces. It was the first time I could see exactly where each shed is located and I could visualise a clearer picture of how I would use the space.

During the week the temperatures dropped and we got a sprinkle of snow.

Josh and Taylor had to cover the formwork to keep rain and snow from filling the wall spaces.

Early one morning this appeared at the front door.

It was another City Concrete Pumping truck only this one had the pump pipe attached to a large, folded-up crane.

While Josh and Taylor cleared away all of the plastic covers....

...the pump truck operator set up the truck.

Four legs came out of the sides to rest on squares of wood.

The legs lengthened to lift the truck wheels up off the ground. My guess is it was so the truck wouldn't bounce around on the rubber tires when it lifted the load. Or maybe the legs had to be that long to make the truck bed level because the driveway is sloped.

The operator buckled on his remote controller and started unfolding the crane.

Here he is dressed for the cold day with his high-vis safety gear on over top.

He is guiding the crane up to its full height in between the trees.

The cement truck arrived and backed up the driveway...

...to couple up with the back of the pumper truck.

The cement was pumped up the white hose on the crane and into the flexible, dangling black hose with its end crimped closed.

The crane was guided up over the garage while the crew stood ready.

And the cement pour began. 

Teamwork - The crane, hose and cement flow controller, the cement hose guide, the lookout on the left....

...the air pocket removers.

While Josh (left) holds the weight of the suction pump hose motor Taylor (right) pushes the suction end in and out of the freshly poured cement to remove the largest air pockets.

That was The Big Pour Day.

Backyard Project: 2 Garden Sheds' Foundations Take Shape

Off-set Pegs - these are a good sign.

They mean the area is being surveyed for the 2 Garden Sheds' foundations.

The bobcat is levelling out the site. 

It is now raining most days so the site is becoming very muddy and working temperatures are much cooler.

Josh and Taylor construct the formwork for the concrete foundations. 

It is proving to be a challenge because the granite rock is not far below the surface. Some of the formwork has to be shaped to go up and over the rock.

Horizontal bars of reinforcing steel are tied in place.

The vertical reinforcing steel coming up in the middle of the walls is held in place with wooden boards and wires.

City Concrete Pumping arrives with the pump truck and crew.

The cement mixer is not far behind.

The pump hose is put in place over the farthest footing and the crew swings into action.

Taylor removes the formwork.

The newly poured foundations were covered with tarpaulins and left over the weekend to cure. Josh left the formwork up for an extra day just to be sure the concrete footings had enough strength before continuing the work.

Backyard Project: Machines Prepare the Ground for Foundations and Make a Wall

Heavy machinery has been brought in to prepare the ground for the sheds' foundations.

Josh is checking the work so far.

James is operating the digger to lift out the large chunks of blasted granite.

The angle of the deer fence in the background shows how much material needs to be moved to get an area of level ground to build on.

I have plans for these rocks but I don't want the soil on them. However, I am OK with leaving the rain to do the job of washing the soil off.

Then I saw Josh and Taylor hand loading the choice rocks into the Bobcat bucket while leaving the soil behind.

They took many bucket loads of rocks down the path to the Back Track.

Josh did such a great job building the stone wall I wanted. 

The Back Track now has a randomly-placed stone wall on the downhill side leading down towards the road, stopping at the tree. On the other side of the tree is where we make compost. The piece of cardboard in the foreground is the marker where the wall was to stop at the uphill end.

I wasn't keen on having the dirt with the rock because as soon as things start to warm up all sorts of wild plants will grow on the wall. I plan to get in ahead of this natural process and scatter plants seeds of my choice between the rocks. That will keep the unwanted plants at bay and I won't have to 'weed' the wall. That is the plan anyway.