THE KOSHER ISSUE

(The following letter, which was over 700 words in its original form, has been edited due to space restrictions)

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the slanderous letter titled, "It's Not Kosher," written by Wendy Estelle, which appeared in the November 2008, Issue 31, of your paper.

Her scathing letter alleged that the A & G Veneris Bakery in Iraklion, whose fresh bread and bread rusk products are certified kosher, offered her a bread ring with ham in the middle.  This accusation was made among a number of other criticisms of the bakery, all of which I feel obligated to refute.

First and foremost, I must refute the shocking allegation that the bakery, which is under strict reliable Orthodox kosher supervision, serves ham. I know for a fact, that there are no meat products of any kind in that bakery. 

It is true that the bakery does sell – in a separate refrigerated case - certain bakery products that they bring in from another source.  These items are not kosher and do not appear on the kosher certificate issued to the bakery. 

I wish to make it perfectly clear that only the fresh breads and bread rusks that are baked in Veneris' own bakery are certified Kosher, and only these items appear on the kosher certificate.   

The author of the letter stated they asked for crispy bagels and were given "kritsinia," which are the Greek version of crispy bagels.  The Greek bagels do not closely resemble the familiar American bagels the customers may have expected to see.

She also stated that the person behind the counter was not wearing gloves when she handed her a bread. We have it on good authority that this woman (the clerk) is very trustworthy and always wears gloves when serving customers.

I wish to add that the owner and the staff of the bakery remembered well the visit of Wendy Estelle and her friend to their establishment.   They remembered their visit because they (the staff) were quite surprised at what they called the "impolite and rude" behavior of these two customers. The staff felt that these customers had come to the bakery with "bad intentions" – looking only for a chance to complain and cause trouble. In the end they bought a simple brown bread and walked out.

Maurice Makowsky

Dear Mr. Makowsky:

We realize this is an important and sensitive issue, and we are scheduling an article on this subject for early next year.

The Editor

NEIGHBOR VERSUS NEIGHBOUR

Dear Editor:

I have found your 'Khronicles' more than interesting; however why on earth have you chosen to use Texas cowboy English and not correct UK English as taught at our schools all around Europe?  You may agree that this leads to some kind of confusion when our children see the spelling different than what they have learned. You may claim that the text is the responsibility of the writer, but please allow me to believe that it is very simple to correct.  At times you use correct English and later on again you go back to the cowboy dialect. For example, you write neighboring (p7) and then neighbour (p8).  Metres and then meters. One can only guess which is correct. Just a few more examples:  stylised and not stylized, centre and not center, orgnanising and not organizing, etc.

Finally, with regard to a letter from Mr. T. Jackaman complaining about the Greek postal service, may I comment that my long experience with them - and not only for one year - has been more than satisfactory without any major reason to complain…apart from those inconvenient meaningless postal boxes placed at most peculiar locations out in the countryside, in supermarkets and hopefully not as yet in cemeteries.  

M. Manousakis
Episkopi

Dear Mr. Manousaki:

English, like many languages including Greek, has various dialects. The one you refer to as "Texas cowboy English" is spoken and written by 300 million people, making it the most popularly-used form of English in the world. Using any of the dialects doesn't make that one correct and the others wrong. It's simply a matter of geography. And, since we have an international staff of writers, we sometimes, unfortunately, experience variations in spelling. However, as you point out, it is the responsibility of the editors, not the writers, to ensure that our stories, columns and features are uniform in the use of the English language as it is known in this part of Europe. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we will certainly be more diligent in the future.

Αγαπητέ Συντάκτη:

Θέλω να σας πω ότι εγώ και άλλοι ηλικιωμένοι στο χωριό βρίσκουμε Τα Λόγια Υγείας στις ιατρικές σελίδες να είναι μια θαυμάσια προσθήκη στην εφημερίδα σας. Οι στήλες είναι ενδιαφέρουσες και χρήσιμες και οι γιατροί τις γράφουν με τέτοιο τρόπο ώστε να τις καταλαβαίνουμε. Μια χάρη όμως: πες τους να γράφουν περισσότερο για καταστάσεις που έχουν επιπτώσεις στους ηλικιωμένους. Σας ευχαριστούμε.

Μιχάλης Ζαχαριουδάκης

Αγαπητέ κ. Ζαχαριουδάκη:

Σας ευχαριστώ για τα σχόλιά σας. Και ναι, οι γιατροί είπαν ότι θα καλύπτουν θέματα σχετικά με τους ηλικιωμένους. Τον επόμενο μήνα κιόλας θα έχουμε μια στήλη σχετικά με την αρθρίτιδα.

Ο Συντάκτης

Dear Editor:

I just want to tell you that I and many of the senior people in our village find your new "Health Talk" pages to be a wonderful addition to your newspaper. The columns are very interesting and helpful, and the doctors write them in a way we can understand. Just one request:  Could they write more about things that affect the older people? Thank you.

Mihalis Zahariouthakis

Dear Mr. Zahariouthaki:

Thank you for your comments. And yes, the doctors said they would be covering subjects pertaining to the elderly. In fact, in next month's edition you'll find a column concerning arthritis.

The Editor