Corfu Chronicles

Corfu Event Calendar Now Available On This Blog

2011-01-09T01:25:00.000-08:00

Visitors to this blog can now stay updated with what is happening in Corfu throughout the year. You will see at the top of the page a link to Corfu Calendar, which shows all this year's important events. If you're coming to Corfu on holiday, you can see what is available at the time of your visit.

This is an ongoing project, so if you have an event to add, then please contact me with details using the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Merry Christmas From Corfu!

2010-12-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas! Below is the choir singing Corfu Christmas Carols - enjoy!

'The Island' Author Chooses Greece Instead Of Hollywood

2010-10-13T02:47:00.000-07:00

A much-awaited TV series started in Greece this week. It is the serialisation of Victoria Hislop 's novel The Island. What makes it especially gratifying is the fact that the bestselling author rejected six-figure offers from Hollywood to turn her debut novel about a leper colony off Crete into a blockbuster film.

The Island has sold more than 1m copies in Britain alone, won several awards and been translated into more than a dozen languages, but Hislop chose Greek TV to dramatise her story for a fraction of the fee. She said, "What I wanted, and will now get, is a chance to have a say in the TV series. I feel much happier with some of my input and knowing that the Greeks, who took the book to their heart, will care about making the series and keep loyally to the plot. I was simply not happy with the approaches from America. I was worried what might happen to my story and my characters."

The island of the title is Spinalonga, just off Crete. Schoolteacher Eleni is diagnosed with leprosy and is exiled to Spinalonga, leaving behind her husband and two beautiful daughters on Crete. Years later, Eleni's great-granddaughter Alexis returns to Crete to find answers to her family's mysteries.

The 26-part TV drama employed about 300 local actors and Hislop herself owns a house on Crete with her husband, Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye magazine.

Kudos to Victoria Hislop, I say!

Mouseover the image for details.

10 Corfu Tavernas And Restaurants

2010-09-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Continuing our series of Corfu Lists Of 10, below are 10 traditional tavernas and restaurants in Corfu, including one on the nearby small island of Paxi.

Prices listed are for a 3-course meal for one, including a half bottle of wine and all taxes and extra charges. These are just to give you an idea of the prices of each establishment.

AGNES RESTAURANT, Pelekas

www.agnesrestaurant.com

€40-50

CHRISI TAVERNA, Corfu Town

26610 46175

€40-50

REX, Corfu Town

www.rexrestaurant.gr

€40-50

TAVERNA VASILIS, Paxi

26620 30062

€40-50

TOULA'S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, Agni Bay

www.toulasagni.com

€40-50

JANIS RESTAURANT, Kassiopi

www.janisrestaurant.com

€30-40

PANORAMA, Peroulades

www.panoramarest.gr

€30-40

TAVERNA KARBOURIS, Perithia

www.karbouris-corfu-taverna.com

€30-40

TAVERNA SEBASTIAN, Agios Gordios

www.sebastians-taverna.gr

€30-40

TRIPAS TAVERN, Kinopiastes

www.tripas.gr

€30-40

Corfu 1962

2010-07-24T01:26:00.000-07:00

I came across this British Pathe short film of Corfu from 1962. Tourism on the island was quite different at that time! Notice the empty beach and the lack of cars on the roads! It also shows some villagers collecting prickly pears - something that hasn't changed, see our previous post here.

CORFU

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Guide To Corfu And The Ionian Islands

2010-06-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

I can highly recommend this guide in the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Top 10 Guides series. Not least because I was personally involved (in my own small way!) in the preparation of the guide.

The guide contains dozens of Top 10 lists for Corfu and the Ionian Islands - whether you have plenty of money or are on a limited budget. From the Top 10 bays and beaches to the Top 10 myths & legends, picture postcard villages and outdoor activities. To save you time and money, there is even a list of the Top 10 Things to Avoid.

The guide is up to the usual excellent standards of all Dorling Kindersley publications and I suggest you obtain a copy before you visit Corfu and / or the other islands.

New Corfu Website - Green Corfu

2010-06-25T03:20:00.000-07:00

I've just come across this new Corfu website, which I think is a great initiative. It's called Green Corfu and as the name would suggest, it aims to promote a 'greener' side to Corfu than that known to most people.

As the site says in its introduction - Corfu is a green island, because of its lush vegetation all year round, full of olive trees, cypresses, and a wealth of other plants, insects, birds and animals. It’s an island that is ideal for tourism all year round. You can walk through the beautiful countryside, go horse-riding over ancient paths, cycle amid awe-inspiring olive groves, taste traditional local products, visit traditional wineries, olive presses, picturesque churches and ancient castles, relax and come in contact with pure natural beauty.

You can find sections on Nature, Eating, Healing, Corfiot Products, Recycling / Green Energy, Walking and Accommodation. It's well worth a visit and I wish them all the best!

Using The Prickly Pear Cactus To Purify Water

2010-04-30T01:11:00.000-07:00

I have just been reading that research has shown that the Prickly Pear cactus can be used to purify water up to a degree of 98%. I've written a post about it in my other blog Be The Change.

I previously wrote about Prickly Pears in Corfu here - we have several cacti around the house and they are extremely prevalent on the island as a whole. So, I'm going to investigate and see exactly how it is done and give it a try - apparently, it's quite simple and was common practice amongst 19th century Mexican communities.

It is the actual cactus that is used, not the fruit, and you need to cut it up and boil it, but I'm going to try and find the exact method. Hopefully, I'll be able to publish the results here soon!

Corfu Carnival

2010-02-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

Today is the final Sunday before Lent, which means it's the day of the final Carnival here in Corfu as well as in the rest of Greece. Unfortunately, it's cold and rainy today, which is a bit of a dampener.

The Carnival has its roots in Ancient Greece and in Corfu especially there is a strong Venetian influence from the time of the Venetian occupation. Originally, the carnival developed from the ancient Greek festivals in honour of Dionysios, God of Wine, which took place at the beginning of spring in order to have a good harvest and successful breeding among the animal stock.

Thursday was Tsiknopempti, when everyone eats meat before the forty days of Lent leading up to Easter. In Corfu, we also have what is known as Petegoletsia (The Gossip) which is an old form of street theatre in the Old Town, in which women leaning out of windows overlooking the narrow alleyways exchange gossip about what is going on locally.

In the final carnival (today), King Carnival is 'he who takes on the burden of sins' and is held responsible for whatever bad has happened in the previous year. He is brought to trial and sentenced to death by burning, so that all evil is burnt with him. So, the carnival procession concludes with a bonfire in which King Carnival is burnt, his will is read and music and dancing follow.

Monday is what is called Clean Monday , which is the beginning of Lent. You can find recipes for some traditional dishes that are eaten on Clean Monday here.

Images: Terra Kerkyra

10 Corfu Museums

2010-01-18T02:22:00.000-08:00

As part of our series Corfu Lists Of 10, we have here 10 museums on the island.

Archaeological Museum

Built between 1962 - 1965, its initial purpose was to house the archaeological finds from the Temple of Artemis in Corfu. In 1994 it was expanded with the addition of two more exhibit halls that display the more recent finds at the ancient citadel of Corfu.

The Gorgon just before being beheaded by Perseus, as depicted on a pediment from the Artemis Temple.

Image: Wikipedia

Byzantine Art Museum

The Byzantine Museum is housed in the Panagia Antivouniotissa church. The church is dedicated to our Lady Virgin Mary Antivouniotissa (Antivouniotissa = opposite the mountains) and is one of the oldest and richest ecclesiastical monuments of the city.

Image: Wikipedia

Historical and Folkloric Museum

This museum is housed in a traditional house in the village of Sinarades. The first floor is a reconstruction of a typical village house from the 19th century and the upper floor has a collection of Corfiot costumes, musical instruments, agricultural and artisan tools as well as other implements and items.

Kapodistrias Museum

This museum is housed in the summer home of Ioannis Kapodistrias - first Greek prime minister after independence in the early 19th century - in the area of Koukouritsa in his birthplace of Corfu. It has exhibits commemorating his life and accomplishments.

Mon Repos Museum of Palaeopolis

The museum contains fascinating archaeological finds, historical documents, prints and lithographs concerning the use and history of the Mon Repos Mansion as well as a collection of watercolours and botanical samples representing the natural heritage of Corfu.

Museum of Asian Art

The Museum was founded in 1927, when the ambassador Gregory Manos donated his collection comprising some 10,500 works of art. It operated until about 1974 as Sino-Japanese museum. Later the museum was enriched with other collections mainly from mid-Asia and since then has operated as the Museum of Asian Art. The museum often hosts periodic exhibitions.

Museum of Ceramic Art

The Museum houses numerous surviving samples of Corfiot ceramic art, which flourished in earlier times. These samples are valuable works of popular art, distinguished by their simple form, the variety of shapes and their austere painted decoration.

Olive Oil Museum

Located in the traditional village of Kinopiastes, this small museum has a well-maintained traditional olive press as well as authentic items of village life in Corfu.

Serbian War Museum

The Serbian Museum exhibits rare material from the First World War. The Serbian Army, (about 150,000) together with the government, found refuge and compassion in Corfu, after the collapse of the Serbian Front in 1915. The visitor can see photographs from the three years that the Serbians stayed in Corfu, together with other exhibits like, uniforms, arms and ammunition of the Serbian soldiers and officers, Serbian regimental flags, ecclesiastic canonicals and other items of the Serbian priests, surgical tools of the Serbian doctors from the island of Vido in 1916, medals of honor and other decorations of the Kingdom of Serbia and various other items.

Solomos Museum

The National Poet of Greece, Dionysios Solomos, spent the greatest part of his life (1798-1857) in Corfu, where he wrote the greatest and most important part of his work. The house where he lived, worked and died was restored by the Corfiot Studies Society after the Second World War and today functions as a Museum and Centre of Solomos Studies.

Greek Vegetarian Recipes - E-Book

2010-01-12T02:14:00.000-08:00

For those of you interested in Greek cooking, I would recommend the new e-book 50 Greek Vegetarian Recipes. Greek cooking is not just roast lamb and souvlaki - there are many delicious dishes that are vegetarian. Follow the link below to download the e-book for just 3 Euros.

Roggia Farm - Corfu

2010-01-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

The area of Roggia in North Corfu had been abandoned over the last 30 years until the idea of Roggia Farm eventually came to fruition. Roggia Farm has newly built houses with modern facilities and comfort inside, but which blend into the existing environment. The owners claim - rightly, I believe - that their building intervention did not dramatically change the scenery of Roggia but, on the contrary, added new aura and fresh life to the area.

It is an organic farm with a range of local trees, plants and animals with the aim of applying biodynamic farming in the future. Since 2008 visitors have been able to come and stay at the farm and have the choice of helping with the animals and land or just watching; helping with the cooking or just eating!

The farm consists of a main building plus 3 maisonettes / studios for guests. For those who wish it, daily activities include feeding and cleaning the animals and cultivating, collecting, watering and pruning the vegetables and crops. Other activities, on request, include cycling, walking, horse-riding, yoga and massage and aromatherapy.

On my recent visit to the farm, I was much impressed by the whole environment and the enthusiasm of Nikos and his mother Lina who run it and for whom it is indeed a labour of love. For more information, visit their site here.

Greek Cookery Lessons - Corfu 2010

2009-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

As those of you who read my blog Authentic Greek Recipes may already know, we are offering Greek Cookery lessons in Corfu next year. You can now get full details of the programmes at the blog Greek Cookery Lessons - Corfu 2010, which will be regularly updated with the latest information.

Early Bird Registration
There is 100 Euros discount for those who book before
31 December!

These are going to be small, friendly groups of 6 people at the most, so we may not be able to accommodate everyone - get your booking in!

Looking forward to seeing you in Corfu next year!

Greek Students Win UN Video Prize

2009-11-03T01:37:00.001-08:00

Mariangelina Evilati and Stella Karavazaki - students at the University of Athens - won first prize recently for their short video for the Global Model United Nations contest.

Students participating in the first Global Model United Nations in Geneva were invited to submit a short video highlighting the progress being made in their country, or globally, on one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Students were asked to identify an MDG; outline the steps that have already been taken to meet the 2015 target; identify what more needs to be done; and outline their own plan of action to make sure the target is reached.

Mariangelina and Stella chose "Achieve Universal Primary Education" as their video theme.

Global Model UN 2009 Geneva

United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Lost City Discovered In Greece

2009-10-17T03:56:00.000-07:00

The ruins of a submerged town covering an area of 30,000 square metres off the southern Peloponnese in Greece has now been surveyed by marine archaeologists. Although it was discovered by an oceanographer 40 years ago, it is only now that it can be properly surveyed, thanks to digital technology.

Known as Pavlopetri, the sunken settlement dates back some 5,000 years to the time of Homer's heroes and in terms of size and wealth of detail is unprecedented, experts say. It is believed to have been consumed by the sea around 1000 BC. Some are even linking it with the lost city of Atlantis.

"There is now no doubt that this is the oldest submerged town in the world," said Dr Jon Henderson, associate professor of underwater archaeology at the University of Nottingham. "It has remains dating from 2800 to 1200 BC, long before the glory days of classical Greece. There are older sunken sites in the world but none can be considered to be planned towns such as this, which is why it is unique."

Thanks to the fact that the settlement is located in a protected bay and to shifting sands, the explorers were able to discover a world of buildings, courtyards, main streets, rock-cut tombs and religious structures. Thousands of shards of pottery were also discovered in the seabed.

"We found ceramics dating back to the end of the stone age, which suggested that the settlement was occupied some 5,000 years ago, at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought," said Henderson, who co-directed the underwater survey.

"Our investigations also revealed over 9,000 square meters of new buildings. But what really took us by surprise was the discovery of a possible megaron, a monumental structure with a large rectangular hall, which also suggests that the town had been used by an elite, and automatically raised the status of the settlement."

More than any other underwater site so far, the find offers potential insights into the workings of Mycenaean society.

It has yet to be understood why the settlement sank. Theories include sea level changes, ground subsidence as the result of earthquakes, or a tsunami. It is, however, the first time a sunken city has been found in Greece that predates the time that Plato wrote his tale of the sunken continent of Atlantis.

Via: Guardian

George Papandreou - The Right Person At The Right Time?

2009-10-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

Now I don't normally get involved in politics - I haven't seen much there to really inspire me, but I do get the feeling that George Papandreou, the new Greek prime minister (seen above arriving at the first ministerial meeting yesterday), is sincerely trying to turn things in Greece. Normally I wouldn't use the words 'sincere' and 'politician' in the same sentence, but here I think the optimist in me is getting the better of the cynic.

He seems intent on changing the understanding of the purpose of a government - that it should be there just to serve, support and respect the people. At the first meeting of the new ministers he invited the head of the Citizens Counsel organisation (an NGO which looks after the interests of the citizens) to come and address the new ministers for 30 minutes, telling them of people's concerns - mainly with the public administration. This, to me, was a bold and innovative move which helped underline that the essence of what they were doing was to serve the people.

He went on to ask the ministers to disband the innumerable committees which have been set up and which seem to have no purpose other than to be a 'nice little earner' for some people and a way to do and return favours. This will save the state about 150 million Euros a year - not a huge amount in the general scheme of things, but good housekeeping nonetheless.

The minister for the newly formed ministry of Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Tina Birbila is highly experienced in the field and an author. It was refreshing to see this young lady relatively casually dressed with her backpack slung over her shoulder at the swearing in of the ministers.

Papandreou is not (comparatively) a party animal (political party). He is open to working with anyone who can help provide solutions. He is also consulting with international experts to help kick-start the dire economy here.

As I said above, I do not like the world of politics but I have so far been impressed. I know it will take a lot for a change in mentality and attitude to filter through all the levels of public administration, especially, but there is a strong feeling that the first steps have been taken. To me it seems that this may be the beginning of a turning-point in this country and that indeed George Papandreou is the right man at the right time.

Image: www.papandreou.gr

European Mobility Week - Greek Immobility Week!

2009-09-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

16 - 22 September is European Mobility Week. Hundreds of towns and cities from countries across Europe are participating, except for - Greece! Well, actually, one town is participating (in a half-hearted way) - Lamia. But apart from that, the traffic in Athens will most likely be like the photo below - immobile! 358 towns from Spain, 375 from Austria, 155 from France....and Greece?? Perhaps their minds are all on getting votes at the upcoming national election!

During European Mobility Week people are invited to participate in a wide range of activities promoting sustainable mobility. The campaign theme this year is "Improving City Climates", underlining the importance of local level efforts to tackle climate change and improve quality of life through the promotion of alternative transport modes to the car such as cycling, walking, and public transport as well as clever car use schemes such car-sharing and car-pooling.

By adopting "Improving City Climates" as the 2009 focal theme, European Mobility Week wants to establish a link with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2009 in Copenhagen by demonstrating that citizens and local authorities have a key role to play in the fight against global warming by fostering a radical change away from private car use and towards more sustainable travel. By doing so, they also help to improve the quality of life at the local level.

Stavros Dimas (ironically, a Greek!), Commissioner for the Environment, stated:
"Private cars are large emitters of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. They also seriously affect the quality of urban life. It is therefore important for public authorities and citizens throughout the European Union to adopt more sustainable modes of transport. Doing so would help reduce the impact of climate change and improve the living conditions in our towns and cities."

Last year, Budapest received the top award for its activities in European Mobility Week 2008. You can see a short video about it here.

Socrates Would Definitely Be Turning In His Grave

2009-09-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

I previously posted about education in Greece here, but some recent reading has made me want to post again. The reference to Socrates is because 2.500 years ago he was teaching people by asking them questions and encouraging them to think and find the answers for themselves. Something which, ironically, is the opposite of what is happening in Greece today. I say ironically, because we are so proud (rightly so) of him and the other great Greek thinkers of the time and yet are doing completely the opposite. As I said, Socrates would be turning in his grave or, as we say in Greek, 'his bones would be creaking'.

The great Greeks from ancient times really were great minds and thought 'out of the box'. Their legacy can still be seen in so many areas in our life today - medicine, physics, mathematics, education etc. And yet that 'thinking' is the very last thing that children are encouraged to do nowadays.

I was reading an article in a British newspaper which was putting forward the claim that children in English schools are not being taught to think. Now this may or may not be true (I'm sure it probably is), I am not familiar with the English school system, but I thought to myself - if this writer saw the educational system in Greece, what would he say!

Learning as a child to question and to think will help us when we are older to have a society where common sense and intelligence prevail. At the moment, children just learn things parrot-fashion and with a view to just doing what it takes to pass exams. This cultivates a society of people who have learnt either how to just work in the system or how to beat or cheat the system.

The second piece of reading I was doing was from the latest report from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) on Doing Better For Children, including the data Comparative Child Well-Being across the OECD. This shows Greek 15-year-olds third from bottom (above Mexico and Turkey) in literacy and mathematics. They are also third from bottom in the percentage of 15-year-olds who have at least 4 of the basic educational tools (a desk to study, a quiet place to work, a computer for schoolwork, educational software, an internet connection, a calculator, a dictionary, and school textbooks). Greece is bottom in the state financial support of families with one person working and two school-age children.

The education - or rather 'non-education' - system needs a bomb under it. In order to qualify for university or college, nearly all schoolchildren have to go to evening classes or frontistiria. Not only is this wrong because they should be taught what is needed in the school, but also because it means children have hardly any free time and have ridiculous pressure to do homework. It also means that most families in Greece have to spend large amounts of money (which they don't have) every month for something which should be needless.

I cannot believe that people are not out on the streets every day demanding the abolishment of these frontistiria! In a time of such financial difficulty, to have to spend so much money every month for something that shouldn't exist is not only ridiculous but obscene! But people don't do anything - they just accept that it is necessary.

Schools are told by the state what books they should use - nothing is done to develop the creation of a variety of materials for the schools to choose from for themselves. Exams encourage pupils to just learn specific sections by heart and then regurgitate them. You may as well just answer like this - Q1. - Answer: page 34, para 5; Q2 - Answer: page 46, para 2 etc. You can get full marks (20 out of 20 in Greece) for composition/essay and history. How can this be? Is you essay so good it cannot possibly be improved on?

Facts, now more than ever with the internet, can easily be found - it's learning to use them that is not so easy. This is what needs to be encouraged - thinking. This is what made great thinkers in the past great. They took themselves beyond the barriers, they thought 'out of the box' as I said above. If we are so proud of the ancient Greek thinkers, then the best way to express this is by trying to do the same and encouraging young people to do the same.

Corfu Prickly Pears

2009-09-05T02:07:00.000-07:00

In a previous post - 10 Corfu Trees - I mentioned the Prickly Pear Tree. We are now busy eating the prickly pears here! Prickly pears here are called either Frangosyka (Frankish Figs) or Pavlosyka (Paul's Figs). The latter name is used only in Corfu as far as I know and, though it is not certain, I have been told that the name comes from Pavliana, a part of the island where they were originally prolific. If anyone has any more information on this, then I would be glad to here from you.

Although we say 'tree', it is really a cactus plant and grows easily and prolifically in many areas in southern Europe. In Corfu you can find the plants all over the island. The name 'prickly pear' comes from the fact that the fruit has large, sharp thorns which make it difficult to handle. The photo above is of a large, sprawling cactus on our neighbour Soula's land.

You can see in the photo below how the fruit is picked. The tin-shaped part at the top of the long handle is hollow so that you can enclose the fruit in it and then twist and pull it off and put it straight into the bucket or basket. This means that you avoid having to handle the thorns. You'll notice it has two sizes to accommodate for different sized fruit! This is the cutting edge of village technology!

This is Soula showing the fruit that she's just picked.

These are some of the Frangosyka that we picked.

Again, when you are peeling the fruit, you have to be careful of the thorns. As well as the large, obvious thorns, there are tiny little hair-like thorns that take an age to get out of your fingers - ask me!

You can see one way of peeling in the photo below, using a fork to hold the fruit and a knife to peel it. The final photo shows the fruit as it is once the skin has been removed. I can tell you it's definitely worth the effort! The juicy fruit is definitely one of my favourites and especially if you keep it in the fridge before eating.

First, cut off the end.

Slice the skin lengthwise.

Peel off the skin to reveal the inner fruit.

The fruit ready to eat. You can see the seeds here as well. Delicious!

Virtual Tour Of Achilleion Palace, Corfu Casino And 12 Corfu Churches

2009-08-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Digital Innovations has produced these two great sites with virtual tours of the Achilleion Palace and Corfu Casino (see above) and 12 Corfu churches (see below). The Achilleion Palace was built by Princess Sissy of Austria in the 19th century and is visited by thousands of tourists every year. The casino used to be located in the Achilleion Palace for many years, but was then transferred to the hotel Corfu Holiday Palace, overlooking the famous Mouse Island.

The virtual tour of the 12 Corfu churches includes, of course, the Church of St. Spyridon, the patron saint of the island.

Add A Twibbon To Your Twitter Profile Image

2009-08-11T01:18:00.000-07:00

Those of you on Twitter may have seen several profile images with ribbons or other small images in the corner. These are Twibbons and show that you support a particular cause. I've just created a Twibbon to support the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

At the moment there are over 6600 causes on Twibbon and the one with the largest support so far has 18466 supporters.

All you have to do is go to Twibbon and create your own cause and add an image - it doesn't have to be a ribbon - to be superimposed on your profile image. You can also browse through the causes there and join whichever one you support and have the twibbon added to your profile.

If you agree that the British Museum should return the stolen Parthenon Marbles to Greece to be displayed in the new Acropolis Museum, then please click below to get your twibbon!

10 Corfu Trees

2009-08-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

Continuing the series Corfu Lists of 10, I have posted here 10 types of tree that can be found on the island of Corfu. This is obviously not a complete list, but gives a good indication of the variety that can be found.

Olive Tree

Olives are the predominant product on the island. From the trees we get eating olives, beautiful and healthy olive oil, olive soap, olive wood and other products. See my previous posts here and here about collecting and preparing olives for eating.

Myrtle Tree

Greek legend tells of a nymph called Mirsine who raced against the goddess Athena and won. Athena, in a rage then killed Mirsine whose body was transformed into a beautiful myrtle bush. Branches and flowers are often used in wedding bouquets and in classical times poets and renowned thinkers wore wreaths of Myrtle. The leaves and flowers contain scented oil, and the leaves are also used as a herb when cooking meat and fish.

Strawberry Tree

The fruit of this tree resembles strawberries and ripens from green to yellow to vivid red. This plant can live for up to a thousand years where older stems are replaced with new growth from its flattened woody base. The Strawberry tree is native to Mediterranean countries and also some milder Atlantic coasts such as western Ireland.
The fruit is edible with a delicate flavour and is used in liquors and jam making.

Judas Tree

This tree, also known as the Redbud, is so named because it is from this type of tree that Judas is said to have hanged himself after he betrayed Jesus, therefore it is said to blush with shame ever since with a display of pink (magenta) flowers. Appropriately, it blossoms around Easter time. See my previous post on this tree here.

Holm Oak

The Holm Oak is an evergreen tree not unlike the olive and is one of the trees still remaining from the primeval forests of Corfu.

Cypress Tree

The Cypress tree is common enough in many countries, but has always been on of my favourites and you can see their elegance in the typical Corfu view above.

Carob or Locust Tree

This tree is evergreen and has brown broad bean like seedpods, which have been used as a substitute for chocolate and also to make carob flour. The Carob seed due to its uniformity of weight has been used to measure precious items such as gemstones for thousands of years, hence the word Carat as in the measure of diamonds.

Prickly Pear Tree

The Prickly Pear is also known as the Frankish Fig and is one of my personal favourite fruits. I hope to write a post about it later in the year when the fruit is ripe and you can see how it is collected and cut and eaten. These cacti can be seen everywhere in Corfu.

Pomegranate Tree

The Pomegranate is supposed to bring good luck on New Year's Day, when you take it and smash it on the ground. The seeds and the juice are delicious and refreshing.

Koumquat Tree

This fruit was introduced to Europe from China in the mid-19th century and Corfu is especially renowned for it. There are distilleries on the island which produce the Koumquat liquor (rather sweet and syrupy) and you can also buy them as preserved fruit.

Twitter Petition To British Museum To Return Parthenon Marbles To Greece

2009-07-22T06:57:00.000-07:00

Following my post on the recent opening of the new Acropolis Museum in Athens here and the post about the number of people who think the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece here, I have just started a Twitter petition.

It's really simple to start a petition on Twitter, and when people tweet it, that is their signature. I have tweeted the petition directly to the British Museum and they will be updated regularly with the number of tweets and also have the opportunity to respond.

So, if you are on Twitter and agree that the Parthenon Marbles should now be returned to Greece and put on display in the new Acropolis Museum, then just tweet below. It's set up so that auto-follow anyone who tweets.

Why Make Things Simple When They Can Be Complicated?!

2009-07-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

I would suggest that this should be the motto of the Greek civil service. Anyone who lives in Greece knows full well how it operates – or rather how it doesn’t operate. I had to deal with them again yesterday, which is why I’m writing this post now.

As in every country, there are plenty of intelligent and common sense people in Greece. The problem is that hardly any of them happen to be in the civil service. As I watched all the poor people, yesterday, running back and forth with sheaves of papers in their hands I thought how disrespectfully we treat each other. Most issues that people need to sort out are basically quite simple and yet we have to go from one desk to another, collecting papers, rubber stamps and signatures, whilst desperately hoping that we can get it all done without having to come back again (a forlorn hope).

One of my own particular peeves each time is what they call the ‘protocol number’. In almost every piece of business, the person you are dealing with will tell you that you have to go and get this number before he/she can proceed. You go find this person – usually a woman stuck in a small office somewhere – and they write down your details in a large ledger, with a number, before you can go back and continue. Almost invariably, someone else is now being attended to and you again have to wait.

Why can the person you are dealing with not just put a number in the computer? Why do we have to run off to get a number from someone writing people’s names and numbers in a huge ledger like a throwback to Victorian times? Why do we need to go to what seems like a minimum of five different people in five different departments to get anything done?

Greeks are proud – quite rightly – of the great minds that lived here in ancient times. But these people – Socrates, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Hippocrates etc – were great thinkers that thought out of the box and their ideas and discoveries are still fundamental to so many fields such as maths, physics, medicine etc today. Why can’t the minds in Greece today not think like that any more?

Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, the intelligent ones are usually not in the civil service. This is partly the reason why things don’t work simply and efficiently, but the main reason is the political cost that would accompany making it efficient. An extremely high percentage of people working in the public sector are not needed and it often seems that a lot of the procedures have been created just to justify the existence of them all. I don’t know the exact figure, but over 30% of the working population are in the public sector in Greece. This is an enormous figure, and we are basically paying a huge amount of money for these people’s salaries, benefits, pensions etc and they are not actually producing anything. Plus the fact that a large number take early retirement.

However, no government will risk the political cost of reducing the numbers and ensuring that those that remain are efficient and suited to the job. And simultaneously help create work in the private sector. I was thinking, where else is so much inefficiency and bureaucracy tolerated. Imagine going to buy an airline ticket, for example. The employee in the agency tells you that you have to go to another employee to get an application form to buy a ticket, which you fill in and then go to two other people in the office for them to stamp and sign it. Then they tell you that you have to go to the airline office itself to get a confirmation form that there are seats available. Having got that and come back to the travel agent, you have to go to another person sitting in the corner of the office who will write down your details in a huge ledger and give you a protocol number. Finally, you get your ticket! Yet this (and much worse!) happens in the public sector.

When will someone have the courage to create a public sector which is respectful and helpful to people? Wouldn’t it be great if you came to one of the services and a smiling person greeted you as you came in and asked how they could help you. Then they accompany you to one of the assistants who deals with your issue without sending you to anyone else. While you are waiting, someone else comes and asks you if you’d like some coffee. And everything is dealt with quickly and efficiently in a clean and welcoming environment, without you having to get up from the seat.

In the words of John Lennon, “You may say that I’m a dreamer; but I’m not the only one”

James Bond Driving Citroen 2CV In Corfu

2009-07-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I couldn't resist posting this short clip of the Citroen 2CV car chase in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only, with Roger Moore (Mr. Sauve).

The scenes are shot in Corfu and very close to where I live in the north west of the island. In the village with the narrow streets (Pagi) there is a cafeneion just where the 2CV turns upside down, where I regularly sit and have coffee. The only thing we never see there is a bus going to Madrid!! In the film this was supposed to be Spain, but those who live on the island or have visited it know that it was most definitely Corfu.

Enjoy the chase through the olive groves and the narrow streets!

Scottish Government Declare That Parthenon Marbles Should Be Returned To Greece

2009-06-30T02:01:00.001-07:00

Scottish ministers have declared that there is a clear right for the Parthenon Marbles to be returned to their place of origin, where they were 'removed' by Lord Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Ministers believe that Greece is perfectly capable of displaying and conserving the Parthenon Marbles appropriately, and support the view that the people of Greece have a right to receive back one of their most important cultural treasures."

There is now a suitable venue for them to be displayed - the new Acropolis Museum - below the Parthenon in Athens. Hopefully, the pressure will continue until the British Museum bow to the inevitable and return the stolen property to their rightful place.

Most People Think Parthenon Marbles Should Be Returned To Greece

2009-06-27T02:24:00.001-07:00

Photo: Urban (Creative Commons)

The Guardian newspaper in the UK set the question "Is it time to return the Parthenon Marbles?" to its readers and up to now the replies are Yes - 96.8%, No - 3.2%. An overwhelming vote in favour of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece to be housed in the new Acropolis Museum. The online survey still has 3 days to run, so if you wish to vote, you can do so here.

As I mentioned in my previous post here, the British Museum is fast running out of arguments or excuses as to why they should keep the Marbles. Remember, they were stolen from the Acropolis in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin (which is why some people call them the Elgin Marbles) and then sold to the British Museum.

Over the years, the British Museum claimed that there wasn't a suitable venue for them to be displayed, but that argument no longer holds since the opening of the much-acclaimed Acropolis Museum earlier this week. So now all we can say to the British Museum is - Time to return the stolen goods to their rightful owner so that they can be displayed in their rightful setting - next to the Parthenon - for all the visitors to enjoy.

For more information on the Marbles and their return to Greece, you can visit The British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles and you can also sign a petition, if you so wish, at Return The Marbles.com

10 'Firsts' In Corfu

2009-06-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

Continuing the occasional series of Corfu Lists of 10, these are 10 firsts from the island of Corfu. These are by no means the only ones, but give an indication of the role that Corfu has played in Greece in various fields. We are talking about modern Greece, by the way.

The first theatre in modern Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. The San Giacomo (now the Town Hall) in 1720.

The first Greek opera. In 1867 The Parliamentary Candidate became the first opera composed on an exclusively Greek libretto and was performed at the San Giacomo.

The first university in modern Greece in 1824.

The first governor in modern Greece - Ioannis Capodistrias.

The first library in modern Greece.

The first bank in modern Greece.

The first lighthouse in Greek waters. In 1822 the lighthouse was built in Corfu and in 1825 the first floating lighthouse was built at Lefkimmi in Corfu.

The first lady mayor in Greece - Maria Desilla-Kapodistria, 1956-59.

The first tennis club in Greece.

The first cricket club in Greece.

Athens Acropolis Museum Opening On Saturday

2009-06-18T01:06:00.000-07:00

Photo: Christos Vittoratos

Finally, the new Acropolis Museum in Athens is opening. This Saturday, 20 June is the official opening and dignitaries from all over the world will be present. The museum is located at the bottom of the Acropolis hill, which has the Parthenon on top. Designed by Bernard Tschumi and Michael Photiadis, it has a total area of 25,000 sq. meters, with exhibition space of over 14,000 sq. meters, ten times more than that of the old museum on the Hill of the Acropolis.

The opening of the new museum brings back into focus the issue of the Parthenon Marbles, called by some the Elgin Marbles after Lord Elgin who stole them from the Parthenon in the early 19th century and then sold them to the British Museum because he needed the money.

One of the arguments the British Museum used to put forward for not returning the Marbles to Greece was that there wasn't a suitable place for them to be displayed in Athens. Perhaps there was some validity to this argument before, but now there is none. From what I have seen so far, it is a wonderful new museum and would be a more than fitting setting for the Parthenon Marbles. However, the British Museum do not see it that way. They allegedly offered to 'lend' the Marbles to the Athens Museum for a few months, if Greece renounced its claims to ownership!

Now this controversy has been going on for many years, but I have a feeling that the British Museum are now fighting a losing battle. To put it simply, if you buy stolen goods from somebody and then the original owner asks for them back, what right do you have to say 'No. They're ours' ?

Back to the Museum. If you want to find out more, you can visit the site www.theacropolismuseum.gr. You can even watch the opening live on Saturday via their website. For those of you who are going to be in Athens this year, the entrance tickets until the end of the year will cost ony 1 Euro. Fantastic value!

Photo: Fusslkop

New Olympic Airlines Uniform Design - Vote And Win Free Tickets!

2009-05-28T03:15:00.001-07:00

Following my previous post about the contest for Olympic Airlines new logo, the new owners have announced that they have chosen 3 designs for the new uniform, which the public can vote for until June 7.

Voters will be entered in a draw to win free tickets to a destination of their choice for after October 1 this year. There will be 100 winners.

To vote you need to go to the site www.oafashion.gr I have to point out, though, that the site is only in Greek.

It seems to me that the sequence is the wrong way round. Surely it would be better to choose the logo first and then the uniform, based on that? But then what do I know.

Design A New Logo For Olympic Airlines And Win 20.000 Euros!

2009-05-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Marfin Investment Group, who recently took over Greece's national airline - Olympic Airlines, have announced an open competition for the new logo.

Logos may be submitted to the Contest Committee by designers, advertising companies, design firms and other related companies. The deadline for submissions is May 29th. The name of the new company will by Olympic Air, and the five rings of the current logo will be maintained, while no restrictions are placed on the fonts or colors used in the new logo, although designers are asked to keep the old logo in mind so that the new logo proposed will reflect both the tradition and the development of the Greek airlines.

Three short-listed logos will receive 2.000 Euros each and they will be put on a special website so that the public can vote. The design winning the most votes will receive 20.000 Euros.

There's also an incentive for people to vote, as 50 of the voters will be drawn randomly and will receive two round-trip tickets each for OA flights in Greece or abroad from October 1, 2009.

Google Street View Not Allowed In Greece

2009-05-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

I previously posted here about the company Kapou in Greece which had started a site with street views in Thessaloniki in northern Greece, with plans to expand to other cities. Well, their operations have now been suspended by the Greek Data Protection Agency and Google's plans to include Athens in their Google Street View have not been allowed until they can provide some more information.

Before they are allowed to include Greece they have been asked to provide guarantees that the service is not an invasion of personal privacy and to state how long the images will be kept. They have also been asked how they will let people know of their rights if they are photographed.

One official from the Data Protection Agency stated, "We are not going to allow our country to become a Big Brother society."

I had a look at some other cities around the world on the Street View site and, to be honest, don't see what the fuss is about. All the car registration plates and people's faces are blurred out and didn't see anything that could be construed as violation of people's privacy.

Am I missing something?

When Does 'Illegal' Become 'Legal'? - When You Call It A 'Tradition'

2009-04-26T01:41:00.001-07:00

Some of the traditions that exist around Greek Easter made me think of how we can get away with doing almost anything just by calling it a 'tradition'. At any other time and for whatever other reason, these things just wouldn't be allowed.

At the beginning of Lent, on Clean Monday, the village of Tyrnavos has its famous Phallus Festival. In fact, they call it' Dirty Monday'! On the Sunday and Monday the small town is filled with phallic symbols. People eat phallus-shaped bread, drink through phallus-shaped straws from phallus-shaped cups, kiss ceramic phalluses, sit on a phallus-shaped throne and sing dirty Greek songs about the phallus. Men, women and children!

Could anyone do this anywhere else or at any other time? Of course not. But call it a tradition and you've got carte blanche.

Elsewhere in Greece on Easter Saturday, we have the Rocket War on the island of Chios. Two sides fire rockets at each other across the town centre (see photos) and the winner is the side that hits the bell from the other side's church! People have been injured, houses have been burnt, people have to put protection around their houses, but - guess what? - it's a 'tradition' so it's OK!

Photos from Reuters

In other villages in Greece, 'brave' men dance in the central square with home-made rockets - lit - in their hands. Hands and arms have been blown off in the past, but, hey! It's a tradition!

Have you got anything you'd like to do, but you're not allowed to? Get together with some other people, create a'tradition' - you can surely think up some 'historical' justification - and then go ahead. You can even make it a tourist attraction!

Judas Tree

2009-04-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

It's the time of the year here, again, when the Judas Tree - also known as the Redbud - is in full blossom. I really love the magnificent magenta-pink colour of the flowers of this tree. The Judas Tree was given its name supposedly because it is the kind of tree that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from. It is thus also appropriate as it comes into full bloom around the time of Easter every year (Easter is next Sunday here in Greece).

Corfu has a plethora of these trees - the photo above is from the land next to our house, where the Judas Tree has become entwined with another tree - and generally thrives in the Eastern Mediterranean area.

Likaholix

2009-04-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

I recently signed up at Likaholix - a new social network where you can share your likes with other members. This can be anything you have found on the internet - sites, products, books etc. If you have at least 10 likes in a particular category, you become what is called a Tastemaker, which gives more weight to your recommendations.

I've only just recently joined, but it seems like an interesting idea, and was set up by two ex-Google employees. At the moment, joining is by invitation only, so if you're interested I have some invitations (30, I think) for my readers, if you click here.

Did You Know?

2009-04-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

I came across this fascinating video with some facts about the progression of information technology. Take a look and see what you think.
Really - the facts are incredible!

Coffee Boycott In Greece

2009-04-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 11 thousands of Greeks will be boycotting coffee houses and cafes as a protest against the high prices charged for coffee. Coffee prices in Greece are amongst the highest - if not the highest - in Europe.

Black filter coffee usually starts from €2.50, cappuccino and frappe from €3.50 and types of coffee like the fredochino and mochacino cost as much as €6.50. These are prices in normal cafeterias - and don't forget, Greek salaries are amongst the lowest in Europe. Each year Greeks drink 5.8 billion cups of coffee, which cost them €1.8 billion.

The boycott has been dynamically organised through the internet and there is also a Facebook group (in Greek), which already has over 8.000 members.

I think it's a great initiative and hopefully more and more individuals will use the internet and make their voices heard against profiteering.

Greek Businessman On Hunger Strike Against Cartels

2009-03-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

A Greek businessman has been on hunger strike for over 40 days now against the cartel system in Greece. I only found out about this by chance on the internet as it hasn't been reported anywhere in the Greek media!

Mr. Theodoros Tenezos is the 39 year-old president and CEO of IRON TENCO S.A., a steel retailer, who saw his company collapse as a direct result of the sudden refusal of members of a hard-core steel cartel operating in Greece to supply him with raw materials.

He is staging his hunger strike in front of the offices of the Greek Competition Commission in central Athens, after having officially reported the matter and a lodged a complaint 2½ years ago. According to the report on the video below, he was then offered 1 million Euros by the cartel to withdraw the complaint and disappear!

This is the first Antitrust Hunger Strike in the world, according to Stop Cartel, where you can read more about the story. Mr. Tenezos had over 200 employees and the amazing and ahocking thing is that, though there is a British TV report (see below), absolutely nothing has been mentioned in the Greek media over the last 40 days!

Earth Hour

2009-03-24T05:06:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, 8.30p.m. on Saturday March 28th is Earth Hour. People and organisations all over the world are being encouraged to 'switch off' for 1 hour at that time. The target is 1 billion people, which will be like a vote to take decisive action on climate change. This global vote is particularly aimed at the meeting of world leaders in December, 2009 in Copenhagen to agree on a post-Kyoto policy for tackling climate change.

I think this is a good and powerful idea, but I have a bit of an issue with how it is being promoted here in Greece. The impression being given is that it is a kind of competition, with the media constantly telling us that the response in Greece is No. 1 worldwide.

Now I don't doubt that a lot of people and organisations here genuinely want to do something, but in a country which has a dreadful record regarding sustainability and environmental sensitivity it seems that perhaps the understanding is missing when we think that it is more important just to turn off our lights for one hour - which is quite easy - and be the 'best' in the world than to actually do something in our lives and on a permanent basis.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that Earth Hour is a great initiative, but there is something a lot more serious that needs to go hand in hand with it. Being first in the world at turning off your lights for an hour is just not enough.

Take a look at the short Earth Hour video below.

Kapou - New Greek Geo-Multimedia Site

2009-03-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've just come across a new geo-multimedia site that has recently been developed in Greece - Kapou.gr. The aim of the site is to act as a guide with 3D photos and maps, allowing visitors to 'virtually' visit towns and places of interest in Greece. At the moment, Kapou (which means 'somewhere' in Greek) is still in Public Beta and still has limited information, but it has the potential to become something extremely useful to both Greek residents and visitors to the country.

Being a company based in Thessaloniki in the north of Greece, they have started off with that city. Hotels, restaurants, important sites, shops and entertainment centres have been listed and you can follow the 3D photos and map for each of them.

As far as I can gather, they aim to cover the whole of Greece eventually (I hope they do Corfu soon!) and I presume it will also be in English and other languages - at the moment it is only in Greek.

But I wish them well. I think it's a great idea and has all the potential to become an indispensable virtual guide.

Good luck, guys!

Corfu Music Festival

2009-03-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

For the past 6 years, the month of July in Corfu has seen a series of concerts, seminars and discussions - The Corfu Festival, including the Ionian Concerts. I'm glad to see that this has been gradually developing from year to year - these things usually do take some time to get established - especially since the island has such a rich musical heritage.

The performances are separated into categories - Winds and Percussion, Ethnomusicology, Jazz and the Classical Experience. The performers come from Greece, USA and the Far East.

As I said, I think this is a wonderful enterprise, but I am disappointed in their website. The general design and layout I find good, but the English translation is terrible and the information in the site is obviously not properly updated. Such a shame that such a great venture should again (in Greece) be let down by poor basic organisational skills.

Anyway, I think it's a great opportunity for someone to combine a holiday on the island with some good music. The main venues for the events can be seen below.

Ionian Academy

The main venue for the Festival performances is the auditorium of Corfu University, housed in the historic Ionian Academy building.

St. George's Church

A large basilica, in the style of an ancient Doric temple, which was built about 1840 and functioned as the official Anglican church during the time of the British Protectorate.

The Old Fort
This was built by the Venetians upon the remains of a Byzantine castle and was completed in two stages. During the first period (1400-1500) the Venetians strengthened the Byzantine walls and dug the Contra Fossa moat, turning the promontory into an artificial island accessed by a movable bridge.
The second period (16th-18th centuries) began with the completion of this work (1546-1588) and ended with the additions and alterations made by the British.

Art Café
Located next to the Gardens of the Palace of St. Michael and St. George. A picturesque terrace overlooking the sea with a marvellous view and peaceful atmosphere.

For more information about this year's events, you can visit the Corfu Festival website.

Greek Mythbuster

2009-02-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

Public Domain Images

Cambridge University have just appointed their first AG Leventis professor of Greek culture - Paul Cartledge. Mr. Cartledge is author of several authoritative books, including The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others (Opus)
.

In his inaugural lecture, he apparently 'busted' some myths about Ancient Greece. The first of these was that there was, in fact, such a thing as Ancient Greece. Although they were united by religion and language, the city states, which numbered over 1000 and were spread from Marseille in the west to modern Turkey in the east, had different customs, political systems and calendars.

The second myth is that they were technologically backward. If you read my post about the Antikythera Mechanism, you'll see that this was definitely not the case.

He also pointed out that ancient Greeks definitely did not resemble their Hollywood impersonators. He stated that these movies "can be dangerous as well as enjoyable and provocative. They can pander to or influence cultural attempt or hatred," and thinks the Iranians were right to see the movie 300's depiction of the Persians as "an example of cultural denigration".

Finally, he busts the myth that the Greeks invented democracy in anything like the way that we recognise it now. Radical democracy was government by, for, and of the people, unlike modern representative democracies. Cartledge claims that Ancient Athenians would probably have regarded the British and American political systems as oligarchic.

Institutions vs Collabaration

2009-02-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

Recently, someone shared with me a video with a talk by Clay Shirky on how closed groups and companies will give way to looser networks where small contributors have big roles and fluid cooperation replaces rigid planning.

Now, this talk was given over 3 years ago, but I still found it to be spot on in the way it points out that emerging technologies are enabling loose collaboration, which will change the way our society works. His observation on the emerging role of stay-at-home moms I found to be particularly relevant.

This video is about 20 minutes long, but I definitely feel that it's worth your while to watch it.

Electronic Books For Schools?

2009-01-30T01:37:00.000-08:00

The leader of the opposition party here in Greece recently talked about introducing electronic books in schools. I think it would be a good idea and will almost certainly happen at some point, but the thing is, even with an electronic book, what is going to be contained in the book?

At the moment, children are provided with free books - which is good - but the state produces all the books and all schools have to use them. There is no choice. This situation leads to two basic problems.

Firstly, it encourages pupils just to learn things parrot-fashion and memorise specific chunks from the books to answer the exam questions. Freedom of thought is in no way cultivated, nor are children taught to think for themselves. As I mentioned in a previous post, Socrates Would Be Turning In His Grave, Greeks take pride - quite rightly - in the minds of the ancient Greeks, but the ironic thing is that Socrates used the method of teaching whereby his students were encouraged to find the answers for themselves. 2.500 years later, the exact opposite is happening in the same country!

Secondly, I always think it is dangerous for young children to be given the state's view of what they should be learning. This is especially the case with history. Authoritarian states classicly influence the minds of the youth with their own version of facts. Now, Greece is obviously not an authoritarian state, but at the same time, children from a young age are forced to take in the 'official slant' on all the subjects. Schools should be encouraged to choose whichever books they consider best, which would in turn encourage writers and publishers to strive to produce better materials and would encourage youngsters to think for themselves and answer exam questions with their own understanding and reasoning rather than just memorise critical passages from one book.

That being done, then an electronic book would certainly make life easier for them. For example, the Amazon Kindle, which is a wireless reading device, is extremely light and can hold over 200 titles that you can download in less than a minute. The cost of these books is also much less than the hard copies.

So, yes, let's have electronic books for schoolchildren, but firstly let's focus on the content and the teaching methods. Technology can only complement that, not replace it!

More Corfu Books

2009-01-22T07:31:00.000-08:00

Following my post 10 Corfu Books, I got a couple of comments recommending another two books. Of course, whenever you make up any list of 10 you're going to have to leave out a lot of others, and all my lists of 10 on this blog are not necessarily the best 10.

However, seeing as that these people kindly took the time to recommend the books, I'm going to mention them here.

Maggi has this to say about Songs Of Blue And Gold by Deborah Lawrenson - "The best Corfu novel for years. It came out last summer, and is a lovely evocative read, set around Kalami and Agni with wonderful descriptions of the landscape and the sea. Loosely based on Lawrence Durrell."

Another comment came recommending The Greek For Love by James Chatto - "A very touching and also funny account of moving to Corfu for a summer and just not leaving. It has became one of my favourite books."

Many thanks to both of you for these recommendations!

Social Media In Plain English

2009-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

I came across this short video which quite succinctly - in plain English - describes how social media works. I think it's an excellent presentation and worth watching.

10 Corfu Books

2009-01-13T02:17:00.000-08:00

Continuing the occasional series Corfu Lists of 10, this is a list of 10 books about Corfu, which aren't guides.

The most famous writers who lived in Corfu and wrote about it were the Durrells - Gerald and Lawrence. I have listed 3 of their books here - this is obviously not all of their work but are the books they wrote about Corfu.

The first and arguably best-known - there was a British TV series based on it many years ago - is My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. The books not only covers the natural history of the island, but is also a wonderful and amusing account of the Durrell family's experiences there when Gerald was a young boy.

Gerald also wrote Birds, Beasts and Relatives, which is the sequel to My Family and Other Animals and is also another nature guide along with delightful childhood memories and stories from the island.

Gerald's brother Lawrence wrote Prospero's Cell, which famously includes the suggestion that Corfu was the setting for Shakespeare's The Tempest. Here, we read about a young man whose escape from England to Corfu is interrupted by the onset of World War 2.

I love this delightful book by Emma Tennant, A House in Corfu, which relates her own childhood visits to Corfu and the acquisition of a piece of land and a house on the island's west coast.

Prospero's Daughters by Sally Stewart is a mystery whose heroine, an English writer, goes to Corfu in search of the origins of a painting that her grandfather brought back from Greece.

Kim Green's Paging Aphrodite is a fast-racing and well plotted story about four women who end up on the island of Corfu for their own various reasons.

to watch the waves go by is Peter Stoneley's amusing account of 30 years of struggle against Greek law, customs, government, weather and wildlife on the island of Corfu.

Captain from Corfu by Muriel Maddox is a romantic story about the love affair between Nikos, who is a Greek captain of a cruise ship, and Alexa, a beautiful American widow.

Alice Padova Anderson's Corfu Cooking combines local recipes with various stories from the author's childhood on the island of Corfu. The book includes illustrations of Corfu taken from the author's photos.

Corfu Sketches by John Waller is full of sketches, as the title would suggest, of Corfu Town, villages and countryside. For those who have been to the island it is a delightful reminder of their visit and for those who haven't been it is a wonderful incentive to visit!

Magical Mystery Tour

2008-12-26T01:05:00.000-08:00

Today I was remembering Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) from a long time ago - 1967 - when I was living in Britain and the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour was played on TV.

At that time, this was very 'adventurous' of the BBC and it caused a lot of varying reactions. I remember enjoying it, though, and there were some excellent songs on the EP (remember EPs?) from the film - I Am The Walrus and Fool On The Hill spring to mind.

So for those of you who were around at the time, below is a short trip down memory lane - the intro to Magical Mystery Tour. And for those of you who weren't - enjoy th Beatles when they were pretty much at their prime.

New 7 Wonders of the World

2008-12-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

I've just been over to the New 7 Wonders of Nature site to vote. The nominees have to be a clearly defined natural site or natural monument that was not created or significantly altered by humans for aesthetic reasons. They need to be a natural site, natural monument or landscape.

Anyone can vote - in fact you get to vote for 7 nominees - and on January 1st 2009 only one nominee per country will continue. In July, 21 finalists will be chosen, depending on the votes, and then you can vote again to determine the winners.

My first vote went to the Petrified Forest of Lesvos - located on the Island of Lesvos in the Aegean Sea.

This amazing forest ecosystem is made up of hundreds of lying and standing fossilized tree trunks which were covered by volcanic material and petrified in place 20 million years ago. Layers of volcanic ash have revealed pieces of trunks, branches, roots, seeds and leaves as well as fossilized animal bones.

Corfu View With Photsynth

2008-12-20T06:22:00.000-08:00

I've just started playing around with Photosynth. If you don't know it, Photosynth is the application by Microsoft where you can create a "cinematic" image and experience from flat photos.

It's free to sign up at the Photosynth site and the actual process of "synthing" your photos is easy, though I've found that you need to work at it a bit to get the best results. There is an explanatory video and you can see what others have created - the whole site is public, so whatever you do can be seen by others.

Anyway, you can see above a view in Corfu from our house, which I created on Photosynth. It would have been better had I had a better camera! On the left in the distance you just make out mainland Albania across the sea, which would have been clearer with a better camera. You can either click on the arrows top, bottom, right and left to move one at a time or click on the arrow in the top right-hand corner for it to play like a slide show.

I'm going to keep practising with it to see if I can get some good quality images. I'm still a complete beginner, but I think it's a great tool!

Antikythera Mechanism - 2000 Year-Old Greek Computer

2008-12-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

A complete working model has recently been completed of the Antikythera Mechanism, which many say was the first ever computer. The name comes from the Greek island near which it was found - in a shipwreck - over 100 years ago.

The mechanism is a geared device consisting of 30 gears in a highly complex arrangement and stands witness to the extraordinary mathematical and engineering capabilities of the Ancient Greeks. It is thought to date from between 150 and 100 BC and nothing as complex is known for the next thousand years.

The level of engineering in the mechanism is astonishing by any standards. There`are 3 main dials, one on the front, and two on the back. It is now understood to be dedicated to astronomical phenomena and operates as a complex mechanical "computer" which tracks the cycles of the Solar System. One of the dials on the back is even dedicated to the four-year cycle of the Olympiad Games!

Watch this short clip where museum curator Michael Wright describes how it works. It's quite fascinating! I'm always amazed at the brilliance of the minds in Ancient Greece!

Alexandros Grigoropoulos

2008-12-11T02:44:00.001-08:00

Lullaby For An Angel

2008-12-11T02:37:00.001-08:00

Following my previous post about the murder of 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on Saturday, people in Greece have been enraged by the attitude of the policeman who shot him. Not only does he not at least show some sympathy for the family or show some kind of regret, but he has been trying to insult the character of young Alexandros.

Everyone is outraged by the killing and schoolchildren, students and teachers as well as others have been taking to the streets because of this tragic event and some police have incredibly continued their insensitive behaviour by firing their guns, albeit it into the air, in front of young children and in built-up areas with apartment blocks and balconies.

Someone put together the short video above with beautiful, gentle music in memory of Alexandros and called it Lullaby For An Angel. It's very touching.

Alexandros Didn't Come Home

2008-12-09T04:03:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night, 15-year old Alexandros went out with his friends as usual. But this time Alexandros didn't come home. It was every parent's nightmare come true.

He didn't go to the usual cafeteria with his friends, but went with his friend Nikos, who was celebrating his name day, along with some others to another cafeteria. It was near the area Exarheia, the so-called "anarchists' ghetto", and as happens all too frequently, there were confrontations between the anarchists and the police.

A police car drove by the cafeteria where Alexandros and his friends were, and at that moment - according to the people who were there - a couple of the anarchists came by and threw some objects at the police car and shouted at them. They then ran off.

The two policemen got out of the car and walked back to the group of friends. Having worked for years in the area, they had developed their own "attitude" to young people. They shouted at the kids there in a demonstration of authority, and unfortunately the kids shouted back and threw a couple of empty plastic bottles.

A few seconds later, Alexandros was lying on the ground with his friend shouting, "He hasn't got a pulse!"

The two policemen were casually walking away.

Alexandros had a bullet in his chest. A bullet fired from a gun in the hands of someone who should never have been allowed to have one.

Alexandros was from a 'middle-class' family and had nothing to do with the extremists and anarchists, yet the anarchists used his death as an excuse to rampage and riot and set fire to the whole of Athens city centre. Several politicians used the incident to fire blame one side on the other.

But there were the others, mainly schoolchildren like Alex, who were shocked and angered in a way they had never been before and protested without violence. There is now a Facebook group which has been formed for him - Alexandros Grigoropoulos (it's mostly in Greek) - and there are already over 90.000 members since yesterday!

His parents? As a parent myself, I can't even allow myself to imagine it. Your child that you have nurtured through pregnancy, infancy and then played with, worried about, shouted at.... isn't there any more. I just won't allow myself to think about it.

Today Alexandros will be buried. His parents will have to live the rest of their lives...

There will be more demonstrations, anger, rioting, violence....

But one thing is certain.

Alexandros will never come home again.

This is Eric Clapton's song "Tears in Heaven" which he wrote when he lost his own child.

Help Save the Cretan Landscape!

2008-11-30T02:53:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this short video and then please consider seriously signing the petition against the planned development of a 2600 hectare resort on the Greek island of Crete.

Ecologists, archaeologists and politicians have all lent their voices to the protest against the construction of a 7,000-bed luxury resort on the virgin coastline.

The land is located in an area of the island that is a biological hotspot, rich in vegetation and rare plants. The 16-mile peninsula also contains archaeological evidence of farming techniques employed in the Mediterranean since antiquity.

Opponents to the scheme, led by historical ecologist Professor Oliver Rackham, from Cambridge University, argue that the multimillion-pound development is not suited to a region that in most other countries would have been designated a national park. If built, the Cavo Sidero project would comprise six tourist villages, three golf courses, hotels and other top-end facilities across 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres).

The British developers have rejected the arguments against the project, claiming that a comprehensive environmental impact study had been carried out. However, environmentalists fear that Greece could face a tourist development disaster similar to that suffered by Spain. "We have never faced anything as dangerous. It will lead to a massive urbanisation of the Greek landscape on the same disastrous scale ... seen in Spain," said Kriton Arsenis, a leading conservationist.

Just under 11,000 people, including more than 500 scientists and archaeologists from more than 80 countries, have signed a petition against the development and the Council of State, having already met, has said that it will investigate the issue and come to a decision next year.

As I write, people are signing the online petition and the number is fast approaching the 11.000 mark, though the original target was 10.000. Please lend your voice in order to prevent this destruction, by going to the site of the online petition HERE.

Many, many thanks!

Obama Babies?!

2008-11-27T02:16:00.000-08:00

I just read that there is expected to be a boom in the number of babies born in the USA in early August, 2009 - 9 months after Obama won the Presidential election! These are already being called Obama Babies.

It seems that celebrations after the victory went on well into the night and, well, we'll see the results of those celebrations in early August. Obama himself was born 9 months after John F. Kennedy was born, so I suppose he may well be a JFK Baby!

I remember quite a long time ago there were national power cuts, which meant there were no lights and no forms of entertainment powered by electricity, so, it was claimed, couples resorted to other forms of entertainment powered by something else. I can't recall if there actually was a boom in births 9 months later, but perhaps they should have been called Blackout Babies, or something similar!

I'm not sure how much research has been done into the subject, but I suppose there could be a lot of correlations between particular events and births nine months later. Here in Greece, there may well have been a boom after the national football team won the European Championship in 2004. It was such an unexpected and unlikely victory that the whole nation went into ecstasy! I suppose you could call them Otto Babies, after the national coach - Otto Rehagel - who incredibly converted a no-more-than-competent team into European champions, a feat that will certainly not be repeated in our lifetime. Perhaps if the Greeks were not so conservative on the issue of naming children, the baby boys born 9 months after the victory could have been called Otto! But the likes of Otto Papadopoulos doesn't really gel, does it!

I don't know what the "Blackout Babies" could have been called - Sparky, perhaps? I certainly hope we don't get a glut of Baracks and Michelles come next August!

Holidays on the Greek Islands

2008-11-26T01:43:00.000-08:00

I think that one of the main reasons for someone taking Holidays to Greece is the number and variety of islands here. There's no other country like it in that respect in Europe. A holiday on the Greek islands offers you the kind of relaxation you cannot get on the mainland.

Of course all of them offer the sea - and there are so many beaches to choose from! But they also offer spectacular countryside and other sights. Off the west coast there are the Ionian islands, including Corfu and Kefalonia, which are much greener than the islands on the other side of the mainland. Kefalonia is the island where the book and film Captain Corelli's Mandolin was set. So if you like what you saw in the film, then Holidays to Kefalonia is for you!

The large islands of Rhodes and Crete, south of the mainland, offer not only great beaches, but also beautiful countryside and historic sights - the ancient Minoan site of Knossos in Crete and the castle of the Templar Knights in Rhodes. Smaller islands include Santorini - an ancient volcano! - and Kos, not far from Rhodes.

All of the islands offer accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets, and I would definitely recommend that you should visit at least one of the Greek islands. Perhaps you could visit a different one each year!

The Grocer and the Credit Card

2008-11-21T03:34:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share this rather amusing story I heard recently. It's to do with the way banks just issue credit cards to people without being asked - usually ending up with the recipients getting even more into debt and the banks increasing their income. This is a true story of something that happened here, by the way.

A man who received a credit card from his bank, without applying for it and without being asked, phoned up the bank to find out why it had been sent to him. He claimed that he hadn't asked for it.

The bank said that was true, but they considered him to be a good customer and had issued the card and sent it to him anyway.

"But I don't want it! I want to cancel it," replied the customer.

"Well, if you want to cancel it, you'll have to come to the bank with the card and we'll cancel it for you, otherwise, you'll receive bills from us every month," was the bank's reply.

So the man - who was a grocer - went to his bank to cancel the card and took two large sacks of potatoes with him. The bank manger was looked curiously at the potatoes, but didn't say anything. After they had finished with the cancellation, the grocer got up and started walking towards the door.

"You've forgotten your potatoes!" called out the manager.

"No, no," replied the grocer. "They're yours! I've already billed you for them, but if you don't want them, then you can bring them to my shop and we'll cancel the bill."

I take my hat off to that man!!

Colossus of Rhodes to be Revived

2008-11-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Colossus of Rhodes, imagined in a 16th-century engraving by Martin Heemsker

The island of Rhodes has presented its ambitious project to revive one of the world’s seven ancient wonders, the giant sculpture of Colossus.

The original statue was erected in homage to the sun god Helios and stood in the harbour area of Rhodes, visible to passing ships. The modern-day wonder will also stand in the harbour and be dedicated to celebrating peace, being built - in part - out of melted-down weapons from around the world.

The project, led by the German artist Gert Hof, will capture the symbolisms of the the ancient monument, but it will not try to copy the original sculpture. The new Colossus has been conceived as a highly innovative light sculpture, a work of art that will allow visitors to physically inspect it by day as well as enjoy - through light shows - a variety of stories it will "tell" by night. It is planned to be the world’s largest light installation, a structure that has never before been seen in any place of the world.

The original Colossus stood 34 metres high before an earthquake toppled it in 226BC, but this modern structure will be between 60 and 100 metres high. The cost has been estimated at around 200 million Euros, but already, international organisations led by the World Trade Centre Association plus a network of exporters who promote peace through trade, have committed to supporting the venture.

In a statement, Yannis Hadzimarkos - president of the Dodecannese Islands' Chamber of Commerce - claimed that, "The new Colossus has been the dream of Rhodians for many years. It will be a marvellous opportunity for the economy of the region even if it is naive to think it will be easy."

Olives Ready To Eat!

2008-11-17T04:45:00.001-08:00

In a previous post - Collecting Olives - I described how we collected the olives that were for eating and not to make oil, and the start of the process before they were ready to go on the table to be eaten.

As I said, we cover the olives in water in jars (see photo above) for 20 days, changing the water every day. Well, after the 20 days have passed, what you do is change the water again and add 3 tablespoons of rock salt. You leave them like this for 3 days. After this, you remove the water and cover them in half water, half vinegar and leave them for another 3 days.

When that has passed, you put them in glass jars, covered in olive oil. It is recommended that you place in the jar either 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 1 tablespoon of parsley or 1 quartered lemon and some celery leaves.

The olives are now ready to eat. And are especially delicious for having been collected from our own trees!

Money, Money Everywhere And Not A Cent To Spend!

2008-11-13T02:47:00.000-08:00

First of all, my apologies to Taylor Coleridge for the post title!

I imagine that the economic crisis is getting the same amount of media coverage everywhere else as it is in Greece. However, it seems that here the crisis has been an opportunity or excuse for all the stuff that has been bubbling just under the surface for quite a long time now to come out into the open.

While in other countries the interest rates are being cut, in Greece the banks have not only not cut the rates, but have actually increased them! This has acted as a catalyst for all the financial and economic woes to burst to the surface. Greeks - the people not the country - have the highest rate of indebtedness in Europe. If you look at the following factors, it won't be hard to understand why.

The salaries and wages in Greece are amongst the lowest in Europe and yet the actual cost of living is one of the highest! What this has led to is a situation where people are using their credit cards just to cover their basic living expenses. Of course everyone knows that this is not a solution, but people are in such a desperate situation that they can see no other way to survive. Now, combine this with the fact that interest rates on credit cards are the highest in Europe and I think you can get an idea of how fragile things are here!

Banks are acting as if they are a law unto themselves as regards interest rates and their treatment of customers. Even though a law has been passed that they cannot repossess or auction people's houses for debts of less than 20.000 Euros, there are still cases of people losing their houses for debts as little as 700 Euros! They have increased interest rates and cut down on the number of loans that they grant - both personal and business. We now have a situation in Athens where loan sharks are putting up posters in the street and hanging around banks to get the custom of those rejected by the bank!

I don't know how we're going resolve this situation, but it seems that in Greece, at least, we are heading not just for the bubble to burst, but for it to explode in glorious technicolour. As I said in my post title, there is money around but most of us cannot see it. I am no economist, and perhaps I am a bit simplistic in my outlook, but surely we have the intelligence and the knowledge to be able to find a way of using the resources that exist to ensure that we can all live comfortably.

10 Examples of Corfu Architecture

2008-11-06T01:47:00.000-08:00

Another post in the Lists of 10 series. This time it's a look at examples of the different styles of architecture that can be seen in Corfu. The island variously belonged to the Venetians, French, British and, for a short period, the Russians and the most obvious witness to this is the different architectural styles to be seen - mainly in Corfu Town itself.

TOWN HALL

This was originally called the Loggia Nobilei (1663-9) and was considered the most important of the Venetian buildings. In the 18th century it was transformed into a theatre - Teatro San Giacomo - before becoming the Town Hall in the early 20th century.

CATHEDRAL OF SAN GIACOMO

This 17th century Venetian building is located in the same square as the Town Hall, and is the Catholic cathedral for the island.

IONIAN ACADEMY

This early 18th century Venetian building is located at the southern side of the main Spianada square in the town. For a brief period of time, this building housed the first Greek university.

LISTON

Perhaps the best-known part of Corfu Town, the Liston is the most characteristic sign of the French presence on the island. Designed by Matthieu de Lesseps in 1807 and based on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, its name comes from the Venetian practice of having a list of noble families in the Libro d'Oro or Golden Book and only those on this list were allowed to promenade here.

PALACE OF ST. MICHAEL & ST. GEORGE

This building was built between 1814 and 1824, during the British presence here and is a monument to Georgian architecture. It has two wings dedicated to the Archangel Michael and St. George and now houses the excellent Museum of Asian Art.

MAITLAND MONUMENT

Another example of British architecture, in the main Spianada Square.

IONIAN PARLIAMENT

This neo classical building was built after 1830 by a Greek architect to house the parliament of the Septinsular (7 island) Republic, which was a semi-autonomous republic including all the island in the Ionian Sea, with Corfu as its capital.

MANSION OF IOANNIS KAPODISTRIAS

Another neo-classical building, which was the home of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of Greece after 1831.

URBAN DWELLING

This is an example of a preserved Venetian mansion in town. You can see the characteristic Renaissance porch at the front, which forms a balcony on the first floor.

URBAN DWELLING

This is an example of an urban building built during the British period. These were taller than the Venetian buildings and went up to 6 storeys. They also had broader frontage with numerous entrances.

Photos courtesy of Municipality of Corfu

Greek Hospitality - Reality or Myth?

2008-10-31T02:32:00.000-07:00

I heard on the news the other day that the treatment of illegal immigrants to Greece is the worst in Europe. Now, I don't know what the standards are or how it was measured, but it made me think.

Greece is always promoting the 'Greek hospitality' and yet what does this treatment of illegal immigrants indicate? Now, I'm not condoning illegal immigration, but one would have thought that if one has a hospitable nature, then one wouldn't treat these people in a worse way than than anyone else does. Or am I wrong?

Another item on the news related that a priest who was christening a child, refused to complete the ceremony unless two Islam friends/relatives, who were present, left the church! An isolated incident? OK, yes, but still!

It makes you think that perhaps this hospitality is just expressed when material benefits can be gained. A couple of years ago, Corfu had applied for Corfu Town to be listed as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site and a representative came here to make a report. This representative, however, was going to wander round the town incognito - nobody would know who she was (we did know that it was a woman!). So one of the Members of Parliament for Corfu told everyone in the town to be on their best behaviour and be kind and hospitable to all the visitors on that particular day, as we didn't know which one of them might be the UNESCO representative!

It was like saying it doesn't matter how you treat the visitors on all the other days!

Now, I've travelled to quite a few countries - both in Europe and other continents - and what I've found is that there are hospitable people everywhere - without exception. In the same way, there are definitely hospitable people in Greece (though I don't know if I would include the taxi drivers in that group!) and there are also inhospitable people.

I know a lot of you who have come to Greece on holiday will say the people were marvellous, warm and hospitable. I'm sure they were. Some of them would be genuinely hospitable and others would be like that because you were visitors with money. But the thing is that whatever country you visit you will find the people like that.

If you live in a country, then you will start to see the reality. I firmly believe that there are hospitable and inhospitable people everywhere. Greece has just used it as another marketing tool to try and encourage tourism. If you want to come to Greece, please do - there are many good reasons, that I won't list in this post, for you to do so. But don't come expecting to find the most hospitable people - we're just the same as everyone else in that respect.

Ecological Credit Crunch

2008-10-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

We may be going through an economic credit crunch caused by, to put it simplistically, spending more than we have, but there is an ecological credit crunch coming up - and who is going to bail us out when that happens?

WWF publish a Living Planet Report every 2 years and the 2008 edition has just been released. And the news is not good - as if we really didn't expect it. Put simply, we are using up earth's resources so quickly that we have got ourselves "into debt" and by the mid 2030s, according to the report, we will need 2 planets to maintain our lifestyle!

Just as reckless spending causes a recession, so reckless consumption of our natural resources is "depleting the world’s natural capital to a point where we are endangering our future prosperity."

Our global 'footprint' now exceeds our capacity to regenerate by about 30%. The 5 countries with the largest footprint are the United Arab Emirates, USA, Kuwait, Denmark and Australia. The 5 with the lowest are Bangladesh, Congo, Haiti, Afghanistan and Malawi.

Just as some nations are economically in debt to other nations, so there are 'ecological debtors' - nations whose national consumption has outstripped their biocapacity. At the moment, more than three quarters of the world's population live in countries that are ecological debtors. What this means is that we are supporting our current lifestyle with ecological capital from other countries. It is frightening to read that if we all had the USA's consumption patterns, then we would need 4,5 planets to live on!

Another factor coming into play now is our 'water footprint'. The Mediterranean area is facing greater and greater water stress and 5 of the top ten countries with water footprints are from that area - Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus. Around 50 countries are suffering moderate to severe water stress.

'Sensible' people always go on about 'good housekeeping' - spending what you have and only borrowing when you know you can pay it back. What we are doing with the planet we are living on is completely at odds with that, however. Do we need to reach the point when the crunch actually comes before we face the situation? It will be too late then. As I mentioned above, there is nobody to bail us out of an ecological crunch when it comes. On TV here, we are seeing more and more people in the USA who have lost their homes and are having to live in tents or their cars; if we lose our global home, where are we going to live?

Many people perhaps believe - maybe even just subconsciously - that it won't happen in their lifetime. What about the next generation, who are going to have to pick up the tab? Would you spend money recklessly all your life and just say, "I'm going to die and my children can just pay off all my debts."? What kind of a parent does that?

Anyway, the good news is that, according to the report, that it is still not too late - the trend is not irreversible and we have the means to do something about it.

WWF LIVING PLANET REPORT 2008

Food Force

2008-10-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Food Force is a free educational video game telling the story of a hunger crisis on the fictitious island of Sheylan and has been produced by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian agency.

The downloadable game is comprised of 6 mini-games or “missions”, which take young players from an initial crisis assessment through to delivery and distribution of food aid, with each sequential mission addressing a particular aspect of this challenging process.

The basic themes that are demonstrated through playing the game are:

What is hunger and who are the hungry?
Why are people hungry and malnourished?
What can we do to help end hunger?

Though designed for children aged 8 - 13, the game can appeal to a variety of ages and each mission's gameplay is unique in order to increase that appeal. The idea of the game is to motivate young people to become actively involved in the fight against hunger and to work together to free the world of hunger.

Food Force follows on from the WFPs successful Free Rice game, where by answering some vocabulary questions correctly, you donated rice.

To find out more about the work of the World Food Programme and ways in which you can help, you can visit their site.

Collecting Olives

2008-10-22T02:09:00.001-07:00

We went collecting olives yesterday. We have a few trees that have what are called Kalamon olives, which are the ones you eat rather than make into oil. You may be familiar with Greek Kalamata olives - Kalamata is a town and area in the Peloponnese, Greece - well, the Kalamon olives are that type.

You collect these so-called "table" olives directly from the trees, rather than spread nets underneath, which is what you do with the olives that you use to make oil. We will be collecting those olives in January.

Here, you can see a bowl with some of the olives after they were picked. You don't eat them straight off the tree, but there is a simple process you put them through before they reach your table.

First of all, you discard the ones that are damaged or have been eaten by insects. Then you score them on two opposite sides with a razor blade (not a knife) or on three sides if they are large. Having done that, you put them in a jar filled with water and change the water every day for 20 days.

Once that time has passed, I'll post again explaining and showing how the olives are finally prepared to go on the table and get eaten!

Italian Blogger

2008-10-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about blogging is that you "meet" so many people from so many different places. In a sense, blogging opens windows onto other countries, ways of life and ways of thinking.

I came across the blog from someone in Italy - Andrea's Weblog - and I found it gave me a feeling for the life in that country and the everyday thoughts and concerns of someone living there. The blog is written in Italian, but Andrea has kindly provided translation into 6 other languages.

Corfu has a particular affiliation to Italy, not just because it is geographically the closest part of Greece, but because of the influence of the Venetians, to whom the island belonged for hundreds of years. Witness to this influence is the architecture, musical heritage and some of the local dialect still dates back to that period.

So it is great to be able to connect with people from that country and following their blogs - as with Andrea's Weblog - helps you "get into their heads" to a certain extent and gives you a much broader perspective and much more open mind.

I find these blogging connections are invaluable and one of the most important aspects of the bloggers' world - if not the most important.

John Cleese on Sarah Palin

2008-10-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

Now I don't normally get involved in politics, and this blog will not go in that direction, but I came across this short clip with John Cleese giving his views on Sarah Palin and I just had to share it with those of you haven't seen it.

I grew up when Monty Python first appeared on TV and I always have time for what any of its members have to say. The Michael Palin that Cleese refers to, by the way, for those of you who don't know was also one of the members of Monty Python.

Flaming Rats!!

2008-10-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

Just recently, my wife decided to burn some garden rubbish. Now, it is illegal to have fires in your garden or on your land in the summer - to avoid the risk of forest fires, which are quite prevalent in Greece, but we had thought that October was OK. It was a small fire, anyway, and completely controlled.

Well, in under half an hour, someone from the Fire Service came by - they had apparently seen the smoke. It was actually quite comforting to see such a quick reaction, and to feel secure in the knowledge that the Fire Service was completely on alert and quickly responsive!

What they told my wife was that the ban is not lifted until the beginning of November. So, obviously she put the fire out immediately and we avoided a €1.500 fine.

The officer told her that it is actually a dangerous time of the year and explained that rats and other rodents catch fire if there is something burning and in their panic to flee, they leap into trees and bushes and spread the fire quickly in that way! Well, I wasn't there, but if I had been, I would have asked why that was a greater danger in the autumn than in the summer.

Are there more rodents about in the autumn? Are they more lively than in the summer heat, when they don't have the energy to flee?

Anyway, for whatever the reason, it is something that I hadn't even thought about before, but on consideration it does some pretty logical.

Well, you live and learn as they say.

10 Bands and Musicians from Corfu

2008-10-13T03:36:00.000-07:00

The island of Corfu has a musical heritage - going back mainly to the time that the island was under Venetian rule, hundreds of years ago. There are now traditional Corfiot songs and dances, as well as the 19 brass bands, or "philarmonikes", which everyone knows about. However, I believe that culture is an ongoing process and there are modern musicians from Corfu that are equally (if not more) important.

So, continuing my Lists of 10, I'm posting 10 contemporary bands and musicians from Corfu. This is not an exhaustive list - though it is pretty eclectic! - and I'm not claiming that they are the best 10. The only thing I would like to say is that I have a personal preference for the first 3 - Dead Eyes of Youth, Kore Ydro and nVerne.

At the bottom of the post there is a YouTube clip from Kore Ydro, if you want to listen to them.

Dead Eyes of Youth

http://www.deoy.com/

Kore Ydro

Indie / Pop / Experimental

http://www.koreydro.gr/

nVerne

Classical / Classical Opera and Vocal / Electronica

www.myspace.com/nicollac

Contemplation

Rock / Metal

www.myspace.com/spiroscontemplation

Bill Fishy Psarras

www.myspace.com/billpsarras

Colonel

Freestyle / Funk /Folk

www.myspace.com/colonelfunk

Takis

Blues / Rock

www.myspace.com/takispolitis

Michalis Skolarikis

Pop / Rock / Acoustic

www.myspace.com/michalisskolarikis

Escape Velocity

Ambient / Electronica / Psychedelic

www.myspace.com/escapevelocity2008

Anastasios Kimpizis

Metal / Experimental / Progressive

www.myspace.com/anastasioskimpizis

Symposio

2008-10-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

This is just a brief post to let you know where my blogging name symposio came from.

Symposium - or symposio as it was called in Greek - originally referred to a drinking party (from the Greek "sympotein" which means to drink together). It was a key Hellenic social institution in ancient times, where men would come together to debate, plot, boast or simply party with others.

So now you know!

Your Own Fundraising Site

2008-10-02T03:12:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered these British and American sites, where you can set up your own webpage to raise funds for the non-profit organisation or charity of your choice. The UK site, which was the first, is Justgiving and the USA site is Firstgiving.

The UK organisation has been around since 2001 - the brainchild of Zarine Kharas - and Firstgiving was set up in 2003. I've only just heard of them, but I suppose that's because they can only work with UK and USA charities and non-profits.

I think it's a great idea, and enables people to easily set up their own standard site and raise money for whatever charity they wish. In the UK there is the added benefit that Gift Aid can be added, so that for every £10 that's given, almost £12 goes to the charity. In the time that they have been going in the UK, 6,210,796 people have raised £344,490,538 for 5,642 charities through Justgiving and in the US, 1,322,516 people have raised $72,918,876 for 14,865 non-profits through Firstgiving!

From what I can see, it seems very simple to set up your page and get up and running. There is also space at the bottom where the people who have donated are listed along with the amount and their comments. I don't know if it's possible for someone who wishes to remain anonymous, not be publicly listed.

Anyway, it seems such a simple idea that empowers so many people to be able to raise money easily.

Corfu Independence? You Cannot be Serious!

2008-09-30T04:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I couldn't let this go by without writing a post about it. This is the kind of story that you expect to see in newspapers on April 1st. An April Fools Day joke!

But, no. The Guardian ('Neglect and disrepair' leads Corfu dissidents to seek split from Greece) and the BBC (Pressure for Corfu autonomy grows) put out stories about people in Corfu wanting independence from Greece for the island! This is so ridiculous - an April Fools Day type story, as I said - that it doesn't even merit any discussion. And yet, a serious newspaper and the, supposedly, most serious British television channel both put it out. It is akin to the New York Times publishing an article about Derbyshire (an English county) wanting independence from the rest of Britain!

The person from Corfu who told them that this was a serious issue here (I won't give his name, but you can see it in the reports anyway) is entitled to his own views, but surely reporters from the Guardian and the BBC should be able to recognise cranks, and if not, then they have no business being involved in the serious media.

Because it is this that is the problem. Not that some crank - and he is recognised as such by the majority of people living in Corfu - wants to create an independent Corfu for his own greater glory, but that the Guardian and BBC should swallow it and broadcast it as something newsworthy.

The story was covered in the News on all the Greek TV channels - but the story was about how such well-respected media as the BBC and the Guardian could take such drivel as being serious!

Along with a lot of other people here, my personal rating of these "bastions" of the British media has taken a considerable nosedive.

10 Well-Known Visitors to Corfu

2008-09-25T01:43:00.000-07:00

Odysseus at the palace of Alkinoös. Painting by Francesco Hayez

I'm going to start posting regular "Lists of 10" with 10 things connected to Corfu. The first one is with 10 well-known historical or mythological people who have come to the island.

1. Ulysses - In the Odyssey, Ulysses (or Odysseus) is shipwrecked and washed up onthe island of Corfu, where he is met by Nausika. Nausika takes him to the palace of her father, King Alkinos (see picture above), where he recounts his adventures after the Trojan Wars. Alkinos then provides him with a ship to complete his journey to Ithaca.

2. Jason - After his Argonautic campaign in 390 BC, he married Medea in a cave in Corfu.

3. Nero - This Roman Emperor is said to have visited Kassiopi in the north east of Corfu.

4. Casanova - The famous "lover" spent a short time in Corfu while he was in the army.

5. Edward Lear - The famous British writer and artist spent some time on the island during his extensive travels in the middle of the 19th century.

6. Princess Sissy - The Empress Elizabeth of Austria (Princess Sissy) came to Corfu towards the end of the 19th century and fell in love with it. She built the Achillion Palace (1890-92) in honour of the Greek hero Achilles.

7. Lawrence and Gerald Durrell - These two well-known British writers moved to Corfu with their family in the 1930s. There is now a Durrell School of Corfu.

8. Henry Miller - The American writer was a visitor at the Durrells' home in Corfu, where he wrote the Colossus of Maroussi.

9. Duke of Edinburgh - Prince Philip, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, was born on the island of Corfu, to a Greek mother.

10. Roger Moore - The British actor, when playing the role of James Bond. The car chase in the film For Your Eyes Only as well as other scenes, was filmed in Corfu.

So now you know!

Win $15 to your Paypal Account

2008-09-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a chance to win $15 in a competition at the Youth Ministry Ideas blog.

All you have to do is blog about the competition post and then leave a comment. This is another of the Win it Wednesday competitions that are held at the Youth Ministry Ideas blog every ....Wednesday!

Good Luck!

Getting Rid of Air Pollution One Can at a Time!

2008-09-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

I grew up as a child in Scotland, and I remember one summer, when I was very young, they sold cans of "Scottish Air" to the tourists. Obviously, if you close an empty tin in Scotland, then it contains Scottish air.

The amazing thing was that lots of tourists bought these empty cans - especially those from one particular country (which I won't name, as probably most of the visitors to this blog will be from there)!

I was thinking recently that this could be an ingenious solution to the air pollution in Athens! Seal lots of empty cans, each with their little bit of smog, and sell them to the thousands of tourists that come here every year! That way we could get the air pollution out of the country - can by can - and not only that, but make some money as well!

"Greek Air" doesn't really have much of a ring to it, so probably we'd have to think of something else to call it. What we need is the right packaging and marketing (as with everything else) and Bingo! we've solved the pollution problem! It's spread around all those other towns and countries that send us their tourists.

So, I just need a marketing genius ....plus someone to provide the capital to buy all the empty cans. Any offers?

The Origin of the Island's Name

2008-09-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

The island of Corfu is called Kerkya in Greek. The most popular explanation for the origin of the name is based in Greek Mythology.

Poseidon (see photo below) is supposed to have fallen in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, who was the daughter of Asopus, an important mainland river, and Metope, who was a river nymph. He abducted her - which seemed to be quite common practice with the gods at the time - and took her to an unnamed island.

Being completely in love with her, Poseidon named the island after Korkyra, and this gradually evolved into Kerkyra. They had a child called Phaiax, and the inhabitants of the island were thereafter named after him - Phaikes, which later evolved into Phaeacians.

So now you know!

National Geographic Online Store

2008-09-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

I've just been looking through National Geographic's Online Store. Boy, has NG come a long way since the time when they just had the classic yellow magazines!

The first thing that struck me was how well-designed the site is. Everything is very clearly set out on the home page, so that you can easily see what is available and comfortably navigate wherever you want.

You can choose to search by Theme (Animals & Nature, Culture & History etc) or by Product Type. It's in the latter that I hadn't realised just how much quality variety is available in their store. Books, magazines and DVDs I had expected - highest quality, of course - but I honestly hadn't expected so much else. As well as calendars and posters, there are cameras, clothing, software, home goods, travel & outdoor gear and so much else!

There is a separate National Geographic Channel shop within the store, and there is also a Kids' Shop. This latter has a range of items including back-to-school essentials.

I'm still having a look through it all, but I've already earmarked the 10 Best of Everything book, the Scotland Wall Calendar and possibly one of the Animal Mouse Pads.

By the way, there's 20% off all the books at the moment.

Anyway, I'm much of an online store fan myself, but this site is a great exception.

House on the Hill

2008-09-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've posted a couple of photos taken from our house in Corfu. There was a bit of a heat haze, so they aren't as clear as I would have liked.

The valley in the photo below can be seen from the front. We built the house ourselves - well, not literally ourselves, we employed builders - and we eventually moved in, it has just been raining and there was a double rainbow in the valley, so we immediately christened it Rainbow Valley. It really is amazingly calming to sit and gaze over it, especially in the early evening. There is still an awful lot of work to be done on the land around the house, as you can probably see, but we are working on it gradually.

The hill in the photo above is called Swallow Hill. Some say that's because it has the shape of a swallow when seen from above, others that it is because there are so many swallows here in the summer. I tend to believe the latter. It really is wonderful in the summer to see all the swallows - they are not afraid to fly close to you - they dive and swoop in such a magnificent way. I was thinking that they must be the dolphins of the sky. And when there are a few of them sitting together, you can here them just chattering away to each other! Wonderful!

It is one of the undoubted benefits of technology that it is possible for people to live wherever they choose and still be able to pursue a career or earn money. I, for one, would find it extremely hard - if not impossible - to go back to living in a large city.

Who did you go to Primary (Elementary) School with?

2008-09-06T02:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I started typing some names from my old school days into Google, to see if any of them came up. I was astonished to see one of them - that I had gone right through primary and secondary school with plus a bit after - came up right at the top the list. He was apparently now living in San Francisco and was considered a real expert in the world of Photoshop, had written several books on it and travelled around doing workshops and seminars.

I went to school in Scotland, and I hadn't seen him since just after that time - I went off to Greece, and he did whatever he did and eventually ended up in California. So, I made a mental note to contact him. As usual, I put it off and off, and when I did eventually get round to it, I went back on to the web to find him and found that he had recently passed away.

I was shocked and stunned, even though I hadn't been in touch for so many years.

His name was Bruce Fraser and a site has been set up, dedicated to him - Bruce Fraser Legacy.

This was the saddest of my discoveries of old schoolmates.

Two others that I also went to primary school with that I already knew as being well-known, but whose websites I found, were Ken Stott the actor, perhaps better known in the UK, and Donald Runnicles, who was Musical Director at the San Francisco Opera for years and next year will become General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

I was looking at an old school photo where we were all together - at about 7 or 8 years old, and went into a good old introspective mood thinking about that time, and what lay ahead of each one of us in our lives.

I'm a Gryffindor!

2008-09-05T04:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know what Gryffindor is (and I suppose there must be some of you out there!), it's one of the four Houses at Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter books. Harry Potter, himself, and his two sidekicks, Hermione and Ron, were all in Gryffindor.

Anyway, I've just found this great, fun site - sorting-hat.com - where you find out which House you belong to. You just answer a few multiple choice questions and then they tell you what House you belong to and give you a badge to put on your site. I must admit I could kind of guess which answers would make you a Gryffindor, but they were the answers I would have chosen anyway (honest!).

You can also take a Final Exam, which has questions about all the books, but I haven't done that yet.

Anyway, I must go now - I've got Quidditch practice this afternoon!

Oh, and just to remind you (see my previous post), J. K. Rowling's latest book The Tales of Beedle the Bard is available from Amazon on Pre-Order - before its official release.

Help your Favourite Cause whilst Searching on the Web

2008-09-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

I had heard about GoodSearch for quite a while from various sources and I finally decided to check it out. Basically, it's a way of searching on the web as you normally would, and having money donated to the cause you choose for each search you make.

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50% of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. As I said, you just use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. It's powered by Yahoo!, so you don't need to worry about the search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your chosen cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend anything.

They have recently also added GoodShop, where you can shop online and a percentage of the revenue again goes to the cause of your choice.

Socrates would be turning in his grave!

2008-08-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write something about the education system here in Greece. It seems to me so ironic - tragic, even - that the country that produced some of the greatest minds in history, and, in Socrates, one of the greatest teachers, should now have one of the poorest educational systems in the developed world.

Socrates would be turning in his grave faster than a lamb at Greek Easter!

To help his students find answers to their questions, he would, in turn, ask them questions so that they could use their own minds to find the answers themselves.

Nowadays, in Greece, schools just encourage pupils and students to learn things parrot-fashion. It is extremely rare to find teachers helping pupils to learn how to learn. For exam questions, you are required to regurgitate specific paragraphs or pages in order to get the marks - not to express yourself in such a way as to show that you have actually understood something.

To this end, the state also dictates exactly which books schools should use and doesn't leave it to the schools themselves to decide what would be best to cover the curriculum. Pupils don't even do scientific experiments themselves! In no way are they encouraged to discover things for themselves or to learn to think for themselves.

This has enormous repercussions on society and on the way it functions. People have grown up not to question or think for themselves, and leads to the dearth of innovative thinking and even basic common sense!

It really is such a "Greek" tragedy that a country which - quite rightly - is proud of its heritage from the great minds of 2500 years ago, should now be so lacking in thought and innovation.

Socrates was condemned to death for what he did. I think we should now be saying, "Come back Socrates! All is forgiven!"

J. K. Rowling's Latest Book available for Pre-Order

2008-08-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the title of Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling's latest book, due to hit the bookshops on December 4 this year. However, you have the opportunity to order it right now through Amazon - either the Standard Edition or the Collector's Edition.

The book has 5 fairy tales, which are illustrated by Rowling herself. Not only that, but it has the commentary,footnotes and historical background for each fairy tale from Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who "brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection", to quote the blurb.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published by The Children's High Level Group (CHLG) and all net proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Children's Voice campaign.

"The Children's Voice campaign is run by CHLG. It campaigns for child rights across Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe where over a million children and teenagers are growing up in institutions, often in unacceptable conditions. In most cases they are without adequate human or emotional contact and stimulation, while many only just survive without life's basics such as adequate shelter and food."

The Collector's Edition is sold exclusively by Amazon and features an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction, 10 new illustrations, metalwork and clasp, replica gemstones, and tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook from the Hogwarts library. (Available in limited quantities)

A Spark of Hope

2008-07-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

This weeks awareness post is about The Prem Rawat Foundation - http://www.tprf.org/ A major part of the Foundation's work is to help people most in need by providing nutritious food and clean water. TPRF has provided millions of free hot meals to people in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. They partner with non-profit organisations such as Friends of the World Food Program, Oxfam, Action Against Hunger and the Red Cross, to reach a greater number of people in the field more rapidly.

Here is a short video about a food-aid facility the Foundation opened in northeast India.

Million Blog List

2008-07-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

And another thing I finally got round to doing - signing up for the Million Blog List. I'd been seeing the badges on various blogs over the last 2-3 months and kept meaning to go and check it out.

Basically, it's an attempt to see how long it will take to get one million blogs listed. It has been going since April this year and this blog is number 1935, so one wonders if it's going to speed up, because at this rate - well someone else can work it out!

Perhaps once it starts to gather momentum it will build up more quickly. So, what are you waiting for? Go and join the list!

The Office

2008-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

For several years, I had heard from friends in the UK about how funny the comedy series, The Office, was. Although it has been shown in 60 countries apparently, it has never made it to Greece.

Like those films that you keep telling yourself that you should see, but never actually manage to get round to, I kept telling myself that I must get the DVD of the series.

Well, I finally got round to it - and I'm really glad I did. It really does capture the characters of people I am sure that we've all come across at one point or another in our working lives, and the fact that they deliberately used "unknown" actors and actresses made it all the better as you weren't thinking of any of the characters as being a particular actor playing a part.

I don't often laugh out loud, but watching this DVD with my son, we were continuously breaking up - especially with the interactions between Gareth and Tim, for those of you that know the series.

I don't really need to say anything to the UK readers, but if you are going to get one comedy DVD, then let this be the one. As well as having both series and the Christmas Specials, it also has various extras including a documentary about how it was made and deleted scenes.

Enjoy it!

The Hunger Site

2008-07-19T03:17:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my post about the Corfu Donkey Rescue, I've decided that I'm going to do some regular posts on issues that I feel we should be aware of - hopefully once a week. If you have anything that you would like me to post about, please let me know.

Today I want to look at The Hunger Site. Until I checked out their site, I didn't realise that they have been going since 1999. They have found an incredibly simple way to use the internet so that people can easily donate to help alleviate hunger - and for free. By just clicking on their button.

Apparently over 300 million visitors have donated more than 500 million cups of food since their foundation.

I know I am shocked by the hunger figures. In a world with a population of 6 billion, 1 billion are suffering from hunger or malnutrition. I really can't believe that we are doing this!

And 24.000 people per day are dying from hunger or hunger-related diseases!! Threequarters of these are children under five!

At least the good news is that the figures are dropping. Twenty years ago, the number was an incredible 41.000!

So please, just click on the button and do what you can.

First Starbucks opens in Corfu.....as USA closes 600!

2008-07-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

The first Starbucks opened in Corfu a few days ago, not long after the company announced that they were closing 600 shops in the USA.

It seems like another example of Corfu following a trend years after it was a trend, and when in fact it is actually a "has been". All the indications seem to be that the "light" of Starbucks is swiftly being extinguished.

One reason is basic economics - with rising food and fuel prices a $5 latte is simply too expensive. Another and perhaps more important reason is that it is no longer unique. Although Starbucks brought the coffee culture to the mass market, you can get a variety of good coffees at most places now at a better price and without the silly names.

People have also become disillusioned with the company due to their alleged unethical practices. Last year, Ethiopia campaigned to get fairer prices for their coffee from the world's coffee giants - in particular, Starbucks. Apparently growers were getting about $1.10 a pound, which was nowhere near enough for them to make a decent living. The roasters can sell the coffee on for about $20 - 26 per pound and the retailers can make about 52 espressos from a pound, which brings them an income of up to $160!

An Ethiopian spokesman was quoted as saying, "This ratio needs to change. Our people are barefoot, have no school, no clean water or health centre. They are living hand to mouth. We need $4 a pound minimum, that's only fair."

On top of that, a couple of years ago this short video came out showing health conditions in a Starbucks shop (not for the squeamish!)

And finally, another basic question - is the coffee actually any good? This may be subjective, but it seems that over the years more and more people have been complaining about the quality of the coffee. As one person said, "Starbucks is for people who don't like coffee"

So, how will Starbucks do in Corfu? Apparently 70% of the 600 shops closing in the USA were opened within the last 18 months, so the omens for a new shop do not seem to be good.

But even if it does do well - do we really want it here?

New Corfu Social Network

2008-06-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

I have just a new free social network – Corfu Connection. This is for lovers of Corfu, people who are interested in finding information about it and also for those living on the island.

If you are from Corfu and have a product, service or event that you want to promote, then join Corfu Connection and let us know all about it and make friends with others. Artists, writers and musicians from Corfu can showcase their work. If you want to know more about Corfu, then come and make friends with the people living there, who can help you.

Promote yourself, upload photos, videos, music and list any events that you are organising or know about. Create your own groups or join one. Get connected!

http://corfuconnection.ning.com/

Corfu Donkey Rescue

2008-06-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

I want to start having regular posts about various "worthy causes". To kick off, I'd like to write about one that is right here in Corfu - the Corfu Donkey Rescue.

The sanctuary is a registered charity that was started several years ago by an Englishwoman living here, and does tremendous work to care for these terribly neglected animals on the island. To find out more about their work and also how you can "Adopt a Donkey", please visit their site http://www.corfu-donkeys.com/

This is a short video that was produced for YouTube.

>

Gross National Happiness

2008-06-27T02:21:00.000-07:00

Most nations measure their well-being by the Gross National Product (GDP) but I was interested to find out the other day that the small nation of Bhutan measures it by GNH - Gross National Happiness.

Apparently this has been going on for many years now. A recent visitor commented, "Bhutan seems much happier than countries that have a materialist rather than moral ethos. Relationships are rather equal, there's very little status anxiety."

The four pillars of Bhutan's GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socioeconomic development; preservation and promotion of cultural values; conservation of the natural environment; and establishment of good governance.

The commentator went on to say, "What really struck me is that as a matter of policy, there is very little extreme poverty. Bhutan realises that a redistribution of wealth that favours the poor most is better for producing happiness."

Hmmm.

I also found this video on YouTube. Quite old, but interesting nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXJwNSkdTH0

"Grease to Greece" Summer Rally

2008-05-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Continuing the theme of vegetable oil as car fuel, I've just heard that a rally is being organised this August running from London to Athens - with cooking oil fuelling the participating cars!

Londoner Andy Pag (on the left in photo below) will head a team of 30 cars travelling across Europe in the "Grease to Greece" rally powered only by chip fat and cooking oil and begging oil from restaurants along the route.

The organisers are calling it a 'Fat-Finding' mission across Europe!

Andy says, "The idea is to see if using waste vegetable oil for long distances is practical and feasible, and to have a bit of a laugh on the way. We want to do a banger rally with no carbon footprints."

The cars will travel through Germany, Austria and Italy before following the Adriatic coast down to Greece.

The rally organisers' website explains that being environmentally friendly is just one of the advantages of using vegetable oil, running your vehicle on vegetable oil is also cheaper.

For details visit the website www.fatfinding.com

Don't throw away that vegetable oil ......make your own petrol!!

2008-05-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was amazed to read the other day that thousands of people in the UK are producing their own biodiesel fuel for their cars. The incredible thing is that they are using waste vegetable oil, which would have been thrown out anyway, and it is costing only 15p per litre, as opposed to at least 1.25 UK pounds sterling that 'normal' fuel costs! If you have to buy the oil, then it will go up to 45p a litre, but that is still much, much cheaper than prices for fossil fuel.

You can make the fuel with specially manufactured processors that start from around 900 UK pounds sterling - but you should easily recover the cost in savings made over the first year of use.

In the UK, you are allowed to make 2.500 litres of fuel yourself tax-free, and I am wondering what the situation is in other countries. I feel pretty sure that here in Greece it will be pretty impossible for anyone to do likewise - there are so many rules, so much bureaucracy and I doubt if the big boys selling fuel will allow it to happen in the foreseeable future.

However, this does seem to be an ideal solution. The vegetable oil is recycled, it costs less and according to Ecotec Resources, who manufacture the processors to produce the biodiesel fuel -

Biodiesel is a perfectly suitable replacement for fossil diesel, in fact it has better lubrication qualities than fossil diesel and recent tests by Porsche on behalf of Mercedes proclaimed that the qualities of Biodiesel could extend an engines life considerably.

Aside from its better running qualities, it is, more importantly, better for the environment, biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic, and typically produces about 60% less net carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum-based diesel, as it is itself produced from atmospheric carbon dioxide via photosynthesis in plants.

Well, what are we waiting for ?! It should be interesting to see how this develops and what reactions will be from the large oil companies and other interested parties!

Contemplation

2008-02-21T04:11:00.000-08:00

Contemplation is another up and coming Corfu Band. Behind the group is a singer and composer called Spiros, who studied music from the age of 14 at the Greek National Conservatory of Corfu. He took classic guitar lessons and after three years took some lessons in electric guitar with one of the best guitarist in Corfu, Michael Koromios. He also learnt to play some basic things on guitar, bass guitar and keyboards on his own.

When he was 18, he took opera and piano lessons at the Ionian Conservatory for two years. At the age of 14 he started composing his own music and words dreaming that one day he would have the chance to record his songs.

Following a break, he took lessons in classical singing again at the Ionian Conservatory. In the year 1996 Spiros decided to write songs for a Rock Opera, the main concept of which will be taken from his forthcoming book "The Road to Revolution". The story talks about seven chosen saviours against the future's tyrants of the universe. The Rock Opera has the same title as the book and will be released in two parts.

In the year 2007 he recorded the main songs from “The Road To Revolution” in Athens at the Fragile studio with the co - operation of Vangelis Yalamas, bassist of Fragile Vastness. Many well-known guest musicians participate in all the songs, such as Theodoris Gotsis ex-Horizon's End, Yiannis Fasoulakis from Odes Of Ecstasy, George Tzitzifas from Bare Infinity, Myrto Toumpa from Fallen Within and many more.

www.myspace.com/spiroscontemplation

Corfu Travel Agents

2008-02-20T01:49:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for a local travel agent, the reputable companies are members of the Association of Corfu Travel Agents. Their website is http://www.aocta.gr/

Blue Flag Beaches in Corfu

2008-02-12T00:04:00.000-08:00

The following 31 beaches and 1 marina have been awarded Blue Flags.

Municipality Beach/Marina name

KORISION Ag. Georgios Handicap Friendly

ACHILLION Ag. Gordios

MELITIEON Ag. Ioannis Strogylis Handicap Friendly

MELITEION Ag. Mathaios

ESPERION Ag. Stefanos

AGIOS GEORGIOS Agios Georgios Handicap Friendly

THINALIO Almyros Handicap Friendly

CORFU TOWN Alykes Potamou Handicap Friendly

THINALIO Apraos-Kalamaki

ESPERION Arilas

ESPERION Astrakeri

KASSOPI Avlaki

FEAKON Barbati

ACHILLION Benitses Handicap Friendly

ESPERION Canal d'Amour

FEAKON Dasia Handicap Friendly

PARELION Ermones

KASSOPI Gimari

PARELION Glyfada Handicap Friendly

CORFU TOWN Marina Gouvia Handicap Friendly

MELITEION Issos

KASSOPI Kalamiones

KASSOPI Kerasia

CORFU TOWN Kommeno

PARELION Kontogialos

CORFU TOWN Kontokali

KORISION Marathias

KASSOPI Nisaki / Krouzeri Handicap Friendly

PALEOKASTRITSA Paleokastritsa Handicap Friendly

THINALIO Perithia / Ag. Spyridonas

THINALIO Roda

FEAKON Ypsos Handicap Friendly

The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services.

Source: http://www.blueflag.org/

Museums in Corfu

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Archaeological Museum

Delve into the depths of Corfu’s ancient history with ancient Corfu artefacts, a rich collection of coins and marble statues from the Hellenistic period. The most stunning piece in the museum, due to the scale of its size and artistry, is the magnificent pediment of the Gorgon. Dating from 585 BC, this was originally on the western side of the great Doric Temple of Artemis and is the oldest stone pediment in existence in Greece.

The Asian Arts Museum

This museum, which is the only one of its kind in Greece, has an excellent collection of 11.000 objects from China, India, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet all donated by private collectors. The pieces in the collection date from as far back as Neolithic times to the 19th century. Of especial interest is the unique Helleno-Buddhist collection with sculptures from Gandhara in Pakistan dating from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD showing the Hellenistic influence on Buddhism in the region and beyond.

The Byzantine (Antivouniotissa) Museum

Housed since 1984 in the 15th century Church of the Blessed Virgin Antivouniotissa, which is one of the oldest and richest ‘Ionian basilica’ style churches in Corfu, it is home to a collection of icons and relics including important works dating from the 15th to 19th centuries, by famous artists including Tzafouri, Michael Damaskenos, Emmanuel Lombardos, Emmanuel Tzanes, and Victor and Michael Avramis.

The Folkloric Museum

This traditional house in the village of Sinarades, not far from Corfu Town, allows the visitor to have a truly authentic look at Corfu village life in the past. Entering the reconstruction of the interior of a village house on the first floor is like entering a time-warp into history. The second floor displays a fascinating collection of Corfiot costumes, musical instruments, agricultural and artisan tools and a multitude of implements and objects.

The Olive Museum

Located in the traditional village of Kinopiastes, only 20 minutes drive from Corfu Town. This recently opened museum, the best of its kind in Corfu, displays a well-maintained traditional olive press as well as authentic items of village life in Corfu.

The Palaiopolis (Mon Repos) Museum

The Palace of Mon Repos, surrounded by huge public gardens, was built under British rule by Sir Frederic Adams in the Palaiopolis (the ancient city of Corfu). It was later the residence of several Lord High Commissioners and is where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born. This museum contains fascinating archaeological finds, historical documents, prints and lithographs concerning the use and history of the Mon Repos Mansion and also a collection of watercolours and botanical samples representing the natural heritage of Corfu and the Mon Repos Garden.

The Solomos Museum

Based in the house where Greece’s national poet, Dionysios Solomos lived for most of his life (1798-1857), the memorabilia includes the poet’s desk, a collection of the poet’s manuscripts, photographic material and an extensive library. Here you can find the entire collection of old published copies of the Greek National Anthem – the ‘Hymn of Liberty’ – as well as portraits on display of the poet himself, along with other members of the ‘Solomos School’.

Vidos Islet / Serbian Museum

Situated opposite the old port of Corfu Town, this small islet houses the Serbian Museum that was constructed in memory of soldiers of the Serbian army decimated at the end of the First World War. Known as ‘Ptihia’ in ancient times, it was also referred to as the Island of Hera by Thucydides and Ptolemy. This island has a coffee bar and restaurant, two beaches and paths from one end of the island to the other. A boat service to the island operates on a regular daily basis from the Old Port.

The Museum of Capodistrias

The personal belongings and furniture of Ioannis Capodistrias, one of the most important politicians and diplomats in modern Greek history, who served as the first Governor of Greece from 1830 to 1831, are housed in the family residence. A highly educated man, he played a decisive role in the victory of the revolution and made serious contributions to many fields including education, justice, social welfare and agriculture.

The Numismatic Museum

Opened in 1981 by the Ionian Bank, it is the only museum of its kind in Greece and is famous for the value of its collection. Its comprehensive collection of banknotes dates from the founding of the modern nation to the present day and also includes printing dyes, proofs, bank documents, stamps and a rare collection of notes from all over the world. The second floor has a very clear, informative and extensive exhibition showing the process by which modern banknotes are designed and produced, including the paper-making process.

The Museum of Ceramic Art

This museum houses a large and interesting collection of local ceramic art. Here, the visitor can appreciate many valuable and distinctive examples of what was at one time a flourishing form of art on the island.

Dead Eyes of Youth

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The Dead Eyes of Youth were formed in 1996 in southern Corfu. The original members in 96 were 6, Antonis Kouris, Prokopis Michael Tsoukias, Yannis Pandis, Petros Pamdis, Lefteris Pelehas, Alexandros Miaris. In November 1997 Yannis Pandis and Lefteris Pelehas left the band and the country in order to take part in some NASA experiments for 14 year old boys in Atlanta U.S.A. The 4 remaining members of the DEOY, having lost 2 musicians and friends, radically transformed their style of music, from folklore supersonic joyful rock to what they play now.

In 2000 the band started working on their first demos. September 2001, age 19, A.Miaris moved to London in order to become a tycoon- millionaire by importing-exporting Feta in the E.U & ex-USSR. These optimistic plans never worked out so the band was again the main way of making millions of US dollars. July 2003 the DEOY got in studio Sierra Athens in order to record their first album; after a week though, due to various problems the band and sound engineer George Botis called it off. 12 Months later, July 2004 , the worst period anyone could be in Athens due to the big fiesta of the Olympic games, the band got in studio Sierra again and started recording the album Lust with sound-engineer and co-producer Georgis Botis.

Recordings of the album ended in September. Mixing and mastering of the album took place in October and the album was out at Christmas 2004. Soon after, the band appeared live in various clubs and festivals (An club, Rodeo, Small Music Theatre, Ardas Festival, Rock-fest, Katharo). In summer of 2005 the DEOY, completed 3 video clips for the tracks, In an afternoon. Summer and a new track called empty sea. In July the band gave an electro-delayed performance on National radio ERA in Corfu.

At the end of July the deoy got in the extraordinary, epthaponic, time-honored studio Kogevinas in Panagia tou Zelh, southern Corfu. There. the band recorded 12 new tracks called the Nepenthe demos, a rough form of the upcoming 2nd album. October 2005 the band leaves the country for London where there is interest.

www.deoy.com

Kore Ydro

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Kore. Ydro. were formed in Corfu, Greece, during the autumn of 1993 by 15-year-old schoolmates Pantelis Dimitriadis, Giorgos Arvanitakis and Spiros Katagis. Not many listeners appreciated their unstoppable output of unrefined, "no-fi" home recordings of trash aesthetics, but word about the group began to spread from mouth to mouth, with extra help from its peculiar live performances, unprocessed video-clips and humorous short "films". The original line up of the band changed by the years; Konstantinos Amygdalos joined in 1997 and Spiros Katagis quit in 2000.

In 2001, pianist/bassist/multi-instrumentalist (and by the time only real Kore. Ydro. fan) Alexandros Makris took over, marking a new era for the group, as this is illustrated in the self-produced official debut If All Ever Ended Here [An Ola Telionan Edo], released in March 2003 by the legendary Greek label Wipe Out Records in a run of 515 copies. The free download-only mini album Seven Months Later [Efta Mines Meta] (available from the official Kore. Ydro. website) followed seven months later (10.2003).

February 2004 saw the release of the first official Kore. Ydro. video - also produced by the group - for the song "Your Kindness" [I Kalossini Sou], the highlight of If All Ever Ended Here. Almost three years after the release of the critically acclaimed debut [2006] and after many postponements, Kore. Ydro. return with a new album under a new label (Capitol/EMI).

The much anticipated - by a prime minority [hence, the word "elite" of the title] - self-proclaimed "new post-erotic, post-christian, post-communist, post-progressive, post-post-punk manifesto" of the band is Cheap Pop for the Elite [Ftini Pop ya tin Elit], a traditionally self-production of substandard budget [hence, the word "cheap" of the title], being recorded before the EMI contact, in the group's home studio in Corfu by Pantelis, Alexandros and the three new members - friends and casual Kore. Ydro. collaborators from the past, who in the meantime had joined the basic artistic team; drummer Alexis Apostolidis (05.2004) and the guitarists Spiros Spirakos (01.2005) and Nickos Varotsis (05.2005). The record has received enthusiastic reviews by the Greek music press, while the first single/video (produced and directed by the band) "No More Affairs" [Ohi Pia Erotes] is a radio/TV hit.

In March 2006 the first live appearance of Kore. Ydro. in Athens (Gagarin 205) took place, while it had already been made official the collaboration of the group with bass player Panagiotis Diamantis, who directed the second video from Cheap Pop for the Elite, for the song "Now that I Do not Have Anyone" [Tora pou den Eho Kanenan] [published: 06.2006 ]

The same month Cheap Pop for the Elite was named by music magazine SONIK (issue 22) “the most important Greek album of the decade up to now”. Kore. Ydro. live appearances climaxed precisely one year after the release of CPftE [15.02.2007] with their re-appearance in Gagarin 205 in front of a fanatic audience and with an impact that renders the particular appearance a peak in the band’s history. At this time Kore. Ydro. are continuing with their irregular live appearances in Greece.

http://www.koreydro.gr/