The Greek-
Volume 1 :
Komboloi -
For years Greek men have carried, flicked and swung their Komboloi, a string of ‘worry’
beads which they swirl around their hands or fiddle with their fingers. The habit
is on the increase with young and old Greeks, taking comfort from the reassuring
‘clack’ as the beads rhythmically hit against each other.
The exact history of the
Komboloi in Greece is not known for sure, but although modern komboloi have no religious
significance, they almost certainly derived from prayer beads. ...
Poros Perambulation by Gerry Brown.
Even though it was mid September a booking was necessary on the Flying Dolphin from
Piraeus. The fare was about €12.00 and the journey, in quite choppy seas, took just
over an hour to the Saronic island of Poros.
It is only on arrival at Poros that the
first time visitor begins to appreciate the geography of the area. To get an aerial
geographical overview of the whole province an early visit to the Posidion restaurant/bar
atop a mountain behind Kanali is recommended if only for this photo opportunity.
...
Volume 2 :
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Doug Goodman
I asked everyone how much a sheep should
cost. No one seemed to know and the answers varied from ‘not much’ to ‘it all depends
on the size of the flock’. All I could recall about the value of animals was that
Welsh farmers were practically giving lambs away a year or so ago and that Indian
cows are so sacred that if you collide with one it could be life threatening -
It all happened the day I had plenty of time to catch
a plane home from the Greek island of Kefalonia and decided to take a long detour
over the mountains to the airport -
The Manitaria Hunt by Sylvia Cook
It was mid October and the nights were getting cool. Nikos had been seen in the lower
village square with two huge manitaria -
‘Do you want to come to find
manitaria?’ Alekos asked us. He speaks good English but ‘manitaria’ are always manitaria
not mushrooms. He always has his own secret places to look for manitaria and special
kinds of ‘horta’ (wild greens) that only he knows. They all do. ...
Volume 3 :
Cameos of Greece by Graeme Dakin
I have travelled to Greece many times for holidays in the last 20 years or so. I have visited a wide range of islands and mainland resorts and have never been disappointed. Friends and colleagues find this desire to return to the same country each year baffling and cannot understand why I have not been attracted to more exotic or fashionable destinations.
Just what is it that draws me back like a magnet to Greece each year ?
I recently spent a week on Crete in Almirida in the agricultural region of Apokoronas,
close to Souda Bay, some 15 km east of Chania. This proved to be a wonderful holiday
including so many small cameos which illustrate the charm (and frustrations) of Greece
and its people and largely answer the above question. Chaos Works -
Shop ‘Til You Drop by Janet Ellis
“Is that it? Only I can’t carry much more”, says Peter, who by now is carrying up
to three bags in each hand, not to mention a full day-
We are on one of our shopping sprees, some 60 miles from home, in and around the
Green Lanes area in North London. Here I am able to indulge in a different type
of retail therapy from the type most women are associated with. The bags Peter is
carrying are not full of shoes, clothes, make-
