The Durrells in Corfu

(Picture: The old Palace)

In Bosketo gardens, at the lower square of Corfu, the bust of the Durrell brothers were exposed to the public for the first time. The Durrell brothers were two authors who wrote about the beauty of Corfu and thus helped people all over the world to get to know about this small beautiful island.

At the celebration that took place in September, Lee Durrell, the wife of Gerald Durrell, thanked the authorities for the great honour, while the representative of Durrell School, the representative of Louis Group who were the sponsors of the busts and the nature expert David Bellamy and Spiros Giourgas delivered speeches about the authors.

Sotiris Mikalef, the Mayor of the island mentioned the following:

“When the Durrell family settled down in Corfu in 1935, the two young brothers, Laurence and Gerald get extremely influenced by the island. In Corfu they discover Prospero’s Cell, which, like in Shakespeare’s Tempest, is a personal Odyssey of every man.

Durrell family has been one of our families since long ago, and I am happy I present today to the public the permanent presence of Durrell brothers on this island.”

The celebration ended with the National Hymns of Greece and England performed by Kapodistrias Band and a reception followed at the old Palace near the gardens.

September storm

Today there is a rain storm!
Big news for Corfiots who were looking forward to some rain after the non stop heat during this summer. Last evening there were too many mosquitoes in the town and my walk along Garitsa bay ended in insect bitten feet and arms! Terrible feeling, and it goes away only with some gel. Well, this morning I saw an awesome cloudy sky and I was truly happy (I know, people get usually happy at sunshine) and we all asked: "When is it going to rain?" It delayed a little bit, it was noon when it started and it is still going on with a lot of clatter that accompanies it.

Time to get our autumn outfits, and tidy up the wardrobe. At last school children will get inside to start studying as the schools have started too. This year it was the perfect timing, school and rain.
Today we have all enjoyed the rain; let's hope we will keep enjoying it in the following days too!

Art exhibition

Art exhibition in the old palace at the square.

At the Municipal Gallery in Corfu town there is an art exhibition that is worth seeing. Giorgio Turchetti, an Italian artist who is residing in Corfu many months a year, exhibits his paintings under the theme of ‘Kind of Blue’.

The exhibition theme is divided into several parts.

The first part includes paintings dealing with the Interiors, where the visitor can see figures, fruit and the artist’s room, all in oil on canvas.

The second part has got Portraits in oil and tempera on paper. The third is about Nudes, displaying intriguing figures that show the passion of the artist for women. The fourth part is dedicated to Landscapes. Fantasy backgrounds and soft colors are the main features of his work.

Then comes the fifth part with The divided self figures, where the viewer will find themselves studying asylum figures in oil and tempera.

The sixth part includes Recent work in oil on canvas, such as Venice, flowers and sky images, while the last part has got Sketches, mostly portraits.

Giorgio Turchetti was born in Rome in 1925 and at first he was engaged in scenography. After 1960 he dedicated himself to painting. His works are found in Italy and other countries while his latest exhibition in Corfu was held in Corfu Gallery in 2006.

The exhibition will last till the end of August and visitors are given a booklet free of charge containing the art exhibits.

Traditional costumes

My grandma in the early 30s looked like that. She is wearing the traditional costume village women of Korakiana used to have. This painting is in oil and the model was a black and white photo I found at my grandma's wooden trunk. Among her clothes there were some almonds (!) and her colourful cotton belt.

I also found a tall clay pot they used as a toilet facility at nights. Unfortunately, it did not survive long.

August in Corfu

Hot, too hot! The island is in a blaze of heat and sunshine, but the sea breeze is soothing on the beaches. A lot of tourists have come and wander around the alley ways of the town or rent a car or a bike and drive to the beaches. Today is a special day for the local people: The celebration of Pandokrator (like the mountain). All those whose name is Sotiris celebrate too.

The monastery at the top of Pandokrator mount celebrates God the Saviour (Sotiras in Greek). The feast (paniyiri in Greek) starts on the eve of the 6th August.

What can you do there?

See the monastery and the ancient icons

light a candle and pray

enjoy the magnificent view

eat souvlaki

buy trinkets


Today Corfiots cook a special dish, fish and garlic paste (bakalaos skordalia in Greek).
Here's the recipe:

Skordalia (garlic paste)

2 or more cloves of garlic (the stronger the better)
2-3 boiled potatoes
olive oil
salt
lemon juice
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crush the garlic and mix with crushed potatoes. Add slowly olive oil and lemon juice till the taste is good and the texture firm enough.

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Fry some cod fillets (frozen or fresh) previously dipped in a mixture of flour and water, in ample olive oil and serve immediately.

Or use salty dry cod fillets, previously soaked in water (overnight) and fry them the same way.

Accompany with a fresh Greek salad and red wine.

Bon appetit!

Villagers in the 90s.

Here is how villagers in Korakiana used to get dressed in older days.

You can probably still see some of them wearing the traditional suits in celebrations or in folklore dances in the village, but women do not wear traditional clothes any more. Times have changed a lot since the days of my grandmother Katerina (in the picture) who wore her village clothes till her nineties.

Recycling in Corfu town

Do you recycle?

Apart from the recycling blue bins that can be found almost everywhere in town, there is another way to help: Buy and/or sell second hand items.

This is the new trend that is slowing booming in Corfu town. In this way you have less unwanted items cluttered in your house and you can also get some good stuff to use.

Where can you do this?
There is a new place called 'To Pazari" (Bazaar). Here is the extract from the site www.aggelia-online.gr

At the Bazaar of Used Objects 'TAKE IT EASY' you can buy or sell simply anything you can think of at the best market prices. And when we say anything, we mean it! Visit us at Spirou Vasileiou 23 in Karteria (Kefalomantouko) or call us at 26610.21713 / 6936.873700

What can you find there?

Books! Greek and English, old and new.
Drawings and paintings! Old and used and brand new paintings (by local artists)at low prices.
Furniture.
Household items.
Clothes. A wide range of new and used clothes.
School equipment: desks and chairs, tables and bookcases.

It's growing fast and I believe many people will support this move.

Note:
The painting on the top left is on sale at the Bazaar. It's Korakiana village (Acrylic on canvas)