Essex Chronicle, w/e January 31st 2003
Book Description
Articles in Volume 1 include travel profiles and experiences (mostly of the less touristy places), a Chart of Which UK Tour Operators Go Where in Greece and a Guide to recommended Greek restaurants in the UK, anecdotes and informative articles on Life in Greece, food and wines, History, Mythology, Greek Language, Events, Books, Music and a Short Story and more.
A book to dip into, to read from cover to cover AND to retain for reference.
From the Publisher
Greek-o-File first launched as a quarterly subscriber magazine late in 1998. This first book continues with a bumper collection, including many contributions from subscribers, now published in handy paperback format.
New volumes will be compiled annually, starting with articles in hand from readers at the start of each year and from personal research. If you would like to send a contribution for consideration, check out what has been published before to understand the style and length of acceptable articles and to ensure you are not revisiting old ground, email to mail@greekofile.co.uk. As an independent not-for-profit business Greek-o-File regret they are unable to pay for contributions other than by sending a free copy of the book to contributors.
From the Author
Whether you have a favourite place you keep returning to, or you enjoy exploring to find new parts, or you want to know what it is about Greece that makes others keep returning, The Greek-o-File will put you in the picture.
In the illustrated pages of The Greek-o-File you will find articles to inform and entertain you, to give you ideas for places to visit, to help you appreciate the background and lives of the Greek people, to relive your holiday memories through the anecdotes of others, or to help you plan a future in Greece.
We hope you decide to share the Greek-o-File experience.
From the Inside Flap
"The Greek-o-File is packed with so many great stories and is a must for finding out about most places in Greece. When we are thinking about visiting a new destination we delve into the Greek-o-Files (old & new) to find out the real facts." Christine Reynolds
"To say that I find your publications fascinating is very much understating the fact. I can’t wait for the next one despite making two visits to Greece in between." Ron Smith
"Memories flood back on reading many of the stories." Derek Robson
"Volume 3 - What a Cracker!!! I read it almost at one sitting - unputdownable!! There is nothing that evokes the aura, sounds, smells and tastes of Greece as the ever-reliable Greek-o-File. ... I will probably read it again - it has been an absolute treat." Dave Evans
"I have the last 3 books and found them to be of a good spread content wise. They neither patronise the package tourist or serious traveller - which is nice." Ivan (on Arillas Forum)
"I took the book with me to the doctors yesterday (usual waiting time hours and hours), but somehow I found myself in Greece and the time flew by. It is a lovely way to visit Greece - a real pleasure." Tony Brown
"I love reading your books and likening people’s experiences to ones we’ve had." Marian Cropper
"May I say it is a delight to find a publication that is so related to our experience of Greece and one that provides such a quantity of relevant and interesting information." Pauline Randles
"I know that, at least among our friends, the books are becoming an essential reference collection for all." Gerry Brown
"...before I could look it up, I found the answer in Greek-o-File." Jenny Edwards --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
About the Author
Terry first visited Greece on a hurriedly planned holiday in 1988, and before he had left 2 weeks later he shook hands on buying an old village house. He felt that although he must work in Britain for an income, his heart was in Greece - and property in the less accessible parts of Greece was a lot cheaper too! He did not want another mortgage after the break-up of his marriage.
Two years later Sylvia & Terry got together and enjoyed their holidays renovating Terry’s Greek house, relaxing and revisiting some of Sylvia’s old Greek haunts - trying to find a way to spend more time in Greece and less in England. Working for others with just 4 weeks of holiday a year was not the answer, so in 1998 they founded Greek-o-File, never expecting to make money just to make enough and to have time to indulge their love of Greece.
Publishing the quarterly magazine and trying to find more subscribers was a full time job for both, but without a full time salary! The purchase of an ex-Luton airport minibus, converted to a motor home, enabled them to take a few longer trips on a shoestring to explore more of Greece and provide material for Greek-o-File. Enthusiastic subscribers also sent in contributions – but there weren’t enough subscribers to be cost effective, so outside work became necessary to pay the bills. This was not the plan with long working hours for minimal income and stress. Plan B was launched.
The last quarterly issue went out end of May 2002. Sylvia & Terry got married in Greece on 4th June (Sylvia’s 50th birthday) - after 11 years together, things seemed to be working out OK. More hard work followed resulting in the publication of this book, but future plans for more volumes on an annual basis should free up time for some ad-hoc paid work and allow their indulgence in Greece to continue.
Excerpted from The Greek-o-File Vol 1 by Sylvia Cook, Terry Cook. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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. From the port take the left fork at the filling station at Kanali and follow the excellent road that winds for about 4kms up the hill to the Posidion. There is no entry charge during the day, although drinks are a bit expensive, but from a terrace table the fantastic views are well worth the time and cost.
The beaches and tourist accommodation are mainly along the south coast of Kalavria set into the coves to the west of the causeway and the rather more lively broader strands to the east. The majority of the island’s restaurants and bars are gathered around the port, and a fine and diverse choice they are. Of course there are the usual harbourside joints where touts try to entice you into their establishments but there are also many good value family run tavernas serving Greek and non-Greek meals.
Unfortunately the kafeneion seems to have all but disappeared. In fact the old tin-topped-tabled bar with wooden chairs is now more likely to be an internet café with glass coffee tables, chromium seats and earnest young Scandinavians with zeppelin sized rucksacks and acne.
We stayed at the Saga Hotel in Kanali, found on a Poros website. Here a note of warning. On the same site was accommodation listed as ‘Villa Eucalyptus’, our first choice had it not been closed in September. What an escape! An Estate Agent trying to sell a decrepit ruin of a garden shed on Beirut dockside would have a hard job to surpass the flowery description and images given for the ‘Villa Eucalyptus’ we saw.
The Saga hotel was a splendid modern hotel run by Takis and Zefi Alexandropoulos and their young family, named as the ancient Norse for ‘long story’ in the hope it would go on forever. Here and at a few other hotels/apartments that we visited, is the reassuring manifestation that at least some Greek hoteliers are bringing their facilities into line with those offered elsewhere in Europe. It could be said that, in terms of room standards, they are now looking at the competition from the Spanish Costas rather than just their cousin Costas. We even had a jacuzzi in our bathroom!
The road network of Poros closely resembles the lower case Greek letter ‘ö’. There is a scenic road around the coast bisected by a link road from the north of Kalavria, across the causeway and down to the port. Motor scooter hire is a good way to cover the 25km or so of asphalt road....
Komboloi - The Greek Worry Beads by Terry Cook
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. In eastern countries the tradition goes back many centuries, and the earliest forms were actually strings of knots. The Greek word originates from ‘kombos’, which meant a knot or junction, and ‘loi’ which was used for a group or line, or others say from ‘leo’, which meant to say. First used in a religious connotation by the Buddhists around the 6th Century BC as an aid to prayer, both the Hindus around the first century AD and the Moslems 500 years later adopted a similar technique.
The faithful counted their prayers on each knot or bead, and sometimes had ‘multiplier’ knots for reciting their devotions a certain number of times during the day. In the Christian faith, early monastic devotees are recorded as using a 33-knotted cord around the 4th century AD. Eight hundred years later the Spanish monk Dominic adopted the principle after a friend returned from the East with samples of oriental prayer rosaries.
It seems that whenever there was a need to concentrate the minds of humble men on higher things, finding both an aid to counting off rituals and providing a distraction for the hand was a goal satisfied by the ring of beads. ....
