APRIL 2014 SINCE AUGUST 2007 PAGE 1 www.theagiot.net Tel: (0030) 26610 58177 The 78th Edition Agiot This Month Agiotfest. Page 1 Agiotfest Sponsors of Agiotfest Page 2 Live at the Cactus Hilton Village News. By and because I‟d seen the high spots I Page 3 Heather Skinner thought, what can I do to make a differ- In memory of Zaira. Page 3 ence?”, and so Agiot Fest was born. The „Cactus Hilton‟ is the affectionate th Now in its 6 year, Agiot Fest 2014, tak- Letters to the Editor. name given to the old cactus fields nestled th Page 3-4 in the olive groves of Agios Ioannis ing place on Saturday 30 August, promises When Nitsa Was Young. (Triklino) in the centre of Corfu where the another night of great music „Live at the Page 5 island‟s hippy visitors first came to the is- Cactus Hilton‟. The full line-up is expected Greek Easter. land, and where the first ever youth hostel to be finalized towards the end of April, but Page 6 was established. The Cactus Hilton was you can expect a varied line-up of local and Aunty Lula’s Love-Bites. where these free-spirited visitors would pitch Page 7 international performers. For updates on tents in the cactus fields if they didn‟t have Video Corner. Agiot Fest 2014 you can follow on Facebook Page 7 the funds to stay at the youth hostel, or if they preferred to sleep outdoors. https://www.facebook.com/agiotfest; Twit- Photo Corner. ter @Agiotfest1; or on Pinterest Agiotfest Page 7 In 2009, reviving the free-spirited feel of the 60s and 70s, the island‟s first Agiofest 2014. Bereavement Announce- brought The Dylan Project to Corfu, featur- ment. Page 7 ing Steve Gibbons, PJ Wright and Phil 6TH ANNUAL AGIOTFEST Fleshpots of the North. Bond, along with Fairport Convention‟s AUGUST 30 Page 8-9 Dave Pegg (ex-Jethro Tull) and Gerry Con- AGIOS IOANNIS, CORFU Corfu Weather Statistics. way (ex-Cat Stevens). THIS YEAR ALL-WEATHER SPONSORED BY Page 9 The driver behind Agiot Fest is Paul http://villaoasiscorfu.com/ Nick the Clock’s World. McGovern who met his Greek wife in the FULLINE-UP INCLUDING Page 10 ROCK,FOLK,GREEK, MORE. UK, but moved to Corfu to retire. While LONGEST-RUNNING FESTIVAL OF ITS TYPE Ocay Villas Advertise- Paul told me that, for the first 9 years he ment. IN CORFU Page 11 lived in Corfu he “languished well” he had a FREEDOM OF CHOICE WITH FOOD/DRINK/ desire to do something to regenerate the vil- PICNIC PARADISE Custom built homes in Corfu. lage. He had seen tourism to Agios Ioannis CHARITIES SPONSORED Page 11 change dramatically since its heyday in the RAFFLE PRIZES GATES WILL OPEN EARLY, PROG. WILL The World of Simon. mid 1980s. By the early 1990s there were Page 12 START APP 7.30 less tourists to the village, although there TICKET OUTLETS/TOILETS/COACHES FROM Obnoxious Al. was a bit of breakthrough in the mid 1990s AROUND ISLAND Page13 ST with more cyclists and walkers, particularly TICKETS ON SALE FROM MAY 1 WITH DE- Raffle Announcement for from the Netherlands. Over a glass of wine TAILS ON BANDS AND ACTS Agiotfest 2014. IT IS STILL NOT TOO LATE TO SUGGEST Page14 and seafood mezze at Nautilus in Garitsa, ACTS OR MAIL IN IF YOU ARE ONE. Paul recounted that “I got back into com- merce in the mid-90s. The village was fragile, APRIL 2014 SINCE AUGUST 2007 PAGE 2 Agiotfest Sponsors And: OCAY Property Services Fully licensed under Greek law, OCAY Property Services offers both land and prop- erty for sale, mostly in the central region of Corfu. They can also handle the entire design and construction of a home including all licences, taxes, etc. Boatman’s World NSK Daylong Famous Grouse Daylong have been working in the compression hosiery market for over 50 years and Sofia Kasfiki have a wealth of experience in providing the right solution for their customers. They Sergio Grammatikos stock one of the widest ranges of products available in the UK including specialist medical products, sports ranges and a full range of fashionable support stockings and Eco-Point tights. Sally’s Bar Paul & Jan Scotter Mouse House Scaffold Design Ltd Ken & Jan Harrop Design of temporary structures in tube and fittings and various proprietary scaffolding systems including temporary roofs, facade shores and difficult access solutions all de- Steve Dell signs carried out in accordance with all current British and European standards and Steve Young regulations. Jo & Mel Sperling Spear Travels Lionel Mann If you are looking for a travel agent who will spend the time to come up with the exact Sue Done holiday that you want, in the right place and at the right budget for you, and knows what Michael Spiggos they are talking about as well, Spear Travels can provide a huge choice and offer holi- days with the smaller tour operators that are often not available on the High Street. Tavola Calda Bill & June Williams Green Island Spyros Hytiris Holiday Accommodation on the Greenest Island of Greece: Corfu. Specialized in the Brenda Pangrakiotis Dutch & the British tourist market Nikolas's Taverna, Agni Vassilis Pandis In Action gym Vrionis With us since 2009, every year Bill Vrionis supplies the best of sound and lighting. Visit Star Bowl his excellent shop on town Greg Zoxios La Tabernita Mexicana Barry & Stella Knight British Corner Shop The largest selection of British food in Greece. Favourite leading brands including David Dickinson Waitrose groceries and Iceland frozen foods. Plus a selection of confectionery, ice Sarah Young cream, soft drinks, beers & wine, dairy produce, household cleaners, personal care, newspapers, magazines and greetings cards. Heather Skinner Simon & Lin Baddeley Bob & Jill Carr Sunrise Cars Discover the hidden beauties of the island with the hospitality and security of Sunrise Chas Clifton Rent a Car. Situated on the main road opposite the customs buildings at the New Port, Rob Groove this company has been operating since 1980 and due to its experience can offer the best services and prices. Nikos Pouliasis A local and much-respected architect and Mekanikos, Mr Pouliasis has been designing houses across Corfu for many years. He is always kind, patient and fair-minded. Also, his rates are consistently competitive! APRIL 2014 SINCE AUGUST 2007 PAGE 3 IN MEMORY OF Village News Too many Agiots and friends are dying By ting out in the warm sunshine. lately. This is one article I‟d rather not have. Dr. Lionel Mann To judge from the bleating in the hotel garden preparations for Zaira Sourianou passed away on 15th of Last month we reported that Easter are well under way. This year March at the home of her son Kostas, in Zaira had been discharged from Kastelani. following hospitalisation in hospital; it is with great regret that Western and Eastern Easter are the September and a slow decline after re- we now report that she has died, same date, April 20th. lease.. aged 82. She was 82. More happily we have been told For years she had sat on her little front that Wolfgang is making good re- patio and watched the world go by. In covery. previous times she had shared this occu- Spring flowers are blooming in pation with her husband Ioannis. Since wild profusion and leaves are ap- living in this small and well-loved street I have watched the leaves gradually fall, to pearing on the plane trees in the be replaced by young shoots. Of the plateia. We have suffered one or „older folk‟, now only Kostas, Nitsa, Rika two spectacular thunderstorms, but and Lionel remain of the originals. nobody has been washed away. R.I.P. There have been many days for sit- shopping period. Businesses should Letters to the Editor not shut during the afternoon and and Kosovo (and nearly in Syria; reopen from 5.30 til late (many, Dear Ed, could yet be); and does he not re- including chain supermarkets and member that supranational allianc- tourist shops, don't close anyway). In his March column, Lionel stated es stuck in their bloody fingers in So, I asked, they should be like Ger- his belief that 'Europa [the Europe- Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan many? 'YES THEY SHOULD!' was an Union] is one of the greatest and Libya? A political and econom- the angry reply (Lionel literally advances in the entire story of the ic union of nation states is not go- shakes with rage if you dare criticise human race'. Later in the article, he ing to prevent old men sending the EU). My answer was that if they declares: 'Patriotism kills. young ones to their death in war- were forced into 9-5 opening, busi- Nationalism slaughters. Chauvin- fare, though their own lands may ness would be almost non-existent ism murders.' He desires to see na- not be the ones that are ravaged. If on summer afternoons when locals tion states destroyed to prevent there's war with Russia over go home for lunch and a doze. 'their lands [being] fought over and Ukraine, it'll be NATO which Mediterranean folk like to prome- ravaged by foreign armies'. I'd like fights it. nade, shop and socialise in the cool to deal with this here. In the case of Russia, Lionel is with of THE EVENING; why should Forget Orwell at your peril. in me in liking Putin for sticking up Germany have the right to reshape '1984', the world no longer com- for the right of his own country to the custom of centuries, to alter a prises nation states but is parti- remain sovereign and stay out of way of life which suits our climate, tioned into three vast power blocks, the race for Globalism.