Corfu Animal Sanctuary Planned

As many of you may be aware, the plight of unwanted and mistreated animals is evident both here in Pelekas and on the rest of the island. The problem is exacerbated during the summer months by tourists "adopting" dogs while they are here and leaving them to scavenge around restaurants and bars when they leave. The unfortunate result is that many of these animals are illegally poisoned or shot when the tourist season finishes.
A voluntary organisation called The Ark was established in 1977 to improve the welfare of homeless and injured animals in Corfu. The Society's aim is to try and improve the lot of homeless animals and encourage a more humanitarian approach to animal welfare. In an attempt to reduce the overall number of strays it has spayed and neutered several hundred dogs and cats and found homes (in Corfu and overseas) for a great many. It also provides food as necessary and ministers to sick animals with the assistance of local vets. It is also involved in various educational campaigns and produces leaflets and posters on the subjects of poisoning, circuses, spaying and neutering.
To significantly improve the animal welfare situation in Corfu (and hopefully set an example throughout Greece) The Ark urgently needs a purpose built sanctuary incorporating an animal hospital with extensive educational facilities. With a view to achieving this objective The Ark Sanctuary project has been started.
It is propsed to build a modern fully equipped Animal Hospital, Lecture Theatre and Visitor Centre, incorporating Stables, Kennels, a Cattery and an Aviary. The Fund Raising Target 3,000,000 euros.
If you would like to know more about this project or make a donation you can do so by visiting The Ark's website at corfuanimalwelfare.com.
 

Ex-king's battle for Corfu estate

Ex-king Constantine and two members of his family were awarded 12 million euros by a European court in November 2002 in lieu of vast land holdings that the Greek state argued were for a monarchy that no longer exists. The former king of Greece won the property claim against the Greek government at the Council of Europe's Human Rights Court two years ago after exhausting his case in the Greek judicial system, which ruled that returning the properties contravenes the constitution. But the award is a far cry from the 492-million-euro compensation that he wanted for his properties, which include, Mon Repos, a Georgian mansion on the edge of Corfu Town Britain's Prince Phillip was born. Constantine has said he will set up a charitable foundation with the award.
Many Greeks believe that Constantine's interference in politics precipitated the 1967-74 military junta. He further outraged the public when he fled the country in the wake of the coup and has returned only twice - for his mothers funeral in 1981 and in 1993 on an ominous holiday that many viewed as a testing of waters for his eventual return. His yacht was shadowed by fighter planes and gunboats, while, following the vacation, his passport was cancelled and properties expropriated. But the deposed monarch said he would return to Greece one way or another. "I would like to be treated as an equal," he said. "I would like to go in and out of my country like everybody else does. I want a little house like every Greek wants." The desire could prove difficult following the bitter battle with the government.
Meanwhile Mon Repos remains open to the public who are free to explore its extensive grounds and museum.
 

Easter Trivia

The Greek Orthodox Church does not always celebrate Easter on the same date as the Catholic and Protestant countries. The reason is that the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar when calculating Easter. This is the case even in the churches that otherwise use the Gregorian calendar.
When the Greek Orthodox Church in 1923 decided to change to the Gregorian calendar (or rather: a Revised Julian Calendar), they chose to use the astronomical full moon as seen along the meridian of Jerusalem as the basis for calculating Easter, rather than to use the "official" full moon.
For a method of calculating Greek Easter yourself, click here!

Greeks mainly colour their Easter eggs red to signify the blood of Christ. They use hard-boiled eggs (dyed red on Holy Thursday) and they are often baked into twisted sweet-bread loaves or distributed on Easter Sunday. People hitÊ their eggs against their friends' eggs and the owner of the last uncracked egg is considered lucky.

 

GREEK EASTER SOUP (Mayaritsa)
(the first meal after the Lenten fast)

Ingredients
1 lamb's head (split), 1 cup rice, 1kg. lambs tripe, 3 lemons, 1 large onion, 4 eggs, 2 stalks celery, 4 sprigs of chopped dill, salt and peppe, 6 litres water

Method:
Add the first 6 ingredients into the 6 quarts of water and bring to a boil and cook at a low boil for approximately 2 hours or until tripe is tender. Remove lambs head and tripe from the broth. Add the cup of rice to the pot and stir. While the rice is cooking remove the meat off the head and put it through a meat grinder along with the tripe. Put the ground mixture into the broth. Check if rice is cooked and shut off heat. With an eggbeater beat the 4 eggs well. Slowly add the juice of the 3 lemons to the eggs while beating. Continue beating while very slowly adding a few ladles of the hot broth into the egg/lemon mixture to prevent eggs from curdling. Stir the soup while slowly adding this mixture slowly back into the pot. Serve garnished with fresh chopped dill on the top. More fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper

Weather

Archive Autumn 2001 Winter 2001 Spring 2002 Summer 2002 Autumn 2002 Winter 2002

Editorial

A few more words of advice about buying property in Greece.
There are no restrictions on EU nationals buying property on Corfu or in any other part of Greece. Non-Greeks are not obliged to pay any additional taxes, just the same ones, and the same amount, that any Greek purchaser does.
However, you should always try to deal through registered property agent. An easy way to lose money is to try to do-it-yourself. A reputable agent will be aware of correct property values so you won't be overcharged by an opportunist in the local bar. An agent should also have some form of written contract with the owner so that he can't change his mind about price.
It is worth noting that properties over 50 years old are subject to a massive 70% discount in the tax paid on them. This could save thousands.
Prices in Greece are still low enough to make purchasing a good investment, especially if you are outside the Euro-zone and have a good exchange rate. Also, mortgages of up to 70% can be easily obtained for as little as 3.8% interest.
 

Greek EU presidency
experiments with
e-voting

Greece has contributed its own unique flavour to the EU presidency with the introduction of an innovative new Internet voting scheme. Blending ancient Greek democratic traditions with the latest in information technology, the project allows citizens to have their say in real-time on the
"We intend to use the Greek presidency to continue our long history of democracy by promoting e-democracy in the EU.
"Our first experiment in e-democracy is e-Vote, an online voting project" said Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
The project currently allows citizens to vote on three broad topics:

• The EU today
• The EU's role in the world
• The future of the EU

Users are invited to answer around 25 questions on each topic and are then shown how their answers compare with responses so far in each country and throughout the EU.
Citizens can also make their own suggestions and comments on any issue relating to the EU through the your vote option. A new topic of interest will be added each month and e-Vote will also expand throughout the Greek presidency to include voting on key issues raised by special meetings on topics such as enlargement, drug policy and security.
The results of the voting are intended to form part of the discussion and interaction between leaders during the course of the Greek presidency, culminating in the Thessaloniki Summit in June 2003.
 

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