Welcome
to the second edition of our family newsletter..Sorry it's taken so long
to get this one done! Lots of photos this time, sorry if they take a while
to download..
Dubai
(90 minutes drive from Al Ain)
News for this
month- We're off to live in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates in August. Until
then it means we're going to be doing a lot of organising and packing!
The website
will be bringing you news from over there. In the meantime if you want
to know more about Al Ain, click here.
The chances
are you've stumbled upon this website because we sent you there but maybe
you found us by accident and would like to know a bit
about us all.
IN
THIS ISSUE:
Bernie
finds her new pad in Eltham (it's a castle)
Benjamin
goes to Broadstairs
The
family on 'The Durrell School of Corfu'
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Bernie's
new home
Do you remember
Bernie from the last bike ride featured on this website back in January?
Well we never made it to Beachy Head so we decided to go house hunting
in Greenwich instead. Bernie told me that 9 months ago she had found her
ideal pad and that it was near Oxlea's Wood in SE London. So, we cycled
from Greenwich, through Blackheath and onto Oxleas. We stopped off on the
way at 'The Hungry Horse',a theme pub where the idea is to stuff yourself
silly on grill house staples such as 'Surf and Turf'. We restrained and
had a small steak with chips and a grilled chicken breast, with, again,
chips.
So what about
Bernie's dream home? Well, it's an 18th century folly called 'Severndroog
Castle', built as a memorial by a widow to her husband who conquered Malabar
in India. It's a triangular shaped affair and is completely boarded up
by the council since it shut at the end of the 1970s (a lot of things 'shut'
at the end of the 1970s). While discussing how much we thought we'd have
to pay for the place a couple were overheard saying that the 'castle' had
been sold to be turned into offices. Oh well, it's time to find another
conveniently placed folly for Bernie to live in!
for more on
Severndroog
The 'Droog- Bernie's home if it ever
comes on the market at a price she can afford!
Benjamin
in Broadstairs- coming soon (it hasn't happened yet)
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Durrell
School of Corfu 2002
Some of the students and faculty at the DSC. Mike is sitting just
behind Benjamin. Most of the seminars were held here at the En Po cafe
on Falaraki.
Venice-Corfu-Albania-Corfu-Venice
Venice, our first port of call...
Wednesday 28th May
Up unbelievably early to meet the coach to Stansted airport. Catching
the first Ryanair flight to Venice Treviso. Good old cheap n cheerful Ryanair
get us there and we get in around mid morning. Treviso is a tiny airport,
more like an airodrome from the good ole days when air travel was something
only for the elite. Ryanair is certainly not for the elite- in fact, if
you were reasonably well off you could buy all the seats and have the plane
for yourself!
The flight got into Treviso airport, which is twenty odd miles from
Venice. The weather was sunny a cooling breeze coming down from the Dolomites.
On the flight down we watched Austria slowly blend into Italy; the
little towns nestled between the foothills of the Dolomites must
be absolutely wonderful to visit. The airport was very small, with a conveniently
placed bar just across the road. The countryside around Treviso was very
green, not the deeper green of England, but subtle tones of Lincoln green
infused with Italian sunshine.
The bus from Treviso dropped us off at the bus station, and from there
we had an exhausting time lugging our baggage over three bridges to deposit
it at the railway sation. The architecture of Venice is, well, stunning.
It sounds a cliche but it's true; the city is absolutely astounding, its
architecture moving one almost to tears. In film and literature Venice
is often associated with its years of decadence in the eighteenth century,
but walking around the city I was more struck by the legacy of Venice the
great maritime power which held in check the Turkish advance across the
eastern Mediterranean, only to be undone by the Atlantic states, England,
Portugal and Spain, whose voyages of discovery fatally undermined
the basis of Venetian power. Every where one looked was Venice's "brand
ID", the Lion of St. Mark. We didn't attempt to see St. Mark's Square,
or to visit any of the art. Rather, we used this first day in Venice to
reconoirte the city, finding out what was where and taking in the vibes.
This we did for a few hours, before making our way to the maritime station
to catch our boat. The view from the ship was fantastic; it pulled out
at about 7:00 pm and as the sun got low on the horizon there were amazing
atmospheric effects which framed the receding city in a Turneresque mix
of light and colour: gold, silver and blues, greys and greens of every
hue.
Time to go and catch our ferry to Corfu. We're travelling on Blue Star
Ferries which'll take us down the Adriatic sea and stop at Igoumenitsa
on the greek mainland before arriving at Corfu. The journey will take about
26 hours and we're expected in Corfu at around 10pm the next day.
We have booked an outside cabin which is very cosy and has it's own
bathroom. Out the window we can see the sights of Venice pass by as we
sail down the Grand Canal.
Basillica San Marco from our cabin window as we leave Venice.
After dinner we head off to the cabin to catch up on our sleep. It's
been a busy day.
Moonlight over the Adriatic Sea
Thursday 29th May
The next day we relax on the deck, soaking up the sun. There's not
much to do on the boat but that doesn't matter to me. Benjamin meets a
girlfriend and even though they can't understand each other (she's german)
they play on the deck. Her and her family get off at Igoumenitsa. She wants
Benjamin to come too!!
Benjamin's brief 'holiday romance'
We arrive to a very quiet Corfu. The port is empty except for
the people getting off the boat. Our hotel isn't far from the port
so we wheel the luggage along the bumpy pavement, occasionally a stray
dog will follow us for some of the way. The tourist season still hasn't
really taken off yet and the streets are very quiet except for th sounds
of the bats flitting about our heads.
We arrive at the Hotel Konstantinoupolis, drop off our bags and go
and get dinner at one of the cheapest joints in town. A couple of gyros
and a few bottles of Retsina
later
we stumble into bed...
Hotel Konstantinoupolis,
Corfu Town- our balcony is 2nd from the top. This is the side view of the
hotel. Click on the link and you'll see the room we stayed in.
Monday 1st June
Today we're off to Albania. A little boat called the Kaliopi
awaits us at the port. It's the only boat that serves Albania from Corfu
and it's no Titanic (well, at least it won't sink, even though it's lacking
in the luxury department!
It even has a 'traditional' toilet with no lock on the door. This leads
to an embarrassing incident with an Albanian granny all dressed in black.
Miranda begins to feel seasick. Nearly at Saranda...
Arrive in Saranda
and jump on coach.
Town looks desperately poor. There is a massive difference between the
Corfiot and the Albanian standards of living. Pillboxes look out towards
the sea, a legacy from Albania's isolationist days under Enva Hoxa. There
are many half finished buildings consisting of little more than concrete
skeletons; apparently, Albanian's sometimes run out of money half way through
a building, and construction halts while they go off to Greece or further
afield to earn the money to complete them. A lot of the construction consists
of hotel and tourist type buildings, put up in the hope that one day, Albanian
tourism will take off. This is not as strange as it may seem, the countryside
of this part of southern Albania is very beautiful and unspoilt, reminding
one of how corfu must have appeared before the onset of mass tourism. The
country still has banditry problems to overcome, however. Nevertheless,
a German company has just built a huge five star complex just up from the
harbour. One disconcerting sight was what I took to be a corpse hanging
from a noose attached to one of these half completed buildings. Closer
inspection showed it to be a life-size dummy which the locals hang
up to ward of evil spirits. Nominally, the Albanians are mainly Muslim,
but with substantial Orthodox and Catholic minorities. In reality religion
does not weigh heavily on the Albanians, who are Albanian first and foremost
and religious indentity comes a poor third after national and clan indentity.
The dummies suggest that paganistic folk beliefes are still an important
part of the Albanian make-up. Interestingly, most Albanian Muslims belong
to the Bektashi order, who have made an interesting accomodation
between Islam, Albanian culture and Modernity: the Bektashis can drink
alcohol, for example. I've long wanted to study them.
Butrint national park is stunningly beautiful, it is crawling with wildlife,
among other things we saw water-tortoises and an eagle, and the park is
full of ruins. Butrint was occupied from the early bronze age through to
the Middle Ages, when the harbour silted up puting pay to the city's economy.
Several important Romans had villas built there, and there are sites which
were ancient centers of pagan worship from archaic Greek times but which
were later Christianised, the most touching of these was the shrine to
the water nymphs a well situated at the head of a spring. You could still
read the old Greek dedication to the nymphs, and in the limestone wall
of the well was a V-shaped notched worn by ten centuries of pilgrims buckets
being lowered into the water below. One of the most interesting sights
was a Byzantine basilica which had been abandoned along with the city,
and which had only recently been hacked out of the jungle-like undergrowth
that had surrounded it. We were treated to a very informative and scholarly
guided tour by an archeologist from the University of East Anglia, who
are involved in the excavations. Butrint has recently become a World Heritage
Site.
Albania is stunningly beautiful...
Butrint National Park, Albania
Full with seafood and wine, Miranda begins to feel seasick on the way
home. The diesel fumes from the boat don't help either. Going downstairs
brings reflief from the fumes but is really stuffy. Corfu town begins to
get bigger!!
Back in Corfu, we relax at Faliraki..
Falaraki as the sun begins to set. You can see the Ionian Cultural
Centre where the seminars and lectures were held. Nice venue, eh!
Sunset over Port of Corfu
Kanoni
Benjamin
at the Karagiozis performance. What's
Karagiozis?
On Thursday we went to the White House, no, not the one in DC, but Lawrence
Durrell's old house in Kalami, Corfu, Albania is within swimming distance.
The house is now an up-marketish taverna selling lovely seafood, CV Travel
a "bespoke" package tour operator, also rents out apartments in the house.
We went to the White House from Corfu Town via caique with a group from
the Durrell School of Corfu. We had a nice meal with good local wine (how
come Greek wine is so good in Greece but the stuff that gets imported to
Blighty is so disgusting?), but we had to take turns at eating because
one of us had to keep an eye on Benjamin. Ionian cuisine is quite different
to that elsewhere in Greece, there is a strong Italian influence and, since
Corfu was one of the few parts of Greece never have been invaded by the
Turks, one finds some dishes of ancient Greek derivation, but no houmous,
yogurt and honey, etc. Benjamin, of course, wasn't interested in the meal
but was trying to fish with a net; clearly, he needed to be supervised.
Evey so often he would go running into the White House amid the diners
with a sea urchin or whatever else he had caught dripping away, very Gerald
Durrell! In fact, the real Gerald Durrell almost certainly did the same
thing in the same place back in the 1930s! We want to use the Corfu trips
as a way of interesting Benjamin in wildlife, the history of the island,
literature, etc. Jeremy Malinson, Director of the Jersey Zoo and long-time
freind of the Durrell brothers gave Benjamin a large print hard copy edition
of My Family and Other Animals which he currently has read to him
at bedtime. Also, of course, daddy has just written a book about Lawrence
Durrell (Self, Exile and Imagination: Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria
Quartet in its Various Egyptian Contexts -- to be published by Edwin
Mellen Press Spring 2003). The caique visited the shrine of St. Arsinus,
which features in a memorable scene in Lawrence durrell's Prospero's
Cell, but the sea was too choppy for us to swim there. Instead, the
caique stopped off at Vifo island and we swam there. The Ionian water is
absolutely magnificent to swim in. It is crystal clear and clean and the
temperature of the water changes from luke-warm bath water temperature
to icy as you swim through it. The overall effect of the currents of different
temperatures swirling around your body is like a sensual massage. The caique
anchored in about 15 feet of water and Benjamin got in and swam for a bit
with his water wings and goggles. He felt very proud of having done such
a "grown up" thing.
A few days later we returned to Kalami and hired out a small motor boat.
This is always a highlight of any trip to Greece because it enables you
to explore deserted coves, skinnydip, picnick and sunbathe in peace and
privacy. We got to see St. Arsenius' shrine with the boat, and explored
the east coast of Corfu. Again, it's such a pleasure just to find a nice
spot, throw the anchor out and swim around the boat out of your depth in
the gorgeous Ionian water. Once our anchor snared on a rock, so Miranda
donned her goggles and hauled herself down the anchor line to free it,
which she did with no problems. After that we took a ten mile hike back
from Kalami to Dasia where we took a bus back to Corfu Town. The walk was
very beautiful but exhausting. May to June is a good time to visit Corfu,
although it's not quite hot enough for my liking it's cool enough to hike
and the spring flowers are still out. The island is incredibly beautiful,
its greenness reminds one of Italy rather than Greece, in places it looks
almost tropical. When we went to Corfu in 2000 it was much hotter, around
40 degrees, but the heat prevented us from exploring as much as we did
this time.
Shrine of St Arsenius, nr Agni
Swimming by the Caique. Very deep water!
Sylvia's foal
Even Jeremy Paxman holidays here!
Benji and Venice -on the way home :-(
Rialto Bridge, Venice
On the way back we had more time and took in Titians and Tintoerettos
in San Polo, the Frari and San Rocco (Corfu's noisy but atmospheric main
square is San Rocco too); jaw-dropping, humbleing stuff, if not quite Benjamin'scup
of tea. Then we did San Marco and I was in heaven looking at the amazing
Byzantine style mosaics in the interior, but that's the idea of that style
of decoration, to act as an icon or portal through which one can enter
the unseen world. I also got to study the statue of the Tetrachs which
is embedded in the south wall of San Marco, I'd wanted to see it for some
time, ever since I read a history of the later Roman empire. San Marco
reminded me of Agia Sophia in Istanbul, but it's nowhere near as
large. It'd be interesting to visit Venice and Istanbul one after the other,
the two great cities that wrestled down the centuries for control over
the eastern Mediterranean. One overiding memory of the trip was the presence
of the Lion of St. Mark, from Corfu to Venice to right up in the Veneto
-- Pax tibi Marce evangelista meus!
Venitian bar snacks in the city's oldest hostelry
These Venetian bar snacks were out of this world, as was the local wine
(and the tab!).
Mmm...pizza!
It sounds glib to say that in Italy the wine, the pizza, pasta and ice
cream are delicious but they are. The trouble is that we've got so used
to the junk food copies of these food that we forget just how good the
originals are. Benjamin, for example, insisted on having some vile goo
out of the freezer cabinet instead of the amazing ice cream cones from
the Venetian geletarias.
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FYI:all
images on this site can be viewed in more detail by clicking your mouse
on the image.
Hit
'back' on your browser to get back to the newsletter.
And
Finally..
Elephant and Castle- one of the most
depressing places in London.
I think this image says a lot about
living in such a miserable urban environment...
Mike Diboll:
Writer. Loves the Greek Islands and USA. Great cook. Recipes will be featured
on this site soon. Also has a PhD. Married to..
Miranda
Diboll: Webmaster of the site and techie of the family.
Now a freelance
Radio Producer. Enjoys food and drinking (esp the drinking) then trying
to burn it all off on one of her over ambitious cycle rides.Curry Monster.
Mother of five year old..
Benjamin
Diboll: PREHISTERIA! Dinosaur and Beasts fanatic. Probably knows more
about T.Rex and chums then the average adult. What's a Leptictidium? Ask
Benjamin.Favourite food: Milk.
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