In More Depth
This page will carry more detailed information behind events, activities and news.
What do you think?
Newsletter no. 33 and 34 – Tourism & Olive Oil production
Dear Editor,
I see your newsletters and recently I was re-reading the one on tourism in Apokoronas with great interest. The two hotel directors speak well and I agree completely with their ideas for promoting the tourism industry. Now comes your interesting one on oil and again I find my self nodding in agreement
Since becoming a regular visitor myself for the last 15 years, with a house in Plaka, I realise how few people, in the UK at least, are aware of Crete. Sometimes when meeting people I've asked a simple question: "Can you name large islands in the Mediterranean?" Would you believe that nobody has mentioned Crete without prompting. Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus (of course) – even Malta!! – and everybody I've asked has been surprised at the size of the island. Even people who know I have a house abroad usually ask when am I next going to my house in Cyprus! Crete has a very low profile, at least in the UK.
This means it doesn't spring to mind when people are thinking of holidays, as just one example, but I think there could be enormous benefit in promoting many more aspects of the island. In other words, developing a Crete 'brand', as the olive grower suggests, but covering much more than just food.
An example of something very similar is the Duchy Originals brand in the UK, building around the organic farming ethos so close to Prince Charles's heart. After 21 years there are 230 products in the brand, sold in 30 countries – read more here:
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/10433884/Why-Prince-Charless-Duchy-Originals-takes-the-biscuit.html>
An idea occurs to me as a start that could have considerable traction, namely establishing Cretan food products as very high quality and linking into the growing interest in healthy eating. Smart phones are allowing people to monitor their activity and vital functions, opening up an opportunity. Not many countries can boast of the WHO seal of approval.
The grower's suggestion of producing several thousand litres of oil as free samples seems excellent. To his list I would add a supermarket, probably Waitrose in the UK, but it would be an idea to include one or two other countries, such as Germany and Norway, whose nationals are represented in Crete. That distribution model could be expanded as experience and product availability suggest. A possible start would be to approach Waitrose for a meeting to discuss ideas. If they thought there might be conflict with their Duchy tie-up there could be interest from one of the other big supermarkets keen to have their own organic brand to rival Waitrose's.
Some other ideas for promoting Crete:
-invite travel companies and staff to Crete to make them more aware of the island's offerings
-encourage farmers to diversify their crops and invite supermarket buyers
-run a high-profile photographic competition with a major sponsor to show off the island's features
-broadening tourism eg the breadth of history, sites, gorges, scenery, out-of-season outdoor activities (extend the year).
I realise that finance for such activities is extremely tight. Your olive grower recognises that co-operation is the key, to form groups of like-minded people to bid for money – a good reason for staying in the EU! That co-operation has to start from within.
However, amongst the northern Europeans with homes in Crete there must be some with a good background in marketing and advertising. Could some of these be harnessed to work on behalf of Apokoronas? The right person could be asked to speak to groups of farmers and to fire up their enthusiasm.
Some preliminary thoughts.
Jeremy
Plaka
Newsletter no. 33 and 34 – Tourism & Olive Oil production
Dear Editor,
I see your newsletters and recently I was re-reading the one on tourism in Apokoronas with great interest. The two hotel directors speak well and I agree completely with their ideas for promoting the tourism industry. Now comes your interesting one on oil and again I find my self nodding in agreement
Since becoming a regular visitor myself for the last 15 years, with a house in Plaka, I realise how few people, in the UK at least, are aware of Crete. Sometimes when meeting people I've asked a simple question: "Can you name large islands in the Mediterranean?" Would you believe that nobody has mentioned Crete without prompting. Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus (of course) – even Malta!! – and everybody I've asked has been surprised at the size of the island. Even people who know I have a house abroad usually ask when am I next going to my house in Cyprus! Crete has a very low profile, at least in the UK.
This means it doesn't spring to mind when people are thinking of holidays, as just one example, but I think there could be enormous benefit in promoting many more aspects of the island. In other words, developing a Crete 'brand', as the olive grower suggests, but covering much more than just food.
An example of something very similar is the Duchy Originals brand in the UK, building around the organic farming ethos so close to Prince Charles's heart. After 21 years there are 230 products in the brand, sold in 30 countries – read more here:
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/10433884/Why-Prince-Charless-Duchy-Originals-takes-the-biscuit.html>
An idea occurs to me as a start that could have considerable traction, namely establishing Cretan food products as very high quality and linking into the growing interest in healthy eating. Smart phones are allowing people to monitor their activity and vital functions, opening up an opportunity. Not many countries can boast of the WHO seal of approval.
The grower's suggestion of producing several thousand litres of oil as free samples seems excellent. To his list I would add a supermarket, probably Waitrose in the UK, but it would be an idea to include one or two other countries, such as Germany and Norway, whose nationals are represented in Crete. That distribution model could be expanded as experience and product availability suggest. A possible start would be to approach Waitrose for a meeting to discuss ideas. If they thought there might be conflict with their Duchy tie-up there could be interest from one of the other big supermarkets keen to have their own organic brand to rival Waitrose's.
Some other ideas for promoting Crete:
-invite travel companies and staff to Crete to make them more aware of the island's offerings
-encourage farmers to diversify their crops and invite supermarket buyers
-run a high-profile photographic competition with a major sponsor to show off the island's features
-broadening tourism eg the breadth of history, sites, gorges, scenery, out-of-season outdoor activities (extend the year).
I realise that finance for such activities is extremely tight. Your olive grower recognises that co-operation is the key, to form groups of like-minded people to bid for money – a good reason for staying in the EU! That co-operation has to start from within.
However, amongst the northern Europeans with homes in Crete there must be some with a good background in marketing and advertising. Could some of these be harnessed to work on behalf of Apokoronas? The right person could be asked to speak to groups of farmers and to fire up their enthusiasm.
Some preliminary thoughts.
Jeremy
Plaka
How to not obtain
a Greek Driving Licence
John has sent in the saga of his efforts to obtain a Greek Driving Licence. In addition to John’s perseverance, his story underlines the important support the British Consulate here in Crete can offer as well as the temptation that BREXIT may offer to members of officialdom who wish to be unhelpful.
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Realising that my British driving licence expired on 19th October 2015, I decided to change it for a Greek licence. Recognising that many of my friends simply renewed their British licences by falsely stating that they were resident in the UK, I decided not to go down this path as if caught the fine is £1,000 and no doubt such an event would stain one’s reputation with the DVLA and perhaps other services in the future.
Because I don’t speak Greek, I engaged the services of Sofia of Creta Services in Kalyves. Approaching her at the beginning of October, she told me that a Greek driving licence took about four months to obtain and that I should have contacted her earlier. She told me that because of my age I would need to have 3 separate medicals with doctors appointed by the government, and that I couldn’t use my own doctor. When she phoned the licencing office, she was told that the current listing of doctors had changed and she should phone back in a couple of weeks. Eventually I was given the telephone number of a doctor in Chania and I made an appointment to see him regarding my sight. I also had to give him a passport photograph. He asked me if my eyes were okay, and I said yes. He then signed a form which he gave to me and I turned over €10.00. He did not test my sight. Another 2 weeks went by and I was given the name of a second doctor who was to examine my general health. He was located in the building as the first doctor. I’d recently had an operation, so I took relevant details of blood and heart tests along with a further photograph. He studied the information but didn’t examine me. Again he signed a form and I handed over another €10.00. He told me that I didn’t have to have a third medical which was designed to test my mental capacity, as I was less than 80 years of age. I took all my documentation to the Town Hall in Kalyves and received another document and then presented Sofia with them along with my British licence. I stressed that as I was leasing a car, I needed some proof that I had a licence. In December after a number of phone calls Sofia obtained what appeared to be a document with an official stamp which she said entitled me to drive, however when I showed it to the car firm I was leasing the car from, their insurance refused to cover me on the basis of that document. I had no choice but to return the car.
I continued to follow up with Sofia, and the first story I got was that the Greek government had handed over control of licences to a private firm, but as they’d not been paid, they were not issuing any licences. The next story later on was that my licence had been sent to the DVLA for verification, but they had not received a reply from DVLA. This was continually repeated until two weeks ago, when I managed to get the right department in the DVLA and telephoned them. They told me that they had received no communication from Crete regarding my licence, but said that they could issue an entitlement to drive document which they could either post to me or if the Greek licencing authorities would accept a fax, they could fax the document direct. I called the car hire company and told them and after them contacting the licencing Authority they were told that because of Brexit, no British licences could be issued. This is when I decided to get the help of the British Consulate in Heraklion who have been very helpful. They confirmed that the story about Brexit was incorrect, secondly they established for me that the reason the licencing authority in Chania had not contacted the DVLA was due to an IT problem. As one who used to run my own IT Company in the USA, I said I found totally unbelievable that a problem with the IT programme had not been sorted within a nine month period. I then asked the Consulate if they would find out if a fax stating that I was entitled to drive would be acceptable to the Greek authorities. They said it would be and a fax was sent to them the same day. The next day the Consulate checked to ensure the fax had been received, and it was confirmed that it had been and was in order. The person in the Chania licencing authority said they were now creating a protocol and sending it to the Athens police authority the responsible body for issuing the actual licence. I’m told it will take no longer than 20 days, which means that I should receive the licence by around 25th July. The Consulate has said they will follow up should the licence not be received by the above date.
The total cost for this farce is as follows:
Creta Services € 50.00
Greek Licence € 118.50
Medical € 20.00
2 trips to Chania € 25.00
TOTAL COST € 213.50
The DVLA and the British Consulate FREE
John Dawson
In response to this article, Penny wrote:
"Re driving licence
I had to get my Greek licence renewed beginning of May.
I actually did it through KEP in Chania instead of the Licence Renewal place as I do not do gofers ie Creta Services in Kalives.
I did all the payments and saw the doctor and optician etc. New licence takes 3 months approx.
I went back last week as I had heard the story about Greeks saying the UK was out of the EU and they were not renewing licenses. So I went to KEP and asked them – their answer was NO LAW has been changed.
Regards,
Penny"
Because I don’t speak Greek, I engaged the services of Sofia of Creta Services in Kalyves. Approaching her at the beginning of October, she told me that a Greek driving licence took about four months to obtain and that I should have contacted her earlier. She told me that because of my age I would need to have 3 separate medicals with doctors appointed by the government, and that I couldn’t use my own doctor. When she phoned the licencing office, she was told that the current listing of doctors had changed and she should phone back in a couple of weeks. Eventually I was given the telephone number of a doctor in Chania and I made an appointment to see him regarding my sight. I also had to give him a passport photograph. He asked me if my eyes were okay, and I said yes. He then signed a form which he gave to me and I turned over €10.00. He did not test my sight. Another 2 weeks went by and I was given the name of a second doctor who was to examine my general health. He was located in the building as the first doctor. I’d recently had an operation, so I took relevant details of blood and heart tests along with a further photograph. He studied the information but didn’t examine me. Again he signed a form and I handed over another €10.00. He told me that I didn’t have to have a third medical which was designed to test my mental capacity, as I was less than 80 years of age. I took all my documentation to the Town Hall in Kalyves and received another document and then presented Sofia with them along with my British licence. I stressed that as I was leasing a car, I needed some proof that I had a licence. In December after a number of phone calls Sofia obtained what appeared to be a document with an official stamp which she said entitled me to drive, however when I showed it to the car firm I was leasing the car from, their insurance refused to cover me on the basis of that document. I had no choice but to return the car.
I continued to follow up with Sofia, and the first story I got was that the Greek government had handed over control of licences to a private firm, but as they’d not been paid, they were not issuing any licences. The next story later on was that my licence had been sent to the DVLA for verification, but they had not received a reply from DVLA. This was continually repeated until two weeks ago, when I managed to get the right department in the DVLA and telephoned them. They told me that they had received no communication from Crete regarding my licence, but said that they could issue an entitlement to drive document which they could either post to me or if the Greek licencing authorities would accept a fax, they could fax the document direct. I called the car hire company and told them and after them contacting the licencing Authority they were told that because of Brexit, no British licences could be issued. This is when I decided to get the help of the British Consulate in Heraklion who have been very helpful. They confirmed that the story about Brexit was incorrect, secondly they established for me that the reason the licencing authority in Chania had not contacted the DVLA was due to an IT problem. As one who used to run my own IT Company in the USA, I said I found totally unbelievable that a problem with the IT programme had not been sorted within a nine month period. I then asked the Consulate if they would find out if a fax stating that I was entitled to drive would be acceptable to the Greek authorities. They said it would be and a fax was sent to them the same day. The next day the Consulate checked to ensure the fax had been received, and it was confirmed that it had been and was in order. The person in the Chania licencing authority said they were now creating a protocol and sending it to the Athens police authority the responsible body for issuing the actual licence. I’m told it will take no longer than 20 days, which means that I should receive the licence by around 25th July. The Consulate has said they will follow up should the licence not be received by the above date.
The total cost for this farce is as follows:
Creta Services € 50.00
Greek Licence € 118.50
Medical € 20.00
2 trips to Chania € 25.00
TOTAL COST € 213.50
The DVLA and the British Consulate FREE
John Dawson
In response to this article, Penny wrote:
"Re driving licence
I had to get my Greek licence renewed beginning of May.
I actually did it through KEP in Chania instead of the Licence Renewal place as I do not do gofers ie Creta Services in Kalives.
I did all the payments and saw the doctor and optician etc. New licence takes 3 months approx.
I went back last week as I had heard the story about Greeks saying the UK was out of the EU and they were not renewing licenses. So I went to KEP and asked them – their answer was NO LAW has been changed.
Regards,
Penny"
Erotokritos
In order to enhance your experience of the forthcoming performance of Erotokritos, we are publishing this brief synopsis of the story.
SYNOPSIS
Athens, Greece, 17th century. Erotokritos, the son of the Adviser to the King, confides to his best friend Polydoros that he is in love with Aretousa, King Heracles’ daughter. The king organises a singing festival with the hope of catching the mysterious singer who is rumoured to be singing under his daughter’s balcony every night. Erotokritos kills two of the king’s guards when they are sent on the prowl to arrest him. Aretousa confides to her nurse Frosyni that she likes the singer but Frosyni urges her to come to her senses. Polydoros proposes a holiday to Erotokritos and they leave for Egripos so he can forget Aretousa. The king notices that lately Aretousa is sad and announces that he will organize a jousting tournament to please her. Erotokritos’ father, Pezostratos, gets very ill and all the royal family visit him. Aretousa realizes that Erotokritos is the mysterious singer after she discovers a manuscript with the lyrics she was hearing under her balcony and a painting, a portrait of her, in Erotokritos’ room. Erotokritos returns from holiday to check on his father and discovers the manuscript and painting are missing. He sends Polydoros to the palace to find out if the king knows anything and decides to pretend to be ill but Aretousa sends him a remedy gift so he understands she is also interested in him. Erotokritos takes part in the jousting tournament and wins. He secretly climbs to Aretousa’s balcony and they speak about their love for each other. Erotokritos tells his father that he wants to marry Aretousa and convinces him to deliver the message to the King. The king gets furious with the news, sending Erotokritos into exile and throwing his father out of the palace forever. Erotokritos secretly visits Aretousa and announces the bad news. They exchange vows of faith in the presence of Frosyni. Erotokritos leaves for exile, followed by his faithful slave, Pistentis. The King announces his plan to marry Aretousa to the Prince of Byzantium. She refuses and the King throws her and her nanny both into prison. Erotokritos in exile, receives the news of Aretousa’s imprisonment and also the threats of an imminent attack by the Vlachs on Athens. His slave takes him to an old witch and she produces a potion. Erotokritos washes his face with the potion and transforms into a black, Saracen man. Erotokritos sets the slave free and decides to go to Athens and fight for its freedom. Erotokritos returns to Athens and joins the battle on the side of the Athenians. He fights so bravely that he forces many Vlach soldiers to flee and he has both Athenians and Vlachs wondering who is this Saracen warrior that appeared out of nowhere. Vladistratos, the Vlach king, proposes to King Heracles a one-to-one fight in order to stop the pointless bloodshed, the Vlachs’ best fighter against the Athenians’ best. King Heracles holds a war council and they realize they don’t have any man that can match the Vlach champion, Aristos. Erotokritos enters the council and volunteers to fight. Erotokritos kills Aristos in an epic fight and the Vlachs vow eternal allegiance to the Athenians. King Heracles visits the wounded Erotokritos and tells him that all his kingdoms now belong to him as well. Erotokritos refuses the wealth and asks to marry Aretousa. The king is afraid of his daughter’s decision and urges him to ask her himself. Erotokritos visits Aretousa in prison and asks to marry her. She refuses and then Erotokritos washes his face with the potion, returning to his real appearance. Aretousa is happy and relieved but proposes that he should change back to Saracen and proceed with the marriage. At the wedding, Erotokritos reveals his real identity to the King and the King forgives him, giving his blessing for the wedding and announcing him as the new King.
************************
Considered to be one of the masterpieces of Greek literature, EROTOKRITOS belongs to the category of epic poems. It was written by Vitsentzo Kornaros and is made up of 10.000 verses, divided into five parts. Its name has been taken from Erotokritos, the main character of this poem, which implies the one that has been tortured by love. Initially, the story of the poem appears to take place in Ancient Athens, on the days of King Iraklis (fictitious person) but then the poet adds characters, facts and places that are reported in the Middle Ages and this period of time. The plot is twisting around the love of Erotokritos and Aretousa, the daughter of the King, a love that is being used by the poet as a keystone in order to praise friendship, bravery and the love for the homeland.
SYNOPSIS
Athens, Greece, 17th century. Erotokritos, the son of the Adviser to the King, confides to his best friend Polydoros that he is in love with Aretousa, King Heracles’ daughter. The king organises a singing festival with the hope of catching the mysterious singer who is rumoured to be singing under his daughter’s balcony every night. Erotokritos kills two of the king’s guards when they are sent on the prowl to arrest him. Aretousa confides to her nurse Frosyni that she likes the singer but Frosyni urges her to come to her senses. Polydoros proposes a holiday to Erotokritos and they leave for Egripos so he can forget Aretousa. The king notices that lately Aretousa is sad and announces that he will organize a jousting tournament to please her. Erotokritos’ father, Pezostratos, gets very ill and all the royal family visit him. Aretousa realizes that Erotokritos is the mysterious singer after she discovers a manuscript with the lyrics she was hearing under her balcony and a painting, a portrait of her, in Erotokritos’ room. Erotokritos returns from holiday to check on his father and discovers the manuscript and painting are missing. He sends Polydoros to the palace to find out if the king knows anything and decides to pretend to be ill but Aretousa sends him a remedy gift so he understands she is also interested in him. Erotokritos takes part in the jousting tournament and wins. He secretly climbs to Aretousa’s balcony and they speak about their love for each other. Erotokritos tells his father that he wants to marry Aretousa and convinces him to deliver the message to the King. The king gets furious with the news, sending Erotokritos into exile and throwing his father out of the palace forever. Erotokritos secretly visits Aretousa and announces the bad news. They exchange vows of faith in the presence of Frosyni. Erotokritos leaves for exile, followed by his faithful slave, Pistentis. The King announces his plan to marry Aretousa to the Prince of Byzantium. She refuses and the King throws her and her nanny both into prison. Erotokritos in exile, receives the news of Aretousa’s imprisonment and also the threats of an imminent attack by the Vlachs on Athens. His slave takes him to an old witch and she produces a potion. Erotokritos washes his face with the potion and transforms into a black, Saracen man. Erotokritos sets the slave free and decides to go to Athens and fight for its freedom. Erotokritos returns to Athens and joins the battle on the side of the Athenians. He fights so bravely that he forces many Vlach soldiers to flee and he has both Athenians and Vlachs wondering who is this Saracen warrior that appeared out of nowhere. Vladistratos, the Vlach king, proposes to King Heracles a one-to-one fight in order to stop the pointless bloodshed, the Vlachs’ best fighter against the Athenians’ best. King Heracles holds a war council and they realize they don’t have any man that can match the Vlach champion, Aristos. Erotokritos enters the council and volunteers to fight. Erotokritos kills Aristos in an epic fight and the Vlachs vow eternal allegiance to the Athenians. King Heracles visits the wounded Erotokritos and tells him that all his kingdoms now belong to him as well. Erotokritos refuses the wealth and asks to marry Aretousa. The king is afraid of his daughter’s decision and urges him to ask her himself. Erotokritos visits Aretousa in prison and asks to marry her. She refuses and then Erotokritos washes his face with the potion, returning to his real appearance. Aretousa is happy and relieved but proposes that he should change back to Saracen and proceed with the marriage. At the wedding, Erotokritos reveals his real identity to the King and the King forgives him, giving his blessing for the wedding and announcing him as the new King.
************************
Considered to be one of the masterpieces of Greek literature, EROTOKRITOS belongs to the category of epic poems. It was written by Vitsentzo Kornaros and is made up of 10.000 verses, divided into five parts. Its name has been taken from Erotokritos, the main character of this poem, which implies the one that has been tortured by love. Initially, the story of the poem appears to take place in Ancient Athens, on the days of King Iraklis (fictitious person) but then the poet adds characters, facts and places that are reported in the Middle Ages and this period of time. The plot is twisting around the love of Erotokritos and Aretousa, the daughter of the King, a love that is being used by the poet as a keystone in order to praise friendship, bravery and the love for the homeland.