FORGOTTEN CORFU 2: The British Cemetery

Few of you may know that there is a British Cemetery just a few minutes walk from San Rocco square. It is located on the road to the prison, on the hill of San Salvatore (its address is Kolokotroni 22). Founded in 1814, when Corfu was under the British occupation (1814-1864), it was used as a place where british officials and residents were interred.

As you enter the property, the whole place looks more than a beautiful garden than a cemetery. The cemetery is gracely blossomed all year long with a great variety of flowers, bushes and trees. There is also a small basin with goldfishes and water lillies. The cemetery is crossed by a slight ascending road, on which someone can spot many types of flora, like the anemones, marguerites and the famous orchids.

As you enter, you can see at the left the older graves. In the middle of them, there is the Ossuary. The bones of the anonymous people had been interred in that monument. It should be noted, that during the British occupation, there were four cemeteries for the dead british people: this one, the cemetery at the Lazaretto (a small island near Vido, where, during the Venetian times, all people infected with leprosy had been carantined there), one on the spot where the Corfu Palace Hotel is now located and a fourth one on the east side of Vido island. All those cemeteries had been shut down after the end of the British occupation (1864) and the bones were transferred into the bigger cemetery left, the one on San Salvatore hill.

There are nearly 500 graves in the cemetery. It is still being used as a cemetery for the Agglican residents of Corfu. Among the most notable graves are: John Connors' grave, died in 1857, a british official honored by Queen Victoria, the monument of the seamen of HMS Saumarez and HMS Volage, which ships mined by the Albanias in 1946 (known as " The Corfu channel incident) and the graves of the officials of Leucada (former name: Santa Maura).

Many people visit the cemetery, not only to visit the graves of their ancestors, but also to admire the monuments, the flora and the serenity of the place. A notable visitor was King George the Second of Greeks, who loved having his walk on this grounds.

The cemetery is being administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commision and by mr. Georgios Psailas, the keeper of the property.

Photogallery:

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Mr. Psailas, the keeper of the cemetery, for his kindness to tour me through the grounds of this beautiful place.

Portugal's song for Eurovision 2009 Song Contest: Flor-de-Lis - Todas As Ruas Do Amor

You may have notice my love for the Portuguese language and culture. So today, I decided to present you Portugal's Eurovision 2009 entry, a soft folk pop song called "Todas as ruas do amor", which means "All the streets of love", sung by folk group Flor-de-Lis (the band's name means "Flower of Lily"). The group was chosen to take part in this year's ESC after winning the "Festival de Canção" local song contest.

I found a youtube video with the song's lyrics and images of famous Portuguese landmarks and cities like the tower of Belém and Oporto with river Douro flowing through it.



Now, let's translate the song's lyrics:

Se sou tinta tu és tela - If I’m paint you are canvas
Se sou chuva és aguarela - If I’m rain you’re watercolour
Se sou sal és branca areia - I’f I’m the salt you’re white sand
Se sou mar és maré-cheia - If I’m sea you’re full-tide
Se sou céu és nuvem nele - If I’m sky you’re cloud on him
Se sou estrela és de encantar - If I’m star you’re charming
Se sou noite és luz para ela - If I’m night you’re light on it
Se sou dia és o luar - If I’m daylight you’re the moonlight
Sou a voz do coração - I’m the voice of the heart
Numa carta aberta ao mundo - In an open letter to the world
Sou o espelho d’emoção - I’m the mirror of emotion
Do teu olhar profundo - Of your deep look.
Sou um todo - I’m all
Num instante - In a second
Corpo dado - I give my body
Em jeito amante - Like a lover
Sou o tempo que não passa - I’m the time that doesn’t pass
Quando a saudade - When the saudade*
Me abraça - Holds me
Beija o mar o vento e a lua - Kiss the sea, the wind and the moon.
Sou um sol - I’m a sun
Em neve nua em todas as ruas - In naked snow. In all streets
Do amor - Of love
Serás meu e eu serei tua - You’ll be mine and I’ll be yours.
Se sou tinta tu és tela - If I’m paint you are canvas
Se sou chuva és aguarela - If I’m rain you watercolour
Se sou sal és branca areia - I’f I’m salt you’re white sand
e sou mar és maré-cheia - If I’m sea you’re full-tide
Se sou céu és nuvem nele - If I’m sky you’re cloud on him
Se sou estrela és de encantar - If I’m star you’re charming
Se sou noite és luz para ela - If I’m night you’re light on it
Se sou dia és o luar - If I’m daylight you’re the moonlight
Beija o mar o vento e a lua - Kiss the sea, the wind and the moon.
Sou um sol - I’m a sun
Em neve nua em todas as ruas - in naked snow. In all streets
Do amor - Of love
Serás meu e eu serei tua - You’ll be mine and I’ll be yours.

*The term "Saudade" can not be translated into English. A good article which descibes its meaning can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade

Boa sorte Portugal! You will get my vote for sure!

Halikounas beach & Korision lake

Some photos of Halikounas beach and Korision lake that I took yesterday. The images speak for themselves: the unspoiled beach and the protected habitat of Korision lake (a lake where many birds make a brief stop on their way to Europe in spring and back to Africa in autumn), provide one of the few places in Corfu where touristic development has not visited it yet.





















Paradise, isn't it?

Ancient sculptured heads on an old Venetian building

Have you ever noticed those sculptured heads of ancient men and women on that old building under renovation on Nikoforou Theotoki street? Does any of you know who were those people? I had that wonder since I was a boy. Are they mythical ancient greek gods? Or simply a type of gargoyles? Or figures of typical old corfiot people?

Brace yourself for the new Facebook layout!

According to www.msn.co.uk:

"The world's number one social-networking site, Facebook, has announced that more changes to its look are afoot – news that will no doubt bring with it a barrage of complaints from users.

Although the new layout is not that much of a significant departure, when Facebook went through its first makeover the site's forums were alight with vitriol.

Freudian changes

Noticeable changes of the homepage include the 'What are you doing right now?' bar changing to the rather Freudian 'What's on your mind?'.

The readability of Events has improved as well, with birthdays and upcoming events shunted to the top. What is noticeable is that the advertising on the right-hand side has increased significantly.

The left-hand side of the page is actually being used now for Filters, so you can categorise your friends as school mates, work colleagues and so on.

The main stream of information that got so many users backs up when it was first introduced can now be cut down even more, which should reduce the amount of traffic received from those who have a lot of 'friends'.

Coming soon

There's no word on when the changes will take place, but Facebook is giving people plenty of warning by posting a 'Changes to the Home page are coming soon' banner on the site right now."

We should prepare ourselves for that change. I think Facebook will become more exciting and popular with its new layout.

Old venetian gate in Spilia

One thing that fascinates me in places loaded with so much history is that every time you discover some hidden gems and corners as you walk by. Yesterday, I was walking in the Spilia district of old Corfu Town and I suddenly discovered something I've never seen before: An old venetian gate at the end of a dead-end alley. I suspect that this gate should have been the western entrance to the old venetian barn which was situated in what is now the building which houses the courts of Corfu.


Approaching closer to the gate you will notice a shield or "coat of arms".



Zooming the photo, you can recognize one of the ancient symbols of Corfu: the "τριήρης", the main vessel which ancient Greeks used in their naval battles. On the top of the shield, you can spot a crown.



It's too sad that the alley leading to the gate is so messy, looking like a slum... Couldn't this monument be promoted as another must see for someone interested in the venetian past of Corfu?