Volume 2, Issue 5
November 2009
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Floating silently between the olive trees with eyes that are haunting, soulful & wise, there is more mystery & superstition attached to owls than most other birds. Some of the oldest cave paintings depict owls and although today they are thought by most of us to be charming creatures, for many peoples they have been traditionally associated with death & devilry.
In Roda, you cannot failed to have noticed the radar blips of
In Roda, you cannot failed to have noticed the radar blips of
Greece where the Scops owl is concerned – the tufty ears leading Aristotle to name the bird ‘otus’ from the old Greek word for ear. In mythology, the giant sons of Poseidon, Otus and his brother Ephialtes were bound to two pillars and perpetually tormented for their crimes by the shrieks of an owl.
The Scops owl is a solitary, monogamous bird with both parents jointly rearing their young. It is probably Corfu’s abundance of old olive trees, with their gaping holes and drunken trunks, together with the numerous small frogs & lizards, that provide the
The Scops owl is a solitary, monogamous bird with both parents jointly rearing their young. It is probably Corfu’s abundance of old olive trees, with their gaping holes and drunken trunks, together with the numerous small frogs & lizards, that provide the
What’s that noise?.......
“..the plant is an annual herb growing to heights of over two metres with broad leaves..”
Emblem of Immortality
The Greek word ‘kosmopolitikos’ is made up from two very common words that you hear in everyday language. The ‘kosmo’ stem relates to the universe, or to the world, and it is exactly the same word (Cosmos), with the same meaning, that we use in English today. ‘Politikos’ is of course is another word donated by the Greeks from which we derive ‘politics’ and ‘politicians’, the meanings of which relate to government, administration and, particularly in Greece, citizenship.
The now-famous ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine is printed in 34 languages and distributed in more than 100 countries. It was launched over 100 years ago as a magazine for all the family and, because of its universal appeal, it has developed into the success it is today.
Roda these days is very much a cosmopolitan village in that it readily welcomes visitors who are ‘citizens of the world’, ‘free from national prejudices’, and ‘tolerant of other races’. In the modern world, with its fashion & celebrity, with its trends & excesses, then Roda is not at all sophisticated. There is no inherent superiority here but the village does rejoice in a simple worldly charm that brings us back every year. Roda is a very cosmopolitan village.
The now-famous ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine is printed in 34 languages and distributed in more than 100 countries. It was launched over 100 years ago as a magazine for all the family and, because of its universal appeal, it has developed into the success it is today.
Roda these days is very much a cosmopolitan village in that it readily welcomes visitors who are ‘citizens of the world’, ‘free from national prejudices’, and ‘tolerant of other races’. In the modern world, with its fashion & celebrity, with its trends & excesses, then Roda is not at all sophisticated. There is no inherent superiority here but the village does rejoice in a simple worldly charm that brings us back every year. Roda is a very cosmopolitan village.
pots everywhere. There are sixty varieties of amaranth around the world and, in temperate climates, the plant is an annual herb growing to heights of over two metres with broad edible leaves and very showy, feathery plumes of magenta flowers which are startling in Corfu’s bright sunshine.
Known in Greece as ‘vlita’, each plant is capable of producing 40,000 to 60,000 seeds, the plant
is both heat & drought resistant and has few natural enemies. This explains its proliferation around Roda and its popularity as a local food source. A few seeds scattered roughly on the ground will reward you many times over and the young plants are delicious
“..Known in Greece as ‘vlita’, each plant is capable of producing 40,000 to 60,000 seeds..”
when boiled. Related to the commonly known ‘Love-lies-Bleeding’, amaranth thrives in rich soil and, once established, it will grow prolifically in dry conditions. Look out for it on your next visit to Corfu.
one of the most fascinating of a subspecies of owl, the ‘eurasian scops’, a tiny bird with a big reputation which is often heard, but rarely seen. Inevitably, there are many links with
perfect habitat for these tiny birds. When we first heard them several years ago, we asked several locals what they were only to be greeted with puzzled looks. In the south of Corfu at least, it turns out that to hear one is considered unlucky and everyone we spoke to was in denial.
Owls have an enduring place in human imagination
Owls have an enduring place in human imagination
and even recently ‘Pigwidgeon’, mailman for witches & wizards in the Harry Potter series, was based on a Scops owl – maybe one day we’ll be ‘lucky’ enough to photograph one.
Greek Pies
Many know of the cheese pies and spinach pies but there are also pies with wild greens, made with greens such as vleeta (Amaranth).
Many know of the cheese pies and spinach pies but there are also pies with wild greens, made with greens such as vleeta (Amaranth).
