Rained off

Today was a really wild one. Force 10 gales buffeted parts of Corfu, particularly the south - according to the local TV News this was the first time such strong winds have been recorded.

Out and about in the north, three of us - Diana, Helga and I - were forced to retreat to a local coffee shop from where this photo was taken!
Susan

Christmas is here

Now that the weather has turned so totally vile here, and we can watch UK television with its scenes of snow (nice to watch, not so nice to go to work in?) we can all start to feel a little 'Christmassy'.

In the spirit of this, the British Vice Consulate would like to invite everyone to a mince pie and mulled wine morning, between 10 am and 12 midday on 11th December.

This is a chance, for people who don't already know them, to meet the Vice Consul and her staff at the Consulate. We will defnitely all be popping in there.

Since we all have to work Christmas week, we have decided we might as well enjoy it, and will be offering mulled wine to all our Corfuhomestore and Corfuhomefinders clients from the Monday of Christmas week until Christmas Eve in our shop/office. Look forward to seeing you!
Diana

Currency Update

We have received the following email from our contact at Foreign Currency Direct and thought we should pass it on to as many people as possible:

Apologies for the informal nature of this e-mail but given the recent volatility on the currency markets and the massive shifts in the value of the Pound, I thought it was important to make sure all of my clients were aware of the impending interest rate decisions for both the UK and the Eurozone on Thursday.

The anticipation of interest rate cuts have seen the GBP USD rate fall by 5.5 cents and the GBP EUR rate to fall by 3.75 cents today alone- both of which are very sizable movements. Given the scale of the rate cut at the November meeting of the Bank of England, and the fact that no-one can be certain of the size of any potential cuts, many of you may wish to consider getting something done before Thursday to avoid possible volatility.

If I have not spoken to you recently and you would like to update me with any pending currency requirements (either near or long term) then please feel free to get in touch.
Susan

Christmas is Coming

Despite the unseasonally warm weather (with heavy rain at the moment) Christmas is indisputably on the way. Starting last weekend with two craft fairs, the local shops are now full of Christmas gifts, decorations and party wear. Christmas trees are springing up all over the place, and advent calendars are being opened, counting down the days to Santa's arrival. Of course, in Greece, we are awaiting the arrival of St. Basil who brings presents on New Year's Day, though I think most half-and-half families still celebrate Christmas with their children and leave mince pies out for St. Nicholas.

The three-day annual Craft Fair, held at Casa Lucia in Sgombou, was as usual an opportunity for friends - kept apart by the activities of a busy summer - to meet again, arrange coffee mornings and exchange news and views.

Contributing to the Christmas cheer, mulled wine and nibbles were on offer, and tempting displays of brilliantly made Christmas cakes, chutneys, cards, jewelery, knitted items, olive wood sculptures, painted tee-shirts and lots lots more.

The other fair - at Holy Trinity Anglican church - also an annual must-go, must-be-seen-at event, was on Saturday morning and included tombola, white elephant stall and a raffle.

Before we know it we will be into carol-singing, Christingle service, and all the Corfiot pre-Christmas celebrations. There is one notable exception this year - no Christmas charter flight, for the first time in sixteen years. I'm going to miss the social event of waiting at the airport for loved-ones with the arrivals hall full of familiar faces. This year everyone is coming in dribs and drabs, spread over Olympic and Aegean flights so it won't be quite the same.
Susan

The Musician's Houses

Just when you think you have seen all kinds of property in Corfu, something pops up and surprises you!

This week, on our ‘out and about day’, we were asked to go to Vatos to have a look at a trio of stone houses which were regretfully being put up for sale by the owner, due to ill health. We made our way up there, expecting the usual Corfiot style stone house, and what a surprise when we arrived.

Three houses, constructed of stone, with galleried upper floors, vaulted wooden ceilings, stone floors, and in the two guest houses, stunning bath and showers in the main living room. (Loos and auxiliary washing facilities in privacy as well, of course!)

The main house has an open plan lounge/kitchen area with the main bedroom and bathroom leading off to the side. It also has an amazing auxiliary room, off the kitchen, which almost looks like a small chapel. Upstairs is a large gallery, great as a second bedroom, office or extra living space.

The small houses are rounded in shape, with living room on the ground floor and small kitchens and spiral stairs leading up to the ‘loft style’ bedroom. Each of the houses has a paved outside area, and views across the Ropa Valley. Each house also has a piano!

Three totally unique properties, just when we thought we had seen it all.
Diana

Telegraph Travel Awards

Nice to see that in the annual Telegraph Travel Awards, Greece is voted the second favourite European destination. Seeing this makes me feel that here in Greece do not 'blow our own trumpet' enough. The second best tour operator was Kuoni, of which CV Travel is now a part, so more kudos to Corfu.

Perhaps this last year we will be best known for Mr. Mandelson and George Osborne's 'Corfugate', but bearing in mind the adage that 'all publicity is good publicity' perhaps we will see a great increase in our upmarket visitors in 2009.

As an island where the main source of income for most of the population derives from tourism, the debate at present is very much based on looking ahead to 2009 with a certain amount of trepidation. One school of thought is that almost no one will go on holiday (What? Will they all stay and suffer in the U.K. in the rain?) or they will go to Turkey or Bulgaria because they are cheaper. As for Turkey, some friends on a trip from Corfu to Istanbul, returned saying that it was far more expensive than they had anticipated, and as for Bulgaria - well, just the sight of tourists lying on the beach like sardines waiting to be tinned, makes me think that they are almost certainly not the kind of tourists we would have had anyway!

Our own feelings are that perhaps people will be more careful with their holiday budgets, but there is no doubt that Greece, and Corfu in particular, offers excellent value for money both in terms of both accommodation and entertainment and eating out - well eating out IS entertainment isn't it. Adding that to the relatively short flight from the U.K. and hopefully Corfu will still remain one of the popular destinations for Brits for their holidays.

And of course, as estate agents, we cannot help being optimistic that many of them will earmark Corfu as one of the places they would like to live, if and when they decide to escape the gloom and doom of the U.K. Of course, we also have a certain amount of gloom and doom, but then the sun comes out and you walk the dog on an empty sandy beach in December and everything looks better!
Diana