First Christmas in Corfu

Very quiet so far. It's the norm at this time of year that workers get paid extra in Christmas bonuses. That in turn affects the shopping etc. Also the last Sunday before Christmas is a day when all the shops open, normally they are closed on a Sunday. Last Sunday, all the shops were open, but very few customers showed up. All a sign of the austerity measures now beginning to strike home.

Talking of strikes, the garbage collectors in Corfu Town have been on one - the result being uncollected piles of rubbish which in turn attracts rats etc. Fortunately our local "demos" or council has had enough money to pay out salaries and bonuses, so our garbage is being collected - not so for the poor people of Corfu Town.

We don't see much of the demonstrations that have been hitting Athens and the large cities in Greece. As I said before, Corfu is a sort of law unto it's own, thus its charm.

Our main concern is that the bridge we use to access the main road is all but wrecked. The bridge crosses a normally dry stream bed which in the last deluge became a torrent that lifted the tarmac from the bridge and the approach road and left it in a rather fragile state.


A week or so ago someone came along and strung up some plastic netting that delimited the safe part of the bridge. We now squeeze our car across the bridge, hoping all will be well with the concrete substructure. The alternative is a 5 mile detour.

We're still driving over it, as are the bin men in their truck!!