The 80th anniversary of the Battle of Crete was commemorated with plenty of fanfare at the Royal Australian Air Force Base in Richmond on June 5.
Members of the Cretan Association of Sydney and New South Wales performed a series of traditional Cretan dances on the day in front of a No. 37 Squadron C-130J Hercules transport aircraft at the base.
The aircraft is similar to what was used by the German Forces in the Battle of Crete in 1941.
Members of the Cretan Association of Sydney and New South Wales. Photo: Facebook.
Leading Aircraftman Yianni Skoulakis, an avionics technician with No. 37 Squadron, organised the visit and played the Cretan laouto during the performance. He was accompanied by the Iho Nyx Band.
“The group thought it was a great honour to come to Richmond and perform their dances in front of the Hercules,” Leading Aircraftman Skoulakis said in a press release.
“A lot of the dancers said it was surreal – they were still on a high after the performance.”
Leading Aircraftman Yianni Skoulakis plays the laouto. Photo: Corporal David Said.
The performance celebrated the ties forged in 1941 between Australian Diggers and Cretan villagers, who fought alongside one another during the World War II battle.
The visit also commemorated the 200th anniversary of the Greek Independence and the 100th anniversary of the Air Force.
Apostle Broikos, a former private schoolboy and the youngest South Australian arrested as part of Operation Ironside, has been granted home-detention bail, The Advertiser reports.
But Broikos will remain in custody until at least Thursday, when the Supreme Court will review his case after a challenge by prosecutors.
The 18-year-old from Burnside appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday charged with manufacturing a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine.
Apostle Broikos has been granted home-detention bail after being busted by Operation Ironside.
According to The Advertiser, prosecutors opposed Broikos’ release on bail, saying he could continue reoffending “wholly undetected.”
The court previously heard Broikos was accused of facilitated the delivery of cash to one of the men accused of running a Morphett Vale drug lab, as well as assisting in the supply of chemicals.
The court was told Broikos was also one of eight people allegedly involved in transporting 10kg of methamphetamine from NSW to SA.
Magistrate John Wells granted Broikos home-detention bail “with a great amount of hesitation,” setting a condition that Broikos could not contact his co-accused.
His parents, who were “shocked” by the allegations against their son, were ordered to put up a $50,000 cash surety.
Prosecutors sought a Supreme Court bail review and Broikos was remanded in custody until Thursday.
Konstantinos Volanakis was a Greek painter who became known as the “father of Greek seascape painting.” Volanakis was born in 1837, in Crete.
We share our four top facts about the painter.
1. Early Life:
Konstantinos Volanakis was born at Heraklion on Crete, to parents who came from a small village near Rethymno. Later, they moved again for business reasons, and he completed his basic education on Syros in 1856.
Afterward, urged on by his brothers, he went to Trieste and became a book-keeping clerk for a family of Greek merchants who were related to his family by marriage. While there, he made sketches of ships and harbours in his account books.
Rather than dismiss him, the family recognised his artistic talent and made arrangements for him to study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Karl von Piloty.
2. The ‘Naval Battle of Salamis’:
Among Volanakis’ most outstanding pieces is the “Naval Battle of Salamis.”
Among Volanakis’ most outstanding pieces is the “Naval Battle of Salamis” which depicts the famous ancient naval battle between an alliance of Greek city states and the Persian Empire. It belongs to the Hellenic Navy and traditionally hangs in the office of the prime minister (Volanakis first presented the work at the Royal Palace in 1883).
3. No portraiture:
Volanakis never engaged in portraiture or depicting other aspects of life in the nascent Greek state, dedicating himself entirely to maritime painting. His love for the sea and ships led him to depict all facets of maritime life: from tranquil seas and idyllic harbors and beaches, to intense naval battles and raging tempests.
4. An imposing and tragic figure:
As an individual, Volanakis was himself both an imposing and tragic figure. His decision to return to Greece in 1883, despite his close friend Nikolaos Gyzis’ advice against doing so, ultimately had a negative impact on his quality of life, and often his painting. His wife’s health problems, his financial woes, and his limited social life ultimately led him to attempt to take his own life.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Diaspora Greeks, Konstantinos Vlasis, will be addressing Greek Australians in a special online dialogue series on Wednesday, July 7 at 5pm.
Everyone is invited to attend on behalf of Paul Nicolaou, Director, Business Leaders Council, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Christos Karras, the Consul General of Greece in Sydney.
This year’s celebration of 200 years since the beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821 was an opportunity for Greek people to reflect on the achievements of the past, but also to envision the Greece of the future.
Following in the footsteps of history, Greece is working with the Greeks of the Diaspora in this great moment for the Greek Nation.
In fact, during his online talk, the Deputy Minister will share with attendees the Greek government’s intention to establish the celebration of the Day of the Greek Diaspora in order to recognise and honour, on an annual basis, the historical role and valuable contribution of the diaspora in our country.
Mr Vlasis will also give an update on how Greece is going in regards to the pandemic, the Greek economy and the Greek Government objectives of engaging the Greek Diaspora in Australia.
Following his presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask the Deputy Minister a question in the Q&A session.
Almost nine years after they were stolen in a near-perfect heist at the National Gallery in Athens, Pablo Picasso’s “Head of a Woman” and Piet Montrian’s “Stammer Windmill” have been found.
The two works were recovered in the eastern Attican town of Keratea, hidden inside the house of a Greek man, who was being monitored by police.
The perpetrators of the 2012 theft had also removed an early 17th-century sketch attributed to the Italian Mannerist artist Guglielmo Caccia. This sketch was found damaged.
Piet Montrian’s “Stammer Windmill” has also been found.
The two paintings are now in the possession of the police.
The 2021 art heist had baffled police. The two burglars entered the gallery in the early hours through an unlocked balcony door, having drawn security guards away from the paintings by setting off alarms at several locations throughout the museum. Security footage shows the men swiftly stripping the paintings from their frames.
The paintings were stolen in a near-perfect heist at the National Gallery in Athens.
Although two men were arrested and convicted for the heist, the identity of the mastermind behind the heist remained a mystery.
Picasso painted “Head of a Woman” in 1939. Ten years later, he offered the work to the Greek people in honour of their contribution to the resistance under Nazi occupation.
On the back of the painting, a handwritten dedication of the Spanish painter states: “Pour le peuple grec, hommage de Picasso” (For the Greek people, tribute from Picasso).
A Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office handed temporary custody of the baby of Caroline Crouch — the 20-year-old woman who, according to police, was murdered by her pilot husband — to her mother on Monday.
Baby Lydia will be in the care of her grandparents who live on the island of Alonissos for 30 days, until a court decides on a permanent custody arrangement. The decision foresees that the parents of the alleged suspect will be allowed to communicate with the baby.
Baby Lydia will live with Caroline Crouch’s parents after she was allegedly murdered by her husband, Babis Anagnostopoulos.
The prosecutor also removed parental responsibility from the accused, Babis Anagnostopoulos.
Caroline’s mother has asked for exclusive custody of her granddaughter, while the family of the accused have reportedly requested joint custody of the child and proposed that she lives half the time in Athens and the other half on Alonissos.
Anagnostopoulos has been charged with two felonies, including the premeditated murder of his British-Greek wife on May 11. He had called police at dawn, claiming a gang of three thieves had broken into his home looking for money, tying him up and strangling his wife, as well as his dog.
Greece will give young adults 150 euros ($180) in credit to get vaccinated as it launches a two-tier access policy over the summer, Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said Monday.
Mitsotakis said that starting July 15, Greek citizens under age 26 would be eligible for the credit in a digital wallet after receiving the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination.
“It’s a debt to the youth, a gift out of gratitude,” Mitsotakis said in a televised speech.
“We hope that young people will take advantage of this opportunity. The state thanks you for acting responsibly and doing something that I am certain you would have done anyway.”
Young Greeks have been promised cash to get vaccinated. Photo: Reuters / Athit Perawongmetha / File Photo.
Heavily reliant on tourism, Greece is looking for ways to fully reopen its economy after recently making the vaccination available to all adult age groups.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis, a minister for digital policy, said the digital wallet scheme will focus on the tourism and entertainment industry.
“This card will not be accepted everywhere. It will be targeted for specific activities,” Pierrakakis said.
The digital wallet scheme will focus on the tourism and entertainment industry in Greece.
“It can be used (to buy) air, ferry, and rail tickets, for car rental, camp sites, (holiday) accommodation, travel services, the cinema, theater and music and dance performances, museums, archeological sites, among other services.”
Government officials say additional freedoms will be granted to vaccination certificate holders, but haven’t finalised details of that policy, adding that they are also examining legal options to make vaccination compulsory for various employment categories including nursing home staff.
In response, main opposition party, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, accused Mitsotakis of attempting to bribe young people with the new digital wallet scheme.
SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party has criticised the scheme.
“After turning the young people’s lives into a living hell in the last year and a half, Mitsotakis is now attempting to bribe them with 150 euros. He treats them like fish that will take the bait and not as citizens with rights,” the party said in a press release.
Up to 100,000 people are currently receiving their vaccination shots daily in Greece, a country of 10.7 million people. But reluctance among certain age groups to get vaccinated is a major concern for public health officials as infections of the highly contagious delta variant continue to rise across Europe.
Around 35% of the total population, or 42% of the adult population, will have completed their vaccination by the end of June, according to government estimates, with those numbers due to rise to 48% and 57%, respectively, by the end of July.
American, Frances Tiafoe, has caused the first big upset of the Wimbledon men’s singles tournament by beating third seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Tsitsipas, playing his first match since his French Open final defeat by Novak Djokovic on June 13, was on the backfoot from the beginning against a 57th-ranked opponent who took the game to him.
Tiafoe broke serve in the opening game and it set the tone for a match in which Tsitsipas, who had said at the weekend that he was feeling more confident on grass, showed only occasional flashes of brilliance.
Tiafoe went 5-4 up in the second set, after Tsitsipas saved two break points, and held his nerve when the Greek had three chances to break back.
The American broke serve again at the start of the third set, saved two break points and then had three match points on Tsitsipas’ serve to wrap things up in just over two hours. He did it on the third as Tsitsipas netted a backhand.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has once again endured a short Wimbledon campaign. Photo: Reuters/ Toby Melville.
“Today was big. I definitely needed that. That guy’s special, he’s going to do a lot of great things … but not today,” Tiafoe said at a post-match conference.
Tsitsipas also went out in the opening round on his last previous appearance at the grasscourt tournament in 2019, when he was seventh seed. Wimbledon was not played last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Greek still has the doubles to play with his younger brother Petros.
Tiafoe’s next opponent will be Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena or Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Greek Australian, Ange Postecoglou, has innumerable obstacles to overcome after taking on the manager role at Celtic, a football team which spectacularly fell from its perch last season.
But Postecoglou’s life lessons as a Greek migrant resettling in Australia, coupled with his immersion in football from a young age and his coaching prowess, have prepared him.
Speaking with The Scotsman, the Celtic manager credited all these lessons to his mum and dad, Jim and Voula, who made “unending sacrifices” for him when they first made the move from Athens, Greece to Australia.
“I look at myself now, as a 55-year-old man, and I just can’t believe what my parents went through. What they would have gone through to take a young family halfway round the world, on a ship that takes us 30 days to a country where they don’t speak the language, they don’t know a soul, they don’t have a house, they don’t have job,” Postecoglou tells The Scotsman.
Greek Australian, Ange Postecoglou, has innumerable obstacles to overcome after taking on the manager role at Celtic.
“People say they go to another country for a better life. My parents did not have a better life, they went to Australia to provide opportunities for me to have a better life.
“All I remember is my father working hard. He’d be gone for work before I ate my breakfast and come home at night, have dinner, sit on the couch and fall asleep and go and do the same thing the next day.
“The only time I ever got to see any joy in my dad was when we went to the football on a Sunday. So that did make an impression on me because I made a quick connection that football is something that makes him happy… so if I love this like he does, it will get me close to him.”
‘He was my harshest critic’:
Postecoglou goes on to say that from the youngest age, he developed an “encyclopedic knowledge” of football in the UK, ensuring he “nourished” his “brain with everything about football from this side of the world.”
At the same time, he’d spend hours sitting next to his dad at three o’clock in the morning watching the football and listening to him point out the entertainers and the teams that were scoring goals.
A young Ange Postecoglou with his family. Photo: ABC News.
It was this bond which motivates Postecoglou to produce teams which his dad would enjoy watching.
“It’s a simple premise. It’s important to me because that was the driver for my whole football career. He was my harshest critic and probably all of you have similar kinds of dads. My dad never told me he loved me, he didn’t give me cuddles. He was my biggest critic all the time,” he told The Scotsman.
“He’s not with us now, he passed away a couple of years ago, but he’s in my head. I know that and every time my team plays, I’ll sometimes have an ugly 1-0 win and I know what he’s saying: ‘Don’t celebrate because that was crap.’
“I don’t think that’s unique, I think a lot of people resonate with that, understand that was how it was in my generation through having a similar upbringing. I just happen to be in a position where I can live that dream out.”
Australian whisky has grown strongly over the last 12 months, but the local industry remains largely comprised of micro-distillers that are way too small to compete on price with the big Glens of Scottish single malt.
In fact, Michael Sergeant from Copper & Grain Distilling Co says because many distilleries are pricing their wares upwards of $200 for a 500ml bottle, Australian whisky remains largely confined to the domain of enthusiasts.
“A lot of Australian single malts are at the higher end of the market and therefore not accessible to people who want to try them,” Michael told goodfood.
Alex Gondzioulis of Sydney venue The Wild Rover agrees and says price remains the biggest barrier for Australian whisky, which has already proven its quality on the world stage.
“Our distillers have won world’s best awards over many years,” Gondzioulis told goodfood.
Morris whisky barrels Photo: goodfood.
“But it is a challenge for bars to be able to afford to pour some of these whiskies at a price a consumer is willing to pay.”
To combat this, Copper & Grain, a new subsidiary of Casella Family Brands, has this month launched Morris Whisky, giving a new lease of life to the 162-year-old Morris family winery.
Best known for its critter wine juggernaut Yellow Tail, Casella has made great strides into premium wine, brewing and now whisky over the past decade.
With its resources and financial backing, Copper & Grain is able to produce whisky at a scale that allows more economical pricing. However, there still isn’t serious local competition for the imports.
That’s why only time will tell what the future of Australian whisky is.
