Strong fire-fighting forces were deployed on Sunday afternoon to put out a fire that broke out in the Agios Kyprianos area of Eastern Mani, Lakonia.
Lakonia’s deputy governor Adamantia Tzanetea advised beach-goers and the residents of one home to evacuate as a precaution as the fire approached the shoreline.
The fire has now passed from the Agios Kyprianos area and is heading toward a neighbouring settlement, burning farm and forest land.
A force of 30 fire fighters and 13 fire-engines, assisted by fire-fighting aircraft, is currently battling to get the blaze under control.
A fire also broke out in an area of forest and farm land in Stamata, Attica on Sunday but according to the fire brigade there are no houses nearby and there is little risk of the fire spreading. Twelve fire fighters, four fire engines and one helicopter were sent to put out the flames.
Just over 4 years ago, before the 5 July 2015 referendum, Alexis Tsipras stepped on to a podium in Syntagma Square in Athens. In his trademark open-necked white shirt, his sleeves rolled up, he punched the air.
I call on you to say a big ‘no’ to ultimatums, ‘no’ to blackmail,” he cried. “Turn your back on those who would terrorise you.
Thousands on the street showed their support. The referendum results reflected his lead and 61% voted “No”. Supporters of the “No” vote danced for joy in the streets of the Greek capital. Tsipras refused to join the celebrations, and suddenly took a surprising choice.
Despite the result of the referendum, the government of Tsipras reached an agreement on 13 July 2015 with the European authorities for a three-year-bailout with even harsher austerity conditions as the ones rejected by the voters. This represented a “drastic turnaround” for Prime Minister Tsipras position as he had been elected in an anti-austerity platform.
At the time, Tsipras advised parliament, they had a choice: “A deal we largely disagree with , or a chaotic default’.
Perhaps Tsipras chose what he thought was the better of the two options, but many believe this was his first betrayal to the people of Greece, and the beginning of his end. Tomorrow will tell.
Days before the Logies, the humble, funny, intelligent, and a lover of the garden, Costa Georgiadis, talked to The Greek Herald about simple things to do to engage the kids with the outdoors, what makes him proud to be a Greek Australian, and what he will do with his Logies.
Congratulations!!
Thanks, it’s a wonderful awesome opportunity to put gardening really in the headlights of a lot more people, we know that as Greeks, the whole κήπο is a valuable and important part of growing up and our family world. Being able to put the κήπο into the spot light of the nation is a wonderful progression. Gardening Australia has been doing it along time, and it’s great that we are being recognised in the same space as drama categories and TV in general.
What will you do with your Logie?
Send it around the country to community centers, so people can touch it and feel it. It aligns with his passion of travelling and gardening. After 12 months time, it may not be in perfect condition but it would have had a great journey and well lived.
What advice do you give families to grow a garden, particularly to someone like me with young kids who doesn’t know the first thing about gardening?
Just because gardening has been in families, doesn’t mean the thread will stay, it can skip generations if someone is in a different situation, or if they are living in a space with no garden, or are busy.
First thing is to connect with people who are gardening as a way of starting to build traction and an outlet to see more things and mimic what others are doing. Community gardens, local garden centers and council initiatives and workshops.
A great way to turn up and do a little home work, and walk down the street. Your mentor could be 1 or 2 doors from where you live, the only difference being they may have a garden and you don’t. You may know someone or family who has a garden, and ask to bring the kids over and extend the garden bed, or help them plant part of the garden.
Anything where you engage the kids is a priceless opportunity to not only build and understand but to deflect any feelings of inexperience because it’s not about being inexperienced, it’s about being active.
Just get out and get your hands dirty! Whether you get a massive harvest or not, the experience and the fun is in the action of growing a garden. Particularly as a family. Its to get the kids outside and teaching them to build patience, in slowly watching a snow pea get its first flower, then the first flower becomes a small snow pea, and to allow kids to eat it on the spot. It’s not about how big the harvest itself.
Where is the easiest place to bring children into gardening?
One of the most obvious places to start gardening is in the kitchen, with your food scraps and starting a worm farm or compost bin. There you grow soil, and if you grow soil, you understand the value in growing good plants.
You then start a process to benchmark the year through the seasons, not through the work week cycle or monthly cycle but rather the seasons, where you say, ‘right, now is the time for this to plant, or now, these are in harvest and look at the abundance. What do we do with all this harvest? We need to preserve it through jelly or pickle or juice or store them.
Call on γιαγιά, παππού or your θεία who preserve specialists, you can then turn it into the next step and you store this food into the jars, and memories . You are not only storing food, but rather you store patience, effort and reward is one of those things that changes the paradigm of likes and unlike of this world.. And every time you open the jar, you are opening the memories, and storing these things for kids.
What makes you proud to be Greek Australian?
I’ve got heritage in my blood and bones that keeps me connected to where my grandparents and great grandparents came from, and what I’m proud of is that it taught me the importance of communication, and when you understand another language you can communicate, and when you can communicate you can understand the culture and the basis behind behind the culture is how people eat, share and connect .
I grew up in a world where food was highly valued, not highly priced. So the value about food was not about the price, but the role of the food in the day to day, and what you were eating was one of the most important aspects of the day.
When you unpack that you realise that it is about health, and the importance of knowing your food and knowing where it’s come from because as “horiates”, they grew their own food, and they trusted themselves, not in a big multinational system that couldn’t deliver. Its about the absolute consciousness of food that brings everyone in from kids to γιαγιά and παππού.
What inspired you to turn your love and leisure for gardening into a TV show?
I suppose when you grow up around something, you don’t have to think about it. It just is. And when the opportunity knows its door and someone says to do a show it quickly became clear that I was suddenly at the doorstep of bringing together the 3 things that I love which is plants, people and travel. They went to gether like a lab experiment that exploded and the energy exchange took off like I rocket, and and I’m enjoying what the next day brings, because the best part of being connected to nature and the thing I love most is getting a more and more understanding as how natures systems operate without too much of our left brain, but there is another side of it all.
There is no website or phone number that will bring you to nature. You have to make certain actions to create a habitat and environment, and you need to build it. Its not about money, power and prestige. It’s about patience and persistence.
The more you get into nature you realise there are the parts, and then the sum of the parts and an operating system that takes it to another level.
Costa, from all of us at The Greek Herald, Congratulations!
Fraport Greece will invest 25 million euros to build a new airport on Mykonos, based on the traditional architecture and character of the Cyclades islands.
Presenting its plans, Fraport Greece said the new airport will serve two million passengers in 2026, from around 1.3 million currently, and noted that the new airport will be completed in 2021.
It will cover an area of 12,000 square metres, from 10,000 square metres currently, with 16 check-in desks and seven boarding gates. The new airport will have new commercial areas (700 square metres) and a restaurant area (1,000 square metres), new infrastructure and car parking.
A Greek Cypriot army captain was sentenced to seven life imprisonment terms on Monday after pleading guilty to killing five women and two children in a three-year murder spree in which he preyed on his victims online.
The case, involving the worst peace-time atrocities against women in Cyprus in memory, has triggered outrage and horror on an island where serious crime is relatively rare, and forced the resignation of the justice minister and sacking of the police chief.
Nicos Metaxas, 35, pleaded guilty to 12 charges relating to the premeditated murder and abduction of the seven – who came from the Philippines, Romania and Nepal – between September 2016 and July 2018. The two children, aged six and eight, were daughters of two of the women.
The sentence passed down by the Assizes (Criminal) Court is the toughest ever imposed by the Cypriot justice system.
Metaxas was taken under heavy security on Monday to a courthouse in the capital Nicosia wearing a bullet-proof vest, and appeared without a lawyer. He broke down in tears as police read the indictment against him. “I have committed abhorrent crimes,” he said, expressing condolences to the families of the victims.
Police say the accused, a divorced father of two, met the women online. The victims were mostly employed as housekeepers on the island and disappeared between September 2016 and August 2018.
The police chief was sacked and the justice minister resigned following accounts of bungled investigations by police who did not take the disappearances seriously because the women were foreign.
The first victim was found dead by tourists taking pictures at a mining shaft in late April, unravelling the macabre killing spree. The last victim discovered, the six-year-old child, was found in a lake on July 12.
Cypriot tennis champion Marcos Baghdatis announced that Wimbledon will be his last tournament as a professional.
The 34-year-old, has enjoyed a 15-year career, reaching the Australian Open final in 2006 and the semi-finals at Wimbledon later that year, which saw him rise to a career-high number eight in the world rankings.
The Limassolian will hang up his racket after amassing nearly $9 million in prize money.
Between 2006 and 2010, the Cypriot won four ATP singles titles in Beijing, Zagreb, Stockholm and Sydney.
In a statement he said:
“I wanted to take the time to write to you all and let you know that this upcoming Wimbledon will be my last tournament as a tennis professional.”
“I am extremely grateful to the AELTC for granting me a Main Draw Wild-Card at the All England Club, and giving me a chance to say goodbye to the sport that I love so much and has been such a big part of my life for the last 30+ years.”
“This decision was not an easy one. It has proven tough for me, especially physically, to come back to where I feel like I belong.”
“Even though my mind wants to do it, the limits of my body have prevented me to maintain and play at a consistent high level as I expect from myself. Especially the last two years have been very difficult for me with recurring injuries and pain.”
“Besides that, I have a beautiful wife, two young daughters, and a third child on the way and I could not be more excited to spend more time with all of them at home.”
“Although I am sad to say goodbye to the sport as an active player, I am very excited for the next chapter of my life – I am going to be staying heavily involved in tennis in a number of capacities, so you will continue to see me on the tour.”
“Lastly, there are so many people to thank who have been a part of this incredible journey with me, starting with my family first and for all. To all the people that have helped me become the person and tennis player I am today, I say thank you, especially to my Mum and Dad who supported me since the age of 3 to play tennis.”
“Thank you for always believing in me and pushing me to become better. My team, my close friends, but especially the fans around the world. You made me feel welcome in each and every city and country I have ever been to, and your love, support, and energy is something I will truly miss.”
“Thank you for this amazing run, I can’t wait to give it my all one last time in London! All the best, Marcos”
At the first symptoms of a cold, no Giagia says “go to the doctor” it’s always, “I’ll make you Avgolemono”. It’s the universal remedy for any flu in a Greek household.
Chicken soup is popular in many cultures, but nothing is more comforting than the traditional Avgolemono. A dish that has nourished generations.
A simple, hearty, simple and extra comforting food that makes anyone’s insides feel happy!
On cold winter days, nothing beats it to be honest!
Below, we share our Giagias Avgolemono recipe:
Ingredients:
• 1 chicken (1.5kg)
• 1 onion, chopped in quarters
• 2 carrots, peeled and whole
• ½ celery, roughly chopped
• 150-200g short-grain rice
• 2 large eggs
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 carrots (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
Method: Wash the whole chicken thoroughly and place in a deep coup casserole. Boil for 20 mins on low heat and skim off the scum that raises to the top
Add the onion, carrot and celery in chunks to make chicken stock. Cover, reduce heat and boil at least for 40 minutes up to 2 hours. The chicken is ready, when the meat can be removed easily from the bones Add salt and pepper to taste
Remove the chicken from the broth and strain the broth. Add the hot broth in a pan, add the rice and season with salt and pepper and boil, until done.
Cool the chicken, and pull the meat from the bones and discard the skin. (Or you can pop the whole chicken in the oven with potatoes for an hour and serve roast chicken with the soup)
Prepare the egg lemon sauce (avgolemono). Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk, until foamy; add the lemon juice and whisk again. Add into the bowl a ladle of hot soup and whisk quickly. Add one more ladle and whisk again, so that the eggs get warm. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot, whilst constantly stirring, put the lid on and leave for 3-4 minutes.
Serve this delicious Greek lemon chicken soup, while still warm; ladle into bowls, top with the diced chicken and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and an extra squeeze of lemon.
Tips so your lemon sauce doesn’t curdle:
Keep eggs at room temperature, so that they are not shocked and curdle from the hot broth
The soup should be warm but not boiling hot. When you are done cooking your soup remove the pan from the stove and let it cool for 5-10 minutes
You need to add enough broth so that the egg mixture is at the same temperature as the broth of dish you are preparing
The egg whites are more likely to curdle, as they tend to thicken up more quickly than the egg yolks when warmed so be sure to whisk vigorously and add the broth slowly
Photo: (L-R Bill Maloukis from Construction Specialties, Dr George Margelis, John Stanley Radio Presenter on 2GB and 4BC (of Greek background) Dr Jim Aroney, Emmanuel Alfieris President of the Kytherian Brotherhood, Chris Paris from iQ Global and Paul Nicolaou Board Director of The Gut Foundation.
Half our population complain of digestive problems in any 12 month period, and the rates are only increasing. Bowel cancer is the most common internal cancer in our community with mortality second only to lung cancer. It affects about 1 in 20 people, and research indicates it is affected by gut health.
On Friday 21 June, a group of Greek Australian business leaders helped support the Gut Foundation to raise money for the cause at its annual breakfast with the Federal Attorney General The Hon Christian Porter MP. Board Director of The Gut Foundation, Paul Nicolaou together with the Gut Foundation holds this event to increase the awareness of bowel cancer, how it can be identified, how it can be treated and to raise much needed funds to conduct research for the treatment and prevention of a range of gastrointestinal diseases and conditions
The Attorney General with Dr Jim Aroney
On Friday 21 June, a group of Greek Australian business leaders helped support the Gut Foundation to raise money for the cause at its annual breakfast with the Federal Attorney General The Hon Christian Porter MP.
Board Director of The Gut Foundation, Paul Nicolaou together with the Gut Foundation holds this event to increase the awareness of bowel cancer, how it can be identified, how it can be treated and to raise much needed funds to conduct research for the treatment and prevention of a range of gastrointestinal diseases and conditions.
The Attorney General with Dr George Margelis
The key to preventing and even reversing these problems is to change our views on healthy eating and lifestyle. Following more of the Mediterranean diet, which after all is one of the healthiest in the world. Just healthy fresh food and watching our intake of sugars and fats, basically. The reward is good health and more energy.
Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in straight sets in the Queen’s quarter-finals to Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Tsitsipas, 20, lost 7-5 6-2 to the 18-year-old eighth seed.
Auger-Aliassime took the first set by breaking his Greek opponent’s serve when leading 6-5.
The teenager saved three break points to take a 4-1 lead and hit a backhand out of Tsitsipas’ reach to break serve and win the match.
“He’s the most difficult opponent I’ve ever faced, and I think it’s going to take a couple of tries to beat him,” said Tsitsipas, who has faced Auger-Aliassime.
“It’s upsetting, obviously, that he’s better than me. I have to accept that.”
On Thursday 20 June Melbourne based Greek Australian Chris Christofi, CEO of Reventon joined leaders in business, community and government and slept without shelter on one of the longest nights of the year to help change the lives of Australians experiencing homeless as part of the Vinnies CEO sleep out.
This was his second year sleeping with the homeless having raised 40k last year and an impressive 54k this year. This year a record total of $7.19 million has been raised to help break the cycle of homelessness and poverty in Australia as part of Vinnies CEO sleep out Chris Christofi is a serial entrepreneur, international speaker, wealth coach, philanthropist & property investment.
Chris shared his experience with The Greek Herald:
What would you like to share about the homeless from his experience last night?
That the homeless face so many challenges. I struggled through one cold winters night in Melbourne however think of the large number of homeless people doing that every night on the streets. I believe that no one should ever look down at someone who is sleeping on the streets because circumstances could change, and it could happen to anyone. I hope that if I were to find himself homeless that people would smile or lend something warm for me to use, not just hurry past.
What motivated you to do the sleep out?
I wanted to raise money and awareness. We live in the most livable city in the world yet so many are homeless. Being in a privileged position feels it is my responsibility to give back and make a difference. I have personally donated $20,000 as well as my company Reventon, donating 50 cents to every dollar raised.
What was your experience of the night?
Overall it was an amazing experience. I walked away with freezing hands and feet. I was ill before the sleepout and came out a lot sicker than when I went in. However, all that said it makes me realise how hard sleeping on the streets is for so many people in Melbourne. If asked to sleep out again I would do it again in a heartbeat.
What stood out for you from the sleep out?
That there are over 250 good people that want to help make a difference and raise awareness. The Sleepout made me realise what a diverse and compassionate society we live in.
