Lawyers for Melbourne man Alex Agelopoulos, have told the courts he will plead guilty for the pitch invasion attack on Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover, on December 17 at AAMI Park.
Prosecutors have said Mr Agelopoulos should be sent to jail for the metal bucket attack against the goalkeeper, who suffered a concussion and lacerations to his face.
Mr Agelopoulos’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, has argued against jail time for the attacker, according to ABC News.
Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Mr Agelopoulos would plead guilty to “violent disorder and entering a sporting competition space without a reasonable excuse” in exchange for other charges being dropped.
Mr Dann said in court, Mr Agelopoulos was “very immature” and “poorly educated”, and has undergone anger management “rehabilitation” since the attack.
Alex Agelopoulo. Photo: Victoria Police.
The court heard Mr Agelopoulos was banned by Football Victoria in 2016 for five years. He was involved in an incident where fans disrupted a match between Melbourne Victory and South Melbourne, reported ABC News.
Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover. Photo: Darrian Traynor.
At the time of the attack, television and security cameras captured Mr Agelopoulos picking up a large metal bucket filled with sand and throwing it at Mr Glover’s head.
Mr Agelopoulos handed himself in to the Police on December 19 over the pitch invasion at a derby match between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory on December 17 at AAMI Park.
Mr Agelopoulos will face a sentencing hearing later this month.
The Daily Telegraph reported, Mr Balafas is set to reap a profit from the sale of the multimillion dollar home amid the recent charges of assaulting a woman.
Mr Balafas was sentenced to an 18 month community correction order, convicted on “charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, intimidation, and contravening an apprehended violence order” in May.
The 49 year old doctor allegedly attacked a woman at Dover Heights, according to Court documents.
The property last traded hands for $3.8m in April 2015. Photo: Daily Telegraph.
Mr Balafas’ multimillion home was listed for sale last Thursday, described in the listing as a “Grand Family Home with Iconic Harbour Views.”
The median house price in Dover Heights is six million, with the last sale price at $3.8 million in April 2015, reported The Daily Telegraph.
The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) is excited to host Sheena Watt MP at The Greek Centre on Monday 28 August to speak on the upcoming Voice to Parliament Referendum.
As the 2023 Voice Referendum is fast approaching, the GCM would like to affirm its unequivocal support of constitutional recognition of the First Peoples of Australia.
As an organisation that represents migrants and the children of migrants, we have worked hard to advocate for the right to practise our language and culture as citizens of this country. We respect the rights of Indigenous people to do the same and acknowledge that constitutional change is required to enshrine their position as the First Peoples of Australia in the Australian Constitution through a Voice.
We acknowledge their ancient culture which is part of the history of this land, and we believe the constitution must recognise their continued presence in this country over 65,000 years, a country that we, our parents and grandparents adopted as our homeland.
We have observed the tireless efforts made by many indigenous and non-indigenous people to achieve constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The proposal in this Bill to constitutionally recognise Indigenous Australians through a Voice is a modest request and a positive step forward for our nation.
Sheena Watt MP will speak at The Greek Centre on the upcoming Voice to Parliament Referendum.
Our organisation which was founded on democratic principles, believes that the voice of the traditional owners of this land deserves a fair go. Currently the status quo for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with respect to life expectancy and quality of life is not good enough.
We can’t continue with policies and programs (some of which may have been well-intentioned) to address issues and expect a different result – we need to do something different. We believe Indigenous people are best placed to understand their own challenges.
We invite you to join us at The Greek Centre on Monday 28 August to hear Sheena Watt speak on why voting ‘yes’ is integral to progressing Australia’s propensity for reconciliation.
Register your attendance for Sheena Watt’s talk here: Trybooking
About Sheena Watt MP:
Sheena Watt is the first Aboriginal woman to serve as a Labor Member of Victoria’s Legislative Council. Having worked across various Aboriginal health organisations and as a Constitutional Change campaign manager for the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, she has extensive experience in Indigenous Affairs.
She has also served as an Executive Manager at AFL SportsReady and on the Board of Directors for some of the most important community organisations in Victoria. Sheena advocates tirelessly to break cycles of disadvantage, promote equality, and foster healthy, connected communities, drawing from her personal journey.
The Coast Guard has reported the successful rescue of 48 migrants who were in the process of illicitly entering the country aboard an inflatable boat, according to Ekathimerini.
“During the early hours of Sunday, a Coast Guard patrol vessel conducting its routine rounds identified an inflatable boat with a significant number of individuals on board in the Agrielia sea region, situated near Lesvos.
Promptly, the Coast Guard crew initiated a secure evacuation and saved a total of forty-eight (48) foreign nationals, all of whom were subsequently transported to the Mytilene port.
Among the rescued individuals, three were transferred to Mytilene’s General Hospital via ambulance for immediate medical attention. They are currently receiving care at the hospital.
The Central Port Authority of Mytilene is currently conducting a preliminary inquiry, as the Coast Guard continues to monitor the situation. The inflatable boat involved in the incident has unfortunately sunk,” stated the Coast Guard in an official communication.
On Monday, Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis is poised to journey to Himare with the intention of engaging in discussions with members of the ethnic-Greek populace residing in the southern Albanian urban center.
Additionally, he is anticipated to convey his unwavering backing for the upcoming mayor of Himare, Fredi Beleri, who has been under detainment prior to trial since his apprehension in May on allegations of purchasing votes, according to Ekathimerini.
Fredi Beleri. Photo: Ekathimerini.
The 51-year-old refutes the accusations against him. The detention of Beleri, which occurred shortly before the local elections in Albania, has resulted in strained relations between the two neighboring nations.
Athens has issued a veiled threat to impede the Balkan country’s pursuit of European Union membership unless Beleri is liberated and permitted to undertake his sworn oath to officially assume his designated role.
Scheduled for Monday evening, Bakoyannis is slated to address a substantial congregation of Himare’s ethnic Greek inhabitants.
After a quarter-final in Brisbane, Queensland, that went down to a sudden death penalty shootout, Australia’s Matildas are headed to the semi-finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
The Matildas defeated France 7-6 in the penalty shootout, with Mackenzie Arnold and Courtnee Vine the heroes. Vine is an ex-Sydney Olympic player.
Australian keeper Arnold saved three French spotkicks, while missing one of her own in a 20-penalty spectacular that had 49,461 fans in Brisbane Stadium on tenterhooks.
Australia’s tenth-choice penalty taker Vine slotted the deciding kick to send the Matildas into the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.
An intellectually stimulating evening is poised to be hosted at the Greek Centre on Thursday, August 17, 2023, featuring two lectures as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM).
Commencing at 6pm, Dr Michail Bakoyiannis from the School of Philology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a visiting scholar at La Trobe University’s Greek Studies program, will deliver the first lecture titled ‘Greece; a crucified body (George Seferis): The Greek Civil War (1946-1949) in Modern Greek prose.’
The purpose of Dr Bakoyiannis’ lecture is to probe the way Greek Civil War has been represented in Greek novels from 1950 till the present day, prenoting that literary fiction is not considered historical evidence and the relationship between history and literary discourse is not an issue of a simple reflection.
Dr Michail Bakoyiannis
The way the Greek Civil War has been represented in Greek literary fiction has changed dramatically from 1950 onwards. What kind of changes could be traced during this period? Which factors (political, cultural, intellectual, etc.) have had a critical role in the way literary prose embodied the Civil War? How, and to what extent, did some novels operate within the literary and intellectual field and cause a public political and ideological discussion? These are some of the main questions that will be examined focusing on emblematic Greek novels published from 1950 till the present day.
Michail Bakoyiannis was born in Athens (1966) and studied Greek Philology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) where he later obtained his Doctorate in Modern Greek Literature from the School of Philology. He has been teaching Modern Greek Literature at the School of Philology at AUTH since 2011 but has also presented courses in the Departments of Modern Greek Studies at the University of Cyprus (2008), the University of Belgrade (2012), the Universiteit van Amsterdam (2013), the Universität Wien (2015), the University of Ioannina (2015) and the Hellenic Open University since 2003. He has published five books and his main areas of research interest are Modern Greek Literature and Critique, especially post-war, and the Greek literary periodicals of the 19th and 20th century.
Subsequently, at 7.15 pm, Dean Kalimniou will delve into Pyrrhus, known as the Western Alexander, the king of Epirus, who was considered one of the most exceptional rulers of his time. Mr Kalimniou will take people through a journey of three continents and three empires to examine the fascinating life and times of one who took on the might of Rome and had the capacity to change history.
Dean Kalimniou.
Mr Kalimniou is a lawyer, poet and short story writer within the Greek community. He has published seven poetry collections in Greek and translated the works of many local Greek authors into English. He has also published translations of Papadiamantis’ short stories in the critical anthology “The Boundless Garden. Selected Short Stories.” Recently he released his first bilingual children’s book “Simela and the Magic Kemenche.” This is to be followed by another one in 2024, ‘The Librarian from Cappadocia.’
Admission is free, and light refreshments will be served.
Event Details:
When: Thursday 17 August 2023, at 6.15 pm and 7.00 pm
How: Greek Centre (Mezzanine, 168 Lonsdale St., Melbourne)
The wonderful world of toys. Some of my fondest memories as a child in 1970s suburban Australia involve being sent toys from my relatives in Greece. I was as fascinated by them as I was with my beloved toy koala. I remember receiving two Greek ‘national’ dolls in their multicoloured, folk costumes with intricate detailing – braided velvet vests, and white pleated skirts, and hats and shoes, leaving me in awe for hours as I played with them.
Another doll related gift from Greece was a small beanbag, one with a cute face – a ‘tiherouli’ or ‘lucky’ doll, from the word ‘tihi’ meaning luck in Greek. My cousins received them too, and we’d play with these toys by attributing particular personalities to their various colours, much like the seven dwarfs of Snow White.
Display cabinet which shows a number of toys held at the museum.
Although I liked my ‘usual’ dolls and other toys, my favourite koala toy and my toys from Greek shores added more fuel to my childhood imagination. I’d imagine places, people and lives different to my own. This expanding – or developing and educating – of my young mind led to wanting to find out more about life, about the world. Toys were eventually replaced by books and then travel. And so, when I learned of a Toy Museum in Athens, I was keen to take a look.
Koala Toy
The Benaki Toy Museum is housed in a beautiful old mansion built in the 1890s – a gem among the concrete apartment blocks that now make up the Athenian sea-side suburb of Paleo Faliro. This building resembles a castle whose Gothic and baroque retained and restored architectural features continue inside.
And of course, there are the toys! These range from antiquity all the way through to the 1970s (including my ‘tsolia’ and ‘tiherouli’ dolls). The museum comprises two floors (with disability access) and is cleverly themed according to category of the toy. These delineations, to name a few, include ‘Mechanical toys and building sets’ or ‘At the festival stalls’ and ‘Toys from faraway countries,’ etc.
Tsolia Doll
Toys from faraway countries? Perhaps a koala or kangaroo? Hmm, none in sight I notice, even though they have ‘teddy’ bears, which my curators, Mary Vergos and Nora Hatzopoulou tell me were named after former US American President Teddy Roosevelt, explaining the ensuing details of how this came to be.
I politely voice my observation once I see the displays of national dolls of other countries: “Are there any Australian related toys or dolls?” I purport, arching an eyebrow, not wanting my Aussie patriotism to get the better of me.
To my delight, my curator ladies announce, “oh yes, come this way, we were getting to that – look!” I am confronted by a lovely and unusual doll – swimming! She is dated 1910 and is in a swimsuit baring full arms and legs. The Australian doll of the Athens Toy Museum is the famous swimmer, Annette Kellerman.
The Kellerman Doll.
Annette Kellerman was also a Hollywood silent movie actress, where she made the first nude appearance ever in a movie, in Daughter of the Gods in 1916. She was also iconised in a 1952 Hollywood movie Million dollar mermaid, starring Esther Williams. Furthermore, our Ms Kellerman was the first woman to appear in a ‘risque,’ for the time, bathing suit, which ushered in comfortable and practical women’s ‘bathers’ as we call them.
Granted, the Annette Kellerman doll is a proud tribute to Australia, but it isn’t actually found alongside the Benaki Toy Museum’s display with foreign dolls, including Greek, Russian and Japanese ones to name a few. This got me thinking that Australia doesn’t actually have its own ‘national doll.’
Is it because we’re a multicultural country and so where would you start in terms of representing all the ethnic groups that make up Australia? If we had an Aboriginal doll, would that be ignoring the later arrivals that have contributed to making Australia what it is today? Thus, if you aimed for a mixed-race doll, perhaps an ethnic group would be insulted for feeling ignored? It could get tricky, including say, a vote on what an Aussie national doll would, could or should be.
The Big Bogan found in Australia
Taking an example from the Greeks, as the Toy Museum shows, there a variety of Greek national dolls – male, female, varied costumed depending on which part of Greece they’re from, etc. Such dolls also exist in the modern Australian context but perhaps due to the recent history of Australia as a ‘nation,’ a main identifiable Australian doll doesn’t yet exist, as our ‘national’ identity is ever evolving.
Discussing this with a few Greek Australian friends here in Athens, we came up with some ideas to be incorporated into this fictional Aussie doll.
“How about like the Big Pineapple in Queensland or the Big Ned Kelly in Victoria… in an Aussie doll?!” was one suggestion. Another told of there already being a ‘swagman’ doll in the National Museum of Australia dated 1964 that could be used. The ideas and fun went on, and we still couldn’t agree.
All this thought and play started with my visit to the inspirational Benaki Toy Museum in Athens, Greece, which is well worth a visit.
At the 8th edition of the Athena International Olive Oil Competition in 2023, 525 samples from 23 countries were assessed by 29 judges from 14 nations. Tasting the samples at this year’s competition base in Kavala, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece, the judges awarded 159 prizes to a diverse set of Greek extra virgin and flavoured olive oils.
The Best of Greece award, Best of Epirus award, and a Double Gold medal went to the two-year-old brand of Julia Antoniou and Thanasis Christou, Julia extra virgin olive oil. Discovered by a journalist at Christou’s Bahari restaurant, Julia was ranked among the top 50 olive oils in Greece by a prominent Greek agricultural paper in 2022. Julia is an unfiltered oil made from Konservolia olives grown in Arta, Epirus, in the western part of the country. Although the Konservolia olives of Arta yield less than half as much oil per olive as the most common Greek variety, Koroneiki, Christou and his team believe the excellent result is worth the extra effort and expense.
Julia Olive Grove.
Christou explained to Greek Liquid Gold that the century-old trees in their hilly family olive grove thrive at an altitude of 330 meters, with “full sunshine, low humidity, and a dry summer.” He attributes his company’s success to “love and care for the olive trees throughout the year, from fruit setting to picking (hand picking only, and only healthy fruit)” in their rainfed groves, and to their attention to proper transportation of the olives and immediate extraction of the oil after the harvest.
Athena 2023.
The Laconiko team also pays careful attention to detail throughout the cultivation, production, transportation, and storage processes, refusing to take shortcuts. “We are so in love with the olive trees,” said Diamantis Pierrakos. “We completely immersed ourselves in this. The goal is always to better it.” They seem to be succeeding: with oil from olives grown in their family groves in Laconia, Peloponnese, this established brand added ten new Athena awards to their long list of prizes, including six Golds, a Double Gold medal, and the competition’s Best Flavored or Infused Olive Oil distinction for Laconiko Meyer Lemon olive oil.
Starting with award-winning Koroneiki extra virgin olive oil, Laconiko uses a co-milling process for fruits that are in season at the time of the olive harvest, throwing in whole citrus fruits along with the olives for some of their flavored olive oils. For plants not in season when olives are, they use natural fruit or herbal oils to ensure the best possible quality. Both their extra virgin and flavored olive oils are shipped to temperature-controlled warehouses at their base in the USA in the cold winter months, to preserve the quality and health benefits they are determined to offer their customers. “We’re a company with real people with a lot of heart,” Pierrakos emphasized. “We are so passionate in our line of work and what we do.”
Another big winner at the Athena International Olive Oil Competition (IOOC) was Mediterre Eurofood, with four Gold medals, three Silvers, and three Bronze awards, plus a Best Olympia Variety distinction for their Omphacium extra virgin olive oil from the area near Ancient Olympia in Elis, Peloponnese. As Konstantinos Papadopoulos explains, this experienced company’s “careful study, hard work, and dedication to what we do” has enabled the Mediterre team “to highlight the special organoleptic characteristics of our region’s extra virgin olive oil.”
Mediterre Eurofood.
Considering extra virgin olive oil “a national product of Greece,” Papadopoulos and his team are proud to help “Greek olive oil become more and more established in the field of international trade” and to contribute to Greece’s “competitive place among other countries worldwide” in the olive oil sector. Papadopoulos believes this is especially important since “extra virgin olive oil is a product of very high nutritional value. It is rich in phenols and beneficial fatty acids, so its consumption on a daily basis stimulates the immune system and provides health and well-being. Therefore, even now that it is rather expensive, we could say that it is a ‘luxury’ worth having.”
Farther south on the island of Crete, the son of the owner of “the oldest olive mill in the region” founded El. Renieris & Co in 1982. As Alexis Perdikakis explains, company founder Eleftherios Renieris “immersed himself in the art and science of olive oil production” alongside his father as he grew up. He learned to consider everything that contributes to olive oil quality: variety, climate, and soil conditions, as well as meticulous farming practices, harvest timing and methods, prompt processing after harvest, and careful oil extraction. One of the results: Renieris captured three Gold awards and one Silver for their 100% Koroneiki extra virgin olive oils at this year’s Athena competition.
“Through years of hands-on experience and a passion for excellence, Renieris acquired a wealth of knowledge and expertise,” according to Perdikakis. Working with a skilled team that “brings their expertise to every step of the production process,” he combined this with a “relentless pursuit of improvement, combining tradition with innovation and his unwavering commitment to quality. Renieris dedicates himself to refining his cultivation methods, exploring advanced harvesting techniques, and perfecting his extraction and blending processes.”
Highlighting a different olive oil producing region each year by changing the location selected for judging, the Athena IOOC also emphasizes that even the small country of Greece offers numerous olive varieties in many different regions. Athena includes both the variety and the region in its award lists and awards “Best of” distinctions by variety and by region. The competition’s top Greek winners typically hail from a number of locations, showing that consumers can find high quality Greek olive oil throughout the country.
There were also many silver and bronze awards for Greek oils; on the Medals Results page, one can search by country—Greece.
*Originally published on Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (greekliquidgold.com). See that site for recipes with olive oil, photos from Greece, agrotourism and food tourism suggestions, and olive oil news and information.
Having undergone extensive restoration and maintenance, the Venetian Bourtzi Castle located on Nafplio has reopened to the public.
Previously used as a small castle where an executioner lived and put prisoners to death. The fortress was initially designed by Antonio Gambello, an architect from Bergamo and completed by engineer Brancaleone in 1471.
In a combined statement by the Greek Cultural Ministry and the Hellenic Public Properties Company, the castle will become an accessible monument which will be a symbol for culture and recreation.
📌Επαναλειτουργεί από το Σάββατο 5 Αυγούστου το φρούριο #Μπούρτζι Ναυπλίου ως επισκέψιμο #μνημείο
🆓Η είσοδος έως και τις 17 Αυγούστου θα είναι δωρεάν
🤝Το πλαίσιο λειτουργίας συμφωνήθηκε μετά από στενή του #ΥΠΠΟ με την #ΕΤΑΔ.
The refurbishments, including improvements to access for those with disabilities, will now see the site become a popular tourist attraction for Nafplio.
