Άνω Κορακιάνα

Democracy Street - only eight more weeks and we shall be there, travelling from Sophia, to Thessaloniki, to Kalambaka, Meteora, Ioannina, Igoumenitsa and over the narrow sea to Corfu.

'The morning’s minion was a pink reflection on the sea this side of the Strait beyond the shadow of the mainland heights... with no breeze to flatten it, a wave of mist poured, as over the down-turned rim of a basin, into the valleys between the hills above Ipsos, Analipsi and Dassia, floating below the village in the direction of Skripero. We speak of the sun ‘rising’, yet there were surely villagers in Ano Korakiana and shepherds on Olympus, gazing at the growing light, who knew the world tipped towards the sun long before Galileo struggled to prove the fact among men who would - one day - gaze down on the round earth turning.'

Rena Vlahopoulou who died in 2004 at 81 said "I catch the boat from Patras and as I board I say to myself, now I’m at peace. I’m on my way home to Korakiana, I’m going to see my things, those who are close to me. I feel that Corfu embraces me every time I arrive." This evening I found myself looking at a couple of wobbly YouTube clips of planes landing in Corfu, catching familiar glimpses of coast and skyline, thinking of landfalls by sea. 'Somewhere between Calabria and Corfu the blue really begins.' A letter from Democracy Street:

Yassou Simon and Linda. Hope this email finds you both well. Just a quick note to tell you that your sail has been repaired by our lovely Joyce so that awaits your return as do we. Have had a few trips over to the marsh - one with my brother who was here for a month to do work on his house as they are back for good next September. The freezer is filling up with duck and snipe so on your return we shall have a royal roast and why not...I had a pretty hairy trip back from the marsh (my note: just west of the word GREECE and at a point on the mainland almost due east of Benitses on Corfu on the map below the air photo) on Tuesday just gone a tale best left till you are here (that damn stretch of water has the devil in it) but came home safe and sound. Weather here has changed still quite mild but with more overcast rainy windy days, wind more often than not from the south these days. Sal busy on a Friday and Saturday with the horses (weather permitting) and our new house with her sister and niece sanding and painting. Have been past your spiti a few times and all seems well there. No need to go in yet I don't think, but rest assured on that side of things all is well. Really really looking forward to our trip to mainland for Xmas and new year, Sal, Dog and Gun what more could I want - oh a little colder weather frosty mornings and slight snow fantastic. Best wishes to you both and look forward to seeing you in the new year. Cheerio Mark and Sally and Teal of course. P.S. Find attached Google Earth picture of Kalamas.

Harris Tweed in the wet

One of the things I enjoy about cycling all year round is that you get as used to the climate as a farmer. I embrace this damp, chilly and frosty weather. I like making the right choice of what to wear. Norwegian quote: "There's no such thing as the wrong weather; only the wrong clothes". Even in Birmingham a brisk wind brings memories of an equinoctial on the Cambrian coast, strolling through gorse knowing the ocean's hidden beyond a rise, a hint of grating roar. I like being warm out when it's cold out, the way my Harris Tweed jackets (bought cheap in the Birmingham Rag Market) keep me cosy on the journey between home and campus, getting dew on the outside so that indoors they give off the friendly pong of a drying dog. Mark's mail from Ano Korakiana made us sad at the miles between us:

Hi Simon and Linda. Just a quick one to say all is good here in Corfu. Your sail is still awaiting repair only because the sail maker we have working with us won't start until the end of the season which is another week or so away. I'm also in need of some work on my favourite shooting trousers by her, but no problems it will be sorted by the time you are out here next. She's very very good and knows her job . Sally and I have just got back in from a foraging trip at the local dump as we are getting our November the 5th bonfire ready for this year. We put on a good party and this year - a pig on the spit and BBQ plus of course the bonfire. Lots to eat and drink, will be a shame you are not here for this one but maybe in the future. Hope this email finds the both of you well and not too cold. I am in shorts and t-shirt still in the day weather here very nice. Cheerio, Mark.

P.S. A sunset from the marsh of Kalamas looking back towards southern Corfu.

* * * I've dipped into my savings with Handsworth Breakthrough Credit Union and bought myself a new video camera, from Scott and Jas at CVP in the old Pinmill at Studley, for work, after the machine I've relied on for my research over 7 years abruptly failed to capture a usable sound track and I lost a good political-management conversation, to my frustration and the disappointment of the people I was trying to film, hence contrition pie:

Dear X. I have been selfishly preoccupied with my own frustration at losing the conversation between you and the Leader last week – not to mention hours of trying unsuccessfully to recover the film’s integrity. As a result I may have been remiss about apologising to both of you for wasting an important hour of your shared time and the prior work that led to it. I’m so sorry this happened. I absolutely respect your reluctance to repeat the experience. The conversation was exciting and creative; full of spontaneity and insights on the nature of leadership in government. It would have been a crowning addition to my archive and of great value in teaching. To try to record that again - certainly for the time being - wouldn't be easy. My Japanese guests found the experience of watching a Leader and Chief Executive in conversation exceptionally valuable. For that, I and the University are most grateful. I have sent a similar letter to the Leader. Yours sincerely, Simon B

It was with relief that the next week, using the new camera - a Sony HVR-A1E, I got a film from another Leader-Chief Executive conversation, awaiting approval, but I'm confident it'll be approved and used to help diffuse the art of government, especially the construction of trust between managers and politicians. I've signed myself in for one-to-one tutorials on my film-making at Apple in the Bullring. The challenge is to take a good film with the right lighting, framing and sound, then, having transferred the film via iLink to my computer, to be able to title and edit it as unfussily as possible, finally choosing the right codec to compress it into a form that allows me to use it to display via my laptop for other's learning - and my own. * * * Yesterday Yuka from the Japan Local Government Centre came up to study my beloved Handsworth Park and learn more about the role of parks in recovering community. After she arrived - apologising profusely for the fact that the Virgin Intercity from London had been emptied at Birmingham International; passengers told to get on the next stopping train to the city centre - we went to the Sons of Rest building where, over half term, children were playing and learning, discussing social dilemmas with teachers, a police woman and the Rangers. Because I was there Mohammed - one of the excellent Rangers we now have in Handsworth Park as part of our 20 year campaign for the Park's restoration - suggested I talk to the young people. I don't mind working with adults in many settings - conferences, workshops, tutorials - but children worry me. I kept it very short; circulated old press cuttings and photos from the mid-90s of vandalism, graffiti, reports of crime and neglect and school children with parents and teachers petitioning for play space.

"This is your park. Your parents helped bring this place back from a very sad state. I remember this building where we are - falling down, scattered with filthy rubbish, open to the weather, due to be demolished. It is the last Sons of Rest building left in the city. It was also the first. (Here I pointed to the cleaned and polished memorial plaque to Lister Muff - lovely name - that had been rescued and fixed to the classroom wall, after sitting in our garage for ten years). Impressed by our petitions, local politicians and officers decided to cancel the wrecked building's destruction. They mothballed it with a high steel fence until the cash was raised from the Millennium Lottery Fund to rebuild it, and - as we dreamed before you were born - restored to be a place where where we can meet and learn together. Thanks for listening to me."

Yuko, who I introduced, got a clap which was really nice! She took the photo.

Νυν απολύεις τον δούλον σου, Δέσποτα, κατά το ρήμα σου εν ειρήνη, ότι είδον οι οφθαλμοί μου το σωτήριόν σου, ο ητοίμασας κατά πρόσωπον πάντων των λαών, φως εις αποκάλυψιν εθνών και δόξαν λαού σου Ισραήλ

(Greek Nunc Dimittis Luke 2:29–32)