Saturday 6 September 2008

"Two of us riding nowhere........

…..Spending someone's Hard earned pay….”
And now the end is near and we face the long drive home.
It’s been weeks since our last confession, and its not that we had nothing to say it’s just that we were so busy doing stuff with our visitors. Then when everyone went home we just stopped! And did nothing for several days in a daze!

Anyway here is a brief summary and pics of the last 7 weeks

In one crazy week we had 17 family members staying in San Stefanos, some with us (Gemma etc.), others, mainly Helen & Martins family, in apartments just up the road from us, it was a bit like a re- run of the wedding holiday. We managed to fit in a Greek night with dancing, at Manthos Taverna,
some dangerous ball games in the Athina pool and as we had little kids with us, so lots of digging in the sand. Adults only though!! Kids are only there to watch and learn!
We also dragged numerous family members to Keith’s gigs so the bar owners were very happy. It was Adams birthday during that week so a drunken night out in Sidari took place ending in a boozy gig at Napoleons bar
where Keith was playing, then some late night dancing in the Condor till the small hours.. Some of the gang went to Aqualand one day and had an amazing day out (see Caitlyns blog) it was a crazy action packed week.
Helen & Martin & family left and we had a couple more weeks with Gemma & the kids and Adam, who was joined in the second week by Amanda, who missed him so much she came back for another week after she’d gone home.
One of the highlights of the week was hiring a high powered boat for the day; we all piled into the boat and spent lots of time jumping in and out of coves snorkelling (and caught a couple of starfish)
and generally acting like big kids whilst the little kids watched on, although Finley did have a swim in the sea and Arwen threw up in the boat.
We carried on business as usual at night with the gigs, but during the day we walked miles with pushchairs and stuff up and down the hills and across the beaches, Liz has now got ‘buns of steel’ and is in danger of becoming muscle-bound (maybe)
Finally the day came, and on the Monday we said a fond farewell to everybody with 2 trips to the airport and we came home at about 2 in the morning to a very calm peaceful house aaah! and relax!!! As our house quietened down so has the resort and we have had some relaxing days on the beach and chilled out evenings sat on the balcony with a G&T and watching the world go very slowly by.

All summer we have continued to gig constantly 4,5 sometimes 6 gigs a week, even in August, when traditionally Greek bar owners expect their bars to be full without paying out for entertainment, if a gig has been dropped there always seemed to be 2 others who wanted Keith to play at their bar. Also people who saw Keith last year have come back and said hello again, so slowly we are building a reputation just as some of the established artists on the island have.
Keith has been invited to play in jamming sessions with other muso’s on Monday nights in Roda and a couple of weeks ago he was asked to do a gig in Ipsos with a Greek band who we met last year.
Some friends from Preston Julie, Claire & Sarah (all muso’s)
came to Corfu for a week, Clare was keen to do some singing and ended up doing a spot at 3 of Keith ‘s gigs, and got offers of work for next year if she wants it. (That’s how Keith got started). Its been a lot of fun and we have made some great friends and got to know a lot more people through the music this year.
“……You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead…..”


Byeeeeeeeeeee.....x



Schools out for Summer.....(Caitlyn's Blog)

Out for summer.....Out till fall.....We might not go back at all....

Introducing Caitlyn 8yrs old (Keith's Grandaughter) Our first guest writer....

15th July Me, Mum Finley and Arwen got to Grandad and Lizzy’s house ready for our 6 weeks holiday.
Every day we have been going to the Athina pool or on the beach with a packed lunch. Every day is really sunny and we are all going brown.

On the third week the Cockerills arrived at night, then the next day we all met up at the Athena pool. Then at night we went out for a meal and we went Greek dancing.

The next day we went to the beach, and we got some floats for the sea, after we played bat and ball in the sea and we built sand castles.
One day we hired a canoe


At night we had a barbeque at Grandads house and some of us played on the Nintedo Ds. The next day Adam and Amanda arrived and we went out for a meal then after we went to the Acabar I got a cocktail. The next day Adam and Amanda came to are apartment on their bike to say hi


We went to the water park and we went on loads of free falls. We went in the three brothers restaurant for tea.

We went to the gig at the Condor Bar and there was another girl called Caitlyn who stayed in apartments next to us. Every day we look for little old ladies to take pictures of to go on a calendar.
One night we went to a Greek festival there were loads of dancing.
We went to Corfu town to have a bimble and I had a Henna Tattoo done on my back! We went to Sidari to buy me a watch, a bag and a hat.
Then after 6 weeks we had to go home.


Byeeee love from Caitlyn....x

Nizlopi....Lizlopi...the JCB Song......

'..........And the engine rattles my bum like berserk
While we're singin' , 'Don't forget your shovel if you want to go to work!'

Up at the crack of dawn today……. and Liz was about to have an adventure!

Because of the shape and location of the beach at San Stefanos, a couple of times a week several tons of seaweed gets washed onto the shoreline. The local business owners need this moving, so they arrange for a man with a truck and a man with a JCB to come and shift it, early in the morning before the tourists arrive on the beach.
And where does it go? Into a land fill area up the hill behind our house, so at about 7/ 7.30 ish a truck full of seaweed goes past our house every 10 minutes or so for about 2 hours.
Finley loves trucks and tractors but especially JCB’s so he was in heaven when he spotted the activity going on all around where we live.

Liz being a morning person (now) decided that it would be a treat to take him down to the beach at 7am to get close up to the trucks. Gemma said she’d never seen Liz get dressed so fast at the prospect of hanging out with the truckers. And before Gemma could get Arwen and Caitlyn ready Liz was off with Finley to the beach.
As Gemma reached the beach 10 minutes or so later, the truck was coming down the hill past our house having tipped a load of seaweed and who should be in the cab waving to her?? …… Liz and Finley, she can be such a fast mover when she wants to be!
Apparently the two guys with the trucks were so taken with Finley that they let him sit in the JCB as well, he steered the machine and used the controls (on the drivers knee)
whilst it picked up the seaweed, then he suggested that Finley and Liz went in the truck up the hill whilst he unloaded his truck!!!

Liz thought it was a Shirley Valentine moment having misheard the line in the film about a boat and a truck? They all returned about an hour later very happy having had lots of photo opportunities and Liz had her ride in a truck!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGkseGFQLh4&feature=related