San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu

 There has been a lot of publicity lately about the failings of our NHS,Believe me if you have ever had the misfortune to visit Corfu General Hospital you will realise how fortunate we are.
 In September last year my husband had a very bad fall and, after treatment from the local doctor in Arrilas, we had to take a taxi to Corfu for Xrays at the hospital.
 The facilities provided were what you might expect in a third world country.The only wheelchair available was broken,some of the seats in the waiting area were also broken,there was no paper,soap or handtowels in the toilet.Patients were walking about holding their IV drips above their head because there were no stands to put them on.
 Apparently most of the staff were on strike,not surprising as they haven't been paid for months,the few who were on duty looked tired and demoralised,I felt sorry for them having to work in those conditions. There was only one Orthopaedic Surgeon on duty for the whole hospital and we had to wait for him to finish his ward rounds before he could look at the Xrays.
 Fortunately after having his arm put in plaster we were able to leave.
 I have nothing but praise for the treatment received from Dr Yiannis and his wife from Arrilas,they were with us within minutes of the accident,they took us to their surgery and stitched up a very nasty head wound(about 35 stitches).They came out to visit two days later
to change dressings and replaster the arm.
 I was grateful for the kindness of other people waiting to be seen at the hospital who waited with my husband while I went searching for a taxi back to Agios Stefanos,by this time it was after midnight.
 I used to wonder why our friends chose to go to the mainland for any medical treatment when they had what appeared to be a perfectly good and fairly new local hospital on their doorstep,I know why now.
 It says it all when one friend has been collecting sheets from hotel and apartment owners,who are renewing theirs, to donate to the hospital. 
   

 Shame the webcam isn't working just now I've enjoyed seeing the beach in all it's natural beauty,no sunbeds ,no cars and no people.

 When it's stormy it still looks amazing with wonderful cloud formations and rough seas.Hope you can sort it out Noula we need our daily fix.

 The Arrilas Forum has a topic on the go just now that I thought we might "borrow" and see if it creates any interest.The jist of it is
 
"Things I am going to do this year on holiday that I have intended to do on previous visits but never quite got round to".
 
Let's face it we all go with good intentions about places we are going to visit or trips we are going to take or tavernas we are going to eat in
 and when we finally get there we spend most of our time blobbing out and before you know it the holiday's over.

 There is a lot of publicity just now about taking children on holiday during term time. In my opinion if anyone needs a holiday it is the hardworking
 parents of young families.
 When our granddaughter was in infant school we took her to San Stefanos every year,sometimes twice a year. Do I think she suffered from missing
 a few weeks of schooling,not a jot!  She experienced a different culture,she made friends,her daily playmate was the little son of our Greek hosts
 and when she was two and a half she could even speak a few words of Greek.
 She enjoyed the food,her favorites being Pastitsada and Stifado and she loved drizzling her bread with olive oil. Her social skills were developed as she mixed with people of all ages and nationalities. She saw oranges and figs,peppers and melons growing outside in people's gardens. In Corfu town she
 was surrounded by Venetian architecture.I could go on and on.
 Things changed when she went on to junior school,lessons became more important and holidays had to be taken when school broke up.
  Did her education suffer? I don't believe so,she did well in all her exams and is now in her first year at University. I rest my case.

I have just found an old calendar of Avliotes from 2004.There are fascinating photos dating from 1922 through to 1980 including some of San Stefanos. Of particular interest is a school photo taken in 1955,I'm sure some of the children must be the parents or even grandparents of the people we know now who run apartments or tavernas in San Stefanos. Another one,from 1959,shows a group of young men playing in the snow,quite a novelty in Corfu,but it does happen occasionally. By far the most poignant is the one taken in 1945,just at the end of the war,which shows a group of  rather malnourished men working in the fields.
Does anyone else have one of these calendars and do they recognize anyone?

 Have you noticed the JCB has been on the beach the past two days? Yesterday they were clearing the seaweed and today they seem to be

re-directing the river back to it's original course,over the past few weeks the river seems to have edged ever closer to "the Waves" and they

won't want that on their doorstep.