San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu

I usually have a shirt on to hide the huge muscles I have on my chest. They're so huge that 50% of ants can't climb up them if they're having a bad day.

Confronted with a load of low-life at a nearby table it may be simpler to ask to move rather than have a confrontation, I guess. If you asked me, I would probably ask to move, but in the meantime would smile nicely, stub it out, and raise a glass of friendship. Not all smokers are thugs, and not all non-smokers are miserable buggers!

There's a limit to what you can get on quad bike, debra. Last time Tony Cox hired one Linda had to walk!

The wife reports average but passable ( the hairdryers not me)

Are you sure about this, Gavin? Could this be an unconscious reference to a latent relationship problem?

I don't think Noula would be carelessly rude. Her anger is with the bus driver. If the trip left from Ag Stef it should return you there.

Being the driver, or the bus company's manager, at the end of the phone from Noula later would have been like sitting behind a 747 warming its engines up.

Haven't been in the new posh mini-bus yet. I rather liked being driven in a proper Greek rattling vehicle by any one of three beautiful women - it reminded of the old days when you counted the wheels before you got on. Do we really want an air-conditioned theme-park Greece?

I try sometimes to populate Ag Stef with Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines. It is sensitive thing, best not revealed. Each taverna is its own little Mount Olympus.

At Little Prince, Dimitris is obviously Zeus, his commanding presence with his powerful order-pad poised. Pipinna has to be Athena - beautiful, intelligent, an ironic smile as she raises her eyebrow at an overfull-ashtray or yet another jug of krassi. Mixalis (Mike) is Hermes, dashing through the tables with the sizzling steak in a miasma of steam.

At Nafsika there are no visible gods, but you can eat under the guidance of Socrates, and buy Kleopatra a drink.

At Mistral, Aphrodite will serve you.

At O Manthos, Poseidon  will tell you very long stories.

Such is the joy. We go from our dismal northern regions and kiss the feet of the gods. We dare to dip our toes in the blue ocean which saw the ships sail forth to Troy. We bask in the rays of the sun that shone on Odysseus, Agamemnon and Theseus. We sit in the Condor Bar and listen to people singing strange ancient modes. We are transported to a realm above our mundane lives.

EDIT: From Thomson.com to Jimbo: "Thank you for your brochure suggestion. Unfortunately, our marketing team has decided to stick with the beach and 'only two rooms left' policy. If you are having problems with Greek gods, our reps are always available to help." 

Rover - I only use the word "sanctimonious" when it's appropriate.

The law in Greece, as here, states that one may smoke in a non-enclosed space. It follows that owners are fulfilling the law by permitting it in non-enclosed spaces. Duh!

WINKIE - You're right. This debate is a a stub in the ashtray.

Jimbo - Point 1 - We were not asked if we minded.
Point 2 - Sanctimonious I am not, and what 'dreaming of fantasy' implies, I have no idea.
As for not liking to be challenged, pot and kettle spring to mind.

Point 1 : I assume they weren't at your table.
Point 2 : Read the entire sentence, not just the first clause. It does make a difference.

I wasn't there, so I don't qualify for pot or kettle. You didn't make a request, did you? Are you incapable of a polite request? 

Presumably, WinJ, you went to these obnoxious people and asked if they'd mind refraining? If not - tough.