Molyvos Life
Molivos EventsArchive for Molyvos
Waves
There are many waves in life
Through the Trees. 
Waves hitting the shore
Stones washed away.
These pictures were taken by Elpi Deligianni.
Kalo Taxithi Tony Barrell
‘Kalo Taxithi’ is a common Greek term used to wish a special person a good journey into their spiritual after life.
A great friend of Molyvos who will be much missed – Tony Barrell 7 May 1940 – 31 March 2011
Traveller, journalist and writer, Tony Barrell made his first visit to Molyvos in 1970 and quickly became part of the village – his second home.
We are all saddened by the news of his death from a heart attack on March 31st 2011. He died in his sleep after a wonderful evening of laughter and reminiscence with friends including my mother, Jennifer.
Last summer, Tony and his wife Jane had a great gathering here to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their first visit. He always enjoyed staying here and hated leaving. At the time of his death he was still in the process of writing a book with Jane “Your island, My island”.
A very giving person, he was always so willing to help me with projects which needed writing or photographing. It has taken me a long time to write this tribute. A good friend, he will never now be able to keep his promise to come and stay in beautiful Mystegna in the Kyparissis Beach Houses on the east coast of the island.
During one of his many visits, he met a Dutch woman, Julie, who writes a blog about Lesvos and he helped to correct her English translations. She edited her writing into a book which has just been published. She had been so looking forward to reading his final review of it.
As touched as all of us, she has written the following tribute:
A farewell to Tony
Now that I finally changed as well in also
Now that you teached me fishes are fish
And after so many other English corrections
You left us.
After you did this huge job
In correcting and commenting on my columns
And finally the book
You left us
Without me having a chance to pay you back
In dinners and fish
Without me reading
The Final Review
Reading about you
You were more than great in Australia
Writing about so many topics
And finally again about Japan
Here on the other end of the world
Where the news of a shark kept papers alive
You left your traces in friendships
And dinners and party’s
I have been lucky
That one day you and Jane walked into my house
And so we met
And so we worked
Here in the country
Where old history
Of brave wars and great philosophers
Seem to live so close with modern live
You found an island of peace
Sunken into the blue Mediterranean
Where Greeks and foreigners
Mingled into a life of happiness
Here in the little town of Molyvos
For decennia you came back again and again
And now Molyvos lost another
Of its big writers.
Tony, thank you for everything!
Julie Smit
Tony Barrell (7 mei 1940 – 31 maart 2011)
Addio TONY by Julie Copeland.
Our friendship with Tony Barrell & Jane Norris goes back a long way: Jane and I go back 50 years (!) when we first worked together in a Melbourne theatre troupe, and later, living in London, where she met Tony.
In 1969, when John Slavin and I were first living in Molyvos, I sent Jane a postcard saying something like: `we’ve found the place we’ve been looking for – do come and see!’
And so they did, arriving from London in the village Spring of 1970 – and the rest is history.
Naturally Greece was then a very different place; Molivos was much poorer, much smaller – but they `got it’, proving over the years to be more adventurous explorers than us, hiking around the coast (before there was a road) to Skala Skamia, while later Tony and his old friend, the English writer Roger Deakin looked like swashbuckling pirates, as they strode through the island in search of ancient trees, on many excursions accompanied by Heinz Horn, who still knows the island terrain better than anyone.
We shared houses, good and bad times, often dramatic times; ferocious winter winds when I recall us all crawling behind the parapet on our hands and knees into the agora, unable to stand, as the gale hurled roof tiles like missiles around us; we lived through the years of the military dictatorship; good friends have died and are buried there.
One was our very special friend, Nassos Theofilou, author of several untranslatable books, librettos, lyrics, etc.
Tony made a radio feature based on one of Nassos’ stories about his grandmother, complete with the sounds of Molyvos which Tony continued to record over the years – many, many audio hours of sheep bells, doves, fishing boats – everything!
Tony was drawn to Nassos’ sense of the bizarre, his crazy humour, as despite language differences, they punned and joked together.. they were in many ways soul mates – but like Tony, a few years ago Nassos died suddenly of a heart attack, far too young.
However, one of our (several!) important summer rituals continued to be sharing his widow Lydia’s large, delicious dinners – and lots of ouzo! – under the stars and olive trees out at the Theofilou farm, accompanied by the owls and the cats.
Last summer, with our Molyvos friends, including Lydia, we shared another significant ritual, when Jane rounded us up to celebrate her and Tony”s 40th anniversary year in the village. There we all were, people from many places, on the terrace of the old house they rented – a miracle of connections.
Tony really loved the island, where he became a different person. (Their daughter Klio shares her name with the village up the coast! ) Jane maintained the best tonic for his health problems was his return visits to Molyvos
Most of all he loved the people, their company and their stories – the crazier the better!. 
He loved swimming in the cold, clear sea, excursions exploring the island, he loved the landscape.
Some time back Jane got serious about making a film tracing the extraordinary pull that Molyvos has had, and continues to have, on people who visit, stay or live there.
Our Molyvos friends have been shocked at the news of Tony’s death; Lesbos summers will never be the same, and we shall surely miss him.
for tributes, listings and audio of Tony’s work, you can go to the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) site: abc.net.au/rn –
& type in search `tony barrell’
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/360/features/tonybarrell/
GOODBYE TO THE MYTH OF MITHIMNA
THERE’S a myth among British birdwatchers that the ONLY place worth staying on Lesvos is Skala Kalloni.
It’s a misconception probably shared by birders from other European countries who flock to the island for each spring and autumn migration.
Only those in the know seem to choose Molivos – or Mithimna to give it its historic name – as their base.
Well, in my humble opinion as an avid birdwatcher, it’s about time someone banished this myth about Mithimna.
When it comes to finding a perfect place to combine birdwatching with walking in spectacular, hilly scenery, having a massive choice of eating places and history around every corner, then Molivos is the place to be
Is there any nicer place in the whole world to round off a day’s birding than with a meal on Molivos harbour side, watchingdolphins and diving terns in the fading light?
Skala Kalloni with its salt pans is only a 40 minutes drive away.
All around Molivos are superb places to seek out the birds – some of them rather rare – from dense olive groves to the magnificent coastal strip between Eftalou and Skala Sikamnia. 
Even among the narrow streets and alleyways of the old town, there are birds to be seen and heard. You just have to look and listen.
Swallows nest under almost every canopy and overhang of buildings. Most years, for instance, they successfully rear young on top of an ornamental coach lantern under the canopy of The Captain’s Table restaurant on the harbour.
As darkness falls, the monotonous call of the Scops owl can be heard around the town squares and among the eucalyptus trees alongside the school.
The sound is reminiscent of the slow “peeps” of the Greenwich time signal.
Molivos is a place where it is usual to spot the unusual.
Floodlights which illuminate the castle are a magnet to moths and other flying insects. So birds such as nightjars and little owls are quick to take advantage of the ready meals.
Last year, barn owls, little owls and kestrels all nested within a few yards of each other in stone crevices near the castle’s main entrance.
Keep an eye on the sea, too. Some years, thousands of
Mediterranean shearwaters can be seen in the huge bay between the harbour and the Kavaki headland. At times there are so many it looks like a giant oil slick.
The headland itself, near the “disco on stilts”, is known as one of the best places in Europe to see the very rare Ruppell’s Warbler.
Inland, the reservoir off the Vafios road is a good place to see Eleanora’s falcons hunting for dragon flies. Many other birds can also be “ticked” here.
In our 16 years of holidays in Molivos – sometimes twice a year – my wife Sheila and I always see at least 120 species.
Really keen birdwatchers can expect many more than that.
FRANK WOOD, press officer for the Bolton area of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in North West England.
The world’s best yoga spots
25 January 2011 | By Abigail Hole, Lonely Planet
Most peaceful
Angela Farmer and Victor van Kooten’s yoga hall (www.angela-victor.com) is situated deep in the Greek countryside, in a quiet olive grove in the Eftalou Valley, only five minutes from the beach. The only sound you will hear is the distant jingling of sheep bells. There are three hours of asana each morning and evening meditation and pranayama on the upstairs terrace.
Molyvos Friends
I was born in England and have been married to John ( whom I met at the tender age of eleven!) for the past 40 years. We have two sons aged 35 and 30. Over the years, we visited a number of the Greek Islands but took a break from our normal routine to holiday in Sri Lanka when we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. The following year, we were faced with a dilemma – Sri Lanka was just so wonderful, how could we follow that??? I came up with the idea of Lesvos … it seemed unspoiled by tourism and no-one I spoke to had heard of it. So we booked a holiday and the rest is history. We fell in love with the island and, ten years on, Lesvos (and especially Molyvos) is still my favourite place in the world. We introduced my sister and brother-in-law to the island on our second visit and now the four of us live for our visits to Lesvos. While John retired 12 months ago, I continue to work for an English professional football club (no wonder I need to de-stress!!) but next summer I plan to join him in retirement and together we’re dreaming of spending more of our time in our beloved Molyvos.
Rosie
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.
Despite me being born in Melbourne, my mother always says `Molivos is your real home’ ; and come to think of it, I’ve had the longest, if intermittent, relationship with this place than with anywhere else in my life .
Since I retired last year from a high pressure, high profile career in radio and TV, my partner John and I have again spent early summer through to October renting the very old house we first lived in here in 1968 (yes, we too are getting old!) – which is a quite weird experience, as it’s hardly changed at all in over 40 years, including the antique outdoor plumbing!
But I have enjoyed the luxury of peace & time behind the high stone walls in the overgrown garden, the early roses, growing our vegetables (after this summer’s brilliant early crop, disease wiped out my tomatoes, as it did many others), making delicious jam and chutney from the old apricot and plum trees, sketching, reading, bringing up two beautiful cats, swimming in the world’s best sea, driving my old car to favorite spots around this end of the island. Or just having a paraia, sitting outdoors eating, drinking wine, having interesting conversations with a variety of good friends.
Like many foreign and Greek `outsiders’ who’ve attached themselves to Molyvos, stayed, made lives here, left and returned – I have intense reactions to the good and bad of village life, angry at what’s happening to the picturesque town, the treatment of animals, of `illegals’, refugees, the destruction of the natural environment, disgusted by the never-to-be-finished concrete skeletons which litter the beautiful landscape, along with the tons of unrecycled plastic, garbage, frustrated by the `byzantine’ bureaucracy, etc.etc.
Naturally people constantly ask how Moyvos has changed over 40 years; and it has, enormously. To start with, the town is more than twice the size (why is the old architecture beautiful, the new houses so ugly??) Secondly, thankfully, the village is now not so poor … Those of us fortunate enough to see the May outdoor screening of a fascinating 1958 Greek documentary about local fishing, were struck by just how hard life was then for local families. Not however, for we young `pet foreigners’ (who arrived here on the return voyage of the ships taking Greek migrants to where we’d come from -Australia), who although we were also poor, loved experiencing the traditional life, renting the many deserted houses, living on virtually nothing. No cars!
But while one can never – I repeat – NEVER romanticise poverty – most of my older Greek friends (and I) have a great nostalgia for `those years’ here, maintaining that people were happier (perhaps less discontented?) , enjoyed the simple life more, that the village has `lost it’s soul’ – to tourism, materialism, greed.
And sadly, while it’s great that more young people, especially women, have the opportunity to be educated, or qualify for future employment – Greece’s severe financial crisis means it’s hard to be optimistic about the chances for them to better their lives, to fulfil their potential, their dreams & ambitions.
So at the end of a long, hot summer, with the luscious red fruit loading the old pomegranate trees in the garden, I leave part of my heart here with fears that Greece is in for a very tough, difficult winter..
Tou kronou.
Julie C
Hello world!
This is a new experience for me and I hope you all are patient while I learn the art of blogging.
I would like to have a blog which we can all enjoy and contribute to.
If any one has nice photos of Molivos please send them to me so I can add them to the blog.
Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.
The summer has ended and we are in the process of getting used to our winter programme which is already looking quite full with the Christmas bazaar on the 13th of December (last year 105 volunteers) .
Carnival on the 15th of February. This year our group is performing GREASE. This is with two different dance routines. One of the dance routines is with 30 6-7-8 year olds.
Most of the restaurants and tourist shops are closed for the winter. There is now an air of quietness.
I am looking forward to hearing your comments and advice.
molyvosevents
Molyvos Life 
