In my travels of Corfu and Kefalonia I have always noticed the large Lime Trees that have seats under them and they seem to be in most villages. It always looks a peaceful place to sit, out of the sun, and you will very often see local people sitting there. That is, except for Arillas.
What part of Arillas should be the equivalent to the Tree of Idleness? The bench? The Jetty?
There is one in Afionis. Does anyone have any photos of these in other villages?
And this is Helen being idle (she will kill me if she see's this)
Here is a write up about the Tree of Idleness as printed in the Corfiot Magazine. If you see this magazine please buy it as it has some good topics, and purchases will keep it going.
It was in Bellapaix, now in Northern Cyprus, that Lawrence Durrell
in his book 'Bitter Lemons' identified the Tree ofIdleness.
'Its shadow incapacitates one for serious work. .. if you intend to
try and work, (do) not to sit under the Tree of Idleness,' Durrell's
guide warned him. Most readers assume that this tree, subject of
a full chapter in the book, is THE Tree of Idleness, the one and
only tree with the ability to induce torpor. But it is a metaphor;
Durrell was identifYing a state of mind rather than a specific location.
All over the Greek world, village squares have two features in
common -a kafenion and a tree for sitting under while slowly
sipping the coffee or ouzo and passing the time. The Tree of Idleness
provides a focus for the village, a forum for exchange of information
and gossip as well as shade, and its roots are the roots
ofthe people. It's a state of mind rather than a particular location.
And when the features are absent and thus the state of mind in retreat,
the authentic Greek way of life is in peril.
When Lawrence Durrell arrived in Corfu in April 1935, perhaps
his first act after dropping off his luggage at the Pension Suisse
was to head downstairs to the Liston Bar. Perhaps he had already
singled out his table from an overlooking window -Perhaps the
one tucked in under the massive oak tree on the park side of the
promenade. Here, he must quickly have understood the attraction
of simply sitting and doing nothing. The Liston Bar subsequently
became 'HQ' for Larry and his brother Gerald when they later
visited Corfu.
This original Tree of Idleness still provokes sloth. Invariably, the
table is taken by a usually solitary person enjoying a little cup of
Greek coffee, a cigarette and a newspaper -those great partners
of idleness.
In Corfu Town, the Tree is thriving, but in villages all over the island
its role is diminishing as the villages themselves die. In
Makrades, the tiny square which formed the centre of the ancient
village is derelict, unvisited except as a result of an accidental
wrong tum. Meanwhile, coachloads of visitors swarm around the
plastic-tented souvenir shops selling Made-In-Taiwan souvenirs
masquerading as traditional local products, while just steps off
the main road an authentic village awaits exploration. Inside the
old village, high, unwindowed walls give a fortified atmosphere,
indicating the aeonian existence of the settlement. Grey-stone
cottages seem to have grown haphazardly out of the rocks which
provide their foundations so that the angles of the roof pitches
and pantiles lead the eye into a confusion of perspectives. But the
maze of alleyways leads into dilapidation; roofs sag as rotten
timbers can no longer support their load of ochre tiles. Cracked
lintels foretell further collapse. As the tourism industry gobbles
euros, a piece of Corfu's heritage is in decline.
In Rachtades, the Tree ofIdleness shades an unchanged and unchanging
scene. Three old folk sit on the stone bench, resting
their bent backs against the lime-washed wall. They don't talk.
The: odd car passes on its way to somewhere else, somewhere
more I.:odern. The kafenion beside the Tree has closed do\o\n.
Rachtades, the village built on the ridge, is on the road to
nowhere.
Some village Trees, though, still play an important role.
At Sokraki, high above Ano Korakiana on the main ridge radiating
west from the Pantokrator Massif, the Tree plays an important
role, is reached up a dramatic road which features 25
full-lock hairpin bends (and also a comforting safety wall). The
village is also on the course of the Corfu Trail, t~e island-long
walking route. In a little paved square at the elstern end ofthc
settlement, Sokraki's Tree of Idleness is shared by two coffee
bars, and the drink ofpreference is Corfu ginger ber'" T"auma
tized travellers and weary walkers visibly fall in:o rela),.~~ion beside
the Tree.
Strinilas's square supports two huge elms and two tavernas. It's
Corfu's highest village, and being on the road to the Pantokrator
summit (915m) it sees a constant stream of rent-a-cars heading
for the somewhat disappointing attraction, where the air vibrates
with the buzz of half a nundred transmitters and the view is usually
lost in the heat haze. Determinedly set on their destination,
few stop -and they don't know what they are missing, specifically
the best egg and chips in the world at Stamatis Taverna.
And Stamatis's wine induces a soporific state under the shade of
the Tree.
Possibly Corfu's third largest settlement, Agios Mattheos has a
whole line of Trees, shading a series of coffee bars and tavernas.
Throughout the day and especially in the evening, the bars are
packed with professional Idlers keeping each other company.
This is Idleness at its best.
(Even though many Corfiots are among the hardest working people
I have ever met!)
Topic: Tree Of Idleness (Or is it a Bench in Arillas) (Read 7741 times)