Corfu

Well we enjoyed Corfu. Mandraki Yacht club gave us good shelter for a reasonable price (€25) in a fabulous location right underneath the castle. As we had hoped, we were there for Easter. We walked up to the town on Good Friday to see the processions. Each church organises a separate one and the priest, altar boys, scouts, clubs and bands associated with the church wind slowly through the alleyways of Corfu town looking solemn and playing funeral music (mostly drums). JC of course is dead and this is the funeral.

On Saturday morning there are more processions and all the houses have red cloths hanging from the windows and balconies. Television teams are all in place on cranes. amid massive crowds. Then, just before 11:00, the streets are cleared by the police, the church bells ring and suddenly everyone in the flats and houses is throwing pots - some of them huge - out of the windows and onto the street to loud cheers and applause from the crowds below. Only in Corfu apparently. But why? Well we heard three different explanations:

• The loud bangs as the pots hit the road scare evil away
• It commemorates when the women who went to JC's tomb to clean and wrap him up, they had pots of water with them. They were so surprised to find him gone that they dropped the pots.
• The pots represent Judas's head.

On Saturday night, there is a short service in the park and everyone lights and holds a candle. At midnight, the bishop intones "Christos Anesti!" (Christ is risen) and all hell breaks loose. Bells, music, people shouting to each other and fireworks. The party goes on most of the night. Sunday is a family day like Christmas day in UK.

All the family comes out

Falling Pots

Winding up the audience

And over she goes

The aftermath