The Papas and the Englishman : from Corfu to Zagoria

In 1980, Roy Hounsell and his wife try to establish themselves in Corfu. In 1991 they buy a tumble-down property in mountainous Zagoria in Northern mainland Greece. They struggle with the rebuilding, helped by the village priest, Papa Kostas, create a garden out of the jungle and join in with the villagers to become regarded as locals. In 1980, having been made redundant, Roy Hounsell and his wife try their hand at establishing themselves in Corfu. They visited mountainous Zagoria in Northern mainland Greece and were captivated by its magnificent, rugged beauty and its mouldering, unspoilt stone villages. All desire to move there was dashed by their poor ability to speak Greek. In 1991, they bought a tumble-down property in Koukouli. They struggled with the rebuilding, helped by the village priest, Papa Kostas, created a garden out of the jungle and joined in with the villagers to become regarded as locals. In 1991, Patrick Leigh Fermor was "If you wanted to go somewhere - somewhere right off the map, with no tourists or modern developments - where would you go?"" He "Epirus - the north, the mountains. You might have a chance of finding places there." Marc Dubin, co-author of the Rough Guide to Greece, "What makes this different from other 'No Going Back' sagas is how the authors have engaged with their neighbours and helped keep an isolated community alive." Hilary Whitton-Paipeti, editor of the Corfiot "Charting the progress of the author's transformation from 'outsider' into genuine local, this book sets standards for the relocation genre. Roy Hounsell writes lovingly about the beautiful location, and unpatronizingly about the people he meets and befriends along the way." Nigel Lewis, Managing Editor, the Place in the Sun Magazine, "Many of us dream of buying and renovating a house in the mountains - but Roy's unusual tale of his Greek adventure is a useful and well-paced read." Roy Hounsell was born in Surrey in 1942 and educated at Millfield College, Somerset. In 1980, as Marketing and Advertising Manager of a Household and Furnishing Department, he was made redundant. [ THE PAPAS AND THE ENGLISHMAN FROM CORFU TO ZAGORIA BY HOUNSELL, ROY](AUTHOR)PAPERBACK