Πιο Αθηναία κι από Βρετανίδα

Μετά το ποστ για τον Λόρδο Βύρωνα σειρά παίρνει μια ακόμα φιλελληνική παρουσία, φρέσκια όμως, σημερινή. Πρόκειται για την Corinne Chandler που ζει χρόνια στην Αθήνα κατ' επιλογή της, την αγαπά και μ' αυτή την αγγλοσαξωνική νοοτροπία για δημιουργία και προσφορά που θαυμάζω, δημιούργησε το σάιτ athensliving.net. Κίνητρό της η απουσία απ' το αγγλόφωνο διαδίκτυο, αναφορών στην καθημερινή ζωή της Αθήνας που εκεί πιστεύει ότι κρύβεται και το αληθινό της ενδιαφέρον. Μια σειρά από δικά της βίντεο παρουσιάζουν τις πραγματικές μας γειτονιές, την πολιτιστική της κίνηση και τους ανθρώπους της.

• H ανιδιοτελής προσπάθεια της Corinne με συγκίνησε και της ζήτησα να τη γνωρίσουμε καλύτερα. Ιδού η ιστορία της και η ματιά της στα της Αθήνας (διατήρησα τα αγγλικά, στα ελληνικά η μετάφραση κάτι αφαιρούσε).

- Corinne, how come you live in Athens?
I first came to Athens by a circuitous route. My mother fell madly in love with Greece and all things Greek after a holiday in Skiathos in 1965! I think she was one of the first tourists to visit the island (there were no car ferries, she brought her car over to the island on a caique from Evia)
Following those first holidays, she bought a small villa and we used to come to Greece every summer, always leaving with huge sighs and regrets. I think she finally realized one (probably cold and bleak winter) day that as a free woman (divorced, no living family in the UK), she could move to Greece permanently whenever she wanted. So it was that we ended up in Athens in the 70's, completely on 'our own'. I was enrolled at the American School (ACS) and my life here began.
I've lived in the US and spent time in the UK since then, but I consider Athens to be my home town. I certainly feel more at home here than anywhere else, although I have to say I do still feel very much a 'Stranger in a Strange Land'. Maybe you always feel that way when you move around a lot..

- What motivated you to start "athensliving.net"?
Career wise, I was a ballet dancer (dancing in the US and here in Athens) and when I stopped dancing I presented the English language news bulletin on ANT1 for their Satellite programme. Following ANT1, I worked in an art gallery in Kolonaki which closed down in 2009.
Editing and writing news bulletins made me realize I like working with film but the idea of a web site didn't occur to me till now. Probably, as an ex dancer and coming from an art gallery background as well, my interests do gravitate in that direction, but I would like to make Athens Living Videos about anything and everything- all aspects of life in the city interest me greatly.

- What do you love about the city?
Loves would be:
• Great shopping (ok, I'm totally shallow)
• Good cinema (films arrive really, really quickly, and are not dubbed into Greek- I think Greek audiences show incredible sophistication and sensitivity to that-all foreign films are almost always dubbed in France and Germany)
• Some really good bars and restaurants (I love TAF and Sardelles-again, maybe shallow, but credit where credit's due!) (many restaurants also come on the hate list)
• Cheap public transport
• Sounion (does that count?)
• Art Athina and the Biennale
• The new Benaki Museum
• Immediate access to amazing archaeological sites and the wonderful Acropolis Museum

- What do you hate?
Hates would be:
• Pompous over priced restaurants that serve crap food badly (practically every Italian 'trattoria')
• Traffic and all those people who drive around alone in cars when I'm sure they could be car pooling
• International trafficking of women- is anyone actually doing anything??
• Lack of pedestrian facilities (get those cars into garages, cut those tree branches, there are no sidewalks!!!)
• No disabled facilities- please think of those in wheelchairs, how are they meant to get around?
the idea that until now, the Lyriki Skyni (Opera and Ballet) performs in a horrible theatre!