A bonza day for Aussies in Athens

Mike Sweet reveals what some of the Athenian Aussies are going to be doing to celebrate Australia Day.

Eddie and Daniel Fisher Owners of Sports Bar

“What am I doing for Australia Day? Well, being far away from home I have decided to celebrate what it is to be Australian, by preparing for my team (though I am a shocking cook) the legendary Four ‘n’ Twenty pie.”
– Shane Hodges, Director of Sales & Marketing Grande Bretagne Hotel, Athens.

Eddie and Daniel Fisher run the recently opened Sports Bar in down town Athens not far from the Acropolis.

The Sports Bar is an offshoot of Athens Backpackers, the celebrated first stop for any right-minded antipodean wanting a few home comforts in the Greek capital.

The bar will be the focus for this year’s major celebrations, taking over from the backpackers venue, which started the Australia Day party tradition.

Dan who grew up with Eddie in Perth, has been in Greece for five years. “We were looking for a challenge and liked the laid back lifestyle.

In Australia things comes kind of easy.
“You don’t have to try too hard to survive. In this city you get a lot out of it, because you have to put a lot in.” Eddie has been in Athens three years longer than his brother.

While Dan looks after the core Backpacker operation, Eddie pushes the Sports Bar side of the business.
Has Eddie gone native yet? “Well I’ve got a Greek girlfriend, and a dog… so that probably makes me Greek. I’m loving it here. I couldn’t imagine going back. I’m pretty locked in.”

As for the Australia Day party, this year there’s a retro theme. The only Aussie to play James Bond, George Lazenby, adorns the email invite.

‘We bring in a lot of the English speaking expat community to our Australia Day party. It brings everyone together.’ There’ll be gourmet meat pies, Aussie wines and beers and the volume will be well and truly pumped up across Athens’ Makrigiani district, with a playlist for the night that includes Hunters and Collectors, Powderfinger, AC DC, Paul Kelly and more.
Manuel Panaretos –
Al Jazeera’s
Athens based
news cameraman.

“Sadly I’ve had to abandon my old traditions of watching the cricket with a few cans of VB as I did at home in. I’ve been away from Aus 10 years now. The truth is we pretty much ignore it completely here. But last year, when I was covering the war in Gaza, I was with a group of Aussie cameramen in Israel. I did have my trusty jar of Vegemite with me. It’s something of an essential tool in my work, as you often never know if the next meal will be to your liking. To everyone’s delight we toasted a few loaves of bread and watched the squeamish looks on locals faces as we began to devour it!”

Eleni Atsikbasis – Film maker.

Born in Port Lincoln, Eleni first lived in Greece when her parents returned to the family’s ancestral home in Lesbos in the mid-nineties.

Eleni, who runs her own film company Phos productions in Athens, admits “every time Australia Day comes round, nostalgia sets in.

“There have been a few times where we gathered at a friend’s house to celebrate or we’ll go to backpackers in the Plaka. Anniversaries here like Oxi Day resonate with me because my children are involved in the celebrations.

“Through them I have come to understand the significance and importance of the Greek anniversaries.”

Shane Hodges, Director of Sales & Marketing Grande Bretagne Hotel.

Originally from Melbourne, Shane claims this year to be involved in a remarkable presentation of his cultural roots to his Greek colleagues at the revered Grande Bretagne.

“What am I doing for Australia Day? Well, being far away from home I have decided to celebrate what it is to be Australian, by preparing for my team (though I am a shocking cook) the legendary Four ‘n’ Twenty pie.”

Strewth! Good on ya Shane. Go for it mate!

For information on the Athens Sports Bar see http://www.athenssportsbar.gr/