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Dora Houpis

Dialogue

The beautiful Greek house where nobody lives anymore

The last time I saw Mr Aleco* he was so clean that not even a mosquito would sit on him. That’s what the Greeks say. “Είναι τόσο καθαρός, που ούτε …

News

Welcome to Melbourne: From rain to hail to sunshine in 20 minutes

The inner-city Melbourne suburb of Richmond experienced flash rain and heavy hail, this afternoon, at about 2.30pm. The hail, large and small, accumulated around flats and houses, including the front …

Dialogue

The Pfizer vax, a lollipop and some fun to ease the tension

To him, it feels like it’s been ages. But, really, it’s hardly been any time at all. The young Greek-Australian man sitting on a plastic chair, in 15-degree temperature, in …

Ten minutes of curfew

The street is still, still like a photograph. There are no cars on the road. A person last walked in the street more than two hours ago. She abandoned her …

Census night and the case of the missing ancestral box, lost in the land of “Other”

The front security door clicks open. I walk to the counter and the constable lifts his head. “I’m here to report a lost item,” I say. “A box with my …

A Greek village holiday to find a nation’s spirit

“If you deconstruct Greece, you will, in the end, see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much, you reconstruct her.” Odysseus Elytis, Greek …

My life in Lockdown 5.0: A humorous account of how to make the most of it

Dora Houpis saw her life in meltdown around this time last year. After a brief spurt at normalcy, Melbourne has plunged into another Lockdown, and Dora sent us a brief …

A “COVID normal” Sunday to remember all saints and Melpomeni, Vaseilia, Antigoni and Evterpi

Fr Emmanuel swung the triple-chain gold thurible with precision. He swung the censer back and forth in equal measure. The movements were just enough for the white puffs of smoke …

Mitropanos sings away every “Cloudy Sunday” during lockdown

“And here again”(1) – we are in lockdown. But this time, every “Cloudy Sunday” (2), “I will close my eyes”(3) and Mitropanos will “Sing me one more song” (4). The …

Aesop’s fairytale advice for a real life pandemic

“Slow and steady wins the race.” (Aesop, “The Hare and the Tortoise” (620-560 BC) Let the clarion calls from Australian corporations, politicians and experts to open our borders faster and harder get louder.  We, the citizenry, should stay the course. We should remember Aesop’s words in our battle against COVID-19 and continue with measured and methodical actions. Of course, COVID-19 is not a fairytale and  Aesop was an Ancient Greek slave fabulist, not a …

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