Published: Thu 13 Dec 2012 at 10:51
Updated: Thu 13 Dec 2012 at 10:55
Greece continues to be a popular destination for British travellers, with Jet2.com offering cheap flights to the Greek Islands, including Crete and Rhodes, from May onwards.
Corfu is another popular choice, with a lush mountainous interior framed by golden beaches, rocky coves and warm tranquil waters. However, the island was popular with visitors long before the days of international air travel. Lawrence and Gerald Durrell both lived on the island, writing bestselling books about their experiences there. The Victorian writer and illustrator Edward Lear also fell for the island’s charms, visiting no fewer than nine times.
Now, the island is to become the focus of the literary establishment again, with a short film about Lear’s time on the island, and his relationship with Helena Cortazzi, who he met there in the spring of 1856. The script has been penned by novelist Andrew Sinclair - a friend of Joanna Lumley.
The actress visited Corfu a year ago, while filming her four part series, ‘Joanna Lumley's Greek Odyssey’, for ITV. She stayed at the home of Count Spiro Flamburiari, who is also involved in the play. Both he and Sinclair are hoping she will take on the role of Helena.
“This project is at a very early stage. We haven’t decided who will play Lear himself.”
Earlier this year, Flamburiari – a dedicated anglophile - unveiled a bust of Lear to celebrate the bicentenary of his birth. Interestingly, 2012 was Lawrence Durrell’s centenary too.
Many people booking cheap flights to the Greek Islands in 2013 will be heading for the resorts of Corfu, where they are sure to find a warm welcome.
