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Margarita's Olive PressSnagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here!  List Price: £7.99 Amazon.co.uk's Price: £5.99 You Save: £2.00 (25%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackEAN: 9780715634400 ISBN: 0715634402 Label: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd Manufacturer: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd Number Of Pages: 188 Publication Date: July 07, 2005 Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd Studio: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd Related Items:
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 Rating:  - Mildly interesting but not well writtenAs someone who has been visiting Zakynthos for a number of years, I was expecting much more from this book. To be honest I was more than a little disappointed. Yes there are a small no of memorable characters, but there is really no real sense of Zakynthos, no place names to provide context or invoke memories of places you've been to. It is only too obvious that the author is not a writer. There is really no continuity throughout the book and the jumping around in the timeline is somewhat confusing in trying to relate to the progress of the project. The Olive press could really be anywhere.... Rating:  - A family's 20 year project to create a place in the sunIf you have ever dreamt of living in a house surrounded by olive trees on a slope running down to the Ionian Sea, or simply would enjoy the vicarious pleasure of a beautifully crafted literary excursion to Zakynthos, - read `Margarita's Olive Press'. Margarita, the owner of the olive press, sells off parts of the property as Shields' negotiating skills are tested almost to the limit. The story tells how each practical hurdle is overcome - no road access? no water or electricity? or after winter storms, no roof? - no problem. Each obstacle is tackled with a stoicism and ingenuity which puts most `Grand Design' projects in the shade. Materials have to be carried by mule down from the nearest track, or by impressed members of Shields' family. Once the essential requirements for survival are put together, an easy style of living is established in harmony with the land and the sea. There are delightful accounts of a growing network of Greek builders, friends and acquaintances. Through good fortune, an early contact in a taverna with Dionysus, the former registrar for the northern part of the island, develops into an enduring friendship. The need for a lawyer leads to Lambis, who becomes Shields' guide not only through the labyrinthine mysteries of Greek property transactions, but also to the rich history of the land. The story is one of indomitable optimism and an irreversible love affair with Greek life in a remote corner of this beautiful island. Rating: - A great holiday readMargarita's Olive Press proved to be the ideal holiday companion whilst visiting the Ionian islands. The author suffers all the trials & tribulations of dealing with a property acquisition from a typical Greek family. He conveys extremely well the mentality of Margarita & her desire to ensure that the Englishman will not pay too little for her family heritage.The working relationship of all the people involved in the project is conveyed beautifully albeit tempered with the frustrations of language barriers & a desire on the Greeks part to compound rather than to solve problems. There is joy as each part comes together tinged with sadness along the way. There is compassion, pride,and tragedy without which no book on Greece would be complete. Altogether a fabulous account of triumph over the odds . Rating: - One man's 20 year DIY project on a Greek island.What a delightful story. The charm of Greece and its people comes through on every page and the conversion of a ruin into a beautiful holiday home reads like an adventure story. The property that Rodney Shields acquired on the beautiful island of Zakynthos was idyllic. Except that it had no access road, no electricity and no running water or sewage. It seems that overcoming these considerable obstacles was childs play compared to the difficulties of buying a property from multiple owners and the nightmare complexity of Greek bureaucracy. This book will appeal to anyone who has ever visited Greece and will persuade those who have not that they should do so. It is an abolute must for anyone contemplating a property purchase on an Ionian island. They could save themselves much time and trouble by benefitting from the fascinating story of Rodney Shields' 20 year DIY project.  Try searching the Internet for "Margarita's Olive Press" or Ebay for "Margarita's Olive Press". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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