The Great Filoxenia Barbecue - A Unique Greek Dining Experience

During our stay at the Filoxenia hotel in Rhodes, we enjoyed many sumptuous meals at the restaurant and bar on site. The food was of a high standard and very reasonable in terms of price, especially compared to other eateries at the heart of the island's tourist traps such as the centre of old Rhodes town. However the highlight of our dining experience was the famous Filoxenia barbecue, which for the local villages of Paradisi and Theologos is considered quite an event. For holiday makers whose period of stay includes the weekend it is an entertaining and sumptuous dining event.

Filoxenia Hotel - Paradisi (Tholos), Rhodes

The  Filoxenia Hotel is a family run resort conveniently located on the main coastal highway of Rhodes, and right in the middle of the famous Valley of  Butterflies.  It consists of apartments catering for a variety of travellers and tourists, with single  and double bed apartments. Should you wish to visit the island with kids and kin in tow, Filoxenia has special family rooms available.  It is only a couple of miles away from Rhodes Airport and six or seven miles from Rhodes town which easy to get to by bus or taxi.


It was difficult to get a proper first impression of the room as we had arrived at 11.30 at night, tired from the flight and very cranky. Although it very much challenged our notions of what we normally expect from hotel accommodation, we noticed immediately it was clean and the bed was comfortable. With refreshed eyes and clearer heads we were able to render a much fairer judgement of the room.

Vampires Rock The Bristol Hippodrome

I confess that up until the time I was presented with the tickets by my partner, I had never heard of Vampires Rock, and certainly didn't appreciate the strong cult following of this fun filled rock musical that has grown since it began in 2004.  So on a coldish Sunday evening (7th November 2011) my partner and I made our way to the Bristol Hippodrome with reserved anticipation as to what we could expect from what we assumed to be largely a low key and unheard of production.

Crowdsourcing A Song For Christmas

Once again it looks like the X-Factor stable could be facing competition for that much coveted spot in the UK charts, the Christmas number one, thanks to the first crowdsourced Christmas song. Actor and musician Matt Berry has launched a crowdsourcing campaign to help record a song for Christmas to which anybody can contribute. The call is being launched in conjunction with Absolute Radio, of which  Berry is one of its most popular presenters with all proceeds going to charity.

Fans of hit UK comedy shows IT Crowd and The Mighty Boosh will be familiar with Matt Berry. Since graduating from Nottingham Trent University in 1997, the Bedfordshire born performer has  worked with the likes of Steve Coogan, Peter Serefinowicz, and Sarah Silverman, as well as released three albums. He is currently a radio presenter for the London based station and is known as the voice of Absolute Radio. 

Berry wrote the music and lyrics for "A Christmas Song", components of which are available for download. Anyone who wishes to contribute to the song can do so by downloading the components from the Absolute Radio website. You can contribute by singing a line or two of the song (lyrics are available) and is open to groups, individuals, and even choirs. If you are adept with a musical instrument such as the guitar, drums or can even bang spoons in time, then cues are available for you to add in a strum of the guitar string or a banging of the drum. You can film yourself singing and even throw in a dance routine. Participants are encouraged to be as creative and have as much fun as possible.

Christmas is about being inclusive, sharing and selfless, much like this song. My aim is to release a Christmas single that a whole bunch of people, young and old, can say they were part of. - Matt Berry

Once received, the submissions will be reviewed and excerpts will be included in the finished song and accompanying video which will be available on itunes from 4th December 2011. All proceeds from the sale of the song will go to Shelter, a UK based homelessness and housing charity that help those who face the prospect of losing their homes at Christmas.


If you want to be part of this fun musical experience then click here to select and download a segment for recording. Details of how to upload your recording along with terms and conditions can be found here.  

Image Credit; Abi Skipp