WEDDING BELLS IN KOKKINI: The whole town, or so it seemed, turned out for the marriage of Poppy Magaraki of Kokkini Hani to Lefteris Antonakakis of Iraklion. Poppy is the affable and workaholic owner of the Dionisos Super Market in the Vathianos Kambos area of Kokkini. Almost a thousand invited guests, and a few gate-crashers, were on hand last month as the couple tied the Gordian knot. Although Poppy was spotted "at the shop" the morning of her wedding, it has been confirmed by this column that she did, in fact, take a couple of weeks off for a honeymoon tour of Spain.
       
 
       
 

ARE THEY NEXT? Long-time Gouvian Lavender Connolly cuddles up with Manoli, the Kokkinite who is so famous that he's known by only one name – like Cher or Pele. Oh, well, no hot gossip here. It turns out they're just old friends who got together at Poppy's wedding . . . AND

   
  WHILE ON THE SUBJECT OF WEDDINGS: Yes, that's a diamond on the hand of Cara Duro, daughter of Lou Duro of Gournes, the chef-owner of the former Chickadees Restaurant. Although Cara doesn't live in the Tri-Town area (she's still a New York hold-out), she has many friends here from holidaying in Crete. And, if her father has anything to say about it, she'll be back to our sunny shores for the honeymoon. Cara's engaged to Fred Quinones, said to be a better "catch" than a doctor or lawyer. He's a water systems engineer, or better known as a New York City plumber.
       
 
       
 

HER 'SON' IS SHINING: Renie Spijkerman's disposition is even more "sonny" these days. Her son, Dex, 20, is visiting from Holland. Dex, an ex expat, will be in Gournes for a two-month stay. Dex lived here until he was 15, then moved to Sarasota, Florida. He's now a student at the University of South Florida studying history with a major in Hellenic studies.

  

A BLONDE MOMENT: Catrin Johansson went to a local Analipsi super- market and took her dog Mojo along for the stroll. Not wanting to take the dog inside, Catrin tied her up by the door. However, she tied Mojo to a trolley! Mojo, known to be a bit nervous and high strung, got scared by the noise of an oncoming trolley and started to run – but the trolley kept on coming. Get the picture? Mojo sprinting through the streets of Analipsi with a trolley on her trail. Oh, well, Catrin is blonde, after all
   
 
   
 

BACK IN TOWN: Wendy Schinarakis, long-time resident of Gournes, was back in merry ole England visiting friends and family for the month of May. She reports that she had a grand time, but it's always nice to be "home" again in Crete

 

 
 

CAN TESCO BE FAR BEHIND? Don't tell Makro or Carrefour, but Lidl, the giant German supermarket chain, is doing something they should have done. Word has it that it's opening a store in the Tri-Town area, probably Kokkini Hani. The huge "deep-discount" chain, with over 5,000 stores worldwide, already has eight locations in Crete and is said to be building at least a few more. Local residents have been angered over the fact that Lidl opened three stores in the Iraklion area, all within several miles of each other, while totally ignoring the consumers in the surrounding suburbs.

       
 
   
 

TRADITIONAL LOVE: That's Yorgos Halambalakis of the popular Zorbas Taverna in Analipsi with his arm around Marie Claire Baker of England. Marie met Yorgos while she was here on holiday last summer. It seems she went to Zorbas for some traditional Cretan food, and discovered her not-so-traditional Cretan man! Maria flew home, packed her bags and returned to Crete faster than you can say Mousaka – and they've been an item ever since

   
  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD: Molly van Osch, co-owner of Nesta Café in Kokkini, and one of the talented staff of The Ko-Go Khronicles, took a quick trip to the Netherlands to give her father, Has van Zwam, the "perfect" birthday gift. She flew back home to be with dad for his big five-oh birthday bash, celebrated with 50 members of family and close friends.