ALL QUIET ON THE SUN SCREEN ISLAND

Kephalonia, arguably the most beautiful of the Ionian islands, is accustomed to invasion - but the one they were expecting after that film hasn't happened, writes Brenda Howley.

The man with the mandolin has left the Greek island of Kephalonia. His only legacy is the obligatory Captain Correlli Café in the small yachty resort of Aghios Efimia on the east coast - and a surprise fall in visitors.

"We're down 5 per cent on last year," said Nicos, who runs a taverna near St Gerassimo's nunnery, one of the locations made famous by the film. "After the movie, everyone thought it would be too crowded, so they have stayed away."

Now there's talk of more Hollywood movie crews planning to use Kephalonia as a back-drop for another sun block-buster. With its pine-clad slopes, sheer white cliffs and impossibly turquoise sea it's a ready-made film set. Simply add cameramen and a couple of big box office names.

Local bar owners, restaurateurs and taxi drivers are not impressed by the news.

"They say on the radio that Tom Cruise will come to Skala," says the cabbie taking us from the airport. "Another war film," he sighs.

No you won't find Pelagia's house, he adds, as if pre-empting the next question. Though if shooting does go ahead, Penelope Cruz might be back in her new role as Cruise's new "leading lady".

On Kephalonia, Nicholas Cage is yesterday's man - though you can find the house where he was "billeted" during filming. It's on the low road out of Sami, on the way to Antisamos Beach. Remember that? The place where the Italian troops pitched camp. Look out for the white icing sugar villa perched on the water's edge.

"I made it my mission to make his bodyguards smile," said Jacqueline, who has lived on the island for three years. "Whenever I drove over to the beach, there were always two of them stationed in the layby opposite. They looked so grim. My Greek isn't that good, but I looked up the word for smile and shouted it out of the window as I passed. I always got a wave after that."

Occupation, first by the Italians and then the Germans, followed by the earthquake in 1953, left the islanders little to laugh about - except the ones living around Svoronata which had its own mini Gold Rush just after the war.

We discovered that the Paradiso Apartments where we were staying had been built three years ago, just a stone's throw from the Field of Gold. It was here that after World War 11 local people found old olive oil cans full of gold sovereigns from the war chest, dropped by British planes and hidden by members of the Resistance.

Local legend has it that when the family of an old woman went into her home in nearby Lakithra after her death, they found a small fortune in coins hidden in her tubular metal bedstead.

After a hot (and fruitless) day's treasure hunting, we headed down to nearby Ammes Beach where we did find gold of a sort. The sand. It's a popular haunt for families staying in the surrounding apartments - and for plane spotters. It's so close to the airport runway, you can check the tread on the tyres of incoming flights. A better bet is the narrow strip of equally golden sand around the coast at Avithos.

Unlike most other Greek islands, you'll be hard-pressed to find many truly old traditional houses, though it's no less attractive for that. Kephalonians have green fingers. During the long hot summer, every garden bursts with colour. White walls are ablaze with pink and orange bougainvillea. While Italians hit the streets in the early evenings to strut their stuff on the passegiata, Kefalonians are out with their hosepipes.

In our search for the only area that escaped the worst of the earthquake, we headed north along the winding road that takes you past the stunning white Myrtos Beach, the most photographed bay in Greece.

We thought we'd found old Kephalonia in Assos, a picturesque but simply styled village by the water, dominated by a towering Venetian fortress. But no. The whole place had been rebuilt after the earthquake, we were told, largely thanks to the French - hence the very unGreek name given to the platia (or village square). Paris.

To find the genuine article, we had to drive on to Fiskardo, where candy-coloured houses, tavernas and bars full of beautiful people line the marina, packed with shiny white cruisers, moored cheek by jowl with local fishing boats.

It's the sort of picture postcard place that could easily be mistaken for a film set. If you take time out to sit and sip an ouzo on the quayside next summer, there's every chance Cruise and Cruz might join you at the next table.

FACT BOX

Several package tour operators include Kephalonia in their April-October programme, including Kosmar, Libra, jmc and Sunvil. Brenda Howley took a last minute self-caterng seven night holiday with Kosmar. Price £199 based on two sharing.

Car hire is recommended for sightseeing as the bus service is poor. Costs about £200 per week for an economical airconditioned Hyundai .

Accommodation in some of the newly emerging holiday destinations such as Svoronata and Lourdos along the south west coast involve up to 25 minutes' walk downhill to the beach (which means a 50 minute walk uphill to get back to your apartment).
For more rewarding self-guided walks around Kephalonia, check out The Way to Go series of three books, widely available at supermarkets around the island. Price:£3 each.