A Walk into the New Year
The Last Week of 2015:
in which to pause and contemplate
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The hills that are beginning to bleach, while green still holds sway into the distance
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The spaces which are maintained for our pleasure
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This is the time of year that the television is full of 'that-is-the-year-that-was' programs, or 'this-is-the-year-to-come' shows. I too am pondering the immediate past (25 for xmas lunch - successful even though the temperatures rose to 33); and the longer past (3 months in Greece and 7 months here in Australia).
Lots has happened, good and bad, exciting and frustrating (but mostly good and exciting!)
Holidays: Home and Away
This week, between Christmas and New Year, offers a time between 2015 and 2016 to ponder the year gone and the one to come.
It is also a time when most Australians leave the towns and drive off to holiday in some seaside town or other but some come to the hills.
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Here in Emerald you find B&Bs and holiday-lets
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And though many have left for the beaches the village is still welcoming visitors.
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For us our 'holiday' is taken when we travel from one home to another, from one village to another. We move between the green hills and tall trees in Emerald to the Greek island where the hills are bare and the trees stunted, but, the seas sparkle all around.
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Many local homes are blessed with huge trees, and distant views
Emerald Village
But right now we are in Emerald. This place is fast becoming my 'home' village now that I have lived here and experienced all the seasons. I have come to love those aspects that are particular and unique to this place - often very different to those aspects that make Lemnos special.
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And as I walked today I thought again of some other aspects I appreciate in this place, its history and the care taken by residents and council to keep it still a little jewel of a place.
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Mrs. Catton
ReplyDeleteI was recently in Lemnos and I read your book “It began with the watermelon”. I liked it a lot. Although my English is not very good and sometimes I tried hard to understand some phrases, I forced myself to finish it. The reason is that I'm interesting on Lemnian modern times history which concerns emigration in Egypt, Australia etc. I've written some books about these themes. Of course Mavrelis family and its house is a part of Lemnian history, so I wanted to read your book.
I am writing to give you some information, maybe interesting for you and Mr. Takis Statiras.
I remembered that about 20-25 years ago, when I was searching the local archives and old newspapers about Lemnian education history and a famous Lemnian teacher, historian and writer named "Argyrios Moschides", I had found the names Ioannes Pantazoglou and George Mavrelis. These books were published in 1996 and 1997, so I had to look to them again. That's what I had written then about these two persons:
[1] Ioannis Pantazoglou was from Kontia village, born in 1842. He died in January 1907 in Alexandria Egypt. He was a merchant. In Egypt he lived in a place named Tanta from about 1860. He was member of the Lemnian Brotherhood of Alexandria. In April 1891 he was member of the “Auditing Committee of accounts of Lemnian Schools”. That means he was recognized as a trustworthy person of the Lemnian Community. In May 1905 he participated with his sons in the general assembly for rebuilding Lemnian Brotherhood of Alexandria and he was elected as member of the Brotherhood council. As I wrote he died in January 1907. Argyrios Moschides gave a funeral speech by the Brotherhood. The speech was published in Alexandrian newspaper “Tachydromos” (20 Jan. 1907). In the same newspaper (18 Jan. 1907) was published a necrology by the Lemnian journalist Nikolaos Ioannou Lemnios.
[2] George Mavrelis participated in the general assembly for rebuilding Lemnian Brotherhood of Alexandria in May 1905. In April 1911 he was elected as member of the Brotherhood council.
[3] Also there are references about Eleni Mavreli [Gerogre’s mother?], sometimes as Hatzi-Eleni, obviously because she had gone to Jerusalem as a pilgrim. Eleni Mavreli named as a donor of Lemnian society three times. She donated to schools 20 Ottoman lira in Nov. 1900 and several gold coins worth 20 Ottoman lira in March 1901. Also she donated a gold bracelet, one fine golden chain and bonds unknown value.
The above information is from my books:
Θεόδωρος Μπελίτσος, «Αργύριος Μοσχίδης, Ο ιστορικός της Λήμνου και η εποχή του», Αθήνα 1996, σελ. 40, 61 (σημ. 71), 84, 91, 92.
Θεόδωρος Μπελίτσος, «Τα κοινοτικά σχολεία της Λήμνου», έκδ. Σύλλογος προς Διάδοση των Ωφελίμων Βιβλίων, Αθήνα 1997, σελ. 105 (σημ. 252), 139, 174, 176.
Once more I congratulate you for the book. Except of Lemnian history it’s very interesting for Greeks to see how a foreigner understand Greek culture and everyday life.
Theodoros Belitsos
Email: iq1234@otenet.gr
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