The Original Greek selected crops - Flipbook - Page 12
Georgina and Maroulla. My mother also had a twin brother
called Clearxos who died at nine months from whooping
cough. Evangelos immigrated to New York City, America. He
owned and ran a successful Greek restaurant in New York for
many decades.
My mother’s sister, Georgina, was my favourite relative with her
husband Stavros. I loved visiting them as a young boy and seeing
their children, my cousins Lia, Tony and Helen. Tony influenced
me to support Manchester United. He would take me to see United
play when they visited clubs in London such as Arsenal, Tottenham,
Chelsea and Crystal Palace. I saw my United heroes play including
Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton.
Elvis the cat
Georgina had a cat called Elvis with a short tail. Elvis may have had
an accident and lost part of his tail. If you were not careful with
him, he would bite you. I remember his colour. My aunt loved that
cat. We all did.
Demetrakis and Kleo married in October 1954 at the Greek
Orthodox Church of St Lazarus, Larnaca. My parents soon came to
England, and I was born in the summer of 1956 in Islington, north
London. My parents’ first home was in Patshull Road.
My father trained in Cyprus as a bespoke gentleman’s tailor,
specialising in jackets, before moving to England. He produced
made-to-measure handmade jackets, occasionally making suits.
Growing up I remember his workshop near Wardour Street,
central London. Each week my father would need to produce at
least six or seven jackets. I can visualise the row of jackets hanging
neatly on the rail. My father worked a five-and-a-half-day week
finishing on Saturdays at lunch time, but on weekdays he would
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