The Original Greek selected crops - Flipbook - Page 14
Life was difficult for my parents in the 1950s and early 1960s in
England. The future felt bleak for my father, so my parents decided
to move back to Cyprus. I remember that house in Larnaca. We
had a garden courtyard with chickens. Suddenly I was moved
from being a happy little boy, being schooled in England, to an
unfamiliar new country. Cyprus seemed a strange place. School felt
impossible and so difficult. I did not know what was happening. I
could not cope with Greek school.
“Take your son back to England”
I completed a year of school in Cyprus but I learned almost nothing.
Although we spoke Greek at home whilst growing up, attending
Greek school was shocking. At the end of the school year my Greek
teacher, who taught us all subjects in Greek, spoke to my father
and advised him strongly, “Take your son back to England.” My
father knew the importance of education and qualifications for his
children. My father’s business in Cyprus was not doing well and
probably never would.
I can remember the very day we moved back to Tufnell Park. It was
a relief for all of us. I was happy to be living back in England and
attending school.
Greek school was shocking
Soon the family moved to a wonderful area called Whetstone, north
London. My parents bought an end-of-terrace house in Ridgeview
Road. Within a few days of arriving, a lady unknown to us knocked
at the front door and introduced herself to my father. Mrs O’Connell
lived a few houses away. She welcomed us to the area and asked
permission from my father to take me and my younger sister to
church every Sunday morning.
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