Today (May 2nd) marks one year since my granny’s passing and the memories are flooding in. Granddad passed away back in 2010 on May 5th. As a result, early May for me has become a time that inevitably brings me sadness, but somehow floods my mind with loving memories and fills my heart with blessings at the same time too.

Last summer, having inherited my grandparents’ house in Moraitika, it was hard opening the door and finding an empty house inside for the first time. What’s more, I was burdened with the gruesome task of having to go through my grandparents’ belongings, deciding what was to keep, what to throw, and what to give to charity. The task took days, and it was a surreal experience. Being interspersed with short bursts of summer holiday fun, it felt odd to do this too but, somehow, my mission was accomplished. At the end of my holiday I had given loads of clothes and medical equipment no longer needed to a couple locals who were grateful to have them, my husband and I had scrubbed dirty and moulded walls and ceilings clean, the house was tidy and aired after having being left uninhabited for a long time, and our minds were enriched with beautiful new holiday memories.

I share with you today a couple photos I took while sorting through my grandparents’ personal belongings. I found these in their aged bedside cabinets.

我很快就意识到，从老人回忆上面照片中的所有项目，并深受感动，看大Antigoni酒店一直保持了几个我用我小时候的手帕。我看到他们的那一刻我想起他们为我的。你们中间谁已经在科孚在70年代和80年代度假，可以在中间的药盒识别项目。betway必威官网登陆官方网他们在上世纪80年代风靡一时，被许多形状，并与当时的纪念品商店对他们的各种描写出售。

As for granddad’s things, the only item I didn’t recognize was the binoculars. They are dented, as you can see, and you couldn’t see much through the lenses, but he must have been fond of them as he kept them all the same. I can only imagine how many years he must have had them! As for the torch, granddad had a few, and this one is the oldest I remember and probably his favourite! It’s the one he used during our annual ‘pizza nights’ at the beach when the August moon was out – a memory that made its way into The Ebb, the novel I wrote to share my love for my grandparents with the world. Speaking of The Ebb, Sofia’s dented fork is also real… and I have proof. Scroll down below to see a photo of it

Granddad Spyros, born in Moraitika in 1913, was one of the children of Stefanos Vassilakis, the priest and teacher of Moraitika in the early 1900s. Granddad never had an education beyond elementary school but his impeccable manners towards family and friends as well as his loving, giving heart were prominent parts of his character. During the forty odd years that I was blessed to have him in my life he’d always been upbeat, sweet and loving and I never witnessed him lose his temper or fight with anyone, not even when he had every right to. And believe me, in my typically dysfunctional Greek family he had many opportunities to act that way.

Being the son of a preacher, Granddad spent Sunday mornings sitting with a radio and chanting along to the priest and the hymn singers. He also chanted in the church with gladness whenever asked. As I share in The Ebb, he had an odd affinity for the TV remote control, driving Gran to a frenzy. Actually, all his eccentricities that I share in the book are true, and he was a man who loved to laugh and entertain others too. Near the end of his life, he kept asking us to be merry when he dies, saying he wanted people to laugh, not cry, at his funeral. I last spoke to him (on the phone from Athens) three days before his passing at the age of 97. His mind was crystal clear, his voice jovial, like a young boy’s. His answer to my question ‘How are you?’ was a hearty laugh and the typical answer, “Got to be here another day!”

Granddad loved a good joke. Once, when he was well into his 90s, we were sitting around the table and he was laughing his head off with his own morbid joke. He had recently paid the council for a family grave and had had it decorated with the marble top and cross, and even his own picture, ready for the big day! Apparently, a local had passed by and seen the grave and told another: ‘Crikey! When did Spyros Vassilakis die? I never heard!” Someone had told Granddad and he relayed it around the table, laughing heartily at the ridiculous notion someone had thought him dead, even though he had set the scene perfectly for anyone to be fooled! And that was Granddad. He had this wicked sense of humour that often annoyed Gran and led to those ‘fights’ at the table that always caused me and my sister to exchange glances and chuckle no end.

爷爷也喜欢与他从浪漫的朋友Andriana，一名当地妇女和母亲Leftis的笑话。爷爷和夫人Andriana有大致相同的年龄，经常互相开玩笑，打赌谁就会绕道走先！正如他在接近年底躺在床上，爷爷听到教堂钟声间歇在村里标志着一个死亡的典型的单罢。他转身对大和说，“Andriana的走了”，这的确是钟为她经过的收费，但我们永远不会知道，如果这只是一种猜测，或者如果他莫名其妙知道。第二天，他也死了。

Above all Granddad’s delightful eccentricities, one stands out for me as the most endearing: he always carried a little plastic comb in his shirt pocket and loved for me and my sister to comb his hair when we were little. Ever since I remember myself this ritual kept going strong. When I stayed or visited his house in Athens as a little girl he’d sit on his armchair, pat his shirt pocket and give me a cunning grin. I’d then rush to him, take the comb from his pocket and begin to comb his hair for a long time, the longer the better for him, but it was something I enjoyed too so much that time just flew. Often, before I knew it, he’d be fast asleep while I did this, sometimes even snoring loudly! He’d often wake up a little later to find he had all sorts of plaits braided on his head with colourful plastic hair clips at the end of them. He had the softest, snow-white thin strands and to this day I remember how they felt in my hands.

When Granddad passed away in 2010, I asked Gran if she had one of his combs to give me. She gave one to me and one to my sister and we both treasure them. Often, when the going gets tough in my life, I take it in my hands and tell Granddad my troubles. It always helps me to soothe any kind of heartache or mental strain – the comb having been established as the ultimate symbol of his love in my heart and mind.

I was deeply moved and very fortunate to find these old documents in an envelope in my granny’s bedside cabinet last summer. Time had rendered them gossamer thin but the writing is still legible in most places and it’s been preserved quite well despite the dozens of humid winters. These documents were my granddad’s call to military duty twice: the first in 1935 and the other in 1945.

1935年的文件,当爷爷Spyros 22日had him registered as a coffee shop seller who was assigned to serve as a telephonist in the Communications Corp (I translate all this to the best of my ability seeing I am not familiar with military jargon). The rules that were mentioned overleaf state that the person called to duty was obliged to appear on the date specified. It was also stated that a delay of one day in showing up would result in imprisonment, while a delay of two or more days would automatically declare the person a deserter, which was punishable by death, or a life sentence in prison if evidence was put forward for their defense. There was also a clear instruction in bold to treat the assigned post and the document itself as confidential.

The document of 1945 called my granddad to duty in Acharnes, Athens in September 30th, 1945. He was 32 at the time. The document listed the same kind of rules overleaf, although with less severity compared to the other document. It was also stamped in Patra in October 1945 and there’s writing beside it but sadly it’s impossible to make out what it says.

我所知道的关于战争期间，爷爷的服务是，他在阿尔巴尼亚战斗，解除职务，当他回到孚脚下。betway必威官网登陆官方网我也知道，在科孚岛，他驻扎在两个地方：（betway必威官网登陆官方网威尼斯）老古堡科孚镇和孟回购的卡诺尼宫。在后者中，他担任厨师，并擦上希腊和英国官员的肩上。

大Antigoni酒店是在1924年她的父亲出生于莱夫卡（雷夫卡达），尼可拉斯Kopsidas从卡里阿斯村，莱夫卡斯，拥有在该岛首府2个旅店但摧毁了城镇的许多建筑，包括他的两个企业，毁灭性的地震，逼他离开该岛，并寻求新的生活为他自己和他的家人在科孚岛。betway必威官网登陆官方网老太为约400时，她搬到了科孚岛。betway必威官网登陆官方网在科孚镇Campielo古季度长大，她旋律说话的时候，她的词汇丰富的深不可测的意大利冠冕堂皇的话，betway必威官网登陆官方网从岛的占领威尼斯人约会。当她十九岁，她的一个弟弟与爷爷谁是三十多岁的时候交上了朋友。爷爷常说，当他第一次率领的眼睛在我的娴静的祖母，她穿着一件长长的百褶裙和景象使他失去了他的心（“锡itha科vourlistika”，是准确的话！）。剩下的就是历史，因为他们说。

奶奶生活和呼吸的女儿，约安娜（妈妈）和千金，谁也分别在Campielo长大。

当我走过来的，有人爱左右逢源的故事。奶奶和我很快就开发出了非常强的债券。我小的时候我经常停留在她租的房子（在雅典当时）我是如此依恋她我叫她“妈妈”（妈妈），并拒绝，除非她拉着我的手才能入睡。Gran would often laugh and say I gave her a hard time back then, seeing that as soon as she moved her hand away from my grasp I’d snap my eyes open, which meant she had to give me her hand and wait for me to fall asleep all over again.

Although my grandparents lived in Athens when I was little, we often visited Corfu in the summer to stay with my aunt Stephanie’s family in Garitsa (coastal quarter of the town next to Anemomylos). My grandparents had inherited a small quarter of my great-grandfather’s house in Moraitika but they needed to build upon it to make it a proper home with the necessary commodities first. They managed this in the early 1980s so I began to spend my summer holidays for three months at a time in the village as of then.

In The Ebb I share many of the terms of endearment Granny used to address me. There is an entertaining one I didn’t share, which tickled my husband’s funny bone so much he uses it for me now. The term is ‘kontessa’ (countess), my granny’s way of teasing me whenever, as all kids occasionally do, I acted lazy or self-indulgent. Every time Andy calls me that now if, say, I snooze a little longer in bed, there is a tug in my heart, but the feeling is wonderful, knowing the term of endearment survived, somehow.

在最近几年，我一直在祝福在冬季期间一次曾在我在雅典的房子一个月左右大的住宿。回顾2011年时上面的照片拍摄我有一只狗，Nerina，甜蜜和仁慈的灵魂。我猜她一定在大已经找到了志趣相投，因为她跟着她的房子，尤其是在大的水槽清洁鱼你在上面照片上看到。舒展她的腿，我经常带着大海滨散步和大爱吃鱼的时候，她经常建议我们买一些吃午饭，直接从渔船。在阳光明媚的日子，往往不是，她建议在房子周围的田野散步，采摘野菜。你会觉得一个90岁将在思想畏缩，但奶奶是不知疲倦。她并不介意在所有弯腰一个小时挑蔬菜，往往确实有点太园艺，采摘留兰香的豆芽从一个地方把它们放在一个新的点，或者只是浇水我厂。她喜欢被周围的植物和做了同样在她的小院子里，直到莫拉伊蒂卡她离开它最后一次背后的一天。

当大和爷爷在40年代开始了他们的生活在一起，日子过得很艰难。如果他们需要从孚镇参观莫拉伊蒂卡，他们经常走的整套方法。betway必威官网登陆官方网这是今天在公交车上有45分钟的车程！作为一个年轻的夫妻，他们住在Campielo如我之前所说，其中，入不敷出，爷爷用来为茶点公司做送货。他做了交付全城骑着马车。暑假期间，他做了很多更多的时间，以满足更高的要求，往往在一周中的每一天。他会在第一光离开家，天黑后返回时，孩子们在床上。其结果是，他的小女儿，千金藤，称他为“O巴巴Øchimoniatikos”（冬的父亲），因为这是她得到了在哪里看到他当年的唯一部分。

以后在生活中，寻求一个更安全的未来，我的爷爷带着他的家人住在雅典，他曾在Skaramangha造船厂。在我的小说处女作，雅典娜女神的项链，我提到了废布料所用的工人从肮脏的工作洗手。爷爷就经常带奇废料家庭和奶奶做的衣服从他们自己的孩子。

Back in Moraitika is where sheer bliss began to pour into my life. Roughly from the age of 12, I began to stay with my grandparents nearly every summer from early June to early September. I played and swam daily with a multitude of cousins and village children and as neighbours I had a host of great-uncles and great-aunts who’d each inherited a part of my great-grandfather’s big house. Every morning would find me and the other children playing with a ball or cards under the mulberry tree or on the cemented step that can still be found today outside the house.

快到中午的时候，我们最好在大量全部下降到海边我们每天游泳。在下午，我们午睡后，我的表兄弟和长距离散步伴随着我的祖父母或奇叔公我会去。他们中的一个，叔公Lilis谁在当时是一位退休教师，伴随着我们在走军事风格，大叫一声“ENA-DYO，EN-DYO”给踏着节奏，当然，我们的孩子一笑置之，但。我们确实发现它不时惹人喜爱，但这样纵容他通过游行像他的小士兵，因为他去年跟随在路边，监督我们。

Most of the time, we’d walk along the Corfu-Lefkimmi highway and stopped at Messonghi past the tiny bridge near the turn off to Agios Mattheos where the petrol station is today. Beside it on the corner, there was a cafe owned by my uncle Thanassis Tsatsanis from Messonghi. This was our resting place for a refreshment or a sweet before our long walk back home on the hill in Moraitika.

All the things fun I just mentioned, interspersed with out-of-this-world good meals prepared by my granny only repeated themselves the next day and the next after that, for three months at a time. I am sure, therefore, you can imagine my joy every time June came when I was a youngster, and the absolute heart-wrenching sorrow that hit me when September arrived each year and it was time to go.

As I have said many times and also recorded in The Ebb, Gran Antigoni was an amazing cook and prepared her meals in a tiny kitchen barely big enough for two people to stand in it. These photos from the early 2000’s serve as proof!

Speaking of proof, here is a picture of the dented aluminum fork described in The Ebb. Every summer, on my first day in the house, Gran would take it out of her ancient cabinet drawer and set it in front of me at the table with a glint in her eye as Granddad chuckled. You can imagine what it means to me now they are gone. I took this photo last summer, and it was quite emotional when I set it down on the table to eat with my husband, without either of my grandparents present for the very first time. But of course, their love remains inside me, safe, where neither time nor death can ever take it away.

Below, I share a couple videos from happy days with my grandparents. These were taken in the summer of 2004.

一分之二的视频功能我的谈话my grandparents as I take the video and Andy and Granddad watch Gran BBQ fish for our lunch. During that time we elaborated a lot on the fact Granddad was difficult to cook for because there were many foods he didn’t like much (fish and meat included). I then tried to convince him to have some fish but he seemed intent on only having the boiled greens and skordalia (garlic dip) that were to be served with it. By the time Gran serves at the table, she and I have managed to annoy him somewhat to a hilarious effect right at the end of video 3.

“圣polla德勒特？”（你不觉得你说的太多了吗？）在他的典型的模拟严厉口气打趣道爷爷。它使我的奶奶，我笑了很多次，我们在他通过以后一起观看了这部影片。而她的指尖抚摸着他的脸我的平板电脑的屏幕上，写着“斯派罗回眸......”从她的嘴唇望眼欲穿，并多次发出奶奶会笑。

I hope you’ll find the videos entertaining, even those among you who don’t understand much Greek, if only for the mannerisms and the real-life depiction of a typical ‘row’ between my grandparents at meal times as described in The Ebb.

我确实认为，老太和爷爷都是姐姐的灵魂。他们了67年结婚，并一起留在爱，直到最后一天，爷爷奶奶在的胳膊在他的床上平静地死去。老太经常转述他如何睁开了眼睛，并给了她一个最后的，紧张的神色，才重新闭上了，这个时候，永远。老太说，感觉就像他瞄准把她的形象与他一起。

去年，奶奶的临别赠言给我通过电话和清晰的思维骨髓炎的罕见瞬间期间早已开始云她的脑海里，因为她的致命秋天被说。Even though she kept silent or mumbled to herself whenever I phoned the old people’s home in Limnos where she spent her very last days, during that call I was lucky to make out these words: ‘Na eisai kala kyra mou, na eisai panta kala’ (may you be well ‘my lady’, may you always be well). I knew that day this was goodbye. And I was right; she died just a couple days later. I do hope in her heart she knew I was there when that happened, if only in spirit.

再见奶奶。再见爷爷。直到我们再次见面。

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