Celebrating the life of Dimitris – The Loss of a Friend

Dimitris

Today, October twenty sixth, while Greece celebrates the name day of Saint Demitrius; Patron Saint of Thessaloniki, I am celebrating the life of another Dimitris.

Dimitri is one of my oldest friends.

I met him the first year I was here in Greece, 1977.

We met because we had the same car, a khaki green Mini!

The only two in Korinth!

Dimitris

After training as an architect in Belgium Dimitri returned to Athens, and then worked a while in Korinth, where we lived in the same block of flats.

What laughs we had, Dimitri had no television so every Sunday evening we would watch “Fame” together, remember “Fame”?

Dimitris

Dimitris with his pride and joy

Dimitris lived on the top floor, I was on the fourth, he would shout down to me through the air shaft, he had the whole place in an uproar.

A lunatic but such a lovable lunatic, don’t they say that the best people are crazy?

With Dimitris, it’s true.

Dimitris loving life.

It was a treat to see the way Dimitris hung out his washing, instead of wringing things out, he just whacked them on the railings before pegging them on the line.

It was a sad day for me, when Dimitris discovered the magical Island of Kefalonia, one of the Ionian Islands, and left Corinth, leaving the apartment block rather quiet.

Dimitris and his Zodiac.

Dimitris upped sticks, left everything, built a house and made his life in Kefalonia, which meant I took a lot of trips to visit him, what wonderful times we spent together on that magical island.