Letter from Dublin. Memories from Veria (My school).

   By Pantelis Goularas

   A Dublin resident. How strange is life? When I was living in Greece for decades and working for the Greek Public services, I couldn't imagine that once, I'll become a resident of another country. And now, alongside my course here and my daily duties, I feel a nostalgia for the city where I grew up and lived the most years of my life. However, Ireland is a country I love and Dublin is a city I love too. I've been there many times, I had the chance to live there for a few months and to meet some good people. To understand their way of life and to discover similarities and differences within us. To find out the advantages (many) and the disadvantages (few) in comparison to us. To fit myself better in the new way and place of my life.

   But there is always a nostalgia. Taking my youngest daughter, to her school, I've started to remember my school years. In that time, as a young boy, we usually go to school walking, even in the kindergarten. Our school was the 1^st Primary School. It was in the building that is now the Town Hall. At the ground floor was located the 1^st Primary School (along with the 1^st Kindergarten). Upstairs was the (six classes) Boys High School. For a few years, at the ground floor, was also the 2^nd Primary School. Later it had relocated to its own building, the “Meleteio” at Venizelou Street. All

these, during the 60s. The area that is now the Town Hall Square, and it's auxiliary space, was before the School Yard. Under the ground floor, there was a basement. It was the school's storehouse. It was the place they use to store old and broken desks, and wood for the winter stoves. It was used by the teachers to threaten us for punishments. Sometimes pupils from the higher classes, were threatening the youngest, that, they will lock them in the basement and the mice will eat them up. But this never happened. They didn't have the keys. It was a kind of primitive bulling.

   The current Town Hall. In the 60s here was the 1^st Primary School. Today the 1^st Primary School has its own building at Kontogiorgaki Street.

   At the right side of the entrance there was (and there is) the statue of Dimitrios Raktivan, one of the city benefactors.

   At the left side of the entrance there was (and there is) the St Nicolas of Frantzis chapel.

   Historians say, that in the Byzantine years, there was a monastery in the place of the school and the chapel. We, as the kids, when we discovered the existence of the markers, we (unfortunately me too) started, writing practice, on the chapel's walls. Of course, our punishment was acute and strict.

   As I wrote above, we were going to school, all alone and walking. At the beginning, when we started to go to the kindergarten, for two or three days I had my mother's help. Later, walking, along with the other kids of the neighborhood. It was very easy. Walking across our house at the Patriarhou Ioakim Lane,

then, left to the Ierarhon Street,

(Photo by Sharon Shiedu from the blog "Veria the city I live")

then, right to the Aggelon Street. The end of this street was at the Agiou Dimitriou Street, where my school was located.

   Now, what was going inside the school, it is a subject in another post.