Letter from Athens, 55 years after...

By Maria Kortesi

Klafthmonos Square. 4 Dragatsaniou st., arcade. My father's tailor shop. My childhood vacation place. There I used to spend my Christmas Holidays, my Easter Holidays and my summer holidays too. There was not a home village to visit or there were not enough money to spend for vacation at the seaside.

This was the place I learn how to work. My first job, when I was 8 years old. I sewed the buttons on the spare collars and the cuffs on the shirts for repair. In the late 50s and the early 60s people used to order shirts at the tailor's and always they had spare collars and cuffs for replacement. Later when I became better in sewing, I sewed the buttons on the new shirts. This was the way I gain some pocket money. My father wanted to show me and to teach me that if you want to gain something you must work hard. I used to spent my “salary” (this is how he used to say) buying my favorite biscuits of the brand “MIRANTA” in a package of 2 drachmas or buying a classic comic from the kiosk in front of the arcade. Next to the kiosk was the news dealer. Every day, with his characteristic and loud voice he was yelling his ...merchandise, announcing the headlines of the newspapers. Next to him the cruller seller, selling hot Thessaloniki crullers. During the winters, there was also a chestnut seller with his traditional hot coals rotisserie.

Today I discovered that the arcade is too small,but in the eyes of my childhood, it used to be huge. Just across my father's there was Mr Mpizmpas hunting species shop. He had guns and stuffed birds in his show case. I didn't like guns at all and I couldn't understand why they used to kill these poor little birds, only to put them in a show case. Next to that shop, was the electrical shop of the “IZOLA” brand. Here I watched television for the first time in my life. Black and white but, as of that time, Impressive! And when the experimental program of the EIRT (Greek Radio Television Institute) begins, I was stuck on the shop's show case. It was very difficult for my parents to take me home. At the deep end of the arcade, there were the offices of the “Naftemporiki” newspaper. All the people there, were always busy and serious, and well dressed. Probably they were journalists. I didn't like them because their faces were usually unsmiling and moody.

Today all these in the arcade are changed and unfortunately some shops are closed. Only the glass blocks made floor remain the same.

Stadiou street and Klafthmonos square in the late 50s (from the blog "Piso sta palia")