Aline was in my form at the English Girls College in Alexandria and I remember how much I admired her because she was always so brilliant at maths and science – my worst subjects. We lost touch after we all left Egypt but about 30 odd years later, we were reunited here in Athens when I relocated from NYC.
When she and Petros lived on Ploutarchou she used to come by my office at the Greek Film Centre often and we would have lunch and stroll around Monastiraki and Plaka. On one of these occasions, I remember voicing my royalist sympathies and the fact that my step great grandmother was a friend of Queen Olga and the family has some letters sent to her by the Queen.
Aline then mentioned some of her ancestors and as we were walking, we decided to pop into one of those antique type shops and look around. Well, Aline’e eagle eye spotted the plate. A commemorative plate showing King George I and Queen Olga on the occasion of their wedding on 15 October 1867. She picked it up and showed it to me and of course I bought it on the spot. I think of Aline every single day because I use the plate for all my meals (even soup!).
I think this little incident reveals Aline’s character so brilliantly. She didn’t listen superficially to what you said but absorbed it and built on it. The incident with the plate is a perfect example.
Sometimes I’d also come to the apartment on Ploutarchou for tea and a chat, sharing memories of the past but also very much involved in the present. Looking back I realize how we had both evolved since our schooldays in Alexandria and that I could now appreciate her from the prism of my adult years. She was the kindest, gentlest, classiest person I have ever met. Simply perfect in every way. And she never forgot to give me a call on my birthday!
I remember with a great deal of sadness what turned out to be our last in person meeting. We had lunch at the cafeteria of the Acropolis Museum after she had her first surgery. I remember she suggested I have the liver dish. I was a bit hesitant at first but decided to go for it. It was delicious and I told her I’d be sure to have it every time I visited the cafeteria.
That was the last time I saw her as she moved to Spetses permanently soon after. We would still talk on the phone and I would get my birthday calls. When I stopped hearing from her, I realized it must have been when her condition worsened. It was a privilege to have known her and to have shared moments with such a truly remarkable person.
Πάτησε εδώ για την επόμενη ενότητα: «7d. Φωτογραφίες με την Αλίν / Photos with Aline / Photos d’Aline».
όψεις και απόψεις στις Σπέτσες 