Exactly 40 years ago,
I first came to Greece to work.
There were 12 of us - the didactic disciples, I
like to call us – who’d come from GB to open up the British Council teaching
centre on 1st September 1977.
For the record, the delightful dozen
were:
Susan Barrey, Chris Hampshire, Monica Hayek,
Neil Jones, Ed Joycey, Joan Macphail, Dino Mahoney, Rosemary Oxenford, Luke
Prodromou, Sarah Fairman, Pamela Thickett and Judy Thompson.
I have chalked up 34 years living in Greece, and
the greater part of my life has been spent in and around Thessaloniki. In that
time I have had the privilege to meet many remarkable people: friends,
colleagues and students – whether in my capacity as teacher/trainer/assessor,
Forensics Coach, College Counsellor, English oral-examiner or private tutor.
Many have gone on to forge stellar careers in the arts, education, the media, science and research, the law, medicine, economics, etc. I am delighted to have kept in
touch with many or to have resumed contact more recently through the social media
or at professional conventions.
To all
of you out there, I should like to express my gratitude for making my time here
memorable and for extending to me the generosity of spirit and warmth that is
uniquely Greek.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you.
Hallo Macim Macedonia
ReplyDeleteit was in september of 1976 that I was staying in a youth hostel in Thessaloniki. An English guy named Luke Gemmel Walker, a streetmusician who was also staying in the hostel invited me one evening to come along to a dinerparty where he was invited to meet his college-teachers from the British Councel School where he would start teaching after the summerholidays. We went to an appartment where Judy Thomson did welcome us at her doorstep. As the french call it so beautifuly it was a real ‘Coupe de foudre’ between her and me.
I stayed a week at her side. Both we were completely in love. After this magnificant week I had to leave home because of the end-date of my Interrail trainticket. I promised Judy to come back to her after finishing my relation with my girlfriend in Holland. The whole trip I did look at Judy ‘s portraitphoto. In Utrecht I did not dare to tell my girlfriend (we lived together and were both students at the Theater-academy) about my plan to leave her. I could not speak at all for days. At last I did, I packed my suitcase and left home on my way to the railwaystation. But I could not take the train and in tears I did tear up Judy’s photo and went back home, apologied and asked my girlfriend to forgive me and to take me back. We never did talk about it after that and I did push my feelings back and continued my wellorganized life in Holland.
Now so many years later I would like to find out wath happend to Judy in the rest of her life and to be able to tell her about mine and how worty my week with her lives on in my memory.
Please can you tell me if she is still alife, where she lives and so on. And if you could give me her e-mail-address I would be so thankfull.
Hope to hear from you,
Sincerely yours,
Pim Trooster
pimtroostee@gmail.com
+31651537791
After reacting on your blog I discovered that your name is not Macim Macedonia but Joan Macphail
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Pim