My father was born in Istambul into a wealthy family (they were gold merchants). However, in the 1920’s they had to flee the country and arrived into Greece, with nothing but their bare hands, becoming really poor. During the Second World War my father joined the Greek Communist Guerrilla and fought against the Germans in the Greek Mountains.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, born into a Scottish family, my mother studied Latin and dreamt about the Ancient Greeks. So one day, when a nanny job based in Greece came up in the local newspaper she took the opportunity and off to Greece she went. That’s how she fell in love with the country…and with the man.

I was born in Greece, but my sister was born in Scotland, where my mother had returned after three years living abroad. My father came to live with us in the UK a few years later, but the relationship did not last forever…

Kindly loaned to Smart Gallery by a mysterious lender whose identity we won’t ever reveal.