Page 43 - Bulletin 12 2008

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I never knew my grandfather - he died some 12 years before I was born. My grandmother
th
survived him by 52 years, dying in her 95 year in 1988. Our generation was not exposed
to the Greek culture at all but, although Athanase himself never went back to Greece, my
grandmother travelled there more than once. All of the Goles children visited the land of

their father’s birth and met his relatives there. Despite the distance of both time and place,

between my grandfather’s arrival in Cape Town in 1902 and my first visit some 70 years
later, I was welcomed by my Greek relatives with all the special warmth which they reserve

for their families. Many of my generation of the family as well as their children have
visited as well. All of us have a special connection with and love for Greece. Fortunately,

my husband Steve enjoys the country as much as I do. We spend a few months there each
year. I think my grandfather would be pleased.