Page 64 - Bulletin 12 2008

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The children of Bassios and Stavrou grew up in Kalk Bay. Mostly, they married Greeks,
though not from Epirus. The spouses grew up in Lesvos, Tripolis and Imvros.

After this Alec Bassios visited brother John in USA. They had not seen each other since

John Bassios emigrated to America more than 25 years before. In the late 1950’s Jimmy

Bassios took over the Olympia Cafe. His friend Nikos Goutos bought the Station Café.
(Nikos Goutos’s son, Jimmy, started ‘Jimmys Sports’ in Fish Hoek.) By this time the

Pnematicos family were also well established in Fish Hoek with a café on Beach Road.

Close relationships existed among the Greeks in Kalk Bay, including the Goles family, and
also with the Couras and Goutos families in Muizenberg. Family was most important and

my grandfather supported his family who were trapped in the extreme Communist Albania

for many years. It was especially tough for all of those there during WW2 and the Greek
Civil War after WW2, both in Greece and Albania, and especially in the border area where

they lived.

Contributions to Kalk Bay

SL Bazaars with Sotira Court above were investments in Kalk Bay at a time when no-one

else was investing. (Fig. 2.39). Shops were information centres and points of contact
between people from all walks of life: fishermen, tourists and local notables like John

Wiley, Tommy Carse and Tromp van Diggelen. Many house names recall the Greek origins

of their owners: Sotira Court, Olympia Café and Building (Fig. 2.40), Mykonos, and
Ailimos.

Where are they now?

Alec Bassios died in 1985 and was predeceased by his wife Anastasia in 1977. Stephanos

Stavrou died in 1988 and his wife Vasiliki in 1993. Christos Yiatsis ran a café in Bellville