'Barba Ilia' was born in Pyrgos Ilia in the Peloponnese. Together with my mother's father Peter and his brother George, they were forced to leave their town as they apparently refused to join the Communist Party. They went to Kythera in the late 1920s aged around 18 years old and settled in Perlegianika where they lived next door to each other.
I clearly remember asking Barba Ilia to take a photo of him and he was very excited. After I took his photo, he asked me if it would be okay to take another photo of him with his apron. When I said yes, he quickly went into his house and emerged wearing his apron. He was so proud to show me that apron!
