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‘Greek Yarmouth’
Written by the
Literature teacher Michalis Mihail - Hadjitofi and
translated from the original Greek text by Florendia
Yiannoullou, which first appeared in the Eptakomi
magazine in 1998.
Great Yarmouth is a
seaside town with a population of 80,000 in Eastern
England. It is a distance of approximately 140 miles
from London.
For the people of
Eptakomi Yarmouth is known as the 'other Eptakomi',
while for the English it has long been famous for its
kippers which, until recently, were not only sold around
England but all over the Mediterranean and the Middle
East.
In 1913, 1,163
fishing boats caught 900,000.000 kippers! Towards the
end of 1950 however, fishing began to lessen due to the
dwindling stocks. By contrast, tourism began to develop. |
St. Spyriadonas
the Greek Cypriot church of Great Yarmouth. |
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Now Great Yarmouth
is the most famous family seaside destination in Eastern
England. It offers a wide beach known as the 'Golden
Mile' which is full of restaurants, guest houses and
amusement arcades.
The sea front is
called Marine Parade and the restaurants and guest
houses owned by people from Eptakomi are to be found at
the heart of this road. The other restaurants are
situated on the main road called Regent Road. It is true
to say that nowhere else in England are there so many
restaurants owned by Greeks situated in one place; not
even in Haringay and Green Lanes where there is a
community of over 200,000 Greek Cypriots.
Nearly all the
restaurants in Marine Parade or Regent Road, now belong
or have been handed down by the Cypriots of Great
Yarmouth; or rather the Eptakomites'.
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