Thank you all for the terrific response to suggestions to mark Paddy’s upcoming anniversary. They came in by email and comment, and I have summarised the ideas below. Please feel free to continue to submit your ideas by comment on this article or contacting me at atsawford [at] gmail .com
NOTE – THE POLLS I CREATED DO NOT WORK . SOME WORDPRESS NONSENSE. PLEASE IGNORE AND JUST ADD A COMMENT INDICATING YOUR PREFERENCE IE INTERESTED/ATTEND/ATTEND AND OFFER TO HELP. I MAY BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING TO FIX THIS OR PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE BUT NOT TODAY! MY APOLOGIES. IF YOU HAVE SUBMITTED A POLL RESULT PLEASE NOW ADD A COMMENT.
PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ORGANISE, OR HELP TO ORGANISE, AN EVENT. I SHAN’T BE DOING ALL THIS BY MYSELF!!!
Online Conference
Chris O’Gorman suggested ” a virtual Paddy mini-conference. It is very short notice I know, but equally there are some very knowledgeable people around who might have talks that they have already written, ready to go? It would also be good if we could get some press coverage – or maybe there could be a PLF anniversary crowd fund for something Paddy would have cared about? Maybe for the Benaki, or for Greek or Cretan veterans?”.
Julie Vick echoed this idea. She wondered “if it would be possible to have a virtual conference where members could volunteer to give short talks on some aspect such as Paddy’s life and history, his writings, Greece, as well as why he is important to them.”
This is a great idea, but perhaps time is short.Having a reliable platform to use would be key. A Zoom licence for up to 100 participants is around £120 pa. If everyone made a small pro rata donation the cost per person could be kept very low; just a few pounds. The event could be recorded and hopefully accessible afterwards.
One alternative might be to encourage those who have material to make a video or audio file to upload to a selected You Tube channel. Have a think.
Please comment and show your interest by adding a comment.
A Detailed Bibliography
Stefan at Southwing Fine Books in Australia has suggested a proper, and very detailed bibliography, or as he says, a “proper” one! I’m working with Stefan to enable this.
Event in France (or anywhere else for that matter)
Nicolas Ruelle has offered to see if something can be arranged in France. Over to you but please signal interest here and I’ll pass on your email details to Nicolas.
If you wish to run an event of any kind (dinner, conference etc) please contact me and I’ll help suggest a format for you to promote it.
A lunch at Dumbleton Hall
Alun Davies has made the marvellous suggestion of a lunch the Dumbleton Hall hotel. I recall going there after Paddy’s funeral (16th June) and it would be a marvellous, and obviously appropriate, venue. Current UK Coronavirus restrictions to end “all social distancing” may come into effect on 21st of June so a proper lunch may be possible after that.
If you are interested in a lunch, or dinner at the hotel during the period 23rd to 26th June please add a comment.
Contribute anything!
James Down wrote to me with this “
I’m not sure it would be of interest, but just after I graduated, in fear of never having the chance again, I did a trip in 2014, starting at Paddy’s House, then hitchhiking up through the Balkans to Croatia, catching a boat across to Italy, then walking all the way back home, to Sussex on my own. The thing I thought may appeal or be relevant to the anniversary is that I have some pictures of Paddy’s house as it was before anything was updated as part of the Benaki project. I also fell asleep there, to escape the heat, inside the arched entrance way and had an amusing encounter with a very shocked Elpida.
I’d be happy to contribute them, captions, or an explanation as a stand-alone item, or perhaps as a part of wider mosaic of your reader’s personal interactions or memories with Paddy and his wider orbit.
I love the idea of doing something in fear of never having the chance again,. Perhaps that should be the theme? Paddy in a sense did that. It does not have to be Paddy related, just something that is important to you that you would like to share? I can post it anonymously for you of you wish.
I’ll be asking James to get his stuff together and make his contribution! It would be great if any of you felt you would like to contribute something (you know we have a very wide editorial brief so come on 🙂 )and I will make a very special, extra effort to get it out there in your name on the blog in a timely fashion! Best to send to atsawford [at] gmail .com
A Greek themed dinner in London.
Like Alun’s suggestion above, Dr Chris Joyce has suggested an event involving refreshment. Possiibly a “Greek Themed” dinner somewhere in London with the sort of food, and most importantly, the drinks that Paddy liked. If you are interested please add a comment.
Patrick Leigh Fermor 
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Paddy’s death is a wonderful idea. As I live in Germany, an online event would be more practical, especially as travelling is difficult at the moment. If the event was held on a Sunday, such as 13 June, those of us who work full time (like me) could also attend the online event live instead of just watching a recording of it. I hope some day to meet some of the “friends of Paddy” at a live event when life gets back to normal again.
The Danube Institute in Budapest is in the process of making a television documentary about PLF’s time in the city. It will include filming in the house of Baroness Gloria von Berg, where he stayed for 10 nights; it will also follow his hectic social trail around the city and interviews with members of the Hungarian families he encountered. The Institute also proposes to name a gallery after him in its new Budapest headquarters. A plaque will also be unveiled on the house in Buda where he stayed. The Patrick Leigh Fermor Society Budapest will also host a series of dinners for its members.
Excellent to hear this. I know that you are very active and I’m sure Michael will be in the thick of it! We would love to have more information, reports and photpgraphs if possible. Tom
For those of us not in the UK or Europe, it would be wonderful if any talks could be recorded for later viewing. Perhaps that would be helpful for publicity purposes, as well? I would be happy to make a contribution.
I love the idea of an online conference. I’d possibly be interested in presenting at the conference and I’m happy to make a financial contribution. I also love the idea of a lunch or picnic at Dumbleton Hall or at the Hellenic Centre in London. I live on the east coast of the US and am fully vaccinated but don’t know if I’ll be able to travel to the UK this summer. I also find George’s point to be compelling and think it would be an interesting discussion topic.
Thank you for all your efforts regarding the celebrations for Paddy’s 100th ‘birthday’. What about a picnic in Dumbleton? Perhaps in the church yard?
Elisabeth – a great idea, but someone has to step forward and organise it. A call will go out soon!
Dear all, why not have a Greek dinner at the Hellenic centre (https://helleniccentre.org/) in London with a talk by Artemis Cooper and/or Simon Fenwick ? There are 2 great Greek restaurants in the immediate vicinity ! Antoon
a great idea, but someone has to step forward and organise it. A call will go out soon!
Dear Antoon (and others). A dinner has been arranged, not at the Hellenic Centre but at a taverna in the Bayswater area which Artemis and her father used to enjoy going to. Artemis will be saying a few words and raising a few glasses. Plenty of wine – and of course Retsina! Thursday 24th June (Midsummer Day). Please contact me if interested – Chris
I know it’s an age-old illusion but today it does seem like there is no trace of any people like Paddy and his generation left on the planet. God knows we need them. It’s surely a different era. Our governments have become very cold, distant and driven by cryptic agendas making it very difficult or impossible to distinguish the good guys from the bad. I believe we need to honor the spirit of PLF on this 10 year anniversary of his death by looking inward to our own values and then looking out at the world to see how it matches up. In my opinion, you will synch up with PLF when you set out to make your part of the world right, by offering aid to the downtrodden and seeking justice for the oppressed.
Also I want to recommend, for anyone who hasn’t read it, a novel by Kazantzakis called “Freedom or Death”. If you enjoyed seeing Crete and it’s people through Paddy’s eyes, you will likely enjoy the wide variety of rich and colorful characters that the author no doubt dredged up from his youth on the island.
I wish all my kindred spirits and friends of Paddy all the best,
-George
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