At Margarita’s grocery

A call shop and a grocery store… 

I remember the time, when as a kid, during our holidays in Paros, my mom and I had to go from Pisso Livadi to the village of Marpissa to call my dad who was working in Athens. It was years before the appearance of smartphones, and we didn’t even have a telephone line at home, nor had the houses of our neighbors …I know what you must be thinking: how old am I anyway?

Well, you don’t have to be as old as the Acropolis, to have memories of going to a call shop and then into the narrow telephone cabin decorated with old EOT island posters to make a phone call. Those phone calls were quite an adventure, but they were also fun; we got to see Margarita, the joyful owner of the call shop that was also one of the village’s old grocery stores and learn all the local news;

I usually bought something (that at the time seemed very exotic), like a watch that was also a lollipop or like a flashing yoyo. My mom bought local cheese and fresh eggs. You could find almost everything there; hairpins, combs and handkerchiefs; fabrics by the meter, laces, pins and needles; notebooks, stamps; biscuits; legumes; candles and wine.

It was a place so full of life – it still is. Margarita is a kind and openhearted person, she makes people feel good. The adorable shop is still a meeting point for the neighbors and fresh flowers always have a place on the counter.

She is a great storyteller and through her narration I felt closer with the village and its people. words:     maria alipranti photos © christos drazos