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Archbishop’s visit to Glasgow

Glasgow’s Orthodox community celebrated St. Luke’s Day on 13th October with a special visit and liturgy from His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios, the head of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain.

Glasgow’s only Greek Orthodox church, which is located in the leafy West End, is dedicated to St. Luke the Evangelist who is known as the patron saint of physicians and artists.

After the service, the Archbishop also met with representatives of St. Luke’s Community Council and Christian Fellowship, and younger members of the community.

Referring to the experiences of other Greek Communities in the UK who have felt the effects of dwindling Church attendance, particularly amongst first and second generation Greeks,the Archbishop urged everyone to work together in preserving and rejuvenating Scotland’s largest Greek Community. He particularly emphasised the importance of the community’s youth taking an active part in shaping its future. He also encouraged greater community activity and interaction, and raised the possibility of more English language content in services along the lines of American Greek churches.

Glasgow Greek Week June 2002



The end of June saw the first ever Glasgow Greek Week festival funded by grants from the Scottish Arts Council, Glasgow District Council and the Glynhill Hotel & Leisure Club. The festival involved live Greek music and dancing, Greek films, a Greek nightclub, a market fair, a dinner dance for the Greek School in Glasgow, and participation of Greek dancers from the community’s Youth Club in the West End Festival Midsummer Carnival. Here we highlight just two of these events.

Moutsatsou, Ziogalas, Pyrovolakis - A real treat for Glasgow


A Glasgow audience of 200 turning out for Greek musicians on a rainy Tuesday night in June is truly something special. One of the highlights of the Greek Week festival – and a unique event for Scotland - was the concert by Anastasia Moutsatsou, Nikos Ziogalas, Manos Pyrovolakis and their musicians at The Ferry on Tuesday 25th June.

These artists, who are currently regarded as some of the most innovative singer-songwriters and performers in Greece, presented a superb and internationally appealing side of Greek music. Rising star Manos Pyrovolakis with the almost celtic sound of his Cretan lyra had the audience mesmerised. And Anastasia Moutstasou - who has been described in Rhythm Magazine as taking Greek music in new directions along with the likes of George Dalaras and Melina Kana - gave a superb rendition of Nikos Ziogalas’ old and newest hits as well as old Greek favourites. Nikos Ziogalas himself showed the class which has made him a dynamic force on the Greek music scene for 30 years, singing and writing hit songs for the likes of Glykeria.

Young Greeks are Outward Bound

Since 1941, the national charity, The Outward Bound Trust, has sought to inspire young people to fulfil their potential through challenging outdoor activities. The Charity’s founder, Kurt Hahn said: “We are all better than we know. If only we can be brought to realise this, we may never be prepared to settle for anything less”.

Now, young Greeks between the ages of 14 and 24 from communities all over the UK are to be given the opportunity to take part in Outward Bound activities and experience some of the teamwork and adventure the Trust’s schemes can offer. The Trust has been awarded a grant from The Stavros Niarchos Foundation to be spent on young people of Greek origin in the UK over the next 5 years. The plans include support for individual bursaries, special courses for small groups from the Glasgow and Edinburgh communities, and a programme for larger groups of young people coming together from Greek communities all over the UK. The first programme is currently in the planning stages and should take place early in 2003.

The Niarchos Foundation, which was established in the name of the famous Greek shipping magnate, is based in Liechtenstein and supports a variety of international activities, including some directed towards education and science. It has been responsible for donations all over the world – from concert halls, library systems and fire-fighting engines in Greece, to U.S. marine biological and oceanographic research, and robotic systems for handling suspicious devices at Athens International Airport.

Greek Music Reviews

by Keith Dinnie

Keith has been dj'ing Greek nights in Glasgow for 3 years. He lived and worked in Greece for 6 years, in Athens, Kavala, Komotini, and Thessaloniki. Every Saturday night you can find him dj'ing latin/r'n'b/world music nights in Havana, 10pm-2am.

Sotis Volanis: Sotis Volanis

VASIPAP 2002 Category: Modern laika

Don’t let the cheesy sleeve put you off this Sotis Volanis cd, as there are some gems to be found on it. Opening track “Thelo na tho” and track 4, “San to tsigaro me katastrefis” are both very good tsiftetelis which should fill the dancefloor, whilst other highlights on the cd include the zeimbekiko “Min tolmiseis”, plus “Pes mou poso”, “Then exo alli epilogi”, and “Papse loipon”.

Vasilis Karras: Loyia tis nihtas

MINOS-EMI 2002 Category: Laika

There are some excellent zeimbekikos on this new cd by Vasilis Karras – “Mesa sto spiti tou trelou”, “Hameni politeia”, “Otan eisai treli sto mualo”, and best of all, “Htes agapimenos”. Other good songs include “Then milame ithia glossa” and “Prota me skotoneis”. All in all, this is a good solid album by one of the giants of the Greek music world.

My Big Fat Greek Film Review

My Big Fat Greek Wedding has been one of the most popular movies of 2002.

It’s a story about family, and it will make you laugh by the sheer similarities between the characters and probably someone you know.

Foreign guy meets Greek girl and they fall in love. Her family on the other hand don’t approve and their lives become comically difficult. Any of this sound familiar to those out there who have married into a Greek family?

Toulla (Nia Vardalos) works in her family’s restaurant, dreaming of the day she will make something of herself in her career - however this day seems far away. Her family have deep traditions and believe all she can achieve is marriage, babies and feed the world Greek food! One day her handsome prince, Ian (John Corbett) drops by for coffee and sews the seed in her mind that she can go for her dreams. A quick drop of hair mousse, make-up and a new wardrobe and Toulla is off to college to learn all about computers with the warning from her father about the drugs available! With her new found knowledge she takes over another part of the family business running the travel agency where her scope for life and what it holds is expanded.

One day Ian drops by and decides Toulla is the woman for him. A comical courtship ensues and results in the two families meeting to celebrate their predictable engagement. A recognisable Greek get-together follows where dancing and Ouzo flow freely. In order that the planned wedding goes ahead Ian must first be baptised….a situation with a paddling pool in the church will be a familiar scene with many viewers.

The main event does not disappoint, and any budding brides out there will be able to pick up valuable fashion tips from the bridesmaids and Aunties! All goes well at the ceremony and the reception with all guests….even Granny leaves the Turks alone for the day.

A point to watch out for…any Greek word you want to know the root of….ask Toullas father!