There are foreigners who fall in love with Greece and become guardian angels of our past. Like the British Ann Eldridge, a geographer, urban planner and classicist, who has been permanently living in Monemvasia for many years. Due to her constant clashes with the Castle’s history, she has been mobilized to preserve valuable visual documents as she leads the Monemvasia Society. Thanks to her own efforts, as well as the efforts of other concerned settlers and local residents, she saved the evidence from oblivion and destruction. Together with Evgenia Grigorakis, also one of the founders of the company, they collected 2,000 images by visiting homes, archives and searching the Internet. This led her to create a book called “People, Place, Presence” about the time travel of this “stone ship” called Monemvasia. The edition was presented in London and Athens.

Tirelessly energetic and tenacious, Eldridge decided to expand her “rescue” campaign. Therefore, this week she organized an event in the hospitable garden of her home with the first video recordings of oral history, which will gradually replenish the archive. The project received valuable support and guidance from the former head of the Numismatic Museum of Athens, Despina Eugenidou. Thus, the existing collection of photographs, which is updated from time to time with various additions, will acquire a narrative element with interviews of local residents, whether Greeks or foreigners. Thus, there will be a kaleidoscopic approach to the past, where the images are complemented by stories about people with different experiences and backgrounds. The “Monemvasia Society” plans next year to have a photo exhibition by the Dane Paul Rasmussen (1929-1993) and it will be accompanied by video oral recordings. The latter moved with his wife Thea to the Peloponnese in 1966 and they immediately became well-loved and active members of the local community. His photo archive some time ago was donated to the Society. Eldridge’s efforts are especially noteworthy for another reason. This small peninsula in the Peloponnese has managed to keep its architectural heritage intact thanks to the distance separating it from the mainland and the walls that protect it. However, in order for his wonderful houses not to look like empty shells, the living tradition must remain intact, the human voice echoes in the stones. In times when everything becomes the same, our “castle” should be memory.