18
Kyrie Tsirmpas, the Chairman of the Naxos Literary Festival Committee, a title he clearly relished, ascended to the small platform after Helen’s lecture. He was a small, round man with the stoicism to wear a suit and tie on a warm afternoon in a crowded room. He proposed a vote of thanks to the speaker and, after the resulting applause, formally closed the Festival. It had been, he said, an exceptional series of events, and he thanked everyone for their participation and enthusiasm.
“It’s a very great sadness to all of us,” he concluded, his tone becoming serious, “that a tragedy has occurred which has cast a terrible shadow over the Festival this year and struck each of us to the very core. We remember Ricky Somerset with the greatest respect, admiration and warmth, and we shall keep
