It's a surreal experience standing before you today. Shout out to the class of 1987 for matriculating without Google and for surviving the trans-fats in our tuck shop toasted ‘sarmies’. Life was simple back then, where warning labels were found on pesticides - not food items, where projects stirred up fond memories of glitter and cardboard - not PowerPoint presentations and where corporal punishment (a repressed memory for some!) was not frowned upon, considering that in any Greek home, the “koutala” was not just for cooking!

If you think things improve with age, attend a class reunion! For those who used to bunk OXI day, you just need to know that the bravery of our soldiers changed the course of World War 2. To quote Adolf Hitler: “Historic justice forces me to admit, that of all the enemies that stand against us, the Greek soldier, above all, fought with the most courage and highest disregard of death.” Winston Churchill said: “Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but rather that heroes fight like Greeks.”

Our pride as a nation is thus justified by our history, which can’t be marred by an ‘economic crisis’. After all, Europe without Greece is like a child without a birth certificate! Odysseus Elytis remarked that if ever Greece were to be destroyed completely, an olive tree, a vine and a boat would remain, and that would be enough to rebuild her from the beginning.

SAHETI is more than just a school. It’s our ethnic compass. Some of us were privileged enough to have attended since nursery school and the transformation is astounding. There are two things we should give our children: one is roots and the other is wings. SAHETI gave us both and we owe our gratitude to our teachers. A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.

Teaching creates all other professions and there’s no telling where a teacher’s influence stops. It is said that one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world. Alexander the Great, whose teacher was Aristotle, said: “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well”.

It was Socrates who said: “Know Thyself”, SAHETI’s motto. He also said that the greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be. To our very own “men in tights”, you may remember Shakespeare’s words: “This above all: To thine own self be true”. Let us not forget who invented drama, though: we all know there’s no such thing as a soft-spoken Greek!

For those who were not born of Greek parents, Saheti embraced you with FILOTIMO and you became Greek by proxy. Filotimo is a uniquely Greek word that can’t be directly translated into any language, and means to honour your friend. Greeks aren’t taught about affection, generosity and hospitality - they’re born with it. If you have ever caught yourself saying “from the Greek word...” or punctuate your words with gesticulations (and I’m not only referring to “the moutza”); if you comfortably use “re” in conversation (even though you can’t actually translate it), your parents’ money was well spent!

Our respective memories from school are vastly different from one another - judging by our correspondence to date! However, we can all agree on one thing: friendship. It takes a long time to grow an old friend. SAHETI is where most of us made good friends, who know all our best stories. For some of us however, it’s where we made a best friend, who helped us write them. To all the best friends out there: may we remain friends until we are old and senile, at which point we’ll become ‘new’ friends!

Let us now please take a moment to remember the loved ones that we have lost along the way. Thank you.

In conclusion, whether you have come here today to settle an old score or perhaps to re-live your glory days, or just to hang out with old friends saying “remember when...”, let us celebrate memories while building new ones. Life is short: Smile while you still have teeth and remember that even though time flies, you’re still the pilot. For all the ‘silver foxes’ out there, may you find solace in the words of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark: “It’s not the years honey, it’s the mileage.”