(Editor's note: Boxer, footballer, tennis star, auto worker, youth worker, chef, husband, dad, grand dad and friend . . . that's a whole lot of life packed into 60 years. Happy birthday Tony from all your friends)

Tony Bowes was born in Tow Law, Co. Durham, the son of a miner Adam & his wife Bessie, but due to pit closures under Maggie Thatcher’s regime they had to relocate to Coventry when Tony was very young.
Schooling…..not a great success….Tony was mostly interested in any sport which would take him out of a lesson. However, boxing was the sport in which he excelled as a light welterweight, winning 63 out of 65 fights with 45 knockouts. Asked to turn pro, he declined, as by then he had a wife and small son.

He first worked at a car factory, but was always interested in any sort of youth work and helping disabled and disadvantaged children. He and a close friend, Keith Eardley, would take these kids on holidays to Wales, and for them it was always a very emotional but rewarding experience.
Always keen on sport, he played a lot of football – playing for an Italian team, Garibaldi, in Coventry. His football career came to an end after badly breaking a leg, but as soon as it was healed he took up tennis. Every Sunday morning, regardless of his Saturday night partying, he would turn up at 9 am and play for four hours – and mostly win. The worse the hangover the better he played!

After the car factory his first real career dream came true – he joined the careers service and ran an inner city farm as part of a youth training scheme. It is one of the things he is very proud of as they had disabled, partially blind, disadvantaged and kids up to A level, with 80% of them ending up getting jobs. However, due to cutbacks the farm was closed – but not without a fight. Tony and the kids organized a protest march through Coventry with goats, sheep, pigs, etc. Later, Tony was even forcibly ejected from a council meeting. He then went to work in the careers office in the schools, which is where his second career dream of running a taverna on Crete started to take shape.

Tony and I met at night school where we went to learn Greek…..would you believe! He came to Crete on a search mission, and fell in love with the Neraida in Kokkini Hani. Then we both returned and after a lot of hard work we opened the Neraida – and were married – in February, 1993.

When asked what he is most proud of in his life, he answers “my kids”. In addition to his son Colin, he has a daughter, Wendy. After many difficulties he says he is so proud of the adults they have become and the way they are bringing up the grandchildren. Colin, and his wife Dawn have three children, Lara, Ellie and Travis, and Wendy, with her partner Frankie, will soon make Tony a grand dad for the forth time. To Tony, always the carer, always the joker, always the man we love…..HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY.