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<< -- 8 -- Grahame Ainge WITH CALLAS IN MIND
On the wall by the front door was a small plaque simply saying, 'Flower Hospital'. There was no plaque to say that Maria Callas was born here. Surely if this was London there would be one of the ubiquitous blue plaques? Now we wished we'd asked at reception if there was any commemoration of Maria's birthplace inside the building.
The author's wife Anne and the Flower Hospital plaque. Photo: Grahame Ainge
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We felt somehow uplifted that we had visited Maria's birthplace and that at last someone knew who we were talking about. We started to think about what next to do. There was not a yellow-cab to be seen and we decided to walk what amounted to nearly the full length of Central Park back to our hotel. The first feature we came across only yards from the Hospital was the reservoir. A large notice proclaimed it as The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir! It was a long walk back through the park.
Later we thought perhaps Maria would not have been impressed to have a large area of cold, bleak water named after her. Perhaps she would have preferred to live on in the way she does giving pleasure to those who listen to her incomparable voice.
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