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Neighbourhood > Guest Character Profiles > Gregori Peter Prenga

Gregori 2002

Whilst Lou Carpenter was away in the country visiting his daughter Louise, he asked young neighbour Leo Hancock to keep an eye on the house and tidy up the back garden. Whilst in the garden with his younger sister, Emily, Leo thought he could hear noises coming from the house and was shocked when a man appeared at the back door. The man, Gregori, claimed that he was a friend of Lou’s and was looking after the house for him. Emily ran off to get her father, but instead, came back with teenage neighbour Michelle Scully, who had been passing. Gregori explained to the children that he was a writer and an old friend of Lou. He told them that he was visiting from his home country of Burezstan and would soon be going to stay with his uncle in Anson’s Corner. Unsure of whether to believe his story, but realising that he was harmless, Michelle and Leo decided not to tell any adults about Gregori for the time being. Having decided that he could trust Leo and Michelle, Gregori opened up and admitted the truth to them. He was from Burezstan, but had been fleeing the civil war in his country, where he was unable to work as a journalist, and came to Australia to stay with his uncle. When his visa ran out, he had become a refugee and been forced to hide out.

Michelle was shocked as Gregori explained that he couldn’t even own a book in his home nation, and she agreed to keep him hidden at number 22 for the time being. Although Leo was unsure, Gregori insisted that he only needed to be there for a few days, and so Michelle and Leo brought him food, as he insisted that he risked being picked up by the authorities if he even left the house. Michelle’s father, Joe, became suspicious of the rapidly disappearing food, however, and followed his daughter to number 22, catching her with Gregori. He decided that he would have to call the police, as Michelle desperately tried to talk him out of it. Neighbour Harold Bishop was also passing and called in to see why the lights were on. Once he heard Gregori’s story, he also agreed to try and help as Joe quietly left to “call work”. As Michelle suddenly realised who her father was really calling, she told Gregori that he had to be quick and do a runner, but he admitted that he’d had enough of running and, when the police arrived, he quietly turned himself in.

Trivia Notes
• Peter Prenga returned in 2007 as Carlo Gresta

Biography by Steve

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