Wobbly bits and genius ideas - Paula Manoli-Gray

Despite an unusually slow start, summer has finally made its grand entrance! The good news for residents of the island is that this year the summer will be 'milder' – or so the press tells us. That means it will be hot – too hot at times – but not super-unbearably-hot for the most part! Considering that it is almost July and we have yet to have to turn on the air-conditioning, we have done very well so far!

I cannot imagine there are too many people on the island who absolutely hate summer, because logically, they wouldn't chose to live here, but I am sure there are a fair portion, who – like me - still get a shock when it is time to bare some flesh!

Despite knowing all-year-round that summer is coming with certainty, and therefore sandals, shorts, t.shirts and swimwear are inevitable too, it is always a little traumatising when you first reveal a patch of white skin, or wobbly, cellulite-d, varicose veined or scarred imperfections! But the summer and the sea have a strange way of making us compartmentalise our body exposure. I personally wouldn't dream of wearing leggings, hot pants, a mini skirt or even shorts slightly above the knee, but I have no issue with wearing what amounts to underwear-in-a-purpose-made-fabric (a.k.a swimwear) at the beach. That said, I do choose my beaches with care and do not frequent those where the young and beautiful are living life like one big party, so that could have something to do with it…

…but I do adore the sea (I don't sunbathe, it's all about the water for me), and I love going early morning when the water is cold and calm and the sea creatures have not gone into hiding yet. Already this year I have found some unusual shells that I did not have in my collection, and have met a starfish, crabs and other assorted fish. And it is on one of these mornings, mulling over how we have once again topped the list for Europe's cleanest coasts, and how on earth that is possible when I am forever picking rubbish out of the sea, that I had one of those genius ideas that you know would be a winner but that you will never do.

If anyone from the municipality is reading, I would love them to take my suggestion on board because I really think it would help everyone to pitch in and keep our seas clean and safe. So, the idea is (drum roll please) Floating Sea Bins.

If there were Floating Sea Bins (moored down like buoys) with slots for throwing litter in, but that you could not take litter out of (like bottle banks), then maybe more people would care for the state of the seas by picking up any litter they found and depositing it in the bins. So far, the waters are generally clean but I have found too many tin cans and plastic bags for my liking. I do throw them out of the sea when I am close enough to the shore for my weak throw to catapult them out of the water, but most of the time I am too far from the sands to pick the litter out the sea and keep taking it out.

Floating Sea Bins… you heard it here first!

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 26/06/15

Do you want flies with that? - Paula Manoli-Gray

As an advertising copywriter as well as a journalist, I am guilty of regularly extolling the virtues of al fresco dining on the island (a posh way of saying 'eating outside').

On many occasion I have painted a picture with words about how amazing it is to be able to eat outside in nice weather; either at home in the garden or on a veranda, or at one of the many restaurants that have lovely outdoor areas. It is a wonderful vision of intimately sharing delicious, fresh food under the sun or stars, with smiles all-round and beautiful memories created…

…I don't know about you, but as a resident of the island, I have rarely enjoyed a meal outdoors that has not been ruined by insects!

We don't eat in our own garden due to flies, mosquitoes and ants. When my parents invite us to eat on their veranda - or at the horafi where dad has a clay oven - we literally spend the entire time fighting off the flies; swatting the kids food (and sacrificing our own in the process so that our precious babies' meals are not tainted), and generally getting incredibly grumpy that we cannot enjoy what was potentially going to be another great, big, fat Cypriot feast! It is horrible. Al fresco dining is certainly not all it is hyped up to be!

But something that visitors do not realise is that having insects in and around your home in Cyprus is not an indication that you are dirty in any way… everyone has them, they are everywhere and that is just the way it is!

I sometimes read online reviews for hotels on the island where the guest from abroad has written of their disgust of finding a single, solitary cockroach or ant on the premises, and I really feel for the venue. Whilst a hoard of roaches running riot anywhere is horrible and could indeed be an indication of lowly hygiene standards, the odd roach here or there in houses and hotels is perfectly normal, and no matter how much you take care to treat against them, a rogue one will always surface. Ants too are notoriously hard to get rid of once they have taken hold and decided that your home is a good source of food! I know of people with extremely clean kitchens who simply cannot get rid of the ants, and of others whose kitchens are not so clean that have never had an ant in their life. It seems it is partly how you keep your abode, but also partly luck of the draw.

And as for mosquitoes, some people genuinely dread summer if they live in an area particularly bad for mosquitoes, or have the kind of blood that the critters go crazy for. No matter what precautions they take, my son, sister and mother-in-law especially appeal to the bloodsuckers, whilst hubby seems to appeal to them the least!

I personally do not kill insects unless it is absolutely vital, preferring to take them – or guide them – out of the house. I consider my garden to be fair game and that I have no right to deny insects any outside areas, as they are just being what they were made to be, but that said, I do yearn for the al fresco dining that I promote. And yes, whilst there are far worse problems in the world (and Larnaca), as an island built on the tradition of food and eating outdoors, that experience of spoilt fly-laden souvla really can seem like a tragedy sometimes!

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 19/06/15

Summer School at Home

Renew your Wardrobe

Summer Afternoons Workshops

Russian Summer School

Spring Bazaraki

Happy Faces

Open House Sale

Summer School - Oroklini

Defending the island’s honour in the face of FB flippancy! - Paula Manoli-Gray

I recently saw a post from a Facebook friend that showed a picture of the Cyprus flag with an eye crying one, single tear and his comment "…my beloved Cyprus exists, no longer. It has now become the home of everything that is wrong with today's world."

As a general rule, I don't get involved in Facebook debates and comments, and am not one to publically talk politics or religion, but this sweeping statement that the island is literally where everything bad is, really riled me. And so I wrote a long comment back where I nicely said that every single country has good and bad, and that I did not accept this generalised comment (in a nutshell). And of course there were additional comments from others about how anyone who cannot see how corrupt the island is, and how bad things are, is basically blind or an idiot.

It's my fault! As a writer, I am used to measuring my words and carefully writing in a balanced and factual way. So, when I read something like '…the home of everything that is wrong with today's world', as a writer, I take it literally and am offended by the inaccuracy and abuse of the English language. I am used to working to the policy that every word a journalist writes has the potential to be slanderous, defamatory or controversial if it is sweeping, generalised or not backed up with hard evidence – and that includes on social media sites too.

The writer clearly has strong and impassioned feelings about the state of the island, and when he wrote his comment, it would not have crossed his mind that he had written something that simply, cannot 'literally' be true! Cyprus is not and cannot be the home of EVERYTHING wrong with today's world, and it is not. Yes, it has many issues – corrupt politicians and officials being one of them – but it is far from the worse country in the entire world, and if we were to take this statement literally and offer evidence to argue against it, there is a whole catalogue of reasons why there are many countries where more 'wrong' things exist!

My stance remains the same as always; that every single country has good and bad people, elements, policies, practises and conditions, and whilst I am not blind to the negatives of Cyprus, I am also not blind to the positives. Sometimes the bad elements are more evident and obvious here due to our small size, and I personally choose to have a balanced view where I focus more on the good than the bad. But that said, the fact that FB friend feels this way, and was then backed up by others expressing the same sentiments (and vilifying me in the process for my 'ignorance') got me thinking. Are things really that bad here?

Well, I guess the answer to that depends on who you are and how your cards have been dealt, as one size does not fit all. And perhaps for some people it is easier to move back when they feel things have become intolerable here. In the case of the FB friend - and some of the others who commented - the common perception was that they had been 'forced to flee' Cyprus, and indeed, there are many who in recent years have left. I do not know the merits of each case, and I do not doubt that for some of them, the move back was the right thing to do and they are much happier, but I wish they would stop making out that the island is the villain and has no redeeming features…

…because in the process, they are insulting everyone who does still live here, as though we are too stupid to know any better. 

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 12/06/15

The game of ‘what if’ - Paula Manoli-Gray

Last week's fire at an area by the salt lake was a sobering wake-up call for Larnaca residents, and a reminder of how fragile we really are.

With so many daily trials and tribulations to contend with, we tend not to account for the possibility of other, more serious events. I think that this is because – thankfully – we have not experienced many of the major-scale disasters of other parts of the world, and so, our daily frustrations with government offices and bad drivers do indeed seem to be absolutely tragic on a personal level for each of us! Then something truly, potentially dangerous happens and we are forced to open our eyes to what it means to live in a world where your health and wellbeing doesn't just depend on you and your personal choices, but on those of the whole community and the governing bodies of the region we live in.

As is typical in these kinds of circumstances, the 'what if's' started to unfold as the fire blazed. As the site of the fire was roughly opposite the area where my parents live; roughly opposite my daughter's ballet school; next to my son's school, and more alarmingly, by the petrol station of the area, for me, it was a case of 'what if' it had happened when my son was at school? 'What if' it reached the ballet school where my daughter was at the time? 'What if' my parents had to evacuate or lost their property? But the biggest and scariest of all… 'what if' it reached the petrol station?

I am not aggrandising here because it was a fire of a potentially very damaging size, and due to the dry and brittle foliage of the area – as well as the petrol station – it could have been potentially a whole lot worse. As we know, the fire department did a grand job of containing it; the petrol station closed its pumps down, fire breakers were dug out and the ending is a largely happy one for the residents of the area and Larnaca, with no loss of human life or damage to properties. I won't say that any damage to the area's flora or fauna is acceptable, because it is not, and it is tragic to lose any kind of natural wealth, let alone that of a protected area, but all things considering, we (as in Larnaca) did okay.

Of course, we cannot think 'what if' because if it didn't happen, then there is nothing to worry about. Or is there? The 'what ifs' could easily be real situations, so just because something didn't happen and there is no need to lay blame, make accusations and demand justice, that doesn't mean we get off scott-free.

One of my first questions was 'should there be a petrol station right next to a school and a protected forestland of much undergrowth and bamboo – which basically becomes firewood in the hot months?' I was told that all the right safety measures are indeed in place and it is okay. But still… it got me thinking about something that I had always taken for granted – the location of the petrol station. In fairness, the petrol station was there long before the school was built, but it does make me wonder about the protocols of town planning.

And there is the issue of whether it was arson; believed to have been triggered by the mosquitoes in the area. I like to think that no human being would be so reckless as to endanger human life and cause damage to the area they live in just to make a point, but we all know that there are people like that out there.

Sadly, our wellbeing is indeed a collective issue of community, and so we all need to ensure that we are a positive force in ours, and not the (dry and flamable) straw that breaks the camel's back.

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly newspaper, 05/06/15

Sibling Camaraderie

A close friend asked me recently  "Are you ever worried that your youngest (she is 6 months) may have ASD?".  My answer..."Almost everyday."  

I mean she is a bright little spark, squealing at her brothers like a little peacock, smiling away...but I do find myself scrutinising every new move.  When she popped her little chubby finger into my mouth, my husband and I looked at each other with silent alarm.  You see, at that age, my ASD son used to constantly pop his finger into the mouth of every person who held him, which we later discovered was a symptom to do with his sensory interpretation.  

I am lucky in a way, my eldest son was diagnosed with ASD when my second son was 5 months old.  I never had to go through the stress of "Will my second child also be special needs?" which is a fear that many other parents have to go through.  Earlier studies suggested that  autism in siblings was in the 3-10% range, however recent research has found autism in 19% of younger siblings. These are really scary statistic!  So I can perfectly understand why some parents choose not to have another child.  I know that when we decided we wanted a third child, it was definitely something on our "cons" list.

When we discovered that we were having a girl, I was a little less worried as girl siblings are only 9% likely to be autistic compared to 26% of boys.  Having one ASD child is hard work, I can't imagine what having two or more must be like.   

But, my younger son was a godsend.  Most ASD children have problems socialising with other children, not knowing how to approach them.  My ASD son really struggled with this, and with learning how to play with other children (my turn, your turn).  So you can imagine our delight when last year we saw him not only playing with his younger brother, but initiating a game (which for him is a BIG deal!).  This game play with his brother opened up the way to game play at school.  Don't get me wrong, it's not like he fully participated in all the games the kids played, but he did at least gain the confidence to approach the other children and join in some easy games...on occasion.

He has learned to be responsible for his younger brother, being very overprotective, constantly making sure that my daredevil second son doesn't hurt himself.  He has learned the idea of ownership (mine, yours), the importance of sharing and thinking of others (he always brings something home from the sweetshop for his brother when he goes with his dad - in fact he insists on it). He has learned the value of language and communication, (my second son is quite the little chatterbox), and finally he has learned the comfort of companionship (they share a room and have pushed the beds together to sleep close to each other).  It really warms my heart to see their camaraderie. 

Their sincere brotherly love has taught him all these things and so much more!  I can't wait to see what his sister will teach him...

Community garage sale for charity - Paula Manoli-GRay

A community garage and craft sale will be held on Saturday, June 06 by the Larnaca Parents Network (LPN) with all welcome to participate with a table, or by visiting the event.

The 'Table Top & Craft Sale' will offer the opportunity to clear out unwanted clothing, household goods, toys, books, antiques, furniture and any other items that can be sold, as well as original crafts. And whilst the table fee goes to the LPN's 'Give a Gift' appeal, the sale proceeds are kept by the table-holder, making it a great opportunity for people to make money and also help a good cause.

Table space is €10 if you have your own table to use, or  €13 to rent the space and table. The sale will be held on the grounds of the Greek Evangelical Church (which is opposite the American Academy's Weir Hall building) from 10am to 4pm.

The 'Give a Gift Appeal' supports needy families living locally, and for this event will be used to make up emergency parcels that the Greek Evangelical Church will distribute to those in most need.

Aside from the tables, there will also be refreshments, homebaked goods, food and children's entertainment that has been donated by Angela Ashby of Angela's Activities.

Founder of LPN, Sharon Holmes says that the garage sale will be the biggest of its kind in Larnaca: "These kind of garage sales are very popular in the UK and other countries, but not really seen in Cyprus. So many people have things that they would like to get rid of and this is a fantastic opportunity for them to also make some money in difficult times whilst supporting our efforts to help those less fortunate in the community. The old adage of 'one man's junk is another man's treasure' is certainly true and we anticipate there being lots of fantastic bargains to pick up! It is also an opportunity for artisans to sell their original crafts. We hope to see everyone supporting the local community either by attending or booking a table, as well as promoting the event for us, and we are confident that this will be the biggest mass garage sale of its kind so far."

To Book your table please call Sarah Campbell on 96396784.

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly newspaper, 29/05/15

100 years Kataklysmos: from local customs to tacky plastic! - Paula Manoli-Gray

It is that time of year again… the time of year when Larnaca takes the spotlight and is the epicentre of Kataklysmos celebrations. The time of year that people from all over the island flock to our seafront and every inch of parkable – and non-parkable space is taken up.

So, what do you think of our Festival of the Flood celebrations? They keep going strong, and we actually celebrate 100 years this year! That is pretty amazing, but I don't tend to go anymore.

When I was a teenager, it was indeed the highlight of my year as we (the teens of the time!) would love the bumper cars on the beach and spent most of the time at the fairground on the sands.  I would walk from my parents' home in Drosia, so parking wasn't an issue, and we really did enjoy the whole atmosphere. People would really dress up for it in their finest and walk up and down the promenade people-watching, like they used to in the villages when my dad was a teenager and the Sunday 'peripato' (walk) to see the opposite sex was the highlight of the youth's week!

As I got older the festival started to lose its shine for me. I am not sure if it was the frustration as a driver of not being able to enter the town centre or park, or if the stalls have become increasingly tacky. Fast forward to today, and I don't take my kids in the evening at all for two reasons 1) It is so packed that I become claustrophobic pushing through the crowds and fear I will lose them, and 2) they just want to buy the dodgy-quality rubbish at the stalls and make my life very difficult when I say 'no'.

Granted, the entertainment is good and eagerly anticipated. A lot of planning goes into it and elements of the old traditions, such as the improved rhyming matches of 'Chatista' still take place, but still… I just don't feel it anymore.

The addition of uniform, white tents of recent years is also nice and gives the place a much tidier look - so it is not reminiscent of a gypsy carnival - but the stalls are still not of the greatest standard and as is the case every year, whatever one stall has, the rest have too – all from the same supplier so it is very 'samey'.

And with times changing, there is no longer the thrill of buying music cassette tapes! The stalls selling mix tapes and really, really good copies of international artist's tapes were one of the highlights of my youth! But I do give the 'lokmathes' (honey dough balls) and traditional fruit and nut stalls a thumbs-up, as well as the kiosks of local crafts (my favourite bit) as they are representative of our customs and culture.

As for the people-watching, folks still walk up and down the promenade constantly with no real purpose, but as we are living in a time when people either dress up or down all the time depending on their personality, there is no definition of 'special occasion' wear, so there isn't that pride of having dolled up for the event.

Don't get me wrong… I am all for maintaining traditions and having our own cultural events that form part of Larnaca's identity, and I love the whole atmosphere of it all, but I don't equate that to struggling to park, just so my kids can buy a fake Minion/Smurf/Super Mario stuffed toy!

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly newspaper 29/05/15