Cyprus’ natural medicine cabinet

Cyherbia educating on the benefits and uses of local herbs

With children now firmly settled back in school, Cyherbia Herb Gardens and Maze has been giving schools, scout groups and clubs the opportunity to learn about plants in a fun, experimental way through its educational visits, as well as offering advice on how herbs can help us fend off the viruses that are around the corner as winter approaches.

Cyherbia park - in the Larnaca village of Avgorou - took 10 years to create by qualified herbalist Miranda Tringis, who wanted to make products with the island’s many abundant herbs - such as lavender and thyme. As she explains, it’s her passion for herbs and their immense benefits that drove her to share this knowledge with others, and thus Cyherbia was born: “We can regain our health and stay strong and free from illnesses if we would just incorporate herbs in our everyday diet. Very often a simple herbal tea taken every day can be all it takes to heal ailments such as high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, menstrual problems etc. Education is paramount to get healthy and stay healthy.”

The premises consist of a landscaped herb garden (with nine themed gardens), a woodland area (with local trees and shrubs), and the island’s only maze - which totals 2000 square metres. There is also a distillation room where visitors can watch (and smell!) how plant essences are extracted, and a tearoom that offers the opportunity to enjoy a herbal tea whilst gaining advice from Miranda on what to use for natural healing. The tearoom also doubles as a shop which sells the freshly prepared herbal products such as essential oils, soaps and teas, amongst others.

Since its inception, the gardens have grown in popularity and expanded to include public visits in 2012, events, cookery workshops and the educational visits. The visits - approved by the Ministry of Education - have been running for a year now in English and Greek and Miranda is pleased with their success: “The feedback we've had from teachers and children has been very positive. For many kids it was the first time they've ever been in a maze, and they really enjoy it. It is also encouraging to see children discover that herbal tea actually tastes very nice and is good for your health, which we hope will get the new generation opting for natural, healthy drinks and foods”.

The educational programme consists of various assignments where the children are given a clipboard with worksheets and sent out to discover herbs in a hands-on way. An herbal tea break follows and thereafter the children are faced with challenges in the Sanctuary Woodland and a treasure hunt in the maze.

Miranda has also given various talks on how to use herbs medicinally, including a talk on herbs for children’s healthcare that she gave to the Larnaca Parents Network earlier this year. And with children back at school and bringing home all sorts of bugs, Miranda has some good advice on how to deal with less serious illnesses naturally: “It is important to nip a cold in the bud before it becomes an infection. Give your child herbal tea at the very onset of a cold - elder and/or chamomile for sinus colds; peppermint, ginger or ironwort for a sore throat, and add local honey to sweeten. Let your child drink as many teas a day as possible. At bedtime, put a couple of drops of eucalyptus or rosemary essential oil in a burner in the child’s room to aid easy breathing.’’

Cyherbia is open Wednesday-Friday 9.30am-1.00pm and 10.00am-3pm on weekends. Admission is €5 euros for adults, €3 for children and under-fives are free. Contact Miranda Tringis for more details on 99915443, or email: miranda@cyherbia.com.

The Cyprus Weekly News - This Week from LPN Mum Paula Manoli Grey

The warmth of community

When those who visit from abroad ask me why I like living here (often after they have stated their outrage at supermarket prices and exclaimed that they could ‘never live out here’), my reply isn’t the typical one about the weather. Nor is it about the more relaxed pace of life, or the fresh produce, or the safety-element. For me, it’s about a real sense of community.

I find that community in Larnaca can be split into two; the locals who have their close-knit families nearby, and the ‘foreigners’ who have forged their own families through the activities and groups available. I am fortunate enough to benefit from both!

For the locals, the lovely tradition of leaving work at lunchtime and going to mum’s or yiayia’s house for lunch still prevails, as does the common practise of the grandparents looking after the children whilst the parents work. Sunday is still a family day, and many locals (like me) still have keys to the family home where they let themselves in and out as they please, or just use the back door. I wouldn’t change this for the world and couldn’t give a stuff if our supermarket prices on imported goods are so crippling that it keeps those who prefer to eat out of packets where they are! As far as I am concerned, we eat perfectly well – and economically - with real, fresh food, and I think it is quite logical that imported brands would cost more… just don’t buy them!

The second ‘family’ I am part of is the community-family, created by those who have chosen Cyprus as their home. The very fact that these people have left behind families of their own to be here, out of the entire vast world of countries they could have chosen, should show those who are negative about the island (and our food prices) that it can’t be that bad out here.

I was fortunate enough to become part of this community after I became a stay-at-home mum. I was amazed at the amount of groups, activities and support there is for Anglo-speakers and how the people that are part of this world have really bonded and formed a community of their own. It’s a new kind of family for those who don’t have theirs here, and during hard times, I have witnessed everyone rally round. In one case, a lady was left with a child and no money when her partner walked out on her and that winter, her community-family provided her with firewood, clothing and food. I cannot believe that this would happen in many countries, it certainly wouldn’t if she had been back in the UK.

It is this sense of community – made up of both kinds of family; blood and created – that separates us from other European countries in similar situations and gives me the hope that we will pull through the crisis better than they. You only have to read my article on the recent donations in these pages to feel as proud as I do of the people of Larnaca – one big family.

This Weeks Event Diary

Theatre Today, 4pm. Alice’s Wonderland by Little Muse Theatre. Written by Catherine Beger and directed by Torkild Lindebjerg. Theatre Scala. Admission adults €7, children €5.

Music Today. Chris Andre and Echo (rock and blues duo) perform at the Lithos Bar, Oroklini. Admission €10 including buffet. Details: 99790678

Fiesta Sunday, 11am – 5pm. Pet Fiesta for the protection and welfare of animals. Classic car exhibition, stalls, music, bouncy castle, face painting, advice on pet care. Organised by the Larnaca-Famagusta Association for the Protection of Animals and Birds and the Cyprus Classic Cars Club. Europe Square, Phoinikoudes promenade. Admission free.

Remembrance Sunday, Sunday 12.30pm onwards. With Carl, live sing-a-long music in the afternoon, plus the UKCA’s very own ‘The Slapper Tappers’. DIY BBQs available or bring your own picnic, or hot food from GI’s. UKCA Val: 99743388 / Gerry: 99908999.

Theatre Sunday, 10.30am. Children’s (Greek) theatre ‘Bouki Boo, The Elf of the Forest’.  Performed by The Children's stage of Skala Theater, written by the educator Eleni Artemiou Photiadou and directed by Monica Meleki. Skala Theater.

Dance Sunday 10 – 11am. Musical Sundays. ‘Nostos Pissouriou’ Cultural Association. Programme with traditional Cypriot and Greek dances. Organised by the CTO. Seafront stage, Phoinikoudes promenade. Admission free.

Exercise Wednesday, 10.30am – 11.15am. Mama & Me, mother and baby exercise class. Wow Action Park. €5 for the class or €8 for the class, tea/coffee and the play area. Angela: 97610998.

Music/Dance Wednesday, 8.30pm. Zenon Serenaders Group ‘How Sweet to be Loved’. Evening of music and dance as part of the Fortnight of Larnaka Amateurs Artistic Creation. Participating: Cultural Society of the Staff of EAC Larnaka-Famagusta-Dhekelia, Musical direction: Daniel Sabotinov, Choreography: Giorgos Theodoulou. Municipal Theatre. Admission free.

Exhibition all week. ‘The Byzantine Architecture of Cyprus’ drawings and watercolours by architect Andreas Philippou, alongside a watercolour exhibition ‘The Destruction of the Cyprus Landscape’ with 122 rare specimens of our architectural heritage within the landscape of Cyprus – all left to time’s mercy. Kypriaki Gonia Gallery, 45 Stadiou Street.

Exhibition all week. Fine arts exhibition “Not a single day without a line”

Organised by the Larnaka Municipality and the Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts (Larnaka-Famagusta). Municipal Gallery. Admission free.

This column first appeared in the Cyprus Weekly, 9/11/13

Keep Paula updated with News & Events : paulamanoli@hotmail.com

The Cyprus Weekly News -This Week from LPN Mum Paula Manoli Grey

Careful what you wish for

Cyprus is in a complete mess right now with blame put on the banking sector, but in my opinion, Cyprus lost itself a long time ago as a result of our greed and desire to become something we were not.

When I moved to Cyprus in 1988, there were things I hated, and I was too young to appreciate the things I should. My first Christmas here was miserable as I was used to Christmas in England; decorations and festive music everywhere, the huge variety of gifts, the atmosphere… Mum did what she could with our stockings, but there was such limited choice in the shops and it felt like the end of the world for 11-year-old me.

Television was only broadcast for half a day on CYBC, with nothing of interest to me, and I couldn’t get my Smash Hits magazine. There was no MacDonalds and little choice for fashion. What I did have was fresh air, nice weather and a new bike that I could ride without fear of abduction. I had freedom and nature, fresh food and all my relatives nearby – some of life’s most precious things, but at that age, they got the thumbs down.

Slowly, Cyprus started to ‘modernise’ and we Larnaca kids would go up to Nicosia for the day to enjoy UK shops and Big Boy burgers, wishing that Larnaca would catch up. The trendy cafes started to open, and with them the price of drinks went up astronomically. This led to a horrible rise in snobbery, the obsessive need to have expensive, showy things and looking down on anything that wasn’t over-priced or carrying a designer label. And this was from average people on low salaries who wanted to project that they were something ‘better’, as if that was more attractive than being from a warm, humble island, famed for its generous, hospitable and down-to-earth people.

Fast-forward to today and Larnaca can rival Nicosia for shops and cafes, in fact, in a role reversal, it is the Nicosia crowd flocking to our Mackenzie seafront - the island’s current hot-spot. Fast food chains are everywhere, swallowing up our traditional tavernas and the trendy cafes all blend into one with their generic white décor and (still) over-priced drinks. We have too many TV channel choices and Christmas decorations are out from October. Crime is up and you are more likely to be met with hostility and a look of pity than a warm welcome.

I do not wish to belittle the genuine suffering of the people of Larnaca, but it was inevitable that this loss of identity and false disguise would one day no longer hold.

I feel that when we come out the other side of this, we are going to regain a lot of what we lost. People will no longer be ashamed to have less than their neighbours; they will not blow an entire month’s salary on a handbag to prove something. We will not put up with extortionate prices or rude customer service, and those who dished them out in the first place will eat some serious humble pie.

And maybe, just maybe, there is a glimmer of hope that we will become that island I moved to in 1988; I sure would appreciate it now.

Main Feature Article :

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

This Weeks Event Diary 

This column first appeared in the Cyprus Weekly, 26/10/13

Keep Paula updated with News & Events : paulamanoli@hotmail.com

LPN Mum Paula Manoli-Gray takes on The Cyprus Weekly

Although not originally from the town, I have lived in Larnaca since I was 11 years old, with a brief stint away when I studied and worked in England for four years, subsequently meeting the love of my life then dragging him over here too. I have to confess that I love, love, love Larnaca and I am not afraid to shout it from the tops of the Kamares; we are truly a gem on this island, although sometimes other towns fail to see our immense value – something which is a real bugbear with me.

The town and I have had a good thing going at every stage of my life! In my teens and twenties, I enjoyed the nightlife (it was the golden era of Dhekelia Road in my day!), and long lazy summers glued to our great beaches. Now that I am a mother of two in my thirties, I have found no end of fun things to do with the kids, from English language toddler groups and drama classes, to compact play-places. As I get older, no doubt the town will be able to accommodate my more ‘mature’ years too, which is why tourists of all ages, shapes and sizes also favour Larnaca.

So, through these pages, I hope to inform, promote and bring together the community of this unique town, because Larnaca has a whole lot of heart and a very deep sense of community that ensures that despite these difficult times, we will prevail. I see kindness and support on a daily basis as the folk of this town rally around to assist those in need even whilst dealing with their own struggles.

Naturally, there are also faults, mistakes and darn-right frustrating elements to Larnaca and at times I wonder how the town is still standing upright, but there also seems to be a lot of progress and attempts to move forward and I believe this is what we should focus on, whilst giving voice to our dissatisfaction through the right channels to effect change.

Naturally, these pages wouldn’t be possible without the people of Larnaca, so if you have any news or events you would like included – or story ideas on local people, the town’s history or any worthy causes - please send the details to me for consideration to: paulamanoli@hotmail.com and I will endeavour to accommodate what I can.

Whether you spell the town ‘Larnaka’ or ‘Larnaca’ (the former is the official spelling, the latter is the commonly used version), as long as you call the region your home and want to be kept updated, stick to these pages each week for all your community news!

This column first appeared in the Cyprus Weekly, 12/10/13

Keep Paula updated with Events : paulamanoli@hotmail.com

All the Best with the new job Paula, from all of us at LPN
READ HERE EVERY WEEK!

Event Diary

EVENT DIARY

Theatre today, Saturday, 9.30-11am. Little Muse Theatre presents ‘You Can’t Eat A Princess’. Children’s short theatre production, arts and crafts and snack. 8 Markou Drakou Street. €5 per family.

Halloween today, Saturday, 10am – 5pm. ‘Halloween at the Haunted Herb Garden and Maze’ at Cyherbia, Avgorou. Games, activities, snacks. Admission €6 for adults and children, children under three, free. Miranda: 99915443.

Halloween today, Saturday, 7.30pm. Scary Halloween Cabaret with Simon Barter. Halloween buffet and prize for best costume. UKCA Club. Admission €8 members, €10 non-members.

Music today, Saturday, 10.30pm. Rock and Retro Night with DJ George Nicolaou. Savino Live. Admission free. Info & Reservations: 99860304 & 99426011.

Music today, Saturday, 11pm. Imam Baildi, band performing old Greek songs with a modern twist of hip-hop and electro-swing. Ammos Beach Bar, Mackenzie. Admission €10 including one drink.

Picnic Sunday, 11.30am. Raw Food Picnic for Autumn. Bring a raw dish. Mazotos coast, near Kahuna Wind Surfing. www.facebook.com/events/647659195264598/?fref=ts.

Theatre Sunday, 10.30am. Children’s (Greek) theatre ‘Bouki Boo, The Elf of the Forest’. Performed by The Children's stage of Skala Theater, written by the educator Eleni Artemiou Photiadou and directed by Monica Meleki. Skala Theater.

Halloween Tuesday, 4.30pm. Children’s Halloween party with games and activities. Early Learning Centre shop premises. Admission free.

Music Tuesday, 9.30pm. Cashiers Live at Barrel House. Admission €5 including one free local beer.

Exercise Wednesday, 10.30am – 11.15am. Mama & Me, mother and baby exercise class. Wow Action Park. €5 for the class or €8 for the class, tea/coffee and the play area. Angela: 97610998.

Lecture Wednesday, 5.30pm. ‘Venice and the Mediterranean’ a talk by Francesco da Mosto (in English). Presented by his Excellency the Ambassador of Italian Republic - Signor Guido Cerboni - in association with the Municipality of Larnaca and the Cyprus College of Art. Followed by a wine reception and exhibition opening at 7pm.

Cornaro Institute (Cyprus College of Art). Admission free, RSVP required: angela@artcyprus.org or 2425 4042.

Cinema Wednesday 8.30pm, Italian Film Days – “Caravaggio” by Angelo Longoni (biography, 2007, 180’). Organised by the Embassy of Italy and the Larnaca Municipality. Polychoros Apothikes 81-83, Agiou Lazarou Street. Admission free.

Halloween Thursday, Halloween Party at Barrel House. Limited edition Ghiorkin Pumpkin Ale served. Admission free.

This column first appeared in the Cyprus Weekly, 26/10/13

Keep Paula updated with Events : paulamanoli@hotmail.com

Falling down the rabbit hole

Falling down the rabbit hole

Entertaining and inspiring children through theatre

Catherine Beger – the founder of ‘Little Muse Young People’s Theatre’ - will be premiering the company’s latest production of ‘Alice’s Wonderland’ on November 9 at Theatre Scala. This unique adventure is part of Catherine’s larger repertoire of weekly children’s drama classes and entertainment, and the one-woman theatre company has gained a reputation for being the home of children’s English-language theatre in Larnaca.

Featuring a cast of two; Catherine and Lefteris Moschovias - who also wrote the score for the production - the play is being directed by Torkild Lindebjerg, with design by Liene Kalpisa and translation into Greek by Eri Constantinou.

As Catherine explains, the play is loosely based on Lewis Carroll’s book ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ with its own twist: “The original story follows a child’s journey towards maturity which makes it the perfect vehicle to explore the theme of personal growth. In our version, Mr Apollonius is a travelling showman, eager for his daughter Alice to follow in his footsteps and take centre stage. She is shy and cannot, but tumbling into Wonderland, Alice meets a host of strange characters and begins a journey of discovery to find her own voice.”

Catherine originally met Torkild when she travelled to Scandinavia in 2003 to attend a children’s festival in Denmark as part of ‘Antidote Theatre’. Inviting him to become a guest director for the company, he went on to direct ‘The Little Man’s Best Friend’, which enjoyed 260 performances - many of which were abroad. He returned in 2007 to direct Antidote’s ‘Aesop’s Fables’.

When Catherine thought of Alice, she naturally thought of Torkild and invited him back to Cyprus to be part of the adventure: “He is not just a fantastic director, but a dear friend. He had helped to establish the identity of Antidote in the most difficult circumstances and now he was more than willing to do the same for Little Muse Theatre.”

But the vision was not without its road bumps; scheduled for a time when the economic crisis has affected funding for the arts, Catherine was forced to think of other ways to make her vision a reality and appealed to the community of Larnaca to help. The response was overwhelming and to date she has received donations of €3500 from local businesses and individuals: “I couldn’t believe so many people were prepared to come on this journey with me. Their help in any shape or form - be it financial, emotional, childcare for my daughter, providing a venue, materials for set and construction, has made this show possible and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.”

Little Muse itself is in still in its infancy, but is a natural progression of Catherine’s original organisation, Antidote Theatre, which she had set up in 1999 with Xenakis Kyriakides. At the time there was a distinct lack of opportunities, for children’s theatre, but undeterred, the duo started their first classes. Over the years, the success of the company grew and it was officially umbrellered by the Ministry of Education in 2004, taking theatre to schools around the island. Earlier this year, the two went their separate ways as Catherine wanted to focus on English-language theatre for children, and Little Muse was born.

Little Muse runs throughout the week for different age groups, as well as a Saturday morning event every second and fourth Saturday of the month, which includes a short play, a snack, crafts and song time.

Donations are still being accepted for Alice’s Wonderland, which will show on November 9, 16, and December 7 at Theatre Scala, 4pm in English. The show will be performed in Greek in January. Tickets cost €7 for adults, and €5 for children.

www.littlemusetheatre.com

This column first appeared in the Cyprus Weekly, 26/10/13

Keep Paula updated with Events : paulamanoli@hotmail.com