New Choking Baby Advice Given To Parents

New first aid advice on how to help a choking baby has been issued to parents.

St John Ambulance, the British Red Cross and St Andrew's First Aid have updated their advice after research suggested that many parents did not know what action to take.

The new advice is to place the baby face down along the thigh while an adult strikes the child's back.

First aid experts say this gives the baby more support compared with the previous advice, which was to place the baby along the adult's arm.

A survey of 1,000 parents of under-fives found 38% had seen their child choke.

Half of the parents said they did not know the correct way to help their child or how to clear the obstruction.

Nearly half said they avoided giving their child certain foods in case they choked.

Clive James, training officer at St John Ambulance, said: 'If an infant is choking then, in the first instance, they should be laid face down along your thigh and supported by your arm, give them five back blows between the shoulder blades with your heel of your hand.

"Previously this was done along the arm but the leg is felt to be more secure and provide more support.

"Check their mouth for any obstruction. If there is still a blockage then turn the infant onto their back and give up to five chest thrusts.

"Use two fingers, push inwards and upwards against their breastbone.

"If the obstruction does not clear after three cycles of back blows and chest thrusts, call for an ambulance and continue until help arrives."

Rice with Lentils

Lentils with rice, known as fadji or moudjentra, is a favourite vegetarian family meal in Cyprus, my favourite way of serving fadji is with chopped tomatoes and cucumber and yogurt, some people like it with a fried egg on top or use it as a side dish with meat. I always had trouble getting this dish just right, always having either overcooked stodgy lentils or undercooked crunchy rice, I tried cooking it the oven, cooking the rice separately from the lentils, but never achieving the desired taste or consistency, until my Aunty just gave me a few simple tips and now I get perfectly cooked fadji, really delicious and a healthy satisfying meal for the whole family. Here's my recipe….

2 cups of brown lentils

1 cup of rice, I prefer to use Carolina rice, I found it seems to work better in this dish. I also tried it with brown rice which worked well, but make sure you use the short grain variety.

6 cups of water

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper


Place lentils in a pot, just cover with water and bring to a boil. Leave to boil for a few minutes.

Drain the lentils, put back into the pot and cover with the 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil until just cooked. Lentils should still have a slight bite to them.

Add the rice and bring to a boil, for about 10 minutes.

Now, switch off the heat. Cover the pot with a clean cover and place the lid on top of the towel so that the pot is sealed well. The rice and lentils will carry on cooking this way and all the water should be absorbed.

Sautee the onions in the olive oil until they're brown and caramelised. Pour into the lentils and rice and mix.

Season with salt and pepper.

Androulla xx

Carnival Time at Fun Factory

Wednesday 26th February  Livadia school has arranged a carnival party at the fun factory! It's open to the public, €5 per child including nuggets chips, entrance and juice! Starts at 17:00!

Larnaca Municipality Cultural Events in February

Ciockoland - CARNIVAL PARTY