Спектакль «Шел по городу волшебник»!!!

24 и 25 мая 2014 года Санкт-Петербургский детский театр сказки «РазДваТри» приглашает юных зрителей Кипра принять участие в невероятных приключениях вместе с героями спектакля «Шел по городу волшебник»!!! 

Хорошо бы найти коробок волшебных спичек, исполняющих любое желание. Раз…и сразу мама разрешает не чистить зубы. Два …и можно стать прославленным спортсменом. Три…и ты вдруг самый сильный человек в мире…Но принесет ли это радость? Может, не стоит надеяться на волшебство, а лучше всего в жизни добиваться своим трудом и талантом.

Санкт-Петербургский театр сказки «РазДваТри» - лауреат европейских фестивалей пантомимы и клоунады, неоднократный дипломант фестиваля «Театры Санкт-Петербурга - детям». 

Рекомендованный возраст: от 4-х лет и старше.
Продолжительность спектакля: 1 час 10 минут (без антракта).

НЕ ПРОПУСТИТЕ ЗАГАДОЧНОЕ ПРОИСШЕСТВИЕ В ГОРОДАХ: 

Никосия - 24 мая в 11.00 (Театр SATIRIKO-большой зал) ,
Лимассол - 24 мая в 18.00 (театр Agios Athanasios),
Ларнака - 25 мая в 11.00 (театр SKALA), 
Пафос - 25 мая в 18.00 (театр MАRKIDEO).

Стоимость билетов 12 евро.
Дополнительная информация по телефону: 96 30 2770
И на сайте: www.magictheatre.ru

The importance of family travel

"Are we there yet?" What parent has heard that little voice coming from the backseat of the car five minutes after driving out of the garage at the beginning of a long trip and hasn't sighed and asked themselves, "Is this all really worth it?" When it comes to taking your children along on trips, the answer is "absolutely."

In fact, going on trips with your children is without question one of the single most important parenting activities that you can ever do. There is simply no substitute for travel. It's an enormous teaching opportunity for your children in a myriad of ways. Not only is traveling with your kids the best possible way for parents and children to bond with each other, it inevitably provides a host of teachable moments.

The first important value that travel provides for your children is that it teaches them how important they are to you. Inevitably, when you take your kids with you on a trip, it is a simple yet direct way of communicating their importance in your life. As you undoubtedly know, children learn a thousand times more by actions than they do by words.

Telling them that they matter to you, that you love them, that they are important in your life is all well and good (and of course you ought to do it), but there is no substitute for the message that is communicated to them in their guts and in their souls by the fact that you have chosen to spend one of the most valuable things you own -- your time -- with them.

They learn not by the words that you say, but by the things that you do with them that show then that they matter, that they are significant people to you and that you are willing to spend your time and money to include them in a special part of your life.

Park Life - By Paula Manoli-Gray

I live opposite and next door to two parks and should consider myself lucky really, especially with two young children, but the reality is not so idyllic.

For one, the two parks are of the old-school variety, despite being only eight years old. By that, I mean they have the same, standard, dated toys as every other park in my area; slide, swings, roundabout and seesaw, all in the same boring metal, same basic design and same colours. But that is not a reason to be ungrateful, nor would I be if the parks were a) maintained properly by Aradippou municipality and b) not desecrated and destroyed by the hoodlums in my neighbourhood.

These parks – along with a myriad of their kind across Larnaca neighbourhoods – are a sorry sight to see. They are so dilapidated, overgrown and vandalised that we actually give them a wide berth, opting instead to get in a car and drive to some of the nice new ones with their elaborate play structures, landscaped gardens and less-standard toys. What a shame when we have two parks directly next door and opposite to us.

My ex-pat neighbour once remarked to me that he could not understand why we have so many parks. There is a law that a certain percentage of land in built-up areas needs to be 'green', therefore, you will find multiple parks in areas like mine, which are relatively new to development, with literally one every couple of hundred metres. At the time I didn't particularly like his comment and put this down to him not having young children. But I can see now that he is right. We do not need a park every few steps we take, especially when they are all the same and battered. Yes, we need green areas, but they should be just that – lush, green forests and gardens, with some, good quality parks intermittently. These fewer but better parks should have exciting, sturdy toys, be maintained by the municipality and above all, vandalism should not be tolerated.

As we speak, in the park directly opposite to my house, the hoodlums of the neighbourhood have smashed the slide to pieces, along with a bench. Furthermore, they have built a den with all manner of household junk (I won't ponder where it has come from) and are still letting off bangers and fireworks even though Easter is long behind us. They scream and chant late into the night.

Whilst I fully agree that children will be children and should have the freedom to shout and build and explore and, and, and… there is a fine line between them doing this and becoming a nuisance and pest. We all share the neighbourhood so why are their parents not checking up on what they are doing? Why do they allow them to run around till late at night letting off fireworks and smashing things up? What a sad indictment of society if they don't actually know that this is happening, although I suspect they do and turn a blind eye because it is not actually in their own property that the destruction is taking place.

As much as I love my neighbourhood in Aradippou, these parks are a shameful, ugly blot to our community, as are the disrespectful and aggressive children that destroy them.

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 10/05/14

Family Fun Day in aid of breast cancer charities

Soulla's Saturday Morning Library will be holding its annual Family Fun Day on Saturday, May 17 at the American Academy Junior School premises, from 9.30am – 1pm

The annual event is organised as an offshoot of Soulla's Saturday Morning Library, an English library of children's and adult's books, which is run by Soulla Sophocli every second Sunday of the month - also at the Junior School. Aside from the library, Soulla holds fundraising events throughout the year in memory of her colleague Cathy Ioannou, who succumbed to breast cancer in 2009, with all proceeds going to various breast cancer charities.

This year's event – the sixth one running - will once again offer a variety of entertainment and activities for all the family, with past events raising over €5,000. There will be stalls selling items such as toys, books, make-up, sweets, jewellery and handicrafts, with the €10 stall fee going to charity.

Children's entertainment includes a bouncy castle (without a fee to use), face painting (€2), cookie decorating and kids crafts, use of the playground, and a children's theatre production from Little Muse Theatre. Kicking off the event at 9.30am, Little Muse Theatre's play will be Harold and the Blue Pen, which is suitable for even very young children at half an hour long.

There will also be a raffle (tickets €1 each), with prizes donated from the community, including manicures, massages, cinema tickets, gym membership, dental exams, jewellery, a photo shoot and carvery meals, amongst others.

Soulla says everyone is welcome: "This year's Fun Day promises to be another great, affordable day out. Come along, join in the fun and find out more about the library!"

Alongside the support for breast cancer charities, the event will also be supporting the Larnaca Parents Network (LPN) collection efforts for needy families. Founder of the LPN, Sharon Mckinley and her team will be collecting clothes, toys (new or second-hand in good condition), as well as dry food, baby food, nappies and the like. The LPN collection for the needy is in conjunction with Larnaka Municipality's efforts and the Municipal Market. Sharon is an avid supporter of the library and says: "Please support us by bringing along any of your unwanted clothes /toys and household items, and we would like to thank everyone for their continued support during this difficult period, which many local and foreign families are finding themselves currently in. The LPN also supports and thanks Soulla for her fantastic contribution to the community through the library."

There is still time to book a stall, donate a prize for the raffle or volunteer to bake a cake/s. Volunteers to sell raffle tickets are also welcome. For any of the above, or for more information, contact Soulla on: 99801141 or via the Facebook event page: Family Fun Day – Soulla's Saturday Morning Library.

The library itself – which runs bimonthly – is in its sixth year and is open from 9.30am – 11am. During its opening hours there is a story and song time session for children (at 9.30am), and thereafter (from 10am) there is time to browse the books, which includes over 600 adult's titles. Yearly membership costs €10 (for two books at a time), or €20 for a family membership (six books at a time), and the Story and Song Time session incurs a minimal cost of €1 per child which covers refreshments.

Curves blood donation day - plea for donors

The Larnaca branch of women-only gym Curves will be holding a blood drive on Wednesday, May 14, 6-8pm at its premises, as part of an island-wide blood drive held by the chain.

The blood drive is open to everyone; women, men, members and non-members, and everyone who is able to donate blood is encouraged to do so.

Taking place at the gym, which is located near the Electricity Authority, medical staff and equipment from Larnaca hospital will be set up with four donors able to give blood at a time.  Refreshments and snacks will be provided by Curves.

This is the first time the gym is holding a blood drive, and owner of the Larnaca franchise - Stella Kyriacou - is proud that the gym can contribute to the community: "The island has a general shortage of blood in its blood banks and donations are always urgently needed. Everyone who is able to should donate blood as they will literally be saving lives. We are very happy to be able to do our bit and hope to make this an annual event. We will gratefully welcome anyone and everyone who is able to give blood to our premises on Wednesday and hope we can all come together to make a real difference."

Those who wish to donate can turn up on the evening, but are advised not to drive themselves back as the donating of blood can sometimes cause temporary dizziness or weakness. A form will need to be filled in before donating, which can be done then and there, or can be obtained from the gym in advance to fill in at home and bring along on the day.

For more details, you can visit the Facebook event page: Εθελοντική Aιμοδοσία/Blood Drive, or contact the gym on: 24623203.