Lavender Festival: Celebrating the healing powers of the Queen of Herbs

Lavender is an aromatic flowering plant which belongs to the Lamiaceae family. There are many varieties of lavender, some are flowering throughout the year, but have no aroma, others flower for a shorter period of time and are highly aromatic. You can't have it both ways! The lavender variety that has the most powerful medicinal properties is Lavandula Angustifolia (English Lavender). It is highly aromatic and flowers in June and July. Lavender is often called the Queen of Herbs, for its fantastic aroma, colour and because it has so many healing properties, you could fill a book with them.

Lavender has been used for centuries as a herbal remedy. It was used to relieve a variety of ailments, such as muscular aches and pains, insomnia, the ache of rheumatism and nervous headaches, colds and flu and digestive upsets. It also has antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsive, and anti-depressant properties.

To benefit from its healing power, lavender can be used internally as tea and externally as essential oil. The tea effectively deals with issues of the nervous system such as stress, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, depression, exhaustion and insomnia. It is also used to combat headaches, migraines, colds and flu, upset stomach and digestive disorders.

To make a relaxing lavender tea, simply pour boiling water over half a teaspoon of dried lavender flowers for one cup of tea. Leave it to steep for 10 minutes, then strain and drink. To use as ice tea, leave the tea to cool after straining and put in the fridge to chill.

At Cyherbia we also make a liqueur with lavender, which is an ideal nightcap. It takes you into Morpheus' arms in no time!

On the skin, lavender essential oil is an effective remedy for acne. Simply dab a drop of lavender oil directly on blemishes. The oil disinfects and dries out the spot without drying out the skin. Face cream and tonic made with lavender are ideal for all skin types but especially for skin with blemishes. The oil can also be used on wounds, burns and scaldings. Lavender oil soothes insect bites and acts also as a mosquito repellent. It is one of the few essential oils which can be used neat on the skin.

Lavender is also a well known moth repellent. Put a few organza lavender bags in your wardrobes to keep your clothes free from moths. A lavender bag will keep its scent for several years. Once in a while you may agitate the contents a little to release more aroma.

All these wonderful healing powers certainly deserve our attention. CyHerbia Herb Gardens in Avgorou will host their third annual Lavender Festival from Saturday June 14th until Sunday June 29th. During the Festival visitors can take a stroll in the lavender lined herb gardens, witness the extraction of lavender essential oil, taste unique homemade biscuits, ice cream, ice tea and liqueur made with lavender, as well as take part in various craft workshops, also with lavender. The gardens will be open daily from 9 am till 6 pm. This is truly the most fragrant festival of the year and not to be missed!

On Saturday the 21st of June at 12.30 the Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment will officially open Cyherbia's new distillation unit.

For more information please visit www.cyherbia.com, www.facebook.com/cyherbia, or Tel 99915443

Just So Crafty

Bare it all… but only on the beach! - Paula Manoli-Gray

After a patchy period, I think we can safely say the hot weather is here to stay and it is officially summer 2014!

I love the sea. Not the beach, as I don't care for sunbathing and have become more paranoid about skin damage as I have got older, but the sea I adore and can happily spend hours and hours of bliss in the briny waters.

Unfortunately, there comes a price for the pleasure of enjoying our coasts, and that is the requirement to strip off into something much smaller and more revealing than I would wear at any other time. Personally, I don't wear leggings, short skirts, hot pants, tight tops, or skinny jeans, all on account of my wobbly bits and imperfections. I hate communal changing rooms in clothes shops and the gym. If a gust of wind threatens to blow my (long) skirt up I will be filled with terror. Yet, you will find me on the beach in my swimwear like none of these issues matter. It's not that I suddenly become more confident, but simply because 'it's the beach'!

And what about hair? So many women run like the wind if it threatens to rain for fear their hair will get wet and frizzy… but not at the beach!

How does the beach manage to strip away our normal inhibitions and have us parading around in smalls? It always amuses and confounds me as to why we have one rule – or set of emotions – for our everyday wear and another for the beach. It is as though there is an invisible line where we feel okay on one side, but not on the other. If someone tried to take a peek at our underwear at any other time or in another place, many (like myself) would probably not be happy, and would be embarrassed, mortified or humiliated. But not at the beach, we simply call underwear 'bikini' and it is magically okay!

Of course, there are also many who live for the chance to strip off and show their honed, toned bodies. You will find them mainly at the trendy spots of McKenzie, dancing in itsy bitsy swimwear and turning the colour of chocolate – most likely without adequate sun protection.

As for me, I like to spend my summers on the un-trendy beaches, anonymous and modestly presented, face covered by a huge hat, hoping I don't run into all the people I work with on the 'outside world'. I would never want them to see me in my underwear, but I guess none of that matters here… because it is THE BEACH!

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 14/-6/14

ANNIE

See no evil, hear no evil - Paula Manoli-Gray

One of the best things about living on the island is the relative safety we enjoy. It's not as good as it used to be; not that long ago people would leave their cars and homes unlocked without any fear, and children were confidently left to play in front gardens and neighbourhoods. We were a small island community built on trust where neighbours knew one another well enough to say more than a cursory 'good morning'. Those days are gone, but it's still good compared to most of the rest of the world.

Although, I am starting to wonder just how good it is following an emerging pattern I have noticed. In recent months, there have been several status updates on Facebook warning people to be vigilant about incidents that have happened, but none of the incidents have been publically reported. This makes me wonder how much more happens on a daily basis that we never hear of. How many crimes are committed that do not see the light of day?

The first was an alleged attack on a lone female in a popular nature spot in Larnaca, the second concerns alleged multiple attempted kidnappings of children in the Famagusta areas by the same individual, and the third is several alleged incidents of indecent exposure on one of Larnaca's most popular strips. I won't give further details as none of the stories have been substantiated by the police, and it is certainly not my place to comment and inadvertently spread gossip, especially not within the media.

It's not that I don't trust the sources. All three updates were from people I know to be honest, decent and trustworthy. Furthermore, when they posted the information, many others commented that they too had either heard of the incident or experienced it themselves.

On the one hand, the police do not want to alarm the public unnecessarily, and I can understand this to some extent. We don't need scaremongering, mass panic or vigilante behaviour. But on the other hand, if people knew, they could protect themselves – and their families better – and assist by being on the lookout for suspicious behaviour in the targeted areas, or by people who match the descriptions given.

Furthermore, the advent of social media no longer allows things to be swept under the rug. Nothing that happens in Larnaca will stay secret. We are a small town and with more and more groups and communities on social media, information spreads like wildfire, whether it is of the good variety (like special offers or achievements), or the bad.

So whilst the powers that be are trying to protect us and no doubt do have the best interest of the many at heart (the greater good for the greater number and all that), in this day and age, maybe the process should change to include the public so that they can assist. After all, the more people are aware, the quicker the alleged perpetrators can be apprehended, and the higher the likelihood of maintaining our reputation for having an enviably low crime rate.

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 07/06/14