WOW Carnival Party

It is our pleasure to announce that WOW Action Park will host the biggest children's Carnival Party in Larnaka. Looking forward to seeing you all there!!!

The perfect Larnaca period - Paula Manoli-Gray

After the horrid cold weather and the sickly season, we are now coming into my absolute favourite time of year in Cyprus and I am about to get all hippy-dippy over it!

I adore the combination of spring weather, landscapes in bloom, being able to walk around comfortably, carnival period, Green Monday and Easter. And there is honestly nowhere else I would want to be - Larnaca during this season just seems so happy, vibrant and positive.

No matter what is happening, Cypriots relish carnival period and really throw themselves into the festivities. Suddenly, people who are normally serious, reserved or miserable are dancing around in silly wigs and letting loose and I love to see it!

And of course, this is the perfect time to walk the salt lake – Larnaca's best beauty spot as far as I am concerned. I wish every resident of the region would walk its path during this time of year because it really is something; firstly the very fact that we have it and it is well-protected is a miracle in itself, but it is also very 'un-Cyprus'. Whenever I take a walk there I feel like I am completely transported from the rubbish going on outside its perimeter, and as we are not an island where walking is easy to do (due to the heat and bad pavements), it feels like a real treat to walk safely, comfortably and with the added bonus of picturesque views and majestic flamingos.

Then there is Green Monday and Easter. I like Christmas because I have young children, but the lead-up to Easter and Orthodox Easter itself feel far more authentic and grounded. It's not about presents and tack, but more about humanity. Granted, Easter has its fair share of potentially diet-sabotaging treats such as the amazing sweet bread 'tsoureki' and the adopted Western tradition of Easter eggs, but there isn't that horrible air of gluttony. And the smells… Cyprus just smells of souvla during this period, and it's a great smell (unless you are vegetarian!). I won't spoil my gushing by mentioning the pipe bombs - that is for another day…

One of the nicest things about this time of year is being able to enjoy McKenzie! I do not set foot anywhere near the coastal strip during the summer months – my days of dancing to the cacophony of multiple venues' music in a bikini are long gone – but at the moment, it is bliss. Sitting and enjoying a drink overlooking the sea whilst the kids run around in the perfect amount of sunshine is magical, especially when the views are not interrupted by a road in the middle ala Phinikoudes.

This is also the time of year that Larnaca looks its best. Living here we are used to seeing dry, brittle landscapes during the long summer, but sometimes when I stop to really take a look at them through the eyes of a visitor, I can see that the dull palette of scorched browns is really quite ugly. In comparison, the late winter and spring months are glorious; green peppered with bright blooms, and I don't care if half the green is overgrown weeds hiding a mountain of dog poo – it's colourful!

So enjoy this season with a spring in your step and colour in your heart. Gushing over now! 

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 13/02/15

Εκπαιδευτική Παρουσίαση!

Italian Cooking Classes with the Grand Maestro!

Alberto Civitella is paying another very welcome and much requested visit to Cyprus. Now there is your chance to learn the secret of authentic Italian dishes and more. He is a true gentleman with a unique character and was twice knighted by the President of the Italian Republic for his outstanding services to Hospitality.

He will be sharing the techniques and skills on how to prepare:

Pizza and Calzone

Fresh Pasta Dough: Egg-Tagliatelle, Spaghetti, Farfalle
Italian Sauces: Pesto, Noble Lady and Carbonara
Italian Deserts: Tiramisu and Bombolone

Wednesday, 11th February 2015

10am - 12pm - Fresh Pasta
3pm -5pm - Fresh Pasta
6pm - 8pm - Pizza and Calzone 

Thursday, 12th February 2015
10am - 12pm - Italian Sauces
3pm -5pm - Italian Deserts
6pm - 8pm - Pizza

Friday, 13th February 2015
10am - 12pm - Italian Deserts
3pm -5pm - Pizza and Calzone
6pm - 8pm - Fresh Pasta

Wednesday, 18th February 2015

10am - 12pm - Fresh Pasta
3pm -5pm - Fresh Pasta
6pm - 8pm - Pizza and Calzone 

Thursday, 19th February 2015
10am - 12pm - Italian Sauces
3pm -5pm - Italian Deserts
6pm - 8pm - Pizza

Friday, 20th February 2015
10am - 12pm - Italian Deserts
3pm -5pm - Pizza and Calzone
6pm - 8pm - Fresh Pasta

Cost: €25.00 per person including sampling, handouts and CD with Recipes.
Location:Progress Cyprus
Konstantinou Christofidi Street,
Sophora Court, suite 1,
Larnaka 6021, Cyprus.

BOOK HERE

Tel: +357 24 815 416

Email: haig.varbedian@progresshq.com

An oath to heal the conveniently sick - Paula Manoli-Gray

The Hippocratic Oath is 'one of the oldest binding documents in history', and one on which new doctors swear upon that they will heal the sick to the best of their ability. But it seems like is has been 'mislaid' in Larnaca and replaced with an oath to help the sick as long as it is not too inconvenient.

I am usually full of praise for our medical services, and have always found them - and the staff who carry them out - to have been thorough and efficient. Personally, I have (thankfully) not experienced bad medical service myself, but my faith in Larnaca doctors has been shaken to the core recently as a result of their treatment of a male relative of mine.

Said relative is in his twenties and was in a car accident last year whereby a courier van barged straight into a roundabout in Nicosia without looking and ploughed into the passenger side of his car. Had there been a passenger, there is a very good chance that there wouldn't be a passenger here today as the car was a write-off. My relative suffered whiplash.

Despite it being a clear case of the courier being at fault, the family have been struggling to take the case to court, and as this process has dragged on, my relative has been progressively getting worse. What started out as a little pain in his fingers and neck has spread from the fingers of each hand all the way up to both arms, across the shoulders and down the back. He is in constant pain, has trouble carrying out his desk job and can barely lift one of the arms up. It is apparent that he has some kind of nerve damage and will have to endure pain and treatments for some time, all because some irresponsible driver didn't look when driving, and now his equally irresponsible employer is simply not interested in what happened. It is no way for a young man in his prime to live.

But the problem with the Larnaca doctors is that although a young man is in debilitating pain and in need of treatment, he has actually been turned away by several doctors - both state and private. As soon as the doctors hear the words 'car crash' and 'court case' they drop him like a hot potato because they point blank 'do not want to get involved'. The thought of having to testify is just too inconvenient for them. One doctor actually put down his pen and paper and asked him to get out. The result is a delay in getting him properly diagnosed and started with treatment, which in turn has caused his condition to worsen. And because he cannot get a doctor's report to file with the court case, that is delayed too. The doctors' lack of ethics and desire to help is a brazen insult to the Hippocratic Oath.

Apparently, this is common knowledge. A lawyer relative told him that he would struggle to get a doctor to write a report, and others in similar situations have said that it was easier in the end to just give up on a court case and get treated. But with the loss of quality of life, the fees he has incurred trying out different medical solutions (including physiotherapy sessions), and the burden and strain this has placed on his life, why the heck should he not take the courier company to court?

At the time of writing, he has found a glimmer of hope at the town's only private hospital, where a doctor has been most accommodating. But why on earth should it have to take a year and a multitude of slamming doors to finally find one that is open? Hippocrates would turn in his grave.

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 06/02/15