I do not like the word ‘Diaspora’. Its dictionary definition is “the dispersion or spread of any people from their original homeland”. This evokes feelings of temporariness and permanent homesickness. For third, fourth generation Cypriots these feelings are meaningless. Their original homeland is Br...
With the academic year having drawn to a close, schools are often looking at ways of improving academic performance and productivity in the new Autumn Term. One strategy which has become popular is the practice of shortening pupil’s lunch breaks, in order to re-structure the school day. This pr...
My last wish When I die Is that you bury me in Cyprus Let my body be merged With the soil of my native land My head to my guts in the South My loins to my feet in the North Let me have two graves In the North and in the South For I must lie in both Yaşar...
On a bitterly cold January evening, I walk with trepidation towards a grand, imposing church. Why trepidation? Because I know the temperature inside this magnificent venue is not going to be that different from the outside; I spent many hours trembling inside Union Chapel attending union meetings.&n...
2016 is certainly going to be remembered for many things. In years to come when you get a quiz question "in what year....?" there will be a good chance the answer will be 2016. The year of the underdog continues to back the most unlikely scenarios. No-one gave Leicester City a chance of winning...
The intriguing Labour leadership contest finally drew to an end on 25th September 2016, when Jeremy Corbyn won a resounding vote of confidence – a second victory in just 12 months. The Labour Party is now the largest political party in Western Europe with a staggering 600,000+ members. Over 300...
As Eurovisions go, it appeared that Australia (yes, we know it's not in Europe) had it sown up this year. Way out in front with votes from the juries of the participating countries, we were looking at a comprehensive Aussie win.Though Ukraine was picking up a few 12 points, Australia was more consis...
If you had one chance to spend Eurovision in any country, it would surely be Sweden and in particular Stockholm, wouldn't it? The Swedes have got this Eurovision thing sussed. Winners of this most prestigious song contest umpteen times, no-one knows this contest better than the birthplace of th...
I heard the bad news on a cold November night. 17th November 2015 to be exact. Two friends had gone to see him at Croydon Hospital. They rang to tell me in floods of tears that we had lost him. I had visited him a few days before, and was planning to go and see him again the following day. Alas, it...
The famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld turned the show for Chanel’s Spring/Summer Womenwear 2015 Collection during this autumn’s Paris Fashion Week into a staged rebellion, using leading supermodels such as Gisele Bündchen, Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner to mimic a feminist protest. The fash...
