Inside This Month's Magazine: Issue 30, June 2009

It is over six years since the beginning of the Iraq War, and two and a half years since Saddam Hussein was hanged, but shocking details of the former Iraqi dictator’s reign of terror are still emerging. Much has been written about Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay - that they were sadistic rapists, cold-blooded murderers, self-serving, brutal animals without morals or conscience, but only those closest to the tyrannical ruler and his family can fully comprehend the true evil of the Hussein regime.

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It’s that time of year again. What can we do to keep the kids occupied during the long school holidays?

Well there is the beach and the sea, but how many times can we do this before everyone wants something else? A popular choice is the summer camps, where a host of activities are available all under supervision. more..

As the temperatures rose and the whirring of the cicadas increases to become the noise that typifies mid-summer here in Cyprus, I was pleased to hear the song of two of our more common, but also most attractive, resident birds. In fact, their calls were earlier this week audible throughout the day in my Nicosia garden It is likely that they have nested nearby, as in addition to the loud song of the male Greenfinch Carduelis chloris, family parties of both this bird and its even more colourful relative, the Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis, can be heard calling to each other throughout the local area. more..

You may think this is an unlikely title for an article concerning the arts; however one of the many questions I am asked frequently is what inspires me, or put in another way, why do I paint the subjects that I do? As many artists would agree, an empty canvas is a hard thing to overcome, and the constant search for an ‘artistic subject’ can negate ones artistic freedom. So my simple answer to this question is, paint what you are familiar with. more..

The drama students at the Antidote Youth Theatre excelled themselves with exciting productions throughout May.

The talented groups impressed the audience with a variety of productions. more..

During 1983 to 1984, I was serving out the latter part of my military service as a Regimental Policeman with the 1st Battalion the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire; we were stationed at Brooke Barracks in Berlin. The barracks were directly opposite the infamous Spandau Prison, where the Nazi War criminal Rudolph Hess was serving his sentence for the crimes he had been convicted of by the War crimes Trial of Nuremberg. He was still alive and in residence at the time, which meant that all the nations occupying Berlin at this juncture shared the responsibility of guarding him. more..

Hunts by scent Dog

To the eye, this little dog does seemingly belie his true function. He looks soft and docile, almost poodle like with his fancy haircut and lamb like stance. The truth is this little chap is capable of great hunting feats and was labelled as one of the gamest in the Terrier field.

He was known as the Rothbury (Northumberland) Terrier. In 1825, he was christened the Bedlington by Joseph Aynesley. North Country folk, especially among the working class have always been adept at working out and improving many items of use more..

Oral Cavity Cancer accounts for approximately 3% of all malignancies in the (USA) and is a significant worldwide health problem. The National Cancer Institute (SEER) reports that 30% of Oral Cancers originates in the tongue, 17% in the lip and 14% in the floor of the mouth. more..

Language is a strange thing. What is this article called? It’s called two Greek words. These two Greek words which when spoken sound very similar, have very, very different meanings. Siharitiria means congratulations. Silibitiria means commiserations. You would say one word at a wedding, and the other word at a funeral. See if you can spot the comedic possibilities.

Now, far be it from me to suggest that a newly re-patriated “Charlie”* - returned to Cyprus having lived most of his life in the UK - made this elemental error at a wedding. But it could have happened. more..

An Interesting Screen Image on a Friend''s Computer When visiting Patrick and Christel Conroy at their Oroklini apartment I could not help but admire the digital image of Liopetri fishing boat inlet on their computer monitor. Patrick explained that he had bought a new Canon Power Shot camera for around €85 recently on the advice of a friend who recommended Canon on the grounds that they make the best lenses. Whatever the truth of that assertion Christel''s photograph is quite striking, and with her kind permission I have reproduced it here to illustrate once more that your digital camera does not have to be complicated or expensive to be very effective and enable great shots to be taken when the subject presents itself. Plainly Christel chose an excellent viewpoint, great Cyprus light and careful composition and as a result has a picture to frame and admire. more..

Hermes Airports have successfully completed the installation of ten Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) devices within the two International Airports of Larnaka and Pafos. The AED’s have been put in as a timely response to the new laws dictating the requirements of their set up as Hermes look to further ensure the well being of the travelling community. more..

In the previous article (In Touch, issue 29, May 2009, pp. 32-33) we introduced the subject-matter of a contract. We offered a definition of a contract and referred to its central requirements and constituent parts that establish it as a fully contractual agreement.

In the context of the said article we covered the workings of two key requirements in reaching agreement: making an offer and responding with an acceptance (which means full compliance with the offer and its prescribed terms).

However, in addition to matters of offer and acceptance, there are other key elements and requirements for the formation of a contract. Two basic ones which we will explore in this article refer to the intention to create legal relations and consideration.

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My escape from Laos was not as straight forward as I led you to believe in my last missive.

The ‘America Air’ pilot, Hank, a New Yorker who chewed incessantly on a cheroot, came back into the jungle with me to pick up my buddy Aaron who was very near to losing his life through loss of blood. Between us we managed to get him back to the helicopter affectionately called a Huey, and then we had to wait nearly two hours for the relief chopper bringing Hank’s much needed hydraulic oil before we could fly out.

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Dear Readers, I hope you are all well and enjoying the ever advancing summer. I am still slave to the baby so my life is all about the little dude now, but I don’t want to bore you with all that month after month. One thing I will say is that he has very kindly done his fair share for the upkeep of the house by re-painting our walls… with projectile poop and pee!

It is amazing how fast time has flown and already we are into the hot weather which means baring skin – eek! Having given birth and been pre-occupied with keeping the little one in the manner to which he is now accustomed, I totally forgot that I am still a woman in my own right, and as such, I should look like one. more..

New "In-touch24" emergency health careline launched across Cyprus this month in association with Chubb Community Care, UK.

With our property currently harder to sell, many ex-pats are finding that they have to stay in their Cyprus homes until a possibly riper age than they may have originally planned. Some of these can feel isolated when health problems occur. Now this month, a new service being a launched by the British Care Trust will ensure they are literally "In Touch" 24 hours a day and will provide great reassurance to both themselves and their relatives and carers.

Jean D was 74 and living alone near Paphos after the recent death of her husband when she fell at night 20 feet down a flight of uncarpeted marble stairs and was knocked unconscious. She came round alone and in darkness having broken her hip. “The pain was excruciating” she said. more..

While City traders and MPs alike may have once sat in palatial homes with duck island''s in their moats, they have both learned the same lesson this week: there is no such thing as a free lunch. As MPs were told to pay back fraudulent expenses and Britain was threatened with a downgraded credit rating, sterling was sent back to earth with a thud, proving that what goes up… must come down.

In the last month, equity markets and currency exchange rates have received a boost from improved market sentiment. As the prospect of global recovery becomes brighter, there has been a boost in exchange rates for the higher yielding currencies. more..

Paul Clark cycling from Polis to Dherynia raised money for the Pafos Hospice.

Michalis Hadjigiannis Cypriot singer, at the opening of the Glou menswear shop.

Temuri (Tim) Ketsbaia the ex Newcastle & Wolves player and until recently coach of Anorthosis was happy to meet Samantha Barnfield and pose for picture. more..

Expressing one’s feelings is normally looked at as being inappropriate, rude, or even humiliating because you are too scared to show them.

If you have grown up in a family that never said how they feel, then it’s very likely that you don’t know how to express how you feel now, as an adult. It almost feels alien to express our feelings, so now we have to go through a process of ‘unlearning’ what we were taught by our guardians/parents. It may sound like a daunting prospect, but I assure you that with practice it can become human nature again.

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Why did we come to Cyprus to live? Because of the wonderful weather of course; isn''t it glorious? I love it - I feel truly alive and really would not choose to be anywhere else. Readers regularly ask me where my craft knowledge comes from. Let me fill you in. When I was just four years old I started knitting. My mother was an avid knitter so I wanted to learn and by the time that I was seven was knitting my first jumper in stocking stitch in bands of different colours. more..