The most beautiful garden in Paphos
By Bejay Browne

Paphos municipality is running a spring competition, to find the most beautiful garden in Paphos and are asking participants to send in photos of their gardens.
A spokesman from Paphos municipality said: “We would like people to pick the best photo of their garden, and showcase their talent for gardening and love of greenery, flowers and nature. Prizes are a cruise, an air ticket to Athens and a voucher from a nursery.”

The competition is open to people residing within the municipal boundaries of Paphos and participants should send one digital photograph of their garden to: cultural.service@pafos.org.cy with their name, address where the garden is, the subject of the photo and a contact phone, he said. This should be done from May 3rd until May 10th.
“From May 10th to May 17th, all of the photos will be posted on the Paphos Municipality Facebook, without the name of the sender, so that the public can vote for the best,” he said.
Between May18th to May 23rd, the ten photos with the most likes will be picked and will remain on the municipality Facebook page for the public to vote for the best among them.
A special jury will then conduct site visits to each of the 10 finalist gardens individually, between May 24th to May 27th, to ascertain the authenticity of the photos and form their own view of the competing site.
Subsequently, the results of the visit and the result from Facebook will be added up (40% will count the ‘likes’ on Facebook and 60% the jury score), this will result in the top three places.
The three winners of the competition will be announced and awards will be presented, after the Anthesteria Flower Parade, which will take place on Sunday, May 29th at Poseidonos Avenue in Kato Paphos.

For more information contact the Cultural Service of the Municipality of Paphos on 26822218 and 26935523.


STAR SHORT MAT BOWLING

FANTASTIC! The only word to describe our first Charity Day held on 9th April. 90 bowlers from all 5 clubs on the island participated in group matches throughout the day. It was a great achievement that all 52 matches played in the tournament ran to time. We managed to raise 2, 275 Euros on the day.

This money will be equally divided between our nominated charities The Friends Hospice Foundation Paphos and the Cyprus Anti-Cancer Society.

Thanks must go to all Star members who worked so hard in the weeks leading up to the event and on the day. Their generosity and commitment ensured that the various stalls were well stocked and help was available for setting up, moving mats, timekeeping and faultless results updating. Everyone involved deserves a big pat on the back for helping to ensure that the Charity Day was such a big success.

The number of players on the day necessitated more mats than we had at the time so our thanks are also expressed to Shogun for the loan of two mats and associated equipment on the day.

We would also like to thank our sponsors who donated gifts and prize vouchers. These included Chris Parry from 3D Global, Thessaloniki Tavern, Railway Inn, Andry’s Hair Salon, Atlantica Oasis Hotel, U.K.C.A., Neo’s, Kolios, koh-i-noor, Poppadums, Coco’s, Michelle Monk, Revival, Hair by Tracy, Computer SOS and Mario’s in Tala.

Following the day’s activities, a wonderful buffet meal was provided by the owners & staff at the Star Restaurant that was enjoyed by all 92 bowlers and friends who gathered for a little R&R. The raffle alone with 32 prizes raised 542 Euros towards our total grand amount. Colinz Rocking the Country provided the live entertainment and despite some tired legs managed to get quite a few on the dance floor. Many thanks to all at the Star (Demitris, Chris etc) who worked so hard during the day and evening assisting us in so many ways.

Either side of the actual Charity Day we played our 10s matches against the two Mimosa teams.

On Friday 8th April our team played 2 matches against Mimosa Sharks winning all 8 games played. On Sunday 10th April we played Mimosa Dolphins and secured 2 wins and 1 draw in the 8 games played. Well done to all who played some enjoyable and close games.

Check out the website for up to date information on the 10s and other in-house competitions. Website address is:- www.starshortmatbowlingcyprus.com

The final of the 2-Bowl drawn Mixed Pairs competition was played on 27th March.
Maria Milligan and Peter Bullivant secured a comfortable win (20-4) against Becky Holt and Derek Lemon. Well done to the winners and all players who participated in the competition.

The Frances and Norman Trophy (Drawn Mixed Triples) competition is well underway and has reached the semi-final stage. The first semi-final will see Team A (Derek Lemon, Malcolm Hughes & Linda Maidment) against Team B (Geoff Tilebrook, Ronaldo Foster & Gwyn Dickinson). Second semi will be Team G (Chris Collins, Bren Dickinson & Larraine Perry) up against Team E (Pam Tilebrook, Beverley Smith & Nigel Stead).

We now meet 6 times a week including Monday and Tuesday evening sessions which have proved to be successful and well supported. Several new- to-short mat bowls players are attending the evening sessions, getting to know the game and honing their skills before joining in some of the daytime sessions.

Why not give it a try? Just turn up at any advertised bowling session, watch to see what it’s all about or join in and have a go. No pressure and we welcome any new players. You can be sure of a warm, friendly welcome at any time even if you’ve never bowled before but think it could be something for you. Give it a go, meet some new friends and enjoy yourself.


Many thanks for the cakes provided by John Harold on 15th April to celebrate his 69th Birthday. Went down a treat with our half-time drinks.

Colin has now had his replacement hip operation and is up & about with his walking stick. No doubt he’ll be back on the mats before we know it. Keep up the good work Colin and hope you’ll be bowling again soon.

Star Short Mat Bowling Club is a non-profit making organisation with accrued funds being donated to the various charities as agreed by the members.
Come along and join us sometime.

Please contact Paul on 97787484 or Sue on 99952142 for further details and information about any regular scheduled games.

Sunday: 9.30am for 10.00am start
Monday: 6.30pm for 7.00pm start
Tuesday: 6.30pm for 7.00pm start
Wednesday: 9.30am for 10.00am start
Friday: 9.30am for 10.00am start
Friday: 1.30pm for 2.00pm start



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Online petition to curb boy racers in Paphos
By Bejay Browne

A campaigner is drumming up support for an online petition to address the continuing problem of noisy ‘boy racers’ that he said are using a popular seafront road in Paphos to race their cars and bikes.

Mark Hemming is petitioning Mayor of Paphos, Phedonas Phedonos, to step in and address the problem which he said is affecting residents, tourists and local businesses. He said this can be solved by introducing a number of speed reducing measures, including speed bumps.

The problem centres on anti-social owners of ‘souped up’ motorbikes and cars speeding and revving up and down Poseidonos Avenue, in Kato Paphos, an area popular with tourists, on a regular basis through the day, night and into the early hours, he said.

Ashley Goddard, of the Thanos Hotel group, which operates two luxury hotels in the area said that he has received numerous complaints from disgruntled guests who have been disturbed by the noise late at night. He said holidaymakers are disappointed that the authorities don’t seem to take any action to prevent the practice.
“Our night mangers call the police when guests complain, but often by the time they arrive, the perpetrators have gone,” he said.
The Hotel group has sent numerous letters to the municipality, the police and the District Office, but no firm action has been taken, he said.
He said that although the bikes and cars, many of them modified, look good when they’re parked outside cafes close by, when they leave, often late at night, drivers like to show off and screech up and down the road at speed.
“One day there will be an accident. Many of the motorcycle riders aren’t wearing helmets either. It’s a pity and it’s been going on for some time. The police need to show a presence there and there need to be speed bumps to help slow them down. Some of the cars are so low, that they would have a real problem going over them at any speed at all.”

However, a spokesman for Paphos municipality said that speed bumps are not a solution and that they would cause problems for other road users.
“It has been proved that speed bumps are not a solution, they solve some things and create others. The answer is to push the police to step up controls in the area. This is the heart of the town and the police must ensure security of the area.”

Head of Paphos traffic police, Zinon Psathites, said that police respond to any calls they receive and that there is a regular police presence in the area.
“We always have traffic patrols in this area and if we receive a complaint about racing and so on, we will follow it up accordingly. We will stop cars, other vehicles and bikes, check them and the driver and increase patrols in the following days to reduce the problem.”
He added that if residents support the creation of speed bumps in the area, they should write a formal letter to the police and it would be passed on to the appropriate committee.

In his petition to the mayor, Hemmings has made a number of suggestions to eliminate the problem of speeding noisy cars and bikes. These include: erecting more speed restriction signs along Poseidonos Avenue, creating permanent speed bumps and ensuring that the police and the courts impose heavy fines or confiscate vehicles.
He also proposes that two further raised pedestrian crossings are added with dropped curbs for wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
“The crossings pedestrian crossings currently on Poseidonos Avenue are negligible and aren’t wheelchair friendly.”

The petition may be viewed here: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-paphos-embaressment?recruiter=125519625&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

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Japanese travel agents visit Paphos
By Bejay Browne
Travel representatives from Japan visited Paphos and met local officials with the aim of developing tourism to the town ahead of it taking over the Culture Capital title.
Head of the Paphos regional board of tourism, Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, said that a small delegation from the Japanese Association of Travel Agents was invited to Cyprus by ‘Pafos2017’.
“We met with them, exchanged ideas about preparing special packages for Paphos which their members will be able to take advantage of,” he said.
Hadjigeorgiou gave a general presentation about Paphos and what it has to offer and the tourism board gave further information for the delegation to take back to Japan, with the aim of passing it on to its members, who may be interested in putting together packages for ‘Pafos2017’, he said.
“If they have members who are interested to put together special packages, then they will be able to return and see the hotels, meet with transport companies, guides and travel agents and so on,” he said.
The Japanese representatives also met with the mayor of Paphos, Phedonas Phedonos and discussed specific ways to promote tourism.

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Paphos pensioner hands over his pension
By Bejay Browne

A Paphos pensioner has handed over a month’s worth of his pension to the mayor as a way of contributing to the regeneration of Paphos.

Sotiris Hadjialexandrou arrived at Paphos municipality and presented the full amount of his pension to Paphos mayor, Phedonas Phedonos.

The elderly resident had been part of a packed audience that attended the mayor’s presentation of an overview of ten major infrastructure and development projects currently underway in Paphos.
He said that he had been so moved by the experience, that he wanted to do his bit to help.
Hadjialexandrou visited Phedonos personally and handed over the cheque. He said that he had a deep appreciation for the efforts the municipality was making for Paphos to become a modern city “worthy of its long history”.

“Paphos has turned a page and is changing,” he said. “As a resident of this city, I felt the need to contribute to the best of my abilities for the completion of infrastructure projects that will define the image of the coming decades. My hope is that other people, who love and care about Paphos will follow suit, because Paphos is all of us.”

Receiving the cheque, the mayor described the initiative of the pensioner as “a touching movement with real and symbolic content”.
“I warmly thank you for this wonderful gesture and express the hope that your actions will set an example,” the mayor told Hadjialexandrou

According to the municipality, the pensioner declined to be photographed.