Happy New Year!
DONATIONS
I would like to say a very big thank you to
all those who very generously donated gifts and food parcels to needy families,
particularly in the lead up to the Christmas period. All were very gratefully received and I was
very proud of the way the whole community pulled together to ensure that no-one
was left hungry or in need. St Stephen’s
Anglican Church in Tala has been particularly supportive and a new initiative
is being considered which will allow the members of the church to interact more
closely with those families badly affected by the financial situation.
A number of people have handed in bags of
good second hand clothing and the like.
Such goods are always useful and I can assure you that nothing will be
wasted. If you have second hand clothing or other
items which are surplus to requirements these can be left either at the council
office or SKE [Welfare Centre].
I would also like to take this opportunity
to thank all those who helped at the Christmas Bazaar and who provided knitted
goods, cakes, or other gifts for this event.
SAPA
As most of you will know from the email
issued, SAPA are in the process of issuing invoices to all residents in respect
of the sewerage charge. Since the
email, SAPA have agreed to a special meeting regarding Tala but a date is still
awaited for this. I have also had an
interview on Paphos Radio by phone.
Unbeknown to me, Mr Vergas was on another line to the station and he has
said over the air that he hopes the situation will be resolved by the end of
February, and that Tala residents should not
pay any invoice received.
In the meantime, if we manage to exclude
ourselves from the SAPA road based sewerage system, it looks likely that, due
to EU regulations, our existing septic tank arrangement will be
unacceptable. We are, however, pursuing
details of an alternative which converts
our septic tanks into ‘domestic treatment units’ – and such units are
acceptable to the EU. It is felt that
this option will be cheaper and result in far less disruption than the road
based system that SAPA seem keen to include us in!
Our first task, however, is to get SAPA to
agree that they will not charge Tala residents as this is the main priority at
the moment. Thereafter, we will pursue
the alternative we suggest with the Government and see if this can be accepted. The 80% Government subsidy for whatever
system we have is unlikely to be available for a number of years – 2020 is the
current earliest estimate.
Peyia are in a different situation as they
are a municipality and therefore do not qualify for any Government
funding. In addition, their Council has
elected to proceed with the road based system.
As soon as there is anything further to
report, you will be advised. In the
meantime, it is imperative that you do not pay the SAPA invoice.
GREEN
AREA PLANTING
Now we have had some winter rain, a number
of areas will be planted up by the council.
These will be :
Alongside the Council vehicle storage area
Top of Peristerion
PLANTING
IN PAVEMENTS
Please note that a Government instruction
has now been issued that there should be no new planting of anything in
pavements due to the damage caused by root growth, and also to avoid
obstruction of the pavement.
Several residents have allowed the pavement
outside their homes to be used for vehicle and boat parking, or as a general
dumping ground for items that don’t fit on their drives or in their
garages. Could you please ensure that
the pavement is kept clear for pedestrians and also report any offenders to the
Council so we can contact them.
SUBSIDING
BUILDINGS AT THE ENTRANCE TO KAMARES
I have finally received information from
the District Office regarding the recent work undertaken at the site.
a) Cracks on the patios, area surrounding
the pools, drives, paths, etc have been filled in to stop further erosion of
the subsoil.
b) The swimming pools have been covered
with panels to avoid ingress of rainwater.
c) A trench was created at the back of the
block of flats to divert rainwater away from the building and into the ravine.
d) A trench was created alongside the main road
into Kamares – again to divert rainwater.
Finally, green mesh has been erected to
prevent access to the site either from the main or top road.
OLD
CEMETERY
Work has been done to tidy up and improve
the old cemetery. A dividing wall
between the old and the extension has been removed, and concrete paths have
been installed to separate and mark the plots.
POST
OFFICE
Some of you may remember that a few years
ago, in order to employ a second person at the Post Office and improve the
service, the wage for the existing member of staff was halved with the result
that the Post Office had two employees for the price of one.
The situation is that each of the 2 members
of staff earns €300 a month – from this they have to provide, maintain and fuel
the transport they use for deliveries.
Obviously, with increasing costs of fuel
the current position cannot continue and, as the Post Office are
unwilling to increase pay, the only improvement that can be made from the
staff’s point of view is to reduce their delivery area.
With immediate effect, therefore, those
living in the roads shown below will no longer receive a mail delivery and
should organise a post box at the post office for their mail. The roads affected are those in rural areas
or where the road surface is poor and unsuitable for a moped, and it is hoped
that disruption should be minimal. All
have been notified:
Panaretou Ieromonahou, Dimitri Liperti, Maroniti,
Levantas, Iakinthos, Tzoumayias, Rebekkas Andreou, Kafkalla, Lambousa, Christou
Keli from 17 onwards, Ioannou Horevti, Irakleous, Papadaniel, Ntirris,
Melanos, the rural area where the new
cemetery is to be, all agricultural roads and any roads in Melissovounos where
it is difficult for a moped to travel.
Unfortunately, one member of staff,
Andreas, has now handed in his notice as
he travels on a daily basis from Peyia to Tala and, with the low pay and
increasing costs, he felt that the job was no longer viable. Andreas
leaves at the end of February and I would like to thank him for the good
service he has provided. We are waiting for
a response from the Post Office as to how they will now proceed and I will let
you know, in due course, if any further change to the service will be made.
From the end of the month, with one member of staff, deliveries are
likely to be affected unfortunately.
VOTING
– EUROPEAN ELECTIONS
Elections for members of the European
Parliament will take place in Cyprus on 25 May. EU citizens are entitled to vote, providing they
do not hold a vote in any other country.
If you already have a vote for the Cypriot local elections, you may have
applied for an EU vote at the same time.
Unfortunately, no voting book is issued for European elections.
The District Office is in the process of
issuing letters to those who have a local vote but not an EU vote so letters
[in Greek] with application form [in Greek and English] may already have been
received.
Anyone who does not have a vote in the
local elections can also take this opportunity to apply for this at the same
time. There is a separate form and
photographs will be needed for this.
Cathi has a supply of the application forms
if you email her on toffee@primehome.com
advising which vote you wish to apply for.
There is also a small supply of the forms in the Tala Council Office.
The District Office is on the main street
in Ktima where Marks & Spencer’s foodhall is. The office is up the road from the Post
Office and next door to the building surrounded by scaffold and green mesh and
is the building with the main door reached by a number of steps up from the
pavement. Once you go through the door,
you need to go to the office on your left.
Cyprus will have 6 MEPs. Details of the candidates are not yet
available.
DOGS
The Council receives a lot of complaints
about dogs – whether it be regarding the noise that they make, fouling or
wandering the streets. As the Police appear
not to be interested, a decision has
been made by the Council to write to all owners about whom complaints have been
received. If there is no improvement
after the warning letter, legal action will be taken against the owners.
If you are affected by problems, please
either write into the council or email Cathi on toffee@primehome.com. Please state the nature of the complaint and
the full address of the offending owner.
COMPUTER
SYSTEM AT THE COUNCIL OFFICE
Work is underway in respect of the new computer programme. We will try and keep disruption to a minimum
but in the event that the system is down, payment can still be made and a
manual receipt will be issued.
The council website has moved under the
control of the new technical suppliers and there will be times over the course
of the next few weeks, when this is unavailable or where information may be out
of date. Efforts will be made to ensure
that work is done as quickly as possible so that the site is fully operational
again. Please note the address for the
new website is www.thevillagexpress.com
. Once you log onto the site, click on
the Union Jack in the right hand corner [for English] and then Paphos and
scroll through the list to Tala.
Alternatively, you can type Tala into the search engine at the top of
the page.
Newsletters will be in Documents. Events are listed under Events and you can
also click on the calendar in the bottom left hand corner if you wish to see if
there is any entertainment on specific dates.
The site is still a work in progress and
documents, photos and information will
be added to the site shortly.
VOLUNTEERS
If anyone has a few hours each week where
they can make themselves available to help whoever needs it in the community,
their assistance would be appreciated.
We have a number of people who are incapacitated due to illness or
operations, who are housebound, or whose health is failing meaning that they
can no longer drive to the supermarket or bank. Help could consist of driving, a little
shopping or other errands, or simply having a coffee with someone to break up
their day. If anyone is interested,
could they please contact Cathi on toffee@primehome.com.
EASTER
CHARITY RAFFLE
Tickets for the above will be available
from 1st March at the Council Offices and also at SKE [Welfare
Centre]. They are priced at €1.50 per
ticket, or €5 per strip of 5. There are
numerous prizes from alcoholic beverages of varying descriptions, tickets at
amphitheatre events, through to meals at
local tavernas. Funds raised will remain in Tala. The draw will take place on Easter Monday in
the Square at 1700.
EVENTS
14 Feb – Vatouthkia – Valentine’s Night
with Neil James
23 Feb – Vatouthkia – Sunday lunch with Amy
28 Feb – Kendall & Morrelli – Rob
Cairns as Marc Bolan/T Rex at Vatouthkia
28 Feb – Carnival Dinner Dance at Epsilon
Taverna, Emba. Tickets €20 available
from the Council office.
2 Mar – Vatouthkia – Sunday lunch with
Crystal Clear
9 Mar – Vatouthkia – Sunday lunch with Ian
G
21 Mar – Church Hall in Tala – Concert by
Yuri Zhislin and Katya Apekisheva. This
will comprise works from the classical repertoire including Schubert’s
Arpeggione Sonata and arrangements of lighter works such as Scott Joplin,
Johann Strauss, tangos, rhumbas as well
as well-known Russian and Italian songs.
Tickets €12 available from SoEasy Kiosk in Tala, online at www.apollonartists.com or to reserve via Cathi on toffee@primehome.com. There is also a helpline [8.30am-10.30am and
3pm-5pm] on 7000 9303
22 Mar – Kendall & Morrelli – Andrew
Browning as George Michael at Vatouthkia
13
Apr – Easter Charity Bazaar at SKE
[Welfare Centre]
Coming
up: [All dates after May are provisional
at this stage!]
80’s explosion at Vatouthkia – 25th
April
Tom Jones tribute at Vatouthkia – 16th
May
Mercury & May – the Ultimate Queen
tribute [6th and 8th June at Amphitheatre]
Ian G With Strings Attached – octet playing
popular music [14th June at Amphitheatre]
Barrie Rowe – from Glen Miller to Motown
[provisional 18th June at Amphitheatre]
Rod Stewart tribute – back at the
Amphitheatre again by popular demand [20th and 22nd June]
Bee Gees tribute – [11th and 14th
July at the Amphitheatre]
Karen Kendall Covers [26 July at the
Amphitheatre] – the music of Cher, Blondie, Karen Carpenter, Elkie Brooks and
Chrissy Hynd
Simon & Garfunkel tribute [8th August at the Amphitheatre]
Sister Act direct from the UK [7th
September at the Amphitheatre]
Jersey Boys – back at the amphitheatre by
popular demand [19th, 24th and 27th September]
Engelbert Humperdinck at Vatouthkia – 24th
October
The Rat Pack makes a return –
Vatouthkia - 28th November
Vatouthkia events – booking direct with
Vatouthkia [99 459163, or 99 751007], or via Derek on derekincyprus@gmail.com
Kendall & Morrelli shows – tickets,
including international buffet, available from Vatouthkia, SoEasy Kiosk in
Tala, via Cathi on toffee@primehome.com,
or on 96818066
Amphitheatre shows – tickets can be
pre-booked with Cathi on toffee@primehome.com
BLOOD
DONING
This will take place at SKE [Welfare
Centre] on Wednesday 5th March from 5pm to 8pm.
Next newsletter 15 April
Areti
Pieridou
