OLE OLE CONFUSIONS – like most of Cyprus, this scribe was with Anorthosis last Wednesday. How could anyone not be, considering the hostile reception given to the local side by looney Olympiakos bikers in Athens?
The 1-0 defeat means Anorthosis become the first Cypriot side to qualify in the Euro Champions League, writing their own significant page in history.
But there ends the praise, until the next round that is. It’s so discomforting, seeing all those 1,000 or so fans unfurling their Greek flags on winning 3-1 on aggregate, when effectively, their Greek ‘compatriots’ from Olympiakos treated them like ‘Martians’. So great result, sad about the politics!
GOOD FOR THE PRESIDENT – say I for standing up to the Bishop of Paphos, who as The Archbishop’s mouthpiece stated what the Archbishop himself wanted to say but could not do, because, guess what, he was in Beijing watching the Olympics.
Now I know some people think President Christofias over-reacted, and he has even been advised not to engage in public exchanges with the patriotic ‘men of the holy cloth’. But let’s face it, if the President does not put them in their true place, which is in the Church, then who will?
Staying silent on their chest beating antics is what has been happening for decades. And while we are on the same said subject, MP Nikos Koutsou has taken up a new role as public heckler at official functions. Mr Koutsou was irritated by the ‘partnership’ reference made by AKEL’s Nicos Katsourides at the recent Overseas Cypriots gathering. Lacking any sense of vision, Koutsou has now resorted to public heckling to be noticed in front of the cameras. I might just join him. Just for a laugh I’m thinking of heckling Mr. Koutsou wherever he is speaking…
PARTNERSHIP – why is it so difficult for backward looking politicians to accept the foundation for solution to the Cyprus Problem? What if we used the term ‘teamwork’? Cypriot politicians have rarely if not ever thought of themselves as being on the same side. Instead, they project them and us, and us versus them. Therein lies the real crux of some people’s apparent aversion to the notion of paternership – solidarity is what we need – not further division.
WHERE WAS KEN? Following Britain’s historic medal achievements at the Beijing Olympics, the handover of the Olympic flame and after-party was a huge affair. Boris ‘The Imprudent’ Johnson made such a mockery of it all. He couldn’t even pronounce the word ‘ping-pong’ correctly’ let alone play a decent match.
As for styling, those old dudes in the balcony of the Muppets had much more panache than him. The current Mayoral figurehead of London seemed to be claiming everything British and Olympic as his – indicating once again that toffee nosed public school boy Tory side of his persona.
The real point is where was Ken Livingstone amongst all this? Surely he was the Mayor who brought the Olympics to London.
X-FACTORY COMES TO CY – having secured the rights from the global-fried multinational that makes it, ANT TV now proclaims ‘X-Factor’ for Greece (and by nationalistic implication Cyprus!).
For all those budding young wannabes, ‘X-Factory’ will give a platform for anyone who thinks they are a star. No need to be able to write a song, let alone compose or produce music. All that will be done by the company itself when a suitable winner is filtered through the thousands of vain star seekers.
The company, also possibly owned by the TV channel, will provide a ‘share-cropper’ type recording deal for roughly the next 5-7 years that will make the late great Stelios Kazantsides turn in his grave.
As you can gather, I will not be watching this show, preferring to look for real new talent out there, playing live somewhere, in front of genuine audiences. What was that song Howlin’ Wolf used to sing ‘I asked for water – and she gave me gasoline?’ There’s nothing that can match the realness of The Blues.
Perhaps the most painful aspect of reality-TV was the recent public cancer diagnosis revelation by one of its main earners and ‘freak-show’ victims Jade Goody, who received this shocking news while she was on air in India on Big Boss. That’s what’s wrong with society, there’s no standard any more to privacy, and an overall lack of morality and respect. People as viewers, as consumers and actors, like Jade Goody, are in it for the rewards, voyeurism and shock value. There seems to be no limit any more and we are all waiting for a next media manufactured moment to sensationalise us even more.
