ad lib paphos third age the magazine...
TRANSCRIPT
AD LIB
The magazine of
Paphos Third Age
Dear Members
Welcome to this edition of Ad Lib. Hopefully Spring is emerging from what has been one of our dullest, dreariest winters. Nevertheless P3A has kept marching on. Over the winter months our Groups Co-ordinator, Jean Alston has met with new group leaders
to hatch plans for some exciting groups. You can learn more about Signing, (Diane James )Photography ( Tom Brown and Chris Scorer ) and Sustainable Planet Earth (Marion Campey, Denise Holt and Jean Alston) in the New Groups Update section. There is also a Beginners Chess group waiting in the wings (Bruce Parker and David Richards). The suggestion of a “Groups Team” with a view to providing assistance for the Groups Coordinator is now in place. David and Marian Richards have very kindly offered their assistance. One of the roles they will undertake is to heighten P3A’s profile on social media. For a local organisation with such a large membership I am continually surprised at just how many people I meet around town who have yet to hear of P3A. It is our intention therefore to make use of Paphos’s social media network, not specifically to encourage membership but to increase awareness in the wider community of the social benefits that P3A groups bring. Members have asked for a copy of the material used at the January Talk on the new General Health System by Dr. Nicos Panayides, who was previously a popular GP at Paphos General Hospital. Here is the link. http://paphos3rdage.org/files/documents/4dee3160-bb95-46ea-9af4-9e6d923a7695.pdf Four groups make a generous contribution to this edition. I am sure you will enjoy reading of Antlions by the Natural History Group, Archeological restoration in Lemba, Arabic Cookery delicacies and some of the latest pictures from the Friday Walking Group. Contact details of the full team are here on the website: http://paphos3rdage.org/our-committee
Best Wishes Keith Adair Chair
www.paphos3rdage.org Editors: Keith and Marian McEwen March 2019
KEITH ADAIR Sends his message from the Chair
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P3A committee members
Chair Keith Adair Vice Chair Keith McEwen Secretary Wally Openheim Treasurer /Acting Secretary John Harper Membership Secretary Dale Ikin Groups Coordinator Jean Alston Magazine Editor Keith McEwen Website Officer Ros Sparrow Events Coordinator Linda Maidment Contact details: http://paphos3rdage.org/committee.htm
Contents
Message from the Chair..... 1 New Groups …… 2,3,4 Natural History 5,6,7 Archeology 8,9 Arabic Cookery........... .. 10,11 Friday Walking......... 12,13
New Groups Update
Something new and challenging for the New year! Always wanted to learn a new language? Join this fun and interactive group for a 8 week entry level British Sign Language course. Sign Language is a visual means of communicating using gestures, facial expression, and body language and is used mainly by people who are Deaf or have hearing impairments. In this course we will cover every day topics such as greetings, family members , asking questions, numbers, colours ,time, food and drink , transport etc. The course will be held at Neos sports bar , 2.30 till 4.30 starting on Tuesday the 17th of February [email protected]
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New Groups Update– continued
Photography Group
A new PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP is being set up with an expected launch date of 25th
March 2019. The venue for meetings will initially be Coral Star (aka ‘Petsas’) which is opposite Phil-lipos Supermarket, Peyia. The Photography Group will exist to provide P3A members of all abilities with an oppor-tunity to meet regularly to share, acquire and develop photographic skills in a supportive and friendly environment where they can explore the potential of all aspects of photog-raphy. Progressive learning will be provided by an experienced photographer with sessions generally being arranged according to members requirements and supplemented with regular Field Trips to gain practical experience. The Photography Group will be administered by Tom Brown and Chris Scorer: Tom Brown A well experienced and highly regarded photographer of many years standing, Tom is equally at home pursuing his own photography or imparting his knowledge and experi-ence to others. He is renowned for his relaxed and informal teaching manner which is conducive to increasing the confidence and motivation of keen amateur photographers. Chris Scorer Chris has pursued his interest in photography for many years and in the past 5 years or so he has enjoyed a measure of success with his images in a competitive Camera Club environment. Chris will undertake to help beginners in situations where Tom is leading more advanced photography sessions. P3A members interested in participating in the Photography Group are invited to con-tact Chris directly via his e-mail address which is [email protected] This will ensure that you receive confirmation and updates relating to meetings. The responses will also serve to give an indication of the number likely to attend meetings so that adequate fa-cilities can be arranged. To ensure that you do not miss out on this exciting addition to the P3A Groups, please contact Chris and mark your diary now!
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New Groups Update– continued SUSTAINABLE PLANET EARTH A new group will be launched in April This group will discuss issues including :- Animal welfare; How and Why we treat Animals the way that we do. 2] Vegetarianism, including a talk on the history of vegetarianism and the increasing popularity of Veganism. 3] Sustainable Living in the home 4] Sustainable choices in our lives, by using fewer natural resources and chemicals; 5] Nutrition: How it affects our mental and Physical health Following on from the talks, there will be an opportunity to have open group discussions about the topics.
We hope to also have guest speakers with relevant experience and knowledge from
time to time.
Contact
[email protected] CHESS FOR BEGINNERS
Bruce will establish a 'Chess for Beginners' activity for those who have never played the
game but would like to, or those who would like to build on a purely rudimentary grasp
of the rules governing the game.
David Richards will help lead the group supporting more experienced Chess players.
The first meeting will be at 2pm at the Coral Star on Wednesday 13th March.
If you happen to have a chessboard please do bring it with you as I only have two and I
don't yet know how many people will turn up for the inaugural meeting.
More may be available in future for those who don’t have a board but would like to
learn.
Everyone of all abilities is welcome to join and I hope we will all relish getting to grips
with this endlessly fascinating game. I look forward to seeing you then.
Contact
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Natural History Group
P3A instrumental in finding new species of Antlions in Cyprus! If you are out in the countryside between April – September, you may happen to see an elegant insect, with patterned wings about 10 cm long. This is Palpares libelluloides, which belongs to a family known as Antlions. P. libelluloides is the largest antlion found in Cyprus. The family’s strange name comes from the fact that their larvae, ferocious little bug-like creatures with large jaws, ambush and devour ants. Many of the larvae dig small pits in sandy soil, hide themselves in the sand at the bot-tom of the pit and wait for an ant to fall in. A scientific paper was published in January, reporting that the number of known antlion species in Cyprus has risen from 13 in 2016, to 20 today, i.e. seven species new to Cyprus have been found. The P3A can claim some involvement in this. In the course of leading the Natural History group, David and I became interested in antlions, and in 2013 we invited Dr Dusan Devetak, a professor from the University of Maribor in Slovenia, to write a section on them for the wildlife book we were preparing. Dusan then visited Cyprus, where we accompanied him collecting larval specimens. Larvae are collected by the simple means of digging into their pits with a spoon and throwing the sand onto a sheet of paper, where the antlion can easily be spotted. It is then popped into a container with some sand to make it feel comfortable. The collected larvae were reared in a lab, where specimens are kept in yogurt pots and fed one ant a day, until they grow up and can be reliably identified. Meanwhile we and a few other naturalists have sent various additional adult specimens over the past five years. Dusan and his colleagues included us among the eight authors of the paper. We are glad to have played a role in stimulating new research into these little-known insects in Cyprus.
Ros Sparrow
News from the Groups
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Natural History Group Continued
Quercus coccifera
Quercus coccifera
Colchicum pusillum
Narcissus serotinus
Palpares libelluloides
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Natural History Group continued
Dr Dusan Devetak
Antlion larva
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Archeology Group
During the autumn, some members of the Archaeology Group have been getting serious
practical ‘on-the-job experience’ helping to restore several of the ‘roundhouses’ at
Lemba
These houses are likely replicas of those which existed 4-5000 years ago, whose stone remains were uncovered during the 1980s in Lemba and Kissonerga, and which date from the ‘Chalcolithic’ period. Archaeologists from Edinburgh University decided to build these replicas, using the only materials and techniques which would have been available to the original builders, and thus to learn first-hand how they may have been constructed and maintained. This was the first example of ‘experimental archaeology’ in Cyprus, and gives visitors of course a much better experience of the distant past. At the request of Dr. Paul Croft, resident archaeologist at Lemba and the original builder in 1989, members of the P3A agreed to help replace the roof of the biggest house and repair the others. Adrian Curtis, Allan Jones, David Whaley and Geoff Cosson honed their under-used muscles to remove 15 cubic metres of soil from the 10m diameter roof, along with branches, seaweed insulation and wooden joists. After replacing all the wooden supporting beams, the roof materials are now being put back, and mud walls replastered. Just like new! Do go and have a look!
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Archeology group continued
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Removing The Roof
Applying New Mud
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Arabic Cookery Celebrates With a Brunch in December that was held at Yasmina Cafe and Bar restau-rant, celebrating the end of the first term of my group! The brunch was well attended by members of the groups and partners. There was an extensive range of Arabic food provided as shown by the following pictures. Arabic Cookery Classes are operating once a month, and members have the opportunity to select whether to join a Monday, Thursday, or a Fri-day lesson where they learn to make delicious Arabic food from all over the Arab world.
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Removing The Roof
Applying New Mud
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Pictures from the Friday Walking Group Walking takes you to many interesting places where you also meet local people.
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Pictures from the Friday Walking Group –continued
At an abandoned village in Lysos