Friday, January 6/2023

 

January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany and a major event in Cyprus. Used to being shuffled out of the way in the Western Church, conveniently folded in with the nearest Sunday in the Catholic Church (thus circumventing the need for a separate day of obligation) and scarcely mentioned by most Protestants, it is a major celebration in the Eastern Church and a civic holiday as well in Cyprus. And unlike in the Western Church the primary association with Epiphany is with the baptism of Jesus and not the visit of the wisemen. There is a theological link, but this blog not the place for it.

This is probably our 20th Epiphany in Cyprus and Larnaca is a festive place to be for it. Always hundreds of people down at the waterfront and a carnival atmosphere. Ice cream, cotton candy, balloons, games of chance with glitzy prizes, And this year a whole section of fairly impressive rides - merry-go-round, ferris wheel and more. 

Some difficulty ascertaining the time of the procession. All sources happy to announce that it leaves St Lazarus Church “after the service”  but no mention of what time the service begins let alone ends, and our pre covid memories slightly vague. So we decide that getting to the waterfront for around eleven should do it. And it does.

As we head for the waterfront we can see plenty of others on their way to the pier. They’re hoping for ringside seats for the drama of the blessing ceremony in which the bishop throws a cross (prudently tied to the end of a string) into the water and teenage boys or young men dive for the honour and blessing of retrieving it. Interestingly, the press has been quite happy to inform us that people will not be allowed in the water this year due to marina construction activity. “People” presumably not including the bishop’s divers, which is interesting as we’ve never seen anyone from the general public attempting to join them. And obviously not a restriction on swimming at the beach, which continues as usual.

We don’t intend to watch the dive this year but do want to see the procession, though we’re always somewhat scandalised by it. There’s an impressive looking marching band, and a drum with a somewhat funereal beat for the hesitation step. The cross is held high as is the Orthodox Church banner and the flag of Greece (though not Cyprus). The slightly shocking part, though, is not the flags but the rifles. And they don’t look particularly ceremonial when the soldiers bearing them are in battle dress. And then there are the cadets, some of them quite young. Children for whom militarism, nationalism and religion will be permanently fused.

There are benches along the walk, but they’re pretty well in the sun in the morning so we stop to pick up a couple of Mcdonald’s coffees to drink outside in the shade of the building. 

Perfect January weather. Probably 20 in the shade, though you do have to look for morning shade. Restaurants and cafés busy, most of them with some outdoor seating. Traffic has been blocked off so the whole beach area is open for strolling families. There are three freighters anchored in the bay for the holiday as well as a few private sailboats and at least one yacht. Lots of people on the beach, including a scattering of swimmers. And happily this is a Friday, the beginning of a long weekend.

 

Tuesday, March 31/2009

Leave at 6 a.m. and take the train from London Bridge to Gatwick, so we're early enough - but then the shock effect. The penalty for not having checked in online - which I've somehow missed - is twenty quid each. And the same coming back? Yes, if you don't find a computer to check in on. Actually it's not quite as bad - or even worse - than that sounds. The cost of checking in is either £10 each online or £20 each at the airport. The cheap fare is getting less so. Especially as there was already a "handling fee" of £10 each, plus taxes, plus fees.

Pleasant enough flight - absolutely no frills, and relatively inoffensive speaker-announced advertisements - and we arrive early. Ryanair is proud to announce that they're #1 for no lost luggage. Quite probably - they sharply discourage anyone from checking in anything with extra fees. Rumours re charging for loo on board as yet unfounded. They have more effective mans than that of squeezing cash out of you.

The bus in stops at the O'Connell St. bus station - two doors from our hotel, Lynam's, a Georgian buildikng with small rooms but with a kettle, tea and coffee and a hairdryer, as well as a very clean loo. The area is historic as well as central. We're a block north of the post office building, seized and defended by the rebels in the Easter 1916 uprising. There are still bullet marks on the building.

A happy day wandering the streets. Central Dublin is really quite small. We sit in St. Stephen's Green watching the ducks, and chat with a man who shows us his Sony electronic bookreader. It's really quite impressive, both in terms of the numberf of books it holds and for its anti-glare screen and compact size.

Finish at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift was dean, for evensong - a lovely combination of vespers and compline in the ancient cathedral.

Dublin is showing signs of the recession - quite a lot of office space vacant and a surprpising number of people begging. It's a very expensive city as well, especially food prpices and the cost of newspapers, both noticeably higher than in London. We've done well enough on weekday accommodation though.