Cyprus: a Song in her heart!

It’s a wonderful time of year here in Cyprus.

No, not simply because it”s hot: it’s actually TOO hot to be comfortable and very difficult to work in weather which leaves you washed out, wet through and longing for rain!

(Yes I can hear you! Give my sunshine, you cry: stop complaining woman, etc!).

The early morning skies, from sunrise , are filled with pink hues which blend with the blue and create something so pretty , it’s almost surreal. The sun doesn’t allow this early morning promise of magic, to stay for very long! It’s soon up there, high above us, beaming rays upon the island and causing the flowers , shrubs and people, to feel like going underground out of it’s way.

What is wonderful about this time of year is that it’s the annual Cypriot holiday: a time when the country comes to part standstill and locals take their break , to spend with family and friends. The tourist companies amongst us, continue to do our thing but we can all feel the frisson of ”freedom/party / relief” vibes as many locals plan their , normally only 5 days break and begin to enjoy their island home.

Music fills the air from afternoon through the night. Those locals lucky enough to get to villas or those gathered in family homes, go ”back around the camp fire” so to speak, lighting their BBQs, preparing food together and talking….

……and talking and talking and talking………….

and more talking!

It’s like being back in the North East of England when my Nanna and her sisters gathered, talking, talking and playing the ”old songs” on the piano!

The sound of singing is never far from our ears at this time in August. Whether from a gathering in one of the homes in the village here in Peyia or resounding from a taverna where locals meet to share their stories, bemoan the world and simply catch up together.

The music is deep, emotional, heavy and completely gets into your soul. Love it or hate it, the sound is mesmerising and makes you want to stop and let it wrap you up until you feel better (despite it making you feel so very depressed at the same time)!

We’re not able to dance at the moment – but the dancing goes on in the hearts and souls of the people gathered together.

It feels to me like an annual ritual of remembering/hurting/comforting one another and adjusting – then looking forward.

A time to remember that we’re all in this together and it will all be alright…

Keeping a song in my heart, I’m off up the hill to ask the overly enthusiastic locals to , ‘turn it down a bit”: they’ve been reminiscing loudly, since around 11pm last night and I have to say their ”choruses of pain and hope” have got too far into the core of my brain – and I need to sleep!

Or maybe sit awhile with them and let the energies of their , ”remembering”, reverberate within my heart.

Sing your own song outloud today and know your friends in Cyprus, are singing along with you every step!

To getting together again soonest!