VOX POP tête-à-tête

Review of 2013 – Part 1

 By Engin Dervişağa

 2013 was a busy year for me and my team and it is nice to look back on some of the outside broadcast interviews I did during the year.  They were all very interesting people and enjoyable to interview and I am listing just a few to remind you.  One of the people I interviewed was Brian Self who sadly passed away recently so I count myself lucky that I had the opportunity of talking to him.

Friends Line Dancers  – I spoke to Steve Bartholomew who told me he had been associated with line dancing for the last 7 years and he and his wife, Janet, formed the Friends Line Dancers which is a small and friendly group who enjoy the dancing and social events together.

Olesya Larina – this is a Russian lady who told me about the Russian Carnival which has been held in Bariș Park on 2 occasions and displays the Russian culture and how they celebrate various festivals.

Carol Blackwell-Gibbs – I met Carol at Bellapais Abbey where she has often been involved in arranging weddings.  Carol has lived in North Cyprus for nearly 14 years and has a wedding service for people who can have their special day at Bellapais, some of the large new hotels, the beach and even on a pleasure boat.

Brian Self – I talked to Brian about his life and also his paintings.  Brian has had 3 exhibitions in North Cyprus of his paintings and he said he mainly focuses on landscapes but the finished paintings result from his imagination of what he actually sees.   Brian was an Architect before retiring and studied architecture in the UK.   Sadly, since this interview Brian’s sudden death was a shock to all who knew and respected him.

Gail Morris – Gail runs The Nook Cafe in Ozanköy and offers a British style snack menu but she also introduces Turkish cuisine and mezes on a certain day in the week.  I enjoyed talking to Gail and watching while she prepared some lovely dishes for her customers.

Ayten Hűseyin – I met up with Ayten at the Bandabuliya in Lefkoşa where she has run a shop since 2006.  During the last 5 years Ayten has also been doing some design work in the South and as this has now come to a standstill she has embarked on a new project, funded by the EU and  supported by UNDP, which is for about 30 women from North Cyprus villages to learn the craft of hand knitting, crocheting and using knitting machines.

Gavin Simon – I was treated to some music from Gavin who told me he became a bass guitar player at the age of 15 and went on to play and sing in the UK as an entertainer.  Since coming to live in North Cyprus Gavin has obtained a permit to entertain through a local agency and he is now going from strength to strength.

Kirsty Rhodes – I interviewed Kirsty at Alagadi Beach where she is part of the Turtle Project.  Kirsty is doing her Research Masters at the University of Exeter which is a 2-year course, where she is looking at the data collected over the past 20 years about the habits of turtles.  I was told that there are 2 species of turtles which can be found in North Cyprus, although there are 7 different species throughout the world.

At BRT2 Television we are very interested in meeting people from all communities to learn about their organisations or personal activities and if you have a good story to tell for inclusion on BRT2 Vox Pop which is an outside broadcast show, please email me, Engin Dervişağa on engindervisaga1972@hotmail.com with your details.

We also have a studio recorded show “A Cup of Conversation” and my colleague Can Gazi can be contacted to arrange an interview on bayrakinterbrt2@yahoo.com .