By Trevor Hughes……
TRNC Vehicle Number Plates and driving on the Greek Side of the Island.
Recently, there have been some reports of Greek police fining motorists whilst driving over the border when using wrongly constructed number plates. At the moment this is untrue because I have checked it out with one of the Greek registered solicitors.
There is a move over the border for all vehicles to display number plates 
made from a metal construction.
Fear not, this Law will not come into effect for another two years, so avoid changing your number plates until we are officially instructed to make the change, then we all know what the legal requirement is for crossing the border.
How to Safely Get Rid of Black Mould Caused by Moister Entering Your Home
To get rid of black mould is something people often discuss. Whether it’s damp or mould, the first thing to do is find the root cause.
Usually, it’s caused by excess moisture in buildings, which can result from leaking pipes, rising damp, gas heaters or rain seeping in because of damage to the roof or around window frames, not forgetting rising damp due to the poor standard of building construction, which is quite prevalent in the TRNC.
A common place for mould to grow in your home is the bathroom, the lower parts of the outside and inside walls, because of the lack of a damp course during the initial build. The cause of this is lingering moisture caused by lack of ventilation, leaky toilets, sinks, plumbing pipes and damp cellulose materials such as rugs, paper products, wood, grout, drywall and fabric.
So how can mould affect your health?
According to doctors, damp and mould in the home can cause respiratory problems, infections, allergies and asthma, it can also affect the immune system. 
Your health can be affected in a number of ways. Inhaling or touching mould spores can cause three types of symptoms:
- Allergic reactions are the most common. When mould spores are inhaled, the immune system creates an allergic reaction due to the fact it’s trying to defend against foreign/unknown particles entering the body.
- Mould infections can occur when mould spores are breathed into the body, allowing mould to grow inside them.
In most cases, the infection can be treated with medication. The symptoms of a mould infection include skin irritation, excess mucus, athlete’s foot and nail infections.
There are a few dozen moulds that are particularly toxic to humans, and these moulds release highly toxic chemicals called mycotoxins.
- In order for infection to occur by these toxic moulds, significant quantities are needed to be ingested.
Only remove mould yourself if it’s caused by condensation and covers an area less than one metre square (1×1 metre or 3×3 feet). Don’t try to remove the mould yourself if it’s caused by sewage or other contaminated water.
Protect yourself from mould spores by wearing goggles, long rubber gloves and a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Open the windows but keep doors closed to prevent spores spreading to other areas of the house.
How to remove mould: Some small areas you can remove yourself, larger areas will need a professional
Have a plastic bag ready to take away any soft furnishings, clothes and soft toys that are mouldy. Soft furnishings should be shampooed and clothes professionally dry cleaned.
Fill a bucket with water and some mild detergent, such as washing up liquid or a soap used for hand-washing clothes. Use a rag dipped in the soapy water to carefully wipe the mould off the wall. Be careful not to brush it, as this can release mould spores. When you’ve finished, use a dry rag to remove the moisture from the wall.
Afterwards, put the rags in a plastic bag and throw them away through a rubbish collection point.
Winter Time Clock Changes
The clocks went back at 0200 hrs on Sunday 29th October 2017, which will help eradicate confusion when leaving the Country, or conversing with friends and relatives in other parts of the world.
Keeping Vegetables Fresh for Longer
When buying fresh vegetables from your favourite shop or supermarket, follow this simple remedy for keeping them fresh for longer.
When you have brought them home, cut the vegetable into portion sized parcels. Wrap the portions in kitchen foil and put them into your fridge. We always do our broccoli this way and it stops them going yellow for at least a week.
Bayram Holidays
There are no Bayram holidays in November but there is a public holiday on Wednesday 15th November for TRNC Republic Day.
For any further information please email me through the contact box below.
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