By Margaret Sheard….
As customers of Near East Bank, we normally receive an invitation to join the staff and other customers of the bank for a Christmas get-together.
On Monday 11th December we made our way to the Park Palace Hotel in Girne where the Bank also held its Christmas event last year. We still find 
it so refreshing that banks in this part of the world have such a nice rapport with their customers.
It was nice to see Naci Karanlik and some of the other members of the bank we have met on previous occasions. When we arrived Naci was just about to give a speech of welcome to the guests.
As previously, the Park Palace laid on a superb buffet, together with wine and soft drinks and soon most people were tucking into the wonderful spread and we were then entertained by a talented duo who provided some very nice background music.
This was Emre Yazgin on keyboard and singer Ezgi Akgurgen. They are both members of a group and also perform as a duo as well as solo for various events. Emre lived in London and Ezgi studied in Canterbury and they actually met in 2011 after they had both returned to North Cyprus.
We usually see some familiar faces at this type of event, and the NEB gathering was no different so we were able to say hello to DJ Mike and Pam Schofield, Nick Vye, and others.
After a couple of hours people were starting to drift away and so we also said our goodbyes and made our way home, following a very nice Near East Bank Christmas get-together.
