September 28, 2007

Sign of Times to Come

What happens when Cybarco team up with Iacovou Brothers? Pandemonium, that's what bloody happens. Well, that's what's been happening in the Ayios Andreas neighbourhood in Nicosia, at any rate. It started in June when signs were put up on barriers announcing the closure of a number of roads. It was over a week later that the roadworks actually got underway.

The place looks like a goddamn minefield. A set from a Sci-Fi B movie. It's bad enough that the neighbourhood has, over the years, almost been taken over by nouveau riche farts and their families, dogs and rent-a-slaves (at least that seems to be the attitude towards migrant workers exhibited by most employers), now we have third world co-ordination tactics driving the residents insane.

According to a cute little photo caption in a recent edition of the Cyprus Weekly, the chubby mayorette of Nicosia, Dame Edna's shorter cousin, was going to alleviate the local suffering. But she has yet come to the rescue of the last bastion of Nicosia; bear in mind that beyond the limits of the chi chi quartier is Ayios Dometios, where people are either watching TV on their balconies or chasing stray cats to sell to the local souvlitzis.

I feel the somewhat eerie sign at the Intersection of Iroon (no, it's not supposed to rhyme with loon) is a harbinger of harder times to come. It may well transpire that the whole roadworks ruse will end up with the area being fenced off and the residents put to hard labour to fix the fucking mess.

I'm switching to decaf.

[addendum] Maybe the connection seemed a bit obscure, but:
Iacovou is the name of the Cyprus High Commissioner to the Court of St. James in London.
Iacovou are one of the contractors that are tearing up the streets of Ayios Andreas. They were also responsible for similar mayhem caused in Ayios Dometios.
There is a very big difference between a prison (as in Central Prisons, in Ayios Andreas) and the term emblazoned on the sign, pictured above.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You Nicosians got what you deserve. You elected a Red mayor, simply because some other people knew it was a sure way of later blaming all the ills on AKEL and its Annan Plan supporters, in case the coalition were to ever dissolve. Well, after giving the contract to a crooked... ooops, sorry, I meant a cookie construction joint venture, "they" were sure that no one would inspect the contractors to make sure that workers were on site, as opposed to being paid by the municipal taxes and working on other sites, thus earning more. Hmmm, smells of fraud don't you think?

Eleftherios Venizelos and George Averoff

30 September, 2007 23:22  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They dug one hole, then the next week fill it up. I believe the whole thing is a sign of things to come in our Vitrina like Ethnarchic society. Its like Thatcherism and 1980's YOPS schemes only the authorities responsible aint telling no one the truth. Mean time residents in the district that is home to all kinds of active and passive resistance have to make do with huge holes, coppers giving numbskull parking tickets and testosterone fuelled lorry drivers blocking quiet streets because their phallus, oops sorry lorry, is bigger than any one else's little car. Ate kori mou tarasse, said one brin na se kamo kaiman!

01 October, 2007 17:33  

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