Leonarisso – Vasili Committee seated with the Author Antonis Fellas, Mr Evripides Evripiades the UK Cyprus High Commissioner and Kyriacos Tsioupras
OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH
Cyprus villages Leonarisso & Vasili – A Journey Into The Past
The author Antonis Fellas
Sunday 23rd February 2014 at the Cypriot Community Centre, Wood Green, London, saw the official book launch take place for the long awaited book by Antonis Fella “Leonarisso & Vasili – A Journey Into The Past”.
The turnout for the event was mind blowing with the main hall reaching maximum capacity. The book was presented to guests by Mr Kyriakos Tsioupras, who gave a very inspiring speech about the book. His enthusiasm for this wonderful piece of literature was contagious. He commented on everything from the relevance of the front cover of the book which features an old black and white photo of two men with their bicycles – explaining that the two men were likely to be going on a journey of their own perhaps to visit some young ladies they may have had a crush on!
Mr Tsioupras followed on to discuss the extreme detail that Antonis Fella used in his book – picking up on his description of the contents of a dowry – in particular the reference to a two-handled pan, where in fact he could have just said a pan. It is the finer detail that takes this book that extra mile – to read as more than a book of fact, there is entertainment in it, a real story and flows so well that it is a treat to read. Mr Tsioupras also stated that this book is more than a history of two small villages – it is a history of Cyprus as a whole which makes it all the more compelling to read.
The book presented by Kyriacos Tsioupras
The presentation of the book was followed on with speeches by Mr Evripides Evripiades the UK Cyprus High Commissioner, Mr Costas Georgiou – Chairman of Leonarisso and Vasili Association – UK, Mr Antonis Fella the author of the book, Louise Hallouma Vice-Chair of LVA – UK and effectively the current voice of the younger members of the committee. There were two readings by Yiannis Panayi, a former Chairman of the LVA – UK, who read a wonderful poem he had written himself about a journey to Leonarisso. Mr Savvas Pavlides read poetry extracts from “Leonarisso & Vasili – A Journey Into The Past”.
Mr Evripides Evripiades the UK Cyprus High Commissioner
A major point that was picked up on during the presentation was the fact that the book is written in English, some of the older generation were unhappy that they could not read the book, however, it was pointed out that the book had been written with the younger generation in mind, to offer them a piece of their history, heritage and roots that they could read, understand and appreciate. This was supported by Mr Evripides Evripiades, who asked if he could take the stand for a second time purely to drive further the importance of the book being in English, insisting that it was the best decision for this book. Mr Evripiades and Mr Tsioupras both stated that other villages in Cyprus should take inspiration from this book and use it as a design template for their own books should they choose to write about their villages.
Antonis Fella, clearly overwhelmed by the turnout for the launch, said a few words and expressed his gratitude for all those who helped with the book. He was happy to see so many young people present too, as they are the generation he worked tirelessly for over the last 5 years, to offer them something that would be not only informative of their family heritage, but also a historical reference book from which they can gain an understanding of their ancestors lives and plight.
Louise Hallouma Vice-Chair of LVA – UK and effectively the current voice of the younger members of the committee
People were given the opportunity to purchase copies of the book and have them signed by the author, while the LVA committee members served guests with refreshments. It seemed everyone wanted Antonis to sign their books for them, with some people purchasing up to 6 copies at a time! THIS was what Antonis wanted – not because he is benefitting from any proceeds or royalties, Antonis insisted before he began work on the book that he did not want to benefit from the book financially, the understanding would be that the Leonarisso & Vasili Association – UK would pay for the book to be printed and Antonis wanted the Association – a registered charity – to plough all the income back into the Association. This is furthermore inspiring as there is nothing more than to produce an interesting book for all to enjoy at the heart of this.
Mr Savvas Pavlides read poetry extracts from “Leonarisso & Vasili – A Journey Into The Past”.
Following the book launch on Sunday afternoon, comments began to flood in almost immediately, on Leonarisso and Vasili Association UK’s Facebook page; the following comments were written:
“Such an amazing book! Worth its weight in gold. Well done to Antonis Fella. He should be so proud of his achievement” Katerina Mavroudis, Leonarisso.
“It was so well organised and great book launch and to top it all – an excellent book! A must for all to read – regardless of where your roots are in Cyprus. Thanks so much for giving us such an insight into my father Nicholas Christofis roots. My grandmother Christina Christofi would have been very proud – thanks to all involved. I was the first one in the family line not to be born in Vasili – so I was very happy to read about those roots – THANKS!” Lucy Christofi Patriotis – Vasili.
Leonarisso & Vasili Association – UK and Antonis Fella look forward to more feedback as time goes on and people get to look through this 740 page book and read it at their own leisure.
It was a great launch day and the author and Committee couldn’t be happier with how it went. For those who couldn’t make the launch and would like to purchase a copy of the book please contact – Costas Georgiou on 07943 198198.