Municipalities in Britain are charged with holding glitzy citizenship ceremonies for their far flung residents. Normally the appointed Mayor of the council attends to undertake this agreeable task. But sometimes others are pulled in when the red robed and gold chain wearing mayor cannot make it. This could be a past Mayor; it could be the Chief Officer of the council. At other times it may well be the elected leader of the council. And so it transpired in England recently.
The London Borough of Merton has the first ever elected Cypriot council leader in Stephen Alambritis. Stephen, who came over to England by boat in 1964, was duly called up to do this pleasant duty at the councils Registry Office on the Morden Hall Estate. This is a Grade II listed fine 1770 building.
Merton borough residents from throughout the world are brought into the Grand Room to swear an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. They also sing the National Anthem. Everyone is then seated, those getting their long awaited citizenship in the front row. Family members and excitable children are there too as witnesses. They take a seat at the back.
There were aspiring British citizens from Sri Lanka, Poland, Australia, Ghana, Nigeria and so on. The Chief Registrar calls out the names one by one to go over to receive their citizenship certificate from Aradippou born Alambritis; And what a surprise when the Registrar called out for Dimitra Christodoulou to come forward. Dimitra now lives in Merton but was born in Nicosia. The two Cypriots exchanged some small talk. Alambritis asked after her well being and Dimitra committed to getting involved in the local community. Alambritis handed Dimitra her certificate of British Citizenship. Dimitra accepted the embossed paper with glee. They both posed for a photo in front of a portrait of the Queen with the Union Jack in the background.
So there you have it. A Cypriot council leader hands over British citizenship to a Cypriot resident living in his borough. Both were born in Cyprus. Both left the building using the grand imperial type staircase with wrought iron balustrades. Both were probably thinking what a fortuitous world.