MR NIKOS NEOPHYTOU

I was born in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos on 23 September 1928 and I attended the primary schools of Strovolos and Kalavasos but nothing more. Things in Cyprus at the time were very difficult. I worked for a mining company in Vasiliko but for me at least it proved to be unhealthy.

I left Cyprus bound for London on 21 January 1953. My fiancé was expecting me. I arrived six days later and I remember that the name of the ship was ‘Phillipo Grimani’ It was massive.  At Victoria Station, Nina, my future wife was very welcoming.  It made up for all the problems I had to endure before my clearance came to travel abroad.  Persecutions, extended jail terms and even beatings were fairly common especially if someone’s politics were left-wing.  I am forever grateful to Mr Hadjiosifis, a high-ranking civil servant, who arranged my departure.  Once in England, I devoted myself to my work and once we had our children, the family came first.

After a week or so in London, I was duly married at the Peckham Registry Office.  It was certainly a unique experience.  The church service in Camden town was on 29 July 1953.  I have to say that my wife’s parents, who knew me very well, always wanted someone nice and a Cypriot for their daughter.  I was very lucky to be the chosen one.  I have vivid and happy memories of our wedding day.  The preparations, the expectations and the service were so colourful.  At the time we were very poor and of course we only knew a few people in London.  I also remember that I was given twelve invitations to give out but I only used four and even then two of the invited guests did not turn up.  We had five ‘koumbarous’ (best men) and five ‘koumeres’ (bridesmaids). The men contributed 35 shillings (£1.75) for the ‘honour’ and the ladies 25 shillings (£1.25).  From the wedding we collected £40.  We paid the church, the drinks and the restaurant for the reception and we were left with £16.  A honeymoon was out of the question.

Soon afterwards however, we bought our first car a Ford Popular. Finding suitable employment was of crucial importance. I started washing plates and pans at the Trocadero, then worked at a chocolate factory for seven years. I changed several jobs. I remember that at the Trocadero, I was earning £4.17s.6d (£4.75) per week. Piccadilly however, was a nice and very busy part of the English capital.   I have to admit travelling to and from work was always a problem and many were the times when I was left wondering as to how I would get home. The winters were long and cold – and foggy.

After many years we opened our own fish and chip shop. Economically things were improving for all of us.  Yes, we worked hard but we had little time to socialise. By now we had three lovely children, who very often helped in the shop.

We never lost our ‘Cypriotness’ and every couple of years we went back to our beloved island for our holidays.