London Greek Radio

Greece will have to get past Croatia if they are to earn a spot at next summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Greece drew Croatia out of the pot on Tuesday 17th October at the 2018 World Cup playoff draw at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

Ethniki could become the first UEFA member nation to reach three World Cups in a row via the playoffs.

Greece will travel to Croatia on November 9th for the first leg at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb with kick off scheduled for 9:45 PM local Greek time.

The return leg will take place three days later in Athens at the Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday, November 12th, with kick off scheduled for the same time 9:45 PM local Greek time.

The annual Radiomarathon Gala Dinner will take place at Inter-Continental London Park Lane Hotel on Saturday 28th October.

This glamorous evening of Dinner and Dance with star guest this year being the incredible Anna Vissi is Radiomarathon’s biggest fundraising event of the year which raises vital funds for the Enfield Centre.

The event is held under the auspices of Andri Anastasiades, spouse of the President of the Republic of Cyprus and President of the Radiomarathon Foundation.

Ticket prices start at £150 per person, including 3-course meal, available individually or as tables of 12.

For ticket information please contact Demetra Christou

email: [email protected].

Telephone 01992 713297 and speak to Demetra or Sandra.

If you are unable to attend the Gala but would still like to help this amazing cause, you can still support the charity by making a donation online:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/RadiomarathonGala2017

All donations go towards running the Radiomarathon Centre which provides facilities and cares for people with learning disabilities.

Your support will make a huge impact today, tomorrow, and at all times.

The LGR Boîte Night

The LGR Boîte Night, on Friday 20th October, is hosting a spectacular evening with a line-up of local community artists.

Enjoy a traditional Boîte styled evening in a chilled and relaxed atmosphere.

Entertaining us on the night are the talented; Nicos Shiakolas, Mimis Nicolaedes, Giorgos Pafitis, Savvas Savva, Andria Antoniou & other community artists.

Join us in the bar of the Cypriot Community Centre, Earlham Grove, Wood Green. Let’s have a drink and listen to the live music and have an amazing evening. You can even sing along too and really let your hair down.

There will be drinks and snacks available at the bar.

This will be an unforgettable night with our dearest London Greek Radio audience.

Tickets only £7.

Doors will open at 7:30 pm.

For more information and tickets please call LGR on 0208 349 6950

We look forward to seeing you all there.

This event is sponsored by: Despina’s Food Store, C.Michael Accountants & Bookkeepers, Fratelli Greci Finest Foods, exclusive distributors of ION chocolate products and Zagori Mineral Water in the UK, Meraki Grill and Ambeli Ltd, exclusive distributors of Karapashis Winery.

Tonight in a 7:45 pm kick-off in Nicosia we will see Cyprus take on Greece in a match in Group H qualification. As things stand now, the Cypriot squad still mathematically possible for them to finish as runners-up. Despite a brilliant 3-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in August, the Cypriots could not repeat the result in Estonia. A 1-0 defeat away put a serious dent into Cypriot hopes of their first World Cup appearance.

The Top 8 out of 9 runner-up teams make the playoffs and for one team their qualifying hopes will simply end next week.

Greece currently in third position a single point behind Bosnia and Herzegovina will need to beat Cyprus and see-off Gibraltar in the final match on Tuesday night. The Greeks knowing that only a Belgium victory against Bosnia on top of it, second place is theirs to lose, but they will still face a nervous wait to find out who will miss the cut for the playoffs.

Cyprus coach Ben Shimon has had to deal with a few injury concerns in the lead-up to this match. One big absence is that of Omonoia attacker Demetris Christofi. A recent injury in a league match means that the 29-year-old will misses out on this qualifier. APOEL’s George Efraim is unavailable while Konstantinos Mintikkis was left out of the squad, due to injury as well. Mintikkis was replaced by Marios Stylianou, a likely back-up to first-choice right-back Jason Demetriou.

Greek manager Michael Skibbe will be ecstatic to have seen Kostas Mitroglou training with the rest of the squad this week. The Marseille striker suffered a preseason knock that saw him miss Greece’s previous two qualifiers. However, there was bad news on Thursday as it was confirmed that Tasos Donis will miss Greece’s remaining two qualifiers due to injury. That will be a big blow to Greece as Donis has been amongst the team’s top performers in recent matches.

Dimitris Diamantakos was injured after the squad announcement and his place was taken by Nottingham Forest striker Apostolos Vellios.

POTENTIAL LINE-UPS

Cyprus: Panagi, Demetriou, Laifis, Katelaris, Margaca, Laban, Artymatas, Charalambides, Kyriakou, Alexandrou, Sotiriou

Greece: Karnezis, Tzavellas, Papastathopoulos, Manolas, Torosidis, Maniatis, Zeca, Fortounis, Christodoulopoulos, Mantalos, Mitroglou

The island nation confirmed that a singing contest will decide who will represent Cyprus in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon. This new approach focuses on fresh talent and budding vocalists to see who is right to enter the competition next year.

All Cypriots can apply, whether they’re island or UK Cypriots. People are saying that this is a brilliant chance for ambitions British Cypriot artists to showcase their talent to the masses as well as giving them the opportunity to fly the Cypriot flag at Eurovision.

Broadcasters CyBc announced that the Cypriot sing-off contest will air in January 2018. At LGR we’ve been looking over the ‘rules’ of the new singing contest. Firstly, each applicant has to submit a video audition via a private YouTube link that only CyBc can see and the singers can choose which song they want to sing. Afterwards, a limited number of entrants are chosen to audition for the judges. The judges will pick the finalists advancing to the Cypriot sing-off which will be aired on TV. The deadline is already looming for acts to enter the competition – all videos must be submitted by the 20th October 2017.

The public will vote for their favourite act and the jury will also decide which artist deserves to win. The votes will be combined to determine who will represent the country at Eurovision.

The Eurovision tune is expected to be recorded weeks after the Cypriot song contest final and will most probably be released in March.

The award-winning composer Alex Papaconstantinou, also known as Alex P, has been asked to compose the song. The Greek-Swedish producer is based in Stockholm and has co-written hits for Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and loads more. Mr Alex P is known in Eurovision circles with a few Euro-stompers under his belt. He was responsible for Ivi Adamou’s ‘La La Love’ in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest and Sarbel’s ‘Yasou Maria’ in 2007. His best result, which placed in the top 3, was for the Azerbaijan duo Aysel and Arash.

The Cypriot Eurovision delegation has said on Facebook that they’re hoping this new contest gets Cyprus into another Eurovision final.

Six-year-old UK Cypriot Andy Achilleos would like you to read his story, which you can see by visiting the Page justgiving/fundraising/andyswishtowalk

Hi my name is Andy and I am 6 years old. Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I live at home with my mummy, daddy and my big brother Chris.

Mummy says I had a difficult birth and after 14 hours of labour I still wasn’t ready to come into the world. The doctors said it was because I was being stubborn and they decided to force me out.

After spending the first 5 days of my life in the neonatal unit I was allowed to go home.

Mummy soon noticed that I wasn’t meeting my milestones as I couldn’t sit, stand or walk like all the other kids could at my age, so she kept taking me to the doctors and eventually at 18 months old I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

For the last few years I’ve had lots of physiotherapy and have even been given Botox in my legs to help my tight muscles which worked well for a while. Now the injections aren’t working as well as before and the doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital say that I can have an operation which should help me walk without using my sticks or my rollator.

They say that I will have to do lots and lots of physiotherapy after the operation which can be very tiring but I don’t mind especially if it means I can dance and run around without having to hold onto something so I don’t fall over.

My mummy and daddy say that this operation costs a lot of money and that we will need help to pay for the operation and all my physiotherapy after.

Andy has been accepted as a candidate for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). The aim is to improve spasticity (muscle stiffness) in his legs caused by brain damage at birth. The spasticity can be very painful and leads to excessive stiffness in his legs and causes difficulties with walking.

Once Andy has his operation, he will be discharged from hospital after about a week and we will then move into the patient hotel across the road. Andy will then have to attend the hospital gym twice a day for two weeks in order to help strengthen legs, trunk and pelvis, increasing his range of movement. He will then be discharged from hospital and we will have to fund further rehabilitation for the next 2 years. He will have to learn how to use his body in a different way as he will be weak and lose the ability to co-ordinate his movements. This is the only procedure that permanently removes the spasticity in the legs and is only partially funded by the NHS.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.

Check out the Justgiving Page if you would like to make your pledge or donation and Gift Aid, by visiting the website: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andyswishtowalk

Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain is demanding an apology from Lidl. The supermarket giants digitally removed the crosses from the top of an iconic Greek church from their food packaging, causing a stir among some shoppers.

This included a vocal protest from our Greek and Cypriot community based in the UK, who think that Lidl are seizing upon the ‘marketing ploy’ by featuring the German supermarkets own Greek product brand, Eridanous. These often feature meatballs, moussaka, halloumi and Greek style yoghurt.

People turned to social media and the company’s Facebook page in protest at Lidl erasing roof-mounted crosses from a picture of an iconic Greek Orthodox Church on the Greek island of Santorini.

”The company must restore the church and apologise to the public… without making a fuss.”

The Archbishop reflected the protest this week stating faith believers and Greeks alike felt it was a deeply offensive act.

His Eminence said: “They [have] hurt the Christians – not only the Greeks because it was a Greek church – but the Christians [from] what I read. I hope that many others will protest against this silly decision.”

Archbishop Gregorios agreed that the editing decision was ”an immoral act”, adding: ”It is immoral in my eyes to remove something which has been there for 2,000 years and is the symbol that Christ died on the cross for you, for me, for millions of people.

”The company must restore the church and apologise to the public… without making a fuss. This is my suggestion.”

Following the archbishop’s comments, Lidl UK said it had nothing to add to its previous statement: “We are extremely sorry for any offence caused by the most recent artwork and would like to reassure our customers that this is not an intentional statement.”

A number of shoppers contacted Lidl UK’s Facebook page and pledged to boycott the store until the package decision was reversed.

Lidl UK signalled a willingness to bow to customer concerns, saying: “We will ensure that all feedback is taken into consideration when redesigning future packaging.”

Updated: 07/09/2017 Lidl says its food packaging which included the picture of a church with its crosses digitally removed will be changed “as soon as possible”.

Lidl has digitally removed crosses on top of an iconic Greek church from its food packaging, causing a stir among some shoppers.

The German supermarket giant erased the symbols on the roof of the Greek Orthodox church building in Santorini from products in its own-label Greek food range.

The frozen ready meal is part of Lidl’s Eirdanous collection of Greek food which also includes meatballs and Greek style yoghurt.

Eirdanous has been on sale in stores across Europe for more than ten years and marketing designs have undergone a number of changes in that time.

In a statement, Lidl UK told Premier Christian Radio: ”We are extremely sorry for any offence caused by the most recent artwork and would like to reassure our customers that this is not an intentional statement.”

Concern was raised earlier this week when a shopper noticed the edited image on a pack of moussaka in Belgium. The lady contacted RTL, a French-language television station, to express her anger.

The lady contacted RTL, a French-language television station, to express her anger.

Research by Premier has revealed the distorted image has appeared on products available in the UK, including Eirdanous Halloumi with Basil. The image was additionally found on a three-litre Lidl container of olive oil in Germany.

One Twitter user reacted: ”I find the removal of the cross offensive”, while another asked: “Why use churches if you take away the cross? Idiotic!”

A third Twitter user asked: ”Lidl, since when is a picture of a Greek church provocative or disturbing? It only becomes that if you erase the cross!”

The firm signalled a willingness to bow to customer concerns, saying: ”We will ensure that all feedback is taken into consideration when redesigning future packaging.”

One of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, Santorini’s blue-domed churches are among the key factors behind its popularity among tourists. Hundreds of thousands of people visit each year.

YOU all know them best as our Cyprus entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Minus One rocked the Stockholm stage with their hi-tech killer set, which included computer-generated ‘wolfs’ and barred cages, which both still linger in our memories.

Minus One visited London Greek Radio during the Eurovision warm-up tour and demonstrated to show our listeners what they’re made of.

The ‘Alter Ego’ band put out an April announcement stating that both their lead singer Francois Micheletto and bass player Antonis Loizides would be leaving the group at the end of May. In turn, the group have invested in making essential changes and welcomed new lead vocalist Andreas Kapatais, as well as bassist Max O Matic. Despite the band’s shake-up, the changes looked seamless. However, as the boys have wasted no time getting back into the recording studio and indeed have recorded their new song. To sum it up, Andreas and Max have joined existing band-mates Christopher Ioannides, Harrys Pari and Constantinos Amerikanos.

Their new track, ‘The Other Side Of The Mind’, unveils this new exciting line-up. The overall style is definitely a mix of up-front electric-rock and ‘dramatic’ hook-lines to one that creates a more ‘laid-back’ tune. In this reviewer’s opinion, it is a charming song… and a bouncy little number for sure. It’s a touch of sublime simplicity, and the ‘hook’ instantly grabs the listener’s attention. The lyrics are overtly positive in substance stating life is to be lived absolutely joyfully, stating happiness is everywhere.

Check out the video with the lovely elderly couple bopping away while vacuuming and boogieing down the street. I’m sure you would agree with us this is resolutely a feel-good number that will make you smile…

London Greek Radio would like to wish Minus One the best of luck with their brand new song and looking forward to future successes.

UEFA World Cup Qualifying
GROUP H

RESULTS: Sunday 3 September 2017

Estonia 1-0 CYPRUS                                             Käit 90+2′ #EST

GREECE 1-2 Belgium                                            Zeca ’73 #GRE, Vertonghen ’70, R. Lukaku ’74 #BEL

Gibraltar 0-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina         Džeko 35′, 85′, Kodro 66′, Lulić 84′ #BIH

Upcoming fixtures

7 October 2017

CYPRUS v CYPRUS
Gibraltar v Estonia
Bosnia Herzegovina v Belgium

10 October 2017
GREECE v Gibraltar
Estonia v Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium v Cyprus