As the current president of Lympia Association, I took up the post after Pola who had been an outstanding president for 26 years. Pola will always be remembered for her lasting contribution to Lympia Association and the Lympia community, not just here in the UK, but also in Lympia Cyprus, and she gave so much of her infectious energy, her time and her heart to the village she loved. Anyone who had the privilege to meet her would be quick to confirm that she was an amazing, intelligent, kind, caring, generous and understanding person; someone loved by all and whose absence will be deeply felt.
For those 26 years that I was her vice president, I would watch Pola
conduct meetings and learn from her the importance of allowing fellow committee members to express their opinions, even if you did not agree with them. She was a great listener, and this was one of her many great characteristics.
She was also a brilliant organiser and made a huge difference to the smooth running of the association’s events and activities. As soon as the committee decided we would go to France, Pola organised it within minutes, and it was the same whenever we went on a coach trip – it was amazing to see her in action
and always with so much enthusiasm.
Pola was born in Lympia, Cyprus and never forgot her village. Together with the Lympia community president in Cyprus, she worked tirelessly in the organisation of the Lympia festivals which helped to bring villagers together, independent of politics and to unite the Lympia community around the world.
When we put on our Christmas dinner & dance, you could see from her face how much she enjoyed watching the children receive their
present from Father Christmas, and how proud she was that the next generations were retaining their link to our village – a cause she worked so hard for. She became very popular with the Lympianous of all ages here in the UK. She loved a good joke, and many a time we would laugh so much there would be tears running from our eyes.
As a shoe repairer, I once told her that I liked it when it rained because people don’t realise that the soles of their shoes need repairing unless they have a hole in them and their feet get wet in the rain! She laughed
at this, and from then onwards whenever she would call me at work, she would first ask how I was and then say ‘εστούπποσες πολλές τρίπες σήμερα!’ And we would both laugh out loud.
On a personal note, I have not just lost a good friend but I have lost someone who was more like a sister to me. And I know that there are so many others in our community who feel this loss deeply, because that is who Pola was – a caring soul who touched people’s lives with her kindness, and always left her big smile with them.
On behalf of Lympia Association we would like to express our sincere condolences to Pola’s family.
Such lovely words, she will be dearly missed.