Cyprus: Always watching, always correcting

Your yiayia always said it. So did your mum. And you’re going to say it to your children…

Your yiayia always said it. ‘Don’t do that.’ ‘Not that way.’ ‘Πρόσεχε!’

In the kitchen, over the table; while you were shaping flaounes or tying your shoes, there was always a small correction hovering in the air. Practical. Watchful.

But then, years later, your mum said the same things. She didn’t know she was following the pattern. A generational pattern: words of caution and protection that...