Evangelia Kalazoi
Evangelia grew up in Cyprus:
"From 1955
there were some movements against
mixing with the British
because the organisation EOKA
was formed
whose aim was to free Cyprus
from the British.
So part of the measures
of the British authorities
to restrict this uprising
was a curfew in the day -
nobody could leave their houses.
As in 1958
I started working
for the government service,
I was issued with this curfew pass;
it more or less
allowed me to move at any time.
My husband-to-be was seconded
from the Metropolitan Police
to the police in Cyprus.
When I first met him
he was directing traffic -
shouting at a man whose horse and cart
was blocking the road
to get out of the way
He was doing the bit of the Englishman,
you know.
Later
he came to our neighbourhood
to see if there were
any English civilian people
living nearby
because the army was giving them arms.
So
I spoke to him
and he said he was impressed
by my knowledge of English -
after that
he started passing by my house
several times a day.
As local girls were not allowed
to have dates with boys
he sent a lady
with a marriage proposal."
