On August 18^th, Malcolm Brooke talked about ‘The Cyprus Green Line’. Malcolm had been a teacher with the UK Forces in Cyprus, and since 2001 has lived in Cyprus for half of each year. He gave us a fascinating view of the complex relationships between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot people on an island that was British until 1960, and still has a substantial British presence. The delicate balance between the two ethnic groups resulted in a bloody conflict in 1963 and a Turkish invasion in 1974. A buffer zone / green line was created across the island, operated by the United Nations, providing an unstable peace to the present day.

Malcolm showed us slides of this often narrow buffer zone, with derelict streets and bullet scarred houses the scene of ‘tit for tat’ actions – a result of deep mutual distrust.