"THE ENGLISH TIMES OF KATERINI" ON THE INTERNET

KATERINI’S INCREDIBLE KIDS!

(VETA HAILATZIDOY writing in MAKEDONIA, Northern Greece’s largest circulation newspaper.)

John Foss, a Philhellene Englishman and his students from Katerini "tell it like it is" to the Londoners, who insist on keeping hold of the Parthenon Marbles, through the English electronic newspaper "The English Times of Katerini".

What is the title of the newspaper that the BBCT.V producer Simon Andrews, the man responsible for directing International coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral, reads? What is the title of the newspaper that Mr. Michael Emanuel, marketing director of the giant International company "Microsoft", reads? But of course ! The "English Times of Katerini"

It is verified! They have sent letters to the newspaper. Electronic letters since it is an electronic newspaper. Its editors are making sure of fresh material, so that none of the thousand readers , so far, have any complaints.

Panagiotis Polizos and Helen Papaioannou, editors in chief, Nancy Yfanti, Alexandra Tsakiridou, Sofia Sahinidou and Despina Papathemeli, editors, are some of "Katerini’s Incredible Kids", who I personally met and who, for two years now, have published the newspaper, the "English Times of Katerini", that goes around the world through the Internet. Children aged eleven to sixteen years old, Katerini’s junior and senior high school students, who speak and write like true Englishmen and tell it like it is to their "colleagues" of "The Times" in London, asking for the Marbles of Parthenon to be returned. When I told them that London’s newspapers insulted the Minister of Culture, when he put the subject to Charles, during his recent visit to Athens, they didn’t seem to be surprised. They simply replied that they have themselves already sent open letters to England’s prime minister himself, Mr. Blair, through their newspaper.

WE WANT WHAT WE OWN

Thirteen-year-old Alexandra is ... Vefa Alexiadou of Katerini’s "Times". She has taken it on herself to teach English students, all around the world, how to cook mousaka, to bake Greek traditional cakes and many more, publishing "mom’s recipes". Nevertheless, her specialty didn’t stop her from sending a letter to Mr. Blair. "What would your country’s reaction be, Mr. Prime Minister, if, for example, strangers sold Nelson’s statue to the French and Buckingham’s palace to the Americans?"

Alexandra’s fellow student Despina, sent a letter to Mr. Blair too. By the age of nine she had already conquered Olympus’s highest peak, Mitikas, she had won gold medals in national swimming competitions and she had passed the Cambridge FCE (Lower) examinations before she was even twelve. Would she be afraid of the English Prime Minister?

Fourteen-year-old Sofia wrote, with total consciousness of her indisputable right, an irate article, where she clearly stated her request : "You should not keep the Marbles and you have no reason to keep them. We want nothing more than what we own".

Sixteen-year-old Helen and fifteen-year-old Panagiotis, the editors in chief, assure us without doubt that these articles, and many more, have already travelled the world, persuading many English speaking people of our right. Besides, the newspaper’s solemnity has been acknowledged by professors who even use it as teaching material, according to their friends from Belgium, France and Finland with whom they correspond. Salonika's Aristotelous University recommended it to Greek teachers of English on a recent course conducted at the University as an excellent example for a classroom project and it has been featued on ET2, the Greek National programme.

YIANNI’S STORY

The incredible kids of Katerini write about everything and everyone. Real and imaginary stories. Like the one Panagiotis wrote about Yianni, captivating Microsoft’s busy marketing director. Yianni is, of course, the famous musician, who on the night of July 20^th 2010, was beseeching Panagioti to give a concert together at Herodion!

Nancy, who at the age of fourteen, managed to pass the Cambridge Proficiency Examination, can write imaginary stories – "a love story in Sarajevo after the war" – as well as real descriptive articles about Pieria, "the blessed land", with its sacred mountain, Olympus, its castle, Dion and everything that composes the unsurpassed beauty of her land. "Pieria", she writes, "will attract visitors from all around the world ... till all the seas run dry and the rocks melt with the sun!"

But don’t think that Nancy has lost her mind ......just because she loves her birthplace. "Right now", she says, "we may give an idealized image. But later on, we will write about all the bad things and how we can make it better", so that you don’t think that the editors of "Times" lack a professional consciousness and awareness of their professional mission. Besides, people who enjoy – as they assured me – staying up late at night to edit their newspaper, can’t do otherwise than be "stuck" with the professional "distortion" of journalism.

MR. FOSS : THE PHILHELLENE

Mr. John Foss is the incredible kids’ teacher and the inciter of the newspaper. He came to Katerini ten years ago "for a six month visit", he saw.... the light and stayed. Because he is not only an English teacher, but also a musician and a painter. Paintings with landscapes from all around Greece, are hanging on the walls of his house. From Peloponniso to Macedonia, for whose sake he has written articles in British newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and The European, during the time of the great dispute over the Greekness of Macedonia. "Macedonia is unique and Greek" and "clearly the Marbles must be returned to Greece" states the English Mr. Foss, who has travelled all around the world playing the church organ at concerts, played as an actor in the movie "1984" and has ended up in Katerini, a permanent resident, to the extent that his name is in the town’s phonebook. Right now, he is a true "Kateriniotis" I believe that the only English habit he has kept is his "hypochondria".... for those of us who come from the Balkans....... for time. Our date was at 3.15 sharp!

It seems that the philhellene John Foss is mostly proud of three things. That he attended the same school that Churchill ,Lord Byron and Sir Arthur Evans attended, for his painting, to which he wants to be entirely devoted someday, and for his kids, the incredible kids of the "Times" of Katerini. Bless you Mr. Foss. Bless you Panagioti, Helen, Nancy, Alexandra, Despina, Sofia and all the other editors of the "English Times of Katerini"

VETA HAILATZIDOY