I think a short note is required on this phenomena. Over the past 18 months in the Uk/2-Step Garage scene it has become quite common to hear the crowd going 'Boo!' to a hot record instead of cheering.

In fact EZ said a few times on his show when the trend started he could not figure out if the people were booing because they did not like the music, because they seemed to be smiling and looked happy at the same time! Those out of London or new to the scene maybe confused by the booing. At Nissi Beach the whole thing was explained by one of the Fresh and Funky Mcs.

You have to understand the sound of the underground including the accompanying street language. When a man is feeling hungry in the evening he often says, "Boy I could do with some breakfast right now!" It would appear the wrong time of day for 'breakfast' If something is good it is known as 'bad' or 'wicked'. If someone did something wrong or bad, they would be sarcastically termed 'good'. When someone drops and breaks something ie plates at school, everyone cheers. So in the reverse talk of the underground, to 'Boo' means the opposite it is good and the crowd appreciates it.

However not everyone is familiar with the 'language' of the UK. Leading rapper, Eminem at his concert in London found out the hard way. When he came on the stage he was so taken aback by the loud 'boos' of the crowd he stormed off, thinking they did not like him. It took his management team 2 hours for him to return after explaining to him what the 'boos' meant!

I would like to know, what sounds the crowd would make if they really DON'T like something! Anyone who knows the answer please contact the website!

8. Blagging in Ayia Napa

Napa is not as expensive as Ibiza. However if you are on a tight budget and you are running low there are ways for the blagger to still go clubbing.

At Nissi Beach as mentioned earlier the leading promoters are there during the afternoons. If you want to get in the clubs free then take part in the competitions on hand or just be as lively as possible and you may get a place on the guest list. The promoters are on the look out lively people in the clubs!

To get into the Castle Club, among the biggest in the resort, it is advisable to go the Buzz Bar opposite in a group of at least 4 people and buy a round of drinks. If you ask, the manager Steve can put you on the Buzz Bar's guest list. Not a lot of people know that!

If you are a serious clubber into the music, then avoid the pub-crawls organised by the holiday reps with a night in a club thrown in. It may work out cheaper to go check them out yourself. You still have to pay for drinks and you are paying extra just to be led from one bar to another. Remember the holiday reps are all on commission!!

9. Ayia Napa and drugs.

Ayia Napa is a virtual no go area for drugs and the police clamp down heavily and the penalties are very harsh. I mentioned this after my first visit in 1999. With the increased popularity of the resort attracting drug dealers the police are clamping down even harder with a more noticeable police presence particularly on Fridays. The local press gives detailed coverage of any arrests of drug dealers, as the numbers appear to be on the increase. Well I don't know if the arrests were due to intelligence and surveillance or by random searches or 'profiling' of typical suspects.

On my second night in the square, I discovered the pleasure of being arrested by the plain clothed drugs police. One of them approached me and said someone told them that I was selling drugs in the square! I had to laugh but I managed not to. I asked them who told them that, and to show me the person who said so. They told me they could give out names of informants. They searched me in the square with no drugs found on me they said they would have to take me back to my hotel to search the room. I had to sign a form giving them my consent, or I would be detained until they got a court order which could take up to 3 hours. I signed the form and was driven to my hotel. They turned the room upside and uncovered a bottle of TCP that I wrapped into a small parcel so it would not break when inside my luggage. They took it away for testing!!

I was driven back to the square. They told me that the "informant" would be in trouble with them for giving them wrong information. A likely story. I told them it was because of my hair, a black man with dreadlocks is stereotyped as a drug dealer? I don't drink or smoke or take drugs so disproved the stereotype. They tried to make a joke about it and said they are not racist and that maybe I should change my hairstyle! I told them they should change their attitude. Because of the stereotyping, most black guys with dreadlocks stay clear off drugs, as they will be the first the police will suspect, especially when abroad on holiday.

To add insult to injury and proved what a bunch of prats they were, they asked me 'how easy the black women are as they would like to have a black woman'. In other words are my mother and sisters all slags? I would not go to Cyprus and ask a Cypriot how easy are the Cypriot women, I would not do that when travelling in any country, unless you want to start a fight. I simply sneered "why you asking me that for I am not a black woman!" They laughed out of embarrassment.

It goes to show how those officers see black men as criminals and black women in terms of their sexual fantasies. The good thing is that most Cypriots that I met don't act like that and have a healthy respect for the tourists both black and white.

The following Friday I was again searched by uniformed police for drugs. I told them about the earlier incident. They obviously don't pass on information about who the arrest and search who turns out to be clean. Well in 1999 I was hounded non-stop by druggies thinking I 'should know about drugs'. This time round the only people pestering me for drugs were the police.

10. Dangers of mopeds and motorbikes

In Ayia Napa, scooters and mopeds are cheap to hire and available everywhere. You don't need a license or any experience to drive one. However out on holiday is not the place to learn wearing just shorts or swim wear. Once again there were so many accidents during my visit with about one death a week along with many very serious injuries. There were loads of people walking around heavily bandaged cut and bruised after accidents.

The advice I would give is DON'T go on any even if you are an experienced rider. There are so many people driving about under the influence and cause accidents. I was offered lifts on bikes by experienced locals but I always turned them down, honestly telling them that I was afraid of bikes. I went everywhere out of walking distance by Taxi. If you have to hire your own transport, it is better to hire a Car never a Scooter.

11. What could kill of the Ayia Napa clubbing scene:
Trouble in Ayia Napa

On Friday 20 July, 2001 the Pzazz club, played host to Pure Silk headlined by Norris Da Boss Windross and MC Rankin. It was a great night musically. However towards the end of the rave, a group of teenaged MCs were on the mike. One of them spoke about some trouble going on outside and then said: "If you think your hard, come down to Insomnia,and we'll sort you out there later!"

I could not believe what I was hearing and his comments did raise a few eyebrows. Outside the club afterwards there was a big fight involving around ten teenagers and there were several stabbings. One guy was stabbed over ten times and was in a critical state leaving a lot of blood behind. The bouncers did their best to keep the parties apart and it could have been worse. Thankfully it was all over after a few minutes.

The incident shocked many people and those present were walking around staring at each other in disbelief. The general feeling and topic of conversation, was that we were supposed to be out on holiday. No one wanted to see what had happened and have their time spoiled by the selfish actions of a few mindless teenaged thugs hell bent on trouble. The trouble was big news in Ayia Napa over the coming days, and lowered the mood for a while. News came out the next day that the stabbed victim had died but they turned out to be false. He is recovering but lost the sight of an eye.

However the manager of a Club told me that they had some young djs in a few nights back, one of whom was thrown out by the bouncers. The MCs said on the mike: "If you trouble any of us again, we'll burn down your club!" Can you believe it!!! He had some strong words with them and warned them not to use such language again. They played the next night and did not get paid for it as punishment.

There has been a rise in trouble, particularly shooting incidents at some Uk/2-Step Garage clubs in London. Some have refused to host garage nights altogether and the number of available venues are declining. One notices that the established promoters on the scene like Exposure, Twice as Nice and Cookies and Cream often change venues.

The bad vibes from London, England has arrived in Ayia Napa, Cyprus which could kill off the Uk/2-Step Garage scene in the resort. Some of the London clubs have put the ages up to keep out the rowdy teenagers. However it is not practical to do that in Napa.

It would seem that locals have had enough of the trouble. At the start of September 2001, the authorities have acted and steps have been taken to ban garage music from Ayia Napa in a bid to get rid of the trouble. The idea is to try and make it 'garage free' next year. It would be difficult to ban garage because it is a music. The Cypriot authorities could not ban the production of the many big selling 'Ayia Napa' Garage compilation CDs in the UK.

They obviously indirectly help to give the place free promotion and advertising in the UK and beyond, which the Cypriots have no control over. In fact one of the summer anthems of 2001 was the national number one: 'Do you really like it' by Masters of Ceremony, which included the famous 'Ayia Napa' chorus. As a result, the resort's name has an association with garage which is difficult to shake off easily. Copyright laws do not apply to place names in any case, just as we know 'Swiss Rolls' do not have to be made in Switzerland!

The clampdown has started with the police and immigration authorities raiding clubs and checking on whether the DJs and MCs from London have valid work permits. They are notouriously difficult to obtain in Cyprus. This may not have the desired effect of banning the music. The club owners and promoters in Ayia Napa will point out, Cypriot DJs know the music very well and can play it to the clubbers from the UK.

The work permit problem can be avoided following the example of Jamaican reggae artists playing in the US. The authorities over there tried similar clampdowns. The performers simply said when they appeared in clubs or on stage, that they were on holiday and were not getting paid and were playing for free! Also with the likelihood of Cyprus joining the EU in the very near future, it would be illegal to prevent workers from other member states from working on the island. That would obviously include DJs and MCs from the UK.

So there are interesting times ahead for Ayia Napa and UK/2-Step Garage. The latter was originally 'A London thing!' as told in Scott Garcia's classic anthem, and has spread its wings to Napa. But will the authorities get their way and prevent the clubbers from "lovin'it, lovin' it" in Cyprus? Well the issue is not one with the Cypriot Authorities. It is a problem for the whole UK Garage scene, and London in particular. The trouble began there before being exported over to Cyprus.

It also has been feared that the Uk/2-Step Garage scene could go the same way as Jungle and Drum & Bass did in the early 90s due to the trouble at raves. The similarities are the same and perhaps the writing's on the wall. When Jungle hit the scene it got so much hype and press attention for its own good and expanded too rapidly. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon who were not part of the scene beforehand.

This in turn attracted the ruff neck element and violence became common at some raves. Some feared it would die and a lot of the original crowd moved over to Garage which was less moody and underground. However the music stayed alive, only the major press attention died. The scene found its feet, became and remained underground and continued to this day going through many evolutions along the way. The main jocks such as Fabio and Grooverider quite rightfully, (as they frequently tell their listeners,) pay little attention to the mainstream music press, who know little about the scene apart from being doom merchants, and continue doing their thing.

Similarly Uk/2-Step Garage is suffering from its own success. It is now far bigger than Jungle/Drum & Bass ever was. The latter is not associated with a clubbing holiday destination for starters!

The press attention, and massive popularity across the UK as we all can see, has attracted the trouble makers. Maybe garage may split into two scenes like Jungle and Drum&Bass earlier. The media hype may die down allowing it to become more underground and less commercial and find its own niche audience. Ayia Napa may then change and become less moody with no need for the authorities to become weary of the garage and the baggage that comes with it.

Who knows what the future holds for garage, and whether 'Napa' has had its day. One thing is for sure the happy days of Ayia Napa from 1995-99 are long gone. The Garage scene has got to sort out the trouble in the UK clubs or else!

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