Greek Cypriots who have made a life in the borough feature in a who's who of the great and the good from the Mediterranean island. Reporter PAUL TORPEY leafs through a copy.

Singer Peter Andre was among the guests at the launch of a new book co-written by Enfield resident Kyriakos Tsioupras.

Greek Cypriots in the UK A Directory of Who's Who, documents the achievements of a 300,000-strong community, many of whom live in Enfield.

Mr Tsioupras, from Southgate, spent four years compiling the book with co-author Mike Yiakoumi, a former Enfield resident.

The fruit of their labour contains more than 1,000 profiles of UK-based Greek Cypriots who have made their mark in a variety of professions.

Among many Enfieldians featured in the book are former mayor of Enfield George Savva, judo champion Sampson Sampson, Palmers Green coun- cillor Bambos Charalambous and Elizabeth Whincop, headteacher at Walker Primary School in Southgate.

Mrs Whincop said: "My mum's very proud, and if my mum's proud, then I'm proud. A lot of people are talking about the book and it's really good to see Greek Cypriots recognised for achieving so much."

Cllr Charalambous said: "I'm deeply honoured to be included in this book.

"We can use our experiences as Greek Cypriots to make the whole of society a better place."

People migrated to Enfield from the Mediterranean island in the 1970s and 1980s after first settling in other parts of London.

Mr Tsioupras, former editor of Harringay-based Greek newspaper Parikiaki, said: "I hope this will be the beginning of much-closer co-operation between the generations.

"The response to the book has been tremendous, and the community now knows itself much better."

Every person profiled was nominated by members of the public following adverts in the national, local and Greek press.

Many well-known public figures featured in the book lent their support on Thursday's launch night, with speeches made by education minister Lord Adonis, Janet Paraskeva, the chief executive of the Law Society, Maggie Koumi, the first editor of Hello! magazine, and Linda Papadopoulos, TV psychologist.

The authors are already hard at work on a second edition and for Mr Tsioupras, it will continue the story common to all people who leave their homes behind in search of a better life.

He said: "Being an immigrant, one tries hard. The big dream is always to be able to educate your children.

"Every ethnic minority can feel proud about their culture and origins and, equally, they can feel part of British society."