The week has started well. I woke up to find an email from Jonathan Kelly in Boston, Massachusetts. He lives there with his wife, Kathy who he met in Repton nearly 40 years ago and his two dogs. He also has two grown up children. He is well and happy and sends the family his best wishes. What shocked me is that he looks exactly as I remember his father 40 years ago – right down to the jumper and the background of boats.
I also received a lovely photo from Dave Beasley of himself in his garden/small holding. I can’t believe he’s gone grey.
January 5th, 2009
Today is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year across Britain. I can confirm that. I went back to work.
January 6th, 2009
Stavros phoned today. He had arrived back in Sifnos but he was suffering badly with gastric flu. Nikos had been sick at the airport and on the plane and they had stayed at a Piraeus Hotel before getting Agios Georgios back to the island.
January 9th, 2009
Found a lovely little Italian restaurant in the backstreets of our home town. Strangely for an Italian restaurant, it is called Mona Lisa and it is owned and managed by Greek-Iranians but the cooking is wonderful. Like a typically homespun Trattoria, it is small, quaint and in a basement.
It is informal, welcoming and crammed into a small space. See this local review. We had:
Crostini with salad and olives
Deep-fried cheese
Chicken breasts in cream and garlic with seasonal vegetables
Hot chocolate pudding with ice cream
½ Litre House White
½ Litre House Red
The whole meal came to just about £45.00. It’s hard to believe nowadays. No wonder we had to beg for a table.
January 10th, 2009
The week has finished bitterly cold. It is only -3°C today but it has been down to -5°C over the past few drives to work. Greece is about 11°C – day and night at the moment. Still cool but acceptable.