Sunday, 24th April, 2022
Today is Easter in Greece. We wish all our Greek friends and particularly those on Sifnos, Καλό Πάσχα.
Ten years ago we had arrived at our house on Sifnos on April 10th to get there before the Easter rush. So many Greeks live and work in Athens but return to their island home for the holidays.
I took this photo from our patio on Easter Saturday 2012. It is of the last ferry passengers to make it from Athens to Sifnos before the Easter shutdown.
Here, the lovely weather continues. It is only marginally better in Sifnos today. We will be eating outside here just as we would in Greece. The only difference is that it won’t be Lamb for us but griddled Tuna steaks. We are sourcing and potting up herbs for the Summer kitchen. Will we be here to tend them? Sage, Tarragon, Oregano, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary, Chives are the main ones we use and all are easy to grow. At least I know that we’ll be here until mid-June and then I’ll have to install an automatic watering system.
Lovely walking today in hot sunshine. On the outer reaches of our Development is the local rugby ground. Every weekend, all ages of kids are training, playing being supported by parents. Today, in this lovely weather, the season is reaching its climax with a sports jamboree. Youngsters and parents are flying everywhere. It was lovely to see.
Monday, 25th April, 2022
Gorgeous morning …. to put out the bins. I’d love to be in France this morning. The joy of a Macron win, the joy of European spirit is being celebrated.
Unlike in Trumpian USA and Johnsonian UK, the xenophobic extreme Right are defeated once again. Makes one proud to be European!
Actually, 5 years ago today, we were in France. I’m frustrated that it will have to wait until my operation is completed and I’m allowed to exercise again.
-Oily fish is healthy food. I love mackerel which is very oily, healthy fish and quite cheap. I love it grilled with oil and lemon. Went out and bought 4, fat mackerel this morning but, needing a barbecue basket for fish, went to Tesco, Sainsburys, Argos, Asda, Dunelm – no barbecue basket. It must have taken an hour driving round the area.
Home for coffee and the Amazon website. Would you believe it? They had at least 20 different BBQ baskets. Ordered this one above to be delivered ‘free’ with Prime tomorrow. Why would you look any further? You can have it all!
Had a weird afternoon. Needed to move some money. Did you know that you can’t move more than £10,000.00 on-line? You have to actually go into a bank branch. Did that this afternoon. Banks are so last century.
Drove to the bank. We had to join a queue of entirely old people. We stood in the queue for 30 mins while an old man was helped to pay his television licence on-line. In an open office next to us we heard an old woman worried that she was being scammed for £10.99 by a company she had never heard of. It turned out it was a company she’d been paying £10.99 to each month for over a year but which had changed its name. Behind us an old man had an argument with an employee because he wanted to arrange a short term loan and was being told he could only do it on-line. He got quite worked up and was telling the employee that he didn’t do on-line banking, didn’t use a computer and wanted a face-to-face conversation. He was told that wasn’t possible and it could be only done on-line.
All of this was carried out in one public space for everyone to witness and it was odd that loans can only be arranged on-line because money transfers of £10,000.00+ can only be done in-bank. By the time we were served, it was 3.00 pm – the guarantee time for money transfer transactions. We had to do all the transaction conversation in this same public space. It felt demeaning. It was reminiscent of banking in the 1970s. The bank is so terrified of being held responsible for losses that they have to read pages and pages of caveats and then get a senior colleague to ‘verify’ before pressing the ‘Go’ button.
I came away pledging to write to our account manager to complain. The retired can do that but we pay £400.00 a year for the privilege of private service. I will be contacting Nat. West!
Tuesday, 26th April, 2022
A beautiful day … again! Clear blue skies and strong sunshine. I was up at 3.30 am because I had things on my mind. Fortunately, as the morning wore on, they were largely resolved.
We drove down to the Fresh Fish Shop on the mouth of the River Arun as it enters the sea. We wanted locally caught Calamari. We went on to the bridge over the River Arun as it flows into the Marina.
The Marina looked really beautiful from this perspective – calm and sleepy – a place to live in contact with the sea.
Still doing my 10 miles a day. Can’t let it go. Will never let it go unless surgery demands. Cooked and ate Calamari and Greek Salad outside in the garden but my mind was full of painful memories. Can’t let them go!
Wednesday, 27th April, 2022
Very different day today – overcast, dark even and rather cool. Makes all the gardening – hedging, lawn cutting, planting out – seem rather misplaced. I’ve even replaced the shorts today for long trousers so it must be cold.
Mum died 14 years ago today. It is one of those weird warps of time. It feels so long ago and yet so near. I can see, feel, touch the emotions of the time. I can replay the video of the time I went through in my head and yet acknowledge how much has happened since her death.

There is something absolutely elemental about the death of one’s Mother that nothing else can match. I didn’t even really like my Mother but I owed her my life and can never repay that debt. I could never have predicted what her death would mean to me. Perhaps that is my stupidity. Well, I acknowledge her and my debt to her here.
Whatever I record about our days, I am still completing 10 miles walking each and every day. Otherwise it has been a gardening day under fairly gloomy skies. Quite chilly early on but the sun came out in time for my cooking role.

I don’t know why men are expected to be inherently skilled with barbecues but I was given the job of cooking 4 fresh mackerels outside on a little, kettle drum barbecue on the patio. I love mackerel and it is very good for us. It is also very cheap, as Liz will be pleased to read. Our 4, fat, fresh mackerel cost just £5.60 in total or £1.40 each. Brushed with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, they cooked in a few minutes and were delicious.
Thursday, 28th April, 2022
Almost feels like early Spring has returned. It is lacking sun and chilled by a stiff breeze. Had to wear a fleece for my walk. Actually, as the day has developed, it has got warmer and the sun has tried hard to break through but Summer it is not!

I was thinking about our experience with Nat West a couple of days ago and that it was not so dissimilar to our time in Greece 7 years ago. Selling our Greek home was a challenge but successfully achieved. Getting the proceeds home was an entirely different and complex problem. We needed all the contacts we had cultivated over the years to navigate the increasingly suspicious, Greek financial system plus one or two completely unorthodox manoeuvres in order to expatriate our cash. Certainly couldn’t have done it without friends in the local bank and a brilliant FX company account. Remember the nerves and relief when we saw it back in our home account.
Actually, as I was trawling through my records, I found this from April 28th, 2012. It wasn’t always hot sun and relaxation. In April, particularly, we could still get very wet weather. In fact, those days were treasured because we wouldn’t see rain again until late September.
The seed buying and sowing season has begun. Herbs and salads are really all we can keep up with at the moment. I will largely be out of circulation for a couple of months after my operation so light, gardening duties will keep me occupied along with some writing.
The garden builders have come up with an amazing price for the work we want doing. We are having raised beds built with heavy timber sides all along two edges of the back lawn. The beds will be lined and filled with topsoil. I had expected something around £5,000.00 which I was happy to accept. Actually, the estimate has come in at just under £2,000.00. Can’t believe it. Not bothering with any more quotes. Asked them just to get on with it.
Friday, 29th April, 2022
Absolutely glorious morning – not a cloud in the sky and strong sunshine. I didn’t start the morning well. As I unstacked the dishwasher, I dropped a heavy pair of kitchen scissors straight on to my bare foot. I seem to have a thing about feet and not in an erotic way. I’ve only just got over huge blisters that I developed walking in Florida and now … an open wound. Some sympathy would be nice. My wife just laughed!
I received this photograph of a 90 year old man this morning. Dave Roberts of Rochdale supplied it. It features a man I haven’t seen since 1972. At that time, I thought he was ancient but it turns out that he was only 40 years old. He is my former college tutor, John Lee. I have a couple of photos of him in the time I knew him.
John Lee was a Biologist and a gentle, thoughtful man who negotiated a tricky time at the college. I shared this photo with Kevin last night and we both pledged to try to emulate John Lee and reach our century. So much to do!
Lovely evening tonight. The Sussex Downs are the place to be. We are so lucky to have them along with the coast.
Losing myself in time and space. Needing the softness of time and place. Contacting people, talking across the decades. It all makes me feel soft and sad and … distant.
Saturday, 30th April, 2022
Lovely day. David Weatherley sent a photo of his local park in Bolton this morning with a strong frost. Don’t miss that sort of thing at all. In fact, I have an embarrassing confession to make. I have given in and conceded defeat. As well as having the garden perimeter developed, we have decided that we will take up the lawn and fit artificial grass. We aim to be away such a good proportion of the year travelling that it will be a much more practical option.
Can you imagine being 57 today. We were just preparing to retire at that age. K has bought himself a castle in Florida as a present.
This is a super exciting time for them all. Getting older does have some up-sides. However, these signs on our local Cemetery should be a warning.
Make the most of all the time you have because there is no Exit after you’ve entered the cemetery. Talked to Kevin, Nigel and Julie today. They all are fine. Julie had gone out for her first walk since April 7th after her Covid/severe chest infection. Going to phone Brian to arrange a visit to see him in Royton but, first, I’ve got to get through my operation on May 9th. Yesterday, I received a wonderful phone call from the Anti-Coagulation team with my Perioperative Action Plan. They are such lovely people. I said, I’m really grateful for that. The nurse said, Are you? as if they rarely hear that said.
Pauline received a phone call from a Consultant yesterday and he spent the first 5 minutes apologising that it was only a phone call. This is what the Tories have done to our NHS. They’ve cut funding, cut the workforce (and then pretended to increase it) got the right wing press to blame the failings on the NHS itself and then encouraged people to pay for private service if they can. This is creeping privatisation of the Health Service on the American model. Only electing a Labour government will halt and reverse it!
Lovely to sit and eat in the garden sunshine. It brightens up the day. I would love to be driving in France now. This is the perfect time to go south to the Dordogne and further. However, we all have to make hard choices which leave us wanting. I really need this operation so I eschew the enjoyment of travel for a while.