Sunday, 30th July, 2023
Sounds like the weather is going to be quite dogy for the next few weeks. Thank goodness we’ve booked Athens. I need the sunshine to continue …. desperately!
I was sorry to hear that my cousin, Sue, sold her large, old French property yesterday after spending 8 years renovating it. After years working in the city of London and, before that, in Australia, Sue and Phil ‘retired’ to Salles-Lavalette in the Charente where they ran Gites and a Cycle-Hire franchise.
We dropped in on them when we were staying in the Dordogne 5 years ago. They have retained French Residency status and may well buy again. Who knows, they may well go back to Australia – the place of Phil’s birth. Nice to think you have that option. I just can’t imagine living in the same place and the same house most of my life. Can’t imagine being so lacking in adventure and ambition. The experiences of my houses and moves, of Greek ownership and travel have been so formative and provide such memories.
My friend, Julie, in North Yorkshire sent a photo of her Mum who is still alive at the age of 93. She sent me a lovely photo of the two of them together over the weekend.
Now there’s a face etched with experience, one that has seen many events that have formed so many memories. The ambition must be to reach that age and remain healthy enough to enjoy life and not be dependent. Banish the negatives. Accentuate the positives. Keep walking you mad fool!
Monday, 31st July, 2023
A wild, warm but wet & windy night. Couldn’t sleep. Put the radio on to stem the thoughts train and promptly fell asleep at 4.00 am. Up at 7.00 am to a wet world. Fortunately, it quickly dried up and I did a walk.
Came back to address a PROBLEM. I use Ancestry website to research family trees, find births/marriages/deaths and generally fill out life’s story. Over the weekend, I found that I had been billed, wrongly, for additional, worldwide membership at £360.00 per year. I know it’s not a great amount but I didn’t ask for or want to pay it.
I checked the website and then the bank site and found that my credit card had been used in a place in Florida where I had last been almost 2 years ago. If you’ve ever had to follow through these sorts of problems, you will know they are a nightmare. In this case I was lucky and a call to Ancestry UK which is based in Ireland for tax purposes got the contract cancelled and I was able to change my password and reopen it to start research. It’s one of those draining problems to solve though which I could have done without.
It’s certainly a day when I’d rather be abroad enjoying warmth and sunshine. Got to wait another 3 weeks and, even then, I’m fitting it around medical interventions. Let this be over! David Roberts, who never stands still, is currently in Rome. For those aficionados, he sent me a model he found that reminded him of Tolley.
I’m looking forward to getting back to lots of foreign travel after Christmas assuming I get the all-clear, even though it looks as if European travel will be made more cumbersome by the brainless Brexiteers.
Tuesday, 1st August, 2023
Happy August 2023 Dear Reader if I can raise my spirits to wish it to you. August is a difficult month in the memory as you will know. Things could be better. I suppose they could be worse.
Today, here on the South Coast, is the most lovely day of hot sunshine and blue skies. I fear it is a blip in the bad news for the next couple of weeks. At least we aren’t in Wales!
Today, I’ve cut and fed all the lawns in the neighbourhood. My lovely next door neighbour, Dee, sent me a message to say her guests for Dinner last night said the street looked ‘really pretty’ with flowers and the manicured lawns. I told her that me and pretty were antithetical. She told me not to put myself down. A little old man at the end of the street, whose lawn I’ve not taken on, stopped me and asked for help with his grass. We chatted.
He said: I don’t want to be patronising but are you a professional gardener?
I said: I was a teacher many years ago.
He said: You’re so good with the gardens round here that I thought you were a professional. Could I employ you to look after mine?
I said: I’m a 72 year old retiree. I don’t need paying for anything.
He said with surprise: I’m younger than you. You’ve got a really young wife, haven’t you?
I have to admit that I pretended that she was much older than me although she is actually younger. The poor, old guy nearly fell off his feet. When I reflected, though, Pauline does look young for her 71 years. She has hardly changed since 1981. If only the same could be said for me!
Of course, teachers’ weddings were usually timed for July/August before the new year started. We chose … December 1978. I hope we can celebrate somewhere abroad this time.
Wednesday, 2nd August, 2023
Nice, warm but rather humid morning. A bit breezy but not as bad as forecast. In this week 2010, the tilers were just finishing tiling all around our house in Greece. It suddenly became apparent that we needed more tiles at the back of the house so we took a ferry to Athens to source and order them. Everything had to come from Athens by lorry on a ferry which always added to the building costs.
It was in the middle of a heatwave which made our trip more difficult. Of course, a trip to Athens was not a one day-er at that time. We had to have a hotel for a couple of nights. Pauline managed to have her haircut in the city at the same time.
We bought the tiles in Leroy Merlin in Piraeus and more air-conditioning units in Kotsovolos (ΚΩΤΣΟΒΟΛΟΣ). As we got out from the taxi and in to the airconditioned store, the temperature outside was a shattering 45C or 113F. That is a level which almost defies one to walk.
Must be feeling a bit more optimistic for the future. This morning I ordered a couple of cold frames for the garden. Won’t need them until next Spring so I’ve got to stick around a few more months. Just feel like I’m marking time at the moment. Life has to be more than this!
Thursday, 3rd August, 2023
Well, the day definitely went down hill in the afternoon yesterday. Strong winds which drove very wetting fine rain across the world outside. Did a couple of hours in the Gym in the afternoon. Our neighbours across the road set off for Ibiza last night and next door will go to Skiathos at the weekend. We have been left in charge of the street. Rather be abroad myself but the lonely battle goes on. Going to the hospital this afternoon so every activity has to be crammed into this morning.
Terrible sleeping again. It is depressing. I haven’t slept well for almost two weeks. You would really think that all this exercise would make me sleep like a log but it doesn’t seem to work like that. Even went to bed early last night to see if that would help but just found myself wide awake at 2.00 am.
Apart from exercise, the big task today is to research a new, tumble dryer. I know, the excitement is too much for a boring boy like me but I’ll cope! Actually, I’m quite excited to look at the latest models of Heat Pump Tumble Dryers as opposed to ‘vented’ or ‘condenser’ types. You see, I told you it was exciting. They are much more expensive but also much more more efficient.
It seems to be wedding anniversary season. John Morris is celebrating 50 years this week and Kevin celebrates 51 on Saturday. Julie doesn’t celebrate that day. August was a popular month and the 19th was the most popular of all. Teachers are so predictable.
Off to the hospital to see if I’ll reach my 45th anniversary in December. Hope it won’t involve snow!
Friday, 4th August, 2023
Sometimes an empty Present is lifted by a memory of the past. This morning, my memory box served up a pictures that chimed with the morning. Just about to wish my next door neighbours, Καλό ταξίδι! (Have a good trip) to Skiathos in the Sporades Islands.
In 2012, we had lived in our Greek house for many years and some parts were in need of upgrading. It was built up a track/road away from the port. The ‘illegal’ garage was built from the very stone of the surrounding hillside. You will have seen the tiling around the outside of the house that we had done. A large part of our daytime was spent outside on the patio under a pergola. This was over the flat roof of the garage.
At this time of year, we spent so much time outside, sheltering under the pergola from the intense heat of the sun. We read, cooked, ate, drank wine, listened to the BBC Radio, watched TV, snoozed, everything. When it got too hot, we drove down to the bay for a swim. The thing you expect to do in Greece is to sunbathe. When you spend six months of Summer there, just like the Greeks themselves, you do everything to stay out of the sun.
We had a small oven and hob outside where Pauline magicked up the most wonderful – too wonderful – meals. It was where I learned to love κολοκυθοκεφτέδες or fried Courgette Balls. The courgettes were fresh from our garden at the back of the house.
The full upgrade must have cost us about £25,000 but it was well worth it. The house needed it and so did we.
Saturday, 5th August, 2023
Terrible day. Heavy rain and strong winds. Our temperature is only 14C/57F … in August on the South Coast! Just imagine what Wales must be like. I’m going to go mad and have my hair cut.
This weekend starts the Wedding Anniversary season for my friends. Popular with teachers because … well for the obvious reasons. Today, it is Kevin & Christine’s 51st, John & Anne’s 45th, Tash & Sheila’s 36th. Surprisingly, they are all High Church weddings with the old stone churches of Yorkshire. You would expect some Methodist Chapels particularly for John who is a life long Methodist. I sent Kev & Chris a bottle of champagne last year for their 50th. This year they just get an emoji.
Maybe our generation didn’t do honeymoons like earlier ones. John & Anne, befitting good Methodists, had 3 days in the Lake District. I don’t think Kev & Chris went away at all. They were too busy paying for their new house and yellow Ford Cortina. Pauline & I, of course, waited for others to get theirs out of the way and then went for the end of December in the Pennine blizzards. It’s always good to be unconventional.