Sunday, 16th November, 2025
Gorgeous day all round. Up early and political interview programmes before setting off for a longish walk along the coast for 6 miles. My feet were sore at the end of that. My fellow traveller was skipping because she had bought a new sun-dress en route. I had allowed it because I beat the vendor down from an exorbitant €25.00/£22.0 to €20.00/£17.60. I could almost afford that.
I sat outside the shop watching a mad English man taking his life into his hands in peril over the sea. I don’t think you would do it, Dear Reader, even if you could manage lift off. I certainly wouldn’t.
I staggered back through a hot sunshine of 27C/81F, sweating profusely and in need of a rest. I opened an ice cold bottle of White Rioja to drink with cheese and biscuits for Lunch along with the Scotland v Argentina Rugby match. The UK’s tax on wine is quite disgraceful. This bottle of wine costs me just €3.50/£3.10. In UK, it would cost me double that at least.
Anyway, moving on to better things. The weather is delightful and the nature around here is wonderful. I love plants and trees. I love to see plants I can’t grow in UK. The climate here is so flat and benign with no massive highs and, more importantly, no lows that most things do well.
Our home in Greece was inundated with Oleanders. They were so common, we almost considered them weeds. Greeks did plant them as hedges but they needed minimal attention. In fact, a neighbour on the South Coast now is growing them successfully.
Then I came across this gorgeous shrub which Google Lens told me is a Thevetia Peruviana which I later found is a South American, yellow Oleander.
I was shocked to find that a tree growing outside my apartment is actually a Papaya Tree. Never seen one before and only saw this one when a papaya fell and nearly hit me on the head.
I can see the Headline in the Daily Fail – British Tourist Killed by Papaya on Tenerife. Anyway, Dear Reader, you’ll be relieved to know that I lived to eat it.