Sunday, 1st November, 2026
Happy new month, Dear Reader. October 2026 is gone forever. Although, you can revisit it here. It has been a lovely, warm month and yesterday we hit 20C/68F which for the end of October is wonderful. It was cooler and raining in Athens but much warmer – 27C/81F in Tenerife where leave for tomorrow.
Just been out to buy things for the trip and we are both wearing shorts and tee shirts still as we pledged. It is no hardship at all. It is so mild that the beach was really busy this morning. It is the scene of Beach Run which is our equivalent of Parkrun around the country. Ironically, as we drove home, Radio 4 was featuring an interview with Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of Parkrun. He started with one run of 13 runners and now sees his hugely successful concept
Before that, I’ve had my haircut. The hairdresser came early to do it in the kitchen. Actually, I may be oversharing but she was already here and we slept together last night. Sorry! Anyway, the Beautician didn’t turn up because I was deemed beyond help.
The cases are packed, the arrangements are made. We will drive to Long Stay at Gatwick and then go to our hotel for the night. We have a simple but perfectly adequate room overlooking the airport runway for the night. I have checked in online already.
Actually, we have to be in Departures early on Tuesday morning and the simple walk across there is quick from out hotel. Things are changing about Gatwick Security scanners. We can now take things through – a full bottle of Aftershave, for instance – which we haven’t been able to do for some years. Even regular flyers like us have to read the small print every time we go.
It’s a long flight of 4.5 hrs to islands just off the coast of the Western Sahara but the discomfit is soon forgotten as we relax into the sunshine.
Monday, 2nd November, 2026
Up early after a rather fitful night. I never sleep well the night before travelling. The window cleaner arrives at 7.00 am. The bins go out at the same time which is useful. Yesterday was spent setting up the Hive lighting, sorting out the heating in the Gym, charging everything in sight like shavers, toothbrushes, watches, iPads, Kindles, phones, earbuds, etc..
I was a bit distracted when I got a message from my car that an update was required. It turned out to be for the sat.nav. mapping. It involves connecting the car to the house wifi and downloading map updates for UK and Europe.
It was taking so long that I downloaded the updates onto a USB stick in my Office and then transfered them. Even then it took 40 mins with the engine running to complete the job.
It is the most beautiful day with blue sky and strong sunshine. It will be a lovely drive to Gatwick which takes about an hour. Now the Connected House is working well, all services will be at my fingertips which makes me feel better.
Of course, this morning I learnt two things. Firstly there was nothing this month from Premium Bonds and secondly, I have really become a creature of habit. The Digital Memory Box threw up lots of photographic memories for this month over the years. They all seemed to point to Tenerife over more than a decade. Must get out of these habits more!
Lovely drive to the airport but we went from blue sky to light drizzle as we looked for a prime parking spot to leave the car for a month. We always seem to be lucky and, once again, found a vacant end spot to suit a large car. Actually, post Half Term, there were lots of spaces. Shuttle bus to the airport and a covered walk to the Accor/Sofitel. It is only one night and we will leave around 5.00 am so it is fine for this. I like the huge, all encompassing atrium. It has a village of coffee shops and restaurants.
Tuesday, 3rd November, 2026
Up at the ungodly hour of 3.30 am and out in to the pitch darkness for a short walk into Departures at Gatwick North. One of the great things about travelling at this time is that all the services are quiet.
Straight through Security without a hitch. Lovely that you can now leave everything in your bags these days – from Gatwick at least. Different story on the way home. I must look suspicious because both my bags were checked but it was so quiet, they had nothing else to do.
Not only do I look like suspicious but I am getting suspiciously old. I did two, stupid things yesterday. First I parked up, got the shuttle bus to the carpark, went to collect my key at the hotel and realised I’d left my phone in the car. Had to drop my bags and get the shuttle bus back to collect it.
Got back to the hotel, set my laptop up and realised my mouse wasn’t working. Turned out it wasn’t the batteries but the little USB blue tooth connector that I’d left in my Office back home. Had to wait until I got airside at the airport to buy a new mouse. What a relief but order restored and I could start my Blog.
Off to No 1 Executive Lounge for coffee. Normally, I would have a full English Breakfast as a treat but not today. The diet will be strictly followed throughout the month and that includes alcohol. Newspapers downloaded. The flight is on time and we go to Gate at 7.00 am. See you just of the coast of the Sahara Desert, Dear Reader.
Not only was the flight on time but we arrived 20 mins early to the most lovely sunshine and 27C/81C of warmth. Taxi to our month’s home took just 15 mins and we paid €40.00. the property is spectacular. Almost brand new and the specification is great. The grounds make one breathe out in satisfied relaxation. And to crown everything, the WiFi is wonderful.
We have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen-lounge and a laundry room. This is our patio. I suspect we will spend a lot of time out here – eating, Blogging, listening to the radio, talking to friends across the continent, discussing politics. There was a tricky moment when we arrived. The manager presented us with a wonderful bottle of red wine to welcome us. After 10 weeks without wine, it was all I could do to resist it.
But resist it I did and it was at that point that I realised I hadn’t eaten for almost 24 hrs. No wonder I was tired. We ate roasted cod loin with white beans in a tomato sauce followed by Greek yoghurt and fresh raspberries. It was accompanied by a glass of sparkling water. Didn’t feel right but I have to cope with it. Watched Channel 4 News predicting the demise of Trump as the sun went down over the pool and the grounds beyond.
Watching Man Utd on Amazon Prime but they are playing like I feel – absolutely knackered. Suspect I will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow’s going to be another good day, Dear Reader. You should be here to share it.
Tuesday, 3rd November, 2026
Well, I wrote too soon. Man Utd stormed from 0-2 down against Roma to a glorious 3-2 win and added a little enjoyment to my evening. As I usually do before sleeping, I watched the review of Wednesday’s newspapers on Sky News and, of course, I was looking for views about the mid term elections in the USA. The suggestion was that Trump’s party could just loose one of the Houses.
I woke at 3.00 am and put the radio on to learn that the Democrats had indeed taken one of the Houses. I again at went back to sleep happy. Waking up 6.00 am as usual, the radio was full of the news of the utter rejection of Trump’s America. It’s going to be a good day. Might not be that good for mini-Trump, Farage and his Deform Party because it symbolises the retreat from populist Right politics. Mind you, a would-be Dictator without hope is even more dangerous and now is the time to be most alert.
At this early time in the morning, with the sun just coming up and the clouds of night time being pushed back on to the horizon, the view from our verandah is of peaceful calm only broken by the movements of the pool cleaners. every inch of the area is being cleaned which is as it should be. Four weeks here will have cost us around £5,000.00 so we expect a high standard of service.