Sanders Blog

Sunday, 23rd September, 2018

A cooler but bright and sunny day. Newspapers, football and gym exercise fairly sum up the day. Having been away this week, it is a time to enjoy HOME. Be that as it may, we have places to go over the next couple of months. We are going to Dorset to meet up with our friend, Jill, although not staying over this time. We are going to Yorkshire to see old friends and visit our Mothers’ graves. And then we are flying out to spend the month of November on the south east tip of Tenerife.

Sunny Girona

Even so, we know that we cannot stand still and are beginning to plan next year’s trips. We are still toying with a Springtime trip to Australia although, in our discussions, it is on and off the agenda every other day. The length of the flight is at the core of our vacillation. An hour’s flight to Edinburgh was ideal. Two and a half hours flight to Valencia was perfectly acceptable. Three and a half hours to Athens was beginning to become uncomfortable and four and a half hours to Tenerife will really be stretching it. A twenty four hour flight to Australia, even with one stop, feels like a step too far and then again it might be worth it.

Our annual Athens trip will include a Greek island stay next year. In fact, we are expecting to spend a month on an island sandwiched either side with a few days in Athens making it about five weeks in all. We have already been invited to stay in the home of a friend on Sifnos. That is likely to be in September.

We will almost certainly do a couple of short breaks in France after Christmas and we will probably rent a villa for the month of July on the French/Spanish border. We haven’t decided which yet but that is one discussion today. It will be somewhere between Perpignan and Girona. I fancy the latter.

We are very much hoping that the villa we are renting in Tenerife will be to our liking – it has its own heated pool, wi-fi and English Freeview television plus a fully kitted out kitchen with dishwasher and washing machine. We don’t want to camp out but we do want to extend the 2018 sunshine experience. If we like this villa, it may become a recurring experience over the next few years. As we start the final week of September 2018 and the start of Winter, we are thinking about the future with optimism.

Monday, 24th September, 2018

A beautiful morning of blue sky and strong sunshine as we got up at 6.30 am. It isn’t warm at just 7C/45F because of those clear skies at this time of year. We have a ‘snagger’ coming to redo the sealant around the bath and one of the shower trays.

We learned that 2 -2½ years after completion of a new-build property is just the time to address resettlement issues but it is also the time when builders’ warranties run out. We were lucky to buy just at the time when 5 year warranties were on offer. They have since been withdrawn for new purchasers. With 2½ years still to run, we feel very fortunate and relaxed about the years ahead. What is particularly reassuring is that everything is included in that warranty right down to the white goods that came with this new property. Cetainly, I would never buy an old property again.

Tuesday, 25th September, 2018

As the Skiathan observed, the view might be of Summer but the feel is distinctly Autumn. At 7.00 am, we were reading 7C/45F and didn’t rise above 19C/66F all day although it felt much warmer in our back garden and around the pool as we swam outside this afternoon. It is almost October but members were sunbathing outside around the pool.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about renewing our mobile phone contract and receiving an upgrade smartphone. We chose a Huawei P20 Pro which we were told would cost us £800.00/€900.00 each for our phones. I must admit, I was sceptical until I searched for one to buy and found that was exactly the price demanded on the open market. When we received our smartphones, we were told that a ‘special offer’ for people ‘buying’ their phone in September included a ‘free’ pair of Huawei ‘earbuds’ which were valued at £80.00/€90.00 per pair. Once again, I was incredulous. How could a pair of earphones be worth that much?

They arrived today and are pretty much state-of-the-art. The case they are stored in is powered up by USB cord and the earphones are blue tooth with controls for receiving smartphone calls, etc. I went on line to buy a pair and couldn’t get a pair below £85.00/€95.00. Actually, we will each pay around £1002.00 over the 2 yr contract and receive unlimited calls, texts + 10GB of Data per month. It is a deal we are happy with.

Had a very active day in the strong sunshine today. The morning was spent weeding, pruning and trimming the hedges. Later we went to do our full gym routine and a wonderful swim outside in the sunshine.

Wednesday, 26th September, 2018

Rustington in (mid-Summer?) late September.

Time is rushing away. We are in the last 5 days of September. Today, I received my new, Bank Debit card with an expiry date of the end of 2021. I will be 70 years old by the time I receive it. What the hell is happening? I remember 1984 with Orwellian dread. I remember 2000 with a trembling computer. I remember thinking reaching 50 (2001) was the zenith of achievement particularly as my Dad died at 49. I remember thinking 60 (2011) meant I was officially a senior citizen. Surely, 70 (2021) means I am officially dead? I am trying to keep my expectations low. Getting to 80 (2031) would be a real achievement. Getting to 90 (2042) would be the height of good fortune. Of course, age without good health is a questionable attainment. That’s why a daily gym session is so important.

We went out early to Rustington in Mediterranean weather. It is an attractive town at the best of times with good shops and lots of facilities but was particularly enjoyable in the sunshine today. Pauline was having a facial and I was having a mooch and a coffee at Waitrose. By 11.00 am, it was 25C/77F in the wonderful sunshine. Home to watch Corbyn’s speech and then off to the Health Club for a couple of hours. Chicken marinated in lemon, tarragon, garlic and olive oil, griddled outside in the sunshine with tomato salad was just wonderful.

Thursday, 27th September, 2018

What a glorious day of wall to wall sunshine. It is a day to celebrate being alive. Pauline observed this morning, as I continued to obsess about the passage of time, that just 20 years ago we were still in our main, Yorkshire home which we only sold in 2000. So much has happened in that time.

In the past 20 years, both our mothers have died. We have retired. We have sold 4 houses and bought/built 4 houses and rented two others. We have moved out of Greece and branched out in our travels. We have bought 10, new cars – all Honda CRVs. Pauline has been operated on to remove a benign tumour from her arm and had her gall bladder removed. I have been diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation and Type 2 Diabetes. The former is being successfully managed and the latter is gone. I have lost 11.0st/70kgs and gone down 2 shoe sizes.

So many of these events have been life changing. Retirement, losing our parents, leaving an adopted country, leaving our homes, addressing life-challenging conditions. they are not minor events in a individual’s life. They are perhaps not as seismic and life-threatening as the Skiathan Man has had to face but, in our small world, they have been big events. If we can grab another 20 years, we think of how much we can pack in. We may not have so many new homes although there may be one or two in the timeline. Similarly with new cars. We hope for more travel and less medical attention but that is in the lap of fate. Keep looking forwards. Keep moving on.

To that end, we did a morning out in the wonderful sunshine in which we reached 23C/74F and then three hours at the Health Club with a full exercise session. I have managed 16,000 paces today and I am averaging 10,000 paces per day for a calendar year. If I can keep that going, perhaps I can see 2038.

Friday, 28th September, 2018

One of the things about aging is feeling that a younger generation is leaving one behind. All generations feel that at some times and in some ways. Pauline & I always pledged that we would never say, We’re too old for all that! or that equally defeatist exclamation, Thank goodness I won’t be alive when that happens! There are some things that I will not embrace for reasons of safety or taste rather than age per se.

I have no desire to walk across an open road while texting on a phone. Actually, (and this is an admission) I can’t bring myself to write ‘hip’ texts without punctuation or use smiley-face emoticons instead of words. After all, I was an English teacher. Equally, I have no desire to bungee jump or paraglide.

When I was in my formative years in Grammar School, I wouldn’t have been seen dead with a handbag. It was a struggle to make me carry a raincoat. I certainly wouldn’t have had a tattoo even had I been allowed to by my parents which wouldn’t have happened even on pain of death. Now, in the changing room at the Health Centre, one feels positively freakish not being decorated from head to foot in blue ink.  Equally, I wouldn’t have been seen blow drying my hair or preening in the mirror for hours while applying body lotion. I hold to those principles still but I have cracked on one line of development.

For years I watched Mediterranean men walk around casually sporting a shoulder/handbag. I was a bit shocked but regularity breeds familiarity and, as I travelled more and required more backup – reading glasses, toothpicks, tissues, Sweetex tablets, medication tablets, smartphone, iPad, etc. – I found my pockets were not enough. I took the plunge and bought a leather, man-bag in Athens. At first, I was very self conscious and tried hard to not stand with my hands on my hips but, eventually, it became part of daily attire. Like so many Greek things, it wasn’t built to last and started to fray at the seams. My next bag was bought in M&S of all places. It has been all over Europe with me. After almost 10 years, it too is showing signs of wear and I’ve had to order a new one. My only embarrassment this time is that it will cost almost £80.00/€96.00. You could have bought a car for that in my day!

Saturday, 29th September, 2018

The penultimate day of the month has been glorious. Wall-to-Wall sunshine from peerless skies. and really warm. We had already decided to take a day of from the Health Club and to fill it with jobs. It was a busy day. By 9.00 am, I was scarifying our ‘dead’ back lawn. By 10.30 am, we were at our local pharmacy for our Flu’ jabs and, by 11.30 am, we were at the Local Authority Tip with bags of lawn and then back at the house to watch an abject Man. Utd. lose to West Ham. of all  people.

After that, I gave the car a full valet including treating the leather upholstery, hoovering the whole of the inside and wax polishing the outside. It took me the best part of two hours and I was really tired by the end of it. I was rewarded with a rare treat. In fact, I haven’t had it for about 20 years. Pollo Allegro or Italian Chicken Kiev. It is chicken breast with a pocket slit in the centre which is filled with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese. The breast is wrapped in pancetta ham and then coated with bread crumbs. (I’ve had absolution for eating bread today.) It is deep fried usually but we pan roasted ours in the oven. It was absolutely wonderful and took us back to our Friday nights after a hard week at work when we would go to Sole Mio in Huddersfield for an indulgent, Italian meal.

Sunday, 16th September, 2018

Gorgeous day again. These are always considered bonus days in the second half of September. 22C/70F and lots of clear, blue skies with uninterrupted sunshine. Why are we going to Scotland? It can’t be better than here. Anyway, at least we will be reunited with our friends after all this time.

Anthurium

Our neighbours installed their new/our old garage door and then came over with a ‘thank you’ pot plant. I must admit, we don’t ‘do’ pot plants these days but politely received it. It is an Anthurium which originates from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela. It was brought to Europe in 1876. The name Anthurium derives from the Greek words ‘anthos’ and ‘oura’ which mean ‘bloom’ and ‘tail’.

Apparently, ‘House Plants’ are back in fashion. In the 1960s and 1970s, when we were setting up house, they were all the rage. No home was complete without a Monstera Deliciosa  or Swiss Cheese Plant growing up in the corner or a Wandering Jew or Tradescanthia hanging down from a basket. They thrived in the damp conditions of student flats or first time buyers houses. As my generation moved up market, cleaner, dryer conditions were de rigour. Even the Che Guevara posters have gone. However, in time-honoured tradition – what goes around comes around – house plants are back in fashion. Who are we to resist?

Monday, 17th September, 2018

Summer in full bloom. The whole day has been sunshine-filled and a temperature of 24C/75F. We won’t expect any more of the Canary Islands in November. I have been watering pot plants on the patio prior to leaving them to their own devices tomorrow morning. We expect to continue cutting Rocket leaves for a little while to come. The lawns (lol) are cut and the hedges trimmed. We’ve done another gym workout today and packed our bags. Actually, it seems strange to be flying but staying within UK. We’ve packed our passports anyway because we will need Photo I.D.. We made them anyway if Scotland breaks away. It will be good to get in before we need a visa and before mobile roaming is cut off.

Edinburgh Station looks very interesting!

The flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh is 1hr 35 mins long at a cost of £227.66/€257.00 for the two of us which compares well with a train journey from our village to Edinburgh of 10hrs 11 mins. costing £330.53/€373.00 for the two of us and a of a drive of 461 miles and 8 .0 hrs non-stop driving costing £158.00/ in Unleaded Petrol for the return trip without stops but also takes a few years of your life.  Edinburgh Station looks very interesting but after 10 hrs? Probably not so much.

Tuesday, 18th September, 2018

Up at 7.00 am to a grey and blustery but very warm (18C/65F) morning. I have scheduled ‘Hive’, internet-controlled, light bulbs around the house so that I can play with them while we are away. Having announced that publicly, of course, I have negated their effectiveness but who reads this nonsense. Final packing – phone/iPad/watch chargers + multi-socket still have to be packed. Breakfast juice enjoyed and dishwasher stacked and then we are off.

Descending in to Edinburgh

We are driving to Gatwick at 9.30 am – timed in order to miss the worst of rush hour. Normally, it would take about 40 mins but we expect at least an hour at this time on a week day. …. The drive was good. We soon went through to No1 Lounge and relaxed before going down to gate. Early take off and early landing. The plane was not full. Plenty of room for spreading out. Took this photo as we were descending to land.

Edinburgh Airport small and friendly and easy to use. Taxi to Queensferry Road was immediately available. Our taxi driver shocked me immediately when he replied to my questions: Did you vote for Independence? No. / Did you vote for Brexit? Yes. These answers go against all the trends for younger Scots. He went on to explain that he voted on selfish (his word) grounds. He dealt in Bitcoin as a hobby and he was likely to make more money out of chaos. He was also a fan of Farage.

When we go to our hotel, having contributed to our taxi driver’s next crypto currency purchase, a lovely girl checked us in. She wouldn’t have voted Brexit even if she was allowed to. As a Moldovan, she was working hard in our service industry and providing an excellent service. A Moldovan accent with a Scottish twang overlaid is really rather nice although not so easy to understand.

Wednesday, 19th September, 2018

Pauline with Bjorn & Anne-Mari

What a day to choose to explore Edinburgh. Gale force winds and torrential rain. Actually, we had a wonderful day which began with a lovely, hotel breakfast and then a taxi into the city centre because of the inclement weather. We were dropped at a previously agreed coffee shop and, within a few minutes, 40 years were rolled back and in walked Bjorn and Anne-Mari. We last saw them in 1978.

Bjorn is Norwegian and Anne-Mari was born in Africa. All those years ago when we met them, they were living in our (then) home village of Meltham in West Yorkshire. Bjorn is a potter who taught in our school. Anne-Mari is a jewellery designer. In 1978, they both left for posts in Edinburgh University and remained there until they retired. For years, we have been promising to visit them and exchanging Christmas cards. The same two cards with infill newsletters have been shuttling between us for 40 years. Today, Pauline fulfilled her promise of seeing them again. In spite of the weather, it was a lovely day which ended in a meal back at their big, old Edinburgh stone house.

The photograph above, shows us in a bookshop where we found a copy of Anne-Mari’s book on jewellery design. At their home, they introduced us to 3D printing which I knew about but had never actually seen in reality. They were using a 3D printer to produce prototype items of jewellery. It was an interesting experience.

Thursday, 20th September, 2018

A totally different day with the morning opening on clear blue sky although still a little breezy. My phone shows me that the temperature at home on the Sussex coast at 7.00 am is 17C/63F but only 9C/48F here in Edinburgh. We are going to do one of my least favourite activities today – shopping. Pauline gets so few chances to indulge herself in actual (as opposed to virtual) clothes shopping that it is time for me to indulge her and just take the pain.

Walking on Princes Street, Edinburgh

After breakfast this morning, we had the day to ourselves so we sat with coffee and our digital newspapers. At 10.00 am, we set off to walk from our hotel up Queensferry Road with views of Fettes School (alma mater of Brown & Blair) in the distance, into Queensferry Street and then Princes Street. The weather was brilliantly blue sky and strong sunshine but with a cold, blustery wind – a hangover from yesterday’s gales. In the Orchard Park as we walked past, huge branches torn off in the wind lay strewn across the grass, debris blown from roofs littered the gardens and the pavements. The temperature at this time in the morning was 9C/48F compared with a reading of 17C/63 F in our home village in Sussex.

Closing Down

As we turned in to Princes Street, we enter House of Fraser department store. I hate those sorts of places at the best of times but today it was more depressing than ever. As I so often do in these situations, I found a chair to sit and browse and watch the world go by while Pauline set off across the store to look at clothes. Today, the store was being plastered with ‘Closing Down – 20% off marked price’ posters by the very staff who now knew they were losing their jobs. I found the scene profoundly depressing and I felt so sorry for all those loyal workers who were still doing their best for the Management.

We are notoriously bad at this shopping process and Pauline’s heart really wasn’t in it. We did some window shopping, a bit of seeing the sights and then set off back on the 2 mile walk to our hotel to catch the Daily Politics. and the One o’Clock News  followed by Scottish News which was nice to see although difficult to understand. Isn’t town walking tiring? Hard pavements and lots of noise and people. Who can cope with people? They constantly get in one’s way, take specific lines of walking and refuse to budge unless I barge them. They smell of sweat, cheap perfume, cigarette smoke, stale coffee and all sorts of unspeakable other things. Give me a solitary life by the sea!

Friday, 21st September, 2018

Woke to a pleasant but greyish morning – at 7.00 am, Edinburgh 7C/45F – West Sussex 14C/57F. Ate a third, consecutive hotel breakfast and vowed never to eat again … for life. The morning was spent packing up, charging phones and tablets, doing emails and reading the newspapers. An email came in from Easyjet to warn us that our flight was delayed by 15 mins. Not a problem.

Our taxi arrived on time and we were at the airport 30 mins later. Edinburgh Airport was absolutely packed. Looked busier than Gatwick. We thought we would be ok by going to one of the two private lounges airside and relaxing with a glass of wine. That’s when the day took a bit of a down turn. Arriving at No1 Lounge, we were told that it was absolutely full and had a waiting list that would take 2 hrs to clear. We went on to Aspire lounge to find a notice on the door saying ‘Currently Full’. On inquiry, we were told that there would be a wait so we sat in the foyer for 30 mins aspiring to get in before finally finding to a comfortable chair and table with charging points, strong wi-fi and some refreshments.

As we settled back, we checked the Easyjet app to find that our delay had been extended to an hour. By this stage, we just hunkered down with another glass of red wine and watched other people come and go. Eventually, we were called to gate and then to board a newish and very comfortable plane. It was a good flight but, because of our delayed take-off in Edinburgh, we had to wait for a landing slot by circling the airport for about 20 mins. Eventually, we landed about 90 mins later than timetabled.

Fortunately, our bag was off first from the carousel, the bus back to Long Stay carpark was waiting outside and we were soon in our car on the road home. It really doesn’t matter where we go, how long we stay for, how much we enjoy it – coming home is wonderful! And so it was.

Saturday, 22nd September, 2018

The thing that strikes one immediately is the difference in temperature. It is really noticeable. Back home, the house feels almost uncomfortably hot even though we haven’t had the heating on since last March/April. I have gone to do the supermarket shop in shorts and short-sleeved tee-shirt. I don’t feel out of place because half the men there are doing the same.

Our shopping today really reflects our current dietary patterns. I am still a real pain. I always need to follow a low-ish calorie content regime. I am constantly searching for food elements which are full of flavour, and stomach-filling texture but low in calories. Unfortunately, I am not able to use green vegetables like lettuce, broccoli or cabbage because they contain high levels of Vitamin K which militates against the Anti-coagulant drug, Warfarin which I take for Atrial Fibrillation.

Latterly, I have been majoring on tomatoes – virtually every day as a side salad – and cauliflower which I also eat cold and dressed with olive oil and lemon as a salad. These two have become staples and are combined with a central component of protein such as fish or chicken. Recently, we have also been turning to pulses and a mixed-bean salad. This is just simply dressed with olive oil, garlic, and lemon. Everything is dressed with herbs and rough, black pepper to replace salt. We do use flakes of sea salt but sparingly.

Today, we had roasted loin of cod with tail-on prawns and roasted cherry tomatoes in garlic and oregano. The depth of flavour is extraordinary and lingers for quite some time after we have finished eating. It is of a quality that one would rarely expect to receive in a restaurant at home or abroad and leaves one feeling better about one’s self than before it was consumed.

Sunday, 9th September, 2018

Bosch Electric Lawn Raker – £170.00/€191.00

Lovely warm and sunny day that reached 22C/70F here on the south coast. We did our gym routine and I cleaned and tidied the garage in preparation for the new door being installed on Tuesday.

I am struggling to cope with my main, back lawn because large areas of it died in the five, dry, hot weeks I was away in the Dordogne. I am going to buy an electric lawn rake/scarifier for a start and then reseed the bald areas. I had one of these machines before and, if you’ve never used one, I can tell you that it is one of the most labour-relieving implements you can ever own. If you’ve ever tried to rake out a large lawn with a hand rake, you will know immediately.

Monday, 10th September, 2018

We have a 5 year warranty on this house and all its fittings. We are only half way through that period so we have called the joiner out to fix a slightly moveable bannister rail. These are the sorts of things that I wouldn’t want to do myself nor would I want to pay a man to do for me. Being able to ring our house builder and get a joiner sent out pronto and free of charge is wonderful. Gordon the joiner is coming this morning at 8.00 am which will be good because it forces us to get up early and start the day positively.

When he arrived with large white van and almost as large toolbox, Gordon removed a small wooden patch to reveal a screw which he tightened with one of his 40 screwdrivers and then replaced the patch. Off he went back to Brighton leaving two happy customers in his wake.

We ordered a new tumble dryer a week ago from Currys. Pauline had very specific requirements and, when their website said it would take 10 – 21 days for delivery, we went ahead and still ordered. We were a little disconcerted when the follow up receipt of the order had altered the wait to 2 – 4 weeks. Even more annoying was the fact that they drew the money on our credit card immediately rather than waiting until they were ready to despatch. So, this morning, I phoned them – well, I am still on hold now after going through more menus than an ordinary person has breath to sustain – only to be told that there was an unusual demand on their services and it could take at least 10 mins before they answered me. I hate making phone calls at the best of times but this really winds me, an essentially calm man, UP!

David Lloyd, Worthing – Gym

Did another full routine at the gym and pool on a quiet Monday. Time of year when everyone is back at school/work and many have given up on fitness until January when life will become frenetic again.

Tonight I received a text message informing me that the Tumble Dryers had been received in the warehouse and would be out for delivery urgently. We are going away in a week. Let’s hope they get on with it.

Tuesday, 11th September, 2018

Up at 6.00 am after a very warm night for mid-September. We didn’t drop below 18C/65F. We have the garage door company coming at 8.30 am and Pauline has a Doctor’s appointment at 9.00 am. My official INR test has to be emailed through to the hospital this morning and it is good at 2.8.

By 11.30 am, the new garage door was fitted and working and we were able to prepare for our trip to the Health Club. I will have achieved my target every day this month apart from one, averaging 13,000 paces per day over 28 days and covering 178 miles. That excludes swimming which adds quite a bit to my physical output. The reward will be a day off tomorrow when we have a list of 14 tasks to complete which will be incorporated with a walk on the sea shore for lovely, fresh air.

Our tasks include a trip to Screwfix to collect 4 Hive bulbs which I can program or control from my phone/iPad while we are away. It is a step into the modern world after spending so much time and money on plug in timers for table lamps to give the appearance we are at home. They are expensive but they do have smart wi-fi connectivity which makes remote operation so useful.

Wednesday, 12th September, 2018

Hold the Front Page! We are not going to the Health Club today. I am genuinely feeling guilty and rather uncomfortable particularly with no cricket to distract me.

Greeks are not cricket fans or cricketers – with the noble exception of the Corfiots. Because of that, Greek TV stations didn’t commission cricket coverage on their satellite Sports Channels. We took Nova Satellite package because it gave us UK Premier League football. We then switched to OTE Satellite package when they bought the Premier League rights. In the early days, I could even switch from Greek commentary to the original English one but later lost that. Only once did we get Cricket Test Matches when England were in South Africa and I could never understand why. It has been a real bonus this year to be in UK and to enjoy a fantastic England-India series. Really enjoyed it – especially the result.

Went out to pick up my lawn rake/scarifier this morning from Argos and then on to Screwfix to collect my Hive, wi-fi bulbs. After that, we drove on to the Littlehampton Marina and bought fish – a swordfish joint and two seabass. Home for PMQs which was poor and then on to more jobs. We are expecting Currys to deliver our new Tumble Dryer which is why we are housebound this afternoon. I have mowed (what I still laughingly call)the lawns while Pauline has done the third and last major harvest of the Basil Plants and made even more Pesto. The basil is definitely much more ‘woody’ by this stage and needs picking over carefully. We could now live solely on Pesto until 2020 but I bet we eat it a lot quicker. I love it!

The new tumble dryer arrived about 5.30 pm delivered by two Sri Lankans. They took the old (2.5 yrs) one away at the same time. We were just relieved that we had a new one at a price of around £315.00/€354.00. Normal life will be resumed tonight….. and we’ll dry some clothes.

Thursday, 13th September, 2018

Quite a day. Absolutely beautiful blue skies with strong, uninterrupted sunshine and a temperature of 22C/70F. We prepared the garage to put down parking lines so I can garage the car on my own rather than expect my assistant to be constantly in attendance. Off out to Sainsburys and then the Chemists and home by 9.30 am.. Harvested the last of the Thyme and Oregano plants for the season; washed and froze the produce. Picked up and assembled (with my wife’s help) the new lawn rake & scarifier.

Did a really enjoyable session in the gym. Amazing how much better a day off made us feel. Pauline has decided she wants to work on her upper arms by using dumbbells. I have ordered some for home so she can do the exercise when she wants. It’s the sort of thing you need to do every day – maybe more than once – in order to really get some benefit. I will supervise her exercise if I’m paying out the princely sum of £9.99/€11.20.

Friday, 14th September, 2018

Warm but grey day which reached 21C/70F but didn’t get the pulses running. We did some jobs around the house and then a gym workout. I am averaging 14,500 steps per day over this week and more than 13,000 per day for the past month. I am still a month short of completing a full year with this watch but I’m already averaging 9, 500 steps per day over a nominal 12 month period.

Whenever we go away, I struggle to pick up news channels, Parliament debates, etc.. Often, even in good hotels, I just get BBC News Channel or even just CNN. One can access BBC Radio over the internet abroad but not TV. By chance, I was reading an expat in Greece Blog the other day and learnt of an app which didn’t sound promising but I thought there was, maybe, something in it. ‘TV Catchup’ suggests exactly that but was discussed as a source of real-time reception abroad. It sounded too good to be true.

I downloaded the app to my iPad and tried it out in our hotel room in Athens recently. To my amazement, it worked. I could pick up UK Freeview Channels and they were not blocked like the iPlayer. I have a 12.5″ screen iPad Pro which was good enough to watch on but it got me thinking of putting that through the hotel’s TV screen to make it more user friendly. A quick search on the internet brought up a Digital AV Adapter which had an Apple lighting connector and a port for its charger. This is important to maintain the iPad’s charge in a battery-hungry process.

The adapter  plugs into the TV’s HDMI slot and allows the TV screen to mirror that of the iPad. Today, I tried it out on a small TV set upstairs at home with perfect results. As the ‘A’ in Audio Visual suggests, I got both Sound and Pictures which I could control with the TV remote. As almost every flat screen TV nowadays has an HDMI socket, this will be of immense use in our travels across Europe.

Saturday, 15th September, 2018

In the coming week, we are flying from Gatwick to Edinburgh to meet up with a friend and ex-colleague of ours who we haven’t seen for almost exactly 40 years. Bjorn, a Norweigan Potter, taught at our school from 1975 – 78. He then went on to lecture at Edinburgh University where his wife – a jewellery designer – also lectured. For the past 40 years, we have exchanged the same two Christmas cards with newsletters enclosed to the point where one is nearly falling apart. We have been promising to visit him for the past 30 years and this is the year where we will live up to our promise.

Bergen Harbour

It is exactly 50 years ago this summer that I spent a month on a motorbike touring Norway with a friend. Excluding a couple of weeks in Southern Ireland ( which most people would do), this was my first time abroad. It left an indelible impression on my young (17 yr old) consciousness. We drove up to Newcastle and got the ferry to Bergen. I don’t remember every stop but Bergen, Lillehammer, Oslo and Stavanger Fjord stand out.

Stavanger Fijord

We stayed in Youth Hostels which were the cheapest way to do it but were positively plush compared with their English counterparts. We had the most wonderful, hot, sunny weather and I have an image indelibly implanted on my memory that has remained all of those 50 years.

We were driving over the mountains under a strong sun from clear blue skies. All around us was thick snow which our road cut through. Suddenly, some 50-60 metres to our right and out in the middle of the snow-covered mountainside, a young couple sat at a table with a lit candle in between them. They had a bottle of wine and two glasses and were toasting each other. That seemed strange enough to a young, impressionable lad like me but even stranger was the fact that there was no sign of a vehicle to get them up in the mountains and no signs of disturbance (footsteps) in the snow from the road to their table.

We whizzed past on our motorbike and only discussed it when we settled back in our Youth Hostel for the night. However, both of us saw it and neither of us could explain it. Answers on an email.

Sunday, 2nd September, 2018

Yesterday, on the first day of Autumn, we reached 23C/73F and this morning has opened with clear, blue skies and strong sunshine. At 6.30 am, it is a little cooler than one would choose but the day is going to be great. We are going to do one, final trip to the gym before leaving for Greece. We will have missed just one day in the past three weeks. In our Athens hotel, we will swim but not gym. We get plenty of walking done in the city. Looking forward to meeting old friends.

Fruits of Autumn

This is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness to quote John Keats’ Ode to Autumn. It is characterised by mild days but cooler nights, by later sunrises and earlier sunsets. In the past and for many years, it meant going back to work after 6 weeks in Greece so there was always a hint of sadness. I tell myself that enjoyment can be sucked out of all the seasons although Summer warmth is still my real enjoyment. That is why we are buying extensions to our ‘Summer’ with trips to Greece and to Tenerife which will take warm weather well in to the British Autumn. Even so, we have just been told that this has been the joint hottest Summer in British history – equalling 1976. I had just completed 4 years of teaching and was living in a pokey little flat in down town Oldham. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Monday, 3rd September, 2018

Just as we prepared for going away, our 30 month old Tumbled Dryer died. It’s hardly done much service for two people using it a couple of times per week. Like everything else, as soon as we use lose the facility, it becomes indispensable. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day yesterday and we were able to put the clothes outside in the sun to dry but we anticipate a lot of dirty washing when we return from Greece and will urgently need a dryer.

Hoover Condenser Dryer

If you are not a tumble dryer aficionado, you may not know that there are three, main types. The first is a vented machine that emits water-laden air from a hole in the front/back/side. We’ve had many of that type in the past. They are the cheapest of the three. The second is the condenser dryer which – you’ve guessed it – condenses the water vapour before it can escape and is collected in an integral container. This type is more expensive than the former but considerably cheaper than the final type which is Heat Pump. The Skiathan can stop making notes now.

While conventional tumble dryers release the hot air used to dry the clothes, the Heat Pump technology conserves and reuses it, so less energy is used and it reduces energy consumption further. Sounds wonderful but, at £1100.00/€1220.00, it is a wonder I can manage without. A Hoover Condenser Dryer (10kg load) costing £300.00/€335.00 will do just nicely, thank you, although there is a 10 day wait for one to come back in to stock and be delivered. Thank goodness we will be away for a while.

Tuesday, 4th September, 2018

She’s such a messy eater!

Wandering through the streets of Athens in 34C/93F of sunshine from strong, blue skies, we felt we were home. It is as if we had never left. In our flight yesterday my mobile was contacted by service providers in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece. The flight was wonderful and lasted only 3hrs 10 mins although I was only awake for 40 mins of that. Athens airport was so slick, with luggage on the carousel before passengers were there to collect and the Metro left the moment we had picked seats and sat down.

Our hotel, the Electra Palace, had already upgraded us because of our frequent bookings and provided us with complimentary drinks, Premium Superfast Wi-Fi  plus other trappings. We settled in, went out for a walk, bought a bottle of wine and some salted pistachio nuts and went back to relax with Sky News. Later, we went out to eat at our favourite, street-side taverna – Evegenia’s Paradosiako – where we ate Greek Salad with Garlic Sauce followed by barbecued Sea Bass. Dreamy!

We went up to the Roof Garden this evening and sat around the swimming pool overlooking the Acropolis. It was moonlit, bright and warm with 30C/86F at 9.00 pm. The whole atmosphere takes us back to good times. Next Summer, we have been invited to Sifnos for the Summer. It is something we are seriously contemplating. It would be nice to see Stavros again.

Wednesday, 5th September, 2018

Very hot today. Woke up to 25C/77F at 7.00 am but reached 35C/95F as we walked out in mid morning. Our first task was to find a new restaurant we had read about for dinner this evening. It is on Odos Erotokritou

We liked what we saw on the menu and decided to return in the evening. We walked on down to Monastiraki Station to take the train to ‘posh’ Kifisia. It was hot – very hot – and our walk didn’t last long. We took the train back to Monastiraki and then walked back through Plaka, stopping only to buy a punnet of juicy figs from a street barrow.

The Fruits of Greek Autumn

Back at our hotel and with the air conditioning down low, we drank coffee and watch Prime Minister’s Questions although little good it did us. Then we were out again and taking the train down to Piraeus. It has always been a dive but even more so in recent years. We were travelling on a €4.50 / 24hr Athens unlimited travel ticket. Enforced payment is supposed to be introduced but many station barriers were left open and people just blatantly climbed over the fence where the barriers were in use. Nobody has to pay unless they choose to.

Down in Piraeus, one is overwhelmed by the detritus of travelling humanity. It is grubbier than ever but the anticipation of travel is as exciting as ever.

We just touched base but didn’t stay long. Most of our regular haunts have closed down which is sad but not surprising. We took the train back to our hotel and had a good swim before going out to Dinner.

Thursday, 6th September, 2018

Hot again. We’ve seen 33C/92F and quite high humidity. Today was walking in Athens streets. Down to Omonia and the markets. It was so hot that we couldn’t face the stench of the meat market. The outdoor, vegetable market provided anything to rival the Dordogne.

Outdoor Market – Omonia

We were visiting old haunts, places we have walked a hundred times but are now seeing with fresh eyes. We bought grapes and figs from a street seller and took them back to the hotel for our lunch. We went for a swim and did a 30 mins workout .

Going out for grilled Sea Bass and salad for Dinner this evening and linger over a carafe of chilled wine under a hot and humid sky as the light dies. How lucky are we?

Friday, 7th September, 2018

Up early – 6.00 am (Greek Time) / 4.00 am (UK Time) – and down to breakfast. The last breakfast for a while, thank goodness. Even so, scrambled egg and bacon, washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice is a pleasant treat. The sunshine really adds to the flavours and feeds the eyes for the day ahead.

By 9.00 am, we were off to the Syndagma underground station and, with 2 x €10.00 tickets in hand, we crowded on to a commuter train to the airport. By 10.00 am, we were walking into the airport, dropping off our bags for Easyjet and going down to the Goldair Handling Lounge to relax in peace, drink a glass of fresh, orange juice and read our on-line newspapers.

On board our Easyjet flight by 11.30 am, we heard that a 30 minute delay with refuelling would hold us up. It is the first Easyjet delay we have experienced over many flights. The journey back was uneventful and we landed at Gatwick around 2.35 pm.. Quickly through the airport, successful baggage reclaim and out to the Long Stay Carpark shuttle bus. In to our car and a short hop of 45 mins back home via Tesco for some essential supplies.

Sitting back in our kitchen, it seems barely believable that we were breakfasting in Athens only a few hours ago and fighting our way through the crowded underground system to travel to the airport and then sitting high up above the only too tangible clouds over the patchwork fields of France. Life is strange and magical but it was brought back to earth with a bump when we received an email from our next door neighbours to say that their cat, Como, who we had recently looked after while they were away, had been found, run over, more than a mile away from home. They are lovely people and the are heartbroken.

Saturday, 8th September, 2018

Time zones are one of the things that I take time to adjust to. After the last few days spent 2 hrs ahead of UK, we woke at 5.30 am and were up soon after. We had a fairly busy day planned so it was quite helpful. Around 8.30 am, we set off for Worthing. Even then, the coastal road was busy with joggers, cyclists and dog walkers. We parked in the multi-storey car park and set off for the Sports Direct shop in the centre of town. It always amuses me that, potentially, it is most popular with sporty, fit people and yet access to and from the shop is via an elevator. What’s wrong with stairs?

I was picking up a new pair of trainers for use in the gym. I’ve been using the same, cheap pair for the past 15 years and they are beginning to show their age. So am I, of course, but I am not so easily replaceable. (I hope.) We went on to visit Asda and Sainsburys after not doing our weekly shop this week. Home to watch the cricket and then out to the gym. By the time I had done 70 mins exercise there, my watch was showing 16,500 paces completed and I was feeling reasonably satisfied with myself. One eye on the England ‘friendly’ with Spain tonight and one eye on catching up with correspondence.

Another fun-filled day tomorrow. Today has finished with another, old fogey moment. We have had new smartphones for about three weeks. We have both had Huawei P20 Pros. Suddenly, Pauline recently noticed small scrapes on the side of her screen. This really upset her because she had no idea how they had been caused and is meticulous in her care for things. Today, I noticed similar small scrapes on my screen. I ran my finger over them and suddenly realised that the screen didn’t feel like glass. Flicking the screen edge with my finger nail brought up the plastic protector that the manufacturer had covered the screen with and which had started to bubble. I pulled them off both screens which now look pristine. I feel rather more stupid than usual.

Sunday, 26th August, 2018

It’s going to rain today. Folklore dictates that Bank Holiday weekends are wet and the weather will not disappoint. Actually, it will be nice to see some more rain. I need something to kick my lawns back to life. Bank Holidays are irrelevant any way. I bank on-line.

Two weeks ago, we picked up our new smartphones – Huawei P20 Pro – which we are given ‘free’ to maintain our EE contracts. We have unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 10Gb of data which we can also use across Europe, US and Australia. Actually, we each pay £43.00/€47.50 per month. I chose the phones particularly for their cameras. Each phone has 3 lenses all by Leica and includes a 40MP lens with a 5x Zoom. That is far superior to my 10 year old, Canon EOS SLR.

If you want to buy these phones on the open market without a contract, they would cost you £799.99/€895.00 and, for a 2 month promotional period, they are offering ‘free’, wireless earphones. They say, as you can see, that these are sold at £149.00/ although I find it hard to believe. They certainly make them hard to ‘claim’ by making people wait 2 weeks after phone purchase and then scanning in their receipt and uploading the jpeg to their website. Not to be put off, I’ve done it this morning.

Monday, 27th August, 2018

Fuscia Janey

Today is fairly cloudy. We didn’t get above 22C/70F all day and with little sunshine. It is the birthday of my Mother-in-Law. Pauline’s Mum was affectionately called ‘Mump’ by us but was known as ‘Janey’ by her family. Today, she would have been 104 although she died 8 years ago at 96. We found a fuschia called ‘Janey’ and have planted it in her memory. She was short and squat and tenacious and the fuschia suits her perfectly. It disappears every winter and, just when we think it is lost for ever, up it pops from arid ground to flourish beautifully. We remember a lovely woman – Janey Barnes (1914 -2010). Thoughts of her still make her smile.

Slug I murdered & its Friend

I did something terrible today. I feel absolutely awful about it. I killed a slug. It was bin day today and, as I took the first bin out on to the roadside, I noticed a huge slug on our drive. I thought, I don’t want that eating our plants and I ‘deliberately’ ran it over with the wheels of the bin. I killed it and thought nothing more until an hour later when I brought the first of our three , empty bins back in and noticed the squashed and exploded slug was being in kissed/nudged back into life by another slug like some dead elephant being revived by members of its tribe. The slug was obviously dead and the ‘friend’ ultimately realised that but I continued to feel guilty for hours. When we went out to the gym, the dead slug remained alone on the drive.

Tuesday, 28th August, 2018

A lovely warm and sunny day which only reached 22C/70F but felt hotter because of the humidity. Although I am sedentary by instinct, in retirement I have become active by design. Today, we did a tour of shops and Doctors’ surgeries followed by the gym. It amounted to 14,000 paces and a feeling of pleasure.

I read a lot. I read newspapers, political blogs and Greek blogs along with many other things in Twitter and Faceache. It is important to keep up with current information in all spheres. I read Greek Blogs everyday in order to keep me in touch with the country I have invested 40 years of my life. If I wanted to go to any country where I would feel at home it would be Greece. Even so, I am still absolutely convinced that our decision to sell and leave was absolutely right in economic terms and I don’t regret it for one minute.

Though Greece slipped to 24th place on the list of the wealthiest countries in the European Union in 2017 from 14th a decade ago, it remains the 19th dearest state in the bloc, data from a Eurostat report on prices for consumer goods and services showed. Incomes and prices have parted to a worrying degree. Despite the economic crisis and the impoverishment of millions of Greeks, prices for consumer goods and services remained high. On the other hand, the country was cheaper in housing with prices last year remaining below the EU. How lucky were we to extricate ourselves from property ownership?

I’ve read a blog from Skiathos for many years. The Skiathan is a very interesting man and worth following although his blog, like mine is diminished by his departure from Greece. I read a Blog from Simon in Birmingham/Corfu which has amazingly connected to people Pauline &  I know from our academic experiences. Simon Baddeley lives in Birmingham and Corfu and is a lecturer in Social Administration. He featured one of Pauline’s Assistants one day quite out of the blue and we were amazed at the coincidence. We first went to Greece in 1981 which surprises me in retrospect but the Skiathan’s wife only went to the island ten years ago.

We used to leave Sifnos towards the end of September and, sometimes, in early October. We virtually never saw rain in August. This year, Greece has experienced exactly that. Every year we saw bad weather on Greek television with hailstones as big as golf balls featured as they destroyed northern crops. This year, it seems to have gone further south than usual. Skopelos lost electric power for hours after numerous lightning strikes. The joy of these blogs is that we recognise and feel the experiences they depict like this shot of the garage of a Greek ferry. We spent so much of our lives in these suffocatingly hot and smelly places.

Wednesday, 29th August, 2018

Well, it might have rained in Greece but it is certainly raining here this morning against all former predictions. Between 6.30 am – 10.30 am, it came down incessantly. I’m beginning to get a bit worried that, even with rain, my back lawn is not regenerating. Before we go to Tenerife, I may have to get a professional company in to scarify and reseed it. I can’t spend the entire Winter looking out on huge, brown patches.

We went to the Health Club around 12.30 pm by which time the sun was out and the warm world (22C/70F) was restored. We have only failed to do our exercise regime once in the past 18 days. Routine is the important thing here and it no longer feels an imposition. I use the jogging machine for 40 mins while watching the One O’clock News and then I have recently become engrossed in a programme called Murder, Mystery and My Family which is effectively historical research in which two, criminal barristers reinvestigate historical cases of murder where the alleged perpetrator was hanged. They submit their findings to a High Court Judge.

The Rotunda Central Manchester Library

My Masters was a Research Degree in the History of Ideas. The process of discovering and interpreting information from the past is absolutely riveting. Today, while watching the two barristers research their case, I was flashed back 30 years to the hours and days I spent in research for my thesis which was entitled R.H.Tawney and The Medieval Tradition. It was founded in the rise of Marxist Theory informing political thought at the end of the 19th Century and the birth of the Labour Party at the beginning of the new Century. I submitted it, successfully, in 1989 having completed it while I was working full-time as a teacher. In fact, I had been a teacher for nearly 20 years.

Today, 30 years on and many miles away from Manchester, I was on the jogging machine in the Health Club watching a television programme as the two barristers visited the very place where I had spent so long in my own research – The Rotunda Central Manchester Library. Life is full of so many rich coincidences. I got off the jogging machine and kissed my wife who supported me so unswervingly throughout that tortuous process of research. Without her, I would never have completed it.

Thursday, 30th August, 2018

A lovely warm and sunny day reaching 22C/70F – maybe the end of Summer. Certainly, it is quite alarming how quickly the evening light is dying and the morning arriving later each day. The European Union have received an overwhelming expression of opinion from citizens with 8 out of 10 respondents in a European Union online survey supporting the ending of daylight saving time. I must admit, it has been my view for a long time and I would welcome the change. What would be interesting would be if Brexit left UK marooned in the old time-warp while the rest of Europe moved ahead.

Went to the Health Club for a workout today for the 17th day out of the past 18. Yesterday, I wrote about my intellectual, former life. Everything I’ve done since leaving school in 50 years ago has been fairly sedentary. Until then, I was energetic and active every day. I played rugby, did athletics or trained for the two at least 6 days per week while at Grammar School. After that, I was studying and teaching. Both activities involved a lot of sitting down, of writing and reading. Since I retired almost 10 years ago, I have been gradually ramping up the exercise and today my calculator says I have covered a record (for me) 187 miles walking and cycling in the past 28 days.

I was amused to read of the Greek embrace of SIMP – the Sustainable Island Mobility Plan – which

encourages solutions to the mobility issue of the Greek islands by using methods such as the wide limitation of the use of cars, the promotion of carpooling, the introduction of electric vehicles, the reduction of speed limits and the improvement of existing parking spaces as well as the creation of new ones.

Sifnos is being announced as the first SIMP in Europe. Good Luck with that. Like the smoking ban, it will be more ignored than observed. I look forward to the first battery powered ferries to dock in Kamares. They’re on strike again on Monday, anyway so that should cut down on emissions.

Friday, 31st August, 2018

Paradosiako Taverna

We are seeing August out with a lovely, warm and sunny day. The window cleaner has been and left us with sparkling windows but £18.00/€19.90 poorer. It’s worth it though. I’ve mowed what’s left of the lawns and we are tidying up the hedges and weeding the borders to leave the place tidy before we go away next week. The temperature has reached 22C/70F with lovely sunshine.

A three hour stint at the Health Club and home to griddle Tuna Steaks in the garden to be eaten with tomato and cauliflower salads. The last day of Summer is ending well. We will be in Greece in three days and real heat. Looking forward to that. Dinner at Paradosiako, our favourite taverna. Can’t wait.

Saturday, 1st September, 2018

Never an easy month to welcome; we just have to grit our teeth, acknowledge that Summer is over and embrace the Autumn. Happy September to you all.

Certainly the light is changing noticeably. Mornings start later and evenings earlier. Ironically, the weather has spent late August feeling autumnal and gone back to Summer just as the new season begins. This morning is warm and sunny. Ideal to make pupils and teachers not want to go back to school. Oh Dear. How sad! Never mind. We are off to the gym to in an attempt to fight back against the onslaught of infirmity.

I once worked out in an idle moment that we would have, theoretically, emptied our theoretical pension pot if we drew on it for 17 years. With only 7 years to go we are working towards theoretical profit. Of course, it’s all theoretical, fortunately. They will continue to threw money at us if we live to be 100. Over 40 years of pension. Now you’re talking!

Sunday, 19th August, 2018

Well, a grey and mild start to the day. It is just 20C/68F this morning and a little breezy. I’m told it’s Sunday by my phone although it makes little difference to me. It is nice to download a Sunday paper and to watch a bit of Test Match and Football but I can do most of that on so many days that it really doesn’t matter.

Dublin 1979

It mattered to my Mother who would have been 95 on this coming Wednesday. She was a totally committed Roman Catholic and she wanted her 7 children to be so as well. As I developed a thinking mind, I resented it hugely and, the moment I left home at 18, I dropped the ‘pretence’ immediately. Subsequently, all of my siblings have done the same. However, there is a saying that Once a Roman Catholic, always a Roman Catholic and there is some truth in that. For a long time, I didn’t recognise this but Catholicism imbues one with a sense of ‘original sin’ of being subsequently guilty and unworthy. I recognise, intellectually that such a position is not justified but, emotionally, it is much more difficult to jettison.

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature. .. It is the opium of the people.

Karl Marx – ‘A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right’.

Dublin 2018

We see that it is accepted most strongly in oppressed and/or impoverished groups – in the Third World, for example, but also in the black minority in Britain and in the Irish. Religion seems to ‘explain’ their poverty and place in inequality. The gradations of social standing from God in his Heaven, the rich man in his castle and the poor man at his gate made All Things Bright & Beautiful.  Of course, Mum derived from Irish stock and inherited her Catholicism. She was by no means stupid but wasn’t prepared to look critically at her beliefs in the way those born further on in the Century are. She was furious when I told her that, just as she had tried to force religion on me so I saw it as my duty as a teacher to advise children to avoid that pernicious, world view.

I have long militated for the eradication of religion’s place in politics and social administration. I have been extremely heartened by the rapid decline in religious observance in Britain. Today, The Sunday Times runs this article:

Young Ireland says Nope to the Pope

On the eve of another papal visit, in pubs and parks Irish people say the Catholic Church has lost its grip on the nation.

It is enough to gladden an old man’s heart, to raise the spirits of Karl Marx and to answer my Mother’s attempts at indoctrination.

Monday, 20th August, 2018

Taken 40 years ago.

Out early on a warm and humid morning which reached 24C/75F. Pauline was having her hair cut before we leave for Greece in a couple of weeks. The sea front was in busy, holidaymaker mode and the sea looked  blue, warm and inviting. Back home, we booked the installation of a new garage door, a trip to the PYO Farm to pick Victoria Plums which Pauline has a passion for and to arrange a visit to Byfleet to visit her sister.

This time last year, we were in Haydock, Lancashire to say goodbye to Pauline’s cousin, Vivienne who had died of cancer. We are thinking of her husband, Richard who has had a year to come to terms with his grief. Neither of us is confident that we can really imagine what it is like to lose our close partner but know it will happen to one of us ultimately.

We set off for our 8th, consecutive visit to do our duty in the gym. It is becoming easy and routine at the moment and we are looking to increase our efforts by adding a piece of machinery – probably rowing – to our exercise regime. It will be good to get back in to swimming soon when the kids go back to school and the indoor pool repair is completed.

However, target driven as I am, I get real pleasure from screens on my smartphone like the one pictured here. I am uncomfortable if my chart has gaps on its daily report. Pleasure is a full row of yellow bars demonstrating my commitment. A daily average of 13,748 paces covering a total of 48.7 miles for this week makes me feel good. Did you know I was weird? It is something that retirement requires to be meaningful – target achievement. We wrinklies have to set our own targets and drive ourselves on to achievement. We are trying so hard to do just that!

Tuesday, 21st August, 2018

Cloudy and humid start to a day which never dipped below 19C/66F over night. We went out early to the local PYO farm just round the corner from our house. Victoria Plums are ready for picking. They are a favourite of ours. In 20 mins, we had two bags containing 8kgs/18lbs of plums. The trees are so prolific and easy to pick from. It was a delight. By the time we drove home, the temperature was 28C/82F although fairly dull and very humid.

Off to the supermarket for huge bags of sugar so the jam can be made. That is Pauline’s job for the rest of the day. A trip to the gym is cancelled. I am watering the lawn and trying to persuade it to regenerate. The plums were so easy to pick, we ended up with too many really. They have been stoned and quartered and cooked up. After the sugar has been added, I become an enthusiastic Chief Taster. I so rarely get to eat anything sweet that ‘normal’ jam now tastes almost unbearably sweet. Gorgeous!

We have two weeks until we leave for Athens and then a further two weeks until we fly to Edinburgh. My cousin in France has been trying to entice me into a cousins’ reunion in the Charente Department of south west France. That is where we visited her about a month ago and, because of that, we are not in a hurry to return. There are only so many places to visit in a lifetime and we are already planning events for next year. We are hoping to revive an Australia trip in the Spring, a month villa rental in July in Girona over the border from France to Spain, an Athens trip allied to an island visit in September and then a month in the Canaries in November. Quite a busy year.

Wednesday, 22nd August, 2018

Mum & Me in Foremark Woods 1953

Today, my Mum would have been 95 years old. Unfortunately, she died 10 years ago and the pain is rapidly greying into recession. In the photo, I was 2½ years old and she was 30. It is so unsettling how these experiences and memories have run away into the mists of time. It is exactly what will happen to me and my darling wife and to all of you. We cannot escape it but it is so difficult to embrace and accept it.

Living one’s life in the here-and-now is the only option but these pinch points of memory are painful in the extreme and even more so as reality is replaced with the chimera of memory. I remember my relationship with my Mother in the awkwardness of its reality and, talking to my sisters some years on, I am surprised and vaguely shocked that our memories and judgements have an uncomfortable similarity. I wasn’t as odd and mad as I have thought over these past 50 years. Still, I find myself hard to live with.

In the here and now, my lawn is still a dying mess after no rain for the five weeks I was away. I can’t quite decide what to do about it or how far to go to revive it. I may have to re-seed whole areas of it this Autumn although I’m going to be away for a lot of that too. I may have to get a professional company in to advise me although, if we redesign the garden anyway, I don’t want to go mad with the original lawn. What a dilemma!

Thursday, 23rd August, 2018

Woke early – 5.00 am – after a hot and humid night. Left for Surrey around 9.30 am. We were visiting C&P in Byfleet. The first three quarters of the 50 mile journey were pastoral and delightfully quiet. The last section should have joined the M25 but our sat.nav. warned us of a 40 mins delay on our section so we detoured through Cobham which is a delightful town but can be frustratingly busy to navigate. A journey which usually takes us an hour actually took us 90 mins and the frustration made me tired.

It was nice to return to the area. After all, it is only two and a half years since we left, having completed five years living in the area. It is strange how one drops back, almost unconsciously, into the routes and routines of places once so familiar. It was nice to see C&P again. As we talked, I dropped back into the routine of sitting talking and upgrading their iPad as I did so. They never do it for themselves. I’m not sure if they know how to. Anyway, that was always my job – downloading and updating the operating system, updating the apps, cleaning up the messages, etc..

We stayed around three hours and then drove back incorporating the M25 leg without any hold-ups in that direction. Even so, after sleeping for only 5 hours last night and then doing some 2½ hours busy driving, I was tired. Pauline did the cooking – roast cod loin with garlic and white wine fantail prawns and more salad. Two glasses of wine and I was ready for a sleep.

Friday, 24th August, 2018

Woke up at 5.00 am for the 3rd time this week and didn’t really get back to sleep. Beautiful, sunny day with clear, blue sky although a little edge on the air this morning. In the modern way of things and quite without any formal intention, we shop in almost every different supermarket there is according to what my wife considers best quality and best value.

Bananas are my go-to energy replacement food and, although it will sound pretentiously fussy, the bananas from Asda are a quality level higher than all the other suppliers in terms of taste. We eat a box of cherry tomatoes per day on average and are addicted to a variety called Vittoria which we buy in Sainsbury’s. Our salads always include capers which Pauline buys in large jars from Waitrose. The salad is dressed with Kalamata Olive Oil which is great value from Aldi. Any fish that we don’t get from the local fisherman’s shack is bought in Tesco although Morrisons is the only one to always have a supply of fresh, locally caught Octopus and we buy supplies of Whitebait from Iceland.

Because of this, we had a busy morning visiting supermarkets. We also went to the Post Office ‘Sorting Office’ to collect a parcel that we missed while we were out yesterday. The parcel was two more, pairs of shorts for me. I haven’t worn any, normal clothes since the beginning of June. I haven’t slept under the bedsheets in that time either. We are off to Athens and later a month in Tenerife which could well see me extending the naked legs and short sleeved T-shirts until the beginning of December. Long may it last. Global Warming is working for me at least.

Saturday, 25h August, 2018

Another pleasant start to the day with lots of sunshine. The day just struggled to 22C/70F but felt really lovely. It has been quite quiet. Pauline has done a 3rd harvest of our basil pots and made another, huge batch of Pesto which is then bagged up in 50g packs which is enough for one meal for two people. We have about a dozen plants of Italian – large leafed – sweet basil and Greek – small leaved. We already have enough Pesto to get us through the next twelve months but we may have one more cutting in late September.

I have been catching up with correspondence. I wrote to my Sifnos friend, Martin, who I haven’t seen for quite a few years now but we have agreed to visit him to catch up. Instead of just sitting down to watch football now, I try to time my exercise in the gym so I can watch at the same time as sweating. Actually, I really enjoy it and it makes me feel quite virtuous. Today has been another lovely day. We are so lucky. We say that to each other almost every day. If only we could freeze time NOW.

Sunday, 12th August, 2018

Sometimes one has to admit one is an old codger. I plead guilty. On Friday, I went in to the EE shop which is in our local Sainsburys. We have had EE contracts for the past 6 six years and been fairly happy with the service provision. At the end of our last mobile contracts which provided us with 2, Samsung S6 mobiles, we were entitled to new phones if we renewed our contracts. I chose Huawei P20 Pro smartphones for both of us. If you wanted to buy them without a contract today, they would cost you £1600.00/€1790.00 for the two.Going into the EE shop was preferable because we wouldn’t have to wait for them to be posted and have to wait in to receive them plus I could get an Assistant to clone our old phones and save me a few hours. Or so I thought….

We came home with our new phones on Friday and I spent the rest of that day and most of Saturday updating and re-organising all our apps for Organisation – calendars, newspapers, media, etc / Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Chrome, etc. / Finance & Investments / Files & Cloud Storage … and so it goes on. Our phones are insured through a ‘free service’ of our Bank Account so I logged on to alter the details. As I entered the IMEI number to identify the phones, the site told me that Pauline’s was a metallic Huawei P20 Pro but mine was just a cheaper and smaller Huawei P20. Bear in mind, I had just spent 2 days setting it up.

I checked the two phones and, sure enough, mine was distinctly smaller. I checked the box which was identical to Pauline’s with one exception of 3 letters – Pro – and that made all the difference. I felt a bit of an idiot and stupid old codger. Even so the EE Assistant hadn’t noticed either. A trip back to the shop in the middle of Sunday morning and I emerged with a new, Huawei P20 Pro phone and I spent the rest of the day setting it up.

I am a politics geek and a news junkie. I need access to information media at all times. Radio, TV, Newspapers and Politics Blogs over the internet are essential. As soon as we leave the UK on our travels, that is what I become anxious about. How will I access the news? Driving across UK is not a problem but, the moment we roll out of the Tunnel into France, I start to have a problem. Our car provides DAB/VHF/MW/LW radio. In UK, I use DAB. In the early stages of France, DAB is lost but VHF is possible but not for long. I then switch to the poor quality Long Wave which goes a remarkably long way. We could pick up Radio 4 in the Dordogne but it often became lost in the interference of power lines and other obstructions.

While we were driving back at the end July, I was musing on this and suddenly had an epiphany. Our car infotainment unit offers Bluetooth connection. My smartphone offers Bluetooth connection. Perhaps I could Bluetooth the radio on my phone through the speakers of my cars infotainment unit. Today, with my new phone, I established that this process worked. I shouldn’t have a problem next time we drive through Europe.

Monday, 13th August, 2018

Early start because we both had appointments with the ‘dreaded’ Hygienist at our Dentist’s surgery conveniently located in Sainsbury’s next to the EE store. Personally, I hate all Hygienists with a passion too strong to fully express. We have Dental Plans which cover a 12 month period for about £100.00/€121.00 which provided for 2 x dental checkup per year and 2 x hygienist visits per year. She keeps trying to cajole me into 4 x hygienist visits per year but there is as little chance of that as .. (Fill in your own impossibility.). Pauline and I have both bought and been using water jet, tooth picks three or four times a day to keep our teeth clean after food and drink. According to the Hygienist, it has made a major difference so has been worthwhile.

After 20 mins of agony, we went out to do yet more shopping. We eat one, large pack of cherry tomatoes per day on average so we bought another 4 to get us through to next shopping on Friday. Haddock loins with fantail prawns for our meal today with, tomato salad, cucumber & dill salad and rocket salad. Looking forward to it already. Before we go to the gym, I have contacted a couple of firms of garage door installers to come and quote us for an automated, roller door.

Really enjoyed our workout followed by jacuzzi and water jet massage. We were out for about 2.5 hrs. Came home to cook a lovely meal and a bit of relaxation. I have had a garage door company confirm a visit later in the week and I will require at least one more before I choose.

Tuesday, 14th August, 2018

Lovely, warm start to the day. We are in charge of next door’s cat, Como (named after the Italian Lake not the American singer), for the next 4 days. It is quite a responsibility. Our first job is feeding him this evening. Made a note on our online, interactive calendar. Just hope Como reads it and comes home.

Our car has a built in, Garmin Sat.Nav.. It is possible and now time to update the maps. This is done by installing Garmin Direct app on my PC and then downloading the maps – about 3 gb of data onto a usb stick. Then, one has to plug the USB stick into one of the car’s two USB ports and upload the data. Download from the PC takes about an hour. Upload to the car takes about 3 hours apparently. In that time, the sat. nav. cannot be switched off which means the engine must be running continually. This means I need to be with/in the car for those 3 hours.

Did a good workout at the gym, came home and griddled duck breast slices and vegetables – onion, courgette, red pepper and mushrooms in the garden and then completed the car sat. nav. upgrade. It actually took less than 30 mins.. I’ve been putting it off for months because of the inconvenience I was pre-warned about. The meal was lovely and the sat.nav. easy so all went well at the end of the day. Now, at 7.00 pm, the next door’s cat is fed, we have been fed and the sun is shining warmly. The day reached a pleasant 23C/74F. The world is peaceful.

Wednesday, 15th August, 2018

Overlooking Genoa Port – July 2017

A lovely day which reached 23C/74F. We have spent a lovely day doing ordinary things like mowing and feeding the lawns and exercising at the Health Club. At the same time, the Italians are still reeling from the collapse of a major, highway bridge just a few hundred metres from where we were exactly a year ago. July last year, we were staying in the Holiday Inn Genoa overlooking the port and just a few hundred metres from the bridge that has collapsed. We loved Genoa but there but for fate go we!

We bought the first Honda CRV to arrive at our Dealership in Huddersfield back in 1998. We proceeded to have a new one each year for quite a while until we got much nearer to retirement. I think we have had 13 over 4 different models over the years. Our current car has done just 17,000 miles in 27 months. However, we have been keenly anticipating the new model – the 5th generation – which is due out in early 2019.

It is a hybrid engine with continuously variable transmission powering all-wheel-drive. It features automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, lane departure warning and lane keeping assist as standard. It will have a hybrid engine option for the first time. Honda calls the new system Intelligent Multi Mode Drive (i-MMD), and it comprises a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors and gives automatic stop-start action. Looking forward to that and we’ve now learned it will be only 30mm wider than the current one so, with the new, garage door, it will continue to be garaged.

Thursday, 16th August, 2018

A warm but damp start to the day. It improved but didn’t register above 19C/66F. Fortunately, I had cut and fed the lawns yesterday so the rain was very welcome. We did our weekly, Tesco shop and then a full workout at the gym.

By the time we got home, the sun was out and the day was lovely. We cooked roast salmon and pesto served with salad for our tea and the day ran down quietly. We never cease to be amazed at how lucky we are to have this time together. Nearly 10 years now of comfortable and interesting retirement. Preceding generations could only have dreamed of such luxury. We leave for Athens in a couple of weeks and our hotel, The Athens Electra Palace, has been voted the best placed hotel to book for people visiting Athens. We have been using it for so many years that we almost take it for granted but we are not surprised by its rating.

We have been there so many times, it feels like a home from home and Athens, that once felt dirty, noisy and a bit aggressive, now feels warm, homely and very familiar.

Friday, 17th August, 2018

Up early this morning on a lovely, bright and sunny morning but one which had just a touch of Autumn in the air. Yesterday at 7.00 am, the temperature was 19C/66F but this morning read only 13C/55F. That’s come a bit too soon but it is only two weeks until September. (Back to school – Ha Ha!). At 8.30 am, the garage door company arrived to measure up and give me an estimate for a new, automated, roller door which will give me 10″/25.5cm more width on the entrance. This will make all the difference in putting the car away each night.

The cost is more than I at first anticipated because we have a non-standard door width opening. Apparently, it is wider than standard. Goodness knows how people drove through anything narrower. They would need to be a midget in a Smart Car to make it.

Anyway, I have offered the old door to our neighbour across the road who has dented his and he is pleased to accept it. For years we have had automated garage doors and it will be good to get back to that. This door sits neatly on the inside of the garage and rolls up into a box over the lintel. We will have two fobs for the operation plus a control on the wall.

The world is full of ‘old people’. Well, my world is. It struck me as I stood at the checkout of Sainsburys at 9.30 this morning. Looking round, everyone apart from the workers was grey haired, wrinkled and rather slow. I was getting increasingly agitated as I tried to negotiate slow thinking, slow acting, slow, slow, old people. Am I being insensitive and unkind? I’m sure I am and I’m equally sure that it will come to me … but please not yet!

Saturday, 18th August, 2018

Yesterday morning felt slightly Autumnal. Last night was warm and humid. This morning at 6.30am, I was listening to Farming Today on BBC Radio 4 coming from a Herefordshire farm and the commentator pointed out rows of swallows roosting on the telegraph wires. Anyone with country knowledge knows that that is a sure sign of Summer drawing to a close and the onset of Autumn. At home, as a boy, I would watch from my bedroom window as the numbers of swallows got so many that the phone wires seemed to sag under their weight as they twittered away before leaving en masse for a warmer, African winter. It still feels too soon so let’s hope it’s a false start.

When we started to live in Greece until well through the Autumn, we were always shocked by how the weather seemed to know that September had arrived. It continued to provide lovely weather but with almost instant inconsistences. If you monitor Greece and the Greek economy like I do – sad person that I am, you will be hearing the constant refrains about surging tourist arrivals and the imminent possibility of the country escaping the close attentions of its European creditors. The intention is to create an atmosphere of rising optimism even though many, perhaps most, Greeks are still hurting from their reduced circumstances.

Greece-Turkey bilateral trade at £3.05 bln / €3.4 bln in 2017

However, just as hopes may be rising of a better future, a perfect storm may be about to crash around them. Close neighbours and trading partners, Turkey, are feeling the heat as the Turkish lira crashes. Greek companies that export to Turkey are concerned that the collapse against the euro and the deterioration of consumer and business confidence in the neighbouring country will affect their exports this year. Greece currently has a trade surplus with Turkey but there are fears that this could be reversed if the Turkish economy dips into recession.

Another neighbour of Greece, Italy, is bracing for a debt crisis like the one it suffered in 2011, fears that have been exacerbated by the problems in Turkey. Moody’s and another big ratings agency, Fitch, will announce if they are going to downgrade Rome. That comes at an awkward time as the economy is slowing and the European Central Bank is reducing the size of its monthly bond-buying program. On both sides, Greece is facing a potential reduction in demand for its products. Total reliance on tourism is a dangerous thing.

Sunday, 5th August, 2018

Up early on another beautiful morning. After breakfast, we went down to the beach for a walk.  It was absolutely delightful. We walked for about an hour from Goring to Worthing Pier. The sun was strong and the crowds were absent at 9.30 am..

Packed beaches in Worthing.

As a child, I remember going with my parents to the seaside, and being told to “smell the ozone”, as it was healthy and good for me. You could certainly smell the “ozone” this morning. We took huge lungsful of it as we walked along. Actually, I’ve since found out that the distinctive (seaside) smell is not ozone, it is dimethyl sulphide and inhaling it is not necessarily good for you.

Be that as it may, we did our walk and then went home and into our sun-filled garden to empty our crabs of their bounty. A 0.5 kg of crab meat was mixed with a 0.5 kg of cod to make a 1kg of delicious, Crab Pâté. Garden cleaned of crab shell, we headed off to the Health Club and did our full session. Back home and in scorching sunshine, we griddled swordfish steaks in the garden and ate them with wonderful tomato salad.

The day has finished with us saying to each other – I’ve really enjoyed today. – as we seem to do at the end of most days. What more can one ask of retirement or any life stage? We are enjoying life so much that I am constantly checking over my shoulder to see if some harbinger of doom is lurking. If it can happen to a Chuckle Brother, it can happen to anyone.

Monday, 6th August, 2018

Absolutely blazing hot morning which reached 29C/84F by mid morning and 30C+/86F+ in the afternoon. We had a man from British Gas booked to come and replace the ridiculously complicated analogue controls for the central heating with Hive digital ones. While I was waiting, I mowed the lawns and ran the water sptinkler on them for a couple of hours. Because we missed our window cleaner while we were away in France, I did all the windows and the door at the front of the house.

When the engineer did arrive, it turned out to be a lad from a few houses away who had been assigned to our installation. The original controls were replaced by digital ones linked to my internet hub. We have dual zone heating and hot water which separately controls upstairs and downstairs. Now, all of that can be controlled from my iPad, smartphone and computer across the net and from anywhere in the world. Although that sounds fanciful and pointless, it would have been very useful when we were in France for five weeks and will be very useful while we are in Tenerife for a month in November.

It is also so easy to use compared with the intricacies of the older controls. Of course, after one has absorbed the ease of on-line control of the heating, one can go on to extend the uses to power plugs and light bulbs. Anyone who goes away for any length of time will be familiar with the needs to install timers for lighting to foil/fool burglars and, maybe sound/radio to give the deception of house occupation. It also appeals to gadget geeks and computer freaks. Guilty!

There are some occasions when one takes a leap of faith and immediately regrets it. As an instinctive ‘early-adopter’, I have been through that many times. This has proved an instant justification for taking that risk.

Tuesday, 7th August, 2018

Another beautiful day – how long can we say that? – It was 31C/88F as we set off for the Roundstone PYO Farm which is less than a mile away from home. The farm is huge – big enough to use a small set of tractor drawn carriages to take people to the varied picking fields. Strawberries are mainly over but raspberries are in full swing along with soft fruit such as red/white/black currants, blackberries, rhubarb, plums, runner and French beans, cabbages, cauliflowers, sweetcorn, courgettes, beetroot, onion etc..

We only wanted raspberries today because Pauline is making jam. In less than 40 mins, we picked 5kgs of luscious raspberries in scorching sunshine, paid just over £5.00 per kilo (Tesco is £12.00) for around 5kgs and drove home. We went off to Tesco to buy 5kgs of sugar and the jam will be made tomorrow because we are not going to the Health Club. Tomorrow, we are having Lunch with our next door neighbours.

As I opened my local paper on-line yesterday, I was shocked to find onw of my 6 sisters staring out at me. She reminds me of my Mother which is shocking enough in itself.

Nothing surprises me greatly anymore but this really did come out of the blue. It shows how isolated members of my family are from each other.

Wednesday, 8th August, 2018

We are not going to the gym today for the first time in 10 days. We are going out to have lunch at our neighbour’s house. Before that, I have been exploring a problem we have with our car and garage.

For most of our life, we have had large, double garages and usually with large, double doors remotely controlled. It makes life so easy and convenient. Here, we only have a single garage with a single, (narrow feeling), manually operated, up-and-over door. Our car is large and wide and has a tolerance of about 5″ either side as we drive through the doorway. This is made particularly narrow by the door mechanism being bolted on to the side walls with their aluminium struts and guides. Driving in and out without accident requires two of us – one steering and the other shouting from behind – even though we have reversing sensors and a reversing camera with guidelines.

A must-have, new model of our Honda CRV comes out at the end of this year and, horror of horrors, it is wider than our current model. I think this will be our 12th or 13th new CRV and they have gradually become more ‘butch’ in design to suit the American market. This has meant putting on more bulk. Short of demolishing the garage and rebuilding it, I was coming to the conclusion that we would have to park on our drive as all our neighbours do on theirs. Throughout our lives, we have been the exception to the rule in many things and putting our car in the garage has been one of those things.

My wife, who is extremely practical, looks like she’s solved the problem. A motorised and remote controlled, roller shutter door which doesn’t fit on the inside entrance pillars but behind the entrance and takes up little extra room at all looks like the way to go. I have done some research of providers and the cost is remarkably little. Delivered, installed and with two, remote control units, the cost is around £1000.00/€12,00.00. You can’t say fairer than that although I will try to beat them down a bit by getting three quotes and playing one off against the other .

Thursday, 9th August, 2018

Well, how lovely to wake up to rain. That’s exactly how we felt in Greece when we got an unexpected downpour. Like manna from heaven if either actually existed. Quite a bit cooler today. Didn’t get above 20C/68F and with only weak sunshine.

We went out to do our weekly, Tesco shop. We bought sides of salmon, tuna steaks, plus 4 bags of frozen, calamari tubes along with lots of other things. As usual, we do scan-as-you-shop which really suits us. We have a running total of purchases and expenditure on a handset which we clip on to our trolley. At the end, our bags are full of purchases and we transmit our handset to the till which takes our payment – in our case, through our mobile – and w leave without troubling the shop staff at all.

Of course, there is the possibility for theft and fraud. Either not scanning some items or scanning in cheaper items for more expensive ones is a weakness with the system. There has been a huge rise in the sale of (cheap) carrots, apparently, because people were scanning them in instead of (expensive) avocados. The supermarkets noticed that they were selling many more carrots than had ever been in their stock. Actually, I prefer carrots to avocados.

To counteract fraud and theft, the stores do periodically and, apparently, randomly check the till receipt with the goods in the customer’s trolley. Today, it was our turn. You can imagine Pauline’s horror when it turned out I had forgotten to scan not one but four bags of frozen squid. I must admit, I was slightly embarrassed myself. Actually, four bags of frozen squid would not my first choice for a theft and the supermarket assistant just smiled it off but what it will do is ensure we are checked quite a few times over the next few visits. We will have to make a number of quick visits to buy single items so we aren’t held up for long periods. Awkward!

Friday, 10th August, 2018

The morning started off beautifully when we got up at 6.00 am but, soon, clouded over and light rain fell intermittently and is forecast to throughout the day. Missing the warm sunshine already so we have turned our minds to going abroad. Amazingly, it is only 2 weeks since we returned from France. The papers this morning are full of torrential rain and flooded streets in France & Switzerland yesterday. Thank goodness we were driving back in that. We are paying for our Tenerife villa today. It is a 3 bedroomed property with its own heated pool on the south eastern coast of  Tenerife which we have rented for the month of November. The cost is quite reasonable compared to a hotel £3,500.00/€3,900.00 + flights which are very cheap.

The villa is within walking distance of the sea and shops, restaurants, etc. and it fulfils my three, main requirements of wifi, pool and English language tv. It has a large kitchen with dishwasher, washing machine and there is a barbecue outside on the patio. More importantly, its location will more or less guarantee us sun and warmth in November and that is worth paying for.

Busy itinerary today. Out to a garage door showroom in Lancing. I bet they don’t have any boils! On to the EE shop to, hopefully, collect our new smartphones and then back home to set them up by exchanging all our aps and information from old to new phones. Finally, we will go to the gym for the 11th day out of the last 12. Impressive or what? OK, what!

Saturday, 11th August, 2018

A second day of not going to the gym. Beginning to feel a bit stir crazy. We’ve been trying to catch up with jobs at home. I’ve been updating our new phones so that all the services we use them for regularly are restored. Although I tried to resist it, I’ve conceded that it would be best to use a case to protect our phones from accidental damage by fitting a case. I’ve found the ‘official’ one which allows one to access the it from the front screen. ‘Officially’, the cover cost £19.99. From Ebay, the cost is £3,85 postage ‘free’. I’ve ordered two.

Sunday, 29th July, 2018

We were told that we would get rain overnight but didn’t believe it. Woke up to rain. Unbelievable! Yesterday, I cut and fed the lawn. This morning, the weather watered it in for me. Be interesting how long it takes for the grass to resume its green and luscious look.

The hydrangeas we planted at the front door seem delighted with the water. Lots of organisations in our area have events planned for today and they are definitely not pleased to see the break in the weather.

We went out for the 10.00 am opening of Tesco. As we walked round, Pauline remarked on the dull lighting over the fruit and vegetables. When we got to the check-out, we realised why. This Tesco doesn’t open until 11.00 am on a Sunday. Archaic law. It will have to change!

The day has remained damp/rejuvenating throughout. I look forward to my grass updating very soon. We will restart our gym routine tomorrow. We have five weeks until we fly to Greece and I am determined to work hard to earn that indulgence.

Monday, 30th July, 2018

Liz & Caroline

Lovely to wake up to rain again this morning. Quite warm and we reached 25C/77F although fairly cloudy for most of the day. We are expected to rise to 31C/90F by the end of the week with high humidity. I will keep watering the lawns. They are showing real signs of regeneration already.

It has been a day of reminiscences which never goes well with me. I was opening a box file in our office and this photo fell out. It pictures my two, youngest sisters, Elizabeth (now 60  and Caroline (now 56). Of course, they live in my head with this image because I left home shortly after this to go to college. My first foray into tertiary education was to take up a teacher training place at the Anglican, all-women’s College in Ripon, North Yorkshire. As a (nominal) Roman Catholic male, I couldn’t have asked for better. I was one of 20 men in college of 600 women. Religion was suddenly irrelevant to almost everyone.

Today, those members of the ‘lonely’ 20 men were posting reminiscences of their of their own. I, embarrassingly, featured in a number. One recorded our production of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt in which I played the Button-Moulder. I didn’t enjoy it. I am not comfortable on stage or, indeed, in a theatre but it was a requirement of subsid. Drama. I also wrote my own 15 mins sketch called ‘Sentimentality’ which bombed and was not revived. Thank goodness.

Went to the gym for the first time in over 6 weeks and did a full work out. Felt good and we really enjoyed it. We have maintained our fitness while abroad by doing plenty of walking and swimming. Now we aim to move on and extend our routines. I have to start doing some sit-ups to strengthen my stomach muscles.

Tuesday, 31st July, 2018

July is ending with another beautiful day. I think we had quite heavy rain over night -certainly, the lawns were cheering – but this morning is clear blue sky and lots of lovely sunshine. We have only reached 22C/70 F but it has felt delightful. We did a second, full workout at the gym but, at last, I got round to giving the car an inside/outside valet for the first time since we returned from France a week ago.

Since getting back from our travels,  I have switched our dual fuel power supply from BG …. to BG but on a new and improved fixed tariff. I’ve also booked an engineer to install Hive Active Heating which will connect our boiler controls to our broadband hub and allow us to control it using apps on our smart phones and our iPads.

This system is really just a digital control backbone which can ultimately be expanded to add controlled electrical sockets and light bulbs allowing remote control of many electrical items as well as delivering surveillance video stream to us across the net. Really appeals to a geek like me.

With our bank account, we get ‘free’ annual travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and unlimited entry to and services of airport lounges across the world. Having a pre-existing health condition – atrial fibrillation – I have to pay a top-up premium. Pauline renewed our cover this morning for the next twelve months and it hadn’t gone up at all.

Wednesday, 1st August, 2018

Happy August to all readers – I almost forgot. Where am I on the Dementia Gradient?

We live within walking distance of the sea but rarely go down there. Every time we visit Worthing town, we are surprised that it is on the beach. Today, we had some things to look for – Aftershave for me, Trainers for Pauline etc. – and we drove down the seafront road, past the pier and to the multi-storey carpark where we go right up to the top for the views.

View from a Carpark.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, warm, sunny and bright, reaching 22C/70F. For Worthing, it was open market day but the town didn’t feel particularly busy as a French market day would. On the beach edge there was a tawdry fair ground although not many takers for rides at 10.00 am.. Purchases made, we headed home and then did another, full exercise session. We are really enjoying getting back into this routine and celebrating the fact that we haven’t lost any of our fitness over the 6 weeks away.

Thursday, 2nd August, 2018

Woke to another wonderfully clear and sunny blue sky at 6.30 am. Actually, we remarked on the early darkness last night. It seemed to be coming earlier in spite of a completely clear and starry sky. I know we are past the tipping point but to be noticing shorter days already is a bit of a shock.

My Mother would have been 95 this month and my Father would have been 103 in October. Going through their mementos, I found a leather folder of honeymoon records. They married nearly 70 years ago and honeymooned in the Cotswolds. Mum had saved for all those years after Dad’s death in 1965, pictures of their honeymoon accommodation and the receipts for everything from their rooms to the meals and even room service. One, particular hotel stood out for me – The Lygon Arms Hotel in the Cotswolds situated between Banbury, Worcester and Cheltenham. Mum always talked highly of her love of the Cotswolds although I’m not aware she ever went back.

The Lygon Arms – Cotswolds

This morning, I received an email from a company called Chic Retreats offering three nights of absolute luxury in a Cotswold hotel called The Lygon Arms. It’s not somewhere that I would choose to stay. I really do prefer modern over ancient. Obviously, it was to Mum’s taste and had very special meaning for her.

They were only staying there for two days en route to The Fortfield Hotel in Sidmouth – a hotel which was very grand but burned down a couple of years ago. Unusually, I have Mum’s record of their stay in The Lygon Arms with all the charges they paid. They were there for the 22nd & 23rd April, 1950. I was born on 6th April, 1951 so one pre-conception is shattered.

Friday, 3rd August, 2018

Absolutely gorgeous day of blue sky and strong sunshine which peaked at 30C/86F. We walked down into the village to take a parcel to the Post Office. It is an easy and enjoyable walk from our house which takes about 10 mins..

We are always shocked to find that our village is on the ‘tourist track’ and, as we walked through the village centre this morning, tourists were having their breakfast outside the The Lamb and the sunshine underlined the ‘holiday’ character of the village. Our coast is renowned for its reputation as the sunniest in UK and people are prepared to pay for that on their holidays.

I am continuing to irrigate the lawns to bring them back from the brink of five weeks baking hot neglect. That was the order of the rest of the Morning while watching the Test Match. Off to the Health Club at lunchtime for a 2 hr session. The indoor pool is being drained for restorative work so the outdoor pool is like Blackpool at this time of the year.

We drove home to griddle (French), swordfish steaks in the garden. We dressed them with olive oil and lemon and ate them with salad. I was thinking this morning that, without any conscious intent, I hardly ever eat red meat. A popular choice during our time in France was a pate of white fish and crab. As soon as we got home, we made our own with cod and a dressed crab. Tomorrow, we will go down to the Fishermen’s Shed to buy two, fresh crabs to make some more. I love it.

Saturday, 4th August, 2018

After a night in which the temperature didn’t fall below 19C/66F, the morning opened a little hazier than normal but soon reached 24C/75F and is expected to peak at 28C/82F this afternoon. We went out early to walk by the seaside and buy a couple of crabs from the fisherman’s shed. Families were already arriving and setting out their pitches on the beach. Many looked as if they were there for the day with chairs, tables, umbrellas and cool boxes. Children were charging down into the sea with gay abandon that only the young can exhibit.

Littlehampton Crabs – 2 for £16.00/€18.00

Instead of destroying the kitchen, we will take all the meat out of these crabs outside in the garden where we can afford to make a mess. It will be quite enjoyable to work on them in the sunshine.

Sunday, 22nd July, 2018

Week 500. You have to admit, it demonstrates perseverance/obduracy at the very least. I was pondering on this tangentially this morning. I do tend to commit myself to things. Since 1984, I have bought Honda cars. I have been an IHG member for many years and collected many ‘points’ and ‘free’ hotel rooms over that time. I became hooked on Greece, in general, and Sifnos, in particular, over a period of 35 years. Currently, we have been using hotels from the Accor Group and it has been causing me a bit of angst and a sense of betrayal. I’ve been trying to analyse what it is about my character that leads me into this enjoyment of continuity.

I would like to say that I had the answer but I don’t. I certainly don’t give in easily. If I’m in a fight over something, I will not stop until I’ve won or it is absolutely obvious that I can’t. I am incredibly loyal to people who gain my trust but cut them dead immediately if they betray me. The Blog began to help me record my life and shore up my memories for the final 20/30/40 years (perm any number) and has become a friend in itself. I feel totally committed to it. It will be lovely (for me at least) to begin Week 1000 in 2028 when I am 77 years old and, who knows, Week 2000 in 2048 when I am 97 although I won’t be holding my breath even if I’ve still got some.

Le soleil se lève sur le lac asséché ce matin.

This morning, we woke up in our room in the Novotel (Accor Group) Limoge Le Lac – which was still minus Le Lac this morning. We had a wonderful breakfast, returned to our room to download our copies of The Sunday Times and prepare for our journey to Orléans. We loved the Limoges hotel and were reluctant to leave it but we’d booked ahead for the next three nights so couldn’t do anything other than leave.

Betrayal but Irresistible!

Our journey to Orléans on this gorgeous, warm and sunny morning was really enjoyable. Just 2.25 hrs of smooth and quite quiet motorway through almost totally empty countryside. Our French hotels are so civilised and check-in time is midday which suits us well. We arrived at our Mercure (Accor Group) Hotel but not before being pushed all around the city centre by road works and diversions that threw our sat.nav. into paroxysms of despair.

We arrived, were provided keys for our room which I insist must be at or near the top so it is quiet with good views. A caveat to that is the availability of a lift and I have slightly questioned the principle after Grenfell. However, that specification is in my membership account ‘preferences’ and I haven’t got round to changing them. Eating a hotel Breakfast in Limoges has left us absolutely podged for the day so we didn’t book the restaurant. We have rested with our newspapers, a glass of white wine and some gorgeous pistachio nuts. We need rest because, tomorrow, we will ‘do’ Orléans.

Monday, 23rd July, 2018

Woke up in a different hotel room and had to find the toilet in the dark. In the previous, Limoges hotel, the bathroom and toilet were separate. I had just learnt that and we moved on. This early morning, I nearly ended up stark naked in the corridor.

Dignity saved for now, we made tea and listened to BBC Radio 4 Today. Before going down to Breakfast, I got dressed. Once bitten ….Hotel Breakfast is judged by the quality of the scrambled eggs and this hotel passed the test reasonably well. Freshly squeezed orange juice is my other test and here it was passed with flying colours. Can’t be doing with hotels that provide ‘long life’ juice from packets/tins.

We ate our breakfast by the side of the pool in lovely sunshine. There were three GB cars in the carpark and near to our table was a family of parents and two, under-fives who were learning all the words of breakfast items in French. They hardly knew them in English. At least Nutella didn’t over reach them. At my age, drinking orange juice, tea and coffee at breakfast has to be followed by a period of rest and renewal before I can venture in to the world inspite of France’s reputation for easy access to public toilets. It gives me an excuse to read my newspaper in peace before setting out to explore the town and its shops.

Would you believe it. Monday is half day opening in Orléans and the shops don’t open until 2.00 pm. We walked in 31C/90F temperatures …. to look at the cathedral. Actually, it is magnificent and infuriating in equal measure. It’s magnificence is infuriating because, when one thinks of the lives consumed in the incredible effort to build that structure and the dwellings they must have lived in set against the cathedral’s edifice, the central futility of the project is laid bare. It is for ‘ruin-bibbers’, as Philip Larkin described us, to walk round on a sunny morning before the shops open and little else.

Tuesday, 24th July, 2018

Sunrise over the cathedral & roofs of Orléans.

Up early. We have a 4.5 hr drive to Coquelles this morning. We are going to endeavour to stay on the Paris ring road and avoid the centre of the city this time. I’ve seen enough of the Arc de Triomphe for a lifetime. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been away or how much we’ve enjoyed ourselves, by this stage, we really look forward to getting home. We have one night in Coquelles and then some shopping to do in the hypermarkets of Calais before we go through the Tunnel tomorrow.

Absolutely delightful drive avoiding the Parisian tourist sights but going close to Arras, the home town of a boyhood friend of mine from Grammar School. No problems. No incidents. Smooth driving on clean, clear motorway. As we drove into the grounds of our hotel in Coquelles, the first thing that struck us was the colour of the grass. When we
stayed there 5 weeks ago, everything was green and vibrant. Today, the grass is a brown and dry mat. The temperature is 31C/89F and humid. Rather uncomfortable. We have a suite in the hotel. We use it so often that we even specify the number now.

We shopped for things and then returned to our suite and laid out a buffet of tasty bits – tomatoes, cucumber, Salmon Pâté, Scallop or Saint-Jacques Pâté, Serrano Ham and a bottle of red wine. We relaxed and read our newspapers, watched the UK news and breathed out. Tomorrow, we will do a weekly shop and then go through the tunnel and drive back to Sussex.

Wednesday, 25th July, 2018

When you’re on your way home, you just want to get on and get there. Well, that’ s how we are. Up at 6.00 am on a hot and sticky morning. Showers and down to breakfast. Nice scrambled egg but the orange juice is not freshly squeezed. It will be tomorrow! Coffee in our suite with the BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ programme and then out to the hypermarket. No wine this time just groceries. Auchan had loins of swordfish (Espadon) and we bought 10, large steaks. We also put 16 duck breasts in our trolley. When we thought we could fit no more in our car’s fridge, we stopped.

It is school holidays and we thought the tunnel would be busy. It was quite the reverse. Perhaps people really are taking their holidays at home. We have never seen the Tunnel car park so quiet.

Our car began to think it was superior as it sat in splendid isolation. We listened to the radio and logged in to the Tunnel’s Wi-Fi while we waited for our train. By 1.00 pm (UK time) we were off and into Kent. The drive back was quiet and enjoyable. The temperature outside was 31C/90F but inside it was 17C/63F. That’s the sort of temperature I like to drive in. It keeps me alert.

Back home, we were shocked to find the lawn was brown. When we left it was a lush green. Fortunately, all our pot plants – herbs mainly – were fully grown. There is so much Basil that it will take Pauline most of tomorrow to make Pesto and freeze it. I had set the heating system for ‘Holiday Setting’ which is ‘frost free only’. Unfortunately, very early on in our absence, there was a local power cut and the heating reverted to default settings which meant that the water was kept hot throughout the five weeks we were away. It also reset the burglar alarm. Still, these are things I will consider and address for next time.

Thursday, 26th July, 2018

I was up at 6.oo am. I will be for a while because I am slow to move out of Central European Time. The watering system that I moved to the figs and olive trees has completely revived them so I am now on a non-stop campaign to bring the lawn back to health. At 6.30 am, I was turning on the watering system for a long day of treatment.

No breakfasts now – just freshly squeezed orange juice, tea and coffee. It’s not a problem. I did find breakfast difficult to eat and it made me feel lethargic for quite a part of the morning. Having my hair cut by my wife because it has really grown over the past five weeks. I’ve then got all sorts of jobs to catch up on. I’ve got investment accounts that need renewing/replacing. I have to update our power supply contracts which run out in a fortnight. I have to organise the new smartphones that EE are desperate to give me to keep our business.

We do everything finance-wise on line. While we’ve been away, using insecure Wi-Fi, I haven’t been able to access our accounts. This morning, Pauline is checking and bringing our bank and credit cards accounts up to date. The credit card is one long list of tolls paid and ‘non-sterling transactions’ to accompany them. Most of our spending was in euros to avoid these charges but, at the peage, a credit card is much easier and quicker.

French & Italian Peage. What Fun!

There is a pre-pay system which we may set up for our next, European drive.

The basil was so strongly grown over the past 5 weeks that we decided to capitalise on it immediately before it turned to seed. There is so much herb that Pauline needed a kilo of Parmigiano-Reggiano and of pine nuts before we could start. After a trip to the supermarket for pesto constituents, we harvested the sweet, Italian Basil plants and Pauline set to making the Pesto. I set the watering system up to slake the thirst of the front garden, the pot plants and then the back garden and, particularly, the lawns. I will have them back to their best before we fly to Athens in a few weeks time.

Friday, 27th July, 2018

A very warm and sticky night. If this sort of temperature becomes a feature of our climate, we are going to have to make changes – ceiling fans or air conditioning units in our bedrooms. The main problem is that we have bought a new-build property because of its most up to date insulation qualities. Our use of the central heating is kept to a minimum. However, those qualities are exactly the ones that militate against keeping it cool in the hot weather. Should have thought of that!

Crab fishing from Littlehampton Marina.

I was up at 6.15 am and had the sprinkler system on the lawn working flat out shortly afterwards. I left it on as we went out to shop at Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose. We also went to Littlehampton Marina to the fishermen’s shed to buy crab.

My wife went fishing for crabs.

Actually, we bought crab and sea bass. The crab will be mixed with cod loin and some thick yoghurt and herbs, which we bought in Tesco, to make a crab-flavoured, fish Pâté.

Tomorrow, we will make the next batch of Pesto and then the Basil will be fed and watered and persuaded to put on growth for at least one more cutting in mid-September after we come back from Greece. We will also harvest three pots of Oregano, two pots of Tarragon and the Chives. It’s going to be a busy Saturday.

Saturday, 28th July, 2018

The day has started off bright but fresher and breezy. We are around 22C/70F with a strengthening breeze that is bringing screaming gulls in from the shore. All around us, farmers are starting to move straw bales to winter stores and are completing their harvesting of grain. It is still only July. Farmers will all be going on holiday at this rate. It is harvest weekend for us too. Today, we made the second cutting of our herb pots with realistic prospect of at least one more to come.

My job was Oregano…

….. and Tarragon…

Pauline did the Thyme and made the Basil Pesto.

Today, we harvested huge amounts of sweet, Italian, big-leaved basil and small-leaved, Greek basil. Because of its fragile nature, it was immediately combined with pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and Parmigiano Reggiano to make the most wonderful Pesto you will ever taste. My wife is brilliant!

Of course, I don’t get to just observe. Today, as well as the Basil, we had to crop Oregano, Thyme, and Tarragon. The Dill, which we cut before we went away, has failed to regenerate for a second crop and the Marjoram has died completely. It was my job to cut and strip the Oregano and the Tarragon. It is a laborious and time-consuming activity and I was glad when it was over. In the meantime, Pauline was stripping the Thyme and cutting the Basil.

Although the lawns are very brown, I have watered them virtually non-stop since we got home on Wednesday. Today, I cut them and fed them. We are expecting some rain over night which will help to water the feed pellets in. I am hoping to get it back to luscious green within two weeks.