Sanders Blog

18th October, 2015

This is the anniversary of the death of Jane Barnes five years ago today.

She is sorely missed.

Up at 6.00 am and out by 7.30 am on a bright and mild morning. We set off for Oldham in Lancashire. This is something of a packed and flying visit. Our first visit is to the crematorium. Five years ago today we said goodbye to Pauline’s Mum, a lovely, kind and determined lady who lived to the admirable age of 96. On this day each year since then, under the damp and autumnal trees, we visit the crematorium record room to read the listing of her death and to mark it in a moment’s thought.

From Oldham we drove to Meltham – a lovely, Yorkshire village that we lived in in the late 1970s.

On from there we drove to Helme – a nearby and even smaller, Yorkshire village we lived in during the 1980s and 1990s.

From there we drove to Brighouse where we had booked a suite in the Holiday Inn. We arrived in time to watch the rugby and to confirm arrangements for Monday and Tuesday.

19th October, 2016

Up early and, after breakfast (How many breakfasts can we survive?), drove down to Honda.

The car was having a 3 hour service. Paul, the Service Manager, who we’ve known for almost 30 years, drove us into Huddersfield town. There began the longest ‘shopping’ trip I’ve done for many years. We walked the length and breadth of the town in delightful, autumnal sun. I had taken a coat but the day was far too warm for that. It was definitely a shirtsleeves morning.

We have loved the town of Huddersfield for forty years. It has a solid, post-industrial majesty which seemed to symbolise all that was admirable in the North of England. Returning after five years and looking with ‘cold eyes’, it is now an impoverished place of very poor people. So many town centre shops are empty or taken over by charities, Pound shops of different hue, quick cash shops. Down at heel and probably out of work people shuffle along the pavements and stare through the windows. When looking for a new house, we had considered returning to Huddersfield. We are so glad we resisted that ‘sentimental’ urge.

After 3 hours, I could take it no more. We phoned Paul who came to pick us up. Our car was ready and, after a chat with Chris and Tracy who we’ve also known for thirty years, we returned to our hotel to freshen up before setting off for Oldham. As we did, our sat.nav. warned us of an accident causing six mile tail backs on the M62. It offered us a diversion over the moors which we took although we drove from strong sun into thick fog as we crossed the moorland. We were meeting our old friend, Little Viv – so called because she’s five foot nothing and named Viv.. We had arranged to have a late lunch at The Old Bell Inn in Delph on the edge of the moors.

The meal was delightful and Viv looked healthier than she has for five years. We parted pledging to meet again soon.

20th October, 2015

Up early and off to Shaw after breakfast to see my old friend, Brian. We spend an hour and a half talking over old times and then drive back to Huddersfield in the early afternoon to prepare for our next meeting. Showered and changed, we drive over to Marsden to meet an old colleague of Pauline’s and her husband. After about an hour or so, we set off for a newish restaurant in the village of Meltham where we lived forty years ago. Actually, the restaurant call Quirky’s, is sited in an old, stone building where we once took furniture to be re-upholstered by a restorer. How times have changed!

After a delightful two hours of talk and wonderful food, we parted and drove back to our hotel. We were both exhausted. We have met and talked to more people in the past couple of days than we would normally interact with in six months of retirement. When you get out of the habit of social relations, re-entering the world is very tiring.

21st October, 2015

Slept really well after a gruelling couple of days and we woke at 6.00 am to a lovely, mild morning with plenty of weak sunshine. After breakfast, we packed and set off for Repton to say ‘Hello’ to Mum & Dad before leaving for Surrey. Mum & Dad’s grave looked fine and Grandad & Nana’s grave even had a flowering geranium placed on it. Who would have done that? I wonder.

We left Repton shortly after 1.00 pm and we’re back in West Byfleet by just after 3.00 pm. The weather was lovely and the colours of Autumn were all around us as we drove. The temperature was around  17C/63F. The last 30 miles saw a fine rain falling as the sun disappeared below the horizon and the temperature fell.

22nd October, 2015

Happy Birthday to the twins – Little Mike & Liz. Unbelievably, they are 58 years old today. What is the world coming to?

A mild autumnal day. At the moment, we are not able to garage our car. It is parked in a visitor’s spot at the back of P&C’s house but under a glorious tree decked out with fiery red and orange leaves. The only problem is they fall every night – on our car. Before we can drive the next day, we have a major clean up to do. At 11.00 am we were doing exactly that. We had a wonderful couple of hours at the Health Club which incorporated hard work on the jogging machine with swimming, Jacuzzi and sauna. Felt so good after that. Must do it again tomorrow.

For our meal, we griddled boneless chicken thighs outside with mushrooms and shallots which we ate with Greek Salad. It was delightful to get back in the diet and exercise routine.

23rd October, 2015

Up early because I have my annual health check at 9.20 this morning. Also, we are staying with Mandy & Kieron for a week from this evening so we have to pack things up before we go. When we return, it is to fly to Tenerife for a month. There is no rest for the wicked, as Sarah will tell you.

Went to the Medical Centre for my annual diabetic review. Usually, I have blood pressure, weight and lower limb check. Not this time. I had already had a blood and urine sample analysed. I was informed today that not only was I no longer classed as diabetic but I even fail to reach the ‘pre-diabetic’ classification. I was given the choice of whether to have an annual check up or not. I chose to continue because I like the pressure of someone else monitoring my progress but it is certainly good news and rather life affirming.

24th October, 2015

Went out at 10.30 am to do a bit of shopping and book a taxi to take us to Gatwick airport in a few days. The return trip to Gatwick from here is £90.00. We are travelling in social hours and thought the price was worth paying. Parking at the airport for a month would be very costly. The problem is where to park our car safely and leave it unattended for a month.

Almost as soon as we got back and unpacked, Pauline had second thoughts and checked the Gatwick site. Unbelievably, a month’s parking in the Airport Long Stay is only £120.00. We booked it on the spot. We will have to cancel the taxi tomorrow. We will stay in the Gatwick Holiday Inn the night before we fly so we don’t have to get up too early.

We’ve booked our seats and will check in on-line so all we have to do is drop off our cases.

11th October, 2015

The day has broken under a soft, blue sky with hazy sun. The temperature is only 12C/54F but it doesn’t feel cold. I’m still in short sleeved shirts and the duvet is still too warm.

After orange juice and tea with the political knockabout of the Andrew Marr programme, we began to pack for France. Next we will be having the car cleaned and doing our oil and tyre check. We’re leaving for the Tunnel at 8.00 am tomorrow.

The Sunday papers aren’t grabbing me today. Most articles are re-runs of last week’s stories. The most pressing headlines are the strength of the ‘Out’ campaign to persuade the British people to vote to leave Europe and the effect the migrant crisis is having on that argument and the massive – £2 Billion – overspend by the NHS in the first six months of the financial year which may well lead to serious rationing of treatments, drugs and operations. Of course, these two stories are effectively combined in the argument that immigration and Health Tourism are prime causes of stress on NHS services.

12th October, 2015

The morning was still dark when we got up at 6.00 am and light was only in its early stages of the sky as we left at 7.00 am. We left early in anticipation of heavy, rush hour traffic on the M25 but it didn’t materialise. We arrived early, were offered an earlier crossing which we accepted but were immediately told that there was a ‘two hour delay because of migrant activity on the French arrival platform. Coffee and iPad newspapers saw us through an hour and then we were called to drive on to the train.

The day by now was blue sky, strong sun and Autumn warmth. Adding an hour to our watches, we were driving off in Coquelles at 12.30 pm. By 1.00 pm, we were in our hotel Suite with a cup of coffee. In the afternoon, we drove down to Auchan hypermarket to buy some bottles of wine and delicatessen snacks for our meal. We have found that to be the best way to control the proportion and content of our meal. If you’ve ever tried eating out in France, you will know how difficult it is to control a diet. This way, we can.

13th October, 2015

A bright and sunny day but undercut by a sharp edged breeze that brings thoughts of winter into autumn. After breakfast, we drove out along the coast road through Sangatte, Wissant and Wimereaux, stopping just short of Boulogne sur Mer. The strong sun lit the sweeping agricultural lands edging the sea shore and the wind driven waves, highlighting and defining the contours with colours and shadows.

Driving back in the early afternoon, we visited Cite Europe where we bought things for our meal – crevettes, prawns, celeriac remoulade, tomatoes and cucumber. We also researched kitchen products for our new home in Sussex. As we were driving back, Pauline took a call from the hotel to say someone had handed in my necklace. Before you express amazement, I’m not accustomed to wearing jewellery but this is a medical ‘aid’. I take warfarin which is an anticoagulant – a treatment for my condition of Atrial Fibrillation – which means any serious cut could lead to my bleeding to death. I had a necklace message made so, in case of a serious car accident, emergency services would know how to treat me. It had obviously fallen out inthe hotel car park and was handed in. It is inscribed with Pauline’s mobile number which was how they contacted us.

14th October, 2015

Quite a cold morning. Actually, the temperature was nominally 11C/52F but felt much more raw in a sharp edged breeze. After breakfast and the newspapers, we drove down to the beach at Sangatte and walked along the coastal fringe towards Calais.

It certainly blew any sense of comfort out of us as we walked towards what looked like rain clouds over the port. What looked like rain clouds suddenly started to deliver over our heads and we ran faster back down the coastal path than I’ve run for a few years. It did me good. Must do more of it. We drove back for coffee and  watched PMQs on BBC2 which we can still get here. Later we drove out to Cite Europe and Pauline did a bit of ‘clothes shopping’. We also filled up with petrol at £0.98/€1.33 a litre. This is considerably better than UK but rather a long way to come to fill up!

15th October, 2015

A cold day that never got above 9C/48F and felt really raw in the morning. We drove out towards Calais market but immediately found the motorway blocked by queues of parked lorries in a ‘stack’ and slip roads on to the motorway blocked by police. Twitter feed reported ‘migrant trouble’ and delays in the tunnel. Fortunately, our sat.nav. allows us to program it to avoid motorways and we meandered through the suburbs and back streets to the town. As you can see from the Town Hall shot, it was distinctly cold and grey.

Later, we went to the wine store to stock up with Phyllis’ favourite Sauvignon Blanc and then on to Auchan for shell fish for this evening’s snack. The evening closed with long, low rays of sun across the hotel lawns out on to which small, brown rabbits emerged from from the shrubbery to enjoy a rich grass Dinner before hunkering down for a chilly night.

Today would have been my Dad’s 100th birthday.

He only missed it by 51 years. What a loss of life and experiences to him and to Mum who spent many lonely years without him. Dad had quite a Victorian upbringing and outlook on life. I wonder if he would ever have embraced the digital age.

16th October, 2015

Tired this morning as we got up for breakfast. We return to Surrey today and, as yet, there is no migrant trouble at the tunnel. Spoke too soon. We checked out of our hotel after breakfast and bought some fish for our meal  tonight from Auchan en route to the tunnel where we were told that there had been a migrant problem early this morning although things were getting back to normal. To be honest, we saw less evidence of illegal migrants around the area than we have for a number of years. What was obvious was the amount of new, security fencing going up.

Even so, we managed to get on to an earlier train than we’d booked and we settled down to coffee and our iPad newspapers to wait for departure.

Back in Surrey by mid-afternoon, we spent the afternoon planning our next trip. We leave on Sunday for a flying visit to Yorkshire. Often, we indulge ourselves with an extended stay but we just don’t have the time this Autumn. It is timed to coincide with the anniversary of Pauline’s Mum’s death. We always mark that by visiting the crematorium and reading her entry in the book. We will also visit my Mum’s grave in Repton. Neither of us believe in god or life-after-death but we use these anniversaries to focus our thoughts, however fleetingly, on their lives and contributions to ours.

17th October, 2015

We are hurtling down the month of October and, yesterday, I received a reminder that I am also hurtling down the years from a ‘Friend in the North’ and a photo of 1973/4. I hardly recognised this hairy monster myself.

The sweet age of 23! Where did those achingly gauche days go? Maybe we will rediscover them one day soon.

4th October, 2015

Everything moves on. Here, the Autumn marches in front of us and the evening temperatures emphasise the change.

We are moving on in the coming week. This morning, our buyers’ Daughter & Son-in-Law came round for a familiarisation session. I had already prepared a ‘Welcome’ folder and it explained everything they wanted to know. They seemed very happy. The buyer arrives from Australia next weekend – long after we have moved out. We can now relax for the last few days here. Everything is in store. Everybody in the legal process is tied in. All we wait for is the prescribed timeline to run its course – like the seasons – and we will become itinerant for about six months.

We are going to get back to our gym work prior to trips to France, Yorkshire and a month – maybe two – in Tenerife. We want to emerge from the winter fitter and leaner and ready for the completion of our new house. February/March will be spent researching flooring and furniture suppliers and we hope to move in in mid-March/early April. Life could be worse!

5th October, 2015

Happy Birthday to my darling wife.

I can no longer sing to her When you’re 64 because she is. As you can tell from the photo, she doesn’t look her age. We are going to celebrate by a trip to the Health Club for an hour and then out for lunch. We are looking forward to Guinea Fowl Kiev at the Maybury Inn.

6th October, 2015

A grey, showery but humid day. We went to the Storage Pod to leave belongings and then on to Phyllis & Colin to deliver racks of clothes. We will move in with them tomorrow afternoon. We are incredibly lucky to have their kindness. We have been saying our goodbyes to all the people we have known around here. Our neighbours and friends who have supported us and shared their concerns. Now, it all falls away and we move on – leaving all cares and responsibilities behind us.

We are in a fortunate position. We have agreed a price for our new property although we don’t need to pay for it for six months. Our capital will make more than £7000.00 in the time it sits in our account. That makes us happy and will go towards the furnishing of our new home. Next week we will be in France on a shopping trip and then a week in Yorkshire. Soon afterwards, we fly off for a month in Tenerife. Home for December and then off for another month abroad before we settle down to planning the furnishing of our new home in West Sussex.

This evening we have recorded readings for Water – Affinity Water, Electricity – Scottish Power and heating generated by our Development’s plant. In six months’ time, we will be looking for new suppliers to service our new property but, until then, we can sit back and relax.

7th October, 2015

A second grey, showery but humid day. I went to bed at midnight last night but was awake, listening to Radio 4 News at 5.00 am and thinking through the jobs we have to do. Everything hinges on a phone call from our solicitor to say that the buyers’ solicitor has transferred the money and it is on its way to our bank account. Then we leave in our own time because the buyer will not be around for a few days.

Pauline is defrosting the fridge/freezer. I’ve emptied and cleaned the coffee maker. The bed has been stripped and the linen bagged up. The bathrooms are empty, the bedrooms are empty, the study is empty and we are gradually withdrawing to the Kitchen and Lounge.I am the gopher as Pauline barks out the orders. Our neighbour, Rosina, knocked lightly on the door at 7.30 am, on her way to work. It was nice of her to call and say goodbye. Our other neighbour – General Vicky – has driven back from Nottinghamshire to say goodbye.

Unlike many other houses we have bought and sold, the leaving process is not really an emotional one here just a logistical one. The sooner now we’re gone the better.

11.30 am and the solicitor has confirmed the ‘Completion’. The money has been transferred. I’ve checked our bank accounts and it has arrived. We’ve been to see General Vicky to say goodbye. The estate agent has phoned to congratulate us and to thank us for our custom. The phone lines have been unplugged, the broadband router is about to be disconnected. We are going out for lunch and onward. Farewell world. Welcome new horizons!

Well those horizons weren’t far off. We got as far as the nearest gastro-pub filled with ladies who like to lunch. Kalamari starters followed by sea bass fillets on a bed of roasted vegetables. A lovely and expensive bottle of Pinot Grigio was ordered but failed to arrive in time for the starter course. I hailed a passing waitress who apologised and brought our £25.00 bottle of white wine. It was a bottle that I buy for £4.00 abroad.

It was delicious with the fish. Pauline ate a sickly chocolate pudding and I had a cheese board selection. When the bill arrived, the wine had not been added and, do you know, I didn’t remind them. I hate being grossly overcharged on the wine. Mind you, I don’t mind being grossly undercharged.

8th October, 2015

A new morning has dawned chilly but beautifully bright with clear, blue skies and strong sun. It is strange waking in a different bed, a different room. We both slept well but we were shattered after the adrenalin packed day we completed yesterday. Today, we will deal with the aftermath. I’ve got to move money to investment accounts to make the most of this six month hiatus. We have to sort out all the ‘stuff’ we have brought with us so we don’t clog up our relations’ house.

We will spend a couple of hours at the Health Club today and most days until we leave for Sussex. We’ve got three trips coming up before Christmas and we’ve chosen our hotels carefully so that they’ve got gyms and pools. While our lives are disrupted, we must keep some things constant.

9th October, 2015

Another glorious start to the day. Let’s face it, they usually are when you’re retired. The sun is up. The sky is blue and we’ve got so much left to do ….. This morning, I have spent an hour charging up, updating and working out Colin’s new, Garmin sat. nav. I don’t know why I abbreviate the words but anything more seems less appropriate.

After a hard couple of hours in the gym and the pool, we drove back to our temporary home and griddled large kalamari with peppers and onions outside in the garden which was bathed in sunshine and a temperature of 20C/68F.

We’ve spent the afternoon going through furniture brochures for our new house.

10th October, 2015

As the sun streamed in, we spent the morning making future plans and enjoying these brief moments of not having the responsibilities of property ownership. A trip to Asda for beef steaks. The sell a wonderful quality Aberdeen Angus Filet steak which we griddle medium rare.

It melts in the mouth with gorgeous flavour. It goes so well with Greek salad. We spent an hour and a half at the Health Club in the gym and the pool and then back for griddled Sea Bass filets, mushrooms and onions with salad.

We cooked outside again. The middle of October is delightful here. Now, we are off for a week in France. We hope the season will continue.

27th September, 2015

Blue sky and strong sun all day although the temperature is beginning to drop this evening. Pauline is enthralled by the night sky, stars, planets and the moon. Harvest moon tonight appeals to me because of the poetry and romance associated with it. For Pauline, it is a scientific occurrence that is fascinating.

It is reported that:

The Moon will turn a rusty hue in the early hours of Monday and may seem larger in the sky. The event is caused by a total lunar eclipse coinciding with another astronomical event called a ‘supermoon’.

We are also told that Surrey will be cloudless at 3.00 am when the eclipse is likely to be viewable. I have a feeling that I may be tired all day tomorrow.

28th September, 2015

Tired this morning. I was in bed at midnight last night and then woken to get up and view the night sky at 3.30 am. It was worth it though and we didn’t even have to leave the bedroom to be able to watch the moon turn red.

We woke again to another beautiful day of blue sky and strong but obviously lower sunshine. The day reached 20C/68F. We continued to tick the jobs off for our move in ten days time. Pauline also produced questions we want to ask about our new house build when we drive down there tomorrow morning.

29th September, 2015

The gorgeous weather continues. We are about to enter our final week here and we are driving down to Sussex this morning to see the progress on our house. The temperature is  20C/68F once again with strong sunshine.  The journey is really enjoyable and the South Downs look wonderful in the sunshine. We arrive in about an hour and discuss the minutiae of kitchen fittings – units, flooring, taps, etc.. We discuss fitted wardrobes, Hall flooring until I can take no more and we fix a follow up meeting before we leave for our month in Tenerife.

We drove down to the village which was bathed in sunshine. There are a couple of pubs – although we never use pubs at all – a Post Office, a Co-Op, a Butchers, Bakers and Odds & Ends shop. There are a couple of restaurants and a church. It is a stereotypical English village with a cross on a triangular green in the centre. All is as it should be. The locals seemed very friendly. Some even spoke to us.

30th September, 2015

Already the end of September. We are in our last week in Woking as citizens. It doesn’t feel as momentous as some house moves we’ve made. After all, we’ve only lived here for two of the four years we’ve owned it. It will be about twenty weeks until our new house is ready to move in to but we will be abroad for about half of that time. In our tradition, I ordered a framed picture of the property to put up in the next Study. It arrived today, only cost me £50.00 and took five days from ordering.

The sun has shone all day again and the temperature reached 23C/73F. We sat outside for an hour or so and Pauline griddled sweet-fleshed sea bass in the garden. We ate it with salad. What a wonderful meal!

1st October, 2015

Happy October!

It’s a glorious morning here in Surrey but I suspect it is across Britain. My old stomping ground of Ripon in North Yorkshire is featured in a lovely photo on the front of The Times this morning.

This is Studley royal park. When Jeremy Corbyn comes to power, it will be renamed Studley Park.

2nd October, 2015

Needed some financial advice. Phoned our private banking manager. Asked a couple of salient questions. Met with a blustering response. Found I knew more about the situation than the banking manager. A bit disconcerting.

Last time we sold a property, we had to split the proceeds between four, separate banks. Each bank guarantee of deposit covers £85,000 per person or £170,000 for our joint accounts. Because it is a Europe-wide guarantee, it is expressed in Euros (€100,000) and then converted to Pounds Sterling. With the declining strength of the Pound, this guarantee will reduce in January to £75,000 per person or £150,000 for a joint account. The one caveat to this is that the FSCS will provide a £1 million protection limit for temporary high balances held with your bank. Proceeds resulting from the life events such as Real Estate transactions (property purchase, sale proceeds, equity release) are categorised as temporary high balances.

One would have thought that a personal banking manager, providing a service we pay highly for and supposedly an expert in exactly this sort of transaction, would have this information at her finger tips. When I read the details out to her directly from the Financial Compensation Services Scheme website, she expressed surprise and pledged to instruct the rest of her colleagues at the bank. Good luck with that! If she applies, she could pass her GCSE Oral with that speech.

3rd October, 2015

The end is nigh. We leave our apartment in five days but the Study has to be dismantled TODAY! I’ve been putting it off. I can do it no longer. Normal Service is going to be disrupted.

The broadband router will remain active until minutes before we leave so I can use Wi-Fi on my laptop and iPad but it’s not the same.

The trees around us are turning to glorious, autumnal colours. The lawns were striped by the gardener yesterday. Why does it always look so nice when one is leaving? But leave we must. The next stage of our journey is beckoning.

RIP Denis Healey – a boyhood hero of mine -who has died at the age of 98. The world of politics will miss your strength.

20th September, 2015

Gorgeous day. We were up early and emptying our garage to take everything to the storage for the next few months. We drove through warm sunshine loaded up with boxes. We now only have immediate necessities for the next couple of weeks and clothes which still have to be packed.

We came home and griddled fillet steak and vegetables – shallots, courgettes and mushrooms – outside in the delightful day. Fresh, British strawberries, raspberries and blackberries with a dollop of yoghurt have been our pudding every day for months. They are wonderful and I am addicted.

In Greece, the writing is already on the wall. New Democracy have conceded defeat to Syriza who look to be achieving around 35% of the vote – just short of a parliamentary majority.

The lunatic Golden Dawn have gained around 7.0%. This may well be their nadir and one from which they will subsequently fade over the next few years.

The re-election of Syriza means the bailout terms will be adhered to and anything else the EEC demands. The Single Property Tax (ENFIA) which has been levied over the past two or three years is based on the surface area and not the actual value of the property. This has led to tax rates which have outraged the property owning classes. The annual tax rates come close to 2 percent of the real value of a property, while the real tax rate on the income that a property can fetch often exceeds 50 percent. We were so lucky to get out before they impacted upon us and, in a weird way, grateful to Stavros for completely bungling our building finances which delayed the legalisation of our power supply which delayed the signing off of our property build which delayed the levy of the tax. All those Greeks who own small, old properties – often inherited and unused for years – are paying the price for the indulgence.

21st September, 2015

A damp autumnal day today full of mists and mellow fruitfulness. We’ve now packed and moved almost everything bar our clothes to storage. All services – Burglar Alarm, Electricity, Water, TV/Broadband/Phone have been alerted. Our Buyer’s Welcome Pack has been finished so we can enjoy our last couple of weeks here. We intend to make a trip down to Sussex in the next few days to see how far the build has moved on since the end of August.

Heavy rain, strong winds and low temperatures have hit many areas across Greece on today but something more serious is about to hit middle class self-employed Greeks and that is taxation. Syriza are keen to replace cuts in pensions for the poor with taxation on those who can afford to pay – middle class self-employed Greeks who have avoided paying for years.

Kathimerini reports:

The Greek property market remains a global laggard as the continuing decline in prices means the country still ranks among the worst performers in the world in this respect. According to the latest survey by the ‘Global Property Guide’, on the second quarter of 2015, the local property market had the third worst performance among 40 countries as property prices dropped by 5.92 percent on an annual basis.

Higher property taxes accompanying plummeting property values is a recipe for extreme pain and stasis in the market.

22nd September, 2015

Warm but sporadically heavy rain this morning although we are told the afternoon will dry up. Hope so because we are taking our filing cabinets to the store if the weather’s alright. This morning I’ve been producing a timeline of what is happening to us between now and the middle of December just so I can keep a handle on things.

I’ve also been preparing a picture of our Duplex for framing. We have a tradition of framing and mounting a collection of photographs of the properties we’ve bought and sold over our married lives and I will put them up in the Study of our new house. I will even include the advertising sign that was mounted on the gate of our Greek property for the best part of a year before we sold. It will look good in the new house.

There is a sharp cartoon in Kathimerini today:

and you do have to wonder how much he is benefiting the majority of Greek people.

23rd September, 2015

The Autumn Equinox – equal night and day. I must admit, I make no concessions to it – up at 7.00 am and to bed at midnight is my unerring routine. Today, we all but completed packing and removal of all our goods and chattels with the exception of the clothes we will need in the next few weeks. We still have space in our storage pod so we can get in quite easily to retrieve things if we need them.

Today, I took the lovely, Lavender plants – Stoechas Pedunculata –  that have flowered all summer in pots outside our front door and planted them out in the beds as our own contribution to the communal gardens.

We leave, putting the keys through the letterbox as we go, two weeks today.

24th September, 2015

Interesting day. Lovely, sunny, warm weather. We griddled filet steak and vegetables outside in the garden for our meal. We completed the purchase of our new property by transferring 10% of the purchase price with the other 90% to follow in around 4 – 5 months. It turned out to be a very old fashioned affair in which we could only transfer a maximum of £20,000.00 on-line so we actually had to drive to a bank branch to send the deposit. Haven’t been in a bank for a very long time.

We are going down to see building development on Tuesday. Apparently, the roof is on and windows and doors will soon make it watertight. This will mean that the winter weather won’t hold development up. It is timed for completion by March. We are hoping for earlier.

25th September, 2015

Lovely day full of sun and blue sky. We did a quick trip to the surgery for my blood test – pre-annual review – and free ‘flu jab. Off to Tesco for our weekly shop because we have a fistful of money-off coupons to lure us back plus very cheap petrol. We filled the car for £1.05/€1.42 per litre today. We are having to think very carefully about our shopping needs with only 12 days left here. Today, we griddled squid (calamari) in the garden and ate it with Greek salad.

26th September, 2015

It has been a lovely, long day of sun and blue sky. I must admit to rather an inactive day at my computer to keep up with correspondence and in front of the television to watch two Premiere League matches and the England – Wales rugby match from Twickenham. I did do the cooking and that was outside again – griddled chicken with griddled vegetables.

Pauline continued to pack boxes. My one contribution was to remove the wine racks from the walls – they provide 140 bottle storage and will be useful at the new house although, I’m going to have a wine cooler fitted in the new kitchen.

They store so many bottles, it takes me all week to get through it. We are going to France soon so I will have to moderate my buying until we’re settled again.

Can you believe the report this weekend in Greek Reporter amongst others:

The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) reports that the phenomenon of illegal accommodation sites is constantly growing in the country, causing great problems for the authorities, due to tax evasion.

Tax evasion? They will have to get a grip on legal accommodation sites first. They are much bigger evaders of tax than the little people trying to make ends meet. I’ve already written to the Greek Finance Authority with my concerns on tax evasion in the tourist industry and, particularly, double or false accounting which has become a way of life.

13th September, 2015

Things are moving quite quickly at the moment – for us as well as Jeremy Corbin. We have to ‘Exchange Contracts’ in the next couple of days and ‘Complete’ in the first week of October. From that point on, we are homeless. We don’t yet know whether our buyers are buying all our furniture, some of it or none of it. We don’t know if we will need a furniture removal firm, a white van man or we will just use our car. We were going to stay with Pauline’s sister but she has guests in October so we are desperately casting around for somewhere to stay. Jeremy is desperately casting around for experienced politicians who are prepared to serve in his shadow cabinet.

What we have done this morning is book a month on the south west coast of Tenerife in Los Gigantes which has nothing to do with big beans as the Greeks might think but is the name derived from big cliffs on the shoreline.

One thing it is not is understated. It’s got a Health Club with Spa & Gym plus indoor and outdoor pools. It will help us pass the month of November!

14th September, 2015

We contacted the solicitor acting for us on our apartment sale. We told her what the estate agent had reported but she said she had heard absolutely nothing. She will find out and get back to us. All morning we heard nothing. We went out for a long session at the Health Club. We did an hour in the Gym and another in the pool, etc.. Absolutely shattered, we drove home. If you know Surrey you will know that it is heavily wooded. It is a paradise for Tree Surgeons. Our route to the Health Club is lined with huge trees and mainly Oak and Horse Chestnut. As we speed under them, the trees bomb us with acorns and conkers which are in abundance this year.

Just as we were preparing our meal – grilled chicken and Greek Salad – the solicitor rang to say the exchange of contracts had gone through. The 10% deposit had been lodged and the sale was now irrevocable. We agreed a completion date of October 7th so we can now make all our arrangements.

To add to the pleasure and simplify the move, our buyers have agreed to buy every single stick of furniture at exactly the prices that we requested. This will mean that we will move the small, personal items that were not for sale by ourselves in our car. We will rent a little extra amount of storage to keep them until our move in February/March next year. When our new house is built, we will furnish it completely anew. What fun!

15th September, 2015

Things are running at full tilt. Informing two sets of solicitors, reading contracts and lots of small print, moving money between accounts to pay deposit on the new house, filling stacking, plastic storage boxes is all going on with urgency. We have fifteen of them from the last English move.

We’ve been to the Storage Pod to rent additional space. Our car, with the seats down, will take 8 storage boxes. I can just lift one full of books and files or full of crockery and glassware. They will be stored for up to 6 months. We leave the apartment three weeks tomorrow.

16th September, 2015

Warm – 24C/75F but very wet today. We managed to get to the storage pod with 8 boxes of books, etc. before the rain came down and then home to do more packing and paperwork. This will be the second day without gym work but we’ll go tomorrow.

Cancelling services should be easy. It’s certainly easy starting them with Sky – TV/Phone line/Broadband – answer within a minute if you want to open a new contract. If you want to end an existing one, it takes 20 mins.. Electricity, Council Tax, Water all have to be cancelled. Our Service agreement in our property must be ended and our pre-paid charges returned. We have to notify the TV Licensing Authority, The DVLA for our driver’s Licences, the Banks, and the Post Office for re-addressing of mail. These are all niggly things which take up time but have to be addressed.

We have bought and sold many properties and moved many times but it doesn’t get any easier. We wonder how we found the time when we were working. Still the goal at the end makes it all worthwhile.

17th September, 2015

Lovely, warm and sunny morning spent indoors packing boxes. A trip to the storage this afternoon will see the Study and Kitchen cleared of everything bar essentials for the maintenance of life – computer, scanner colour laser and an electric griddle, coffee maker and kettle.

Eight more boxes taken to the Storage Pod. About eight more to go before we can relax and feel as if we can be ready to leave. Just three weeks to go before we have to be out. We can’t really believe it has gone so quickly but we have to adjust immediately to our new environment.

Talking about adjusting to new environments, the new Labour Party leader is doing just that. Almost every national newspaper is doing its best to rubbish him. After all, he’s just not playing the ‘game’ by their rules.

While all that’s happening, the Greek electorate look like moving back to the centre leaving left and right precariously balanced. In some ways, this is far more dangerous. What Greece needs now is clarity, determination and strength. It needs the programme it has agreed to be pushed through immediately or even sooner.

18th September, 2015

Glorious early Autumn morning but we are still dominated by boxes, packing, boxes, packing. We have 18 or 19 days left to do it but we have always been like this. Things have to be done now. In Greece last year, I was making daily, early morning trips down to the communal bins dumping things that just wouldn’t be suitable for anyone else before our sale went through and we handed over the house to someone else. I find/found it quite cathartic leaving the old behind and moving on – starting afresh. It is so liberating. I wonder how the goldfish are doing in their little world. It seems so far away now.

In between wrapping and packing, I’ve been doing the financial accounts in order to keep a tight grip on the moving costs. It’s good fun and keeps me sane to know things are under control. We will take another 8 boxes to the storage pod this afternoon and the property will heave a huge sigh of relief as space appears.

This evening I am continuing to prepare the Welcome Pack & Guide to living here, using the services, seeking help, managing the electric gates, burglar alarm and identifying all the keys. We are also writing guides to easy use of the white goods, televisions and satellite systems. Our buyer has been living in Australia for years and will find many of these things a little stressful at first. We want her to be happy in her new home.

19th September, 2015

Another lovely, lovely day with warm sunshine. Shopping at Sainsbury’s by 9.30 am and then home to continue the packing. The Welcome Pack & Guide is now complete and accompanied by all the user booklets that came with the washing machine, dishwasher, oven & hob, fridge-freezer, televisions, burglar alarm, heating system and much more.

6th September, 2015

The Blog will catch up with itself in a few days when we are in a position to update. Currently, we are travelling.

7th September, 2015

Early start. Up at 3.00 am and in the car by 4.00 am. At Heathrow – Terminal 5 Long Stay Car Park by 4.30 am and dropped our bags at British Airways desk by 5.00 am. We went through Passport Control and into Departures immediately. We have membership of all the private Lounges through our Bank. We went down to the Aspire Lounge & Spa and had breakfast – bacon and scrambled egg with coffee. The wi-fi there is excellent.

Our flight took off on time at 6.45 am and we arrived in Athens 10 mins early at 12.10 pm. Pauline had bought new, lime green cases which were easy to spot on the carousel when they came from the aircraft and we were soon walking across the concourse to the train for Syndagma. The temperature was 35C/95F. Five minutes later we were in our Hotel – The Electra Palace – and our suite. It was 2.30 pm by the time we took our suitcases up in the lift and put the kettle on for a cup of tea.

When we were settled, we went for a swim in the pool and a jacuzzi relax. We spent the best part of a hour there before returning for a shower and another relax. We went shopping for peanuts, bottles of wine and water. At 7.00 pm, we went to our favourite, street corner taverna. Pauline had grilled sea bass and I had grilled, large squid.

We shared a Greek Salad, garlic dip and bottle of white wine. It was delicious.

8th September, 2015

Up late today – 8.00 am (which is 6.00 am in UK). Went down for breakfast at 9.00 am. It was a struggle to eat. Returned to our room to read the paper but,  by 11.00 am, we walked down to Monastiraki train station and took the train to Piraeus. Athens and the train were very quiet. Few tourist around anywhere. We got off at Piraeus Port station and walked the full arc of ferry docks. We ended up at the Zante Ferries boat for Sifnos – the Andreas Kalvos. That’s where we met up with our Sifnos friends.

Piraeus was different to any other time we have seen it in the past thirty five years. It was dead – the roads, pavements, docks were dead. The cafes which once thrived were all closed. The ticket offices largely gone. The trains were mainly empty. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, crowds of migrants appeared near the train station. They were affluent, controlled and business like. They were led by group leaders who handed out ‘stamped’ travel/identity documents. Everyone carried smartphones which were glued to their ears. Everyone was being directed to ‘Express to Germany’ coaches. Prices were being negotiated – calmly and quietly. These were not desperate people without money but confident, Middle Class people who had money to buy their freedom.

9th September, 2015

Wonderful day. Warm and sunny reaching 32C/90F. After a late breakfast, we set off on a walk to Kolonaki.

It was hot and sweaty by the time we arrived. Shops, restaurants and coffee shops followed by Embassies and more shops and then back to Syndagma. Coffee and newspapers in our hotel suite and then out to Monastiraki and the fruit sellers outside the station entrance. A bag full of big, fat, sweet figs and a kilo of green, seedless grapes cost under 3 Euros. We walked back to our hotel and feasted on fruit.

At 3.00 pm, we went down to the Spa Centre and spent an hour or more in the jacuzzi, pool and sauna. At 7.00 pm we went out to our favourite street corner taverna for Greek Salad, Skordalia (garlic sauce) and grilled salmon. The whole thing with a litre (kilo) of white wine cost 38 euros. This, in a capital city, is amazing.

10th September, 2015

Before breakfast, Pauline made a cup of tea and I tested my INR. It was a near perfect 2.7 which I immediately emailed to Woking Anticoagulation Department. It was 8.15 am in Greece so only 6.15 am in Woking but I got dosage advice by return email. Breakfast at 8.30 am today and then back to our room for coffee and newspapers. At 10.30 am, Pauline went to the Hairdressing Salon across the road –

http://michalisanousakis.com/about.html

She has been using it for the past 15 years and has her hair cut by the owner. Every time she books, an assistant rather gingerly whispers the price – this year it was €57.00/£41.00 – which is actually nearly half what she would pay at Sasson’s in London.

By mid day, we were walking down the shopping street which is Ermou and then through the Plaka, via the meat and fish market, where everything was so cheap but few were buying, to Omonia Square where the pavements and doorways were crowded with immigrants.

More than ever, Athens looked down-at-heel, impoverished and ill at ease with itself. So many shops and restaurants that we have frequented over the years have just disappeared and many remaining are quiet and desperate to draw tourists in. We walked back up Stadiou Street to Syndagma and back to our hotel for a cup of tea.

Mid afternoon, we had a good swim, jacuzzi and sauna. We fly back to London tomorrow afternoon. I’m a B.A. Club member and I use an app on my phone & iPad to manage our bookings. Using the app, I selected our seats – emergency exit/extra legroom, window and centre. Now, 24hrs before, we are ‘checking-in’ on-line and collecting our boarding passes on our mobile phones.

Just as we were about to go out Dinner, we received a phone call to say that our buyers had signed the contract for our apartment and will be paying the 10% deposit tomorrow. We were elated. Tonight we ate Greek Salad, Garlic Sauce and griddled Sea Bass all washed down with dry and ice-cold white wine. It was delicious. Our sweet was sweet, green grapes and a glass of ouzo. Heaven. When we got back to our hotel room, as usual, a chocolate in a small box was placed by either side of our bed.

11th September, 2015

A lovely morning – especially for retired teachers. Greek schools restart this morning. Across the block from our hotel, a local school has its windows flung open and the small school yard which is marked out as a basketball court, has been set up with a sound system. Trailing electrical leads snake down from an upstairs window to the microphone which will relay the speeches of a local dignitary, the Headteacher and the ubiquitous member of the Orthodox Church.

The television morning news programmes – and I favour the Skai channel’s Proti Grammi (First Programme), are playing heavily on shortages of teachers in Greece and the inability of some schools to reopen because of it.

Of course, we are playing heavily on the fact that we no longer need to teach. After breakfast, we finished packing, paid our bill and walked up to the Metro station at Syndagma. We took a clean and empty train to the airport for the extravagant (not) sum of Euros 14 for the two of us instead of a cramped and hairy journey by taxi for a minimum of Euros 40. At the airport, we immediately dropped our bags at the BA desk and went to the airside lounge – the Melina Mecouri Lounge – where we had comfortable seats, lovely free coffee and good wi-fi courtesy of our card membership.

We often complain about our monthly bank account charges but these Lounge facilities are worth it on their own. The charge would be £35.00 each – £70.00 – for every time we used them on this trip alone, we used three Lounges – potentially £210.00 – which is almost total, annual charge. The peace and quiet and free flowing red wine would make me want to pay it anyway.

We boarded our flight on time and without fuss. It always takes longer leaving Greece than arriving – something to do with prevailing winds. We set off at 2.45 pm (G.T.) and will land at 4.45 pm (B.T.).

We landed five minutes early, soon collected our bags. The Long Stay car park bus arrived and we were soon in our car. That is when we had our first hiccup. Our sat.nav. Proposed routing us on the M4 whereas we would have expected M5. Immediately, our screen flashed up 6 mile queues ahead. We returned to Terminal 5 and started again but this time forcing it to follow the M5. It was Friday night and rush hour so traffic was heavy and slow but we were home in half an hour.

12th September, 2015

Tired this morning but shopping called. We were in Sainsbury’s by 9.30 am. We have a trip to France next week but, now the legal process on the sale of our property has been accelerated, the timing is all wrong so we have to change our travel dates. I use Booking.com for the hotel bookings (naturally!). They make life so easy. We’ve managed to defer our hotel and channel tunnel crossing by three or four weeks which means we will have moved out by then. The proposed ‘Completion’ date on our property is Pauline’s birthday – October 5th. We will probably negotiate a couple of extra days and then bank the money and go away.

We are looking at taking an extended ‘sun’ holiday in November – three or four weeks – where we can be warm, swim outside, use a Health Club and walk along the beach. We are currently considering West coast Teneriffe in a hotel that bans children and has good quality internet provision. They don’t come cheap but at least that tends to ensure peace and quiet. Our neighbour near to us has an apartment out their and has been advising us on areas. We did go to Fuerteventura many years ago so a different Canary Island might be interesting while we are homeless.

30th August, 2015

The penultimate day of Summer 2015 has been pleasant but quiet. We had quite a lot to do so we didn’t go out to exercise. We will go tomorrow – Bank Holiday Monday or so we are led to believe. It means so little to us. – when the Health Club will be like a ghost town.

Received an email from our builder this afternoon with an illustration of current development of our new house.

If the weather is kind, we will be in it for mid February. If not, it might be Easter – March 27th, 2016. We will be going down soon to discuss kitchen units, floor tiles, wooden floors in the hall and study, fitted Study furniture, bathroom/en suite tiles, wardrobes, garden paving/landscaping, etc., etc.. Pauline is on the case.

31st August, 2015

A soggy end to August and the Health Club was packed with workers punishing themselves on their day off. We did our hour and marvelled at the ‘free car wash’ provided by the weather. What disappoints me is that I don’t get noticeably fitter. I am just as tired and my shirt is just as heavy with sweat today as it was when I first started this madness. I’ll never catch Jane BG at this rate.

She won a silver medal in the World Masters Athletic Championships, August 2015Lyon.

A Sifnos friend contacted us yesterday and we are looking forward to going back to Greece in a few days time. Kathimerini has a Leader Article which echoes exactly my thoughts:

Greek election may reopen can of worms

The upcoming Greek election may reopen the can of worms that the country’s recent 86 billion euro bailout deal with its creditors was supposed to close. Given that no party is likely to emerge from the Sept. 20 vote with a majority, it may be hard to form a strong government that can implement the program. There’s even a risk that there will be yet more elections, tipping Greece back into crisis.

I’m looking forward to hearing the word on the street or the talk in the café. It is so much better than reading about it.

1st September, 2015

The Summer has gone and the Autumn begins. The weather remains the same. Actually, the day opened with torrential rain which recently gave way to blue skies and sunshine but the ark is close to floating.

À propos of absolutely nothing, I came across this amusing picture on the web this morning:

and this excellent one-liner from the Edinburgh Fringe:

I lost my virginity very late. When it finally happened, I wasn’t so much deflowered as deadheaded.

Can you tell I’m having a quiet day? Well, I’ve done another hour’s exercise and the rain has returned. The ark has edged further off the patio and the cats are getting their life jackets on.

2nd September, 2015

The day has opened quietly. Some schools in England go back today. In Surrey, they go back tomorrow. In our house, they never go back. We received an update from our Estate Agents which suggested that our buyers wanted to ‘Complete’ quickly on the purchase of our property. We may only have 4 – 6 weeks left here.

We also received an invitation from our builder to go down and view the development of our new house.  We won’t be doing that for a while because we will be abroad but we have been to visit flooring specialists. We will need tiling throughout the ground floor – Hall, Study, Cloakroom, Toilet, Kitchen-Family Room, Laundry. With such a big expanse, it is important to get it right. We drove over to a stockist/supplier to look at examples and came back with ideas. We think that half will be wood and half tiled. We’ve got a few months to think about it.

3rd September, 2015

A mild but overcast day. We had a trip out to Camberley which took about an hour as a round trip. It never ceases to amaze me how rural everywhere in Surrey is. We went on to the Health Club for an hour’s exercise and then came home to griddle chicken and vegetables outside in the garden.

Will the Greeks give Tsipras ‘one last chance’? Will they vote with the left wing breakaway, Popular Unity, for a return to the Drachma and reject ‘Austerity’? Will they turn back to the corruption of the past and choose New Democracy? Between a rock, a hard place and a very hard place is where the Greeks are. Why would anyone seek asylum there?

4th September, 2015

All the kids went back to school yesterday leaving us behind in our dotage. It still feels strange yet wonderful. As we wave goodbye to our neighbours’ children and cheer when they’ve gone, we fill our days with keeping fit and healthy and planning the interiors of our new house. We are currently projected to move in at the end of February – beginning of March which will mean we can return to our drive across Europe about April time. Before then we and the builders have to make decisions about

• tiles (and, possibly, underfloor heating),
• kitchen units,
• fitted wardrobes,
• Study furniture,
• white goods,
• outdoor paving and garden landscaping,
• the garage door automated, etc..

We will have to arrange for

• a new phone line to be installed,
• a satellite or cable supplier to connect to our media distribution panel,
• a broadband supplier,
• a doctor and a dentist.

In the meantime, we are off to Greece for a jaunt followed by some time in France and some time in Yorkshire. We haven’t got time to work!

I started my teaching career in a Victorian school in Derker, Oldham. I lived in a flat in Acre Lane three streets away. This afternoon, I watched a programme on television in which the Texan model and former husband of Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, explored her ancestry.

How funny to find her grandfather was born three streets away in Waverley Street, Oldham. To add to the irony, it emerged that Mick Jagger’s father, Joe Jagger, lived in Greenfield and taught at Hulme Grammar School in Oldham.

5th September, 2015

I am a creature of habit – to the point that it drives my wife mad. In my retired reincarnation, I start the day shortly after 7.00 am with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a cup of Yorkshire tea followed shortly afterwards by a large cup of freshly brewed coffee. I love my bean-to-cup coffee maker.

It grinds the beans, forces pressurised hot water through the newly made grounds and produces a lovely head on the coffee. The Italians would probably call me a philistine because I needed frothed milk on the top. Over the frothed head, I sprinkle cinnamon and then chocolate powder.

Now I am ready to read the Politics Section in my digital newspaper followed by my favourite section – The Obituaries. You have to keep up with the dead!

23rd August, 2015

Another humid day which featured half an hour of light rain that helped me avoid plant watering and temporarily held the inevitable Test match result up for an hour or so. We had intended to go the gym but events took over – watching the Test match, the FI Motor Racing from Belgium (something interesting has to come from Belgium) and two Premier League football matches.

Booked a crossing through the Tunnel for our forthcoming journey. The return cost was about £112.00/€155.00 which I paid with my Private Banking Charge Card. I don’t know why but my Bank chose this morning to do a random check on payments, stopped the card account for fifteen minutes and texted me to confirm it was me using the card and not a thief. I should be reassured by this but it irritated me today. I had booked a crossing and a hotel plus another transaction in Surrey and all three had been blocked. I had to contact each company in turn to explain why I needed to resubmit payment. It made a bit of a nonsense of on-line, rapid payment.

Before we go away, we are hoping for the first time in many years to find Pick Your Own Victoria Plums. We both love them and Pauline would also like to make some jam.

They should be ready now but they’re not even in the shops yet.

24th August, 2015

Woke up to warm, torrential rain which alternated with sun most of the day. Why couldn’t England have held on until the final day?

We completed all our Buyer/Seller paperwork and I can assure you that is a lot of work. Off to the Post Office to despatch it to Woking and Worthing and then out to the health Club for some much needed exercise. I really enjoyed it and felt fitter than I have done for a long time – in fact, since the early 1970s when I stopped playing competitive sport. I can’t believe that’s more than 40 years ago. Even Ruth was young then!

Our meal today was a delightful Greek Salad with cold roast chicken and duck. It feels so privileged to have such delightful food. This feeling is accentuated when I read of the residents of Symi trying to help the immigrants arriving on their shores from nearby Turkey.

These pictures are featured on the Symi Dream Blog today and feature islanders collecting basic necessities for the burgeoning migrant population.

25th August, 2015

A second, consecutive day of heavy rain interspersed with a bit of sun. It’s certainly helping the gardens if not the inhabitants. We have had a quiet day. We visited The Storage Pod to check that increased space will be available when we move out and did another hour’s exercise on the treadmill. Our meal was a seafood salad – tomato and cucumber with a dressing of olive oil and capers to accompany smoked salmon, king prawns and small prawns.

I think this is my favourite meal at the moment. Particularly, we have found a producer of the most wonderful smoked salmon, badged by Pru Leith and sold by Asda. We go out of our way to buy it. It sounds rather ‘precious’ but it is materially better than any other easily bought product. You should try it!

The Greeks don’t appear totally confident in Tsipras as he seeks re-election. This is summed up in this morning’s cartoon in Kathimerini newspaper.

As a sign of the continuing woes, Greece’s state insurance funds are resorting to external loans to cover their needs as fears grow that the measures of the third bailout will not be enough to cover the rest of 2015’s liquidity needs.

The deficit of IKA is expected to grow due to the dramatic increase in unemployment, political and economic uncertainty, capital controls, the measures of the third bailout and the early elections, which are expected to impact on the revenues of insurance funds this autumn.

26th August, 2015

We are experiencing rain in biblical proportions for the third, consecutive day. I knew that Jeremy Corbyn was up to no good. We are considering building an ark. There are two cats live near here. My dilemma is how much to charge them. Should I consider them as refugees or economic migrants?

All the contractual documents had arrived by the time we got back from the Health Club. Lots of signatures for us and 10% deposit from our buyers which will lock them in and give us additional peace of mind. We just want it to stop raining now so the builders can get on with our new house. Pauline is already planning all the flooring, the kitchen type and layout. Which washing machine and which tumble dryer is concentrating minds as we prepare to go in to an English house with a Laundry for the first time in five years. I’m allowed to have a view about how to kit out the Study although Pauline will probably decide. It’s nice to see her enjoying it.

27th August, 2015

Got up at 6.00 am and went out at 6.30 am to the Walk-in Hospital for an official INR test. I usually do it myself at home but like to do an ‘official’ check once in a while. Within about 4 hrs, I received an email confirming my INR at 2.5 which couldn’t be more perfect.

I don’t know what’s happened. We start to build the ark and they turn the water off. A pleasant, late Summer’s day. We are going down to see the progress on our new house tomorrow so we did our weekly shop today. First we delivered signed contracts to our solicitor so that the selling process is not held up and then drove on to Sainsbury’s. We checked in to a shop that supplies fitted bedroom furniture to decide what we wanted putting in our new bedrooms and then came home for coffee and newspapers.

Eventually, we chickened out of exercise today and got through jobs that needed to be completed. Our neighbour is about to put her Duplex on the market and a property just across from us will go up for sale in September. People are beginning to realise that the market has moved so far and so fast in the four years since we bought that it is an attractive proposition to cash in and move on. If one’s free to go where one wants like us, it is even more profitable.

28th August, 2015

Up at 6.00 am on a beautiful morning. We drove down to the South Coast to see the work of our builders on our new home. It was an enjoyable couple of hours and, even though the roof isn’t on yet, we are already planning the kitchen/Garden Room, Laundry, Garden and planting, Study, Lounge and built-in wardrobes in the four bedrooms. Flooring is already a major topic for discussion plus tiles in the bathrooms. Should they be full or half height? Such questions will be at the centre of Pauline’s internet searches for weeks.

Went to the Health Club this afternoon but I stopped 10mins early because I felt really tired. Strangely, I felt dissatisfied with myself for the rest of the evening – felt as if I’d let myself down. Our meal cheered me up. We had dressed Cornish crab with tomato & cucumber salad, taramasalata and humous. Lovely.

29th August, 2015

Up early on a lovely morning. Everywhere is quiet and fresh. The hydrangeas we bought for the gardener to put in have flowered delightfully.

Did a full hour’s exercise at lunchtime to salve my conscience and then came home to a couple of football matches and ate roast tarragon chicken with roast vegetables – shallots, fennel and mushrooms.

Opinion polls indicating that the September 20 elections will be very close which is not good news for a country that needs firm, decisive leadership in the face of uncomfortable decisions.

Only Forward says the Syriza slogan but, if New Democracy get back, it could become ‘only backward’.

16th August, 2015

Quiet Sunday – quite delightful – worshipping at the altar of newspapers and Premier League football. The exciting Labour Leadership election is hotting up

while Manchester City, a team I’ve never favoured in my life, got my full support today as they thrashed Chelsea 3-0.

17th August, 2015

Amazing how quickly things move on when you want them to slow down a bit. A huge ‘Sellers Pack’ of documents arrived from our law firm today. We have had a hard day finding documents, phoning people like our Management Company, Estate Agent and Solicitor to complete our Homework. Actually, it will dominate tomorrow morning as well. We managed to fit in an hour on the treadmill and will do our best to fit one in tomorrow although we have to visit the Law Firm which we, wisely, chose locally. We are going down to see the progress on the new house on Wednesday and that will take up our day. The final Ashes Test starts on Thursday so I’m hoping to catch that.

Kathimerini reports today that a quarter of a million less people travelled through the country’s ports in the last six weeks.

Specifically in July, passenger traffic fell by 12.38 % compared to last year, with the number of routes served reduced by 4.6 %.  Car transportation dropped 18.09 percent while trucks were down 15.26 %.

18th August, 2015

We are exhausted after a long day of paperwork, form filling, file finding, copying followed by a legal meeting. Whose idea was it to sell and buy a house? The day was prefaced by our Estate Agent ringing to say our builders wanted to ‘exchange contracts’ on the new house in three weeks. The Estate Agent was sceptical. We spent the entire morning filling in the ‘Sellers’ forms, looking out Lease Documents, Service Charge Accounts, Energy Certificates, creating a Fixtures & Fittings list. The morning was only broken up by the arrival of ten, huge, plastic Storage Boxes.

We already have ten stacked in storage from our last move. Unfortunately, these ten – contrary to sellers description don’t fit into each other. Ten is a lot of big boxes to stack. A bonus, however, is that each box came packed in an industrial strength, cardboard box. This means that, ultimately, we will have an extra twenty boxes for packing and storage or removal.

19th August, 2015

We drove down to Sussex this morning to see the property we have just agreed to buy. Angmering is a lovely village. The property will be ready in March next year and is fine for what we require. This is the floor plan of the two levels:

Within two miles of the new house, there is a huge Garden Centre, three, megastore-sized supermarkets – Sainsburys, Waitrose and Asda and two Health Cubs – Virgin Active and David Lloyd’s.

On the edge of the South Downs, the coast is about ten minutes away.

We are already looking forward to getting to know the area. We just have to settle on a Doctors’ and Dentists’ surgeries. The drive back took just one hour.

20th August, 2015

We woke at 5.00 am, thinking about yesterday’s events. It was still half dark which is indicative of the season’s progress. We had a swathe of documents from the property developers, from the legal firm who are selling the property and the legal firm involved in our purchase of the new house. How people manage to cope with this while they are in full time work although I suppose we did a number of times.

We went to the Health Club for an hour and I then relaxed with a few hours of the Fifth Ashes Test Match. Our Nuffield Health Club looked so small after visiting the massive David Lloyd place in Angmering.

It has been a sweaty, humid day and we are forecast to reach 30C/86F over the weekend. It will be good re-acclimatisation for impending trip to Greece.

21st August, 2015

A hot and humid day which reached 26C/79F. We had to scramble around to find someone who would do the Identity Certification process for us. It’s for an anti-Money Laundering check that moving, spending large amounts of money now requires. Eventually, we found a Post Office branch big enough to certify copies of our Passports and Driving Licence Photo Cards so we can get them off to our solicitor who is dealing with the purchase of the new house.

We did so much charging around in town and then did a full Sainsbury’s shop so we decided to give the Health Club a miss. I was able to watch the Test Match, grill lamb steaks and mixed vegetables outside in the garden and generally chill out. It gave me chance to read through my Blog list and the Greek newspapers. As predicted, of course, a breakaway of 25 Syriza MPs has formed a new party under the leadership of former Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis.

It is to be known as Popular Unity, and will campaign on an anti-austerity platform. As the third largest party, it has to be given the chance to form a government before Elections (εκλογές) are called – probably on September 20th or 27th. The economy is on autopilot again thanks to political developments. Ironically, thunder storms and strong winds are forecast over Greece this weekend.

22nd August, 2015

A hot and sunny day – forecast to reach somewhere between 29C-32C/84F-90F. It is a day when Mum would have been red-faced as she complained about the heat. Even so, it would have been her 92nd birthday today so Happy Birthday, Mum.

This is her, aged 13 in 1936, on holiday in Brighton with her father – the dandy – Grandad Coghlan.

We’ve got a busy few weeks ahead – just as we like it. We have to do as much as we can in preparation for our sale/purchase and removal from our current property. We will shortly be going back to Greece. Almost immediately after our return, we will leave for France and, in the latter half of October, spend some time in Yorkshire. It is possible that we will have moved out by then but we would rather stall that until the end of October. After we’ve moved out, we would like to rent somewhere in Europe for a month or so. I have a feeling we’re going to be tired by Christmas!