26th April, 2015

Up at 6.00 am and out on the M25 by 7.00 am. en route to Yorkshire. It is rather a struggle for Pauline because of her ongoing operation wounds but she’s managing. We have a structured five days of property development visits and meetings with friends and relations. Property Developers are available on Sunday when the rest of the world is not at work so we will do some visits today.

We are looking in a reasonable radius of Leeds for new-build properties. We know almost immediately if a location is right or wrong for us so we easily dismissed a Taylor Wimpey build at Crigglestone and another at Whinmoor, a Ben Bailey build at Crossgates and a David Wilson build in Wakefield. We were quite taken with Harron Homes, a Yorkshire builder’s development in Horbury and may well return to it when more properties are finished.

The weather had been beautiful, sunny and warm throughout the day and the M1 was incredibly quiet so the three hour drive was delightful and relaxing but, after an additional five visits to housing developments, we were ready for a rest so we drove on to our hotel – the Holiday Inn in Brighouse for our one meal of the day and a bottle of wine. And so to bed.

27th April, 2015

Don’t you just love Mondays? We do and especially this one. The weather is beautiful. We are free in sunny Yorkshire which fits us like an old shoe and we are going to see friends. But first we are property searching. Harron Homes in Blackley and Redrow in Horsforth were on the list and the latter was a pleasant surprise.

We drove on to Huddersfield to visit our old friend and Honda car dealer, Chris Wood. We spent and hour or so with him and then back to rest before getting ready for the evening. We were meeting our friends, Margaret & Tony, for dinner at the Golden Cock, Michelin starred restaurant in Farnley Tyas.

It was great to see them and the meal was wonderful. They’ve just bought a property in Spain and are setting off to drive there in a couple of days. We are envious and can’t wait to set off on our travels as well.

28th April, 2015

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Be very careful if you go to Greece this year. Don’t pay up front for anything. Don’t put money in a Greek bank account. Don’t forward pay hoteliers. There is a real risk of default and you losing all your money. We have been so lucky to get out in time. This week, panic set in across the country as pensioners feared not being paid, raided their bank accounts and risked a run on the banks’ reserves. The coalition government are scrabbling around to find the cash and trying to call it in from the country’s institutions and local government. They are constantly running to keep up and losing the race, as The Times cartoon pointed out yesterday:

We feel so sorry for our friends on Sifnos and particularly for our special friends, two proud, middle class Greeks who depend largely on their pensions to get by week to week. Got a lovely email from Elerania this morning.

Drove over to Bolton this morning to visit my beautiful and very young-looking sister, Ruth and her wonderful husband, Kevan. They live in a gorgeous, penthouse apartment in which they look so happy and comfortable. We only stayed an hour because they are busy people but it was lovely to visit.

29th April, 2015

Today is going to be tiring. We are driving over to Oldham in Lancashire to meet our friend and ex-colleague, aka Little Viv who has become a full time carer for her aged mother. There are some good people in the world – certainly much better than me. We had coffee in the new Library coffee shop.

It was nice coffee but rather harrowing hearing Viv’s woes. She could only manage an hour away from her Mum and then she was off. We drove on to Shaw to visit my old friend, Brian and his wife, Val. We spent an hour with them and then drove back to Oldham to visit Pauline’s relatives, Joyce & Harry, whose kids we taught but are now 50 and 55 years old. Time just continues to fly. We drove back to our hotel and collapsed, exhausted. As we approached the M62, there was a warning on our car’s media screen saying 6 mile tailbacks ahead. We took the moors road instead. Even that was beginning to get busy. Thank goodness we did. Two lorries had crashed through the central reservation and nothing moved for seven hours.

30th April, 2015

Up a little later at 7.15 am this morning because we were so tired. After breakfast, we set off for one more property search at Skelmanthorpe – a Redrow development – which turned out to be very close to Emley Moor.

Although the countryside is beautiful, it is too high, exposed and remote for old codgers like us. We set the sat. nav. for Woking and did the most delightful, problem free drive back up the M1 that you could imagine.

Arriving home and opening the garage gates remotely – I got out because the codes have been changed – I noticed that one of my sidelight bulbs had gone. Trip to Honda tomorrow. After a lovely meal of chicken and roast vegetables, Pauline stacked the dishwasher and put it on only to find that it wasn’t working. Have to call out the Hotpoint service engineer tomorrow. At least we can make coffee – no we can’t. The coffee maker is showing an error and refusing to budge. Lovely to be home.

1st May, 2015

Welcome to May! It’s started well for us. The dishwasher has righted itself. Pauline had rushed switching it off before we left last Sunday and it just needed to complete its electronic cycle before being restarted. The coffee maker just needed emptying of coffee grounds  in order to proceed and a quick visit to Honda will get the bulb replaced this afternoon. We’ve done a Waitrose shop and bought the world’s total supply of cod, hake, trout and tuna. Now I can settle down with fresh coffee and watch The Daily Politics.

Went back to Honda this afternoon and they talked amongst themselves a lot before deciding that no bulb had gone. It was just a trick of the adaptive headlights which come on the right when you turn right and turns on left when you turn left. So, three problems all evaporate!

2nd May, 2015

Pleasant day without too much sun. Our neighbour has asked us to do cat-sitting duty until Monday so we feel the weight of responsibility on our shoulders. It is a day of newspapers and correspondence as well as Test Match and football. Because we’ve been away and I found it very tiring, I haven’t been to the gym for a week. I start again tomorrow although Pauline will be another week at least.

Pauline has cooked the most wonderful meal of roast loin of cod with roast vegetables – asparagus, shallot, red pepper, fennel, celery, chestnut mushrooms. I couldn’t have done better myself.

19th April, 2015

Pleasant, sunny day but with a little chilly edge on the breeze. After a hard hour in the gym, I worked out that I’ve done 6 hours work in the past 8 days and used 3600 calories which is 2 days’ food allowance for me.

Here, with 18  days to go until our General Election poll, Labour is starting to nose in front although no one is likely to get an overall majority. It is making parties’ election pledges and voter decisions difficult. Who can you trust to implement their proposals? Who should you vote for to keep the others out? It’s all very difficult.

It’s beginning to look nigh on impossible in Greece. Most European partners are preparing for Greek default. The first signs will be credit controls on Greek Banks but the medium term will be the definitive impoverishment of the Greek people with massive devaluation and equally massive inflation. Those who argue casually in the cafes and coffee shops about the merits of being in the euro just won’t believe what’s hit them if they fall out of the zone.

20th April, 2015

Lovely, warm and sunny day with clear blue skies – 21C/70F. It is impossible to go anywhere around here without noticing the blossom. It is so outstanding.

We sat outside for a few hours and started to plan our trip for next week. It is the next stage on Pauline’s recovery before we set off for Europe. We are going to Yorkshire for four or five days. We will visit old friends and research our alternative house-buying possibility. We have narrowed our search down to two, entirely separate areas. Our first choice is in Sussex and we hope to return there this week. Our second choice, where a house will save us around £200,000.00, is Yorkshire within reasonably easy reach of Leeds. This is what we will visit next week. One has the climate the other has the economy. Choices, choices!

In the mean time, I have done another hour/600 cals. of exercise today. I’m just getting too fit for my own good. Jane B.G. has got no chance of catching me.

21st April, 2015

Certainly another lovely day. They’re so enjoyable when you’re retired. We’ve decided that Pauline will manage a trip to Yorkshire next week so we sat in the sun to plan a four day break. We are looking for a new house and have narrowed our search down to Sussex or Yorkshire. Unfortunately, the same house in Yorkshire can be £200,000 less than the identical one in Sussex. At the same time, the climate in Sussex is noticeably more pleasant. Such a dilemma!

After yet another hour at the gym, we griddled fish outside with vegetables. There is something different – enhanced – about cooking outside. They don’t do so much of that in Yorkshire.

22nd April, 2015

In spite of her discomfort, I took Pauline to town to have her hair cut. We also called at our mobile providers, EE, to collect our Power Bar which cleverly stores enough power to recharge a mobile phone.

Many companies charge around £25.00 but ours is giving them away freely to contract customers. You recharge it via a USB connection to a computer/laptop or iPad charging plug. If it is empty when you need it, you can just go in to the nearest EE shop and get a charged replacement. This is the answer to  electric cars – swap a spent battery for a forecourt charged battery. The battery fitting would have to be snap-in-snap-out. It could be quicker than filling a full tank with petrol. I’m spotting a gap in the market here!

23rd April, 2015

There is a serious possibility of the sky, imminently, falling in on Greece and its islands. They have a series of increasingly sizable debts to repay to the IMF and the ECB over the next three months. The Times this morning headlines: Greeks face bankruptcy as cash runs out for wages and pensions and goes on:

Greece will go bust next week, potentially pushing the highly indebted country into default and out of the eurozone and plunging the European Union into an unprecedented crisis. The head of the Greek treasury admitted yesterday that the government could not pay its bills, including the salaries and pensions of millions of public sector workers that are due at the end of the month.

To avoid default, Athens must pay the despised creditors of the International Monetary Fund and the eurozone before its own citizens. Such an outcome would be deeply humiliating for the leftist government, elected on the pledge to put Greeks first. Dimitris Mardas, the deputy finance minister, said the treasury coffers were €400 million short of the €1.9 billion needed to honour payroll obligations to state employees. “We have been running on empty since February.

The Greek government and Press are almost certainly not telling their population the full truth about how much they are having to rob Peter to pay Paul but the islands are already starting to see and be surprised by the unusually early visits of IKA (tax & employment) inspectors. It’s certainly no dream on Symi. The Blog, Keep Talking Greece, reports:

Greece’s Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis has warned that Greece did not have the resources to repay two loans to the European Central Bank loans, amounting to some €7.6 billion, which fall due next July and August. However he underlined that a Greek default on loans to International Monetary Fund was out of question.

What this means is that the big trouble could be put off until the most sensitive point of the year – peak tourist season. This is when financial controls could hit hoteliers, café/restaurant owners, ferry schedules, etc.. Moving money in and out of the country will be the first control but collapse of infrastructure and travel arrangements will not be far behind.

24th April, 2015

Warm but hazy for much of the day. Pauline had her first post-operative Doctor’s check up. As the doctor confirmed, it is taking a bit longer to get back to normal than we had hoped and had been led to expect. We still expect to make our trip to Yorkshire but we will take things easy – as you can when you’re retired.

Yesterday was St George’s Day – the Englander’s day. In Scotland, Ireland and, particularly, Greece, the national day is a big thing but, as an Englishman, I just can’t raise any interest in England or England Day. Maybe because of the General Election coverage, there was a half hearted attempt to acknowledge the day and St George’s flag but not much.

On reflection, I’m quite proud to be so English that I don’t need to assert and reaffirm it. I am much more confident identifying myself as a European.

25th April, 2015

We woke to find it had rained. How wonderful! How delicious the grass and trees looked – refreshed and sparkling. It is weeks since we saw rain. The forecast is for more in the coming days. Even so, it is still extremely warm.

Yesterday was the Name Day of our Sifnos bank manager, Georgia, and today we have a photo of Eleraniatown:

Can’t wait to see them again!

12th April, 2015

Καλή Ανάσταση, Χρόνια Πολλά και Καλό Πάσχα!

to our Greek friends. Hope you’ve had a great day.

It has been wonderful here – warm and sunny. We’ve been sitting outside for large chunks of it – when we weren’t watching United destroy City. Everybody’s back from their skiing holidays so the gym was much more busy this morning. I did 9 Kms this morning on running machine and bike combined and felt I could do more. I knock off about 600 calories which seems fairly meagre in the grand scheme of things. I went on my own and we’ve cancelled our stay in Brighton already. We don’t think Pauline is quite ready for it yet. At best we will have a day out.

13th April, 2015

Went to have the car cleaned this morning and to get a loose fitting dress for Pauline. As we walked through the car park, we spotted a Greek car parked up.

It was bought in Larissa – Northern Greece – but would have done our journey to Patras and Ancona and then on across Europe. We are rather itching to get going but mustn’t rush Pauline. We will drive down to Sussex tomorrow but that is the extent of our ambition at the moment. As part of the Tories Election pledges, they announce the intention to make access to the National Health services in UK requiring two things from all comers: passports will have to be shown and proof of time spent living abroad will have to be evidenced. This will apply to EU and non-EU residents and will prevent Health tourism from non-EU citizens and galvanise countries inside the EU who are currently failing to compensate UK NHS for treatment their citizens have received here. This is a Tory policy I almost like!

14th April, 2015

An absolutely gorgeous day of blue sky and wall to wall sunshine with a temperature of 22C/70F. We set off for the Sussex coast at 9.00 am and arrived in the delightful town of Angmering an hour later.

We were looking at new houses and may just have found one. It won’t be ready for a few months so we will need to time the marketing of our Duplex correctly so we are not living on the streets for the interregnum. Back home by 1.30 pm, we were cooking griddled chicken and vegetables outside by mid-afternoon and fending off next door’s cat who appeared absolutely starving. It has been a lovely day but Pauline really flagged this evening.

15th April, 2015

This morning has opened to another Summer’s day which eventually reaches 23C/74F of dazzling sunshine. We went off to pick up a parcel – a new dress for Pauline – from the Post Office and then on to Waitrose for fresh fish for our meal. We griddled a medley of Hake, Trout and (Greek) Sea Bass fillets along with courgette, fennel and mushroom. We did this outside with a chilled bottle of  Prosseco. Wonderful!

I earned it by doing an hour’s workout first. It will probably be another couple of weeks before Pauline can restart exercise.

Greece’s sovereign debt rating has been slashed further into “junk” territory as the true extent of the country’s financial woes were laid bare today. Figures from the Athens’ finance ministry revealed the economy has slipped further into the red following the election. Separate data from the country’s official statistics authority also showed a gaping hole in the public finances, with the budget deficit stooping to 3.5pc of GDP in 2014, while the primary budget surplus was only 0.4pc. The Greek housing market remained bottom in the Eurozone with an annual decline of 6.6 %  for new residences and 10.9 %  for older properties.

15th April, 2015

Athens made an informal approach to the International Monetary Fund about delaying loan repayments, only to be told that rescheduling was not possible. The IMF is owed nearly €1bn in two payments due in May. UK markets are factoring in Grexit, as bonds yields in Athens soar on the back of concerns over a potential Greek default.

It’s been another lovely, warm day here. I’ve done an hour’s work out whereas Pauline has had a little bit of  a relapse with some discomfort. She is having to take things more slowly than she would wish. I had my INR test and it was well in my target spread. It has been there since early November. I must be doing something right!

16th April, 2015

A delicious, early Summer’s day of pleasant sunshine although a touch cooler than yesterday. We were at 16C/61F by 10.00 am with an edge on the breeze. The trees are in that first flush of lime green colour that characterises new leaf.

It looks wonderful against the blue sky. Pauline and I haven’t see this time in England for the past seven years and it is quite a revelation. People in UK think Mediterranean, wall-to-wall sunshine is something to be envied. When you have it, British, seasonal variation is something to be longed for. Having said that, It will be nice to snatch a few weeks of sunshine when Pauline is up to it.

17th April, 2015

Apparently, this is lining up to be the warmest April in UK for many years – decades. What a time to choose to be in Surrey! We seem to do a lot outside at the moment – reading, cooking, etc. just as we would have done in Greece.

Did another hard hour in the gym while Pauline talked to her beautiful sister. We had a very healthy meal of smoked salmon, prawns and Waldorf salad. It made a lovely, fresh tasting meal.

5th April, 2015

Pleasant sunny day. Spent it reading the papers and watching football. Pauline was struggling to cope. She needs to take everything rather more slowly than she likes.

Ruth phoned, which was nice. She is 68 this May which really shakes me. She looks so young. I can’t believe it.

6th April, 2015

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me………..
When I’m 75.

Easter Day fell on March 25th in 1951 so I didn’t see it. As a consequence, this is my 63rd Easter Day. As if it makes any difference. I’ve been to the Health Club and done a hard hour in a totally deserted Gym and then come back to spend a couple of hours in the sun in our garden. The temperature is 21C/72F with cloudless, blue skies and no breeze. My Birthday treat – I’ve been looking forward to it for more than two years – is pizza. Pauline is making one Prosciutto & Mozzarella and one vegetarian.

We will share them both. Back to the diet regime tomorrow.

Been talking to my friend, Martin from Sifnos, this morning. Really must get to see him soon.

Lovely pizzas but I realise that I’m not missing anything. It’s all in the head. That’s where it’s going to stay in future.

7th April, 2015

The most delightful, Summer’s day today – cloudless, warm and still. I started the day unstacking the dishwasher, making tea and delivering it to Pauline in bed. Gulped my own tea down and then began hovering the entire flat. Made fresh coffee for us both while we read our newspapers and then I went out to do a really good hour at the gym.

Pauline cooked duck legs with griddled onion and mushroom for our meal.

It was good to get back into the regime after yesterday. When you’re 64+1 day, you have to look after yourself – doesn’t one? Really strange thing happened yesterday. Someone hacked into the Blog and made a derogatory reference to Ruth. Fortunately, I spotted it early and returned it to the original.

8th April, 2015

Summer continues (20C/68F) and so does Pauline’s convalescence. Today, in warm, strong sunshine she had her first real outing. I took her to a local garden centre – Squires in Horsell outside Woking.

She walked painfully slowly for a maximum of 10 minutes before I took her home. When we got back, she admitted that she had been surprised how tired she felt in that simple exertion. Of course, it is so often like that. Recuperating from illness in the security of one’s own home, one builds up a fall confidence which evaporates as soon as one tests oneself in the hurly burly of life or even the peacefulness of a sunny garden centre. And so it was with Pauline.

We are planning a trip to Sussex soon and another to Yorkshire in three weeks during which she rediscovers her strength. The wounds are still scarily deep and look as if it will be some time before can go abroad. Even so, we are beginning to make plans for just that.

9th April, 2015

A gorgeous 22C/72F today with strong sun. Pauline’s rehabilitation continues with a brief trip to the supermarket and to Marks& Spencer. She is struggling with tight fitting clothes over still painful operation wounds and we went to find her something light and loose-fitting. Fortunately, we emerged triumphantly clutching just the garment.

I went on to the Health Club for an hour of strenuous activity. I try to time my exercise to fit in with The Daily Politics on BBC2 at 12.00 pm – 1.00 pm. It is always riveting but even more so now the election is in full swing. I get so engrossed in the debates that I am surprised to find an hour has flown by. Sometimes, I find myself not stopping until the arguments are completed.

Back home Pauline is outside in the sunshine of our garden quad.,  preparing to griddle chicken breasts in lemon and garlic with griddled vegetables – fennel, onion, courgette, mushroom and asparagus.

This is currently my ideal meal.

10th April, 2015

At 10.00 pm last night, I reached for my phone to make a call only to find it wasn’t there. Panic!!! When did I last see it? Where was I? How long ago? Realisation – I last saw it at lunchtime when I was in the gym at the Health Club about 10 hours ago. My phone is a Sony Experia with a 4G contract.

I use it as much to check my bank account, the currency rate, my emails and texts as I do to make calls. It isn’t the most expensive model I could have but it’s worth about £250.00.

While I was charging round the house panicking and shouting , Don’t Panic! , Pauline was calmly phoning the Health Club which closes at 11.00 pm. In answer to her question, someone on the desk said just as calmly, Oh, Yes, Madam. We put it in the safe. Your husband can collect it tomorrow. So that’s alright then. I told them not to panic.

This morning in 22C/72F warmth and hazy sunshine, I left for my hour’s exercise and to be reunited with my mobile phone. I have it now and I’m still calm.

11th April, 2015

Just as sunny but rather cooler today. We’ve reached 14C/57F which is probably respectable for the time of year but feels comparatively less comfortable. Short sleeves have suddenly started to feel less appropriate.

Pauline will be taking the next, major step in her recuperation next week. We are going down to Sussex to look at a new property and staying in Brighton overnight. It will be interesting to see how she copes. Just using a seat belt is difficult at the moment. We are going to Angmering and Littlehampton. My birthday card at the beginning of the week featured a shot of Littlehampton.

Who knows, it may be prophetic.

29th March, 2015

Summer time and the living is easy. Actually, it has never been easier. Perhaps it’s too easy.

Pauline is looking a bit better this morning although her body is battered and bruised. She has been given green ‘flight socks’ to wear for the next fortnight. She is wearing bed socks over the top and looks an absolute delight. She has had her first breakfast of toast and marmalade for 27 months and it has perked her up a little. However, we can’t make any plans yet because the road to recovery may be rocky and uncertain. We keep looking at Greek travel and then drawing back because we are not in a position to commit. As I worry about Pauline, I think about Skiathan Man and what he and his family are going through. I hope they are coping with the cruelty of life.

30th March, 2015

A delicious Spring day of blue skies, warm sun, bird song and flowering trees. Camelias have been in full flower for some time and are now followed by Magnolia. The world is beautiful.

Pauline is growing stronger and beginning to move more easily. Things seem to be healing quickly.

31st March, 2015

Another lovely day outside to say farewell to March 2015. Unfortunately,  Pauline has had a bit of a relapse this morning. She had to have her dressings changed and is feeling uncomfortable and frail. We are going to monitor it for a couple more days and then, if there is no improvement, contact the Hospital Support Team at Ashford.

I had to learn how to turn the Dishwasher on before Pauline’s operation. I actually, feel quite empowered now I can do it for myself.  I even got the vacuum cleaner out. There will be no way back from here. I did a really vigorous hour on my own at the Health Club and spent the rest of the day feeling shattered.

1st April, 2015

Happy April.

All Fools’ Day – You know who you are! It’s certainly a lovely day here in Surrey. The car’s thermometer read 19C/66F in the Health Club car park. Unfortunately, Pauline is feeling very fragile at the moment. I am learning to pull my full weight in the household. A Man’s work is certainly never done when his wife is incapacitated!

2nd April, 2015

Pauline is improving but can’t sustain it throughout the day. She stays in bed longer in the morning, gets up with energy but soon tires. It’s going to take some time to get back to full strength. Fortunately, her wounds are improving well and the bruising is already fading from black to yellow but she is still in considerable pain.

Talking of pain, although it was lovely to hear from a number of Greek friends on Sifnos this week, it is sad to hear there have been 30 deaths this winter and that many are directly linking that statistic to the bad weather. One friend told us that it rained continuously, the wind was strong and it snowed twice. Another told us of the high number of deaths and that it included her 88 year old mother-in-law and her 86 year old sister. If there is a causal link between the deaths and the winter weather, it illustrates quite starkly the parlous state to which Greece has fallen. When we first visited Sifnos in 1984, it felt like part of a Third World country and as we left it in 2014, it felt as if it was returning to that same parlous state but with mobile phones. If it accidently falls out of the E.U. in the next few weeks, its fall will be rapid and real.

Having said all of that, you can’t argue with stark beauty of the island’s position but is that enough? This is Kamares this evening.

I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

3rd April, 2015

I must admit that Easter means absolutely nothing to me – English this weekend or Greek next weekend but, to the Greeks, it appears to mean so much that their year revolves around it. Greek television now is dominated by Easter advertising with red painted eggs and festivity. News reports will be all about the price of lamb and film of the central Athens meat market with row upon row of butchered lambs hanging up as wild men wield meat cleavers precariously but with panache. Because of Pauline’s operation, we can’t be there this year but, as I say, that is no bad thing. It was the one time when we really felt like ‘outsiders’ – like Muslims at Christmas in Britain – unable to share in the mounting excitement. Nevertheless, we are sending out Easter Best Wishes to those who it means something to.

Six years ago today Pauline and I left work after 37 years of teaching. We still haven’t fully adjusted to being idle although it is getting easier. Pauline says I am obsessed with time and I am beginning to accept her view. I find it hard to believe that it was six years ago that we set off for Greece as retirees for the first time. I remember announcing to Stavros that we had finished working for good. His reaction was a sight to behold. It was a mixture of shock, horror and panic that crossed his face. At the time, we didn’t understand why but we were soon to find out. He had been ‘winging it’ on our house build, not keeping proper records or accounts and not retaining the all important ‘electricity’ certification. No wonder he panicked and bailed out. Still no true friend would have done that. Fortunately, that’s water under the bridge. The really worrying thing is that another six years will bring us to 70!

4th April, 2015

There is no question that Pauline’s recovery is developing but slowly. It is going to be a few weeks yet before she can be pronounced fully over her operation. However, next week some time, we think, she will go outside for the first time. It will probably only be sitting in the car but that will be a start. We are setting some targets by booking a few days in Yorkshire before we re-plan our travel across Europe.

I’ve done six straight one hour sessions at the Health Club this week so I’ve taken today off. By evening time, I’m beginning to regret it. I’m pacing the floor and looking for activity. I’ll be on that treadmill tomorrow come what may!

22nd March, 2015

As a student of politics, I am currently in my element. Britain is entering General Election phase. Political discussion and debate is everywhere. This looks like being one of the most unusual of my lifetime. Almost certainly, neither of the two, main parties will command a majority. We will have another Coalition Government based around Tory-Unionist-UKIP or Labour-Greens-SNP. Personally, I think the latter is the most likely but it is touch and go. I don’t think the Coalition will be the tight affair we have had this time but a looser, ‘Confidence & Supply’ arrangement which will almost certainly see a second election within a couple of years. Actually, it could be a good election to lose.

As we’ve all retired from teaching now, my generation of students/teachers is appearing on social media sites increasingly as they reaffirm or reconnect with their pasts. I found this group which included , Kevin, Chris and ‘Tash’/John on Facebook.

This is as much an observation on myself as it is on them but we all look as if we’ve been through the mill and, if you’ve been in education for forty years, you certainly have. The upside is that forty years of teaching will mean you have a good and secure, inflation-proofed pension. Most of my contemporaries, like Pauline & I, have two such pensions coming in and soon to be supplemented by State Pensions too which explains why we are able to trot the globe in search of those experiences we didn’t have time for while working.

23rd March, 2015

Pauline’s sister, Phyllis and her husband, Colin, celebrate their 58th Wedding Anniversary today – or they would if they could remember it.

Actually, I had it recorded in my on-line diary and alerted Pauline who phoned and alerted them. Two years to their Diamond. Amazing! Pauline & I are in our 37th year of marriage which feels quite an achievement in itself. We will each be 87 if we reach our Diamond Anniversary.

24th March, 2015

Inflation has fallen to 0.0% in Britain – the lowest since comparative records began in the 1980s. Oil prices, clothes and furniture prices allied to aggressive food price cutting in supermarkets have brought this about but it will soon be reversed when the year on year oil price drops out of the equation. However, there is a substantive debate about the return to our inflation target of 2%. That will be for the next Coalition Government.

Meanwhile, the investment veteran, George Soros, has said that Greece’s attempts to escape its financial woes are now a lose-lose game, and has estimated the chances of the country leaving the eurozone at about even…. Greece is going down the drain. As Greeks prepare for Independence Day tomorrow, the Germans are demonstrating that they have rarely had less independence than at the moment. Greece will run out of money for salaries and pensions by the end of April unless they do as the Germans wish. That really isn’t ‘freedom’.

Went to M&S a few days ago for Pauline to collect an order. While queuing, we saw a travel case that we both liked. It was £100.00. We wanted two really and, with only one available, didn’t buy it. Today, we returned to pick up another of Pauline’s orders when we noticed the single case remained and the price had been cut by 50%. At £49.99, we bought it quite happily. Thank goodness we didn’t last week.

25th March, 2015

Independence Day. We certainly feel independent this year. It’s been a lovely, warm day for having the doors and windows open and letting the Spring sunshine in. We did a hard session at the Health Club and then came home to a lovely meal prepared by Pauline – Roast Saddle of Rabbit with braised Fennel, onion and garlic mushrooms. It was absolutely delicious.

We’ve got a series of trips coming up to Ashford Hospital on the Surrey/Middlesex border. It’s not a particularly pleasant drive and could involve the M25. We are choosing to avoid it because that section has had huge holdups on the two occasions that we’ve gone there. We now drive through Egham and Staines which is much more leafy and interesting and passes the wonderful Royal Holloway building.

26th March, 2015

A fascinating day in British politics – the end of the parliament was marked by a grubby, little attempt by the Tories to prepare the ground for getting rid of their hate-figure, Speaker John Bercow.

Led by Cameron & Hague and poorly supported by Gove, they failed because weaker but more principled people than them supported the rout of their underhand and unpleasant attempt. It was a fitting way to see them off to the General Election which I still think has every chance of a Labour Government conclusion.

27th March, 2015

Up at 5.30 am and out of the house by 6.30 am on our way to Ashford Hospital. Pauline is being admitted for major surgery and, although we both know it’s for the best and everyone reassures us that she can be confident of the result, we are both rather jittery. Rush hour traffic en route is horrible and we arrive with only about fifteen minutes to spare for our deadline of 7.30 am. I give her a kiss and have to leave her with her bag of clothes at Reception as I drive home alone.

As I do, it strikes me how uncomfortable it is to be driving alone. I so rarely do it these days. Normal mode is me driving and Pauline arguing with the sat.nav. almost before we’ve driven out of the garage. With no one to argue with that digital voice, I obey it and arrive home to an empty house. Pauline and I are aware of this weakness. We are never apart. We worked together for forty years and now we live, retired, together. Being aware of the problem doesn’t make it any easier to deal with when we are apart.

When I did the drive back to the hospital in the evening, I found her looking pale, drawn and tiny in a huge bed with lots of nurses. The operation had gone well but knocked the stuffing out of her.

28th March, 2015

Yesterday was warm and sunny with blue skies. Today is quite chilly and grey with a little rain. I have spent my day reading Greek and British papers.

In Greece, bank accounts continue to haemorrhage billions of euros each month as the coalition, Syriza, raid pension funds, State Enterprises, etc and extend payment terms to suppliers just to keep the current account from going negative. Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Greece’s sovereign rating amid growing uncertainty over the their pledge to overhaul reforms needed to restart bailout loan payments and avoid default.

In Britain, I thought Ed Milliband got the best of the debate with Cameron but the immediate, post-match spin following placed Cameron ahead. Interestingly, the first big poll taken since the debate and to be published tomorrow morning puts Labour 4% ahead and a clear vote for the sincerity of the Labour Leader over the Tory. People are immediately shown why Cameron has been desperately trying to avoid this confrontation.

 15th March, 2015

Quite a grey and cold day for Mothers’ Day. It doesn’t seem to be deterring birds who are singing from early to late each day and are busily foraging for nest building materials all around us.

Pauline & I no longer have Mothers but we know some so we are going out for a meal with them instead. An Italian meal in West Byfleet will be our marking of the day this year. To earn that privilege, we have done a session at the almost deserted Health Club this morning.

16th March, 2015

Got up at 7.00 am feeling tired today. Went through my morning routines still feeling tired. Even reading the paper was tiring. Drove towards the Health Club at around 1.00 pm but, as I drove, decided that I was too tired, turned round and drove home again. I must be overdoing it.

17th March, 2015

Mild but grey today. We were planning to visit a new housing development on the Sussex coast but we’ve postponed it until Thursday. Can’t go tomorrow because it’s the Budget debate and I’ll be glued to the Parliament programme.

Although we’ve had to delay our Greek trip until Pauline has had her operation, it may be no bad thing. We will know rather more clearly what the prevailing economic position will be. Interesting to see designs for the New Drachma notes being circulated in case the inevitable happens and Greece falls out of the Euro.

The 10,000 drachma note will be needed because inflation will skyrocket in the first couple of years or so. It will probably, like in post war Nazi Germany, just about pay for a loaf of bread!

Having spent an hour at the Health Club, the day has changed to a sunny and warm        14-15C/57-59F which is as good as Athens at this time in the afternoon.

18th March, 2015

Lovely, sunny and mild day. Budget day so we went to the Health Club early but it was so busy that we came back without parking. The budget has little of value to us. Our tax-free earnings are increased a little (£200 worth £40.00 per year) and we can now earn £1000.00 per year on investment earnings tax-free as well (worth £200.00 per year) so we will be £240.00 per year or £20.00 per month better off. This is not enough to buy our vote but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

We actually ate lunch today. Pauline made a lovely fresh salmon, parsley and garlic pâté which we ate with batons of celery. We ate it in the lovely Spring sunshine with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

19th March, 2015

A chilly day which only reached 9C/48F. I know it’s only mid-March but we have become so accustomed to warmer temperatures that this feels out of place. We did a bit of shopping and then a hard Gym session.

Our friend, the Sifnos Notary got in contact this afternoon. We gave her some clay ‘planter’ baskets before we left and she has grown some lovely flowers in them and was keen to share this with us. It is nice. We also gave her a couple of wine carafes which she has grown bulbs in. We bought the carafes from Habitat in Manchester in 1978 for our wedding party. We have moved on to more sophisticated things – like bottles – now!

We can’t wait to see her and her family again. As soon as Pauline has recovered from her operation, we will make our arrangements.

20th March, 2015

The media in Britain had been injected with the ‘Eclipse’ drug. Everything and everyone could think and talk of nothing else. Yawn. I couldn’t see it myself. Actually, in Surrey, no one could see it because of heavy, low cloud. I couldn’t care less. I just can’t get interested in it. I have enough trouble coping with the real world to worry about the celestial one. It went a bit darker as if it was going to rain and it will all happen again in eleven years time when I am 75 – if I’m still alive. Can’t wait!

The irony was that, as soon as the ‘exciting’ period had passed, the clouds parted, the sun came out and everything was Summer. We went to Woking and then Ashford hospitals to get and transmit some test results, do a bit of shopping and enjoy driving in the sunshine. Nearly got that Friday feeling – nearly. One of the lads who worked for me before I retired six years ago wrote on his Facebook page – Friday and Payday. It doesn’t get much better than this. – It all seems so far away now.

21st March, 2015

As part of our absolutely wonderful, NHS service, I have an annual eye review. Mine was a couple of months ago and it has picked something up which has resulted in me going to see a specialist ophthalmologist dealing with Diabetic Retinopathy. My appointment is today. We have to go back to Ashford Hospital for the appointment this morning.

Pauline was driving today because of the strong eye drops they administer on these occasions. The Ophthamologist said he found no new signs of diabetic retinopathy. In fact, the long term prognosis for my sight is good even though I only have sight in one eye anyway. The downside is that I have to have regular checks which is a little tedious. I have to go for a three monthly check at Ashford Hospital if I am in England. Otherwise, it will be in October.

 8th March, 2015

Supposed to be warmer than the Mediterranean today. It’s certainly sunny but there is a distinct chill in the air and we’ve only reached 14C/57F. Sunday is ‘papers day’ but we also found time for an hour at the Health Club and some hard exercise. It’s Sunday so Pauline made Chickpea Soup. It was better than at Simos’. Spent the afternoon going through old photographs because Catherine has requested one. It made me rather maudlin the further that I went through the piles of dog-eared snaps of yesteryear. Still it has to be faced. Found this one of Catherine winning a fancy hat competition at the local fete and being presented with her ‘certificate’ by a television personality although I can’t remember who she was. The photo appeared in The Burton Mail & Observer.

This was about 1960 and I was shocked to find my, young face in the back right of frame.

9th March, 2015

Happy 60th birthday to Catherine. What’s happening to us?

It has been a thought provoking day. I learnt of the death of my friend, English teacher and Rugby Coach, Vic Roebuck. He was 84.

I went to Burton upon Trent Grammar School between 1962 – 1969.

Vic was my hero. The one teacher I looked up to. He gave up his time to drive over to Repton and visit Mum when Dad died. I never forgot that. He gave up his weekends to take us to play games across the country. He gave up five evenings a week to take training. He made personal sacrifices that no teacher would do now for no additional pay. I will never forget him.

10th March, 2015

I have written to the Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, this morning telling him that I would be an ideal candidate for his band of ‘tourist tax spies’ because I know exactly where the bodies are buried.

I had first hand experience of it and could help in his honest-payment-of-tax drive. You would have thought that Greeks would want their government to succeed against the threat of European bankruptcy. The way they can avoid that is to pay the taxes they have been withholding so their country can buy more time for negotiation but so many, like Hardouvelis, their previous Finance Minister, have been spiriting their cash abroad, denying their own banks and countrymen of liquidity. The first signs of the effects of this policy are reported to be shortages of imported goods and services. Market professionals have told Kathimerini that there are already some problems in the cases of mechanical equipment and electronic appliances, while in the food and drinks sector there are shortages in certain premium products such as a well-known Belgian beer. This, of course, will have a knock on effect on the big earner – tourism.

11th March, 2015

Finally set my new colour laser printer up last night. It is a Brother 3150CDW and a full set of toners costs less than £50.00/€71.00.

I have a mono laser – Brother 5070N – but the new one is wireless and Pauline can print from her laptop elsewhere and we can both dump prints from our iPads and smartphones. Next job was to drive to our local recycling dump and take our old, colour laser. There must have been forty other ones in the skip where I threw it. At least it’s gone. Called in at the bank to pay in a cheque for rebate on our Service Charge. We pay £500.00 up front for all our heating and hot water costs and then they give us half that back when we don’t use it. It’s called ‘enforced saving’. Pauline has got the date for her operation. It is in a few weeks’ time in Ashford (Middlesex) Hospital. Ironically, I have to go there to see a Consultant Ophthalmologist in the next few weeks. We drove out to find the place this afternoon. It is a brand spanking new facility about 11 miles from our home.

Unfortunately, we have to drive two stops down the M25 to get there. Fortunately, today was one of brilliant blue skies and sunshine with temperatures reaching 15C/60F. It made the trip more enjoyable.

12th March, 2015

Lovely, sunny morning which has reached 15C/60F again.I’ve been sitting out in the sun today. Sainsbury’s did a delivery at 11.00 am. Supermarket shopping seems to have got out of hand in our household. We were going to Sainsbury’s anyway but Pauline was getting about 15% off a ‘free delivery’ shop so she bought expensive ‘staples’. Later, we took advantage of their petrol offer which supplied unleaded to us for £0.99 / €1.39 per litre.

Kathimerini reports today that Greece’s jobless rate increased in the fourth quarter as the economy began shrinking again and a political stand-off rekindled concern that the country could leave the euro area. Adult unemployment now stands at 26.1%. At the same time, the German Central Bank said that Greece had lost the trust of the Nations of the Union which will not help them.

13th March, 2015

Most things are on hold until Pauline gets through and recuperates from her operation. Although it isn’t inherently dangerous, all general anaesthetic operations have their dangers and we are both concerned about it. Waiting is the worst part. We would be starting our journey across Europe in a couple of weeks and we have had to delay it now. In just the same way, we were hoping to go up to Yorkshire soon but we are postponing for the moment. I heard from my friend, Brian, in Shaw who I am looking forward to seeing again but it will have to wait.

Pauline’s three nephews go to the fee paying school in Weybridge. Two are in the senior school and one is in his last year at the Junior building.

Today, we were pounding out kilometre after kilometre on the treadmill, mindlessly watching the mini television sets on the machines when BBC London news announced an explosion and subsequent fire in the roof of a Weybridge Junior School. It turned out to be the school attended by her nephew.

After our exercise, Pauline phoned her sister to establish everyone was fine but it had looked quite spectacular at the time.

14th March, 2015

Yesterday was Spring in Surrey and Winter in Yorkshire.

We went to the Health Club in 14C/57F of sunshine, did a little workout and came home to roasted, North Sea salmon with pesto crust and hollandaise sauce. Delicious!

This morning is chillier and greyer just to cheer all those workers who stay in bed late on Saturdays. We never did that. Life is too precious for sleeping.

1st March, 2015

Happy March!

and Happy St David’s Day. Our daffodils – £1.00/€1.38 per bunch – are basking in the Spring sunshine.

We have had Revithia (Ρεβύθια) or chick pea soup for our meal in honour of our Sifnos friends. Ρεβύθια is traditionally eaten on Sunday on Sifnos. Pauline does it just as well – if not better!

2nd March, 2015

Goodness, March is almost done already! It is Spring and we have Spring weather with lots of blue sky and warm sunshine. Our home was built in the grounds and on the site of a nineteenth century Anglican convent which is why we are surrounded by the original trees and shrubs which were planted all those years ago to provide peace and seclusion for the religious life of those who were trying to escape the real world. The trees around are now forty feet tall and the shrubs are aging a little. However, this is the time for camellias and we have then in all their glory.

They are such a sophisticated plant and flower.

The thermometer reads 11C/52F this lunchtime as we set off for an hour at the Health Club and we have 15-16C/59-61F forecast for the second half of the week. I’ll be getting my bikini out soon!

3rd March, 2015

Gorgeous Spring day with bright sunshine but with a little chill in the air. We are awaiting delivery of three of five on-line purchases this morning. We are dedicated Amazon users. This morning we are expecting new patio furniture and an electric griddle and a leather smart phone case from different delivery companies.

Later in the week, we are expecting a new, colour laser printer plus a year’s supply of toner from two more delivery firms.

This is rather tying. We want to get to the Health Club but when? Life is so hard!

It’s certainly looking hard for the new, Greek Government at the moment as they chase cash to keep going. They want to avoid a third bail-out at all costs so they can shake off the shackles of the Troika but, when you propose to do it by raiding the Pension Funds, life is certainly precarious. This is like ordering from Amazon on a credit card which you’re not certain to be able to pay off. Don’t do it! Unfortunately, as Kathimerini observes, there is less cash reaching the public coffers via taxes than that flowing out of the country in search of greener pastures in Switzerland and Hull. This is the old, Micawber law:

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen, nineteen and six, result happiness.  Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.

Looks like the Troika are here to stay for quite some time. Investor expectations of the euro zone breaking apart have risen to their highest level in two years, a survey indicated today, even after Greece agreed a financial lifeline with its euro zone partners.

4th March, 2015

Lovely, sunny day which has reached 11C/52F. All three parcels arrived yesterday but we didn’t make it to the Health Club so we’ve done a hard morning’s exercise today instead. Our next door neighbour asked for some help with her accounts so I’m going to create a spreadsheet for her. She doesn’t want it to hide from the taxman like some people I know but to make sure she pays all her bills on time. There’s nothing like an honest English person!

Pauline’s cooking salmon steaks on the new griddle to test it out. She will serve it with a pesto sauce and griddled vegetables. I’m looking forward to it after all that work.

5th March, 2015

The cleaners are here cleaning the ‘public’ areas of our Development. We don’t use those because we don’t live in a flat but a Duplex with our own front door. The gardeners are here spray cleaning paths, tidying shrub beds and cutting lawns. We pay for that through our Service Charge. It all feels like spring cleaning just as the weather feels like Spring. England can be beautiful at this time of year. Makes one glad to be alive and free.

We got the spring cleaning bug. After the pressure washing, Pauline cleaned the ground floor windows and doors until the whole outside looked sparkling and new. We then went down to the garage and tidied out our large store cupboard. The car boot is now full of things we hadn’t realised we didn’t need. They will be going to the Hospice Shop tomorrow.

6th March, 2015

Summer has arrived in Surrey. Surrey looks wonderful in Summer. We’ve reached 14C / 57F today and the forecast says we will hit the higher teens over the next few days.

We went shopping at Tesco and then on to Woking Hospice Shop to take a picnic hamper we were given stuffed with specialist food for Christmas. We ate the food and replaced it with a set of six Bistro-style coffee cups and saucers. We also took a lot of computer equipment we no longer needed and two suitcases we bought on impulse, used once and didn’t feel comfortable with. I’m sure someone in Woking will like them.

We did a huge and painful exercise hour. I had to talk my way through each ten minutes of it. When I had completed, I talked to Pauline about my struggle and she said she felt the same today. When we got home, she still had the energy to cook the most wonderful meal of homemade Tomato and Basil soup and Cod Provençal followed by Lemon Compôte with Raspberry Coulis. Every single element was home-cooked. How wonderful is my wife? Who wants to eat out?

7th March, 2015

Quite a chilly start to a day which has reached 15C/59F in brilliant sunshine and a slight breeze. The crocuses have fallen over and daffodils are starting to fade in many areas around us – all signs of the new year advancing. Thoughts turn to European travel. The Euro is at an 11 year low and, with Quantitative Easing (Printing Money) starting in Europe on Monday and forecast to last for eighteen months, it will fall further. Currently at £1.00 = €1.39, it is forecast to reach £1.00 = €1.50 or even weaker. It has already reached parity with the Dollar this weekend which will make Europe’s imports much more expensive. Shopping at Boden will be that much more expensive for our dear Greek friends!

Sat out in the sun at lunchtime with a delicious, chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio.

I bought it in Italy last summer. I’m surprised it has lasted this long. Look forward to our next shopping trip to the Supermercato.

22nd February, 2015

Beautiful, sunny morning but cold – minus temperature with heavy frost. In spite of the weather, I suspect Greece is not a very warm place to call home at the moment. Dominic Lawson’s byline in the Sunday Times this morning is:

Four weeks of Greek hubris, then back to humble moussaka

Those of us whose childish understanding of the English Civil War came from Sellar and Yeatman’s 1066 and All That have an adage to encapsulate the financial dispute between the Greek and German governments. The Germans are the Roundheads, “right but repulsive”, while the Greeks are the Cavaliers, “wrong but romantic”…..

….it is hardly surprising that Varoufakis has been humiliated. The terms agreed late on Friday involve acceptance that the bailout package continues to be set and monitored by the International Monetary Fund, the ECB and EU finance ministers; and that if this troika is not satisfied with Greek commitment to economic reform, the money will be frozen — exactly what Syriza swore it would never accept.

A few days ago, there was snow on the mountains of Sifnos. Will it have melted by Easter or will there be complete meltdown?

23rd February, 2015

Continuing the cold but bright theme this morning.

Leading Greek news was that Syriza had submitted their bailout extension request/economic plan but that the Germans had not considered it good enough and had given the Greeks 24 hrs to redo their homework and get back to them. This is heaping public humiliation on the Greeks who, I believe, should just tell the Germans to ‘stuff it’ and walk away but they are so desperate to stay within the euro that they continue to genuflect before the Troika.

Leading British news is Cash for Influence involving two party grandees who have been caught with their snouts in the trough. We aren’t surprised but we are still disgusted. We continue to joke about corruption in Greece, corruption in the European Parliament while largely turning a blind eye to politicians cashing in on their privileged positions. This is going to have to change in the face of the electorate’s complete disillusionment!

24th February, 2015

The birds are singing; the sun is shining; the gardener is outside pressure washing Winter from the garden paths and steps and all is well with the world – well not the political one but the social, ordinary human world.

In Greece, the strain is beginning to show in the Government where cracks are opening in the Coalition. In Britain, major and long-forged reputations are being trashed in the blink of an eye. Life is such fun.

After a particularly hard session in the Health Club, we came home to a meal that Pauline had beautifully prepared earlier today. Freshly made Tomato & Basil Soup followed by Braised Pheasant with onions, button mushrooms and red peppers.

Felt a great deal better after that just as the Greeks will have felt revived by the EU’s ticking of their last submitted homework which was returned with Satisfactory (just) scrawled in the margin.

25th February, 2015

The sun brought yesterday’s temperature up to 14C/57F yesterday. This morning is grey and half yesterday’s top temperature. Still, once again, this Winter has hardly shown us any snow. Much less than Sifnos, for example. Look at this in the second week of January.

You can just imagine walking up there in your shorts, can’t you? Book now!

We’ve just received our bill for the past twelve months heating and hot water bill. It is generated centrally for our development and delivered on demand although we only pay for what we use. All central heating and all hot water for our Duplex cost us the princely sum of £272.84 / €373.00 for the whole of 2014. I don’t know how we’re going to afford it. The UK Government only gave us £200.00 / €273.00 for the Winter Fuel Allowance!

We are house hunting again. Pauline is researching property in Andover, Hampshire. She has found some new builds that she likes and we are hoping to go and look at them tomorrow. It is about 50 miles or an hour’s drive from here.

26th February, 2015

Yesterday eventually reached 12C/54F and today feels mild as well although not terribly sunny. We’ve been out to town to shop at Maplin. It’s a store I love because I’m in to gadgets but, today, all I needed was a couple of Micro SD Data Cards to expand the memory of our smartphones.

They cost next to nothing but make all the difference. How can something so small store 4000 Mb of data?

We still cannot believe how lucky we have been to sell in Greece. We continue to walk round on air. The Greek Government is seen as such a shambles and liability going forward that the Euro seems to have no floor. It has sunk to its lowest for seven years and, today, £1.00 will buy €1.38. This will make all their imports so expensive and their possessions, including their houses, so cheap.

The mood in Europe appears to be hardening. In Germany, particularly, it is becoming polarised. Bild newspaper are running a campaign calling its readers to take a picture of themselves next to a front page reading: No more billions for the greedy Greeks.

The matter is certainly not settled either inside or outside Greece. This uncertainty cannot be at all helpful.

27th February, 2015

Glorious, glorious day with clear, blue skies and strong sun. We are going to the Health Club early because Pauline has a pre-operation meeting with the consultant this afternoon. Unfortunately, she still hasn’t got a definitive date for the actual operation yet so we are feeling a little uncertain about our travel arrangements. However, medical matters must be attended to first.

I’ve spent most of my life reading something or other for some reason or other. Rarely have I read much fiction since I first discovered histories and biographies in my youth. I was amused by the  The Bookseller’s shortlist for the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year. The award was first given in 1978 to a work called:

Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice

Subsequently it has been won by the likes of:

Highlights in the History of Concrete (1994)
How to Avoid Huge Ships (1992)
The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (2003)

This year’s nominees include:

Nature’s Nether Regions, a history of genitals
Where do Camels Belong?
Divorcing a Real Witch: For Pagans and the People That Used to Love Them.
The Poison Dwarf – Where is she now?

You will remember the emotive, Climate Change campaign that feature a polar bear clinging to the world’s last bit of ice with the blackmail that human activity was generating greenhouse gases, warming the planet which was melting the pack ice and, subsequently destroying the polar bear’s habitat. Polar bears, it implied were just clinging on and in danger of imminent extinction – and it will all be our fault.

Well, can you believe it, the polar bear population, far from diminishing is thriving. The Times features a recent report from  the University of Victoria, British Columbia , which observes that there are at least 25,000 bears, more than double the number in the 1960s and half of them are driving around in gas guzzlers. (Alright, I made that last bit up.) What you couldn’t make up is the sacking/resignation of the devout Head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri who was supposed to be an expert on the world’s changing weather patterns — not the sexual satisfaction of his own staff.

28th February, 2015

The last day of February, 2015. We will never see its like again. It comes with news from the Met. Office that this has been the sunniest winter on record – or at least for 100 years. I can believe it. I have so much sunshine inside me. I feel it particularly today because our friends, the notary and her husband, contacted us. It’s  wonderful to know we have such lovely friends on the island. We’re really looking forward to returning! Let’s hope Greece still exists when we get back.

The Telegraph has this headline:

Humiliated Greece eyes Byzantine pivot as crisis deepens

and proceeds:

Neither side holds the upper hand in the strategic game of chicken which could still see Greece forced out of the euro. Greece’s new currency designs are ready. The green 50 drachma note features Cornelius Castoriadis, the Marxist philosopher and sworn enemy of privatisation.

The amateur blueprints are a minor sensation in Greek artistic circles. They are only half in jest. Greece’s Syriza radicals have signed a fragile ceasefire with the eurozone’s creditor powers. Few think this can last as escalating deadlines reach their kairotic moment in June. Each side has agreed to a deception with equal cynicism, knowing that the interim deal evades the true nature of Greece’s crisis and cannot bridge the immense political divide. The Nobel poet Odysseus Elytis – voice of Eastward-looking Hellenism – honours the 200 note. The bills rise to 10,000 drachma, a wise precaution lest there is a hyperinflationary shock as Greece breaks out of its debt-deflation trap at high velocity.

Difficult to know what currency to take with us. Tourists are certainly going to be unsettled. Perhaps gold bars would be best.