Sanders Blog

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.

15th February, 2015

We are entering a mild, dry and sunny week as a prelude to the official announcement of Spring. Unfortunately, we have the mild and dry but not the sun this morning. In fact, we expect clear skies and sunshine from Tuesday onwards. This is perfect timing because we are off to France.

Our friendly Honda salesman phoned yesterday to ask us if we would like a new car. The incentive was ‘free money’. He was offering us 0% interest on the cost. There was a time when I would have taken it immediately but not now. We used to do 14,000 each year and change our car each year. I love the smell and feel of new leather and metal from a new car, the tautness of its chassis and the bright shine of its paintwork. The cost of a new car each year was just one of those things we factored into our budget.

In retirement, priorities change and so does our car usage. In spite of two return trips to Greece plus umpteen trips to France, the south coast, Norfolk and Yorkshire, we have only clocked up 18,000 in 28 months. We don’t need 0% interest money because our own, invested cash is paying so little we might as well borrow from ourselves as we did for most of our car purchases. This will be the first ever new car that will have lasted three years in our possession and then we’ll swap it at the end of the year or even at the start of 2016.

16th February, 2015

The dominant political thinking in UK is that Greece will leave the Eurozone but not yet. Today or in the next few days there will be a delaying fudge allowing both sides to return to their supporters crying victory. The screw has been turned on Merkel over the weekend with local voting showing a strong rise in anti-bailout sentiment for Greece so she cannot go too far. There has been voluble support demonstrated for Syriza in Greece increasing expectations that they will stick to their election, anti-austerity manifesto.

Ultimately, it is believed that Markel will stiffen her resolve not to support Greeks who don’t want to pay back what they borrowed and Syriza may wriggle on the hook but will split into constituent parts – Maoists, Trotskyites, Communists, etc. This will be followed by the ultimate run on the banks, credit controls and an unplanned Grexit. This, in turn, will produce a massive devaluation in returning to the Drachma. Social instability will see the rise of the balmy party – Golden Dawn – with all that entails.There again, it may all turn out well with Greeks and Germans staging a love-in.

17th February, 2015

Beautiful, clear day at 6.30 this morning as we drove out of the garage and down to the Channel Tunnel. How light it is now at this time in the morning. By 7.00 am, the cloudless blue sky was illuminated by strong sunshine. We were at the check-in well in time for a coffee, passport control and lining up to go. We were Letter W for the crossing. At 8.12 am we saw this notice:

At 8.13 am, we saw this notice:

At 8.14 am, we were advised that there would be a two hour delay because a train had unexpectedly ‘stopped’ in the tunnel and had to be ‘retrieved’. We spent the time reading our iPad newspapers and drinking coffee. Instead of crossing at 8.50 am (GMT), it wasn’t until 10.50 am (GMT) that we finally set off. This is virtually midday in France, of course, so our shopping trip became much more rushed that it should have been. However, it was all achieved safely, wine from the Calais Wine Store, fresh fish – cod, salmon and haddock, meat – rabbit, duck and pork, vegetables plus some olive oil to tide us over from Auchan in Coquelles. Back on the car train for 15.20 (GMT), we were home an hour and a half or so later and unpacking. A bit rushed but a reasonable day.

18th February, 2015

Beautiful, sunny and mild day again this morning. Crocus heads are straining eagerly towards the sky; birds are madly anticipating mating and squirrels charge around like mad things.

Talking about mad things, sounds like Syriza will have caved in to European pressure by Friday and normal servitude will have been restored. The Germans have insisted and the Greeks have bent the knee. They’ll dress it up as a partial victory back home but it will, ultimately, be total climb down in order to ‘get the money’. We, on the other hand, are stepping up at the Health Club in order to lose pounds!

Absolutely knackered after 40 mins on the treadmill and the Greek’s negotiating position doesn’t seem to be much more spritely either. The Euro weakened to £1.00 = €1.36 suggesting deepening pessimism across European markets. Will Greece end up in the hands of the Russians or remain under the boot of the Germans. We will soon know.

19th February, 2015

I’ve always liked this day because my younger brother, Bob’s birthday today makes us the same age for a couple of months. It’s great to see him reaching 63. It must be hard, though, because he’s still out there in the workforce developing databases. Anyway, we wish him happy birthday.

Tested my Broadband speed to advise a neighbour this morning. Since my upgrade from copper to fibre connection, I have gone from 5 Mbs Download / 1 Mbs Upload to 35 Mbs Download / 10 Mbs Upload. This is a fantastic improvement for £10.00 / €13.60 per month.

20th February, 2015

A morning that started off bright and sunny but had turned fairly grey by the time we ventured out at 10.00 am. Not out long – a quick turn round Tesco’s, fill up with petrol at £1.00 /€1.36 per litre and off home. We’ve done three really hard workouts at the Health Club this week so we’re having a day off to do some correspondence and watch the Greek debacle unfold. Thought Syriza had more backbone than it has eventually displayed. Tsipras and his gang have been shown to be the 1968 Campus Debating Society in power.

The jackboot of Germany has won again. Must be hard for Sifniots to swallow.

21st February, 2015

Woke up to a bright but chilly morning. Our trees all around the grounds are alive with birds anticipating Spring. As the day unfolded, we put on our computers and laptops to find Internet Explorer wasn’t working. It was hanging up for both of us. It’s my job to sort these problems out. How do you get on the internet without internet explorer? Fortunately, I had installed Google Chrome as well on all machines. I found a conversation going on on-line about internet explorer failing to work. It seemed to coincide with users of Norton Virus/internet security which we use. A quick update of Norton 360 and Internet Explorer was up and running successfully again. Phew!

Had a day off work yesterday so it’s back to the Health Club this lunchtime for a good workout. Chicken with tarragon and lemon is slow cooking in the oven for when we get back.

First, we have to earn it.

8th February, 2015

We were woken by birdsong before 7.00 am this morning and the day is certainly Spring-like.

Actually, there are six weeks until the Spring Equinox. At 10.00 pm, we have all the windows open upstairs and down to the freshen up the flat. The forecast for this week ahead is settled with high pressure and mild temperatures. Pauline is ironing with the sun streaming in. I don’t know if that makes it any easier. She did win the Lottery last night but hasn’t decided how to spend the £25.00/€34.00 yet. These things have to be carefully thought through.

9th February, 2015

We reached 10C/50F today in the sunshine but it still felt cold outside, particularly as we walked back to the car after exercise at the Health Club. There’s nothing worse than sweat drying cold on one’s back – not to put too fine a point on it.

Britain is awash with horror about the elite getting away with secret, Swiss Bank accounts and huge amounts of tax evasion. I remember Pauline being chased three years running for £4000.00, £80.00 and even £0.42 although she was under PAYE throughout. Here, we learn of individuals owing hundreds of thousands of pounds who are failing to be prosecuted for deliberately evading tax and the head of a bank who appears to have colluded in that crime and then been rewarded with a peerage and a government job. Are we still in Greece?

10th February, 2015

A grey morning but dry and a relatively mild 7C/45F. Friends on Sifnos, this morning, say it is cold and wet there. I am re-working one of my websites this morning and hope to upload it by the end of the week. When we were selling the Greek house, I created, proof-read and uploaded a sales site in 24hrs – I was so keen to sell – and all the mood music coming out of the country confirm our decision. I still believe it could go either way but I am slightly inclining towards Grexit now.

Pauline is making vegetable soup and vegetable spaghetti for our meal but first we must earn it by working hard at the Health Club. It is nice to see further signs of Spring on its way as crocuses force their heads into the world beneath the trees around our house.

11th February, 2015

Out at 9.00 am under leaden skies and cold, though a bit warmer than Greece. We are topping out at 8C/47F but it feels colder. Ruth and Kevan are out walking in the North of England to celebrate a birthday. Rather them than me!

We have been to the Peacock Centre for Pauline to have her haircut at Headmasters while I read my iPad newspaper in Patisserie Valerie and drank the best Latte I’ve had for a long time.

We went for a cursory walk around Debenhams which is obviously waiting new stock, bought a Europe 2015 Road Atlas to supplement our Sat. Nav. and bought a couple of jars of Genovese pesto from Carluccio’s.

We’ve done a really hard session at the Health Club this afternoon that has left me shattered. I certainly won’t be able to keep pace with Ruth and especially not Jane B.G.. I may even need a lie down before my meal – Roast Salmon steak with pesto crust accompanied by grilled onions, peppers and garlic button mushrooms – and another lie down after it.

12th February, 2015

Enjoyable day out driving down to Sussex to view properties. Hailsham, Hellingly, Lewes, Horsham, Haywards Heath. We left at 9.30 am and got home by 3.00 pm. We were looking more at areas than specific properties. Rather liked Haywards Heath. Never been there before but it had a good feel and appeared to have lots of the services we want to find in reasonably close proximity.

13th February, 2015

Friday 13th – Name Day of The Poison Dwarf. Have a wonderful time!

We’ve been doing correspondence and Management business for our Development. Not really enjoying doing that. Hopefully, we’ll be in a house by the end of the year. For the past 40 years – in fact, all of our married life – we’ve lived in detached properties. The last time I lived in a flat was as a student in a flat above an Estate Agent and below a brothel. I had not foreseen the amount of communal activity required to manage ownership of a shared property and grounds. We really don’t need it and it is urging us to move on.

1st February, 2015

January 2015 is dead. Welcome February! It is a lovely, sunny morning although fairly chilly. I’m undergoing the arduous, Sunday ritual of reading the papers on my iPad, updating my Blogs and websites and watching football. Pauline is fielding enquiries from house developers which come in even on a Sunday and making marmalade. Jointly, we will do a session at the Health Club. I will try to make it coincide with the Sunday Politics programme with Andrew Neil on BBC1. The jogging machine and the exercise bike each have individual televisions to watch and I get so engrossed in the political process that the exercise is over too soon.

2nd February, 2015

Set out early on a sunny but bitterly cold morning to St. Peter’s Hospital.

It was 0C/32F and felt colder. The car’s warning systems flashed ICE on the dashboard display and was dinging to draw our attention to it. Funny really because there was no frost but we had been told to beware black ice. We were going to take Pauline to see a specialist – a consultation for which she has been waiting for three or four weeks. It is a non-emergency but significant. The result is that she has to have keyhole surgery and the wait could be up to eighteen weeks. We pleaded that we had booked travel tickets and were told that it was only the maximum timeframe and that she might get a much earlier cancellation anyway. The operation will be in Ashford Hospital. If it came to it, she could go privately. We’ll see.

Excellent session at the gym today and then back for homemade soup followed by roast salmon with a pesto crust and button mushrooms. Worth working for. This afternoon, we have the next ISAs maturing and I can move them into a larger ISA pot. Life will be so much more manageable when they are all amalgamated under one roof and waiting to strike when a big investment rate is announced. Chance would be a fine thing.

3rd February, 2015

Woke up to an inch or so of snow and bitterly cold. Drove out of the garage at 7.00 am, making virgin tracks, en route for the Post Office parcel collection point. We were battling through Surrey people with little experience of snow. Our life in Yorkshire and daily travel across the Pennines have made us quite accepting of such driving conditions but Surrey workers found the colour white bewildering and traffic crawled along. We made it there and back eventually but then decided not to go to the Health Club today because we were expecting another delivery and didn’t want a repeat of today.

Quite a number of desperate to sell housing agents phoned in today and we might go to look at one or two if the weather looks comfortable. I’ve been doing a quick guide to Athens for some relations who are calling in there soon. Pauline has got her marmalade in to jars and stored away.

Can life get any more stressful?

4th February, 2015

A cold but dry day. We did a huge session at the Health Club after which I, for one, was totally exhausted. Pauline barely perspired. It knocked me out for the rest of the day. We had one of my favourite meals – roast pheasant in a mustard sauce with onions, carrots and cauliflower –  and it nearly revived me.

5th February, 2015

Well, already the Greek bravado is unravelling. Syriza are admirably pledged to hit the big earners with tax rises, to increase property tax year on year and to unify all earnings which will mean getting everything on-line and centralised in its control but, will it run out of money before they can act? The media is speculating about Cyprus-style credit controls on the Banks to stem the flood of money out of the country. To its credit, the government are looking at pan-European checks and controls on accounts that Greeks hold abroad. I can certainly provide some assistance in pointing them in the right direction.

The Sunday Times last weekend was warning holiday makers who wanted to book Greek holidays not to book too soon in case the currency came under threat and, if and when they travelled, to take currency with them rather than rely on Greek Banks which could easily have liquidity problems. This may be posturing but, if you’re a fan of economic ‘game theory’ as Varoufakis is reported to be, these are the tactics one can expect.

As our NHS becomes a political football with rumours of its demise, Pauline has been called for a pre-op meeting at the hospital three days after she was first seen by a specialist. It is both amazing and wonderful in equal measure. She may actually have her operation within a month of seeing the GP. Even when we were using BUPA the timetable wasn’t much better. At the same time, the old chestnut is being more seriously examined of forcing those who reside outside UK to pay for NHS treatment and so that patients have to get it back from the country in which they reside. It’s only surprising they didn’t enforce it earlier.

6th February, 2015

Bitterly cold day exacerbated by a cutting wind. Quick shop at Tesco – mainly vegetables, milk and coffee beans. The total came to £58.00/€78.15 but was reduced to £45.00/€60.60 by all the vouchers we had been enticed with.

Had to go to Woking Walk-in for my annual eye check. It’s absolutely necessary but a bit of a pain. I have to arrive half an hour before the check and have drops put in. When my pupils are so dilated that I can’t read my newspaper on the iPad, I am called back in for eyeball flash photography. The photographs are compared with last year’s to identify any changes. I don’t think there really are any. I’ve been half blind for years. My doctor will get the results in a month.

Pauline fancies some short breaks in European cities in the next couple of months and is currently researching 4 day (3 night) trips to Rome and to Barcelona. Seems a nice idea to brighten the winter days up.

7th February, 2015

My sister suggests Barcelona over Rome. Personally, I would always prefer Italy to Spain but we will give both a try in the next few weeks. The Euro has settled for the weekend at £1.00 = €1.35 which is its cheapest for quite a few years and is partially a result of the impasse reached over the Greek problem. Who blinks first will be important but, whether it’s Greece or Germany, only trouble can follow.

Here, we are constantly being told that the Baby Bulge, retiring generation have never had it so good whereas young people are really struggling to afford a property, etc.. When we were in our early years of buying a house, we were paying interest rates of 12-14% and had to beg for an interview with the bank manager to get a loan. Today, we are told that mortgage rates may soon fall below 1.00% for two year loans and 2.00% for five year loans. -I looked at the current price for the television we bought a few years ago for £1200.00/€1,620.00 – which is now £350.00/€472.00 and the £1500.00/€2022.00 fridge-freezer is reduced to £600.00/€810.00. This young generation have never had it so good – to coin a phrase!

25th January, 2015

How do you feel about beetroot? I must say from the outset that I have always loved it. I enjoy it in pickled, salad form and roasted as a vegetable but the one thing I have never done is drink it. In fact, I have spent my life avoiding vegetables in juice form just as I don’t wear sandals or hair shirts. We have always grown beetroot in our vegetable gardens over the past forty years without knowing its health-giving properties  but today I drank it for the first time on the strength of reliable evidence that says it increases anti-coagulation – which might help me reduce my intake of warfarin – and lowers blood pressure which might reduce other drugs I take. The juice sold by Tesco & Sainsbury is featured below.

I drank a glass this morning and loved it. Pauline is rapidly searching out Juicers powerful enough to turn raw beetroot into a drinkable form but, as I sat down to a bowl of vegetable soup this afternoon after a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast and a mid-morning snack of a banana, I began to panic that I was in danger of voting Green. Help!

5.30 pm GMT – Syriza has won the Greek election with what may possibly be an overall majority.

Tsipras has done it and now inherits the poisoned chalice. Maybe that’s what Samaras wanted after all. Greece will shake with excitement, (misplaced) optimism and real trepidation. Nobody knows what will happen in reality but one thing is sure, it won’t be kind to right wing business people.

26th January, 2015

Today, the Greek people wrote history, Tsipras declared in his victory speech. The Greece of the elite has been defeated.

By elite, of course, he means ‘old order’ dominated by ΠΑΣΟΚ and Νέα Δημοκρατία but also and more basically, Capitalism and the money owning classes, inherited money and privilege. The ever optimistic crowds believe their vote has sent one, simple message: Good Night, Mrs Merkel.

If only it were that simple. A famously euro sceptic French politician has said that Syriza has made a mistake to believe that you can separate austerity from staying in the euro. On the contrary, austerity has been imposed precisely to save the euro. The two are inseparable… Anyone who thinks it’s possible to reform the euro is deceiving themselves and wasting time.

The immediate question is what do about the final, €3.6 billion of aid to Greece that was due to be signed off in the next month in return for Greek compliance with the demands of the Troika – demands that Tsipras said firmly in his victory speech last night would no longer be met. A two-month extension from Greece’s creditors, granted to conclude an audit that will determine the release of the next tranche of loans, is due to expire on February 28. A flight of capital out of Greek banks that began several weeks ago is likely to accelerate and the value of the euro against currencies such as sterling and the dollar will slide. With Greek government bonds suddenly perceived as more risky, the yield, or return, given to their holders is expected to soar. For many, simple, island Greeks this will be meaningless but will hit home when pensions and services are cut and EU subsidies dry up completely. Now is not a time to be ill, old or jobless in Greece. Equally, now may be a very risky time to hold Greek bank accounts.

27th January, 2015

Busy day today including a hard, gym session so I’m writing this in retrospect which is never good for a man with a memory like a sieve. Really big event today was Pauline cutting my hair which shows how dramatic life is at the moment. The latest Eurotunnel special offer was emailed to me – a £20.00/€26.75 day return for car and up to nine passengers.

We will do our monthly shop at the beginning of February in the Hypermarkets of Calais/Coquelles and, partly thanks to the Greeks, the purchases will cost us so much less than in the Summer.

28th January, 2015

Really pleasant, sunny day which reached 10C/50F in the afternoon. We went through what has become a regular ritual in our house now. We spent half an hour reviewing my clothes and throwing about two thirds of them out because they are way too big for me. Pauline has already replaced them with new and is tired of the old clogging up the wardrobes. It is quite a cathartic exercise which feels like discarding an old and unsatisfactory past to which I know I will never return. The problem is that I’ve become quite obsessive about buying new socks but losing weight doesn’t seem to affect their effectiveness. For that reason, my sock draw just gets more and more full. Used socks are not really the sort of thing one takes to the Hospice Shop so they stay in the draw.

Having established superfast broadband last week, I’m turning my attention to ‘cloud’ computer storage this week. We both use Ms. OneDrive cloud backup services currently but would like the increased security of hosting our own data so I’ve decided to buy a wireless, backup drive for home. This has an app. for connectivity with mobile phone , iPad and laptop whilst out of the house so it will seamlessly replace our current arrangements.

It is so cheap these days. Two terabytes plus software will cost me £99.00/€132.30. My first PC had a 42Mb hard drive partioned at 32Mb because that was the working limit at the time. This backup drive is 2,000,000Mb. How times have changed!

29th January, 2015

January is nearly done already. Has anyone found the ‘pause’ button yet? We really need it now. Life is so good that ‘pause’ would be perfect at this time.

Oh well, onward and upward – well outward to Currys to purchase my ‘Cloud Drive’ and to the doctor to collect a repeat prescription. The morning has been spent connecting up the drive, linking phones, laptops, iPads and Desktops to it. While we are out at the Health Club, 7Gb of data will be backed up wirelessly.

30th January, 2015

Very chilly day to day where the temperature didn’t rise above 6C/43F. We did a shop at Tesco this morning, dropped in to see Phyllis & Colin on the way home and intended to go to the gym. After four hard consecutive days of exercise, I decided that I needed a day off so we went out to M&S to buy a birthday present for James. As we got to the counter to pay, a older lady nipped in front of us. She was very trendily dressed in leggings and a particularly colourful, patchwork style, short coat. Pauline said immediately that she loved the coat. The older lady turned and smiled and said, Oh, I’ve had it for years. I’m 92 you know. We were left absolutely amazed as she skipped off towards the escalator. That’s certainly something to aspire to.

One thing that has particularly helped me to control my eating has been my new bean-to-cup coffee maker. I’ve had it exactly a year now. I drink three or four cappuccinos each day without sugar and with fat free milk. Today I found some interesting cups to serve it in. I’ve been looking, unsuccessfully for quite some time. These may be the answer:

31st January, 2015

Woke at 7.00 am to a heavy frost/light dusting of snow but it had disappeared by 10.00 am as we went out to fix an iPad problem for Phyllis. Actually, it was something I had not come across before where her internet browser had gone into negative colour which made it even more difficult for her to read it. After a long period of trawling nerd chatrooms, I discovered that she had accidently touched the ‘Private Browsing’ button which, if selected, results in that effect. When you know, it is remedied at the touch of a button.

Unwittingly, Pauline and I are fitting in with the current demographic in relation to shopping. Forty years ago we used to do one, huge, monthly shop at a supermarket – Asda – and then smaller, supplementary ones at local, village shops. Twenty years ago, we went to one supermarket – Sainsbury’s to do a weekly shop and that was enough. Working long hours made us time-poor so the least time spent in the process was best. Now, in retirement, we shop at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Asda according to what we need at what is good value. We play the system. The last two shops have been in Sainsbury’s and Asda so, today, came an envelope of coupons to the value of £25.00/€33.37 off our next shop at Tesco. In addition, we have 20p/€0.27 per litre off petrol which is already currently £1.06/€1.41 per litre. In a couple of weeks, a similar enticement will come from Sainsbury’s and we’ll go back there for a shop. All the supermarkets are desperately seeking increased customer base and loyalty but the British people are responding by becoming ‘discount tarts’. And so are we.

18th January, 2015

A grey, damp and cold day all day – just the sort for staying in and reading the papers. This time next week the Greeks will have voted in a general election that could cause the country to default and leave the single currency. The Sunday Times, this morning,  had a lovely explanation of how the perfect bailout might work:

There’s a village in Greece where everyone is in debt. One day a German tourist walks into the local hotel and puts a €100 note on the desk, saying he wants to inspect the rooms before deciding whether to stay. The owner gives him some keys and as soon as the visitor walks upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and dashes next door to settle his debt with the village butcher.

The butcher takes the €100 and runs to repay what he owes the pig farmer. The pig farmer uses the €100 note to pay his drinks bill at the taverna. The taverna owner uses it to pay his barmaid, who is staying on tick at the hotel. She pays off her room bill with the €100 note. Then the hotel owner replaces the €100 note on the counter, so the German will not suspect anything is amiss. That’s when the traveller comes downstairs, announces the rooms are not to his liking, pockets his €100 and resumes his journey.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt. That’s how a bailout should work.

Now that’s how the Greeks would have liked it to work. Unfortunately, life’s not that simple as the 60,000 or so Greeks who fixed mortgages in Swiss Francs are finding now they are 20% more expensive. There is no substitute for straight, honest dealing.

19th January, 2015

Gloriously sunny but cold morning. The air is sharp and clear. We are out early to the supermarket and then off to the Health Club before coming home to clean and tidy the house. This evening, we are hosting a pre-residents meeting to set the agenda for the residents meeting tomorrow. It is one of those necessary evils we have to go through twice a year. A number of our services are communally funded – heating and hot water come from a heat interchange unit centrally sourced and maintained. Our refuse goes to a community bin store. Our car parking space is in an underground car park where other residents park as well. Our grounds are maintained by a communally hired gardening team and they are lit by centrally funded lighting. It is all very economical but policy has to be agreed across 38 property holders which can be frustrating. It is one reason that we are intending to move to a detached property where we can take full responsibility for our own lives.

20th January, 2015

Our coldest night of the Winter with temperatures down to -5C/23F. The Times featured an excellent photo to illustrate this in today’s edition:

Now, at 11.00 am, we have a beautiful, sunny day with frost largely gone.

The Greek election appears to be increasingly going to the far-Left, Syriza party. Three opinion polls last night saw the anti-austerity party increasing their lead to somewhere between 4% – 6%. This is outside the area of statistical error and really firms up their chances. A poll for Mega Channel put them 4% ahead. A poll for Pro Thema put them 4.4% ahead and a poll for Skai Television put them 6.5% ahead. The only real question is whether they will need coalition partners or can manage alone.

21st January, 2015

We had a long meeting last night and were very late to bed. Consequently, this morning we weren’t up until 7.15 am. We did go out for a tough session at the Health Club but Pauline still had the strength to make a wonderful meal of roast vegetable and tarragon soup followed by home made baked beans and Cumberland sausage.

Interesting news from the Economic Summit in Davos where the head of BP has said that oil prices could remain low for up to three years. He added that that could send UK petrol prices below £1.00/€1.30 per litre. Every little helps! It also looks as if the European Central Bank will embark on a policy of Quantitative Easing to the tune of 500bn euros / £382bn. This policy will tend to drive down interest rates which will also make investors less enthusiastic about investing in the currency. Recent depreciation of the euro is largely due to anticipation of QE coming down the line. All in all, it should be good news for we Brits.

22nd January, 2015

Had to perform my least favourite husbandly duties this morning. To her credit, Pauline doesn’t ask it of me often so, when she does, I comply uncomplainingly. So it was, we went off to the Peacock’s Shopping Mall to look for clothes.

The funny thing was that, no sooner had we entered the shopping area but a tannoy message told everyone to go outside because fire had been detected. We were back in very soon afterwards and I managed an hour and a half during which time Pauline failed to find anything to her taste. On our way up to the roof top car park, we passed a new butcher’s shop which had opened in Market Walk and we bought four pheasants at £3.25 / €4.30 each which is an excellent price.

I installed my new Sky Router this afternoon because the switch to fibre optic super power is supposed to take place during tomorrow. Switching routers usually results in temporary reductions in speed and so it is for me. I will wait and see the outcome over the weekend and do a speed test on Monday. I’m sure you’ll wait with bated breath.

23rd January, 2015

Woke up to the heaviest frost of the Winter so far. It registered -6F/21C where we live although a little Oxfordshire went down to -9C/16F. The day gave way to beautiful sunshine although it was still only -2C/28F as we drove to Sainsbury’s at around 10.00 am. We were just turning into our lane on the drive home when I noticed an Openreach worker fiddling around in the Fibre Optic case on the corner. I knew instinctively that he was linking me up.

I rushed through the front door to check, barely noticing that the burglar alarm wasn’t set. Sure enough, my 5Mbps had leapt to 32Mbps download and upload had been transformed 10 fold to 10Mbps. It was only then that Pauline pointed out the burglar alarm problem. It is linked to a call centre by phone. I checked the phone and it was dead. The service department made light of it and soon had me back on and sailing along. The whole thing strikes me as distinctly odd, though, as I have a sky phone line rental (on a BT installed line) and a Sky fibre broadband connection using wholly BT infrastructure based in a BT cabinet. How can this really be considered privatisation?

24th January, 2015

Feels like Spring in Surrey. The skies are blue, the sun is shining and the birds vigorously being birds all round the woods. For Greece, however, the final supper looms. As Sky (Greek)TV called the election for Syriza by 7%, today’s editorial in The Times says this morning that Syriza is:

a leftist movement that believes it has overcome the laws of arithmetic. If any Greek government after the elections, either as a single party or as a coalition, implements Syriza’s programme, it will do great damage.

Certainly, the markets look as if they are bracing for trouble. The Euro has settled at £1.00 = €1.34 for the weekend. Thank goodness we sold last Summer and bought Sterling. The British currency is strong as many, panicking Greeks have realised and seek to get their money out by buying it.