Sanders Blog

7th December, 2014

A lovely, sunny day today and much warmer in spite of the red-top newspapers bleating about ‘Arctic Blasts’ and ‘Eight Feet of Snow’. Pauline has gone shopping with her sister while I am completing my Christmas Newsletter. All communications with Greece have to be posted today if we wish them to arrive before Christmas. I’ve just been checking Superfast Ferries 2015 prices and, even though oil prices are down by 30%, their ticket prices will cost us 15% more. I predict that will change as the season starts.

8th December, 2014

A quiet day finishing off and printing my Christmas newsletter. The North of the country, where we used to live, had its first taste of snow overnight and the trans Pennine routes were being cleared, salted and gritted. Certainly, it is nice to be more comfortable down here in relative warmth.  Did a good hour at the Health Club and dined on Pauline’s wonderful Fish Bisque. The evening was enhanced by a United win away to Southampton. Life is so good!

9th December, 2014

Quite a cold but bright and sunny day. Even Sifnos was cold today we were told. We were out shopping. I went to M&S and overdosed on socks. I couldn’t resist them.

Nineteen pairs for £30.00? You can’t say fairer than that! Clothing is so cheap in Britain at the moment. And they gave us a £5.00 voucher for use in the Food Hall. Filled up with petrol in Tesco on the way home. The cheapest I can remember for a long time. We paid £1.05/€1.33  per litre. I forced the car to take fifty litres.

For our meal today Pauline cooked Braised Pheasant with fennel and shallots. It was out of this world. They could have done with it up in our old haunt of Yorkshire where snow clearing was the order of last night.

We definitely don’t miss it at this time of year although we are getting close to starting the heating up.

10th December, 2014

On Monday night going into Tuesday, gale force winds and torrential rain hit Sifnos but it is nothing to what is about to break over their heads. International observers are talking about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as they watch the Greek Coalition as good as invite Tsipras and his left wing alliance to take over the government of the country. All the pain and all the gain could be for nothing if Tsipras follows his rhetoric through. Indeed, many believe that this is a Samaras calculation to give the left wingers a hot potato to juggle and drop before the Right take over again. It is typical Greek duplicity. We feel so fortunate to be out of it!

Britain is just beautiful at the moment – well, Surrey is. This morning is still and clear with blue skies and bright sun. This glorious sunrise featured in The Times this morning is worth being alive to wake up to.

Pauline is icing the Christmas cake and, although I won’t be eating any, all is well with the world. Just before we left for the Gym, the postman delivered an unordered parcel. It was from our friends, Margaret & Tony in Huddersfield who also have a property in Murcia, Spain.

It was a lovely present and a gentle hint that we agreed to go to Spain for the first time.

11th December, 2014

Beautifully bright, sunny day today. The gardeners have arrived and are mowing the grass, sweeping up leaves and clearing moss from the paths. If you are a weather geek like me – and I know one or two of you have weather stations – I have some stats. for you this morning.

Currently it is 8C/46F but will reach a magnificent peak of 9C/48F. The average high in Surrey on this day over the past 30 years is 7.8C/46F. The record high is 14.3C/58F (in 19945) and the record low -8.9C/16F (in 1991).

Did my INR this morning and was really pleased to find it back on track at 2.7 (2.0 – 3.0 range). I only have 3 test strips left. They are quite expensive at £160.00 for 48 but I managed to persuade the doctor to prescribe them last time so they were free.

I’ll be off to see the lovely doctor again soon!

I’m arranging the movement of ISAs that have matured at 4.0% into this year’s ISA pot at 1.45%. Thank goodness I don’t have to pay for prescriptions! Pauline is busily marinating pork ribs Chinese-style for our meal after our exercise.

Don’t drool. You wouldn’t like them. What a lucky man I am and no weird tourists to consider. Now writing at 10.30 pm it is 10C/50F. Sifnos is 11C/51F.

12th December, 2014

Damp but very mild start to the day but it had dried up by we ventured out at 9.00 am. Sainsbury’s was busy but manageable. Pauline had a Christmas Lunch Needs list and there were a lot of old and very doddery shoppers to negotiate but we were home before mid day. Rabbit soup for lunch followed by smoked salmon and garlic prawns accompanied by the ubiquitous Waldorf Salad.

All the Christmas cards have gone out now and ours are featuring robins – a traditionally pagan scene. That’s what Christmas means to us.Let’s hope the snow stays oop North.

Meanwhile, Greece is well on the way to imploding. Credit rating agency Moody’s has warned it might downgrade Greece in case of snap polls, while investment firm Goldman Sachs said there is a possibility that a cap will be set on bank withdrawals in Greece, as was the case in Cyprus. Thank goodness we got all our cash out in time! According to the Tourist Organisation, Hotels are already reporting a slowdown in the rate of bookings, while the representatives of foreign tour operators are expressing concern to Greek hoteliers regarding the deposits they have paid in case the Greek banking system is affected by developments in the country. Happy Days!

13th December, 2014

The week is ending on the most glorious day of clear blue skies and strong, low sun. A bit of a frost sparkled the lawns at 7.00 am but was soon burnt off by the sun. Greece has continued to be hit by storms and strong winds – meteorologically, economically and politically. We have spent the whole week thanking our lucky stars.

One of our relatives has complained that we are exhausting their ‘S’ in the address book by moving too often. They’re going to have to buy a new book or go digital. We have about three more moves in us yet – not to mention a little place in Europe!

30th November, 2014

November closes with the news that Autumn 2014 has been the third warmest on record. Monday sees the official start of Winter and we are warned that, temporarily at least, we can expect some seasonal weather. There is a lot to say for Seasons. They give life enjoyable variety. It is still very mild in Surrey. We went out today in short sleeved shirts quite happily. The one thing I am not particularly keen on is  dark early mornings and dark early evenings. One thing Winter does provide is an excuse to eat soup. Pauline made the most wonderful celeriac soup today.

I survive on six or so hours of sleep each night and we get up unwaveringly at 7.00 am. I would like to see the sun when I rise but, currently, we are waiting around for a couple of hours for true daylight to arrive. Admittedly we are surrounded by trees but the sun was already well on its way down by 3.00 pm. The shortest day is still three weeks away.

1st December, 2014

Happy December 2014. Let’s hope we don’t see any snow again this year. The Blog has 24 days until its 6th birthday. Let’s hope it lives that long.

Our grounds are host to dozens of Mahonias which are coming into full bloom right now. The are a delightful, even majestic shrub and put on a great display against a woodland backdrop.

Fascinating to see the Greeks up in arms about the most basic, economic changes that still don’t even bring them in to line with the rest of Europe. Raising the retirement age to 62. People in Britain would kill for such an achievement. The British have to work to 67 now and many can’t conceive of retiring at all. Putting up the VAT on hotel bills from 6.5% to 13%. Let them live in the real world! It should go up to the full rate. Anyone who can make an annual living on ten or twelve weeks occupancy a year is profiteering and shouldn’t be given concessions like this. This is why the coalition is struggling. The Greeks need to embrace reality.

2nd December, 2014

Up to a grey and damp start although not cold. Off to the Channel Tunnel just after 9.00 am for a short stay in France. We wait for all those poor people going to work to free up the roads before we leave. It takes just over an hour to Folkestone and half an hour checking in and driving on followed by half an hour crossing under the sea. Certainly much better than going by ferry. The train leaves at 11.30 am and, with time difference, we drive off at 1.00 pm. We will check in at our hotel before going out to do some shopping.

Lovely journey and crossing. Checked in, dropped off our bags and went shopping to Citè Europe. We decided to have a picnic meal in our room and bought various cheeses, cooked meats, salads and wines. It was a delightful indulgence. Back to the diet tomorrow! We bought white wine for Phyllis & Colin, red Bordeaux for us along with cases of champagne for Christmas.

3rd December, 2014

A hearty breakfast, check out of our hotel and off to Auchan in Coquelles.

We bought rabbit, duck, pork, huge loins of cabillaud (aka Cod), the biggest atlantic salmon in the fish market which will now feature in our Christmas meal starter. We stocked up on onions, shallots, garlic and salad vegetables.

Off to the Tunnel and an early afternoon crossing. We boarded at about 11.50 am and left at 12.20 pm.

We entered England about 11.50 am and the drive back of just over an hour was a delight. To hear the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement massively cutting Stamp Duty on house sales was a real welcome home.

4th December, 2014

An article quoted in Keep Talking Greece today reports that Italy, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria are seen as equally corrupt among EU countries as if that almost absolves the Greeks of duplicity. We certainly saw massive corruption at first hand in our time living there but it has become so endemic that those involved see it as normal and acceptable. No wonder the Germans insist on maintaining a boot on their throats until they really straighten up.

Off to the Health Club to straighten ourselves up this morning, delivering wine to our relatives on the way. Got to get out of the house without next door’s cat sneaking in and out of the chilly, damp air. Poor old Minnie. She should have been born in the Mediterranean.

She’s cunning enough for it!

5th December, 2014

Spoke to my big sister yesterday. She keeps up with the Blog and observed that for someone intent on losing weight, I certainly feature food a lot. It’s true. The difference is that nowadays all my consumption is ‘costed’ against my daily allowance and any exercise I take. Today, after an hour’s vigorous exercise at the Health Club, our only meal of the day was salad and cold pork followed by fruit and yoghurt. I eat a lot less and much more healthily. It is really working and much less effort than it used to be.

The Director of the British Museum said today that he hoped the Greeks would be happy that he was loaning out the Elgin Marbles to the Hermitage Museum in Russia. I don’t think so!

23rd November, 2014

We move into the last week of November on a cool and wet day although The Woodland Trust are predicting Oaks will keep their leaves until well into December because of the mild and windless Autumn this year. It has felt depressingly dark all day and yet we are still four weeks away from the year’s shortest day.

Pauline has spent the day making and baking the Christmas Cake and steaming two Christmas Puddings. One is for this year and one will be set aside for Christmas 2015.

There’s nothing like planning ahead.

24th November, 2014

Bright and sunny but cold and slightly frosty this morning – a good, old fashioned, early winter’s morning. We spent an hour at the Health Club and came out sweating.

Heard from Martin yesterday. Haven’t spoken to him for a couple of months. Nice to know he’s alright. Interesting to see that Greece ambles on in its own, contrary way. Thursday will be a General Strike which will isolate the country and the islands with Air Traffic Controllers and Ferry services being disrupted. At the same time and because of the European Troika’s foot on their neck, the Greek Government ‘say’ they are scrapping operating permits for almost 900 professions. In other words, they are dismantling closed-shops which limit business freedom in the Greek economy. The measure of how far they go with this will indicate how far the country has moved in the past seven years. If the Coalition falls this Spring over the issue of a new President then all bets are off and they will certainly fall back into the primordial slime. Still, the goldfish will feel at home there!

25th November, 2014

Cool and damp morning without sun. Pauline is researching our trip to Kent on Friday. House hunting is really turning out to be an education. I know so little about my own country! This week, we are heading towards the Maidstone area. We are hoping to look at a number of houses but this one in particular.

Looks alright but you never know until you see it in the brick. The top temperature here today has been a steamy but dark 9C/48F without the steam.

26th November, 2014

The negotiations failed. The Troika saw a fiscal gap of 2.5 billion euro for 2015 and demanded further reduction in pensions, increase by 10% to 13% Value Added Tax as being applied on the islands and additional taxes.UK continues to be blanketed by grey, damp cloud and looks like it will remain so in to next week. We struggled to 10C/50F but things are forecast to get warmer towards the weekend and beyond. I hope so. We are driving down to Kent on Friday and then over to France next Tuesday for a couple of days.

27th November, 2014

Dark & Damp Again! We were out early for Pauline to have her hair cut at Headmasters.

We had toyed with the idea of her having it cut in Athens a couple of weeks ago but didn’t find the time. Bought a book in The Works – the bookshop where my friend from Sifnos, Martin Reynolds, works.

Haven’t bought a physical book for quite some time. They are incredibly cheap. Pauline & I received our £200.00 Winter Heating subsidy from the Government today. It almost pays our total heating bill for the year which is nice.

In Greece, in spite of a General Strike, reality hits. The negotiations of the Coalition and all their hopeful bluster has failed. The Troika saw a fiscal gap of 2.5 billion euro for 2015 and demanded further reduction in pensions, and an increase by 10% to 13% on Value Added Tax to being applied on the islands and additional taxes. Samaras has tried to remain buoyant. He must feel very deflated.

My INR has been rather erratic recently which has led to me eschewing alcohol. It hasn’t made any difference. I dropped from 2.6 – 2.0 in a week in which my diet was exemplary. I don’t know if this has any significance but I found this afternoon that my weight has dropped by half a stone in quite a short spell. You lose some and you gain some.

28th November, 2014

Must learn to check the calendar! Today, we visited two developments on the outskirts of Maidstone, Kent.

The town isn’t particularly prepossessing but, strategically, it is well placed for us. It doesn’t take long to drive or take the train up to London and it is a quick & easy journey to the Channel Tunnel for our drives across Europe. It has good provision of Health & Fitness Clubs including David Lloyds and reasonable distribution of good supermarkets, Farmers’ Markets as well as Hospitals and Dr Surgeries. There are lots of restaurants and visitor attractions in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, property developers had all but shut up shop for Christmas and things we would be interested in are not on stream until next year. Looks like we’ll have to be patient.

29th November, 2014

Warm and sunny today and predicted to reach 15C/60F. We are going to the Health Club for an hour or so of exercise before settling in to the weekend. Actually, weekends really don’t mean anything any more when one’s not working. Days are days are days. As Larkin said, Days are where we live. As we got up this morning, like every morning, at 7.00 am, I did muse on the fact that, irrespective of which time zone we have been in, the past six years of retirement have seen us rise at 7.00 am unflinchingly  to meet and greet the day. When you don’t have to go to work, getting up is a joy and the world is your lobster.

Talking about lobsters, we’re off to France on Tuesday and might pick some up. While the Troika looks like forcing the Greek coalition to cut pensions more and increase some areas of VAT, our government insists on giving us money that, to be honest, we don’t need. In the past week, Pauline & I have both received Winter Fuel Allowances of £100.00 each and now the Christmas Bonus of £10.00 arrives. What will we do with it? I like lobster!

16th November, 2014

A chilly and wet day which we mainly spent reading newspapers. We did nip out to Tesco to find the acres of car park full of happy shoppers. It is amazing how Sunday shopping has gone from the odd-soul-who-has-forgotten-something-from-their-weekly-shop to a Main Shopping Day for so many busy workers. This superstore was packed. It was harder to find a parking space than on a Saturday. I’m all in favour of it. Mum would have hated it. In fact, she said she didn’t think it would ever happen.

17th November, 2014

A warmer but just as wet day. Half way through the morning, I noticed our broadband service had dropped. I checked the phone and found we had no line. Just as I began to use my phone to search for my provider’s help line, Pauline spotted a Bt Openreach engineer walking back to his van. I spoke to him. He had been working nearby but denied any connection to my problem. Later his office suggested it was an error by him which disconnected us. It will take up to 72 hrs to fix. Three days without the internet! Went to the Health Centre for an hour’s exercise.

18th November, 2014

We were up and preparing to drive down to Costa Coffee for access to their Wi-Fi when a telephone engineer arrived. Within an hour, it was fixed and I was getting my internet-withdrawls out of my system by downloading emails and newspapers.

Good Morning to Richard. Got your email a few minutes ago and will reply very soon. Don’t set off on your cruise before you hear from us. Lovely to know that you’re still following the Blog. Nice to hear from Ruth and her worries for me even if half the Facebook community responded with concern for my health and requests for links to my Blog. The only person I didn’t hear from was the Poison Dwarf but I’ll cope.

It’s been a lovely, sunny and fairly mild day here. We’ve done our regular hour at the Health Club and then returned for Cassoulet Lapin (aka Rabbit Stew) which I made yesterday.

I’m in a no-alcohol phase again because my INR has dipped for a couple of months and because I want to skimp on the calories. It’s nice to know I don’t need it and can do without it when I choose. Off to France in a fortnight. That will be a tester.

Pauline has received so many phone calls again today. It has become a standard thing. Estate Agents wanting to market our home or developers wanting to sell us a new home. She has become quite blasé about their blandishments. She has done so much research, she often knows more about their activities than they do themselves.

England made Scotland look very second rate this evening in their ‘friendly’. England won 1 – 3 in a fairly one sided game. Nice to see.

19th November, 2014

Felt cool in the sunshine today. The temperature didn’t get above 14C/57F. We did a big session at the Health Club. I upped my targets – increasing the incline and speed on the running machine and increasing the resistance level and calories burned on the bike. I could barely walk by the time I’d driven home but I know it will pay off when I speed past Jane BG in the road race next Spring.

The remainder of the Cassoulet Lapin was liquidized with Passata and milk to make a lovely cream of rabbit soup. Rabbit is so cheap to buy and low in fat. I’m amazed more people don’t buy it. The reason is, I suppose, not enough people sell it. We buy ours in France where it is widely available and eaten. A rabbit carcass costs about £3.50/4.37€. Less than a chicken.

In the next few days, we are going to buy pheasants –  another low fat meat packed with flavour – from a farm shop nearby.

We have changed our eating so much over the past fifteen years with fish and game dominating our diet.

20th November, 2014

It’s been a difficult I.T. week in the Sanders household. First, our phone line went down and we had no internet for 24 hrs. Can you imagine it? Today, we’ve both had problems with our email accounts. Who knows why. Mine has largely sorted itself out by this evening but Pauline’s account is still rather flaky. It would happen on INR reporting day. My Hospital is fantastic.

I self test (although I occasionally get the Hospital to check my results) and email my result to the INR team at St Peter’s. Within an hour, I have dosing advice and a next test date. My range is INR 2.0 – 3.0. Today it was 2.6 – perfect. That’s because I’m not drinking alcohol which tends to inhibit the Warfarin’s action.

21st November, 2014

Wet this morning. We drove out fairly early to make a journey of nine miles to Esher. We were visiting Garson’s Farm Shop which contains a wonderful Butcher’s Stall and they have five pheasants for us.

The Butcher’s is Bevans – family firm dating back 85 years. They are opening their own branch in Woking in January next door to a wonderfully stocked wet fish shop. That will save us a journey. Esher is quite a ‘posh’ place where footballers stash their cash. People who live there include Frank Lampard, Damien Duff, Joe Cole and Glenn Johnson but also Chris Tarrant, Kid Jensen, Ronan Keating.

Fascinating to see that the Greeks are lifting the Parliamentary Immunity of Golden Dawn members so that they can be prosecuted while UK is electing its second UKIP MP. Who is bonkers now?

22nd November, 2014

I don’t usually do things like this but I voted in the Tree of the Year competition featured on the Woodland Trust’s website. I voted for The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest mainly because we were taken to see it a number of times as children some 50 – 60 years ago.

According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood’s shelter where he and his merry men slept when they were hiding from the Sheriff of Nottingham. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet (10 metres), and is about 800–1000 years old and, for a second time, it has won the UK Tree of the Year going forward to the wider European competition.

Relations of Pauline’s Family, who I found on the internet while researching her ancestry, have found a photograph of a family member they can’t identify.

Looks a bit like Phyllis so we hope she recognises her.

9th November, 2014

Because of the midweek date of Bonfire Night, we have experienced Firework Parties for what seems like a week of nights. Hopefully, last night was the last. The gardener will spend all his time sweeping up autumn leaves liberally sprinkled with spent rockets this week.

Pauline is packing for Greece. We set off on Tuesday with an early start. I’m watching the football like all dutiful husbands do. Newcastle look to continue their recent revival with a 0-2 win over West Brom..

The Blog only has six weeks to go to until it’s completed six years. Just forward warning to The Poison Dwarf. Send us a card!

10th November, 2014

We’re going back to Greece. It pains me to say so but Greece is in danger of spiralling back down in to Europe’s basket case. Greek industrial output fell 5.1 percent year-on-year in September. September’s drop was the seventh consecutive contraction in industrial output since February this year. Greek consumer prices fell 1.7 percent in October, with the annual pace of deflation accelerating from a 0.8 percent drop in September. Greece has been in deflation mode for the last 20 months as cuts in wages and pensions and a deep recession exert downward pressures. Like rats deserting a sinking ship, Greeks have been leaving their Homeland. Kalymnos has seen its population reduced by 30% to emigration – preferring Europe, the US and Australia.

The Samaras/Venizelos coalition government have been trying to persuade the electorate and, maybe, themselves that they can exit Troika control early and still get the support they need. It was never going to happen. Tsipras has spent the past twelve months telling a gullible and desperate electorate that he will cut taxes, raise pensions, raise salaries and all without EU help. It was never going to happen although some Greeks are so desperate that they’re prepared to believe anything.

We checked in for our flight this morning on our iPads. We haven’t flown for over four years and things have advanced so much. We have downloaded our Boarding Passes on our mobile phones to show at the gate.i

Early night and early start for the 20 minute drive to the airport tomorrow.

11th November, 2014

Left the house at 5.00 am and had a quick drive to the Long Stay car park at Heathrow Terminal 5. With on-line Check in, we swiped our mobile phones on the Check in readers and handed over our bags. We were in the air by 8.00 am and in Athens by 13.30. A wonderful B.A. flight. Before we could get down to Baggage Collect, our bags were there and waiting. We took the train to Syndagma. Soon we were in our favourite hotel – The Electra Palace. We have a three person room which has a sofa and plenty of room.

A welcome cup of tea and the newspapers, a shower and a snooze. Out into the busy streets of Athens to our favourite, street corner taverna for a meal of salad and fish. We drank too much wine and went back for coffee and a snooze. At 8.00 pm, we re-engage our struggle with the language of the evening news on Mega Channel.

12th November, 2014

Leisurely up this morning – not until 7.30 am. Standards are slipping! Cup of tea in our room and then a wonderful breakfast in the Breakfast Room. We are going out to do some business this morning. I’ve downloaded Google Maps App to our iPads and our mobiles so we can easily locate the offices we need. They are not far away. The weather is pleasant and mild. We will enjoy the walking. After that breakfast, we need the walking !

Spent all morning visiting various offices. Business fully completed. Feels good. The weather, however, feels distinctly humid. I find walking through city streets extremely tiring and, after four hours walking around in a busy Athens, I am depleted and perspiring in the moist air. We return to the hotel for a big cup of tea and the newspapers. Later, we will have a swim in the indoor pool.

Lovely, long swim in the spa pool followed by a jacuzzi session and a sauna. After our swim, our arms ached. We returned to our room and snacked on some salted peanuts we bought while out and washed them down with a lovely bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (Greek). We won’t eat again today. Must have an early night.

13th November, 2014

A really enjoyable day – especially for Pauline. It is a warm and sunny morning here and we are up at 7.00 am for a cup of tea. By 8.30 am, we go down for Breakfast. Unfortunately, we can no longer do it justice but it is nice trying. This morning is shopping. Last time we were here in July, Pauline bought three pairs of shoes. Today, after touring every leather manufacturer in Athens, she bought three handbags.

I am delighted. Pauline is happy and the prices in Athens are so cheap that I am happy too.

We were out shopping for about four hours – nearly more than a real man can take. Back at the hotel, I was allowed to drink coffee and read my paper before heading off to the Spa downstairs for a long swim,  jacuzzi and sauna. After that, I needed a beer in our room. Later, around 5.00 pm, we went out to eat at Taverna Paradosiako. We’ve been going there for years but only noticed Matt Barratt’s recommendation recently.

It is a delightful and reliable taverna on the corner of Voulis and Nikodimou where pedestrians jostle past tables spilling out on the the walkway. Immediately across the road is a car park and vehicles jostle for space with stray cats. Sophisticated? Not! In fact, no one in their right mind would give it a second glance – unless they were experienced in Greek tradition. This taverna is wonderful. It is family run with lovely serving girls and really excellent food. It is just on the corner from our hotel – The Electra Palace. Here we ate the sweet flesh of grilled Sea Bream, with skordallia (garlic sauce) and fava (bean dip). The whole experience of eating, people watching and cold, white wine is intoxicating and one I will never tire of.

14th November, 2014

A prolonged and violent thunder storm circled Athens in the early hours. Everything feels and smells fresher. I really can’t take much more BREAKFAST! However, I have tried for Pauline’s sake. After breakfast, we went out to the Post Office in Syndagma to buy some stamps and post some letters.

The Post Office in Greece encapsulates all that is wrong with the country. Sloppily run on old world principles of ‘the customer is usually wrong’ and should be kept waiting while I get my coffee. Who do they think they are. They’re only customers. We get a ticket with number 112 on it. A lady with 111 stands in front. Nobody comes to the window. We wait ten minutes. The Greek Lady – 111 – gets increasingly exasperated. Eventually, I get a second ticket from a second machine and wait another ten minutes to speak to another operative by which time the first window begins to serve Lady 111 with steam coming out of her ears. What is amazing is that nothing seems to change. Nobody in the organisation seems bothered or proactive. No wonder Greeks are hardened, cynical people.

Check Out at 12.00 Noon and off to the Airport by train. The Airport trip is quick, comfortable and easy and costs 7.00€ as opposed to a taxi journey of 50.00€. Why would you do it? At the airport, we had already checked in on-line and got our boarding passes on our mobiles. We have Business Class Lounge entry from our bank account. At Landside, we went to the Gold Air Lounge where we had free services of wi-fi, wine and food in comfort.

After going through Passport Control to Airside, we went to the Aristotle Onassis Lounge which was even more relaxing.

It did provide a pleasant atmosphere to while away a few hours with free drink and food in peace and comfort. As we sat in the Lounges, we watched the rain clouds move in and envelop the airport. We had read of torrential rain on the M25 in UK causing subsidence already.

Our flight was on time, comfortable and quick. London was dry when we landed and we were soon driving the 20 minutes to our home. It was as if we had never been away!

15th November, 2014

A lovely, sunny but, initially, sharp morning. We had both slept well and don’t seem to be suffering from the two hour Time Zone shift. We had to be up at 7.00 am because Pauline has a hospital appointment for a scan. St Peter’s Hospital is delightful, smart and bright. All the people we come in to contact with are pleasant and helpful. Pauline’s scan immediately confirmed what she already suspected that she is full of gallstones. The next question is how they will be dealt with.

On the way home, we stopped at Addlestone Tesco and bought lots of fish – fresh trout and mackerel. Whenever we return from Greece these days we seem to buy more fish. Talking about Greece, it is astonishing at the level of interest the media has put in John Major’s words to European Leaders about his belief that the chances of UK leaving the EEC were 50%/50%. I was surprised to find him so optimistic. Indeed, a leading financial house remarked today that there was a chance that Europe would cease to exist before UK got round to leaving it.

 2nd November, 2014

I’m writing this at 7.30 pm after having a short walk outside. The temperature is extremely mild although the night is very dark. We walked in short sleeved shirts as Firework Displays lit up the night sky. Once again, Sifnos and Athens are cooler than us. We are looking for the reverse in a week or two when we return to Greece.

We have decided that we are going to spend some time in Venice this Spring. It’s quite a long time since we were there and I’ve longed to return. I’m already researching hotels to stay in. They have to be close to San Marco where we stayed last time. It will be expensive!

Back on Planet Earth, it looks more and more as if UKIP will be power brokers in the next UK Government instead of the Lib.Dems.. This is going to make Brexit increasingly likely. Indeed, it is rumoured on Tory Blogs that Cameron is prepared to sell his soul and advocate Britain’s exit from the E.U. if it keeps him in power. In the end, of course, he’s only a here today gone tomorrow politician so why should he care?

3rd November, 2014

I’m afraid my wife is falling apart from the inside. Took her to the doctor this morning. The doctor is a woman of the same age as Pauline and she delivered the withering diagnosis that women of a similar age as them find their bones and joints, organs and skin degenerating with the accompanying symptoms. Makes a nonsense of extending the retirement age. Pauline has been suffering with what she thinks is a trapped nerve in her neck/shoulder for a month. The doctor thinks it might be early on-set Arthur (aka arthr-itis). She also thinks she might be developing nascent gallstones. She’s being sent to a ‘specialist’ for investigations. I’m going to need a new model soon.

4th November, 2014

Glorious, glorious day with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Not warm at 11C/52F but Autumnal and ‘Glad-to-be-Alive’ weather. Contact with Elerania and Georgia on Sifnos this morning. All is very well. Pauline has cut my hair and soon we will be off to the Health Club but not until I’ve watched the politics programme on BBC2. It is prescribed viewing!

Made Moules Mariniere for our meal today.

Haven’t had that for months and it was wonderful. Rabbit is marinating for tomorrow when it will be slow cooked. Looking forward to that.

5th November, 2014

A bright and sunny but seriously cool day. Just right, I suppose, for Bonfire Night. Spent the day planning a trip out to the south coast tomorrow to look at three or four houses (something we were doing exactly four years ago today) and I’ve been finalising the set up of new, on-line savings accounts and ISA accounts. Because of European Money Laundering Regulations, setting up an account to store one’s own money is absolutely tortuous.

There is a by-election in Kent which is almost certain to be won by UKIP for their second MP in a month. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious. The net effect will be to tempt other Tory MPs to defect and for Cameron to firm up an intention, that was never really there until now, to take the UK out of the EU. There can be little more short sighted than this but it is the ultimate aim of unprincipled politicians – to stay in power.

6th November, 2014

Clear blue skies, strong sun but freezing this morning. At 6.50 am, I went to the Woking Walk-in Hospital for a blood test – the first since August – and the temperature was 0C/32F. There was a hint of frost on the ground. We are setting out for Sussex after rush hour traffic dies down at about 9.30 am.

Had a lovely letter/email  from Elerania last night with news of Sifnos. We fly back to Greece next week. Looking forward to it.

7th November, 2014

Yesterday, we found a house we both really liked at a price we liked in Felpham, and another at Angmering/Littlehampton both in West Sussex less than five miles from where my sister, Catherine, has lived for the last 35 years. We drove home quite hopefully. We’ve done a little research to find that there is a Health Club – a Virgin Active – within reach and a Sainsburys. It is only a fifteen minute drive to the beach and has good, superfast broadband.

Watched a documentary about two, West African men trying to dupe an undercover reporter into giving them £25,000.00/32,000.00€ on the understanding that they have original negatives from a Swiss bank allowing them to duplicate the notes and double the investor’s money. Of course the whole thing was a scam and they were revealed on camera as was their blindingly audacious naivety. Fast forward three or four hours and up pops the Chancellor of the Exchequer crowing about how he’s forced the EU to back down and halve the £1.7 billion bill they had been landed with. Unfortunately, just as the money copiers over reached themselves, so did the Chancellor. Just like with the money copiers, the smoke and mirrors scam began to unravel before the bank notes were dry. Soon we learned that a rebate which had already been expected was being written off against the extra bill. It leaves the Coaltion government in general and Osborne in particular looking like West African con men.

8th November, 2014

Yesterday we filled the car and couldn’t believe how cheap it was. Our petrol at Sainsburys (with a 7p off discount) cost us £1.14 / 1.45€ per litre. This is the lowest it has been for five years. The Daily Telegraph this morning is suggesting British fuel prices could well fall to £1.00 / 1.27€ per litre. Every little helps. Today has been intermittently sunny and then wet. It’s not warm either at 13/56F. We are due for a windy and wet week in Britain which is fine because we will be in Greece.

26th October, 2014

Our daily routine of bed at midnight and up at 7.00 am was not interrupted by the clock changes last night. The only thing that was notable was the fact that all our clocks now change automatically with the exception of the one on the oven. It is a pity to have darker evenings now but it is lovely to acknowledge the seasons. We are deep in to Autumn. Three days ago, the gardener swept up and bagged huge amounts of leaves yet, already, the grounds are obscured by more. This morning, I looked out at 7.00 am to see squirrels tunnelling under heavy layers of crisp, brown leaves to hide their winter food store and next door’s cat using leaf fall as cover to stalk three foraging magpies.

This week we are thinking of another south coast trip to view new houses. We know persistence will produce results. This time we have properties in the Battle, Hastings, Brighton areas.

27th October, 2014

A beautiful day of blue skies and sunshine and temperatures above Sifnos and Athens. It would have been a good day to go out house hunting but tomorrow is forecast to be similar so we will set off reasonably early for Sussex and Kent. Pauline has identified properties to look at and the round trip will take most of the day. This one looks interesting outside Hastings:

Today has been a frustrating one of trying to set up two on-line managed ISAs, putting our allowance for this year into them and transferring a poorly performing Santander into them as well. Completing this task has been far from on-line and has involved two supplementary phone calls and now leaves us waiting for confirmation letters by post. It is certainly not very digital.

28th October, 2014

The day has been one of Summer in Autumn with fiery coloured trees glowing under blue skies with strong sun. We left for a 200 mile round, house-hunting trip stopping first in Hastings, Sussex and then moving on to Adlington (nr. Ashford), Sellindge and Staplehurst in Kent. We saw four developments but only one appealed to us and that was the Hastings one featured in yesterday’s Blog.

29th October, 2014

Continuing our weather obsession, today has started, in complete contrast to recent days, damp and grey although still very mild. The newspapers are equally obsessed with weather related stories and The Times this morning reports that:

British strawberries will be available in December for the first time because warm weather and the use of polytunnels have given growers a nine-month season.

They also feature people sunbathing on deckchairs in London yesterday. While I write, Elerania has contacted us and we will speak on the phone later today. She is such a good friend and I bitterly regret not engaging her when I first moved to Sifnos – in line with one or two other regrets.

30th October, 2014

Long and involved shopping trip this morning that left us both tired. This afternoon, I am tidying the Study out while Pauline turns two pairs of new trousers up for me. She is convinced I’m shrinking. Wouldn’t you just love a dynamic life like this?

Honda contacted us to say they were ready to replace our brakes. It is set to be a lovely day tomorrow – probably the warmest last day of October day since records began is being forecast at 21C/70F – so we are setting off at 5.00 am for Huddersfield. We will be there around 8.30 am  for a couple of hours only and then off back home. We intend to be back in Huddersfield for 2.00 pm. Let’s hope the M25 and M1 motorways are kind.

Pauline has been discussing properties with developers and we are planning trips out next week. A trip to West Sussex – Hampshire for one day and another to East Sussex – Kent. Life can really be fun. We are flying to Greece in a couple of weeks and have a trip back to France at the beginning of December. We haven’t done so much varied travelling for years.

31st October, 2014

We began our valediction for October at 4.00 am and were on the empty M25 soon after 5.00 am. The darkness of early morning gave way to warm sunshine as we arrived in Yorkshire by 8.30 am. The temperature, as news bulletins kept informing us, reached an all time high for Halloween’s Night. In Surrey,it was 24C/75F. Tonight, as I write at 11.30 pm, the temperature outside is 16C/61F. In Sifnos, it is 14C/57F and in Athens it is 13C/55F. However, I don’t think this summer can last much longer.

We had returned to our Honda Dealership to have our brakes renewed. It was in Greece that they first started squeaking and we thought it was a consequence of the dry atmosphere.

The regular service identified the need for their replacement – a job that would have cost £600.00 but came free with our three year maintenance agreement. The job took two hours during which we drank coffee and read our iPad newspapers.

By 11.30 am, under a beautiful, summer sky, we set off back on our seven hour round trip. After a fairly problem-free journey up the M1, the M25 on a Friday afternoon was horrible. Instead of 3.00 pm, it was 4.30 pm by the time we got home and we were tired.

1st November, 2014

Happy November!

Happy anything really. Time, day, month, year matter little – until you run out! Even so, we are entering the end stages of a momentous year for us.

Today is yet another beautiful, sunny and mild one. 18C/65F in Surrey and exactly the same on Sifnos. Only 16C/61F in Athens. To celebrate the new month, I’m watching football and Pauline’s sewing. We are still rather tired after our exertions of yesterday.

19th October, 2014

Up early to a beautiful, sunny day which reached 20C/69F by lunchtime. Hotel breakfast of bacon & scrambled eggs and then off to Repton to say ‘Hello’ to Mum. We always go at the most poignant time of year when the signs of natural decay drift across the wonderfully peaceful and isolated graveyard.

We were there by 11.30 am and did our duty. She rebuked me as usual, pointing out that I visited more often in death than in life. I took it on the chin and we set off for Surrey.

Throughout our journey, the sun shone and the trees burned with Autumn. It was blustery but warm. Showers of leaves carpeted the roads as we drove. Little Viv phoned us in the car as we drove and, as soon as we got home, we picked up a message from friends on Sifnos. We have had a delightful four days away and now have to get back on with the fitness campaign.

20th October, 2014

A glorious, sunny and warm morning. Autumn is in full flow as our garden shows.

Back from Yorkshire, we are catching up with business. I’m transferring money into new, savings accounts while Pauline is phoning friends on Sifnos. She has also made tomato soup in her spare time while I’m still trying hard to finish The Sunday Times.

21st October, 2014

A lovely, bright and sunny day but a bit breezy. Only 20 miles away, in central London, a woman was killed when a huge tree was blown down on top of her. We have been busy catching up with correspondence – emails and letters. Pauline cooked a delicious meal of roast salmon with broad beans and onions. I should add that we have embarked on a ‘dry’ month or until we fly to Greece at least. So our meals are accompanied by sparkling water.

The ‘no wine’ rule gave me a dilemma this afternoon because I was preparing Beef Bourguignon. It requires a bottle of red wine but I salved my conscience in the knowledge that all the alcohol is driven off in the cooking.

I’ve been trying to arrange a new joint account with a Savings Bank to deposit money but ‘money laundering’ concerns mean one has to go to ridiculous lengths to prove one’s identity. It’s worse than Greece (almost). Tomorrow, we have to take copies of our passports and driver’s licences to the Post Office to have them ‘officially’ verified by some spotty youth. They then have to go off in the snail mail post to be checked before we can open an ‘on-line’ account. Bonkers!

Pauline was checking the Heathrow Long Stay car park to book it for our Greek trip next month. Up on her computer accounts came the last time we booked that car park. It was in 1998 when we flew to Greece and stayed in Sifnos over Easter for the first time. I can picture it so well. Nikos had just been born and the weather was freezing. We sat huddled around an oil-filled radiator in Hotel Stavros and shivered.

22nd October, 2014

Happy Birthday to the twins,  Liz & Mike. 57 today.

Beautiful, bright and breezy but chilly start to the day. We’ve been out to our bank to get copies of documents certified to comply with EU money laundering legislation in setting up savings bank and ISA accounts. We have been with bank for forty years, have a ‘Private’ Black Account and pay £300.00/380.00€ per year to service it. We have a Personal Banking Manager. We ask to have our documents certified and are told that will only be done to help us buy their financial products. Disgusted, we go off, confidently, to the Post Office where we’ve had this service before only to get the same response as our trusted bank. Apparently, some main Post Office branches will provide the service for £15.00/19.00€ but we will have to drive miles to get to one. It really does feel rather Third World-ish in a Greek way!

23rd October, 2014

Outside, the gardener is blowing the carpets of leaves into a sack. It’s a bit like herding eels in the breeze. We are setting out on a tour of the south coast today, house hunting.

We have had a very pleasant trip which took us to Upper Froyle in Hampshire – only 25 miles from our house – Brackenwood in West Sussex – a further 20 miles on and then Pulborough in West Sussex just 10 miles from Worthing where my sister, Catherine, lives. The journey back to our house from there was 40 miles. We went to see this house amongst others:

We have specific requirements for our new house:

• Laundry
• Study with fast broadband
• Large kitchen
• Dining Room
• Downstairs Cloakroom
• 4 Double Bedrooms with at least 1 En Suite
• Multiple satellite TV points
• Garage – preferably double.
• It must be new build
• It will be preferably under the 3% stamp duty at £500,000.00

This house style is £500,000 in one area and £560,000 in another. We are prepared to go higher in price to buy in a better location. It must have good supermarkets and a Health Club within easy reach and it would be nice to get to the coast quickly.

24th October, 2014

Barty aka Paros Man wonders whether we are missing Sifnos as he flies back from his holidays.

Since leaving the island, we have been so busy that we haven’t thought about it much although a phone call from friends there does leave one reliving the world that is a Greek island. We have had two such calls today while we were out and our imaginations immediately recreate the place our callers sit in, walk in, shop in, live their lives. Even this morning, we have spoken by phone to two friends on the island and had email contact with two others. To be honest, when we reflect, we do not miss the claustrophobia that was Sifnos and relish the expansive challenge not being a Greek home owner presents. The rest of the world is such a big place to explore.

As our media reports huge rebates for Germany and France and a huge supplementary payment of £1.7 Billion as a result of our surging economy, the Get Out of Europe Campaign receives a major boost. This is from Guido Fawkes this morning:

The EU this morning orders Britain to pay a £1.7 billion “prosperity tax” within weeks, while France and Germany receive massive rebates. A continental source gloats to the Telegraph: “there is nothing Britain can do about it”. That isn’t true: Dave can refuse to pay, tell Brussels to deal with it and then see what they do. It’s our money, the PM has to say “no, no, no”.

They just can’t let Thatcher go.

25th October, 2014

The British newspapers are screaming for us to get out of the E.U. The huge additional payment is today’s trigger although it has actually been know about since last May. The newspapers are full of stories about Calais being a lawless town with immigrants who have made their way right across Europe with the sole intention of getting in to Britain. There is some truth in that in our recent experience. It is certainly worse than what we have seen over the years in Patras port.

Separatism abounds. Scotland voted to stay – just – but all those bugbears of keeping them are being paraded. The Barnett Formula used to decide the central grant has long been thought over generous to those north of the border. There are calls to re-formulate. Topical for today is the GMT. Many would like England to remain on permanent European Time – maximising the evening light. A strong argument against this has always been put up by the Scots who would live in longer hours of darkness. This old chestnut is coming out now with differential time zones suggested. All the mood music points to an exit.

12th October, 2014

On Tuesday, we are going to visit a long lost, distant relative of Pauline’s family who I found researching the same material on a website. I contacted them only to be invited over for coffee at their home in East Molsey near Hampton Court Palace. It’s only about 13 miles away from us and will be an interesting visit. Pauline has been trawling through her huge archive of family photos and selecting out ones to take with us.

Not to be left out, I’ve been going through my store and came across this one which I’d forgotten. This was taken some time in 1952.

My brother, Bob is on the left and I’m on the right. There is only 9 months between us. I’ve know idea where our pram was parked. I don’t recognise it at all.

13th October, 2014

A day of heavy rain. We have been working on projects in the house. Pauline’s phone has been going non-stop with calls from Developers and Estate Agents trying to interest her in their latest wares.

While Skiathan Man was making and cooking sausage, I was making tomato, garlic and basil sauce and cooking pieces of Ling fish in it.

Like his SWMBO, we are not keen on spicy and prefer the more traditional Mediterranean flavours of olive oil, tomato and garlic.

14th October, 2014

We drove over to East Molsey near Hampton Court Palace this morning to meet two of Pauline’s relatives who we weren’t even aware existed until a couple of weeks ago.

I contacted them via an ancestry research site. Patrick & Beth proved to be lovely, welcoming people.

Patrick is a High Court Judge and Beth is a Barrister and professional Opera Singer. They have children away at public school. They gave Pauline & Phyllis cake and coffee and we exchanged information and photographs.

15th October, 2014

My Dad was born on 15th October, 1915 which would have made him 99 today. Instead, he died at the cruel age of 49. This is him aged 9 months pictured in July 1916 during the white heat of World War One when his father was away in the Royal Navy Air Service.

It may even have been taken for his father to take away as a keepsake to get him through the war. This is him in 1963, the year before he died.

I was so saddened talking to my sister, Ruth, last night. I had intended visiting her but can’t this time. More upsetting were the ‘network’ of distant relationships we all seem to have adopted. I woke at 3.00 am thinking about it. I know I am as much to blame as any and it looks as if it is irretrievable which is really regrettable.

Tomorrow morning early – 6.00 am to beat the rush hour on the M25 – we are setting off for Yorkshire. First stop will be the Honda garage to have our car serviced. We are staying for three nights and driving home via Mum & Dad’s grave in Repton on Sunday morning.

16th October, 2014

Up at 5.00 am and on the road by 6.00 am driving to Yorkshire. We were there by 9.45 am despite two lots of M1 roadworks slowing us down. We drove straight to Hepworth Honda, our Dealership of 30 years, to have the car serviced and to chat to our friend, Chris Woods, who has sold us twenty new cars over the years. We sat around with our iPad newspapers while the work was done.

Just after 11.00 am, we revisited some Huddersfield sights and then drove to our hotel – the Holiday Inn at Brighouse – to check in. We had booked a Suite which cost little more than an Executive Room and it is perfect for our needs. We have a bedroom with a TV,  a lounge with a dining table, fridge, TV, settee and armchairs, Bathroom with bath and shower. The gardens are beautiful and rabbits run round the lawns.

17th October,2014

Woken up early to a beautiful, sunny morning. Blue sky and Autumnal sun; don’t have to go to work; time to enjoy the moment. This morning, after a leisurely breakfast of orange juice and tea, we are driving over to Oldham to visit my old colleague and friend, Brian and his wife, Val.

We drove back to Huddersfield and prepared to meet friends – Viv, Margaret & Tony – for Dinner. We had chosen to go to a restaurant near our old house. Erics was called something else when we last went there. So many restaurants have struggled during the recession. We met at 7.00 pm and it was lovely to meet up again. It is nice to meet good, honest friends. The restaurant was packed and noisy but the food was brilliant. I had sea bass fillet with scallop for my starter. Chicken and pancetta filled me up and I didn’t need a sweet although some of our group had one. Pauline had confit duck followed by cheesecake. It was a good evening.

18th October, 2014

Up a bit later this morning – 7.15 am – after our activities yesterday. Our normal days are spent quietly together and yesterday was spent in hours of talking in social situations. It was very draining. Goodness knows how I would feel going back to teaching now. This morning we are going in to town so Pauline can do some shopping and then over to Oldham to the crematorium to remember her Mum’s death 4 years ago today.

For the second half of October, it is incredibly warm. We’ve come away to Northern England and I’ve only brought short sleeved shirts. I was out in one until late last night and wearing one to go out this morning. If this is Global Warming, let me have more of it! We went to Oldham to say ‘Hello’ to Pauline’s Mum. And then – from the sublime to the ridiculous – we visited Tesco to buy up all its Holland’s pies for homesick Colin. We do it every time we come up. We went on to buy a couple of suitcases for our November trip to Greece. When you’re not driving, you need suitable luggage.

Now, back at our hotel, we are sitting in glorious sunshine, surrounded by wonderful grounds of trees and bushes on fire with Autumnal colours. It is a lovely place to relax and read the newspaper.

5th October, 2014

Wonderfully sunny day for Pauline’s Birthday. She is 63 today. Happy Birthday Darling.

We went out to an Italian restaurant with family to celebrate it. Interesting meal.

6th October, 2014

A cool, windy and wet day. We dedicated it to financial management work. Pauline prepared dressed crab for our meal and it was absolutely delicious.

Felt a bit under the weather so we didn’t go out to exercise. We did visit the new, Asda Megastore – out of interest and to do a bit of shopping. Our big shop this week will be in France.

7th October, 2014

A lovely, sunny day. I have to go out for a blood test. Life’s full of fun. I had my free ‘flu jab as well.

Apparently, middle-aged people with heart trouble could halve their risk of a heart attack by getting a flu jab, research suggests. Usually, after a ‘flu jab, I feel under the weather for a couple of days. As we are going to France tomorrow, I hope that isn’t repeated this year.

We’ve had a flurry of communications with Sifnos in the past 24hrs. It feels strange now we don’t live there. Under normal circumstances, we would have been back in Surrey for a month anyway but speaking to people we know in situations we picture in our mind’s eye is strangely unsettling.

8th October, 2014

A damp and rather dull, autumnal morning. Off to France for a couple of days shopping. First, I had to do some urgent communications with people on Sifnos.

Leave at 10.00 am for the Folkestone Tunnel. We will be in France by mid day. Pauline has written a shopping list as long as two men’s arms so the car is full of refrigerators, cool bags, shopping bags, etc.. Let’s hope the back axle survives!

The rain was heavy as we drove down to the Tunnel but the sun shone over Calais and Coquelle as we drove off the Shuttle and to our hotel. Coffee and a banana and then off to Cite Europe to do some shopping.

9th October, 2014

Heavy rain and strong winds over night but the morning has dawned bright, mild and blustery. After Breakfast, we set of for the Calais Wine Superstore. As we drove the five miles there, we noticed numerous, small knots of Asylum Seekers dotted around the area.

As we approached the Wine Store, a large bunch of these people were being ‘monitored’ by French police in a white van. This is where the immediate problem lies. Dozens, maybe hundreds of people cross from Africa and Asia through Greece and Italy to France with one intention – get to Britain, the Land of Milk & Honey. They destroy their documents of origin and cannot be made stateless so the French police do nothing more than harass them. There is no mileage in picking them up. They merely roam the countryside constantly trying to board a vehicle to get across the Channel.

We are the lucky ones. We live in Britain. We spent the morning indulging ourselves in a splurge of shopping on things that Asylum Seekers could only dream of. After buying 150 bottles of wine, we moved on to Auchan in Coquelles.

There we bought packs of Duck Legs, Duck Breasts, joints Pork and Beef. On to Carrefour in Cité Europe where we bought a week’s fruit and vegetables, cold meats, cheese and lots of fish. We bought a side of salmon, loins of cod, fillets of ling and two, huge, live crabs.

We filled our car fridge, cool boxes and cool bags and set off for the Tunnel. Two hours later, the crabs were swimming in the sink at home in Surrey, staring and waving at Pauline. They didn’t swim for long in a stock pot of boiling, salted water. They will be on the menu tomorrow.

10th October, 2014

A relaxing day. We ‘dressed’ the crabs – a time-consuming process but great fun. Next door’s cat got very excited and was rewarded with some scraps. Our reward was a lovely, crab meal. We’ll probably have to repaint the kitchen having scraped the walls clean of shell fragments but – no pain no gain.

Looks like Europe is heading for a triple dip recession which will be disastrous for Greece, killing off its nascent recovery. Samaras is struggling to maintain equilibrium as it is. If the German economy is wobbling as it appears to be currently then the Greek situation must be parlous. It seems that we just got out in time!

11th October, 2014

Went to the EE Shop in Woking for some technical help with our SIM cards. A lovely, little girl who has just graduated as an architect served us and sorted out the problem within half an hour.

We drove home delighted because an hour of our attempts through the phone’s settings had achieved nothing. It turns out that the SIM card settings could only be edited from within an iPhone and not our Sony Xperia.

Next, I have turned to financial matters – moving an ISA that had lost its Bonus %age and investing in a new one for each of us under this year’s allowance and regulations. Now we can each invest £15,000.00 each tax year in a tax-free ISA wrapper. We have always invested our maximum allowable since we retired and this year will be no different although the rate is appalling. We can get 1.4 – 1.5% for an easy access ISA at the moment so for £30,000.00 over a year we will just earn £450.00. We will try to avoid using ISA money but we don’t want to tie it up at the moment so we have accepted that position. If we can put a lot of money into property, we are likely to make 9 – 12% p.a. around here so that is a much better bet.