Sanders Blog

15th December, 2013

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday Dear Blo-og.
Happy Birthday to you.

Hurray!

Actually, the Blog began on Christmas Day, 2008 but, arithmetically, it has now been going for the equivalent of five, whole years. It has come a long way in that time along with our lives, making some laugh, some cry and some spit blood and feathers. Long may it continue!

16th December, 2013

Thank you to all those readers of the Blog who sent their congratulations and best wishes for the future.

Another mild day here – 14C/57F – although there was a little, light rain early on. We were out early to do a bit of shopping. All the hype about booming sales for Christmas has been punctured by the reality which is poor sales. The Times carries a headline today: Retailers cut prices by half after sharp drop in footfall. Certainly, advertising through all media has intensified until it borders on the ridiculous. It is as if retailers are in the middle of an absolute panic. Of course, if one’s got money, one’s in the driving seat.

When we got to the Peacock Shopping Centre, it was certainly quiet for a week before Christmas. I was going to one of my favourite shops – Maplin. Basically, it is an electrical store majoring in computing. I bought a Broadband Delivery Extender which connects to my router and uses the apartment’s electrical sockets to transmit broadband round the property. It can be accessed via wireless or Ethernet cable which will improve the service to Pauline’s laptop and to our mobiles and iPads.

I’ve set it up and the performance is absolutely excellent. Broadband speed downstairs is just as good as connected to the hub upstairs in the Study.

17th December, 2013

Did a really hard session in the gym yesterday and I’ve been absolutely knackered ever since. Even this morning I’m still feeling it. However, I told Pauline that I want her to force me, however reluctant, to go every day this week because I know we will have a couple of days off next week. Why did I say that to her?

18th December, 2013

Went out early to beat the rush hour traffic and ran straight in to a thirty minute jam. Eventually got to the Surgery to pick up my prescription and then to Tesco Pharmacy to pick up a shopping trolley of drugs. Haven’t been feeling well for a couple of days. I have had all the symptoms of low blood pressure without the statistics. Chose to miss the gym after all and spend the day analysing the Development’s end of year Accounts and Projections for 2014. You can’t get more riveting than that.

Even though we are in the second half of December, we still aren’t using the heating at all. It really justifies buying new-build with the most up to date insulation. We have had heavy rain and strong winds today and a football match in Stoke was temporarily abandoned because of a white out hail storm.

19th December, 2013

Up and out by 6.30 am to be first in the queue for a blood test at the Woking ‘walk-in’ Hospital. Arrived at 6.45 am and was second. Beautiful morning with bird song greeting the light of a nearly full moon in a cloudless sky. Even so, at that time, it wasn’t especially cold.

The nurse took three goes stabbing the crook of my arm with a javelin before she go enough blood to test. I will get my result by post on Saturday. I have more or less decided that I will buy my own testing kit. The can be expensive but the price has come down considerably since I first looked. There are many machines available for Home use but the best seems to be made by Coaguchek.

If you buy it through Amazon, it will cost £585.00. If you buy it from Coaguchek, it will cost £358.00 and to me it will be only £299.00 because I don’t pay VAT. Those on long term warfarin are VAT exempt. The test strips are also quite expensive (particularly if you make a mistake) but from Amazon they cost £2.91 each whereas the Coaguchek price is £2.75 each.

It’s turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day and relatively mild at 10C/50F – almost exactly the same as Athens. Squirrels are chasing round the oak trees outside and the birds seem to think it is Spring. Their songs are gorgeous! Am I beginning to sound old?

20th December, 2013

I will always think of this as Pay Day. For forty years our salary was paid into the Bank on the 20th of each month. Unfortunately, not any more. Not that I’m complaining. We are incredibly lucky but I still have that ‘institutionalised’ streak in me. I’m waiting for the Lunch Bell to ring!

We think we know why I’ve been feeling strange recently – I’ve dropped half a stone in weight over the past few days and my body has been telling me.

Glorious morning with strong sun although a little cool at 5C/41F. We were out early again today. First to Waitrose at Goldsworth Park to buy all the final elements of the Christmas meal – fresh cranberries, vegetables, Pancetta lardons, bacon, sausages and sausage meat, a lobster, chocolate, fresh, double and clotted cream, etc. With all the shopping done by 9.30 am, we escaped a rapidly filling car park.

By 10.00 am we are back home, unpacked and drinking delicious, fresh cups of freshly made cappuccino in Humbug Towers. I managed to phone Ruth at last. It was nice to hear her voice but I don’t think she really wanted to talk. She was busy and about to go out. She has her life to lead just as I have mine.

21st December, 2013

A wet day today. Most of the working world will be out shopping so it feels wonderful to have done all ours during the week. I’m settling down to an excellent match between Liverpool & Cardiff where the sun is out. I’m also catching up on correspondence. Heard from my old Assistant at school this morning with lots of news about ex-colleagues. I am hungry to hear such news.

8th December, 2013

Pauline is becoming terribly profligate. We had to dash out and buy her a third Kenwood Chef food mixer in forty years. What is the woman doing with them?  Actually, the first one in the 1970s cost around £200.00, the second one came ‘free’ courtesy of an insurance company after the first one twerked itself off the kitchen work-surface in the throes of kneeding dough and smashed on the floor.

This one, selling in hard economic times, is back to the 1970s price. Normally now, of course, I would be extracting my own price – sponge cakes with whipped cream centres, speciality breads, meringues, etc.. Unfortunately, they are all useless to me now. All I can do sit and gaze on this ‘useless’, gleaming machine. Why did we buy it?

9th December, 2013

Lovely, sunny day and not cold – 11C/52F. Christmas cards are starting to arrive and we haven’t posted ours yet. It is interesting that we find 11C acceptably mild for December in England. Skiathan Man has gone native and describes 12C as cold enough for a log burner in Greece. We have put our heating on for an hour in the past fortnight.

Having said that, I notice we are eating more soup at the moment and salad has virtually disappeared from our table. Anyway, tonight I am cooking – casseroled quails. It is a favourite of ours. We buy the quails in France – usually still with the heads on – and I end up with a plastic bag full of little birds’ heads to dispose of. Below you can see how delightful the live bird can be but taste it in a casserole with lots of green peas and you won’t worry about its life.

The flavour is wonderful.

10th December, 2013

Wonderful, wonderful day which reached 14C/57F. Clear blue sky and strong, low sun. It made one glad to be alive! It hadn’t started that way. We set off for the Tunnel at 6.15 am – semi-dark, swirling mists and 0C/32F on the road. You can’t beat the M25 for enjoyment. By 7.30 am, we were drinking coffee and waiting to drive on to the train. Thirty minutes later, we were in France. It’s so easy nowadays like going to Waitrose.

I associate going to France with piling case after case of wine in to the boot of the car. It was strange not to be doing that. I don’t have a great need for wine at the moment. We did go to the wine store to buy some for Phyllis but not for ourselves. P&C like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. She pays around £6.00 per bottle in Tesco who will be advertising that as half price. I can buy it for her at £2.49 per bottle like for like.

We went on to Auchan to do our monthly shop. A large salmon, filleted on site for us plus cod loins, Duck Breasts, cheeses, meat terrines, chestnuts, salad vegetables, sacks of onions and bags of oranges.

11th December, 2013

A misty morning but not very cold as we are up and out early again. Pauline has to be at the hairdressers for 9.00 am. The traffic is horrendous at this time and a ten minute journey took over half an hour. Christmas cards being posted today exactly two weeks before Christmas Day. It is, of course, a portentous day being 11/12/13. I won’t be able to write that again until I am 152!

12th December, 2013

A trip to the Farm shop in Esher this morning. It was chilly but without frost. We were warmer than Greece when I checked. Even as I write at 11.00 pm in UK / 1.00 am in Greece, we are warmer than Athens.

Pauline wanted to buy some specialist sausages to trial for the Christmas meal that we are cooking. We bought,

• Gloucester Old Spot Pork sausages
• Wild Boar & Apple sausages
• Venison sausages

along with a large joint of Belly Pork and some huge Pork Chops.

There is a fascinating article about the terrible quality of the Greek education system in the Irish Times today. It is entitled: Why Greece’s schools are a shambles and its universities are chaotic. It argues that the system is chaotic from school right through university and suggests  that the system’s problems currently appear intractable.

13th December, 2013

Goodness knows where that threat of weeks of snow and cold came from at the end of November. It now looks as though we will be settled and mild for the foreseeable days and, probably, through Christmas.

Posting of Christmas Cards and Newsletters had waited for today because Pauline wanted her haircut before she had her photo taken. It happened this morning and here is the result:

14th December, 2013

Well, Friday 13th went alright. Pauline even ordered a Christmas present for me. I know what it is.

Malvolio would be really jealous! Actually, although we cook for everyone else, Pauline & I have never really done Christmas. We would quite happily chant, Bah Humbug! and sleep until Boxing Day. Unfortunately, the world demands that we mark the day. Actually, the arrangement is that we will meet family for Lunch on Christmas Eve at our favourite Italian restaurant in Byfleet. On Christmas Day we will all gather at Mandy & Kieron’s and Pauline & I will cook. Boxing Day will be spent in the tranquillity of our apartment.

1st December, 2013

Last month of the year. We wish all our readers a happy December.

We have always travelled to Sifnos in the best cabin available on the 24hr ferries down the Adriatic from Ancona – Patras – Ancona. It is called a LUX cabin and is quite pleasant. Over the past ten years or so, this is how the prices have fluctuated for two people in a Luxury cabin plus car:

The only caveat to this is that we ceased to travel at peak times from 2010. What the prices illustrate is the ferry companies uncertainty about the economy and what it will bear. As you can see, they believe that 2014 will be a stronger year. We suspend judgement. What we are thinking of doing is flying to Athens and on to Sifnos in the first couple of weeks of December to see our house and our friends.

2nd December, 2013

Pleasant, comparatively mild although rather dull morning sky. In our usual role reversal, Pauline is painting skirting boards while I am reading the paper, writing emails and blogging. Actually, I’m also cooking anti-pasti. Yesterday I roasted about fifteen bulbs of garlic. Today I’ve squeezed the soft, garlic paste into a bowl and mixed it with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. I’ve lined a baking tray with large, halved tomatoes then spread the garlic mixture over the top and roasted them for an hour. We will eat them cold with salad or topped with parmesan cheese and grilled to accompany roast loin of cod. Who said dieting can’t be fun?

3rd December, 2013

Went round early this morning to help Phyllis with her laptop but I fear it is too late. The machine is old and beyond real redemption. She will need a new one. I will help her choose after Christmas. Until then, she will make do with her iPad. She doesn’t use her laptop much anyway so a cheap replacement will do.

I remember the time when laptops cost twice as much as desktops. Not anymore! PCWorld have an excellent Toshiba for just £259.00. It’s ridiculous.

Gave the gym a miss today. Pauline is painting and I am writing. Thank goodness we don’t have the terrible Greek storms. I found this photo of seas around Skopelos on a blog this morning. I doubt ferry connections are too punctual today.

4th December, 2013

Remarkably mild and pleasant here this morning. We have not needed the heating at all this week.

After sending us the cost of our annual heating bill unsolicited, another small sum of money appeared in the Bank Account courtesy of the Department for Work & Pensions – a £10.00 Christmas Bonus. It really is going a bit far. However, our generation is beginning to realise just how lucky we are and have been. Tomorrow, the Chancellor is touted as being about to raise the State Pension Age to 69/70 years of age for the next cohorts. The same will happen with inflation-proofed pensions like those of teachers and civil servants.

With most Christmas Cards written, enveloped, addressed, stamped and ready to post, a few of the special or unusual ones are still to wrap up. This one started in 1994 but the process began ten years before that. The card below is one of a pair that we have been cross shuttling between friends in Edinburgh and ourselves. Each posting contains a written note or a printed newsletter and it is delightful and/or frightening to review the years inside. Nearly thirty years are enclosed within the two cards. Ours will go next week and I look forward to reading through history in the card coming to us this year.

5th December, 2013

This morning I had to be at the Community Hospital by 6.45 am to beat the commuter rush. I was there at 6.30 am and freezing it was too. Almost our first sign of frost this year. The large fig tree on our street has lost all its leaves over night. I had my INR tested but the result will arrive in the post on Saturday.

Today, Pauline and her sister are buying up Marks & Spencer. I don’t care where she buys her clothes as long as it’s not from Boden! I expect her to have better taste than that.

I’m writing a Christmas letter to Caroline – a lady who worked for me for quite a few years but has been retired for at least ten. She is single and an inveterate traveller. South America, North America, Africa, Europe. There are few continents that she hasn’t visited in the past decade and everywhere she stays, she sends me a postcard. I have received scores of them. It is a delight to get them. In addition to cards, Caroline scrutinizes the local media for ex-pupil highs and lows. Those appearing in court cases and those celebrating achievements. A few months ago, it was news of a couple of murderers. This month, it is an ex-pupil who left in the 1980s and is becoming know as a writer of stage, radio and television plays.

6th December, 2013

Absolutely glorious morning with blue skies and bright sunshine. The overnight news of gales and floods on the coastline have not been replicated here. These are shots from Norfolk and Tyneside:

The window cleaners are doing their job, Pauline is painting the front door and I’m writing. Soon we will go and spend a couple of hours at the Health Club in the Gym and then in the Pool and Jacuzzi.

Had to take Pauline’s laptop in for repair yesterday. I think the fan has stopped working because it was reporting an ‘overheat’ problem. It will cost us £50.00 but it is an excellent laptop so well worth it.

Pheasant for Dinner tonight and I’m cooking.

Actually, it turned out wonderfully. I braised the pheasant in turkey stock with a couple of onions, a bulb of garlic,  a couple of carrots and a punnet of button mushrooms. It was moist and succulent. I served it with Brussel Sprouts. Pauline will make a soup out of the sauce and vegetables that remain.

7th December, 2013

We have high pressure across the south of England and the weather in Surrey is very settled. Really quite mild for December.

My INR result arrived this morning. It coincided with a number of dizzy spells over the past couple of weeks. They can be quite scary particularly if I’m out in the world. We had thought that maybe I was losing weight a bit too quickly but I don’t think it’s that. My blood pressure is low and, I suspect, that is the main cause. Many things affect warfarin. Alcohol increases the blood thinning effect whilst the vitamin K in green vegetables decreases it. To aid my diet, I have cut out alcohol and increased intake of green vegetables. As a result, my INR is 1.9. The therapeutic range is 2.0 – 3.0. Not far off but no cigar. Looks like I’ll have to go on a bender to get my reading up a bit. Could help me watch the cricket as well.

Serious computer glitches at the country’s main air traffic control centre left thousands of passengers stranded today after hundreds of flights were grounded at airports following a technical fault. Thank goodness we didn’t choose this weekend to fly.

At least they won’t be able to watch the cricket highlights!

24th November, 2013

Apparently, a calendar year consists of 52.1775 weeks. On that basis, five years is 260.8875 weeks. As a result, the Blog will start its sixth year on Sunday, December 15th. I’m sure all readers will want to put out the flags – or something. I suggest something like this could be flown for the week:

Still, you’ve got a couple of weeks to prepare.

25th November, 2013

Lovely, sunny morning through the autumn leaves of the oaks around the property. Pauline is refreshing the kitchen by re-painting the walls. It will take about an hour. Then, she will move on to the hall and stairs where furniture moving in created a few scrapes and re-settlement has left a few cracks. This sort of thing is an absolute joy for Pauline who thrives on it. She intends it to look perfect if and when we put it on the market. Someone else who lives in the Development dropped in for coffee on Sunday and confirmed our recent property valuation which had seemed so optimistic to us. A number of tenants had commissioned valuations and were thinking of cashing in on huge increases.

My job this morning is to find a new home for various ISAs which mature over the next few months – We have a number of 2-year fixes at 3.7% with Halifax coming towards conclusion in January and February and 4% ISAs with Santander maturing in April. These are rates one can only dream of today. The longest I’m prepared to fix for is two years and I don’t even want to do that. The best rate for a two year fix currently is 2.0%. With CPI currently running at 2.2% and RPI at 2.6%, they will lose us money. We also use an instant access, on-line savings account which our own bank, NatWest offers a generous 0.5% on. We use a Post Office account which at least offers 1.5% and we will still be losing money.

26th November, 2013

This is a week of high pressure bring settled weather with lots of clear, blue skies, strong, low sun and chilly nights and mornings. We are in the last days of November but the Autumn trees are still glorious and very slow to relinquish their leaves.

We went to shop in a newly extended Sainsburys in Knaphill. It is bigger than a number of football pitches put together and really could do with its own taxi service to get around the shelves. Certainly, I lost a few pounds in weight shopping there.

Later, we went on to the gym to lose a few more pounds. I’m aiming for a look-alike competition with Jane B.G..

27th November, 2013

I have spent the day working as an IT technician for Phyllis. Her ancient laptop has been in need of overhaul for some time. Hard drive clean-up, software tighten-up, virus protection, internet speed-up. Four hours later, things don’t look too bad and she is back on track. Part of the problem is that she is still on Vista .

The work took so long, we forwent swimming which we had intended to do. The evening ended well with United’s 0-5 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen.

28th November, 2013

It is remarkably mild for the dog days of November. This morning I have been instructed to prepare and print address labels for all our Christmas cards – about 60 in all. The Greek ones will be posted soon. Pauline is touching up the paintwork in the hall, stairs and landing. We are going to squeeze in an hour at the gym before the Burglar Alarm man returns to complete the renewal of our system.

29th November, 2013

At 10.30 am, the temperature here was 11C/5F which was exactly the same as Skiathan Man was reporting. I was driving Pauline to the dentist for a replacement (£700.00) front tooth veneer. She has needed since we were in Greece and, at last, it is ready. She is going off to London tomorrow with her sister Christmas shopping and needs to look her best.

So far this year we haven’t even seen any frost although the North has even seen a bit of snow. This picture appeared in the papers this morning:

It accompanied reports of a terrible three month winter on the way. This is the headline in the Daily Express:

100 DAYS OF HEAVY SNOW: Britain now facing worst winter in 60 YEARS 

and they accompany their article with a back copy of the newspaper from winter 1947 which is always cited as the worst winter of ‘modern times’ although, presumably, not as bad as the last Ice Age. Even so, it’s bound to all be blamed on Global Warming.

These forecasts are accompanied by those of airports closing for weeks on end and the lights going out because of demands made on the National Grid. And it all begins next week! Amusingly, we received our Winter Fuel Payment from the Government. The £200.00/€240.00 is just slightly more than the whole of our heating and hot water bill came to last year.

30th November, 2013

The last day of November and my wife has left me. Well, for a day. She has gone to London to do clothes shopping with her sister. They have booked a table at a lovely restaurant – The Opera Tavern which is just opposite the Drury Lane theatre and near Covent Garden. She will be able top eat with gay abandon without worrying about my diet. It will do her good.

It’s funny but I feel quite lost. Pauline and I are rarely more than a room away even when we were at work. We have only spent one night apart since 1978 and that was when she was in hospital. I’ve got to make my own coffee.

17th November, 2013

A day in huddled round the iPad and the PC. After reading the newspapers, I am researching new-build properties in Kent and Sussex. Looking back across the Blog, this time four years ago we were doing the same thing. How far we feel we have travelled in that time. We are going to do another research trip in the next couple of weeks. It will either be West Sussex or South Kent. We will have to keep our eye on the weather because snow is forecast – in Surrey?

18th November, 2013

New clothes seem to be delivered every day at the moment. Because of my changing figure, my clothes are looking increasingly baggy. Pauline is filling bin liners with my old clothes and preparing to take them to the charity shop in Byfleet.

Who would want them after I’ve done with them goodness only knows but they will soon be getting nearly-new garments as I move on again. It’s an expensive business losing weight.

Although my blood pressure is now excellent, my pulse rate is still too high. My resting rate can be over 100 and, when I’m exercising, it can be double that. Official advice is that exercising pulse rate should be no more than 220 minus one’s age so I should be 220 – 62 = 158. If I do thirty minutes on a jogging machine, my heart rate is 190 – 200 in the first ten minutes but then falls to around 110 after the half way stage. That is exactly what happened today. My aim is to get that down – and still be alive.

19th November, 2013

I love these autumn days – clear blue sky, strong, low sun, crisp temperatures – and today was no disappointment. The trees are still rioting with colour.

Had a really enjoyable session at the gym today and then came back for homemade asparagus & pea soup. Wonderful! Let’s hope I am as happy after the England v Germany match tonight.

20th November, 2013

Grey, cold – 3C/37F – and raining this morning. It feels dark and uninviting. Not the sort of day one would choose to go out to work – oh, I’m not! We have a team of men round this morning to service the guttering and downpipes. Tomorrow we have ADT Alarms upgrading our house alarm system. This morning I used my last ESE (Easy Serving Espresso) coffee pod. It is a vital tool when I’m hungry. Fortunately, my new order arrived ten minutes ago. A huge box of 300 pods direct from Italy.

After a poor display by England against Germany last night, I am hoping for better things from the England cricket team at the start of the Ashes Test series in Australia tonight. It has been lovely to watch a couple of hours review this afternoon of last summer’s Ashes win which I could only listen to on the radio while in Greece.

21st November, 2013

Couldn’t face staying up to watch the cricket last night although I wonder if Ruth did. Watched the highlights this morning and it was lovely to see Stuart Broad rubbing the Aussies faces in it.

Let’s hope he can keep it up.

I wasn’t too brilliant this morning so we have given the gym a miss today We have quite a few things to do anyway. As senior citizens we are absolutely wonderfully treated by our NHS. Our doctors, the Practice, the local Community Hospital, the District Hospital as well as free ‘flu’ jabs, free prescriptions – we just couldn’t ask for more. We just wish the dental practices were on the same footing. However, (and if you’re eating, look away now.) we have just been contacted by the National Bowel Screening Service to submit tests just two years after we first did it. I think this is a fabulous service – particularly as Mum suffered from bowel cancer – and, however squeamish I am, I shall do it. Apparently, they will continue to offer this service to us every two years until we no longer have or need bowels. And it’s all free! This is what you get in the post

along with a pack of cardboard spatulas. The rest I will leave to your imagination. After six samples over three days, the card is posted off to the University of Surrey in Guildford. We could pop it over in the car.

22nd November, 2013

Don’t even talk about the cricket! Took Pauline for a doctor’s appointment at Goldsworth Park and then off to Tesco. It was 11.00 am by the time we drove in to the car park. It was immediately obvious that the park and the store were packed. With nowhere to park in this megastore at mid-morning on a Friday, we tried to drive straight out but found ourselves stuck in a jam for 30 minutes just to get out of the car park. Christmas certainly seems to have come early here this year!

We went for a session in the gym and then spent the afternoon catching up on correspondence.

23rd November, 2013

Strong, low, winter sun this morning although fairly cold at 5C/41F. Went at 8.00 am to do the Tesco shop. Quiet and pleasant. Home by 9.15 am. Our car insurance renewal had arrived. Because we are abroad so long, we have a non-typical policy. It has to include European driving and breakdown for 180 days. LV have offered it for Pauline & I for £440.00 a year. It’s not cheap but neither is it exorbitant. I was listening to the young lads at the Health Club the other day vying for who could get Third Party insurance for their mini for under £2000.00. I was thinking of offering to chauffeur them for that.

 10th November, 2013

It is now seven weeks since we left our Greek home and six since we arrived back in Surrey. The time has flown by. We have spent time in Yorkshire, had a trip to East Sussex and, this week, we are off on a shopping trip to France followed by another drive to Tonbridge on the River Medway in Kent. Pauline has to see a dental technician who will be making a veneer for one of her front teeth and the colour match is crucial.

Beautiful sunny, blue sky day today. We should have gone out but it has been a stay at home with the Sunday Papers and no less than three football matches day which culminated in United beating Arsenal. During the match which was won by a van Persie goal, Rooney ran eleven kilometres.

Pauline cooked pheasant with asparagus for our evening meal. It was glorious!

11th November, 2013

It is a warmer day reaching 12C/54F but grey and a bit wet. A phone call this morning told us that there are people interested in viewing our apartment even though it is not yet on the market. In fact, we are not going to be rushed in to it at all. Pauline wants to look at properties in West Sussex next. We don’t want to worry Cathy yet but we are going to look around Horsham just north of Worthing next. It is an historic, West Sussex market town with beautiful surrounding countryside.

Had an excellent work-out in the gym today. Half an hour on a jogging machine, ten minutes on a rowing machine and ten on a cycle. I was really aware of my body after that lot. Can’t do any tomorrow because we are off to Boulogne to the fish market, to Philippe Olivier cheese shop and to Auchan.

12th November, 2013

Up early and out into the misty, wet morning. An hour later, we were crossing the channel through the tunnel. A 25 mins journey costing £11.50 each way for the car an both of us. Leaving Calais behind today, we drove straight to Boulogne and the docks where fishermen set up fish sales to sell that morning’s catch.

Unfortunately, the catch wasn’t too exciting today and we decided not to buy. A trip round Boulogne shows how little is left of the tourist infrastructure now the ferries no longer call here. There are still so lovely, little ‘eateries’ but a man on a diet has to have discipline in such a situation. By the way, this is the first time in the last forty years that I’ve found myself in France and bought no wine at all. What would I do with it? We went on to Auchan and bought lots of food applicable to our current eating pattern – salad, vegetables, duck breasts, quails, pork joints, cooked meats and some cheese.

We were back in Surrey for 4.30 pm as a weak sun was going down in these dark days of winter. The forecast suggests we might get our first frost of the winter tonight.

13th November, 2013

Lovely blue sky and strong sun this morning. We needed this weather for our trip yesterday. Had my annual diabetic review this morning and passed with flying colours. All my readings are excellent – low cholesterol, low blood pressure, good blood sugar, etc. – and my medication is being greatly reduced. Much of this is due to weight loss and being alcohol free for an extended period. We both had ‘flu jabs. Mine is free. Pauline has to pay for hers.

To celebrate, we went to the Health Club and did thirty minutes on the treadmill. We went home for a meal of endive, crevettes  and French garlic saucisson washed down with sparkling water. There’s nothing quite like tearing the head of a shellfish and downing it in one when you’re sober!

14th November, 2013

A comparatively mild day – 14C/57F – with weak winter sun. Pauline is experiencing a dental marathon today. I delivered her to the Dentist at 10.00 am for a visit to the hygienist to have her teeth professionally cleaned. She will then be seen by the Dentist for work which will take two hours. She will have two fillings and then have a sub-standard front tooth veneer removed. I then have to drive her down towards the south coast to Tonbridge to visit the Dental Technician who will make the new veneer. The intention is to help him get the best possible colour match. This trip will be about an hour each way with a thirty minute appointment.

We should get home for around 4.00 pm. We’ll have time for something to eat and then, later this evening, we are off to Gatwick to meet P&C arriving back from Tenerife. Quite a day with about four hours driving.

15th November, 2013

In my younger days I would work on University material until four or five in the morning, catch an hour’s sleep, shower and walk to school to teach a full day without any real difficulty. As I’ve got older, this has become completely out of the question. Even late nights set me back the next day. So it is this morning. Home from Gatwick just after midnight, we weren’t in bed until 1.00 am. This morning I feel like death warmed up.

It is the most glorious, sunny day with a clear blue, Mediterranean sky although it isn’t warm at 10C/50F. We went out at 9.30 am to do the weekly shop at Tesco. To be honest, we didn’t need much after our trip to France during the week but we have to keep Tesco afloat. There was a Save the Children Christmas Card stall at the Tesco/M&S entrance and, although we both hate children, the cards looked quite nice so we bought our requirement. We only need 70 these days now we are not in work. I’m obsessed with robins because of the feisty, aggressive nature. It drives Pauline mad but we’ve majored on that again. Look away now if you don’t want to see your Christmas card six weeks early.

There is no rush to write them but I’m beginning to think out my Christmas Newsletter which will accompany many. We will have to be posting to Greece in a couple of weeks.

Usually, this is a night to leave the television turned off – the annual Children in Need nonsense. Fortunately, this year there is an England match on so there is something equally dire to watch.

16th November, 2013

Another glorious, autumnal day with squirrels playing chase around the base of the trees outside our front door and huge, black crows cawing at the tops of the wonderful oaks.

3rd November, 2013

Glorious day! Sunny, bright blue skies and warm. Unfortunately, the papers are full of doom about freezing temperatures to come soon in November. This Global Warming. It’s so complicated isn’t it.

We don’t hear from the island for a month and then, suddenly, three different friends phone us all in a weekend. Yesterday it was our special friend asking how we were and then, this morning two more good friends were moved to contact us. It must be something in the water – or the sky. One this morning was telling us a funny story about an islander who has his boat moored in Kamares harbour – like so many others – and all the birds of Sifnos seem to be targeting this one boat to dump on. So much so that he has installed bird scaring equipment on the boat but all it is doing is amusing residents and further attracting the birds. Spooky! Bird Dumping Comes from Within. Could be a title for a book.

4th November, 2013

As everyone else trudged to the Station to go up to the City to WORK on this wonderfully sunny morning, Pauline and I undertook our one commitment of the day – 8.50 am Routine mammogram at Woking Walk-in Hospital. By 9.00 am, we have the rest of the day FREE.

Today, I am struggling to get to grips with Windows 8 after twenty years of growing up and through Windows 1 – 7 plus Vista. It’s rather fun to be really challenged.

I then have to research new-build property on the South Coast in case we do decide to market our apartment. I am looking at four bedroomed, detached houses. Back to the future!

5th November, 2013

A bit chilly and damp today. Hasn’t risen above 13C/55F today but tomorrow should be warmer. The only trouble with colder weather is that it increases the appetite. Not good when one is on a diet although my weight is still going down. I’ve lost a stone and a half since leaving Greece.

Pauline is in ‘Decorating Mode’! If we are going to sell our Apartment and that is not decided yet, she will want it to look perrrffect, Not that it needs it but, if we ever market a property, she has STANDARDS! Off to Homebase for some paint, rollers and brushes.

We had to be back for a burglar alarm adviser. We were unhappy with our current company, Custom Security Alarms, who just didn’t provide a good service for £250.00 per year. We are swapping to ADT , a much bigger company with a better reputation.

6th November, 2013

A spectacularly uneventful and grey day. I spent it researching new build properties on the Sussex coast. They are still less than an hour from central London but prices are so much cheaper. We are retreating to a four bedroomed detached. We have established that we are just not ready for apartment living.

7th November, 2013

An early start on a mild, bright and dry day. By 6.45 am, I was at Woking Community Hospital to have my INR tested for the first time for three months. Last time, it was on Sifnos. It takes minutes and then we return for tea and (for Pauline) toast. At 9.00 am, we are picking up Phyllis & Colin and setting off for Gatwick Airport. They are spending ten days in Tenerife. We were supposed to be flying to Bologna for a long weekend but we have changed our minds and are now going to look at property areas on the South Coast.

Stories from Greece this morning are all about the Government’s ejection of occupying workers at the ERT building in Athens.

8th November, 2013

Pauline used to make all our bread every week. We never bought any. In fact, it was hard to buy edible, shop-bought bread. Since January 1st, however, I haven’t been eating carbohydrates so my wife’s lovely bread has been redundant. Skiathan Man is proudly showcasing his homemade Tomato and Herb bread while I am in the gym trying to dispose of all traces of its pernicious effects.

We have decided that the time is right to switch away from swimming and to do some hard work in the gym. The last couple of sessions have been half an hour of intensive gym work. We are trying to get it up to an hour by Christmas.

9th November, 2013

Nice, bright but cold morning. We are off to the south coast – East Sussex – to look at new-build properties. We have a number to look at but this one has particularly attracted Pauline.

It will take us about an hour to drive which is fine on a lovely day. A walk by the seaside and a look at a few houses – what could be nicer?

It poured with rain the whole way. We got stuck in a traffic jam for three quarters of an hour but we did see some interesting places. We found a house we liked in Hailsham which is about ten miles outside Eastbourne.

It’s a bit ridiculous after having downsized to two bedrooms to return to five but it felt so much more relaxing. It is also ridiculous that a new property with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study, two sitting rooms and a large dining room in Sussex should cost less than a two bedroomed apartment in Surrey. It is all to do with accessibility to central London.

We ended up in Bexhill on Sea where the beach was packed with holiday makers.

We travelled back through Hastings (which looked very seedy and down-at-heel.) and Battle, Tunbridge Wells (where we saw a few ‘disgusted’.), Sevenoaks, Leatherhead (where the Great Train Robbers met fifty years ago.) and then back to Byfleet. The temperature didn’t rise above 8C/46F all day.

27th October, 2013

Well, what a lazy day. Newspapers and football like a real couch potato. Quite enjoyed it really. Warm outside and has just started raining late into the evening. The TV News is all about the coming storm. It has started to hit the south coast already.

Rush hour is cancelled tomorrow. Trains and flights in London are on hold and commuters are told to stay at home. Our house is totally surrounded by thirty foot trees. Sleep well!

28th October, 2013

Well the Big Wind turned out to be a small puff for us. We heard and saw nothing. Stories in the morning media of trees down in central London, 99 mph gales on the south coast, torrential rain in Wales. Surrey was like a mild and dry oasis of calm for us but this is a house demollished by a fallen tree in Edenbridge, just 39 miles from our house.

This morning it is bright and 11C/51F at 9.00 am. We are off to the Health Club for a good, long swim after an inactive weekend. Tonight we are at the Nuffield Hospital for Pauline to see a consultant about a problem with her foot. Private Healthcare bought by the NHS. This is how Pauline & I did it before we retired. You don’t often see this on the NHS. It’s nice of them to keep in the manner to which we are accustomed!

I wonder how much they are paying?

29th October, 2013

It is an absolutely gorgeous morning. Blue skies and strong sun. We still haven’t seen (felt) any wind. I am off to look at my sister-in-law’s broadband router which is playing up and then for a swim.

Nowadays I am confident to weigh myself every morning. Since arriving back in Surrey, four weeks ago, the scales are reading 19 lbs/8.6 kg/1st 5 lbs less. I have been losing just over half a pound per day. I’m hoping that this will accelerate now that I am on my no-alcohol three months.

30th October, 2013

It looks a bit as if Greek Islands are becoming no-go areas during these winter months. We are thinking of making a flying visit to the house next month but the connections are awful. At the moment, I can only find to ferries in and two out in a week. Kathimerini has been reporting the laying up of ferries because the price of fuel has made them uneconomic during winter. Skiathan Man  and Skopelos Woman report major changes to their connections.

We had a request from someone desperate to buy our duplex apartment this morning. They’re moving into the area and need to be within walking distance of the train to London Waterloo. They want two bedrooms and are prepared to pay a premium for the seclusion that our gated development would afford them. Pauline has booked a valuer to see what we can reasonably ask after three years of ownership. Once again, if we were to sell, I would prefer to sell it furnished. Anyway, we will see what transpires.

31st October, 2013

A man from Townends Estate Agents called this morning. He walked round and appraised our duplex apartment. He gave us a valuation that left us gasping. It meant that, in just under three years ownership, it had increased its value by just under £100,000.00. His estimate was that, if we put it on the market in the next month, he would have a signed up a buyer within six weeks. It all makes the Yorkshire property market look pretty sick.

Having got over the shock, we went round to see Phyllis and Colin. The new BT Hub had arrived so I installed it for them and set their ipad up to wirelessly access it. By the time we got home, it was time for my own IT Engineer to arrive to install a new powerpack in my seven year old desktop computer. It took him forty minutes and, with the price of the new pack, cost me £100.00.

1st November, 2013

My lovely sister asked me recently what the white rabbit was all about. Of course, anybody who has been out of Bolton will know that white rabbits are lucky and that, traditionally, one tries to be the first to wish one’s loved ones ‘White Rabbit’ on the first day of a new month to make their days filled with luck. Of course, we don’t all have a spouse who prods us in the ribs at one minute after midnight – asleep or not – to wish us ‘White Rabbit’. That takes real love – or something!

A calm and mild but not too bright day for the start of November. The apartment has a narrow fluctuation of temperature between 22C/70F – 24C/75F but it is all maintained by the lights and our body temperatures. We just do not use the heating at all. Last winter, in the deepest cold, we needed the central heating occasionally but the total cost of all our heating and hot water for the year was £199.00.

It looks as if my much-loved seven year old computer could not be revived with the just a new powerpack installed yesterday. It needs a new motherboard and that is a step too far. I might as well buy a new computer. I ordered one this morning. Even that was a fraught process. As I tried to pay on-line, I was told that my credit card was blocked. I phoned the card company who put me through to the ‘Fraud Department’ who told me it was just a routine action to make sure my card was not being used by anyone else. I had to go through the whole process all over again. The new computer will be ready to pick up tomorrow. I’m going to order a new iPad Air as well. Pauline will take over my old one.

2nd November, 2013

A special friend from Sifnos phoned this morning to tell us we had received an electricity bill. Fortunately, not only is it paid directly from our Greek Bank Account but I monitor it remotely on the internet. However, it was lovely to hear from her and about what’s going on on the island. What hasn’t been happening is rain. She is going to activate a watering programme immediately.

I don’t know if I dare tell you this but retirement has made me even more of a ‘thrifty geek’ than before. We have time to search out the best prices for everything. When a supermarket offers ‘two for one’, half price items, I can’t see the point in buying a few. Why not forward buy for the year. Dishwasher tablets are expensive items. Today, they were on a half price offer. We bought enough to last a year. Half will go to Greece. We have a huge storage cupboard in the garage which is a wine cellar but now also contains lots of comparatively expensive products which, just over the past couple of days, have cost/saved us £300.00. It does feel a little ‘confessional’ admitting that to you.

I’m going to spend the rest of the weekend setting up my new omputer and installing software – in between football matches. Ruth will be pleased this weekend because Bolton have won.

20th October, 2013

We have been away from our Greek home for four weeks now and back in Surrey for three. Who is winding thast clock? After a busy and social few days, it is nice to have some solitude and quiet. Sunday papers and making plans for the next two or three weeks. At lunch, Pauline made tomato, roast garlic and basil soup. It was delicious. I had a glass of Castle Hill beer. Anybody who knows Hudderfield – like Kevin – will know that Castle Hill is a famous, Huddersfield landmark. I rarely drink beer but I couldn’t resist a couple of bottles from Mallinsons, a micro-brewery from Lockwood in Huddersfield. I bought Castle Hill Premium beer and Emley Moor Mild. I drank the former today and it was just lovely.

21st October, 2013

Looks like a wet and windy week ahead. It’s alright for Skiathan Man lazing round in the sun. I am back on the Health Club treadmill – literally!

Pauline’s booked us Dentist Appointments, Doctors Appointments and my Annual Diabetic Review. I’ve booked two return trips to France with Eurotunnel for November and December. You’ve got to get your priorities right.

After a few indulgences after the past few weeks – driving back across Europe and staying in a string of Hotels then driving up to Yorkshire and eating out with friends – my weight has been on a plateau. Now all of that is over, I have decided to refocus. I am going to do three months without alcohol and to tighten up on my food intake. At the same time, I am going to increase my activity level. I aim to lose two stone by Christmas and another two stone by mid-March when we leave for Greece.

Went for a really enjoyable session at the Health Club including a hard swim. My one meal today, cooked by Pauline, was absolutely fantastic. We ate oven-baked loin of halibut with roasted tomatoes, asparagus and samphire tossed in garlic oil all accompanied by sparkling water. I haven’t eaten samphire before. I really enjoyed it and will certainly eat it again.

22nd October, 2013

For the past two years – since we downsized – I have been storing 30 or so large framed prints that were hanging on the walls of our previous house. They are Pre-Raphaelite and the years immediately afterwards – including Waterhouse and Whistler. They are generally 3ft x 2 ft in dimension and they will never fit in a property that we own in the future.

This is Dante Gabriel Rosetti : Beata Beatrix

and Proserpine (1874)

This is Waterhouse – The Soul of the Rose (1908)

and Miranda – The Tempest (1916)

Each one cost £100 – £150.00 and, although I don’t expect that for them, I do want a reasonable return on them. How shall I sell them? They are impossible to send in the post. I don’t want dozens of buyers trekking to our house. We are going to a local art shop in West Byfleet to get some advice.

23rd October, 2013

Lovely, warm and dry sunny day where the temperature reached 20C/68F and the autumn trees glowed with colour. A morning of minor jobs.

• Collected a new pressure cooker from Argos.
• Wrote to Margaret.
• Investigated Campervan sites near Woking for Brian to try.
• Paid money into the Bank.
• Read the paper.

Watched Primeminister’s Question Time as Ed Miliband took Cameron’s Energy ‘policy’ apart and left him spluttering. The Tories now – in the face of their Coalition partners – pledge to get rid of Green Taxes. It’s all coming apart at the seams.

Went for a lovely swim in a deserted pool and came home about 4.00 pm to cook our one meal of the day – Pork chops with grilled onions and garlic mushrooms. We are on Day 3 of the alcohol ban and it is not a problem.

24th October, 2013

A beautiful, sunny day and how do I spend it? Tidying out the garage. I must be mad!

The day turned into one of real disappointment. I have been really looking forward to moving to superfast, fibre-optic broadband from BT. It should be installed next week. Having read through the paperwork, however, I find that I can only access it via Ethernet to the main socket which is used by Sky TV in the corner of the lounge. I have two, unusable (for fibre-optic) phone sockets in the Study upstairs. I’ve had to phone to cancel the installation. To their credit, both companies made the process of cancelling and reinstating my broadband connection so easy. It’s a disappointment but that’s life!

25th October, 2013

A beautiful, Autumnal morning in which the temperature reached 21C/69F. We are off to a new Dentist in Chobham. Pauline is told she needs two fillings and a veneer whch will cost about £600.00. I need just to clean my teeth better. What a cheek! I had had to pay £28.00 to be told that.

Yesterday I searched the internet for pheasants sold in Surrey. I picked a farm shop called Garsons in Esher. It’s only about fifteen minutes drive away. It is also a Garden Centre. I phoned them and they said they would put half a dozen birds aside for me. Today we drove there and found a foodies’ wonderland. This was the view outside this morning:

This is what we bought.

Large pheasant cost £4.49 which is a very reasonable price. They were sourced in Hampshire by Bevan’s Butchers which had an outlet inside.

26th October, 2013

A disappointingly dull day and we are waiting for the storms to come. Of course, Nature provides strong winds at this time to encourage the trees to strip but this is forecast to be the worst storm for 25 or so years. As we live totally surrounded by tall trees, it will be an interesting Sunday night. If you see leaves on trees, get out and look now. They will be gone by Tuesday.

Newspapers and football have become the order of Saturdays. When you’re retired, it is far wiser to avoid shopping with the Great Unwashed at the weekend. Last night, Pauline cooked braised pheasant with cauliflower and sprouts. It was great to have those lovely, strong gamey flavours. Today, it is my turn and I’m doing Moules Marinières again because I’m addicted to it and it really sits well with my diet as long as I leave out the cream.

13th October, 2013

It rained all night and looks like raining all day. There is something wonderful about rain – especially when you haven’t experienced it for six months.

No football this weekend after the England win on Friday so the Sunday papers are more prominent. Unfortunately, it is a poor weekend for news. European scroungers are high on the agenda. Those coming from Europe are, apparently, costing the NHS £1.5 billion per year and the Tories are doing a deal with the Germans to put a stop to it. When you see what we are entitled to in Greece, you realise that reciprocity is not how it sounds. The Sunday Independent is suggesting that a National Health Service free at the point of use will soon be ‘usustainable’ for UK citizens anyway so the matter will cease to be a talking point while The Sunday Times reports that

THE top medical official responsible for running the NHS in London has admitted that the service is at times unsafe for patients because doctors and nurses are spread too thinly.

It is all jolly stuff but has to have a kernel of truth and that is worrying.

14th October, 2013

It is a grey and overcast day. Our neighbour, Colonel Wellington, is coming round for coffee after just returning from a sailing holiday in the Ionian islands. Then, we must go swimming. I need some activity after a wet and lazy weekend.

Lovely to hear the BBC trying to interview members of Golden Dawn in Athens. Now the (jack)boot is on the other foot. They are the hunted ones running away. They literally ran inside their office and locked the door leaving John Humphreys on the pavement. Classic!

I’ve spent the afternoon preparing to switch from a Sky TV/Telephone/Broadband package to just TV from Sky and the phone/Broadband from BT. The big draw is illustrated by available performance. Currently, I get a download of 5Mbs and upload of just 0.7Mbs. Contrast that with BT’s fibre optic offering of download – 76Mbs and upload- 17Mbs. In addition, I get BT Sport channels for free. Admittedly, it will cost me £20.00 or so a month more but who’s counting?

15th October, 2013

Today would have been Dad’s 98th birthday. Unfortunately, he has missed half of those years by dying at the incredibly early age of 49 when I was just 14. It is impossible to know how our relationship would have developed in advancing age or whether I would have felt compelled to have followed him into the family business but we will never know. I don’t know when this photo of him was taken exactly but it can’t be too long before he died. He was at a reception for architects at The Bull’s Head.

I will be visiting his grave in Repton on Saturday morning. We set off for Yorkshire at 5.30 am tomorrow.

A weak sun is out this morning, shining through an increasingly autumnal looking line of trees. The temperature is decidedly cool at 9C/48F. We particularly begin to feel its divergence from Greek weather where Athens is 25C/77F and Skiathos is 22C/70F. The difference is that Skiathan Man can laze around outside while I have to do it indoors.

16th October, 2013

Set off from Surrey at 5.30 am and a temperature of only 6C/43F with forecasts of thick fog and heavy rain. We experienced neither. Nor did we see much traffic over the two and a half hour’s journey. We stopped off in Leeds to visit June, Pauline’s brother’s wife and then to call in at IKEA. By 1.00 pm we had checked in to the Holiday Inn, Brighouse and were in the pool having a good, long swim.

By mid-afternoon, it was pouring with rain so we relaxed, booked Dinner in the restaurant and settled down to relax. Tomorrow will be a very busy day.

17th October, 2013

What a lovely day we had. Up early and off to Honda to have our car serviced and to chat to our friend, Chris Woods.

In mid-morning, we drove to Bolton to visit Ruth & Kevan. What a lovely girl she is! Ruth not Kevan. Ruth fed us smoked salmon salad which is exactly my sort of thing. We stayed for an hour and a half – the time just flew past. Even so, it was strange to leave saying, See you next year. but that is exactly what life is like now for us.

We drove back to Huddersfield to visit our former neighbour, Jean but, unfortunately, she wasn’t in. We left a card and might return tomorrow. When we got back to the hotel, we were too tired to swim so settled down to a cup of tea and a snooze before changing to go out to Dinner with old friends. We dined at Bradleys restaurant with our friends, Margaret and her husband & Little Viv.

The meal was wonderful. I had Rosemary Marinated Pigeon Breast as a starter followed by a main course of Roast Partridge with lovely vegetables. To be honest, the company was so engaging that I ate the meal without fully appreciating it but it is a delightful restaurant.

We spent about three hours over the meal and parted by agreeing to meet again in March instead of waiting twelve months.

18th October, 2013

Woke up early – 6.00 am – to a grey morning. We will not be having breakfast for a second day. We are off across the Pennines to Oldham and a busy set of visits.

What a day! We drove through thick fog and heavily damp air across the moors from Huddersfield to Oldham where we arrived at 9.00 am. We drove straight to the site of our old school which now looks like this:

In some respects, this gives us final closure. We will never return here because there is no here to return to.

By 9.30 am we were in the new Tesco Megastore to buy two dozen Holland’s meat pies for Colin. He has been craving them and can’t source them in Surrey at all.

Next we drove to Greenwoods at the bottom of Vulcan Street to but two dozen Oven Bottom Muffins.

Guess who they were for. Yes, for Colin. You can take the man out of Oldham but you can’t take Oldham out of the man.

On to Shaw to visit my friend, Brian – ex-drugs squad, ex-murder squad, ex-school attendance enforcer. He has down sized since retiring and sold his cottage in France. We spent a lovely hour or so chatting and reminiscing and then it was time to move on again.

This time we moved on to the Crematorium to remember Pauline’s Mum on the third anniversary of her death.

1914 – 2010

On again to Joyce & Harry to collect their homework. They were asked to make notes about Pauline’s family history. They had done just that and we have lots of leads to follow up.

19th October, 2013

Up early and settled our hotel bill. After complaining to the Desk Manager about being charged £30.00 for three days internet access after it being free in all our hotels across Europe, it was removed from our bill. Restores one’s faith in something. We drove on to Hinchcliffe’s Farm Shop in Netherton for meat and game.

Next we headed to Repton, Derbyshire in the heart of the where I was born and where my parents are buried. I know my sister, Ruth visited recently and put some potted plants on their grave. We arrived to a scene that Keats described as:

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
    Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
    With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

I aarived to find grave robbers had got there first and all that was left was a bare begonia rootball minus the pot.

If someone was so desperate, I hope they found happiness in it. I said a brief ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’ to Mum and Dad and we set off for Surrey.

They journey was wonderful although I can’t get the fact that I am leaving Mum behind out of my head. The traffic was so light that we were ‘home’ in no time.