Sanders Blog

Sunday, 11th August, 2024

On this gloriously warm and sunny day which eventually reached a delightful 29C, my head is still dominated by that simple-minded, uncouth man I saw abusing a bus driver.

Imagine not being able to afford a simple bus fare. Imagine what that means for the other areas of your life. It has dominated my mind all night. The poverty, the paucity of life’s essentials and much else we think of essential but probably isn’t. If you can’t afford a bus fare, you probably can’t afford a mobile phone, a broadband connection, TV subscriptions – access to the outside world of information and knowledge – enough food to feel comfortable, enough power to feel warm in Winter and cool in Summer, the chance to travel and experience other cultures of other people. No wonder you explode at the stranger who you don’t understand and whose service you cannot even afford.

I wrote yesterday that it forced a tear from me when I reflected on it and yet, when I say to my wife, How lucky are we?, she says, We’ve worked hard, saved hard, invested well and now deserve our ‘good fortune’. and that is hard to deny but there is more to it than that. Some people would never get a Degree in a lifetime of effort. Some people are born into households where education, achievement, drive, determination are not qualities that are valued and passed on. Yes they can acquire them but they are certainly disadvantaged.

Foreign Home – 2009

At the age of 21, I left College penniless (although I could have asked for family backing), starting a new job for which I had to work a month in advance so I borrowed a month’s salary from my Bank and feeling quite poor but 40 years later after hard work (and I did earn two Degrees), saving and investment, I had two properties and felt as if I would never be unable to find my bus fare. Partly through luck and inheritance and partly through effort and intelligence, my life woud be secure. It could all have been so different. There but for the grace of Fate go I … Dear Reader.

The front of the Manchester Evening News illustrates this frighteningly well …

It’s a sunny Friday morning. In years gone by, the food bank in which the teenage boy, man, and woman sit in waiting for help would be quiet, with people choosing instead to enjoy a rare day of fine weather. But those times are over, as the food bank’s volunteers say summer days are just as busy as ever – and only getting busier as the cost-of-living crisis rages on.

How could it ever get to this? The last 14 years of Tory government, of austerity and preferential treatment for the elites have brought us to this socal collapse.

Monday, 12th August, 2024

Have you noticed how dark it is getting earlier now. The Winter is on its way. We didn’t fall below 22C/70F last night. Started off the night with air cooling to make the bedroom comfortable. Woke up at 2.30 am and I couldn’t feel my legs. Turned off the air cooler using an app on my phone and immediately started sweating. Anyway, this morning has rapidly shot up to 28C/82F as I have had to pay for a lovely weekend with a trip to the Hygienist. I hate the Hygienist with a passion. Turned out alright this morning.

Called in at Waitrose which is near the dentist and picked up their free paper on the way out. I was talking about class and good fortune yesterday. Well, you don’t get much more middle class than Waitrose. Their Holiday Heaven recipes include: Grilled Courgette & Nectarine Salad with Burrata.

I was about to scoff when I realised we cooked griddled courgette slices to eat with griddled Tuna Steaks last night for Supper. I wouldn’t particularly choose it with nectarine though and I’m not even completely sure what a burrata is. … I’ve just looked it up and I should have known it. Burrata is an Italian cow’s milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer casing is solid cheese, while the inside contains stracciatella and clotted cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. It is a speciality of the Puglia region of southern Italy. Don’t say you don’t learn anything from the Blog, Dear Reader.

I was woken this morning as every morning at 5.45 am by my wifi/Alexa smart speaker. I turn the TV/Radio on downstairs in the kitchen by speaking to the remote handset. We go out to the dentist leaving two robot vacuum cleaners working upstairs and down. As I drive home, my phone receives confirmation of our next dental appointments and confirmation that the robots have complete their cleaning tasks. Why am I telling you all this, Dear Reader?

Well, 25 years ago, I was desperately trying to introduce IT & AI to Education in my school. It was in its infancy so the process was a struggle. It was important to automate data collection – like Pupil Registration/Attendance figures, to produce and store School -wide Attainment Data to be disseminated to LEA/Government and parents. Just this minimum required wired and wifi connections all over a huge campus along with hundreds of computers/Laptops/Handheld PDAs and dozens of printers. The cost was enormous.

The staff would need a platform on which to create, store, disseminate teaching materials to their classes and with increasing demands of the National Curriculum, the assessments they were making all the time. They would need interactive whiteboards to display their digital materials

All of this led to the demand to link home & school both for students and parents and for teachers and administrators. Initially, I created my own Intranet platform which took up huge amounts of my time to maintain. It was liked by the kids and some staff but many struggled to embrace it and it needed a more professional vehicle to really fly and we bought that in at what now seems such a cheap price of £50,000.

Because we were struggling to get good staff, I was working towards the teacherless classroom or one where large numbers of pupils could be supervised by one teacher/teaching assistant. I was doing it myself already. We were strugling to find people to staff the timetable and I volunteered to put 2 classes together – 60 x 15 year olds – who I taught IT in the Resource Centre freeing up a classroom and a teacher. I don’t like to brag but I relished the challenge and every single pupil passed all four GCSEs that comprised the IT GNVQ. It was fun but I wanted to devise online courses which could be accessed by students who would be automatically tested online, assessed online and their results reported on line to students, teachers and parents.

It was exciting, heady stuff and frustrating at times as all new things are. I didn’t get all the way there before I retired but that was 15 years ago. This morning, BBCR4 Today programme discussed the possibility of automatic learning with IT/AI in classrooms and fewer teachers. Almost 50 years ago, I did my Degree through TV and cassette with the Open University. Now, there’s a chance that the White Heat of Technology will have caught up with the School Sector.

Tuesday, 13th August, 2024

Another lovely Summer day. Driving up to sunny Surrey this morning. Should be fun. Setting off forAthens soon and, true to form, wild fires have broken out. We did more than 30 return trips to Greece in the car and I can’t remember a summer for years when wild fires didn’t break out. Greek media always makes it sound like the world is about to end and, somehow, it never does. We would drive back to Patras along the National Highway and see scorched grass on the roadside and think, What was that all about on TV? So we are a bit sceptical but we will see.

Certainly, the weather will be hot – very hot – at 36 – 38C / 97 – 101F but you should expect that in Athens in August. It’s the night time temepratures that are sticky and uncomfortable. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

When we first went to Athens in 1981 we thought it was the worst place we had ever seen. It was crowded, dirty, noisy, anarchic and rather Third World. We hated it and treated it as a necessary transition point on to an island rather than somewhere to enjoy in its own right.

Now, 43 years on and after making some 60 stays in the city, we absolutely love it. It is no longer Third World although it is noisy, crowded and a bit scruffy. We know where to go, how to access the services we need and what to say to get them. Of course, we are better off now and don’t worry that we will be ripped off. If anything, the boot is on the other foot. We are the negotiators.

Sifnos – 1984

Our island 40 years ago had no bank, no real supermarket, two external international lines to phone UK which were constantly breaking down or engaged. The hotels were basic and the food was too. But that was the challenge which kept us returning year after year until we owned a part of it ourselves. These photos of summer 1984 feature the long retired f/b Agios Georgos (St George Express) which was nowhere near an Express anything. It took around 6 hours to get us from Piraeus to Sifnos usually sitting on plastic chairs the whole way. Now you can do it in a couple of hours. On the right is the traffic chaos in Apollonia – the capital of the island which would be considered less than a village in UK and only filled up for about 6 weeks in the tourist season. It is much more organised now.

Lovely day today. We drove up to Surrey to see M&K before they return to our Florida home which we let them stay in. They are lovely, friendly, generous people and it is fascinating to see their development as they embrace Retirement. They had prepared a wonderful Lunch of grilled Salmon and Sushi. It was delightful to share it outside in the garden running down to the canal with boats going past in the sunshine.

Wednesday, 14th August, 2024

Warm but grey this morning. We’ve even had a bit of rain overnight which is wonderful. Our trip out yesterday reminded me how important adult others are in one’s life. In retirement, we can become too insular and being challenged in our views, talking to people who have other world and personal constructs in their heads is enjoyable and useful.

Blog Readers will know that I am obsessed with the past. For me, it is very important to understand the present and plan for the future but I am constantly pulled up sharp by meeing people who have little or no interest in the past at all and just believe going forward is important. My eldest sister is one who just shrugs off her past and isn’t interested when I ask for help in remembering family events. What amuses me is the fact that she wants to celebrate things like Birthdays and Anniversaries which are the essential graduations of the past but doesn’t seem to acknowlege that.

Yesterday, I was talking to K, a (fairly) intelligent, aging juvenile who also expresses little interest in the past and vows to just go forward until Dementia gets him. I am trying hard to understand it but failing completely. I use every trick in the book to maintain my links to my past. The Blog is just one small part. Our Accounts package is another historical record. Our Filing cabinet is stuffed full of records going back through Houses we have owned, Salary Slips we have been paid, Investments we have made, Taxes we have paid. I even keep emails and texts as historical records.

All of these snippets of the past are the drip, drip, drip of what has formed us over time. This morning, I heard an interview with a man whose father had been murdered. He could no longer speak to his Dad but had saved his voice mails and texts to access when he needed to feel contact.

I understand that completely. To touch, smell, feel a letter, a card from the past is keeping in touch across time. To re-read an email, text, social media message keeps that person alive. People go to an historical site and touch the ancient stones to make contact however vicariously with the history of that place. As usual, I have to take it one step further with an uncontrollable urge to return and touch once again what I have left behind if only for a minute.

Finally, to illustrate the point for former fellow students of mine, the accompanying pre-college photo of one of our clan was sent to me this morning. It is of a girl called Judy who died of cancer about 4 years ago – still in her 60s. There are little things one remembers but it was the sad irony about Judy that her best friend, Christine, shared with me, that will stick. Judy was religious about working out in the Gym and was furious that it was all for nought in her view. She left this world angry that she had wasted her time and money on Gym fees when she could have been enjoying herself.

It is through memory that those who have left us live on and are given the respect that so often we don’t always find time for in Life.

Thursday, 15th August, 2024

Only Thursday. It’s seemed a long week. Dropped Pauline off in Rustington for a little procedure. Seems to have gone well. Now travel preparations and future planning can go ahead. Recently, I’ve been feeling my age. Sensitive to ‘oldness’. The cancer diagnosis and treatment have definitely contributed to that but also the corollaries to hormone and radiotherapy have which have taken me much longer to didmiss than I thought. I have exercised less and eaten and drunk more – sort of Eat, Drink & be Merry reaction to threat to life. I let go my self-discipline.

Our trip to Athens will mark the end of that and I will set myself a target to regain where I was previously. Today, we are going to book the month of March away in Canary island sunshine as a target time for my efforts. It is what I need to motivate me. Pauline has found a pleasant apartment outside Adeje which will do just fine.

It has all the amenities needed for 4 weeks stay – wi-fi internet, kitchen, laundry, nice bathroom, bedroom, lounge with satellite TV, Dining Table and balcony to sit out, heated pool. It is in easy walking distance of most amenities around Siam Park and we can hire a car to go further. Can hardly believe the price – £3,134.00 for a month. It’s cheaper than our 7 nights in Athens. We have still got to buy flights but Easyjet from Gatwick are only about £200.00 each return. It will be cheaper than staying at home especially if its cold in UK.

Weather in Southern Tenerife in March averages 24C Day time / 15C Night time with 7 hours of sunshine per day and rain on only 2 days. Weather in Athens in August averages bloody hot. It will be 35C Day time / 25C Night time with around 13 hours of sunshine and no rain. At some stage you pray for a cool, overcast day but no one hears. I’ll definitely leave my umbrella at home if anyone wants it.

I have to use these sorts of incentives to motivate and focus on self improvement, on fitness and weight loss. I’ve always thought that aging was a linear process – we get less able as we get older. New research out today and reported in The Telegraph and on BBCR4 Today programme suggests we age in phases rather like growth spurts but in reverse.

When I was 13, I suddenly grew to 6 feet tall over a few months and then stopped growing completely. This new research suggests that people suddenly find they have reached a stage of aging and then stop for a while before suddenly realising they reached another stage without noticing intervals between. I have been blaming my feeling of decline on my recent illness. This regeneration project will possibly show whether it is recoverable, Dear Reader.

Friday, 16th August, 2024

Lovely, sunny and warm day. The world looks clean and fresh after overnight rain. Starting to prepare to put the garden to bed while we are away. Clothes are being washed and ironed by the Laundry Woman. Who irons shorts and tee shirts? Answer: she does. Who am I to argue. I keep out of the way in situations like this. I’m busy spending money on next year – a re-visit to Thessaloniki and March in Tenerife. Kevin has already asked for a villa large enough to provide a bedroom for him for a week.

The political scene is going to be interesting for a while now. So nice to have Labour politicians with sensible, grownup policies dominating the airways. The right wing lunatic fringe are either going through the court system, crying for their Mums or plotting to sieze Leadership of the moribund Tory Party. If they are out of power and out of luck, they pretend they are some great oracle of right wing thought who the country needs to listen to. Here’s the brainless Liz Truss trying to sound intellectual ….

…. and failing spectacularly. She also thinks America – where they don’t know how stupid she really is – might be a fertile ground for rehabilitation of her reputation. It won’t, Trumpism is on the wane. She’ll be riding the wrong wave again.

What is amusing on our political scene is that the Right, who have derided Statism in general and the Welfare State in particular, are up in arms that a cash-strapped government should make Winter Fuel payments means-tested so that they only go to those who really need it. You realise the righteous indignation is just that and nothing more.

M&K have been swapping films/TV series with us. We gave them Slow Horses from Apple TV – If you haven’t seen it, you really should. – They told us to watch Rebus, from the Detective novels created by Ian Rankin. I should have done years ago but didn’t have time.

It’s intelligent writing and I’m enjoying it. Last night, I watched Long Lost Family which I love to hate. It is so moving. If you’ve ever lost somebody, you will know immediately. The answer is to never give up. It always amazes me how many of these people didn’t know how to acess the process of search and discovery.

In Athens, at the end of a long, hot day, a reviving shower and an indulgently enjoyable supper out, we can access our Netflix account in our hotel room and relax over a bottle of wine. It is important to make it home-from-home as we indulge the Greek atmosphere. The process has been refined over many years so that we want for nothing.

Saturday, 17th August, 2024

Gorgeous day down here. Warm and gloriously sunny. This Blog is for those who don’t like to look back but only move forward and anticipate the future.

The new buds push the old leaves from the bough.
We drop our youth behind us like a boy
Throwing away his toffee-wrappers. We never see the flower,
But only the fruit in the flower; never the fruit,
But only the rot in the fruit. We look for the marriage bed
In the baby’s cradle; we look for the grave in the bed;
Not living
But rising dead.

Norman Nicholson (from Complete Verse, Jonathan Cape, 1999)

In order to set up my automatic lighting ready for going away, I was monitoring the times of daylight and dark yesterday. It is really noticeable now how much shorter the day has become. Sunrise is 5.55 am and Sunset is 8.21 pm. The Autumn is coming, Dear Reader, in more senses than one. The signs have been there for a while but we are less than two weeks from September. So, that’s something to look forward to. That and Man. Utd, winning the Premiership. We can all dream and I am a real dreamer. Currently, I’m dreaming of a week’s hot sun in Athens and a month’s warm sun in the Canaries. I’m dreaming of a Labour government for the next 15 years, a Trump loss in the next few months and …. well I won’t go any further. My dreams will come true. The Future is to come.

Sunday, 4th August, 2024

A pleasantly warm and sunny morning. In the garden, huge honey bees are urgently visiting every flower head before buzzing off to their Queen. We are going to be green beaned out soon they are so productive this year.

Last night Supper included the first of our carrots. We only grew them for fun and chose a Rainbow Carrot strain. Within a few minutes of being pulled from the bed, they were being roasted and dressed in honey and thyme. Absolutely delicious! The beetroot is ready for lifting which I’m looking forward to.

We are a long way off Harvest Festival but, as I observed the other day, there is a slight hint of early decay outside. Maybe it’s my perception influenced by a feeling of personal decline. I’ve been feeling a bit sad and listless recently and I know it can colour my judgement. I think I am a bit bored and in need of stimulation.

Boredom is bad for me because I tend to buy things to relieve it. I’ve noticed over the past weeks that I’ve been looking at new cars. Because I was ill last year, I’ve only done 7,000 miles in this one. I’ve been looking at buying a winter of sunshine in the Canaries because it is a while since we’ve been there. I caught myself looking at a new, bigger TV last week and solar panels for the roof this week. I need to go away to banish this nonsense.

When I lived inland, the sight and sound of sea gulls was a welcome hint of the coast, of the sea, of far-off places, of travel. Many will know the beautiful sight of gulls following the farmer’s plough as worms are brought to the surface just as they do with the trawler on the sea. When we first moved here on the coast, lots of seagulls were a constant reminder that we lived by the sea.

The charm has waned. Now, they are a bloody nuisance. They maraud overhead, they stain the cars, they mob people on the coastal paths and they wake me at 4.00 am as they squawk noisily near the windows. And they are a protected species which stops Local Authorities culling them. They are the Right Wing thugs of the bird world. I am going to suggest housing them on the Bibby Stockholm.

Told you I was bored. I’ve even actually cleaned the car …. at last. And now, I’ve ordered a smart alarm clock which integrates radio + data on command via wi-fi. Which intelligent man could turn such an offer down? This clock integrates the internet functions which will perform Alexa operations while I am in bed. What more could I want? …. Don’t answer that.

Monday, 5th August, 2024

Emergency dash this morning to the dentist. Yesterday, a piece of tooth enamel broke away from one of Pauline’s front teeth and she has been left with an unsightly brown stain. I’m amazed she got through the night. Anyway, Calm & Gentle will fix it for her on Wednesday just before she meets her friends in London on Thursday and before we fly to Athens.

We drove there in a very clean car and drove back with half the beach on the carpets. While we were there, we had a walk on the beach with the tide coming in. It was quiet today apart from the gently lapping waves on the breakwater.

Today is the 52nd Wedding Anniversary of my friend, Kevin. I remember it so well. I’m beginning to fall into that old person’s syndrome of acute long term memory but hazy short term recall. Is that dementia?

At least I can still remember what these are called. Always loved beetroot and ours are ready for pulling up now. Sort of thing you can leave in the ground until you want them. They look alright though and tasted lovely.

Tuesday, 6th August, 2024

Going to be a warm and sunny day after a rather grey start. I am moderately content at the moment because I have a new gadget to work out. My Amazon EchoSpot with Alexa was delivered yesterday. I have been configuring it. It is intended to replace our clock radio which is showing its age …. like so many of us … but it does many other things. It will read my calendar of events to me at 5.45 am and tell me what the weather is and will be throughout the day. It will read me my texts and emails … Who could ask for more.

I know most people will already know this but, for the youngsters out there, on this day in 1991 only 33 years ago Tim Berners-Lee launched the first ever webpage which was a clarion call to the world to join the World Wide Web. You remember it, don’t you Dear Reader? Now, nobody on the planet can manage without it. Some people still don’t realise they can’t live without it but, believe me, they can’t. Just 3 years after this event, in 1994, I was accessing the WWW for the first time on a crash, bang, wallop modem which allowed us on to it through a simple phone line. No graphics. Just text.

It feels like the web has been part of my life forever and a total shock that it is only since I was 41. Today, I cracked the installation of my new, smart speaker which draws everything I want instantly from the web when my voice commands it: radio, email, text, calendar, etc.. It has replaced my old, (25yrs old) analogue clock radio by my bedside.

I am quite sad, in a way, because it holds so many memories. It’s been in the bedroom for 25 years after all. But time marches on. We cannot resist it. Now my bedside essentials include a wireless charger for my smartphone and a wifi enabled smart speaker. Not sure what the tissues are for.

Wednesday, 7th August, 2024

Nice morning. Taking my wife for emergency cosmetic tooth surgery and then I have lawn mowing followed by Gym. And … relax.

Woke up to a new woman this morning. She announced the weather, the time and turned BBC Radio 4 on. Unfortunately, she also read today’s calendar events reminding me that it was Wednesday and my first job would be to strip the bed and give the sheets to the washerwoman … so no change there.

I have resisted using these virtual assistants like Alexa and Bixby not because I didn’t like the technology but because I thought they would make me lazy. At the age of 73, I have been forced to embrace them – Alexa in the bedroom and Bixby elsewhere. Alexa comes with Amazon products whereas Bixby is the rival, Samsung virtual assistant. We have Samsung smartphones and all our TVs are Samsung. They all incorporate Bixby command software so now I’m going to make myself use it.

Well, the Dentist went alright if you don’t count the £235.00 bill for a new, enamel coating. On the way back home, we had to call in and collect a new elctric kettle.

I have never known a household get through kettles like we do. We threw one away just over a year ago and bought another, variable temperature one which was top of the range (We were told.) and worked fine until a couple of weeks ago and then it didn’t.

Because we had to wait a couple of weeks until that one was available last year, we bought a bog-standard one to tide us over and that is still here as a back-up. Today we collected a Ninja Variable Temperature Kettle. What could go wrong? Anyway, I’ve registered it for its 2-year warranty.

I was writing a couple of days ago about long and short term memory. As we get older, we all feel a bit vulnerable about our own. An interesting thing happened yesterday when I was speaking to an old friend of over 50 years standing. He is 74 and we were discussing the Digs we were originally allocated when we first went to College in 1969. I was with two pleasant, older lads who were very tolerant of me and we ‘got on’. My friend literally couldn’t remember who he was in Digs with for two years in one of these Edwardian properties pictured above. It is quite amazing how the memoy works and what we block out.

Thursday, 8th August, 2024

Out early this morning to take my wife to our local Train Station. It is about 10 mins drive away and, as you can see, absolutely palatial.

Angmering to London Victoria takes just over an hour because there are plenty of stops en route. She is meeting her old, College friend. They were at College in Tottenham together 1970-73. Christine’s husband died of cancer about 4 years ago so it has been nice for them to meet up again although it was quite a task for me to locate her. When I put my mind to that sort of research, I usually get there in the end.

There are hundreds of people-locator sites but I eventually found her through her sons on Linkedin which was just a lucky hit. This photograph was taken a couple of years ago before my cancer. So much changes, doesn’t it Dear Reader.

Sorry, but my obsession with ‘time’ rears its head all the ‘time’. Things/people that have gone still exist in our heads, in our memories, in our hearts. In that sense they never go. Tomorrow we will be thinking about Viv Butterworth who died on that day in 2017. It is hard to believe it was 7 years ago and yet her husband, Richard, has been living with the emptiness every day.

You know, today I am home alone. I’m alright about it because I am fairly self-contained and I live inside my head a lot anyway but the house is utterly silent. It is a deafening silence which intrudes on my thoughts. I keep listening for the clattering in the kitchen; I sometimes hear it but it is not there. Lonliness can be a terrible thing and we know it can be quite debilitating, life shortening. Anyway, I’m going to make the most of it. My wife will be back this evening with very high expectations.

I’ve been having a conversation with a woman from Rochdale today. How ironic. I ddn’t realise that she was from Rochdale until we had been corresponding for an hour. She was telling me that immigrants are unwelcome. England is ‘full’ and should be kept for the English. I looked up the origin of her maiden name and it is from America and Canada not England. When I pointed that out, she disappeared. Strange. Perhaps she’s gone back to America already.

Friday, 9th August, 2024

A very warm but breezy night has given way to a lovely day. Looks like we will have a warm week ahead. It even rained overnight which has helped.

Yesterday, I mentioned the anniversary of the death of Vivienne Butterworth – 9/8/2017 – and I found this photograph this morning. There is no annotation on the back so I don’t know hold old she was here but we think it was about 1958 which would make her 15. She died 7 years ago today at the very young age of 74 but lives on in the memory.

Seeing faces from the past slowly floating across this week is a salutory reminder not to let the living be reduced to memory by separation. Real time is precious even if we find it hard to realise until it is too late.

We trawled through old photographs for this and found a photo of Pauline’s Dad who died when she was just 10 years old. As she looked at it, I saw the sadness in her face and it hurt me. There is nothing can be done. All we can do is shore up our sadnesses with memories.

Sorry, I will cheer up …. eventually … but I am always struck by the enormity of not siezing the now and regretting in the then.

Of course, we have to live in the ‘now’ and it often feels so mundane. We inject the past with the rosy tint of sentimentality. Today we need more toilet rolls. Must alert Sainsburys to stock up as we go out to shop. Also, I have to clear a present that some cat has left on our front path. Why don’t cats use toilets? Some recent research suggests tha cats have other human traits like memory, loss and sadness.

To finish what has been an energetic and tiring day, I received this photograph which spoke to me about my College days and compared sharply with this week’s events. I haven’t seen these two characters since June 1972 – 52 years ago. They were both nice people in themselves but both were isolated in their own minority status. One was gay and the other was a Hindu person of colour. They probably both felt socially awkward at some point in the 3 years but I was unaware of any specific discrimination. It is the sort of social isolation that the Far Right are currently raging against as they take their country back.

A Hindu girl in a CofE college was a brave move in 1969 and, although I didn’t know her well, I recognised that she was a strong character and well up to the struggle. Bob made his name in Drama which gave him a platform. I didn’t really know him at all. I’m not sure at that time I understood what it meant to be gay. My one real association with him was his kindness when he drove me from Ripon to Oldham for interview for my first teaching job. He sat around for 12 hours while I secured the job, bought him Lunch and then drove me back to College. Kind thing to do.

Saturday, 10th August, 2024

Lads Lunch in Leeds today. It’s surprising how alike they are in political views. How they view the world as I do. I am surprised.

Convention has it that, as we get older, we become more right-wing, more conservative. It is thought that, as we age, we have more to conserve. We have accrued wealth, a house and a way of life in which we feel comfortable and don’t want threatened. We might have lost the thrust of the drive for success in the employment market and, although we don’t feel ill to our fellow man (or woman), we need to maintain our social position.

Convention has it that education is a strong determinant of political choices. The higher educated you are, the more socially liberal you are. Those with Degrees are more likely to be Left-oriented, socially liberal. Those with post-graduate degrees are much more likely to be Left-oriented, socially liberal and that includes welcoming of other ethnicities, of social change in their communities and so on.

Those with education level below Degree are far more likely to vote to the Right, to vote to keep foreigners out because their own position is socially vulnerable and they feel threatened by the ‘other’. It is this vulnerability that people like Farage, Tommy Robinson, et al have been able to draw into their web of deceit and are appealed to by the colour comics like the Daily Mail and the Daily Express.

When you are bombarded with this sort of front page day in day out and you don’t have much brain power or critical analysis ability, you are bound to be swayed. I have a post graduate degree. I am a left-leaning, socially liberal, middle class member of society. This morning, I saw video clip of a man abusing an Asian bus driver. My first reaction was disgust but I cried when I found out he couldn’t afford the bus fare. Here I am, buying what I want and he couldn’t even afford the bus fare. There is something wrong and I understand his frustration even if I an’t condone his behaviour.

Sunday, 28th July, 2024

Glorious morning. I woke up at 4.00 am on the beach in Colwyn Bay. It was warm and stuffy which is unusual for the North Wales coast but I was …. dreaming.

I had gone to bed thinking about Tenby and Saundersfoot on the coast of South West Wales. I had been reading about them in a Times article which was about the attempt to tax out of existence second home ownership.

Before my Dad died in 1965, we went on holiday to Saundersfoot. Tenby is the next place down the coast. So I was about 12 or 13 when we were there. It wasn’t my ideal holiday.

After Dad died, when I was 14 or 15, we holidayed in Colwyn Bay which was also ‘difficult’. By that stage, I wanted girls and the North Coast of Wales was not the place to look.

There is something special, elemental, enticing, absorbing about that line between land and water. It can be tranquil, soothing, exciting, threatening, frightening at different times in the union of the elements. We know that the moon controls the globe’s tides. Research suggests the human menstrual cycle which is about same length as the lunar month may be influenced by the phases of the moon and, therefore, the tides. Charles Darwin thought that the 28-day human menstrual cycle was evidence that our ancestors lived on the seashore and needed to synchronise with the tides.

All that from a visit to the beach … and I’d only driven down to Lidl to buy packs of almond milk.

Monday, 29th July, 2024

L’été est arrivé. At last. We should see at least 25C/77F today and may get to around 30C in the next couple of days. Not a cloud in the sky and I’m going to spend my time outside soaking up every ray – gardening, walking, relaxing, dreaming ….

I am a politics obsessive. In retirement, I have so much more time to be obsessed. I read, listen, watch politics constantly. Because it is no longer necessary to access the media in a linear fashion – times decided by the producers – I juggle multiple sources at the times of my choosing. In the past year I have been hooked on podcasts and, particularly, the Newsagents.

During the Tory reign, the BBC was deliberately slanted to the Right through appointments and management. Nothing as horrific as stations like Fox News but slowly and insidiously to the Right. The Left-leaning presenters upped and left. The set up podcasts to showcase their talents and found they could earn more money through advertising/sponsorship. They are sponsored by big, city banks like HSBC down to advertisers like Tesco Mobile. Podcasts are money-spinners. Why didn’t I think of that. Emily Maitlis, John Sopel and Lewis Goodall – all ex-BBC journalists – have hit a rich seam being paid for doing our hobbies of researching, writing and talking about politics.

Two pieces of news came to me this morning in the true meaning of co-incidence. Radio 4 ran an item about a new piece of research which found that broad beans contain significant amounts of dopamine which is used to treat Parkinson‘s sufferers. Apparently, dopamine improves motor function.

I love broad beans hot, cold, turned into a dip and they are easy to grow. I used to grow too many and gave them away when I lived in Yorkshire. Just as I was thinking about this, I was told that my old friend, Nigel, has been diagnosed with …. Parkinson’s Disease. You couldn’t make it up really. Although it really is scary for Nigel.

Belatedly, I must wish my sister, Jane Georgiou, a very happy Birthday. She is one of the skinniest people I know, has run long distances including for her club of Harriers and her country in International events. She is still doing it in spite of being stick thin. I’ve sent her a picture of a 4,000 year old Olive Tree illustrating what should happen as she gets older and how she’s failing nature’s laws.

Tuesday, 30th July, 2024

At 9.00 pm last night the temperature was still an uncomfortable 27C and not conducive to sleeping. This morning has opened a little cooler but is expected to rise to 30C during the day.

I’m walking on sunshine, wooah
I’m walking on sunshine, wooah
I’m walking on sunshine, woooah
And don’t it feel good

You didn’t think I knew songs like that, did you Dear Reader. It always surprises me what springs to mind from the shadows of an unconscious past. Outdoor living is good preparation for Athens.

I’ve found a wine cooler to replace the broken one. I was just about to contact a repairer but a new one with a 5-year warranty is more appealing. I managed to get it for just £507.00 which will include fitting, installation and removal of the old one. Tuesday will be a good day. Must get the champagne ready.

Before that, I have a lot of outdoor work to do in the garden. I discovered that mice had been renting our garden storage sheds over Winter and only now have got round to permanently eradicating them. That’s a job for this morning along with picking more beans which are proving unstoppable this year. Carrots are now on stream as well. We are eating lettuces like there’s no tomorrow (Maybe there won’t be.). Pauline is constantly harvesting herbs, preparing and freezing them. The other jobs we have at the moment are watering and constantly dead heading. Is this all becoming too dizzyingly exciting for you, Dear Reader.

Had the utter delight of watching Rachel Reeves taking on the duplicitous and routed Tories yesterday. We will lose our Winter Fuel Allowance which we’ve never needed and the country will get a serious, Chancellor at last which we’ve all needed for so long.

At least we don’t have to cope with the mean streets of the North of England. Just as we were hearing about the poor little kids enjoying their holiday dancing in Southport being killed and injured by a mad man with a knife, the MEN was reporting otherwise un-broadcast details of gang warfare in Middleton, Greater Manchester. There is a world outside my world of which I know so little.

At 1.00 pm and as the temperature has reached 31C, I’ve just been visited by this gorgeous girl. Look at the eyes … to drown in. Mind you, don’t blame her for dropping in.

Maximum today was 32C and at 9.00 pm we are still at 25C. Once again, sleeping won’t be as easy. Who needs to sleep? Life’s too short.

Wednesday, 31st July, 2024

High humidity usually means thunder. If only. We wouldn’t have to water but there is no rain forecast for us at least until Saturday. I will have to set one of my minions on to that task because I’ve got far more important things to do.

I love griddled swordfish steaks. They were commonplace when we were in Greece and Spain but have become so hard to find here since Brexit. The Mediterranean fishermen are keeping it to satisfy a huge demand across their continent and don’t want to cope with the import difficulties we have placed on things. This morning, our fishmonger has contacted us to say they have sourced some and we are going to pick up a 2kg Loin plus Sea bass fillets which go so well with salad.

A summer of disturbance is being encouraged by Farage and the extremist element who lost out so badly in the ballot box. To use the senseless deaths of three, little, innocent girls is utterly unconscionable. Of course, there will always be the ‘stupid’ people who believe the first rumour that they hear. And there were plenty of those yesterday. I did enjoy the instant karma this member of the intelligentsia received for his bravery. Play it back when you need cheering up.

Been invited to Lunch with some College friends in Yorkshire soon and we are flying off to Athens shortly as well. Be nice to be moving again. Athens is only 36C this morning and looks like this taken from a webcam this morning. You can just feel the heat oozing from the concrete. Down here on the South Coast, the humidity is almost unbearable in 29C. Every activity leaves one swimming in sweat. Sorry if that is too much information.

Thursday, 1st August, 2024

We’ve said Goodbye to July 2024 …. Forever. We will never see it again other than in photographs which are merely reflections of real life. On the first day of August, I looked outside on an incredibly humid, oppressive, rather grey start to the month and thought I saw signs of early Autumn. A few dry, brown leaves dropping from trees; my neighbours’ wisteria dying away in the heat; overblown herbs turning to flower and reseeding for the new year, a slight smell of natural decay. It is almost time to go away, Dear Reader.

The rolling news has been dominated by the awful murdering of little girls, the social media false speculation about the perpetrator being a Muslim and the thick boys of Britain First–Tommy Robinson–National Front–Faragist persuasion believing it. It is almost as if elements of the media are rejoicing in/encouraging news content. There is always a fascistic element trickling along the bottom of British politics.

If we only go back to 1930s Britain and Oswald Mosely’s British Union of Fascists which conceived of fascism as a ‘white’ fight against the global forces of ‘colour’ but was initially focussed on antisemitism while members of the Royal Family were courting the ultimate antisemite, Adolph Hitler.

After the war, we had the BNP and the National Front who fed on the utter foolishness of Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech which was widely seen to incite violence and division. In what has become known in more academic circles recently as The Great Replacement Theory has underpinned these far right beliefs since time immemorial. The belief that England was once populated by some pure-bred English people and all these foreigners are coming in replacing us and diluting our purity is the crude sum of that belief.

Gradually over this new century, this anti-foreigner theme has melded into the poverty of the dispossessed and very much into a North/South split of the haves and have-nots. There is a strong feeling in the North of England that everything goes to the South and they have been deprived and forgotten. There may well be some truth in it and this was harnessed by people like Farage and Johnson to further their own political aims by hitching to Brexit. It was never going to solve poor people’s problems, it has actually made them worse and the result is a massive Left Wing majority.

Across Europe, Macron is struggling to contain the threat and across the pond Kamala Harris is rising to the challenge of the latest right wing icon, Donald Trump. It is hard to opine from this distance but at least it looks as if she is turning it around. In France, Le Penn has tried to soften her fascist party’s face to get elected. In USA, Trump is too far gone to retreat on his lunatic opinions. Harris will find a lot of points to ridicule and attack. Who knows, she might just keep him out and become the first female President.

Friday, 2nd August, 2024

The wonderful weather continues and all around us, farmers are harvesting their crops, before it deteriorates in the Autumn rains.

This area used to be a centre of growing herbs and salad vegetables in acres of glass houses. Many have been replaced by executive 5-bedroom houses now much to the chagrin of some old timers. Quite a lot of wheat grown round here in large fields which are lovely to see.

What farmers can do in their great fields with huge machinery, we have just done in our raised beds around our back garden. Yesterday was cut-and-process-herb-day. The basil is still producing and pesto being made, portioned and frozen for use until next time. Rosemary is thrusting for the sky. Oregano, Thyme, Sage and Tarragon is being washed, chopped and frozen although Chef is also experimenting with her new dehydrator so some will be stored in packs of dried.

The focus of the morning is (drum roll) valeting the car. It is absolutely filthy and has needed it for weeks. For at least a fortnight, it has been covered in Saharan dust which is not a good look. Oh, Dear Reader, I have become a dirty, old man!

And talking about dirty, old men …. Down at the beach, The Great Unwashed were out in force this morning. school holidays, energetic little sprogs, tired parents and grandparents – the excitement of sun, sea and fresh air is just too much.

They were out in force with deck chairs, cool boxes, wind breaks, barbecues, picnics, sun cream and anything else you can imagine for a day at the beach.

Saturday, 3rd August, 2024

Warm but breezy, overcast but with sun breaking through. Chef is making strawberry jam and I am planning an escape but not until I’ve valeted the car which I didn’t get done yesterday. Oh, life is so full, Dear Reader!

Our neighbours all come home today. Their two weeks in the sun done for another year. I am turning my thoughts to UK and Mediterranean travel. While I was searching, this hauntingly beautiful photograph came up from an award winning photo journalist and Sifnos resident, Filoktitis Salaminios. He is a friend of mine and records the darker sides of Greek life.

We first travelled to Sifnos in 1984 having already stayed on Zakynthos, Milos, Naxos and Corfu in the previous 3 years. When you arrive in a new destination and particularly on a small, Greek island, you want to settle in quickly by finding places to stay, modes of transport available and places to eat. Simos Taverna was the ultimately welcoming place to eat by the ferry dock in Kamares. The cook was Nikalos Podotas and the front of house/table waiter was his wife, Vangelitsa. If we arrived in colder months and March/April can be very cold, they were the only place open and their roaring fire was so enticing.

If you are not familiar with Greek traditions, you should know that you don’t sit at a table with a menu and wait to be served. You march into the kitchen and demand to see what all the huge cooking pots on the hot range contain. You make your selection, the cook memorises it and the assistant records it later for the bill (Ο λογαριασμός). In this case, Nikolas is not only the cook but the provider of the ingredients. He runs his farm to grow vegetables but also chickens and pigs and sheep. They are the staple of his kitchen. Most traditional of all is the chickpea that he serves every Sunday in a soup called Revithia (Ρεβυθιά).

In the summer, the tables by the waterside are most popular for a cooling breeze. I liked to sit there because I could see my house part way up the mountain as I whiled away the sunny, hazy days. You see what a photograph can evoke. Sadly those days are gone now and so is Vangelitsa. She died of stomach cancer 20 years ago at the ripe old age of just 61 but I remember her. Nikolas still cooks and farms but his son and daughter have largely taken over. Life moves on ….

Sunday, 21st July, 2024

A warm, Summer’s day but …. at home. All around us neighbours are away in Dubai, Parma, France, Spain. We are deserted. It is quite a little community here. This morning a girl 6 houses down who I have never actually spoken to before, put out an urgent request for help to weigh her suitcases because she didn’t know how to do it and they were rushing off to the airport. This went out on our Development’s social media page which flashed up on my watch and I jumped to the rescue with our luggage scale. Turned out to be a really nice girl with two, young children.

We heard from a friend from nearly 9 years ago this morning. In the days when we lived in Surrey, she was our next door neighbour. After all these years, their cat is still alive and their little lad is in the middle of his A Levels. Scary or what? We bought there when we were travelling to Sifnos each Summer and sold when we sold our Greek house. Nostalgia and loss ….

Filmed recently, this video of Sifnos, takes us back there immediately. We know every inch of ground, every house and shop, every island person. We even spotted ‘our house’ in the first few minutes. We were there for 40 years. We bought a 4 acre field above this bay and built our house in the foothills. It was home for 15 years.

Got your picture on my wall
and, maybe, you will get a call
From me, when I needed something …

So many things to go back to and touch again .. just one more time. Will there be time? There has to be time ….

There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

T.S. Elliot: ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ 

Forgive a sad, old man his musings. Sundays seem to do that to me. Outside, the only sound I hear is the gentle hum of the hedge trimmer wielded by my wife. I am gradually starting to nod off. Ah, perchance to dream.

I have thought a number of times of moving our investments into property with the hope of a better return. What has always put me off is the work involved unless I employed a letting agent which would eat into the returns. Well now, all my cash is earning above 3 x the rate of inflation and the property market is under threat particularly the second home market.

Very sensibly, Labour is addressing the housing crisis as a priority. They want to force Local Authorities to facilitate the building of thousands of new homes, affordable homes, council homes with new towns and stronger planning arrangements. This has to be the right thing to do for the have-nots struggling to get on the housing ladder but it will have downsides for the haves like me. The increase in property availability will tend to depress the current values of properties and the discouragement of owning more than one property will come by severely making people pay for the privilege. I agree with it all even though it limits me personally …. and this is the essence of democracy and the Labour Party. Country first. Party second.

Monday, 22nd July, 2024

A grey and overcast morning but very humid. I have become a dustman for the day. Today is all three bins day – Black (general), Green (recycle) and Brown (garden) – which happens every other week. I am responsible for the bins of 4 absent neighbours plus my own. Controlling 15 bins of different colours with different numbers on as three different bin lorries move them around is …. a nightmare! Still, even at my age, I’m up to it.

Chef is preparing for a Lunch Party and has been planning for a day or two. Today, we have to source the best, naturally reared chicken that we can find. Chef has decided that we are going to drive miles to a Speciality Butcher’s shop in Yapton. Let’s hope it’s worth it. An old favourite is being served – Coq au Vin. Haven’t eaten that for years.

Organic, corn-fed chicken legs, slowly cooked in a bottle of red wine with baby onions, mushrooms and garlic and served sprinkled with fresh parsley. To follow that Chef will make Tarte Citron and vanilla ice cream made with double cream in an ice cream maker that I bought her in Manchester in 1984. The trouble is, I’m supposed to be on a diet. I’ve got to lose weight. This isn’t going to help.

Yapton is a rather scruffy, agricultural community of linear, village development. It is not somewhere you would volunteer to visit if it were not for their excellent butcher’s shop.

I’m not sure which Kings are close or if there should be an apostrophe identifying one, particular king but I think he hasn’t visited for a long time in spite of the fine meat.

Tuesday, 23rd July, 2024

Is this really Summer? Fleeting hints of sunshine this morning. Our neighbours out in Spain and Greece have temperatures in the low 40C. Here, we’re barely above 20C. Chose the wrong year to stay at home.

Chef is pursuing her menu ingredients with tenacity and enthusiasm. After Breakfast, she was in the garden picking another Kilo of green beans and later she will be sourcing Jersey Royal Potatoes. We never nowadays eat potatoes but, if we did, it would be Jersey Royals. For those who don’t know, Jersey Royals are grown mulched in seaweed and that gives their wonderfully distinctive flavour.

Unfortunately, these potatoes have a very short season and we are coming towards the end. We can only source them in small, supermarket packs so that is what I will be sent to get – a lot of.

I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind?
Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

T.S. Elliot: ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ 

My friend in Leeds said to me the other day that he was suddenly feeling really old. He cycles out in the Yorkshire countryside two or three times a week and regularly swims. It chimed with what we had been saying to each other. We both exercise in the Gym but, getting up, I’m increasingly feeling creaky and stiff. I don’t like it. I’m not going to accept it. Admitting it is the start of a downward spiral.

Often for women more than men, bone density is a concern with age. A common but really dangerous problem is a fall which breaks the hip. A friend, a girl from school. I say a girl but she’s in her mid-60s and this week she’s broken her hip in two places having tripped over one of her dogs.

She’s had a terrible time in the past few years with her partner and her Mother both being diagnosed with dementia and having to go into specialist care. Isn’t getting old great, Dear Reader? I can see in myself how careful I’ve become compared with the devil-may-care younger man I was.

I was laughing at myself this morning and how over-cautious I am about backing up my digital material – files, photographs, vide clips, etc.. I have the original copy on my hard drive (which can fail) and a copy in the OneDrive cloud that comes with MS365 which is reassuring because I can access it from anywhere in the world although it costs me £80.00 per year. I have 2 legacy USB drives -E & F – which are transportable but can also fail. One failed this week and I went into panic mode. Only 2 backups left!!

I’ve ordered a portable Solid State Hard Drive to back up my backups. Should stop me worrying. It will be here tomorrow. Hope nothing goes down before then.

Wednesday, 24th July, 2024

A pleasant, bright morning but hardly Summer. Anyway, I’ve got my orders. Cleaning and tidying while Chef gets on with cooking.

Staycation in Britain? This was Brighton Beach yesterday in the last week of July! What is happening?

Growing up in Repton, our house had 5 bedrooms but always about 8 – 9 occupants at any one time. Consequently, I shared a bedroom with my brother, Bob, who was just 10 months younger than me. I wasn’t easy to live with, I’m sure and Bob and I had very different characters. Bob was technical, mechanical, dextrous. In those days, I showed very little intellectual prowess at all. I was physical, challenging, sporty, aggressive.

I would impatiently break things because I couldn’t get them to work. Bob would patiently repair and reconstruct things because that’s how his mind worked. It would be hard to say we got on. I passed my 11+ and went to Grammar School. Bob failed his and went to Secondary School. We just allowed ourselves to co-exist in different spheres. While I played Rugby and was Athletics captain I’m not even sure what Bob did although I have seen a picture of him in Basketball kit.

Where we clearly divided was in music. I was strongly into Pirate Radio of the 1960s – Radio Caroline and Radio London. When they were threatened by the government, I was involved in lobbying the minister for making them illegal. I was absolutely stunned by the Moody Blues – Go Now. Bob was into blues and rock. He tried to learn the mandolin and loved John Mayall’s Blues Breakers. Today, John Mayall died and I was transported back to the bedroom I haven’t been in for more than 50 years.

Bob lives in Maidenhead but is currently in Yorkshire. He sent me a photo of his wife this morning because he is shy.

Thursday, 25th July, 2024

Guess what? It’s raining. Horrible, low cloud fine rain that soaks you though the moment you go out. Guess where I’m going? Out. But not before a session of Home Chiropody from Chef. She does my feet and then her own. I’m not trusted with sharp things especially scissors and files. I have my feet checked and creamed every morning after Breakfast. All the walking we do can lead to drying and cracking of the soles.

Chef is going to pick a batch of Basil from the garden this afternoon while I’m in the Gym and she will make another batch of Pesto for the freezer using pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and salt. I absolutely love it especially with fish. It tastes like an entirely different thing compared with the rubbish sold in jars and it freezes so well.

Heard from some of my past pupils today. The pupils I last actually taught are now 46. I was quite a good teacher (I think) and was reasonably popular with pupils (I think). I like kids. I enjoyed the process of watching them learn and not just academic things but growing up things as well. Some of them contact me still about all sorts of relationship advice … because I am notoriously good at relationships. (Not). One of my girls (Old Ladies) asked this morning about what to do about the driving mirrors on her Audi because they wouldn’t fold back out when she turned on.

Another one posted a picture of her legs. Why do they do this? Is anybody improved with this sort of graffiti? I hate it. Her legs aren’t as nice as mine but they’re not that bad. They just have to do what every one else does and I spent all my teaching life telling them to think for themselves and not necessarily do what they’re told. Not good for discipline but fantastic for life and that is what’s important.

An Asian lad who I haven’t heard from since he left school in 1994 contacted me on Direct Messenger this morning asking how I was and I answered quite blandly that I was fine. His name is Amjad and he was affectionately known as JamJar in the 1990s. Wouldn’t be tolerated now but he loved it. It anglicised him and made him acceptable to other kids. He was a perfectly pleasant lad who wanted to do well as so many Asian kids did. He told me that there was a Whatsapp group from his year at School and I was regularly talked about. I didn’t like to ask in what way. He said he knew it was cheeky and I probably wouldn’t but could he have a couple of current photos to show the others. I surprised him by sending him a couple of current and couple from my College days which were long before he was born. His parting words were, Stay safe and healthy big man! He thinks I am his friend for life now.

Because Chef is making Pesto, I’m cooking Supper. It will be a simple Bruschetta of a Tomato and Shallot with Pesto and Parmigiano on toasted Olive Bread. Might need some wine with that. Got to get back on our diet!

Friday, 26th July, 2024

The sun is up; the sky is blue; the grass is green …. but where are you, Dear Reader? Hope the world looks good for you. My photo memory box threw up two evocative photos this morning. They are both from Greece 2010 in the grounds of our home.

There is nothing more evocative of the Mediterranean than the bright colours of a Bougainvillea in brilliant sunshine. The most common is a magenta colour. We had to be different.

I took this photo for the fly rather than the gorgeous colours of the flowers on the Pomegranate trees around our house. I don’t even like Pomegranates. I think the fly is probably dead now.

And then I found this photo from the Winter of 1982 on our route to work across the Pennines. You can see why I gravitated towards Greek Summers.

There must be something in the air at the moment because I was contacted out of the blue by another of my former students last night. He was a lovely, boisterous lad who was not particularly academic but definitely popular with the girls. Now, he is a mature – ish citizen with a lovely daughter who he dotes on and he promotes pop concerts or whatever you call them nowadays. He said:

It means a lot to speak you. I was always gutted when I felt I had let you down because you were always fair and looked out for my best interests.

His words to me were something of a shock because teachers rarely really know the effect they have. I am constantly humbled by news of kids who I had virtually written off but have become perfectly good family members and sensible citizens.

Saturday, 27th July, 2024

Lovely morning and we’ve got a run of great weather to look forward to now. Well, it is nearly August, for goodness sake. Haven’t seen the grass looking so lush and green at this time of year before. Anyway, I’m going to mow it today.

Last night, I kept getting Whatsapps from old friends about events in Paris. While I was was watching a Drama on C4, they were all watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games – all 5 hours of it. Even though I love French people, their history and culture, you’ve got to be desperate, haven’t you?

Over Breakfast this morning, I had it played on Catchup fast forward until Celine Dion sang and then it was played real time. I like Celine Dion’s voice with its emotional depth. It appeals to me.

Yesterday, when I was remembering Greece in photos, a video from Kamares last Summer came up and I was amused to see the Poison Dwarf featured. My goodness, she’s put on some weight – not good at her height.

Oh, it brings it all back – bit like a nasty medical condition.

We have been in our house 8 years now and all the white goods came with it. It was guaranteed for the first 5 years under the house warranty. Nothing has needed replacement …. until now. When we bought the house Off-Plan, we were offered two levels of completion – Basic and Upgraded. We knew we would be here for a while so we chose Upgraded. It cost about £30,000 more but it came with better quality fittings in the bathrooms and the kitchen particularly. The kitchen units were nicer and it included better dishwasher, double oven and large gas hob plus a built-in Wine Cooler.

When we had guests for Lunch recently, we suddenly realised that the white wine in the cooler wasn’t much cooled and we now realise the whole thing is not doing its job. It was turned down to 5C but, when we tested it, found it still measured 19C. I have immediately looked for a replacement. Can’t believe the price!

This is the immediately replacement cooler from the same company – Caple. What is there about a simple cooling mechanism that costs £832.00? It seems crazy. I’m going to see if I can get this one repaired first.

Sunday, 14th July, 2024

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.

Vladimir Lenin

The last 7 days feel a bit like that. A new Labour Government, Trump gets shot, England (may) win a football championship. Before you know it, the sun will come out in the North of England and the rain in Wales will turn to drizzle. The sun is certainly out here again this morning. Clear, blue sky and warm sunshine. It’s going to be a nice day. Come on down, Dear Reader.

Exactly a decade ago yesterday, I was sitting in a hotel room of a Patras hotel on the Greek Peloponnese watching Germany win the World Cup. Time for a change, to coin a phrase. The old men’s Whatsapp group is full of over confident optimism. I must admit that I am naturally pessimistic and I’m unlikely to change now.

You know, Dear Reader, that I am normally far too sophisticated to drink beer. Well, I am going to make an exception tonight. In fact, last time I was in France, I bought some just in case. Can you believe it? What on earth am I going to do with 40 bottles of French beer?

Monday, 15th July, 2024

The world is grey this morning. Warm but overcast. The men in my Whatsapp group are Depressed/Gloomy/Philosophical this morning. They sent me this summary of their feelings.

It really wasn’t as important to me as a Labour victory or a Trump defeat. That seems like a 1-1 draw in the hard light of day. The War of Trump’s Ear may have swung the balance but we’ll see.

I must admit that I’m not big on Environmentalism per se. I am not going to live more than 30 more years. I have no children. Other people can do what they see fit but I still think human ingenuity will solve the problems without having to turn back our technologically developmental clocks. We shouldn’t have to limit our travel. We shouldn’t have to cut back on heating or cooling, on washing or drying. We need to find solutions that enable us to do all those things.

However, I’m entirely behind the march of progress and harnessing the natural elements, sun, wind and sea to produce power. Ultimately, after we have gone, future generations will have unlimited and largely ‘free’ power released by atomic fission but, until then, we really should use these alternatives.

We have gone over the possibilities and economic viability of installing solar panels on our roof but, although we get enough sun to justify it, the cost of installation makes the economics barely worth it. If a Labour government want to persuade us with big grants, that would be enough to tip the balance. They are also installing fields full of solar panels across the country which will be enough to generate 65% of our solar energy for the whole country. The Tories had refused to sign off on these plans for fear of upsetting Tory, Shire voters but still blamed reliance on Russian oil for the rise in costs. This is a workaround the works all round.

All will be announced in the King’s Speech to Parliament on Thursday where Labour’s Legislative Programme will be announced. Looking forward to it. What I’m not going to do is trust the weather forecast. We were told it would rain all day. We had a few minutes of light rain and then dry for the rest of the day. How can we plan? Who pays these people?

Actually, the day has turned out to be very hot and humid day and has ended in darkness and a cloudburst. I won’t need to water for a week after the skies have opened and dumped gallons on every square inch.

Tuesday, 16th July, 2024

For most of my adult life, I have seen T.S. Elliot as speaking for me. He wrote so many lines of poetry which fit my life perfectly.

Here I am, an old man in a dry month,
Being read to by a boy, waiting for rain.

T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets 3: The Dry Salvages

I’m not sure Elliot would be writing these lines this year. Yesterday, St Swithin’s Day, featured rain and some more rain. If you believe in ancient, ecclesiastical proverbs, which I don’t, you’re going to need an umbrella until August 24th especially if you live in the North and Wales. Thank goodness I’m flying to Athens where the daytime temperature will not fall below 38C/101F for the next two weeks at least.

Water means a whole new thing in this situation. In the early days, our island ran dry in the summer and water ships arrived to replenish tanks. Now they have a de-salination plant and we had our own well.

I went to Burton on Trent Grammar School which was founded in the 16th Century. I followed my Father who was there in the 1920s – 30s and my cousin, David Pritchard, who had just left as I arrived in 1962. A number of the teachers mentioned there still remembered Dad – Frank Tusky Read and Major Dai Taffy Davies. They both taught me as well although I definitely didn’t join the cadets.

It is incredible to understand, however, that this photograph was taken only 13 years after World War 2 ended and that explains the military focus. My total sex education at school was a 15 mins film of Major Jo Grimond (later Liberal Leader) with a lecture to army cadets about avoiding venereal disease. I could have done with more effective advice but then it all feels so, so far away. Anyway, David is 80 today and we wish him a very happy birthday.

Wednesday, 17th July, 2024

Going to be a good day. A lovely sunny and warm day. A day for the King’s Speech setting out the new Labour Government’s legislative agenda for the coming months.

I’m looking forward to poor people not subsidising well-off people by putting VAT on their school fees. I’m looking forward to the returning of Workers’ Rights, to the instigation of GB Energy,  a new state-owned energy company with increased renewable generation, to Rail Nationalisation, to greater Devolution of powers to regional Mayors, to the start of the dismantling of the House of Lords and much more. Whoever wins US election, Britain will change for the better.

Time is a strange thing, isn’t it, Dear Reader. While I was looking for a school photo of my ancient relative, David Pritchard, I stumbled across this photo from 1930. The central figure at the back leapt out at me. It is my Dad – Eric Richard Sanders 1915 – 1965. – when he was aged 16 and in his final year at Grammar School. It took my breath away. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.) Look how ‘correctly’ he stands, upright and determined to be his best. Sloppy, old man that I am, I almost shed a tear. It reminded me of me.

We try to fight off aging, don’t we Dear Reader, and some of us are successful and others less so. Here is my photo in the same school in 1967 as I became a Prefect in the Lower V1 with my Rugby 1st Team colours on my breast pocket proudly displayed. Just 37 years between us but Dad was already dead. Time is so cruel. It separates us unnecessarily. It isolates us harshly. It crushes us needlessly.  

When I’m out – in the supermarket watching an old woman bent over a shopping trolley as a walking aid, walking in the neighbourhood as I pass a shuffling, old man – I always want to know how their age compares with mine. I often muse that retired people should wear their ages on their backs for all of us to compare. We might consider ourselves old. Born halfway through the century and in our 70s but do you know the age of this old lady? I couldn’t guess it. Linda Bassett, star of Call the Midwife and born in 1950. Do we look that old? Do we just kid ourselves we don’t? Is it all in the genes or the presentation?

Shocked by these thoughts, I feel compelled to try harder. To get fitter. My wife tells me that we don’t look 73. She certainly doesn’t. She could easily pass for 10 years younger even though she worries about her looks constantly. Perhaps that is the answer. She has always worried about it. I know. It has cost me a fortune in face cream, body cream …..

Thursday, 18th July, 2024

Hot, sunny and quite humid today. Strange day. We went to do our weekly Sainsbury’s shop. The roads were silent. The supermarket was empty. It was almost like those Sci-Fi movies where the world has been visited by some lethal bug and only a few people have survived …

Europe generally and Greece (104F) in particular are entering their third heatwave of the summer. We even hit 82F today and there is hotter to come tomorrow. Really enjoyable feeling as the day wore on although exercise in the Gym was quite sweaty this afternoon.

Lovely to see the enthusiasm of Andy Burnham in interview yesterday as he reacted to the Labour Legislative programme set out in the King’s Speech which included devolution of additional powers and responsibilities to Mayors and local areas. Of course, one of these responsibilities will be to push the house building programmed ahead. More than 10,000 new homes a year every year for the next 5 years under the Places for Everyone plan plus vastly improved transport links including extension of the tram service.

Of course, Andy Burnham is just one of an increasing number of mainly Labour executive mayors who will be now charged with levelling up because it cannot be a top-down process. It had to be ground roots up like all natural growth. Great to see Starmer addressing European Leaders this morning at Blenheim Palace – birthplace of Churchill – and talking about closer union and increased co-operation.

We retired in 2009 and I always worried about the natural erosion of the value of pensions over time. Although our (gold plated says The Telegraph) Pensions are automatically inflation proofed, usually people feel another sort of erosion by the increase in earnings which, over time, exceed inflation and make pensioners feel relatively less well off.

As this graph starkly illustrates, we could not have retired at a more fortunate time, economically speaking. Since 2010, Teachers’ Pay has declined by 9% (inflation adjusted) while Teachers’ Pensions have increased by 20%. There are reasons to be cheerful, Dear Reader. Things can only get better and they will.

Friday, 19th July, 2024

Another Bikini Day. I’ve got mine on – just. At 9.00 am, the temperature is 23F/75F and the hottest time of the day down here is around 3.00 pm. I watered the garden yesterday in preparation. A couple of hours lawn mowing this morning if I can cope.

I can honestly say, I’ve never had my hair ‘Done’. I have it trimmed occasionally by my wife but it is a minimal performance apart from me complaining that it takes too long. I don’t like sitting still under a hairdresser’s cape. Pauline has her hair ‘Done’ but even there, it is moderate and natural. Her hair is very ‘fine’ and only needs trimming and shaping itself. She has never had it coloured, permed, rollered, or anything artificial.

I was reminded of this today by an article extolling the virtues of the ‘Big Hair’ of former MP Penny Mordaunt which is apparently achieved by a blow dry. I thought that was a sexual act but I now know it is done to your head. It makes the hair stand out and look bigger than it really is and it accentuates an appearance of strength and power. Of course, the adoring article was in a Right Wing newspaper which is struggling to stay relevant. Look at what the body language in this photograph is attempting to say. Mordaunt on the Right jabbing a finger aggressively towards her opponent as she dresses in padded shouldered power jacket and Big Hair.

Of course, Mordaunt lost her seat. Lots of time on her hands now to cultivate even bigger hair. Her opponent on the Left is Angela Rayner, a Northern girl who grew up in poverty on a council estate with a bi-polar mother. When she was young, she didn’t have books in the house. Her mother could not read or write. And here she is, Deputy Prime Minister. You only have to look at her body language leaning back, open hand and no ‘Big Hair’ – total contrast to her aggressive loser. I have heard people denigrate her for her Northern voice. Mistake. She doesn’t need to make herself look strong because she is strong. Her strength was forged in struggles of her upbringing. Moral of today’s Blog: Don’t go for BIG Hair, Dear Reader.

Cook has just picked another Kilo of Green Beans this morning. Love Green Beans and they are so good for me.

This week I’ve had a major problem with my Desktop computer. Computers have been a natural extension of my consciousness for more than 30 years and are indispensable to my way of life. It is amazing how shaky it can make me feel when that is threatened as it was a few days ago. Fortunately, I managed to solve my problem which had been caused by an automatic update over night but, this morning, a global MS Windows glitch has been reported which we are told was also probably caused by a badly checked system update. In this event it is affecting global systems which use the MS Windows platform – airports, hospitals, large worldwide corporations, etc. Lots of people around the world are feel quite shaky this morning.

Saturday, 20th July, 2024

The radio woke me this morning at 5.45 am to the story of a woman whose two, grown-up daughters were murdered in a local park. There is something about that time in the morning that I feel most receptive and most emotionally vulnerable and the story, which I was familiar with from the past, evoked emotion in me which I didn’t expect in my waking moments.

We don’t actually fear death, we fear that no one will notice our absence, that we will disappear without a trace.
T. S. Elliot

In talking about it, the girls’ Mother was just making sure that their appalling death didn’t go unnoticed, wasn’t disappearing without trace but remains relevant to today.

I have always been fascinated by bereavement and loss. They are different things but evoke similar responses. Separation through distance or time are no less painful. People who have been married for a long time, for example, find it hard to imagine how they would cope alone. People who are separated by time and space, for whatever reason, long to reach out and touch. Often, one way they can do that is vicariously through physical objects from that connection.

When Pauline went to College in 1970, her Mother, who had no money, scraped together what was needed to make sure her daughter had what they thought was required for her next step. She bought her a lovely trunk – the biggest and best one from a shop on Yorkshire Street in Oldham – for her things to be stored away at the College hall of residence in London. Pauline never forgets the sacrifices her Mother made for her and the trunk came with us everywhere we went to connect her to her Mum. Girls are good like that.

It even came to Greece with us but that was its last journey. We couldn’t fit it in the car when we drove home for the last time. Now some Greek is enjoying it but we have the memories just as we do of the Settle or Pew that I bought Pauline for her 30th birthday from an Antique Shop in Delph. It had come, originally, from Oldham Town Hall so was intimately connected with our lives. The Greek island of Sifnos is the final resting place of a piece of furniture made for Oldham – quite fitting really. That single piece of furniture has seen so much history and quite a lot of it was mine.

I am writing this at 11.30 am and, at this time 7 years ago, I was standing in a Square in the Tuscan city of Lucca. It is the most beautiful place and features one of my ‘heroes’, Giacomo Puccini. We were driving around Tuscany and had stopped for a few days here. It was 7 years ago but it feels like a life time ago and yesterday all wrapped into one. The thing about this memory, though, is that I can go back there any time I want and touch it again. The agonisingly painful thing is that there are others we can never revisit.

Sunday, 7th July, 2024

The first full day of a Labour government and look what we’ve achieved already. England last won the World Cup under the Labour government of Harold Wilson and now, just maybe, we can win a European cup under the Labour government of Keir Starmer.

Not only the football has been facilitated by Labour. The weather I’ve been calling for – strong, consistent rain – has suddenly appeared over night as well. Already, I have very few remaining things to wish for, Dear Reader. I’m going to have to helicopter in the rest.

Talk about helicoptering in, the new Labour government (I love that sentence.) has a primary aim of building more houses – affordable and Council Houses. An emotional Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester was interviewed this morning and pledged to play his part in that building programme. It is what the North has needed for so long and will contribute to levelling up. We’ve had huge, housing development down here for the past decade as demand for commuter homes has grown.

The Telegraph has featured Bosham South Coast village harbour which it describes as a Pensioners’ paradise and somewhere that dreads the warmer weather because everyone flocks there. There are so many second homes that the inhabitants want to go back to the 1950s. I’ve got news for them, you can’t go back but you can revisit and bring the best of the past into the future – hence the helipcopter.

Labour has promised to bulldoze NIBYISM and press ahead with planning reform to enable those houses to be built. An acceleration of the demolition of terrible old housing in the North to be replaced by brand new, well insulated and technologically advanced homes at affordable prices really will contribute to levelling up and growing the economy.

Monday, 8th July, 2024

A depressingly overcast morning. The builders are doing their final day for now. Their last jobs are outside with some re-pointing before the rain starts. Being totally impractical, it’s great to have a friendly team to provide a handful of different skills. It’s even better that we have no outstanding and niggling maintenance problems at all around the property.

It is hard to believe that it is a full decade ago today since we sold our Greek home. A full decade ago since we were part of a vibrant, Greek island community. We have all aged and some have died but these milestones mark the march of history. We have met up with some of our island friends since leaving – in Athens when we stay for a week or so and when they came to London to see us but the cat never made it.

We often wonder what became of the cat which adopted us – rather than the other way round. She was incredibly assertive and demanding but suspicious and distant. Of all those we left behind, the cat was the one we felt we were deserting most.

The concept of Levelling Up which Johnson & the Tories (tribute band) parroted but didn’t deliver is being picked up by the new, Labour government as it pushes out power and decision making to the 4 nations and the many regions. Andy Burnham was quite emotional yesterday about the thought of being handed more resources for Greater Manchester which has gone entirely Labour apart from for two Lib.Dem. constituencies. Unlike Johnson, Labour won’t desert their constituency.

In my reading of local newspapers this morning, two juxtaposed reports hit me starkly. The Yorkshire Live had this ‘shocking’ item of a herd of cows in Ripon sounding like an earthquake as they charged down the street. Must have woken the blue-rinse brigade from their slumbers.

Contrast that with this report in the Manchester Evening News about two gangs rampaging down Yorkshire Street, Oldham, brandishing firearms. Rather shows the differing lives of residents of the shires set against those of the towns and inner cities. These disparities will have to be addressed.

Tuesday, 9th July, 2024

Why does it always rain on me?
Even when the sun is shining
I can’t avoid the lightning

What on earth is happening to the Summer? Another day of warm but damp. Great for grass but boring for humans.

Our street in July looks out of sorts with the year. I’m going to have to work in the Gym. It has been quite a consistent theme recently.

Parliament will open today and the new Speaker elected. All the new MPs will be sworn in starting this afternoon.

The Labour Government …. The Labour Government has hit the road running. Prime Minister off to America. Foreign Secretary negotiating route back to Europe. Morning meeting with all the regional Mayors like Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham, Tracy Brabin and even the Tory Mayors, Health Secretary meeting with striking Doctors, Tony Blair offering new policy areas to explore. The vibe is GO!

It is 6 weeks until we fly to Athens so my instinct is to go somewhere else with sunshine in the mean time. This greyness is so depressing. We might as well be living in Wales, for goodness sake. This morning, I’ve been looking at the sunspots of Barcelona and Naples. I know the school holidays are starting soon so flight seats may be tight especially with the weather in UK. Watch this space.

Wednesday, 10th July, 2024

One minute we were desperate for rain and now we’re not. Fortunately, the day is dry and bright. Going to get some work done outside. At least I won’t have to do any watering which is just as well because our Southern Water Bill has arrived online today and our annual payment will be about £1000.00 which is double that of 3 years ago. Of course, I am being blamed rather than the person who does all the washing. I am preparing a poster featuring my Management Principle: Less Washing. More Garden Watering. We’ll see if it enters the consciousness.

Of course my choices are cheap compared to my cleaner. Just 15 years ago today, she was going to Vidal Sassoon‘s in Leeds at a cost of £70.00. I store these things up you know. Actually, she was going to go back there when we drive up soon but is shocked to find it has closed. In fact they only have two salons left in UK – London and Manchester. Be interesting to find out what the Manchester top stylist charges this time.

Ten years ago today, we were packing the car in the garage of our Greek house with everything we could cram in. Although we sold a few days before, unlike in UK, we negotiated to stay in it until we could book travel arrangements off the island. Anything we couldn’t pack – and we had sold all the furniture – was collected by our friends to give to poor people they knew on the island.

We had bought tickets for the ferry to Piraeus and booked a hotel on the Peloponnese near the Patras port where we would get a ferry to Italy. From Piraeus, we would drive through Athens, out on to the Εθνική Οδός / National Road across the Corinth Canal, through Patras and on up the coast to Kaminia. It is a drive of about 230 km and takes about 2hrs 30 mins.

We had been using the Poseidon Palace Hotel, Kaminia for quite a few years as we drove down to the house and again as we drove back.

Of course, I had also booked a Superfast Ferry for the 24hr trip up the Adriatic from the new Patras Port to Ancona and then Hotels in Parma (Italy), Mulhouse (Alsace) and Reims and Calais (France).

Ten years, Dear Reader. Ten years. What has happened to you in the past 10 years? In the lives of so many of us of my age, there are so many landmarks of people and places, People from our lives die. We have our own health challenges and retirement allows us the time and money to travel. But can you clearly remember? No? You need a Blog.

I’m working on another 30 years after the news I received this morning. Never let people talk the NHS down. The average man of my age should have a Prostate Specific Antigen number of 4.0 and below. This morning the Oncology team contacted me to say that my PSA was just 0.37. I couldn’t be happier but, not only that, I will be reassessed every 6 months for the rest of my life AND I will get a full body Ct Scan annually. What a fantastic service. How lucky am I?

Thursday, 11th July, 2024

Glorious morning for all sorts of reasons. The weather is warm, sunny and beautiful. The blue of the sky is so full of joy. We have a Labour Government which will see me through to my mid 80s at the least. We are in the football final which will make me (a bit) happy for a couple of days until they lose to Spain. I have had great news about my health and wonderfully reassuring news about the ongoing monitoring of my future health from the NHS. I have lovely, caring people around me and at a distance. There is a nagging pain threaded through this which, like a tooth ache impinges and detracts from the happiness but I have resolved to sort that out.

I put on weight over the year of my cancer treatment and I am having real problems getting rid of it. Particularly, I am having problems punishing myself for that weight gain and forcing myself through the pain of self denial. I think my cancer diagnosis and treatment made me see the shortness of life and freed me to self indulge. Now, I’m struggling to break that lifestyle. Feeling affluent in Retirement doesn’t help. I can have what I want. It doesn’t mean I should. I am struggling to accept that but accept it I must. If I’m going to live another 30 years, the NHS may help but ultimately only I can do it.

I have proved that you can’t do it by exercise alone. I try to stay active throughout the day. This morning, I will spend two hours mowing and gardening. This afternoon, I will spend two hours in the Gym. By the time I go to bed, I am tired. The interesting thing is that the tiredness I feel at the end of a day now in retirement is so totally different from the tiredness I felt while I was working. Brain Dead was the end of a working day but not body tired. Totally out on my feet is how I feel nowadays but my head is still lively as hell. It is an uncomfortable combination.

Great news from Oldham … and you don’t hear that very often but the historic, iconic, Coliseum Theatre which was threatened with closure under a pile of debt and a lack of funding has been saved after a protracted campaign by many of the living alumni including Julie Hesmondhalgh. First opened in 1885, the theatre was the training ground for so many well known actors. Charlie Chaplin, Eric Sykes, Dame Thora Hird and Dora Bryan all performed there and it was the training ground of so many well known actors such as Bernard Cribbins. Sally Dynevor, otherwise known as Sally Metcalfe from her 36-year-long tenure in Coronation Street, wrote: “My dreams of being an actor came from Oldham Coliseum.

I had a brief and tenuous connection with the Coliseum in my early days of teaching when I helped out with the Theatre Workshop which was started there in the late 1960s and which inspired so many to go into acting like Anna Friel, Sarah Lancashire and Suranne Jones.

Of course, just as life is on the sunny side, a storm comes along to douse the euphoria. My computer – the extension of my consciousness – updated its software over night and has failed to start up this morning. Although I save everything up in the cloud, the loss of my machine would be annoying as well as costing me £2,000.00 needlessly. I have spent a few hours repairing it and being something of a genius, Dear Reader …..

….. this is how it looks this evening. Back to full working order. It would have cost me £200.00 if it could be repaired by a technician and £2000.00 if I needed a new one. Joy of joys, my efforts have paid off and all is restored. If only all problems could be so easily fixed. Still, as you will know, Dear Reader, persistence always pays off.

Friday, 12th July, 2024

Almost the middle of July already and Life is running away again. Nothing specific on the agenda today although there are always jobs to be done. It rained over night so work in the garden will have to wait. My Office needs tidying and the Gym needs a bit of attention but I will have to send the cleaner in first. It’s a bit of a problem in Retirement which is why I like to be in contact with people from my past.

I am a member of a Whatsapp group of old friends from College days. It’s called Bookends after the Simon & Garfunkel song of the time. It’s light hearted banter – nonsense really – but some is amusing. This cartoon rather sums up the level of the conversation. I must admit that I am more interested in the concept of talking each day to people across the span of time from more than 50 years ago. I try to steer the threads to Politics but I’m not very successful. This morning at 6.15 am, I was sent a message from an ancient man who lives in Knaresborough extolling the delights of Gypsy Creams – the biscuits.

If you know me at all, you will know that I am data/target/achievement driven. I need it. I need a sense of achievement. I pursue it relentlessly. I will not give up or give in. It was something that someone in Business observed when we announced our retirement. What will you set for achievement? I laughed it off at the time but, after 15 years playing out, it remains a significant theme in my life. I look for and set my own targets however minor.

My morning starts by challenging myself to meet or beat an ongoing target. It’s mad, I happily concede but it has to be done. It involves shaving. Last year, after more than 50 years of shaving badly, I bought a new shaver and it came with an app for my smartphone and an instruction video. It completely changed my shaving action and the quality of my shave. As I shave – using small, circular motions – the app monitors my progress. When I’ve finished, it awards me marks or percentages of success in following the guidelines. After a year, I don’t allow myself to fall below 90% Ninja and I try hard to get above that. My record is 97% Ninja.

The shaver is inverted and placed in the cleaner. It switches itself on and runs through a cleaning program using a solution which last for 30 cleans before it needs to be replaced. My phone app warns me I need to change the cleaning fluid refill pot. The cleaning programme is just long enough to clean my teeth with my electric brush. When the shaver-cleaner says 100% done, I stop brushing my teeth immediately. Isn’t this exciting? If I’m feeling brave, I get on the scales in the hope that I beat my previous reading and then …

Down at Breakfast, testing my INR with the aim of being my optimum 2.5, checking blood pressure with the aim of being a reasonable 120/65. Then I unstack the dishwasher and I try to beat my record time irrespective of how full its is. And so it goes on. Sheer, certifiable madness … but it keeps me sane. And so many of my generation do the same. One has to beat his cycle ride time each time he goes out. Another is trying to visit ever more numbers of ruined churches. Another has her hair done every Friday in an effort to banish time. We all fight to control and measure our lives.

I’m getting a bit worried about my memory at the moment. I am having struggles recalling the names of people and plants that would have come immediately in the past. This woman, as you will all know, is Beatrice Webb, politician, sociologist, economist, one of the founders of the London School of Economics, socialist, Labour historian, social reformer and founding Fabian. She is intricately woven through the weft of Labour History. There was a time I could quote you chapter and verse but yesterday, I could not recall her name.

This plant grows wild all over Greece. It is beautiful. I grew it up in Yorkshire although not as successfully. This morning, I couldn’t for the life of me remember its name. I had to resort to Google to remind me of Phlomis. Should I be worried, Dear …. Thingy? Must try harder!

Saturday, 13th July, 2024

Gorgeously sunny morning with clear, blue sky and really warm. Going to spend the day out in the garden cleaning up after the builders. Got to pressure wash the patio where repointing has left cement staining. Even I can do this. The last of the plants I have been growing on in the cold frames are going to be planted out for late summer colour. So a day at home.

A friend living on the North Yorkshire coast sent me this photo from her morning walk in the driving rain as the yachts appear out of a thick, sea fog. The lottery of location can be cruel.

Of course, there will be time for writing, for chatting across the country and for Gym work. The problem with my computer on Thursday is behind me but the ramifications of that breakdown have been to be extra careful with its maintenance. I have had Gigabit Fibre Broadband since I moved in here. As new houses go up in our area, everyone will want the same. BT Openreach vans are constantly parked in the area as cabinets are installed with new connections.

In the past, the more users come on stream, the slower everyone’s connection speed becomes. This is called contention ratio. In that distant past, internet download speeds of 32 Mbps were thought to be good. Upload would be around 5 Mbps.

Now, virtually everything in my house relies on internet bandwidth from house phone and smartphones to radios and TVs plus, of course, iPads, Kindles and computers. This was long predicted as the internet of things. This morning, I ran a speed test and the results were excellent. Can you believe an upload speed of over 100 mbps, Dear Reader? You can whoop if you want!

I’m going to need a few months of sun this winter so I’m looking at the Canary Islands where that is at least guaranteed. This morning I found a set of managed apartments which offer the quality that you need for a month away. I just want to move my normal life to somewhere warmer and sunnier. It has a good kitchen (✓), broad band (✓), Streamed TV + Netflix (✓), Laundry facilities (✓), a heated pool (✓), a nice, big sunny balcony (✓), and a hot tub (✓). It’s in Adeje and close to Siam Park and all the shops (✓). It will be under active discussion this weekend. Thinking of a month before Christmas and a month afterwards.

Sunday, 30th June, 2024

Warm but a little bit overcast this morning. Wish it would rain but it won’t. We’re not forecast for any until next Sunday. Up late this morning – well 7.15 am – because we weren’t in bed until 1.00 am. I have absolutely no idea why but we watched the last 30 mins of the Glastonbury performance of Coldplay last night. I know absolutely nothing about them, have never listened to them or watched them before. Actually, I was attracted to the pictures of a lit up Glastonbury sky with thousands of wristbands and pyrotechnics. It looked fantastic on a big TV as if we were actually there.

Of course we weren’t. I have never been to a Festival in my life. I hate huge, noisy, sweaty crowds like that. I prefer to watch in comfort as I did last night. When it was over, I had to watch the Newspaper review before going to bed.

If you have been following politics in general and this election campaign in particular as I have, you will be very familiar with the Ming Vase Strategy. Can you imagine the cost of dropping one and seeing it smashed into tiny pieces at your feet. That’s what happened to Neil Kinnock and that’s what happened to Jeremy Corbyn who didn’t take care but went for broke … literally.

This election was always likely to be a Labour victory after 14 yeas of these lunatic Tories and their selfish, greedy politics. However, there have been so few Labour governments in the past 100 years that they have to tread softly and carefully. They have had to avoid dropping the Ming Vase of Victory.

Since I was born in 1951, when the Attlee government (1945–1951), which brought in the National Health Service, narrowly lost to the Conservatives, it wasn’t until Harold Wilson’s win (1964–1970) that I first experienced a Labour government which gave me the chance to properly educate myself through the Open University. After 4 years in Opposition, Wilson and Labour (1974 – 1979) were returned to Office as Callaghan succeeded. Five years of a Tory government were followed by Blair/Brown Labour government (1997 – 2010). Labour hasn’t been in power since.

Labour has been in power for just 24 of the past 73 years. We are about to elect it for the next 15 years. In that time, it will transform Britain and re-join the EU. It will bring in a green economy and nationalise essential services. It will improve public services and reduce cronyism and government corruption. It will broaden the franchise to provide 16 yr olds with the vote and may even bring in Proportional Representation to ensure the Tories never get back into power.

I suspect Keir Starmer will be succeeded by Wes Streeting and by 2039, when I am 88, Dear Reader, the mantra will be Time for a Change.

Monday, 1st July, 2024

Welcome to the new month. Farewell to June 2024. It wasn’t the best anyway. So many things missing! At least this will be a good week. We will vote these dire Tories out and install your caring, sharing Co-op party into government. Then, on Saturday under a new government, England will suddenly rediscover their footballing ability and thrash Switzerland.

If you do nothing else today, do this. Look at your energy supplier’s tariffs and compare them with others you could get. You should do that regularly anyway but, today, Energy prices went down by about 7% nationally because of the price cap readjustment. They will almost certainly go back up towards the end of the year. Fix now and you will save.

I’ve been with British Gas Dual Fuel for the past 8 years (You’re getting excited now, aren’t you Dear Reader?) because they are a class act. Now, they are about the cheapest around and I’ve fixed until September 2025 …. when I’ll be 74!

It’s getting really scary now. Yesterday, I was talking about the Ming Vase Strategy of the Election Campaign. Labour have a huge lead and have been tiptoeing across the weeks, carrying the Ming Vase of public opinion. To all our relief, they haven’t dropped it. They still hold their 20% lead that they started out with. They won’t drop it now but will I? Will we?

Old age is proving very much like the Ming Vase which has to be carried carefully. Our bodies and minds are delicate and increasingly droppable as we age. I am constantly monitoring, checking, trying again. I’ve never had so many things go wrong with me as I have in the past 5 years. Feels like we are fighting off the signs of age in a constant battle.

I do stamina work which raises my heart rate but I need to do more resistance work to increase my muscle mass – rowing and weight lifting. I don’t use our rower enough and I haven’t used the dumb bells for ages. I am going to force myself to follow a programme.

Even more important than that for me is to work on my balance. It’s never been good in my youth but it is definitely weaker now. Can you stand on one leg for one full minute with your eyes closed, Dear Reader? I fall over after about 20 seconds. While it doesn’t matter too much at the moment, it will become increasingly dangerous as I age and my bones become more brittle. You see so many old people who fall, break a hip and never recover mobility. It is certainly life shortening.

Tuesday, 2nd July, 2024

Lovely, sunny morning although not particularly warm for July. Didn’t sleep well last night. To bed at 11.30 pm and awake at 4.00 am. Head full of thoughts.

The next few days are going to be politics, politics, politics. All around Europe and America the populist Right are in the ascendancy. Complex problems are answered with simplistic solutions that they claim will be easy to implement and solve the population’s problems at a stroke. We have seen it in Italy, Holland, Belgium, and we are seeing it in France and USA currently. We saw it in UK with the Farage/Johnson axis. Hopefully, Thursday will mark the start of the fight back of grown up policies and rational solutions to complex societal problems.

People like me have long wondered how people could have been taken in by them but the Manchester Evening News sent me two interesting articles yesterday which goes a long way to explaining the choices. I’ve known for a long time from the analysis but this type of visceral report crystalises the forgotten, ignored, impoverished, second class hurt that the Northern Red Wall seats feel and who thought a Messiah led by Brexit would lead them out of the desert and into the promised land of milk & honey. These mirages of water in an arid land was always just that – a mirage but it has taken all this time for them to realise that they had been taken in by a false prospectus.

Ironically, The Telegraph ran a story on Sunday about East Preston – our neighbouring village – which has the highest density of rich pensioners in Britain. Over 51% of people in our area have above average income and are claiming the State Pension. They are also much healthier than average pensioners in the country. Of course, the right wing Telegraph‘s intention was to argue we don’t need the State Pension which should be considered a benefit and not an entitlement. Good luck with that.

Although we all paid into National Insurance and were told it would fund our safety-net, State Pension and Healthcare free at the point of delivery, the contributions were never hypothecated or ring fenced and were all subsumed into general taxation. That’s why State provision has to be constantly argued for and protected.

Had a wobble when I woke up in the early hours. In so many past elections, Labour have failed to fulfil polling predictions or have dipped in the final few days. I would be desolate if the exit poll at 10.00 pm on Thursday evening shows something like that. Can you imagine 5 more years of the Tories and their appalling management of the country? I think I would just have to buy a property in Europe and leave. We go to Athens soon and I’ve just booked a return trip to Thessaloniki. We’ll see what else we can do in addition.

Wednesday, 3rd July, 2024

Warm but overcast this morning. No rain again. The builders are still working in the house so I will be working in the garden out of the way.

I was talking to an ‘Arty’ girl from the North of England yesterday. I was saying that we had builders in and they are doing work outside the house as well as in the Lounge, Kitchen, Cloakroom and an Ensuite Bathroom. In other words, they are everywhere I go and it winds me up and disrupts my routines. Her immediate reply was that she lived a fairly chaotic life and would struggle to cope with routine.

I reflected on that later and thought, actually, I do allow routines into my life quite extensively. If they are disrupted, I try hard to accept change on principle but I don’t find it as easy as I used to do. My wife says I have borderline obsessive-compulsive disorder. I have written about it before but it is definitely getting more pronounced and it is manifested in my desire to maintain patterns of behaviour and patterns of physical arrangement in my world.

Out in the garden, I like to control nature, to get rid of weeds however well they flower, to trim grass edges, to plant things in straight lines in a parks & gardens style as my wife describes it. She would mix planting of flowers and vegetables in a fashion I couldn’t possibly live with. Guess who wins. Yes, of course I do.

As I’ve written before, my wife and I are like Jack Sprat and his wife. I am obsessed with tidiness and she is obsessed with cleanliness …. and she really is obsessed with it. I’m surprised that we have any floors left she cleans them so often. My (mild) OCD leads to me straightening everything she has just put down, lining up edges and putting things back in their place.

I noticed while I was doing academic work which involved writing papers based on the reading of dozens of books. My Office would start off as utter chaos with notes, pages of books marked for quotes, scattered all over the desk and spilling out on the floor. Gradually, as I wrote and re-wrote the paper, the books and papers would come in towards me. By the time the final draft was complete and the paper printed, the floor would be clear, the books would be back on the shelf (in alphabetical order), the papers would be filed and order would be restored. Order out of chaos. Creation out of anarchy.

Thursday, 4th July, 2024

Well, this is it. The end of the Tories. I’m going to work as a Polling Centre Identity Checker. I can spot a Labour Voter from 100 paces. Few others will be let in. Actually, the most important theme across the country involves the tactic under the banner

because Tactical Voting will be the order of the day right across the country. We would even condone you voting for the racist Faragist party if it helps to defeat the Tory. The most optimistic sign this morning is that it is warm and sunny. The conditions are right to vote the Tories out.

Of course, there are polling centres and then there are POLLING CENTRES. Most of us get drab Community Centres or Primary Schools but one of my friends in North Yorkshire gets a neo-Gothic Cathederal/Priory. Still, it’s the result that counts and I will probably be on an all-nighter as the results roll in.

We will all be looking for those Portillo moments when top cabinet ministers realise they have lost their seats and their jobs. There is little more satisfying than that. The moment when arrogant Tory, Michael Portillo realised he had been beaten by Labour candidate, Stephen Twigg in 1997 was a joy to behold. Let’s have many more of those!

What was very heartening was to find a Labour rep outside the poll asking to have our poll card numbers to crosscheck those that said they would vote Labour were doing so and then, when we got home Labour canvassers on the street going from door to door chivvying people up to get out and vote. Only Labour took the trouble to do that.

Friday, 5th July, 2024

A new day has dawned, has it not? The words of Tony Blair in 1997 are as apposite this morning as they were then. Labour were in power for 14 years then and this time we’re looking for 15.

The hype of the election campaign made me excited and nervous. It was hard to believe it could be realised. The Exit Polls at 10.00 pm last night suggested it wouldn’t be quite as good as we had dared to dream. The thought that the rabid right wing racist party could take 13 seats was a shock.

With 5 seats to declare many of which are so close they are recounts, Labour has already exceeded the Exit prediction, Lib Dems are going gangbusters after a fantastic campaign, Greens are up to 4 seats and reform are back to just 4 seats.

Wales has gone totally Red. Scotland has only 9 SNP MPs – down from 41. Sinn Féin, the political arm of the IRA, have won the majority on Northern Ireland. The move is a step nearer to a united Ireland which should have happened long ago. George Galloway duped Rochdale once but even they saw through him quite quickly and voted him out. All is well with the world.

Went down to the beach to let off steam and scream relief. It was raining, thank goodness. I have been wishing for two things and now I’ve got them both.

Saturday, 6th July, 2024

The sun is out, the sky is blue, the breeze is tugging at the trees blowing away the detritus left by the stale, old Tories and making room for the new brooms of serious politicians. The Labour government under Prime Minister Starmer will meet for the first cabinet today. This is the first day of the rest of all our lives.

Health and Housing will be early subjects to get going on. Reducing waiting lists and building more affordable housing/council housing will feature loudly. I will be more interested in the people in the cabinet. I love people and their lives, their back stories.

1. Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, MP for Leeds West is a Maths specialist – Oxford and LSE – she played chess and won a national championship. Worked at the Bank of England. Her sister is also an MP and Labour campaign manager.
   
   
2. David Lammy, Foreign Secretary, MP for Tottenham, Lawyer, Havard educated where he met and became friend of Obama. Lammy has spent the past few years cultivating good relationships with European politicians particularly in France and Germany. Augers well for my hopes of re-entry.
   
   
3. Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary, MP for Pontefract, Castleford, educated Oxford and Harvard, daughter of a trades union leader. Shadowed the Home Office for over a decade.
   
   
4. Wes Streeting, Health Secretary, MP for Ilford, grandfather was an armed robber who spent time in prison, and his grandmother became embroiled in his crimes and ended up in Holloway jail, where she met Christine Keeler. According to Streeting, they stayed in touch, and became friends. From that background, Streeting fought his way to a Cambridge education.
   
   
5. Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Levelling Up, MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, born to a Mother who could not read or write, pregnant at 16, trades unionist.

One of the really pleasing elections for me is that of Paul Waugh in Rochdale. I have ‘known’ him for years. He was borne very near to Spotland, Rochdale football ground. He is a local lad who I have known as the political editor of the Huffington Post, Politics Home, London Evening Standard and The Independent.

Paul Waugh defeated the political chancer, George Galloway, who was only there for a few weeks and couldn’t even be bothered attending the count announcement on election night. Waugh will be a typical Labour MP fighting for his home land.

Sunday, 23rd June, 2024

Lovely morning. Warm and sunny. Breakfast with the doors open. Doesn’t lovely weather make you feel better about your life, Dear Reader? Gives a sort of optimism and hope for the future.

Eight years ago today, I was feeling fairly hopeless. The Brexit Vote was lost – narrowly but lost. I found it hard to comprehend. I thought it was madness. What were they thinking? Well, what emerged was they thought Brexit was going to radically change their lives. It was the poorer, less educated, Working Class who thought leaving Europe would bring a Land of Milk & Honey as the snake-oil salesmen, Johnson & Farage, promised them for their vote. It was nonsense then and it is nonsense now.

The better off and better educated largely voted Remain because it was obvious that leaving our closest and largest trading Bloc would be ruinous and so it is proving. The Fishermen were the first to realise they had been duped as they lost their markets for so much of their catch. The Farmers, who voted in droves to Leave, suddenly found that they would lose all the EU Agricultural Subsidies that they had survived on. Why couldn’t they see that coming before they voted? Supply Chains for Just-in-Time processes have been terribly disrupted. Time-sensitive products like flowers, foodstuffs have been made incredibly more difficult and, therefore, more expensive.

On the day, the vote was 51.9% for Leave to 48.1% to Remain. It was very close even then. I haven’t changed my mind but many who voted Leave have changed their minds. The sentiment is completely reversed to 40% Leave – 60% Remain. Their regret is palpable and no wonder.

How could Brexit make up for living in the North? How could it provide the manual labourers with little educational attainment and few skills a better life. Getting their country back was an empty gesture and those who pedalled it have largely paid for it. Labour will inherit this disenchantment and will have to tack back towards Europe.

It may take two or three parliaments but it will happen. Labour can’t say it openly now but, if they want growth in our Economy, they will have to re-join the Single Market and the Customs Union. That will be more than half way to re-joining the EU and who knows what else ….?

Monday, 24th June, 2024

Very humid start to the day. We are up early because a couple of builders are arriving to do some jobs for us. Already my friends from Yorkshire have contacted me to say it is very hot …. for North Yorkshire. They’re going to reach 25C in Ilkley today. How will they cope? Typical on a day when we could enjoy the garden that we’ve got builders raking out and repointing the base of the house where it meets the patio. It’s going to be lovely all week for us but we expect the builders to be here at least three days.

Breakfast at the moment is Muesli. I’ve never really been a fan of it before. The commercial stuff is so sweet but it is too hot for porridge so chef makes makes her own mix.

I still have the rolled oats of porridge plus plump, Californian sultanas, flaked coconut, flaked almonds and crushed hazel nuts all soaked in ice cold, skimmed milk. It’s absolutely delicious and gets me through to Supper. Well, I eat fruit during the day – bananas, cherries, grapes, melon – and I drink lots of almond milk, tea and coffee.

Going to Athens in a few weeks. Let’s hope Gatwick doesn’t catch Manchester’s disease. All those people had their flights cancelled because of a power outage. The ones who got away on a flight were only able to take cabin luggage. Hold luggage was left behind. That’s where our latest trend would pay off. Paying extra for seats with Speedy Boarding, Fast Track Security and 2 carry-on bags each, one of which is a suitcase, makes life so much more enjoyable and relaxed. We still took too many clothes.

Athens will be screaming hot. August is a time that many Greeks decamp to the islands where they hope it will be a bit cooler. Water becomes ever more important. We will enjoy a slightly quieter city because of that. The hotel is cool all the time so we can always retreat there if needed. I love Athens and I love the heat so it’s a win all round.

While we are there, we might take a ferry to a near-ish island of Aegina. Never been there and it would be nice to see somewhere new. Looks interesting. What do you think, Dear Reader?

Tuesday, 25th June, 2024

It’s 10.00 am and the day is lovely – blue sky, strong sun, 24C/75F. My friends from Yorkshire have already contacted me to say they have the same. The builders are back and are continuing to work on repairing resettlement problems that we have allowed to remain but now think movement of our new-build house has ceased. I expect them to be here for at least one and maybe two more days.

I always find workmen in the house a bit difficult. How much do you take an interest in them and how much do you just let them get on with what they are doing? How much of your normal activities can you continue and how much do you need to retreat behind a door. I try to make them welcome, offer them coffee, check they know what is required and then go to my Office out of their way. It means that I can indulge myself in reading and writing for a while without interruption although I do have this on in the background.

Because I am so exciting, I do find the Post Office Inquiry intermittently gripping. Today, they are grilling the Horizon Software Designer – an IT expert who knew it was open to outside manipulation. It will be crucial evidence. While I am following this, I am reading my emails, checking my Texts and Whatsapps and preparing pieces for my Blog. I am also reading every newspaper on my newsfeed.

The Times has a piece on the trend for Tactical Voting. The election itself is as much about getting the Tories out as it is about positively choosing someone else. Choosing anyone but the Tories is a thing. MEN sent me a piece about Red Wall disaffection. It featured the old Heywood and Middleton and the new Blackley and Middleton South constituencies. The new constituency is being fought by the long time sitting MP, Graham Stringer.

Clearly there is wide spread disillusion with Tories and Labour will take the seat but I was amused to read the two examples of discontent cited. One man said, All the time I’ve lived here, this tree outside my house has been growing and no one had come to cut it back. Another couple said, We have lived in Langley for 40 years and it has gone right down hill. Anyone who knew Langley 40 years ago will know there was no hill for it to go down. It was at the bottom then.

There will be some areas which will become even more extreme in their desperation – Bolton, for example, but the Red Wall are largely regretting their support for Brexit and the Tories. What were they really expecting – a Faragist land of milk and honey?

I was expecting a warm day and, at 1.00 pm the temperature has reached 29C /84F. One of our builders is sweating in the Kitchen. He used to work in Athens and lived in Corfu (small world) but he’s still suffering. I’m lapping it up out in the garden although I’d rather be in Kamares right now.

I snatched this photo from the live feed filming the harbour as the ferry approached. I remember the buzz of excitement that the movement of people and vehicles on an otherwise remote Greek island can produce. I would like to taste it one more time. How about you, Dear Reader?

Wednesday, 26th June, 2024

We didn’t fall below 18C/65F all night. I didn’t sleep well although not for that reason. By 9.00 am, it was 24C/75F and as I write at mid day, we are just going over 29C/84F. I’ve spent the morning watering and chef has been harvesting vegetables for Supper.

From fork to plate in 50 meters. You can’t do much better than that, Dear Reader. It’s always nice when the effort pays off. I’ve been working on my local street for two or three years, cutting the grass verges, planting and maintaining the flowers in the bed cut out in the grass. I buy some plants and grow the rest from seed. It takes a bit of time but keeps me active and occupied and in touch with the community.

This morning, a distinguished looking chap who introduced himself as Dudley called at my door this morning to thank me for all the work I was doing. He told me he was the chairman of the Development Management Committee. I told him that I did it as much for myself as for anyone else but it was nice to have my efforts recognised. Dudley was quite obviously a Tory voter and would not be comfortable in my company. He hadn’t heard the BBC R4 Today programme this morning which featured our constituency and showed that a lifetime of Conservative rule would be brought to an end next week. In my view, it will remain in Labour hands for at least 10 years and, quite possibly 15. By that stage, I will be 88 and so gaga that I won’t know the difference.

Did you watch the England match last night, Dear Reader? It was so awful, you could need no more persuasion to vote for a change. England’s finest were providing the same display I have seen almost every year since 1966. Only my friend, Kevin, saw it in a positive light and he is already gaga.

Thursday, 27th June, 2024

Incredibly hot and humid night although I slept much better. Out early this morning. Went to collect a couple of pairs of reading glasses I had ordered. I hardly wear distance glasses nowadays apart from when I’m driving. Even then, I can be half way through a journey before I realise I’m not wearing them.

I don’t like to go anywhere without my reading glasses so I now have 5 pairs because I’m always breaking, crushing, sitting on these flimsy things. I like half moon glasses because I think they make me look more intelligent than I am. I have a pair permanently in the car, a pair in the bedroom (Don’t ask?) and a pair in the Office. I have a pair in the Travel Bag and a backup pair. Two pairs of glasses this morning cost me just £90 and Specsavers gave a 50%-off voucher for another pair of glasses. I know an old lady who will use that this week.

I love talking to people and I’m not shy. I was served by a young girl who brought my new glasses to a desk where I had to try them on. As we sat opposite each other with nothing but reading glasses in common, I used my normal ice breaker: How old are you? She was called Emily and she was 21 years old. She had gone to Littlehampton Academy which she quite liked and then gone on to the local College to study Acting. Her great ambition was to be a famous actress. (Not going to happen.) and she was working in Specsavers in the meantime. She wasn’t sure who she would vote for in the General Election (She wasn’t even quite sure when it was or who the candidates were.) but it would be anybody other the Conservatives.

Emily thought that whoever she voted for, she would be well into her 70s before she could retire. I thanked her and left her with: Vote Labour. Lovely girl but I wondered if I was that ignorant and naïve when I was 21. I was certainly vulnerable but … We went on to the beach which is close by. The tide was completely out which made it an interesting scene. A few people had actually walked all the way and were swimming.

Felt the warmth, smelt the sea air and then left to do our Sainsbury’s shop. When we got home, my friend from North Yorkshire contacted me to say he was thinking of setting up a virtual College reunion group on Whatsapp. He’s called it Old Friends 69/72 Bookends which is a reference to the years we we at College combined with a quote from a contemporary Paul Simon song:

Time it was
And what a time it was
It was a time of innocence
A time of confidences

Long ago, it must be
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They’re all that’s left you

Paul Simon – Bookends

Actually, pathetic, old man that I am, reading those lyrics again made me really sad.

Friday, 28th June, 2024

A little cooler and a little less sunny this morning, We haven’t had enough rain to encourage grass to grow. I may not need to mow today. In fact, Met. Office forecasts suggest we will be lucky to get any rain at all until this time next week.

We don’t live in Florida or Athens but solar power still has a lot to offer in free energy. We already know that the only way we will be able to drive very soon will be using electric vehicles. A North of England company are making a success of selling solar charging units for car batteries. It is a brilliant way to park throughout the day in a workplace and allow the sunlight to trickle charge your vehicle for the drive home.

This innovation in South Korea features a solar panel covered cycle track down the centre of a motorway. The electricity generated is sent to Service Stations for charging cars.

This morning’s news was of a real breakthrough in electric car charging and range. Range has long been the great barrier for me. Just driving to the North of England is a 260 mile distance which, currently would be on the outer edge of possible under one charge. To go on holiday through France and Italy would need multiple charges. If a full charge takes 2 – 3 hours in a service station, the whole thing becomes impossible. Fast charge as in this UK innovation will really change that.

I drive a self-charge hybrid which has massively improved my mpg but most of my weekly trips are 5 – 10 miles which is bad for fuel consumption and could easily be done on electricity. That’s why I’m going to buy a plug-in hybrid. It will allow me to do most of my day to day driving on electric entirely but I will not have to worry if I want to drive 3-400 miles in a day on occasions. In the old days, I used to drive Calais to Ancona non-stop in a 15 hr trip of 900 miles. Whichever car I buy, I doubt I’ll be doing that again.

Saturday, 29th June, 2024

Gloriously warm and sunny morning. The grass is green. The sky is blue. The sun is out. Where are you, Dear Reader? Hope you are having a lovely day as well.

Drove up to Highdown Gardens yesterday evening. It really is only about 5 mins from our house. It is a municipal garden now but was created by Sir Frederick Claude Stern at the turn of the last century during a period when expeditions were going to China and the Himalayas collecting rare and interesting plants. It is a popular walking place with locals but it is also the site of a posh hotel and restaurant.

Many of the original plants from the early collections are in the garden today, particularly one of my favourites – paeonies. I don’t know if you are familiar with them, Dear Reader but their reputation says they are exotic and difficult to grow. Once established, the received view is that they are very difficult to successfully move. We grew them and moved them very successfully in Yorkshire and fell in love with their beauty.

Just by chance, our next door neighbour came back from shopping yesterday and presented us with these, gorgeous paeonies from the florists. They are gracing our Lounge right now …. the flowers not the neighbours. Wouldn’t let them in.

Talk about not letting neighbours in, there was an incredible piece of circularity of experience in the Greek Newspapers this morning. You probably saw it yourself, Dear Reader. Sifnos is the island where we bought a field and built a house. We were aware of the sensitivity of incomers buying up land. It has clearly become more intense over the years since we sold up. The circularity comes from the fact that the article quotes Alkmini Paka, Professor of Architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where we were staying just a couple of weeks ago. I enjoy coincidences like that.

Sunday, 16th June, 2024

Beautiful morning. Just 26C/79F at 8.30 am (Greek) as we went up to the rooftop for Breakfast looking down over the Thermaic Gulf.

Breakfast is becoming a problem. I just can’t eat much more of it. Bacon & Scrambled Egg is a delightful novelty for the first day or two but, by now, my body is saying, Enough! Of course, breakfast for many Greeks is a cheap, dry bread-ring covered in sesame seeds bought from a street vendor’s barrow. In that case, I could do without breakfast at all.

You wouldn’t think these girls know what any kind of breakfast is. I am never going to be as skinny as these two. They are my neighbours Dee (at No. 2), Lecturer in English and Michelle (at No. 3), Copywriter. They are both in their 50s, both have had kids, both have gyms in their garages and both run everywhere. They both say they eat like horses and they both definitely drink a lot but ….

They are on a Hen-Do in Malaga this weekend leaving their husbands at home to look after the houses and mow the lawns. They Whatsapp’d me this photo around midnight last night just to make me feel old and fat and tired and …. Some other neighbours, John & Jill, Whatsapp’d me this morning to ask if they can park on our drive until we get back. They have a skip on theirs while the garden is redesigned. I replied to them totally in Greek to make them work for it. It is lovely to have such nice neighbours.

Monday, 17th June, 2024

Lovely morning. We’re forecast to touch 34C/93F today. We are being incredibly lucky to enjoy such lovely weather. Sunny, hot and a bit sweaty when we want it with an ice-cold, air-conditioned Suite to retreat to when we don’t.

Lovely evening. We’ve eaten so much that we didn’t bother with Supper last night. We just shared a bottle of wine and some nibbles on the balcony before watching the England match. I bet you were watching it as well, Dear Reader. I must admit, it was a bit boring and, of course, it didn’t start here until 10.00 pm and finished at midnight. After all the walking, the heat and a bottle of wine, I was really tired.

While watching the match in Northern Greece, I was talking to my friend in Northern Yorkshire. He wanted to know if I could get it in Bongo Bongo Land. I illustrated it with a photo of my Laptop and iPad and asked him if he had electricity in Yorkshire. Apparently, he has a number of youths in the garden pedalling furiously to power the generator.

I am better at reading Greek than speaking it. I’m less good at that as we get further away from our life in Greece. Walked past this group of old ladies with a stall in the shade. One thrust a leaflet into my hand and said, Welcome.

It takes a lot of Greek words to say a little. I’ve had to enlist assistance by downloading a clever app on my phone. Taking a photo of text in any language leads to it reproducing the photo in English. Just brilliant.

This leaflet was about abuse of the Elderly. I didn’t like to tell them that I’ve been abusing the elderly for years.

Last year we were the only English voices at the hotel. This year, there are quite a few. I met an old guy in the lift. I have two icebreakers in the lift:

1. Where are you from?
2. How old are you?

Both subtle questions as you will acknowledge, Dear Reader. The old guy with a stick and little hair was …. 73! He came from Sunny Scunny. As we quickly guessed, he was from Scunthorpe. What shocked me was … he won a scholarship for Harrogate Grammar. He was there just before I went to Ripon. Strange world!

Tuesday, 18th June, 2024

Well, Dear Reader, you will be pleased to read that we are home safely from our adventure. Last night was a delightful one even though it was our last night for now. I met this alcoholic on my balcony. I’m going to make her my wine taster.

Lovely meal out yesterday evening and then packing for an early off today. Up at 6.00 am and breakfast at 7.00 am. Checkout as the desk called us a taxi for the airport. Straight up to the Executive Lounge for coffee and newspapers. Flight arrived on time.

We were first on – as usual – and settled into our seats at the front of the plane. It always amazes me that some people turn up and sit where they want and then look surprised when they are moved to the seat on their ticket/Boarding Pass. Saw that twice on our flight.

Anyway, the flight went smoothly and we were soon in Gatwick Airport feeling, Has that all happened? I don’t know if it occurs to you but, as I drove back home, I find myself thinking, Just 4 hrs ago I was walking around in Northern Greece. Shuttle to the Long Stay Carpark and then 50 mins home where the temperature was a warm 25C although not a match for the 37C we had left.

The garden had survived and we lifted our first Early Potatoes for Supper with roast Salmon with Pest topping. travelling is always tiring and nothing will get done until tomorrow. In Greek Time, I am writing this at 8.30 pm. Here I am writing it at 6.30 pm while chef cooks Supper.

Wednesday, 19th June, 2024

Woke up early – 5.00 am (UK) and listened to the radio which sent me back to sleep. Didn’t get up until 7.30 am. Lovely, warm and sunny day but we have to go shopping and have Dentist appointments too. They’re all in the Dental Plan and, the older I get, the less deterioration I have with my teeth. Thought it would be the other way round. I was so used to all the elderly complaining about their dentures in my youth that I thought it would be my fate too. Anyway, this morning’s appointment at Calm & Gentle was just a quick check-up producing no work which is pleasing.

Outside in the garden today, we are reaching a gentle, 25C compared with the more savage 37C that we left yesterday. I am desperately watering everything because we’ve gone from a wet May to a bone dry June. When we first went to Greece back in 1981, it was the intense heat that attracted us. Now, we try to take things a bit more carefully.

On our first visit to Sifnos over 40 years ago, this grey-haired senior citizen was a gangly youth, riding his motorbike too fast, chewing gum, ostentatiously wearing his gold necklaces, looking totally disinterested in everything but girls as youth are want to do. We nicknamed him Cool and that stuck for the rest of his days. He was part of the large and influential Boulis family who ran restaurants, owned hotels and farmed the land. Cool had three jobs. He farmed animals – goats, etc, waited on tables in the restaurant and he also served as a rope catcher in the harbour.

Kamares Harbour spends large sections of its time in the serenity of blue skies and warm sunshine. There are few boats or people around. When the ferry arrives, all hell is let loose. Men have to be on the dock to collect the ropes thrown down from the ferry and loop them over the mooring bollards – in choppy seas this is quite a hazardous operation. It would usually require two men to be present each time a ferry docked. Of course, they couldn’t be there all day – there might only be one ferry on some days so Giannis/Cool would leave it until the last minute and then charge down the mountain from his farm on a motor bike and arrive just in time to meet the boat. He would be paid a sum for being always available.

Over the years, we saw young Cool turn from youth to married man with children and responsibilities but this week, we heard that he had gone. He did have a heart attack some years ago while we were there and it seems this latest one has finished him. Heart attacks on remote Greek islands are so often fatal because of slow communication links and poor island facilities.

Islanders joke that when you have a heart attack, you die because it takes 50 mins for a helicopter to arrive from Athens and 50 mins for it to get you back there but the real trouble starts then – assuming you’re still alive. The traffic in Athens is so bad that it takes an age to get an ambulance from the airport to the hospital. If you survive all that, you probably didn’t have a heart attack in the first place.

It is one of the things which decided for us that time had come to depart. The medical facilities on the island are rudimentary and, as we got older, we realised it wasn’t sustainable.

Thursday, 20th June, 2024

Another lovely morning, windless, warm and sunny. The garden is looking good and I hope to enjoy it later. And there should be much later because today is Summer Solstice and The Longest Day. When you’re young, you long for the next day. When you’re old … ah, never let tomorrow come. Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.

Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be here better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone ….

This is a young person’s song, a song of optimism and future dreams. Am I depressing you, Dear Reader? Nil Desperandum. I’m going out to order a couple of pairs of reading glasses. Go mad with me!

I’m all in favour of political protest and some radical approaches to social change … like the Suffragettes .. but risking damage to hugely significant historical sites is off limits even for me. This goes beyond protest.

It’s hard to believe the political news at the moment. I always expected Labour to oust these Tory lunatics but it looks like they’ll do more than just blow the doors off. Our local candidate is so far ahead of the oldest Tory MP in the house that he will be collecting his pension in a couple of weeks. The whole of the South Coast is going to turn red. Joy of Joys! To make matters even better, interest rates are holding while inflation has fallen to 2%. Most of my investments are making 3 x that rate and will do for another year. It’s been a long time coming.

We live in an EU microcosm in our road. Lots of lovely expats from Europe. Have you noticed how people who come from abroad to live here are pejoratively referred to as immigrants whereas Brits who go to live abroad are fluffily called expats. Well our lovely German/Australian expat, Dee, went back to Munchen, Germany for her Dad’s 96th birthday and brought us back some European chocolates. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to eat them but my Manager will scoff the lot in very short time.

I was talking to Dee about the election. I have some great chat-up lines. It turns out that, although she’s been in UK for more than 20 years, married a Brit, had a child, lectured English in a UK college, paid UK taxes all that time, she is not allowed to vote in the UK election. She can pay taxes to the state but has no say in how they are spent. When Labour are swept to power and start to widen the franchise to allow 16 year olds to vote, I am going to push them to allow people like Dee a vote as well. It is disgraceful that she hasn’t got it now unlike all those who have left years ago to live in Spain and can have a postal vote without argument.

Friday, 21st June, 2024

Lovely, warm night with a beautiful, full moon. Were you watching, Dear Reader? The Summer Solstice and June’s Strawberry Moon coincided for the first time in nearly 70 years. Pity the England team didn’t take the hint.

These are lovely times. Very warm – we reached 25C again yesterday – and a time for sleeping on the bed not in it. First thing I do in the morning when I come down to Breakfast – well chef is juicing my oranges, making my tea and making sure the day starts correctly – the first thing I do is go out into the garden and check all is well.

We have a couple of beautiful blackbirds who have been serenading us from the rooftops each evening searching feverishly through the newly watered soil in our raised beds for worms.

Thirteen years ago, we were getting to grips with Mediterranean gardening in the intense sunshine of a Greek Summer. Our Lemon Trees were fruiting well and we produced Courgettes, Peppers and Potatoes. We even had a crop of Green Beans.

Nipped down to the beach this morning as we had a parcel to return nearby. It was hot, sunny and almost deserted. You always get one cluttering it up, don’t you.

Saturday, 22nd June, 2024

Do I seem weather obsessed to you, Dear Reader? Maybe I am. Gardeners definitely are. Our local Pick Your Own farm which is 2 mins away has a big banner up on its website saying most crops are delayed because of the wet Spring.

It certainly was. I can see from previous Blog records how far behind some plants are this year. Having said that, the weather really organised itself well this week. Yesterday was gorgeously hot and sunny. Over night, we had really sustained rain and, this morning, it is hot and sunny again. Couldn’t ask for more.

For the last few years in Greece, we experienced lots of heatwaves. The hottest we personally experienced coincided with a trip to Athens. We had travelled from our island home to the city to search and buy tiles for the outside of our house. I can see us even now arriving in Piraeus from the ferry and the temperature showing 41.6C/107F. If you’ve never felt that heat, I can tell you that it’s almost impossible to walk and, the older you get, the more dangerous it is.

A decade ago I was arguing that Greece was so totally reliant on Tourism that it was dangerous in a world of Climate Change. Greece doesn’t sell sophistication but simplicity. Greece doesn’t sell Haute Cuisine but simple, Mediterranean cooking. Greece doesn’t even sell ease of travel and access and but retreat and isolation from the busy world. What Greece does sell is guaranteed sunshine and warm, dry weather in the Summer months … unlike UK and many other parts of Northern Europe.

The European Commission paper on the Consequences of Climate Change points out exactly this and suggests Greece, Spain, Portugal, South of France will have to shift their offerings to Winter to survive. If they do, it will be old people like me who they will be catering for. I think they will have to change their economic model altogether.

Sunday, 9th June, 2024

On this glorious day, we will be spending it putting the house & garden to bed ready for going away – setting up automatic routines such as watering, lighting, monitoring, etc.. My Under-Gardener has been set on trimming the hedge before completing the packing. We don’t fly until tomorrow evening but like to get everything done beforehand.

The news about Dr. Michael Moseley is not good as rather expected. His body has been found not far from the beach where he set off to walk back to his house on the Dodecanese island of Symi. The fragility of life is so shocking. Delaying things, denying things, ignoring things in the brevity that is a life is utterly foolish. Act while you can. Don’t be afraid of breaking eggs. Paradise is full of omelettes.

Looking forward to our return to The Electra Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki. We are off tomorrow and that is a few weeks later than last year which explains why the temperatures are so much hotter. We have a nice suite overlooking the Platea Aristotelous and the Thermaikos Gulf with its wonderful sunsets. The hotel has an indoor and an outdoor pool as well as a Gym. What more could one need?

Monday, 10th June, 2024

Lovely day as the world was freshened up by a good rainfall over night. Blue sky now although not as warm as I’d expect June to be. Before we prepare to leave, we have a handyman firm coming first thing to quote us for a list of about 10 jobs needed for smartening up. The rain has meant that I don’t need to water before leaving so just getting travelling things together is all we have to do.

My Butler has a travel bag specifically designated to be stored in a cupboard in which essential items are kept – Passports, Euros, Plug Adaptors, etc. plus a tick-off list of jobs that must be completed before we drive off to the airport. It is a quick and reassuring process.

I wanted to tell you something that happened to me yesterday, Dear Reader. I was in the Gym, watching a fairly pappy film on Amazon Prime called: I’ll Find You. It is set in 1930s Poland where Jews are starting to feel the persecution of the Right Wing populace. Hitler is already a thing and the world is allowing the forward creep of Naziism. You might even see some parallels with current times. It has been distracting me while I exercise. Nothing more … until something happened.

Forgive me if I have written some of this before but it is relevant. In 1967, my Grandfather gave me a wind-up gramophone with a pack of steel needles and a collection of 78 vinyl records which featured Operatic Arias and included Handel’s Largo which, when I played it, hit me like a dagger to the heart. I was 16 years old, going to discos, meeting girls and listening to the Moody Blues: Go Now on Pirate Radio. Suddenly, I realised there was an art form out there I knew nothing about – Classical Music, Opera. I determined that I should learn about it although that was put on hold while I was away at College.

In the mid-1970s, rudderless and lost, I was fervently going for self education. I did a Literature Degree in the evenings while I taught during the day. I did a Masters Research Degree after that. At the same time, I was buying Art books to learn about the History of Art. I was buying cassettes of Classical Music and playing them on a battery-powered cassette player during the Power Strikes. I bought a monthly Discovering Opera magazine that introduced me to a number of Operas and composers/librettists accompanied by an exemplary cassette each month. I was shutting out the real world while cramming my head with learning of the cultural world.

Of course, we all have to let the real world in eventually but, by then, I was well on the way to a new understanding of the culture I had missed. My wife bought me a copy of Handel’s Largo which you will already know, Dear Reader, is the opening Aria of Handel’s opera, Xerxes. I played it constantly on a loop, driving everyone else mad.

Yesterday, I was in the Gym watching this nondescript film set in 1938 Poland and a young lad started to sing. He was pitch perfect and his song was … Handel’s Largo. I felt the emotions of more than 50 years well up in my chest. Fortunately, I was on the exercise bike as I found myself sobbing uncontrollably. I could do nothing as the waves of the 1960s and 1970s crashed over me. It is astonishing that music can do this but also wonderful in its power and evocativeness.

It has left me with a deep sadness. Ridiculous, I know, but I am travelling to Gatwick with a burden of unresolved sadness deep inside. This is no way to go on a trip. Get a grip!

Tuesday, 11th June, 2024

Travelling in the early hours has real benefits but it had a surprisingly chilly downside this morning. Could not believe Gatwick carpark at midnight. It felt freezing – actually 7C/45F – but in June?

The airport was very quiet and we went through Security and passport control in less than three minutes. Unfortunately, the Executive Lounge – Flight Lounge – wasn’t as clever and we have noted the importance of booking a better one earlier next time.

When we flew to Greece from Manchester for the first time in 1980, the flight time was 4.5 hrs.. Today, the flight time from London to Thessaloniki was just 3.0 hrs.. We flew on time and arrived on time. Off the plane in minutes and out to a taxi. Check-in time at our hotel is 3.00 pm.. We arrived at 11.30 am and were shown straight to our Suite on the top floor overlooking the bay.

House wine and chocolates on the table. TV welcome in the Lounge and the Bedroom. We showered, changed and went down to the Executive Lounge which caters for Suite holders. Everything is ‘free’ whenever you want. We asked for Club Sandwiches, Smoked Salmon Bagels, Greek Salad plus red and white wine. It was delightful.

Out on the Balcony of our Suite, the temperature had hit 37C/99F and the view was wonderful. We watched Politics Live on BBC2 as we would at home, discussed the Tories disastrous position then opened a local bottle of Kretikos white wine and …. the rest is history and oblivion.

Health warnings are being put out tonight about the effect of the extreme temperatures on health and well being. We are experienced in these things but, as a liitle old lady told me a few months ago, she struggled with temperatures as she got older. Mind you, she also dyed her grey hair blonde so everyone is different. I will easily complete my exercise routine today but we will walk out to restaurants this evening and then catch up on some sleep before embracing a new day tomorrow.

Wednesday, 12th June, 2024

Having not slept for two days, didn’t wake up until 7.00 am (5.00 am UK) this morning. My phone says the temperature outside is only 28C/82F. It looks delicious. Strangely, overnight they have begun to install a sandpit/beach in the centre of Aristotle Square.

After a shower and a cup of tea, we’ve got the normal, hotel dilemma. We never eat Breakfast at home. In a hotel, it feels like an illicit treat and something you’ve paid for and shouldn’t waste. Your body says, You don’t need it. Your head says, You’re on holiday and you’ve paid for it. Go for it. The head almost always wins. It will today. The buffet breakfast is wonderful here and covers everything you could expect and a lot more.

Breakfast finished and now, drinking coffee on the balcony and regretting eating breakfast. Have to go out for a long walk to work off …. breakfast. With the temperature already at 30C by 9.30 am and forecast to be around 37C/99F for most of the day, we are going to have to be careful. With my new hat on, we are going to explore the restaurant district for Supper tonight but I was rather enchanted by last night’s venue. Lovely people!

Today is the annual Reunion of the men who were in the pioneering year of my all-girls training college. It will be held in Leeds in a chilly 15C/59F. I’m sure the camaraderie will be warmer. I received a Whatsapp in the middle of the night here from my old friend, JohnR to say he would convey my best wishes to the merry band. My friend, Kevin, will video-conference me between Leeds – Thessaloniki so that I can participate at a distance. There is no substitute for hugging people but it is the next, best thing.

To men of a certain age …. lets say, in their 70s – Françoise Hardy, French pop singer and fashion muse, was the previous generation’s Bridget Bardot. I must admit, she didn’t really do it for me although her voice was rather seductive but she did for many young men. Anyway, it is a sign of the times that it is reported this morning she has died at the age of 80 having been diagnosed with Lymphatic Cancer 10 years ago. 80!

Thursday, 13th June, 2024

We are 2 hours ahead of UK time here and, although our phones and watches change immediately, it always takes a few days to adjust the body clock. The temperature over night didn’t fall below 27C/81F and we were out in the Square eating ice cream at 1.am. I set my phone radio to come on at 6.00 am (Greek Time) but we stayed in bed until 7.00 this morning. We are forecast to be a little cooler today peaking at just 35C/95F.

Back in Brighton, yesterday, the scorching Summer just went on. It is such a difficult time for UK holiday resorts in particular where suddenly everywhere looks like Wales and UK residents generally have trouble in raising their soggy spirits. It is incredible this year and not even that warm. This time last year we were in baking hot sunshine in Sussex. Apparently, the Met.Office are blaming it on the Gulf Stream.

Yesterday, I missed the Reunion of the small, male cohort from my year at Training College. Actually, there were only about 6 originals present and the numbers were padded out by the year immediately after us. It is testament to our time that so many have already died. A number are too ill and/or incapacitated to travel so that an already small band of brothers is rapidly disappearing rather like the D-Day members in France recently.

My friend, Kevin, was there and kindly kept me up to speed. I have to say, the photos always make it look old and staid which isn’t too inviting.

Yesterday, I reported that the centre of classical Aristotle Square was being turned into a sandpit/beach. Wrong. Today we’ve learned that the installation is actually a Beach Volley Ball Court for an important tournament at the weekend. We can watch from our balcony. Now you wish you’d come don’t you, Dear Reader?

We are really enjoying this hotel. The staff are wonderful and can’t do enough for us. We had Room Service last night while we watched the Leaders Interview and the food was wonderful. Angus Beef Burgers with a Caesar Salad and a bottle of House Red was served up for us in our Suite as we watched the debate and the quality was wonderful.

Friday, 14th June, 2024

Yesterday was incredibly humid and sticky. It made walking hard work and drinking essential. Unfortunately, it ought not be alcoholic. I always tend to forget that. I am drinking too much I know and I’m going to have to have a spell of abstinence …. when I get home.

We have done lots of lovely things here already but the highlight was a new restaurant for Supper. We did walk for a couple of very draining hours yesterday and it was then that we found a new street full of restaurants. The menus are posted outside and you can soon tell from them how progressive they are.

Having spent more than 40 years eating out in Greece, there are very few surprises, very few ‘new’ dishes we haven’t tried and cooked ourselves. Last night we had the most wonderful starter of Μπάλες μάραθου/Fennel Burgers with a mustard & yoghurt dip.

Incredibly cheap to eat out here. Last night we ordered two starters, two main courses of Lamb Shank, a half litre of House Red and a half litre of House White. We were absolutely stuffed and the restaurant sent over ice cream & biscuits and glasses of Limoncello (Lemon Liqueur) and the bill was just €48.00/£40.00. Even so, it was quite hard to walk home.

This morning the Beach Volleyball Tournament in Aristotelous Square beneath our balcony is under way. Girls in minute bikinis are entertaining the early spectators. My wife has decided that she urgently needs to go shopping.

Actually, we rapidly walked past sports girls in thongs and on to the Cultural Centre – the old Port where warehouses that once stored tobacco, corn, etc., now house a Digital Dali Exhibition, A History of Greek Fashion Exhibition and an Exhibition of Female Photography.

This is Greece. It is all fairly basic … but they are trying and you have to give them credit.

Saturday, 15th June, 2024

A little cooler this morning – just 26C/79F – so we had breakfast on the terrace. It is much more comfortable for the old people now the heatwave has moderated.

Just checked the cameras at home in Sussex and … it’s raining. At least the plants will be happy. Going out for a walk down the coastal path this morning. Before that, I have to accompany my wife to the Supermarket for some sun tan lotion.

Just a few 100 metres from the hotel is a really well stock if small supermarket but before that, we come across this:

It is still a feature of Greek cities like Athens and Thessaloniki to find poor people begging to get by. This old lady is a widow and probably survives on the bare minimum of government support. It is testament to how common this is that few even notice her as she pretends to sleep at the road crossing where people naturally congregate.

We went out for a 2hr return walk down the coast road just as the temperature reached 32C/90F. I was saturated by the time we got back and, as we re-entered the hotel for a shower and change, one of my Yorkshire friend was contacting me to exercise caution. They had been reading a national newspaper report about tourist fatalities during the heatwave. I must admit, I would never consider myself a tourist in Greece nowadays and we generally know how far we can push it. Anyway, there are so many sportsmen dying in their late 50s and early 60s at the moment that I feel incredibly lucky to have got this far.