Month: August 2023

Sunday, 20th August, 2023

An interesting day yesterday. Hot and sunny but humid, reaching 27C/81F, which made walking quite uncomfortable. However, it was a notable day for lots of reasons as you will know from yesterday’s Blog. One event absolutely flabbergasted me.

This ‘elderly’ couple who are neither very elderly or ‘officially’ a couple appeared out of the blue at our door. It was late afternoon and most jobs and exercise had been done. We were sitting in the kitchen to watch Man.Utd (lose to Spurs) and have cheese & biscuits with a bottle of red wine. We set off for Gatwick tonight so we thought it was one of our neighbours coming to wish us a good trip.

Pauline opened the door and I could see immediately who it was. They will only mean something to a few of my readers but the ‘old/84 yrs man’s name is John. The lady with him I didn’t know but was introduced as Pat. Of course, because I am subtle, I immediately asked her age. She is 81. Both of them were pupils at my school – when it was Counthill Grammar School – one started in 1951 and the other in 1954.

They met at school and became childhood sweethearts. When they left, John went to Newcastle University to read History and returned to Counthill School as it changed from Grammar to Comprehensive as a History teacher and, subsequently, Head of History. He is a very intelligent man who I really like in spite of the fact that he’s a staunch Methodist. I immediately liked Pat who is bright, sympathetic and gentle. John was clearly very in love with her as a young man but they drifted apart when he was at university and Pat married a farmer and moved away to Preston.

John married his university girlfriend and had a perfectly happy life together raising two, intelligent and well educated children who he dotes on. John still lives in Rochdale. Most of their married life, John’s wife, Dori, suffered ill health and she died about three years ago. To our surprise, John popped up with the tentative news very soon afterwards that he had a ‘friend’ to help him get through his grief. Although I’ve communicated with John particularly to sympathise with his loss, I haven’t seen him for 20 years. Imagine my shock to suddenly find him sitting at my Kitchen table with his new/old love. It was really heart-warming. They looked so relaxed and happy together and I suspect will extend each other’s lives.

We will be in Athens early tomorrow morning with all the hubbub, fragrances and colours that the Greek capital displays. M&K flew back to Florida yesterday and the first thing they did after that long and tiring flight was throw themselves into their new pool which was completed while they were here in Surrey. Must look at BA flights to Florida!

Monday, 21st August, 2023

Left home just after midnight to drive to Gatwick Airport. Normally it takes 90 mins but in the crystal, clear darkness of the empty roads, we did it in an hour. I love night time driving and the stars were really shining. The only danger was from the many badgers which wander across the road at that time.

The carpark is the first hurdle – especially in August. Not many free spaces and certainly not big enough for us. Found one, parked, cases and bags out, car locked … record where to find it in the future. Trundle off to a shuttle bus stop. Everything is delightfully quiet and empty. The joy of being one of the first flights out this morning.

We got a manic, headcase of a taxi driver who gabbled for 40 mins in Greeklish – the blend of Greek & English popular in Greece – about his hard life and how he couldn’t survive without big tips. Checked in to our 5* hotel, the Electra Palace. The suite is delightful and we made ourselves at home. Soon, we were going out to Evgenia – Paradosiako, a no*, roadside taverna, on the edge of a carpark which we’ve used for years and which has a great reputation for homely cooking.

After Lunch, we went back to our hotel, turned the air conditioning to it lowest against the 37C/99F war outside. We went to bed for a couple of hours and rose completely refreshed and raring to go.

I had a lot of walking still to do and we went out as the sun was going down and the moon was rising. The temperature was a claustrophobic 34C/93F down from the mid day peak of 37C/99F as we walked with those others on the traditional volte. All the way round the base of the Acropolis is about 7 miles although it is hard on the feet as you can see. There are little jewellery stalls along the route.

Buskers playing classical guitar, violin and piano line the route along with wonderful little dramatic episodes like the one above. This is a magical, entrancing city which I would so love to show friends round. It has lots of History but also lots of the Present to enjoy.

Today, I have shared experiences with Jason & Dee, our lovely next door neighbours who got home from Skiathos as we left for Athens. I have talked to our friend, Margaret in Marsden, to Julie and to Kevin in Yorkshire and Viv in Oldham.

Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023

Up late this morning. Catching up on sleep. By 8.00 am/6.00 am (UK), it is 32C/91F outside. In our suite, it is freezing because we have the air-con on its lowest setting. Breakfast is always a ‘killer’ on these occasions. Rather more than a glass of orange. Always enjoy it. Always regret it. Got to be done.

The main choice at Breakfast is inside or out. No dispute for me in that heat. Always choose the air-conditioned Breakfast Room. I’ve seen the Acropolis so many times that I don’t need it at Breakfast.

Today would be my Mum’s 100th Birthday. Many people, girls especially, spend time seeing and caring for their mothers as they leave this world. My mum failed to tell me that she was ill although I phoned her twice a week. From my perspective, she booked herself into a hospital and died without giving me the chance to say Goodbye or to comfort her. I had the haunting experience of seeing her kept artificially alive but it felt a heartless experience.

Mum was extremely influential in my life not least because Dad died when I was only 14. She was instrumental in giving me my love of language, of words and reading. She forced me to address ideas and modes of thinking, of politics, philosophy and religion.

She was a very strong and forceful woman whose strength and forcefulness some would say I inherited. She also had much which I rejected. Her unflinching commitment to Roman Catholicism and political and cultural conservatism was total anathema to me. She closed her mind to innovation and resisted technological development. It took a long time to get her to buy a television but, when she did, she loved it. She insisted she didn’t want a refrigerator until I bought her one and then she bought a bigger one. She saw no point in computers and the internet but, when I bought her a computer and got her connected she did at least try admittedly without much success to use it.

Many mothers are soft, gentle people who let their children find their own way in life and support them in the background. My mother was not like that. She wanted a say in my education, my career choice and my girlfriends all of who she rejected as not being good enough for her son. As a trained teacher herself, she definitely wanted a ‘higher’ profession for me and saw training college as a failure.

Because we were both strong people, we argued a lot. As I became increasingly more educated, she struggled to keep up and became increasingly more exasperated. We fell out a lot and our last few years were difficult together. Of course, when people die, we have regrets. Initially, I regretted our separation physical and intellectual but only initially. On reflection, that separation was absolutely necessary for my own development and self respect. Still, others will judge me while I pay my respects to Mum.

Just as I was anticipating this Blog piece, a fascinating article was posted in the Guardian about a Mother who took her own life while her child missed the signs and her passing. Might be worth a read here.

Wednesday, 23rd August, 2023

Had to work really hard to complete my walking last night. Didn’t finish until 10.00 pm by which time it was dark. Started in daylight around 8.00 pm just as the sun was turning into a fiery, orange globe and the Athenians were out gently strolling the neighbourhood …

…. and ended around 10.00 pm in darkness as we walked through a packed Monastiraki Square. Tavernas’ tables spilled out everywhere and Diners clamoured for seats at this most popular hour for Greek Dinner.

We only eat once a day after having Breakfast and we try to do it mid-afternoon. Eating at the conventional Mediterranean time of 10.00 pm means I can’t sleep until 2 or 3 in the morning. It’s alright if I have time to adjust but, on a short stay, I don’t.

Even so, the temperature, as we finished our walk at 10.00 pm, was 34F/93F and it stayed like that through the night. Thank goodness for aircon..

Up early, light breakfast and down to Piraeus to meet old friends. So many years we have been there – first in 1982. We know every metre of the port, every ticket office, every boat, every hydrofoil. I love revisiting people and places, words and faces. It is the height of the season and incredibly busy. on the Metro down from Monastiraki to Piraeus, a man with his family get up at one stop and photographs his team’s stadium.

I said to him, It’s not Old Trafford., as he excitedly photographed the Olympiakos Stadiou. He immediately switched from fluent Greek to broken English. Liverpool, he said. I love Liverpool. We were friends for life and so were his wife and children. They smiled, patted me and helped me with the ticket machine as I got off. He said he would meet me in Anfield. We both knew he wouldn’t but it was a lovely moment.

Piraeus was badly affected by the pall of smoke drifting across Athens on the August Meltemi wind. It smelt of wood smoke and hung like a haze over the sky. Cars were queueing for the F/b Antigone to go to Poros island just as we have done so many times across the years for Sifnos. I told you I like to revisit my past – to touch, taste, smell and feel. It is fundamental to my being and I won’t be denied.

My sister, Ruth, says she is never aware of the past but prefers to embrace the Future. It isn’t true, of course. I even attended her 70th birthday party so she remembered that. As the saying is, For an understanding of the future, look to the past. Experience informs future decisions. I will never let my past go and I will revisit it – sometimes at the least expected moment.

Thursday, 24th August, 2023

Good Morning. Today the Blog is about People …. people I meet, know, like and people I love. I love travelling and meeting new people, I love sitting in foreign places – cafes, restaurants just watching people – but I always have this worry about those I’ve left behind. I have a strange feeling of responsibility for them and distance makes my support so much more difficult. What if they need me?

I have to keep in contact to assure myself of their welfare. Some respond with kindness. Some respond blandly. Some don’t feel able to respond at all. This morning, I made contact in different ways with 25 people. Most replied as they got up. My neighbours responding before setting off for work. Others contacted me directly. Talked to Kevin and JohnR on the phone. It is a lovely thing to do when I am in Athens. Feels even more special. It really touches me. Even my electrician, Eric, has just contacted me from a tented commune in Surrey.

I have no sense of direction in the present but a strong memory of people from the past. I have images stored in my head about the way they look, the way they walk, their smell …. and I see them in crowds wherever I go in the world. If you know me, I have almost certainly seen you – young or old – walking round Thissio at the foot of the Acropolis as my heart missed a beat. People, skin, touch, taste, smell, voice, attitude are the very stuff of life. People of my past, present and future is how I measure existence.

Because I am a people watcher, I try to look into total strangers and imagine what they are thinking. I try to construct their Biography from the looks on their faces. For example, the bouzouki player in the blue shirt in the top photo sits alone for 10 – 12 hours each day playing his music, occasionally speaking to thank passers-by for their contribution. His face is a handsome, kind and noble one that still holds dignity. He sits through temperatures of upper 30Cs day after day, playing alone. No one does that for pleasure. It takes huge effort in duration. That man goes through it because he needs the money.

In just the same way, look at this woman’s face. There is sadness but reluctance to seek pity. She sings beautifully – classical songs to her husband’s classical guitar. They are clearly an educated, middle class couple who have fallen on hard times in a country where there is little, national safety net to support them in their times of need. They are fending for themselves and fighting to provide for themselves by swallowing their pride and busking.

It fills me with sadness as I do the walk each day. Here am I just by good fortune able to indulge myself to my heart’s content, over eat, over drink, not worry about my home or my clothes. I travel the world as much as I like and want for nothing. These are good people who fate has dealt a rough hand.

Friday, 25th August, 2023

Athens is always a buzzing capital city which I have known for 40 years. It would be delightful to show my friends around it … might even make me see it differently. Towards the end of August most years and this year in particular, the city is incredibly full, busy, hot, noisy, exciting. It is nice to have a quiet, sophisticated base from which to go out into the crowds and to which we can retreat when we need some respite.

The Electra Palace Hotel is such a place. It is refined and sophisticated providing luxurious accommodation and facilities with a gym, as well as indoor and and outdoor pools.

As soon as we step out of the hotel doors into the scrum that is Athens, we are assailed, badgered, implored by taverna owners and waiters to go in and try their food, drink – anything they can relieve us of money for. Most experienced people put on a hard face and ignore them. I don’t. They are ordinary people doing their best to make a living. I owe them a polite and sincere response. I say in Greek, No thank you. and they really do appreciate that.

The tourists are enticed in by simplistic, English signs. Next to them are detailed menus in Greek. The language is not difficult to learn and the value is huge. Eat like a tourist or eat like a native. I know which I’d rather do and I would like my friends to do it too.

Today we will eat at Ella Taverna on Ermou Street. The cooking is lovely and our evening meal comes to about €65.00/£55.00 with wine.

Long gone are the days when we are tempted by street food that abounds in Athens streets. In the winter, roast chestnut sellers can we found. In the summer, they become griddled corn cob sellers.

In this very hot weather, they branch out into refreshing pieces of coconut. They look lovely on the barrow although I can’t imagine them being anything other than drying. But, if you want some, Dear Reader, you only have to ask.

Saturday, 26th August, 2023

One of the reasons I love Greece, the Greeks and Athena in particular is that they are all so politically aware. They argue/debate constantly about everything but particularly the government and how they should change it.

It is a social time for enjoyment and self-expression, for discussion with your neighbour and total strangers …. even tourists.

On Thursday evening, a huge, Communist Party (KKE) rally was held in Syndagma – Constitution Square. The riot police lined the entrance to the Parliament building in case they rushed it which they’ve been known to do before.

Last night, young and old attended a rally in the square in 37C/99F of really humid heat to protest about the politician’s mismanaged responses to the wildfire outbreaks. Might seem futile to the outsider who may see it as a force of nature and climate …. until they are told that these fires are not all they seem to be.

Fires usually start on open land with dry grass and/or trees. It happens in the season when people are forbidden to light fires outside for obvious reasons. Of course, these lands are attractive to builders of properties but the regulations designed to protect the environment are strictly controlled. How to get over a law that says you cannot spoil a wooded area with buildings? ….. Just accidentally on purpose start a fire which rips through the area, clears it of trees and leaves it charred and bare. Wait a decent (short) time and then apply for building permission. Problem solved!

Sunday, 13th August, 2023

It’s raining! My neighbours sent me Whatsapp messages to say how wonderful it is on Skiathos … which I thought was nice of them wasn’t it. That’s not a question. Still, not long to go to hot sun. We’re already thinking of post-cancer although it might be tempting fate. As the Past disappears into the grey mists, need something to look forward to.

After we return from Athens, I have a long hard slog through to the end of the year. I have an Oncology meeting on December 29th which could go either way. Either, I will be signed off as cancer-free to sail away into the sunset OR the aggressive cancer element will have failed to die and potentially have spread in which case …

Anyway, looking to get some Canarian sun in the first months of 2024. We have decided to visit southern Lanzarote which is probably the warmest and driest at that time of the year. We’ve found a hotel with a reasonable Suite at a good price. Probably book it early so that it makes me work harder over the next few months and keep focussed on getting better.

I have been shaving for quite a few years. I shaved my beard off in the mid 1970s and my moustache (too late) in the 1980s. Shaving is a bit of a chore but I do it every morning just to prevent the itching of stubble. However, it seems I have been doing it all wrong for years …. like so many things.

My new shaver has been pronounced a real success after one shave. My wife says she can’t remember me being so well shaved before. It is all down to … the app on my phone. This shaver connects to my smartphone by Bluetooth and, through a Philips App, instructs me how to shave my 72 year old face. It is quite revolutionary.

It has three, independent, circular heads which I haven’t had before and take some getting used to. What I do like about it is the automatic cleaner/balm dispenser. The head is thrust into a separate unit that contains a soothing balm. The shaver is run for a few seconds and emerges totally clean. If you shave every day .. and I’m sure you do, this is really helpful.

Actually, the day has developed beautifully and we ate Lunch outside with a bottle of champagne. Celebrating being alive! Now, at 7.30 pm, Pauline is cooking Calamari outside and serving with freshly cut salad from the garden. I suppose life could be worse.

Monday, 14th August, 2023

Lovely sunny and warm morning. I say that but I should qualify it with other news. I have absolutely no idea what is happening to my body temperature.

In the car, I have the air conditioning on freezing at all times and Pauline puts on a jumper. At Breakfast, I have the conservatory doors open and Pauline shivers. Out walking, I wear shorts and tee shirt and Pauline puts on a Fleece. In bed, I sleep naked on top of the sheet with the air conditioning on cold. Pauline pulls the sheets around her for warmth. My Breakfast coffee has been destroyed because one sip and I break out into violently hot sweats. I’m still drinking it in the hope that I can beat it. It is madness!

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.Albert Einstein

Still, who can do without fresh coffee in the morning? I’m constantly asking, Is it hot in here? because I have totally lost my personal gauge. What it does mean is that my Valet is packing double the number of my normal clothes for sunny Athens because she’s anticipating trouble.

Got a big appointment today. I’m going to visit …. the HYGIENIST!!! Absolutely hate Hygienists with a passion. Still, I’m told that it has to be done. It’s all within our Dental Plan so can’t waste money! I’m going to look at holidays in the sun again. Keep focus!

So many people have said to me, Oh, you don’t die of prostate cancer. You die with prostate cancer. I know they mean well and they are probably right but, when you’ve got it, you are immediately alert to all the alternative possibilities as well. People with prostate cancer and in the news jump out from every place.

This lad, who looks full of life and testosterone, (Actually, he looks like Peter Holgate to me – for aficionados.) is a member of a group called Duran Duran. I’ve heard of them although I’ve never HEARD them. I’ve just read that Duran Duran were one of the biggest pop bands of their era – whenever that was. His name is Andy Taylor and, apparently, he was their original guitarist. He is 62 and has terminal prostate cancer. The cancer has become metastatic which means it has spread and is in his bones. He is dying.

Found a hotel in southern Tenerife that looks weirdly promising – The Ritz-Carlton – has good facilities and reviews. The suites look promising.

I surprise myself by rather liking the ethnic, Moorish outside. Usually, I prefer aggressively clean lines of very new and modern.

A few weeks in the sun after all the trouble is over feels like something worth aiming at and getting super fit for.

Tuesday, 15th August, 2023

Half way through August. The UK Summer is nearly over. It is 9.00 am (UK) / 11.00 am (Greek) 16C/61F her and 29C/84F there.

I will be down here at the Port of Piraeus next week. Maybe you will come with me, Dear Reader, as I chronicle the days.

For now, I am pushing myself to keep fit. I hit a milestone yesterday when I achieved (if that’s the term) 200 consecutive days of my 10 mile-a day goal. Previously, my record was over a full year of consecutive days (371). I have been fighting back from illness in America, and Cancer Hormone Treatment but they say I will struggle during radiotherapy so that is my challenge!

Anyway, all I can do is take it one day at a time and keep fighting. It is astonishing how the milestones are achieved, slowly but surely.

What will be nice will be if predictions come true. They told me I would put on weight with Hormone treatment. They were right. They have told me I will lose appetite and lose weight during Radiotherapy. Please let them be right! I will assist it by going on a hard diet myself and pushing to do as much exercise as I can manage.

The day has improved here and turned sunny and warm. First 90 mins walk done. All the lawns to cut. My new garden cold frames to construct and then another walk before Dinner. Half an hour in the Gym … and relax.

Always loved the sounds of foreign voices singing songs in hot and moody, Mediterranean nights. Actually, when you get to learn the language and understand the lyrics, they are often absolutely trite. Of course, there is a place for sloppy romanticism on holiday but it often does not translate to home.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fTxcrjBGves%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Yesterday, I was feeling sad and I made the mistake of following a link to an Andrea Boccelli performance on Youtube. Bésame Mucho sounds to die for but, like so many opera lyrics, is laughable in reality.

Wednesday, 16th August, 2023

Didn’t sleep last night. Hot even though the air conditioning was on. Couldn’t clear my head of thoughts. Even though the radio was on, it drove me mad!! Turned it off. Nothing improved my head. Heard from Kevin in Spain and Julie in North Yorkshire this morning. Made no difference. Struggling. Got to break out and do something positive even if it breaks eggs!

Took Pauline for her hair cut. Parking is impossible. Drove home for a while then picked her up and slouched down the coast road as the waves crashed against the shoreline.

Had some financial changes to make to savings and loan agreements . I don’t borrow money other than to help myself. Buying a new Honda comes with 5 year ‘free’ servicing if you take out ‘Honda Financing‘ of £5000.00 min towards car purchase. The commitment is to pay off just 6 months of it and then settle. The interest is next to nothing and it saves me a couple of thousand pounds on servicing over 5 years. It also helps to maintain a healthy credit rating if it is ever needed.

Lovely, hot day – reaching 26C/79F – and I couldn’t be bothered doing anything but sit around and dream. Did my 10 miles walk though and started to look at constructing the new cold frames for the garden. Someone as impractical as me needs a long lead-in time before attempting that. Their are 14 screws – yes, 14! – to be put in and some of them are big ones.

Thursday, 17th August, 2023

Well, I failed the first test. I put the power screwdriver on to charge overnight in readiness for constructing two, 6ft cold frames this morning. It appears that either I didn’t push the battery firmly enough into the charger or the whole thing is so useless having not been in service for the past 5 years that I’ll need a new one. Obviously, a metaphor for life. Might have to ‘get a little man in’ if all else fails.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8dmIGIBEJCA%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Actually, there is a handy video guide showing just how difficult the whole process is. It’s scared me already. I’m sure my wife will manage it if I leave her in peace for an hour or two.

Talking about little men, the laminate wood flooring in our downstairs toilet seems to be looking rather the worse for wear – particularly around the toilet. I have no idea why. I have been trying to train my wife but to no avail. We have decided to replace it with laminate tiles until she gets the hang of it. That is a project for when we get back from Athens. Currently, we are going to make it the last trip until I get some resolution and then look to go somewhere with sun in March.

I told you the other day that people with prostate cancer and in the news jump out from every place. Today, it is the turn of Michael Parkinson who has died at the age of 88. Not a terrible age but still much too young for me. Parkinson had prostate cancer and was treated with radiotherapy. I have prostate cancer and will be treated with radiotherapy. Just saying.

Friday, 18th August, 2023

Well, we’ve woken to find strong and persistent rain this morning. What a welcome sight. Saves me watering before going away. Thought for the Day on BBC_R4 this morning echoed my recent theme of August Weddings. It’s certainly not the weather for them this weekend and definitely not the snow-filled fun we had back in December 1978.

While we were sweating away last night on the South Coast, Kevin was enjoying an evening of 22C/71F in Spain celebrating his granddaughter’s A Level passes for university, John R was on his boat on Ullswater on a balmy evening but Julie, in North Yorkshire, had lit the log burner because it was so cold and she’s a hardy type.

Typically, our power company has chosen the day after we go away to instigate a power cut for ‘essential maintenance’. They say it will only be for 2 hrs and that should be fine. Just got to hope that the return of the power doesn’t create a surge and blow out the fridges and freezers, the alarm system, the computer system on which the lighting, heating, CCTV circuit and Sky system and the broadband + phone systems depend. As soon as I review that list and there must be others I haven’t thought of, you realise the central importance electricity plays in our lives and how disadvantaged so many are across the world who have to manage without it.

Pauline is completing the packing. I am not allowed near it in case I pinch a shirt intended for holiday. I always break the rules just by instinct. If there is something I really want, nothing stops me. I’ve always been like that since a child. I can be rather bull-in-a-china-shop but it usually works. At least I know myself just as when I find something I like, I buy it in bulk to ensure a continuing supply. I even surprise myself in that sometimes. This week it was trainers and trainer socks.

I get through lots of pairs of trainers a year because of all the walking I do. Over 7,500 miles in 2yrs take their toll on trainers and socks. I found a pair of Sketchers‘ trainers that really suit me. Go-walk/Arch-fit are perfect and they are reasonably priced around £90.00. As soon as I was sure, I ordered 4 pairs. They will see me into the new year. Unfortunately, they were due to arrive the day after we had gone abroad.

This morning, a ring at the door and an American uniformed UPS man delivered 4 delicious looking boxes. Couldn’t be better.

I unpacked them and they said: Size 11.5! I had visions of them being sent back to the States and having to wait all over again. Then somebody who actually reads things came into the room and pointed out that 11.5 was USA sizing equivalent to 10.5 UK sizing which just happens to be mine. Phew!

The other things I go through all the time are the socks I’m so addicted to. Low cut, trainer socks. I love them even though I have a permanent sun line round my lower ankles. I think I might be becoming obssessed!

Well, by 11.30 am, the rain has stopped, the sun is out and it is hot and steamy …. just as I like it, Dear Reader. A 90 mins walk in the sun and then Lunch of cheese and biscuits with a bottle of French Bière. This afternoon, we have done a second harvest of parsley, washed, spun, de-stemmed and chopped before bagging up and freezing. The afternoon has just become hotter and hotter to a very sweaty 27C. One final walk before the evening rain began to fall and then the heavens opened. Excellent end to the day.

Saturday, 19th August, 2023

This is a special day, Dear Reader. On this day in 1978, I took Pauline to The Royal Exchange in Manchester to watch a play called Leaping Ginger. Before the performance, we had Dinner in the top floor restaurant. I remember it distinctly for two reasons. Firstly, we ordered Cotswold Duckling in port with Black Cherries which was a favourite at the time. We can’t remember our Starters but I will definitely have had Cheese Board for Sweet.

Secondly, we got engaged. We had only dated for just two months but I had already decided she was going to be my wife. I had to take out a huge bank loan to buy a ring. I didn’t consult her or check the size. In fact, didn’t even consider there were sizes until asked by the jeweller in Manchester. The ring – in my view – was modern, slightly arty with a single stone set in white gold. I liked it even though I didn’t like the price.

I was wearing a black, 3-piece suit with blue shirt and was terrified of losing the ring which was in my jacket pocket. Over Dinner, I asked Pauline to marry me. Of course, she said, Yes. What was worrying me was would she like the ring. Firstly, it fitted perfectly which was a huge relief … after talking to the Jeweller about the cost of size adjustment. I could see another bank loan on the horizon. Secondly, she professed to love the ring although I had my doubts at the time. In retrospect, she still assures me that she loves the ring and it still fits perfectly.

Having seen the close-up photo this morning, we have had to go straight out to buy a jewellery cleaning solution. I know she has done it before but it is beginning to show the wear of 45 years of experience.

Musical Theatre is not my choice but Pauline likes it so I started as I meant to go on by deferring to her. It starred a young Robert Lindsay and was alright – a bit raucous for me but it was all in a good cause. Like so many events in our life, we kept the accoutrements as reminders. In fact, Pauline had the Theatre Programme immediately to hand when I asked for it. I also found a copy for sale at the huge price of £1.99.

I love the minutiae of people’s lives. That’s why I record my own. People, knowing people, knowing how they live, love and grow old is absolutely fascinating. Particularly, I like to track the people, past & present, who have crossed my life, touched and changed it for better or worse. I also permanently and strangely feel a life long obligation to them, a responsibility to them and protection of them. It all remains my responsibility!

Sunday, 6th August, 2023

I don’t know how much longer I’ve got but I’ll have to go soon before this obsession gets out of hand. What were you doing at 5.30 am, Dear Reader? I was listening to a 1960s Reith Lecture by Bertrand Russell on Radio 4. The subject was Authority & the Individual. It is what the whole of my intellectual life has been centred on. My mother introduced me to Bertrand Russell, Mathematician, Philosopher, founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. As we emerged from the war years, Russell was considered the leading intellectual of the 1950s -60s. Political Philosophy fascinates me. It gripped me this morning and, for once, I didn’t fall back asleep.

I am obsessed with people and places. I am obsessed with failure and success. More than anything else as I get older, I am obsessed with time – observing, chronicling, recording time. I have been writing my Blog for 14.7 yrs. I wonder how many more I can achieve. We have been in West Sussex for 7 years now but I started recording this path on our walk to illustrate the growth and changes in Nature and Climate just 3 yrs ago. This year, the grass is lush and green – so lush even I could eat it.

However, talking about eating, blackberries in the hedgerows around here are as advanced as I can remember them. We have only just started August but the birds have almost had enough already. I must admit I’m not a great fan but Pauline can’t resist them.

Monday, 7th August, 2023

Blue sky and sunshine this morning. Must admit, it isn’t quite doing it for me . Last week, I was recording the fact that so many of my Year were celebrating Wedding Anniversaries last weekend. Another two from my cohort contacted me to report their 50 years. Unfortunately, I was reading an article from Leeds University asking: Does the Past matter? I’ve often viewed the past as a bereavement rather than a foundation for the future which I know is perverse but that’s the kind of ‘fun guy’ I am. I constantly want to retouch, taste, see, the past to reassure myself that it wasn’t illusion. Do we all see our lives flash before us occasionally and then sink back into the mists of time? I suspect we do but does it hurt with a long, low ache?

What certainly wasn’t an illusion this morning was a fraud on one of Pauline’s credit cards. We have four cards but only regularly use two of them. The others are back-ups. We never pay for anything if it can be put on a credit card but all are paid off automatically each month. Borrowing money in retirement is bonkers. This morning, she was checking a credit card account and found a £500.00 charge made by Manor Lettings Agent Ltd, of East Ham, London – the place where dreams come home … to haunt you!

Pauline phoned the bank’s Fraud Department who cancelled the card and re-issued her with a new one. They refunded the £500.00 immediately and will follow it up to reclaim. I phoned the Lettings agent to be told that they had had a number of such complaints and they were grateful to us for putting it in the hands of Bank Fraud investigators. The more worrying question is: How did it happen? Presumably, someone not only got hold of the card number but the PIN number as well.

The one good thing about this event is the reassuring way our Bank dealt with it immediately in our favour. No longer do we need to make a case. The refund was instant which gives one confidence in a digital world. I wouldn’t know what to do with actual cash if you threw it at me in handfuls. I can’t remember the last time I saw a paper/plastic note. I don’t even physically handle credit cards. Everything is done via my smartphone so easily. I even paid the deposit for a new car with it recently. Everything is collected within a single, digital wallet which also provides immediate financial records. Fingerprint access makes theft virtually impossible …. unless they cut my finger off!

As I walked out across the garden to the Gym this evening, it felt like AUTUMN. I was in my shorts and tee shirt and felt cold! The first week of August! This is unacceptable. We are not in Wales, after all. Yesterday, my wife was talking about driving to Anglesey. Can you imagine it? What hell would we find there?

Tuesday, 8th August, 2023

The day is warm – humid even – but overcast. Did an early walk and now I’m shattered. Need a friend. Kevin was there right on cue. He is ill like only men can be ill. He has a cold. I have prescribed red wine … at 11.30 am. It always works for me.

Nothing like a good glass of Rioja to cure a cold. Non-drinkers/White Ribboners take note! Hamilton Street will fall apart. There are worse things in this world than alcohol. Mind you, beer is down there with the worst! A good Rioja, on the other hand, relaxes the mind and frees the sinuses to enjoy the aroma of Spanish grapes. Actually, sex helps but I won’t mention that. Oh, I have!

We fly to Athens in about 10 days for 10 days. The weather is set to be warm. It will hover around 35C/95F each day and not fall below 24C/75F at night. We will do a long, early morning walk before getting back to the Hotel for Breakfast and then have a leisurely swim in the rooftop pool before setting off to travel the city. I have driven through Athens city centre many times but I wouldn’t choose it.

This time, we will purchase public transport travel passes. A 5-Day pass for tram/trolley bus/bus/Metro/train unlimited travel costs just €8.20 per person. I will buy two of those and relax as someone else drives me around.

I have written many times before about my desire to record and save records and my wife’s propensity for recording all financial transactions, earnings, tax bills, purchases, etc. from the day we got married in record books and, subsequently, on an accounts software package. She updates it daily even now. Even so, she berates me for wanting to store all our pay slips back to the early 1970s. They are filed in box files in my Office along with records of many other things like house purchase/sales documents, investment records/ tax records, etc..

For 50 years, I have been a figure of fun. Don’t need horrible cows to tell me that! However, small vignettes of light have helped me deal with that reputation. My Mother-in-Law recorded all her outgoings in notebooks and on post-it notes. Going through my Mother’s papers, I found she had saved all the financial records of her Honeymoon in 1949 in the Cotswolds including the Hotels and meals, etc.. Perhaps it was our families which were strange.

Well, no. My friend, JohnR celebrated 45 years of marriage last weekend and sent me his Honeymoon record along with the news that he records all expenditure across time. You see, someone IS out of kilter but … it’s not me.

With a new and virulent strain of Covid currently sweeping the country, we’ve just booked our booster jab for mid-September. It will come just before my Radiotherapy month. I have another Oncology meeting in late December. Dying or Living, I will go up to Yorkshire-Lancashire early next year.

Wednesday, 9th August, 2023

An absolutely beautiful, warm and sunny morning. A morning to celebrate being alive and yet I feel rather trapped. In the immediate term, I am trapped at home by a number of deliveries this morning. A new tumble dryer will be arriving and the 7 yr old one taken away. That is a matter of life & death for my housekeeper.

The Fishmonger will deliver the month’s fresh fish – 2 x sides of Salmon, packs of frozen Tilapia, huge bags of King Prawns, 3 kgs of fresh Tuna, 2 x bags of frozen Squid Tubes. My chef will prepare all of this into portion sizes, bag and freeze.

Outside, under the blue sky illuminating the back garden with its Mediterranean light, silver planes travelling from Heathrow and Gatwick glint brilliantly as they soar en route to the Mediterranean reality. Excited travellers will step out into the intense sunshine and searing heat that hits them like a wall. But I am anchored firmly to the ground, the ground of my own reality, observing from afar. If I get rid of this cancer, I am going to travel until I drop!

A huge, Polish study of a quarter of a million people suggests that the 10,000 paces generally prescribed for improved fitness is far more than are really necessary. In fact, just 4,000 paces helped a person start to reduce their risk of dying from any cause. Just an extra 1,000 steps a day was associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of dying from any cause. I have walked 20,000 every day of the last 3 years apart from the months over Christmas last year when I was ill.

What I don’t understand is why I keep getting mail from Prostate Cancer charities. How do they know? Why do I keep getting mail from Funeral Services? What do THEY know? This morning’s offering almost made me embrace death.

In the meantime, politics will be hotting up as the Summer draws to a close. Yesterday, a newspaper/website/blog that I follow, The London Economic, published the results of a large and very recent poll of 13,000 voters and found that the current small boats/migrant barge/anti-asylum rhetoric of this increasingly far right Tory government had only served to solidify opposition to another Tory win.

In fact, it suggested that the Tories would be reduced to just 90 seats against Labour’s 461. That would all but guarantee Labour in power for the next decade and mean I would see the return to Europe in a second term by which time I would be 83, Dear Reader. I wonder how old you will be.

Wonderful Dinner in the garden tonight. Lovely and warm – 23C/72F – and windless. My brilliant chef cooked Kolokithia Keftedes (courgette fritters) and Tilapia with cheese & parsley crust. Just to die for! I am absolutely exhausted. I’ve done 5 hard hours gardening for my community plus a 2hr walk. Feeling a bit wobbly and my heart hurts. This should not be happening in old age. It is the stuff of boring boys!

Thursday, 10th August, 2023

A glorious, warm and sunny morning. I’m driving to Surrey later but I’ve got to get a walk in first. Over breakfast, I completed a survey sent to me by the Prostate Cancer Research organisation.

I found it quite shocking. The questions were based on two areas one of which came from patients. I thought I was the only boringly sad and lonely wimp who had ever suffered with prostate cancer. Sadness and loneliness are not things men admit to readily. I am not scared or embarrassed to admit my weaknesses. I do not subscribe to the stiff upper lip approach to manhood. I am feeling incredibly sad and incredibly lonely as a result of my hormone treatment and I now know that lots of men have gone through that in the past. It featured strongly in the survey questions.

I am furious that I am having to run to stand still at the moment. I now know that it is a common feature that the fittest of men have suffered serious weight gain during treatment and many have given in to fatigue. At least I am fighting that. But I’m drinking too much again. I tell myself that it numbs the pain but I know it’s a lie. Actually, it accentuates my emotions and makes me reckless. It also encourages weight gain. I’m a boring old fool. I know that …. but I am still alive and many are not. This morning, I saw my Mother on her death bed. It is still hard to erase that memory.

Kevin invited me to join College students from my Year for a lunch in Ripon in November. Unfortunately, it coincides with my radiotherapy treatments and I can’t go. If I’m feeling sad like this, I suspect I would be very poor company.

Today we spent lunch in lovely company with M&K back from Florida and P&C. M put on the most lovely lunch which included smoked salmon which I love, Parma Ham which I love, baked Camembert which I love, cheese straws which I love and a wonderful bottle of red wine just for me. I felt rather too well treated and had to get my chauffeur to drive me home. Actually, I could get used to that.

Still had a 90 mins walk to do when I got home. Had messages from John-R who is sailing in the lakes, Julie who is restarting her diet in North Yorkshire and Kevin who is in Leeds packing to go back out to Spain for the 4th time this year already.

Friday, 10th August, 2023

We didn’t have a honeymoon. We were too busy paying mortgages and buying cars. Although we got married in 1978, we didn’t have a foreign holiday until 1981. Before that, I had survived a really bad car accident and had almost a year off work. In August 1981, we flew to Athens for the first time. Actually, we were going on holiday for 3 weeks (never the conventional 2 weeks) on Zakynthos (Zante). In those days, there were no flights to Zante. We had to fly to Athens, get a bus to across the Peloponnese to Kylini and then a ferry to Zante port. It took the best part of 12 hours from door to door. We were exhausted.

The accommodation was very basic but we were young and ready for adventure. Can’t believe how naïve I was. I expected heat but certainly hadn’t experienced 32C/90F before and it came as something of a shock – almost claustrophobic.

As a measure of my naivety, I had insisted on taking with me a huge and heavy radio cassette player because I am a news junkie and I was determined to listen to BBC R4 as well as playing Chopin in more romantic moments. I hadn’t realised that you couldn’t pick up UK Long Wave on a Greek island. All I got was the Short Wave babble of Greek ‘pop’ songs.

We immediately fell in love with Greece and began a life long affair. The next year we went to Naxos in June and Milos in August. I couldn’t get enough of it. We went to Athens every single year, sometimes multiple times each year and sometimes for weeks at a time. We have only missed the pandemic year which, annoyingly, spoils a good record. When we were 30, a hot, concrete villa without air conditioning on an island with little or no tourism infrastructure like Zakynthos was a dream.

I remember, on Zakynthos, as fit, young things we rented bikes and cycled everywhere under a baking sun. There were only a handful of hotels and very few Tavernas. More than 40 years on it is like Benidorm on steroids … so I’m told.

Eventually, we graduated to scooters & motorbikes on Naxos, Milos, Andros & Corfu before we settled on Sifnos and moved up to open-topped Jeeps.

Now, we wouldn’t even consider it. Have no inclination to rough it. Only 5* will do and our hotel in Athens will do nicely. Really looking forward to going back and listening to Greek TV, reading Greek place names & signs, menus and shop windows. I certainly read Greek better than I speak it.

Although I will continue to visit Athens every year, I quite fancy plaguing M&K in Florida particularly now their new pool installation is nearly complete.

Saturday, 11th August, 2023

Lovely morning. Something went wrong and I didn’t wake until 7.30 am. The day has gone! Even shaving was an effort. Decided, I’ve got to have a new shaver. Looked up when I bought this last one and it was only 2 years ago. This is the price you pay for the such virility!

Quite fancy this one but I suspect it will be off the menu if my Valet has anything to do with it. So, I’ve ordered one of these and it will be delivered by 10.00 pm this evening. All mail-order should be like this. It WILL be when the drone delivery service comes into operation.

My Housekeeper’s focus now is on preparing clothes for travel. I have to admit that I’d just throw a few pairs of shorts and tee shirts into a bag along with my shaver and toothbrush BUT, apparently it all has to be done scientifically and according to the weather.

This is what is forecast for the first few days as far as I can get at the moment. Not icy cold or very wet. In fact quite hot and very sunny. I have to pack clothes for the daytime and 35C/95F (You’ll sweat a lot, John!) which can be challenging for a man suffering menopausal hot flushes. By the way, I’ve discovered that fresh coffee triggers them in me. I have to pack clothes for eating out (You’re not going out looking scruffy!) when it doesn’t fall below 23C/74F and the mosquitoes are biting.

Sunday, 30th July, 2023

Sounds like the weather is going to be quite dogy for the next few weeks. Thank goodness we’ve booked Athens. I need the sunshine to continue …. desperately!

I was sorry to hear that my cousin, Sue, sold her large, old French property yesterday after spending 8 years renovating it. After years working in the city of London and, before that, in Australia, Sue and Phil ‘retired’ to Salles-Lavalette in the Charente where they ran Gites and a Cycle-Hire franchise.

We dropped in on them when we were staying in the Dordogne 5 years ago. They have retained French Residency status and may well buy again. Who knows, they may well go back to Australia – the place of Phil’s birth. Nice to think you have that option. I just can’t imagine living in the same place and the same house most of my life. Can’t imagine being so lacking in adventure and ambition. The experiences of my houses and moves, of Greek ownership and travel have been so formative and provide such memories.

My friend, Julie, in North Yorkshire sent a photo of her Mum who is still alive at the age of 93. She sent me a lovely photo of the two of them together over the weekend.

Now there’s a face etched with experience, one that has seen many events that have formed so many memories. The ambition must be to reach that age and remain healthy enough to enjoy life and not be dependent. Banish the negatives. Accentuate the positives. Keep walking you mad fool!

Monday, 31st July, 2023

A wild, warm but wet & windy night. Couldn’t sleep. Put the radio on to stem the thoughts train and promptly fell asleep at 4.00 am. Up at 7.00 am to a wet world. Fortunately, it quickly dried up and I did a walk.

Came back to address a PROBLEM. I use Ancestry website to research family trees, find births/marriages/deaths and generally fill out life’s story. Over the weekend, I found that I had been billed, wrongly, for additional, worldwide membership at £360.00 per year. I know it’s not a great amount but I didn’t ask for or want to pay it.

I checked the website and then the bank site and found that my credit card had been used in a place in Florida where I had last been almost 2 years ago. If you’ve ever had to follow through these sorts of problems, you will know they are a nightmare. In this case I was lucky and a call to Ancestry UK which is based in Ireland for tax purposes got the contract cancelled and I was able to change my password and reopen it to start research. It’s one of those draining problems to solve though which I could have done without.

It’s certainly a day when I’d rather be abroad enjoying warmth and sunshine. Got to wait another 3 weeks and, even then, I’m fitting it around medical interventions. Let this be over! David Roberts, who never stands still, is currently in Rome. For those aficionados, he sent me a model he found that reminded him of Tolley.

I’m looking forward to getting back to lots of foreign travel after Christmas assuming I get the all-clear, even though it looks as if European travel will be made more cumbersome by the brainless Brexiteers.

Tuesday, 1st August, 2023

Happy August 2023 Dear Reader if I can raise my spirits to wish it to you. August is a difficult month in the memory as you will know. Things could be better. I suppose they could be worse.

Today, here on the South Coast, is the most lovely day of hot sunshine and blue skies. I fear it is a blip in the bad news for the next couple of weeks. At least we aren’t in Wales!

Today, I’ve cut and fed all the lawns in the neighbourhood. My lovely next door neighbour, Dee, sent me a message to say her guests for Dinner last night said the street looked ‘really pretty’ with flowers and the manicured lawns. I told her that me and pretty were antithetical. She told me not to put myself down. A little old man at the end of the street, whose lawn I’ve not taken on, stopped me and asked for help with his grass. We chatted.

He said: I don’t want to be patronising but are you a professional gardener?
I said: I was a teacher many years ago.
He said: You’re so good with the gardens round here that I thought you were a professional. Could I employ you to look after mine?
I said: I’m a 72 year old retiree. I don’t need paying for anything.
He said with surprise: I’m younger than you. You’ve got a really young wife, haven’t you?

I have to admit that I pretended that she was much older than me although she is actually younger. The poor, old guy nearly fell off his feet. When I reflected, though, Pauline does look young for her 71 years. She has hardly changed since 1981. If only the same could be said for me!

Of course, teachers’ weddings were usually timed for July/August before the new year started. We chose … December 1978. I hope we can celebrate somewhere abroad this time.

Wednesday, 2nd August, 2023

Nice, warm but rather humid morning. A bit breezy but not as bad as forecast. In this week 2010, the tilers were just finishing tiling all around our house in Greece. It suddenly became apparent that we needed more tiles at the back of the house so we took a ferry to Athens to source and order them. Everything had to come from Athens by lorry on a ferry which always added to the building costs.

It was in the middle of a heatwave which made our trip more difficult. Of course, a trip to Athens was not a one day-er at that time. We had to have a hotel for a couple of nights. Pauline managed to have her haircut in the city at the same time.

We bought the tiles in Leroy Merlin in Piraeus and more air-conditioning units in Kotsovolos (ΚΩΤΣΟΒΟΛΟΣ). As we got out from the taxi and in to the airconditioned store, the temperature outside was a shattering 45C or 113F. That is a level which almost defies one to walk.

Must be feeling a bit more optimistic for the future. This morning I ordered a couple of cold frames for the garden. Won’t need them until next Spring so I’ve got to stick around a few more months. Just feel like I’m marking time at the moment. Life has to be more than this!

Thursday, 3rd August, 2023

Well, the day definitely went down hill in the afternoon yesterday. Strong winds which drove very wetting fine rain across the world outside. Did a couple of hours in the Gym in the afternoon. Our neighbours across the road set off for Ibiza last night and next door will go to Skiathos at the weekend. We have been left in charge of the street. Rather be abroad myself but the lonely battle goes on. Going to the hospital this afternoon so every activity has to be crammed into this morning.

Terrible sleeping again. It is depressing. I haven’t slept well for almost two weeks. You would really think that all this exercise would make me sleep like a log but it doesn’t seem to work like that. Even went to bed early last night to see if that would help but just found myself wide awake at 2.00 am.

Apart from exercise, the big task today is to research a new, tumble dryer. I know, the excitement is too much for a boring boy like me but I’ll cope! Actually, I’m quite excited to look at the latest models of Heat Pump Tumble Dryers as opposed to ‘vented’ or ‘condenser’ types. You see, I told you it was exciting. They are much more expensive but also much more more efficient.

It seems to be wedding anniversary season. John Morris is celebrating 50 years this week and Kevin celebrates 51 on Saturday. Julie doesn’t celebrate that day. August was a popular month and the 19th was the most popular of all. Teachers are so predictable.

Off to the hospital to see if I’ll reach my 45th anniversary in December. Hope it won’t involve snow!

Friday, 4th August, 2023

Sometimes an empty Present is lifted by a memory of the past. This morning, my memory box served up a pictures that chimed with the morning. Just about to wish my next door neighbours, Καλό ταξίδι! (Have a good trip) to Skiathos in the Sporades Islands.

In 2012, we had lived in our Greek house for many years and some parts were in need of upgrading. It was built up a track/road away from the port. The ‘illegal’ garage was built from the very stone of the surrounding hillside. You will have seen the tiling around the outside of the house that we had done. A large part of our daytime was spent outside on the patio under a pergola. This was over the flat roof of the garage.

At this time of year, we spent so much time outside, sheltering under the pergola from the intense heat of the sun. We read, cooked, ate, drank wine, listened to the BBC Radio, watched TV, snoozed, everything. When it got too hot, we drove down to the bay for a swim. The thing you expect to do in Greece is to sunbathe. When you spend six months of Summer there, just like the Greeks themselves, you do everything to stay out of the sun.

We had a small oven and hob outside where Pauline magicked up the most wonderful – too wonderful – meals. It was where I learned to love κολοκυθοκεφτέδες or fried Courgette Balls. The courgettes were fresh from our garden at the back of the house.

The full upgrade must have cost us about £25,000 but it was well worth it. The house needed it and so did we.

Saturday, 5th August, 2023

Terrible day. Heavy rain and strong winds. Our temperature is only 14C/57F … in August on the South Coast! Just imagine what Wales must be like. I’m going to go mad and have my hair cut.

This weekend starts the Wedding Anniversary season for my friends. Popular with teachers because … well for the obvious reasons. Today, it is Kevin & Christine’s 51st, John & Anne’s 45th, Tash & Sheila’s 36th. Surprisingly, they are all High Church weddings with the old stone churches of Yorkshire. You would expect some Methodist Chapels particularly for John who is a life long Methodist. I sent Kev & Chris a bottle of champagne last year for their 50th. This year they just get an emoji.

Maybe our generation didn’t do honeymoons like earlier ones. John & Anne, befitting good Methodists, had 3 days in the Lake District. I don’t think Kev & Chris went away at all. They were too busy paying for their new house and yellow Ford Cortina. Pauline & I, of course, waited for others to get theirs out of the way and then went for the end of December in the Pennine blizzards. It’s always good to be unconventional.