Month: June 2025

Sunday, 22nd June, 2025

A hot, humid night and the events of yesterday led to a fitful night’s sleep. We had planned so much for yesterday but it was a day when events made those plans redundant. As Harold MacMillan said, Events, Dear Boy, events when he was asked about the difficulties of being a statesman. Something of real moment happened and threw my petty plans into sharp relief.

Yesterday, after hours in the tawdry surroundings and unkempt workaday organisation of a busy hospital on a humid and energy sapping day, Phyllis – Pauline’s sister and Mandy’s Mum – who was weeks away from her 88th birthday, breathed her last. Suddenly, all those clichés surrounding death in age rise in one’s mind and in one’s speech about 88 being a good age to reach, about her failing health making death a release, about hoping to reach that target one’s self, etc..

Phyllis had been a feature of my life for almost 50 years. We agreed on very little but it was her feisty, opinionated personality which illuminated her life and strength to live it. She fought to succeed throughout. She never gave up. She was intelligent and sharp with a good memory and ability to recall facts which would have stood her in good stead if she had been in a position to access a formal education. Instead she lived on energy, determination and her native wit. It’s when you realise that such a fire has left the world that you begin to understand its moment. When it comes to death, no age is a good age.

Of course one death is so often the end of two. Phyllis and Colin were a long standing and hard working parnership through good and bad times.

I have hundreds of the most terrible photos of Phyllis – pictures of her with a dog but without her head on. Pictures of her on a beach but so far away that she is a dot on the horizon, pictures of her at social events where she is almost indistinguishable from the crowd. They were all pictures of a time – from a Box Brownie to a Polaroid – but I love this one of her on a motorbike from the mid 1950s. When you blow it up, you suddenly spot other figures in the doorway – ghosts of a past we never knew.

I wake around 5.00 am every morning and, irony of ironies, this morning was a program with two women who had both written books on How to Die a Good Death and No Ordinary Deaths. We avoid thinking about and planning for death until it is too late. It will happen to us all and the struggle is to fend off the inevitable as long as possible. The two of these propositions are intimately entwined.

In the past, without scientifically based Health Care and without drugs to ward off and fight disease, early death was prevalent – expected even. Our ancestors had a more integrated relationship with death, viewing it as a familiar presence in daily life. This contrasts sharply with contemporary society’s more distanced approach to death but no death can be considered ordinary however inevitable it is.

Monday, 23rd June, 2025

Don’t know if is because of the events of Saturday or what is happening to me physically but I am feeling sad and in need of emotional support. It is normal for such things to refocus thoughts of mortality. You certainly know who your friends are. Generally, I respond by being more stubborn rather than giving in but it takes me a bit of time.

In the meantime, everything is too much effort, too difficult, too trying. For example, I am calm and rational when IT problems need working through. This morning, I am screaming at two mobile phones and two computers over what should be a very simple repair. My wife, in an idle moment of madness on holiday last week saw an app advertised which would allow her to use her phone to check her blood pressure. She obviously thought that living with me meant she needed it.

Of course, it was a scam waiting to happen and, the moment it was installed, it locked her phone and demanded money to reopen it. In order to rectify the situation, I had to return it to factory settings and reinstall every service app. This was important because all her travel documents were on it along with her finance and banking apps amongst 50 or more others. Ever since then, I have been struggling to add all her Credit/Debit/Charge cards to her Google Wallet which is becoming the default payment method now.

It should all be so easy and I followed every guideline but still failed. I needed to speak to a PERSON! We used to have our own Personal Banking Manager but, as they withdrew from the High Street so they withdrew our individual online/telephone service. It is almost impossible to get a face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact. Cora has replaced it and AI really still lacks nuance. Dear Cora says she will get back to me. I’m still waiting.

At the same time, we are supposed to be going abroad in a week but there is now a funeral to organise and the timing is so uncertain that we can’t just get on with our travel arrangements as usual. I’ve already been checking our insurance policy’s cancellation requirements. Ironically, it comes through our Bank account so I may becoming best mates with Cora soon.

The circular frustration of these AI Bots leaves one feeling old and incompetent – out of touch. I am only one of those things and I can’t help being old but I refuse to accept that this needs to be so difficult. Cheap, yes but not difficult.

Anyway, home grown green beans for Supper with Roast Salmon and Pesto Crust. Something to look forward to.

Tuesday, 24th June, 2025

Quite a dull day and we are on tenterhooks about the next development. I am poised to contact the property in Spain we have rented for the next few weeks to say what time we arrive OR I am poised to collate all my evidence for the insurance company to prove why I have to claim £4,000.00 + to cancel our trip because of a funeral. It all pivots on that and I hate uncertainty above everything else.

Do we pack or do we not? My new cap is waiting for the decision. Found out this morning that my new cap which my wife ordered and loves is a Failsworth Cap. If you’d lived my life, you would know how significant that is. Why on earth did I arrive in Oldham? Oh, Dear Reader. I ask myself. Failsworth, as many will know is contiguous with Oldham. I was shocked to research its origin.

The Failsworth Hat Company was founded in 1903 at Failsworth Maypole. It is a well known place in Greater Manchester.

My ghosts walk the region. It sends a shiver down my spine. I find this dislocation very unhappy although I like the knowledge that my new cap was founded in my occasional home.

Today is the 9th anniversary of the Brexit result being reported. Michael Bloomberg, the American Billionaire told his Irish audience yesterday that Brexit was the single stupidest thing any country has ever done, adding that “it’s hard to believe how they did it. The country now completely agrees with him in huge numbers.

The snake oil salesmen – Johnson & Farage – sold them a pup as is the way that the uneducated are duped throughout history. Just think of the religious indulgences of old and the modern carbon-offsetting. There are stupid people throughout time. We warned them and they were persuaded to cry, Scaremongering! We weren’t and now they know. Phyllis wouldn’t admit it if she was still here, that’s for certain.

Wednesday, 25th June, 2025

A hot, humid, overcast morning of real frustration. We have had a couple of very sticky nights and a photo was posted on our local web of Littlehampton Marina Pier on Monday evening.

I have been desperately trying to communicate with my Bank, My Credit Cards provider and Google Pay. Ironically, after the Blog yesterday, I was speaking to a Bank Technical expert who turned out to be working from home – in Chadderton, Oldham. I could tell immediately by his accent and Yasser from Chadderton knew exactly where I used to teach. Even so, he still couldn’t sort out my problem.

At least I have been able to contact my holiday property. Dear, little Mandy is still struggling with the painful technicalities of her Mum’s death and her Dad’s future. These are rights of passage but none the less painful for that. What they have meant for us is that we can go on holiday and return to help out later. We fly in to Murcia, San Javier, Airport mid morning and a taxi will get us to the property by mid-day or 4 hours before Checkin. I am happy to pay and extra €30.00 to have the villa prepared early.

This is going to be an exciting trip because it is new territory for us. It will stretch us. Soon after returning, we fly off to Athens again – a regular trip – and then a couple of months later, go back to Tenerife for a month. Next year we have decided to combine new and old. We will return to Thessaloniki and to Athens and to our island home of Sifnos but we will integrate them all into one trip.

We intend to fly in to Thessaloniki to stay for a week and then take the train to Athens. That will be an interesting first. We’ll spend a few days in Athens, get a ferry to Sifnos and spend a week there for the first time in a decade and then go back to Athens for a few more days before flying home. I’m already excited about that.

Thursday, 26th June, 2025

It rained over night. Hallelujah! I was about to spend the morning watering the garden and the street. All done free of time and charge. Even the street borders may start to green up after a long, dry spell.

The plants along the drive have been living in bone hard soil for quite a while and a heaving a great sigh of relief.

My Housekeeper is at the Hairdressers in preparation for her holiday trip. I’m thinking about preparing the survival of the garden.

I am preparing to water the garden remotely with a programmable timer switch and two sprinkler systems attach to it.

I need to use this system so rarely that it takes a slow, old man like me quite a while to get back up to speed. Still, I’ve set it up and it will be tested tonight then adjusted if necessary.

The bank has sorted out the problem with our Google Wallets so that has cleared another gripe from my mind. I am gradually ticking off jobs as I go through the day. This morning, I’ve been producing maps of the area where we are staying with restaurants and Supermurcados.

We feel slightly guilty that we are going away on holiday and leaving Little M behind to deal with the organisation of the funeral. I must emphasise the ‘slightly’ and we will be returning to attend a funeral soon afterwards. It’s quite a long time since I have been to a funeral. It’s even longer since I had to organise one – almost 16 years. We have certainly received some lovely ‘sympathy’ cards from friends and relatives over the past few days. People are very thoughtful and we are grateful.

Friday, 27th June, 2025

Lovely, hot day for the Dentist. Just a check-up on our service contract. Lovely lady – Persian and beautiful. It helps when you’re poking about in a mouth. A couple of X-rays. No problems and return in 6 months. I will be almost 75. At least, I will have sorted a lot of things out by then.

I was amused this morning when my little friend thought I would be struggling to slum it by flying to Torrevieja. I must admit, I do have some reservations particularly when looking for restaurants in the vicinity. They are very much of the ‘fastfood’ variety. Fortunately, I’ve chosen a property some way off the town and where we can easily source fresh food that we can cook ourselves.

I think I’ve eaten Paella once in the whole of my life. Looking forward to trying it in Spain for the first time. I’ve been increasingly buying Spanish wine over the past few years. I love Rioja and the Temperanillo grape. Looking forward to drinking that.

I did Spanish at Grammar School up to GCE Level but I’ve virtually not used it since. It will be interesting to reacquaint myself with the vocabulary and learn to read road signs, menus and advertisments. I will try to follow Spanish TV and the babble of voices arround me in the streets to broaden my experience. It is a Romance Language, after all which dovetails into French, Italian and Portuguese so I should manage it.

It looks like it will be seriously hot so I will need to do early morning and late evening walks. We have a pool so that will give day time execise. I need to treat it as if I’m at home although I certainly have no intention of going ‘British’. We’ll leave that for the Lower Classes, Dear Reader.

The day has developed into a very humid one. My 8 mile walk has left me sweaty, wet and tired. Love my power shower. It is so reviving. I used to enjoy the Sauna & Jacuzzi at the end of a David Lloyd Gym session but my shower is just as refreshing.

Saturday, 28th June, 2025

Warm, humid, overcast. The sun is coming to large parts of UK … well, not to North Wales obviously but most normal parts. It has already arrived in force across Europe.

The area in Spain where we are going has this projected for next week. Just my sort of weather although I’ll need my Failsworth Cap.

We are flying into Murcia International. I say International but it looks fairly small and local really. The prices of services are incredibly cheap. I thought I was reading it wrongly but, no, a taxi to anywhere in the central Murcia region is limited to €29.00.

An SUV hired from and returned to the airport for 14 days costs just over €200.00/£180.00. Absolutely amazing. This is what you get for slumming it in Spain. My Carer spent £75.00 at the hairdressers this week which puts that price into perspective. I suppose that’s right. Never slum it on a haircut …. although mine was free.

When people disappear from your life. They never totally do. They live on in memory and custom. Phyllis died a week ago and this morning, I referred to her twice without thinking. There are rooms in our house I almost never visit. There is a bedroom which, for shorthand, is known as Phyllis’s Room. She slept in it once for one night. It is at the back of the house and I only go in there to collect a suit from the wardrobe and I don’t wear suits very often now. This morning, I found myself speaking about Phyllis’s Room and it hit me. She will never sleep there again but she sleeps in my head.

In the old days – the 1980s – before Skype and mobile phones, I would spend all summer travelling and send a stream of postcards to my Mother particularly as I was always away on her birthday.

I was surprised to find she kept them all and I retrieved them from her house when she died. They are shivery memories of a time that predates mobile phones but chronicles experiences long gone. I haven’t really sent any for quite a while other than to an old friend who can’t cope with the internet but I quite fancy sending some from down market Spain. Something to look out for, Dear Reader.

Sunday, 15th June, 2025

Lovely early morning. As every morning around 7.00 am and then again around 7.00 pm, clouds of swifts and swallows wheel in huge numbers around the skies above the hotel. As is their name, they are incredibly swift and they are masters of the air and spend almost their entire lives in flight – eating, drinking, sleeping and even mating on the wing. They usually only land when it’s time to nest. Early morning and early evening must be the best times for rich pickings of insects.

Before Breakfast for humans, the news is of raids by Israel on Iran and Iran’s retaliation. On the way to Breakfast, I talk to a lovely couple in the lift. Ask them where they are from and it is from Israel. They have been to the Electra Palace Thessaloniki before as well as the Athens hotel. At Breakfast, we agree to meet there next time. I sit at a table immediately in front of a delightful Palestinian family. The irony is not lost.

Thessaloniki is the archetypal Greek city full of a mixing pot of lovely people. I absolutely adore it. It is a hothouse of culture, politics, religion and nationalities. They talk over coffee, in the shade of the sunshine, on street corners, in restaurants ….

Politics is in their blood, It is in mine. The picture above depicts signs discarded on the pavements and an office sign above shops for ΝΕΑ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΡΑ – The New Left with the Palestinian flag. I just love their allegiances and their passion.

In the same way, I love the culture of the Greeks and its differences. In the market yesterday, anyone who is not familiar with the country would have been rather shocked to see the things on sale in the fish & Meat stalls.

Monday, 16th June, 2025

Lovely morning over the Thermaic Gulf, Dear Reader. Crystal, clear blue skies reflected in crystal, clear blue sea. The sun is deliciously strong and warm with just a hint of a breeze. I don’t want Breakfast but force myself just to be sociable.

Went out for a wonderful meal last night. After all these years in Greece, the menu introduced us to some new things which was exciting. It was all based around the concept of Meze. The name of the restaurant is Full Tou Meze. You can read the full menu here.

Meze, pronounced “meh-ZEH,” is a selection of small dishes, similar to Spanish Tapas or Italian Antipasti, that are popular in Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. These dishes are often shared and enjoyed as appetizers or as a meal in themselves. In Greece, Meze is deeply intertwined with the concept of Parea which emphasizes social gatherings and shared enjoyment of food and drinks. 

Greece and Turkey have long been irritable neighbours but their cultures have meshed as people move between the two countries. The restaurant was Greek with heavy Turkish influences. After nearly 50 years in Greece, we found dishes on the menu that we had never seen before:

• Lakerda – Marinated Sushi-grade Tuna
• Kritamo – Marinated Fenugreek or Grass of the Greeks – rather like Samphire.
• Sogania Mitilinis – Sweet onions stuffed with minced beef.
• Tsubleki from Macedonia – Beef with Peppers, Aubergine, Courgette, Potato & Feta Cheese, baked in the oven

It was a lovely introduction to new things and feels quite typical of Thessaloniki. Visitors have to be prepared to learn new things. It is good to be stretched, Dear Reader. The stuffed, sweet onions were delicious.

This morning, I have gone out for an early 8 mile walk before the heat is too intense and because my body needs to recover from last night’s meal. I was amused by the name of this dinghy hidden away in the boat yard. Torrevieja is where we will be in a couple of week’s time. We have rented a villa to enjoy some new sunshine. If we like it, we may drive there next year and stay a few months.

Tuesday, 17th June, 2025

It’s been a lovely day. Up at 6.00 am. Yorkshire tea on the patio in hot sunshine. My Housekeeper completed packing and then we went to Breakfast.

Checkout is a formality. Eveything was paid for a week ago. A taxi is called for the airport and off we go around 9.00 am.

Greek taxi drivers have been notoriously corrupt. See a wealthy tourist and triple the price. THe government has done a wonderful job in addessing that corruption. Payments are digital and visible by the authorities. Taxi drivers wor on pain of losing their licences if the cheat. As a result, the taxi driver from the airport and bac to the airport have been honest and delightful. They are incredibly proud of their city and both told us the whole history and related it to the sites we were passing. As a result, we overpaid their statutory faair for their service.

Makedonia airport is small but comfortable and quiet. We went to the Turkish lounge which is new and almost totally deserted. A calm and riff-raff free hour and we went down to Gate. A few minutes wait and we were in the scorching sunshine boarding the plane.

I must admit, I fell asleep almost immediately. It seems to be an automatic ‘travel mode’ my body adopts because I wasn’t tired. I woke with about 40 minutes to landing. The flight had been 2 hrs 55 mins in total which is incredibly fast but I had missed most of it. My Carer hasd passed the time by reading her latest ‘free’ book on her Kindle.

Gatwick was incredibly quiet and we were back on the Long Stay bus within no time. Fortunately, I had photographed the parking spot at midnight the week before and we were soon czooming off in our lovely, comfortable car. Traffic wa light and straightforward. We were home within 50 mins and off to Sainsburys for something for our evening meal.

I unpacked the car. Just two medium cabin-sized suitcases and two pieces of hand luggage and all was done. The garden was looking lovely. We ate freshly cut lettuces, freshly lifted new potatoes with mint and parsley. While Supper was being prepared, I watered the whole garden. The Green Beans are almost ready for picking. The Basil is ready for cutting. The Parsley has been cut once and is ready again. All is well in the garden which is just as well because we will be flying off again and leaving it in exactly two weeks.

Wednesday, 18th June, 2025

Woke up at 5.00 am (7.00 am Greek Time) to a gorgeous morning. Hard to tell which location we were in. The sky is blue. The sun is bright. Already we’ve lost the night but it’s raining …. raining somewhere else.

Out in the garden things are running away from me. Away for ten days and everything’s expanded to fill the space. Last night, I dug up some new potatoes and then found I did exactly the same thing on exactly the same day last year. How exciting am I? The green beans will be ready to pick by Friday and the lettuces will have to be eaten in the next couple of weeks (every day) before they run to seed.

We had such a lovely time in Thessaloniki that I am going to book again for next year immediately. I’ve written to the Hotel to thank them for their services and to tell them what I want for next time.

Unfortunately, today I have a rather more pressing problem. It is medical. I am such a poor specimen! I already have an Oncology review booked for July. I had expected it to be routine but over the past couple of weeks I have had a few worrying – perhaps, shocking – events. I have been passing blood in the toilet. On one occasion, a lot of blood and it has really shocked me. This morning, I have been to the hospital to deliver notes on this to Oncology in the hope I can get an early examination both for diagnosis reasons and because we are going away in less than two weeks. I feel it is rather hanging over me and I would prefer just to know.

Thursday, 19th June, 2025

The transfer from Thessaloniki to Sussex has been made almost seamless by the weather which maybe a few degrees cooler but still warm. At 11.00 am it is 27C and 32C in Greece. This morning, we have spoken to the hotel we left a few days ago and booked the same suite for June next year. I have been using the Electra Group Hotels in Greece for 40 years and get a 15% discount on my booking which saves me about £600.00 for the week.

In the Now, we are home for less than two weeks before setting off again to Spain. It will be a new experience for us and that is what I need. We are flying to Murcia International Airport and have rented a villa on the edge of Torrevieja. It will be exciting to do something new. I need to be stretched in experience.

More sunshine; more walking; more learning – it’s all good …. hopefully. And if it is somewhere we like, we might book for a month or more next year and drive there via Portsmouth to Santander.

Still feeling the effects of travelling home and the 2hr time difference today. Went out to buy a 2kg Swordfish loin which will be cut into steaks for grilling in the garden. If you’ve ever cooked swordfish, you would know that the smell is strong and all pervasive. Better tantalise the neighbourhood cats than lingering for days round our house. The fish supplier is on the beach which was beginning to look summery.

I am planting out a second lot of Basil plants which have been nurtured for a couple of months and survived our time away. We need to establish them before we go away and then set up the automatic watering system. They will love this weather and it is 30C/86F as they go out in the raised beds this afternoon. It is Sweet Genoan Basil (Genovese Basil) and it is warmer here than its homeland today.

Friday, 20th June, 2025

And the lovely weather goes on …. and is forecast to for another week. Then we go off to Torrevieja as the rain is forecast to fall. That will be really helpful.

Anyway, a lot of my focus over the next 10 days will be on getting the garden resilience into action to cope without its Carer for a while. Mainly, I will be preparing for travel. Not really knowing anything about Spain, never having flown to Murcia International, I have to check out organisation and timings.

• Taxi from airport to villa – €50.00 / 50 mins
• Look up the place where I’ve rented ….
• Check Check-in time – 4.00 pm.
• Note name of Property Manager and email them with Flight Times
• Arrange to pay early Check-in fee.
• Use Google Maps to digitally walk the streets and locate restaurants and Supermurcados.
• Note places worth visiting.

It is always a bit of a lottery but, hopefully, all the facilities we want will be present and of a suitable quality. This is what I booked and things like cooking, washing, air-conditioning and internet provision are paramount. This is what is promised by the booking:

All of these experienes are examples of confidence and optimism. We have sometimes lost but more often gained. You just have to make a leap of faith.

A leap of faith was made in Parliament today – akin to David Steele’s Abortion Bill of 1967 and Leo Abse’s 1967 Bill to legalise Homosexuality – the Assisted Dying Bill will change the culture and almost certainly for the better.

I have been seriously conflicted over it for some time. The Commons debate had a large number of excellent and thoughtful contributions and a number which we knew were religiously motivated but unacknowledged. Ultimately, individual autonomy is the winning argument in spite of concerns of coercion. After all, there is coercion now and know one screams about it being unregulated.

Saturday, 21st June, 2025

And the heat goes on
Just like my love, everlasting
And the beat goes on
Still moving strong, on and on

A hot, humid night that didn’t fall below 22C/70F – going to have to get better air conditioning. We are currently discussing it seriously. It’s the disruption not the cost that is holding us back. Holes drilled in walls, electrical points added, condenser units on the outside of the house, large boxes on the bedroom and lounge walls.

Can we face it? Predictions are that it will only get more important over time. It is probably better to take action now. We will probably install 4 or 5 units. Things to think about/ research this Summer.

Right now, we have more important things to think about. Over night, Pauline’s elderly (88 in August) sister has had a fall and hit her head resulting with her being hospitalised. It is possible we will be driving up to Surrey this morning.

At 5.00 am, I was laying in bed listening to a political podcast: Chris Patten – a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992 under Thatcher and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He presided over the return of Hong Kong to China with all the disastrous and predicatable events that ensued. He is now 81 years old but the interview reprised all the events of the late 1980s and early 1990s – events which were, to the young interviewer who was only born in Thatcher’s last year of power, only history but, to me the history of part of my life.

I’ve spent a difficult day driving up to Surrey and then in St. Peters A&E. Pauline’s sister, Phyllis, didn’t pull through but, unfortunately died this afternoon. It is so sad that another human being left the world.

It hits one hard and I will write more about her tomorrow but what stands out for me is how so many lives I have known and lost end in the tawdry surroundings of a world they hardly saw.

Sunday, 8th June, 2025

Lovely sunny morning but quite fresh. Haircut day early so it doesn’t get in the way of work and exercise. I’m not allowed to go away without a haircut and, actually these days, I like having my haircut. All a far cry from 1967 when, aged 16, I swore I would never have my haircut again. Oh what foolishness of youth! Of course, in old age, eyebrows, ear and nose hair are also in need of attention. My barber does a good job and I can watch the political interview programmes while she does it.

Got to get all the lawnmowing done today so things look smart for the residents of the street while we are away. The garden vegetables are developing well. We are already cutting lettuces and herbs. Whe we get back, I hope to be lifting new potatoes and picking green beans.

After my haircut, my Hairdesser has decided that I need a hat to shield my thin scalp from hot sun. I hate hats. I have never seriously worn a hat. Dad was a country gent who wore country caps. They just don’t suit me. Anyway, I was bought a baseball cap which I refuse to wear. It looks ridiculous and has been captured by the MAGA movement encouraged by Trump. There is no way I will copy that.

By pure accident, I was in Sainsburys this morning and came across a cap which is reminiscent of Vladimir Lenin – the renowned Russian revolutionary leader. Ok, I still look daft in it but if I need something to cover my thinning scalp, this will amuse me and others.

Unlike Lenin, I’ve cut all the neighbour’s lawns today, The street looks good and everything is fine for leaving for a week or so. The weather is mixed here over the time I’m away so it should survive my absence. After a couple of weeks back, I’m off to Spain for a while so the neighbourhood will have to cope alone.

Monday, 9th June, 2025

My new cap sparked some local commentary yesterday. My sister, Jane, said I looked less like Lenin and more like my Grandfather – my Dad’s father. Quite shocked and slightly moved me. My lovely, German next door neighbour is mad about hats and sent me more photos than I could cope with. I particularly like the one as a young student on the ferry to Hull a few years ago now.

Do you remember what it felt like to be young and alive, Dear Reader? The number of times I’ve driven on and off that self same ferry as we travelled Hull – Zeebrugge and back over the years. Wonderful times!

No more ferries at the moment. Off to Gatwick Airport tonight. It takes about an hour’s drive. Half way through, one of us will say, You did remember to pack …. ? After a few minutes head-panic, we realise that we have and settle down to the trip.

I think it must be my age but even though I relish everything digital, I cannot quite let go of analogue. I think I say this every time but all my Lounge passes, my Carpark booking, my Flight Tickets and Boarding Passes, and Hotel Membership cards along with all my everyday payment cards, etc. are saved on my mobile in Google Wallet. It makes presentation so straight forward but, having grown up with emerging technology regularly failing and embarrassing me, I still have that lack of total confidence in it. A file of paper printout backups always accompanies us and makes me feel pathetically ancient.

All the lawns cut. All the plants watered. All the technology packed. All the paperwork filed. All the house lighting set both inside and out. All set. Do you want to come, Dear Reader? Funny but setting the automatic systems suddenly jarred me back into the past. Do you remember these Programmable Mechanical Timer Plug Switches? Just over a decade ago, we had dozens and needed hours to set them up before we went away. Now, everything is done from one app on my mobile – ceiling lights, table lamps, outside lights, heating, cameras, sound systems, even my car – at the click of a finger. I could do it from the airport or from my hotel room. How far we have come.

Tuesday, 10th June, 2025

Lovely, uneventful drive to Gatwick last night. The only hazard was dodging badgers in the moonlight. Great title for a book: Dodging Badgers in the Moonlight. The roads were quiet. The airport was incredibly quiet. Went through Security Check in less that 2 minutes. My Handler flirted with a few new pairs of sun glasses en route to the Executive Lounge – No.1 Gatwick North is one of our favourites.

We had pre-booked it because it has been popular recently. This morning we almost had it to ourselves. We were called to Gate very quickly and Speedy Boarding was exactly as described on the tin. No sooner had we arrived at Gate but we were walking on to the plane and strapping in. The privilege of great seats and large cases stored overhead is so liberating. The journeys themselves on modern planes are a delight.

Our flights to Greece in the early 1980s were 4 hrs 35mins followed by a 60 mins bus to Piraeus, a 3hr wait and then a 5hrs 30 mins ferry to our island. On a Friday/Saturday after a hard year’s teaching, we had to be committed to the cause. This flight was a mere 3 hrs 5 mins followed by a 30 mins taxi service to our hotel. Youngsters today don’t know they’re born!

The upshot of it was that we arrived at our hotel about 3hrs too early. We dropped off our bags and went out for a glass of wine and nibbles in the sunshine by the sea front. A fatal start to the day, Dear Reader. I will not bore you with the developments.

The hotel proudly announced that we had been allocated the best Suite on the top floor of the hotel. They knew we would be delighted and, I think, expected us to confirm that on inspection. Nice, big, wrap-around balcony with two lots of outdoor furniture and views over Aristotelous Square and the Thermaikos Gulf.

Of course, I am not used to eating or drinking. I have spoilt myself for Dinner tonight so the most I will do is stroll in the sunset and then sip iced white wine in the 32C/90F warmth of the evening … and so to bed. Hopefully, I will see another day …. After 10 months without alcohol, this gorgeously dry Malagouzia wine from the Peloponnese is playing havoc with the evenness of my keel. I would recommend it to anyone who drinks to forget.

Wednesday, 11th June, 2025

Feel for me, Dear Reader. I’ve had to eat Breakfast this morning. Bacon & Scrambled Egg. Feel terrible now.

Of course, my head and my stomach think it is 5.30 am. My watch says it is 7.30 am. It is hard to reconcile the two. My head knows it but my stomach rejects it all. Up on the roof, it is 26C/79F, tables are set for of every type Breakfast and the displays are groaning with gargantuan amounts food. A man who has been starving for the past year really doesn’t know whether to eat the lot or run away.

Last night the trouble started. We had eaten some Lunch and drunk too much wine waiting for our suite to be ready. As a result, our heads said we should be going out to Dinner. Our bodies rejected the whole, gross idea. We sat on the balcony in a very humid 32C/90F and watched the βόλτα/Volta/Evening Sauntering below.

This morning, I am going for a long walk on the miles of promenade aside the warm waters of the Thermaic Gulf. Do you want to come, Dear Reader? Out in the sunshine at 10.00 am aiming to get back to the hotel for 1.00 pm /11.00 am (UK) to watch Prime Minister’s Questions followed by the Spending Review from Rachael Reeves.

Back early and into the Hotel’s Executive Lounge for a Lunch of smoked salmon sandwiches and white wine. It is a ‘free’ service that comes with our suite. It would be rude not to avail ourselves of the service.While there, we watch the BBC’s presentation of the Parliamentary developments and the hotel’s Customer Service Manager, Restaurant Manager and Wine Manager all come to fawn over us

Incredibly hot afternoon watching politics on the Balcony via a 17″ Laptop screen. Amazing how quickly you forget the size and get lost in the pictures. Thank goodness there are occasions where size doesn’t always matter. Nice experience though. Just my sort of distraction.

Beach volleyball doesn’t do it for me. I know it does for some men and they would be happy here this week as Thessaloniki convert their classical Aristotle Square below into a beach by importing tons of sand to make a court with pop-up viewing platforms for the international Championships. The games will start on Friday and complete by Monday. The world’s media will be here to televise the excitement.

Thursday, 12th June, 2025

A very warm night outside and, at 6.00 am / UK 4.00 am, the temperature is 27C / 81F. At this time just as the sun is rising, the sky is full of clouds of small birds darting hither and thither for the rich feed of insects available. It is repeated as the sun goes down in the evening.

Out on the balcony, the city is already bustling moving, rushing to work. Ladders are going up at a hotel in the distance. They obviously have the builders in. Out in the sea, a huge container ship is slowly moving out to distant destinations. The world revolves without our input.

Did my 8 mile/13 kilometre walk down the sea side this morning in 32C/90F of sweaty, humid heat. Walked past my most notable ancestor glorified in stone at the beach side. Alexander the Great (Αλέξανδρος O Μέγας) on his charger – giving me the surname of Sanders. Obviously, I have put him and his exploits in Macedonia into the shade but he is still important in history.

In this heat, I am not hungry at all but my Carer longs for a traditional Moussaka which is pronounced Moo-Sar-Kar and tastes nothing like those served in UK and pronounced Moo-Saar-Ka. I will sip wine and nibble bread while she stuffs her face. I will still end up fatter but at least I am resigned to it.

Friday, 13th June, 2025

Friday the 13th, Dear Reader. Beware. I could be knocking on your door. The King’s could be driven to distraction. A very hot morning which is already reading 32C/90F at 10.00 am. Forced myself to eat Breakfast – only to accompany my Carer, of course. We chose a table outside looking down on Aristotle Square which has been transformed since we arrived from a classical, old site to a modern beach volley stadium. The girls, in their skimpy bikinis, are already playing down there. The TV cameras of ERT TV are recording the action and spectators are arriving.

I wondered what my old friend, Aristotle himself, would think of it. I went down to talk to him about it and, maybe, gaze wistfully at the girls on the court. He looked rather distracted although I couldn’t gauge whether it was by the tanned limbs in front of him or by his Ethical Principia.

After so long of self denial, eating feels associated with guilt. Breakfast today has to be assuaged by the penance of physical exercise. Set off for an 8 mile / 13 kilometre walk down the coast to the Thessaloniki Opera House. It is a beautiful, red brick building on the edge of the Thermaic Gulf. What I will do for Art!

Felt like a saint when I got back – 2 hrs later – in 90F/32C of – hot sun. Fortunately, there is lower humidity today which is the killer.

Back at our hotel, we went into the Executive Lounge which provides us with non-stop food and wine ‘free of charge’ and lots of pampering. Today it was the turn of Zoe & Roula until Alexia, Guest Relations Manager came in and presented us with a Thank You gift – a bag of gifts including an elaborately packaged bottle of extra virgin olive oil and an object from the local museum shop – a polished metal sculpture of a Dove used all around Greece as a symbol of peace and friendship.

It is all a bit cheesy and you can see it cynically like that. Alexia’s note to us can be seen in the same way. After nearly 50 years in Greece, we know it is both cheesy and meaningful. These are genuine people. The Americans automatically say, Have a nice day. almost as a substitute for Goodbye. We know that Alexia’s Warmest Regards have both cheesiness and genuineness interwoven. It is the Greek way. At Birthdays, they wish you to live to 1000 years. At weddings, they try not to view beyond the hearts and flowers. Of course philoxenia (φιλοξενία) translates to friend to the stranger or guest-friendship, representing a strong tradition of hospitality and welcoming strangers. It’s a virtue deeply rooted in Greek culture, valuing generosity and courtesy towards others, even those unknown. That’s why I love them.

Saturday, 14th June, 2025

Well, survived Friday 13th – just. Hope you did, Dear Reader. Warm night – 17C/63F – across UK but with some rain. A hot night here – 26C/79F – without any sign of rain and we are expecting to reach 33C/92F at peak.

One of the nice things about returning to a city and a hotel that you’ve visited before is that the learning process, the acclimatisation is much quicker. As a consequence, although we are only just starting our 5th day here, it feels like I’ve been here forever.

We are in a different and larger Suite of rooms but it all feels the same, safe, rather dated Greek style of yester year. It is comfortable with a good bed and a huge, wrap around balcony that would host a Dinner Party comfortably – 2 Dining Tables and chairs / 2 sets of sofas outside. You wouldn’t choose to furnish your own home like this but the Greeks think it is the height of genteel living. The Management proudly told us it was the best Suite in the hotel. At least it is very quiet and I know where the bathroom is in the darkness when I get out of bed at night.

I love Thessaloniki. The people really care about their environment and the wider world. History and Politics are central to their lives. They talk about, argue about, espouse the causes of environmentalism, the Palestinian cause, destructive tourism, the weakness of their government, and so on. They care enough to stand up and be counted. It is in their DNA.

Sunday, 1st June, 2025

Happy new month, Dear Reader. It’s going to be a great Summer. I’m determined to make it so. Well, I’m going travelling so I hope that augers well for all of us. The sun will shine …. somewhere. I hope it shines on the Ripon Mafia and doesn’t rain too much in Wales.

I’m looking forward to Foreign climes, to airports and flights, to the babble of European tongues, the aroma of sun-soaked European plants and the tantalising smells of European kitchens. Oh, and a bit of UK travel as well to make new connections. What more could one ask for at the great age of 74?

Woke early to find my Housekeeper awake beside me. At 5.00 am on a Sunday morning, there is nothing on the BBC. There is a TV in the bedroom but I can’t watch TV in bed. Thank goodness I have the facility of Alexa at my side to play my favourite political podcast from Global Player: The News Agents. Today it was discussing the credible risk to the UK from the Russian state. Even my Housekeeper was gripped. Foreplay doesn’t get much better than this!

First, exercise and a long walk. Then gardening in the sunshine. This is healthy stuff. Then I have to turn my attention to financial matters. When I return from Greece, I have to be prepared to reinvest fixed interest bonds and 6 fixed ISAs which are maturing in July. Financial Health is almost as important as physical. My Housekeeper is concentrating on preparing for our first trip with ironing and packing.

After 45 years of travelling together, we have paired back and refined things so much that we now travel very light. Unless we are going away for a month or more, we seem to be able to manage without Hold Luggage. Dressing up for Dinner is not something we have ever done in Greece. Simple, unpretentious, island-style tavernas are our choice and no one expects formal dressing there. If they did, I wouldn’t go.

What this does is allow us to go on short stay travel without all the time-consuming queuing up with luggage at Check-in and carousel on getting off the aircraft each end. We are one of the first out of the airport and first to get a taxi. It feels so liberating and not really limiting at all. I buy Easyjet Speedy Boarding, Extra Legroom and two small cabin bags and two Large cabin bags each. Who can wear more than 30kgs of clothes in ten days? I also have a laptop, two iPads and a Kindle to carry.

Twenty five years ago, we had to finance the purchase of land in Greece, hire lawyers, an architect and builders to construct a house for us. We sold our large house on the Pennines and bought a large house in Huddersfield but without all the extensive gardens. It freed up a lot of cash for our next project and provided us with a big house but less grounds to maintain. It shocked even us that we stayed 10 years and really enjoyed the time there.

The house was built in a former quarry and we constructed a garden from scratch. The steps in this photograph were installed by Martin & Darren – two lads from school who I had employed in the school’s Resource Centre and IT Centre. For unlimited chocoate bars and a trip to Nandos, they worked tirelessly through their summer holidays. Nice memories.

Monday, 2nd June, 2025

Another week. Another week of work. Going to push myself to get through a long list of jobs. The months, the Summer, the year, the lifetime is running ahead of us, Dear Reader. No wonder the important motto remains Carpe Diem – Sieze the Day. We have to grab each one as it passes by unless we lose it. Less than three weeks now until the Longest Day and then …. the year begins the decline into darkness.

Good night’s sleep and I have lots of energy this morning. The sky is blue. The sun is shining and …. go. Went down to a local Garden Centre where the lady on the till was the Founder with her now dead husband back in 1975. It’s still going well and so is she at the age of 85. Let that be a lesson to us all.

This morning I have been talking to an old friend from the late 1960s/early 70s who lives in Bolton – but we don’t hold that against him. We were swapping thoughts about a Cumbrian poet, Norman Nicholson whose work I wrote my College Dissertation on and then went with Nicholson to do a poetry reading in Leeds Town Hall in 1973. On my bookshelves I still hold and regularly refer to these books. They cost me 60p and £1.00 in 1971. The centre book by Philip Gardner, is signed by Harry Chambers which will mean very little to most people but means a lot to me. He was an early publisher of Philip Larkin and Seamus Heaney. He was also my University Tutor for 20th Century European Poetry.

Norman Nicholson warns us not to wish our lives away but to seize the current day and squeeze every last drop of goodness and joy out of it.

My brother-in-law will be 89 this week or Rising 90!! If there is a more scary thought, I’d like to hear it. Still, we will all have to face it …. hopefully. I’m preparing for the next 25 years at this very moment. Rersearching investment opportunities to fund another quarter of a century of playing out.

Actually, I am turning over the potential of fixed rate ISAs and fixed rate Bonds with a variety of durations. I’m thinking of ISAs to mature after 1, 2 & 3 year durations. Actually, the interest rate is not markedly different. There is no way to really predict how interest rates will go but the BoE is predicting we will return to Bank Rate of 2.0% by this time next year so to lock in at more than double that will be useful. The worry is that Trump smashes things up.

I’m also looking at Fixed Rate Bonds which I can get a over the same fixed periods. It just means I will be paying tax on them. I don’t mind paying tax but I would rather not if it puts the principle at risk of erosion by inflation. I must admit that I am ceasing to be spooked by the lack of good rates from traditional, High Street names because the High Street no longer has traditional representation. They are all retreating on-line so everything will be internet/app based.

I would never have considered Aldemore Bank or Hampshire Trust Bank in the past. Now, I rely on the FSCS Compensation cover which guarantees £170,000.00 (2 x £85,000.00) for the two of us in one overarching institution. It allows one to be a bit more adventurous.

Tuesday, 3rd June, 2025

A sunny start to the day although we are warned of rain to come. Going out walking early before it arrives. I’ll finish off in the Gym on the Treadmill later.

Focus for today is to research new flooring for the Hallway. It is only 16m² so not a major project but the existing one has a couple of chips in the surface that catch the eye every time I walk in so it has to go.

Went in to our local town, Rustington, to look at flooring in reality and it became harder rather than easier. We basically have three, different choices to make. Do we want: Laminate Flooring, Luxury Vinyl Tiles or Engineered Wood? Ultimately, the decision will not be cost but appropriateness. It will be fitted while we are away for the month after returning from a fortnight in the North of England.

Went down to the beach as the weather changed and the sun retreated. Not many small boats expected today. The sea is quite unfriendly.

It never ceases to amuse me how my Father – who died when I was just 14 years old – would have been amazed at my interest in Gardening. He tried for years to cultivate (no pun intended) that interest without any sign of success. Yet here I am at the grand old age of 74 and the past 50 of those years has been spent gardening, particularly growing vegetables and planting trees.

Over that time, I’ve owned properties with acres of land around them. Particularly, in Helme Village in Huddersfield but also in Greece where we bought 4 acres of land. On this day 12 years ago, I was learning how to grow tomatoes, green beans, aubergines and bell peppers in the intense heat of a mediterranean sun. Experienced men from the island taught me to dig bowls in the dust dry earth and to fill them with water in the cool of the evening to get the plants through the next day. My success rate was …. partial. Lovely memory though.

Wednesday, 4th June, 2025

Not a brilliant day. Quite cool and blustery with intermittent sunshine. Had to teach some visiting Jehova’s Witnesses about the importance of Atheism. They even had a sad, young lad in tow. I warned him of the dangers of indoctrination. I think he understood. I’ve been communication in with friends myself – keeping the lines of communication OPEN.

Had a contact from a relative yesterday asking about hotels in Athens for October. Having spent almost 45 years visiting Athens every year, I am often asked for recommendations. It is usually a pleasure to pass on my experience. It is only for two nights at the beginning of a cruise when they want a central Athens hotel but I got a real shock this time. Almost every hotel I would normally recommend is fully booked. Not sure what is going on but I really struggled.

I was able to find a room in a small hotel that we used almost 30 years ago. I checked my records and it cost us just £37.00 per night including Breakfast. Today, they were able to book the same for £236.00 per night. I will write them a guide to Athens that I have acquired over the past 45 years so they don’t need to go through all that experience first.

Got a phone call this morning from our Thessaloniki hotel. They were supposed to take our payment for 8 days stay yesterday – one week ahead of our arrival. Since we booked 12 months ago, our Credit Card had been upgraded and I hadn’t renewed it on their site. Yesterday, they were supposed to take €4,356.00 for 7 nights. Currently that is £3,670.00. That is a penthouse suite with Breakfast. Bit embarrassing but soon sorted out.

As well as exercise, we have both done gardening today. The hedge has been trimmed, the cuttings swept up. New plants have been put out and herbs sown for the Summer. It is forecast to rain tomorrow so it is important to get these things done today. Life goes on.

I have to arrange financial investments for the middle of July now. I have to book work on my house for November now. I have to order new machines for the Laundry now, hopefully to be delivered and installed in August/September.

Thursday, 5th June, 2025

A wet start and plenty of rain forecast for today. The garden will be pleased but I will have to spend more time in the Gym instead of the sun. Talking of sun, as we prepare to fly off to mediterranean heat, we look nervously at the weather back home while we are away. Yesterday the forecast suggested the garden would see at least two days of rain. This morning, it’s all change and the garden will just see hot sun. I’m thinking of moving it to Northern England or even to Wales for the duration.

For the moment, I’m really concentrating on Retirement Income and how to ensure it is improving not declining in value over time. As this article from The Times Money section emphasises, less than half of retirees are confident their savings will see them through their lifetime. It must be genuinely upsetting to feel financially insecure at a time when it is difficult or imposible to increase your income. It is something I addressed even before we retired and have been working on ever since. Hard work and sacrifice is paying off. After 16 years of retirement and in our mid-70s, we actually feel more comfortable than when we were working.

A rule of thumb is that you should aim to have about two-thirds of your salary as an annual income in retirement. To fund a “comfortable” life, you need a pension of £44,000 a year as a single person or £60,600 between you as a couple.

This morning, I have been out to speak to our investment bank to arrange the next steps. They are withdrawing from the High Street and it will be our last visit there. Pity really, so many of their Financial Advisers are looking for new jobs after years of service with them. Fortunately for us, the rain has stopped and we can walk there.

Friday, 6th June, 2025

A day of scudding clouds and chill winds. Dry but threatening. I was exhausted last night and went to bed early. Consequently, I was up even earlier this morning and had completed an hour and half’s walk by 9.00 am. Today is the first Herb Harvest Day of the Summer. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Tarragon, Oregano, Mint and Chives are all being cut, washed, spun dry, chopped and bagged up for freezing.

There will be a couple more such days before the growing year is over and the freezers will be bulging with supplies to last 12 months. The Basil has already had one cutting and a batch of Pesto made and frozen.

I have always been interested in ideas – philosophical and political particularly. I have quite strong views developed over time through reading, listening and thinking. I try not to be dogmatic and to keep an open mind , prepared to change if I see a reason to do so. A couple of such questions are currently passing through public consideration.

I have long believed in the principle of assisted dying. I could see no reason why people should be denied personal autonomy over their own lives. No one has the right to deny me the right to end my life early if I so choose. Recently, however, I have been given pause for thought. Although I still utterly believe in the personal autonomy principle, I have experienced a number of occasions when I believe people’s deaths have been accelerated in what I would consider cases which facilitate the medical profession rather than the patient. Do Not Recussitate orders even lean in that way. The medical profession’s Do No Harm principle is put under serious stress even now and would be more so if they are drawn into assisted dying decisions.

Another principle of mine currently being challenged is having to prove one’s identity on demand. The concept of identity cards has long been rejected by Left Wing opinion. Identity Cards have always been considered susceptible to Far Right, Authoritarian governments in controlling their populations. Of course, this topic has come back on to the agenda partly for exactly that reason. Illegal immigration leaves governments looking helpless. Identity cards would allow those not legitimately here to be challenged more easily. Of course they would also allow all of us to be challenged (harrassed) in public on a daily basis. Do we want to grant the authorities that possibility?

Of course, the world is changing and rapidy. I have a Driving Licence, a digital Tax Record, a digital Health Record, a Mobile Phone record, a Credit Card record, umpteen service plans with online companies which display my personal tastes and my financial probity. I can look up and be looked up by others who can find my age, my address, my phone number, my Birth Certificate, etc, on the web in minutes. So much of me is out there – not to mention all the personal information I volunteer on my Blog. It is a short step to bring these things together in an Identity Card. I think I am coming around to that too.

Saturday, 7th June, 2025

A wet night has, fortunately, given way to a dry morning. The world outside looks thoroughly refreshed and so am I. Woke early – 5.30 am and listened to a political podcast from The Newsagents. It was an exciting start to the day. An interview with Jeremy Hunt about the Liz Truss effect on the prospects of the Tory Party. If you want excitement in bed, that’s the way to go! Anyway, that’s as much as you get today, Dear Reader.

I am 74 and I am lucky. The traditional expectation of Three score years and ten refers to the biblical expression for seventy years, meaning a typical human lifespan. Actually, it was more optimism than reality until quite recently.

It always shocks me – death and particularly with people I know/knew and especially those younger than myself. These two girls, photographed in 1972, were two years younger than me. I remember them on Freshers’ Week. The one on the left, Caroline Horncastle, is now dead. The one on the right, Heather Ward her best friend at College posted this photo yesterday in memory of her friend of more than 50 years. She had attended the funeral and said, She is now part of the hill in Allendale from whence she came.

What a thought. Caroline was born in Allendale – a beautiful part of Northumberland and that is where she is now buried. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The matter-of-fact acceptance of the situation. The ordinariness of the relationship and the report. The normalisation of putting the body of a vibrant, young girl in the earth where she was born.

They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.

— Samuel Beckett, ‘Waiting for Godot’.

It may happen every day but considering it now, the thought is almost too much to bear. It emphasises how little time we have to burn.

Sunday, 25th May, 2025

Rain over night – fantastic. Sunny and warm this morning – fantastic. Out on an early walk, the world looks lovely. It’s amazing but the older I get the more important small experiences are.

This little vignette on my walk this morning seems to sum up the pleasure in living. Poppies – Papaveraceae – flower brightly and beautifully but are over very quickly. A metaphor for Life?

Just two weeks and we will be off to Gatwick Airport and on to Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. I have fallen in love with this city over the past few years and really look forward to renewing my acquaintance with it.

By day and by night it has so much to offer in terms of culture and friendliness, sights and sounds, food and exercise. All of that comes with the delicious heat of Greeek sun and lapping of the Aegean Sea across the Thermaic Gulf. Can’t wait!

A dear friend from school who still lives in West Yorkshire is 70 this week. I am thinking of her now as she was 20 years ago. My carer, I’ve worked out, will be 74 in just over 4 months. I am about to buy machinery which has a 5 year warranty which will end when I’m 79. Age is racing towards us. One of the most important things to do, in my view, is not let go of the Future. Don’t say, Oh, I’m too old for all that. I intend to be exercising, travelling, embracing new technology, pestering my friends right up until my very last breath. I certainly won’t be buying cars that aren’t complicated, as the Sunday Telegraph trumpets. That way is …. the end.

Monday, 26th May, 2025

Woke at 4.30 am on this warm, bright morning. I dread it. My head explodes with thoughts at that time. Given to introspection at the best of times, my mind goes into overdrive in the silent moments of the early hours. It is a time to reflect on the context of existence. That is scary enough but the radio was running an Obituary programme and everyone seemed to be dying in their late 70s and early 80s.

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.
…
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
…
We die with the dying:
See, they depart, and we go with them.
We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.

Extracts from T. S. Eliot: Four Quartets 4: Little Gidding

I think it was sparked by the death of Alan Yentob – a giant of BBC culture and management – at the frighteningly young age of 78.

I’m 74. I have 4 years, only 4 years. What can I do in just 4 years? I must do it all this year just in case.  Everything has to be reconnected before it is too late.

Thou hast nor youth nor age
But as it were an after dinner sleep
Dreaming of both.

Shakespeare: Measure for Measure: Act Three

It is the utter inevitability of age and what it brings that is so undermining. We see people we know aging all around us. We see their age-related stresses, their needs for support and comfort and predict our own by inference. I constantly check myself for signs. I work hard to convince myself that it is not now, not yet.

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

T. S. Eliot: Gerontion

But when?

Tuesday, 27th May, 2025

Very blustery night – warm but quite wet. Dry this morning but still windy and grey. Going out for an early walk while I can. While out, the robots will be at work. Those upstairs and downstairs – Little John and Little John’s Mate vacuuming the floors. Upstairs it is a mixture of carpet and tiles. Downtairs it has to adjust between carpet, tiles and wooden flooring.

They take about 40 minutes to complete their routine’s and return to base to recharge. Of course, John and his Mate could do the job themselves but so much better to have it done for us while we do things we want to do. It was interesting over the weekend to read of the increasing take-up of robot technology particularly by Gen.Z. I’ve always known that I am young at heart if old in body. I was a reasonably early adopter of Robot Vacs but we have all been using robotics without realising it for years.

I was amused to read that, in giving my robots nicknames, I am adopting nationwide habits without realising. Of course, we have all been using robotics in our daily lives for a long time. You only have to look at simple machines – say washing machines – that can be switched on remotely or just by a timer, that can be told how long to wash, to spin, etc. Nowadays, they can be told to sense the type of fabrics inside and how much water is required to wash them. You can look all over one’s life for these sorts of things.

We have been in our ‘new’ house for more than 9 years now and are just starting to look around for a refresh. Usually, that would mean a new house. This time, we are just going to refresh the current house. Starting with the Utility Room, new technology driven appliances that make things easier, do things better and more economically are being ordered. A joiner will rework the unit housing and an electrician will add extra sockets.

In the Hallway and downstairs Cloakroom, the flooring will be replaced. This has been a debate for a while. We looked at it months ago and couldn’t agree. We have agreed that it will be hard wearing, wood (effect). We have now narrowed it down (I think) to these two choices: mine is on the left and is obviously much nicer. This will be quite disruptive so our workers will do it while we are away for a month in Tenerife.

The next debate is adding aditional units, work surface and an American-style Fridge Freezer in the Kitchen. It will mean moving a radiator and the Television to further down the room so will be quite involved.

Wednesday, 28th May, 2025

A warm night where we didn’t fall below 16C/61F. A sunny morning and I’ve done an early walk. My Housekeeper is cutting, preparing and freezing herbs for the future. There’s going to be a future? Sage, Tarragon, Rosemary and Parsley will be washed, chopped and packed into freezer labelled boxes. I’m looking at Trades People for house redevelopment and sorting out upcoming travel plans.

We have some brilliant workers on our books already but there are so many good people in the market for work around here and, just in time, the lates monthly Trades Magazine came through the door while I was out. Kitchen fitters, Electricians, Plumbers, etc. are everywhere. The hardest part is deciding which from which. We try to develop relationships with people and keep hold of them but there is always churn. Anyway, it is good to keep them on their toes with healthy competition.

We have 8 flights booked for the next few months and it is my responsibility to pre-book Executive Lounge places for each. Although we have ‘free’ access to them all, we have found recently that they get ‘full’ at this time of the year so I forward book them to ensure places. I have done them all now and the Entry Passes have been downloaded to our Digital Wallets on our smartphones. Every flight is with Easyjet and one can check in between 30 days and 2 hours before the flight departs. I have been doing that and saving Boardingh Passes in our Digital Wallets as well. If I was a Gen. Z generation – 24 instead of 74 – that would be enough. Being an old man, I also print a hard copy just in case.

Being an old man, my memories go back quite a way. On this day 16 years ago, I recorded this sad event:

It is a sad but important record that only lives on in memory. And, in my view, that is important.

While here in West Sussex, we are beginning to work on our Kitchen and Utility rooms and searching out materials and tradesmen, 15 years ago we were doping exactly that in our Greek home. We were off to Athens to source tiling for the kitchen and the patio.

It was an involved business which meant three days of travelling, hotels, taxis, Haulage Trucks on ferries and off onto the island. It all added to the costs. We had to get our estimates right. Run short of materials and the work to get more was not easy. Life is a lot easier now.

Thursday, 29th May, 2025

Woke up early with things walking through my head. A disappointingly grey but very warm start to the day. It rained over night which was useful. The grass colour is returning to nearly green.

Populism and populist are terms used to emphasize the idea of the common people and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is often associated with anti-intellectual,  anti-establishment and anti-political class sentiment. It is also often associated with Nationalism and tends towards Authoritarianism. It appears with the rise of the extremities of political thought – Far Left and Far Right.

It emerged for the first time in the 1850s in pre-revolutionary France and pre-revolutionary Russia. Populism constructs The People as a virtuous and unified group and sets them against The Elite which is portrayed as a homogeneous, corrupt force undermining the people’s will. Rousseau said only the people know what is best for society which  John Stuart Mill countered with the concept of the tyranny of the majority. Populist leaders harness that dichotomy.

We saw it in Stalin and in Hitler – extremes of Left and Right. We saw it in Mao Tse-Tung and Mussolini but it waxes and wanes according to the times and social conditions. We have had the rise of dangerous Right Wing Populism in Hungary with Viktor Orbán and the potential for Marine Le Pen‘s group in France. In the US, we have Trump and here we have Farage.

All have one thing in common. They identify concerns of the uneducated, disposessed and never posessed and offer simple solutions to alleviate those concerns. Simple solutions to complex problems are superficially attractive especially if you don’t examine them too closely but will never ultimately work. The Judiciary in the US is holding Trump to account. The Labour Government in UK is holding a light up to the absurdity that is Faragism.

Even so, these are destabilising times and ones in which we should all be alert. We have to stand up and be counted. It was good to see the Prime Minister call out the bogus economics of Farage’s populist policies. It is important that they should not go unchallenged even though it bestows an air of respectability on them in that address.

Friday, 30th May, 2025

Another grey start to the day. What is going on? It’s Flaming June on Sunday. Looking forward to our imminent trip to Greece. Third time for this lovely city on the edge of the Thermaic Gulf and our delightful hotel – The Electra Palace.

This year, we’ve pushed the boat out and moved up to the top floor Suite. We thought that we might as well indulge ourselves after a hard year of exercise and diet.

Thessaloniki is a lovely place for walking and for just sitting and watching the world go by, for cafes and restaurants and wonderful food. Of course, it is also a place for warm sunshine and enjoyable swimming.

After yesterday’s Blog, I was pleased to hear an inspirational interview with my American namesake, Bernie Sanders on Radio 4 this morning. The mad, American Right like to cast him as a Communist – they even described Joe Biden that way at one point so you can judge how far to the right they are. The thrust of Sanders’ thesis is that it wasn’t Biden’s late withdrawal that cost Kamala Harris the Presidency but the policy offer. Populists make ordinary, working people think they are on their side, have their best interests at heart when, usually, they only have their own interests at heart.

When working people are struggling to put food on the table, pay their rent/mortgage, heat their house, pay for their Healthcare and Education, they will vote for someone who says they feel their pain and will do something about it. They won’t be interested in fairly arcane transgender issues, Universities freedoms or even Abortion rights. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t offer those policies but they shouldn’t be elevated above the nitty gritty. And there is the lesson for Labour and the Lib.Dems. in the UK.

Saturday, 31st May, 2025

Lovely morning, Dear Reader and it’s a gardening day. Of course, I still have my daily exercise routine to complete but then I’ll get on with work.

The potatoes – I’m growing Casablanca First Earlies for a change. – are growing madly and will start to be lifted when we get back from Thessaloniki. I think I’ve overdone it with the lettuces but it will help with the diet.

A bucket of Parsley will be washed, chopped and frozen for the Winter. I love Mediterranean herbs but find I’m returning to the ones of my childhood – scary!

I left the sun of the back garden where things are developing nicely and went down to the beach where a different climate existed entirely. I think they call it sea-fret and it looked weird. with people paddling in the sea but barely visible.

Very warm but weirdly inappropriate would be how I would describe the experience. We didn’t stay. There seemed no point although the sun was obviously trying to fight through.