Sunday, 3rd May, 2026
We had some rain yesterday evening. How wonderful. The evening world smelled fresh and replenished. A very warm night I woke at 3.30 am and resorted to listening to political podcasts.
These are my current favourites but The News Agents really tops them all. They can all be found on the Global Player platform which is free to access as are the podcasts.
I used to work with a lad who ate the same thing every single day of his working life for Lunch. It stopped me visiting his office because it stank. I must point out that I hate spicy food. I hate curry, chilli and corriander. I love softer, gentler styles of the French an Italian cuisine. Every single day for his Lunch this lad, who was Head of I.T., opened a tin of Spicy tomato & chilli Mackerel and ate it with a spoon. It made me heave and I swore I would never sink that low.
These days, Dear Reader, I have to admit that I eat a tin of fish most days for my Lunch with a spoon. No, it doesn’t involve spices but it does make my wife heave because she says it smells like cat food. It is the only occasion that I volunteer to kiss her and and get rejected. I have been eating a tin of kippers in sunflower oil for a few years for my Lunch. Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, kippers, sardines, and anchovies—are packed with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), which are essential for heart health, reducing blood pressure but increasing brain function & mental health as regular intake is associated with reduced risk of dementia. I am tapping in to that hope.
Why does talk of childhood make me sad? I watched an interview of Keir Starmer talking about his children listening to him speak and laughing at him. How he loved it. I suddenly felt, I would love to be laughed at by children – by my children. Children are the future – a future we have virtually no say over. It makes me sad that I have no child to speak for that future or to laugh at me. I want to be laughed at.
I was watching a political drama where a baby was born and the grandfather picked it up as it cried. He smiled and gurgled to the baby who smiled and gurgled back and reached out with tiny fingers to explore his face and I felt the warmth of tears on my face and felt pathetic. It is something I will never know.
Having cleaned the car inside and out, it suddenly struck me it was nearly 2 years old and looked just as it did when I picked it up. It only has 6500 miles on the clock and I will be abroad for 3 months of this year without it. I can’t live with an old car but this feels ridiculous.
Anyway, there is a new model coming on the market towards the end of the year I have learnt. The plug-in hybrid is what I am thinking of moving to and the redefined body with a slightly rakish, more sporty style quite appeals to me over the currently more ‘boxy’ style.
Monday, 4th May, 2026
Bank Holiday. Who are these bloody bankers who need special holidays? They always ruin the weather. This morning, after days of lovely, sunny weather, it is heavily overcast. I am trying to ignore the event altogether.
Every year, one of the most important events of the garden calendar is the production of a large harvest of sweet, basil leaves which are turned into enough Pesto to get us through the year. Basil is not the easiest plant to germinate and grow on ready for planting out. We have sown seed but need a backup so are going out this morning to a small, local garden centre to source seedlings for potting up.
There are rhythms to the year which a 75 year old has experienced and developed across their life. Nature informs them and gardening in particular. National holidays are part of that rhythm even if I resent them. My working neighbours are going to be busily enjoying their long weekend. For me, the pattern of the annual cycle includes travel – travel in Europe and revisiting old friends reinforces the passing of time. In a week, a regular trip to France will be renewed and a week later we will attend a 90th birthday party. There was a time when that would have been quite remarkable. Now, it almost feels normal, expectable.
I was sent two photographs of the past this weekend. They are both from 57 years ago. Can you imagine 57 years ago, Dear Reader? The first is of a lovely, mild mannered, Liverpudlian lad who was 4 years older than me when I met him but who died 6 years ago having been bedridden for several years before. There are few photos of him in my collection and this quirky one from his student digs has all the moody shambles of student life in gloomy monochrome. The photo on the right is a group of girls at the Christmas Ball. I knew a few of them but not all. I do know that at least one is dead and has been for some years now. The whole lesson one can extract from these memories is carpe diem. There is no time to waste.
With four weeks until we fly to Thessaloniki and reunite ourselves with this lovely airport, we have been assured that the new European Entry/Exit system will not be in use and queuing will not be a feature. EasyJet have assured us that there is no fuel shortage or surcharge. I checked-in online last night and downloaded the Boarding Passes. Everything is set for a happy time and we need as many of those as we can fit in to what time we have left.
Tuesday, 5th May, 2026
The sun is out after a warm night. We were 13C/56F as Gt. Manchester was 3C/37F and my friend, Kevin Sellers in Northern Scotland had snowfall. Nature all around is bursting with energy, trees in full, new leaf; birds calling for mates from rooftops; bees constantly feeding and fertilising flowers as their bright colours advertise their wares; snails, slugs, ants, butterflies everywhere out on the hunt.
Spotted this on my walk yesterday, Never seen one before. The colour blue is not so common in nature and the translucent, pale blue here caught my eye. The Holly-Blue is a small blue butterfly that emerges in early spring and is reasonably common in UK. Who knew?
I was writing about the rhythms of the year yesterday and this morning my Digital Memory Box threw up this photo from 2006. It is a photo of our house which we built in Greece in 2000. By this time, the house was finished and we were living in it during our school holidays and particularly for 5 of our 6 week summer break. It became the pattern until we retired when the 6 weeks became 6 months. That’s when we had time to develop the gardens – well part of them because we bought a 4 acre field initially. The Greek island survived on annual patterns.
Throughout the year, Boulis would walk past our house in the morning, taking his sheep up the mountain to graze and then bring them back down in the evening. He had a limp and I always thought what a hard and lonely life it was for him. However, it suited him. He always seemed perfectly content with his sheep and his dog.
On this day in 2010, we were retired and embarking on a 6 month stay in the house. Regularly we would drive out to a small fishing bay called Φάρος / Faros (Lighthouse) for Lunch and to enjoy the view. Here, the boats which go out fishing in the dusk of evening, are moored up while fisherment clean and sell their catch, mend their nets and smoke quietly chatting amongst themselves. It is their pattern of life.
My wife is walking on air. She had to book a blood test and couldn’t do it online. At the surgery, the Receptionist asked her date of birth. When she told her, the Receptionist asked the question twice more in astonishment.
Pauline thought she must have been mumbling and apologised. The man behind her in the queue pointed out that they were questioning her date of birth and that she didn’t look anything like her age. He said, You’re older than me. as if that was an achievement.
It’s been hard to bring her down since then although I have been counting and announcing at least three grey hairs. Still, she’s not looking bad for a 74½ year old. She’s always been an annoying pixie. Going out for an hour’s walk in the sunshine now. Got to keep the fitness up even though I’ll never look young again.
Out on my walk, I saw this gorgeous Hawthorn Bush/Tree – Crataegus ‘Crimson Cloud‘. It doesn’t look good like this for long so it is worth savouring while it’s here. The white version is most common and can be seen all over the South Downs of Sussex.
This Crimson Cloud is special just like the crimson flowering Horse Chestnut with its glorious candles of flower.
Wednesday, 6th May, 2026
The week’s going on. Wednesday already. Hope you’re enjoying it, Dear Reader. I’m busy. I’m happy when I’m busy. Found a new, local electrician yesterday. Contacted and booked for later this week within hours which is always a good sign. It’s a small job – renewing an outdoor power supply – but one I can’t do so I’m pleased. I’ve also finally made a decision about something I’ve prevaricated about for weeks but which I want to resolve before travelling times.
Having asked around with my neighbours and friends, I’ve decided to go with an Amazon Ring Video Doorbell. You may laugh but one of the things that put me off was the practical one of screwing into my door, connecting up wiring, removing the existing system. These are the things I am scared of. Connecting up to the wifi, installing it on smartphones and iPads, making sure that the Alexa Echo screens in the house can integrate with the door is my area of expertise. I will love doing all that.
What pursuaded me was my great near neighbour, Richard, a Cambridge graduate and I.T. adviser who had similar technical concerns. He installed a Door Spy Hole camera doorbell system that I didn’t even know existed. It doesn’t involve damaging the door at all. It just replaces the existing spy hole. Just as important, it is wireless and runs off a rechargeable battery with 2 months life which will be fine.
I heaved a sigh of relief when I was told of this solution. The one thing I wanted to avoid was an ongoing cloud storage charge but I have had to bite the bullet and accept a £50.00 per year service charge which saves all the video footage in the cloud for 180 days and provides immediate video alert online to our smartphones and computers. While we are away from home – roaming Lancashire & Yorkshire or walking around Spain and Greece – we will be automatically alerted to people at our door in Sussex.
It is only 4.00 pm and I am absolutely exhausted. I must be getting old. I’ve been working on the public flower beds in the street outside my house, weeding, edging, replenishing with compost mulch. They look good and will be ready for planting up in a couple of weeks. I thought I was fitter than this!
Thursday, 7th May, 2026
Glorious morning with clear blue sky and strong sunshine. Busy day with a list of jobs to get through, targets to accomplish and a trip to the Polling Station in the morning followed by an appointment at the Surgery for Part 2 of my Annual Medical Review.
Going out to vote to Keep Reform Out even if it means voting tactically. We have a wonderful Labour MP but our Council Ward is Conservative and I may have to hold my nose and vote Conservative for the first time in my life just to keep Deform out.
No, I couldn’t do it in the end. I voted Labour more in hope than anticipation. It wasn’t very busy at the polling booth. I had thought it might be with all the media frenzy.
Be interesting if all this media hype increases the turn out or not. We don’t have so many Racists down here so the motivation won’t be quite as strong as in the forgotten North. Actually, after a bit of research, it looks as if Green Candidate will my best alternative to Stop Deform. Sigh of relief. Trip to the Garden Centre to collect a few plants that we haven’t got time to grow ourselves.
It turned out that a dozen plants for £7.75 were no better than the ones I am growing on in my cold frames so I left them.
On my walk every day through the park, I go past a house where they have the most wonderful, white-flowing wisteria I have ever seen. It is called Wisteria sinensis ‘alba’ or white chinese wisteria. The house owner saw me photographing it one day and came out to (well I thought remonstrate with me) offer some seed pods to grow my own. I did but they failed.
A few weeks ago, he came out to tell me he had been growing some cuttings on in pots and would give me one. This morning, he did. What a lovely thought. You would have to pay £50.00 to buy one they are that unusual. I didn’t even want it for me but for my lovely, next door neighbour who had been upset when her’s died. So that’s where it is going and I will take a bottle of wine round to the kind donor as a thank you. I’ll also suggest we start a business together selling them. He can grow them and I’ll run the shop online.
I forgot to report because I forgot to check the Premium Bonds draw for May 1st. Sorry to report that after 8 wins over the first 5 months, the last 3 have been fallow which begins to give pause for thought. In the first 8 months, 8 prizes totally £375.00 is not good enough.
Friday, 8th May, 2026
Warm but overcast today. I’ve got a number of tasks to get through. I’ve got a trip to the Refuse Disposal site booked. I’m getting rid of the heavy, old, commercial griddle, an old garden table and more cardboard packaging than I can cope with. The staff are so helpful and the house heaves a sigh of relief when I return empty handed. The new griddle will be prepared and an electrician is coming this afternoon to replace the outdoor sockets.
When I got home, I had received the latest iteration of the National Bowel Screening Programme. I actually had to request this because I am over 75. My wife still gets hers automatically because she is so young.
Next, my new Ring Peephole Camera (Door View Cam) was delivered last night and it has to be installed this afternoon. I’m sure my Housekeeper will do it successfully because I’ve provided her with an instructive video. When she’s done that, I will link it to the apps on our phones and iPads.
Now a proud owner of a Door Cam which is working, linked to two smartphone, two iPads and one Alexa Echo. Hardly a hitch … or that’s what my Housekeeper reports. It only looks wonky because I took the photo. It sits straight and proud on the door because someone else fixed it on. There are going to be hours of fun this weekend as we receive a never ending stream of deliveries from Amazon – most of them ordered just to hear and see the video cam working. I just hope next door’s cats don’t get too inquisitive in the middle of the night.
Saturday, 9th May, 2026
Got to wish my old, Greek island friend, Martin a Happy Birthday. It is 15 years since we both saw each other because he left early. Bet we both look the same.
Blue sky, sunshine here today and on we go. Up early this morning with lots to get through. The Poo Test has been achieved early and prepared for posting this morning. I didn’t include you in that process, Dear Reader. Thought that would be a step too far.
Firstly, if you thought spider season was open, we’ve also got to find the source of some ants which appear from nowhere in the kitchen. We think it may be through air vents in the conservatory. It is a problem we had in the heat of our Greek home and it was solved with Ant Boxes. Been out to get some this morning.
My Housekeeper took with her a collection of clothes she no longer wears and cooking pans she no longer uses to Age Concern UK. We went on to the Garden Centre because, although I have grown hundreds of flowering plants this year, I love Geraniums and particularly bright, red ones. Don’t know where that came from because my parents despised them. Perhaps that’s why.
Of course, the Garden Centre on a Saturday morning in May is not the best place to go because it is so busy. Still, the display of healthy, flowering plants is sumptuous and irresistible. I’m a sucker for plants. They were being sold at 3 for £15.00 so I bought 15 to supplement my own in the back garden.
Geraniums, Impatiens and Osteospurmums are fairly hardy and all Summer flowering plants for our patio pots. We’ve been growing on Lettuces to plant out in the deep beds this morning. Basil seedlings are being potted up and everywhere is being watered because we don’t know what rain is down here at the moment.
Potatoes – early ones for lifting in about 6 weeks – are growing strongly but need water to swell. I just hope it rains a lot while I am away.
The new griddle has been unpacked and will be trialled tonight in the garden. The new socket was installed last night so everything should be back to normal. Tonight it will be Tuna Steaks with Green Salad but there is work to be done before then.
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