Month: June 2026

Sunday, 14th June, 2026

I’m leaving on a jet plane …. tomorrow although it’s beautiful outside this morning. It isn’t hot and I want hot. I also like planning and leaving as little to chance as possible. So that is my job. In the sunshine this morning, I am programming and positioning accurately the automatic watering systems. My Housekeeper is completing the washing and ironing and packing. Soon we will be ready for the journey. All the neighbours are instructed with their responsibilities. That’s my job – to keep them in line.

In 2009, I was just completing the planning of a 1500 km drive across Europe to our Greek home. These were times before Sat.Navs. which have transformed life for people like me with no sense of direction. I used online routemasters to produce an itinerary with distances and timings. I did all the driving and my Navigator kept me on the right road. If you click to open the route plan, you will see that I drove non-stop from 8.30 am as we rolled off the Hull-Zeebrugge ferry and drove through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy arriving at the port of Ancona just over 24hrs later. By that time, I was having to hold my eyes open with pegs but it was one of my favourite parts of the time away.

I’ve checked in online at our Hotel at Gatwick Airport and downloaded Boarding Passes and Executive Lounge Passes on to our phones. I’ve made Whatsapp contact with the girl who manages the property we are renting so she knows our flights and arrival times although they may be tricky depending on the Passport/Entry System. Whatsapp is brilliant though for easy and immediate communication.

Another improvement recently has been for a change to restrictions throught Gatwick Airport. For quite a while, we have not been able to carry liquids of more than 100 ml bottles. Now we can have 2 ltr containers and they don’t have to be put in plastic bags. I can take my aftershave and we can carry suncream, etc which is much more expensive in Europe.

Even more importantly for me, I don’t have to unpack all my electrical gadgets and place them in separate trays> I used to have to unpack bags of Laptop, iPads, Kindles, Smartphones, PowerBank, Firestick plus all the cables. Now, everything can be left in place and the scanner can detect and pass it. That feels wonderful and speeds up the process.

The Smiths Detection System is a digital screening platform which detects explosives, weapons, contraband, toxic chemicals, narcotics, and biological threats. I was amazed to read that the old rules had been in place for 18 years – the year before I retired and seriously started trotting the globe.

Here I am spending three months in Europe but not really taking many risks while my old friend, John Ridley, is in South Korea. I find myself doing a double take just writing that. I know John’s son is living and working in South Korea but it is a long way and a challenging culture for a Yorkshire man. I am genuinely impressed with his sense of ambition.

Monday, 15th June, 2026

Half way through June already. One week away from the Longest Day of the year. It is all downhill from there. The patterns of life go on and there is some safety in that. Anticipated, they ultimately become undemanding or life dulling. That’s one of the reasons for travelling. For the next month, I will not be putting the bins out on Monday and consulting my diary to know which ones. I will not be shopping at Sainsburys on Thursdays or mowing all the lawns on Fridays. So many day to day tasks will be eschewed and I will be challenged to do different, new, unusual things.

Our minds and bodies need those challenges to refresh and expand. I invite and welcome that. What I don’t welcome is trying to ban the modern world. It is often attempted by frightened people but it never works. It is very easy to work around. If I was a child now, I would be putting up a website with clear instructions to other children on how to get round this ludicrously ill-conceived ban on social media. Get a Free (VPN) Virtual Private Network and be in a different country where there is no ban in seconds.

Just consider the lunacy of giving 16 year olds the right to vote for a government which has prevented them following the news and views on social media.

You cannot put the future back into a box marked PAST. It is always wrong and failing. Just ask the Luddites. Ludditism was a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who smashed automated machinery to protest job losses, poor wages, and deteriorating working conditions. The fear was that machines would take over and, of course, they did but they didn’t destroy jobs. They created new ones.

In just the same way, I am embracing (AI) Artificial Intelligence in my work. It is exciting and incredibly powerful. Just as 19th-century workers were able to get machines to do the back breaking work they previously had to do so AI is doing the hard work of research and reducing hours, days, weeks of work to minutes. It doesn’t replace workers ultimately. It redefines their roles.

See you in Spain, Dear Reader. It’s going to be an interesting month of sun and swimming, of sun and walking and of hot sunshine and, maybe, a glass of wine.

Tuesday, 16th June, 2026

Flying abroad emphasises the separation. I struggle with it. I know it has to be accepted but I find it hard. Our flight yesterday was strange in that it was not full. The flight had lots of empty seats. For the middle of June it seemed strange. The airport at Alicante was mainly a ghost town. We went through the digital registration system with no pressure or queueing.

We had been led to believe that queueing at passport control was up to 4 hrs. It turned out to be 4 mins and the staff were delightful. There was no pressure for a taxi. We got one immediately and simultaneously messaged our Management Rep.. Just 45 mins later and €90.00 lighter, we arrived at our home for the next month.

It is a delightful, gated community of about 20, three storey detached properties that enjoy lovely grounds and two pools . Most are personally owned. A couple, like ours, are let out but the feeling is of polite respect and quiet relaxation. Ours is only let out for a few weeks a year which is why we chose it. The comparison with a suite in a city hotel in Greece is instructive. A week in Thessaloniki or Athens costs about £4000.00. A month in this Duplex in Spain costs less than that.

We had to do a check on what is needed to get through life in the property for 4 weeks comfortably. We walked out to the local Super Mercado to stock up on essentials. The rule is to never trust products left in the property by someone else. The essentials are bolstered by bottles of wine and a snack meal. We want nothing more today.

It is 28C/83F outside when we lay out a snack of salad, cheese, prawns and humous with iced white Rioja on our patio table overlooking one of the pools. I have fitted my Amazon Firestick on the TV so we can watch anything here that we watch at home. The patterns of life continue unbroken.

Wednesday, 17th June, 2026

I was so tired last night after a long day that I went to bed at 10.00 pm and slept soundly until 5.30 am. Once awake, I rarely go back to sleep. I checked the CCTV at home to find it had rained over night which is pleasing. I read some emails and a Whatsapp from my friend, Kevin in Leeds and then listened to a political podcast. The temperature outside over night remained at 22C/72F but the house was perfectly comfortable with the air-conditioning running non stop from the moment we moved in.

Up at 6.00 am and BBC Radio 4 on as usual. And life begins just in a different location. The first thing we purchased when we went out yesterday was this Rolls Royce of shopping trolleys. It will make the 15 mins walk back from the supermarket in 80C + of heat much more comfortable.

Unfortunately, the fresh orange squeezing machine was out of order when we got to the local, Consum Supermercado so this morning I’ve had to drink a commercial alternative. High on the list yesterday were oats, sultanas Stevia sweetener powder and fresh milk.

There did have to be a few compromises. I have only drunk totally skimmed milk for the past 40 years but you just don’t seem to be able to find it in Greece or Spain. Had to settle for semi-skimmed. Yes, I know Dear Reader. I will battle through it. In Sainsburys, there are multiple choices of oats. In Consum, there were just two.

Anyway, this morning I have had a large cup of Yorkshire tea (brought with us) followed by a perfectly acceptable bowl of home made muesli although the oats aren’t the best flavour and the milk is a bit fatty.

We’ll be going back this morning to stock up on staples like washing machine and dishwasher tablets.

No one can live a proper life without Pesto. It has to be freshly made and that requires freshly cut Basil. We have that at home in the garden. Here we have had to buy the ingredients needed to make fresh pesto plus a mechanical processor to aid the Chef. The last item was bought from Bejing Bazar – a massive, football pitch sized emporium which sells everything you can think of plus many things you can’t.

In spite of it’s size, we were its only customers. It was like one, huge Open All Hours shop where you could ask for a plug, hosepipe, bra, summer dress, cap, wine glasses, barbecue …. and they would say, Which size and colour? in Spanish with a Chinese accent. Don’t you just love the world? When we arrived at the house, it was being cleaned by two girls – one Polish and the other Russian. The management is English and Spanish. This is one reason why I enjoy it so much.

Thursday, 18th June, 2026

Over night the temperature hovered around 24C/75F outside. Inside, it was icy and delicious for sleeping. England were playing at 10.00 pm Spanish time. After a long day starting at 5.30 am yesterday with long walks in hot sun, a bottle of wine with a wonderful Supper of roast Hake Loin and Salad,

I was tired before it started. By Half Time, it seemed like the old England of the last 60 years. I went to bed. Waking at 5.30 am, I found it had rained over night at home (wonderful) and England had played a much better Second Half (amazing) and won the match (unbelievable).

Over in Dallas to watch the match, K and his lads had flown from his Florida home. At least England made it worth their while.

I listened to a political podcast which suggested the euphoria over Burnham’s chances in the Makerfield byelection may not be founded in reality of the Makerfield constituency. It will be fatal for Labour if he doesn’t do it. I definitely won’t be staying up through the night to find out.

The first event of the morning is to return to the Bejing Bazar where my wife spotted a pair of dumbbells that would allow her to continue her morning exercise routine.

My favourite area of the Consum Supermercado is the fresh fish display. I have to go with my Google Translate ready on my phone to check what things are. I was looking for Swordfish (Pez espada). When I thought I’d found it, the label said, (Tiburón) which turned out to be Shark. I’ve always wanted to try it so now may well be the time.

Friday, 19th June, 2026

After a long hot day, we decided that a swim would be reviving. It was delightful, so delightful that Pauline asked me to take her picture in the pool. I managed to frame her perfectly, as you will see Dear Reader.

Lovely evening yesterday and very warm. In the humid dusk of the enveloping evening, eating a lovely meal of roast salmon with home-made pesto topping and salad accompanied by an icy bottle of white Rioja on the lower patio we were looking out across the lawns and one of the pools towards Torrevieja and the sea,

It had been a very hot day in which I had done two long walks followed by a swim and jacuzzi to relax the muscles. That accompanied by the wine made me so tired that I went to bed at 10.30 pm (CET) and was fast asleep before the polls closed in Makerfield but I was woken by an alarm on my watch and phone.

Groggy and half asleep, I suddenly realised it was the Ring Doorbell at home in England. My phone showed it was 11.50 pm in Spain / 10.50 pm in UK. It also said a person was at my front door.

The video showed a man in shorts, walking across the front lawn holding a mobile phone with its torch facility on. At 10.50 pm, you have to admit, that is suspicious. It wasn’t going to be a delivery at that time. From this distance, through sleep-hazed eyes, it felt a little threatening.

My first thought was that it was a cool, calm character who was casing the joint. He walked round a up to the Lounge window, looking intently, searching for something. He returned to the front door with camera light shining on it. He then turned right and down my Drive towards the Garage. I logged in to our CCTV cameras and watched him turn towards our neighbour’s house. Should I phone the police?

I Whatsapped my neighbours on the left but they were rubbish. Apparently they were already in bed themselves. Pauline phoned our neighbours, Jill & John on the right who immediately apologised. It wasn’t a burglar. It was John searching for their cat who hadn’t returned.

I must admit I was too slow to recognise him. Quite reassuring, though, to have the warning alarm and the visual evidence. I’m so glad I had the security installed even if it was a false alarm this time.

Unfortunately, it took me so long to get back to sleep that I found myself checking my phone for the Makerfield result. If there was anything to raise the spirits, it was the stonking win for Andy Burnham who destroyed the Deform Party candidate. If you analyse the figures, it is obviously a tactical vote for the anything-to-keep-Deform-out movement. Greens, Lib. Dems., even Tories fell in behind Labour. That is what must be replicated across the country in the next election.

Saturday, 20th June, 2026

Very humid evening after a long, sweaty day of walking, a cool, refreshing swim and jacuzzi, shower and then Supper with political talk on the patio overlooking the lights.

This Duplex is well equipped which is what appeals to me. I only bring a handful of shorts and tee shirts because I also bring an adept Laundry woman and it has an excellent washing machine. Although it is in Spanish, she gets to grips with it easily.

The Kitchen is very small but it has most things we need including a large fridge/freezer, a built-in microwave with a single oven below that and a dishwasher below that. It has a ceramic hob, kettle, toaster and coffee maker.

We have super fast Wi-Fi which is a major selling point for me because I run a laptop and iPads on it as well as the television/radio. It is strong all round the house, out on the patio and even upstairs on the sun terrace. I can listen to podcasts in bed, BBC Radio 4 over breakfast, Sky rolling news, Sky Sports Test Matches, The World Cup matches on the main UK channels, Channel 4 News, Netflix/Amazon Prime for Drama through my Amazon Firestick I’ve plugged in at the back of the TV. Home has moved to Spain.

Just as at home, I do my walking routine although there are a lot of steep slopes around here. Don’t have a Gym but that is a small price to pay. I’ve added swimming instead. At the age of 75, it’s important to have emergency contacts to hand in case of medical emergency. Fortunately, this property posts them on the inside of the front door like hotels tend to do.

Sunday, 7th June, 2026

Another week. Another glorious morning. A day of end to end sunshine which will reach 32C/90F. Up early to get a walk in before the peak heat of the day.

It is about 3.5 miles down to the landmark statue of Alexander the Great – a hugely significant character in Macedonian history. The girl who serves us in the VIP Lounge is called Alexi as so many girls here are. I remember being surprised on Corfu/Κέρκυρα in 1982 to find that about 30% of men were called Spyros named after Saint Spyridon. Anyway, 7 miles in 27C/81F is enough for the morning and I will need a clean, dry shirt on return.

Down below us in Aristotle Square, the Beach Volley Championships are going along in spite of the heat. The scaffolding tower housing the television cameras reaches well above the spectators seating but I was surprised to look up in the sky and see this bird hovering. Morning and evening swifts and swallows dart and swoop in huge numbers to sweep the sky clean of insects but this bird – a TV Drone just hovered steadily collecting overhead views of the sport and beaming it back to the screens. Ancient & Modern jostling for popularity.

Our Suite in this hotel has improved over the years to the point where we have worked our way up to the best. The people – Chamber Maids, Cleaners, Personal Assistants – are absolutely delightful. The make the stay delightful and take such pride in their work. After a long walk this morning, we had a light lunch in the VIP Lounge and then a salad on the patio of our rooms this evening, relaxing and watching the sun go down. It is just then that the swifts and swallows come out to play with such speed and energy as we are winding down.

Monday, 8th June, 2026

Don’t you just love Monday mornings? We’ve survived another Sunday, Dear Reader. It is 8.30 am / 6.30 am (GMT) and the temperature is 28C/82F. It is extremely humid this morning and energy sapping. That is before my long walk.

I walk along the side of the sea down past the ancient White Tower which I featured last week, down past the monument to Alexander the Great which I featured yesterday and on to the Sailing Club and, if I’m feeling particularly strong, right down to the Opera House.

Other than the natural charms of the area and the wonderful tavernas, there are few concessions to tourism. There are the pleasure boat cruises around the bay, the open top bus to hop-on-hop-off and electric scooters for the lazy.

Even so, walking or promenading is extremely popular here. The Greeks and Italians call it volta.

The latest tourist money-making machine is the instant vintage newspaper souvenir camera booth. It is a portable camera + laser printer with a set up to drop the photograph directly into a newspaper front page and print out before the tourists can walk past you. It is a very popular replacement for the Wish you were Here post card of previous times. Even so, I know some old wrinklies who still love to get a postcard because social media is too frightening for them so there is something for everyone. I just like communicating, keeping the links open. We are a long time dead.

Tuesday, 9th June, 2026

Our 4th year in Thessaloniki has ended. It is 6.00 am Greek Time / 4.00 am (GMT). I have been awake for an hour and listening to The News Agents podcast. Up to Breakfast and then down to checkout. At 8.30 am a taxi is called for us. Alexi, our taxi driver talks non-stop about his city – Thessalonik – with massive pride. At the airport, his bill is €28.00 and we give him €40.00 for his enthusiasm.

Macedonia Airport is small, quiet and delightful. We arrive 3 hours early, go straight through security control and up to our Executive Lounge. The Sky Lounge is delightful for its exclusivity. This morning there were three of us with comfortable chairs and tables, good wifi and lots of refreshments from food and drink to bottles of wine and anything else we would desire.

The Departures Board announced our Gate to go to. We go early to make sure we can get our cases in the first two rows where we sit. Everything is going fine. Our flight has arrived on time and then it is announced that there is a problem.

Refuelling has revealed a technical problem which has to be resolved. A Fire Engine has arrived. We are on the tarmac and have to return to the Terminal. This has never happened to us before. We imagined having to find a hotel for the night and staying over, It didn’t wory us but created a logistical problem.

Anyway, we got to know some delightful people in the queue waiting to find out what was happening. I talked to this lovely, young girl – just 26 years old – who thought I could sort it out for her. We talked to her about the news, about politics and whether she had heard of Andy Burnham. She hadn’t, she relied on her husband for the news and wasn’t really sure who the PrimeMinister was. I told her off and treated her like an errant child. She loved it.

When we arrived at Gatwick Airport, she rushed up to tell us that her family had berated her for having to be told off by us and for not knowing about the By-election and the significance of it. She was lovely and totally representative of Gen. Z. She proved what a glorious girl she is whatever her ignorance. I’m really warming to Gen Z. They are the future.

Wednesday, 10th June, 2026

I woke up freezing. Couldn’t feel my legs. Thought I might be paralysed until I checked my phone to find it was only 8C/46F over night – a ridiculous temperature for June. Just as well I’ve only got 5 more nights at home and then off to Gatwick again for a month in Spain. Won’t be cold there.

Unfortunately, we are not flying into the small and friendly Murcia Airport on this occasion. The timings were all wrong so we are going through Alicante Airport this time. We booked it in December last year and couldn’t have predicted what would come up. Yesterday we sailed through Macedonia Airport in a matter of minutes because Greece has suspended the new, biometric system on the grounds that it wasn’t working well enough.

At least we are not going for a weekend but for 4 weeks which gives us long enough to get over any frustrations. I’m currently exploring whether I can pay for VIP Fast Track Security Channel as we can do in Athens. The property we are renting is the one we booked last year for 2 weeks through Booking.com. It was absolutely delightful but this time we have booked directly through the letting agents to reduce the price.

Although there only two of us, to get the space and facilities we want, we have to rent a bigger property than we need. In this gated Development, there are a moderate number of individual properties that are three floors. Ours has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen/diner/lounge, a Breakfast area immediately outside on the patio and then a huge sunroof with sunbeds, barbecue and dining tables under a covered pergola. The whole sunroof has expansive views over the gardens and two pools and out over the sea.

Feeling quite tired after a long, travelling day yesterday and I have a huge list of jobs stretching out in front of me today. I will almost certainly have to give my walking a miss for once.

Thursday, 11th June, 2026

Talk about coming home with a bump. The weather is emphasising that. This morning, it is cool and damp – light rain and just 15C/59F. Get me out of here!

We leave for a month in Spain on Monday and the weather looks good as far as one can see. I was shattered last night because my head was still in Greece which is two hours ahead of UK. At least the adjustment will be softened with just one hour difference in Spain.

This morning I’ve been contacting the management of our hotel in Thessaloniki to thank them for their service and for the presents they give us as we leave. The first time, it was a bottle of local olive oil which is long gone now. Then we were given an Electra Palace scented candle which my wife swears literally smells of the hotel. Next year it was a steel dove from the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art. This year, we rather gulped as we were given a very heavy copy of a book of illustrations of the delights of Thessaloniki. We only had carry-on luggage and wondered how we would cope with the extra burden.

Well, we managed it and it will live on the bookshelves for the next few years. We may even take it out and look at it occasonally particularly when it is cold and wet like today.

Today is haircut day. Drives me mad sitting still that long but it has to be done. I sit in the kitchen on an inclement day like today so I can watch a political programmed or rolling news while my hair is being cut and the process is almost tolerable.

Friday, 12th June, 2026

It was 16C/61F over night but didn’t feel like it. The morning has opened grey and with a little damp in the air. With just 3 full days left at home, we are still ticking off the jobs needed to be completed before we fly. This morning, I have had to go down to the Surgery to book a PSA Test for when I come back from Spain. It has to be done a week before my bi-annual cancer review. It is always a little nervy.

I’ve got the street’s grass to mow and my Under Gardener will make sure the hedge is trimmed to last a month without attention. I’ve got two automatic watering systems to set up and get the timings right so need to put them through a dummy run. We are cutting lettuces but they have been slower to develop than I’d hoped. Keeping my fingers crossed that they survive 4 weeks without me. They are delicious fresh from the garden.

Something strange and delightful is happening. We moved in to this house 10 years ago and we set about furnishing it inside and out with a will. As well as beds, settees, tables, etc, we were planting the outside enthusiastically. In July 2016, we were planting up the sides of the drive and we put in a Phormium – a native of New Zealand. It was less than 2ft tall at the time. In the summer, it was supposed to throw up flowering spikes and it never has …. until now.

Now it is about 8ft tall and has suddenly, in the week we were away in Greece, thrown up the most amazingly tall and strong flower spikes. Literally, in a weeek these spikes have arrived. Unfortunately, we go away on Monday and will miss the full flowering. They look as if they are going to be a pale yellow. I have asked Jill, my neighbour, to photograph them for me and send them on to Spain. The contract is that I will send back sunshine.

One person who will miss all flowering for ever more is the artist, David Hockney. His death was announced today at the age of 88. A life long smoker, he looked and sounded older than his age. I am so glad I gave up 42 years ago. I have little in common with Hockney but I have loved his work for a long time, particularly his digitally generated art.

It is the work of an old man creating art for our new age. I would love to have these hanging on the walls of my house.

Saturday, 13th June, 2026

Warm and sunny day to mark our last two at home for a month. At least it’s not Friday. Most things are done and ready but the automatic watering system failed when I came to set it up yesterday. I have a programmable unit that screws on to the outside tap and has two outlets at the base for two, separate hoses. These will be connected to two, wide arc sprayers which allow me to cover the whole of the back garden.

Unfortunately, they don’t at the moment because the unit’s stopped working. Fortunately, Amazon do ‘free’ next day delivery. I’ve ordered a new one which really suits a gadget man because it is remote control. Can’t wait.

It means I can water each side of the garden independently, for different durations and at different times.I can have them watered on alternative days and have the watering programme delayed if it rains. What fun!

Going away really does me good. The challenge of travel and making arrangements lifts my spirits. We have been back just 4 days and have got through so many tasks in that time with renewed energy and determination. To give the month away a relaxing start, we are spending the night in the Sofitel Gatwick which is just a walk across from Departures at the Airport.

Once again, quite amazingly, it is no more expensive to take the car to the Long Stay Carpark for a month than to get a taxi for the hour long journey to the airport so that is what we will do. The service is incredibly slick and user-friendly for such a massive set of interlinked parking areas. The only thing I have to do is not rush to park but find a comfortable end of row position to leave the car for 4 weeks safely.

Sunday, 31st May, 2026

I will be here in the sunshine walking and indulging. It’s funny but, when it gets to this stage, I begin to think that it’s all too much hassle but I’ve always done that. I tell myself that staying in the same routines and in the same place is the equivalent of being dead. Movement is life. Change is opportunity. Challenge is invigorating. Got to remember that. There will be plenty of time for sitting in a chair.

That is why I will be here and pushing myself to do things, see things, experience things and understand new things as well as enjoy things.

I will hear the music of the Greek Language & People. I may have been visiting Greece since 1981 but it was this BBC programme than impelled me to build a home on the Cycladic island of Sifnos which is featured in the programme. It began in 1983. Can you believe it? 43 years ago I was desperate to learn Greek and bought the book to accompany the BBC programme. The presenter is now dead which tells you something.

Greece is in my DNA which isn’t easy to believe of an East Midlands lad but I can never let it go just as other things in my life will never be released. That is why I return to Athens every year to renew my commitment and why I enjoy revisiting Thessaloniki to feel part of the nation that I love.

I was thinking yesterday of my Grandparents – my Mother’s parents. We were watching a fairly sloppy detective drama – A Taste of Murder – set on the island of Capri. It is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula. I have never been that far south in Italy. Venice and Ancona in the North are my extent but I knew some one who has. My grandparents – my Mother’s parents – Lily and James Coghlan who lived in Croydon and worked in the city visited Capri as part of an Italian tour and their one claim to fame was that they were greeted by a girl from Rochdale. They should be so lucky.

This must have been in the late 1950s and the girl they met was once the highest paid star in the world. Gracie Fields was to their generation a rockstar. She had ‘retired’ to a villa on the island of Capri and my Grandparents were walking past when she came out to her garden gate and greeted them. If it wasn’t for her stardom, she would have appeared very working class but they were the ones with stars in their eyes after that experience and they both predated her – one dying in the 1960s and the other dying in the 1970s. At least they took the trouble of extending their experience and meeting a rockstar in another world.

Monday, 1st June, 2026

Happy new month, Dear Reader. Welcome to June 2026 and the start of meteorological Summer. It has opened down here warm and sunny although not as hot as recently and rain is forecast to be falling as I drive off to Gatwick Airport. The garden is looking forward to it.

Yesterday, I lifted our first new potatoes, boiled them with fresh mint from the garden and ate them dripping in melting butter. Absolutely delicious! When you lift, wash, boil and eat potatoes or any vegetable within minutes of them leaving our soil, they cook very quickly and taste better. Well, they definitely cook quicker whether the better taste is all in my head, I can’t be sure but it suits me to believe it.

The longest day of light is just 3 weeks away. Plants are growing almost unhindered now. All they need is rain. It is one of the dilemmas of going on holiday but one I’m prepared to live with. The garden will just have to get on with it without me.

I wonder what you were doing and feeling last night, Dear Reader. I was feeling reflective and slightly sad. I was looking at the moon. It was full last night and I learn that it is known as the Blue Moon. I took this photo through the glass of an upstairs window with a smartphone. Quite remarkable the definition one can achieve.

The distance of time and space that the moon symbolises makes me wistful and sad. Although it has always been there, it has certainly got worse with age. Not surprising as time runs out. I had spent some time in the evening watching the first episode of Greek Language & People which I referred to yesterday. It first showed on BBC TV in 1983 as I completed my 3rd Greek holiday and my first on Sifnos. Episode-1 includes filming on Sifnos. The series could not have hit me at a better time. Already keen to learn Greek and in love with Sifnos after 3 weeks there.

It was presented by Chris Serle and Katia Dandoulaki – an English man being led through the learning process by a pretty Greek girl. It was done at a pace that I could cope with and accompanied by a book which I featured yesterday and still have on the bookshelves.

Chris Serle died last year at the age of 81. Katia Dandoulaki is 78 and still performing on Greek TV but looks SO OLD! It’s not her age that makes me sad. It’s …

Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026

Travelling makes me tired. It always has. I tend to put myself into ‘sleep mode’ to get through long, cramped flights and tedious ferry journeys. I only try to stay awake when I’m driving myself. Today, I’m feeling even more tired than usual. I don’t like to admit it but it must be my age. Mind you, I know some little wrinklies who have given up on foreign travel altogether and I will never do that as long as I can walk.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life ….

So said one of my heroes – Dr Samuel Johnson – in the 1770s. His inference was that we should never stop learning and challenging ourselves. I couldn’t agree more. The trip Sussex coast to Gatwick (1 hr), Flight to Thessaloniki (3.25 hrs), taxi to our hotel (0.5 hrs) even with the waiting around is utterly worth it.

Soon we were in the splendour of our suite high up in the 5* Electra Palace Hotel just off the utterly pedestrian Aristotle Street.

After all these years, there is something about Greece – anywhere in Greece – that makes me feel at home. It doesn’t stress or phase me. The taxi driver who brought us from the airport to the hotel thought I was Greek because I greeted and instructed him in Greek. He was shocked to find out I was English.

He dropped us outside of the hotel in the Platia Aristotelous and we were greeted like long lost cousins. We have learnt to take that with a pinch of salt but it is nice to be recognised. Our suite was still being prepared so we were ushered into the Meetings Lounge and provided with a Greek Salad, some Falafel and flavoured flat breads plus a bottle of red wine. Lovely way to start the week.

When our suite was ready, we went up to unpack and relax. We had lots of treats like a sickly Greek cake, a bowl of exotic fruits and a bottle of Almond Liqueur from the islands. Neither of us drink it but the thought is appreciated. It is a relaxing day and a gentle evening today.

Wednesday, 3rd June, 2026

Up late … or early depending where you are. Greece is +2hrs which takes a day or so to adjust to. This morning, we didn’t get up until 8.00 am but that is 6.00 am in UK and still felt a bit like it. Would have been the perfect time to try the Melatonin gummies that M gave me recently but I completely forgot.

Certainly got up feeling refreshed and ready for an interesting day after yesterday’s relaxation and acclimatisation. The temperature over night didn’t fall below 24C/75F and will get to 33C/92F at the height of the day.

By the time we get to Breakfast, it is so humid that we sit inside under the air conditioning. Can’t manage much more than orange juice and coffee which is a pity because the restaurant presents every food known to man … and woman. At the table next to us is a Greek priest dressed all in black and surrounded by his acolytes. The table is gradually piled high with plates of eggs, rocket salad leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, smoked salmon, various cheeses, fresh bread, bowls of strawberries, kiwi fruit, Greek cakes & biscuits. Greek coffees and the obligatory accompanying glasses of water.

They really stint themselves in the church. Religion just thrives on self denial. Still, everybody has to have a holiday, don’t they Dear Reader. From prayer and abstinence to sex, drugs and big breakfasts is the way to go. Particularly, against the back drop of this warm water bay of commercial and tourist vessels.

Out walking, the flower beds leading up to the hotel just echo those back home. Marigolds are popular in this hot country. These African Mophead variety add a jazzy colour to the landscape.

Thursday, 4th June, 2026

Very humid this morning and 25C at Breakfast time. It feels close and we might have a thunderstorm later. That will be exciting because Mediterranean storms are dramatic and it will be fun to watch bolts of lightning flashing across the bay. So often in Greece, these storms are accompanied by biblical rainfall so we hope they organise it in time to go out to Dinner.

Often, when the weather has a spell which isn’t conducive to the beach, tourists wander around glumly looking rather lost. I’ve always treated travel as moving my life to another place and I carry my normal activities with me. Of course, I don’t attempt gardening out in the street but, although I’m only here for a week, I have my laptop, iPad and smartphone with me to continue writing, reading and communicating.

Although I’ve been doing it for years, what has changed and been a great improvement is the easy availability of VPN apps. Virtual Private Networks allow one to be in any country in the world while on the net while not being there physically. It is digital deception. It also prevents invasion of one’s computer through unprotected WiFi feeds – in a hotel or an airport, for example. It means I can check my Bank Accounts without fear of being compromised. Previously, there were scary stories of criminals working hotels and farming logins of guests which allowed them to scoop passwords and entry to those bank accounts.

Of course I had to watch PMQs yesterday. The only difference here is that it happens a 2.00 pm rather than midday in UK. Keir Starmer was brilliant and actually allowed his true passion to show through as he made Farage look more like the grubby, little man he really is as he encouraged the Great Unwashed and uneducated to violently riot while affecting to just represent their views. It is an act that he has perfected over years although this snake oil salesman is finding that his image is beginning to fall apart as he is increasingly focussed on.

None of this would have been possible until ten years ago – partly because of internet speeds but also because major UK media outlets understandably feeling the need to protect their output from unpaid access. Yesterday, I was in central London to watch the House of Commons on BBC TV from my settee in Thessaloniki and then switch over to Sky TV for the ongoing discussion. My online calendar said I should order my repeat prescription and it can only be done online from UK. The VPN allowed me to do that from abroad.

I’ve also brought my exercise regime with me so a long walk is now on the agenda before deciding where to eat Dinner tonight. Yesterday, I went around photographing menus outside restaurants so we could consider in our own time which one to visit. Ultimately, we were too tired and not hungry enough to go there but tonight we will visit this menu. I wonder what you would choose, Dear Reader.

Friday, 5th June, 2026

Well, yesterday we got our storm but before that I had to indulge my travelling companion with retail therapy. The Hondos Centre is the Debenhams of Greece.

It stinks of perfume and nail varnish downstairs as highly coiffured Assistants stand around trying to look busy without any customers. Further up, there is floor after floor of Female clothes where women absent mindedly flick clothes on rails and occasionally go as far as to hold them up against their chests in front of a mirror. Down in the basement, of course, is the men’s stuff but no one goes there out of choice.

On to Pauline’s favourite food of all time and a staple of the Greek (snack) Breakfast – a Bougatsa (Μπουγάτσα) – a traditional Greek pastry made of crispy, golden-brown layers of phyllo dough wrapped around a thick, sweet semolina custard flavoured with vanilla and lemon zest and dusted with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon. I have to admit they don’t do it for me but I know my duty.

And then the storm came which was fun for us but awkward for the contractors working down in Aristotelous Square in front of our hotel where they were preparing for the Women’s Beach Volley Championships. Each year, they import the beach into the square and assemble seating and television staging and they usually manage it in a day. They were rushing to complete after the storm just as a cruise ship arrived for the night.

It was soon followed by a mocked up Pirate Ship that fleeces tourists with a short cruise around the area accompanied by loud music and cheap drinks. My idea of absolute hell.

As so often in the Mediterranean, the storm is strong and dramatic but short and quickly replaced with a gentle and romantic atmosphere as vessels disappear over the horizon to distant shores.

Saturday, 6th June, 2026

Absolutely gorgeous morning which, by Breakfast, has reached 27C/81F with strong sunshine beaming into my fresh orange juice. Supper last night was a simple one of cold meats and salad with a bottle of sparkling water, sitting watching the twinkling lights of civilisation out on the rim of the bay. It has been a magical feature of my life in Greece with the lights a romantic symbol of possibilities, of hope and of travel.

It is a well trodden theme of literature and particularly the sexual proclivities of DH Lawrence in his concept of a man traveling out to the rim of the world while the woman remains grounded at the centre is a central philosophical motif in The Rainbow (1915). A literal metaphor for marital intimacy and differentiation.

The daylight brings a totally different feel. Less soft, less imaginative, more stark in the heat. It’s going to be a long, hot walk today as the Beach Volley girls suffer on the burning sands of Aristotle Square.

It is being televised and will play out throughout the weekend with the final on Sunday evening.