Author: cavaleros

Sunday, 1st August, 2021

New month, new week, new day. August already although it feels more like April or September. In Greece, they are expecting temperatures of 42-46C/108-115F over the coming week and that might be a little excessive but we are forecast 20C/68F for the first week in AUGUST.

In spite of the forecast, yesterday was lovely, sunny and warm throughout. We really enjoyed visiting our new, local Italian nursery and buying a variety of tomatoes, peppers and garlic.

The family is from Southern Italy and grow tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, garlic, basil, fennel – all the sorts of Summer vegetables to build an Italian feast. They also grow their own fig trees and grapevines and make their own, family version of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo as they would have done back home. We are surrounded by former commercial nurseries around here and the Italians had just bought one up to use for small-scale production. We have told our new, Italian neighbours.

This produce will help me in next week’s push for a renewed diet. I will be eating lots of Italian tomatoes, homegrown basil and Greek olive oil. It’s making me hungry just thinking about it.

Yesterday, we had already done a good walk in the sunshine and I followed that with about 90 mins in the Gym. I was watching an award-winning Galician television series, Bitter Daisies (O Sabor das Margaridas) which is 2 series of 12 x 70 mins episodes. Should keep me going for a while.

I think I’m going to need it. Feel a bit deserted. The Summer is disappearing fast and there is little good weather to look forward to. Travel is still very uncertain. The Tories seem to be making it deliberately difficult to place confidence in a booking for Europe. Plan as we might, there is not a lot to look out to.

At least this morning is reasonably pleasant and we are going out for an early walk. Rain is forecast for this afternoon which is a bit dispiriting. …. Actually, the clouds parted and I felt the burning sun as I walked. Amazing how quickly things can change when you put your mind to it. It is almost like parallel universes – the forecasts and the actualités. Perhaps we make our own predictions!

Monday, 2nd August, 2021

Up at 6.00 am to early sunshine but the sky soon clouded over and the forecast is not good. If we are to have a walk, it must be in the morning before any rain arrives. Great start to the morning. Switched the kettle on and tripped the entire power network to the house. Scrabbling around for the battery/fuse store box and resetting the main switches, resetting the cooker clock, the Sky-Q boxes and the wi-fi connections between them – all before my orange juice! A new kettle is to be ordered this morning.

I like tea but I love coffee. I particularly love freshly ground coffee and I’m excited to have found some wonderful beans by accident. Ran out of normal beans and, passing Waitrose, I bought these to try. They taste like butterscotch and toffee mixed with dark coffee. I love it.

This week over the years was a popular time for events like weddings and christenings. I like to record them in order to keep control of time. If I don’t, time runs away unnoticed and I can’t allow that. If we don’t control Nature then Nature will dominate us … as I point out to the lawns every time I cut them. Yesterday was 40 years since we attended Jill & Geoff’s wedding in Middleton. I don’t have a photo of this, unfortunately.

Today, it is 40 years exactly since we attended the christening of Sue & Eddie’s daughter, Laura in Halifax. It says more about us than her that she is 40 years old now and her 70-year-old parents live permanently on Gozo off the island of Malta. We have been hoping to visit them for quite some time. What a social whirl we lived in then – wedding one day and christening the next.

I had been bought my first SLR camera for Christmas 1980 and was still learning to use it. Focusing clearly was a little bit tricky still and I hadn’t fully mastered it. Even so, I absolutely loved the challenge and threw the Polaroid away instantly. Just one, standard lens to start with and then I added a wide-angle and a telephoto. Soon, I was having to lug a huge, photographer’s bag of equipment around along with a tripod.

I got into moody, artistic (or what I thought were) shots and was always sending off reels of film to those postal service developers that were the mainstay of cheap prints in the 1980s. Look at these magnificent figures from 1981.

Of course, the downside is in the comparison with today. From these beautiful, young (well 30 year old) things to the old wrinklies of today. Actually, on exactly that subject, I am looking for a professional mouth coach. My wife is standing in at the moment but it is too much to ask of her ultimately.

I have known for a long time but have been savagely reminded recently that I walk around half my time (maybe more) with my mouth open like some vacant, old man and I DRIBBLE!! For someone whose nickname is Sex-on-Legs, it is not a good look. For me, it is almost as bad! I have to be reminded constantly to breathe through my nose and out through my mouth. This morning, I was reviewing the CCTV footage from the past 24 hrs and a man came out of our house, overweight, hair thinning and with his mouth open looking like a loon. Who the hell could it be? I suddenly realised it was me. I’ve got to do something about that now! Experienced Mouth Coaches please apply. Good rates of pay but no holidays.

Not many photos of me nowadays. Who wants to look at moody shots of a vacant, old man with his mouth open? That’s why so many of my generation are snapping shots of the countryside on smartphones – well, those who can cope with modern technology.

There are still some people without smartphones! How do they cope? Still see a few old people ambling uncertainly back from the newsagents with Daily Express/Mail under their arm in the mornings. They are obviously Brexit supporters! My newspaper – The Times – is delivered to 2 x iPads at 5.00 am every day for a third of the price of one paper edition excluding travel or delivery and all that grubby newsprint. I fear for their ability to exist in this fast-changing world.

The computer controls of all new cars will terrify them. How will they cope? Soon, they won’t be able to manage new TVs, new fridges, new everything. The internet of things is taking over. Could be scope for a good IT teacher!

Tuesday, 3rd August, 2021

Went out for a walk in light rain yesterday morning. The swelling in my groin was agony and my wife is insisting on making an appointment with the doctor for me. As soon as she said that, the pain cleared up but she still phoned when we got home. Fortunately, there are no available appointments. I might get away with it and buy time for the problem to solve itself as I so often do. Can’t decide what to do about anything at the moment. Life is rather imploding. Puts a dodgy groin into perspective somewhat.

I just love gadgets and we’ve ordered another one. It was only the fuse in our kettle which failed yesterday but the whole thing is looking the worse for wear after 5 hard years’ work so a new one is justified. Over the past 5 years in this house, Pauline has migrated from tea & coffee to just peppermint tea to only drinking hot water. I can’t even begin to imagine such an existence but it suits her. Of course, she can’t cope with the temperature of immediately boiled water and it needs topping up with cold. I have found the perfect answer.

This new kettle has Variable Temperature Control which features 4 temperature control settings and a keep warm function that continually keeps water at the selected temperature for 30 mins. What more could a gadget-freak want?

The weather is on the gloomy side of good this morning. I have to mow the lawns. Pauline has been persuaded not to phone the surgery again this morning for an appointment. I’m going to give natural recovery a chance.

Well, the day couldn’t get much better. I was mowing and edging the back lawn. I have a strimmer to do the edging. At one point, a pebble flirts up and I hear it hit a door. A cursory look doesn’t shown anything damaged. I finish the job, start to sweep up and then realise that one, full length conservatory double-glazed panel has been completely shattered by the stone. A window man has been summoned to sort it out this afternoon.

Came across this old chap from the Scottish Highlands advertising his latest work. The thing that cheers me up is that he is younger than me.

The afternoon has turned out hot and sunny. We’ve done a walk. The window man is expected and the new kettle is being delivered. I am going in the gym to test my groin in secret! Amazing how much of one’s groin is used in sweeping!

Wednesday, 4th August, 2021

Well, yesterday turned into an absolutely delightful and warm spell in which we cut the lawns, trimmed the hedges, watered all the plants and left the area looking well cared for. We did a walk and I did my gym session without too much discomfort. I do think my body is deteriorating from the inside out. I make no attempt to understand it but push on regardless. Pauline’s next investigation is in the hospital on Thursday. This must be the lot of 70 year olds. It is a depressing and lonely affair which each one of us must face in time.

Received a text message this morning. Don’t get many of those and this was from the Surgery. It was offering me an injection against Shingles. They are offered to all 70 – 79 year olds. My brother had a painful bout of shingles on his back in his teenage years which was bad enough but two members of Pauline’s family have experienced excruciating shingles in older age and I don’t want that. If I died tomorrow, it wouldn’t worry me at all but don’t let it be painful because I am a coward.   

We have spent every August for 30 years away from the UK and on this little spit of rock in the Aegean. We know every inch of every village of the island so intimately. The photo is of the village square in Artemonas with Manganas Taverna on the left, the Fournos (Bakery) at the far end with the sun setting down over our house and Kamares Port in the distance.                                                                                                                  

In those days the Bakery was one of the most important sources of food. The one in Artemonas produced the most wonderful bread and sweets. Just looking at the picture above transports me to the sounds, smells and body-wrapping humidity of a Greek August evening. Today it is 36C/97F and, this evening, it will be still be 32C/90F in that square as Diners sit, sweating over their salads.

One of our biggest dilemmas was leaving people behind in the UK while we were so far away. Principally, my Mother-in-Law was in Oldham and, latterly, in her 80s – 90s. She was fiercely independent and pushed us to be ruthless with our lives. She made it clear she wanted us to go out and do what we wanted to but she was always in the back of our minds. I felt bad because I was the instigator of Pauline leaving her Mum. Now I have no one to worry about and that almost feels worse.  

Bought some new bathroom scales for the En Suite a few days ago. They cost £30.00 and were absolutely rubbish. I don’t weigh that much! They went back this morning and have been replaced with these techie ones. They measure Body Mass, Body Fat, Body Water, Bone Mass and it even states one’s weight. I’m sure it will give me a better answer.

Just trying to bring a bit of sunshine into life this morning. Went to the Garden Centre. Well into August, it is still packed with flowering plants that should have been sold in June. As we’re pinned in our garden so much, might as well fill it with bright colours. This morning, I chose a Coreopsis. We’ve grown a lot of them over the years but this is a particularly bright one. It should flower strongly into October. …. that’s if I’m still alive.

I’m going for my Shingles injection next Tuesday. I read this morning, rather belatedly, of the death of Bill Haire who was one of the first 20 men at my College and who was always partnered by Jimmy Shaw and Mike Ennion. He had been ill for some time and died in hospital a few months ago. Really brings one up short and immediately makes me focus on what I want to achieve before I go.

Like yesterday, the afternoon has brought really hot sunshine and blue skies. Our walk was in 24C/75F of warmth. I was almost reluctant to go inside to do my gym work afterwards. However, I’ve only missed one day in a complete 6 months now and I bitterly regret missing that one. It’s a good job we’ve got some sun. It is still not possible to fly into the US without going to an intermediate country and quarantining for 10 days which I’m not going to do. France is difficult as is Spain. Greece is showing a huge spike in infection. Might have to holiday in Newquay at this rate!

Thursday, 5th August, 2021

Lovely morning of sunshine. Pleasantly warm at 7.00 am. Taking Pauline to hospital this morning. She’ll be there for a while so I’m driving home and will try to do a couple of hours in the gym. Hopefully, this will be her last visit and there will be no intervention required. We will see.

I’m not drinking at the moment and I’m finding it particularly hard when the sun comes out as it has done very warmly in the past couple of afternoons. I don’t know if it is just my psyche or a universal tendency but I associate hot sun with relaxation, encouraging self-indulgence, wine drinking and the blurring of inhibitions. Those who have never enjoyed alcohol will find this hard to understand but they will have missed an essential experience.

I haven’t cracked but I have been tempted. Every day I go into the gym and punish my body while being taunted by racks of Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Rioja, Malbec, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc … Oh stop!!

The crisis of self-control is made even harder when I’m feeling down. I start to think, Oh, what’s the point? A glass/bottle of wine will numb the sadness. Of course, it never does but I am a slow learner as my readers will know.

Exactly 49 years ago today, I went with a little friend to the wedding of Christine & Kevin who were friends from college. The wedding was in Shadwell, Leeds and the weather was hot and sunny. My little friend recently sent me our copy of the Wedding Service and, for the first time in all those years, I have acknowledged it by writing to them and wishing them well. It feels nice to be doing it.

My sister, Catherine (Cathy), who lives about 5 miles away, popped out of social media yesterday. She obviously thinks she is a work of art. She is certainly looking slim and vital at the moment but then she is so much younger than me. Good to see her happy. Most members of my family seem to be enjoying their retirement. Liz hasn’t quite made it yet but is winding down.

It is 13 years since Mum died and the experience has faded in my sensibilities although there are moments that I want to phone her. Apart from last year, we always return to visit her grave. Every time I look in the mirror, I see her face in mine and increasingly in my sisters. I regularly curse her for bequeathing me her facial moles which she spent so many years trying to eradicate herself.

Fascinatingly, I was told in the past week that Mum’s will is going to be finally wrapped up this month with the sale of Barclays shares and the disbursement of small, remaining amounts to members of the family. We forget so easily. I am secretly (not) pleased that I sold my allocation of the Barclays shares for £2.80 each years ago and those family members who hung on to theirs in the hope of improvement are only achieving circa £1.78 per share. They should have trusted the judgement of their older brother. They never do!

Friday, 6th August, 2021

Woke up feeling rather sad this morning. Didn’t want to open my eyes. When I did, soft, grey rain was falling on the world outside.

Still falls the rain
Still falls the blood from the starved man’s wounded side
He bears in his heart all wounds – those of the light that died
The last faint spark

Sitwell – 1940

Yesterday, the drive to the hospital down the beach road was busy and in full holiday mode. Happy children with lilos, buckets and spades and stressed parents all over the sand. Traffic was difficult in mid-morning but we got there on time. I dropped Pauline off at the doors and drove home.  

An hour in the Gym watching this very sad, sub-titled, Spanish thriller which has taken me 8 hours to complete ended so painfully.  Never knew I had so much emotion inside me. No wonder I have spent a lifetime avoiding fiction. It’s just too painful. I have a very low pain threshold and don’t cope with sadness well at all. Pathetic!

Fortunately, I received a text to say she was ready for collection after just one hour so I was saved from any more tears washing down the Treadmill and I set off without a shower, back down the beach road and up to the hospital. The news was good. No problems that are insurmountable or serious. That’s one worry to tick off. We drove home and went out for an hour’s walk in 22C/70F of lovely sunshine. When we got back, I did a final hour in the gym before showering and a meal. I am fighting hard and closing in on a weight I haven’t been for the past 35 years. I love the new bathroom scales!

I have been worrying about resurgent inflation for some time. We have been through the most incredibly extended period of low inflation but the Bank of England’s target rate of 2% is set to be seriously breached by 4% inflation this year. For people like me holding cash reserves in low-interest savings accounts, 4% inflation can be highly destructive. For illustration: a 4% inflation over 10 years would reduce £100,000.00 to just £67,500.00 in today’s terms.

The normal bank response would be to raise interest rates which would help cash investments like mine. Unfortunately, the crashed economy and the post-pandemic recovery would be damaged by increasing costs of borrowing. We have already committed to saving a minimum of £1000.00 per month just to counteract this effect. However, I am convinced that the best way to shelter saving from this threat is to invest in property.

I’ve looked at city centre apartments in Manchester, harbourside apartments in Southampton and Pauline found new, student-let apartments in Liverpool which offer a guaranteed return of 8% per annum on an outlay of just £75,000.00. Of course, the other alternative we have been considering is holiday properties in Spain with rental potential.

Housing in UK is going wild. Older residents of our village constantly complain that there is so much new development that it is now a town. Of course, we are beneficiaries of that explosion in house building which has brought the most wonderful facilities and shopping all around. I was reading in the MEN recently of a huge, new development in Oldham near where I initially lived and where I taught. At the end of Broadbent Road, Oldham has agreed the plans for 837 new properties to be built. and another 415 at Mumps. Rochdale Council have agreed another 300 homes on an old mill site in Middleton expanding eventually to 717 new homes because Middleton has ‘excellent access to the rest of Greater Manchester particularly if the tram serves it.

The big difference between the development North-South is that the MEN says at least 30% of the housing will be ‘affordable’ and much on Brown Field sites. Here, most are on Green Field land and hardly anything is affordable by anyone.

Saturday, 7th August, 2021

This morning has opened dry and fine but soon turned wet. Actually, got up late after a bit of a fitful night. The radio goes off at 6.00 am although I fell back to sleep this morning.  Radio 4 Today programme has driven me mad. Can’t listen to any more of the sheer excitement of Tom Daley’s knitting hobby or his plucky bronze medal. That England has been brought to this!

Wanted to smash the radio but it is my best friend. I’ve had it for almost 30 years and it still remains at my side working beautifully. I don’t think it looks very dated either although my wife’s biggest concern is that it looks dusty in this photo.

The day has changed completely by 11.00 am. The sun came out and stayed out. It was hot as we went for our walk. I did another gym session and came out of the darkness, blinking in to the bright sunshine of the garden. Sea Bass and Samphire for our meal today. I’m starving!

Life is such a roller coaster. Finding it quite hard over the past couple of days. Tried to keep busy yesterday and work hard. Wasn’t completely effective but I did exhaust myself.

All yesterday morning we were zipping around shopping areas – new reading glasses (Half-Moon for the elderly.) from Rustington SpecSavers. Lots of lovely Fruit & Veg from the Greengrocers – today: Peaches, Plums, Apricots, Asparagus.

Next was a frantic search for bottled water. Almost all the local superstores are empty of bottled water. I can’t live without sparkling water. Eventually, we found one store and bought up almost the total supply.

On to the fish man for Sea Bass and a large bunch of Samphire. Finally, we returned to the Foschini Nursery for a variety of Tomatoes plus some Garlic and a bunch of Basil.

Back home for coffee and then out for a walk in 22C/70F of really warm sunshine. We have rather become tied to a set route at the moment. It is about 7 miles round trip and, when we get back, I follow that with an hour in the Gym. I finish around 2.30 pm and I’m quite tired by then. Of course, I haven’t eaten anything by that time in the day.

Pauline cooks while I shower and then we eat at about 3.30 pm. That’s the routine of the day. I think I’m trying to block the world out and be quite ruthless in addressing my fitness and weight loss at the moment. I read a lot but writing has really come to a halt at the moment. Unlike us, Muse appears to have gone on holiday.

Each month I am presented with my Google Travel record taken from my smartphone. It really is an indictment of the prison cell in which we are living. Such restricted travelling. After 26 months, our car still hasn’t reached 9,000 miles. No one could call me a nomad!

It seems that 1978 was a popular year for getting married amongst my friends. John Ridley, who always referred to me as John-1 and himself as John-2 in his typically self-effacing way, was celebrating his 43^rd wedding anniversary yesterday. It took place in the picturesque setting of Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Sunday, 25th July, 2021

Another surprisingly hot day yesterday. 27C/81F. We did a walk and then I followed that with some gardening plus gym work. No writing. My Muse has left me at the moment. I have a separateness and a sadness at the moment.

The sky has become quite dramatic over Littlehampton Marina which suggests we are in for another sticky night. We will see ….

Yesterday, the results of our anti-body tests arrived to show that we were both well covered. Also, Pauline received her 70  year old’s Driving Licence renewal request. She still has another 3 months to go but it makes me feel better.

Couldn’t sleep last night. Awake at 4.00 am and up at 6.00 am. As predicted, gentle warm rain was falling. The smells from the garden are delicious. They remind me of our Greek garden which we left for the last time 7 years ago this week. Our English figs produced lots of fruit last summer but have hardly any this year probably because of a difficult Spring. They are all leaf growth that produces the evocative scent of Greece. However, we are bang-on-trend as the jargon goes. The Sunday Observer this morning says roses are out but figs and olives are in. We have both for normal summers down here. Not sure I’d recommend them for Lancashire yet but the time will surely come.

We had received our payment for the house, put it through two separate Greek banks into a Foreign Exchange account with a third financial organisation and got it to our UK bank. Officially, it should have been thoroughly checked at the Greek end and then again for money laundering at the UK end. We manged to forestall the Greek procedures because of our small-island relationships and through the UK end because I prepared the arrival of a large amount of money from abroad by talking to our private account manager by phone in advance. Even so, we were very nervous about potential hitches in the process and incredibly relieved when it all went to plan.

There was the matter of part payment left to receive and we returned to Athens in September to withdraw that from the Greek bank and send it back to UK. Ultimately, we didn’t have to pay any tax on our sale which felt fantastic particularly as the Tax Office had spent months pursuing Pauline for little more than 5p unpaid tax on her financial settlement from ending teaching and then intimidating her with tax return forms each year for a while after as if she were a criminal.

Since October last year, we have taken 20 tests for Covid-19. Most have been Lateral Flow, Swab tests but, more recently, have included finger prick, Antigen (antibody) tests. Almost all have been as part of the Oxford University Project but we have also done a few when we have had close contact with people we don’t know. For example, 3 days after visiting the hairdresser, Pauline would do a test and 3 days after having the CCTV installer in the house, we did a test. We have passed every one which is reassuring

I have written before that Pauline & I are like Jack Spratt & his wife. She is obsessed with cleanliness and I am obsessed with tidiness. This is the scene of a test we did yesterday and is so untidy it drives me mad. At least my wife is knuckling down and getting her jobs done. She made jam yesterday and is making bread today as well as cutting my hair. As a result, the floors will have to be vacuumed and steam-cleaned to allow her to sleep tonight.

Monday, 26th July, 2021

The weather was largely wet and very warm yesterday. I did 2 hours in the gym after which I was very wet and warm. I have now done my target for 165 consecutive days which I think is testimony to my determination and consistency. I know some who will think it a sign of madness. After exercise, I had my hair cut and then tried on my suits which have been hanging in the wardrobe unworn for some time. When I appeared before my wife, she shrieked with amusement and said they all had to be thrown away because I looked like a ‘clown’ in a joke suit in each one. It’s always nice to be appreciated.

This morning is lovely and warm. I was awake at 5.00 am but managed to stay in bed, listening to the World News followed by R4 Today programme until 7.00 am. Up for breakfast with the conservatory doors open on to the garden. Who could start without freshly squeezed orange juice and a huge cup (never a mug) of Yorkshire tea? Everything until I eat my meal in the mid-afternoon is liquid which plays havoc with an old man’s bladder.

One of the things about life at the moment is that absence of doing leads to introspection. This morning, my calendar reminds me that Emma – one of our past-pupil adoptees – is 42 today. She is married with 3 children and her eldest recently graduated from university. He is also a professional rugby player and an amateur boxer. It gives me quite a warm feeling reminiscing about those times 25 years ago. Pathetic, I can hear you scoff but I don’t care.

I’ve been thinking about Sifnos because it was 7 years last week that we left and this picture of Lakis Kafezaxaroplasteio (Coffee & Sweet Things) came up this morning. When we first went there, it was 1984 and I was just 33 years old. The original old man was running the shop. As we went through the 1990s, the old man died and his son took over running the Café. Now, it is run by the next generation who have smartened the old place up. Will we see it again? We must trust in the future!

Feel genuinely happy and optimistic this morning. Absolutely no idea why. Must be all the tea for breakfast!

Talking about breakfast, I’m trying to persuade my wife that I need one of these. It would make me feel as if I was in a nice hotel every morning. She says I’m being over-ambitious. Story of my life! Instead of a juicer, she has ordered me a new lawnmower. I don’t know what she’s trying to tell me!

41 years ago last month, we had a near-death experience car accident. The MEN sent me this event from Manchester this morning. Rather reminds me:

This is Middleton Road, Blackley partially blocked northbound outside the entrance to Heaton Park. By the look of the car in the foreground, this could have been a race going on. In our case, we were in a mini and destroyed by an old, Ford Cortina.

Tuesday, 27th July, 2021

Incredibly hot and muggy evening last night and thunder, lightning and torrential rain struck at around 4.00 am. I always find it hard to get back to sleep after that with thoughts flooding across my mind for ages.

The hottest temperature I have ever experienced is 42C/108F ten years ago this week in Athens and that is exactly what is expected there again today. I certainly don’t envy them. It is actually quite frightening. Walking in that heat is rather how one might imagine dying slowly would feel.

I have to complete my exercise routine early today because I am taking Pauline to hospital later. It is an initial investigation. She seems quite unfazed by it. Girls always seem to handle these things better than I do. I am, on the other hand, always nervous but I have no understanding of bodies. They are a mystery to me.

At least we do have an excellent hospital in our area which is reassuring. I suspect that they understand bodies.

On Sunday, I featured our fig trees which now tower at around 10ft tall even after winter pruning. Yesterday, we ate our first fruit and it was absolutely delicious. I made the mistake of suggesting I wouldn’t try growing them in Lancashire yet. I meant to produce fruit. A Blog reader from the wilds of the North took umbrage and contacted me to say they had two, lovely little ones …. There are no words!

Wednesday, 28th July, 2021

This morning has started off quite warm -19C/66F at 7.00 am. Suddenly, as I drank breakfast, the heavens opened and we had 5 mins of torrential rain. Just as suddenly, blue sky appeared with strong sunshine. Looks as if that is how it will go for a day or two. I am distraught. My lovely lawn has developed brown patches and areas are dying. Having ignored it for a week, I have to rake out the dead and reseed. I’m going to do that today. I would love to grow Bougainvillea on the fences of the back garden but I don’t think it would survive anything but the warmest winter. Used to love this peach-coloured variety that we grew in Greece.

Did my full exercise routine by mid-day yesterday. It had turned out a completely different prospect from forecasts. Warm – 22C/70F, sunny and dry, the morning was wonderful. We did our walk twice and then prepared to go out for the afternoon. I drove to the hospital where I spent an hour walking round the car park. Actually, we had a huge shock as we entered the hospital car park. A young woman was on the floor in the middle of the road surrounded by policemen and police cars. She didn’t look well but it wasn’t obvious what had occurred.

Those not there for ‘official’ reasons are not allowed in. The woman parked next to me returned to her car saying she had been refused entry for being 10 minutes too early for her appointment. Anyway, ultimately, everything went well. The biggest problem was trying to park. It is a full-time job looking for a space in the mid-afternoon.

We drove home down the coast road, past the pier where full holiday mode had been reached. The fair with amusements was in full swing. Food outlets and entertainments were touting for business and traffic was heavy. By the time we ate around 6.00 pm, we were hungry and tired. It had seemed a long day already. Mind you, I had been awake since 4.00 am so 14 hrs had elapsed already.

Thursday, 29th July, 2021

Today we are driving up to Surrey to see M&K and P&C for the first time in a while. It takes about an hour to get there if the M25 is kind. We will spend a couple of hours there and then another hour driving home. I’ve got to get my exercise routine completed before we set off so an early start in the gym. No spam burgers for me! It is an absolutely beautiful, warm and sunny morning with crystal clear blue sky.

We’ve decided to consider at least a surprise visit. Pauline’s longest surviving friend is Sue who used to go to school at Hathershaw in Oldham where Pauline was Head Girl in 1970/71. They went to Newquay (Cornwall) together in their final Summer before going their own ways in 1971. Newquay would be a lovely place to live and property prices are very strong there at the moment. 

We haven’t seen Sue and her husband, Eddie, since the early 1980s. In retirement, they have sold their property in Halifax and moved to Gozo – the small island off Malta. They have bought an old, traditional house and refurbished it over the past 3 years. We are considering going to Malta towards the end of August and dropping into surprise Sue. It will be fun as part of a sun-filled experience. At the same time, I might be able to do something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now. My cleaner from school is Maltese. Cath cleaned my office and I always referred to her as The Maltese Falcon. She is/was a lovely woman who originated in Malta but had lived in Oldham since the 1970s. She had adopted Pauline’s Mum as her own Mother and went to clean for her in her final years in her Waterhead flat.

Every year, Cath would return to Malta for the summer to stay with her family. I would like to surprise her there in August this year.

I am researching Hotels we could stay in for a couple of weeks or so. I am thinking of the 5* Hyatt Regency in St. Julian’s Bay. It has a Gym, Pools inside and out and good rooms. Excellent wi-fi and satellite TV are a prerequisite and this hotel has an excellent review. The whole package for 15 nights is just under £3,000.00 plus flights which seems good value. It will be tying in appropriate flights that will be crucial. After all this time, it will feel slightly treacherous leaving the UK … but not a lot! Of course, we’ve had these flights of fancy before only to withdraw so I’m not holding my breath.

Friday, 30th July, 2021

The morning has started breezy, grey and sporadically damp. Typical English summer. We are going out shopping for fruit and to refuel the car which is quite a rare activity at the moment.

Yesterday, in contrast, was warm – 22C/70F – sunny with white clouds and comfortable. Did half my exercise routine early and then drove up to Surrey. The car was thanking us all the way for giving it an outing. Just a 50 mile drive was a joy of release. So was being with people.

We drove to M&K’s house where P&C are staying. It is so strange chatting in a social setting after so long. We just sat around a buffet and talked for a couple of hours. I have to admit to a sin here. I ate a Cheese Straw!

M&K are home from America for a couple of weeks – half of which is quarantine – and then back there.

Meanwhile, P&C are house and dog sitting. They have made friends with the swans at the bottom of the garden and C has even named them. He is visited by a female and her Cygnets. I’m not sure that they were quite as trusting of me but who could blame them?

M&K return to Florida soon and have been very generous in saying they would welcome a visit from us. They even went as far as offering us one of their cars when we are there. I said I would like to visit my childhood friend in Boston, Massachusetts at the same time and they told me it is just a simple internal flight. We are not allowed in yet but they are there until at least May so things will change. I look forward to it.

For now, back to the English weather, shopping and exercise. At least M gave me a list of Netflix offerings to watch in the gym.

Saturday, 31st July, 2021

Out early to Argos to collect some new bathroom scales and then on to a newly discovered Nursery which has opened a mile or so from our house. Foschini Nursery has been opened by Italians from Montepulciano. I’m sold on that immediately.

They say we are what we eat. Some people are pure spam. If you cut me through, I would be pure tomato. Foschini Nursery are growing and selling multiple varieties of Italian tomatoes which have been receiving rave reviews from chefs in the area.

We hope to come back on this warm day of sun & cloud to do some walking. I have been pushing myself quite hard since the beginning of April when I turned 70. I have just started to pay for it with a lump or swelling appearing in my groin – no jokes, thank you. It has persisted for a couple of weeks and, if it doesn’t disappear soon, I will have to consult a doctor. Haven’t done that for so long. Haven’t seen any doctor for anything in over two years and I am reluctant to go now but it may be more serious than I realise so may have to face it soon. My wife is pushing me to go. I think she has an eye on the Life insurance.

I did 2 hrs in the Gym yesterday and watched the whole of the modern, film edition of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. That is my sort of film and the time passed quite quickly although I was in some discomfort. The trouble is, my mindset will not allow me to dodge the routine. I just hope I am not exacerbating something. The one thing I can’t afford to do is sit still.

For anybody in the ‘know’, I was contacted out of the blue by Dave Weatherley yesterday. He was asking after my welfare which was nice. He still seems just as obsessed with 60s/70s music as when I knew him at College and is happily retired and living in Bolton if that isn’t a contradiction in terms.

My little brother, Bob, posted a photo of his wife, Jane, on their 44^th wedding anniversary yesterday. Bob has been retired for a couple of years now and seems to be very happy with his life at home in Maidenhead. There are a lot of Janes in my family.

Sunday, 18th July, 2021

Sometimes life heaps huge bowls of cherries on us and today is one of those days. The morning is beautiful again. Our little village is looking lovely although we don’t go down into it much except in the car. The old hill down is garlanded with self-seeded flowers which add to its charm.

Yesterday, we reached 27C/81F and today is forecast to be even warmer at over 30C/88F. Our walk yesterday reminded us strongly of those in our 30s when we strode mile after mile across Greek islands, me stripped to the waist in tiny, white shorts absorbing 32C+/90F+ temperatures before stopping for an ice-cold bottle of local, white Demestica wine with some savoury snacks. Those were the days almost 50 years ago!

Talking about walking miles, the weight is falling away and my shorts are in danger of doing the same. My wife is nothing if not economical and she is boil-washing shirts and shorts to shrink them rather than buy new. Can you believe a wife who would do that? Well, I suppose I have got about 20 sets in different colours so I accept my fate. I really don’t care that much.

Yesterday was quite strange in the morning. We went out to Tesco and Asda and, finally, Sainsburys looking for sparkling water, fresh Dill and one or two other things as well as a stock of Shloer. It was quite shocking how poorly the shelves were stocked. There was almost no sparkling water in any of them. No Dill anywhere and so many had shelves empty or nearly empty around 9.00 am on a Saturday morning. People have been warning of this for a while but we saw it today in reality.

We have very few children in our neighbourhood but one house across from us has two girls. Richard and Melanie are Cambridge graduates and their girls are still in Primary school. One was 10 yesterday. Like so many middle class, parents of today, they really push the boat out for their kids. Huge, bouncy castle in the back garden, signs up directing lots of visiting little girls to the ‘fun’. Richard with water-gun in hand, dousing them all on the bouncy castle to shrieks of enjoyment. What it must be to commit so much as parents.

Monday, 19th July, 2021

Pauline thought I was sad yesterday. I’m not sure why but I really felt good as the evening developed. The world is a lovely place especially while Johnson keeps making a fool of himself but there are so many lovely people around that it is important to enjoy them. You know, when we are out walking, people really do go out of there way to wait, stand in lay-bys, walk in the road, to make us feel comfortable as we pass.

The real irony of this morning is that, as the government removes all restrictions on ideological grounds and to appease swivel-eyed back-benchers, infection cases are surging exponentially and leading members of the government are self-isolating. Wales is not releasing for almost another 3 weeks by which time, we may be locking down again although you get some people from England visiting Wales so national controls must be compromised. Kevin, an old College friend who lives in Scotland, put up a poster this morning.

When we were in Greece, we built our house just above the port looking down on the harbour. Up above us was the Boulis farm which featured hundreds of kids – young goats. When we first bought the land and built there, I wondered if that would be a problem. Actually, we found that we loved goats and their bells woke us in the mornings with the sound of Switzerland. They are incredibly inquisitive, friendly and affectionate. It didn’t stop us from eating them, of course. Roast baby goat with Rosemary & Garlic is just delicious although I don’t really eat that sort of meat anymore.

I have a strange relationship with nature as an older man. Someone told me I was too nice which I consider a savage rebuke but it is true that my attitudes have changed. If we get a bee, even a wasp, trapped on the conservatory doors, I try to usher it out rather than kill it. If a beetle crosses my path, I no longer step on it. I have even stopped pulling the wings off flies! I have always felt tender towards and protective of people smaller than myself not only physically but socially, mentally, emotionally. I feel naturally protective and inclined to fight their corner. I don’t say that it has stopped me from eating small things – Quail for example or Whitebait – but I do think about it more. My environmentalist sister Jane BG would be proud of me.  

Regular readers will know that, about 5 years ago, I collected and germinated seeds of a tree quite common in the Canaries – Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant Tree. I grew it on as a couple of trees and maintained them in our conservatory windows until they grew too high. Last Winter, I decided – well, it was decided for me – that I would leave it to its fate out in the garden. We only had one, strongish frost and it killed the trees. I potted one (‘stick’) up in a cheap, plastic pot and gave it a chance. It has repaid me by growing back although our Fig Trees are putting it to shame. It will be a little while until I can call it ‘flamboyant’.

We were talking about our car which, even though we’ve had it 2 years, has only done 8,000 miles. It still feels very new to drive. I saw a video clip of someone starting their car with a ‘key’ this morning. Can you imagine that? Haven’t used a key for so many years. Don’t use a key to open up the doors – just pull. Don’t use a key to open the boot – just swipe our foot across. Don’t use a key to start the car – just push a button.

Actually, we hardly have to bother driving the car at all. We set the destination, lane control, speed limiter, speed control, road sign recognition, automatic drive/brake and distance from the car in front, automatic handbrake when stopping. It is so automatic everything and I drive it so little at the moment that, when I do, I forget what it is to be a driver. I passed my test in Failsworth on Christmas Eve, 1975. It seems so long ago. It was a bit of a shock to have to renew my licence this year. We have been through a number of different models of the same vehicle over the years. Our car used to have a spare tyre on the back; then it put a temporary, mini tyre in the boot. Finally, we have no spare tyre just a do-it-yourself, puncture-seal kit for a run-flat tyre. We also have an emergency, 3G mobile button built in to call for help.

Having driven 2000 miles to Greece and then got a bad puncture, I tried to buy a replacement in Athens. Nobody could supply one. We had to fly home to complete the sale of our house in Yorkshire so I sourced a new tyre, packed it in a massive box and sent it Parcel-Force to our home in Greece. It got there before we did. We’ve only once in our driving lives had to buy a new set of tyres for a car. Usually, we have changed the car long before the tyres are reduced.

Tuesday, 20th July, 2021

Warm yesterday and we decided to go down to the beach for an hour or so before the schools break up and children flood the area. The Funfair was still closed but looked as if they were preparing for next week’s rush. Actually, it was comparatively quiet. We walked for about an hour and a half. The only problem with this time is having to dodge all the old people. I play guess-the-age as people shuffle along in front of us. How long until someone does that to me?

The beach itself was almost empty although there were a few swimmers. Rather them than me. I like a heated pool or the Mediterranean for swimming.Sound on, sit back & relax.

Thought you might like a little video clip of what I was experiencing yesterday morning. Few people but plenty of seagulls.

Coming back, we stopped off to buy baskets of fruit – peaches and apricots mainly – and then home. I cut all the lawns including my neighbours’ and then fed and watered them as well. At the moment, they need doing every 2-3 days and the hedge is almost as bad. I finished the afternoon in the gym for an hour where it was so hot that I could hardly peel my shirt off at the end.

The CCTV cameras are being installed tomorrow morning so we’ll be tied to home. The next project has got to be air-conditioning. Every summer we say it but, this time, we’ve got to do something about it. I want the Lounge to be cooler and the bedrooms to be definitely cooler. Pauline is very opposed to ugly boxes on the wall that looked appropriate in our Greek home but not here.

My solution is more expensive but much less obtrusive – ducted, house-wide cold air distribution.

Everything happens in the spaces above and between floors with ducting leading to discreet vents in the ceiling.

My job now is to investigate suppliers/installers to do the job with the least amount of disruption. Can this be easily retro-fitted?

Wednesday, 21st July, 2021

The lovely days continue although it’s a bit annoying that the West of the country and Wales, in particular, are going to be warmer today. Anyway, they’re usually first to get rain so we’ll let that go. We’ve had a few days of walking by the beach but we’re at home having security cameras installed today. I’ll have to sweat it out in the gym this morning.

Yesterday, we walked by the sea for an hour and a half. We walked the tourist, holiday-maker route past the modernist, East Beach Café and on towards Rustington village. Later, we did another hour’s walk around our local area. We were musing on the fact that we both find it difficult to sit inactively anywhere for any length of time nowadays. Not only do our watches buzz us to ‘MOVE’ but our bodies tell us we need to be active automatically. It’s not comfortable for someone who enjoys writing.

I never give up. When I get a desire fixed in my head, I never stop until I’ve achieved it. Many would say it is obsessive and weird. I am perfectly prepared to acknowledge that and admit it. It is true and something I don’t quite understand about myself. It can be something quite small like yesterday when I had begun to obsess about fresh crab. My wife isn’t even keen on it but I love this summer delicacy. We contacted the fish suppliers. No crab. We went down to the pier for a walk – no crab. We went to the supermarkets – no crab. Tomorrow, we are expecting Billingsgate market to deliver what I want or there will be trouble.

I don’t really know where this aspect of my character derived from. I blame my Mother. I was taught: Never give in! I never give in. I might wait for 50 years but I never give in! It may be just crab tomorrow but, ultimately, ….Meanwhile, we wait and watch and expect …

My wife has an ice cream maker. She makes ice cream at home. She is brilliant at it. We haven’t had any ice cream for years – maybe 10 at least. I haven’t seen an ice cream van in our locality since childhood. Yesterday evening, I looked out of my Office window and found an ice cream van parked outside. I despatched my wife immediately for ice cream. We ate it in the Office and it was delicious. I was back in the 1950s. I would have loved to have bought you all an ice cream.

It has been hot down here but it is never hot enough for me. I have been spray, irrigating the lawns and flower beds throughout the afternoon. Our meal has been, cold, roast salmon with Greek Salad. I am in my element – brown as my skin will allow and glowing with health. I am hungry for activity and exploration. Open the gates and let me out!

One of the problems down here is that homes being built in large numbers are generally not ‘affordable’. They are in the high-end sector. They also tend to be on green belt land rather than redeveloped. I was reading the MEN last night about the redevelopment of a brownfield site – the former Rex Mill site Middleton – with 330 homes ranging from one-bed mews properties to large detached properties – built on a 30-acre piece of land. Just over a third of the homes would be ‘affordable’, with the rest split roughly equally between houses for market-rate sale and private rent.

This is the sort of thing that is needed to house those unfortunate enough to be struggling on the housing ladder! We just read last night of another 200 homes here being proposed on green belt land near us – currently a golf course – although some will be apartments as well as 4-bedroomed houses.

Thursday, 22nd July, 2021

A hot and sunny day of high humidity. The CCTV installer arrived early on the most delicious morning yesterday and worked around the outside mounting cameras and then in the loft to place the wi-fi distribution box. All of this fed down into the Gym/Garage where the recorder was sited. We have software installed on our smartphones, iPads, PCs and laptops to review, edit and save clips. Someone said I give too much of my personal information away on my Blog and invited burglars. Well, at least I will be able to picture those who are robbing me now.

In the gym, I’m still watching this Mancunian-Ibizan serial, White Lines, on Netflix. It has 10 episodes and I’m only on Episode 5. For me, it is quite a hard watch although I’ve been quite captivated by the central character, a North Manchester girl who is seeking the truth about her brother’s murder two decades earlier. The actress is Laura Haddock and she presents a convincing Mancunian girl in my experience. Actually, she is a 35 year old Londoner which is a testament to her acting.

I’ve already identified my next one which will be based on a true story in the 1940s about Florence Foster Jenkins. New York socialite, Florence Foster Jenkins dreams of becoming a great opera singer. Unfortunately, her ambition far exceeds her talent. The voice Florence hears in her head is beautiful, but to everyone else it is quite awful. This film features Meryl Streep & Hugh Grant both of whom I enjoy.

Apart from my Blog, I haven’t done any writing for a day or two. I’ve been deserted by my Muse, I think. Must get back to it urgently and renew the flow which I found recently. It was actually giving me so much pleasure. It has been a little warm in the Office to be sitting around missing the sun. I don’t remember when I was last so brown – certainly not since 6 months in Greece although we deliberately avoided the intense sunshine in those days.

I wrote recently, to some derision, about the paucity of produce on supermarket shelves. The Mail today is featuring exactly that as well as Royal Mail deliveries across the country hit by the pandemic. Brexit and the pandemic provide the perfect storm for a civilised life although not many Brexiters stoked up by the false, Tory culture war will acknowledge it.

Far be it from me to want to spend money on my wife but I’ve been trying to persuade her to have a new computer for a while. Hers is old and slow and new ones are so cheap nowadays that it would make sense. In addition, she is constantly Facetiming/Video-conferencing her friends and her sister and demanding my large screen iPad to do it.

A new computer like this would cost less than £1000.00, take up less space, run so much more quickly and have a pop-up webcam integrated for video conferencing. It’s the way forward but why can’t she see it? Some women just lack technological enthusiasm!

Last night at 9.00 pm it was hot, hot, hot – still 26C/79F – when I went out in the garden and captured the moon on my phone. Beautiful but slightly mournful, golden misshape in a hot, dark sky. I had one of those speculative moments wondering who else was looking at the moon at that self-same time. Greek friends, at their 11.00 pm would be feeling hot as they finished Dinner under this moon. Old Northern friends would be outside staring up at this lump of gold. I suspect not many of them would be dreaming this romantic (sentimental?) dream.

Friday, 23rd July, 2021

Another beautiful, sunny morning and a humid 24C/75F although this may be the last for a short while. Exactly 55 years ago this morning, ( I have to catch my breath when I say such things! 55 years ago!!) I was standing on the platform at Burton-upon-Trent railway station waiting for a train to Holyhead. I was going to take the night ferry to Dun Loghaire – the port for Dublin. I was with a group of lads and we were going to journey round Loch Derg, County Donegal in a horse-drawn (tinker’s) caravan. I arrived in the centre of Dublin after a tumultuous sea crossing of the Irish Sea just weeks after the IRA had blown up a statue of Nelson on top of a 41m-high pillar in the very centre of Dublin. Now, the Brexit Agreement is, at last, moving both sides towards a united Ireland.

Hot, hot, hot day yesterday. Loved it! Went out early to Tesco and then on to the beach. It was not quiet yesterday. Some schools had broken up and some were on last day visits to the seaside. The beach and promenade were really busy. Right from the Marina Promenade, there were lots of youngsters and parents and proud grandparents (What must it be like to be a proud Grandparent?) helping and safeguarding youngsters who were catching crabs over the side with a single line and reel.

The crabs, of course, were only inches in size and not edible but the kids were absolutely delighted with the creatures struggling to escape from the inch or so of water boiling under the sun in their buckets. On the opposite side, the Funfair was limbering up to open at the weekend.

We walked for an hour or so down the beach road and there were so many swimming in the sea, we felt like cowards in comparison. It was incredibly warm and the sea temperature had gone up 1C to 19C but it wasn’t enough to tempt us. I needed a slave to send on ahead as a tester. There must be a philistine who could do that job!

It was good, old-fashioned bucket & spade fun from the 1950s so reminiscent of the time Brexiters wanted to return to. We even had the Promenade train rides to avoid.

I told you I never give in and I got (part of) my reward yesterday morning with the most delicious crab you can imagine. We also bought half a dozen local (Portsmouth) scallops in their shells for our meal. They were gorgeous on a bed of samphire. If you’ve never tried samphire, dear reader, get some. Lightly boiled and tossed in a bit of butter, it is the food of angels. After that meal, I felt savagely energetic and up for anything.

My choice of music today is the Slave song from Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco. If you give it a few moments and get over the opening bars, it is sublime:https://www.youtube.com/embed/2VejTwFjwVI?feature=oembed

I retired 12 years ago last April and, no longer earning, one of the concerns has always been that inflation and earnings would reduce the value of our savings/investments. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Office for National Statistics has just released figures to show that teachers’ pay is still 8% below the place it was 12 years ago. Teachers have just had a pay freeze announced again this year. I certainly don’t rejoice in that and there are definitely inflationary tendencies in the current economy but, as a teacher/pensioner, the trend could not have been much more helpful.

Saturday, 24th July, 2021

It was one of those weird nights of heat and high humidity, very reminiscent of Greek summers. In just the same way, it produced a long, loud, thunderstorm with an hour of continual white flashes and bangs to shake the house. If we’d driven down to the beach, we might have seen this just as we used to watch across the bay in Sifnos.

As it was, we sat in the comfort of our Lounge drinking cups of tea and watching the sky light up.

We were out cornering the market for Shloer yesterday and again this morning. Tesco is advertising it at half price – £1.10 – although it often sells at even more than double that. Anyway, it is so disgusting that there can’t be many people in the world desperate enough to buy it. For me, it is just a way to avoid alcohol. I’ve only got about 60 bottles in my stock at the moment so this was a time to build it up. Another 40 over 2 days brings it up to a good, round number which appeals to me. Anyone out there who feels deprived is welcome to come round for a bottle. These are the sorts of daft things that 70 yr olds can and should do. Life really is for enjoyment and packing in as much of it as possible. I think I’m going to take up walking on walls again.

The Queen, famously, never carries money. Of course, I have done exactly the same since I got married. My wife was given all charge of day-to-day spending. She buys everything. She loves buying things. Boil-washing my old shorts to shrink them to fit my new size has ended. A dozen, new, appropriately-sized pairs of shorts arrived yesterday and they fit beautifully.

I deal with savings & investments. If I wanted to buy anything independently, I have an array of credit cards but I use them so rarely that I can never remember the PINs. Suddenly, along came smartphones and new, associated payment methods. Google Pay is a boon because, having set it up, one doesn’t need to remember anything. However, it used to be limited to £30.00 and then increased to £40.00 but that felt very restrictive. Yesterday, I learnt that there is no longer any upper limit. I’ll buy my next car with it! How anyone can cope without smartphones and modern payment methods is a mystery to me but then, many things are. I’m sure I will get to understand at some stage.

We managed a good walk outside in the sunshine and a sultry temperature that reached 28C/83F yesterday. I combined exercise and sunbathing as I pressure-washed the patio flags. I gave my wife three jobs – making a batch of bread, making fresh, strawberry jam and cutting my hair. She didn’t complete any of them but she did suggest I might like to look for a new or additional wife. I am actively considering it.

I’m still watching the Manchester/Ibiza serial inspired by carpets and this image came up on social media yesterday. It amused me. Maybe it will you.

Sunday, 11th July, 2021

Even though I was shattered last night and went to bed just after 11.00 pm, I was awake at 2.30 am and didn’t really get back to sleep again. It’s amazing how one’s head rules one’s body in times like this. Tired this morning when I got up at 7.00 am but a lovely, sunny morning has helped.

The quote for our CCTV installation came in yesterday and, at £780.00 for supply & installation, was below the figure we had expected. We have instructed the company to go ahead with the plan as soon as possible.

Also in the post yesterday were our official, NHS Vaccination Certificates required for European and Transatlantic travel. Very efficient system in which we applied online and received by post within 5 working days. Unfortunately, Covid cases are exploding exponentially in England just as Johnson looks to open up. Already, hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with patients who have contracted the Johnson (formerly Delta/India) Variant. England’s R number is back up to 1.2 – 1.5 again.

Covid cases are soaring in Spain and Portugal and increasing in Greece and Turkey as Johnson Variant takes hold – just as lots of Brits prepare to fly to Europe. Only fully vaccinated will be allowed out/in and, even then, will require expensive PCR tests each way. At the moment, we think the best we can do is a French drive.

Roast salmon with Pesto Crust
Samphire & Green Beans with Garlic

Not too many calories in this meal apart from in the pesto. Yesterday’s exercise in the Gym was an absolute killer but I forced myself to do it. I have completed my routine for 149 consecutive days. I am managing about 65 miles a week at the moment although my weights work has been a bit sporadic. I’m giving myself a good talking to and will renew my effort in that from the start of the new week.

TV and print media are really going over the top about football this morning. I enjoy football and watch lots of it but this is not really about sport. It is all about politics. It makes me very uncomfortable. Of course, I remember dear Harold Wilson not being shy about milking World Cup glory in 1966 so it is nothing new.https://www.youtube.com/embed/euveRgxXB2g?feature=oembed

In an effort to make the ‘news’ about football, one commentator also reminded me that the No.1 single at the time in 1966 was Chris Farlowe’s Out of Time. I was embarrassed to find that I still knew all the words. Why do I remember such meaningless rubbish but forget all the important things?

Monday, 12th July, 2021

Everywhere was quiet, silent even and this on an evening of international football. There were a number of reasons. Firstly, having lived here for over 5 years, we have never had a power cut. There was one last night just an hour before the game kicked off. We were reduced to the idea of watching on smartphones or driving out and finding a hotspot to link up our iPads. Pauline’s friend was preparing to keep us up to date and her niece in America was watching live and texting her. Fortunately, Southern Electricity rode to the rescue and found there had been a number of substations that had tripped out. Just before the kick-off, a worker arrived at the perimeter of our Development to fix ours and the power came back on.

Even so, as rain fell, planned football parties in back gardens were moved inside behind closed doors. So, when England scored early on, any cheering was unheard. Finally, when Italy equalised and then won, the silent depression of England supporters was matched by the silent but respectful celebration of our Italian neighbours.

I’ve been reading an interesting article by Andrew Adonis in Prospect Magazine, Andrew remembers Johnson musing over two, particular ideas in a conversation just before he took on the Referendum campaign. Firstly, he was totally undecided which side of the Brexit vote he should come down on which tells you much about his personal ambition overriding his principles. Secondly, he said whichever side he came down on, the British people would be malleable. In Latin, he quoted the Roman poet, Virgil, “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.” By playing the clown to the audience; by allying himself to English sporting achievements like the European Football Championship in which he has no interest, Johnson is harnessing the Bread & Circuses distraction.

The objective manifestation of this could be seen in Leicester Square last night as the foolish led the idiotic in Tory, nationalist England. And none of these people will have the slightest inkling that their rights of protest are currently being legislated out of UK law. The international rights of asylum claim are being severely truncated. The conditions of exercising a vote are being made less easy. This is how the Bread & Circuses trick works. Of course the pickanniny/letterbox prime minister has come out to condemn the racist abuse of his followers that he legitimised in the first place.

I used to think I was brave and something of a risk taker. Now, I’ve realised how weak and pathetic I’ve become. Why? Well, in the past, I would happily invest comparatively large amounts of money in investment vehicles. We didn’t really have one significant failure in that policy. In the past few days, I’ve merely wanted to move largish sums of money from one account to another online instead of asking the bank to do it and found myself really scared in pressing the final, ‘SEND’ key. Is this a sign of age? I WILL do it … soon.

Chicken in White Wine, French Mustard & Tarragon Sauce
Broad Beans
Cauliflower & Broccoli Salad

You might spot the weakness in the latest meal-pic. Yes, I gave in and drank red wine. Well, everyone else with some notable exceptions, seemed to be drinking yesterday.

Just 4 years ago today, we were in the hot and sweaty but beautiful Florence railway station having travelled from our base in Lucca. I bet it will have been a lot noisier last night.

Tuesday, 13th July, 2021

Halfway through July already! The end of the school year this week. I know it’s stupid but these things suddenly jump up and bite me – the passage of time, the speed of it. Been out early to Rustington to buy fruit – peaches from Spain and Apricots from Portugal. Nice, warm morning with sun breaking through. Got the Covid-Testing Lady from Oxford University arriving at 10.00 am for a Lateral Flow test followed by another pint of blood. No wonder I’m losing weight.

A lovely morning of warm sunshine yesterday which made our walk down to the village delightful. I came back and did some writing. Getting beyond the planning stage has been really hurting me. Suddenly, this morning it flowed quite naturally from a simple idea, a memory, a picture. I had a feeling it might happen in this way but was beginning to get a bit despondent. When it started, the flow was so enjoyable, I couldn’t stop. Like the sudden sharp hot stink of fox … It enters the dark hole of the head. … The page is printed. Not getting ahead of myself but hope my muse visits again today!

Talking about flowing, central London streets were awash yesteday afternoon after a cloud burst. Our neighbour, Dorset suffered similarly. We had thunder but without the water.

Pan-fried Cod Loin
Artichoke Hearts & Peas

I read the Manchester Evening News, Oldham Chronicle and Huddersfield Examiner most evenings and have really been struck by the level of violent crime featured in them. I may be wrong but it doesn’t feel as bad in my local papers. Last night, the MEN reported two men with serious stab wounds being dumped at the doors of the Oldham Royal Hospital. They had been attacked at Middleton Junction. At the same, the Oldham Chronicle was reporting a murder by shooting in streets of terraced houses. How much anger and violence there is in our society, however impoverished, astonishes and saddens me.

Watched another episode of Long Lost Family last night and, although it seems obvious, it suddenly dawned on me that it was the constant searching, the constant looking, the constant enquiring for the missing person that was so soul-destroying. So often that searching needn’t have been so prolonged. Often, when the reconnection takes place, the separated have been living within miles of each other most of their lives. There is a compounding of the tragedy that destroys their lives. The thread with one fixed in time and the other loose and flailing is the image on which to pin my writing.

Wednesday, 14th July, 2021

This morning has opened with lovely weather, remaining 17C/63F overnight and we are forecast to get better as the week advances. We have a fresh fish delivery of Cod, Swordfish, Tuna, Calamari and Dressed Crabs – enough for the rest of the month.

Yesterday we did the next installment of the Lateral Flow and Blood Antibody tests for the Oxford University Covid Project. An interesting lady from the Gatwick area sat in the sunshine of our back garden to carry out the Tests & Questionnaire. She used to be a Monarch Airways hostess and, later, a British Airways hostess but had been forced into this project by the cut in travel. The sun was hot and the temperature reached a quite sultry 25C/77F. It was almost too bright for her to use her iPad.

Pan-fried Fillet of Sea Bass with King Prawns,
Asparagus, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Oregano & Basil and Samphire

Having now completed the 7 days Food Record, readers will see that it is dominated by fish and vegetables. This week, it has included 2 meat days but that is one more than normal. It represents a massive shift from our working life when I would eat a huge bowl of cereal for Breakfast, a spam burger from the school Canteen at Break. I would have a school Lunch which would invariably include chips and then a Pasta dish in the evening at home with at least one bottle of red wine. All this stress-eating! How I coped with all that carbohydrate, I have no idea.

You know, I’ve thought about writing a book, a fiction, a story for so many years. I had told myself that my time had passed. I was kidding myself. I couldn’t do it. Perhaps I couldn’t be bothered. Suddenly, something happened and, at the age of 70, I began to think again. I don’t know what sparked it but it has been churning round in my head for the past few months without really taking off. Suddenly, it has spurted into my mind.

Call it what you will but I’ll fall back on that old cliché, my Muse has appeared. Years late – nothing changes. Old, wrinkly but not dry, the creative juices have started flowing. Will it last? Who knows. I have a feeling it will. Today, I’ve found an interesting book to help me. I know people who publish their books purely to Kindle format and avoid all publishing costs but this, Manchester man, has done it the hard way and may well have some useful lessons to teach me.

I could buy it from https://www.abebooks.co.uk/ for £12.78 or download it to my Kindle Reader app for ‘free’. Guess? Who are these people who haven’t arrived at e-books yet? Must be very wealthy! Thank goodness I found this book. Let’s hope my wrinkly old Muse doesn’t see it as cheating and dry up!

Wonderful story reported by the BBC last night. A Chinese man, Guo Gangtang’s son had been snatched aged two by human traffickers in front of their home in the province of Shandong. His son’s disappearance actually inspired a movie in 2015. After his son was abducted in 1997, Mr. Guo reportedly travelled to more than 20 provinces around the country on the back of a motorbike chasing tip-offs.

In the process, he broke bones in traffic accidents and even encountered highway robbers. Ten motorbikes were also damaged. Carrying around banners with his son’s picture on them, he is said to have spent his life savings on his mission, sleeping under bridges and begging for money when he ran out of cash. However, Guo was rewarded for such tenacious and dedicated effort and he has been reunited with his son after a 24-year search that saw him travel over 500,000km on a motorbike across the country.

Do I have that staying power? I’d like to think I do but would rather not be put to the test!

Just an interesting coda: The police are reporting 2,300 incidents of attacks on Italians across the country following the football final. That is the sort of country the Tories’ populist nationalism with all its flag-waving has created.https://www.youtube.com/embed/iMJPZ-mu-Ts?feature=oembed

To encourage them, I feature the most appropriate music for a day like today: Beethoven’s 6th Symphony – Pastoral. Forget the flags and move to the country!

Thursday, 15th July, 2021

Yesterday was warm and sultry. We reached 26C/79F in the afternoon. I was busy all through the day cutting lawns including my neighbours, doing my exercise routine for the 153rd consecutive day including a very warm walk outside.

Up at 6.30 am this morning with a gorgeous prospect for today. Blue sky, strong sun, green lawns, bright flowers – 18C/65F at this time. We have a Sainsbury’s delivery at 7.30 am. Although we have a lovely day in prospect, I still feel trapped by my circumstances.

Three years ago we were spending a month in the Dordogne and called in to visit one of my cousins who has properties there.

Four years ago we were spending a month driving round Tuscany and were enjoying the wonderful town of Bologna in incredible heat.

Ten years ago, we were halfway through our 6 months stay on Sifnos and eating out in the quiet, fishing village of Vathy eating in one of our favourite restaurants.

These are the sorts of things we are absolutely desperate to continue even though it feels like running away from reality. Living in a ‘nice’ place pales into insignificance when it begins to feel like a prison.

Pauline has text or phone communication with her old, College friend from 1973 almost every day which is lovely for her. She is really enjoying it. They will meet up again soon. This time, I may drive her to Milton Keynes and meet Chris myself. Having heard her on the phone, she sounds delightful and I’m looking forward to meeting her. Her husband died 2 – 3 years ago of cancer. The other two girls of the quartet we have not met yet. One is on her 2^nd marriage and the other is on her 3rd husband and has just heard that he has terminal cancer. How stark lives can be! I find these hard messages unbearably difficult to cope with. I was told this yesterday and carried it round in my head as I worked and walked. I know I am over-sensitive, weak and pathetic but that’s how it is.

Few of us are untouched by cancer at one remove at least. My mother had bowel cancer and surgery resulted in a colostomy bag which I know she found very uncomfortable and limiting. Our lovely neighbour, Pat, is suffering from stage 4 cancer which has moved into his lymph glands making it inoperable. How do you cope with that news?  It panics me and urges on my project. I have so many goals to achieve before I go.

Just been listening to the former Children’s Commissioner talking about child poverty and citing the case of a boy sleeping on a Palet with only a blanket to cover him and of a family sleeping on a bus overnight to keep warm. In the UK!! I cannot bear the thought of it and weep as I think about it. How can people be put in that situation? Maybe it is because we don’t have the distraction of travel or just that I am getting older but I’m finding it hard shutting these things out.

Friday, 16th July, 2021

Wonderful, wonderful morning. Hot, sunny, welcoming, embracing. Going down to the beach this morning to enjoy the weather and the smell of the sea. Before that, a quick trip to the Garden Centre for supplies for the lawns.

Up early yesterday and out for a walk in the strong sunshine by 9.30 am. The temperature was already 23C/74F and we felt its power as we walked in our local area. It is the first time for a couple of weeks that we have done this route and it’s amazing how far the countryside has advanced towards the end of Summer.

The fields of barley are turning rapidly golden and ready for the harvester. The field edges are really the most beautiful areas with their diversity of plants. These thistles (Echinops) are almost over but are all the more dynamic for their seed heads. Yesterday, from the fields’ margins, we picked and ate handfuls of wild raspberries with the most wonderful flavour.

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in fields of gold …..

I hate, resent the way that music draws out of me emotions I desperately want to repress. Even so, I have to recognise their existence. Nigel, Julie and John-2 have acknowledged my photos of the fields of barley which I’ve posted on social media. That is nice and gives me a sense of reconnection.

Lovely photo taken from a drone camera yesterday of the River Arun running into the sea at Littlehampton Marina where we walk so often. The picture is so sharp that you can see the wind farm out at sea. We will be down there today.

Saturday, 17th July, 2021

Up at 4.00 am. Couldn’t sleep. My head is full of thoughts. Sometimes I think I’m losing the plot. On others, I think I never had it in the first place. Out walking by 5.00 am. The sky is like a backlit stage as the sun begins to rise. The birds and rabbits have the world to themselves until I arrive. Actually, a lady is watering her front garden and I meet a couple of girls out walking as well. Pauline woke to find me gone and phoned when I was at my furthest point from the house. I was back by 6.30 am and we were soon out to Tesco and then Asda to re-corner the market in Shloer because my stocks are running down and they are on half-price offers.

The lovely days continue and this one is going to be even better. It’s just as well because all ideas of a French trip seem to be on hold as the government has moved France on to the ‘red’ list with quarantine required even for the fully vaccinated. Looks like Yorkshire/Lancashire will be the extent of our travels this year. Still, there are lots of lovely people and places to revisit there.

Yesterday, we went down to the beach. Because schools are still in session, it was very quiet and peaceful at 10.00 in the morning.

A few old men sat around Oyster Pond sailing their model boats but the cries of children were obviously missing.

As we walked along the beach path, a crocodile of children in high-viz vests wound down the beach and set up with their teachers for their Sports Day which I thought was a nice idea.

As we walked by the beach yesterday morning, two, grey haired ladies walked by talking. I love to overhear this sort of conversation. It’s the sort of thing writers feed off. One was saying, Well, we all went to the reunion and then, you know, two months later she was dead. Can you believe that? I really never want to have that conversation myself. Pauline has an emergency investigation at the hospital next week which is worrying us but we are both working hard to keep fit and stay healthy. We are determined to never give in to ageism! It is important to do everything to keep at bay the decline of the intellect.

One of the clear signs of aging is accepting. It is fatal. Never give up trying new things. Never say you are too old to try that. Never think it is just for younger people. Never give up!

It hurts me when I hear people say they are too old. We are only too old when we are dead! It is a mindset that can be cultivated. It separates two types of human beings. Reader, you really must fall on the right side of this divide. New things; new inventions; new routines; new relationships are what keep us young and alive. The challenge is all!

Recent research has found that those who continue to pursue intellectual activities – reading, writing, etc., are the most likely to delay the onset of aging, of Dementia/Alzheimer’s by at least 5 years which, at our age, could be significant. Embracing new technology, learning new languages, travelling, learning new skills are all ways of staving off the closing down of the brain. Rage, Rage against the dying of the light!

Really struggling to find new things to watch in the gym at the moment. My latest, Netflix distraction is called White Lines and is set in 1990s Manchester and 2020s Ibiza.

It is like the old BBC ‘Eldorado’ from the 90’s and ‘Hollyoaks’ rolled into one in Ibiza. Sex scenes and nudity mostly for no reason at all, but a nice back drop and distraction from sometimes misplaced humour.

Film Critic

The former centres around the 1990s, Manchester music scene which, of course, I am not an expert in. I’m told it features Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, the Inspiral Carpets. Can you imagine being inspired by carpets? The latter largely centres around the drugs scene which I’m also not expert in hence the white lines. It’s all a bit daft but it is 10 episodes and I’m reluctant to stop halfway through. I’m reluctant to give up on anything worth having.

Sunday, 4th July, 2021

Warm but heavy rain over night. Nice of the philistines to send it down South. Up at 6.30 am and it is soon dry again. Everywhere looks lovely and luscious just like me. My new trousers arrived yesterday and fitted me perfectly. The waistband has returned me to 1985. I’ve got 3 more pairs arriving over the next few days even though my fitness programme will continue. Good job we’ve got lots of ‘overspill’ wardrobes. Success will be relegating these new trousers to there.

Our next door neighbours bought us some lovely roses as a thank you for a small favour we had done for them. They were bought in Waitrose and have been scenting the kitchen for almost 2 full weeks. Absolutely lovely to have cut flowers in the room and to last so long.

How do people survive without modern technology? I know of those who don’t use a computer, don’t use email, don’t even have a smartphone. I only ask because I have realised as I have gone back into the shopping world that I couldn’t manage without any of these things. My smartphone pays for almost everything that is contactless. My watch tells me that emails and text messages are coming in as long as my smartphone is close. If I’m out of the house, I get notices of breaking news, I can check the weather and I can be warned that something is being delivered and when. All banking is done on line. Haven’t had money or been to a bank for years.

I usually found that those who didn’t embrace technology were basically rather frightened of it, frightened of ‘breaking’ it or embarrassed that they would be found wanting. It has been my mission in life to convert them to the modern world. Ever the teacher, all it takes is compassion and reassurance. Anyone who intends to live for another 20 years will find themselves completely left behind by the fast pace of the technological society.

I love writing. I write something every day. I am forcing myself currently to map out a potential book based on life events. It is amazing how difficult it is to visualise the central theme. It needs to be a weave of the emotional and the intellectual but it needs to be gripping. It occupies my thoughts whatever I am doing during the day. At 5.30 am, I was listening to a BBC Radio 4 programme about the nature of inspiration which provoked this thought today but I have always liked Ted Hughes description of the creative process as a sensual, sexual one which he describes in his poem, The Thought Fox.

Hughes compares his mind sniffing out the ideas for his poem like a fox sniffing out its mate in the forest. It is slow, silent, gentle at first but

A fox’s nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now
And again now, and now, and now ….

…Coming about its own business

Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox
It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks,
The page is printed.

Ejaculation and fertilisation is the inspiration of the imagination. Writer’s block is erectile dysfunction. And in the same vein (if you will pardon the allusion), my most recent gym film was a bonkers one called Sirens with Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald. It has an 18 certification and is not right for a 70 yr old on a treadmill. Unfortunately, I have to finish when I’ve started.

I don’t advertise its address but I have bought separate, WordPress space to do an entire backup and replication of my Blog in case anything happens to it. I really couldn’t stand the idea of losing so many years of my life. There are so few people left alive who could help in recalling it for me. Every Sunday evening, I back up the previous week’s Blog in its entirety for posterity.

Monday, 5th July, 2021

Lovely, sunny and warm morning – quite the opposite of what was forecast. My jobs are pressure washing the patio and cleaning the car. Can’t wait!

On this day in 1948, just 3 years before I was born, the Labour Government’s Health Minister, Aneurin Bevan, launched the new, National Health Service which would be free at the point of delivery. It transformed the lives of the English population and gave me a great start in life. I had so many serious Rugby injuries that I made full use of it in my youth. From cradle to grave it was intended to support us against the exigencies of life. Now we await the Tory’s Care Plan which they said was already ready but seems to have got lost in translation. I wonder if it will arrive before I need it.

I have driven around Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy at least 30 times in my life en route to/from Ancona via Milano. I must admit that it never looked like this beautiful painting from more than 100 years before when I was there. Even so, I am painfully, heart-rendingly conscious of the fact that I have been on the same patch of earth that some random, American artist occupied however fleetingly as well.

I am constantly taunted by this concept as I review my life. The patch of earth where I spent my childhood in a Midlands village and all the human connections and experiences that came with it. The patch of earth in North Yorkshire and all the pleasure and torment that I associate with that time. The patch of earth I briefly inhabited in Lancashire and the events interwoven in my consciousness followed by those patches of earth I lived on for 30 years in Yorkshire. There is the tiny chunk of rock in the middle of the Aegean Sea where I spent so much of my adult life and the patches of earth in Surrey and Sussex where I’ve passed the time in retirement.

All of these patches of earth have been imbued with my life’s blood, with my tears of sadness and of joy, where I have celebrated congregation and mourned separation. Yet I have an overwhelming desire to cling on, to revisit, to not let go. Letting go would represent relinquishing life itself.https://www.youtube.com/embed/SN2fOgfFnDo?feature=oembed

I have just done an idle search on YouTube and watched footage of each of these places. I know them so well, I can feel, hear, taste and smell each of them in my memories. They move me to tears in the sense of lost time. And yet I hear that song which so struck me so forcibly alone in my bedroom back in 1964 – The Moody Blues, Go Now. Then, I was desperate to get away. Now, it must be aging and the need to cling on that has changed my perception of these experiences.

Tuesday, 6th July, 2021

Warm, wet and windy this morning. I will spend it in the gym and the office. Yesterday really did turn out much better than expected with lovely, warm sunshine as we walked. I also did a really hard gym workout to help the cause.

It is nice to get fun and cheeky texts and my little sister, Liz, thought it would be amusing to emphasise the aging process by sending me an article illustrating two parents and their child who were photographed on the same day each year over a period of about 30 years.

Last week my dentist took one look at my notes and said, You don’t look 70! I thought you were about my age – 56. On Friday, our new neighbours exclaimed, You certainly don’t look anything like 70. You have to be a bit sceptical about these protestations but maybe being denied children has kept us younger. Who knows? I certainly know a few 70 year olds who are distinctly more wrinkly – not that I would ever point it out …. unless I had the chance! Pauline thinks I am so fat I just fill and stretch my skin better but she’s just jealous of my innate beauty.

This week 7 years ago, we had agreed a price for the sale of our Greek house and were preparing to sign the sale documents after quite a tortuous process. It marked a sad but profitable end to our time there and we were just looking forward to the long drive home. I suppose all lives have these landmarks in them. They make us who we are. The differences between the two photographs above will have been fashioned by events like these although we will never know their personal circumstances.

I stare at these people and try to imagine what has happened to them, their loves and fears, arguments and celebrations. We all have disasters and successes, losses and gains. It may be my imagination but there seems to be a small element of reticence, resignation and defeat in the couple as they’ve aged. I stare and want to shout to them,

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas – 1952

Whatever little Liz thought she might achieve; I intend to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. There are lots more things to explore and enjoy. Hopefully, lots of this will include travel, interesting places and lovely people.

Four years ago this week, we were driving through France to Italy and staying in Reims, Dijon, Lyon, Turin, Genoa, Lucca, Florence, Pizza, Bologna, Parma, etc. An epic month away. This year a week in Yorkshire feels quite a bonus. Perhaps there will be more than that. Keeping optimistic and working on material for the book.

I don’t know why I do it because it always gets to me but I watched the first of a new series of Long Lost Family last night. The format was the same as always. Two people had started searching for people from their past, from almost 50 years ago. They have often held back for years for fear of rejection.

Initial search and contact is made by the professionals and then one writes a letter for the other and supplies a photograph. The photograph is so important. Almost always, there has been an empty divide, a longing for reunion, an emotional completion on both sides although each is uncertain of the other. They are concerned how others in their lives will react.

When contact is finally made, there is an overwhelming release of the pent up emotion which has been held at bay over years. Sometimes, it is too much for those involved and the relationship doesn’t develop. More often and certainly last night, the participants find reunion extends and completes their lives. Even for the viewer, this is an emotional and enriching experience. I sob quietly into my coffee.

Wednesday, 7th July, 2021

Yesterday turned out very warm and sunny and we managed a good hour’s walk. The birds were out in force and singing very loudly. Whole schools of young starlings were being given flying lessons on the fence. To be honest, they seem naturals.

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

I’ve always found this anthem strangely contradictory. Britons seem to believe they will never be slaves (unless as a lifestyle choice) but just let us live under an unelected monarchy and a ruling aristocracy who have inherited power and influence with an unelected House of Lords and a House of Commons dominated by the privileged of public school education.  

Bryan Ferry,extreme Brexit supporter with his sons at Public School, widely criticised as a Nazi apologist, sang Slave to Love. He was certainly a slave to the concept of authoritarian politics:https://www.youtube.com/embed/9kp3N3wQPO0?feature=oembed

I am a lifelong republican although, in America, I would be a Democrat. I reject any form of rule that cannot be removed by democratic, peaceful means if we are not satisfied with it. I reject populism, jingoism and all those other isms of flag-waving nationalism because they embody the demand for authoritarian government. Populism and authoritarianism thrive on flag-waving which it encourages by demonising outsiders. It is classic Orwell and Animal Farm.

For this reason, I have a problem wholeheartedly embracing the national euphoria around the England football team and shudder to watch politicians who have little knowledge or love of the game trying to expropriate the national team’s success. I enjoy watching football, rugby and cricket. Only football is dominated by flag-waving. It almost signals a lack of self-confidence in the country’s desperate assertion of collectivity.

My online calendar reminds me that it is 7 years (7 years!) tonight – a very sweaty 34/93F – in Greece that we signed over our island home and started to work out how to repatriate all that cash without paying tax on it.

These two photos illustrate the ‘supermarkets’ which were really no more than corner shops in UK terms where all our groceries were sourced for so many Summers.

It is unbelievable to think, in one week’s time, it will have been a whole 7 years since we left for the last time. What will we achieve in the next 7 years? Maybe you know!

This morning we have been out to real supermarkets and have rushed home because DPD have pinged my app to tell me they are making a delivery. Pauline needed a more powerful hob for outdoor cooking.

It is being delivered by Shaun who is married with 2 kids and has worked for DPD for 2 years and made 40K+ deliveries. Shaun used to play rugby but now only watches. This potted biography is helpfully supplied by DPD on my app.

Thursday, 8th July, 2021

Another dull, overcast morning although it had been warm – 16C/61F  – all night. Up early for a Sainsbury‘s delivery at 7.00 am. Got a CCTV installer arriving at 10.00 am and then we can get on with the day. 

Everybody seemed to want to give me money back yesterday. I haven’t denied them. Our Sky monthly bill went up to £121.00. I’d had no warning so I looked it up on the website. There, having logged into my account, I was told that my contract was up for renewal and that, if I agreed to a 18 month renewal, they would reduce it to £99.00 per month. Eventually, a phone call allowed me to negotiate another reduction to £81.00 per month which was a considerable reduction on our current contract. I’ve no idea what was going on other than a crude incentive to renew my contract. I had no intention of leaving Sky anyway.

Well, it looks like we won’t be getting to Athens in the next few weeks. Easyjet have so altered our flights as to make the trip almost pointless. We would lose the best part of 2 days out of a 5-day trip and pay for an expensive test to get on the flight and again to return.

Fortunately, Easyjet have refunded our total outlay for the Return flights – £702.98. Our hotel will also refund our total outlay of £1140.00 for the 4 nights. We know that Greece is struggling with a new wave of virus and we think we must wait until the position is clearer before we re-book.

I know this isn’t really the done thing but I am trying hard to eat a healthy and controlled diet. For a week, I am going to include a record of the one meal a day I eat accompanied by a photo. I must stress that I don’t eat everything in the photos but it is available for the meal. I eat after exercise each afternoon around 4.00 pm and I am not drinking alcohol so usually accompany it with sparkling water and Shloer.

Smoked Mackerel / Prawns
Asparagus / Cucumber Salad
Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese/Mozarella and Balsamic Dressing.

To end the meal, I have a measured amount of Greek Yoghurt followed by coffee. I will not have eaten during the day at all although I will have the juice of 2 freshly-squeezed oranges for breakfast. During the evening, I might have fruit – banana, peach or apricot – plus coffee and tea. I work out that my daily intake is around 1500 calories. My output is around 3500 calories. A lot of my exercise routine is spent walking. Yes, I’m walking my way back. I am averaging just over 9 miles per day over the past 3 months. If I can get it up to 10 miles per day, it will help but we’ll see.

Friday, 9th July, 2021

Beautiful, warm, sunny morning. You really ought to be here. The lawns are looking luscious; the flowers are bright and thrusting; the birds are singing. What more could one want? Well, I can think of a few things but it’s a good start.

We met the CCTV installer yesterday morning. He is the brother of one of our neighbours across the road. He drove from the Gatwick region where he lives and says it was torrential rain there. Arriving in Angmering, it felt like a different country with its beautiful, sunny weather. Of course, for a nomad like me, that is not unusual.

We are going to have 3, small, white cameras networked to a box in the Gym/Garage. They will cover the entire perimeter of our property and will have High Definition, colour video capture which will be relayed directly to our smartphones and iPads and to my Office computer. I can see a new, morning routine of fast forward play checking recording from the night before. I may have to employ a little philistine to check it for me after initial novelty wears off.

Griddled Fillet Steak with red wine reduction jus
Field mushrooms stuffed with onion and blue cheese
Green beans with garlic

I cut all the lawns yesterday including my new, Italian neighbours’ lawn across the road. It’s the generous sort of community thing we socialists do. Anyway, I’m hoping for an invite to their family home in Italy next year.

This little chap popped up on my screen this morning. I haven’t seen John (Tash) Coates since he attended my wedding in 1978. He bought us an egg coddler as a present. He seems to be very happy in his retirement.

Saturday, 10th July, 2021

Wet but warm and that’s just the day at the moment. Looks like I’m going to be working out solely in the gym this morning. We spent the entire day outside yesterday and I was exhausted after it but I didn’t sleep well for some reason.

Writing a daily Blog like mine is exposing. It exposes one to ridicule, anger, sadness and irritation. Occasionally, readers contact me to express their views. More often than not, it is sympathetic or advisory. Sometimes readers correct a factual point I’ve got wrong. Occasionally, it is highly critical. I received one of the latter from a reader who had been trawling my back catalogue which at least shows genuine inquisitiveness. They wrote to me suggesting, at the end, I had been counting the days to retirement and looking for a big pay-out. I found that quite hurtful.

I was still doing my utmost to dig our school out of Special Measures before it became an Academy. I saw absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t maximise our pay-out in retirement. After all, I would use it far better than Oldham Education Authority and I have. I am always open to fair criticism but I fight my corner when it isn’t.

Because I had been denied a child of my own, I used to ‘adopt’ kids who needed some support or just seemed a bit different. I still communicate with most of them. I was reminded of this as Pauline got a text from Derby yesterday afternoon not far from my family home from a girl who was in just that category. She is in her 40s with a family of her own now but occasionally checks that we older ones are alright. It is a lovely thing for her to do.

I taught these two girls above and we chat occasionally. The one on the right, Marie, is in her late 50s now with a grownup son of her own but still insists on calling me Sir.

The young lady (left) – Emma and now in her mid 40s with 3 graduate kids and one living in Italy – was one of my adoptees for a few years. I played matchmaker for her (just one of my great skills) and she and her boyfriend would come over to our house. We took them out to the seaside and out for meals. I think I was playing at being a Dad – always looking for Rebecca-Jane.

Emma sent me the most moving card for my 70^th birthday. I was really touched by it. She was and is a lovely girl. By contrast, Terri Lee (Below) was an absolute hooligan who drove me mad. She was always truanting and very aggressive when she was in school. She was very skinny and always looked as if she needed a good meal.

She was intelligent but her life didn’t allow her to use it. We became friends before she left and have remained in regular contact ever since. She is 30 this year and has 3 kids. She is clearly a good Mum and does so much for her family.

Women’s Final at Wimbledon this afternoon. The morning news shocked me with the reminder that it is exactly 50 years since a 19yr old Yvonne Goolagong won the title. She was never quite the same for me when she became Cawley. Tomorrow, our neighbours across the road will be supporting Italy. They told us yesterday that they were a little nervous about reaction around the area. I told them that, if fighting broke out, I would be on their side. Might get an invite to Parma yet!

Griddled Tuna Steaks
Greek Salad and Asparagus

Along with the reminder of Goolagong/Cawley, this morning I also learnt of the death of Paul Mariner, former Ipswich and England centre forward. He was 68 – just 68! He died of brain cancer. It really underlines how precious life is and how we must make the most of it.

Sunday, 27th June, 2021

Lovely, warm and sunny morning. Lots of nice things to start the day. Freshly squeezed orange juice with the conservatory doors flung wide open. The lawn is looking so beautiful and inviting.

It is jab-a-youngster weekend around here and they are desperate for it. This was the scene yesterday as we walked past our Community Centre where Vaccinations are being conducted:

The travel industry is really being forced into unpalatable conditions by the pandemic. Our Easyjet flights in August which were rolled over from last year can be changed without charge at any time up until the day we should fly. Our Athens hotel which we have also rolled over will provide a full refund if we don’t take it up. The IHG booking I’ve made in the philistine territory of the North of England is cancellable up to 3 days before the date. Mind you, it would need a lot to stop us from taking that up.

Overall, I am feeling very optimistic this morning, I’m sure you will be pleased to know. Things will only get better. Probably be living in a tent tomorrow!

On this day 3 years ago, we were wandering through the city of Bergerac on the banks of the Dordogne. Ironically, this evening in 2018, Germany got thrashed by South Korea which bodes well for next Tuesday evening.

The day is ending steamy and humid down here on the South Coast. It’s been enjoyable and I’ve completed my gym session without keeling over.

Monday, 28th June, 2021

Hot and humid start to the morning but dark and gloomy. We have the lights on for breakfast. Sometimes life kisses us and lifts our spirits. I felt like that all day yesterday. Everything felt as if it was lifted on a wave of warm air. The day had started with warm sunshine and 22C/70F and ended in hot and humid conditions. It is my sort of weather. The hotter the better.

Seven years ago, we were close to sealing the deal to sell our Greek property. It had been an intense few months and, to take the pressure off, we took a ferry to Athens for a few days break from the process. Pauline booked an appointment at the hairdressers across the road from our favourite hotel.

The top stylist only cost about €35.00 and she was thrilled with the result. This week she is going for her 3^rd haircut in less than two months. If that doesn’t satisfy, we will be off to Covent Garden Sassoon’s.

When we got back from our 4 day break, the feral cat who had adopted us a couple of year’s earlier was sitting very grumpily staring us out from the patio wall and demanding attention and food. It is one of the things which has tormented us since leaving that we deserted this animal and her family. The people who bought our property didn’t want feral cats as they were expecting a baby imminently.

The poor, old cat would have to pack her bags and make the arduous journey to find new benefactors. She had groomed us very successfully for three years and now would either start all over again or starve. I didn’t want that on my conscience. Everybody deserves a good Breakfast.

I am at the planning stage of my book. Immediately, it throws up problems, demands resources that I struggle with. Writing forces us to expose ourselves to scrutiny. It is painful and embarrassing. You could say I’ve had plenty of practice in my Blog but, make no mistake, this writing holds so much back that a book will expose. Raw, sore, painful honesty will be required. Difficult admissions even to myself and I’m only at the Planning stage. Memories of things I’ve blotted out subconsciously will need to be resurrected. I do ask myself if it is worth it but, if I don’t do it now, I never will.

The day here has turned out really hot and sunny. Our walk was quite sweaty. I found that, all the time I was walking, I was constantly preoccupied by my writing. I’ve got 3 or 4 working titles which I’ll be canvassing to gauge opinion.

Tuesday, 29th June, 2021

Yesterday was lovely, sunny and hot. Last night, we had a cloud burst at around three in the morning. Now, everywhere is fresh and clean. It looks like the next couple of days will be largely overcast. Keep seeing people going away. It’s making me increasingly itchy to travel. Spent an hour or two checking availability and prices in French hotels so I’m ready to go as soon as it’s possible. Our Greek arrangements can be triggered very quickly when we are able to. Our Yorkshire trip is booked. I am not going to be left behind!

About 15 years ago, I was diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes and high blood pressure. I was prescribed drugs to control them both but, eventually, decided that I had to take my own control. Through diet and weight loss, I managed to completely eradicate my Diabetes and massively reduce my blood pressure drugs. Part of this involved cutting out salt. We replaced it with herbs and it was transforming.

The main herbs our diet features are Oregano, Tarragon, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Mint, Chervil, Chives and Basil. We grow them rather than buy them in packets or dried. When they are abundant, like now, Pauline harvests, prepares and freezes to get us through the year. That is what was happening yesterday.

One of the things that contributed to my health getting out of control was Ofsted. Our inner-city, impoverished-catchment school was constantly dipping in and out of Special Measures in the last decade of our careers. It was hugely stressful. My response was to work hard but compensate by eating and drinking too much as well. My image bank for this day 16 years ago reminded me of the specific concern I was focussing on at the time – School Attendance rates. Strategy papers, management meetings, staff training sessions, digital registering, pupil incentives all were tried but we moved the dial by mere single-digit percentage points. At this distance in time, at least I can say, Who cares?

Now, I am working hard to improve my health through daily exercise. They say, No gain without pain. I am finding that is true for me at the moment. To add to my stamina work, I have moved on to weights and my stomach muscles are agony this morning. Even so, I am going to push myself through the pain barrier for a few months. I’m also going to continue restricting my calorie intake. My coffee maker will be my best friend.

Wednesday, 30th June, 2021

The last day of June has started well. Took Pauline for an early appointment at a third, new hairdresser and it looks to have gone well. This hairdresser trained as a ballet dancer with Ballet Rambert (speaks volumes) but then went on to train as a Hairdresser with Vidal Sassoon himself in London before moving on to work in Sassoon‘s Manchester branch. The cut looks good. Fortunately, she has no grey so doesn’t need colouring and the cut only cost £50.00 so will probably merit at least one more visit later.

I wrote recently of the ‘heat’ in our local, property market. This week, an article appeared in the MyLondon publication which rather confirmed what was happening. The pandemic has encouraged a move from the intensity of London life to the more open and healthier environment of seaside villages like ours. Angmering is described as ‘gorgeous’ which I think is going a bit far but it is pleasing if wealthy Londoners think so. They are welcome to come and inflate our property values.

I was born into a family home actually built by my own family firm for family life. We have not had children so that necessity never arose. There is a sense in which family encourages the feeling of a house being a home rather than just another property. We have always bought, invested and sold properties as much for profit even though we have enjoyed living in them. It has, I suppose, contributed to my feeling of rootlessness and not belonging. (Cue sarcastic singing!)

The search, purchase, development and marketing have almost become ends in themselves. We have actually talked about having this house valued and looking again now we have been here 5 years. There is a refusal to accept that the process has finished at the age of 70. Although my mother was from London and her parents from Brighton, she married into a family totally rooted, fully located in the small, Midlands village life with its history, its suffocating cultural, religious and commercial life that I became so desperate to escape. Her world was one of faith, of moral and political certainties, of unquestioning belief that I utterly rejected although her certainty, possibly, made her less troubled than I have been.

Awful news about our old haunts in the North of England this morning. The coronavirus death rate in Greater Manchester has been 25% higher than in the rest of England, new research has found. Long-standing health inequalities, high levels of economic deprivation and wide social disparities have meant the region has suffered especially acutely during the pandemic, the study by Professor Sir Michael Marmot says. To make matters worse, Life Expectancy in Greater Manchester is said to have declined by 2 full years. If you needed a reason to move then this would be it.

Thursday, 1st July, 2021

Happy July! July already? The year, the time, the Life is running ahead too fast. The new month is being greeted by a really lovely morning. The day is warm, sunny and cloudless. Breakfast is taken with the conservatory doors flung wide open and bird song competes with R4 Today.

Sainsburys delivery early, window cleaner arriving and then we are going out to Tesco before more lawn mowing, hedge trimming and a long walk. Pauline’s haircut appears, after one sleep, to have been quite effective so we can relax on that subject for a while.

It is cherry season. I love cherries and am inclined to gorge on them when they are available. The greengrocer in Rustington has two, beautiful types for sale at the moment and I am really enjoying them.

I have been preparing for the slightest window of possibility when we might be able to drive across the Channel by exploring hotel bookings.

It would just be nice to get a suite at our favourite hotel in Coquelles and use it as a springboard to drive to nice places for lunch – Wissant, St Omer, Arras, Le Touquet.

My little sister, skinny Liz, is Director of Social Care & Public Health at Richmond and Wandsworth councils. It always brings me up short when her face comes up on social media. This morning, I accessed Linkedin and there she was, sitting on an empty train from Chiswick to Wandsworth.

Friday, 2nd July, 2021

Interesting morning which started brightly but very quickly became enveloped in a drifting sea mist. It’s a gardening day as the weather is encouraging so much growth everywhere.

I am troubled by my life now that my Blog is so hard to write. On one side, everything is going along quite normally although monotonously and, on the other, the future is turbulent and uncertain. How can I resolve this? I am trying desperately to look to the future with travel plans but it is all hypothetical.

The French will allow fully vaccinated people in but we will need evidence of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure, or an antigen test within 48 hours of departure. Of course, these are available but at quite a cost both in terms of travel and payment. The most rapid and certain test costs around £110.00 per person which is quite steep for a few days away.

What this will mean is that younger ones who are reluctant to be vaccinated will be penalised. Something reported this morning might give them pause for thought. Hollyoaks tends to have a younger audience although I know some wrinklies watch it. Last night a 28-year-old actress from the soap was rushed to hospital with some severe Covid symptoms. She is on oxygen support and was suffering from excruciating skin pain. 

Of course, new Covid cases increased by 50,000 in the past week which is a 46% increase and UK has more new Covid infections than the whole of the EU put together so they may harden their stance to our entry as Merkel is requesting. For that reason alone, it is a bit risky to book anything yet.

Just to add to the joy, our mobile phone charges, which are significant when we travel, will increase hugely as roaming charges are being reintroduced because of BREXIT!! I use my mobile phone for lots of things abroad not least to stream BBC Radio 4 and the Parliament Channel through the media centre in our car as we travel further south into Europe and the DAB & FM signals disappear. This will become an increasingly expensive luxury. 

The skies have cleared and hot sunshine poured through as we gardened. Just met our new neighbours from across the road. EU nationals, Philippo & Christina are from Parma in Italy. Beautiful place and lovely ham. We have been there many times en route to Greece and back. 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, Parma just off the Autostrada del Sole. I’m not a fan of Elvis but the Manager there was christened Elvis and the hotel proudly advertised it. Really must get to know our neighbours better!

Saturday, 3rd July, 2021

Weather’s a bit depressing this morning – warm but grey. Still, life could be worse. Nice things still happen. I’m losing weight and having new clothes ordered for me. Pauline loves buying things. Actually, I don’t wear clothes very often but there may come a time … Early out to buy fruit – apricots, peaches, cherries – and the sun has come out. It is warm on our faces as we walk.

Never been to America although I always thought I should. I know Pauline has been reluctant but, now, she has an incentive with members of her family living there for the next 18 months. They are in Tampa, Florida which could be interesting. My boyhood friend, Jonathan, has lived in Boston, Massachusetts since the early 1970s and I would like to see him again. Currently, we just communicate occasionally by email. His sister, an early girlfriend of mine, lives in Canada. Can you imagine seeing someone again that you haven’t seen for almost 50 years. It will be fascinating. Jonathan was always the polar opposite of me – scientific and not sporty, not really physical at all and certainly not a literature reader or political. He was scientific, didn’t go to University but went straight into industry and made a real success of it.

Of course, Florida and Massachusetts are almost a continent apart and we would have to fly between the two but it would make an interesting early winter trip. November would probably be the time we would look to travel which may be just too late for Boston’s Fall but that’s not a problem. Would just be lovely to catch up with my Past again.

The Blog is still limping on while Bloggers that I’ve been following for years are falling all around me. Bart Simpson from Paros ceased some time ago. The Skiathan followed into the abyss. Now the Symi Dream boys are no more. Even the Democracy Street lecturer in Corfu writes only very occasionally. Anyway, I write for myself as much as anything else so it will continue. I’m really enjoying Dominic Cummings two Blogs – Dominic Cummings Blog & Dominic Cummings Substack and Professor Chris Grey’s Brexit Blog is a delight each Friday.

Sunday, 20th June, 2021

Going away, going away … When will we be going away? Every time you go away … On this day of low cloud and darkness on the south coast, the sun centres of Europe are strangely quiet and largely deserted.

The UK coastal centres seem to be increasingly popular in contrast. Unfortunately, the sunshine is often missing. We walked through Worthing town centre yesterday and then right back along the beach path. It wasn’t hot and it wasn’t sunny. Plenty of people were dressed for the Mediterranean and wandering aimlessly, looking for the missing link – sunshine.https://www.youtube.com/embed/EImVucJO7Ok?feature=oembed

Twelve years ago today, I heard that my old friend, Nigel had become a Budhist monk. I don’t know why but I was shocked. Nigel was always alternative. When I was with him, he introduced me to Leonard Cohen another (temporary) budhist. Since then he has re-entered the real world, remarried, developed an artistic career and appears to be enjoying life. We have written to each other and, maybe, we will meet up.

I’m not sure how much we would have in common. I’m not sure how much we ever had in common. I liked being challenged by people from backgrounds I had no experience of before. Nigel’s ‘alternative’ was interesting, often bewildering and difficult for me.

What really brings me up short is the gradual aging process. Because we live with ourselves in real-time, we tend not to notice the small changes. Suddenly seeing someone from my past with their accumulation of ‘small changes’ brings one up short and forces self-appraisal. I am old. I look old. I am getting older. Time is running out until we go away for good. Must exercise to stave it off. Lots of experiences to come. Happy Sunday.

Well, the sun has come out. The temperature has struggled up to 22C/70F and I’ve just staggered out of the gym after 2¼ hrs workout. I am starting to break some personal bests with 65 miles covered in the past 7 days and 250 miles in the past 28 days. I’m really feeling a lot better after that. Younger? No! Fitter? Definitely.

Monday, 21st June, 2021

Summer Solstice. Longest Day. Start of Summer. Heavy Rain. What is happening?

Have to wish Harry – Pauline’s cousin’s husband happy 85th birthday today. Haven’t seen them for a couple of years. We must call in this October.

I don’t know why we’ve moved home so many times. I do know that I’ve always been trying to escape my rural village childhood and have never felt rooted enough to one place. Perhaps I’ve been running away. Often people like to stay close to friends or relatives. For me, I think, it isn’t until I’ve left an area that something or someone pops up who I miss.

I did find that I missed Yorkshire when I moved to Surrey. It was the stark, moors landscape and dry-stone walls that had dominated my drive to work each day and become ingrained in my sensibility. Moorland landscape, sheep and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony are hard to beat at times although so much rain gives me pause for thought.

I do like to go back and visit my friends in the North. I keep in contact with lots of people from my past but it tends to be on my terms. The Greek interlude contributed to that distancing and encouraging long range contact. I know I’m not alone in this. Others like to reach out but control the contact. Maybe, I attract people similar to myself.

Moving south has been equally challenging. The first step was Surrey near Pauline’s family. It was intended as a stepping off point for driving to Greece but I didn’t enjoy apartment living and I didn’t really enjoy the intensity of bustling Surrey life. Moving further south to the coast has suited me. It is attractive, more relaxing and has wonderful facilities within easy reach although I still don’t feel anything other than dwelling without belonging.

We have always tended to see our properties as investments just as much as homes. Investment in them has always had one eye on re-sale values. Overall, that has paid off. The property I was least happy about certainly gave us the best return by almost doubling its value in 5 years. It looks as if we may have hit a sweet spot down here at this point in development.

The pandemic has seen people flooding out of crowded urban areas into rural and coastal communities. The Sunday Observer had an article examining this yesterday. Prices are rising 14.2% a year in countryside locations on average compared with less than 7% in urban areas but the biggest percentage increases of up to 30% were in Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, around Lancaster, in Arun in West Sussex and Amber Valley in Derbyshire. We live in Arun in West Sussex and have certainly been amazed at the heat in the property market. This morning, a property across the field from us went on the market for £10 million. Mind you, it has got an indoor swimming pool and a tennis court.

Of course, these valuations are only meaningful if one is prepared to cash in and move. To really capitalise, it would mean us moving back to the North where prices are so much lower. Would we exchange the weather and facilities for that? What neither of us is prepared to admit is that this could be our last property. It is tantamount to admitting defeat and things even worse than that.

Tuesday, 22nd June, 2021

Another grey morning. Not warm either. Going out to town to collect some orders. Not a day for walking on the beach.

In Summer 1966, I was 15 years old and had been smoking experimentally for about a year – on the school bus, in town with friends, never near authority. In Summer 1966, I went to Ireland on the day England won the World Cup. We sailed Holyhead – Dun Laoghaire. When we got to Dublin, my juvenile mind was excited to find how cheap Irish cigarettes were. I bought a packet of the local, Sweet Afton brand.

Even then, cigarette manufacturers were well aware of the toxic nature of their products and tried to disguise it by marketing them under healthy titles. Woodbine (Honeysuckle)  –  was popular. Gold Leaf conveyed a wealth of nature. Sweet Afton in Ireland was named after the Burns poem singing the praises of the pure waters of the Afton River in Scotland. They were very cheap but they made me terribly sick for days. Pity it didn’t put me off smoking sooner. I saw them advertised yesterday and felt pleased that I haven’t smoked for more than 35 years.

Maybe it’s because I’ve turned 70 but these past few months have been like a roller coaster ride of highs and lows which I haven’t experienced for years and haven’t found easy to cope with. Reaching back to 1966 feels such a long way away and yet also quite close. There is an enormity to Life and Death, to People and Loss that I struggle to get to grips with.

I am fighting to control it and to maximise the delightful parts while minimising the harsh sadnesses like Janus the god of beginnings, transitions and endings, of life & death. I am currently facing both ways. Janus was the god of gates & doors between what was and what is to come.

Facing the immediate future, I have booked 5 nights in the North in October 17^th – 22^nd which will give us more flexibility to visit and catch up. Something to look forward to.

Regular readers of the Blog will know that I brought a seed pod of a Canarian tree back from Tenerife about 3 years ago. I boiled the seeds and sowed them. They germinated with great success and I potted the seedlings up. They grew into trees of some 5ft tall. I couldn’t justify a potted forest in the conservatory windows so just one was nurtured through two winters. It grew too tall to come in last winter and appeared to die in the cold spell. On the off chance, I fed and watered it a couple of months ago and ….. shoots appeared. It just goes to show that anything has potential for being revived if we are only prepared to give it a chance.

Oh, Delonix Regia, I thought I’d lost you. Now you are back. Grow old with me and I will take much more care of you. I must look for a good, protective blanket for this winter.

Wednesday, 23rd June, 2021

A nice and sunny morning. We have cancelled deliveries and are going shopping in Sainsburys early. Then I can cut the lawns and Pauline could harvest, prepare and freeze herbs from the garden. It will be nice to see the sun after a few days absence and to cook outside again. On this day in 2018, we were setting off to drive to the Dordogne for a month in the sun and to buy up a red wine lake. Now alcohol is banned.

I am doing just over 2 hrs of exercise a day and have done for the past 132 consecutive days. Once I’m in the pattern, it is harder to not do it than just complete my regime. It is actually giving me pleasure and encouraging me to watch a lot more films than I could have ever anticipated. An interesting article entitled Experimental Gerontology in The Times this morning by a Professor in the Centre for Health and Ageing at the University of Wales.

His central thesis is that a man in his late sixties can cut his biological age by up to 20 years through exercise alone. On average a man’s maximum attainable heart rate declines by about one beat a minute each year after the age of 30. About 90g of muscle is lost each year from the age of 40, meaning that a man in his seventies who does no exercise typically has a third less muscle than a 25-year-old. Regular exercise in older age and cutting out spam burgers can really turn back the clock. I, for one, am prepared to listen.

The word Patron is French for Boss. Patronise can mean to do business with although it can also mean to treat in a way that betrays a feeling of superiority. The two are obviously linked as the Boss deals with subordinates with an air of superiority. I can be bossy. I can be insensitive. I am obviously superior but, to call me patronising, is very hurtful. I was called patronising the other day because I described the facts about the North of England. Pointing out facts can never be patronising unless they are manufactured to establish a falsely superior position.

Now this Tory, Brexiter government really is patronising. Levelling up? In words only! Reports out yesterday say Barnsley Hospital in South Yorkshire is struggling to find beds for patients. This is the Red Wall! Vaccination and healthcare provision in the south means we have virtually no Covid cases and yet this is the headline in the MEN last night.

A friend of ours who is Deputy Head at one, large Oldham school has more than 30% of the pupil population isolating because of Covid today. Right across Greater Manchester the stats are not good. What are the Tories doing to help them? Words are cheap!

Anyway, can you imagine, dear reader, anyone actually ascribing such a description as patronising to someone as gentle as me? I bet they were a Brexit voter!

Thursday, 24th June, 2021

Lovely day yesterday. Good, warm sunny weather which helped. The garden ended up looking good after mowing, strimming, and sweeping and a long exercise session saw me lose another few pounds.

Trip to Sainsbury’s which meant using my shopping app and Google Pay on my phone. Made me feel part of the real world again. Had a ‘fraud’ query from our bank this morning because we have used the online services so little in the past 12 months. We have to have new cards which would be welcome anyway.

Found photos of old friends from exactly 50 years ago. Lovely to see them again. This is from an Art trip to London in the sunshine.

This morning is warm and sunny again but we are off to the Dentist for the first time in over a year. Not looking forward to it. Let you know later how it goes. …. Well, it was painful as the probe dug into my gums and I was admonished by the beautiful Persian lady for substandard oral hygiene. After signing up for £450.00 annual contracts, I have to see the hygienist again tomorrow morning. What get-out clause can I find this time?

Just 9 years ago, I was working quite happily in my Greek Office without a care in the world. So much has happened since then. In 9 more years, I will be almost 80. How can this be?

I’ve resolved to start my book. The book I’ve been promising myself for the past decade. It will be loosely based around my life story. I’ve been doing it for years in my Blog. Now, I am going to try to use certain important, traumatic, emotional, ecstatic events of mine and project them onto a central character. 

You may find this strange but it is exactly how my sense of motivation works. The impetus to start has been triggered by a new piece of software that will make the construction of the book enjoyable. I can already ‘see’ the process in my mind’s eye.

I have had my work produced in book form before. Over 30 years ago, I wrote R.H. Tawney and the Medieval Tradition for my research Masters Degree. It had to be professionally printed, bound and gold-tooled. It took almost 2 years of research and writing to get to this stage and it was all done in the evenings after work.

I must say that the process was long and painful and the finished product didn’t give me the feeling of joy that I had expected. I did feel that, at least, I hadn’t let myself down and I was pleased to have achieved the M.A. but I almost never referred to it or mentioned it afterward. It had no relevance to my professional career and didn’t help it one bit. It just helped me feel better about myself. I would have felt even better if I had gone on to the Doctorate but it seemed too self-indulgent and over demanding.

When we sold up in Greece I created a sales website to advertise the house. It involved dozens of photos and lots of information about the suppliers who had contributed to its construction. As we were leaving for the last time, I thought a permanent record of the journey to and from Greece along with a record of the land purchase and the property we built would be a nice thing to look back on. I used all the data I had to create a book. I did it online and had it printed and sent to me. It is a lovely memory.

Just staggered out of the gym at 3.00 pm and the sun has gone. I am shattered, wet and a little dejected. My shirt weighs more than I do at this stage. Time for a shower!

Friday, 25th June, 2021

Grey and damp start to the day. Woken to news of travel to the sun delayed even further. I’ve got a huge spot erupting on the side of my face like some love-sick teenager. What is happening to me? Am I regressing?

Had a phone call from a Spanish Estate Agent / Currency FX supplier yesterday asking if I was ready to proceed with property viewing. Daft question really and he admitted he knew the answer already. Nothing will happen until we can travel out. Ten years ago this morning, I was waving at you from the beach car park in Φάρος (Lighthouse) in 32C/90F of heat.

It was great to have our own car on the island because so few rentals featured air-conditioning. Today, you would be hard pressed to find 5 tourists on that beach and the islanders will be devastated by the UK government’s failure to allow Brits out there just as they will be worried by Europe’s attempt to keep Brits out. At least it may provide them with some compensation although it won’t really make up for 2 seasons without income.

I was thinking about Pocahontas overnight. Strange nightmare or what? When we first started going to Greece, it was a cheap, student, back-packing ‘hippy’ destination. Rooms were cheap, meals out were incredibly cheap and charter flights were very cheap. Gradually, the Greeks tried to develop and mature their tourist offering for the more affluent traveller. We matured with it. Who knows where it will go back to after the pandemic. Who knows where any of us will go back to after the pandemic.

Back to the Hygienist at lunchtime. If the Blog fails to materialise after this, it will be because I have been arrested for serious assault on a Hygienist. Those probes they stick in my gums are excruciating for a little person like me. Calm & Gentle they call it as they calmly torture my mouth. What I really need is the peace & love of the hippy style.

Saturday, 26th June, 2021

Lovely blue sky and sunshine this morning. The lawns are bright, vibrant green set against the pure blue of the sky but they need cutting again already. That is the highlight of the day! That and walking down to the surgery to collect repeat prescriptions. What is life becoming? Leaves me feeling a bit flat.

Well, I survived half an hour with the Hygienist but not her forward plan for me. She wants 2 x 1hr sessions with me immediately at a cost of 2 x £190.00 plus 3 x 30 mins sessions over 12 months at a cost of 3 x £95.00. Cost of being tortured by a Hygienist – £665.00. This is in addition to an annual dentistry plan. I swallowed quite hard when I was able to and said I would think about it. I can’t imagine an hour with a Hygienist at all never mind 2 in a fortnight.

Three years ago today, I was in the market of the small, southern French village of St. Sauveur. It is just outside the city of Bergerac on the banks of the Dordogne. We were buying fish from the mobile shop that turned up twice a week. The temperature was very hot – 32C/90F – and we were delighted to find swordfish steaks (Steaks d’Espadon) for the grill. I love the struggle with alternative languages and cultures. I like to be challenged and taken out of my comfort zone. It is enlivening and I miss it.

Just 49 years ago this summer, I arrived in Oldham. I still don’t know why. I need to ask someone! I really knew nothing about the place and yet I spent most of my life there. This photo posted yesterday is from exactly that time. By the look of it, I am History although I am still determined to be Present & Future! My kiss & tell book will be sensational. Forward purchases will be welcome soon!

Sunday, 13th June, 2021

Well, the Blog, like me, is staggering on to Week 651. That represents 12½ years of my life and we will see if it can quietly stagger to year 13. I will never be able to compete with my hero, Tony Benn, and his lifelong records nor will it be as significant. It will gently fade away with me.

The sky is blue and completely clear. The sun is strong and already warm. At 7.30 am, the temperature is 19C/66F and is forecast to reach 27C – 29C/81F – 84F during the day. I’m going in the gym now at 8.00 am before it gets a bit too hot. My orange juice, freshly squeezed and gorgeous, tasted slightly better this morning. My wife informed me that we had won the Lottery. The huge sum of £51.00 will not change my life but it will cover Pauline’s Beauty treatment later in the week. Fortunately, I don’t need anything.

The fairly meaningless replacements for the European Health Insurance Cards, the GHIC, arrived very swiftly yesterday. We requested them on-line and they have only taken a few days to come. What the hell we are going to do with them and how long it will be before we need them, goodness only knows. Some of the papers including the mouthpiece of the Tory Party – The Sunday Telegraph – are running a front-page report today that restrictions could be in place until next Spring when we will be 71!

Experiencing strange connections of people-places-times at the moment. A girl I taught and last saw circa 40 years ago was in contact with me yesterday. She was born in Oldham but now lives in Bournemouth and she and her family spent last Friday in Southampton walking in exactly the same places, photographing exactly the same sights that I had done the day before. I know this is not earth-shattering but that co-incidental link, that invisible thread across time and place is what fascinates and moves me.

I suspect that I would not be alive now if the events of 36 years ago hadn’t occurred. I was smoking 40 cigarettes each day. I know I have written about it before but I like to remind myself. I had given up the strong, acrid French tobacco in Gauloises cigarettes but 2 packets of anything was a lot and would cost me at least £23.00 per day at current rates. Sitting, delivering an M.A. paper one evening at Huddersfield University, I absent-mindedly lit a cigarette in my mouth but set fire to the filter instead of the tobacco. Anyone who has done that will know the acrid taste produced. It revolted me and I never smoked another cigarette nor did I suffer withdrawals in spite of having tried and failed to quit many times.

This week will also feature another life-threatening/life-saving event that I acknowledge annually. Healthier and wealthier is a good place to be. Now I will try to survive my gym session. My film today was Waiting for the Barbarians with the brilliant Mark Rylance. It is based on a novel by the literary titan and Nobel prizewinner, J.M. Coetze, and is a political allegory that deals with the savagery of colonialism. It invokes an anti-imperialist analogy to white supremacy through human history. Not an easy watch.

I have survived a hot and sweaty 2¼ hr session and emerged, blinking into strong sunlight as the temperature in our back garden hits 30C/86F. That was it for today. Relaxing in the sun. Griddled Tuna steaks with green bean & asparagus salad and iced, sparkling water. Really tired now. Just about enough energy to watch highlights of the England match. Won’t be running to the bar for Last Orders that’s for certain.

Monday, 14th June, 2021

We are only one week away from the Summer Solstice and Longest Day. Monday morning, 8.00 am, clear blue sky, strong sunshine, 22C/70F – a long, day empty as the sky lies ahead. What to do?

One answer is easy – put out the bins, do my weekly INR test, drink my orange juice, perform the Rapid Antigen Covid test, reply to people who have contacted me in another life. Submerge myself in everyday life ….

My INR test result is near perfect. The Covid test is perfectly negative. My orange juice is delicious. I will complete my exercise regime and find jobs around the garden. And yet …what is it all for?

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

When You Are Old’ (1892) by W.B.Yeats

I lead a number of lives. There is my day to day which I record in the Blog. There is the fantasy life that I suspect most of us have but few of us talk about. For me it is fed by literature, the arts of drama, poetry and music and then there is a political, intellectual life that informs and analyses the world around us. These days, I am reduced to discussing, debating, arguing with old ‘friends’/associates. It has even extended my understanding of people who I knew in my past but haven’t seen for so many years.

Peter Holgate for example and the well-travelled, John Morris have re-appeared since I retired and proved interesting examples of the error of my tendency to erase the past. I follow and have quite a few followers on Twitter. I ‘talk’ to politicians, barristers, journalists throughout the day in this alternative world. I try hard to keep them apart and the Blog rarely features these political debates if I can help it.

There is the world of Bloggers that I follow avidly – Dominic Cummings Blog, Professor Chris Grey’s Brexit Blog can be riveting reads at times. I follow Greek Blogs like Keep Talking Greece which keeps me up to date. However, occasionally, on mornings like this one, I wake and ask myself, Why?

Although a 4 week delay to release of Covid restrictions is baked-in to the system, Twitter is convinced that will not be the end. This from an epidemiologist this morning:

No chance they’ll relax further in 4 weeks’ time. That will be at the peak of the current wave of cases. Essentially this means no change of further relaxation til at least mid-August

Even a government minister has said this morning that 4 weeks may not be enough. That would scupper even our Greek trip.

Just been phoned by the Oxford University research team to say they want to come round this afternoon. We will host them in the garden where it is 27C/81F….. Lovely girl arrived for a pint of blood. Ex-teacher doing a long day testing old souls like me. Tempted her with a glass of white wine. She has two more calls to make before home. What a job!

Tuesday, 15th June, 2021

I take Warfarin or rat poison every day of my life and have done since 22^nd January 2009. Many would say that rat poison is totally appropriate for me. It prevents my blood from clotting during the heartbeat cycle and, therefore, creating a stroke or heart attack. It is no big deal and I test my clotting rate once a week with my home INR machine.

What I am sensitive to is cutting myself, internal bruising and blood tests. Yesterday evening, I did a blood test and an hour after the young lady tester had left, I was still bleeding. I had my hand wrapped in an old tea towel to absorb the drips and protect the furniture. On days like this, I don’t volunteer to play the piano.

On days like this, one can feel the life drain out of one, the love of life swiftly follows leaving the body empty and unfeeling. And so it goes. Life’s blood, Love’s blood drains away into the earth. Dispersed and not accounted for. And so it goes

The day is hot and sunny again. We need ice! Our fridge/freezer came with the new house. It doesn’t have an integrated water/ice dispenser that we would have chosen. We are receiving an ice-making machine from a Brighton company today.

If we are going to be stuck here this summer and it looks as if we will be, we have decided to augment our patio furniture with a dining table and chairs. We’ve ordered them but so have a lot of other people.

Wednesday, 16th June, 2021

Up at 6.00 am this morning to a hot and sunny start. Quite a few things to fit in and Pauline is going for an early Beauty treatment. Even at this time it is 17C/63F and humid.

Another glorious, hot, sunny but humid day yesterday. We went for a drive down the coast which was busy with tourists on the beaches, in the cafes and on the roads. We drove through Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham by Sea, Brighton, Rottingdean and Saltdean.

Two days before my 6^th birthday in 1957, the Queen and Prince Philip were escorted round Repton School by the Archbishop of Canterbury who had formerly been Head of the school. The Queen was opening a new wing and simultaneously considering a placement for Prince Charles who, ultimately, went to Gordonstoun. The whole village turned out to greet her and this photo includes my maternal Grandfather in his trademark bow tie on the back right.

Grandad James, Joseph, Jeremiah Coghlan was of Irish Catholic heritage but born in Brighton coincidentally just 10 miles from where I now live. When Bob & I were 3-4 years old, Grandad took us to Bognor Regis, Brighton where he rode a huge, white horse on the beach and through the waves to remind himself of his days in the WW1 Cavalry Regiment.

He particularly loved Rottingdean and Saltdean just further on from Brighton and took us in an open-top bus ride there and back. A memory of 1955. Can you imagine it? It is strange how somethings fade completely and others, so long ago, burn inside one’s memory for ever. Sometimes the stick-dry and wrinkly benefits of people from the past flicker into flame and start to burn in the tinder of those memories. Sometimes the winds of change just blow them out.

All of this is clear in my pre- 5 yr old’s memory. I remember being allowed to eat pork pie and baked beans for tea for the first time. Trashy but Paradise! Mum was not happy to hear of that when we got back to Repton.

There was a time when I loved all those foods that were forbidden at home. I even know of people who like crisp sandwiches. Can you believe it? Carbohydrate filled with carbohydrate. Guaranteed for weight gain. All of these things are forbidden by me now. It is different when the prohibition is self-applied. Well, it is for me. My character automatically rebels against any authority and I refuse to be beaten!

I’ve had a nagging toothache for about three weeks now. It isn’t terrible and is very unusual for me but it has forced us to address the search for a new Dental practice. We have finally decided on Calm & Gentle ,Rustington and have taken out contracts and made opening appointments for next week.

I have been allocated to this lovely lady who is said to be the most calm and gentle of the staff. I am led to understand that she also supplies glasses of red wine for nervous patients like me. She sounds my sort of girl. There can be genuine benefits in pain.

Glorious day which has hovered around 27C/81F throughout. The sun is intense and strong and I am beginning to look like a refugee from the sub-continent.https://www.youtube.com/embed/90mnNUi__yg?feature=oembed

As I conclude this with last night’s sunset in East Preston, it fills me with a huge and swelling feeling of loss that can probably never be reclaimed. Life falling inexorably into a sinking ball of fire. Dying in the sun…

Thursday, 17th June, 2021

A warm and humid night. The temperature didn’t fall below 17C/63F although we had some welcome rain. It is going to be a muggy but overcast day for us. There is light sunshine and we’ve reached 22C/70F but feels very downbeat after yesterday.

Visited our favourite Green Grocers in Rustington yesterday for bunches of delicious asparagus. When I get addicted/committed, I find it hard to let go.

A friend sent me this a couple of days ago and kindly included a memory jogger. This photo is of almost exactly 50 years ago. There is not so much about the scene to age it. The hair styles maybe. Of course, re-meeting the people would certainly move time on. I wasn’t on this trip but just one glance at the faces and I am transported to those days. I must admit I had forgotten four of the characters but Nigel, Chris and Christine were part of my circle.

What this photo does emphasise is the painful loss through time. The lightness, the freedom, the insecurity celebrated as absence of responsibility are all left back there in the sunset of those 50 years ago. We are all heavier now – some of us much heavier – weighed down by the experiences of the years, carrying the responsibilities of our situations as our lives have matured.

It is fascinating to find that so many of our cohort have reached out to reconnect particularly since retirement and especially spurred on by arriving at 70 years old. They appear to have found real enjoyment in reopening the past. I have found it much harder in reality.

Move on just 9 years from this and on 17^th June, 1980 I all but ended my life on this bend in Oldham, Lancashire of all places. Regular and long serving readers of the Blog may turn away and stifle a yawn at this point. I know I do it every year but this is my record and the event was so almost terminal for me – falling through the sunset into eternal darkness – I feel it just as necessary to annually observe  as I do deaths of other friends and relatives.

I was so lucky. So lucky to be hit by a car and badly injured, so lucky to be recuperating for the best part of a year, so lucky to have lost almost two years out of my career, so lucky to be alive. I could have died and not been able to say, Goodbye. The really strange thing about this is that I remember almost nothing about it. Unlike the events of 50 years ago, the event a decade later was never presented to me in any coherent fashion. Anything I really pretend to remember was retold to me later in recovery.

Friday, 18th June, 2021

Heavy rain this morning. The whole world looks fresh and clean. Wonder what this one will bring. Certainly, I will be exercising in the gym and not out on the roads today.

Strange day in prospect. We had just filled the car with enough fuel to drive approximately 500 miles when we received a call from Honda to say that there was a recall on our Hybrid CRV to cover an issue with the fuel pump. Could we book our car in for the upgrade but it would need to be low on fuel at the time? Consequently, we have done trips to Southampton, Brighton, Worthing and all points in between to get rid of 460 miles from the tank. This morning, it is going in at 8.30 am for the upgrade.

The roads are awash with the night’s rain and the fuel light comes on as we drive but a cup of coffee and Honda’s wi-fi see us through the 40 mins wait.

Yesterday, this ex-college, young man proudly announced that he had completed the last 2 of the 214 ‘Wainright’ peaks in the Lake District. He said it had taken him 7 years. Today, it was announced that this young woman below had just broken the record by completing the full 214 peaks in just 6 days.

Although leaving Greece 7 years ago was painful, a year later we felt fully vindicated when these headlines started appearing:

We managed to avoid the financial hit and/or long wait for Greek property price recovery. Even now, we would still be waiting and the pandemic would have meant us leaving our property empty and untended for 18 months. So, pain is tempered by relief. We still have vague hopes of returning at the end of August but that hope is increasingly feint.

Saturday, 19th June, 2021

Rather overcast and cool this morning. Definitely not one for sea swimming. Pity really because I could shown off my new haircut. I had it done by one of my favourite barbers yesterday. Have to pose in the mirror instead! My wife is going for her 3^rd attempt at getting the right hairdresser in 6 weeks on Thursday. It appears to be a very difficult task. I have been urging her to go back to Sassoon’s in London and I think she will if this one doesn’t turn out to be ‘acceptable’.

There were some reasons for optimism yesterday if not particularly in the football. The revival of liberal England is definitely a reason to be hopeful.  The Lib.Dem. by-election win in a previously ‘safe’ Tory seat sends out a strong message to both Left and Right. This was the first solidly ‘Remain’ seat to be contested and it sent a message to the Labour Party that Embrace Brexit is not a winning message. It also sent just as strong a message out to the Tories that to concentrate on the Red Wall, less educated, less affluent, less liberal demographic is to desert their core support. The two parties are almost having to swap places.

This book is going to be on my reading list. Always liked Gillian Tett. One to take to the beach. The demise of the DUP in Northern Ireland and the lost Brexit vote allied to Johnson’s hopeless Withdrawal Agreement/NI Protocol is proving an almost unstoppable force towards Irish Reunion. Who needs the I.R.A. when you’ve got the Tories?

On the downside: A new wave of infections is definitely under way in England, says Prof Adam Finn of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. It does not bode well for summer travel. The Greeks still expect mask wearing indoors and out and have a night time curfew from Midnight to 5.00 am. This is not the way to enjoy a holiday and certainly not if the weather is warm and sunny.

Over 90% of the UK’s infection increase is Delta (Indian) variant whereas France and Germany have around 2%. New cases are now increasing exponentially in Russia, China, Mexico, Argentina & Brazil.

Despite this, I’m feeling much more optimistic today. I don’t know why. I’ve just been checking our Easyjet flights which are 58 days away. At least now we can cancel without loss right up to the day before. We can change dates without additional cost and, currently, there is so little demand that next year’s tickets would cost us less than half this year’s. Newspaper headline this morning: UK holiday costs more than Europe as demand grows.

Sunday, 6th June, 2021

Well, there certainly ain’t no sunshine today. Warm but overcast. So emphasises the difference sunshine makes to one’s life. It sort of links the everyday mundanities into a coherent whole … but you don’t always get want you want!

 The Agente Immobiliario in Aguilas, Spain contacted me yesterday while I was out and our hotel in Athens also emailed me about our rolled-over Summer booking. It is so frustrating that I can’t do anything about either at the moment.

Our island of Sifnos has installed another webcam which pans (after a long time) up the valley and towards our house. It is almost too painful to watch because we know every inch of every road, beach & pathway. We recognise old friends as they drive or walk down to the port. We can monitor the new developments that have taken place since we were last there. Hope falls on stony ground.

Did an hour in the gym and then an hour walking in the emerging sunshine. Lovely and warm on our faces one way and on our backs returning. Only 21C/70F. Quite tired now. My recovery rate does not seem to be improving fast enough. I am only 70 after all.

Monday, 7th June, 2021

Our local beach is fringed with rows of Beach Huts – white sheds. I remember my childhood holidays often included a beach hut so we could spend the day down at the beach and catering for the family of kids. I must admit, those experiences coloured my judgement and I saw them as outmoded features of a bygone age. The Sunday Observer had a report yesterday about the value of these ‘sheds’.

The headline was:

The trend for UK holidays has pushed prices for the UK’s 20,000 candy-coloured seaside cabins through the roof.

and the article featured some ‘sheds’ on the beach in Essex which were bought for £10,500.00 4 years ago and are now on the market for £48,500.00. Some on the North Norfolk coast resort of Wells-next-the Sea, Pauline’s old, family home, are going for just under £100,000.00. Mind you, it is known as Chelsea-on-Sea.

John Ridley posted a photo of his house in North Yorkshire. He bought it from new in 1980. I find it hard to conceive of staying in one place for over 40 years. In that time, we have bought and sold 8 properties and speculated to accumulate. I am one of those that Theresa May sneered at as citizens of nowhere or Erewhon as Samuel Butler entitled his famous novel.

We are going out to shop today. Our region has almost no Covid infections. We feel very comfortable out and about although we are still wearing masks. Might go for a walk on the beach later particularly now the kids are back in school.

The beach was a lonely place today. Children back at school and sea mist down on the horizon. The tide was almost in and lapping gently around the rocks. Perhaps I should take a few more risks like Christine Dagg celebrating her 70th birthday with a first-time Glider experience.

An hour in the gym and an hour out walking has left me tired but feeling I’ve fulfilled my commitment. The day has ended with gorgeous, hot sunshine.

Tuesday, 8th June, 2021

Sea mist start to the day again but it presages a hot and sunny one later. Humidity is rising. Looking for pinpricks of light in the gloom, I applied to replace our expiring EHIC cards for the new, GHIC ones. This is more in hope than expectation but hope is all we have. The Global Health Insurance Card reminds us of Brexit but we’ll use it for now.

As soon as travel is freed up, we need to be ready. Hopefully, European and Transatlantic travel will become a possibility again and we can escape this gloom. The application was a fairly simple, on-line affair which took about 5 minutes and promises to deliver our new cards with 10 working days. I.T really has made life so much more simple.

Pauline’s old school friend, who moved out to live on Gozo two or three years ago, messaged me this morning to say it was 28C/83F and very sunny there this morning. I immediately wanted to jump on a plane but it is just not possible currently.

I’ve decided we can’t just wait around for things to happen. We need to get out. We’ve decided to drive down to Southampton for the day and the weather looks like it is genuinely improving over the next few days. We’ve only been to Southampton once since we got here. It’s only about an hour’s drive away as is a lovely city of ancient and modern contrasts. It has the nearest IKEA to our home although one is currently under construction about 10 miles away now.

Sainsbury’s and Parcelforce deliveries will keep me at home this morning so a hard stint in the gym will be my initial exercise. It’s 9.20 am and all sea mist burnt off revealing clear, blue sky and strong sunshine. A hot walk will be this afternoon’s activity.

Of course, talk about ‘heat’ is all relative. In 2013, this was the scene around our house shortly after we had employed workers to clear the grounds.

I then went on to employ a little goblin for ‘free’ to spray weed killer on the residual areas so that the grounds – a number of acres – remained clear until we left in October. The sun is so strong that nothing regrows without watering during the summer months.

Well, today went on to reach 25C/77F and I did 2 hrs straight in the gym and then ruined it all by drinking a bottle of wine. I’ve been driven to it by demons. Our region has 21 cases of Covid infection. Sky News is reporting that Greater Manchester is being advised to minimise travel out of the region and that there is concern at a ‘very serious’ Conwy county cluster. It is hard to see what the connection is but there must be something.

Wednesday, 9th June, 2021

A blue, cloudless sky with hot sunshine this morning. It is 19C/66F at 9.00 am but forecast to get somewhere near 25C/77F later. However, it all feels a bit aimless. I am looking for work to do to keep me sane. The garden will need watering. We are having a delivery of fish – just two sides of salmon of about 4kg.  I will need to prepare the car for the drive tomorrow. I will punish myself with another, hard, 2-hr workout in the gym.

Last night, we were casting round for something to watch on TV. The recent BAFTA winner, I May Destroy You, was downloadable from SKY. I felt like I had moved into a parallel universe from the start. Even so, I watched the first 3 episodes but it didn’t get any easier. I tried to give it a genuine chance but the events were so out of my experience that jumping the credibility gap was to0 much.

I was much more gripped by Newsnight on BBC2 and the discussion of the Northern Ireland Protocol. It was clear from the start that Johnson blithely signed the ‘Deal’ knowing that it sold Ireland, the fishing industry and the City of London Financial hegemony down the river in order to say he had got Brexit done and to win an election while arrogantly believing he could renege on it all later and just carry on as if nothing had happened. He actually appeared on camera telling the Irish traders exactly that. Now, it has come back to haunt him and Biden will be forced to sort it out.

Talking about dodgy dealing, the Memory Box threw up a strange record this morning which illustrates completely the dodginess of the Greeks. For the first 10 years of using our Greek house, we didn’t fully understand the supply of services. Electricity, particularly, was extremely cheap.

Then, when we were thinking of selling, we found out why. We had been living on Agricultural Electricity rates for all those years which was strictly illegal but encouraged by our Greek friends as a good way to cheat the system. Greeks are never happier than when cheating the state system. In order to formalise our supply for the purposes of selling, we had to jump through all sorts of hoops and feign ignorance about the rules over previous years. Even the Δημόσια Επιχείρηση Ηλεκτρισμού (Electricity Office) man had to be bribed with bottles of whisky. What strange, invigorating times.

Thursday, 10th June, 2021

Up early on a warm and humid but overcast morning. Orange juice and tea and then straight into the gym where I did a hard 2hrs workout being urged on by a voice in my head. That voice congratulated me on having lost 3 st since my birthday 9 weeks ago. Shower and change and then off to Southampton – a 49 mile/1hr drive. Actually, the traffic was heavy and it took us a little bit longer.

Down at the port, the activity was minimal. A TUI Cruise ship and a Carnival one but little going on. Not much action on the Red Funnel, Isle of White ferry either.

Southampton itself didn’t look so exciting as it can do in hot sunshine. The pandemic has clearly had a big effect on travel and trade. IKEA was very quiet. The streets were distinctly underused. The Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour looked far from grand and the Marco Pierre White restaurant inside was closed.

There is a jarring of old and new in the architecture which isn’t handled as well as some cities.

All the mood music seems to be for a stay on relaxation of Covid restrictions which is not good news but, when you see the Red List of rapidly increasing infection rates, it becomes clear why. They are largely concentrated in the North of England in general and Greater Manchester in particular.

RED LIST 

The 25 areas placed on Delta variant watchlist are revealed below as this strain is said to be ‘60% more infectious’ than the original:

However, local lock downs have generally proved unsuccessful so it will probably make sense to continue a blanket policy until the R-Rate, which many consider to be between 2.5 – 2.8, is brought below 1.0 again.

Friday, 11th June, 2021

Another morning of Mizzle (mist & drizzle) just as Cornwall is experiencing as well. It reflects my feelings exactly. Very warm, humid night. Nothing much on the horizon today unless you include a trip to Tesco this morning. I have been completing this Blog for 650 weeks of my life but I am beginning to wonder if I can carry on with it.

In the gym, I’ve been watching a terribly harrowing film called 1917 directed by Sam Mendes. It is a true story and deals with people dying without the support of their loved ones. The concept is so unbelievably sad that I found it almost impossible to watch. Not being able to say, Goodbye, has to be one of the worst things in the world.

When we were researching places in Sussex to buy houses, we looked at Horsham. It is rather more expensive because of its easier commuter links and we were attracted by its café culture with excellent restaurants and shops. It was a choice between that and proximity to the beach and, ultimately, the latter won out.

Horsham isn’t far away if we want its facilities but an easy walk to the beach is far more appealing. We had a quick drive to Horsham this afternoon and quickly realised that we made the right decision.

Saturday, 12th June, 2021

Blue sky, sunshine and real warmth. Everything is set for a lovely few days but they feel empty. Never needed friends more than now. My travel app tells me that we have 65 days until we fly to Athens. Will it happen? Who knows? If travel restrictions are eased by mid-July, we will try a French trip but the 3^rd Wave of infection, which is surely starting, may extend the shut down even further. This morning, it is reported that British Airways is to put thousands of its staff back on full-time furlough which is an ominous sign. It’s really feeling like imprisonment and that things are getting worse not better.

Highlights of the day: early trip to Sainsburys followed by lawn mowing and patio cleaning. What more could anyone want? A hot and sweaty gym session is coming and then … ???

Inflation is coming but there is so little opportunity for safe savings products at the moment. I’m constantly searching for other possibilities. Reading the Manchester Evening News last night, this appeared.

Manchester Waters transforms a former 26 acre dockland site located between the residential neighbourhood of Castlefield and Salford Quays into a first-class city-living development. Buying ‘off-plan, the apartments start from £124,995 and could ‘expect’ a return of 6% outside capital appreciation. Looks like an exciting proposition that might be worth investigating.

Exactly a year ago today, I snapped this little chap in Tesco carpark. I wonder if he is still alive. Will we be this time next year?

For someone who hadn’t watched a film – even a piece of fiction for absolutely years until 12 months ago, I now escape into unreality at every possibility. Tells you something about how I’m viewing my life. I do two hours in the gym each day and almost watch a full film each time. I subscribe to Amazon Prime, Netflix, Sky Cinema, Film 4, as well as having BBCiPlayer and ITV Hub.

I can’t decide whether I choose sad films to suit my mood or sad films create my mood. Whatever, sadness seems to pervade the atmosphere at the moment. I am fixated on Ireland currently. Today, I was watching a British/IRA conflict film called ’71. It is my history. The year 1971 was a critical almost momentous year for me but the Irish conflict was just a back drop at the time, a feature on television news.

In retrospect, I should have taken it more seriously. There were a lot of things I should have taken more seriously but youth can never be told. In age, it appears too late. In the film, the young soldier on his virgin mission in Belfast gets in to trouble, is deserted by his friends and forced to fend for himself. Although it makes him stronger, it also breaks him inside. His trust in people is destroyed. It is a cruel lesson for a good person and a shaming lesson for mankind.

Sunday, 30th May, 2021

Summer was back across the country yesterday. Wall to wall sunshine and 23C/74F. Even late in the evening, people were sitting out with friends. We had a trip to the Garden Centre and started to ‘dress’ our extended patio area with pots of colour.

We will have to rig up some automatic watering system when we go away but at least they will provide some interest for a few weeks. Geraniums which I love because my Mother hated them and Impatiens which we all used to know as the house plant, Busy Lizzie, but are now developed for long-lasting and tough garden plants.

Having spent years doing extensive gardening and, particularly, vegetable growing, we bought this property with minimal garden because we expected to be travelling a lot. Now, we feel a bit frustrated. A trip to the Garden Centre is agony because we want one of everything but have nowhere to put anything.

I raked and fed the lawns. We enjoyed an afternoon of intense sun. Our one meal of the day was Roast Salmon with pesto crust, Tomato & Basil salad and Asparagus. It is plenty for me. I’ve now lost all my pre-Covid weight gain and I’m into new territory. It’s a lovely feeling.

Caught a recent recording of A Place in the Country this afternoon which featured West Sussex and our village of Angmering. The area was presented in a very attractive light. West Sussex is officially the sunniest county in the UK and the price of an average house is currently £570,000.00. Property is in great demand down here and sells within days of it going on the market.

A cheering piece of news arrived in the post this morning. Pauline and I try to support the Oxford University and ONS Statistics Survey by entertaining a researcher once each month to provide a swab test and now a blood sample. We are being tested for Covid infection and now anti-bodies in our blood sample which help us fight off the virus. Today we both had negative virus samples but, more importantly, positive anti-body readings.

We live in the local government district of Arun which contains the towns of Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and takes its name from the River Arun, which runs through the centre of the district into the sea. Arun now has only 6 Covid infection cases and we feel very safe. I was reading in the MEN yesterday that:

Coronavirus infection rates have gone up in every borough in Greater Manchester except Bolton, the latest figures show. In Oldham the number of cases has trebled week-on-week, while it’s doubled in Wigan and more than doubled in Salford.

150 people tested positive for Covid in Bury and Rochdale recorded 165 coronavirus cases …

These are quite worrying statistics and may well result in control relaxation being slowed.

Monday, 31st May, 2021

Yesterday the weather replayed 23C/74F with long periods sunshine. We went back to the Garden Centre but it was packed with long queues snaking out of sight, waiting for the cashiers. We didn’t stay. It will all quieten down on Tuesday. Apparently, it’s Bank Holiday today. Apart from not meaning much to the Retired, I never really liked them as they encourage crowds in places that are usually comfortably quiet.

We went out for our first hour’s walking in the sunshine.  We are so lucky to have lovely countryside on our doorstep and be within minutes of several beaches. It is so long since we were serious gardeners that I am beginning to forget the names of so many plants we grew in the past. I used to pride myself on knowing all the ‘official’ Latin names. Now I struggle to remember even their common ones.

This wonderful shrub/tree is Ceanothus. In this photo, it looks more purple than blue but Ceanothus is one of the most wonderful electric blue colours in nature. I grew it in Yorkshire but it was never more than a low-growing bush. Here the shrubs can be found growing wild and as full tree size. This one is just on the roadside and looks spectacular.

We had coffee in the garden sunshine and I burnt my neck. Brilliant! Our second walk was through the cooler and shadier woodland on the fringe of our Development. Haven’t been that way for a while and it was lovely to see all the changes the last few weeks have made to the trees and bushes. The bird song was incredible and we met the fat, brown rabbit eating out again. We seem to have so many robins around us. Must have been a good winter for them to survive.

M&K are back from America for about 3 weeks so we are going to drive up and see them probably at the end of this week. It will be nice to give the car a chance to stretch its legs and us to see some new scenery. We have been imprisoned for too long. It is good to reacquaint ourselves with people we haven’t seen for quite a long time.

Really do feel a bit lost at the moment and at a loose end. I have always woken up with a plan for the day in my head, things I need to achieve, actions I need to take. I am really suffering from a lack of that at the moment. I feel like I’m not in control of events and that is not an enjoyable sensation at all. I am continuing to deal with diet and exercise although warm sunshine is more conducive to relaxation, socialising and wine drinking. Must stay strong and believe the sacrifice will be worth it.

The Christian faith constantly reminds me why I rejected it. Been watching the Long Lost Family series and it emphasises why women of my youth so often were parted from their babies because of the ‘scandal’ of illegitimate pregnancy and the view of it as immoral within organised religion. At the weekend, The Times featured Ann Keen, a Labour MP, who got pregnant at 17 and was despatched by her family to a religious order, Moral Welfare Association just over the Welsh border from Chester. There she gave birth in 1967 and she was given an episiotomy but refused any pain relief to teach her a lesson. Her parents insisted that she give up her baby for adoption and was told it would be taken on day 10. She woke on day 7 to find her baby gone. This was the Christian spirit of our youth.

Memory Box produced a photo of our garden in Quarry Court, Huddersfield from 16 years ago and a shot from the Kafenion in Apollonia 8 years ago in 2013. Lovely memories to reflect on.

Pauline has just taken a self-administered Rapid Antigen Test 3 days after her trip to Milton Keynes and it has proved negative so all is well. We are going to trim hedges and lawns before going out on a walk in this beautiful weather. The temperature has reached a pleasant 24C/75F and the sun has been extremely strong. We are giving serious consideration to installing air conditioning in the Lounge and the bedrooms because this trend is unlikely to be reversed in our lifetimes. Our house is built for high insulation energy efficiency not to keep cool.

Tuesday, 1st June, 2021

June already. Life is running away. The weather outside is glorious and was 17C/63F at 7.00 am but the atmosphere in my head feels like a rather depressed cloud. The optimism of recent weeks is closing down. French travel was shut down a couple of days ago. UK conditions look as if they will remain for some time longer. Any foreign travel is set with draconian conditions.

This morning, the BBC-R4-Today was interviewing Beach Hut owners on Frinton Beach and doing that typical, media vox pop trick of just featuring the views they need for the occasion. As one woman who has used her hut every year for 30 years said, I’ve got my mug of tea. I’ve had my bacon sandwich and the sun is out. Who needs Portugal or Spain when you’ve got this? I wanted to throw my orange juice at the radio. She obviously hadn’t experienced the joy of European travel for many years and almost certainly voted for Brexit.

My favourite style of cooking is definitely Mediterranean. I love all the fresh ingredients. I particularly love Pesto – on Salad, on Fish in fact almost anywhere. Originally from the wonderful, Italian town of Genoa, Pesto traces its name to the Italian word “pestare,” which means “to crush or pound”. It is made from Basil leaves crushed with Pine Nuts, Garlic, Parmesan Cheese and Olive Oil. Italians would make their Pesto freshly but most British people’s experience of it will have been from a jar. I can tell you, there is no comparison. They are like comparing freshly squeezed orange juice with a can of Fanta.

We have long tried to avoid eating any processed food. Pauline makes Pesto and freezes it in batches which works extremely well. We grow the Basil in the garden and have a continuing production process throughout the Summer. That process has begun again and yesterday’s weather was perfect for encouraging Basil. These plants will be ready for a first harvest in about 3 weeks and will continue to perform until September. The Pesto produced will be more than enough for a year.

Our neighbours who moved last week have called back round to see us. Pat has a recurrence of his cancer which has now moved, ominously, to his Lymph Nodes. He is going to begin his Chemotherapy at Brighton Hospital later in the week and is clearly feeling rather fragile. Who can blame him? He will have 12 sessions of treatment and he is already saying that, if he feels awful after the early ones, he will stop attending and prepare to die. I can’t even imagine being in that position. Pauline’s friend, Christine, was widowed when her husband’s Melanoma, which they both thought had been caught early, reappeared and killed him at the ridiculous age of 62.

I love hot sun. That’s one reason why I loved living in Greece. I tan easily without burning … or I did. I wonder if it is my aging skin but I seem to be burning more easily at the moment. I must be more careful. We know so many older people suffering from Melanomas. I want to Live … I think! Anyway, with people back at work this morning, we are going to the beach ourselves for a while.

I’m completing this at 5.00 pm as the sun is still shining and the temperature is 26C/79F. The entire garden has been watered and is glistening bright green with health and vitality. I wish the same could be said for me.

Wednesday, 2nd June, 2021

Another beautiful but empty and aimless day. A long warm day yesterday that peaked at 26C/79F. On this day last year, it was even hotter. It is Half Term and children were out with parents enjoying the beach. To be honest, there was plenty of room for everyone because the tide was fully out. We walked for an hour in the sunshine.

I was surprised to see how many were swimming. The Life Guards’ noticeboard said the water was 13C/55F which sounds far too cold for me. The David Lloyd outdoor pool used to be maintained at a minimum of 20C/68F and that was only just acceptable. Still, kids don’t even seem to notice. They certainly wouldn’t have read the latest bathing water quality report out yesterday which told us that UK has the dirtiest waters in the whole of Europe.

This little chap was happy in his own world, fantasising some part of a game he had invented for himself in the middle of boggy sand with a world of sky above him. We walked for an hour and he was still alone with his world when we left the beach. Life can be rather like that at times.

By 8.00 pm, it was still 26C/79F so we nipped back to the sea to watch the sunset. It was busy everywhere. People were out keeping cool. The Tapas Bars were packed with people sitting outside in the warm air.

The big events today include a trip to Asda to refuel the car for a drive North on Friday and a return to the Garden Centre to buy a new Parasol for the garden. All life is here!

Thursday, 3rd June, 2021

Another lovely day. Normally, I would expect to feel lifted but I remain flat. I associate good weather with travel, enjoyment, good food and wine, the sounds of foreign languages, the challenge of foreign words on road signs, menus, newspapers. There is currently none of that. I apologise to regular Blog readers but I am finding it hard to dig my way out of this slough of despond.https://www.youtube.com/embed/kn1gcjuhlhg?feature=oembed

This is the mood music for the day – Stjepan Hauser on cello playing the Adagio in G minor by Tomaso Albinoni.

Sunshine, neat and tidy garden. Birds singing and flowers flowering. Lounging on a settee in the garden with my iPad, smartphone, chilled red wine and nibbles. What more could one man want. Well, it’s not doing it for me at the moment. There are bigger things in life but it is a real struggle. Still committed to no alcohol and controlled calorie intake. Still forcing myself to complete my exercise routine. I’ve walked/jogged 59 miles in the last 7 days and 220 miles in the last 28 days. It takes every ounce of my determination. Sunny outside but ain’t no sunshine. The last few days have been particularly difficult for some reason but I refuse to give up!

Honda arrived at the house at 7.40 am to take our car for service. Two years old and we’ve only done 8,000 miles. At my current rate, I could have jogged more than 5000 of those in the past two years. That’s another thing. I love driving. I can drive all day and be really happy, especially if I am in some, strange country on foreign roads with real challenges to follow signposts and speed limits and searching for interesting restaurants and hotels. None of that even in prospect at the moment so I can’t escape the mood. They will deliver the car back home but we will probably walk round to collect it earlier.

Watched the Keir Starmer – Piers Morgan interview today. He came over as extremely likeable and very damaged by his childhood. It is a very sad but grittily determined story of triumph over adversity. If you missed it, really worth downloading at …

Other items of interest – to me at least – include the news that our house has increased its value by £140,000 over the 5 years we have been in it. Sounds a lot but is, actually, about half the increase our Surrey apartment put on in exactly the same time length. Really illustrates how location makes such a difference. However, the pandemic is encouraging people to move out of crowded, urban areas towards the coast and the countryside so prices may well be lagging that process.

Newsnight on BBC2 last night featured an artist from my past. Bridget Reilly is 90 and still working. She looks good and sounds lucid and vital. She has a new exhibition at the Lightbox Gallery which is a couple of miles from where I used to live in Woking.

Friday, 4th June, 2021

Another lovely, warm morning but won’t have to water the garden because we have some light rain. Driving Northwards today. Hope the M25 will be kind to us. The car was serviced yesterday so it will be interesting to see if there is much difference in the setup. At least Honda gave it a full valet service before delivering it back to us.

BT have switched us to digital phone connection this morning. They told us it would happen. We no longer need the copper wires of old. We have had to plug our house phone into the Hub/Router and all calls will be delivered over the internet from now on. They didn’t really give us a choice although I was happy to do it.

It does mean that our new, digital phones, and I ordered a set of 5, will connect to Alexa and allow us to voice-dial numbers and send/receive texts like a mobile service. This arrangement brings us so in line with our mobile services which I already put through our broadband connection while in the house that a separate number is almost pointless. BT say all customers will be moved to this service over the next few months.

The Fish Market have delivered 6 lovely, fat Sea Bass packed in ice. They are so big that one will feed two of us easily. They are from the Mediterranean sea and that is as close as we’re going to get for a while. The news is that even Portugal is being removed and Greek islands, which had hoped to be made available, have not been included at all.

It is going to be a very lean time for the tourist industry at home or away. Even Wales is looking at possible tightening. There is a concentration of the Indian variant in Llandudno, Llandudno Junction and Penrhyn Bay. I know the Greeks were panicking already and this could tip them over the edge. Two years of little or no income. We have flights and hotel rolled over from last year for time in Athens towards the end of August. It looks like we may be pushing that back until at least September and maybe even November. Certainly, the airports and hotels around them are looking at another barren Summer.

I signed up to the Professionals networking site, Linkedin, nearly 20 years ago. I used it only sporadically and, although retired for 12 years now, I’ve never withdrawn from it. Occasionally, they contact me offering me a list of jobs. Today, they’ve really hit the jackpot.

Can’t imagine anyone better equipped to teach Relationships and Sex Education than me? Well, apart from almost any other member of the human race!

Saturday, 5th June, 2021

Woke up at 6.00 am to another warm and sunny morning – 17C/63F. Couldn’t be bothered getting up. That is not me but I could not be bothered. Didn’t get up until 8.00 am. Then the day kicks in and everyday jobs need doing but I am performing them without enthusiasm.

Quite a difficult drive up to Surrey yesterday. The rain stayed much longer than forecast and the M25 was terrible. Long, slow-moving queues. At least it was one of those moments when the self-drive facilities on the car come into full use. Setting an automatic speed means the car moves forward when the one in front does and stays a regulation distance from it, breaking automatically when the one in front breaks. Lane-keeping means exactly that – the car is kept within its lane automatically. This is exactly what one needs on the M25.

We arrived in time for Lunch and it was nice to see them after such a long time although Pauline has been talking with Amanda in America and P&C in Surrey by FaceTime on her iPad about twice a week if not more.

I stuck to my diet and only ate a banana which I had brought with me. To drink? Just a glass of iced Shloer. There are some things of which I just can’t let go.

I am a gadgets man. I love a technical challenge. The digital phones arrived this morning. I’ve already set 3 of them up as well as done an hour’s walk in beautiful, hot sunshine, mowed and edged all the lawns and swept up after Pauline’s hedge trimming. Just 22C/70F this afternoon and a bit sultry.

These phones, I find, actually work with our existing network of 5 cordless handsets so we will have 10 now which means we could put one in almost every room excluding the toilets. The new, digital handsets allow us to make calls to two different numbers at the same time or make a call and receive a separate call at the same time. We receive voicemail like a mobile service and can send & receive text messages. Junk calls can be blocked at the touch of a button.

Two of the five new phones I ordered didn’t arrive. I’ve just phoned BT and they are giving them to me for free because of the inconvenience. I like BT.