Category: Sanders Blog – Hellas

28th October, 2012

Another fine day meandering down retirement lane. Sunday papers with fresh coffee. Smoked salmon sandwiches for lunch. A wonderful afternoon of football on TV. Liverpool drew with Everton in an excellent game and then United beat 9-man Chelsea in a strange but captivating victory.

 

Dinner was chicken, red onion and sweetcorn with wonderful, Italian pasta and a bottle of Tuscan Sangiovese followed by Pauline’s dark chocolate and amaretti Torte with autumn raspberries. Wonderful!

Pauline has been cooking all weekend. Two Christmas Puddings, a Christmas Cake, Amaretto-Chocolate Tortes in readiness for December. A dozen salmon and cod fishcakes for meals in the future. Our rule is that we never eat a pre-prepared meal unless we are dining out. Everything is fresh and made with the best ingredients.

29th October, 2012

I’m on the last leg with my latest website construction. I am fighting with a couple of difficult pages which just don’t work yet. A pleasant day. We went out for a walk. The trees are losing their leaves but still glorious.

30th October, 2012

We decided to take advantage of the special offers still being made by Eurotunnel and book another French trip before Christmas. An offer of £22.00 return just cannot be turned down. We will do our monthly shop there on November 13th and December 12th.

My new website is at the proof reading and testing stage. I aim to have it up and working in the next couple of days.

31st October, 2012

We have been discussing joining a Health Club since we got back and there is a good one near where we live. The Nuffield Health Club in West Byfleet is huge and has wonderful facilities. It has lots of machinery, a pool, jacuzzi, and steam room for me. It also hosts lots of exercise groups like Pilates and Zumba for Pauline. At £100.00 per month, it works out cost effective as long as we go four or five times each week – which we will.

 

1st November, 2012

Kalo μηνα  Happy November

I launched the new website today and sent a link to the Notary. Ironically, we received a phone call from our amanuensis on the island. They had been chopping wood for their burner in anticipation of a cold winter. They were informing us of our electricity bill which will amount to about £150.00 for the six months. Not bad.

2nd November, 2012

We received a call for help from Phyllis & Colin to go round and assist them ……………. build a fluorescent green mountain bike that had been ordered over the internet. It is a birthday present for one of the boys but it beat us. Half an hour was all we needed to know it was a job for the professionals. A quick call to the local Halfords and a quote of £40.00 was enough to drop the project.

We bought a very expensive pheasant in a local butcher’s shop the other day. We had it for dinner this evening and it was absolutely wonderful. We must buy plenty more from the farm shop in Huddersfield when we go.

3rd November, 2012

Torrential rain all night gave way to a lovely, bright morning. TV News reported snow in the South West. It is still quite mild here. We haven’t had to turn the heating on yet. Long may it continue. Even though we went out early this morning to do the weekly shop, by the time we had got home and had coffee, it was time to watch United destroy Arsenal.

Christmas arrangements have been made: we have agreed to meet for a meal with the family on Christmas Eve at our local country pub – The Inn at Maybury. On Christmas Day, Pauline & I will cook for eleven people with traditional turkey as the main course. Starter will be finger food – smoked salmon, etc. Pauline has made the Christmas Puddings and the cake already giving them time to mature  – like me.

The website went up this week and already has been visited 37 times. We have already had two couples looking round the house. A Sifnos couple went round last week and thought the price reasonable. I think it is although that was the hardest thing to get right. Certainly, we could have put it on at a higher price but it will only sell if it is considered a reasonable price and I think this is. The irony is that, two years ago, we could have added an extra €200,000.00. It is not a problem. My abiding principle in building the house was that it should not compromise our life and finances in UK. What will be, will be! I’m already planning our return to Sifnos next Spring.

21st October, 2012

It is a real sign of old age when a brief jaunt away takes days to recover from. I plead guilty. I did drive 650 miles over those three days but I think it was the socialising that really tired me out. Pauline and I live so much in our own little bubble that social intercourse spread over three days really took it out of us. I have slumped with the Sunday Times today, watched a couple of games of football and written a few emails.

Tomorrow is the 55th birthdays of my brother, Mike, and Sister, Liz. I still picture them as 10 or 11 not 55! Ruth met Liz recently and said she was limping with arthritis and that Mike had it so badly he had been unable to get out of bed one day. I am not aware of it in our family at all. Ruth told me that she and David are going with Jane to Buckingham Palace in a week or two when she receives her CBE. Liz will be the next one. She has already had lunch with the queen and her job is likely to lead to some automatic honour in the end.

22nd October, 2012

Happy 55th Birthday to Mike & Liz. How grown up are they?

   

Sent an email to Liz and got a nice and immediate reply. Sent a card to Mike who refuses to embrace technology. I don’t know why. He’s extremely intelligent. I might hear from him in a year or two.

23rd October, 2012

We are developing a very busy schedule over the next few weeks so I’m desperately trying to get this new website completed and published. It’s not one I have to maintain other than fielding correspondence so, when it’s finished, it won’t take up a lot of time.

When I got back from Greece, I was shocked to find a letter from a member of the Bristol & Avon Family History Society. The correspondent had long been investigating their own family and finally found that it became entangled with ours. The letter was asking for help. I will deal with that next and that may also result in a website redesign ultimately.

Before Christmas, we have a trip to London for shopping. We want to visit Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Borough Market. We would like to do a second one to visit the Pre-Raphaelite Exhibition at the Tate. We have at least one shopping trip to France and a trip to Yorkshire to collect the new car. I will visit Repton on the way back.

In addition to these, we have a string of Doctors’, Dentists’, Hygenists’, Hospital, Diabetic Clinic appointments. I have so many friends/correspondents to get back up to date with that my emails are likely to blend in to the Christmas Card List. Still, it’s better than being bored, isn’t it?

Watched Man. Utd. splutter through to victory against Braga in the Champion’s League. They will have to do better than this.

24th October, 2012

The mornings have been grey for a few days now. It isn’t cold – by British standards – at 16C/61F but it is a bit depressing. It’s only 18C/64F in Athens and Skiathos so the difference isn’t as great as one imagines. My morning starts at 7.30 am with a glass of fresh orange, a huge cup (bucket) of breakfast tea and then a bowl of cereals – usually Shreddies which I love. After downloading The Times on to my iPad, I make a cup of fresh coffee. My coffee maker produces a wonderful cup of Capuccino for about 22p. It would cost about £2.20 at Costa Coffee. The newspaper this morning, like the news bulletins for days, is dominated by the BBC’s relationship with Jimmy Saville. To hear executives say they didn’t know is ridiculous. I heard him say back in the 70s that he liked to take young girls back to his caravan.

This afternoon, Pauline is going for a fitting for a new veneer on her front tooth. She lost the last one in Greece. The new one will cost £320.00.

25th October, 2012

Had to be out early this morning. Blood tests – a standard INR plus my annual diabetic check. The nurse really did take an armful. After that, we had to drive a couple of miles to take Pauline to visit the Doctor. She is prone to developing ganglions or little fatty cysts. Five years ago, we had a real scare when she developed one in her forearm that was initially thought to be more serious but, fortunately, turned out to be completely benign. We had to go down to Birmingham to have it removed by a Specialist. Now she has one on her shoulder which is starting to impact on her mobility and which will also have to come out. This time, it will be done locally. Later, Pauline had a second ‘fitting’ for a veneer at the dentist. Neither of us has seen a doctor or dentist for over six months so to return to this kind of regime makes us feel our age.

26th October, 2012

For years now Pauline and I have loved cooking with and eating game – pheasant, partridge, pigeon, quail, rabbit & hare. In Yorkshire it was cheap and readily available. Pheasants, in the shooting season, cost £3.00 each from our farm shop. A good sized rabbit was about the same price. We have just found a butcher down here selling fresh pheasants for £6.75. Fortunately, we are off back to Yorkshire to pick the new car up and we will go loaded with cool boxes which we will stuff full of cheap game from Hinchcliffe’s Farm Shop in Netherton.

After buying up all the supermarkets this morning, Pauline is making the Christmas Cake and Christmas puddings this afternoon. Let’s hope they last until Christmas.

27th October, 2012

The national weather forecasts have been predicting freezing temperatures to replace the current mild days. As the week has gone on, the heavily trailed predictions just haven’t been matched by the reality. Last year, the huge fig tree in the garden next door was totally denuded over night by one frost. Every time I go past, I warn it to enjoy its last day of leaves but next day it remains in all its finery. The media have managed to find evidence of cold – snow in Scotland and a smattering around Newcastle. Big Deal! Tomorrow the non-cold weather is replaced by mild again. Get the gritters out. We put the clocks back tonight. This was a big deal when we were working. An extra hour in bed. Now retired, it means nothing. All our clocks update themselves automatically these days.

In Greece it is Ochi Day tomorrow. You might think it’s that day every day for many Greeks. At least it is looking much more hopeful that Samaras has managed to bring off the impossible and to get a deal with Europe which will include a two year extension. Who knows. It just might work.

14th October, 2012

A quiet day of Sunday papers and some time developing a new web for a special order. I use Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and Fireworks usually but I am trialling a new piece of software and finding it very exciting. It’s nice to find you can’t do something and have to fight to understand it.

15th October, 2012

A nice, sunny morning. Pauline has gone off to her Pilates class with her sister. I’m getting on with my web design. In my email this morning I received one of these regular offers for a day return crossing of car and passengers through the channel tunnel for a total of £22.00. We booked our monthly shopping trip immediately.

I am beginning to get really concerned by time. I’m sure it’s speeding up. Today, it was announced, is the 25th anniversary of the Great Storm which Michael Fish denied and we woke to find trees blown down everywhere across the south of England. Twenty five years!

16th October, 2012

Fascinating focus in the media today. We’ve been talking about the lack of reciprocity in Europe vis a vis Health Treatment. Britain is such an easy touch. Wherever one goes in Europe, one is asked to pay up front and possibly claim some of it back through the EHIC card.

Up until now, British doctors and hospitals seem to treat anyone free of charge. Well soon it may be closing that open-door policy even for ex-pat British passport holders. The pressure on the NHS is so great now that rationing is being openly employed for British taxpayers. Essential things like cataracts and hip replacements are being put on hold for lack of funding. The Tory Government are looking at policing Healthcare access and confining it to those who can prove they have spent at least 180 days each year living in the UK. We know people who live abroad for all but the odd week back in UK but who expect their country of origin to provide the healthcare when things get serious or expensive. The government must cut that out.

17th October, 2012

Still working on this new website today. I’m really enjoying it but it is intricate and labour-intensive. We are going away for a few days tomorrow so it won’t be finished until next week.

We’ve been in Woking, officially, for a whole year now and I haven’t actually seen a doctor at our new practice. I see nurses for blood tests, etc. but nobody of real substance. Today, I am going for my Annual Review with an actual doctor – a cardiac specialist. That will be interesting. I’m bound to have my blood pressure checked. It won’t be good. I’m watching England being run ragged by Poland. What are they doing?

18th October, 2012

This morning we drive to Lancashire. It is the second anniversary of Mum Barnes’ death. She would have been 98 now.

We are going to the Crematorium to pay our respects and to remember her. En route, we will stop in Repton to visit my Mum’s grave.

Neither Pauline nor I believe in an after life but we still feel the visit evokes the memory more than just a thought. While in Oldham, I will visit my old friend, Brian – ex Drugs Squad, ex Murder Squad. He is the most wonderful man and about the only person (other than my wife) that I would trust with my life.

Later………..

We got off at 5.30 am and had an excellent journey in fine weather. We felt that we were a bit under pressure to get everything done and decided to visit Repton on the return journey. On reaching Oldham, we went straight to look at the new school buildings going up all over the town at a cost of tens of millions of pounds. This is how our reborn school will look as Waterhead Academy with its 2000 pupils. The photos below are poor because I took them on my iPad but you will get the idea.

 

Appropriately, we went on to see Kath (aka The Maltese Falcon because she was born there) who was my cleaner in school and who went on to clean for Pauline’s Mum and adopt her as a surrogate Mother. When we arrived, on the second anniversary of Mum’s death, Kath and her husband had ‘lit a candle’ in memory of her. It was very touching. We went on to see all the other friends and relatives we had arranged and then drove back to Huddersfield – actually, Brighouse where we were staying at the Holiday Inn. It’s not a brilliant hotel but, for years, we visited it five or six times a week to use the Health Centre – pool, jacuzzi, gym, steam room, etc. It was familiar and comfortable.

At 6.30 pm we drove down to the most unlikely and unprepossessing part of Huddersfield fringed by the railway viaduct to visit Bradleys Restaurant. Until weeks ago we knew nothing about it and we have been kicking ourselves having long decried the lack of good restaurants in Huddersfield. Apparently, it has featured in the Good Food Guide for seven, consecutive years. Our friends and ex-school colleagues met us at the door and we went in to a lovely interior. I asked how long the restaurant had been there and was flabbergasted to be told that it was nineteen years. We have to get out more. The meal was absolutely wonderful. I had pigeon breast and black pudding to start and it was a revelation. Designer Belly Pork on a bed of garlic mash was fantastic and tarte aux pommes with elderberry ice cream really finished it beautifully. The amazing thing was, after paying European and Surrey prices over the past twelve months, the bill for four people each having three courses and sharing two bottles of wine came to just £93.00. Quite amazing for that quality.

It was a lovely end to the day with lovely, wine, food and friends. Tomorrow is Yorkshire day.

19th October, 2012

A beautiful, sunny day. We were up fairly early and had quite pleasant, buffet breakfast although we were still full from the night before. We set off for Bolton to visit my lovely sister, Ruth, and her friendly husband, Kevan. They seem very happy and relaxed in their new apartment. They seem to have coped with retirement and down sizing rather better than Pauline & I on first impressions. Driving back, we returned to our old house to visit Jean & Perry, our former neighbours. They are the most delightful friends and had lots of tales to tell us. Perry is a lecturer at Bradford College. He would like to retire but is in his mid-50s and feels trapped until his mid-60s. Jean is already in her 60s. We lived in a former quarry and often speculated about the security of its 35 ft. wall.

When we returned we were told that, shortly after we left, a huge block of sandstone cracked and fell on to the back lawn. Nobody could crack or split it and no one could move it so they’ve decided to make a feature of it with shrubs and trees around it and insurance companies will be told that it has always been there.

We left Jean & Perry and this is where we made our great mistake. Over the years, we have built up a strong friendship with Chris, our Honda salesman. Yes, he is a salesman but we have bought cars from him over more than thirty years. In fact, we have bought twenty five new cars during our thirty two year marriage and nineteen of them have been from Chris. We have had a new Mini, a Nissan (Datsun) Cherry, a Nissan Stanza and then in 1984, we bought our first Honda. It was an Accord and cost £7,400.00. We kept that for four years and then moved on to Preludes. We bought a new one virtually each year until we started driving to Greece in 2000 when we moved on to 4×4 CRVs. We just popped in to say ‘Hello’ although we did know that they were launching the latest model of our car today. When we arrived, the launch party hadn’t quite started. By the time we left, half an hour later, they had just sold their first car of the new model and we had just bought it. Our first new car back, in 1979, cost just over £1000.00 and we struggled to afford it. This new car costs a little bit more at £32,000.00 but they begged us to accept 0% finance. How could we refuse.

We have to return in a month to pick it up. Should be an enjoyable trip.

20th October, 2012

After a light breakfast from the buffet – I had yoghurt & berry compote – we made an early start. First we had to nip off to buy a batch of Hollands Pies for Colin who gets homesick without them. By some, strange coincidence, they had just been reduced from £1.53 to 50p each so we bought the shop out. Let’s hope his freezer’s big enough.

The weather was sunny and the motorway quiet. We have decided to visit Mum’s grave when we return next month. We were home for 1.15 pm. It was only then that I realised how tiring the three days had been. I fell asleep through the Chelsea v Spurs match.

7th October, 2012

The trees at our front door are showing signs of Autumn and an army of squirrels believe it to be true as they scurry underneath to hide nuts in a store for the winter.

Drove over to Epsom this morning – not to the races but to our nearest branch of Staples. I needed a new colour printer. I have a Brother Mono Laser printer which has been a wonderful workhorse for years and backed it up with an inkjet colour because I used it so rarely. I think the inkjet printer cost less than £50.00 which is really a throwaway price. The last colour laser bought for school, I remember distinctly, cost £3,570.00. I remember because I had a tussle with the Local Authority about which one to order to use for publicity work. I chose a Kyocera and it turned out to be a wonderful quality but one would never pay that for it now. It was as big as a dishwasher. Even the toner cost £400.00. It’s rather like OCR software which, in the 1990s was the holy grail and cost hundreds of pounds, now comes free with a scanner.

Anyway, I chose a Brother HL-3040CN colour laser because it was being advertised by Staples on-line at £107.00. I thought it was ridiculously cheap and, when I got there, it turned out to be so. The store had it advertised for £237.00, which is still unbelievably cheap. When I showed the Manager my web printout, he said it must be a typing error but he had to honour the lower price. Set up and used as soon as we got home, it looks a good buy.

8th October, 2012

The skies opened this morning soon after breakfast and rain poured torrentially. It was a delight to see after months of strong sun. Spent my morning writing to people in Sifnos – emails and hard copies. I interspersed this by watching coverage of the Tory Party Conference from Birmingham and a pretty sterile and tawdry affair it is. They are a caricature of 1970s Toryism. We are still, according to them, all in this together. Later in the evening, Channel 4 ran an investigative piece illustrating the hugely divergent and continually diverging levels of reward between those at the top of companies and those at the very bottom. It really did little more than reiterate the involvement of cronyism on Remuneration Boards but it did serve as a counterpoint to a Tory Chancellor looking to cut Welfare budgets.

9th October, 2012

A delightful day. I drove Pauline and her sister to Guildford. It’s less than ten miles away and is a charming place with much of the charm of somewhere like York.

For Pauline, it was like a walk through all the clothes catalogues that arrive so regularly in the post:

• Toast
• Brora
• Hobbs
• Cotton Traders
• Kew
• French Connection
• East

The only shop I accompanied them to was Lakeland because I wanted to look at a Sousvide machine but it was disappointingly missing.

10th October, 2012

The day has opened with beautiful, warm sunshine. The squirrels are going wild. The morning was spent helping Phyllis & Colin book a break in Tenerife. We used three, separate methods – internet helped me isolate the sort of holidays available. All websites offered internet reductions. Hard copy brochures had the same holidays but at even cheaper prices. Phyllis ultimately booked the holiday by phone and got it cheaper again. What was interesting was to find the internet site and the brochure disagreed about the flight times and the final booking confirmed different flight times again.

This afternoon a friend from Sifnos phoned with exciting news for us. She also said that, although the weather had been wonderful since we left, there was a lot of illness going round. Her children had been ill and she now had it.

We are driving up to Lancashire & Yorkshire for a couple of days next week and we made some phone calls to make arrangements to meet family, old friends, ex-neighbours and ex-colleagues. Every minute of the two or so days is now fixed up. We will be exhausted by the time we leave for Surrey.

11th October, 2012

Had to be at Woking Walk-in Centre for 9.00 am for my blood test. We then drove on to our dentist’s appointments. Pauline needs an expensive veneer on her front tooth to replace the one that she lost while in Greece.

We drove home through increasingly heavy rain and prepared lunch. We roasted red peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic with oregano and later made soup from them. I then did the most ridiculous thing. I applied for my Winter Fuel Allowance. I qualify for £200.00 per year. I don’t need £200.00. Last year our total heating bill was about £100.00. Even with our underfloor heating for a month in Sifnos we wouldn’t have spent £200.00 but, because we are entitled to it, I have applied for it.

Honda have invited us to preview the new CRV model out next month. I’m trying to resist it. I’ve had a new Honda most years over the past thirty. I occasionally have a hankering for a change of maker. These are the models I would consider at the moment:

• The new CRV
• The Volvo XC90
• The Land Rover
• The Range Rover

   

12th October, 2012

Had to visit Honda this morning to show them stone chip we got to our windscreen on the way through France. It seems it’s not as bad as we feared and can just be filled and buffed away. Autoglass are coming round this afternoon and will do it for free. The wine merchants I visit in Calais have sent us free return tickets so we will probably use them in November. I got an email from Friends Reunited yesterday saying someone had uploaded a photograph which featured me. When I found it:

I couldn’t remember a thing about it other than it was in Masham where we used to visit Theakston’s Brewery which, in those days only had an outlet in two or three pubs. Nowadays, you can buy it in Supermarkets across the country. The trouble with the photo is that I am surrounded by youngsters who I have no memory of. I can see Chris Tolley in the background, leaning against the wall. I can see John ???? in the door of the pub but the others are distant memories. It must have been 1971/2. Now this next one, I remember well. I’m the hairy monster with his hand up surrounded by some of his closest peers. I suspect this was 1970/71. There is Judy, Christine, Bill & Nigel in the back row and Anne, Kevin, Robert & Me in the front row.

Where are those days? Well the times are certainly changing. The Autoglass man who came round to fix the chip in our windscreen turned out to be a 40 year old, bi-lingual law graduate who had fallen on hard times and was driving round the south east of England, filling or replacing windscreens. Quite amazing but he did an excellent job for me. Strange to think that my pension for doing nothing is greater than his take home pay for five and a half days work.

13th October, 2012

A lovely, mild, Autumn day of sun and showers. All the lawns were cut yesterday, stray leaves vacuumed up and the rich, green stripes look great in the sunshine. Although we are doing fairly mundane things today, after six months in Greece, a trip to Tesco is magical.

30th September, 2012

Weird waking up in England. Opened the blinds and trees in full and vivid green leaf everywhere with green striped lawns below. At least the staff have been doing their job while we were away.

Breakfast was even stranger. I couldn’t remember which cupboards the cups were in. I turned to the oven in looking for the fridge. I downloaded the Sunday Times in a quarter of the time it took on Sifnos. I couldn’t work the handsets out for the TV and Sky. I struggled with the burglar alarm and wandered into one of the bathrooms and couldn’t find the light switches.

In the afternoon, we went round to have lunch with Phyllis and Colin. Mandy and the boys dropped in to see us. We’ve arranged to take Phyllis & Colin out to Dinner on Saturday to celebrate Pauline’s birthday. Her birthday is on Friday but Phyllis is going to the theatre on Friday to enjoy a belated birthday treat with Mandy. Enjoy the show.

Tried to watch Match of the Day but Greek time kicked in and I had to go to bed.

1st October, 2012

Stop the world. I want to get off! October already. Happy new month everyone.

Rain, grey skies and the news that Europe won the Ryder Cup. Excellent. New breakfast routine kicks in today – porridge. Now we have to make doctors’ appointments, dentists’ appointments, eye tests, diabetic checkup for me and hair for Pauline. We must have the car valeted and serviced.

2nd October, 2012

As we boarded F/b Adamas Korais a week ago, we said goodbye to our dear amenuensis. Without her and the many friends she introduced us to, we could not have achieved what we have. Today we spoke to her by phone. Unfortunately, she is in mourning for her nephew who has died of cancer. We felt so sorry for her loss. Rather unexpectedly, I also received an email from the Notary hoping that we had had a good journey home which was nice. Such a contrast with those who abandoned us.

Rather nice surprise today. Had a letter from Barclays Bank – not our bank – to be told they were holding money in a savings account for us. It looks like a carry over from when we sold our house two years ago. I thought the account had been closed. It will be tomorrow. This afternoon, we finished emptying the car and racking the wines. Booked a restaurant for a meal to celebrate Pauline’s birthday on Saturday.

I don’t know if you saw Ed. Milliband’s Leader’s speech in Manchester. I was captivated by it. It was an impressive tour de force of 70 mins. without notes. I do hope that is a springboard for the next stage.

3rd October, 2012

Out early today in a crisp, dry morning of 12C/54F to have the car valeted then on to Barclays Bank to extract a wad of cash and close the old account. Had to show our passports to prove our identity.

In to town to Specsavers for eye tests. They are free for both of us – me because I am diabetic and Pauline because she is so old. No change for me. Pauline needs stronger reading lenses. She hates going to the supermarket and having to have her glasses round her neck but it comes to most. In my case, I have to take my glasses off to read. Pauline tried to drag me in to a couple of dress shops but she could see I couldn’t stand it so we dropped in to Pre a Manger for a bit of lunch. Pauline went off to her hairdressers’ appointment at the Headmasters chain and I sat in Costa Coffee reading my newspaper.

This evening I watched a disappointing performance by Man. City or an impressive performance by Borussia Dortmund. They needed a penalty from Balotelli penalty to get an undeserved 1-1 draw.

Topped the evening off marvelling at the Tories total incompetence as evidenced by their staggering mess of the rail franchise. What a way to run a railway!

4th October, 2012

A day of research, thinking and writing. I’d forgotten how tiring it was. After six months on a Greek island doing not much more challenging than painting the pergola, brain work left me exhausted. Thankfully, it was punctuated by trips out to take Pauline to buy a kettle – she has been using her Mum’s for the last couple of years for sentimental reasons but now it has to go. Pauline also needed a new watch. Gone are the days when they cost a fortune. Pauline’s preferred one was £4.99 from Argos.

5th October, 2012

Happy Birthday to Pauline. She is 61 today and still looks under 50. It must be being married to me. We celebrated by me cooking dinner. We ate Salmon & Cod (well Saumon et Cabillaud actually because we bought it in France) with a Parmigiano crust with saute potatoes, green beans and an onion marmalade. I have to say, it was surprisingly good.

6th October, 2012

To celebrate Pauline’s birthday we went out for dinner with Pauline’s sister, Phyllis, and her husband, Colin. It was Chinese at Chu Chin Chow in Byfleet.

The meal was incredibly good, particularly the duck and squid dishes. We had lovely conversation and were surprised when we left that we’d been there for over two hours.

23rd September, 2012

We’ve made a last minute decision to leave early. The conditions – rapidly and vastly reducing ferry connections including the termination of Speed Runner next week plus an Autumn of Discontent in Athens with a General Strike on Wednesday affecting transport. It seems opportune to be taking a break. Contacted Superfast and they have a Luxury Cabin for Tuesday from Patras to Ancona.

• F/b Adamas Korais leaves Sifnos this afternoon and we will be on it.
• Two nights in a 5* Hotel just outside the new port in Patras.
• 23 hours on Superfast up the Adriatic to Ancona.
• Drive 3 hours to Parma in Italy for one night.
• Drive 5 hours to Mulhouse in Alsace for one night.
• Drive 4 hours to Reims in Champagne Country for one night.
• Drive 3 hours to Calais, through the Tunnel and up to Surrey.

I will try to maintain my Blog. I’ve booked hotels with wi-fi but it doesn’t always materialise.

It seems a pity to be leaving because the weather is settling down for a hot week of swimming and socialising but WE WILL BE BACK.

24th September, 2012

Wonderful trip on a quiet F/b Adamas Korais arriving in Piraeus by 8.25 pm.

Jockeyed for position with Marios from the supermarket as we drove off. He wished us a good journey and we drove off in to the night. The traffic from Patras was immense and continuous. The traffic our way was quite light and we did it in a record two hours. The car was so relieved to leave those cramped, island roads and thanked me continually for allowing it to stretch its legs as we cruised at 120 mph along the newer stretches of motorway.

The new port is further on than the old which is why we have switched our hotel from old favourite, Patras Palace to the Poseidon Palace which offers so much more. Our room is lovely. We arrived in time to have dinner which was very nice. There is free wi-fi throughout the hotel so I downloaded my copy of The Times to my iPad over breakfast and then we drove down to the new port offices to check on sailings and the strike.

What we learned quite surprised us a left us feeling extremely lucky. We leave on Superfast at 5.00 pm on Tuesday. The strike begins at midnight. Our boat goes but the Wednesday boat doesn’t and, possibly the Thursday boat won’t either. That surprised us because, usually, these strikes haven’t affected Greece-Italy ferries. We raised the possibility of the ferry tying up at Igoumenitsa but they had clearly been asked to consider that possibility already because they laughed and said that the boat would reach Igoumenitsa in time to leave by 11.30 pm and, therefore, there wouldn’t be a problem.

The temperature is climbing to 30C/88F and we have driven back to the hotel to swim in the wonderful pool. You can walk down their jetty and swim in the sea but the pool is delightful and incorporates a huge and powerful jacuzzi. We have had it completely to ourselves for a couple of hours and feel very relaxed.

25th September, 2012

After a wonderful meal in the Hotel restaurant last night, we only needed a light breakfast. Unfortunately, we couldn’t resist the bacon & eggs on offer so we are feeling podged again. It is a lovely, still and warm morning – forecast to reach 29C/85F – which we are spending walking in the gardens and catching up on correspondence. A lot of my readers have wished us a safe journey and a good winter. It could be nothing other without the Poison Dwarf.

We board at 3.30 pm and sail at 5.00 pm. After dinner, we will try to stay awake to see the stop at Igoumenitsa at 11.30 pm and then sleep. The boat docks in Ancona at 4.00 pm tomorrow. The poor people booked for Wednesday’s 5.00 pm sailing are having to wait an extra seven hours in order to beat the strike.

26th September, 2012

We dined on grilled salmon last night with a bottle of chilled, red wine followed by half an hour out on deck getting plenty of sea spray in our faces. We went to bed at 10.30 pm and were out like a light so soon that we completely missed the stop at Igoumenitsa around 11.30 pm. This morning dawned bright and sunny and our luxury cabin at the front (bow?) on top deck with huge, panoramic windows gave us wonderful views of …..the sea and sky.

Breakfast in the A La Carte Restaurant comes in the price of our ticket so we couldn’t turn it down – could we. Fresh orange juice, a pot of wonderful coffee, toast, bacon & eggs followed by croissants.

We staggered to the Purser’s Desk to buy a wireless internet card and download The Times to my iPad. We both find ships frustrating slow. We would never consider a cruise for that reason. Superfast XI docked at 4.30 pm and we were off shortly after 5.00 pm. Under our own steam, driving was a nice feeling. More importantly, the weather was warm and dry in total contradiction of the BBC’s weather forecast which suggested that the whole of our journey would be wet. The drive from Ancona port to the centre of Parma was really enjoyable and we arrived at our hotel by 8.30 pm. The Hotel Villa Ducale was ok but only ok.

It demonstrates the difficulty in upgrading and maintaining an older building. The room was rather dark and a bit dingy although the bathroom was lovely. The dining room was like a huge, souless hall and the Maitre d’ like Basil Fawlty although the food was rather good.

It wasn’t cheap. It cost us €180.00 for the night with dinner. We won’t go back there.

27th September, 2012

This morning we set off on the hardest leg of our journey – a five hour drive from Parma in Italy to Mulhouse in Alsace, France. Gone are the days when we got off the boat and drove non-stop to Zeebrugge to catch the ferry back to Hull. Retirement brings so many benefits, not least, low season prices and an indulgent drive through Europe. Once again, the weather was beautiful even in Switzerland. We were expecting thunderstorms there but the sun shone and the clouds remained high and white. Admittedly, the temperature fell to figures we hardly recognised – 11C/52F – and the peaks had plenty of new snow on them but huge waterfalls were spectacularly crashing down the mountainsides everywhere.

Our route today has been: Parma – Milan – Lake Como – Lake Lugano – Lake Maggiore – Belinzona – San Gotthard Tunnel – Altdorf – Seelisberg Tunnel – Lucerne – Basel – Mulhouse.

With a break for coffee, it has taken five and a half hours. We are staying at a hotel that we’ve used a couple of times before and enjoyed – The Holiday Inn. It is reasonably priced and very comfortable, has a fantastic restaurant and a wonderful, basement pool with sauna and gym.

  

Tomorrow we drive to and stay in the champagne city of Reims. We are looking forward to that.

28th September, 2012

Wonderful drive this morning from Alsace to Reims in the heart of the Champagne Region. Late summer sun bathed the almost empty motorways – abandoned by the everyday French because of the level of tolls. French motorways are beautifully planted with the most glorious trees which increasingly display orange and golden burnished leaves as the depth of Autumn intensifies as we get closer to Calais and the coast.

We were in no hurry although we mooched around in our hotel room until 10.00 am, drinking coffee and listening the Today programme on Radio 4 and doing our correspondence. I downloaded the paper and read a chunk of it. No breakfast this morning. We are still full from last night. After a couple of hours driving:

Mulhouse – Colmar – Strasbourg – Metz – Verdun – Epernay – Reims (There are shorter routes but this is the quickest.)

We stopped for petrol and to have coffee and a sandwich. We wouldn’t dream of doing this in UK but French Service Stations are clean, attractively laid out and sell the most amazing fresh coffee and top quality food. I just had a baguette with ham and salad. It was gorgeous with every element from ham to oak-leaved lettuce to cornichons to mayonaise being chosen and combined for its quality. The coffee was as good as I could make myself. For that – €11.00 / £8.80. Not too bad for heaven.

We arrived at our hotel in the centre of Reims – about 100 mtrs. from the famous, ornately neo-Gothic cathederal – The Mercure Reims Centre Cathedrale.

  

With great good fortune, we found the hotel has a secure, underground carpark and the hotel itself has just completed a full refit. It is delightfully comfortable from the brand new carpets to the huge new bed. We have every channel imaginable on the new, flat-screen television and a fantastically ‘cool’ bathroom. Wi-fi is strong and free in our room and everywhere else. I’ll let you know later about the restaurant.

29th September, 2012

Well, today we drive to Calais, spend two or three hours stocking up on wine and doing a month’s grocery shopping in Auchan and Carrefour. We will find somewhere nice for lunch. We have booked a spot to drive through the tunnel at 5.00 pm (France)/4.00 pm (UK) but it may be that we choose to go through a couple of hours earlier. It will take us another hour to drive to our home in Surrey and mark the end of one 6 month period and the start of another.

After three delightful hours on an almost deserted motorway in beautiful sunshine, we arrived in Calais at our favourite wine outlet – The Calais Wine Superstore – and then drive on to Auchan in Coquelles where we do our grocery shop. We have a bite to eat and then drive on to the Tunnel, arriving about 2.00 pm (French time), hoping to get on an early train. Unfortunately, one of the ferry companies is on strike so the trains are full but we still get into Kent for 4.30 pm and to Surrey before 6.00 pm.

The grounds around our apartment looked wonderful. The lawns closely mown and green, the trees in luscious leaf with squirrels darting everywhere. The temperature was a bit keen for a man in short sleeves – 14C/57F – but it was nice to feel a different climate. We had bought bread, butter, cheese  & ham in France and that made a quick tea along with a bottle of something. I just managed to stay awake long enough for the evening news and Match of the Day before a shower and falling into bed.

16th September, 2012

A lovely day of sun and cloud with temperatures reaching 28C/83F. While Skiathan Man was dancing in the rain, and rain forecast here receded into the future. We have had a true Sunday. Newspapers in the morning, light lunch and football match – Reading v Spurs. Defoe won it with two goals. I’ve always wondered why Defoe was only used as super-sub by Spurs and by England.

Later, Dimitris, his wife and beautiful little girl came round for a drink and a chat. We sat for a couple of hours as the sun went down, looking out to sea and infinity. It was delightful. Later, we went to Panos and Rania’s to eat. We weren’t terribly hungry so we only had a main course of Beef Orlof and chips but it was nice to see them again. Rania’s Mum is staying with them. She is a really lovely lady.

17th September, 2012

Today, according to BBC Weather, was supposed to start with rain. As I walk out on to the patio and look over the port at 7.00 am, nothing could be further from possibility. Cloudless blue sky, barely a rustle of breeze, sun gently rising. Rain? What rain? Just as I am a newsaholic so are we avidly interested in weather. It is the British disease. We watch Ant1 weather, Mega Weather and, especially, ET3 weather for the usually excellent Sakis Arnaoutoglou in a fifteen minute presentation.

Of course, I also have a weather app. on my laptop and on my iPad which taps into the continuously updated, global weather monitoring stations. You just can’t have too much weather! The problem is, the weather hasn’t behaved itself for some days now. When you want rain, you just can’t get it.

18th September, 2012

Since we retired, teachers’ pay has been frozen. Our pension, however, is updated each year according to the rate of inflation. It is inflation-proof. This government changed the inflation index from RPI to CPI (Retail Price Index to Consumer Price Index) with the intention of controlling the increases. The biggest difference between the two indexes (indices?) is that the first includes Mortgage costs. As we don’t and will never again need a mortgage, we really don’t feel too bad although the difference at the is 0.3%. What it means is that our pensions will have risen over 2 years by 7.7% which is not too bad in these recessionary times. The increase each year is based on the September figure but not uprated until the following April by which time it can be well out of date. Whatever the increase, we are grateful to be paid to indulge ourselves.

Watched Man. City deservedly lose to The Special One.

19th September, 2012

Busy day. Blood Test. Consistent over five weeks now at 2.3 – I must be behaving myself. Coffee and Sweet Pie at Prago. Visit to the Accountants. Visit to Kostas & Maria. Visit to Olga.

Watched Man. United play and beat Galatasaray although I couldn’t stay up right to the end.

20th September, 2012

The plumber is coming to do some work in the garage tomorrow so I have been set the task of cleaning and tidying the entire place today. We currently don’t have any doors on our garage and all the flotsam and jetsum of the island blows into it and settles along with stray cats, lizards, spiders, etc.. We dump everything we don’t want in the garage. Now is the day of reckoning.

After two hours, I am exhausted and have made a New Year’s Resolution. The year 2013 must be the year of the Garage Door. It must be automatic operated and remotely controlled. None of this getting out of the car!

21st September, 2012

Up early for a beautiful day. Still – all the weather forecasts apart from the BBC said it would be windy – calm, warm and beautifully scented. We went to the tip with all the rubbish from our garage and then cleaned the car. I have decided that I am going to keep it until the end of next year. The new model is launched in November but I’ve made the mistake before of buying the first one off the production line of a new model only to find teething problems still to be ironed out.

The plumber arrived exactly at 10.00 am as agreed but could only do part of the job and will have to come back next week some time to finish it. We had our own agenda to complete – cleaning the inside of the car which is beginning to look a bit grubby. Today, the leather will get the full treatment as will the carpets and internal glass.

Unlike those more Northern and softer islands, Sifnos has not yet had its first rain of the Autumn. We were hoping for it this week and had unscrewed the cap on our flat roof drainage system that captures rainwater in our huge water tank. Like all Cycladic properties, ours is built on the cubist style with flat roofs. The red dust of the Summer has drifted up there and settled and would have been washed down by the first rains. However, Pauline is so keen to capture all the soft, rainwater that we have spent an hour up on the roof, hosing it down and leaving it clean for the first rains to drain straight into our tank.

22nd September, 2012

Another lovely Saturday. Warm and still. Nice to see Giannis, our neighbour, back at work after a health scare. He says he is alright although he looks like he’s lost a bit of weight already. Apostolis, our neighbour in front called to ask if everything was alright. He was aware that we had a brief power problem yesterday but it was soon sorted out when the Power Company came down. Went up to speak to the Woodman in the middle of the morning. He is going to give me gardening lessons when he plants his vegetables at the beginning of May. I am going to help him and learn how he grows such fantastic produce almost entirely without water. There are such lovely people on this island and they are desperate to help poor foreigners like us. It is quite humbling.

9th September, 2012

The tourists/holidaymakers are virtually gone and the island seems to be relaxing again. If you don’t rely on tourist money which we don’t, it is a nice position to be. My judgement is that the season was not half as bad as feared but still rather lighter than in a good year and the season certainly started late and finished early. No doubt NTOG or GNTO as they call themselves now will claim a bumper harvest but they are so discredited in their figures it is hard to take seriously. Still, the local economy won’t have done too badly.

The weather is also bringing the season to a close. At the moment, days are pleasant but breezy but, unlike the hardy Skiathan Man, I will reach for a sheet tonight. Inspite of this evening’s cool wind, we had a lovely family party with friends outside on the terrace, drinking beer (the children had cherry cola – can you imagine it?) – and chatting.

10th September, 2012

The Ferry Timetable is collapsing fast as evidenced by the new posting:

We remember the untimely death from a brain tumour of Pauline’s brother John (Jack) Barnes six years ago today. (picture to follow)

Each Autumn we get from the woodman who supplied our windows and doors a special maintenance kit which we apply religiously. We do this so as not to invalidate our 10 year warranty which is already 6 years old. The solution is manufactured in Ancona and consists of a cleanser and a shellac-type substance that creates a transparent, protective skin over the wood and paint finish that protects them from sea air and UV rays. It certainly works. Today, is treating the windows and doors day.

A trussed up goat lay in the back of a speeding pickup bleating loudly all the way down the hill past our house to the valley below where it will almost certainly draw its last breaths trussed up on a hoist with its throat slit. This is real life in the raw! I quite like roast goat but then I’ve always been good at disassociation.

11th September, 2012

When we first came to Sifnos in 1984/85, the post office was a dingy, dark, dirty place that was little cared for. Having said that, the post was delivered by a chap on a motor bike with a leather satchell slung across his chest. There is no well established street naming system or house numbering system but he knew everybody by name and those he didn’t would be known by someone else. I suppose because of the economic problems, the post delivery system was shelved. We had to go up to the post office to ask if there was any post for us. Collections of neighbours would create informal groupings to help each other in this but ‘getting your post’ was a time consuming business. First travel to Apollonia. Second, stand at the counter in a long queue. Third, wait until I go round the back and check if there is something for you. If not, you can personally thumb through huge piles of uncollected letters that are stacked up in a box at the side of the office. It was a system that provoked annoyance, even fury as people waited in long queues.

Along came a new post master who immediately shook things up. He couldn’t conjure up cash to revive deliveries but he could bring a system to the problem. The Greeks aren’t too keen on systems that involve a change in their lives. There was no way round it. Now we have batches of numbered post boxes and keys to those boxes. Post is delivered to these boxes if the recipient has bothered to tell people they expect correspondence from to add the box number to their address. This is the chink of weakness because it seems that so many refuse to do that simple thing. The post master comes down with huge piles of wrongly addressed mail twice a week and a committed few try to help him distribute them. We go down on Tuesday and Thursday for mail. At least now we know that we will definitely get our mail.

The Post Office is in line for early sell off.

I read Tom Winnifrith’s interesting views on Greek privitisation:

Arriving at the Post Office which serves a small suburb of not a very large town I stumbled in a sweaty wreck. The place is open from 8.30 AM until 2.30 PM five days a week meaning that its staff (in this State owned enterprise) have to put in a back breaking 30 hour week. They are probably paid for 14 months a year and get to retire at 55 but that is not the point. Did I mention how many staff were crammed into this small office? Five. That is one member of staff for every 1.25 customers that I observed during my 20 minute visit.

But, as he observes, cutting the staff and extending the working hours of the others creates many more problems. Whoever buys  ELTA will have a difficult job as the new Sifnos Post Master has found out.

By the way, you really must read The Skiathan where Skiathos Man is illustrating his penchant for swimming in the 1930s. What a man he must be and sleeping without a sheet – the stuff of legend!

12th September, 2012

A delightfully lazy day. While my Pauline was indulging herself by painting the back of the house, I was indulging my enjoyment of writing. Lots of correspondence. Lovely email from my sister, Ruth. A long email from our ex-neighbours in Huddersfield about their drive to Spain and back and then an excellent email from our current next door neighbour who reached the point of selling her property and then changed her mind and took it off the market. We’re very pleased.

The sheet was definitely not needed tonight.

13th September, 2012

The return of summer. Stepping out of our bedroom on to the patio at 7.00 am, the world felt like a lovely place. It was still, quiet, warm and beautifully scented. As the day has gone on, the temperature has risen to 28C/83F and it feels wonderful. For some reason, the island is a different place today. Maybe it is because people have left. We drove down to Platys Gialos this morning. It was almost deserted.

As we walked down the street, it was so hot we fancied an ice cream. It was impossible to buy one. Either places are now closed for winter or they have not replenished summer stocks. Well, it’s good for the waistline and, goodness knows, it needs it.

After a lovely lunch on the patio – tomato, mozzarella & basil salad with garlic sausage and thin toast. A cold beer went down well with this but even then, the muggy heat drove us inside soon after the meal.

14th September, 2012

Finished the painting of the house today. We just have the garden perimeter walls to complete. It is a quite delightful, still, warm day. The air is clear and the island magical – for most of the day. On Fridays, people return from Athens.

The brushcutter has been out of action for a while. Today, instead of taking it to be repaired, I took it apart and repaired it myself. I had a nice, feeling of achievement after that.  We were supposed to be going out to dinner but just didn’t feel like it and stayed at home to eat an all-in-one-pot dish I cooked of pork, potatoes and onions with sage and oregano. Even though I say it myself, it was delicious accompanied by a slightly chilled bottle of Rosso Piceno. It’s made from the sangiovese and montepulciano grapes and is delicious. What will I do when it runs out?

15th September, 2012

Can you believe we are half way through September already. I seriously subscribed to the view that time was rushing ahead when we were teaching because we were working so hard. We didn’t have time to stop and take stock. Let’s live on a Greek island, I told Pauline. We will be able to slow time down. How wrong I was. It seems to have speeded up.

Talk about return to Summer. It is happening with knobs on. We’ve reached 32C/90F today almost without a breeze. No sign yet of the promised rain. The BBC says we will get it Monday/Tuesday. We’ll see.

Went out shopping today in Exambla and, within half an hour, we had a request to go and visit friends next week at their house. Another family asked if they could visit us and they will come for a drink tomorrow evening. We had an offer of olive oil if we go round for coffee to another family. We still have to return a social visit to the Notary’s family. I can’t cope with all this social whirl.

Typical separation of labour this afternoon. Pauline is painting the garden walls while I am watching football. The first match, Norwich v West Ham, really wasn’t that good. I’ve got Man. Utd. v Wigan and Sunderland v Liverpool next and, if I can stay up, there is a recording of Stoke v Man. City. I’ll be shattered after all that.

2nd September, 2012

Up very early this morning. Our intention was to get through a list of small jobs. Downloaded The Sunday Times which is the important thing and then just fell in to that Sunday feeling. Fresh coffee, toast and homemade marmalade, the Sunday paper, warm sunshine with a light breeze under the pergola, Radio 4 through the window. What more could one want?

Swimming was rather chilly yesterday and we decided to give it a miss today. Anyway, I wanted to watch Jensen Button win the F1 race from Belgium. Lucky we stayed in because Olga from Exambla called quite unexpectedly. It was lovely to see her. She brought with her a gift that her husband had made for us – Sifnos pears poached in red wine with accompanying pistachio cream. We had been up a couple of times but missed her and we had left her a jar of marmalade to remind her of London.

Watched a cliff hanger of a match between Southampton and Man. U.. Even though I support United, I felt desperately sorry for Southampton who deserved to win. They lost in injury time to a lack lustre United. Robin van Persie missed a penalty but scored a hat-trick.

3rd September, 2012

New timetable shows ferry connections reducing at an alarming rate:

We were told a scary tale last night that our friendly neighbour, Giannis, had been taken seriously ill with a stroke and rushed off to hospital in Athens. This morning, after painting and cleaning, we went down to Hotel Boulis to enquire about his welfare. We were delighted to hear that it wasn’t as bad as we had been told and that he might be home on the island tonight. Giannis is the Sifniot who we see most as he drives up and down from the farm 8 – 10 times per day. We even remember  him as a ‘cool’ youth with chewing gum, slicked back ‘biker’ hair and bottle opener in his gun belt, leaning on the open door of his father’s restaurant to which he had roared up on his shiny motorbike. Times have changed and Giannis has aged.

Had a lovely meal at Captain Andreas. I’m glad we’ve started going back there this year. The food is quality.

4th September, 2012

Lovely day today. Pleasant  27C with light breeze. We got up to find Mother cat with her mini-me look-alike sleeping on the patio. After breakfast for all of us, the cats went back to sleep and we went back to gardening – pruning bushes and trees.

 

We were meant to be meeting the Notary but that had to be rearranged so we carried on with jobs. The weather forecasts had suggested strong winds but it turned out to be delightfully calm. At the risk of sounding weather-obsessed, I was reading The Huddersfield Examiner this evening – as you do – to find that our old haunts had received their wettest June, July & August since records began and that rainfall was three times average. Poor people.

Spoke to Superfast about our return tickets today. Currently, we are looking at end of October or beginning of November. The only problem is the island connections become so sparse. Still, we will consider that later.

5th September, 2012

Finally got to speak to the Notary. Spent a really enjoyable and productive hour there. It has helped us with a number of issues.

Spent the afternoon tree pruning and clearing away. Nothing spectacular but it felt good to have done some physical work. Our house is surrounded by pomegranate trees which grow vigorously and are a little unruly. I try to keep them in check by pruning each year.

6th September, 2012

Blood Test – excellent result of 2.3. The lovely blood testing man had been away for a couple of days. Apparently he went to a pop concert of a group I know nothing about but he says has been his favourite for years – The Red Hot Chillie Peppers. We spent some time discussing why he liked them because the clinic was miraculously empty today. I must admit I’ve barely even heard of them but he didn’t seem to know of Puccini either. I don’t need another test for two weeks. I shall miss our chats. Cafe Prago for coffee, shopping and then back to the house.

Mooched around catching up with correspondence. Retirement is so pleasant! By the time we started to think of our evening meal, we couldn’t be bothered cooking. We got pizzas from Panos & Rania – Vegetarian and one which was Prosciutto with and Parmesan dressed with rocket leaves. They were both lovely but the vegetarian one is still their best offering.

7th September, 2012

Visitors arriving on Saturday so I’ve been detailed to tidy up around the outside of the house and clean the patio tiles which go all the way round. First we have to download The Times, go shopping, fill up with petrol (€80.00) and visit the woodman. Kostas and Maria are the most lovely people. We almost lived with them last year as we urged them to do our pergola. Today went to buy our annual window treatment and have a chat. We were given sugared marzipan sweets by Maria and a huge bag of vegetables from his garden by Kostas – three different sorts of aubergines, pointed peppers, beans, tomatoes, etc. They have two, delightful children – keen, energetic, intelligent, enquiring but thoughtful, polite and pleasant. Children don’t develop like that accidently. It has happened because of two excellent parents.

8th September, 2012

There is a Food Festival in Artemonas. It has various stalls for each of the Kykladik islands which is represented. The idea is that they can illustrate/publicise the representative produce/foods of their island – their local wine, olive oil, bread, etc. The festival is named after the famous Sifniot chef,  Nikolaos Tselementes (Νικόλαος Τσελεμεντές) (1878–1958). He is considered one of the most influential cookery writers of modern Greece.

 

It is usually good fun with music and a chance to taste the islands’ various offerings. We are thinking of going this evening.

The Food Festival was interesting and fun but just as homely as we remember it. The music was blaring, the island stalls laying out their wares although I thought a little more sparcely than usual. Folegandros had either not bothered to turn up or left early.

We didn’t stay for the full event but we did walk up the back streets where small stalls extended for a long way and had even taken over the school classrooms. In this case, it wasn’t just food for sale but craft items like pottery, fabric and jewellery.

 

26th August, 2012

Worrying signs in the Greek coalition of fracture. If they can’t hang together in summer holiday time, they surely willl hang separately when the brigands are fire bombing Syndagma. Worrying signs in the British Labour Party where the two Eds – Balls & Miliband appear to be aping Brown & Blair. I’m going to have to stop reading The Sunday Papers.

 

The motoring section was full of new cars, shiny cars, cars that smell of wax and new leather. Almost every year for the best part of thirty years we took delivery of a new car. I loved the smell of them, the tight feel of the steering with no ageing squeaks in the body. I loved the perfect, showroom gloss, the whole feel of a new car. Honda Accord, a number of Preludes, more than a dozen CRVs. I have one now but retirement has changed my view completely. This current car is coming up to two years old already. It’s been to Greece with me twice and I’m considering keeping it one more year. There is a new model out – only just over £30,000.00 but I’m resisting it.  I’m trying to cut down on self-indulgence – a bit.

 

27th August, 2012

Happy Birthday to Mum-in-Law who would have been 98 today. She died almost two years ago.We were so hoping she’d make the 100 but it wasn’t to be.

It’s been an exceptionally hot period so I spent the morning watering all the trees. Pauline was indulging herself – painting the house. It is really looking great and, together, we will have it finished in three or four more days. The tomatoes are continuing to produce and are delicious and the peppers have been quite a revelation this year. I can’t stop them fruiting.

We’ve decided that next year we will line our top boundary wall with tall growing, thick trees with an automatic watering system. We will seek expert advice on this and professional support in planting and maintenance for a year or two until they are fully established. These tree will be particularly useful as a windbreak as well as other things.

We went up to the Post Office in the hope of collecting our new credit cards. We have been tracking them and know they reached Athens airport three days ago but they haven’t appeared here yet.

We have a Panini press and we had a Prosciutto & Mozzarella Panini with white wine spritzer outside where there was a little breeze. By the time we went swimming at 4.30 pm, the car showed 35C outside. The suggestion is that it will go down tomorrow. Using this evening to do some writing. In times gone past, we would have left for Patras today in order to be in France by Friday and England on Saturday with a staff day on Monday and school opening on Tuesday. Now we have an open return ticket and can leave when we feel ready.

28th August, 2012

Up at 6.30 am to a much cooler day and, can you believe it, some clouds. The weather has clearly miscalculated the start of September. We are up early to get the end of the house painted before the sun is up and shining strongly. I am not a practical person by nature. My skills are in words and thoughts, concepts and arguments, communication through digital design not slopping white paint on to concrete walls. However, Pauline has taught me the pleasure one can draw from completing such projects and not relying on others all the time do such things.

The paint we use produces a wonderful, plastic skin across the wall. I know because the residue of paint from the roller tray is not washed out at the end of the session but peeled off in one, white, durable, plastic skin the next day. I suspect that, given the perfect weather – not too hot & not too windy – we could complete the entire house outside in five or six days but we have let it drag out over weeks because we can afford to. We will need another,three, solid days before it is completely finished but we’ve got plenty of time. I have to say, it is incredibly ‘white’. A Persil ad. would not be out of place here.

After a good morning’s work, a light lunch of Bruschetta and red wine and a brief siesta (seems to make it much more socially acceptable than a pensioner’s snooze), we went down for a swim. As we did, there seemed just a hint of cooler air and we didn’t stay in long. The numbers on the beach screamed SEPTEMBER.

We went down to see Panos & Rania for all the latest gossip. Rania is worried about the E in Greek being changed in its usage. She asked if there was anything in the Papers about it. I told her thousands were being massacred in Syria but she insisted I didn’t understand. Anyway, had a lovely meal and then drove home for coffee. We went to bed early and, just as the Skiathan wrote this morning, I woke up thinking the time was coming when I would need to sleep under a sheet again for the first time since May.

29th August, 2012

A temperature of 26C/79F is lovely but quite disorientating. We decided it was far too cold and windy for swimming. I was reminded that I am a new  man and asked to clean the bathrooms. Did I do it, Kevin? Well, not quite but it was a good try and it did lead to me offering to cook today. I am making a pasta sauce of small green peppers from the garden, red onion, mushrooms, home grown tomatoes, some diced parma ham, chiffons of fresh sage all reduced in a white wine sauce. It will be served with Fussilli pasta shapes and will be glorious with a bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo slightly chilled. Now that’s Man’s work!

30th August, 2012

Autumnal weather – strong breeze and only 27C/81F. After collecting post and our credit cards have arrived, off to the blood testing centre which was absolutely packed out. My INR has shot back up again. On the plus side: my Warfarin dosage is reduced. On the negative: the Woking nurse has confirmed my wife’s view that I am drinking too much wine. This just strengthens her argument. I may be forced to take note. Had a chat with our architect and then our new Notary. She is keen to have another meeting next month and to come down to our house. We discussed the current political situation and, unlike in June, she was remarkably bullish about Greece remaining in Europe long term. I hope she’s right. Coffee in Prago and a chat. A bit of shopping and home to read the paper outside in this rather more comfortable weather. This is the delicious view looking out through the bourgainvillea over the sea to Anti-Paros and Paros:

Because of the chilly breeze, we decided not to go swimming but to do jobs around the house. My job is to phone all those who automatically charge our credit card whether in Greece or in UK and give them them the new numbers. If any one is interested, they are: *********17.

• Mobile Phone contracts in both countries
• Satellite TV payments in both countries
• Broadband
• Digital version of the newspaper

All are charged monthly to our credit card account. In UK we rarely use money at all. We always pay our account off in full each month so it costs us nothing and helps with  our accounting system. Our credit card account accrues points which buys air miles. It is amazing how quickly the total builds up. We’ve got enough for return flights to Athens  collected in a very short time. We have thought that, even though we are leaving much later this year, we might fly back for a quick visit in January/February time to to check on things.

Pauline is cooking tonight. It is roast chicken with garlic, lemon and thyme and sauteed potatoes with onions. I have promised not to open more than one bottle of wine – well, actually, it is a 5ltr box but we won’t say that too loudly.

31st August, 2012

In times gone by we would have been driving on to the Zeebrugge – Hull ferry at 4.00 pm after filling the back of the car with wine, cheese, vegetables and anything else we fancied from some French Hypermarket. For us, this would have marked the last day of our Summer holidays.

Today we are in our Greek house for quite some time to come. We have lots of jobs to get through over the next couple of months but today is full moon day and will mark the end of the summer and start of autumn. In Athens, I read, they start winter timetables on some public transport on Monday. The moon comes up from the mountain behind our house. It is astonishing how quickly it moves. The line between perceptible and imperceptible seems to be defined by the movement of the globes.

There is a perceptible change in the temperature at the moment with day time only in the upper 20sC/ low 80sF. I heard on the ‘Today’ programme this morning, that parts of England had grass frost last night. Apparently, last night in England was the coldest Autumn night on record and the Summer was the wettest for 100 years. All in all, I’m glad I’m here.

We spent the morning cutting back the bourgainvilleas and generally clearing areas where building work will be done next year. The cooler weather made it much more possible. This afternoon we have had a lovely, long swim in a sea which is now almost deserted. Absolute bliss.

1st September, 2012

Happy September.

A lovely day – warm but not excessively so. Started the day with a phone call to the architect, downloading the newspaper and then going shopping.

Thought about doing work but decided it is Saturday and there was newspaper reading, lunch and football on television. Today the early match starts at 2.45 pm -West Ham v Fulham. Fulham were woeful and West Ham won 3-0.

Went down for a quick swim. The air temperature was showing 29C/84F but the sea was decidedly chilly. Still, we felt better for the swim. Another match to come – Man. City v QPR – which feels like a known result already.