March - May 2008 Newsletter

Introduction
I have had to return to the introduction some three months after it was originally written. The reasons will become obvious if the trouble is taken to read what is now a three month edition of our newsletter. A lot has gone on in our lives resulting in the newsletter being placed, metaphorically on a back burner. I shall say no more here but return you to the newsletter as it was originally written ...

March already! We are keeping our fingers crossed that Tricia's Mum will soon be back home although, living in a first floor flat will cause problems in itself. We await her attendance by the Social Services with baited breath. I am anticipating that Tricia will be making bookings to return to the UK as soon as we know that Mum is back home.

We hope that the weather here has dealt the worst that it can offer for the winter and anticipate that the number of fine days will slowly increase. Mind you, we won't be in a hurry to take our first dip in the sea just yet! Maybe May ...

Our expectations of spending more time outside have increased. We have high hopes for our vegetable garden this year as well as the kitchen / herb garden that has consumed so much of Tricia's time and effort. Dare I suggest that in this aspect of our life in Greece, we are actually slightly ahead of the game.

This year, we are making a careful note of what we plant, when we plant it and also the quantities that we have planted. One feels quite stupid when asked at the seed supplier just what quantity of seed potatoes you require! Knowing the area set aside for them and knowing how many rows containing however many potatoes doesn't equate to the number of kilos you want! We (I) took an uneducated guess!

Another problem that we experience around sowing is the actual timing. As you would expect they vary considerably from the UK but there is also considerable variation across Greece. In fact, from what we are told, plants are usually about a month ahead of Loutses when grown in Peritheia which is only 4 kilometres away. That's the difference gardening at sea level makes.

Well, that has sort of set the scene for March. Let's see what occurs...

March 2008
March's weather started nice and sunny. We were reminded that it was St David's Day on March 1st when we bumped into our friend Joan from Liapades whilst out shopping. She was sporting a daffodil on her lapel!

We returned home from shopping and were contemplating lunch when a local florist rang to say that he was on his way to deliver a bouquet for Tricia. Of course, Sunday 2nd March was Mother's Day in the UK. As is often the case, I had to arrange to meet the delivery in the village. We never understand why anyone delivering here has difficulties in finding us. Let's just say that the house is very obvious!

Anyway, the meet was made and I took possession of a wonderful bouquet for Tricia. I can confess now that I had been forewarned that they were on their way by Corinna. As can be expected Tricia was thrilled with them. What with the worry over her Mum, she needed cheering up. The flowers certainly did the trick! Suffice to say that as the bouquet was too large to hide, she received them a day early!

When Mother's Day finally arrived on the 2nd March, it proved to be a wonderfully sunny day. It was not only sunny but warm. We were awaiting the arrival of Sara who wanted to remove a few items that we were storing in our basement for her and so I killed time by planting my first batch of onion sets. I must confess that I worked up something of a sweat! Sara and daughter Chloe arrived and the transfer of goods was made. Sara did not come empty handed as her Mum, Susan, had entrusted two jars of her home made brandy marmalade for us. Nice one Susan!

Being Mother's Day even I couldn't expect Tricia to slave over a hot stove for lunch! We took ourselves off to Apnoea Taverna for a superb lunch. It was the first time this year that we had visited and being early, there was no menu. In true traditional Greek style we asked what was available and made our selection. To say that Yiannis looked after us was an understatement! The fresh kalamari was as they say, 'to die for!' Lunch was made even better by the fact that we were sitting in the taverna on the beach in glorious sunshine. By the time Yiannis stopped plying us with Metaxa and we managed to return home, it was 5.30pm. Lunch as it should be!

The 3rd March saw Tricia working in the kitchen garden and myself down in the vegetable garden planting more onions. I finished up having planted well over two hundred onion sets. It was a fantastic day weatherwise with temperatures reaching 18°C. The work in the kitchen garden had resulted in much of it being cleared and preparations being made for us to finally lay the path. We finally got around to cutting the membrane to go under the path and laid the gravel on Tuesday 4th March. We are both pleased with the way that it has turned out and Tricia has even received compliments from the locals! Mind you, it has taken a long time for them to realise that this garden is not for flowers!

The weather couldn't hold could it? It had only been windy on the 4th but the 5th March saw heavy rain falling. As a result we spent much of the day indoors with just a brief foray out to buy ... 'Super glue'. I had been assembling a cold frame for Tricia which was made entirely of aluminium and acrylic sheeting. Needless to say that as in the case of a previous one I err ... managed to have something of an accident! Oops! Again, needless to say, I don't suppose it will last long once it has had to experience high winds and the attentions of local cats! The last one didn't!

Some of you may have recalled the incident during the last month or so where we had a problem transferring money from the UK. Following a recommendation, I decided that we would give a company called 'UKForex' a try. I spent the morning completing the necessary paperwork and writing to my friend Mike in the UK who had offered to endorse my application. As is always the case when transferring money from the UK, you have to 'jump through hoops' to set the process up so as not to fall foul of the UK anti money laundering legislation. We do understand the necessity for this but it doesn't stop it being something of a pain!

I guess the highlight of the day was when we settled down in the evening to watch Chelsea stuff Olympiakos 3 - 0 and progress through to the next round of the Champions League.

There were very high winds overnight which we both find unsettling. I guess that it follows the years that we lived in Hornchurch where high winds usually meant that we lost much of our fencing every year.

However, when we awoke on the 6th March, the winds had dropped and although the day was overcast, the temperature was definitely rising. Did I say rising? It hit 21.5°C in the shade on our veranda during the day!

We went shopping during the morning and as well as our normal ports of call at the usual supermarkets we visited a couple of garden centres. We returned home with a variety of herbs, garlic, lettuce plants and ... er ... a gooseberry bush! As it had originated from Italy, we hope it will grow here.

On the way home we called in on Pete and Carol to see how their building work was progressing, not to mention to see how Pete was. We (along with others) have been concerned that he is overdoing things resulting in him walking with a pronounced limp. At this point, knowing what a comedian Pete is, I know that he would ask, "a limp what?" However, it is a worry for him but still he soldiers on. He does seem to be taking it a bit easier though. Maybe this will help things. As for the building work ... it is progressing very well. We cannot believe how much they have achieved in under a year.

That afternoon, I planted the garlic and gooseberry bush. Tricia planted the lettuces in the kitchen garden. It was taking a bit of a chance really because we can still realistically expect some frosts. After all, we have seen snow on April 8th since we have lived in Corfu. We shall have to see whether this gamble comes off. As an aside, I can report that the three rhubarb crowns brought over by friend Steve have started shooting. I was concerned that they may have met an untimely end over the winter. It just goes to show!

That evening, we experienced a power cut between 7pm and 9pm. Little did we realise that this was about to become something of a regular occurrence over the next few weeks.

We suffered another power outage on 7th March, this time between 6pm and 8pm. By now, we had discovered the reason. Greece was gripped in something of a major struggle between various public sector workers and the government. The political arguments and demonstrations were raging over government proposals to alter pension rights. The issues are complex and I won't pretend that I understand them all. Suffice to say, the power workers are one very visible group who were making their displeasure known ... by striking nationally.

There was talk of a general strike and the National Bank of Greece were considering action. Tricia and I became immediately worried as if a strike occurred within the banking sector, we could find ourselves in difficulty if it continued for a long while. Memories came flooding back of a previous occasion when friends were unable to withdraw their pensions and had to rely upon the good nature of local shopkeepers to survive. All of a sudden, those enquiries that we had been making with UKForex became very important!

The power strikes proved only really inconvenient if Tricia was cooking. We are truly thankful that we have an electric oven and a gas hob. Of course, you could guarantee that the power would always go in the evening about 20 minutes from the end of a film! (Can anyone tell me what happened at the end of the Bruce Willis film, 'Sixth Sense'?)

Monday 10th March was 'Clean Monday', a public holiday, here. It is the beginning of the Orthodox Lent. It is always (weather permitting) celebrated by kite flying. Forget what you were told about kites being invented by the Chinese, because the Greeks claim the invention as their own!

The weather was fine and Tricia was keen for us to visit the beach and have lunch at a nearby taverna. This is one day where booking a table at the more popular eating places is a necessity. Needless to say, we had not booked anywhere!

We turned up at Maestro Taverna unannounced to find that all tables were reserved. We accepted that we weren't going to get dinner out and turned to leave. Vaso, the owner would not have any of it. She 'magic-ed' a couple of bar tables and set places for Tricia and I! To top it all, we had a beach side table where we watched the antics of countless Dads helping their children fly their kites as is the tradition on Clean Monday. The food was good too!

It proved to be an excellent day!

The weather changed on the 11th March and to say that it was wet was an understatement. Oh the joy of walking Jake dressed in full wet weather gear. (That's me in the wet weather gear, not Jake!)

The good weather returned on the 12th March. We had to first visit our accountant to sign off our tax returns before heading to town. Our main mission was to collect our DVD recorder which had finally been fixed. Oh yes, then there were the usual supermarkets to visit. Joy!

The 13th March was as nice as the day before and so I decided to give the car a wash. There was one slight problem. At about the time that I decided to get the car from the garage, our trusty electricity workers decided to pull the plug on Corfu's electricity. Unfortunately, the garage door ... you've guessed it ... is electric! It is too heavy to lift manually even with the clutch disengaged. Eventually, the power returned and the car got her much needed wash. I returned the car to the garage but left the door open - just in case. Then a cat walked over the bonnet! Arghh!

Tricia worked some more of her magic in the kitchen garden which is looking quite good, if not a little sparse. It won't take too long to fill it though if last year was anything to go by!

Both Tricia and I worked in the garden on Friday 14th March as it was a beautiful spring-like day. I started to clear some of our land that adjoins our neighbour Vangellis' garden and managed to disturb the first tortoise of the year. He didn't look too impressed but vanished back in to the decreasing undergrowth!

Tricia's Mum was still in hospital and were waiting to hear the result of an assessment on her condition. It wasn't particularly good news which needless to say didn't improve our respective dispositions. It is difficult being so far away and not being able to offer any support. Fortunately for us, Tricia's sister Sandra has been giving regular daily updates. Tricia will definitely return to help out once Mum is sent home from the hospital.

The next day I got up early. I was intending to paint a couple of gates. I got all the paint, brushes and rollers out and then looked up towards the peak of Mt Pantokrator. The sky was black and I felt sure that bad weather was about to hit. It did. However, it didn't actually amount to much but would undoubtedly have ruined any fresh paintwork.

I did however get around to painting the gate into our 'front garden' on Sunday 16th March before we went out for lunch at Apnoea Taverna. Lunch was excellent and rounded off with our first ice cream of the year from 'Ice Dream' in Peritheia. Gorgeous!

The weather deteriorated over the next couple of days but vastly improved on the 19th March. Maybe that was because it was friend Debbie's fortieth birthday.

My morning was spent planting potatoes! We now have half our vegetable garden planted.

Debbie's birthday was celebrated in style with a big party at Gelati's. To say that a good time was had by all was an understatement! Tricia and I pointed out that she was truly honoured as Chelsea were playing Tottenham that night! (Just kidding Debbie!) Mind you, with a 4 - 4 score line and one of the best matches of the season ... we were glad that Spiros had the wide screen TV on! The night could only have been better if Chelsea had won!

On 20th March, I went off to a local wood yard. I had seen some cornicing at Pete's that I thought would look quite nice around the door frame in the room under construction in the loft. This trip proved to be really beneficial as I spotted another moulding that looked a perfect solution to our bathroom and shower room window frames. Those that have seen them will recall that the windows were fitted having been measured before the tiling was applied It left an ugly edge which seemed to be beyond at least a couple of tilers ability to fix! Not having anticipated this find, I just took one length to offer up. Once home, it became apparent that this would indeed provide a reasonable solution.

The highlight of the day was the news that Tricia's Mum was due to return home from hospital on 25th March. We all hope that this will result in a rapid improvement in her condition.

Friday 21st March was 'Good Friday' in the UK but not here! The weather was best described as a 'mixed bag'. We went shopping and made what was my second trip to the wood yard in a couple of days. We bought the cornicing for the bathroom windows whilst I was still in the mood!

I actually managed to get it cut and fitted to the en-suite window that day. I must confess to being quietly pleased with the result. Tricia agreed that even in its bare wood state it was a vast improvement on what was, or should we say wasn't, there already. As with most wood that we buy here, it wasn't the best finished and was going to take a fair amount of sanding, filling and painting. However, having been introduced to the joys of satin finished water-based enamel paint, I was sure that the end result would be more than acceptable.

To be truthful, once the preparation was done and the first of two undercoats were applied, I was tempted to leave it like that! You will be pleased to note that I didn't! It received two undercoats and two top coats over the next few days.

We had gorgeous weather for the next couple of days. However, we did have a downpour overnight and when we awoke on Sunday 23rd March, we discover that it had been our least favourite rain - what is usually referred to as 'Sahara rain'. It always comes from the south and leaves a dirty sandy deposit over everything. Oh, did I mention that I had failed to put the car in the garage overnight? It was filthy! You can guess how my day started! I washed the car.

Still the weather was nice and we had decided that we were going for lunch at Apnoea Taverna. We dined in true 'Lent' fashion - we ate nothing with a backbone! It was a truly excellent meal and Yiannis the owner was his usual generous self when it came to drinks!

After a very late lunch, Tricia and I returned home via 'Ice Dream'. I think that it is fair to say that we have difficulty passing there after a meal without devouring one of their exquisite ice creams!

What could be better? I'll tell you what could be better. The sheer joy of watching Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-1 to go second in the Premier League, that's what!

What a glorious day!

That night we experienced strong gales and at 2am on the 24th March the power tripped. Under most circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem as the freezers would happily stay cold until the next day. There arises a problem though with the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) attached to the computers as it starts to beep to warn of the power failure.

Well the UPS did its job and beeped out its warning. Needless to say, this was not going to improve what had already been a sleepless night. I got out of bed to investigate the problem. My first port of call was to be the distribution box in the apothike. The shortest route was diagonally across the lounge. Remember that it was in almost total darkness.

In what could only be described as a cross between total drowsiness and considerably irritated I set off. I had totally forgotten that about four months ago we had bought what I can only describe as a large coffee table. Not only is it large but it is virtually immovable by less than two people. I had just about got up to full speed on my mission when there were two loud thuds in rapid succession. They were followed by a further loud thud accompanied by blood-curdling screams.

These were the sounds of first my left shin followed by my right shin making contact with the aforementioned coffee table followed by my body being propelled headlong across it. Do I need to explain the blood curdling screams?

I staggered to the bedroom and met Tricia en route to find out what had befallen me. I screamed and cursed everything holy and just about anything that came to mind. I really thought that I had broken my legs. All this of course took place in near total darkness. We found a torch and discovered that apart from going a variety of different colours, my shins were both sporting lumps the size of pullets eggs. I kid you not. Needless to say, they were both bleeding and somehow I had managed to collect a mystery cut on my foot.

I was convinced that I had seriously injured myself but still managed to stagger to the distribution box now armed with my torch. Sure enough the power had merely 'tripped'. (Come to think of it, so had I!)

With the power restored, I staggered back to the bedroom and between us we took full stock of my injuries. They looked even worse in the light. I was convinced that I ought to visit the hospital as I was in so much pain. I voiced my thoughts to Tricia.

Faced with the prospect of driving me some 45 miles to the hospital Tricia did what any kind, loving wife would do. She suggested that I put cold, wet, flannels on the lumps! Yes, the age of caring for the aged and infirm is not dead.

Suffice to say, I spent the rest of the night in agony with a succession of cold wet flannels being applied to my battle-scared shins. It was only afterwards that it occurred to me that was an update to what Tricia used to do with the kids when they felt ill. I.e. send them off to school with those reassuring words, "You'll feel better later!"

Let it be known that I did NOT feel better later and spent the next couple of days staggering around the house. For her sympathetic attitude, Tricia was duly punished by being appointed Chief Dog Walker and could be heard being dragged around the land, four times daily - day and night! Fortunately she managed to remain upright.

You may, or may not be pleased to learn that my wounds appear not to have been terminal but the pain was to continue for a very long time after the accident.

As an aside, at some time during the night of the accident I went out to the lounge, opened the French doors and in the pouring rain I managed to drag that bloody coffee table out on the veranda. My intention was to hurl it over the railings in the hope that the ensuing five metre drop was deal with it appropriately. However, you will recall that it was exceedingly heavy and I can say here and now that its weight was all that saved it. Tricia discovered it later that morning. Over-react? Me? Nah! It would have been the most expensive firewood ever!

We had one bit of news which brightened our day. It appeared that Tricia's Mum was still on course to return home from hospital the next day. We prayed that nothing else would go wrong.

We experienced more gales and hail over the night of the 24th / 25th March. That wasn't likely to help the cause of Tricia's lettuces. There had clearly been a lot of snow fall in Albania which resulted in us being subjected to some really cold winds.

On the evening of the 25th March, we received two lots of visitors. The first was Dave and Alex who had not long returned from the UK. The second was our Albanian stonemason, Milios.

Milios gave me my orders for the materials required to start work building the terrace walls in front of the apartment downstairs. This came as a surprise as we had been expecting him in January! We had actually decided that we would probably leave this work for next year as the prospect of a year without building work was very tempting.

In the end I made an executive decision. The terracing would go ahead. I reasoned that as soon as the weather was a little better we would have our builder Yiorgos doing the snagging on the house anyway and the length of time that he would be here was ... well ... indeterminate!

The sand, cement and ballast were duly ordered and a couple of lorry loads turned up on the 27th March. Milios turned up and started working on Friday the 28th March. He dug out the footings for the first wall at an alarming rate. We were getting concerned because he had no stone to work with apart from that distributed over our land by a succession of builders.

We shouldn't have worried as 14 cubic metres of stone turned up over the course of the day. I have attached some photos of the work in progress which will give some indication of the speed at which Milios worked.

On Saturday 29th March, Tricia and I paid a visit to Pete and Carol's. They haven't stopped working on their house. The transformation was incredible. We appreciate that they feel 'under the cosh' as they are desperate to get the work completed by the time Carol's Mum and Dad visit in May. We reckon they'll do it ... or die in the attempt!

That evening, Tricia and I went for a terrific meal at Maestro Taverna. Being a Saturday, there was live music which was equally as good as the food. Several Greeks got up and danced and I think it fair to say that it was one of the best Saturday nights that we have had there. It helped take our minds off poor Tricia's Mum's illness if only for a couple of hours.

Of course that night the clocks 'went forward'. We remembered. Pete and Carol didn't!

Sunday 30th March was really warm and sunny. Tricia spent much of the day getting ready for her impending trip to the UK the following day. Milios and his labourer worked on and I spent my day on 'maintenance'. I had to free off the apartment door and started to fit the frame around the bathroom window. I was really pleased with my efforts in the en-suite and so decide that the bathroom should be done whilst I was on a roll!

Oh yes, Chelsea managed to remain second in the Premier League following a 1 - 0 win over Middlesborough.

As you can imagine, much of Monday, 31st March was spent finalising preparations for Tricia's trip to the UK. Given the condition of her Mum, this was not a trip that she was looking forward to. At least she might be able to give her Dad and sister a little respite for a little while.

Milios worked on and during the day, he came to the main door. He looked sheepish and announced that he had a little problem. When he started waffling about how I should have pruned our grapes I guessed (correctly) that it was more than a little problem. Together we marched around to where he had been working.

I had previously pointed out the location of a variety of sewage pipes that pass through the area where he was working. That didn't matter though because the labourer still managed to put his (my!) pickaxe through the main sewer pipe. That was all we needed. I told Tricia. Her response was, "I don't care. I'm going for a shower!"

As it later turned out, this was not a problem as the broken pipe was from the apartment and it joined the main house sewer nearer the cesspit. However, I had forgotten this fact and was more than a little concerned at the thought of Milios and his co-worker being enveloped in foam! Oh well that was just another problem to sort out in Tricia's absence!

I took Tricia to the airport at around 8.30pm. She was returning to the UK on Easyjet's first ever flight out of Corfu. As it happened, friends Alan and Pauline Burton were on the first Easyjet flight into Corfu. Apparently they were greeted by television cameras and a couple in traditional Greek costume!

Tricia's flight arrived in the UK early. That sort of made up for the wait for her luggage!

Conclusion? What Conclusion?
At this point, I would normally spend a few moments mulling over the past month. I am not going to this month. Instead, we (I) am going to hurtle headlong into April's offering. We (I) have our reasons which will become obvious sometime later.

April 2008
April! A month that usually heralds showery weather in the UK. It is not so different here ... usually. However with the very unusual weather patterns being experienced here as well as in the UK, who knows?

We also have Easter, the major event in the Orthodox calendar, to look forward to. It is THE major celebration of the year and one which, like most people here, Tricia and I look forward to very much. Unlike the UK, Easter Sunday here is on April 27th. A knock on from the timing of Easter this year is that some name days change their normal dates. One obvious one that comes to mind is Agios Yiorgos - Saint George's name day. This means that in Greece this year all men named Yiorgos will have to wait until 28th April instead of 23rd April.

An interesting fact (to me at least!) that I only became aware of this year was that Saint George was actually Turkish. I will have great fun ribbing a few friends named Yiorgos about that. One in particular will be Yiorgos, our builder, who originally hailed from Lesvos. Those of you with any geographical knowledge about the plethora of Greek islands will be aware that you could almost spit from Lesvos and hit Turkey. In fact, this is a common area that I often bring up with Yiorgos and it is not unknown for me to suggest that I believe that he is really a Turk pretending to be Greek.

A friend recently informed me that he had once heard Greeks described by a Greek professor as Turks who think they are Italians! Many a true word ... Enough on this subject before I get myself into big trouble!

Obviously, our big concern for the month is Tricia's Mum. We cannot say that her experiences under the National Health Service to date have filled any of the family with confidence. The nursing staff have obviously been doing their utmost for her but the bureaucracy has interfered to the extent that some three months after her first visit to her GP there has been little or no attempt to explore the underlying problems leading up to the fall which caused her to break her hip.

Without wishing to open myself up to legal action or running the risk of interfering with any subsequent action that the family may wish to take, I will merely say that to describe the situation as a "catalogue of disasters" is, in my opinion, an understatement.

I found myself alone with the dog and cat on 1st April. It is not a situation I like but Tricia and I both felt that her Dad and sister, Sandra, could probably do with some help.

I wasn't alone for long as Milios turned up to continue with our wall building. The area around the (still) broken sewer pipe was cleared ready for replacing. Milios then discovered the second sewer pipe - the one from the main house. Pandemonium on a minor scale then broke out!

Milios had his own ideas of how he was going to fix the pipe. I had others! We had something of an impasse. Help was at hand though. Our builder, Yiorgos was working next door installing a new bathroom for neighbour Vangellis. I bellowed for him to come over the wall to check out the pipe.

Yiorgos was there like a flash. I asked his opinion. Fortunately, Yiorgos' opinion and mine coincided! A little more excavation was needed. Instructions were given to Milios and his labourer set about clearing more soil and rock from around the fractured pipe. It helped matters when Yiorgos said that he would come and help once we had the necessary joints elbows and pipes. Upon reflection, It amazed me that there seemed little urgency in repairing what to most northern Europeans would consider an emergency but then ... this is Greece! As they say, "Ti na kanoume?" ... "What can we do?"

For my part, I worked indoors and out. I continued fixing and painting the cornicing around the bathroom window frame and also cut back the grape vines in the kitchen garden. Not only did I cut them back but I erected a steel and wire frame work to train them around. Whether the vines will survive is anyone's guess as I hadn't much of a clue as to what I was doing. The way that one vine started haemorrhaging sap was a bit of a concern. Still, they look tidier! Oh yes, I also planted out some lettuce plants.

It took until Wednesday 2nd April before the sewer pipe was finally fixed. Yiorgos was good to his word and downed tools at Vangellis' to come and assist. I could just imagine that happening in the UK without an almighty row with your neighbour. Shall we say that things tend to be a little more relaxed between neighbours here ... provided that you get on. Fortunately, Vangellis is a good neighbour and we try to reciprocate. They were using my solder and gas blowlamp to fix all of his new joints!

I have to say that the concept of self catering was already becoming boring! It wasn't that I didn't have food in because I did - masses of it! Tricia had even left a good supply of meals that she had made for me before leaving. The biggest problem was already beginning to manifest itself in that a lot revolved around my ability (or otherwise) to remember that I had to take the food out of the freezer first!

On 3rd April, I forgot to take my dinner out of the freezer. The solution was simple. I phoned Pete and Carol and suggested that we go out for lunch. They didn't take much convincing! We decided to go to Zephyros Taverna in Almiros. Pete and Carol had frequently recommended it and it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out.

I must confess that the food was excellent and the proprietors were exceedingly friendly, not to mention generous. I will definitely be taking Tricia there when she returns.

The 4th April was wet but it didn't stop Milios from turning up to work on the terrace walls. However, he left by mid-morning. The first of many new terrace walls was complete and he had started getting everything clear to start on the boundary wall between our land and our neighbour Vangellis' land. I was certainly not disappointed with progress so far.

In the afternoon, I received a visit from friends Alan and Pauline who have not long been on the island and are just about to commence supervision of the building of their new house here. It was interesting comparing notes as they had previously lived in Spain and France.

Saturday 5th April started very grey. To put it bluntly, the weather deteriorated to heavy rain later in the day.

Milios turned up first thing and made great strides in rebuilding the wall between neighbour Vangellis' garden and ours. I took myself off to Town to buy some fixings for the battening that will (one day) support the floor in the loft room ... when I get around to it! By the time that I returned, Milios had left.

Tricia phoned with horrendous news about her Mum's treatment at a local care establishment. Tricia and Sandra were so appalled at her treatment that they remained at the establishment after Tricia's Dad accompanied her Mum to another establishment and told the manageress of this place her fortune!

The rain continued into Sunday 6th April. Milios made an appearance both early in the morning and in the evening. For my own part, I whiled away the day with a day of sport on TV.

The weather brightened up on 7th April. Milios worked on and I went off to town again. Boredom was setting in and I felt that a little retail therapy was in order. I bought a table saw!

Tuesday 8th April saw me eating lunch at Gelati's and having a very interesting conversation with one of our neighbours, Paul. Many of you will be aware of the frustration that Tricia and I experience over the lack of broadband connectivity. Paul informed me that Cosmote were offering wireless broadband at a reasonable rate. I had previously looked into wireless broadband with Vodafone but had dismissed it due to the poor coverage in our area. OTE have recently improved the signal in our area and I began to wonder whether their offering might work.

That evening saw me at the local dealer discussing wireless broadband. OK, so the speeds were not what one was used to in the real world but they were infinitely faster than our ISDN line. I explained that I need the extra speed that this claimed to provide and was assured that these speeds would be forthcoming. I signed on the dotted line and walked out with a free modem and the service activated without parting with a cent!

I installed the modem and was amazed at the instant connection. Great! However, then I realised that it was running at a slower speed than our current connection. Arghh! I tried everything that I knew but could not squeeze any further speed out of the system. After a few days of trying (as well as cursing!) I gave in and phoned the help line. The problem was simple. To get the higher speeds a '3G' connection was required. There is no '3G' service further north than Ipsos on the island! It went back to the retailer. I still haven't paid anything for it!

I spent the next few days working in the garden. For the first time ever we were ahead of the game where planting was concerned, aided by the very mild winter.

All the time, I was receiving updates from Tricia about her Mum. Things were not progressing as we had all hoped.

The 11th April was exceedingly windy. However, I was able to work in the vegetable garden. I was there at about 3pm when I heard the sound of a lorry engine. It appeared to be parked outside our house. Horror! I suddenly remembered that I had arranged for a delivery of gas and had forgotten to go to the bank to get the money to pay for it!

I sprinted from the vegetable patch to the tanker and arrived unable to speak though my gasps! Eventually I explained my predicament to the driver. He laughed and told me to go to the office the following Monday to pay. I decided to take advantage of his generosity and took delivery of 1,000 litres of gas!

That day, I also received an unexpected phone call from 'TBW', our architect / builder. She wanted me to meet her at the tax office the following week. She assured me that I would receive the papers that would allow me to apply for the full three-phase electricity supply. (We are still running on the 'construction supply'). Despite being continually let down by her, I allowed my hopes to rise.

The gales continued into the 12th April. I spent much of the morning gardening whilst Yiorgos made a start on the 'snagging' around the house. He certainly had his work cut out and I must confess to worrying about his ability to deal with some of the cracks in the plasterwork.

Sunday, 13th April was sunny and 21°C. I decided to take myself off to Apnoea Taverna for lunch. It was very nice but as boring as hell on my own. I did manage a couple of drinks with Yiannis, the owner though!

By Tuesday, 15th April, we had both Yiorgos working on the house and Milios building walls. It was just like old times! ... No peace, no privacy and having to constantly heap praise upon their individual work whilst at the same time trying to keep them from each other's throats!

The daily bulletins from Tricia about her Mum's condition continued. Some times she would have a good day and on others the news was distressing to say the least. There was nothing that I could do from here apart from offering sympathy.

On a purely selfish and personal front, Wednesday 16th April was something of a 'red-letter' day for Tricia and I. I met Sofia at the tax office in town and eventually left, not only with the papers to obtain the full electricity supply, but also the original licence for the building!

That evening, I talked Pete and Carol into going for fish and chips at Roda! Yes, I still know how to celebrate!

Thursday 17th April started very dull but the forecasted rain held off until evening. I had a very early phone call from Tricia - 7.30am to be precise. Apparently, her Mum had suffered a fall overnight and had been sent back to Worthing Hospital for X-Rays at 1 am. Tricia was distraught as she was due to return home the following day and did not want to leave without knowing how her Mum was.

I guess that this news didn't help my own disposition as I ended up having something of a 'spat' with Yiorgos as I was not impressed with his attempts at repairing the cracks on our veranda wall. Needless to say, it blew over eventually and his second attempt was considerably better. We are still talking!

Milios worked on building the second terrace wall. It was beginning to look good, better in fact than I thought it would.

For my part, I worked in the vegetable garden and washed the car. By the time I sat down to watch Chelsea beat Everton away, 0 - 1(just) I felt exhausted.

The weather was warmer and brighter on Friday 18th April. The news about Tricia's Mum was not good. Although it appeared that there was no further injuries from her fall, she was extremely distressed. To add to the catalogue of disasters, it had been revealed that she had contracted MRSA in the still open wound where she had been operated on.

As might be expected, following this news, it was a very upset Tricia that I collected from the airport that night. Tricia was distraught at having left when she had. Things went from bad to worse during the following day when we received a phone call from Sandra to say that she had been contacted by the hospital and had been advised that Mum was not expected to survive her illness. It was obvious that Tricia should return to the UK as soon as possible. We managed to book a flight for her on Monday 21st April.

We had just finished lunch on Monday 21st April when Sandra rang to say that Mum had died with Dad at her bedside.

Monday 21st April seemed like it would never end. We had Milios on site building walls and Yiorgos pottering about for a couple of hours. Apart from a quick visit to the bank to get the money to pay Milios for his work so far, we sat around watching the clock until it was time to take Tricia to the airport. After saying our farewells at the departure gate, I made a steady return journey back to the house.

Tuesday 22nd April dragged on. I was left to work out what we could do with the animals when I returned to the UK. Pete and Carol had offered to help out but when it came to it and we discussed things, we all felt that Jake was a bit too much of a handful to expect Pete to walk him. Pete has been suffering with his hip and Jake can be unpredictable if he sees something or thinks that he has seen something on the land. After the last stay in kennels when Jake was returned to us in dreadful condition, I vowed that he would not be put through that again. What to do? I must confess that I spent a thoroughly depressing day trying to come to a solution.

It was too early to arrange my own flights as we had no idea as to when Mum's funeral was to take place as her death had been referred to the Coroner and a death certificate had not been issued. On top of everything that had preceded Mum's death, this just added to the family's general misery.

A solution to what to do with the animals was, however, forthcoming. After mulling over the problem with the family and friends, I made a phone call to our son David. Being single, he had no immediate family problems ... well not until I phoned that is! As luck would have it, he was due some time off from work. Perhaps even more fortunately, there was a degree of flexibility about when he could take time off. David readily agreed to come out and house / animal-sit once it was known when I would be travelling to the UK. That was a major relief to say the least.

The days progressed. Much of my time was spent trying to sort the automatic watering out for the vegetable patch. I didn't feel it fair to lumber David with this chore as well! With Greek Easter approaching, I needed to make sure that there was food in to see me over the public holiday. Easter on my own was not something that I was looking forward to.

I had a little light relief on Sunday 27th April when I attended a barbecue held by Dave and Alex. It provided a little welcome break for a few hours. I left early but ended up in the kafeneion with Philipos until the early hours!

Tricia, Sandra and their Dad were kept more than busy with all the bureaucracy that follows a bereavement. Initial test reports from the Coroner's office proved inconclusive and further tests were required. In the end, these results were not received until Monday 28th April.

With the issue of a cause of death certificate, it was possible to formally arrange Mum's funeral. With that arranged David and I spent a frantic time trying to arrange our respective flights. It wasn't helped by the fact that the following weekend was a Bank holiday in the UK.

On Wednesday, 30th April I had a further welcome break from being on my own. I had an invite to dinner with Pete and Carol in the company of John and Michelle. It was a really good meal and great company. In fact, from my point of view, it was just what was needed. I even forgave Pete and Carol for changing the day of the invite causing me to miss seeing Chelsea stuff Liverpool and thereby getting into the Champion's League Final!

Again, We are not going to draw any conclusions about April as it was pretty much a torrid time for the entire family.

May 2008
I had already booked an eight day trip to the UK for this month and was now obviously going to be making an additional journey to attend Tricia's Mum's funeral. My concern was that I would have to leave Tricia on her own after us only being home for a short period. As the main reason for my return was medical, I was reluctant to cancel, so I was just going to have to see how things panned out and play it by ear.

May 1st - May Day is quite a celebration in Greece and Tricia and I would under normal circumstances usually go out. Without Tricia here, there seemed no point. As it turned out, I later discovered that everywhere was packed and so I was probably better staying at home.

Friday 2nd May was hot and sunny. The entire day was geared around collecting David who was due to arrive that morning. I was pushing it a bit time-wise when I left home for the airport. As it turned out, I was going to end up only just getting there as he walked out of the departure lounge! The story is quite simple if not slightly involved!

As I passed through Peritheia, I caught sight of a 'death notice'. These are posted whenever anyone local or from the locality dies to advise everyone of the funeral arrangements. Remember, funerals generally take place within a day or so of a death. (Unlike the UK!) What caught my eye was the name of the deceased, Konstantinos Kourmaris. We know Konstantinos Kourmaris (Kostas for short) and I felt obliged to attend the funeral. I was particularly shocked as I had seen him a day or so before. I don't know why, but I stopped and phoned Philipos on the basis that he knows everything that is going on. He did!

It turned out that the departed was not Kostas from our village but another man of the identical name from Kassiopi. He was also Philipos' uncle! Fortunately, Philipos was philosophical about the death which had been anticipated. Philipos can go to great lengths when involved in any discussion. This was to prove to be no exception! Given the circumstances, it was with some reluctance that I had to point out that I was getting pushed for time as I had to collect David.

I set off at a greater speed than I had wanted to! It didn't matter because I was going to be late anyway as there was an accident on the main road to the airport!

David texted me to say that he was disembarking from the plane as I was about half a kilometre away. As I said earlier, by the time that I had parked and made my way to the departure lounge, David appeared! David was shattered as he had virtually come straight from work the previous night, only calling at his flat to pack his bag!

We had dinner at Gelati's that night. On the way home, I spotted Milios' motorcycle in Peritheia. He wasn't far from it! He had returned from Albania that day and promised to work on our walls the next day.

The next day was nice, weather-wise. Milios, true to his word, turned up and continued wall building. I think that David found his choice of Albanian radio station a little difficult to get on with! Why do all builders love their radios so much?

That evening, I took David to Apnoea Taverna where we had an excellent meal and ended up at the bar with the owner, Yiannis. I think it fair to say that David enjoyed it and was particularly impressed by Yiannis' generosity!

Sunday, 4th May was hot and sunny. Milios and his labourer turned up and finished one wall by the end of their working day. David and I had a late lunch at Gelati's.

Monday, 5th May saw me somewhat frantic as I was due to leave for the UK that evening and I was concerned that David might not have enough food in the house. I was equally worried as to how he would get on exercising Jake as we hadn't got around to a trial run! As it turned out, I need not have worried on either front!

Milios and his labourer got the footings prepared for the next section of terrace walling. I never cease to be amazed at Milios' capacity for work.

I had the luxury of lunch being prepared for me by David. I had bought some steak which he cooked on the barbecue. Oh, if only my eye for a piece of steak was as good as David's cooking!

I left David with a list of do’s and don'ts before making my way to the airport for the 11.20pm Easyjet flight to Gatwick. The flight was pretty much on time and I soon found myself at the car hire desk to collect my hire car. From there, I made my way to the Gatwick Premier Inn hotel where I had booked a room for the night.

Did I say, "Night"? By the time I got to bed it was gone 2am on 6th May. Despite it only being an hours drive to Tricia's Dad's, I reasoned that it was better to get to bed as soon as possible and avoid waking everybody up in the early hours of the morning - not that I anticipated anyone getting much sleep given the circumstances.

My stay in the hotel was uneventful except for the shower head flying off narrowly missing my head! I left for Rustington at about 10am.

Tricia's Mum's funeral was held at Worthing Crematorium at 2pm that day. The service went well. Sandra and Tricia had prepared a 'tribute' to their Mum which the vicar of Rustington read out. It jogged many memories, some which were first hand but many of stories that had been told about her and Dad's life together over the 64 years of their marriage and before. It was very moving.

We had an opportunity after the service to renew acquaintances with Tricia's aunt and cousins whom we had not seen for many years. As is often the case, the last time that we had seen one another was at Tricia's Nana's funeral.

I can never think of what the appropriate words are to describe funerals being the sombre occasions that they are. Words like 'nice' or 'good' never seem appropriate. I don't think that I will try.

That evening, Tricia, her Dad, Sandra and myself were joined by Louise, Steve and Corinna for dinner at 'The Fox' pub in Patching. It was a fine meal which helped to lift spirits a little at the end of what had been a very sad day.

Much of our remaining time was spent with Tricia and her Dad sorting out bits and pieces in readiness for obtaining probate. We did manage a couple of excursions. The first was to Littlehampton for a fish and chips lunch with Corinna and the second was when Tricia and I spent a day at Lakeside. We thought that Sandra and Tricia's Dad deserved a break from us!

I must confess that the weather was kind to us throughout my short stay contrary to my usual impression of the weather back in the UK. To be truthful, it was positively hot ... by UK standards!

All too soon, it was 9th May and time for us to return home to Greece. Although our plane was 30 minutes late leaving the UK, most of this time was made up by the time we landed in Corfu. We arrived home at around midnight and found that David had coped admirably in our absence. Jake and Adonis were fine. I guess that I should have known better than worry about David with animals! Mind you, the sight of a large snake in our veggie patch apparently gave him a few nervous moments whilst walking Jake one day!

The weather on the 10th May was glorious. Milios was working but there was no sign of Yiorgos. (We weren't surprised!) It was as if we had not been away. That evening we took David to Apnoea Taverna for dinner. It was a really nice meal, as usual.

The weather on Sunday, 11th May was fair. Both Milios and Yiorgos worked. Word had obviously reached Yiorgos that I was back! We basically chilled out for most of the day until it was time to make dinner. Tricia had planned a roast turkey Sunday dinner for David and I. Okay, I might have suggested it knowing that Tricia would oblige as David always seems to enjoy a home cooked Sunday roast! I will eat turkey as often as I can get it! Devious? Me? Nooooo!

Monday 12th May was warm and sunny. It was also the last day of David's stay. Milios and Yiorgos were both working. Much had gone on with regards to the wall building since I had left for the UK a week ago. I couldn't say as much for Yiorgos' efforts! However, Yiorgos did us all a favour that day. I was chatting to him when he mentioned that he had no fuel in his car. "What's the problem," I enquired. "Everywhere except Rudolfos' is shut and he only has diesel," came the reply. It was then that I discovered that Greece was in the midst of major strike action. At this point in time it was the turn of the haulage drivers to strike. Apparently there had been panic buying all over Greece resulting in bare supermarket shelves ... and a shortage of petrol.

Still, we're British. We don't panic. ... Oh yes we do! I was down to a quarter of a tank full and faced with a journey to the airport that night and another one next Monday. Then help came from a surprising quarter - Pete. He too had been unaware of the petrol shortage and had gone out for petrol for his strimmer. He had found that his nearest petrol station had petrol and much to the amazement of the pump attendant had just filled his petrol can. (We don't have self-service petrol stations here. It provides employment!)

It was only when he had gone on to the local hardware store and had got into conversation that he heard about the shortages. He immediately went and filled up. Had I not phoned him, I would not have discovered this apparent lifeline. It didn't take me long to fill up at the same petrol station. Surprisingly, there wasn't even a queue. Mind you it is normally the dearest petrol station around! To be honest, we only saw problems at Lidl's supermarket later in the week. Our local supermarkets kept their stocks up. We are unsure as to why that should be.

It wasn't long before evening arrived and we were off with David to the airport. At least there was no immediate worry about fuel! We were later than we would normally be. By the time of our arrival, there was no passengers at the desk and David was dealt with immediately. I was determined to remember this for my flight next week.

All too soon, David was through into departures and we were left with the prospect of the journey home alone. Without the distraction of David, Tricia was left to dwell on the loss of her Mum. It is fair to say that this was to have a major impact on our lives for the immediate future.

It rained on and off during Tuesday 13th May. Milios turned up and was going great guns. Obviously, even I didn't expect Yiorgos to work in the rain! The strikes and the shortages caused by them continued to be reported on Greek television.

<Political rant on>

Across the world a major event was causing massive loss of life. A huge earthquake had struck China causing death and destruction on a horrendous scale. Whatever one might think of the ruling regime there, the effect on the people was appalling. At least the Chinese authorities appeared equipped to deal with the rescue operations and aid unlike the Burmese who still appeared to be stalling all efforts at getting aid to their own people after their own recent disaster.

<Political rant off!>

Work continued with Milios and Yiorgos on site for most days up to my departure for the UK on Monday 19th May. However there were the usual last minute panics. The main panic surrounded materials - both around their delivery and paying for them! It all came right in the end! Taking a leaf out of David's book a week earlier, I left for the airport at around 9pm to catch the 11.20pm flight to Gatwick.

The flight was good and over in no time ... or so it seemed. I had been sitting alongside a couple who were also resident here. It's amazing where the time goes when you don't stop chatting and as many will know, I can be quite prone to that! I picked up the hire car without any problem and made my way to Louise and Steve's house in Hextable. I would at least get a couple of hours sleep before having to get to Chatteris for my first medical appointment at 10.30am on the 20th May.

I had a serious round of medical appointments on the 20th May - three in all. I am pleased to report that all went well.

I had only discovered prior to leaving Greece that Corinna had a couple of surprises for me on the 21st and 22nd May. They were Ryan's, Lauren's and Rebecca's sports days at their school! Photo opportunities! I think it fair to say that we had a fair few laughs until my camera battery died just before the end of Lauren and Rebecca's sports day. Thankfully, Corinna was able to fill in the blanks including Rebecca picking up the winner's trophy on behalf of her team.

The 21st May ended miserably! Chelsea were beaten by Manchester United in the Champion's League Finals on penalties. Thank you for the comical photos, Barry! (Perhaps it's just as well that you aren't coming out this year!)

Thursday 22nd May was a great day. After watching Lauren and Rebecca's Sports Day, I went off to Bishops Stortford to see some old friends, Mike and Cathy and their children, Matt and Emily. Mike and I had worked together for many years and had lived in the same street in Hornchurch. We had last met in Kefalonia some six years ago when they were on holiday there. That short trip holds many memories for us. Those of you who have been following our adventures since the beginning will no doubt recall the stories of our experiences with Greek car hire there!

I had a great time with Mike and Cathy and a great meal out. Interestingly, Mike and Cathy have a hankering for the Greek life and I won't be surprised to see them on a Greek island within a few years. Believe it or not, with both Mike and Cathy being ex-police officers as well as myself, the conversation revolved around police work ... for all of three minutes, if that! Miss it? Not likely! It was a great evening and one that I wouldn't mind repeating. Yes, that's a hint Mike! (Dinner's on me next time though!)

I had a really good result with my doctor on Friday 23rd May. My blood sugar levels were the best I can recall. I was particularly buoyant about this as I had really made a lot of effort to improve them since my last tests. It's fair to say that Tricia has played a major part in keeping me on the straight and narrow!

Lauren, Rebecca and Ryan broke up for school holidays that day and I took them out for lunch as promised. We had an excellent meal at a pub, whose name I forget, by a Marina. The kids ate well which is not to say that Corinna and I didn't with our steaks!

That evening, I made my way to Louise's via Bluewater shopping Mall. I had wanted to get Tricia a present from the Molton Brown shop there. As it turned out Louise and I met up at Bluewater on account of me getting stuck in rush hour traffic approaching the Dartford River Crossing. Oh the joys of rush hour driving in the UK. Not! Louise clearly didn't fancy cooking that night and so we had a meal at Carlucci's. The tortellini stuffed with venison can be recommended. Two meals out in a day - very nice!

Saturday 24th May was spent indulging in a little retail therapy! Oh yes! I also spent a lot of time downloading software updates via Louise and Steve's broadband connection on my new laptop. (I hadn't mentioned the fact that I had taken delivery of a new laptop at Corinna's had I?) Wireless networked broadband. ... A joy that I can only dream of in Loutses!

On Sunday, 25th May, Louise Steve and I drove down to Rustington to see Tricia's Dad and sister, Sandra. I had booked a table at 'The Fox' in Patching for Sunday dinner from Corfu. The meal was excellent and I can heartily recommend the place if ever you are in the vicinity.

Afterwards, we went to Sandra's and sat out in the garden as it was such a beautiful day. Louise commented that she had never been to Rustington when the sun didn't shine! Come to think of it, I don't think I have either. Louise and Steve made good use of the time by picking Sandra and her Dad's brains about plants as both are keen gardeners. It was a pleasant day made better by the weather. True to form, as we returned towards London, the showers started.

Monday, 26th May was spent indoors at Louise and Steve's on account of the rain. That night Steve and I had takeaways - Indian for him, Chinese for me. Louise? Well, how can I put this tactfully? Er ... She had over-eaten the day before and resorted to a bowl of homemade soup!

I returned home on Tuesday 27th May on the 5.30pm Easyjet flight from Gatwick. I met up in the departure lounge with Nigel and Cathy who have a house in Vlachatika just down the road from where we used to live. Nigel and Cathy were in celebratory mood as this flight marked their severance with the UK. Cathy had finally retired and their property there was disposed of. They celebrated with the last bottle of Champagne on the flight which they were kind enough to share with me. Wish them well with their adventure.

The flight was the most entertaining that I have experienced - ever! The cabin crew were outstanding and even the captain and first officer made guest appearances and joined in the jollity. (Not at the same time, I hasten to add!) There was a family of three in the seats across the aisle. Their young son had everyone in stitches and I think it fair to say that the cabin crew took a shine to him. Having said that, I think that he took a shine to one of the cabin crew in particular! That was one family whose holiday started well!

I had been away from Corfu and Tricia for eight days. What about Tricia, I hear people ask. Well, she had busied herself in the garden and around the house. We kept in touch every day. She succeeded in burning her back whilst gardening and was, to say the least, a little crispy upon my return!

During my absence, Yiorgos had appeared only once and then only to complain that he couldn't refit the gutters to the apartment on account of the way that they had originally been fitted. My attitude was that they had come down and so they could go back! (Later, I was to give up on this tack). Consequently, My first job on 28th May was to tune Yiorgos up for his absence. He made all the excuses under the sun including the weather. (It had rained during two days of my eight days absence.)

At least I had an excellent welcome home from the weather. It was sunny and 30°C in the shade.

Carol had been on her own for a while as Pete had returned to the UK following the unexpected death of his brother. We offered to take her for lunch at Zephyros Taverna. She didn't need asking twice! It was the first time that Tricia had been there and only my second. I think it fair to say that we were all impressed. The pies in particular were first rate.

Not surprisingly after my verbal lambasting the day before, Yiorgos turned up on Thursday, 29th May. Despite the continuing heat, he worked on.

Friday, 30th May was hot. My first job of the day was to visit the electricity company. I wanted to apply for the full electricity supply. I had the correct papers but on account of the last bill being vastly over-estimated, they wouldn't do anything until the bill was corrected. At least the man that I dealt with was helpful and went to great lengths to explain the problem. He had obviously failed the course in bureaucratic obstruction!

Yiorgos worked during the day and Milios turned up in the evening.

We were glad that it was a nice day because it was our friends, Jimmy and Daphne's 60th wedding anniversary and they had made a special effort to be in Corfu to celebrate, just as they had for their 40th and 50th Anniversaries. This year had taken considerable effort as Jimmy's health was not at its best and he was on a permanent oxygen supply.

An anniversary party had been arranged at Taverna Nikolas' and we were among the chosen guests. It was a really lovely evening which Jimmy and Daphne clearly enjoyed with so many friends and family there. I think that we would be lacking if we didn't mention the efforts that their family had made to ensure that this all took place. It was a great success.

The month ended with another hot day. The 31st May was spent at home until the evening. At least we had the company of Yiorgos who worked on despite the intense heat.

That evening was a first for us. Pete and Carol suggested that we might like to join them for dinner at the Neo Limani Taverna in Roda old village. Roda is not our favourite place but we agreed to give it a try as Carol had long extolled the virtues of their 'Lamb Rigonata' dish. The place was clearly popular. To be honest, it was packed. Carol was disappointed that we couldn't get a table at the front but we were happy being away from the road.

What can we say about the meal? The lamb rigonata was excellent. There was a good choice of starters, many of which we had not been offered before. The service was good but therein lies my only criticism. It was too good!

From service to completing our meal took three quarters of an hour! Unheard of! Dinner is at least a three hour event and lunches even longer! Would I go back? Maybe, perhaps when the season is drawing to a close. However, in fairness, I can imagine that many holidaymakers looking to go on to do something else after their dinners would have appreciated the speed of service but hey, this is Greece. We don't do speedy!

Conclusion
I have made the decision not to make this a four month edition despite the fact that I am writing this conclusion towards the end of June! We hope that everyone understands that this has been a particularly difficult time, for Tricia and her family in particular.

The loss of her Mum was not anticipated when we started March's edition although obviously we were concerned by the lack of action by the National Health Service in attempting to resolve the underlying problems. The circumstances have made the loss that much more difficult to endure by the entire family. The NHS will not be forgiven lightly!

Tricia and I have spent a long time apart over the past three months. It has been unavoidable but goes to show some of the difficulties that one has to cope with when you choose to live away from family. I suspect that it is something that gets put to the back of one's mind when embarking on such an adventure.

Everything that has gone on has meant that the work that we have had undertaken outside the house has largely gone unnoticed. I think that only Peter and Carol have seen it during the early stages. We have seen very few friends here, mainly because Tricia has not felt like meeting people who being well-meaning always enquire after her Mum. I am pleased to say that this is not such a problem now and she is coping much better.

I think that I will end here by saying thank you on behalf of Tricia and the family to all those who have sent their condolences and apologise to those whom we have not been in contact with.

Being a three month offering, there are quite a few photos in the gallery!

Hopefully, June's epistle will be following shortly!

All the best,

Bob & Tricia.