Apologies for the delay in posting a
blog recently but I have been in the UK and enjoying sparkling
weather and causing considerable food envy by eating lobster at
Christchurch Quay on a happy day out. I was glad to get the flight
back to Crete before the winter storms set in across Britain and
returned to Crete where it was a bit more peaceful. 40 years ago, K
and I travelled to Greece for our honeymoon and the weather was
horrible in Greece and lovely in England which made us wonder why we
had spent all that money on air flights! However, I needed to get
back to celebrate our anniversary and somehow got it right for once.
It is lovely to be here this September. There are stunning blue
skies and warm sun during the day but it is clear and cold with
bright, bright stars at night. I will be delving in my big wooden
storage chest to unearth the duvet in the next couple of weeks or
two.
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| Full table while four people ate lobster !!!!! |
The journey back and forth to England
was hampered by a horrible back problem and for a day or two, I
thought that I might have to cancel. Fortunately, Aegean Airlines
were really helpful when I called them to ask for assistance at the
airport as I remembered quite a long walk from the Domestic to
International side of the airport and I did not think I would be able
to manage it. K had asked the Pharmacist for help with pain killers
and I had three packs of different items with very strict
instructions on them. So the short story is that I arrived home at
Heathrow in a wheelchair and had to return via wheelchair also to
comply with the terms and conditions of the ticket. This was an
educational process and I was able to find out about being wheelchair
bound first hand and like the Curate's egg, it was good in parts.
The journey out from Heraklion and Athens had been marvellous, but
the journey back had been different altogether. OK, it is fine being
parked against a corridor wall in a proper wheelchair that can be
self wheeled while the helpers are busy doing other things and
helping other people. With this sort of conveyance, it is possible
to find the disabled loo and generally pass an hour or so before the
flight leaves without being a nuisance. I was left on a bench at the
departure gate at Heathrow while the flight was delayed for an hour
with no way of moving, stuck at the back of the plane in a window
seat and had to wait until 3.30 pm in the afternoon before I was able
to get to a Ladies Cloakroom having set off very early in the
morning. On the journey home, people left me in places, promising to
come back and didn't more than once so – in the end, it seemed
better to try and hobble off the bus with my stick, through the
passport control (while a kind Doctor from Heraklion carried my hand
luggage) and get someone to fetch a trolley for my big case which a
strong, young lad hooked from the conveyor for me. Thank goodness
friends were there to meet me and people are willing to do random
acts of kindness!
I would like to say that the back is on
the mend, but sadly it is only marginally better and I still cannot
walk very much.
Whilst in England, we had another
bleeping adventure and spent several days of being kept awake by an
annoying bleep near the stairs. On my last visit home, a muffled
bleeping which I had been following round the house for a couple of
days turned out to be coming from dear Mum, or at least Mum's
defibrillator. It had me puzzled for a long time, because it was
rarely in the same place and on discovery, involved an emergency trip
to A & E to get sorted.
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| Sorry, no illustrations for alarm systems ..... ! |
This time, Mum had been very late down
to breakfast one morning checking each corner of her bedroom to try
and find out where the sound was coming from. We were fairly certain
that the battery on the smoke alarm on the top landing needed
changing. Looking at the cover, the wording said that the device did
not have a battery and we needed to contact the manufacturer for a
replacement. As two devices (upstairs and downstairs) had been
fitted by the Fire Brigade, we phoned them and a lovely man came
round with a telescopic ladder and a cheery grin to change it. We
directed him upstairs and he niftily removed the old one and fitted a
replacement … magic. He was just explaining what to do if it ever
happened again – just unscrew the device like a light bulb and the
bleeping would stop. (BLEEP!) Oh dear, if the bleeping was supposed
to stop, why was it still bleeping? Bother, my mistake, it must be
the one on the lower landing. No the bleeping was not from there …
it was definitely upstairs. (BLEEP). After several more minutes
chasing about, we discovered a white plastic box hidden away on a
small table by the bannisters which my Father had bought and
forgotten about several years ago to detect carbon monoxide. Being
deaf, Dad could not hear any of the bleeping last time or this time,
but we had to apologise very profusely to the man from the Fire
Brigade. Most embarrassing. However, it was all sorted and I left
Mum and Dad's house in Barton totally bleepless.
Back in the village in Crete, all the
summer visitors have left and we are loving the clear, sunny views of
Mount Psiloritis (= Mt. Ida) and realise that it will not be long
before the snows are back on the peaks. The sea temperature is
beginning to cool now and today we luxuriated on a beach with only a
handful of sunbathers. Late September and early October are
wonderful this year and we are enjoying all the Autumn weather
despite the leaves from the tree which need sweeping up each morning.
School went back on 15 September, so there are fewer children
playing in the square and chattering their way in and out of the
little village shop. K spent today with thick, gloopy paint for the
flat roofs slapping it on liberally to keep the house wind and
waterproof for another year. We will see!!!
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