SCORCHIO!

A couple of nights this week have cooled down with breezes through the open windows and we unearthed thin woollen blankets for the early hours when a single sheet is just not quite warm enough. Although the days are lovely, the hillsides are now the colour of burnt earth. What a relief that it will be getting cool enough to get some exterior painting on the go without the poor person on the ladder burning to a crisp and the paint drying on the brush.

Yianni the painter just dropped by the house and asked; did we want to have the roof painted on Sunday (his day off!). A resounding reply, “Yes, please!” from us came back without hesitation as the Autumn rains can't be far off, the swallows have already left and we noted long lines of geese flying in formation this week from East to West on their migration. We have the paint supplies all ready and Yianni has helped us this year paint both upstairs and downstairs so that we look half way respectable at last. Yianni has been taught, by my earstwhile husband, a few words in English which he greets us with every time he sees us. “Hello baby, are you with anybody, do you drink red wine?” This greeting is always followed by a quick smack from me in the direction of earstwhile husband and the query, “why on earth couldn't you teach him something a bit more useful?” Anyway, we have been made over a bit; disposed of some clutter and the walls look good – albeit temporarily – until the coatings catch a load of winter dampness and slide off the walls again. It all makes work for the working man to do! K is negotiating already (even while the daytime temperatures are scorching) for the winter wood supply. We're well in the groove now!

All in all it has been a bit of a week. Our feet haven't touched the ground and long, lazy days on the beach are almost a distant memory back to our first summer here. Last weekend, our friends Mike and Felicity celebrated their Ruby Wedding with a huge barbecue and instead of gifts requested donations to the Red Cross. Their village priest is a Red Cross volunteer and initiated a great round of Greek dancing and with many of their friends over from England, we had a wonderful evening.

Unbelievably, sister in law Anna fell down at home for the second time and having just recovered from a broken knee and gaining a bit of confidence to get out and about again broke her other ankle in two places. She has been in hospital for 12 days, bolted and plated and the hospital has been good, but its terribly boring. Thank heavens Rik the Builder was working nearby and able to come to her rescue when it happened.

There must be an EU Plum Mountain somewhere which landed in the middle of our village last week. An overwhelming supply of dessert plums arrived in crates and were stacked outside the taverna in the Square. Apostoli, the Mayor, urged everyone to take one or two crates and we have all been bottling plums and devising (in my case) some DELICIOUS plum sauce. Bring on the crispy duck! We still haven't finished all the bottled peaches from last summer, but it has reminded me to get them out of the cupboard and use them before it is too late.

Then we have a new arrival in the village, Liz's sister Steph, who can turn her hand to anything and is trying to earn a bit here and there by decorating, tiling and furniture construction. We have been trying to help her settle in a bit and find her way about. By some miracle, she has two decent jobs already - painting the school and helping paint another large house. Quite an achievement for a newcomer in this village.

If this wasn't enough excitement (for a small, sleepy village) a new car for us turned up unexpectedly as some people we know are returning to the UK and need to sell their motor. The bureaucracy will take us most of the day on Monday with photocopies of all our ID and car documents which are entered into the system and then getting each other back to their respective homes once it is all complete. Steph is very interested in our old runabout, which would be a very practical motor for her and solve quite a number of problems in sourcing and getting supplies for work. RESULT!

K and I had just realised that it had been AGES since we had spent a day on the beach and were tentatively making plans when a phone call came to scotch that idea and I had to jump in the car and drive to Rethymnon. However, I stopped off on the way back at Panormo and K took his trusty quad bike down the steep slopes to the Limni beach. Kostas who runs the taverna there was so glad to see us after months of absence that he sent over an extra bottle of Retsina as a free gift. So nice of him, but we really had had enough already and it made getting home a bit worrisome. It meant spilling some accidentally on purpose to drive home in one piece.

Near Georgopolis - not Panormo!

The beaches are still full, mostly retired tourists at this time of year. I was mightily amused by Grigoris, our taxi driver, when he said that the elderly folk who came early and late in the season were easily the best customers as they usually gave generous tips! Basking in such appreciation and September sunshine, we leave you to your September pursuits and wish you a very Happy Autumn!

FAST TROT

Greetings. What a long time it has been since the last blog. In that time, we have tried to do all sorts of exciting things but have been a bit hampered by a few bugs and nasties. But enough of all that for now.

Crete has been hot, hot, hot for the summer holiday period and water is beginning to run a little short because the supply is diverted to the hotels and complexes nearby the beaches to ensure visitors' holidays go well. This means that villages in the interior can have unexpected water cuts at any time. There are plenty of alerts for forest fires and the hillsides are crackling and desiccated in the long hot days. After five years of living here, we are now used to this and always have at least 4 great containers of water for emergencies at any given time and the hosepipes on standby (for fires anyway). The small bridge over the stream where the bamboo used to grow has been completely bulldozed and a new bridge built. This must have accounted for some of the water cuts and we wonder if the job will ever get finished as the road surface is extremely bumpy still. However, as Pa and Ma Crozier have had long term tummy bugs during this period, things have been a bit dicey and we are in the process of getting ourselves checked out, in case it is something out of the ordinary. Five weeks and counting is over the top for these sorts of complaints. Ma Crozier spent two of the five weeks in the UK and had a miserable time formulating an appendix to the Lonely Planet Guide to the loos of Devon and Staffordshire, whilst on the move.

Here in Crete, Panormo is ultra full and busy, our village is full and busy. The square is full of newish cars with top boxes which means that people are staying in the village for August holidays. We have just returned from a meal at the big kafeneon in the Square, where Christina, the Mayor's wife and Vasso, her daughter in law have cooked us a lovely meal of chicken, fried potatoes and salad and explained that she had been up early this morning cooking a variety of breakfast for 18 people simultaneously. Everybody wanted something different. Busy, busy, busy but good for getting the bills paid! By contrast, Perama was practically deserted this morning because all the locals were at the Monastery in Margarites for Panagyri.

We braved Rethymno on Thursday because K needed to have his big three monthly hormone jab (eeeek!) and I attempted to attend Makers Group which seemed to have been shouldered aside by some other display of crafts meaning that our table was not available and people kept turning up and leaving again as there was nowhere to sit. Several weeks back, the Makers had agreed to put together some brightly coloured drawstring bags with patchwork pockets so that the next time the CIC makes a presentation to the Autistic School, we can present the personal items/toiletries/art materials wrapped in items to make the gifts a bit more individual and special. I have made eight so far and I think we need about 30. Early in the morning, we met up with long term friends Dimitri and Michelle and their daughter Kiki – not having seen them for 12 years since their move to Luxembourg. It was great to catch up. Later on Thursday evening, we were honoured to be invited by the family of Geoff Hope to the committal of ashes down at the sea's edge in Bali at sun down. It was the most beautiful evening with shadows over the hills and a light breeze. Sad times, with a family and loads of friends who will miss him for a long time to come. The evening went well and livened up with a beautiful meal for many guests and Greek dancing at the village taverna in Exantas later on that evening.

As for the UK, it was interesting to spend time in Staffordshire and Devon. I had three magnificently sunny days staying with a good friend in Totnes and going to talks at Dartington at Ways With Words. The shopping in Totnes was brilliant with very few chain stores and lots of independent traders – a full array of tea shops, coffee shops and arts/crafts/sewing stores. I was in my element, apart from the tummy situation and we even managed to squeeze in a visit to a wonderful pottery in the back of beyond and an amazingly attractive lady artist – who was once the model for Picasso! Meanwhile, poor K was stuck at home doing very little at all.

Once back in Stone, I took myself off to the Pottery Museum in Stoke on Trent to see what the UK had to offer to compare with all the marvellous museums in Greece. The train journey from Stone was a bit of an adventure and I seemed to get embroiled in the adventures of two people delivering vehicles for a living, who has missed a vital train and wondering whether they would get home before midnight.  Not wishing to share taxis or delay any longer I raced to the taxi rank to get a ride from the station to the Museum and spent 20 minutes trying to get the driver to identify which Museum I wanted to go to as there are an array of museums to choose from.  When I got there, I hoofed around murky rooms full of a quantity of highly embellished stuff in dark sticky looking glazes. Literally thousands of cow creamers and ugly vases. Crinoline ladies, shepherdesses lined up in their dozens, teapots and plant stands filled every corner. Venturing into another room to see the Staffordshire Hoard was enticing but this surely could not possibly have been the full collection of the Hoard. What I saw was miniscule and needed magnifying glasses to examine the pieces properly. At the risk of being labelled an 'Archaeology Snob', I will say no more than it was a bit disappointing. Note to Self: Try the Wedgewood Museum next time.

On my return to Crete, the deadline to download Windows 10 caused consternation. Our perfectly good computer was whirring all night and downloaded 99% refusing to go any further. So we are still running on the 'old' system. If it all goes quiet for a lengthy period, it is because we are both still scratching our heads and trying to decipher advice from the “Help Community”. All this unnecessary stuff is keeping us at full stretch!

Wishing you a very good Summer wherever you are.

NOT OUR FINEST HOUR

Welcome to Crete. I expect you will be sick of Brexit fall out or speculation about the future of our nation, our currency, our international relationships while politicians in London grapple about for words or plans for the outcome of the referendum - which, it seems, was totally unexpected. Needless to say, people living here who regard themselves as British and European hoped to remain in the EU and never expected that everything would turn inside out at this stage of their lives.

For the first few days, we went through all the emotions of 48% of those back home .. disbelief, anger, bereavement over the spirit of Britain and eventually thanked God that we were living in austerity burdened Greece. In spite of living through desperate and increasing poverty here (pensions are now one third of what they were five years ago), Greek people have never stopped looking after each other or the thousands of refugees arriving on their shores to the best of their ability. The danger of this journey and the camps where refugees are housed convince them that no one would attempt it unless they were absolutely desperate. They have not stopped reaching out. When we first arrived in Crete and went to pay our first Water Bill, the clerk listened as K explained that we had bought an old stone house in need of renovation and planned to settle here forever. The young man stretched out his hand and said “Congratulations and welcome!” Though born and educated in England, this sense of welcome had never been extended to K in his life before. It puts the blinkers of many Brits into sharp comparison. All the expert advice about Brexit was soundly ignored. A campaign based on big fat lies won a very hollow victory by a vote backed by a political leadership, no more stable than a house of cards. The worst result is that racism and bullying are now deemed to be acceptable among those people who believe that they have won “their country back”. The cosy Miss Marple idea of their 'Britain' has nothing to do with reality; Britain has been invaded by waves of incomers before the times of the Romans and Vikings for millennia and the illusion is blinding them to the value of communities made up of all their parts, no matter who or from where. So many of the real issues of concern like oversubscribed schools and getting medical appointments in these hard times will not be helped in any way by leaving Europe and needed to be sorted out by national and local government. The best we can say is that Britain scored a home goal, but let's not talk about the football either!

Meanwhile there are many Greeks who are openly envious of the Brits' escape and wish they had left Europe five years ago, so it is good to have given them a bit of a lift!

Anyway, we cannot do anything and are having to leave exchange rate changes and health care worries on the back burner. We need to stay positive at the moment because Crete is welcoming lots of tourists this year and it is the growing season. All the shops and wayside stalls are full of wonderful greek salad fare, melons, fruits and the grape vine clinging to the front fence has done us proud with pounds and pounds of lovely grapes.

We are also delighted to have had a visit from our son and girlfriend, which means we can go out and about a lot to see the sights and enjoy the very hot weather. We have been travelling about more widely recently, visiting folk at more distant parts of the island. Fathers Day in Plakas, near Vamos; shopping at the English shop at Litsarda called Greengibble for tea bags and my first visit to the Open Air Cinema in Rethymno to see the film “The Dressmaker”. It was one of Anna's first outings since the fractured leg and thoroughly enjoyed by us all.

So we have been consoling ourselves and overeating, enjoying the sunshine and trying to do as little cooking as possible in this fierce heat. Our plan is to visit Rethymnon and for the youngsters to mooch about the medieval town with its shady alley ways and pretty garden restaurants. Trips to Margeritas for ceramics and Lake Kournas as well as a bus trip to Chania are planned and all of these holiday jaunts are followed up by falling into the sea at teatime each evening to cool us down a bit. We thank our lucky stars that there are compensations to all this uncertainty.

For the UK, this has not been 'our finest hour', but hours pass and we resignedly wait for the next chapter of the drama.

BUSY GETTING NOWHERE

I wish someone could tell me how we ever found time to go to work. We have had our hands full each day this week, but seem to have achieved next to nothing, however we have had a lot of catching up to do after a few absences and the weather has been against us.

Of course, there is cleaning after rain storms or wind storms which leave either layers or streaks of dust all round the house and outside. When we first arrived in Crete, we were amused that the locals scuttled inside and closed all the doors and windows for a seemingly insignificant shower of rain or a few gusts of wind.  Now we know why and do just the same, as the dust blown in from Africa has made a few of us ill with nasty coughs and allergies this year.   Watering the plants, warding off insects and teaching snails to fly on top of all the day to day stuff all takes time. We groan each time another windy day brings thick clouds of dust our way over the mountains;  it means that everything will need cleaning again.

Mostly we find ourselves doing irritating admin jobs and queuing up in different places to pay bills. Now that Greek Easter has come and gone, the tourists are all here, masses of hire cars are on the roads (driving slowly right in the middle so no one can overtake them) and parking outside the supermarket is no longer possible. In addition, a new Police Chief has arrived from Athens and put up urban clearway signs and no parking instructions all round Panormo. There are also speed limit signs along the main road and more cameras. So we think that a fee generating exercise is underway to go with the reduced pensions and increased taxes. Bus stops along the main road are all crowded with large, lobster pink people wearing (or nearly wearing) very brightly coloured holiday clothes and, compared with all our neighbours who dress entirely in black, look odd by comparison. The little trains of all colours are chugging along the highways and byways taking holiday makers on tours into town or off the beaten track. All the trappings of high Summer are here!

Easter was spent at a traditional family kafeneon nearby. I had followed the flower covered bier with the big church cross and candles around Panormo with the large Good Friday procession.  On Easter Sunday, our lovely hosts cooked us traditional Easter dishes followed by music and dancing. It was lovely that they made such an effort to make it a special day for their guests. We started by playing “conkers” with hard boiled eggs dyed red and went on to eat and drink our way through a large variety of dishes. A young relative played lyra for us and the daughters of the family danced Cretan style.

The next week, we were supposed to be going on an Archaeological jaunt, but it all got too difficult to organise, so the main event had to be cancelled. A few of us decided to keep our hotel bookings and spent a jolly weekend away in the East of Crete at Sitea. It is smaller and not so busy as further West, and the place is great for us with a hotel right on the promenade with flat, easy access for tavernas, shops and cafes. Absolutely great for K who could stump along checking out the fishing, the boats in the harbour and enjoy the sunshine or the wind or the rain. We spent half an hour or so at the museum until a cross Irishman gave us a good telling off for being noisy! Oops, we felt like naughty second formers! Last visit, I climbed up hundreds of steps to the Church (which was closed) and this time I climbed even more steps to the castle (which was also closed) but it was good exercise. I gathered photos of artefacts and a few photo-plans for making furniture out of old pallets somehow knowing that we would never do it!

Ongoing projects: K getting his Greek driving licence renewed to drive his quad bike. He visited the Citizens Advice office KEP and they gave him a printed list of doctors to visit to get his eyesight checked and a general doctor to check his health otherwise. All these doctors are in Rethymnon in the centre of the busiest part of town, so we drove to the outskirts twice this week and Kimon jumped in a taxi which would be better able to brave the crowded city streets than I could (Gunga Din). He needs two medical reports, three cheques for different amounts made to codes which he hasn't been notified about, various photocopies, and some extra blood tests. It has taken four full days so far and he is still not finished. I want to ensure that I keep my Driving Licence for the UK and managed to renew it on line. So, as long as the internet behaves, that at least is much easier.

Last Saturday was spent baking all day in preparation for the Red Cross Coffee morning and on Sunday morning, armed with boxes of goodies we set off in good time. Half way along the road to Camping Elizabeth, I registered (with not quite good enough glasses) that the car's water temperature gauge had jumped well over the boiling point mark and great puffs of steam were coming out of the bonnet. Yoiks! We stopped at one of the petrol stations and telephoned a friend to see if we could get a lift. Monday was spent trying to get ourselves back to the car so that we could telephone a breakdown truck to get it taken to our local garage. The truck would not help us get to the car – so we had to phone our friend, yet again. That was another day gone but the car problem was not too serious after all. Yiorgos at the garage climbed about under the car and replaced a tiny hose at not too much expense. Praise God that the car is running perfectly again. We are relieved, but we know it is time to start looking for a new one.

Meanwhile, sister in law Anna is still laid up with a broken leg and not able to put any weight on it which means that she has missed Santorini, Sitea and Easter so far. All our mates have been good about dropping by, doing errands, bringing treats and stopping to chat, but it has been a long haul and after her second check up to the hospital on Tuesday, nobody could believe that the doctor had advised two MORE weeks of the same, after six weeks lying in state. Nightmare. We realise that between Anna and Kimon, the family seem to have acquired three sets of crutches and a wheelchair – which is almost the entirety of the CIC health equipment reserves. We need to replace at least one pair of crutches asap in case anyone else needs them.

Then in addition to Doctors, Dentists and Kosta Kosta our Optician (not Costapacket the UK Coffee Shop), we have had to make lots of repeat visits to shops to look for things. After the ship, port and ferry strikes of recent weeks, many of the big stores and supermarkets have had very bare shelves and Lidl was a ghost town. I have dropped into the one supplier in Rethymnon three times now to buy English tea bags, but the stock has run dry and we are stuck with Liptons Sawdust Specials for the time being.  Keeping up with whoever is on strike at the moment is also an issue; it was Lawyers and Accountants this week.

Ridiculous that such boring things keep us occupied for days on end. Busy, busy, busy getting nowhere. I expect you are too! Happy Days.

THERA, FIRA AND VOLCANIC DUST AND ASHES

I achieved a life long ambition when I visited Santorini with friends last week and saw for myself the black volcanic sand on the beaches and the picturesque domes and steeples built into the volcanic rock of the island. My tablet, camera and phone were all full of pictures which I will have a struggle to download successfully.

We had tickets for the high speed ferry which left Heraklion at about 9.00 a.m and reached Fira Old Harbour a couple of hours later. A transfer bus took us to our hotel, which through some fluke of good luck had been upgraded and we were delighted to be staying at a super place, with rooms around a lovely swimming pool serving good breakfasts and having the most helpful of staff. We couldn't recommend it enough. It was just far enough out of town along a flat, well paved road to give us a pleasant walk each morning looking over the Caldera.

Fira was a pleasant, but very busy place. Most of the up-market hotels and jewellery shops were there and obviously catered for cruise tourists who were there for a very short time and had no real concept of how much a euro was worth. Forsaking the gold shops offering items “For you, I make a special price” (!!!) and other clothes shops selling jewel encrusted flip flops at eye popping cost, we pressed on to find the bus station and work out how to get to the various spots we needed around the island.

Consequently, we found ourselves queuing for the 10.00 bus the following morning so that we could be at the Akrotiri Archeological site for 11.00 where Eugenia our lovely guide was waiting for us. It was a brilliant morning; the site covered a few acres – well roofed with firm walkways just above all the escavations. Real two storey houses, identifiable public buildings, streets, workshops, houses with furniture all preserved by tons and tons and tons and tons of volcanic ash. We walked through the town, it had indoor plumbing, it had a bank, of sorts – all amazingly cosmopolitan and sophisticated for 1700 BC. Remains of trees had been carbon dated to pin down the date of the immense earthquake and volcanic eruption which disrupted and had a detrimental effect on many of the civilisations and communities around the Mediterranean. No portable, valuable items were found or human remains. It appears that the inhabitants had managed to pack their valuables and get away from the town. There were several layers of buildings on top of each other indicating that there had been minor earthquakes and rebuilding prior to the big catastrophe which caused so much destruction.

We met up with some friends after our tour for lunch by the sea and had a marvellous meal of sea food spaghetti with conversation and discussion about the highs and lows of living in Santorini. Our hosts had bought a cave house at Red Beach and had worked and fitted out the interior with modern technology and coatings to a very high standard. I am ashamed to admit that this is the day that I forgot my camera and am also a bit worried that photos might be infringing some kind of publishing/copyright laws particularly of the artifacts in the museum.  

The next day we visited the Museum in Fira which was a jewel. It had enough wonderful and beautifully conceived ceramics, frescos (showing all the lovely colours of the various earth colours from round and about) – no jewellery in evidence. Well preserved furniture, beds, chairs, cooking utensils and metal working tools were displayed and labelled perfectly. The museum was just the right size with enough to see without being overwhelming. I would like to revisit some day!

A few of us jumped on a bus after this and made our way to Kamari – taking a trip down memory lane since my friends had first visited there 30 years earlier and were agog to see that it had changed so radically and they had problems recognising anything. We had a splendid walk along the water side looking at all the plush hotels being fitted up ready for the new season and picking up pumice stones from the beach of black sand. A cursory check later confirmed that we could not easily afford to stay in any the hotels for more than a day or two!  We thought that the 26 euros was money well spent the next day on a boat trip to see the Volcano, swim in hot pools and have a sea food lunch in a fishing village on the far side of the Caldera lake.

A trip to Oia is compulsory! We discovered that the bus service was brilliant and very good value to get about the island. The bus drivers seemed to cope with the narrow roads, obstructions and manoeuvring very skillfully and we were all amused when a young American tourist had parked her hired beach buggy on a corner which had jammed up the entire town. Hooting, shouting and general chaos reined! Most people go to Oia at sunset to take photographs of the sun setting, but we decided that we had masses of photos of Greek sunsets, so we went there on our last morning in Santorini (having packed our cases and paid our hotel bill) to eat Lolita's ice creams. I haven't eaten ice cream for a few months since gastric problems and ate two cartons in one morning! It was fabulous. Incidentally, Demitri who works there is looking for a wife – or so the notice on the wall says – so we paid for our indulgent fare and hoped that he would find one soon!

A rocky ferry trip home – in stormy seas and inhaling strong fumes of diesel - was a bit gruesome, or it might have been the ice cream, but we managed to get back on dry land and feel immediately OK for the drive back home.

Back in the village, there is more dust to clear up and Easter to prepare for. The villagers are all on a very strict fast during their Holy Week. No milk, no fat, no meat, - possibly vegetables and sea food are all that is allowed. They will certainly be ready to enjoy their Easter feast on Sunday.

Kallo Pascha!

PLASTER DUST

 

A clearer day today!

 We are back in harness and coping with southern winds bringing African dust to clothe all our work tops and floors, while gritting our eyes and giving us horrible colds and coughs, if we venture out in it. Fortunately, a weather forecast foretold the arrival of the second batch and we shut the doors and shutters overnight to at least keep the house as dust free as possible. We couldn't see the hills or the mountains – or even the sea in Panormo; it was as if someone had hung up a large grey horse blanket all around us.

A brief inspection showed that there was a little damage after the first really howling gales which I just missed, but which broke one of the struts of the pergola, several plant pots and left a rim of peculiar dust in the upstairs rooms through the walls and roof. I wondered if we had got wordworm (horrors with all the large wooden beams of the roof) but a quick inspection by Rik the Builder assured us that we were OK. I bought a couple of cans of wordworm spray – just in case – and with a bit of difficulty at the very top of the ladder and masked up, aimed a few shots in the direction of the would-be problem to be on the safe side.

The old minaret has lost its scaffolding and been restored

It took a couple of days for the sky to clear and the weather is beginning to get hot. We are nearly ready for the winter to summer changeover to take place. I am hanging on to my winter woollies for just a week or two longer so that it is one clear process instead of a scramble. Our Internet service is now so intermittant that it has proved difficult to post our blogs and we have to strike while the iron is hot. We keep complaining to the phone company and are promised something better but it has not changed yet.

However, the swallows have arrived and have ejected the all year-round sparrows from their usual spots in the trees and wires and they are pecking about on our front step. We can hear loud chattering of swallows from morning to night and watch their aerobatics as they chase insects and swoop on stray cats who venture too close to their nests. The vine on the front railings has lots of fresh green leaves and little fruit already and has needed spraying for many days, but the wind is just too strong to tackle it so far.

Easter candles for children to take to Church

In the town, the shops are preparing for Greek Easter – late this year – and the hotels and tavernas are filling up with lots of tourists for this year. We have bought our Spring plants and just need some help getting large terra cotta pots up the stairs so that we can plant some lovely jasmine and other plants which are waiting in the front porch along with sacks of potting compost and good earth for a nice growing mixture. (We hope!)

We have not one, but two of the family in plaster recently. Sister Anna after a fall had an enormous plaster cast on her leg which was too heavy to get up and down stairs and has made life really difficult for the time being. Then she went into hospital following a check up and the possibility of an operation. Fortunately, she came out of hospital with a leg brace instead of the op, but not allowed to put any weight on it. It took 2-3 days to get the hospital exit papers so she was stuck there betwixt and between. With friends and neighbours, she is just about coping in her house on three floors by enlisting help so that all she needs is on the middle floor or within arms reach of the bed. Life has been awkward for her and she can't wait for the next hospital visit to see if she can get more use of the leg. Meanwhile, in NZ, the youngest grandchild had his elbow in plaster for a short while!

Sadly, the broken leg meant that Anna was not able to come on the trip she had organised to Santorini with friends in April. It was planned to happen just before Greek Easter and prior to high season when all the cruise ships call there. However, Ma Crozier was booked and still made the journey by high speed ferry. The party had three blissful days in Santorini looking at the Akrotiri archeological workings, visiting the Museum in Fera, doing lots of walking around the town and beaches. There will be lots more about Santorini in the next post and pictures of our adventures.

INTREPID TRAVELS

I have recaptured my keyboard after a long break and having achieved the cherished dream of getting to see all the family living in New Zealand. Apologies for the break in transmission but it was worth it.

After a longish journey out to Auckland via London, I was horribly tired and jet-lagged for well over a week after getting there. The daughters had hatched lots of plans for my stay, which were crammed in around school and nursery drop offs, Mainly Music (music & dancing for toddlers held in churches) a bewildering clutch of meetings, greetings and tearful goodbyes, lost shoes, lunch boxes and after-school activities. I couldn't keep up! In the end it seemed best to just play follow-my-leader and try to slot into what, by Cretan standards, was a very full regime.  

The standard of living in Auckland is very high. That is not to say that there aren't places where people find it hard to keep up with it or that poverty doesn't exist, but I found the cafes, restaurants and shops all very full and busy whilst the evidence of very heavy traffic, industry and commerce buzzing in a way I haven't seen it for DECADES in the UK or in Greece, quite encouraging. New Zealand is a "positively can do" country and everything seems possible.

Early in my stay, a short boat trip from Devonport quay on the North Shore got us to Waihiki Island in less than an hour and it was like arriving at a holiday destination with brighter sunshine than on the coast and lots of pretty vineyards in evidence. We had a table booked at Cable Bay Vineyard and in the fine weather, it was absolutely packed. People from the bar had spilled out onto stretch-out bean bags on the bright green lawns outside.   At the same time, the more formal restaurant was fully booked while young waiting staff were racing to get everyone beautifully served. It was a lovely place for a special celebration and I am not surprised that many people choose Waihiki vineyards as wedding venues. I pulled out my sunhat and made sure that I had some sunscreen because it is very easy to get badly burned in NZ even on a cloudy day … through holes in the ozone layer.

We had a birthday party for daughter Kate which fell on a Saturday, and it was good to meet up with lots of her friends and neighbours around a firepit with drinks and nibbles.  It was planned to be a simple format but still seemed to take an enormous amount of energy and shifting about in preparation.

As I had never had a chance to meet the youngest grandson, Spencer, it was great to be there for his birthday too. He had no less than three celebrations! In the morning, we all met at the Sky Tower and were taken up in the high speed lift to one viewing platform where a noticeboard informed us that bungee jumpers would be planning to take a dive in the next 10 minutes. I was not quick enough to catch a photo of them as they flashed past the windows to a target on the pavement down at street level. I certainly wasn't tempted to have a go! We sat down for lovely coffee and special ice cream "with sprinkles".  After Spencer's nap, there was a tea party with his cousins as a dress rehearsal for the Dinosaur party planned for the following Saturday! Needless to say the big event was wonderful and noisy in equal measures with lots of tears, tantrums and smiles – but great to be with them and take photos of musical statues, whacking a pinata, an awesome cake, dinosaur sandwiches (shapes, not content!) - darling daughter looked exhausted after all this partying!

Each weekend seemed to be filled with barbecues and parties, we spent a lovely day while the weather was good down at the beach making sandcastles and I got to know the kindergarden and school quite well. On the Thursday before Easter, I was invited to "Grandparents Day".  This was interesting:  we looked at all our grandchildren's work and projects, were shown round the classroom, played games together and ended up having "Morning Tea" in the school hall rounded off by two Maori songs and a blessing.  It was good to be there and I felt sorry for children who had no grandparents present on the morning.  My stay finished at Easter weekend while we flew down to Wellington to meet up with more friends and filled the weekend with windy Wellington pursuits! Swimming with juniors, down to the beach and round the playground a few times, the Te Papa Museum, lots of visits to the Warehouse (New Zealand's inexpensive clothes/household/toy/drugstore emporium on a large scale) before flying back to Auckland on Monday teatime in time to catch NZ1 from Auckland to London via Los Angeles later on that night! Five flights in the space of 72 hours is some sort of travelling and I need to live very quietly for a while after all these carbon emissions and juddering jet lag!

 A stopover in London was a dreadful shock to the system after all the treats of NZ.   I found people serving in the hotel were not exactly welcoming or helpful and the next morning the taxi driver dropped me off at Terminal 2, far away from the trolley stack with four pieces of luggage, despite my polite request for help to get a trolley. He just took the money and zoomed off. I was lucky that the driver of the car behind him noticed my problem as I struggled to move all pieces at the same time or leave half the luggage while taking the rest towards a trolley … anyway, I made it and didn't miss my plane. What a shame we don't have porters any more when so many people need jobs. I have decided not to go to London again unless I really, really need to - it was grim.

In Crete, lovely Grigoris (our friend/taxi driver) awaited my flight and took care of all my luggage, with good manners, a smile and kind welcome. I think that the Kiwis and the Cretans have certain things in common and they still remember how to smile! Hooray, it is nearly summer time, and so great to be back in our village. A box of Milk Tray for Angeliki (who loves English chocolate) provoked an apron full of eggs and a heavy bag of oranges and lemons in return. Recent stormy winds from Africa had brought inches of sand, dust and pesky "microbes" giving people colds and flu, so poor K was feeling a bit sorry for himself with a horrible cough to get rid of.  I am busy searching NZ cooking sites for frittata, pie and quiche recipes to utilise all the eggs! Happy Days and Kalo mina!