It is the morning after the UK General Election. The house is very quiet! At midnight last night the BBC exit poll challenged all the other previous polls and it was proved correct. The Tories are back with a majority and there is a rout of Scottish Labour. I have supported the Labour party for most of my adult life so it is a shock to the system. This was the first time John was not involved in the organisation of a local Labour campaign but I can see there were probably bigger factors involved in this result!
An even bigger surprise in the political world was the New Democratic Party victory in Alberta, Canada. They beat the Progressive Conservatives who have been in power for 44 years. Because of family connections, I know a little bit about the politics in this part of the world and never believed that this day would happen. You can’t take anything for granted in the world of politics at present.
So onto other things, all good. I am now in receipt of my old age state pension. I am delighted although I still can’t quite believe that I have reached an age that I am eligible but on the other hand, if I was a younger woman I would be waiting till I was 66.
Our new pergola is now in place. Thassos came to put the material in place with John’s help.
It is going to look even better once the vine has grown and we can reach up for a bunch of grapes. You can see the vine climbing up the pole.
John’s son, James, came to visit last week and he relaxed in the sun and swam in the sea,
walked to Thripti and became part of our life here. He got to know our neighbours last summer and here is Maria presenting him with a cake,
showing him how pleased she was to receive the chocolate James brought her and how much she is fond of him. His uncle and aunt, who were on holiday in Plakias on the south coast, came to visit and we had a pleasant afternoon, sitting under our new pergola having lunch
and later down to Tholos for a swim.
We visited new tavernas
and new beaches,
whilst still enjoying the old faithful, Tholos.
On Wednesday, we attended our Greek class in the morning, went to the beach in Galini (near to where we used to live) in the afternoon and then played boules at the special ‘pitch’ at Hans and Hanneke’s house with them and Walter.
Suffice to say I did not win but it was a lot of fun.
And the goat and spaghetti dish that Hanneke had prepared was delicious.
We have been watching ‘I Claudius’ on our Smart new TV, a series I missed in the 1970’s. I am a lot more informed about the lives of the Roman Emperors but it seems that the strength of the Roman Empire was not matched by the quality of the Emperors!
I leave for Scotland tomorrow and am looking particularly to seeing my mother’s friend, Mollie who was 100 recently. Time is limited before I go to London, meet John and we catch up with family and friends in the South of England. That being said I will miss the gifts
the food
and the water
which significantly warmed up during the last week.
Sheila
Staying on in Crete 