San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu

Almond II is going to be a bit late, I'm afraid. My south-facing second-floor study is simply too hot, although I did manage half a page today.

On a more serious front, the attack on Salman Rushdie is an appalling blow against freedom of expression. If writers avoided offending people there wouldn't be any books. Religion has a bad track record on this score. I've had a minor taste of this - but I'm proud to have been condemned by Mary Whitehouse and the Daily Telegraph. Must confess that I've never read The Satanic Verses, so I registered my disgust and my solidarity with Rushdie by ordering a copy today.

The sad fact is that, under attack from Left and Right, there is a high degree of self-censorship by writers at the moment.

Thank you all. Gillie is starting to get some appetite back. She never has much in the evening, but I served her salmon cooked in the oven in butter and olive oil, French beans, a few hand-cut chips and mayonnaise, with grapes and a glass of milk, in bed, and she ate the lot. I had a sirloin steak and chips, following my doctor's orders to eat more red meat. I take the fact that I could actually be arsed to cook as a sign of recovery. Standards in our little hospital are definitely improving! I do need a better nurse's outfit: T-shirt and tracky-bottoms don't really meet the standards of the food. Where can I buy something cute from the Carry On era?

I'm sad for those who didn't go the Ag Stef this year. It was great, and now I'm feeling better I'm feeling the benefit. I'm sure the massive dose of vitamin D we had from the sunshine has helped, and also the sheer pleasure of eating out and meeting people after the long hibernation. 

Fingers crossed, but Gillie has been sitting in the garden for several hours today, and feeling a bit better. NHS response has been very good - call-backs within 30 minutes and we'll know tomorrow whether she gets antiviral drugs. Three weeks in Corfu will have elevated our vitamin D levels, which is vital for the immune response.

I'm still testing negative. Gillie keeps telling me to stay away from her, which I guess is pretty normal after a 40 year relationship. I was going to do some writing, but didn't - partly because I'm not 100% and anyway saved by a pneumatic drill just across the road from my study. Fortunately, the only noise in the garden is bird song.

If Gillie comes through this unscathed I will be very happy. I've tried to keep her safe for two and a half years, and feel a bit of a failure that she has it now. My turn next.

Well, I guess we're now paying the price for our lovely holiday. Gillie tested positive this afternoon, and is in bed feeling extremely tired. I'm negative and just averagely old-fart tired.

The incubation period for Omicron is about three days. That correlates perfectly with our trip back.

Yep. Three weeks is much better than two in terms of cost, and you're bound to get some great weather.

Just select more than 14 days on the drop-down on the menu bar.

Our preferred way to Akrotiri is the track between Yianni&Vaso and 3Ws. Nice steady climb through fields. Turn right at the top for Akrotiri, left for Gravia, straight on for a 300-foot drop into crystal-clear water.

We had a wonderful holiday. As usual, Doncaster airport was effortless, and if it closes it will be grossly unfair. Our taxi driver to the airport was on time, helpful, cheerful, in a shiny clean car. Check-in five minutes, security five minutes, thirty yard walk to the gate – boarded on time, and then delayed on tarmac for fifty minutes because of storms at Corfu.
Dimitris, Pippina and Mixalis at Little Prince were lovely beyond words. They gave us the Honeymoon room on the third floor, which had two big balconies and a sea view. Of course, the lift is brilliant. All was kindliness. Dimitris was constantly promoting my book and pointing me out to people, introducing us as though Shakespeare had turned up in the village. Everywhere I went people kept stopping me and saying they’d read it or were reading it or were going to read it. This was a totally new experience for me – people aren’t interested in screenwriters. I signed books at the official signing, on the beach, at LP, Fantasea and Mistral.
The first week was very cool and windy, so we were able to walk up the headland to Akrotiri and Gravia and have a beer at Erriana’s. The second two weeks were hot. The beach is wide this year and the sea warm and a joy to splash about in. We only crossed the stream once for a stroll from our base-camp at Mistral. It was crowded. We prefer the old village side. There’s a nice little community at Mistral, Waves and Manthos. There was a nice fringe of seaweed which deters a lot of people from venturing to that region. It’s not seaweed like kelp and so on around northern coasts – it’s sea grass: Posidonia oceanica, and it’s protected. It’s a vital habitat for marine life and dies in polluted waters. There were some scrapings of it by a digger, but the local authority is discouraging it because it removes a lot of sand: better to keep the weed and the sand!
There’s been a lot of wibble on Facebook about Agios Stefanos turning into Sidari. Our impression was the reverse – Agios Stefanos is becoming more sophisticated. Tribute bands are an exception – personally I regard tribute bands as an abomination – but they shut down around midnight. Food standards were excellent, although portions far too big as always. The new kid on the block, Cicala, is great – beautiful building and appetising menu. People go on about the lack of traditional tavernas, but Agios Stefanos is not an old village. Avliotes is where you find the traditionally Greek.
Gillie wept when we were leaving. We weren’t just leaving the sun - we were leaving the warmth of the people.  A minibus took only four parties from Little Prince straight to the airport in exactly the same time it would have taken a taxi. The airport was busy but efficient. Two-hour delay because of a technical problem with the plane and a flight back across a cloudy Europe.
Back in Doncaster, the duty Customs official was friendly and chatty and pleased we were all lobbying as much as possible to keep the airport open. Never known that before.
We hardly argued or bickered at all. We’ve had a great holiday – one of the best – thanks to a beautiful place and its beautiful people. 

Glad you got it! Lesley is my angel.