The world from my window

With less than two months before our Big Fat Greek Gap Year comes to an end, we begin to think about all the packing up that needs to be done and the journey home. We also think about ways we can make these twelve months away turn into another year, but without the homesickness. Ideally, I would like the best of both worlds. A foot in Agios Magikades here in Corfu and a foot in Lush Places back in Dorset. But it's a long stretch and I've never tried doing the splits. I'm working on it, though, believe me. This village has everything. Beauty, friendly people, warmth in heat and warmth in spirit.   And we've seen it through autumn, winter, spring and now summer. What an experience. It's been incredible. You couldn't get a better and more conveniently situated village on the whole of the island. Twenty five minutes on a good road into town and five minutes by car to the sea. Three good tavernas which are open all year round and the most e...

Back in Corfu, I'm working on a number of creative projects. There's  A Year in Lush Place s, a 'faction' of the year 2010 and all my favourite characters. I'm putting the finishing touches to this because, a long time ago, a blogger called Dave Pie and Mash, along with a few others, told me I should. I haven't heard from him since. So a blog shout to Dave: I'm doing this for you! Then there is my ongoing diary, Kalimera Kerkyra, about our grown-up gap year in Corfu. This will be out as a novel some time next year. I'm also dusting off the first novel I wrote but never published. It's inspired by my days as a young newspaper reporter in My Kind of Town in the 1980s. I've persuaded two other creative types whose debut novels set in the same place remained, like mine, festering in a drawer, to bring theirs out at the same time. The three together will be the Bridport Trilogy. It might not win the Booker or even  the   Bridport  Prize   b...