What is this life if, full of care...
We fell in love with the Villa Oleander as soon as we walked through the front door. It belongs to a writer's family and I hoped some of her success might rub off on me. Mr Grigg, meanwhile, saw it as a place to wind down into retirement. 'We're going to live here,' we said, when we saw the house back in June last year. 'We'll let our cottage in Dorset and have a gap year in Corfu.' 'Why?' asked our family and friends. 'Why not?' was the stock response. I could spend the time writing and Mr Grigg, newly-retired, could do a bit of work around the house. Part of the deal was to tidy the garden and spruce up the inside in exchange for a cheaper rent in the winter. It needed a bit of love, this place, a bit of love and a bit of life. The owners haven't been here for a while and it showed. The first week we spent cleaning right through, wiping down mouldy window frames and chasing away the dust. And then the garden. Ah, the gar...