The world from my window

After sorting out paperwork to do with the house we are renting for twelve months in Corfu and hiding from rainstorms in the Ionian, I'm now back in Blighty surrounded by packing cases and boxes. Who would have thought anyone could accumulate so much stuff? Apologies for not blogging for a while but it's been absolutely manic. The good news is Mr Grigg and I have found a great home for our two dogs, just over the hill in the next town. And the cats have been farmed out to one of my sisters in the Birthplace of Powered Fight. All we need is a tenant for our house and we can feel a bit more relaxed about our Big Fat Greek Gap Year. In the meantime, the October issue of The Ionian Magazine is out and I'm in it, on page seven. That's about it. Love Maddie x

Well, there's lots to sort out and lots to do before Mr Grigg and I head off for our Big Fat Greek Gap Year. One of my sisters is having the cats, my brother is having the car but I've still got to find a home for the two dogs. Meanwhile, one of my colleagues is so dismayed at me leaving ( so she says ) she's found a job in the middle of a war zone. I kid you not. I think an exchange of emails from our locations - me with a G&T by the pool and she with her tin hat on - could be the basis of an interesting book. I know where I'd rather be. Back at home, the bunting is still up, but not for much longer. We've had the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics and now the Paralympics. It's all going to look very bare when the flags come down. But we do have the thermometer, which shows us at the level the village shop fund has now reached. It's at £20,000 and only £10,000 to go before opening time in October, when we will be long gone. This weeken...