The world from my window

It was Greek Dinner night last night, a worldwide event dreamed up by Keri Douglas in Washington DC. All over the world and all through the day and night, people were tweeting about the Greek delights they were preparing and eating. Keri's aim was:  ' to celebrate Greek cuisine and promote amazing people, authors, chefs, businesses who are connected to Greece'. The menus came in all shapes and sizes. Some had a full blow-out in New Zealand, others went for a slimming soup in Athens. In the Grigg household, we asked four friends to bring Greek food to share. There is nothing like 'breaking bread' with people in the form of a meze, although we left out the bread because we're on a diet.     Mr Grigg created zucchini and fish rolls and tzatziki, with the aid of this wonderful book by Lyndey and Blair Milan. We had dolmades, feta cheese and Corfiot cured ham, spicy cheese dip, filo pie, kataifi and Greek yoghurt with honey and walnuts.  A...

It's ten days into the new year and ten days since I've blogged. I'm ashamed of myself, I really am. I hope all is going well for you so far in 2014. Me, I'm abstaining from alcohol this month and still struggling with writing my book about our year in Corfu. Should I be humorous, like Peter Mayle in A Year in Provence , or navel-gazing like Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love ? I just have to be truthful, I guess, and tell it like it was. An amazing, incredible experience but tempered by heart wrenching and unexpected homesickness. I have so many notes and photos to put into some kind of order. But bits of our big, fat Greek gap year write themselves, like the wonderful landscape and the warm, generous villagers who became like a second family to us. The climate, the blue skies and the food. Ah, the food. Oh how I love those Sunday lunchtimes of tasty, succulent roast pork in our local taverna. Or stifado next door or the best big beans in the world at the old...

Dark and eerie, like a lost scene from The Wicker Man . This was the Lush Places village square last night. As the bells rang out for the New Year, a huge circle formed to sing and dance Auld Lang Syne. Kissing and hugs followed. But, luckily, hardly any of it came out on this video. There is something wrong with my camera.  But you get the gist. Weird or what? And now it's pouring with rain, there is flooding everywhere and the weather vane is wonky again. That's about it. Love Maddie x

It's New Year's Eve, and this year I'm spending it in Lush Places. Not for me a pomegranate smashed near the door to spread the seeds of good luck on New Year's Day. I don't think they stock them in our village shop. In any case, last year, back in Corfu, it took us ages to get the stain out. Tonight, we'll be hanging out in Lush Places, where the Dorset villagers will be dressed in 70s and 80s for a vinyls night in the local pub and we'll be noshing on a bring-something-to-the-table get-together for thirteen, or, as I'd rather call it, twelve and one for luck. Superstitious? Me? Of course I am. And then we'll all get together for a few drinks in the pub before spilling out into the Square for Old Lang Syne, random kissing and a game of Let's Stop The Traffic . Before that, I need to decide what hat to wear tonight after rashly sending out an email saying our theme should be Get Your Head In Gear For The New Year (as mine most certa...

Well, back in Blighty and the weather vane is toppling over. When it spins round it's like when Hitchcock met Dali. It's like a metaphor for my life at the moment. Even before the winds and gales started up, I was confused about which way to go, what with one foot in Corfu and my heart in England. You see, while the children and grandchildren talked about One Direction over Christmas dinner, for me it's more like every which way but loose. The reason I haven't blogged for ages is that I just don't quite know where I am. Still, the New Year and 2014 holds lots of exciting things. Maybe more books, certainly more Corfu and maybe a new job, if anyone will have me. Who knows? It's best not to plan too much. The main thing is I am healthy, if not wealthy and wise. In the meantime, I am soaking up the good old English weather -  literally - and all things Westcountry. Across the UK we've had floods and gales. My friend Tuppence's barbecue took ...

I'm here in Corfu trying to write a book about our big fat Greek gap year. It ought to be easy. I've lived it, taken a whole host of photos and made note after note after note. Hades, I've written some of it already. But it isn't easy. The problem is that so much happened in the last twelve months, I almost don't know where to start. Maybe the beginning. That's as good a place as any. I need to stop editing as I go along and just do it. Then I can edit afterwards. But it's easier said than done. My mind wanders to what's going in the book and what isn't. There is enough material for a sequel already, and maybe another one. I think about Corfu and how much it has changed over the years. And also how much it hasn't. There are some views of the island which haven't changed very much at all. And then some which have changed completely. This was brought home to me when I saw the cover of a book designed by a friend of mine, Jiannis Mou...

We're back in Greece now after a few weeks in England where we caught up with family, friends, Dorset and a book signing or two.   After a bit of a party in Lush Places, no sooner had we disrobed from our Poseidon and Medusa chitons (the Greek forerunner of the Roman toga), with a trail of wigs, rubber snakes and seaweed in our wake, then it was up in an aeroplane and a turbulent landing at Athens before a six-hour wait for a plane to Corfu. Back in Agios Magikades, one of dear friends had put in a few welcoming touches to the house.   Freshly picked clementines and Christmas decorations. Lovely. We had a coffee with our neighbour who showed us his new fire and then settled down to a roaring log fire and The Lincoln Lawyer, an American film on television with Greek subtitles. This morning, the sun takes its time to climb up over the mountain. There is a chill in the air and a strip of mist poised at the bottom of the valley. The sound of dogs barking rico...