A few days in Blighty...

 Last Wednesday was an hectic day getting ready at short notice to fly back to the UK and try and rectify Sandra's dad missing oil problems.  We left Lefkas on the bus for Athens at 17:15 for the 5 and a half hour journey to central Athens bus station.  The buses are very comfortable but really need to be for the some of the roads that you go on prior to getting going on the motorway system.  On this occasion the driver was a youngish man who was the best bus driver we have ever had, no sitting 2 inches from the bumper of the vehicle in front at 90 KPH and he anticipated the bends, junctions and traffic admirably. He can't have been Greek!!  Just a twenty minute stop short of the Patras Bridge for a half way coffee/toilet break and it was back on our way, much easier than driving when the driver is good, if he's not so good try and go to sleep and then you can die in you sleep without knowing anything about it!  Arrived at the Bus station about eleven o'clock and there was a shuttle bus to the Airport waiting for us.  The driver was quite confused at the airport when we wanted dropping off at arrivals rather than departures but we explained that there was a taxi picking us up there to take us to our hotel for the night as our flight was not until the next morning.  The Hotel, Peri's near the airport was good and clean with a lovely breakfast brought to our room at nine o'clock as ordered and they transported us both ways to the airport for free so no complaints there although we may have been able to do it cheaper I don't think we would have got better value.

A plane full of Greeks and Man City supporters

So onto the airport with flights on time all hunky dory.  As we were queueing at the flight gate there were staff looking around hand luggage to see if anyone was oversized with their bags picking them out to have them measured and if oversized they had to go into the hold at a cost of about £40 a bag one guy I saw had bags about the same size as me and failed the test but fortunately they didn't spot mine secreted as much out of sight as possible.  One Greek woman had a blazing row with staff when they made her put her stuff into the hold.  You really don't have any excuse as the sizes are published in the booking documents so if you get caught it's best to pay up and shut up.  We have bought two new hand luggage bags of the correct size to return with for cheaper than half of one bag going into the hold.

Sandra giving it big ZZZZs easyjet style.

The flight home was uneventful and we arrived back at Manchester airport at three PM walked to the Train station and a cup of coffee later was on the train for York at four PM.  Six PM picked ap at York station by number two son, Chris and of course Sandra's Dad Geoff.  So in total we had KTEL bus 5.5 hours, Shuttle Bus 1 Hour, plane 3.5 Hours, Train 2 Hours and Chris' car 1 Hour to get home 13 hours mobile to get home by 7 Thursday night which isn't bad when you think we didn't decide to come home until Tuesday Lunch time.

The good tank is all that's left now

Geoff's little chocolate box cottage 

Bear, naked trees in our village, Yokefleet

Snow drops in Yokefleet woods

Could not get around to looking at Geoffs oil problems until Monday because the weather was very wet.  I can't get used to how bleak England is looking at the moment the only bit of brightness in the countryside is the snowdrops which are a picture through Yokefleet where our house is but there is not a bit of greenery starting anywhere after the hard winter they have had even all the leaves on the privet hedges which usually stay evergreen have all dropped.  Anyway, on Monday I took out one of Geoff's tanks which had been damaged and drained the remaining fuel out of it before checking that the remaining tank was sound enough to take the fuel which the lads had salvaged a week earlier, as luck would have it things were OK.  We were fortunate shortly afterwards as a local farmer, Rob Sweeting, came by on his Manatou, a type of farm forklift/teleporter and he agreed to lift for me the tank in which Gary and Chris had put the salvaged oil, up above the tank were I was putting it and I could drain it all off using gravity rather than into five gallon drums and up and down ladders to shift it.  It saved me loads of work so thanks very much Rob.  Rob also took our second knackerd tank to scrap and the borrowed tank back to it's owner for us well worth a drink on us Rob!  Anyway it's all cleaned up now and if there is anything environmentally awry the responsibility has been accepted by the local estate management so thanks to them for that also although we don't think that anything is seriously wrong now anyway.   The insurance company is covering the missing oil so things are resolving themselves quite well.

Just finally I thought the people who read this in other parts of the world might like to see how austere Yorkshire looks at this time of year but also the beautiful snowdrops in the woodland in our home village of Yokefleet Yorkshire.  Not a hint of greenery down our main street if you discount the grass.  I apologise for the picture quality but they were taken on my phone and the lens is always exposed and as such gets rather grubby.  Anyway, with luck and good management next weeks blog should be coming from sunny Lefkas again as we arrive "Home" next Tuesday in time for Tony's Birthday (Saint David's day for the Taffs out there).

There ends a full on week of visits, babysitting working etc.  Just like to wish my best mate luck with his op which may be next week but looks like it's been postponed yet again but that's the NHS for you.  But by the time we go home we'll have had a couple of great evening with them both which we really have appreciated as a break from things.