Heat

Old Guesty has travelled the globe and been in some hot places. Dry heat, humidity, heat that will take your breath, heat that burns and heat that even shade does not protect you from! Here in Ayios Nikalaus it as hot as anywhere I've been, not a cloud in the sky, clear blue, unrelenting sunshine! Don't misunderstand me, I like it and it does my old bones to be so warm. Never the less one has to take refuge and Air Conditioning is a friend. They say "mad dogs and Englishman, go out in the midday sun" but this Englishman keeps well to the shadows at noon. Wherever one travels locals always have an opinion on the weather, it is a favourite subject and people never tire of talking about it! Naturally it is expected , we are exposed to the vagaries of it daily. It is a testament to the human condition that we are so adaptable to whatever climate we find ourselves in.

Talking canine

One does not often hear a good funny joke often these days. Jokes seem to have gone out of fashion. This is one that was told to me by an American guy in a restaurant the other evening and it tickled the old funny bone!
A guy is walking down the street in a American town when he notices pinned to the fence of a house a note that says " meet the talking dog 20 bucks" His curiosity gets the better of him and he knocks on the door. A guy answers it and he asks if he really has a talking dog, the guy says sure come on in.
He asks for the twenty dollars but the man says he will give it to him after he has seen the dog. The guy says sure whatever! He goes into the front room and lying on the floor is a mangy dog of questionable parentage who opens one lazy eye and looks at him. Can you really talk? Sure the dog replies. The man is stunned, it really is a talking dog. Tell me a bit about yourself he asks. The dog sits up yawns and says. Well I was born in France and my first language was French. When I grew up because of my intelligence I became a spy and worked for the espionage services. Then I moved to UK, where I learnt English and became the companion of a very famous Countess and we were photographed in all the papers at many events. She died so I decided to travel to the USA and I met this guy and have stayed with him ever since!
As he left he gave the guy the money and shaking his head in disbelief said that dog is amazing. The guy smiled and looking straight at him replied. That dog is a liar!

The annual holiday

Well here we are, the good lady and I, in our spiritual home, in the quiet heat of Crete. It is as the locals will say, poli zesty (very hot) but that is one of the main attractions! As I write, we are relaxing on sun beds in a new spot we have discovered. Umbrellas , sun beds, sea and very importantly a bar! One needs to break, with ones normal routine and after a beginning of a year that had sadness and strain, it is a refreshing change. Having been coming to this island for some long years, we have many friends with whom we catch up and give and get all the news and reports on our lives! Births ,deaths, aches, pains, children, marriages, divorces and the minutiae of every day life. It is my experience, that people are much the same wherever you go, trying to live their lives the best way they can, doing their best to care for families and working to ensure they earn enough. It is why I get so disappointed, that we so often accentuate our differences and not our our similarities. I am deliberately going to avoid any reference to politics in this piece, damn I just did!

I don't want to come over all lovey dovey but generally people are mostly pleasant, it always saddens me that there is a significant minority who seem unable , unwilling or incapable of realising that continually causing hurt will never be an answer! It is a theme I have touched upon many times and will no doubt come back to. There are enough problems on this planet without the extra burden of fanatics who want to destroy! 

Well old Guesty went off on one again but you can never express those sentiments too often. 

I must admit that this old boy is suffering from a few ailments at present that have slowed me down (literally) and Lady Thorn is rightly going to sort me out we we return. As one ages, it is encumbent, upon us to remain fit and I have been lacking in this, in recent times, this has to change!

We are here for a little while yet, so there may further reports, ahah warm sun, bye for now!

Someone bite the bullet!

Well this old diplomat is going to say it, for it appears nobody else seems want to. The whole thing is a fucking shambles! How can we tolerate any of these fuckwits and particularly the chief fuckwit, Theresa! For fuck sakes just fuck off. A leader nobody likes, surround by an fucking bunch of fucking tossers who don't have the balls to say publicly, fuck off! What a fucking joke! We are going to let these fucking knobs negotiate an exit from Europe are we fucking mad? Even those fucking knobheads who voted for leaving must be regretting it now, if this fucking lot are in charge!
We need to reverse the decision and get shot of the fuckers. Is there anyone around who has the good sense to understand the fucking mess the UK has self inflicted on it fucking self.

Fucking democracy! Still I suppose you the get the fucking knobheads you deserve!!!

It's lov

Dear Mrs May
I love you.
Who knew that the election would see you emerge like a fully fledged butterfly into the light. Your charm, wit, empathy and charisma, shone like a beacon as you fought the good fight. That you did not convince Britain to increase your majority is only proof of their shorted sighted view of what you are trying to achieve you sexy minx! How they resisted your warmth is frankly a mystery? Obviously your stunning ability to get your message out, fell on deaf ears. This man became completely entranced under your spell, how could anyone resist you? Your like a cuddly teddy bear that we should cherish and keep as our leader until your either to infirm or mentally incapable to continue, may that never happen!
Not only should you be our PM and savior but even though we are leaving Europe, with the high regard that Europe holds you in, I am shocked that they have not recognise your true worth and actually ask you to lead them too!
So don't fret Theresa, you are loved, not everyone thinks you are an uncaring, tragic, clueless, pathetic, uncharismatic, weak, nasty, bullying, charmless, insignificant, witless, uncaring, monster of a PM and don't you take any notice of those critics who do! You ignore them and continue to do the sterling job you have been. We are all behind you!
With humble gratitude and deep love
Sir Guestling

The country decides

And off we go to, the polls in the UK, once again. Vote for a party, vote for an individual, vote for a leader but vote! Staunch Labour, committed Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green, UKIP (spit when you speak their name) or Scottish or Welsh party, we choose whether we believe they have a chance or not. Many of us live in constituencies, where any kind of change from the incumbent party is unlikely but we still vote for the opposition, in the forlorn hope that just maybe it can. Will May still be the PM, well this old diplomat hopes not but who ever wins they have a tough job, not least because the British public have painted us into a corner, with the referendum vote on European Union membership. No matter how much you supported the exit, if you did, you would not wish that negotiation on anyone, least of all an elected politician! 
Perhaps we should ask ourselves what motivates some one to take up public service, albeit it paid public service. Billy Connolly once said, though he was only half joking, that the very desire to be a politician should prevent you from ever becoming one! We know that there is a small proportion of MP's who are on an ego trip and use the office as a stepping stone to either greater rewards or high ministerial positions or both! I am sure though, the vast majority have genuine reasons and really try to engender change to improve the lives of their constituents. It is unenviable task, complex, complicated, involved, full of bureaucracy, lack of funds, alliances, double dealing, human fragility and well, politics! I for one could not, nor would I wish to do it. They are on a hiding to nothing, damned if they do, damned if they don't. Every slip of the tongue or unguarded comment, is leapt upon by a hungry media and magnified and analysed beyond any reasonable, normal, level. Of course history provides the public with many instances of corruption, poor decisions, promises broken, u turns and all sorts of other stupidity and lies, that make us distrust our elected representatives. Do we forget, that like all us they are only human with frailties, faults, insecurities and emotions?
Now this piece is not meant as a support of MP's or a plea to treat them with a more sympathetic attitude, they should be held to the highest standards and very much to account. If they falter and fail to deliver then the ballot box will be used to replace them. 
I merely point out how difficult it must be. They are their own worse enemy (stoked by a rapacious media with unceasing hunger to fill their columns and airtime!) but be thankful that we live in a Democracy where we can vote for our politicians, I for one am!

What , why and for how long

I am a man in crisis, why you ask, because I am trying to be objective and sensible and yet it is impossible when all this craziness is happening! Of course my crisis, pales into insignificance, in relation to the tragedy that has befallen innocent people because of a few fanatics who have indiscriminately attacked them. 
I have written many times, expressing my despair at the inhumanity of these crimes, I fail to understand the motivation of an ideology, that promotes such barbaric attacks. I am a peaceful man at heart and I desperately try to respond in a sensible manner. I do not wish to escalate the violence by saying we should respond in kind. I know there are many who espouse the view to kill these terrorist on sight and it is difficult to argue with that view, given the devastation that they cause. It must be impossible for the security services to stop, all of these acts before they happen, given the random nature of the attacks. 
So I just don't know how to respond any longer, the same tired old words and phrases that condemn, seem inadequate and trite! No sensible, caring, person can do anything but express their sadness and despondency.
I have no solution, I'm not clever enough or sufficiently informed to provide one but this I am sure of, if history has taught us anything, these acts will pass, the world will find it's equilibrium and this heinous cruelty, will eventually be defeated. Those who hate and act upon that hatred cannot prosper and can be stopped.
I am not a man who follows any faith, I do not believe in any God but I am convinced that all right minded civilised people will overcome.