The Posh Doorman Strikes Again...

Despite embarrassing myself, horribly, at last year's office Christmas party at the very grand Blenheim Palace - which you can read all about over here - I was allowed back again this year.

Photo source

Photo source

10 Things I learnt In Greece...

α. Evia, the second largest Greek island, is not on the mass tourism radar, so getting there involves a bit of journey.... an early flight to Athens, a fairly white-knuckled taxi ride to Rafina port, then a ferry to Marmari, followed by another white-knuckled taxi ride to our base in Karystos.

β. Greek taxi drivers have a rather cavalier attitude to a) speed restrictions, b) overtaking into oncoming traffic, and c) the luggage limitations imposed by the size of their car boots.

That's our luggage precariously balanced in the back of an Athens taxi

γ. Eating Greek salad in Greece may sound like a culinary cliche... but I have never tasted any salad that good before! Ditto thick, creamy Greek yogurt drizzled with dark, natural honey... delicious!

δ. It's worth being up early enough to catch the sunrise, when you're greeted with this.....

ε. And Greek sunsets are not bad either.....

ς. It's also worth a long, hot hike, along a steep path to get to a deserted beach like this....

ζ. I don't always see things in black and white. In Greece, things are often blue and white though....

 Karystos Church

η. I have a bit of a fascination for dilapidation....

θ. Chivalry is far from dead - point in case, my darling husband building a make-shift bridge so that I did not have to get my feet wet crossing a stream...

ι.  'Aquaholic' is a fabulous name for a boat!

Vik

Just when I thought the landscapes of Iceland could not get any more diverse, we came across the black sand beach at Vik. An incredible place! Apart from the black sand, there are spectacular basalt columns, pillars in the sea and the chance to spot puffins - none caught on camera, unfortunately.

888,246

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red is an installation by ceramic artist Paul Cummins at the Tower of London. Each of the 888,246 poppies planted in the Tower moat represents a British and Commonwealth soldier who died in World War I.

The public's support for the memorial has been unprecedented. Over 4 million people have gone to see the poppies, some queuing for hours in the rain... desperate to catch a glimpse before they are gradually dismantled after Remembrance Day. Some people find the experience very moving, overwhelming even. Others say it is too sentimental, that the artist has beautified the horrors of war by creating something that is an artwork, something pleasing to the eye.

I like to form my own opinion, and I was up well before dawn yesterday and on a train to London... thinking that by going early, I'd be ahead of the crowds, but tens of thousands of people had the same idea. The crowds were too great to get around the full moat, but I did manage to see most of the crimson carpet of poppies. 

I think it is a fitting tribute to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War, and one that is very thoughtful. The humble poppy is synonymous with great loss of life in war, and to use them to create this remarkable memorial, truly inspired.  It is very sobering to see those 888,246 poppies and realise the scale of human sacrifice in all wars.