I’ve just come back from a short holiday in Fuerteventura. It’s lovely to get away for some warm weather, just when our own is going to pot (or more strictly to autumn!)

There are lots of plusses to going away:

• It’s a change, and a change is supposed to be beneficial (I’m avoiding politics here, as all parties seem to be offering more or less radical change in the upcoming election. I’ve never come across an election yet where any party says that they’re going to keep everything the same, even if they’re the departing Government!)
• I like sandy beaches, the sea, and most especially the warmth
• I do enjoy having lovely food prepared for me by polite strangers. There’s something especially satisfying in a labour-less grazing from multiple types of food, especially when it’s all ‘free’, or more specifically paid for in advance, irrespective of the amount eaten, and hence painless to the wallet ‘at the point of choice’.
• Drink is an undoubted attraction. Is it the sea air that gives one a larger appetite for both food and wine? Helping yourself to wine from a tap under an ‘all-inclusive’ deal is particularly tempting, especially when it’s OK wine. I do have some reservations about the evening drinks, especially the whisky and brandy, as the spirits on offer are not likely to be ‘the real thing’ – rather a local imitator. Drinking spirits with mixers can be fraught too. For example I like whisky and ginger (I’m that old fashioned!), but the best I’ve managed on holiday is whisky and lemon fanta – not quite the same…..
• Lastly, getting away from Brexit and elections for a while is a huge plus – not just a change, a short period of relative sanity. Now we’re back, not only has England failed in their bid to be World Rugby Champions, but the electoral cycle is pedalling along every road there is – promising things, being rude about their rivals and giving the nation yet another set of choices that are difficult/impossible to be rational about..
• One of my best responses might be to go abroad again. But of course there’s Christmas to look forward to, with all the lovely Probus events!