August 2025 Update

After a busy four days in Sydney, it was time to head back to Greece but this time for a special adventure shared just between Zoe and me.

The Health

Possibly my shortest health update ever: no news is good news. My colitis stayed well-managed throughout our time in Greece, and there were no other health events worth noting. I’m continuing to focus on improving sleep and overall wellness — slow and steady. I am very conscious that I felt well this time last year only to be hit again with Cancer in November so I continue to be as pro-active as possible trying to improve the odds as much as possible.

The Personal

This month was special. I had the rare gift of spending uninterrupted one-on-one time with my eldest daughter, Zoe. Together, we explored Greece, Barcelona, and Dubai with each place offering its own flavour of adventure and connection.

Rather than a day-by-day breakdown, here are some standout moments that captured the spirit of our travels:

• Dancing Queen in Panagia At a village Panigiri in Panagia, tradition calls for a few brave souls to kick off the dancing. Our table wasn’t quite ready to rise to the occasion but Zoe was. She leapt up, learned the steps on the fly, and before long was leading the dance floor. Her energy and courage left us all stunned and proud.
• Rugby Diplomacy in Arta While catching up with family at a café in Arta, Zoe and her cousin ran into a group of local boys who decided to test their English vocabulary inappropriately calling Zoe a bitch among other things. Zoe’s response? A swift rugby-style tackle into the ground that ended the exchange with clarity. Debate settled.
• Preveza Beach & Firelight During a lull in the wildfires, we spent a magical day at Preveza beach with cousin Dimitri. He spent hours launching Zoe into the air at her enthusiastic request. That night, as we returned to the village and during a power outage, we saw the eerie red glow of fires still burning in the distance.
• August 15 Celebrations The Panigiri for August 15 is always a highlight in Greece. This year, with so many family and friends gathered in the village it was a particularly good year. We had a huge lunch with all the family and then headed to the village party where Zoe and the village danced to the early hours of the morning.
• Lefkada Escape A few days in Lefkada gave us stunning views, beach club vibes, and evening strolls for food. Simple, beautiful, unforgettable.
• Barcelona Adventures Neither of us had been to Barcelona before — which became obvious when we got lost in the airport immediately upon arrival. Thankfully, we stayed with awesome friends in their fantastic traditional Spanish home. They guided us through the city’s street photography sites, fed Zoe delicious local dishes, and gave her and me the chance to reconnect with friends we had missed a lot. Overall Barcelona was a great, and while I’d love to return with the whole family.
• Dubai After an overnight flight, we arrived in Dubai exhausted but excited. Zoe got her first taste of snow and we were once again hosted by incredibly generous friends who were fantastic to hang out with and showed us amazing hospitality.

After all is said and done it was an extremely special month. We saw and did plenty, but what stays with me most is how lucky I am to be surrounded by such generous family and friends and to have shared this time with Zoe.

Now, I’m turning my focus to the months ahead…

1 Comment

Fiona

9th Sep 2025 - 11:04 pm

Great update! Things are sounding so positive – sadly missing the updates re the life sized Greek statues you were planning on purchasing 😁

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