Not so Hot – Central Europe

December 1974 St Moritz, Switzerland

Back in the mid 70s, schools didn’t do all the extracurricular trips they do today, and the only option was an Egyptian cruise which my folks couldn’t afford as it was three times dearer than my sister’s skiing trip to Austria. She enjoyed it so much she blagged herself on another trip even though she’d already left school, and somehow, Mum managed to get me included, which meant reuniting with several kids I’d not seen since junior school, four years prior.
At 15, this was my first adventure outside the UK and, although the antithesis of a sporty type, I did well enough to join the intermediate group and have the thrilling experience of skiing down the side of a mountain with a sheer drop on one side. Scary, but exhilarating.

Because she was older, Deb joined the sixth-formers, and when it came to having a quick tipple on New Year’s Eve, I was bundled in, too. I vividly remember a disco, and The Goodies’ Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me playing as I joined the queue for this treat, waving jauntily to my contemporaries, who missed out on the fun, still being in the 4th form. Even before this insufferable smugness, I was left on the outside of their tightly-bound friendship groups, which I didn’t mind as I had little in common with them, being far too studious after passing the 11+ to go to a grammar school. So I hung out in the pool room with a bunch of lads from a Surrey school, and one lad, Nigel, was very keen, pairing with me on the table football against two of his friends. I recall walking into the nearby village, snuggled up in woolly scarves and appreciating the romance of all the Christmas lights. We rode back on the same sleeper train, and I remember doing the Quo dance (thumbs in belts) to Caroline and Down Down.

When we got home I wrote weekly to Nigel, who only returned a couple of letters before I finally got the message about the fragility of holiday romance/long-distance relationships. In a complete shocker, I’d apparently also given my address to a German lad Udo and, although I don’t remember speaking to him much, I ended up with a real pen-pal, who wrote faithfully for many months afterwards. He was extremely erudite, and seemed much keener than my actual boyfriend. He wanted to buy a guitar and I sent him a page from the NME featuring info on second-hand Strats. There’s defo a musical theme running through the men in my life.

Granny Gray

Hold the presses – or whatever the phrase is. We interrupt this broadcast (of holiday travelogues) with breaking news – my fabulous daughter-in-law, Sophia, gave birth to our first grandchild, Constance Jane Gray aka Connie, weighing in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce – massive for three weeks premature. Her entry into the world was marked by a solar eclipse and a stack of meteorites. It wasn’t the easiest of starts, but she’s a fighter, and her parents have phenomenal reserves of courage and strength.

Here’s some pix:

Hot or What? - Barbados

We were lucky to spend a week in Barbados in 2013, courtesy of my wonderful sister and her partner. Sam and Barry bought a timeshare in a smart hotel a couple of decades ago and holidayed there almost every September since then. They knew the island well, and rented a couple of adjacent villas, inviting the rest of us to stay – his job in Philadelphia meant he had enough airmiles to boost us up to first class. Awesome.

I never appreciated how time works at the equator – the day/night is always 12 hours (give or take a minute or two), and the sun rises every day at 6am, and sets at 6pm. no matter what the season. On several mornings, we got up at six and strolled along the beach before breakfast, and every evening saw us watching the sunset with a Pina Colada, usually from the rooftop of one of the villas. Barbados was a perfect piece of Paradise and we had a virtually private beach with a mill-pool sea 500 yards on from fun filled body-surfing breakers. Although a decent bottle of wine was prohibitively expensive – way more than a bottle of locally of locally-brewed rum, and we discovered fierce competition to serve the the best Rum Punch on the island – oh the lengths we went to on the quest of that little gem! Sheer Bliss!

Here's a taste of our holiday:

Hot or What? - Italy

It was always on my bucket list to visit Italy, so when my lovely hubby booked us a week in a really posh hotel, in a room overlooking the gorgeous Lake Como, I was thrilled.
The Grand Hotel Menaggio was the height of luxury, with fabulous food, friendly staff and all-in-all, one of the best experiences of my life. A decade later, I still remember the intricate patterns the housemaid made from my nightie - it was beautiful origami, as you can see - the purple rose in the montage below.

It was one of the few holidays we had where we didn't hire a car, but we discovered another way to travel - by ferry boat. Not the huge, well-equipped car ferries with shops, restaurants and cabins, but more like a bus or train, travelling across water instead of roads. The slow ferries take forever and the fast ferries are quite expensive, but Bri was 65, so the OAP discount was quite good. It got quite chilly - especially going to the extremes (Gravedonga/Como town), and a light jacket was essential. If we were to do it again, we'd consider going one way on the bus.

One of our favourite places to visit was Belaggio, and that and Varenna were linked together with Menaggio by frequent ferry trips. Como town was everything you might expect from a local centre - the market was fun and the cathedral was awesome.
On one day, we were a tad ambitious, doing Villa Monastero (top) in the morning, a quick half, then Castello Di Vezio (bottom). Monastero was beautiful - stunning gardens and a dozen rooms filled with exquisite furniture and artwork.
The walk up to the castle was quite challenging, but so worth it for the views, the history, the falcons and especially the ghosts. I have dodgy knees and one of them swelled up to twice the size by the time we walked back down. If we had a do-over we'd do that first, then maybe return for Monastero another day.
Villa Carlotta would be my 2nd choice - it was pouring when we did it, but there was still plenty to see.

Here's a flavour of our visit:

Hot or What? - Portugal

My first memory of Portugal was sitting for many hours in a queue at Santander ferry port, after an energy-sapping week in the Costa blanca with temperatures in the mid-high 30s. We were in the old Volvo with no air conditioning, while all around us people sat with their engines running making it even hotter and filling the air with noxious fumes. I got chatting someone in a nearby car, and they were returning from Portugal where the temperatures had been above 40°. Can't imagine why that made us think it might be a good idea to visit. But shortly afterwards, visit we did.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep many records of our brief stay in Portugal in July 2004, it was only a couple of days in a smart hotel with a fabulous outside dining area and an excellent pool. We travelled the 395 miles from Santander, a journey well over 5 hours, but by then we were in the Land Rover Discovery, with air conditioning and a DVD player to keep the kids happy while Bri drove. Because of the distances involved, and the need to get back up to North Spain, we didn't venture too far from the Portuguese/Spanish border, certainly nowhere near the Algarve. Two days chilling by the pool was just enough to recharge batteries before the 339-mile/5-hour trek up to Ovio (near Llanes and our beloved Beach of Caves) for a week before returning home on the 24-hour cruise via the notorious Bay of Biscay.

For some reason my memory insists associating this with the time Chris pulled the curtains closed and their bedroom and the whole thing fell down. Poor lad got teased unmercifully for years afterwards. In particular the jibe was don't pull the curtains in the cabin or you'll sink the ferry. Talking of being teased unmercifully, which I guess is what families do, I was never allowed to forget one of our visits to Spain when I asked for a cafe au lait instead of a cafe con leche. The waiter frowned, because I guess he heard café ole, and when hubby figured is confusion it became a standing joke. I do remember, however, how similar Spanish and Portuguese were, so if I couldn't think of the word, or find it in the dictionary, I would try the Spanish word instead.

Back in June, I mentioned playing cards in the commodore lounge – this was a hack we learnt fairly early on. With 2 adults and 3 kids, the normal 4-berth cabin was horribly cramped and no way to spend an entire day. You pay a chunk extra, but for that you get around 3 times the floor space with room for a couple of chairs and a table, a TV with (back then) video player, 4 berths (the girls were small enough to share) a fridge stocked with juice, water and, if memory serves, a couple of lagers, also a breakfast of croissants, bread juice and tea/coffee/chocolate. One of the big benefits was an outside window and access to the commodore lounge – there was no food or drink when we went, but a calm space away from the hoi-polloi. Well worth its weight in gold.

The ships sported several shops, a couple of tiny cinemas, apparently a swimming pool, although we never bothered, and great facilities for kids including a play area with its own cinema and several organised activities throughout the day. They had numerous cafes, and a posh restaurant (booking essential) and at least 3 bars, the main one having a dance floor and providing several acts throughout the evening, almost always ending with a disco after the magic show and band. After a dozen cross-channel ferry crossings, we figured we’d found our sea legs and we ended up doing this 20-hour mini cruise to Spain and back 14 times between 1993 and 2007, and only once can I remember the Bay of Biscay being so choppy it cost me a meal!

Dashed Hopes - Unexpected Victory

Couldn’t not wrap up this football-centric year without a quick look at England’s 2026 World Cup roller-coaster journey. Who’d have predicted the final score of the third-place playoff when England started the 2nd half 4 goals to nil? 

But first, here’s a quick recap of our team's performance since their first world cup in 1950.

Didn’t Qualify: 1974, 1978, 1994
Didn’t reach knockouts: 1950, 1958, 2014
Knock out before Quarterfinals 1982, 1998, 2010
Quarterfinals: 1954 (lost 2-4 to Uruguay), 1962 (lost 1-3 to Brazil),
1970 (lost 2-3 to West Germany), 1986 (lost 1-2 to Argentina),
2002 (lost 1-2 to Brazil), 2006 (0-0 lost to Portugal on penalties), 2022 (lost 1-2 to France)
Semi-finals:
1990 (1-1 lost to West Germany on penalties) – 4th: lost 1-2 to Italy in bronze playoff
2018 (lost 1-2 to Croatia) – 4th: lost 0-2 to Belgium in bronze playoff
2026 (lost 1-2 to Argentina) – 3rd: beat 6-4 France in bronze playoff
Final: 1966 – England's only World Cup title, defeating West Germany 4-2 at Wembley
Interesting quite how many times we lost 2-1. Just saying.

Back to this year - here's the show so far:
Group L: Winners
17 June: England 4-2 Croatia (Dallas)
The Croatia win was the standout: Harry Kane scored twice, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also on the scoresheet.

23 June: England 0-0 Ghana (Boston)
The Ghana game was a tighter affair, with England held to a goalless draw but staying top of the group.

27 June: Panama 0-2 England (New York)
Jude Bellingham broke a frustrating deadlock to put England ahead after 62 minutes, then crossed for Kane to double their advantage with a close-range header five minutes later. It was the England captain's 11th World Cup goal - taking him one ahead of Gary Lineker, and it put England top of the group.

Knockout stage
1 July – round of 32: England 2-1 DR Congo (Atlanta)
England trailed from the seventh minute, when Brian Cipenga opened the scoring, until the 75th minute when Harry Kane equalised, with the England skipper then blasting a brilliant winner in a dramatic turnaround.

6 July – round of 16: Mexico 2-3 England (Mexico City)
Despite being reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute after Jarell Quansah received a red card, England overcame Mexico’s attempt to reach their first quarter-final in 40 years in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. In a dramatic match at Estadio Azteca, Bellingham scored twice in two minutes, giving England a 2-0 lead, and Mexico pulled one back just before half-time. Harry Kane converted a penalty to restore the two-goal advantage, and Mexico won a penalty nine minutes later. Mexico had strong possession (67%) and created chances, but England’s resilience and defensive organization held firm to secure progression to the quarterfinals.

11 July – quarter-finals: Norway 1-2 England, aet (Miami) Norway seized the initiative from the start with Erling Haaland's header straight at Jordan Pickford, and Schjelderup put Norway ahead in the 36th minute. The Three Lions weathered a wave of pressure before levelling in first-half stoppage time through Bellingham's driving run and cool finish. Harry Kane had the ball in the net moments later, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

15 July – semi-final: England 1-2 Argentina (Atlanta)
This eagerly-awaited revival of one of international football’s great rivalries ended with a repeat of the scoreline in the teams' most famous encounter in Mexico City 40 years ago. One report called the start of the match feisty, cagey and intensely contested, but I thought it was boring with dirty tactics and constant fouling, with the ref only calling a fraction of the Argentinian ones. Very telling that neither side produced an attempt on goal until the 33rd minute, giving a goal-less first half. Ten minutes into the second, Gordon slid a cheeky goal from a Rogers cross followed seconds later by a goal-saving tackle from Spence, stopping Messi in his tracks. The pressure from Argentina was never-ending, and inevitably they scored – 5 minutes before the end, and again, two minutes into add-on time. But most significant was the behaviour of the two teams at the end – few smiles and the handshakes were grudging and few and far between.

18 July – third place play-off: France 4-6 England (Miami)

Chalk and cheese are like identical twins compared to the difference between this match and the last one. Right from the get-go, the interactions were sportsmanlike, the tackles legitimate and the fouling clean (if such a thing is possible) and almost gentlemanly. In the highest scoring third round match ever, Saka gave us a world cup hat-trick including a proper tricksy penalty. Here’s the Fifa report:

France goals: Mbappe (48 & 66), Barcola (54), Ousmane Dembele (90+6)
England goals: Rice (3), Konsa (18), Saka (37, 45+1 & pen 87), Bellingham (90+8)
England overcame France in the ultimate game of two halves in the bronze final of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Bukayo Saka hit a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham finally put an end to a comeback Kylian Mbappe had heroically inspired at Miami Stadium. England annihilated France in the first half. Declan Rice stylishly struck home the opener from outside the box and, after Saka had a goal ruled out for offside, Ezri Kosna made it two. Saka then bagged a quick-fire brace to send Thomas Tuchel’s team in 4-0 up at the break.
Michael Olise’s pass enabled Kylian Mbappe to get them on the board, and the Real Madrid forward set up Bradley Barcola to further decrease the deficit. Mbappe then pulled Les Bleus within one, before Olise came narrowly close to rounding off a breathtaking team move and equalising. The Three Lions were under extreme pressure, but Saka gave them breathing space from the spot after Malo Gusto had tripped Djed Spence. It appeared to finally extinguish the comeback, only for Ousmane Dembele to get France within one again. England’s player of the tournament had the final say, though, Bellingham dribbling past multiple bodies to seal victory in one of the greatest matches the World Cup has ever seen.
It was England’s best finish at the global finals since they triumphed on home soil in 1966.

Post script
As so many have said - Sunday's final was a total anticlimax. Spain gave it everything they had and those dirty argies, who didn't even manage a single shot on target and thoroughly disgraced themselves with the wrangling after the final whistle. As my son said, never has there been a more hated team at the world cup, and the whole world enjoyed the schadenfreude of their defeat at the hands (feet) of the Spaniards who more than deserved the win.

Sophia's Choice

Bit of a break from the holiday reminiscences - mainly because today was spent down south at my fabulous daughter-in-law's baby shower, then a mad dash up the M40, arriving home just as the England-Norway game began - more about that later.

Yep, finally gonna have a grandchild, making me Granny Gray. And her choice? Well hers and Chris, really - it's all about the name. They've shortlisted two, but won't choose till she's born - several weeks to wait yet.Yep, finally gonna have a grandchild, making me Granny Gray. And her choice? Well hers and Chris's, really - it's all about the name. They've shortlisted two, but won't choose till she's born - several weeks to wait yet.

Meanwhile, Hazel and Emily worked incredibly hard to provide a wonderful afternoon, aided and abetted by glorious sunny weather (there was stacks of shade for those who were wilting after so many days of intense heat).
First task was to decorate wooden cuboids with coloured pens for a set of building blocks. As usual, Ilva's cube put the rest of us to shame - so-oo professional.

	A truly wonderful selection of sarnies, wraps and sushi (although not for poor Sophia) alongside sausage rolls, tortilla chips and cous-cous. Followed by a platter of chocolate goodies and fruit kebabs and a slice of this gorgeous 3-layer cake.
But the most remarkable bit was the sheer amount of zero-alcohol prosecco, beer and even Guinness zero. Even those who weren't driving (like me) couldn't drink for various reasons. Shocker!

Other tasks included creating a hot-air balloon from fingerprints, decorating vests for the baby, and making predictions about the baby's due date, time, name etc. We also had to sign the guestbook with a message for Sophia. In amongst this, she opened the gifts with so many cute outfits and gadgets including a thermometer rubber duck and a baby mani-pedi grooming set. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon and everyone had a great time, so much so it overran by half an hour. Massive thanks to Hazel and Emily.

As for the little matter of that football match - I'm just pleased as punch about the justice of Norway's disallowed goal after the dodgy offside decision against England's second goal. That rarely happens. Good result for us, but can't help feeling it could have gone either way.