4th June to 30th November 2025

Here are a few ideas for reusing those old shoes and clothes — and even the odd kitchen appliance. My favourite is the wooden telegraph pole hung with shoes arranged as makeshift bird nests. I’m not sure the birds agree though; when I passed last week only one shoe seemed to be occupied.

I’m back once again on the heavenly little island of La Gomera. Regular readers already know it’s my favourite of all the Canary Islands, so I won’t repeat its many charms and delights.

As usual, I seem to be extending my stay — either unwilling or just too lazy to abandon the easiness of life in this very comfortable comfort zone: the bars and shops I know, the bakeries and market stall holders who recognise me, the familiar streets and houses, even the buses and their drivers.

It’s been several months since I last wrote, so here’s a quick update.

Summer at home in England, mainly Exeter, was wonderful — so wonderful that I can almost imagine settling back in England one day, even if the winters are long, dark, and damp, and motor cars clutter every available space on streets and roads. It was especially good to spend more time with family and friends. Picking blackberries is a joy, too. Plus country walks and seaside picnics.

And whatever others may say, English cheeses remain the best in the world. Likewise the BBC.

But by late September England had grown too chilly, and I returned to the Canaries, the warm sunshine — and Henrietta.

Here she is after her summer holiday in the boatyard, freshly antifouled and polished, waiting to be relaunched in Tazacorte, La Palma.

From La Palma, it was a brisk, bouncy 50-mile sail southeast to La Gomera — enough to make muscles ache and stomach go queasy. Since then, Henrietta has been dozing in the marina here in San Sebastián.

There have been visits from Armelle (La Parisienne) and my middle son, Tom. Here we are trundling along the island’s hiking trails. I know most of the paths but, true to form, still manage to get lost too often.

Still, I’ve decided that too long in a comfort zone eventually stops being comfortable. Diehard nomads can never settle for long.

It’ll soon be time to move on — probably.

But first I’d like to watch the start of the Transatlantic Rowing Race, which this year has its biggest ever entry. Here are the 43 rowing boats waiting to be launched. Crews then have nearly 3,000 miles to row to reach Antigua in the Caribbean.