for what else is there

but books, books and the sea,

verandahs and the pages of the sea

to write of the wind and the memory

of wind whipped hair

in the sun, the colour of fire.

         Derek Walcott

As I get older, the attractions of foreign travel and the lures of encountering new places and fresh faces are rapidly fading.  I associate holiday less and less with adventure and more and more with peace and quiet.  When I was young I looked forward to visiting different countries – I estimate I have visited about fifty in my life – and keenly anticipated the possibility …..