Kindness in one's absence

We arrived with a spectacular bump at Heraklion airport. The plane was rattling like a toy train for the last stretch and it put my minor worries in perspective. We are like fragile fluffy stuff on an extra thin silk thread and life can summon up an f****** major storm at any second. So why sweat the small stuff?

But oh my God, I was so glad to be here. Collected the car from Hertz, an absolute dream with a few hundred miles on the clock. The woman that served me was so kind. She sustained eye contact, all the time. It is the cultural norm here. A small thing but big, in fact. She spoke of her daughter who loves art. I was relieved. I tried to make conversation on the plane, but it is hard when folks won't engage. Absolutely fine, of course, but what lonely lives people must lead, without the capacity to talk cobblers to one and all when the opportunity arises. But, what blessed relief, landing and being here. One could never feel lonely on Crete unless you tried extra hard; people just want to talk. They somehow think that talking to a stranger is magical, worthwhile, interesting.

The drive to Potamies was heavenly. The motorway was miraculously finished, illuminated and signposted to the max, and weaving through the mountainous terrain in the dark seemed almost fun. The village even in the cloudy moon-lit peekaboo light, looked beautifully clean. I dropped my car keys and bending down to retrieve them, I noticed how clean our little street was. Swept, washed. Stubbornly cared for by the village council and the neighbours. It is an act of kindness towards everyone that lives here.

A saintly someone had lodged lavender and rosemary in the little gap of our front door. It was dry but fragrant. Someone wonderful had planted geraniums in an old huge plant pot on the side of our house and had been watering them. It made me so happy, that I felt completely at peace and glad to be here. I am still full of the joy; that small act of kindness invigorated me completely.

The house had been sealed for a year and little creatures had moved in. Spiders in the downstairs window and little beetles by the front door. The house smelled of quiet repose, and thankfully not neglect, and all the bedding was fragrant from the lavender I had packed between the sheets and pillows.

Nothing inspires me more than simple kindness, nothing can match that. After a day of swearing and reality drama, wonder woman piloting and chili-con-carne ala Jet2 (only £12 with a glass of Sowd-Afriken cabernet sauvignon) it is the geraniums that got me. Small acts, big loves. Simple really. Goodnight world. The day begins early here. Donkeys, cockerels, itinerant salesmen with blaring megaphones. Small drawback...no lie-ins are ever possible in Cretan Villages.