For the past two weeks Bean and I have been enjoying a holiday exploring The Peloponnese area of Greece.

We were some of the lucky ones who were already on a Thomas Cook holiday when the company went into liquidation. When you book a package holiday from the UK you should automatically be issued with an ATOL or ABTA insurance certificate. This guarantees that you are repatriated back to the UK. It is always worth checking that you have this.

Six of us had flown from London Gatwick two weeks ago. Arriving at Kalamata airport yesterday, two of our friends were put on flights to Birmingham with a coach transfer back to Gatwick. The other two were put on a Manchester flight, priority given to families and those with medical conditions and 141 of us were left behind. Eventually we were taken to a very nice 4* hotel overlooking the beach in Kalamata.

All our meals and accommodation is paid for by the CAA (civil aviation authority) until one of the 100 planes used each day from the UK to repatriate the 150,000 holiday makers all over the world, collects us. We have four officials deployed from the UK foreign office looking after us in the hotel. The atmosphere is calm and patient, as the British Dunkirk spirit prevails!

There just happens to be a railway park and old station near the hotel so Bean is happy!

There is also an excellent Greek costume museum according to our Lonely Planet guide, unfortunately closed on Mondays. But you never know we may be here for a few days longer?

There are worse places to be stranded. Here we have a beach and clear blue sea to swim in plus a pool, sunshine and hot temperatures, great accommodation, internet and meals for free. I have my knitting, a diary to write and I am revisiting the book ‘Labyrinth’ ready for my Stitchtopia quilting tour to Carcassonne in France next week.

You never know, I may get time to post some photos of the fascinating historical sites we have visited in Greece.

PS just got posted that we are here for another night!