My spiritual home became Greece after I met and married a wonderful, free-spirited Cretan girl when I was an out-of-work actor in 1972 and for nearly four decades now, Yianna and I have shared a rich and colourful journey. The British and Greeks (and especially Cretans) are in many ways miles apart in character and spirit, and our early lives could not have been more different. Yianna grew up in exuberant, noisy Heraklion (Crete’s capital) with four brothers and two sisters, while my childhood was spent in the sleepy and comfortable village of Chorleywood in Hertfordshire. Yet since we met in 1971, our life together has encompassed three careers, three children, three grandchildren, much relocation and numerous adventures.

At the end of my thespian career in the late 70s we formed Simply Travel together, starting with holidays on Yianna’s home island of Crete, and this was to grow beyond our wildest dreams. Theatre, travel and football have all featured prominently in my career and throughout this eventful, and sometimes difficult journey, I have been soothed and assisted by Yianna’s loyalty, common sense and humour.

Our origins are reflected in our life; we now find ourselves spending the summer among the olive groves and pebble beaches of the beautiful island of Paxos, and winter in our Sussex home in the UK. What they have in common is the proximity of the sea and the ease with which our children and, increasingly, grandchildren, can come and go between the two.

We are incredibly lucky that we currently view the world from our bolthole on the dramatic cliffs of the west coast of Paxos. Here the only sound is the cicadas on the hillside, the sea breeze and the evening swallows swooping over the pool. We feel hugely privileged to live in such a beautiful place, which allows us to return to what we treasure most in life: simplicity, tradition and a back-to-nature lifestyle based on the pleasures of walking, swimming and sailing, and where the greatest drama of the day is watching a magnificent sunset turn the sea fiery red. Yet there is also a sense of anticipation and excitement; we still have so many goals still to achieve and dreams to follow; including some innovative projects in Greece and plans for more travel and exploration. To start with, we’re returning to our youth this summer, back-packing around the lesser known Greek islands, in search of secret places well off the beaten track.