While most people are at present worried about going to Greece (of which more in a moment), my concern last week was entirely with coming back. A triple whammy of airport-closing volcanic ash, a national strike by Greek workers and further industrial action by British Airways cabin crews — yes, I still recklessly Fly the Flag — looked likely to jeopardise my return from a holiday in the sun In the event, the ash blew away (for the moment), and the Greeks struck the day before I was scheduled to leave Naxos and BA two days after I flew out of Athens on what was — in common with all my experiences with BA over the years — a perfect journey with our national carrier. Phews all round.

Our return was deliberately planned to provide a 36-hour stopover in the Greek capital. This was an arrangement made notwithstanding the perceived threat of riots by Athenians unhappy about their government’s measures to tackle the country’s crisis over the Euro. The threat was frankly not perceived by me — more recklessness perhaps — and I did not see why I should sacrifice the brief taste of stylish city life that provides a welcome contrast to the simple pleasures of the Greek islands.

Others do not feel the same. According to the Sunday Times, more than 27,000 nights of hotel bookings have been cancelled since the riots four weeks ago. The good news is that this will mean bargains in Greek travel. The sale signs need to go up, according to Thomas Cook’s chief executive, Manny Fontenia-Novoa (whose name prompts me to ponder how different his company’s advertising strategy would have been had its founder been so lavishly monickered). Thomson has already cut the price of some Greek packages by 60 per cent.

A sensible letter in the Financial Times on Monday urged that Angela Merkel’s German government could do its bit to help the Greek economy by giving its citizens a tax break to take a holiday there. Nigel Reed wrote: “The hard-working Germans would get a bit of fun and sunshine [and, though he didn’t say it, a clearer run at those sun loungers], and the Greeks would get a few sorely needed jobs in tourism. Nobody has to give any money away and everybody might feel a bit happier.” Well said!

So how safe is it? Quite safe enough for me who have registered a consistently high score on the Beaufort scale for windiness over the years. Walking through Athens by night and day, I saw no conduct of any kind that posed a threat or even a cause for mild worry.

This applied even when I was strolling in the sunshine around Syntagma Square, opposite the Greek Parliament, the focal point of recent disturbances. Reminders of these can still be seen — for instance, in the damaged street map at the head of this column.

Security was observably tighter at the swanky hotels that line one side of the square, but entering the Grande Bretagne I was pleased to see a number of the capital’s stray dogs — all neutered and marked out as such with blue collars these days — dozing on the steps.

Such animals, incidentally, have been playing a prominent — and popular — role in the protests. As Demitris Nellas, of Associated Press, reported: “The dogs appear to be immune to the effects of tear gas, but are very frightened when riot police use stun grenades. Protesters pet them and police are not unfriendly, either, although the nature of their job does not allow them to give their attention to the animals.”

Walking back to our hotel after lunch in our favourite Plaka restaurant on Saturday, I was amused to see that the disused building nearby, which for some years now has been an entertaining public art exhibit, is undergoing a makeover. This is taking place behind boards (see below) bearing a topical, and possibly all too accurate forecast.

All this has left little space for the description I had planned to give (as the picture above suggests) of our horticultural activities on Naxos. Not much space is needed, in fact. The bottles contain the first olive oil, pressed in the village, from the trees we planted ten years ago — that’s a bottle per tree, and the oil is delicious. The oranges are the first crop from a tree planted even longer ago. Clearly this was of the ornamental variety, since the juice I squeezed from the fruit was mouth-puckeringly undrinkable, even with sweetener. The lemons are back in the UK — ready for my gin and tonic tonight. Cheers!