High life | 10 August 2017

Greece is jasmine, bougainvillea, mimosa, cypress, olive, pine, oregano and sage, rock, sand, wine, fruit and the bluest and cleanest water in the Med. The Peloponnese has the nicest, most welcoming and generous of people, none more than my host and hostess at their private island, literally a paradise on earth. Around 60 staff keep the place ticking along perfectly, and one thing I’ve learned in this long life of mine among the rich and famous is, you can’t fake it with the ones who work for you: if they don’t love you, it shows. I’ve seen it time and again, the long faces of staff among famous Italian carmakers, German industrialists, Texan oil giants. I’ve even seen it where Greek ship owners are concerned, we Greeks being particularly close with those who work for us. You are what those who work for you think of you. In the private island where I spent the last week, the faces of those who looked out for us told the story.