Digital Nomad – Episode 1

Digital Nomad - Episode 1

For those close friends who know me and my circumstances, leaving Crete wa a mixture
of relief and sadness. Relief that my highly unpleasant treatment at the hands of the
Greek Government in general and the Greek Immigration Department in particular had
come to an end. Sadness at the good friends left behind – along with my canine family,
Sammy, Prodigy and Liberta – who will have a place in my heart forever.

So, what was the travel experience like – flights from Chania to Athens, Athens to UAE,
and finally, UAE to Manila?

The total time “in the air” was about 21 hours – starting with departure from Chania at
09:20 local with “Aegean”, arriving Athens at about 11 am, connecting to “Etihad” airlines at about 2 pm – destination UAE, arrival about 5:30 pm Greek local time and finally, UAE to Manila – overnight flight leaving at about 7:30 pm to Manila arriving local time Philippines 11:15 am (5 hours ahead)

The first two flights were short enough to be unremarkable, apart from the 10 minute delay at the Passport checking centre in Athens: I was sidelined in an office for 10 minutes, but eventually allowed to continue without any particular questions or additional documentation being requested. Large queues to get through to check-in at both Athens and UAE- when will they ever sort this out? Hours standing around in lines that barely moved…

The aircraft used for the last stage of the journey – UAE to Manila – was in one of the new
wide bodied Boeing 777s. I had a Window seat and not an aisle seat – mixed feelings about that. Nice to look out of the window, but difficult to get out of the row, and even less leg room in the Window seat. Each of the 3 seats were occupied unfortuantely! For someone like me, 6ft tall, spending nearly nine hours in one cramped location was near torture – I could feel my neck muscles cramping up and was moving my legs and body constantly to try and get comfortable for a few minutes at a time – before needing to move again. Apart from the extreme discomfort, the facilities – meals, service etc. were fine. Did I manage to sleep? Surprisingly, I did manage to get the odd hour or two in an “upright position”. Was it comfortable? Absolutely not.

At Manila, things went pretty smoothly: no big queues, luggage collected fine, cashed 50 euros to to get local currency, got local taxi from GRAB fine, journey time to “down-town” Manila 15 minutes – and arrived at the “Staycation” at about 1pm PH time.

First Impressions of Manila?
The first thing that hits you is the heat – Manila is at sea level and very humid: June is also the start of the rainy season, so “muggy” would be a good description. The second thing you notice is the concrete jungle of this city, with a mixture of ugly office blocks and undeveloped building lots and sites left to “rot”: it reminded me of the less attractive parts of Athens and Heraklion. Lots of mopeds, scooters and bikes as popular forms of transport. Poverty evident. Air-conditioning is a “must-have” – the cool sea breezes we are used to in Crete are not present here.

At the earliest opportunity, I got my head down and spent the next 24 hours in bed to re-set – my time-clock – which brought to an end 10th and 11th of June 2026:-)

Interesting Video attached – From the rear balcony of my temporary room in a “Staycation” – downtown Manila in all its “glory”….sorry it is a bit jumpy, but you’ll get the idea! 

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Pentagon Files and the UFO Debate

As recently as March 2026, the Pentagon released 161 Files – previously classified for 50+ years – about UAP (UFO) sightings. I have always been interested in this area.

My own personally held view is simple: why on “earth” should we believe or assume that we are the only intelligent “life form” that has figured out space travel?

There is in my opinion far too much evidence readily available to suggest greater intelligence at work over the course of our past history – 10,000 years

I personally have no doubts about the existence of “beings with superior knowledge and intelligence”

The new data from the Pentagon does reveal some fascinating material, which I have summarised by creating an audi-pod series, split into chapters.

The intro video and first audio pod are freely available – Chapters 1-8 which carry detailed analyses of the entire declassified Pentagon Files content are available but not free (sorry, but I need to cover some costs!)

The full series can be obtained here:

1. Spotify —  https://open.spotify.com/show/033dJ0NYs9fa6r5yzTetFS

Best for: listeners who already use Spotify


2. Substack — my public page (shows free and teases paid): https://powercomms.substack.com

The introductory You Tube Video is below.
Comments most welcome!

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You Cannot Ignore Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is HERE and we are only Beginning.....

As a test, I requested a psychological profile of the author of this Blog . I told GPT4 to run the report based upon the contents of all the site pages and blogs.

“The author of Domain Buddy’s content presents a clear profile of someone with extensive experience in UK telecommunications, especially VoIP, broadband, and mobile broadband services. Their insights reveal a long-standing familiarity with regulatory and operational challenges in telecom, including evolving broadband needs, customer preferences, and competition with established providers like BT and other mobile operators. The author expresses a critical, often skeptical view of regulatory bodies, acknowledging when they see value in actions by entities like Ofcom but also highlighting frustrations with bureaucratic inefficiencies.

The writing shows a straightforward, sometimes nostalgic tone, often recounting personal anecdotes that detail past business challenges and interactions with colleagues and clients. The author appears pragmatic, focused on providing practical advice for resellers and end users alike, especially on navigating service upgrades, cost savings, and understanding the advantages of fiber, 4G, and 5G broadband options. They also communicate a clear preference for personalized, one-on-one customer service, suggesting they value relationships over impersonal large-scale operations.

The language and references indicate that the author is likely over 50, with decades of industry experience, and highly values long-term customer relationships and ethical business practices over purely profit-driven motives. They show empathy towards small businesses and individual customers, particularly those who are cautious about switching providers, aiming to ease transitions through clear, practical advice and encouragement to capitalize on available options for faster or more affordable broadband solutions【38†source】【39†source】【40†source】.”

A number of massive events have changed all our lives in the last 50 years, and my business life has been directly affected by ALL of them.

Mid to Late 1990s – The first massive event was the WWW and the Internet – probably the most significant change for all of us. A good friend of mine from RAF Cranwell – Howard Bates of 96B Squadron – left Service at about the same time as I did, and made a lot of money in the early days of PCs, software, and then laptops,  and then – Internet access

The second massive event occurred in the early 2000sthe Mobile Phone. The Mobile phone revolution destroyed my telecoms businesses.

The third massive event – Social Media – circa 2015. We have all experienced the explosion of and – some would say – intrusion of Social Media into our lives – Facebook, Twitter and Linked In to name a few of the culprits. With the social media “boom”, the older generation – like myself – risk being left behind.  Social Media also plays an important part in business: people like to know who they are dealing with and expect some personal information and a reference point, and email correspondence is often not enough on its own.

But on the plus side, the Internet has provided a much better way to communicate – if someone publishes memoirs or a book about his/her life or work, there is no way for readers to communicate or give instant feedback to the author or share information with other readers. Now, the internet provides the ability to instantly comment on, or to correct or add to any information. And up until now, I have built only commercial websites with static pages for my telecoms and other businesses. With this evolving Life Blog, I have the right internet “vehicle” to share my many experiences and interests with anyone who is interested!

Which leads me to the fourth massive event – and I want to be on this train – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The more I understand how this technoloy can be used to make money, the more determined I am to learn more and more …. the possibilities are endless.
Updated Oct 2024

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Punch up at Vauxhall Bridge

My Brush with London Street Crime

Many years ago I was on my commute back to my home in West London. I was in a business suit, and carrying my everyday briefcase. I used the London underground, which connected to an overline railway for the last part of the journey. To get to the overline from the underground, there was a long escalator up and then a bit of a walk through a dark badly lit tunnel to the steps leading to fresh air. Actually, this was Vauxhall Bridge station. While I was standing on the upbound escalator, there was a bit of a commotion and two men rushed past me – one chasing the other and shouting – and it was apparent that the guy following had had his wallet stolen by the thief in front. Anyway, I did not do anything right away, but when I got to the top of the escalator, I could see that the two men were having a struggle, and it appeared that the thief was winning. So as I passed by, I asked the apparent victim if he needed any help: I was told to “f” off by the thief, and the victim did not answer, so I carried on. There was a second man in the tunnel who I think knew the thief – the tunnel was used by a lot of dropouts as a shelter – and he decided to chase after me. As he closed in behind me, I knew that a kick or blow was coming, so turned round at the last moment, used my briefcase as a shield, and threw a right hand punch which connected with this guy’s chin and knocked him out cold. I looked back at the other fight, which had stopped, and then walked on to the main station. leaving my assailant flat on the floor. Moral of the story – I did not know how badly hurt the man was and spent the next few days anxiously watching the local news for any reports!

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Third Marriage 2015 to 2021 – Personal

So What Went Wrong this Time? I married a Psychopath..

MARIA DOLIANITIS

Maria was born in 1961 and was brought up in Athens. To try to understand Maria Dolianitis, it is necessary to be aware of  the history and the mental state of this woman, who has suffered much illness in her life, had a problematic and abusive childhood, has had many psychological evaluations, and is also addicted to Cannabis. When I first met Maria I knew that she was very ill and had also been diagnosed with Lupus many years previously: she had to have stomach injections every day.   She also had a history of mental illness following the very difficult childhood in Athens.

I thought that I could make a real difference to her life and that I could protect her, and despite the language barrier, we could live happily together. Indeed, this was a reality for the early years of our relationship, but now I realise that too much damage had been done and that maybe she should have been committed to an asylum many years ago. 

Finally, I blame myself for being naive, too trusting and very stupid in ever getting involved.

ABOUT MARIA

This woman has major psychiatric problems, but I know now that she is also very smart at projecting herself as the innocent victim: nothing is ever her fault, and I am sure she can mislead most professional psychiatrists.  And of course she is in Greece and not England, and so later in the marriage when things turned sour, it was very difficult for me to defend myself and correct any untruths. I am not sure why she turned on me: all that I had done is to help her and her unpleasant family, and save her life on several occasions. She will twist any truth to her advantage: she will lie outright and has in her mind a totally different scenario to the reality.  I can now only conclude that she is too damaged as a person and loves only her son – I do not believe she ever loved me. I was like a father for her who could give her things and protect her. She has no idea or concept about what is necessary between two people in a life partnership. Once the money ran out, and she realised that as the reality, she left me.

HOW IT BEGAN

I first met Maria in 2011/2012 when I was visiting from the UK. She was an attractive woman, and I was sorry for her because she had no money, and was living and working in Kefalas, Apokoronas in Crete. She was also very sick, and on one particular day in the morning – this was December 2012 – I saved her life for the first time.

I was staying at a rented Villa in Kefalas, and soon after I had first met Maria, she nearly died from a major blood outage: recognising that she was near death, I drove her to the nearby Vamos Health Centre in Apokoronas, where she was diagnosed as critically ill and needing emergency treatment. She was immediately taken by ambulance to Chania Hospital, where she spent many weeks in intensive care before being transferred first to Heraklion and then as a patient to Athens where she was near her family. 

She recovered in Athens, and because I was attracted to her and admired her fighting spirit and “will to live”, I invited her to Crete in May 2013 to stay with me for some weeks to recuperate.  

After this, our relationship grew, and although I had to return to the UK, and was still married at the time, I supported her financially from the UK so that she could afford her medication and could live independently. She had the use of a small apartment in Vamos provided by George Hadjodakis, her previous business partner in a well known bistro bar in Vamos called the Liakoto, which closed down in 2011.

Maria was addicted to Cannabis and has been so for many years since she suffered from Lupus and other debilitating illnesses: she told me that on medical advice, she began smoking Cannabis more than 20 years previously as it had a beneficial effect on her Lupus and reduced the symptoms associated with this condition. Although I realised it was technically against the Law to smoke Cannabis, there are medical exemptions, and besides, it is also a matter of common knowledge that many people in Greece have this habit. 

2013 – 2016

I gave up my life in the UK to be with Maria. We lived together first in my rented villa in Kefalas and then in Vamos for one year, and I helped her with – and provided finance for – a new creperie business in Vamos (Dollys shop) – which we hoped would be a success. Maria’s sister Eugenie and husband Dimitris had been invited to come to Crete and help run the new business.

In 2014 the shop was closed because Maria was too ill to continue to work and I looked after her and paid for all her medical bills.

In 2014  I was divorced in the UK from my English wife and received some money from the sale of our property in the UK which I planned to live on, with a new life together with Maria in Crete. 

After living in Vamos and then Douliana by renting, we moved to the present house in Kefalas in 2014 which was arranged by Stavros Stavroulakis, (who was later jailed in 2019 for drug related offences). 

We were married on May 31st 2015 at the house in Kefalas with a local civic ceremony – performed by the mayor from Vamos

In 2015, she was diagnosed as needing urgent major heart surgery: of course I paid for this and she had a replacement heart valve operation at the Onassiou hospital Athens in December 2015. For 3 months after this to March 2016 I found another property in Athens and nursed her to recovery myself. I had no help from any of her family or friends or her son. During this time, she had two chronic attacks of fever and was again close to death, but I looked after her and she recovered.

Because we needed to monitor carefully her INR (blood readings) so that the daily post operation medication could be correctly prescribed (normally a blood sample is taken and analysed which Maria found to be painful) I personally researched and bought a new INR reader machine from a German manufacturer, and my son flew from the UK to Athens to deliver this to us.

In April 2016 we returned to the house in Kefalas.

2016 – 2019

Up until this time (April 2016) the marriage was OK – I believe Maria had appreciated all that I had done for her. She had recovered and was now in good health – she only needed a regular daily supply of pills.

But soon after we had returned to Kefalas, the marriage became a disaster: she smoked a great deal of cannabis – which of course was paid for with my savings – and if she did not get the supply, and if everything was not done for her, she became extremely violent disruptive and psychopathic. There was no sex. She did not want to work or help in any way to bring income to the marriage.

In 2015/2016 I advised her to apply for an early State Pension which she was entitled to because of her illness previously – she did nothing about this until 2019 – when she understood that I had no more money after spending it on her, her cannabis addiction, supporting her family and being defrauded of some 55,000 euros by Stavroulakis and 25000 euros to one of her friends here in Kefalas – Manolis Karabinis – who had said he would make work for Maria in his Kafe Neo in Kefalas if we put money into his business. 

There were three other events which were costly and unnecessary and caused me great stress, which ultimately confirmed the breakdown of the marriage

Unwanted Puppies from Maria’s Son Marios
In September 2016 I agreed to help Maria’s son living in Athens, who had stupidly allowed his dog to have puppies: there were four puppies which I agreed to help look after ONLY for a short time until Marios and his mother found a new home for them. I did not want any dogs. I spent a great deal of money converting the house and garden to be “dog proof “. Maria and her son both lied and did nothing to re-home these dogs, and they caused a great deal of damage in the home in Kefalas, and now – after many vet bills and other expenses – they are still here. Maria did very little or nothing at all to help with these dogs from her son.

Accused of being Homosexual
At the same time in 2016 I had found a man from Syria – married to a Greek woman and living in Chania – who was very helpful to me for work I needed doing in the house and garden – rewiring, solar panel installation etc.. For some inexplicable reason, Maria became very jealous of Ibrahim from Syria because I spent time discussing with him the work needed and his family back in Syria (he spoke good English): she accused me of being “gay” and hated this Syrian so much that one day in the house she screamed abuse at him and ripped off her clothes in front of him, I was extremely embarrassed and angry and of course this ended the work with the Syrian.

Supporting Her Family
In December 2016 Maria’s sister and brother were living and working in Crete, and looking after her elderly mother and had been evicted from their apartment in Vamos because they had not paid any rent: I agreed that they should live with us which they did for four months: in April 2017 I arranged a home for them in Kefalas at a rental of 600 euros per month because it was not possible for us all to live together and with four dogs. It was agreed that they would pay me back but of course this never happened. For helping her mother and family, all I received from Maria was verbal abuse. Attachhed below is a copy of a letter I received from her Brother-in-Law in April 2017, Dimitris Galanis, and my emailed reply.

During 2017 Maria became more and more abusive to me and would shout for hours, stopping me from working sleeping or relaxing. she would attack me and break things, throw clothes out of the door, let all the dogs in the house and do everything she could to provoke me. I have photos and some video of this behaviour. I soon understood that the plan was to make me so angry that I would hit her so that she could call the police and make a charge against me. There were indeed a few “fights” but I tried always to subdue her and never to hit her. I had no-one to help me with this major problem and could not understand why she was doing this. I could only conclude that she needed psychiatric help which I tried to persuade her to take.

In June 2017 she burnt in front of me the original of the rental agreement for the Kefalas house and some other important papers she found on my desk. About the same time she threw on the floor and broke the expensive INR reader I had organised for her when we were in Athens and which she needed to monitor her health.

Attempted Suicide and the Nightmarish Aftermath

Some time later in 2017 Maria’s mother died: after some weeks in October 2017 Maria tried to kill herself. On that day she drank alcohol and over-dosed on her mother’s medication. I took her – with a mutual friend called Pari Franceskakis who lived in Vamos and was a witness to all that happened – to the Vamos Health centre where they tried to remove the alcohol and pills from her stomach.

All this time Maria was very abusive to the doctors and staff: they could do nothing for her and she was forcibly taken by ambulance to Chania hospital. I followed in the car – the time now was about 9 pm. After many hours – and much more abuse from Maria – the doctors took her out of the emergency ward to a bed in the corridor of the hospital – the time now was about 2 in the morning.

I asked the doctors what should now happen. and another doctor – who I believe was a psychologist – came and tried to talk with Maria. Again Maria was very abusive to her and the doctor could not discuss anything with her: I asked the doctor  what could be done and she told me that there were two choices: either Maria should be entered into the psychiatric hospital or she should go home since the danger to her life was now over.

Unfortunately for me, I made the wrong decision and decided to take her home because I still cared for her: in the car – on the main road – she started again to be abusive – screaming at me and opening the car window and passenger door and throwing things out of the car. She also tried to hit me and to actually kick me while I was driving – endangering our lives and other people on the road.

As soon as I could safely do so, I stopped the car close to Vamos – just outside Kalives and off the main road – and ejected her from the car. I then called the friend Pari in Vamos and asked her to please collect Maria because I could not safely take her any further. Luckily for us, Pari was a good friend and collected Maria in her car even though this was 3 in the morning: I had stopped to check Pari was coming before driving back to Kefalas, and when I saw her car on the road, I called her and asked that she take Maria to her home for the night. Unfortunately Maria did not want this and she was brought to Kefalas by Pari.

Time for a Psychiatrist.
After this episode, which Maria said that she did not remember, I told her that she needed psychiatric help urgently because this behaviour could not continue: she agreed and started to see a  psychologist/psychiatrist called Katarina working at the Vamos Health Centre, and for some time I helped by taking Maria to the Centre for what I hoped would be beneficial for her and our failed relationship.

Maria’s Plan to Involve the Police.
Unfortunately, nothing changed: the abuse to me from Maria continued throughout 2018. Some days would be ok and she would do the things around the house that you would expect from a wife: other days she would do absolutely nothing and repeat hours of verbal and physical abuse all with – now I understand – the aim of making my life miserable and trying to provoke me into hitting her so that she could call the police and file charges.

In October 2018 she disappeared from the house for one month and I understand now that she was in a woman’s sanctuary or shelter in Chania. I was only happy that she was not in Kefalas  Unfortunately she then wanted to return and there was nothing I could do to prevent this happening.

In May 2019 she filed a complaint about me with the police and I had to attend the police station in Vrisses.

Things continued to be very stressful for me in 2019 with the same behaviour from Maria, except that she did absolutely nothing to help, and used the house as as a hotel – sometimes not returning for a few days. Of course she had keys for the house, and I provided food and paid for her mobile phone and medical precriptions.  In April 2019 Stavroulakis cut electricity and water supplies to the house, which caused me  immense stress, and I needed Maria out of the house permanently.

Luckily for me, this has now happened and I will be issuing Divorce proceedings as soon as I am able to do so. 

email evidence 2017 -2018

The truth of the matter is that in this relationship, I was the victim of abuse and assault for many years as is evidenced in part by copies of the four emails below.

emails 1 to 3 were emails asking for help and sent to her brother-in-law Dimitris Galanis who lived nearby at the time.

email 4 was sent to her son Marios who had either been lied to by his mother or – more likely – was part of the conspiracy.

Of course I received no help from this dysfunctional and unpleasant family, which now I understand has never seen me as a member of the family, but only as someone who could provide financial help.

April 22nd 2017 @ 16:10 to Dimitris Galanis dhmhtrhs.galanhs@hotmail.com Brother in Law

Dear Dimitri,

Unfortunately, and as usual, you only hear or listen to one side of the story.

It is not my style and I do not think it is correct to involve family in personal issues –  Maria should not call you every time we have an argument. For your information, she tried to break many things last night (but did not burn any more contracts, thank God). I am the one with blood today and not Maria…. she has done nothing all day and is currently talking with Pari.

I do not believe I have to prove any more how much I love Maria – I think the last 3 years have shown that – but the truth is that I am not able to continue being responsible for trying to do everything for someone who appreciates nothing and tries to break everything good and constructive that I try to do. This is the behaviour of a spoilt and unpleasant child – not the behaviour of a wife – and this is my big problem with her and why I wanted her to see a psychologist for the sake of our relationship.  About how husbands and wives are supposed to be with each other – unfortunately I am sure the relationship was not discussed, which is the entire point for me of meeting with a psychologist…..why does she get so angry? why does she believe that it does not matter how bad a thing she does – and how many times – to her husband, but expects unconditional love and forgiveness for everything….

I am committed to our agreement – please do not let Maria try and give you any stress for this. Unlike my wife, I keep my promises and I will always wish and do the best for you and Evgenia.

Warm regards Richard

May 2nd 2017 @ 17:01 to Dimitris Galanis Brother in Law to Maria 

Hi Dimitri

Sorry to trouble you – thank you for last night. I am e-mailing you rather than phoning you because it is easier for us both I think.

The problem I have with Maria continues – now it is one week of continual screaming, and poison and abuse from her, making my jobs extremely difficult if not impossible, while of course she does nothing in the house, or for the dogs (unless she wants to do something of course). The plan for Maria I believe is the same as before – to try and get me so angry that she can run to the police and say that I hit her and what a bad man I am and how she was right all the time 🙁

Now I am a very bad person because we came to eat at Xaso Mari as if now I am stealing money from you because we did not pay!!!! Of course she is trying all the time to destroy any relationship and trust between me and the family – because now in her mind I am the “devil” and gay 🙁 

And why? – because I am not now doing whatever she wants.

The main problem for her now is Ibrahim – she is putting all the blame for our failing relationship on this man, and all the time I hear bullshit from Maria about how I had a homosexual relationship with this Syrian guy while she was in Athens last summer, while I was working very hard to get the house ready for four dogs,  Of course this is not true – I have never been gay and I am sure Ibrahim is not gay either. But the truth is of no importance to Maria. After months of continuous poison and lies, I started to protect myself from this abuse by agreeing with all the bullshit I heard. 

As I said in my previous e-mail, I really need some help from you and Nannie with Maria –  and I hope you will come tomorrow so we can all talk privately – including Maria of course. She has to know from you that she cannot play with peoples lives and businesses as she is doing – she needs to fix our relationship and the way to start is to stop all the poison – if she can.

Best wishes to you and Nanny

Richard xx

May 3rd 2017 @ 18:03 to Dimitris Galanis Brother in Law to Maria

Sorry to trouble you again – appreciate you have business. However, Maria has just broken/smashed the INR reader needed regularly for her tests – I have had abuse from her all day – I fear that without someone else talking with her, this situation is out of control 🙁

Richard xx (as you see from the previous e-mail, I had hoped for a meeting today..) I need help here.

August 7th 2018 @ 21:30 Extract from email to Marios Vlachos @ vlachosmar@gmail.com 

……On this day (October 2017), Manolis (Karabinakis) was at home here in the morning with us both, and we could see what Maria was doing – drinking alcohol and taking her mother’s pills. Your mother was past “reason” (more out of her mind than normal) and should probably under other circumstances have been taken to an asylum: ask Manolis.  In the afternoon I called Pari (Frantzeskakis) to come and help, and talk with your mother – Maria had taken something more, and we tried to make her drink salt in water to make her sick and evacuate the pills from the stomach (my idea). This was not enough though to prevent her losing coherence and I decided to take her to Vamos Health Centre, and Pari – as the good friend she is – came too even though she had other commitments. 

At the Vamos Health Centre, now some time in the late afternoon/early evening, they tried to get your mother to tell them exactly what she had taken without success: next they tried for several hours to make her  take voluntarily and then by force something which would clear her stomach – ask Pari

After this, they said that because Maria was such a difficult patient, and they could not be sure they had cleared the stomach, and because she was abusive, your mother was physically (i.e. not voluntarily) put into an Ambulance and taken to Chania hospital. Of course, she told me to “fuck off” etc as normal, but I followed the ambulance and was there by her bedside when they admitted her at about 9 p.m. (does this scenario  sound familiar to you?)

Many hours later – I was at her bedside all the time – at about 2 in the morning? – she was removed to a bed outside the original ward because she was out of danger, and I was told we were now waiting for the hospital psychologists to visit and assess her condition. When they came, your mother was unbelievably rude and it was clear that they did not want to keep her. I asked one of the female psychologists who spoke good English what options there were, as I thought she should stay in the hospital until she was fully recovered. The psychologist told me that  as your mother had no intention of staying in the hospital there were only two choices. The two choices were (1) Involve the police and get an order to have Maria forcibly taken to an area for mentally disturbed patients attempted suicides etc, or (2) to take her home.

By now it was 2 or 3 a.m.  I decided to take her home even though I dreaded the thought , because she was still manic.

On the main road from Chania, she started being extremely abusive and to throw things out of the car. This quickly turned to physical violence – she was hitting me as I drove the car. She could easily have killed us both. When I reached Kalives, and was coming up the hill to Vamos, she started kicking the steering wheel, kicked me in the face and kicking anything else reachable. I stopped the car, forced her out in the interests of our own safety, and then called Pari as I drove to Vamos, explained what had happened and where she was and asked her to please go and collect Maria from the spot.

Pari did that – for which I am very grateful – but that was not the end of the problem, because unfortunately Maria then wanted to come home to Kefalas and not stay with Pari as I had hoped for the rest of that night – I had had enough by then and had hoped I could have one or two hours to myself, but it was not to be.

The truth is Marios, you ungrateful unappreciative boy, that I loved your mother at the time and did everything I could, and she should really have been “committed” to an asylum for a period. Many husbands would have walked away after this one episode, let alone many other previous unpleasant experiences too many of which to list here.. 

I did not walk away or get her “committed” to an asylum – I gave her yet another chance to show me that this would never happen again. So many chances, so many disappointments ….

And after this, what bullshit did she tell you? And you believed it all???

You and your mother owe me a great deal Marios – I have saved her life two or three times and paid for a new heart, acted as unpaid and unappreciated nurse for 3 months in Athens after the operation – what a nightmare that was –  restored her health and suffered months of abuse – for which you care nothing. And you have always known the truth about your psychotic mother – are you secretly ashamed of her? Never can you repay me for what I have done for you both. My life with your mother has been a nightmare, and I now regret that I ever got involved with her.

It is unbelievable to me now how unloving and unlovable Maria is – maybe because the money has finished? 

You deserve each other.

The Ultimate Betrayal. How the Conspiracy to Defraud Began

Despite the violence and abuse I suffered from Maria for several years, I never hit her and any “injuries” she claims to have suffered in her attempt to discredit me were self inflicted.

It is now clear to me that the marriage was failing from 2016, and that her plan was then to constantly try to provoke me into hitting her so that she could call the police and cause trouble. I have personal videos and photos taken during this time as proof of her psychotic behaviour and the damage this woman caused to me and the house. 

As a result of this violence, and because I suspected that there was a link, I had told her that I would no longer support her Cannabis addiction

What is for me very difficult to accept is that I was the target in a conspiracy involving  three people – all connected by Cannabis. My own wife Maria, Manolis Karabinis and Stavros Stavroulakis. All three colluded together.

In 2017 and 2018 my wife attempted to embarrass me with lies of physical violence to the local police, and the plan presumably was that she thought that this would mean more money for her in any subsequent  divorce settlement.

When she knew that I had no more money in 2019, she left me and went to Athens, for which I was very grateful.

In 2017, Stavroulakis with the support of Maria eventually persuaded me to loan him 50,000 euros to support his Holiday Property Business. Again I now realise that there was never any intention to repay this money, but I am sure that Maria benefitted by receiving Cannabis from Stavroulakis as she had done from 2014.

In 2018, Maria and Manolis Karabinis devised a plan to defraud me of 25000 euros, which was to be used ostensibly to rebuild the Kefalas Kafeneio, supported by a legal agreement known as a KOIIN.sep. I realise now that Manolis never had any intention of repaying this money, and that some of the loans were used to supply cannabis to Maria.

Letter from Galanis
Letter from Galanis
Reply Galanis Aug2017
Reply Galanis Aug2017

Third Marriage 2015 to 2021 – Personal Read More »

A Xmas Present from OFCOM!!

OFCOM Does it Again!

Foreword

Just when I thought that I had been complimenting OFCOM – the UK Communications Regulator – far too often recently, they spring another surprise on me!

Locked Handsets

Their latest release dated  17th December 2021 – reproduced in full below – addresses a problem which has been irritating both customers and resellers for years.

Owing to the financial “muscle” of the UK Mobile Networks (the main four being O2, Vodafone, EE and Three) new and existing customers buying a new Mobile package have often been seduced by an offer to include a new Handset as part of that package.

Often most or all of the cost of the new mobile phone handset would be  incorporated into the monthly payments due under the two year + contract entered in to by the customer. In many cases, this was an unbeatable offer for the consumer, since modern handsets are expensive, and payment by instalments a very attractive option.

For the Network, it was a brilliant “win win” strategy: because the customer was tied in to a lengthy contract, they made profits both on the call volume and data usage, AND the sale of the handset.

Last, but not least, the new mobile phone was tied or “locked” to that Network, which means it could not easily be used by the customer seeking a better value contract elsewhere.

Although “Out of Contract” handsets could be “unlocked” this was and still is a tedious and inconvenient process, involving a charge and often a delay.

Now OFCOM have galloped to the rescue, and Mobile Operators can no longer “lock” customer phones. Admiitedly this applies only to new contracts, and also is probably needed to help simplify problems in the offing through the new eSIM product now part of the latest mobile phones, but it is nevertheless a very welcome development.

The Good News Does not Stop There!

Almost as an afterthought, OFCOM also confirms that the Maximum Contract Term for either a new Mobile Phone or Broadband Package cannot exceed 2 years!!

This – coupled with the new directive to simplify switching broadband providers – is exceptionally good news for Consumers, Broadband Brokers and Resellers

 

OFCOM Release 17th December 2021

“Mobile companies now banned from selling locked handsets

Phones and internet
News

Mobile phone companies are now banned from selling customers locked handsets, under new Ofcom rules that come into force today.

Some companies have still been selling mobile phones that can’t be used on other networks, unless they are unlocked. But this can be complicated for customers and cost around £10 too.

Our research shows that more than a third of people who decided against switching said having to get a handset unlocked put them off changing provider. This means they could be missing out on a better deal.

And almost half of customers who try to unlock their phone have difficulties doing so – including long delays or loss of service.

So we have brought in new rules that come into force today, and mean mobile companies are now banned from selling locked phones. This will make it easier for people to move to a different network with their existing handset, hassle-free.

Any mobile customers who want to change provider can take advantage of the simple text-to-switch process, where you can now get the code you need by simply sending a free text message.

Bundles limited to two-year contracts

Other new measures that come into force today include extending our rules that limit phone and broadband contracts to a maximum of two years, so they cover bundles. Also, if a customer adds a service to their package, providers will not be able to extend the contract periods of the existing services the customer already has without their consent.

This will help give customers more flexibility to switch package or provider, without being locked into long deals.

More support for disabled customers

We’ve also strengthened our existing requirements on phone and broadband companies to provide blind or vision impaired customers with bills and contract information in accessible formats, such as braille or large print.

We’ve extended the scope of these rules, so disabled customers can request that any important information about their service – excluding marketing materials – is provided in a format that is reasonably acceptable to meets their needs, and at no extra cost.

These rules are part of a package of changes we are introducing, to help ensure phone and broadband customers are treated fairly and they can find the best deal for them with ease.

Find out more on how to make sure you’re getting the most out of your phone and broadband services from our consumer advice pages.”

A Xmas Present from OFCOM!! Read More »