News /Wild fires wreak havoc in Greece

send-up of we Brits. No matter, as it was a hugely enjoyable show during which I downed a large hot dog made by our neighbour, the village butcher.

American friends at the end of the street we were staying on are busy renovating Lassay’s rambling old hotel, a massive labour of love, so the fête committee asked if they would throw open their doors as a venue for a band ironically called The Grand Hotel – and they duly did.

Meanwhile, Blew Gras, the fête’s other band, suddenly found themselves without a fiddler, so an Indonesian named Giles stepped in at the last minute to play in the square on Friday night and several times in the picturesque rose garden on the Saturday.

We got chatting to him and learned that, after flying home for a holiday, he would be returning to audition for a school near Paris where he hoped to continue his classical education.

Fête day is always an opportunity to link up with friends and acquaintances, who are drawn to it from surrounding areas like bees to a honey pot – and this year was no exception.

But by four o’clock, and with crowds still promenading the sunny streets, I turned to Jenny.

“I’m all fêted out, why don’t we go home, open a bottle of white wine and chill out in our garden?” I asked.

So we did, taking our bargains with us. Not in time, however, to see Belgium beat England in the third place play-off.

I wondered, after all the exhausting energy and excitment of Bastille Day, what on earth would tomorrow bring?

There was the little matter of France playing Croatia in the World Cup Final to come.

It was going to be a late night in Lassay les Chateaux. A woman sprays water outside her house that was damaged in the wildfires near the village of Neos Voutzas near Athens GREECE forest fires have wreaked havoc on the country’s Attica region leaving at least 50 dead and over 170 casualties.

The wildfires were raging in the village of Mati, about 18 miles east of Athens, destroying homes and causing widespread damage as the flames were fuelled by dry conditions amidst a heatwave.

Greece is a popular summer hotspot, and with the school holidays having just kicked off, thousands of Brits will have booked trips to the holiday destination.

At the time of writing, there is no advice suggesting that Brits should avoid travelling there the FCO doesn’t advise against travel there following the tragedy.

Its travel advice including information for Brits who are already in Greece, is: “On 23 and 24 July, there have been wildfires in a number of areas in southern Greece, including close to Athens; they have been confined to limited areas, but within those the impact has been high, with significant loss of life; most visits to Greece, including to Athens, are unaffected; you should keep up to date with local media reports and follow the advice of the Greek authorities in affected areas; if you’ve been affected by the wildfires and need consular assistance, you can call the British Embassy in Athens on +30 210 7272 600; if you’re in the UK and worried about a British national in Greece, call the FCO on 020 7008 1500.”

And as the wildfires took place in the Attica region about 18 miles away from Athens, it doesn’t affect popular islands such as Crete, Rhodes and Zante. If you do have any doubts or concerns, you can contact your tour operator or airline before you travel.

Airlines that fly to Athens from the UK include easyJet , British Airways and Ryanair , none of which have reported any delays or cancellations as a result of the wildfires.

Air traffic controllers did report that some flights, mainly landings, were disrupted on Monday afternoon by low visibility and diverted elsewhere - however it appears that there are not further delays.

This could be because the fires took place far enough away from Athens and the airport meaning that air travel is unaffected.

However if you are unsure, it’s worth calling your airline before you travel to check your flight status.