Flip-flops officiel and Shades on Thassos by Alan R. Massen NEUF

The paradise Greek holiday island of Thassos in the warm Mediterranean blue azure sea explored in words and artwork pictures. Thassos is the most northerly of the Greek islands in the Aegean island group and it lies just off the Macedonian coast in the north-east of mainland Greece. Fabulously wealthy in ancient times, thanks to large deposits of gold and marble, Thassos nowadays lies outside the top league of Greek holiday islands but it still has as much to offer the visitor. We have been there for our summer holidays on several occasions and enjoyed it very much. Most tourist arrive at Alexandra the Great International airport in Kavala which is on the mainland of Greece. Then it is a short ferry journey over to Thassos. The first time we went to Thassos we were not sure how the ferry journey would be after having travelled all day to get there. It was great and we loved it. I really added to the holiday experience for us.To reach the accommodation at the resorts many visitors use the local taxis or the coaches provided by the tour operators. An excellent coast road almost rings the whole island, providing easy access to the many sandy beaches that pepper the attractive coastline. Strangely, Thassos fails to feature in many holiday brochures so it is something of a hidden gem and spared the holiday crowds that mar some of the Greek islands. Pine trees come right down to the shoreline on Thassos. The extensive pine trees that carpet most of Thassos have led to its being rightly dubbed the Emerald Isle of Greece. We enjoyed the shade the pine trees gave when we sat under them on the beaches.The beaches are mostly sandy and are dotted all around the coast with a wide variety on offer, from large, deep beaches with plenty of facilities to small, idyllic hideaway coves. Side roads branch inland to charming hill villages and to extensive tracts of dense woodland which have many walking trails to enjoy. Thassos may be off the main tourist trail but regular ferries run from Keramouti which is only a 10 minute ride from the airport at Kavala (Kavala Town featured above). Thassos is in the Northern Aegean Sea and is close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but is geographically part of Macedonia. Thassos is a really beautiful island and a visit to its shores is highly recommended.

Alan was born in the city of Norwich in the county of Norfolk, England in November 1949. When Alan was still a teenager he started painting whilst attending art classes in Norwich. In his mid-teens he had two paintings accepted for a National Art Exhibition held in London and other major UK cities. Alan spent most of his working life as a professional Health and Safety Advisor and rarely picked up a paint brush until Alan, his wife Susie and daughter Ginny (his other daughter Mandy is married and lives with her husband Adrian in Sheffield) moved out of the city of Norwich into the countryside in 1993. They moved to a little village called East Lexham in the heart of Norfolk. The village was very peaceful and pretty. This helped inspire Alan to take up watercolour painting once again. In 2004 they moved to another small West Norfolk village near Downham Market where they still live today. In 2008 Alan had to retire due to ill health (bad knees) and whilst he still painted regularly he began to spend more and more time gardening. In 2013 his wife Susie suggested that he kept a gardening diary to record his adventures in the garden and capture the changing seasons, animals, birds and the successes and failures of being a gardener he encountered. By the following year Susie suggested that he should write a book from his diary and include illustrations of both the garden and his artwork. In 2014 Alans first book was published by Creative Gateway called "Retiring to the Garden - Year One". This proved such a success that Alan decided to follow this up with his second book called "Retiring into a Rainbow" featuring his watercolour paintings. He then in 2015 published "Retiring to Our Garden - Year Two" published this time by Rainbow Publications UK. He then re-issued his first two books this time in a "Second Edition". Also published by Rainbow Publications UK. In 2016 he published: "Skiathos a Greek Island Paradise", "Norfolk the County of my Birth", "Art Inspired by a Rainbow", "Ibiza Island of Dreams", "Majorca Island in the Sun", "Flip-flops and Shades on Thassos" and finally "Mardle and a Troshin in Norfolk". He has recently started on the following new books which will be entitled: "England the Country of my Birth", "Mousehole the Cornish Jewel", "Sunshine and Shades on Kefalonia", "Shades and Flip-flops on Zakynthos", "Crete and the Island of Santorini", "Cyprus the Pyramids and the Holy Land", "Corfu and Mainland Greece" ", "Trips into my Minds Eye" and finally "Flip-flops and Shades on many Greek Islands". When completed they will also be published by Rainbow Publications UK.