Lucky we can be lazy about learning other languages

We were on the Dalmatian coast, roasting ourselves a succulent pink before cooling off in crystal clear waters with a wide variety of fish.

It was a brilliant way to enjoy a cheap as chips holiday – a quick taxi from the airport and there we were, boiled.

Plus, as we were staying on a campsite, it didn’t matter how we coped with the heat as the rest of Europe paraded around oiled and bronzed and nearly naked. Brilliant.

I do love an international campsite where no-one knows you and you can wander to buy your breakfast at the little patisserie/bakery in your pjs and sandals.

But when so many people are shopping in bikinis and Speedos, who cares anyway? Imagine going to Asda, or your local corner store, in your undies. And seeing other people in theirs.

On the occasions I deigned to get dressed in more than pjs or a bikini and we left the blue waters, I very much enjoyed the houses selling produce outside their driveways.

A few tomatoes here, a cucumber there, some lettuce, onions, garlic. There is a wonderful appeal to fruit and veg grown, picked and sold within a matter of hours.

You can certainly taste the difference between what you buy at the roadside and food which has been wrapped in layers of plastic and then left to linger on supermarket shelves for days on end, covered in chemicals to keep it fresh-looking.

Luckily, as my two Croatian words are rusty at best, 99 per cent of the Croatians I spoke to on driveways replied in English.

We are so fortunate that our native tongue allows us to be completely lazy about learning other languages.

I wonder how long that will last once we are out of the EU and there is then no necessity to converse in English as it’s no longer a principal language of member states?

It is amazing, on a campsite full of Dutch, Austrians, Germans and Croatians, that English was the common spoken language.

Hot, beautiful and understandable, Croatia is my new destination of choice.

THE OLYMPICS CAN SHOWCASE A COUNTRY LIKE NOTHING ELSE

Ican’t help but be sucked in by the Olympics and suddenly there goes another three hours.

The cycling road races have had me hooked – not only because I love the sport, but because of my concern over the truly terrifying accidents that occur.

I have to say, also, that Rio is beautiful. I want to go there, the scenery is so stunning.

Who can’t be drawn in by those beaches, the mountains and all that it offers?

I totally get how the Olympics can showcase a country in a way that nothing else can.

I have my fingers crossed that Team GB does brilliantly and that the whole event is every bit as successful as it can be given the dire predictions in the run-up to the Games.

SADLY WE MISSED A STILE AND NEVER MADE IT TO WORLD’S END

Ever get those moments when you think to yourself ‘I have no idea what half of the places in the county look like’?

I had one of those when I realised that we have a World’s End up the road (north of Southwick) and I’ve never been there.

We set out to walk around Denmead and hopefully amble to World’s End on the way.

Sadly we didn’t get that far as it turns out we missed the stile we needed.

At the time I was rather panicking about some unconcerned cows potentially getting very concerned about our presence.

Bizarrely, we also saw a man in Speedos and a hat walking by a hedgerow.

I am left with the perennial question: World’s End – does it even exist?