Dancing with Diana on the Beach by Maggie Sackett

Well I’m dancing, Diana is gently swaying in the hammock. We are happy. We each have a cool glass of yellow wine in hand. There are red-flashed white fluffy clouds in the sky behind a dark Crete-shaped one.

We are on Skyros beach and it is indeed the magical place as billed in the brochure. Nothing disappoints. It is all perfect.

A soundtrack of soft jazz plays. There is no wind to blow out the flags. The mosquitos dance around me, the 50 per cent deet roll on keeping them at bay. There is sand in my fit flops.

A slice of rock juts out enclosing one side of the bay, a man made harbour with a couple of fishing boats on the other. Two arms embracing this semi circle of heaven. Two Greek boys are kicking a football around, the world cup match on the flat screen in the bar driving them here to play out their dreams.

The turquoise and cream umbrellas are tucked up for the night and the sound of the waves coming home fills the silences between the jazz notes. A drop of rain falls from Crete which has somehow joined up with a black cloud the size of Europe. The moment has gone but it was there and I’ll always remember it.

Maggie Sackett

Maggie attended the Writers' Lab at the Skyros Centre on Skyros island, Greece. See www.skyros.com. The Writers' Lab was named by The Guardian as No 1 of the World's 5 Best Writing Holidays. See Press. The current season of holidays at the Skyros Centre runs up to Saturday 2 October. Call 01983 865566 for your Skyros brochure.