Shades vendre and Flip-flops on Zakynthos by Massen, Alan R. NEUF

Shades and Flip-flops on Zakynthos is a pictorial and descriptive journey through the history, geography and beauty of the Greek Paradise Island of Zakynthos which is set in the blue azure Mediterranean Sea. We will visit the many great beaches, resorts and villages on this really lovely holiday Island. The Island of Zakynthos or Zante as it is sometime known, is a Greek Island located in the Ionian Sea. Zakynthos is the third largest of the Ionian Islands and it covers an area of 410 km2 (158 square miles). The coastline of the Island is roughly 123 km (76 miles) in length. Zakynthos is a very popular tourist destination. It has an international airport which is served by many charter flights from all over northern Europe. It is located 300 km west from the capital of Greece Athens and 9.5 marine miles from the Peloponnese mainland coast from where a regular ferry service comes and goes to and from the Island of Zakynthos. The book contains a large selection of images. You know what they say "a picture saves a thousand words".

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", "Mardle and a Troshin in Norfolk", "England the Country of vendre my Birth", "Mousehole the Cornish Jewel", "Sunshine and Shades on Kefalonia", and finally "Shades and Flip-flops on Zakynthos" Also published by Rainbow Publications UK. He has recently started on the following new books which will be entitled: "Crete and the Island of Santorini", "Cyprus the Pyramids and the Holy Land", "Corfu and Mainland Greece", "Trips into my Minds Eye", "Flip-flops and Shades on many Greek Islands" and finally "Greece Land of Gods and Men". When completed they will also be published by Rainbow Publications UK.