DAVE FROM CROATIA
Hazel Lubbock, digital platform editor
@hazellubbock
I HAD FORGOTTEN THAT TAKING a cheap 6am light from Stansted was a false economy, and arrived a three-hour plane and one-hour taxi journey later in Šibenik, Croatia, in a complete daze. As I took the giant step down from the jetty and onto a tiny wooden boat full of haphazardly placed suitcases, I heard a male voice. ‘Watch out for that bolt!’ I tripped, span on one heel and landed, with the man’s arms wrapped around me, back to chest. It was by no means love at irst sight – he has dreadful tattoos – but we chatted all the way to island-festival Obonjan, became close friends, and moved in together a year later. We’ve been back to Croatia every summer since, to a diferent spot each time, and I’ve only considered returning him once or twice.