Ms Cowley says Mr Clements has an active social life and "a wicked sense of humour".

BBC: Jim Clements

"Many people with an active social life like Grav could confuse early symptoms of diabetes with just over-doing it a bit over Christmas, " he said.

BBC: Ray Gravell's final months to be aired in BBC documentary

Fermor led an active social life, and the house in Mani, however remote, was a place that attracted many friends, literary luminaries and even admiring strangers over the years.

WSJ: At Home in the World