Well into December, happy with myself, Aminatou Haidar, a political problem, a good deed, new toys before Christmas and more.

Aminatou haidar, the human rights defender and political activist on a hunger strike in a Spanish airport in the Canary Islands, a big headache for Spanish international politics and the main news in Spain these days.
Hi again

Today is Sunday again and we are now well into December. While I’m writing Eladio and my Father are practising that wonderful Spanish sport, the siesta and the girls are away in Navacerrada, a small town in the mountains outside Madrid, for a girly weekend.
Navacerrada in the mountains outside Madrid.
It’s cold outside but sunny and soon we will be going on our walk and then our friends, Roberto and Mari Carmen will be coming for a cup of tea. The lounge is nearly ready for Christmas but I am leaving the lights and decorations for when the girls come back to do it together and maintain the tradition. Of course when we do we will have the King’s College Choir singing carols in the background. I mean, what is Christmas without carols?

Today is my down day. If you read my blog last week you will know I am doing the Up and Down diet where you fast one day on 500 calories and eat up to 2.500 the next day. It may seem like the latest fad diet but for me, for the moment, it is working and I have now done it for nearly 2 weeks. All in all I have now lost 10 kilos since I started in September. I feel so much happier with myself and this time I am very motivated.

The diet doesn’t stop me going out for meals, but only on the “up days”. So last Sunday we went out with Roberto and Mari Carmen to Las tres nueces in Boadilla and yesterday Eladio and I enjoyed dinner out at La Vaca Argentina in Las Rozas, one of our favourites. We hadn’t been for a while and it was nice to see the staff recognise us and welcome us back.

Who certainly won’t be going out for meals is a lady, who, at least in Spain and in Morocco, is now even more famous than she was before. I refer to Aminatou Haidar, human rights defender and political activitist also known as the “Sahrawi Gandhi”. She is on a hunger strike at a Spanish airport in the Canary Islands after being expelled over her refusal to accept Moroccan nationality. Right now she is one of the Spanish Foreign Ministry’s main problems and the hottest topic in Spanish and, of course, Moroccan politics. She is now into the 26th day of her hunger strike.

If I am reporting on the week, I should really start from where I left off, last Sunday. Last week was a bank holiday and we were together quite a lot as a family with a nice family lunch on Tuesday. That day too I did a good deed and accepted being interviewed by two unknown students studying journalism who contacted me via Facebook. They were doing a project on communication in Yoigo so were very eager to contact me. As they didn’t have much time, I agreed to meet them on Tuesday which was a holiday. Eva and Alvaro, very sweet kids, were obviously very nervous but asked all the right questions. Later I sent them more information and am now looking forward to seeing their finished work for which they will hopefully get a good mark.

The week went pretty fast after the bank holiday. Of note this week I went to the hairdresser and accentuated the new cut (short at the back and longer at the front) a bit more. On Thursday I attended the second round of a pretty mundane and very uninspiring coaching course for too many people. We are about 23 people and get shut in a room without windows for 5 hours which for me is impossible. The course leaders, nice people but lacking in charisma want to make a team out of us but the group is too big and the idea doesn’t seem to grab any of us, especially because we do not work together on a regular basis. I am not looking forward to the next sessions. Thankfully they are on a monthly basis.

This week was also the week we held our employee Christmas party organised by “the one and only” of course. Thankfully everything went well, no hitches, no complaints and a lot of fun. Big thanks go to my friend Pedro Delgado, the famous Spanish sportsman and ex cyclist, who was my MC and did a brilliant job. He is so special and I love him dearly as do most people in Spain.
Pedro Delgado when he won the Tour of France in 1988. He is a legend in Spain and a much loved personality even today.
Friday was difficult as the office party left me with a small migraine. I hardly drank but being up late was enough to start it off. I had a date with Juana, a friend, for a coffee and some advice on marketing communications as she has an interview tomorrow. Hope she gets the job. She certainly deserves it.

And although it is not Christmas yet I have already received some gifts including some lovely new toys. Yoigo gave all the employees a fantastic ham but also an LG notebook pc which is such fun. It’s white, extremely light and comes fully equipped. I also got a new Nokia phone, the N97 as mine was on its last legs. So this weekend I have been busy playing with both devices, synchronising contacts, installing programmes such as Spotify (how I love that) and generally getting them ready for use. I am not techy but do love new IT equipment.
My lovely new notebook PC which will be great for travelling
And now my husband has woken up from his siesta and it’s time for our walk. So on that note I will leave you until next week.

Goodbye till then
Masha.