Fun with Elliot and Juliet, Internet down thanks to Movistar incompetence, Northern Ireland protocol "sorted" by Sunak, into town on Friday and other stories of the week.

Madrid, Sunday 5th March, 2023.

Outside the San Francisco de Asis clinic where I gave birth to both my girls so long ago. 

Good morning again. It's now March and spring is on the horizon. 

You wouldn't have thought so  for the first half of this week as it has been freezing in Spain. Storm "Juliette" brought ice and snow even to Mallorca. It didn't snow here but my was it cold. But yesterday the temperatures went up and everyone was outside. I love the warm weather in Spain but especially the sun. 

Last Sunday, we braced the cold and gave thanks for the sun. Cold is always more bearable if it is sunny. I had guests coming and going all day but hardly saw any of them. As predicted, it was a very quiet day, the highlight being a Facetime call with Kathy and Phil. They cheered me up a lot. I do wish they lived down the street. 

That night I got just 4 miserly hours sleep and was shattered all day Monday. I had to carry out the motions though and thankfully I had something to do that morning to stop thinking about myself. I always thought I was a positive person. Yeah, well, it's easy to be so when the going is good. It's when it gets tough that it is a challenge. I keep telling myself I have to be strong. Thankfully as the week drew to a close I have been sleeping a lot better. 

That day we took the Mini to be serviced, or rather for a bump to be repaired, a bump we hadn't even noticed but that  had damaged the reverse light and the camera. To think I have now had my lovely German branded but British made Mini since March 2017. Where have the 6 years gone? It's got lots of mileage in it though as it only has 50km clocked. It should be fine for our trip of a lifetime as it doesn't need new servicing until November next year. We won't get it back until next Thursday and on Friday we shall be driving it to Santa Pola where it is even sunnier and warmer than here. I look forward to a break by the sea. 

I was starving when we left the BMW garage as I had had my breakfast at 6 in the morning. I took Eladio to a very tempting cake shop in Majadahonda called Atuel. It's as good as any high standing Parisian patisserie. That's why people were queuing up inside for the cakes, pastries and bread. We had a coffee and mine was accompanied by a mini fruit tart. Eladio thought the 10 euro bill was excessive but I would have paid just 10 euros or more just for the cake.

That meant I was not very hungry for lunch but I was tempted again as it was spag bol which I am partial to. I would have loved to have a siesta but my body just wouldn't let me sleep. When I am over tired that happens. Besides, I had another problem to sort with damned Movistar, again.  Would you believe that after all our troubles we had an internet outage that day?  I realised it just as we sat down to lunch. I did what I had to do and what usually works best; i.e. switching the router on and off. But, oh dear, there were flashing red lights and that was not good. I had to ring them during lunch and at least they take the call as I am over 65. I was assured all would be solved within 2 hours. Well, it wasn't. To cut a long story short, a "man" had been up the telephone pole and, according, to Enrique, my technician, had done what he had to do but had left our house unconnected. Would you believe that? I had to get on my knees to make him to come the next day in the afternoon. That meant more than 24h of internet outage. It was ok for us as we can use our mobiles as hot spots; not so for my Canadian guest Faz. 

To think this was happening in Madrid during the middle of the Mobile World Conference, the biggest mobile phone fair in the world where they already talking about 6G and God knows what else. All I want is for Telefonica to get its act together and that's what I said to the sweet but useless girl who is part of their social media team. 

That did not put me in the best of moods. What improved my morale was when we went to Oli's house in the afternoon. She had a conference call to do with her recent Master teaching classes and we had to keep the babies amused. And, that we did. Here are some fun photos of those few hours. 

Fun with the kids on Monday afternoon

They were a great tonic. Their latest game is hiding in the cupboards under Elliot's bed. They think it is hilarious. I do too and had to take a video which you can see on my You Tube channel here. 

We left at around 8pm - our dinner time. Our dinner was frugal and quiet, very different to the opulent dinners taking place at the Mobile World Conference. I had been there every year until 2017 since it moved from Cannes to Barcelona and yes it was great but oh so big and I hate crowds. It is one of the busiest moments of the year for tech companies but you know what? I have no desire ever to go again. So what's new I wondered? They are now talking about 6G, operators are once again hoping to get the tech giants such as Facebook and Google to pay for using their networks and what I found most spectacular was a drone like helicopter to be used as a taxi. I always used to wonder if one day cars would fly. It seems they will. It's just a question of time. At the conference was 94 year old former Motorola engineer, Martin Copper. He is known for having made the first mobile phone call in 1973 using the Dyna Tac which I remember well as I worked for Motorola for 9 years when mobile telephony started out commercially.  

Martin Cooper, the Motorola engineer, who is said to have made the first mobile phone call back in 1973 - he was at the MWC this week but using an iPhone. 

We used to call it  "the brick". It weighed a ton, only worked for 30 minutes and needed 10 hours of charging. It probably cost a 1000 euros too - it was the iPhone of the time when I suppose  Motorola was King. For an interview with El Pais conducted by my dear friend, Ana Pantaleoni, he walked in with an iPhone. Oh how we have come on from there. But we need to get better at fixing internet connections and battery usage.  At his age, Cooper is still thinking about mobile phones and where they are going. In his mind he thinks the future is that phone technology will be integrated into our skin and charged using the energy in our bodies. Wow! That could happen. Time will tell. 

Again that night I slept awfully. I was awake at 4 am and it was impossible to sleep. I took more pills which didn't help and in the end it was Eladio who saved me by holding me and giving me a massage to relax me. It gave me 1.45h more sleep. Thank you my wonderful husband.

Tuesday came and it was sunny but freezing again. I don't know what the weather was like in London where all the talk was about the "Windsor Framework", the new name for the Northern Ireland Protocol - which had just been signed between the UK PM, Rishi Sunak and EU President Ursula von der Leyen.

London this week - signing of the new Windsor Framework

It is supposed to improve Boris Johnson's agreement. The fundamental problem was the Irish border, the status of NI - half in the EU and half in the UK - and all the paperwork for goods to be moved. From what I can understand the novelties are threefold: 1) Stormont Brake - something about NI or the UK being able to veto new EU laws which in practice won't be easy, 2) green lane and red lanes into the Republic of Ireland removing the idea of a border in the Irish Sea - that is still a border for me - 3) NI to be on the same level as the UK when it comes to VAT for food, drink and medicines (but nothing else). To me it seems an improvement but doesn't fix everything.  Sunak then had to get Tory hard Brexiteers to give their go ahead as well as the DUP in Ireland. It seems he got the go ahead, albeit grudgingly. It was said Boris Johnson would make trouble. That doesn't make sense to me as even if the treaty is faulty it is far better than the one the former leader secured. 

Then I felt I had been hit in the stomach with an arrow when I read these words from Rishi Sunak: "Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position, the unique position in the entire world in having privileged access not just to the UK home market but also the European Union single market". God damn him. Doesn't he realise the irony of his words? The UK and Northern Ireland already had that before Brexit was voted for? When saying that he is damning British politics for leaving the EU market and the mess it left the UK in. I wonder if he realised later. I suppose he was left to pick up the pieces but neither Northern Ireland nor the UK is better off because of Brexit. Most of the UK's economic woes come from leaving the EU. 

No doubt Sunak is pleased with himself but his words made me feel very cross. I wonder how he is going to sort the rest of the problems caused by leaving the EU?

But I wasn't thinking about this when I was out shopping in an EU country where I have no problems with stock of fruit and vegetables in supermarkets, can see a doctor where and when I like and can import stuff; usually via Amazon, from EU countries with no tariffs or extra costs  -not to mention that I have free movement in EU countries, now that I have a Spanish passport. Damn those who voted for Brexit for they knew not what they were doing, to semi quote the Bible. 

Anyway back to my normal routine and humdrum life. Lunch was spag bol again followed by the news and no siesta. The latter wasn't just because I couldn't sleep. It was because Enrique - the Movistar technician who now feels part of the family - came at around 3.30 pm to sort out the Internet outage. Here is what the floor looked like where the router is located.

Sorting the Internet outage on Tuesday

He declared it dead; i.e there was no fiber coming into the house. So off he went to the fiber box up the road and was there for about 20 minutes. He came home to tell me that the "port" to our house had been cut off to give to an Orange customer or so he thought. I could hardly believe the incompetence of Movistar cutting us off by mistake and told them so on Twitter. When this month's invoice comes, my first, I shall dispute it for all the damage inflicted and their sheer incompetence. Thankfully though Enrique "sorted" it and we had Internet back. He said we had had bad luck. I would call it something else but can't use those words here as they are far too rude. 

The rest of the day was quiet. I made an effort for dinner for once and served my flagship tuna salad with the help of Lucy - thanks Lucy. This was it. 

One of our favourite dinner dishes - tuna salad with lots of ingredients

There would be no entertainment that night as I was shattered and my body finally gave itself a break and let me sleep. I got 7h 14 minutes of interrupted sleep . I woke up at least 6 or 7 times but was able to go back to sleep something which I usually find difficult. 

Getting up at 7 am rather than 5 am is a different thing and I felt so much better on Wednesday morning. It turned out to be a good day and I needed one. Our walk was a tonic as usual. Seeing our grandchildren in the afternoon was another tonic. What lifted my spirits also were two more bookings for this house. One of them was for 3 people coming that night for 4 days. The rooms were ready so only needed a look over really. The kids were on full form wanting to go to the swings in the freezing cold and play with my ornaments. Juliet loves one of the Russian dolls (matroshka) and we always end up losing the tiniest doll. Oli remarked that the one she was playing with was given to her by Aunty Masha - my mother's beloved youngest sister. I shall treasure it even more now. 

It was pay day for Lucy so she took the afternoon off to go into Madrid and I suppose wire her money to Paraguay. That's what she is here for, to earn for her family. What a blessing she is in our lives. She had made the tortilla mixture for me to fry tortillas for dinner which are Elliot's favourite except that he hardly ate a piece. We gave some to Faz, our Canadian guest, who has not been cooking. He just buys sandwiches and we felt sorry for him. Suzy also made him some veggie spag bol  because he can only eat halal meat, which he much appreciated. By dinner time, thankfully Lucy was back so I didn't have to clear up. My guests were arriving at around 8 pm and the house had to be clean and quiet, except that it wasn't the latter as Oli decided to bathe the kids here. My guests, Omar and his two work "mates" arrived just as my daughter and family were leaving. They are three young Moroccan boys who work installing solar panels. Omar has his own business. We have been thinking about installing them here but don't know much about it. It seems costly and payback takes time or that is the idea we have. Omar would explain how it works during his stay. After we showed them their rooms which they loved they went off to buy food and make their dinner while we went to bed.

Thank the Gods because I had one of my best night's sleep in ages. I was up at 7 am on Thursday morning. It was a good day in various ways. It started with our walk and our mid morning coffee - at 12 noon here. We then went to see a psychologist. I debated on telling you about this as it is quite private but it was important for us. I won't go into why. Those of you who know me well can imagine why.The appointment was at 13h in an area of Madrid we hardly know although we lived in Saconia nearby when we first lived in Madrid. We were home by 3 which is very late for lunch and gobbled down the "cocido" leftovers. We had missed the news but wanted a nap. I didn't think I would be able to sleep but I did, nearly 2 hours of precious shut eye and restorative sleep. Thank you God. I later watched a fascinating documentary about Spain's best figure skater ever and one of the best in the world; Javier Fernández the two time world champion and 7 time European champion. I love watching skating and Javier's story is fascinating. Someone said it was like a country such as Indonesia producing a Messi, for Spain has little history in winter sports being a sunny country.

Dinner time was hectic but I liked it. Our 3 Moroccan boys were in the kitchen making for lively conversation. They must have come into Spain illegally. The "boss", Omar, came to Spain aged just 15 and lived in a residence for young illegal immigrants but he did well for himself in getting a degree in engineering. He now owns a successful solar energy company. Good for him. Suzy made friends with them immediately and it was good to see her socialise.

We didn't socialise much more, preferring to take refuge in our quarters, watch the news and something entertaining on TV. Again I slept well although I woke up and got up at 6 am on Friday morning. 

Friday would be a change from routine. That day we went "into town", i.e into the centre of Madrid, or, as the Americans would say "downtown". I had an appointment with a sleep doctor recommended to me by my urologist. It was quite a coincidence but his surgery is at the San Francisco de Asis hospital where I gave birth to both girls in 1984 and 1985. It was near where we lived and run by nuns. I am not sure if that is still so today. It would be funny to go back.

We took the tube or metro as we didn't want to risk another fine for taking our car into the city - diesel cars are not allowed - We left the car at Colonia Jardín, took the number 10 line to Príncipe Pío and then the number 6 line to República Argentina. Eladio had forgotten his mask so couldn't go in. Post Covid masks are only obligatory in health related places. My appointment was at 12.10 but I had to wait for nearly an hour. I took with me the results of a sleep test I did in 2017 but only had a conclusion, no images. Thus the doctor wants me to do another one - oh dear. From what I told him, he thinks I suffer from sleep apnea, something I have always thought I had but  in the test in 2017 it didn't appear. The problem with apnea is that there is no cure. You can wear some awful device which I honestly don't think I could sleep with. But we shall see. On the bright side I have been sleeping a lot better recently.

I came out feeling funny to be in the hospital where I gave birth - oh the memories it brought back . and had to have photos of me at the entrance. Eladio obliged. This is another one.

Back at the hospital where I gave birth

We had a quick cup of coffee at the hospital cafeteria and then walked all the way to Eladio's brother's house where we used to live. We bought our first flat there in 1983, the year we got married so are still familiar with the area. But, as you know, we are not town people. I was very happy to move out into the countryside and have a house and our own garden. We had time on our hands so went in search of wine and cakes to take to our guests. Here is Eladio leaving a rather posh looking bakery and pastry shop called Pareli on the well heeled Juan Bravo street not far from his brother's house. 

Buying biscuits and chocolates on Friday

My sister-in-law had prepared a lovely lunch for us. Their youngest son, Juan, was there so it was good to catch up. Juan was also born at the same hospital as the girls and is just one year older than Suzy. It's amazing to think he turned 40 this year.

We had a pleasant time together as we always do and left around 4ish as Eladio's brother's eyes were closing - he sleeps as much as Eladio and needs a siesta too. We were home by about 5 and home to a quiet house. We had a quiet time until dinner and the news despite having 4 guests in the house.

Saturday came and I had slept well again - thanking my lucky stars for that. Saturday would not be quiet as we spent time with our grandchildren. Miguel was working this weekend and Oli needed us to lend a hand. It was a beautiful sunny day and warmer too. At midday we met with the girls and the babies at Manolo Bakes. There we bought some of their delicious croissants but had them with a coffee at Manacor as there was nowhere to sit. We bought 8 croissants. I had 2 and Elliot had 3 believe it or not. Oh what a sweet tooth he has. He finished off Juliet's too. Yesterday Juliet turned 1 and a half, quite a milestone. Here she is with me and with her adored grandfather. There is so much complicity between them and I love seeing them together.

Photos of Juliet yesterday at Manacor

On our way to Oli's car we bumped into our Chinese guests, Amanda and her 10 year old daughter Lucy - don't know what their Chinese names are hahahaha. It was great to see them. You may remember they came to stay in January having moved from China to give their daughter a private and international education. I agreed to ring Amanda - a former teacher of English in China, to have coffee together some time soon.

We had lunch alone as Oli was eating out with a friend, Anita. Thus we had time for a siesta until they came back at around 5 pm. So we had more grandparent duty time yesterday afternoon. They stayed for dinner and Lucy made us egg and chips the Spanish way where you break the egg yolk over the chips - delicious. 

So we went to bed on a full stomach but again I slept well and this morning didn't get up until 7 am. Our Moroccan boys have just left so the house is quiet. I think the day will be quiet too but don't know yet as we have no `plans.

This time next week I will be writing from our pad by the coast, near Santa Pola. I'm really looking forward to a change of scenery. You will hear all about it in next week's post. Cheers till then,

Masha. 

c