Madrid, 21st January, 2024
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| In my element at the Sunday Jumble Sale in Gran Alacant last Sunday |
As you can see, we are home again and only stayed a few days in Gran Alacant (Santa Pola). We had to be back to sleep at Oli's on Wednesday and Thursday night to take the kids to school in the morning as Miguel was away this week. And - it's a big and - Suzy came with us. That is because we are lending her our Volvo for while she is living there. Thus she had to drive us home. We could have gone back by train but with Pippa it would have been a bit of a challenge. Before I continue, let me rewind to where I last left off.
Last Sunday saw us deliberating about lending her our car and managing with just the Mini ourselves at home. In the end we decided she needed it more than us as the apartment is in a location where having a car is a must. Now that she will be more independent transport wise, it also means, that if she wants, she can try and get a job and won't have trouble getting to work. All we want is for her to be happy and to be safe. I'm sure you understand.
Last Sunday we did lots of things and I enjoyed our morning thoroughly. It started off with a video call with Alexandra, an old colleague from Yoigo (Telia). She is from St. Petersburg but lives in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and works for Coca Cola as their Communications Director for Eurasia and The Caucasus. She got in touch as her brother is getting married in Spain and had lots of questions to ask me. I also took the opportunity to ask her some too. They are regarding our possible new road trip this year to Eurasia; to Azerbaijan and the "Stan" countries. She told me Turkmenistan is a no no, that she would look into ferries crossing the Caspian sea and told me that the safe countries were Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and also Kyrgyzstan. I really hope we meet when she comes to Madrid. Talk about "Nokia reconnecting colleagues", our internal slogan. It was more than good to talk to her.
The next item on the agenda was going to a jumble sale across the road from our apartment. Imagine, a jumble sale in Spain! I've loved them since I was a child. I think they are called Car boot sales these days, but I'm sticking with the term I used when I lived in England. . There are very few second hand markets in Spain and here they call them "charity markets" (mercadillos de solidaridad). I reckon those that exist on the coast do so because of the Brits living there. It was great fun and I bought some dog food and water bowls for Pippa for 1 euro, 6 gorgeous wine glasses for 3 euros as well as a beautiful Snow White outfit for Juliet. The photo illustrating this week's post is of me by the wine glass stall. Here are some more.
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| Shots from our visit to the jumble sale in Gran Alacant last Sunday |
By then it was mid morning coffee time and once again we went to the lovely new cafe called "Dime qué no" (tell me not). It was sunny but as it's so popular there was nowhere to sit outside. Thus we went inside and oh my what wonderful baked things they have. I took a poor shot of Eladio buying some bread for himself and Suzy who are bread monsters - as is Oli, my other daughter.
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| Eladio buying bread at the new local cafe and bakery, "Dime qué no" |
We sat next to an interesting looking couple who have identical twin girls aged 3. We got talking - as I normally do (Eladio commented I am just like my mother in that way) and it turns out the man is from Iran and his wife is a "Berber" from Morocco. They both spoke perfect Spanish and English. It was interesting to meet an Iranian living in Spain. Again, I heard from him that it is perfectly safe to travel there (we would love to include it in our road trip) as long as we don't do anything against the government which could be many things. We also learned they are the owners of a very popular restaurant here called "Atípico" which we must go to one day. Have to say there are people from all parts of the world living in Gran Alacant. Gran Alacant is like a huge community with lots of different gated communities. Oh how it has grown since we bought our modest little flat there in the spring of 1999, the year my mother died. I always wished she could have seen it.
We left just after 10.30 with Suzy at the wheel. She was delighted to be driving again. I sat in the back with Pippa doing my daily NYT Spelling Bee, a fixture of my mornings these days. We stopped for lunch on the way at Mesón San José in Zafra de Záncara, 136km from home. It's a place we know well and they serve good food. Towards the end of our meal Suzy went to take Pippa out and came to the window by our table. I had to have a photo. Suzy doesn't often let me take one so I snapped one quickly.
They were delighted to see their Aunty Suzy again as she was delighted to see them and scooped them up in her arms.
By then it was midday and time for a much needed walk. It was so warm we really enjoyed walking by the sea on the lovely newly discovered promenade called Almirante Carrero Blanco. Lots of people were out enjoying the sun, with their dogs or on their bikes or scooters.
Pippa met two of her kind which is always fun. When we got her 9 years ago, I hardly ever saw another miniature, chocolate coloured and smooth haired dachshund like her - called Teckels here - but now sausage dogs of all kinds have grown enormously in popularity. I always observe that she makes immediate friends with her same breed. How can that be I wonder? Whatever the answer, it is always like this and such a pleasure to watch. We then talk to the owners about dachshunds' personalities and traits and they always coincide: very needy, territorial, protective, loving, wanting to be close to their owner and others. One is that dachshunds always pick their main human owner - like the head of the pack. In Pippa's world that is me and I feel so blessed. Never have I loved any dog as much as her. They always say that dogs are a man's best friend and that is certainly true in our case. I always say too that in our marriage we are not 2 but 3 hahaha.
We were home to lunch prepared by Suzy. It was then that we offered her the Volvo. At first she was hesitant but as I wrote above, she has accepted it gratefully and brought us home. I really hope it makes her life easier in Gran Alacant. To decide she had to read her Tarot cards! So, as you see there was peace in Santa Pola but the worries don't go away. She spent most of her time during our stay preparing a video for her YouTube channel which is 39 minutes long. She asked me to listen to the audio where she hopes to channel messages from "the Galactic family" to people who need help or are having a spiritual awakening like her. I did so with a heavy heart but if that is her choice of life, so be it. I can do nothing to change it; just have her best interests at mind and care for her as much as possible. We had fun moments that night on the terrace where it was 16ºc, looking at old photos of her with her sister. I wondered what on earth went wrong.
I missed the news but did see some of the scenes of the ascension to the throne of the new King Frederick X of Denmark. There was no actual coronation as such. I thought his mother leaving him quietly from the balcony was quite poignant. Queen Margrethe II reigned from 1972 to 2024 and after the death of "The" Queen and herself, there are no longer any female reigning monarchs that I know of. She is aged 83 and I wish her a happy late retirement. I wonder if other monarchs or even the Pope may follow suit? I often think they have the right to retire like we ordinary mortals, don't you? So long live The King of Denmark but also a happy retirement to his very popular mother.
I slept dreadfully that night. My bloody cough won't go away. I was up at 7.30 or so on Monday morning. It was then Suzy told us the cards had said to accept the car and then that we decided to come back on Tuesday. It was warm again that morning which seemed to be too busy to enjoy leisurely. The light went with all that that meant, I was inundated with questions from potential Airbnb guests and a hundred other things I had to respond to that frankly I felt a little overwhelmed. Finally I was free around 12.30 and out we went for a well deserved mid morning coffee. As you know nothing will stand between me and my favourite daily habit. Shopping at Mercadona was next on the agenda as I had to take food home and leave some there for Suzy.
We came back to a quiet lunch and spent the afternoon in peace. Tuesday came. I was up early. It was sunrise when I took Pippa down and once again I admired the view of the Bay of Alicante from our apartment. I never tire of it.
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| The view of the Bay of Alicante from our apartment at sunrise on Tuesday |
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| Suzy with Pippa at Mesón de San José where we had lunch on our way home from Gran Alacant. |
Pippa was not allowed in but got a bit of Eladio's rabbit which must have delighted it. No way can I eat rabbit but when it's on the menu my husband often chooses it.
We were home at around 4 pm. We just had time to unpack and settle in before Oli arrived with the kids. Suzy hadn't seen them seem August and the reunion was so sweet with both Juliet and Elliot. We were left with them alone as Oli went off to her French class. What a pair. Here they are posing for the camera while we tried to entertain them before their father came.
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| Elliot and Juliet came to see Aunty Suzy |
When they went I had an hour to rest before a quiet dinner with Suzy and Eladio in our dining room - a bowl of soup and ham. It was good to see Mohammad and Maria again. Mohammad told me they had missed me and that the house was very quiet. What lovely young people they are.
We went to bed early and watched the news. The news that did excite me this week came that night when a friend sent me an article from the BBC. It was entitled "Brits living abroad for more than 15 years get general election vote" - that's me I thought. A few years ago I read something similar and in my eagerness wrote to my last constituency (West Bradford) to get on the electoral roll and I got a negative reply. But it's real this time and I hope I will once again be able to vote. It is estimated there are up to 3 million people like me out there. I always think that if we had been able to vote the outcome of the Brexit referendum would have gone the other way and then Britain wouldn't be in the mess it is today. It was WW2 veteran Harry Shindler who lived in Italy for 40 years who championed the cause . He said "There was a war to bring the vote to the people of Europe. We won the war, but some of the people who took part in the war, me included, are not allowed to vote themselves" His case was my father's case too and it sad that the new law comes too late for them. For me that was good news and about bloody time if you don't mind me saying so.
I slept badly and coughed the night through and got up far too early on Wednesday morning. I think I slept about 4 hours so when I came up for my shower I promptly fell asleep for 1 hour and then woke up feeling like a zombie. But things had to be done. It was Suzy's only day at home and Oli was coming for lunch. She went with her sister to take the kids to school and then to the hairdresser for a badly needed cut. We went to do a few errands and then met up with her for coffee at Alverán. Here she is kissing her father which I wanted on camera as I don't often get her on camera.
They went off together to get some vegan cosmetics for her while I went to the bank. I caught them on camera again a short while later. So here's another photo of Suzy for this week's blog. She has been absent from it for so long and it was about time she was back.
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| Suzy kissing her father |
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| Suzy with her father in Boadilla on Tuesday |
Soon it was time for them both to leave; Oli to pick up the kids and Suzy to drive back to Santa Pola in the Volvo which is now hers while she is living there.
We had a quiet afternoon and dinner and then I had to drive Eladio to Oli's house where he was staying the night as both Olivia and Miguel would be up at 6 and 7 in the morning and the kids can't be left alone. I agreed to be there at 8 am on Thursday morning to help him get them ready for school.
Once home I did an important thing. I applied online to register to vote in the UK. I honestly thought it would be difficult as I don't remember or have my national insurance number. But it was actually quite easy. This is the link to follow if you are a Brit abroad like me who wants to vote again. I was pleasantly surprised to get a confirmation message and thought it was quite an historic moment for me. I haven't voted in the UK since I left in 1981. You may think that if I have lived away so long I should no longer feel the need or be allowed to vote as the UK is no longer my country of residence. Ah, but it's my birth country and I keep up with the news there everyday and it means a lot to me. No other country that I know of has a law where you can't vote if you leave the country.
You would have thought I would have slept well that night being alone in our great big bed with just Pippa for company but I didn't. Again I only got about 4 hours. I was up at 6.15 and at Oli's place by 7.45 on Thursday morning. Both children were awake and it took a while to get them ready. Elliot chooses his own clothes and made a big fuss about what colour underpants to wear. Juliet is no longer the little saint and it's nearly impossible to dress her. But we managed. What we didn't achieve was their eating their breakfast. They don't seem to have much appetite in the morning. We set off for school well on time but kept having to stop because the back doors of the Mini kept opening. But again we managed. Once home the only thing we wanted was to go to bed. I got an hour's sleep which was a big help.
It was on Thursday that Mohammad, our Iraqi student guest, announced he wants to stay on until he finishes his master in sport nutrition. He was going to leave to find somewhere more affordable but in the end decided there is no place better than ours. Bless him, his main reason for staying on is me. He says I'm like a mother and that he had missed me while I was away, adding that the house lights up when I am here. Bless him really. We love having him. We have chats over a cigarette most nights and he is learning a lot from me about Western ways I can tell you. He complained about the Uni gym being mixed and how it affects his testosterone. I do not want to reproduce here what my answer was as it was rather rude. I am enjoying giving him a basic education on the equality of men and women. He is learning fast.
Again that night I drove Eladio to Oli's and again that night I slept badly. I was up at 6.30 on Friday morning and at their house by 7.45, except that Eladio couldn't hear the bell nor his phone (on silence as usual) and I had to wait outside the flat for 20 minutes! The kids were up far too early but didn't fuss too much about being dressed and fed to go to school. Well, that's not quite true. Elliot wanted to put on a coat without a hood but it was raining so I told him to put his normal one on. Clever little minx, he took the hood off his normal coat and wore it with the new coat. He had to hold his hands on his head to keep it on. This time the Mini didn't play up and we were at school far too early. I took the time to take a picture for today's blog post.
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| The kids going to school on Friday morning |
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| Our old house - Rio Tajo, 5, Parque Boadilla, where we lived from 1988 to 2006. |
We lived there from 1988 to 2006 when we moved here. It was quite nostalgic to go past. That is the place of the memories we have of bringing up our children. How happy they were there with the school, St. Michael's, so close by.
We came home to find lunch on the table - thank you Tana and to have a quiet afternoon.
Eladio spent some time on traffic fines and I spent time on my hospitality book keeping and other general stuff. One nasty thing was more tax to pay for 2021 (damn the tax people) and another was the second estimate from my dentist for all the dental work needed for my teeth. I wrote to accept and added I hoped I would have teeth like Hollywood actors at the end of it. It's going to cost a fortune but I have to do it. The first of many appointments is on 1st February. Wish me luck.
Saturday came. It was Tana's 60th birthday and so she went off quite early. We went on our walk and I made a very simple lunch. I spent a lot of time corresponding with JZ (a former Chinese guest) who is coming with his parents in February. I have gone over and above to fit him in but my goodness he had me at my computer for most of the morning and afternoon. Eladio often says I may be retired but have a full time job. He is damn right but no complaints. A new guest arrived from Portugal so we are full house this weekend which I am not complaining about either.
And today my friends is Sunday. I was up at 6 am - far too early, but on the plus side I had the house to myself. Today Olivia and the kids are coming for lunch so we look forward to that. We also look forward to sunny weather this week and are debating whether to go to Asturias or not.
And that''s that from me this week. I'll sign off now wishing you all a good Sunday. Cheers till next time,
All the best
Masha.
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