Tomato war between France and Spain, Jumble sale in Gran Alacant, time out and lunch in Alicante, The King has cancer, home again, my birthday, words of love, family lunch and other stories of the week.

 Sunday, 11th February, 2024

By the port in Alicante last Sunday and what a sunny day it was too. 

Good morning everyone. I hope I find you all well. It is very shocking to hear the new King Charles III has cancer which we learned on Monday. But more about that later. 

We are now home again but last Sunday we were still at our apartment in Santa Pola. That morning I was eager to visit the Sunday car boot sale which I still call a jumble sale. What fun it was. Here is a photo to remember the visit. I wish I could go every week. 

At the Gran Alacant Sunday car boot  sale last week (jumble sale)

It was a beautiful sunny day and there was plenty to look at. I got a toy house for the children for their play corner at home as well as 3 lovely large mugs for the apartment. Suzy was happy with  them.

From there we drove down to the beach hoping for a coffee at a well known bar but it was closed, being February I suppose. Thus we went once again to Ca Pacorro on the lovely promenade at the entrance to Santa Pola coming from Gran Alacant on the the coastal road. We were lucky to get a table. It's amazing how full this area is now in the winter. When we first bought our apartment in 1999 (yes, that long ago), the area was pretty deserted in the winter but not now. Suzy was busy preparing a video for her You Tube channel so suggested we went out for lunch. We grabbed the chance and decided on going to Alicante, the capital of the province. Alicante is the city with the most hours of sunshine in Europe and is always vibrant. But it has an elegance other touristy coastal towns and cities do not. 

We hadn't booked a table so just headed to the port where we went into the first place we saw; Bodegon del Mar. It really was nothing special but it was right by the yachting port with views of the city and sea and served pretty good food. Plus, we were allowed to take Pippa in. But oh boy she was a nuisance, barking all the time. I love the typical starter in the area which is bread or toast with aioli and tomato sauce. That day I was not on a diet so indulged in one delicious slice.

Bread with aioli and fresh tomato sauce is typically served with a meal in the Alicante area and I love it. 

We both decided on a rice dish you would probably call paella but paella is only one type really. We went for what is called "arroz señoret" -  rice with seafood that is already peeled. I have to say it was one of the best we have ever had. Especially good was what is called "socarrat". You have to be a paella or rice expert of the region to know what that is. It's the crusty part on the sides which is always the tastiest part of the dish. This was our "arroz señoret"

Arroz señoret last Sunday in Alicante at Bodegón del Mar by the yachting port

The portion was too large so we took some home for Suzy.

Once outside I had to take photos of the view of the port and city. The only part I do not like is the eyesore high rise building on the horizon. It must have been built in the 60's or 70's and really spoils that skyline of Alicante. 

View from the port in Alicante. On the far right is the Castle of Santa Barbara. 

We then walked to the only beach in the city, the Postiguet beach which is where TV journalists often comment on the weather. It's nearly always good in Alicante. The beach was pretty full. Most people were clothed as there was a breeze in the air but some were in the water. Wow!

View of the Postiguet beach in Alicante last Sunday

Feeling inspired I took a video to post on my YouTube channel  and to share with you here. This is it. 

Postiguet beach in Alicante last Sunday

The whole place was buzzing and before we headed home we went for a short walk on the famous promenade called La Explanada - a sort of copy of a similar promenade in Copa Cabana I once read. It was to go the stalls there to buy some incense for Suzy. 

We were home mid afternoon, happy with the visit to the jumble sale and our time out and lunch in Alicante. 

Monday morning dawned and I still had a damned headache. I was beginning to wonder whether after more than a week with a headache maybe I had a brain tumour but I won't go there. I took a codeine and an aspirin which I had been hesitating to take together and it did help a bit. 

Eladio, Pippa and I went into Santa Pola, our nearest town and the town that our "urbanization", Gran Alacant, belongs to. It's about 7km from away. It is mainly a fishing town but also popular with tourists, mostly families or retired couples. There are no high rise blocks, hardly any hotels and no discotheques so there is no mass tourism like in Benidorm, Torremolinos or Lloret del Mar to name a few of the worst type of package tour destinations in this otherwise wonderful country. We headed for the main square by the old castle and sat and had a coffee at my favourite place, Dalua. That's where Sandra, Adele and I spent many a morning gorging on their delicious chocolate covered croissants when they came in October. And here we are together enjoying the moment. The photo is courtesy of the very kind waiter who served us.

Coffee at Dalua in the main square in Santa Pola on Monday

It was so lovely to be sitting in the sun in February. That's what so great about many parts of Spain in the winter. 

Sunshine was on my mind when I read an article in The Times that morning about the so-called "tomato war". Have you heard about how Ségolëne Royal, the former partner of Francois Holland and socialist politician, insulted Spanish tomatoes of all things? This was in connection with  huge strikes mostly by French farmers protesting about costs caused by super strict EU farming regulations. Their main complaint is that non EU countries, like Morocco, do not have to adhere so the former can no longer compete. Well, Spain is in the same boat as France. However Royal suggested otherwise when she said Spanish ecological tomatoes are inedible and do not belong on French supermarket shelves! She implied Spanish farmers do no adhere to all the EU regulations which is not true. This caused a huge uproar in Spain as you can imagine where we are very proud of our tomatoes. Spain is one of the biggest exporters in the world. And, sunshine, my friends has a lot to do with it. I couldn't argue the case better than a farmer from Southern Spain who said "that lady has a palate problem .... Unlike in France and elsewhere, we have sun all year round. That's why our tomatoes, in addition to complying with all the strict regulations, have flavour in them". I have to say I felt insulted by her comments. 

The tomato war

The Spanish PM has invited her to come and taste for herself Spain's amazing tomatoes. But back to the castle square in Santa Pola where we had been sitting in the Spanish sunshine. 

When I had had my fill of it, I had a sudden desire to indulge myself and get my nails done. After all it was my birthday week. So off I ambled in search of a good nail bar recommended to me by a local. I was immediately ushered in at Angeles nail bar. That of course left Eladio and Pippa to their own devices and I didn't think more about them until I left the salon. For just 8 euros my nails were done to perfection. I chose to have them painted with traditional nail varnish and thought the process would be quick but it actually took nearly 40 minutes. I don't know about any women reading this but after the pandemic I hardly bother with makeup, jewelry or nail varnish; only my red lipstick. So, being my birthday week, I thought I ought to make the effort. Of course I can do my own nail varnish but it's never as good as done professionally. I was pleased with the result which you can see on my hands that are looking older and older hahaha.

I indulged myself at a nail bar in Santa Pola on Monday

My husband had forgotten to bring his mobile so when I came out he was nowhere to be seen. But then they - he and Pippa -  appeared.  I then stupidly went into a boutique which I thought I he saw me doing but when I came out again, they had disappeared again. I went into "La Casa" my friends loved. There I bought a beautiful red jumper by a designer I had never heard of called Surkana. Have you? 

The colourful jumper I bought in Santa Pola on Monday

I considered it an early and well deserved birthday present. I then spent the next half an hour searching for my husband while he was searching for me. Of course we eventually found each other. This often happens to us, mainly because one of us has his or her phone on silence or doesn't have it at all. We had wasted at least an hour looking for each other and when we finally met it was time  to head "home" . It was  a simple lunch including more of my broccoli soup and some cauliflower I could no longer face.

I was busy after that with guest related issues. My latest Chinese guests who arrived that day; Jax, Cindy and their two small daughters, were so delighted with our house they wanted to stay until 20th. I somehow managed to accommodate them. In contrast to the picky Chinese lady who upped and left last week, this family from Shanghai are in love with our place. That was great to hear. It really was. 

All was well at home in our pad by the sea that afternoon when I was alerted to the news (through Sandy as usual) that The King had cancer. 

I'm very sorry for The King

We all knew he had just had surgery for an enlarged but benign prostrate gland which is quite a minor operation. However, Buckingham Palace issued this announcement at 6pm on Monday which must have shocked the world because it revealed the fact that during the operation cancer had been found. It is not prostate cancer.  Here is the statement.

A very shocking announcement from Buckingham Palace on Monday 5th February

That was shocking news indeed for the 75 year old Monarch who has hardly begun his reign. I am hoping he will recover shortly. Otherwise we are looking at one of the shortest reigns in history and William on the throne. The King has stopped all public duties but is "cracking on" with his constitutional responsibilities to quote the PM. That means, signatures and the famous Red Box as well as his weekly meetings with the PM which may or may not be in person. His son Harry flew out to see him on Monday but we have no details. Incredibly he stayed 30 minutes and then flew back!  I hope they  managed to narrow their rift. The last thing the King needs is warring brothers. As he once said "please don't make my last years a misery". He is in the same boat as many fathers and mothers of adult children isn't he?  The statement did not go into details except  to say the King had immediately begun treatment, no doubt chemotherapy. That gets me thinking he has to have a secondary of some kind. When my father had bladder cancer in his mid 90's, they removed the lump as it had not spread and he didn't need any treatment.  So has the King's spread or not? We know nothing more except for what the PM Sunak said the next day that it had been "caught early" which is a very good sign. 

I went to bed feeling sorry for the King. I mean after waiting nearly 60 years to become King, this must come as a blow.

That was our last night in Santa Pola with Suzy. We left on Tuesday morning  in two cars; Eladio in the Volvo and me in the Mini. We stopped for coffee somewhere and then for lunch about 120km from Madrid at La Venta San José. We were making good time until suddenly the traffic piled up on the A3, the main dual carriage way from Valencia to Madrid. Spain has 6 of these: The A1 to Burgos, the A2 to Barcelona, the A3 to Valencia, the A4 to Andalusia, the A5 to Badajoz and the A6 to Coruña. They are the main arteries and all start from Km Zero in Madrid, the centre of the country where all roads are measured from. Blocking these roads is the same as blocking an important motorway in any country. 

It turned out it was because of pickets of a spontaneous and nationwide farmers' strike like in France. Similar to farmers in France, Brussels and other places in Europe, Spanish farmers demand more flexibility from the EU, less red tape and restrictions as well as tighter controls on produce from non EU countries. They also want more help from the government such as petrol subsidies. They complain they are hardly make a living and I sympathise with them. The A3 was blocked on both sides of the road about 80km from Madrid and we were there for an hour until the pickets let some traffic through with the police on hand to make sure things didn't get out of order. Here is a photo to remember the moment. We had seen so much about the strikes in France, we never imagined our journey back from Santa Pola would be affected similarly. 

The A3 Valencia to Madrid road was blocked by a farmers' strike on our way home on Tuesday

I took a video also which you can see here.

Traffic at a halt on our way home from Santa Pola. 

Thus we were home much later than expected. We came home to a quiet house. Most of our guests were away and when they came back we were already in bed. Everything was in order thanks to Tana.

My headache had finally gone after more than a week, or at least I thought it had. However on Wednesday I woke up with another one. I think it's due to stress and lack of sleep.  It was a very busy morning. In our absence the cupboards were bare and we had to replenish them. On my way out I bumped into Jax, the father of the Chinese family. Both he and his wife "Cindy" and their two daughters Eva and Emma speak excellent English. They couple work or worked for GE and the girls very obviously go to an international school. They seemed nice people. We had to move all 4 of them that day to "Andy's room". They so desperately wanted to stay on that they were happy to sleep together in one room. 

At 12 I had another dental appointment. This time it was to put in "onlays" on my bottom right molars as they have a lot of wear and tear and were affecting my bite. I came out with a mouth feeling very strange and it was difficult to chew at lunch time. All I could eat that day were soft things. I have two more upcoming appointments and more to come until I get a Hollywood looking set of teeth. 

Later in the afternoon, my other Chinese family, also from Shanghai, arrived. JZ, who has been here before brought his parents. I installed them in his favourite rooms, the Green Room and Suzy's room. That night we had 9 guests and a total of 12 people in the house. Amazing. 

The highlight of the day was my weekly Skype call with my dear friend Amanda. I had a lot to tell her since our last call. Most of it you will have read about here. 

I had a nasty birthday present in the form of a message from the Spanish Tax Agency that day. It had come while I was speaking to Amanda but I could only download it later. It was more arrears owing to the bad work of my accountant when I was working as a freelance accountant. The nasty present was having to fork out over 4000 euros in arrears for the financial year of 2019.  I have already forked out for 2 other years prior to 2022 and think there is still one to go. Honestly I got the worst accountant possible. I am very cross with her and her shoddy work for which I  am now paying the consequences. 

Later Eladio took Tana to the hospital as she had a large and nasty boil on her back. The A&E people at the Hospital Puerto de Hierro were most efficient. They drained it and she was in and out within an hour. That's our national health system for you. Spaniards complain about it but do not know what they are complaining about I can tell you. 

Thursday my friends was my birthday and I turned the grand old age of 67; no milestone but a bit depressing to be 3 years off 70. Oh my God. How can that be? Maybe for that reason I was not very excited about my birthday this year and didn't really have any plans. We would make them up as we went along. 

The first thing we did was walk half an hour to our local shopping arcade where we indulged in "chocolate con churros" for my birthday breakfast. We love churros and porras (the thicker kind) but only ever eat them on occasion. Once home it was my birthday present moment. I had ordered two presents which Eladio had wrapped up and gave to me with a card he had actually bought. He is a man of all trades but no good at present buying which I forgive him for. Here he is handing them to me.

My good looking husband handing me my birthday presents

And here I am receiving them. I am in red and surrounded by red, including Pippa's collar to quote my cousin Marie Helene. Even Eladio was wearing red too that day but it was all a coincidence.

Receiving my presents

These were them, a pink striped nightie and a long pink dressing gown. You see I always wear pyjamas and a dressing gown on the afternoons I don't go out as I find it so much more comfortable to wear night wear. I even receive my guests in my dressing gown which shocked my friend Sandra hahahaha.

My self bought birthday presents from Amazon

I immediately tried them on and they were a perfect fit. The nightie could even be worn as a summer dress which will come in handy.

But the best present were the words on the birthday card he bought me. Here they are, words of love from my adored husband.

Words of love from my husband on my birthday, words to cherish. 

This is a rough translation c/o Google Translate which is getting better as the years go on.

"Happy Birthday!

After 44 years of always telling you I love you, it is difficult to add something new... Well, I still love you more every day! It is wonderful to always be able to count on you, your company and your love, and continue planning another fabulous trip across the world. ILY v.m (I love you very much) Eladio". In response I gave him a big hug. 

We had my birthday lunch out that day and chose an Indian restaurant, Little India in Boadilla. The food was delicious and it was wonderful to break my diet for one day. 

Curry for my birthday lunch this week

I couldn't finish mine as I eat so slowly these days - I can only eat on one side and the onlays feel so foreign in my mouth, eating is rather difficult. I can't wait to have a full and healthy set of teeth again. When we had finished out came the owners to ask if we had enjoyed our meal. They were a delightful young Indian couple who come from Kerala. We had a long and interesting chat and we will be back. 

We spent the afternoon resting and that was the end of my birthday on the day so to speak. Except that it wasn't. At about 9 pm, Mohammad asked me to come down. He had bought me a cake with a number one candle on it. He told me that's because I am "a number one". Bless the boy, I was dumbstruck at his kindness. I had to have a photo to show you. Here he is with the cake he bought and which I later shared with all the guests.

Dear Mohammad had bought me a cake for my birthday

It was shortly afterwards that Suzy made a video call, something she hardly ever does and that was a marvelous end to my birthday. The only thing I missed that day was celebrating it with my family. But no worries, we would do that on Saturday when I invited Oli and family out for lunch. Of course they couldn't be with us on Thursday as they were working and the kids were at school.

Friday was chaotic. Guests were coming and going and some were moving rooms. Poor Tana had a huge job to perform that day. 

But before that happened, off I went for my yearly breast cancer MOT; i.e. a mammogram and a breast scan. The former is pretty painful and the latter is pain free. I was happy to hear from the woman doing the scan that I was in the all clear. Isn't that good. The last test will be a bone density test next week and then I will be all done for this year. In Spain women do a yearly gynecological test after giving birth. I am especially cautious because my mother had breast cancer.

I came home to find one set of my Chinese guests still at home when they should have checked out at 11 am. That worried me as new guests were arriving. In the end I had to ask them politely to leave. Just as we were about to have lunch Tana announced there was a leak in one of the basins in one of the rooms which was to be occupied a few hours later. Eladio went off to buy a part from a plumbing shop but was unable to fix it. Thankfully the insurance took care of it and within an hour a plumber came and fixed it. There is always something to mend in this house.

2 more guests arrived that afternoon interrupting our quiet time, a girl from France and a girl from Algeria. I think she is our first guest from that North African country. That night we had representatives from France, Algeria, Spain, Iraq, China and of course Paraguay and England. It was the United Nations in our house this week. It was also the Chinese New Year, so I got a tiny percentage of the incredible amount of Chinese people who go on holiday. Most move around their enormous country to see friends and family they haven't seen in a year. My guests are the lucky ones who get to travel abroad and enjoy a high standard of living. Both groups I had this week have  a "golden visa" which is given in Spain to people who buy property over half a million euros. 

The highlight of Friday was a Skype call with my dear friends Sandra and Adele. Sandra commented that if anyone had told us 20 years ago that some of us would be receiving complete strangers into our houses or we would be staying with complete strangers, no one would have believed us. But it is happening and I love it. We also spoke about the Chinese New Year and I found out that both Adele and I are roosters (cockerel please) in the Chinese Horoscope. Sandra is the dog. So what are roosters like? Google came up with this: "The tenth Chinese zodiac is the rooster. People born in the year of the rooster are aggressive and picky. They pay very close attention to their appearances and actions, and they are great performers. In addition with their hard-working and dependable personality, they make great leaders." Not sure I like the terms aggressive and picky. I can be picky for sure but not usually aggressive. The rest may be true. 

Saturday came and although we have had a bit of rain since we returned from Santa Pola, the sun was shining. We went for a walk, had our coffee and later agreed to meet Oli and co at the restaurant. I had chosen Finca La Espiga not far from where we live. 

We were all there by 2pm and the place was pretty full. It was great to see Elliot again who rushed into my arms and I took a seat next to him. Juliet was fast asleep and only woke up after the cake moment. We had taken along a cake from Alverán, our favourite. Covered in white chocolate and fruit with a lovely light sponge layered with whipped cream, it was brought out with great fanfare by the waiters. Wow! What a moment. They played Happy Birthday music and the whole restaurant sang to my delight. Here are some pictures to remember the moment.

Moments with my grandchildren during the family birthday lunch yesterday

Elliot helped me blow out the candles. Then we did it multiple times once Juliet woke up. Oh, what fun. Later the kids went to play with other children with a child monitor. It all ended with Juliet falling in the mud on the grass which is to be expected with a 2 year old hahaha. 

We parted ways at around 5pm. Spanish lunches generally start between 2 and 3.30 and can go on for hours. There were people still there when we left. I have to say a good time was had by all and the food was delicious.

We came home to a full house but escaped to our quarters to wind down. Eladio slept while I watched more of London Kills on the BBC iPlayer, thanks to my VPN express.

Last night the Spanish cinema awards, "Los Goya, took place in Valladolid. I was thrilled to read this morning that The Society of Snow won 12 of them including best picture and best director. What a film. It is now on the list for best foreign film at the Oscars and I sincerely hope it wins. I have watched if of course but also recently read 3 books; 2 by the survivors who made the expedition to freedom, Roberto Canessa and Fernando (Nando) Fernando Parrado, as well as they book called Alive written by Piers Paul Read which are all excellent. But my obsession with the stories of the Andes crash in 1972 where 16 survived, continues as I shall watch the first film, Alive (Viven) again after all these years. I have also downloaded the sample of a new book upon which the Society of Snow was based. Of the same name it is written by the Uruguayan journalist and writer Pablo Vierci. If you are interested, I really recommend you see The Society of Snow which is available on Netflix.

Today is Sunday, the last day of this week which has been full of events. Next week we will be busy too and have something to look forward to. On St. Valentine's Day we shall be spending the night at the Parador in La Granja de San Ildefonso, about an hour form home. We were last there in 2011 for my 54th birthday, all 5 of us with my dearest father who was a sprightly 92 at the time.  Thanks to my blog which is a veritable archive of our life, I found these two photos from our stay there. I am happy to share them here again 13 years later.

Photos from our stay at the Parador in La Granja 13 years ago in 2011 

Gosh, where have the years gone? Tempus fugit my father would have said. So I told Eladio yesterday we have to make the best of the years we have left of health and stamina. The thought of becoming decrepit is not a nice one as old age is just so cruel. Having things to look forward to is always important to me, even if it's just a night away at a Parador, or lunch out. Doing things together is always a joy with my dearest husband. 

On that happy note, I shall leave you now until next week,

Cheers till then,

Masha