Kings’ day and Russian Christmas, jihadist horror in France, Je suis Charlie, Je suis Flic, introducing Pippa, dinner at Julio’s and other stories.

Sunday 11th January 2014

Kings' Day lunch

Hi everyone,

Well yes Christmas is over but it wasn’t when I wrote last Sunday.  That day I cut my finger whilst chopping potatoes and even now it is a little difficult to type but it’s getting better.  Of note last Sunday I watched the end of the 2014 Downton Abbey Christmas special and must admit it was the best Christmas special ever.  I am missing the characters already and will have to wait more than a year for the next season.  Bereft of anything interesting to watch I ordered the film Hawking and the series Missing from Amazon and look forward to watching them when I get a moment, hopefully with Olivia and Eladio.

This year's Downton Abbey Christmas special was the best ever

On Monday I fasted for the first time since the beginning of the festivities and I think it did my body a lot of good.  I felt really detoxed and am now determined to return to 5:2 rather than 6:1.  If you are not familiar with the numbers they refer to the “Fast diet” where five days a week you eat normally and two days a week you fast on just 500 calories. In the month running up to Christmas I had been doing 6:1. 

I didn’t have much time to think about food as Monday was a very busy day. After my early morning walk I went to the hairdressers to redo my roots and cut my very long hair.  In the afternoon I went on a very funny expedition with Eladio. We went to buy 4 loos and 4 bidets for our bathrooms in Montrondo.  We had finally found someone who sold new “old fashioned” ones which we think are perfect for the style of the new house.  They only just fitted in our X5 and now they are all sitting in the garage.  They look a funny sight. The guy who sold them to us thought they were for a hotel!  If you are English you might wonder why we would bother with bidets.  Well the truth is they are a wonderful invention and after having lived in Spain for more than 30 years I couldn’t do without one.

The loos and bidets in our garage waiting to be taken to Montrondo

It was on Monday that I heard from my great friend Sandra who lives in Brussels that the Bollywood film she had a small part in had finally been aired. It is called PK and was filmed I think in Bruges. You can see her role here.  I just love her voice.  Well done Sandra.

It was well done to Olivia too that night when I and many other people watched her report live on the Kings’ parade in Madrid, the biggest of all of them in Spain.  She must have been on the TV over 10 times and I was so proud of her. As I watched her impromptu and charismatic reporting, especially when she spoke to children, I felt guilty that I had never taken the girls to the Kings’ parade in the capital when they were small.  But as my friend Jacky pointed out on Facebook: “not to worry she’s enjoying it now”.  And she really was as she told me later.  You can see the whole retransmission here.

Oli reporting live from the Kings' Day parade in Madrid on Monday evening

The Parades always take place on the eve of Kings’ day, a magical night for Spanish children as they receive their presents the next day, just as children in England receive theirs on Christmas morning.  These days in Spain people give and receive presents on both days, but Kings’ day is when most are given.  At home, we respect both traditions except that Christmas day is more important for us than Kings’ Day.  So everything was prepared for this last day of Christmas in our house.  In a way it is a great end to Christmas, it makes it go out with a bang and this year was no exception.

The day started with a special breakfast all together in the dining room with the piece de resistance being the “roscón” (kings’ cake) which for the occasion we toasted.  Later we moved to the lounge to open our presents, just 2 or 3 each but all very much appreciated.  I especially liked my jumper and scarf (bought with Eladio a day or two before haha).  There was even time for a walk in between breakfast and lunch where we were joined by Olivia and Miguel.  It was a lovely sunny day as it has been for weeks now.  Then I made lunch, roast lamb, whilst Oli and Miguel made a carrot cake which was delicious.  The only thing missing on Kings’ day was Suzy.  Meanwhile in London she celebrated with Gabor.  He had invited her out to lunch that day to a special vegan restaurant in the centre.  Her main present to him was a Ryan Air flight to Copenhagen in the spring. They will be staying with our dear Danish family, Pernille and Thomas. I made a collage of some of the best photos of the day here below.  The full collection can be found on this link.

Being the last night of Christmas, Oli, Eladio and I had dinner in the lounge with the fire on.  Eladio only ever lights it at Christmas but when he does we love it.

The next day was Wednesday 7^th January and Christmas was officially over.  In my mind however I knew it wasn’t as it was Russian Christmas that day.  The Russian Orthodox follows the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian one and I remember as a child celebrating it thanks to my Russian Mother.  Sadly I did not continue the tradition.  There is something luring and mystical about the Russian Orthodox religion and its church services have probably not changed since they started.  Still when I think about the few times my Mother and Aunt took us to a Russian church, I get goose pimples remembering the smell of incense, the chanting in Church Slavonic, the candles, the icons, the robed and bearded priests as well as the distinctive cross.  Whenever I get the chance to enter a Russian church as I did when I was in Vilnius in September, I buy a candle, light it and say a prayer for my Mother, my Aunt and my brother, whilst making the sign of the cross the Russian way, from right to left, different to the Roman Catholics who do it from left to right.  I asked my husband who is an ex Catholic priest the reason for the difference and he had no explanation.  I haven’t found one on internet either.  If any of you reading this know the answer do please leave a comment in this post.

It was Russian Christmas on 7th January

That morning Eladio and I went to the Corte Inglés department store.  It was the beginning of the January sales and the place was packed.  We only wanted to change some presents and buy some for our annual end of Christmas dinner at Julio’s house on Friday.  We also took the opportunity to buy a new printer as ours has finally died, most possibly due to programmed obsolescence; something I hate.  When we installed our new wireless and wifi HP Envy 4500 I realized we had been living in the dark ages as far as printers are concerned.  It was very easy to set up and lovely to be able to print remotely with no cables from our PCs.  However from our mobiles only I am able to print on it.  We also have a Samsung laser jet printer which only works from Eladio’s mobile.  I must say printer technology is fine but can be frustrating.  The same applies to TVs, at least in my case.  Thankfully I am something of an expert in mobile phones but that is because I work in the sector.

Whilst we were out shopping, something dreadful was happening in France.  Two Jihadist brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi of Algerian origin had stormed the offices of the satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo in Paris.  It is well known for poking fun at everything from religion to feminism, including Mohammed.  There and then they killed most of the staff as well as a policeman on their way out.  Ironically he was a Muslim.  The news stunned the world.  This was an attack on freedom of expression.  These jihadists who work for Al Qaeda and possibly IS, attacked Charlie Hebdo in retaliation for their satirical cartoons of Mohammed.  As they charged into the room heavily armed where the editorial committee was planning the next edition, they shouted something similar to “you will pay the greatest price for your insults to the prophet”.  What they did was perpetrate an attack on freedom of expression.  Whether you agree with the magazine’s stance or like their cartoons, what happened on France’s 9^th January was a pure attack on freedom of speech from fanatical Muslims whose God is against murder.  Whilst thousands of gendarmes searched for the fleeing brothers, the world protested.  People started posting photos with the slogan “Je suis Charlie”.  I did too.  Only later did I realise that we were all echoing Spartacus when I read Dominic Lawson’s article in The Times today and which I quote here: “This rallying cry is presumably meant to evoke the scene in Spartacus when the Romans demand the eponymous slave leader is handed over for execution. They ask the captured slaves which among them is Spartacus. First one and then all of them shout: “I’m Spartacus!”— offering their own lives rather than see their leader executed”.  My friend Adele who lives in France has a daughter-in-law who is a policewoman in Paris and Carole posted not only “Je suis Charlie” but “Je suis flic” (I am a policeman) on internet as we are all mourning the deaths of the staff of the magazine but not the deaths of the policemen and policewomen who have been killed too. On that same day in another shootout in Paris a policewoman was killed.  Only later did the French authorities confirm that the attacks were linked.  Meanwhile my friend Adele told me “the police know for a fact that all the stations, families of police etc are targets. They all have to wear bullet proof vests & carry their arms home”.  My heart went out to both women and to all the police in France and around the world who defend us from terrorism.  The story did not end there as we would find out two days later.

On Thursday I was up at dawn as I had to be in the centre of Madrid early in the morning for an interview with El Economista.  It was organized by our advertising agency and was supposed to centre on their advertising campaign for our company. However they only told me about it the day before.  Thus I had little time to prepare.  The interview, as I predicted, turned out to centre 99% on the company business with hardly a mention of the advertising agency.  This is the article which funnily enough came out in a Mexican newspaper, El Universal the next day  but which was also published offline in Spain yesterday.

From the advertising agency offices I made my way to my PR agency’s offices in downtown Madrid for a quick meeting with my team there.  It was lovely to see Cris, Gloria, Bea, Miguel and Julia but especially little Yoigo, the company mascot whose owner is Gloria.  Little Yoigo is a miniature chocolate coloured dachshund and is adorable.  

Later that day I got photos of the second company mascot which is still too little to be separated from its Mother.  So here and today I proudly introduce you to “Pippa” (or Pipa in Spanish) who will live with us.  I can’t wait for the day she comes and see how Elsa and Norah get on with her.  I predict they will both vie to be her Mother.

Introducing you to Pippa

Finally on Thursday afternoon Eladio and I had some spare time to take down the Christmas decorations a task I hate.  It takes so long to put them up but a very short time to take them down.  Now they are safely tucked away in one of our store rooms until next year.

Friday saw the end of the jihadist attacks in France.  Not only were the two brothers found who had taken a hostage at a print works in Dammartin-en-Goële near Paris, but the same killer of the policewoman on 9^th January, another Jihadist called Amedi Coulibaly stormed a Jewish kosher supermarket where he took hostages many of whom were women and children.  Both sieges ended in blood when French Special forces burst into both locations.  The terrorists were all killed and very sadly 4 of the hostages too, although they were killed before the forces entered the premises.  All in all the horror attacks in France this week cost the lives of 17 people. My friend Adele called it France’s World War III and I tend to agree.

Meanwhile in other countries in Europe governments raised the safety levels.  The head of the M15 in the UK spoke of at least 3 thwarted attacks in London.  Here in Spain one of our top members of government told the country that Spain was one of the safest countries in the world.  Has she forgotten our 11M (the Madrid train bombings)?  It may be the end of the attacks in France, but I think there will be more.  I dread to think where and when.

However life continues and I was pleased to see one of my Amazon purchases arrive.  It was a dvd, season 2 of The Fall.  We shall be watching that this evening; i.e. Eladio, Olivia and I.  I will try and persuade Eladio to put the fire on but I doubt he will as he cleaned the fireplace yesterday.

That morning Eladio and I made a quick trip to our local shopping centre.  I needed to get a last minute present and we had a couple errands to do. I decided to wear the jumper and scarf Eladio had bought for me for Reyes.  This is it.  Do you like it?  When I asked Olivia whether she did, she commented it was for “oldies”. I don’t think it is. Do you?  

Wearing my "Reyes" new jumper and scarf  this week - at my desk at home

Friday evening was the second highlight of the week after Reyes.  It was the annual post-Christmas dinner at Julio’s house. We used to go with my Father and the girls but now it is just Julio, Fátima, Eladio and I.  It was a great dinner as it always is.  The food was super, especially Fátima’s mother’s tortillas and Julio’s mother’s chorizo and the company even better.  The piece de resistance at Julio’s dinner is always the roscón with cream.  Then we pulled the crackers which I had brought after which we gave out our presents and toasted with cava.  The routine of this dinner never changes and I hope it never will.  Long live post-Christmas dinners with Julio and Fátima! Here is a photo of us all enjoying the dinner. 

Yesterday Saturday was another busy and productive day.  It started with a walk after which I prepared our lunch.  The walks in the morning are cold and frosty but very sunny as you can appreciate in this picture.

On my cold frosty but sunny walk on Saturday morning

Then Eladio and I went to Centro Oeste once again. We needed a new orange juice maker as ours had gone wonky; another issue of “programmed obsolescence” or perhaps overuse as we make 4 or 5 glasses of juice every morning?  We were home on time for another walk before lunch.  With both walks out of the way in the afternoon, I enjoyed a quick siesta after which I spent some time downloading Homeland Series 4.  We decided to go out to dinner yesterday night after great recommendations from Olivia and Miguel of a new restaurant they had found on The Fork, El Zurito in Pozuelo, which offered 30% discount.  In my favour it also accepts luncheon vouchers.  So off we went and were not disappointed.  It is a great new find and the food is super.  Here is a photo of us both enjoying our dinner at this new restaurant.

Dinner at El Zurito with Eladio last night

Meanwhile in London, Suzy was also out, but she was in Clapham Common.  Olivia and I had spoken to her earlier and she told me she would be going out with her flatmate Stefania to the pub where Gabor works sometimes.  I grabbed this picture of the three girls out together from Stefania’s Facebook page as it is the only one I have of Suzy this week and I always want to include her in my blog.  Hope you had a great evening sweetie.

Suzy at Clapham Common last night with her friends

And today is Sunday and it another sunny and frosty day.  When I have finished writing this post I shall be going for my second walk, then making lunch and hopefully in the afternoon will be starting watching Season 2 of The Fall with Olivia and Eladio.  I will tell you next week whether Eladio lit the fire or not.

So, that’s it for this week folks.  Wishing you all a great week ahead, see you next week,

Cheers Masha

Kings’ Day, Suzy living it up for once in London, Oli reporting for TV from Barcelona, news from a past pupil and words of wisdom from Charles Courtenay Lloyd when he was a teacher at Bradford Grammar School, the “polar vortex”, the best and worst lovers in the world, and other stories.

The family lunch at home on Kings' day  - only my daughter Suzy who lives in London was missing.

Hello again,

I can finally say it, Christmas is now over and it has been as good as it gets. I left off last Sunday which in Spain is known as “Noche de Reyes” (the night of the Kings, as in the visit of the 3 wise men or magi who bring Spanish children their presents on that night - the correct term being The Epiphany),

Sunday 5^th January was a magical day as it is supposed to be. Olivia went out to buy the last minute presents which we would be giving each other the next day; Kings’ day.  Meanwhile Suzy was in London living it up with her boyfriend Gabor.  Her present to him was a blind dinner which I told you about in last week’s post.  It was also a night at a 5 star hotel which must have been sheer luxury for them who live in a cramped flat in East London which they share with 12 flat mates.  I love this pic Suzy sent me of them dressed in their bath robes about to enjoy the spa at the hotel near London Bridge.

Gabor and Suzy enjoying her Christmas present to him, last Sunday

That night Eladio lit the fire in the TV lounge where the dogs joined us and it was the last evening but one, we spent there this Christmas.  Here is a wonderful photo of Eladio sitting by the fire there on one of the most magical nights of the year.

Eladio in the TV lounge by the fire on Kings' night

Monday was King’s Day and it was the first King’s day ever I think without Suzy.  We missed her at breakfast when we opened our presents as we did all day.  I could have kicked myself for not buying her a present which I could have given secretly to her friend and flat mate Chati.  I certainly will next year. We opened our presents after breakfast and although they were only token presents – the important ones being given on Christmas day, I think we were all very pleased. I was delighted with the blue leather gloves Oli gave me and the black suede Camper bootees Eladio bought for me (well I bought them with him hahahaha). Breakfast of course consisted of roscón, the Kings’ cake I told you about in last week’s post. We have been eating it for a week and are now sick and tired of it.

Me showing off my Kings' day present from Olivia 

That day we were to celebrate the Three Kings at lunch with our family who live in Madrid, Eladio’s next brother down, José Antonio, his wife Dolores and their grown-up children, Miguel, Sara and Juan and Juan’s girlfriend Cristina.  It is something of a tradition for them to join us on 6^th January. Dolores came loaded with presents as she always does and this time brought us a new tablecloth for our gigantic dining room table, a bag of garlic, a wonderful bottle of wine as well as a bag of walnuts.  She never comes empty handed! For the occasion I made a wonderful trifle; the main course being a typical English Sunday meal: roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings.

The trifle I made for Kings' Day

Oli helped me with some of the cooking as it was Fátima’s day off.  We were to be 10 around the table and my Father remarked whilst I was laying it that it looked terrific.  I replied to him that I just love making the effort on such occasions and it is true I adore doing so. In fact he later said that Kings’ Day had been his Christmas highlight.  The photo illustrating this post is of us (except for me who took the photo) sitting around the festive table heaving with delicious English food.  Sara remarked that the only place she ever ate Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding was at our home!

Soon after lunch the younger generation left the four of us alone with our dogs and off we went for our walk.  We came back to a cup of tea in the TV lounge where the fire would probably not be lit again until next Christmas.  In any case it was a lovely end to this year’s festive season.  You can see the rest of the photos of King’s day here.

Tea in the TV lounge on Kings' Day

On Tuesday it was time to remove the Christmas decorations, one of the worst tasks of the year. The 7^th January is a very depressing day, very flat and a bit of an anti-climax.  When I was a child, at home we would celebrate Russian Christmas on this day, a bit like we celebrate Kings’ Day today at our home in Spain.  I’m afraid I haven’t continued the tradition.  The day was made even flatter as it was my first fasting day after Christmas.

However the day was brightened up for us by Olivia.  She had been sent to Barcelona for the week to report on events there for her programme, La Mañana de la 1 and she would be busy all week.  The story she reported on that day was very uplifting.  It was about a 91 year old lady called Angela from Lérida who had won the prize of most active elderly person which you can read about here (in Spanish).  This lady who is incredibly lucid and active spends most of her time busy on her old fashioned sewing machine, much like the Singer we brought back from Léon after New Year and which used to belong to Eladio’s mother.  Olivia asked Angela what the secret of her success was and she replied that it was to never stop being active.  So now we know if we want to be in good shape in our old age, we must be active.  You can watch the clip here (fast forward to 13.22) which is quite moving.

Olivia interviewing Angela - the active 91 year old in Lérida on Tuesday

Tuesday was also brightened up by the arrival of this year’s Downton Abbey Christmas special which was delivered by Amazon.  I watched it that night when Eladio went off to his UNED (University) tutorial and enjoyed every moment of it.  I had read bad reviews but I thought it was great.  I just love immersing myself in this classic period drama. 

This year's Downton Abbey Xmas special arrived on Tuesday  -it was devoured within hours!

On Wednesday I got a pleasant surprise by way of an invitation to attend a meeting and farewell dinner of a colleague from Norway, in Stockholm on 19^th January.  It came from the head of our communications team for Europe and I much look forward to it.  I just hope there is some snow when I go.

Again our day was brightened up by watching Olivia live on the TV.  She was very busy that day with three appearances, two about a young Moroccan who had attacked two old men in a bar and killed one of them and later about the notorious Noos case.  This case is the one the Spanish Royal family is embroiled in and is usually taboo for Oli’s programme.  However the news was of too much importance for them to ignore it that day, as the King’s daughter, Princess (Infanta in Spanish) Cristina, suspected of being involved in her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin’s embezzlement of public money, had been summoned to court.  This case is a huge headache for the Spanish Royal family and is the first time one of its members has been summoned to court as an official suspect.  It was Olivia’s job to get a statement from the Princess’ high profile lawyer, Miguel Roca an ex politician and one of the founders of Spain’s new constitution.   Later Olivia told me she had no idea she would be reporting on the story and of course was not well versed.  Thankfully no one would notice she wasn’t.  You can see the live report here if you go to 11.49 and 12.07.

Oli reporting on Wednesday from Barcelona on the case of the Spanish Princess summoned to court

Thursday was the second and last fasting day of the week – it’s always uphill so I try and fill these days with lots of activity.  Olivia was sent to Zaragoza that day, some three hours away from Barcelona so a long haul.  Little did she know she would have to stay the night there whilst all her things, including her charger, were at her hotel room in Barcelona.  The story she would be covering that day and the next was the story of a missing 19 year old Brazilian boy, Víctor, who had disappeared from the face of the earth on the morning of the 1^st January.  In her report which you can see here if you go to 12.09, Oli interviewed the cousin of Víctor and his Mother who was so devastated she couldn’t utter a word. The case is now of national interest and the main theory is that he probably had an accident and drowned in the river. Ghastly!

Olivia reporting on Thursday from Zaragoza on the case of the missing 19 year Brazilian boy

In the afternoon I went to the dentist.  You are probably wondering why I am recording such a mundane activity. Well actually it’s because it was my first visit to our adored dentist, Dr. Garralda, in two years.  He had to mend two fillings and tighten my implant which had come loose.  I will have to go back for more treatment soon but don’t really mind as I have so much faith in this great professional.

Friday was probably my busiest day of the week.  Whilst Olivia continued reporting from Zaragoza, I went off to Yoigo where I had two meetings with my PR agency and the customer care department about how we deal with complaints and issues on social media.  They were both very productive and I came home satisfied and looking forward to lunch with my Father and Eladio which I had prepared early that morning. 

It was on Friday that I received an email out of the blue from a past pupil of my Father’s at Bradford Grammar School.  Simon H, who studied French and History at Oxford but regrets not studying Russian there and who now lives in Geneva where he is an art critic, told me he had been my Father’s pupil of Russian in the 70’s and went on to say that he had had a profound influence on him.  I was very touched, printed the email and gave it to my Father who remembered him.  My 94 year old Father has an elephant’s memory. So I wrote back to thank Simon who a few hours later sent an email telling me more about himself.  He enclosed a 12 page document of bits and pieces of funny cranky things my Father had said or taught his pupils.  Amazingly he had written these pearls of wisdom down when he was a pupil and kept the document until this day.

Simon brought to life a view of my Father as a teacher at Bradford Grammar School which I could only scarcely guess about.  I knew my Father was nicknamed Clarence and had the most chalk filled gown of all the masters, I know of my Father’s obsessions with weather forecasts, geography, the second world war, travelling in Scandinavia and most of all with etymology but I did not know how far his passion for Russian vocabulary and life in Soviet Russia had reached in the classroom. 

The document (words and wisdom of CC Lloyd Russian Master Bradford Grammar School) written by Simon is entitled “Stalin’s breath”, which apparently my Father had told his boys was the way to say Eau de Cologne in Communist times.  The document which had me reeling with laughter included such comments as: You don’t get way-out pop groups in the USSR. They’re musically much more literate, You’ve all heard of Molotov cocktails? Molotov was a stone-faced, hard-line Stalinist if ever there was one!, Did you sleep good, bad or indifferent? Well, to wake you up, let’s REAP THROUGH that vocab!, Russians do a lot of swearing, damning and dashing. It’s their verb to give, Let’s say it with courage, determination and conviction: read, mark, learn and inwardly digest, as the old Biblical prayer goes, From Sanskrit, probably. I’ll look it up in my Russo-Sanskrit etymological dictionary. It tells me everything, I’ll get my big super etymological dictionary RIGHT NOW. Where’s it gone? Oh, here it is. This real gem of the dictionary is produced by the Academy of Science. Yes: 21 volumes! Ah yes, now, er, let’s see, right…. what am I looking up? I’ve forgotten, Fibberty-gibbet is my type of word. It’s got panache, that’s the great thing !, No dots in the singular, but dots throughout the plural. They’re a bit stingy with little dots, you know. But nice big fat commas are essential!, French "r’s" are throaty, English has them near the front of the mouth, but in Russian they’re trilled – "Rrr-rrr-rrrr-rrrrr-rrrr!", Any queries or difficulties? The subject goes dative. The object goes nominative. Is that quite clear ?, Where’s my chalk ? Oh, it’s on top of the blackboard; thank you. Where? What – it was a crack in the wall you say? But where’s my chalk? Who’s got it? It’ll be my form! STUPID OAFS! I’LL THRASH THEM!, I’m frightened of putting up nice Russian posters about Dickens because my form are a set of vandals. Well, not really vandals, you know. They just slob in and chuck ink about, I’ve got a German atlas at home.  It’s the biggest atlas you’ve ever seen. I can scarcely carry it around. I got it from a German prisoner-of-war. It’s got the German names for towns in Czechoslovakia. I’ve spent hours pleasantly thumbing through it, When I’m free, I don’t spend the evening watching tripe. My God no! I twiddle the knobs on my £14 wireless-set getting short-wave Hungarian radio. It’s music, you know! Not like Radio Luxembourg! Pop music is music for the illiterate, Poles coming to West Germany are dazzled by the surfeit of onions, week-in week-out. They just can’t understand it, It’s a scandal that we don’t have our radio weather-forecasts read with poetry! They’re so deadpan… it’s an absolute disgrace! But there’s poetry about the shipping forecast. I enjoy that. I’d love to receive world temperatures from the Met Office through the post, Russians have a little saying: To know someone, you’ve got to a eat a pound of salt with them, I’m interested in the Russian phrase for mumps. It means little pigs in your mouth.

My Father chuckled as he read it and the next morning commented that he remembered Simon as a rather jokey sort of pupil.  I, meanwhile, am extremely grateful for this wonderful document.  I well remember my Father’s quirky dictionaries, the huge German atlas, his love of the short wave radio and how he would say we watched rubbish on the TV.  However it is thanks to me as a teenager that I actually got him hooked on Coronation Street; something I am sure he is not very proud of but makes him a bit more human to me; not always the forgetful cranky passionate teacher!

That evening, being Friday, Eladio and I went out to dinner.  This time I wanted to try somewhere new and used The Fork (El Tenedor) website to find a recommended restaurant with a discount that accepted luncheon vouchers.  I came across one in Pozuelo called “La Terraza Escondida”.  We were in for a great find, we loved the place, the atmosphere, the open fire, the welcoming staff and above all the wonderful food, the price tab of which was reduced to 20 euros each thanks to El Tenedor.  We shall be going back I can assure you.

We liked the restaurant "La Terraza Escondida" where we went on Friday night.

Saturday was perhaps the best day of the week after Kings’ day.  Olivia had arrived home the night before and we were determined to have some quality time together. So what did we do you may ask? Shopping in the sales of course. We had a great morning at Centro Oeste and came back to enjoy a good family lunch, one I had prepared before we left: Russian meat patties (bitki), Fátima’s Moroccan rice and steamed artichokes, followed by Eton Mess. 

Last night we had an important dinner date.  We were going to the annual post- Christmas dinner at Julio’s house in Madrid.  We were supposed to be going with Fátima who, as usual, was late and didn’t appear until quarter to eleven by which time we had nearly polished off all the food. Fátima is one of my best friends but there is one thing we do not see eye to eye about and that is punctuality.  Anyway she was on time for the roscón (O.M.G. more of the kings’ cake!), the crackers, champagne and exchanging of gifts.  As we are such close friends we had all told each other what we wanted so it was no surprise to open a parcel with one of my favourite perfumes in it: Flower Bomb by Viktor and Rolf which I always remember discovering in Berlin.  In any case I was delighted.  The photo below of the three of us, Fátima, Julio and I, was taken by Eladio.  I’m not very happy with it but it’s all I’ve got to record last night’s dinner.

With my great friends Fátima and Julio at the annual dinner at his house last night.

And today is Sunday.  It has been a very foggy day and very quiet too.  We have had lunch together, Fátima has gone away for her weekly break (Sundays and Mondays) and soon we will be going for our walk.  Later we will be taking Olivia to the train station.  She’s off again but this time for pleasure.  She will be going to Valencia on the AVE (high speed train) where her TVE cameraman boyfriend, Miguel lives and tomorrow they will be driving with another couple all the way to Andorra where they will spend next week skiing. 

Talking about skiing and snow, this week will certainly go down in history for the extreme weather conditions in the US.  There is a polar vortex – a new weather term for me and which basically means a blast of freezing cold air, in this case pushed further south than normal– which has caused huge snowfalls and the lowest temperatures in many years  - in some places below 50ºc!  The picture of the week most certainly must be that of the Niagara Falls completely frozen.

The Niagara Fall froze over this week thanks to the now famous "Polar Vortex" weather phenomenon.

Not understanding anything about weather really, I have read that the cold comes from Scandinavia an area which is now undergoing unusually mild weather due to this phenomenon known as the Polar Vortex.  It is so mild there that even bears are coming out of hibernation.  I do hope it goes away allowing for some snow when I visit Stockholm next week.

The unusually warm weather in Scandinavia has caused some bears to come out of hibernation thinking it is Spring.

This week will also be remembered for Angela Merkel injuring her pelvis in a skiing accident and more tragically for the death of Ariel Sharon, the ex Israeli Prime Minister who had been in coma since 2006.

But perhaps my favourite piece of news trivia this week was the publication of a report on the best and worst lovers in the world.  I was not surprised to read that Spaniards came first – actually quite proud of that.  But what I found extremely funny was the ranking of the worst nationalities and the reasons why: 1. Germany – too smelly, 2. England – too lazy, 3. Sweden – too quick, 4. Holland – too dominating, 5. America – too rough, 6. Greece  – too lovey-dovey, 7. Wales – too selfish, 8. Scotland – too loud, 9. Turkey – too sweaty, 10.Russia – too hairy.  Having only ever had experience with Spanish, English and Americans, my conclusion is that the outcome of the report, at least for those nationalities, is correct! 

And on that rather risqué note, I leave you for this week, wishing you all the very best,

Till next time, cheers

Masha

Happy New Year, our trip to León, a special dinner party, Christmas cracker jokes, Kings’ day and other stories.

Sunday 6th January 2013

New Year's Even in the afternoon in León last week

Hi everyone.

Today is 6^th January, Kings’ day (Epiphany) and the last day of Christmas. It has been good, as always but I think we are all in great need of a rest from the festivities and general over eating.

Let me start from last week. On Sunday last, 30^th December, we took my Father and Eladio’s Mother to have tea and Christmas cake at Suzy’s flat in Villanueva de la Cañada, some 10km away.  Ernestina, my Mother in Law, who is not used to travelling in a car, thought she lived very far away but for me it feels like round the corner.  It was to be a special treat for both of them but mainly for my Father who is very home bound.  Juli, the girls’ friend, was there and once again served as our official photographer. We were joined later by Olivia, but a bit too late for her to be in the photo.

Tea and Christmas cake at Suzy's last Sunday

Monday was New Year’s Eve and Eladio and I left for León to celebrate the New Year with his family.  The girls always prefer to stay in Madrid with their friends. Ernestina, my Mother in Law came with us and we stopped, as always at Palacio de Bornos for a glass of wonderful Rueda wine and a plate of ham.

Plate of ham and wine at Rueda on our way to León for New Year's Eve

We arrived in sunny but cold León just in time for lunch at Eladio’s sister, Pili’s house where we were staying.  Later we would all meet up at his other sister, Adela’s house to be together and of course celebrate her son, Roberto’s 41^st birthday.  The photo illustrating this week’s blog is of us all, or nearly all of us, that happy afternoon last Monday.

Eladio with some of his brothers and sister, from left to right: Isidro, Toño, Eladio and Pili

Dinner this year was to be at Eladio’s brother, Isidro’s home in the downstairs party room they have created.

Dinner with the family on New Year's Eve in León

We were 24 around the long table, with the older generation at one side and the younger generation at the other.  As usual there was far too much food, but it was all delicious, especially Yoli’s tiramisu for dessert.  Just before midnight we unwrapped all the mystery presents I had brought as we waited for the magical moment of midnight to arrive when we would eat one grape per chime of the clock and then drink champagne and hug each and every one of the family.  It was at that moment I missed my daughters most and had to make do with a whatsapp message in lieu of a hug.  I sat next to my beautiful sisters in law, Pili and Yoli and the three of us reflected that we had been celebrating New Year’s Eve together for more than 30 years.

With my lovely sisters in law on New Year's Eve, Yoli on the left in red and Pili on the right

2012 has been a great year, absolutely nothing to complain about and all I can wish is for 2013 to be just as good.  The photo below is a collage I created on facebook of some of the photos that represent this year.

My year in photos

I wish you all a happy New Year and thank you so much for reading this blog; so many of you from all the corners of the earth.  It always amazes me to know how many people read this blog and find my life interesting.  Thanks for following me.  I hope this year will be good for you and me.

Happy 2013 to you all

New Year’s Eve ended late, as always, after lots of dancing by some of the members of Eladio’s family but I was glad to get away just after 2 in the morning in dire need of some sleep.

Ist January is always a bit of a down day for me.  It takes some time to get used to the New Year.  Before leaving, we took a walk with Pili and Andrés towards San Marcos, that beautiful building and Parador which is a landmark in León.

Eladio, Pili and Andrés outside the historic and landmark building of San Marcos in León on 1st January

We left León at around 13h and on our way home stopped at the Parador in Benavente for lunch.  Here we enjoyed a delicious plate of the local chickpeas (garbanzos) which we had been looking forward to all morning.

The chickpeas from Fuentesauco at the Parador in Benavente.

You can see the rest of the photos of our trip to León here.

 

It was good to be home again after an exhausting but enjoyable New Year family celebration.

On Wednesday we enjoyed watching Olivia reporting live on the television on TVE1.  The story was about a mega New Year’s Party which had been cancelled at the last moment because of counterfeit ticketing.  You can see her here if you fast forward to 11.30 and 12.45.

Oli on the television on Wednesday

Of note on Wednesday too, our walk which was a bit later than usual was rather a highlight that day because of the incredible red sky which always makes me remember walks with my Father when I was a child.  I learned from him that wonderful saying: “red sky at night, shepherds’ delight, red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning” and which I have passed on to my own children.

The red sky at night we encountered on our walk on Wednesday this week

Thursday was a quiet and enjoyable day.  I took Eladio shopping in the morning for Kings’ day presents.  At home we give all our presents on Christmas day but we also celebrate Kings’ Day with token presents.  Spaniards, however, do it the other way around and today is the most important day for them.  While we were out we also bought new beds for the dogs, as theirs were ready to be binned after so much use and washing.  Right now they are still getting used to them as you can see in this photo below.

The dogs got new beds this week but they are not too keen yet

We were home just on time to watch Olivia live on the television again reporting on TVE1.  This time the story was about illegal car racing. You can see her here if you fast forward to 13.45h.

Olivia interviewing a policeman about illegal car racing on Thursday this week

Friday was the day we were having a special dinner party at home.  Our friends, Mar, Mariano and their 10 year old Chinese adopted son, San, were coming for dinner.  Mar and Mariano are journalist friends go way back and Susana gives homework lessons to San and when she can’t make it Olivia takes her place.  

For the occasion I made a typical English fruit and jelly trifle, a favourite with most members of the family.  It was the first time in many years as I had stopped making it because the jelly wouldn’t set.  I read on internet that that is because certain fruits interfere with the setting process and for the record the main culprit is fresh pineapple.  I put strawberries in the trifle I made on Friday and violà it turned out to be perfect.

The fruit and jelly trifle I made for the dinner party this week

It was to be a wonderful evening.  They always arrive late and bring loads of presents and this year was not going to be different.  This is the only dinner party at home the girls like to be a part of and as I always want them to be with us, Friday’s event was extra special for me. 

The special dinner party on Friday for Mar, Mariano and San

For San I think the highlight was the crackers. And that comment brings me on to the subject which is included in this week’s headline.  Crackers are not a tradition in Spain but of course they are in England where they are an essential item at Christmas.  I buy mine online and the best ones I have found are from Robin Reed.  I’m sure San is more interested in the bang and the gift inside, but what I like best are the jokes.  As they are always puns and in English they are impossible to translate for Spanish guests.  Apparently the best cracker jokes should bring laughs from children but groans from the adults.  Some of my favourites this year were: “What did the dentist say to his wife when she was making an apple pie? Want me to do the filling?”, “My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli.  He was pulled in by a strong currant”, “Why did the scarecrow win so many awards? Because he was outstanding in his field” or this one: “Why are graveyards so noisy? Because of all the coffin”. Fun eh?  The man in the photo below is apparently the author of these jokes we found in this year’s Robin Reed crackers. 

The man who creates the jokes for Robin Reed crackers

You can see more photos of that very special dinner party here.

Yesterday Saturday was a quiet day with nothing much to report.  In the evening, following Mar and Mariano’s recommendation, we went to see the film The Life of Pi.  I had my doubts but had seen the trailer and as it was about an Indian boy and animals I was interested. The story, which turned out to be too fantastic for me, is about a 16-year old boy named Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, who suffers a shipwreck in which his family dies, and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  The bit in the boat with the tiger is far too long and I found myself looking at my watch towards the end hoping the film was going to finish soon.  Afterwards we had a meal at Foster Hollywoods where it was far too loud to enjoy.

The Life of Pi, not a good choice I'm afraid

For the records yesterday was the King of Spain’s birthday of which there has been much news in all the media.  TVE (Spanish national television) broadcast an interview with the 75 year old monarch which we missed on Friday as it coincided with our dinner party.  When I have a moment I will watch it here later. I used to be a fan of Don Juan Carlos, but since the episode with his elephant hunting in Botswana and the financial scandals of his son in law, Iñaki Urdangarin, I’m afraid I have lost a lot of the respect I once had for him.

Today, is his day, I suppose, Kings’ Day. On Kings’ day in Spain it is a tradition to buy or make a roscón and there are all sorts of varieties.  My favourite is the one without a filling which you can cut and toast, but others prefer the one with whipped cream in the middle.  We always have it for breakfast on this day.

The roscón we had for breakfast this morning

Right now as I write this week’s report, lunch is cooking in the kitchen.  I will leave off now and write about it later, as I do want to record our family Kings’ Day, the last day of Christmas this week and not leave it until next Sunday.

I have resumed writing now; sitting at my desk with a cup of tea after our walk with the dogs and with Suzy who joined us today.  Olivia is on the point of leaving with her boyfriend Miguel for Valencia.  She will be working with him there this week where he will be her cameraman. They are going to have a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing their live reports.  

Being an Anglo Spanish family, we always mix traditions so for our Kings’ Day lunch today I made a very British meal, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings: gravy, brussel sprouts and roast potatoes.  This is probably my favourite English dish as it is my Father’s. 

Kings' Day lunch today

This was followed by my trifle which I am a bit tired of by now and by the Robin Reed crackers, the last until next Christmas.  Then of course we gave our presents.  Each person had bought a present for the other member of the family, picking a concealed name for what is called “mystery friend” present giving here; except that we all ended up knowing who had bought them.  I got an iPad case from Olivia for the tablet and keyboard which will come in handy especially on short trips. Eladio got a red jumper from me that I really hope he wears but suspect he might not as he said it was very bright.  You can see all the photos of our family Kings' Day here too.

Then the rest is history, clearing things away as today was Oufa’s day off, a long siesta to digest the big meal and then finally our walk and here I am now rounding off this week’s blog post on this last day of Christmas.  Tomorrow we will be taking all the Christmas decorations down and life will go back to normal.  

As I leave you my friends, I wish you a great week ahead and as I wrote earlier a very happy New Year.

Cheers and here’s to 2013!

Masha