Kings' Day, С Рождество́м, the end of Christmas and back to normal, some retail therapy in the sales, dinner at "the club", freedom for Rahah al-Qunun and other stories.

Sunday 13th January, 2018 

Getting into the spirit of Kings' Day with my Father last Sunday morning

Dear all,

How are you doing?

January in Spain is known as "la cuesta de enero", (the January hill) meaning that the month after Christmas is a bit uphill, financially after all the extra expense but, in my mind, also mentally. It's difficult to get back to normal after Christmas and I always feel a bit down when 7th January comes and everything is over.

But it wasn't over last Sunday which was Kings' Day (Epiphany) in Spain and is celebrated all over the country. It's also the time when most Spaniards give their presents and is a very special day, mostly for children.   Being an Anglo Spanish family, we celebrate both the English and Spanish traditions and thus get a lot more out of Christmas than most. That's also because I love Christmas as you have probably gathered.

As I'm in charge of all celebrations, I was up early on 6th January to make everyone's breakfast. In Spain it is a tradition to eat the "roscón de reyes" (Kings' cake) on Kings' Day and that is what we did. I bought both the classic and whipped  cream varieties. I like to have mine toasted with butter but my Father prefers the whipped cream one. We had already had that one at Julio's the night before.

This is what our breakfast table looked like. It was truly a breakfast fit for Kings.

The breakfast table on Kings' Day last Sunday

And we felt like kings too that day. Here is a lovely photo of my Father and I with our crowns on - the crowns that come with the "roscón".

My Father and I on Kings' Day just before we sat down to breakfast

We were like the King and Queen of the house hahaha.

After breakfast it was time to open our presents by the tree. We give all our main presents on Christmas day but keep 2 for each person on Kings' Day. Before we opened the presents we had to have the customary photos taken to remember the moment and for my blog of course. Here's one Oli took of Eladio and I with our crowns on too.

Eladio and I on Kings' Day in the morning

For the record I gave Eladio his favourite perfume or rather my favourite perfume for him - Esencia by Loewe and Oli gave him a yellow jumper from Zara. Here he is in it. I love it when he wears bright colours. Men shouldn't only wear grey, black, brown or dark blue don't you think?

Eladio in his new yellow jumper

Oli got perfume too (Love Story by Chloe) and another jumper - from Pull and Bear. Here she is in it. There are not many photos of her that morning as she was wearing her pyjamas hahaha.

Oli with her new jumper

My Father, who thoroughly enjoyed Kings' Day, got some new white vests and a book - Mariano Guindal's autobiography. I love the photo of him with me illustrating this week's post. I love the twinkle in his eye.

After the present session, it was time to start on lunch. I would make roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, one of our favourite meals, for Kings' Day. Even though it is a very British dish we all love it. My Yorkshire pudding turned out a treat. I got the recipe from the BBC website and it has never turned out so crispy nor has it ever risen so much. It was wonderful and my Father asked for second helpings, bless him. And here is the Kings' Day lunch table with all the food we were about to devour hahaha.

Our Kings' Day lunch - roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

We had the last of the crackers that day and here is a selfie of Oli, Eladio and I with our hats on. Such fun.

Oli, Eladio and I with our Christmas cracker hats on on Kings' Day

Only Suzy was missing on Kings' Day. She is of course in Bali. That day she visited the Nusa Penida Island with her London friends. It belongs to Bali and looks like paradise. Here they are together on the island.

Suzy and her friends on the Nusa Penida Island  (Bali) on Kings' Day

We all needed a long siesta after such a copious lunch. Oli and I and the dogs also needed a long walk in the afternoon. We left at 5.30 which is quite late as it gets dark soon but amazingly it didn't get dark until after 6.30 as the days are getting longer now. It was another beautiful sunny day last Sunday.

We came back for free time as I call it when I don't have any obligations. Oli chose to do her French homework. Helene had set us holiday homework to be done by our lesson on 12th January. It was a refresh of the "avoir" verb but I would leave my homework until later.

None of of us was hungry for dinner but even so we ate and even had some more roscón and a glass of wine. For Oli and I and Eladio too, Kings' day would be the last day of indulging in food. From Monday 7th January it would be a return to healthy food and in my case to my diet. God knows how much I have put on but I won't be weighing myself for at least 10 days. My main New Year's resolution is to stay slim and I shall keep to it I promise.

Eladio and I were too tired and too full to watch anything on Netflix or Amazon Prime and both of us fell asleep after the news. I had another coughing fit but thankfully my "codiesan" tablets helped me get over it.

Monday 7th January dawned and it meant Christmas would be over. It was also Russian Christmas for the Orthodox religion. We used to celebrate it at home with my Russian born Mother but no longer unfortunately. So when in the evening, my Russian neighbour, Ekaterina, came over to bring us some chocolates and a bottle of vodka I was really touched. That was so thoughtful of her. I'm sure she didn't know that it would be my first present on 7th January since I was a child when my Mother used to give us presents. I wasn't brought up to speak Russian - big mistake on the part of my parents - so had to google Merry Christmas in my mother's native tongue. It is С Рождество́м!

Presents from our neighbours on 7th January, Russian Christmas.

For me, on 7th January Christmas was over, although it was a holiday in Spain as Reyes (Kings' Day) had been on a Sunday.  Oli was leaving that morning as Miguel was coming from Valencia and they would spend the rest of the week together. They went to a small village in Cáceres called Losar de la Vera where Oli would be interviewing a young woman who is a goat herd, all this for her new programme, España Directo. So Christmas was over and my girls were gone and I wanted it all back. I wished it was 7th December instead of 7th January.

It was time to take down the tree and all the decorations, perhaps the most depressing task of the year. But I got on with it. I did most of it and all Eladio had to do was to put everything in a big box to store until next year. Here he is about to close the box.

Taking down all the Christmas decorations on Monday

Although it was a holiday, my favourite supermarket, Carrefour Market, would be open as it is every day of the year to my delight. As the Monday fruit and veg market was closed, we went to the former to stock up on fruit and veg. Monday spelled a return to healthy living. At the end of the day, I had kept to my diet: fruit, veg, protein and milk and no carbohydrates, fat or sugar, and knew that I would be able to keep to my New Year's resolution.

It was a quiet day for us and the day unfolded as days do when we are at home and not particularly busy. We didn't hear from Suzy but we did get photos from Oli and Miguel at the village in Cáceres, Losar de la Vera. Here they are together that day, in brilliant sunshine I should say, the same as here.

Oli and Miguel in Losar de la Vera

I finished Mariano Guindal's book "un hombre con buena suerte" on Monday afternoon, just before dinner. I do hope we can see him soon for me to give him my feedback, all of it positive. What will my next book be I wondered? I had the choice of continuing Michelle Obama's "Becoming" which I started a while ago, or, interestingly, "The girl in the picture". The latter is the story of Kim Phuc, the so-called "napalm girl" whose photo by Nick Ut is the most famous one to come out of the Vietnam war.

June 8, 1972: Kim Phúc, center left, running down a road naked near Trảng Bàng after a South Vietnam Air Force napalm attack (Nick Ut / The Associated Press)

The book is written by Denise Chong and tells the story of how the photo came about and hopefully what happened to the 9 year old victim.

That night we watched or started watching a film called The Oxford Crimes on Amazon Prime. Not sure it was one of my favourites as I fell asleep before it ended.

Tuesday came and all vestige of the Christmas holidays was over. Andy, our long term Scottish lodger was back from his home in Antibes, France.  I greeted him in the morning. It was good to have him back.

I didn't have much to do that morning or rather I procrastinated and rewarded myself and went shopping in the sales. The excuse was to change an item of clothing I got for Christmas, but while at Centro Oeste, I was too tempted not to go and see the sales in some of my favourite shops, Zara being the first of course.

The sales at Zara on Tuesday 8th January

At Zara I got a white, hooded, waterproof padded jacket, made, believe it or not, from recycled plastic bottles. What  a good idea. There were no "Ms" so I had to make do with an "S". I was quite chuffed I could get into a Zara "S" after Christmas. At a lovely little boutique called "Algo Bonito", I exchanged the item of clothing for another padded jacket, a pink waistcoat one and a matching snood scarf. But it was at Pull and Bear I had my best find. I love tartan which is in fashion again and had been on the lookout for some comfortable and flattering red tartan trousers. It was there that I found them and I got a red jumper to match. I love this outfit don't you?

In my new red tartan outfit

These were my purchases which I had to photograph when I got home  - minus the trousers.

Some of my purchases when I went to the sales on Tuesday

All in all it was a wonderful solo trip to the sales. I felt so fortunate being able to go into any shop and more or less buy what I wanted. Later when I posted some of the photos on Instagram, my vegan and environment conscious daughter Suzy asked if I really needed all that. I answered not really but that it had made me happy. I've always thought I probably have enough clothes never to have to buy anything more until the end of my days but that would be so boring. It's lovely to wear new clothes; it gives you an up and on Tuesday I needed an "up".

I came home to show Lucy my purchases and hide them from Eladio. I never tell him when I buy new clothes as he doesn't approve. If it were for him, he'd wear the same thing everyday and never buy anything again hahahah. Lucy liked them though:-) I showed them to Oli too, who loves retail therapy as much as me, via whatsapp as she was in Losar de la Vera in Cácerces shooting. She approved. No doubt, as we often wear each other's clothes, she will be wearing some of the new ones I bought this week.

That morning Oli was in her element filming a young 35 year old goat herd called Mari, with her 90 or so goats in a village called Losar de la Vera (Cáceres).  Mari knows the name and number of each and every one of them! As she has to milk them twice a day, she can never take a holiday but doesn't seem to mind. She inherited the herd from her Father and even though she has a University degree, preferred to return to her home village and continue the family's way of living. Here they are together; two girls of similar age but with completely different lives.

Oli and Mari, the young goat herd in Losar de la Vera (Cáceres) on Tuesday

After shooting the report, Oli and her cameraman edited it at a bar nearby and sent it to TVE. It was broadcast that evening at 19.50 on her new programme, España Directo and we watched it with great interest. It is the first of a series of reports about rural working women. Thursday would see Oli in a village in Soria filming another woman farmer. She loves the outdoors and is loving her new job and return to TVE.

The rest of the day went past as usual. In the afternoon we went for our walk, came back to read and then had dinner - a diet one. Then it was time for bed, the news and instead of watching a film, we both fell asleep again. That must have been because of the  cold air on our bracing walk.

Wednesday came and it was a very quiet day with hardly anything to report. I did have some great news that day but very frustratingly I can't share it until it's confirmed. But I have to say it left me on cloud 9 and feeling happy all day long.

I spent most of the morning doing something I had been putting off for a while; sending all my financial statements, invoices and receipts to my accountant. One of the banes of being self employed is financial reporting  every 3 months. I was so relieved when I finished.

There was little news from the girls that day, a day of our routine which you must be pretty familiar with by now. I made lunch with Lucy's help; basically veg with protein, no fat and no carbs. Even so, it was still delicious.

It has been a week of brilliant sunshine although very cold in the mornings and evenings but that has made for lovely weather on our walks. We now go out at about 5, as we did on Wednesday, to enjoy our 1 hour and 20 minute walk up the hill and across the fields and back with Madrid's skyline in the far distance. We are so glad we live away from the city's pollution.

Once home, I did another task I had been procrastinating about; tidying up part of my walk in wardrobe. That took a while. I was looking forward afterwards to watching Oli on TV but she wasn't on that day. She had spent the time pre-producing a report she would be dong the next day on a 58 year old woman farmer from a village in Soria - part of a series of reports on rural working women. We won't see it until next Monday. She would be leaving early in the morning for Soria on Thursday and on Friday again but this time for Valladolid to cover the annual international motorbike gathering called "pinguinos". So, we would have to wait till Friday evening to see her again on TV and until Saturday to see her in the flesh.

We had a very quiet dinner together and then went upstairs to our quarters. The news that night was full of the agreement with the right wing parties, PP and Ciudadanos, backed by the extreme right Vox party, that would allow the former to govern in Andalucia. Some of the proposals from Vox were preposterous, such as separating boys and girls in the classroom and many others.

That night we were entertained with a new series on Prime Video; You are Wanted. It's a hacker type thriller, very much a story of our times and is pretty frightening.

Thursday came. It was a quiet day for us but not for Oli. That morning a car from TVE was coming to pick her up to drive her to a village in the province of Soria. She later sent us a photo where you can see her  lady farmer storing sunflower seeds. These are eaten widely by people in Spain. Not so in England where they are reserved for parrots hahaha.

Oli in a village in Soria on Thursday

I finally did my holiday homework that our French teacher, Helene, had set us. Our next lesson would be on Saturday and it was time for me to do it. The exercises were all about the "avoir" verb which were actually quite easy.  I must have been listening well when I was taught it at school so many years ago. The homework took more than 2 hours though as there were pages and pages of exercises. I felt so good when I had finished.

Eladio had errands to do in the afternoon, so on Thursday we went on our walk in the morning before lunch. It was freezing but very sunny. That morning I wore some of my new clothes, the pink waistcoat with my new Adidas trainers. This is how I looked. Very modern right? Recently I read comments from the fashion designer Carolina Herrera who advised women over 40 never to wear jeans or a mini skirt saying that "older women" should not try to look like younger women. What bullshit. I love jeans and I love mini skirts. What funny advice from a woman like Carolina Herrera.

All in the pink on Thursday

If my morning had been busy and I had been very active, I was very lazy in the afternoon. Eladio went off to do his errands and I decided to stay inside - it was freezing outside - and enjoy a series I started watching recently on Prime Video, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, set in New York in the 50's. It's very entertaining.

That night we watched more  of our new series, "You are Wanted" and it's so tense I'm afraid I found it difficult to fall asleep afterwards. We were interrupted when our 2 student guests, Alba and Javi, arrived at about 11 pm. They are repeat guests who have been coming since November and will be coming on and off from now until June. They are from Alicante and Valencia, respectively and no doubt, felt the cold. Luckily our house is very warm. I settled them in, settled the dogs too as Norah had hogged Elsa and Pippa's bed and returned to my own bed for more stress watching You are Wanted.

Friday came and promised to be a great day. We did the food shopping - no not a great task and there would be no churros this week - while Oli was on her way to Valladolid. That day she would be covering the annual "pinguinos" event there where up to 30.000 fervent motorcycle fans gather from all over the world. It is perhaps the biggest event of its kind. She would be there all day, doing a report for the programme and then stay until the programme began to do a live report at around 7.30. We looked forward to that. I never tire of seeing her on TV.

While she was having an exciting day, ours went by as usual, the highlight being our walk. We came back to watch her on the TV and then got ready to go out.

Her story was first on. Here she is reporting live from Valladolid on the motorcycle event there.

Oli reporting on the weather for TVE on Friday

We are currently going through a very cold spell here and she had to report on the weather too. Cleverly she held her toy penguin to illustrate the name of the event (pinguino meaning penguin) and the cold too. It was just 3ºc that evening in Valladolid.

Oli live from Valladolid reporting on the international motorcycle gathering event called "Pinguinos"

I'm not sure my Father would have been very interested in the motorcycle event but, as  a great lover of weather news and weather forecasts, he would have been proud of her reporting on the temperature that day. She was well wrapped up thank goodness.  I would be too when we were ready to go out to dinner on Friday night. Olivia would be home late that night as she had to return to Madrid after the report, a drive that takes a little over 2 hours.

Our drive took 15 minutes or less. We had a dinner date at the Parque de Boadilla Members Club which we used to frequent and belong to when we lived in our last house in Rio Tajo there. After the girls were born, we sold our flat in the centre of Madrid and bought a house in the country and moved  to an area (urbanización) called Parque Boadilla in 1988. When we were looking for houses in the area I remember being taken to the "club" which seemed such a luxury to me with its gardens, cafeteria, restaurant, tennis courts and swimming pool. It was one of the reasons we bought our house there. Many a happy hour was spent at the club. We hadn't been back since we moved to our new house in 2006 so Friday night would be  a very special night remembering old times.  We were to have dinner with our friends Isabel and Juanjo, also from Parque Boadilla, whom we met through Suzy who was their daughter Lorena's best friend in their class at St Michael's school when they were small. I think I told you in my last post that we had bumped into "Lorena's parents" last week and arranged a dinner date at the "club". Dinner that night was the highlight of my week. It certainly was a trip down memory lane and a happy one at that. Here we are, the 4 of us around the table at the Club that night.

Dinner with our old friends on Friday night at The Club

Not much had changed apart from the restaurant furniture. Everything else was the same. It was pity it was night time as I would have loved to wander outside and see the grounds.  During dinner I got a sudden and unexpected Airbn reservation for Saturday night from a couple who hail from Philippines. They will be our first guests from that part of the world. We stayed at the Club until after midnight, happily chatting, catching up on each other's lives and talking about the past and the present, including our offspring of course. As we parted, we agreed to repeat the experience. It's nice to have found our old friends again and I have a feeling we shall be seeing more of them. That's great for our social life which actually isn't that "social".

It was very late when we switched the light off that night, past 1 in the morning. I thought my cough had gone but it hadn't and I got a coughing fit in the middle of the night damn it. Thankfully I woke up half an hour later than usual at about 7 am.

Saturday was a break with routine, something I needed. I had a quiet morning and didn't even see our guests Alba and Javi who left early for the UEM. At 12 Oli and Miguel arrived and shortly Helene, our French teacher too. We spent a 1.15h in a very intense lesson, talking French the whole time. We spent at least one hour going over our homework, a refresh on the verb "avoir". Helene congratulated us on our exercises which were nearly perfect for once.

As soon as the lesson finished and we had seen Helene out until next Saturday - hahahaha she forgot to set us homework for next week - it was time to make lunch. I sent Lucy off who I knew was dying to leave for her short weekend and respite from looking after my Father and the house. She does such a good job. We had a healthy lunch of fresh fish and vegetables and no carbs!!

Later we all had a siesta until my Philippine guests arrived, Leslie and Maria. I welcomed them in, showed them around the house, settled them into their room and haven't seen them since. This morning they will be leaving, as will Javi and Alba but this afternoon Bob and Angela will be coming - they are repeat guests -  and Andy will be back from his hiking trip up a snowy mountain in France.

The big news came from France that day, or rather from Paris and it wasn't about the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vests) who were demonstrating in the centre for the 9th time. No it was more sinister. A gas explosion at a bakery in the heart of the tourist area caused havoc, death and destruction. One Spanish woman tourist from Toledo and 2 firemen were killed and many people injured. Those affected must have thought the explosion was from terrorist action but for once it wasn't.

The other news came from Canada. The 18 year old Saudi Arabian teenager, Rahaf al-Qunun, who, earlier this week, barricaded herself in her hotel room in Bangkok, refusing to return to her homeland where she faces a death penalty for giving up her religion and a backlash from her ultra conservative family who have made her life a misery, was on her way to freedom. The world got to know of her plight thanks to her twitter account. Many others who don't use social media, end up going back to a life of misery or even death. Thankfully, the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau came to her rescue and she will now know what it is like to live in freedom although it won't be easy for her starting a new life in a new and cold country where she knows no one. I think she has been very very brave and wish her a wonderful life. Go for it Rahaf!

The smiling Saudi teenage girl Rahaf arriving to freedom in Canada yesterday

I think all of us living in the free world, so to speak, just take our lives and freedom for granted. Cases like that of Rahaf should make us realise just how lucky we are really. Yesterday, I could choose what to do in the afternoon. Saudi girls don't get that choice without permission from a male guardian. Imagine. Well, Eladio is no male guardian, thank goodness - I wouldn't have married him if he was - so I chose to accompany Oli and Miguel who were going into the city to visit Anita, Oli's great friend from Uni, a lovely girl I know well. She also lived with Suzy in London where I saw a lot of her. She has been ill and has a mysterious yet to be diagnosed rare illness and we wanted to see her. She was in good shape really and above all radiated a positive attitude. She lives with her boyfriend, Alberto, in a flat in the centre and we spent a quiet and nice 2 or 3 hours together while back home Eladio went for a walk with Pippa. I missed my walk yesterday but it was for a good cause.

Oli and Miguel dropped me off at home later while they gallivanted off to dinner again. As Anita pointed out, Oli's main social pleasure is eating at good restaurants, just like me hahaha. I was happy to stay at home and have a quiet dinner with Eladio. There was no sign of any of our guests who were all out so we had the kitchen to ourselves.

Last night we watched a depressing film called The Innocents. It's Polish and set in 1945 and tells the horrific story of nuns who had  raped during the war and impregnated and who were helped secretly by a young Red Cross Communist doctor.  Thankfully I fell asleep quite soon and for once got quite a decent night's sleep with no coughing.

Today is Sunday and the day promises to be quiet. Today, by the way, is my best friend Fátima's birthday so happy birthday to her from here. Hopefully we shall go out to lunch one day soon to celebrate it with her.

I have reached the end of the tales of this week which started with Reyes. Christmas has now gone completely and we are at the beginning of a new year which I hope will be a great one for us all.

That's all from me for this week folks! Cheers till next time,
Masha

Oli returns to TVE, New Year's Eve, RIP Gloria, bumping into old friends, Kings' Night and other stories

Sunday 6th January 2019

Happy New Year to you all from Pippa and I

Good morning  and Happy New Year to you all.

We are now into the first week of the New Year. It has been a quiet and festive week at home.

Last Sunday was quiet too. Our group of Mexicans left that  morning. They were an interesting group and we got a chance to get an insight into their country, one I have visited at least 3 times in my life but not recently. I was dumbstruck when the Mother, Aida, told us her son had been kidnapped twice, once very recently  for 2 weeks when he was kept hostage and permanently handcuffed.  She had to pay 1 million pesos for his freedom and had to sell property to get the money. Unbelievable right? She told us it was very normal in Mexico. We asked whether they had called the police to which she replied "no". We innocently asked why and her answer was that the police are in cahoots with the kidnappers.  Her description of life in corrupt Mexico sent shivers down my spine and this was a well to do Mexican family. 

They left at around midday after which we went for our walk and counted our blessings. Indeed we have much to thank life for. There is practically no violence here in Spain and we live in a protected and harmonious bubble with all the bad news we see and read about feeling very far away. How lucky we are. 

Last Sunday was a quiet day for us without our girls who we missed a lot. We had a quiet lunch with my Father and read in the afternoon. We would have no more guests until Thursday and we would  have the house to ourselves again, if only for a few days.

We even had dinner on our own. We had expected Oli to join us but she was out with friends, or rather went to dinner to "Elenita's" where she saw Copi, the girls' childhood and school friend since they were toddlers. Our youngest daughter was home early, at about 10 pm and caught us watching a film on Netflix. Miguel had gone back to Valencia to work and she would spend the week with us. 

This week has been very exciting for her. Monday saw her return to RTVE, Spain's state controlled TV broadcaster. She worked for RTVE when she left University for some 5 or 6 years after which she left to work for various programmes run on the local TV network, Telemadrid. She did a stint with "Aquí en Madrid", "Mi Cámara y Yo" and until last week, "Madrileños por el Mundo" where in just over a year she travelled to 13 different destinations all over the world.  RTVE headhunted her a week or so ago to return as a reporter, this time for their evening programme "España Directo".  Her last job with TVE was with their morning programma, La Mañana where she has many happy memories.  There is no denying that for a TV reporter, TVE is the best broadcaster to work for in Spain. She will be a live reporter again, something she hasn't done for a while but something she excels at. We are very proud of her and wish her well in this stage of her career. Go for it Oli. You are the best! From now on we must all watch España Directo ok.  It's on every day on TVE 1 from Monday to Friday from 19.25 and lasts an hour approximately. 

I had a better night, vs a vs my nasty cough and was up at 6.50. Thus I was able to have breakfast with Olivia who had to be at RTVE by 8 to sign her new contract. Her throat was better too and thankfully her voice had returned. Remember when we went out to dinner and she had lost her voice completely and had to use a black board to communicate? Her voice, of course, is her biggest asset as a reporter so I was relieved it had returned on Sunday. She will be working very near here, at the programme HQ in Prado del Rey in nearby Pozuelo. It's just a 15 minute drive from here. She will also be able to park on site which is a pretty good perk, work wise these days.

Monday, her first day with RTVE, was of course the last day of the year, New Year's Eve. Eladio and I went to the Villaviciosa fruit and veg market to get provisions for the week. We then went to Mercadona to get a few things for our NYE dinner and once again we went to the churrería for Spanish "elevenes". I do love this Spanish traditions, especially the "porras" the thicker version of the "churro" (fritter). We were home by about midday with plenty of time for our walk but in the end postponed it to the afternoon. We had to do things slowly on NYE as the day was very long for us, ending at past midnight. Thus I unloaded everything and finished making lunch - a chickpea casserole everyone loved and then I indulged myself by taking time to read for at least an hour before lunch.

Later we had a siesta, a long one as we would be up till late. Oli was home early from work. Her new Director who, funnily enough, had been her director at "Aquí en Madrid" and the person who hired her for that programme, had told her to take it easy on the first day and sent her home early. That was lovely. Thus she was able to join us on our walk in the sunshine. We came home and took things slowly as we wanted to have a late dinner and not sit around for hours waiting for it to be midnight. At 19.30 Oli and I watched her new programme; after all she had to get to know it. It was all about how NYE is celebrated in different corners of Spain. While we were watching it, my dear friend Sandra video called me from Brussels where she was celebrating with her family, her mother Magda, her brother Paul and his wife Arabella. It was lovely to see them. Sandra is now in India on holiday, her place of birth. Oh how I would love to visit India with my dearest friend. One day I will. 

Meanwhile, Suzy in Bali had already welcomed in the New Year, 7 hours ahead of us. Here she is with her friends who travelled from London and Madrid see her, enjoying their last dinner of the year.

Suzy and her friends on New Year's Eve in Bali

Soon it was time to get dressed up for dinner. Both Oli and I decided to make an effort, even though there would be just the 3 of us to celebrate. Oli wore my golden Zara jacket and I wore a sequinned dress also from Zara that I had bought a few years ago. All ready for partying, we came down to the kitchen to make the dinner. We protected our festive outfits by wearing aprons and looked very funny. The 3 of us prepared our feast; giant prawn cocktail with mango and avocado, "perushki" (Russian meat pies), foie with raspberrries, some delicious sweet roast miniature peppers and believe it or not the remains of last week's bacon rolls or "Rolls Royce" as Eladio calls them. This is what the table looked like before we sat down to dinner at 10 pm.

Our New Year's Eve dinner at home on Monday 

Eladio would have happily tucked in as soon as we sat down but first we had to have some photos and a toast with our newly discovered Juan Gil wine from the Jumilla area. Oli and I found some Christmas selfie props from last year, put them on and took some selfies. We really got into the spirit of New Year's Eve as you can see in this photo below hahaha.

A  bit of fun on NYE with Eladio and Olivia

We had a delicious dinner and I insisted we ate slowly - I usually devour hahaha - in order to savour it all and not rush. For dessert we had a fruit, meringue and ice cream concoction after which, of course, we pulled some crackers. They were last years and rather disappointing as the bang had gone and there were no jokes or hats.

We cleared up together and then gathered in the TV lounge where Eladio had put the fire on. He only ever puts it on at Christmas and NYE. We sat by the fire watching mostly rubbish on TV and waiting for midnight. In Spain the tradition is to eat a grape at each chime, making for fast eating of 12 grapes which often get stuck in your throat. This year I had bought special grapes with their pips removed but they were so big, I didn't manage to eat the 12 during the 12 chimes. Only Eladio did. The tradition is to have a glass of champagne afterwards. I had chilled a very good bottle of French champagne my friend Sandra had brought me for my 60th but in the end we didn't have it. Eladio, being the wonderful party pooper he is, had brushed his teeth after dinner and threatened not to eat the grapes as it would mean having to brush them again. Oli and I put our foot down hahaha. Thus we ate the "grapes of luck" as they are called here at the chime of 12 from the clock in the Puerta del Sol square in Madrid which was teeming with thousands of people. No way would I have changed my sofa seat for a place in that cold and crowded square full of revelers.

We stayed up for about half an hour while the revelers from our neighbourhood lit up so many fireworks it felt like the 3rd world war outside that night. It seems to me to be a new tradition which I actually rather like.

It's funny really as we had quite a nice New Year's Eve together when I am not a great fan of celebrating the New Year. I am not a reveler, I don't like going to bed late, I drink very little alcohol and as to the Spanish lucky grape tradition, well it's an adopted one I go along with but doesn't mean much to me.  I used to look forward to NYE as a teenager but have realised now that I never really enjoyed it, so it was rather nice that I did enjoy this year's NYE. Unlike most people, we were in bed and asleep by about 1 in the morning.

One good thing about not drinking much alcohol is that the next day, 1st Jan 2019, the first day of the New Year, I did not wake up with a hangover or bleary eyed. I did wake up a bit later than usual at around 7.20 after a nearly cough free night.

Our first day of the year was a quiet one. Oli had to work to finish editing her programme on Austria, my Father watched the annual New Year Concert from Vienna and the house was generally quite. I watched it too but on my iPad while I was preparing our lunch. That's one of the reasons I love new technology. In the old days there would have been just one TV and I would have missed the concert. So no, I enjoyed it too as I always do. It's one of the great traditions of New Year's Day. Many other people around the world were watching it too and I felt a bond with them.

Watching the New Year Concert from Vienna on my iPad as I cooked on New Year's Day in the morning

I prepared a lovely suckling lamb roast for our first meal of the year; a rack of ribs and 2 shoulders which we had with roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, my gravy and home made mint sauce made from mint leaves from the garden. It was a magnificent meal but unfortunately I totally forgot to take any photos:-(

Later in the afternoon, Oli went to see her friend Elenita while Eladio and I

went for our daily walk. It was later than usual but also we noticed it got darker a little later. Thankfully daylight hours, as from 21st December are getting longer.

None of us was hungry that night, but we had dinner. There is a lovely expression in Spanish: "comer y rascar, es cuestión de empezar" (scratching and eating is a question of beginning). So we began to eat and ended up having a fine meal.

Wednesday 2nd January dawned. For us it was a quiet day, not so for others as you will read. I had an appointment with my GP about my night cough. I got him to prescribe me magic pills that stop you coughing at night but that most GPs are reluctant to prescribe; plain codeine called "codeisan" here. It did the trick that night thank goodness.

Oli left for her second day at work with her new programme, España Directo with TVE1, and it would be a busy day for her. Meanwhile, we took it easy and went out shopping for presents for Kings' Day. We give all our presents on Christmas Day here and just a few on Kings' Day but many people in Spain do the opposite. In fact, for them, Father Christmas is relatively new. So we spent a pleasant morning at Gran Plaza 2, a big shopping centre, or maybe it was just me. Eladio told me he found the whole experience overpowering hahaha. Thank goodness it's me who takes care of Christmas here. 

We were home on time for lunch with my Father, his highlight of the day, no doubt, after which we took a siesta - a short one for me. True to custom we then went on our walk in brilliant sunshine. The flock of sheep were it as they have been for the past few days but thankfully not the sheep dog as otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get past.

Oli whatsapped me to tell me her debut with a live television report would be at 7.24 that day. I immediately relayed the message to my great friends Julio and Fátima to tell them to put the TV on if they were at home. It was then that I found out that Fátima's mother Gloria was dying. Dying! What a word. How could that be? I had seen her on 24th December when we had churros with her family. Then on 28th December, Fátima rang me to tell me she had taken her mother to live at a lovely residence in Majadahonda as she was getting frailer and needed 24h care. The message on Wednesday said Gloria had gone into coma just 2 days later and that Fátima and her family were on the way to the hospital as the doctors were about to take her off artificial respiration. That meant she was about to die. Wow how dreadful. . It wasn't until Thursday morning that Fátima confirmed her Mother had died on Wednesday at 20.30 after two heart attacks. She had died in peace and in no pain and in total unawareness. But how hard this must have been for the family. I have known Fátima's mother since I have known her daughter, my best friend in Spain, since our Motorola days in the early 90's and I know she will be sorely missed. All I can say is RIP Gloria, I'm so sorry you had to leave this world. For memory's sake, here is the photo of us together on Christmas Eve. Uncannily, it turned out to be Gloria's last Christmas on this earth.

Gloria, Fátima's mother, smiling for the camera on Christmas Eve. She is second on the right with blonde hair .RIP Gloria

That news took the shine off Oli's debut on TV but as she's my daughter I was determined to enjoy watching her. She was reporting live from a small town in Extremadura in Cáceres, Navomoral de la Mata, about a train from Badajoz to Madrid which took 11 hours to reach Madrid after breaking down and how 150 passengers were stranded without light, water or food. The journey by car is about 4 hours and it takes longer by train. The people from Extremadura have protested a lot about the rail infrastructure and this week they came to their tether. Spain has one of the best railways in the world, leading most countries with its high speed network but unfortunately that does not include the region in question. Olivia took the same trip which was 40 minutes late and interviewed passengers on her way.  She also reported live from Navomoral. It was her first live report in 2 years and she told me later she felt nervous, thinking she may have lost her touch. But she hadn't and did a great job for which she was congratulated  by her Director. As she had to take the train back we wouldn't see her until the next day. I was happy for her too that she was covering a topic that turned out to be the main news of the day in Spain. We were very proud of her. Here is a picture I took of her on the TV to remember her debut this week when she returned to RTVE.

Oli live on TV in her debut on Wednesday this week with España Directo TVE1

That was the main news in Spain that day. Worldwide both China and the US rivaled in their exploration in space. For the first time the Chinese landed on the moon or rather a Chinese robot landed on the dark side of it. Meanwhile the NASA had launched a mission called "New Horizons" to explore the Ultima Thule solar system, the most distant target in the history of space missions. They apparently reached within 3.500 kilometres of the enigmatic rock which itself is within a baffling billion miles away from Pluto. The space ship later sent an image which likened Ultima Thule to a snow man. 

The snow man shaped Ultima Thule

I'm not sure I really understand where or what Ultima Thule is or what the importance of the mission is. Later we watched another episode of La Verdad which Amazon Prime is broadcasting in very slow installments. As I said, earlier, I had a cough free night that night and slept quite well, thanks to the tablets the doctor prescribed in the morning.

Thursday came. Oli was up early as she had to go for her medical for RTVE and then for another routine blood test at a local clinic. The poor girl was up at 7.30 and wasn't home until 10.45 and then had to leave for work at 11.45. Her official timetable is from 12.30 to 20.30 but she will often be working longer when she's out doing live reports. I waited for her to come back to accompany her while she had breakfast. It's pure pleasure to have our youngest daughter, Oli, stay with us during the week when her boyfriend is working in Valencia, also for RTVE. No doubt their professional lives will cross at some time in the future and I'm sure they will both love working together.

When she left, I left too but my destination was the hairdresser. It was the time of the month to get my roots died and hair cut or clipped an inch or so. I wasn't home until just before lunch and was happy to see Lucy had everything ready. She just had to heat up leftovers so it wasn't a big deal.

After the news and a short siesta, I went on my walk with Pippa. Eladio still has a bad cold and I can't manage all 3 dogs on our own. So off I went in the sunshine and wearing my headphones to listen to Christmas music while I walked. During the walk an ex colleague, Carlos, rang. He might be needing my services in PR which would be great. It's good to be remembered by colleagues. He's a special one actually. Once, years ago, when we both worked for Motorola, on a flight back from Amsterdam, after taking a group of dealers to see Real Madrid play Juventus in the Champions League final, an air hostess mistook me for his Mother. Forever after, Carlos has called me "mama" and I have called him "hijo mío" (my son). It's a standing joke between us.

As soon as I was home, I had to get ready to go out again. Eladio and I were attending the funeral mass for Gloria, Fátima's mother who had died the day before, aged 85 but about to turn 86 this month. The wake was at a funeral parlour in Las Rozas. Fátima and all her family were there who I know so well but don't often see. Gloria made sure we met up that day but I wish we could have met  in more cheerful circumstances. There I hugged my tearful friend and I cried too. Gloria was laid out with the coffin open and I went in with my friend to say a last goodbye and kiss her cold forehead. As I did so, I remembered doing the same with my own Mother, my brother George and also my Aunty Masha. Dead people look so different and are so stiff and cold, they already seem in another world. It was so sad to see her lying that way. A short while later there was a mass at the same funeral parlour, packed with Fátima's friends and family. The nicest part was the end when Gloria's 3 granddaughters, Fátima junior and her cousins Sara and Gloria all read out a tribute they had written to her. One of them mentioned her culinary skills, particularly her famous Spanish omelet. She made great ones and I told my friend I would make one for dinner that night in homage to her. On Saturday, on Kings' night at our traditional annual dinner at Julio's place, Gloria had always contributed with 2 small and delicious home made tortillas. This year it was Fátima who would make them. Never again will we try Gloria's. RIP dear mother of my best friend.

It was dark and cold outside when we left but it was a short journey home as Las Rozas is only 15km away. Once home, true to my word, I began on preparations for a Spanish omelet, the one made with potatoes and onions. While we were in the throes of making dinner, Oli arrived. We had missed her live report on her new programme but were pleased to hear it went well. We were not pleased to hear that one of her best friends, Anita, also Suzy's  ex flat mate in London, seems to be  ill with a rare disease they can't quite diagnose. Anita is only 33, so young to lose her health. I can't stop thinking about this lovely girl, so beautiful outside and inside and how life can be so unfair and randomly so.

On a happier note, my 2 small tortillas turned out a treat. We had them with steamed spinach and lomo (sort of cured pork loin). This is one of them. Notice my hair cut which I don't particularly like as it's a bit lank. No worries I would wash it again the next day and would look my usual self. I never like my hair done by a hairdresser. It always looks better when I do it myself.

One of the tortillas I made for dinner in homage to Gloria after her funeral mass on Thursday evening. 

They turned out perfect and I think Gloria would have been proud of me.

Later I spent some quality time with Oli and then it was time for bed and some entertainment. We watched the film Entebbe about the 1976 kidnapping of an Air France plane going from Athens to Paris with many Israelis on board. Most of the hostages were saved by the storming of the airport in Entebbe in Idi Amin's Uganda by Israeli elite armed forces and the terrorists killed. It was an event in the news I well remember and the film made in 2016 brought back all the memories of watching the unfolding of this terrible kidnapping on ITV or the BBC back in the UK when I was a teenager.

I was interrupted during the middle of the film to go and open the gate for my first Airbnb guest of the year, Joanne from Lancashire. She had come with her daughter, Elisa, who is on an Erasmus year here at the local UEM University. Her main objective was to experience the Spanish 3 Kings' festivities. Joanne speaks Spanish pretty well as she had lived here years ago, working for a tour operator. I settled her into Andy's room and then went back to bed to watch the end of the film with Eladio.

Friday came and it was another cold but sunny January day here. After some quality time in the kitchen while Eladio and Oli breakfasted as well as a short chat with Joanna over a cup of tea that I offered her, Eladio and I went out to do the weekly shopping. Naughtily we first went to have some churros at the local "churrería" where we live. Eladio ordered his with thick hot chocolate and I ordered 2 "porras" with a cup of coffee. Here you can see both varieties.

Churros (the thinner looped version) and porras 

Just as we were about to sit down, I recognised a customer who came in. It was Javier Ares a friend from my Motorola cycling days. He is a well known sports commentator and is generally considered the "voice of cycling" in Spain although he commentates on lots of sports, not only cycling. He is a neighbour of ours but we hadn't seen each other for some time. It's always lovely bumping into him. We both commented on how sad the passing away of Paul Sherwen had been, another sports commentator (for Channel 4 and Eurosport) but also the ex head of PR for the former Motorola team.

From the churrería we left for Mercadona where I spun round the aisles to stock up on basics. Our last stop on Friday morning was at Carrefour Market, the more upmarket supermarket in our area, to buy the more gourmet stuff we like. Here I would buy the joint of meat to make roast beef for lunch today, so fitting for Kings' Day. It was here we bumped into more people we knew. In one of the aisles, we suddenly saw the parents of a friend of Suzy's from when she was very little, Lorena. Lorena and Suzy were in the same class since the age of 4 and, as they were neighbours, the girls often played together out of school time and that was how her parents, Juanjo and Isabel became our friends. We first met via our children at their school, St. Michael's in 1988. I was just 31 then. And on Friday we met again 17 years or so after the girls left the school for University; now double that age. It was amazing and uncanny. Looking at their aged faces, we both realised how we have aged too. We knew of course that we had aged, but suddenly looking at the faces of friends we hadn't seen for such a long time, ageing was very much on our minds. What a shock but also what a delight to meet friends from the past with so much in common. We met at all the girls' birthday parties and even went out on occasion. I had to have a selfie with Isabel, not a good one I'm afraid, as both of us now have wrinkles and lines on our faces. I remarked to my ex neighbour and friend that we were younger than our offspring are now when we first met and yet at the time, I didn't feel particularly young. That was probably because I was too busy with motherhood.

Meeting Isabel on Friday 

We stood around talking for ages, catching up on our lives of parenthood when our kids were small. We exchanged phone numbers and have agreed to go out to dinner next Friday. We will be looking forward to that.

We were home a bit late but Lucy, as always, had everything ready on the table. All I know is I wasn't very hungry after the "porras" but once again I ate as "scratching and eating is a question of beginning" hahaha.

The rest of Friday passed as most of our afternoons and evenings do. I went for a walk, we read in the lounge accompanied by the Christmas decorations which, sadly, will be going down tomorrow, and then we had dinner. Being Friday I had proposed going out to dinner but Eladio wanted to stay at home. We didn't see Oli that night as she was having dinner with friends, Elenita and Copi, the latter being one of the girls friends from school since 1988, together with Lorena.  Our entertainment that night was a Spanish film called Ismael, about a 8 year old black boy who runs away to find his Father. We loved it.

On Saturday morning I would probably have slept until 7 am but the alarm went off at 6.25 as Lucy forgot to switch it off when she got up. It sounded in all the house and I hoped it hadn't woken up our guest, Joanna. It certainly woke me up and I couldn't fall asleep again and thus went downstairs to the kitchen to start my day.

Saturday was the last day of Christmas but one. In Spain 5th January is the called the "Noche de Reyes" (the night of the Kings) which is really the night before Epiphany. That morning I had Oli to myself and the two of us went shopping to Centro Oeste. I still had to get one more present for Kings' Day today and she had to get quite a few. We spent a lovely morning together, pure mother and daughter quality time, although I had to share her with her phone. Since she started her new job with TVE, she has been so busy with her new job and messaging with people it's hard to get a free minute with her. While shopping together she was working too as this week coming she has to do a few reports on women in Agriculture in rural areas of Spain. Tomorrow she will be off to a village in Cáceres where on Tuesday she will be interviewing and filming a 35 year old woman goat herd!! She does get to do different topics and doesn't often get to choose them.

We stopped for a coffee and in a moment of fun, the two of us tried out taking photos and videos using the silly Snapchat social media platform more suited to young kids or teenagers. Inside, Oli is still a little girl and I went along. This is one of the silly photos we took. There are others that distort your face which I hate but Oli loves hahaha.

Snapchatting with Oli

The loveliest thing about taking photos with snapchat is that it eliminates any sign of old age and all the wrinkles disappear as you can see in the photo above.

One of my main tasks yesterday morning was to buy the traditional "roscón de reyes" a sort of Kings' cake similar to a brioche but in a round shape with a hole in the middle. I bought the classic one and a small one with whipped cream in the middle, the one my Father likes best. We will be having it today for our Kings' Day family breakfast.

We were home on plenty of time to finish preparations for lunch and sat down at just after 2 pm with my Father. By 2.45, Lucy had left to enjoy her weekend and Zena was here to take her place and look after my Father until tonight. The added perk of having a home help is that we don't have to clear the table or wash up.

We all had a siesta. Oli was exhausted after her first week back with TVE. Her job is great but much more demanding than the one with Madrileños por el Mundo where she only had to do one report a month. With España Directo she will be doing at least 3 live reports and two non live reports a week which will keep her on her toes.

Later my youngest daughter joined me for our walk and we took all 3 dogs. Again it was cold but sunny. We've had wonderful weather over Christmas when it hasn't rained once. We came back to get ready to go out, both Oli and I. She was going out to dinner with her friends and were going to Julio's house with Fátima for our annual Kings' dinner at Julio's place. It's a tradition we started when we first met at Nokia in the year 2000 I think or maybe 2001 and a tradition we swore to continue until our dying days last night.

I wore a festive dress and made Eladio wear a bow tie which suits him so much. And here we are in in finery, aged 61 and 74 respectively but still looking good I hope.

Eladio and I at Julio's place last night for our annual dinner

We picked up Fátima at about 8 pm, all of us carrying our presents and my friend also carrying 2 tortillas made my her and not her mother sadly. They were just as good though. It's quite a drive to Julio's who lives in the centre of Madrid next to the famous bull ring, Las Ventas. To get there you have to go on the M30 a hateful ring road around the city and even though we had the sat nav on, Eladio needed both Fátima and I to be his co pilots when all we wanted to do was to catch up on our lives. Fátima mostly filled us on the end of her Mother's days this week; very sad.

Julio, the perfect host, opened the door for us at about 8.40 or so and thus we would have an early dinner. We were all excited about the dinner. After all it only takes place once a year and is something we all look forward to. Before sitting down to enjoy the typical Spanish fare, ham, lomo, tortilla, a salad and asparagus, washed down by delicious Bornos white wine from Rueda, we took a photo as we do every year of the 3 of us. This is the one we took last night, looking happy and radiant I think.

With my best friends Fátima and Julio at our annual dinner last night

Between the 4 of us we devoured everything on the table. Dessert, as tradition dictates, would be a whipped cream filled roscón which Julio buys from a very good bakery. Here is Eladio about to cut it.

The cream filled "roscón" at Julio's last night

After the "roscón" it was present giving time, something we all look forward to. Eladio had bought Fátima some Roger Gallet perfume and the Sapiens book for Julio. I had bought them both a jumper from Zara and some little presents from that lovely kitchen store in Valencia called "Gadget". I was expecting my usual perfume, "flower bomb" by Viktor Rolf but this year my friends surprised me buying me the Google home mini assistant loudspeaker. They thought I would love it as they consider me "techy". I'm not sure I'm techy but I do know that home assistant devices are the big technology thing of the moment and look forward to setting it up. I will tell you what I think in next week's post. The evening ended with Eladio and Julio talking about religion, the Catholic church and the discussion got quite heated. Julio is a believer and Eladio is a sceptic but also an ex priest, a philosopher and theologian. The two were a little at loggerheads so maybe we shouldn't have included religion in our range of topics last night. However we parted great friends as there is nothing that will ever spoil that. We left late at about midnight and went out into the cold and dark night to make our way home.

We were in bed very late, after 1 but I was wide awake and it was difficult to sleep. I ended up taking 2 sleeping tablets and slept until 7 this morning. I was the first up, fed the dogs, had a cup of coffee, checked my facebook and instagram account and read the headlines and then came down to the study, followed by Pippa, to finish writing this week's post.  I am now at the end of the stories of this week and must leave you now to get on with Kings' Day. For me it's a lovely day with the family but quite a lot of work as I have to make a special breakfast for everyone with all our finery in the dining room and then a full roast lunch.

Tomorrow, 7th January, Christmas will be over for us and I do not look forward to the dreaded task of taking down the tree and all the decorations. Monday 7th will also be the end of indulgence in food and I shall be back to my diet. No doubt we shall have either grilled chicken or grilled fish with vegetables and no more turrón. I have over indulged since 24th December and it's time to go back to healthy eating. For the Russian Orthodox, however, it will be their Christmas Day.

Now I shall leave you now and get on with King's Day, a lovely Spanish tradition and a nice way to say goodbye to Christmas. If you are celebrating it, I wish you a wonderful day and once again I wish you all an excellent 2019.

Until next Sunday, all the best Masha.