Long lost letters from my brother George, more photos from the past, shopping spree, Orbaneja del Castillo, a press conference, my birthday and other tales of the week.

Sunday 10th February, 2019

62 this week and who cares? It's only a number but with wrinkles.

Good morning friends and readers.

It's been a busy week and also my birthday. Last Sunday was quiet. I  literally spent the whole morning writing a difficult press release about financing for one of my customers. However, I was free in the afternoon and we went on another cold walk.

I continued editing and updating my Father's biography which I sort of finished that day. That's not quite true as I keep adding things. While rummaging through old photos, documents etc,  I came across letters from my brother George to me when we were young - he died aged 46 of melanoma - and they were lovely to read.

My good looking brother, George, in the mid 70's. 

At the time he was studying Latin American Studies at Portsmouth Polytechnic and I was studying Hispanic Studies at Nottingham University. The letters are lovely, all about his various girlfriends - he was so good looking - and his student life. In one of them he tells me he loves me. I think there are more, I must search and read every one of them. They were a lovely discovery as I didn't know they existed.

For the records, here is one of them. He wrote it to me when I was living in Madrid in 1979, as part of my studies.

Page 1 of a letter from my brother George written in 1979,

Page 2 of George's letter

I will cherish them forever.

The day ended watching an interview on the Spanish programme, Salvados, with Nicolas Maduro. The next day, Spain and other countries in Europe would recognize Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's President which would have its consequences. Donald Trump was saying that intervention in the country was "on the table" and Maduro would say the country was ready to fight. Will this be another Vietnam? I sincerely hope not.

Monday came and it was busy too. I did the fruit and veg shopping, quite a task as you will appreciate when you see the photo below hahaha. Hopefully it would last us the week.

The fruit and veg I got  at the Villaviciosa de Odón market on Monday

I spent the rest of the morning working on preparations for the Adamo press conference breakfast which would take place on Friday. With just a week to prepare it there was lots of work to be done. 

I had a break though to talk to my darling daughter Suzy who is living in Bali. Here are two great photo of her singing. She sings in a band she has created called "Los Chuchis". You can follow them on Instagram where they are called "Chuchis Chuchis".

Suzy singing with her band and looking happy

Suzy with her band, Los Chuchis

In the afternoon we went on a lovely brisk walk with the dogs in brilliant sunshine. The storms seem to have receded in Spain thank goodness. This week for example Santa Pola would experience 23ºc. I would have loved to have gone there but was stuck at home with my work.

Editing my father's biography, I also found yet more photos of his past and our past too. They came from the family album which I had been looking for in the past few weeks. Finally I found it on Monday. Here are some of the lovely photos. It made me so sad to see that only my Father and I are left now. It's very emotional.

My Father in Norway after the war

My Father at Cambridge

Teaching spies in Cambridge. My Father is on the front row wearing his school cricket jumper which he still wears today!

My parents on their engagement

Our house in Ruskington in Lincolnshire

George and I with Mummy and her pigs in Ruskington, probably in about 1961

My Grandfather with his children, my Father Courtenay (right), his brother Raymond and little sister Gloria. Henbury Bristol, probably about 1929.

The new Vicarage in Henbury, Bristol, built especially for my Grandfather and his family when they moved there in the 20's. Sadly it was burnt by vandals this last summer, 2018.

Later after a dinner full of vegetables and fruit, off we went to bed to watch the news - all about Venezuela. We later watched a film by Woody Allen (horrible man) called Irrational Man. I fell asleep. I have never really liked his films, apart from Match Point.

Tuesday came.  I spent more or less the whole day again on preparations for the press conference on Friday and it really felt like being back to work like in the old times. I don't think I could stand that rhythm every day of my life now as I have reached 62. I think I have the perfect work life balance now.

I was all dressed up ready to go out for lunch with my friends Julio and Fátima and then realised the lunch date was for Wednesday, not Tuesday hahaha. That was actually good as I was able to finish most of my work preparations.

There was no siesta and news that day but there was a walk with Eladio and the dogs. There was no need for Pippa to wear her jumper as the sun was shining and the cold spell is now over.

Pippa ready for her walk on Tuesday

What would we do without our walks? It was a glorious day and we started talking about plans for next week to celebrate St. Valentine's Day at Eladio's suggestion. Sure we will. We are even thinking of going to our pad by the beach at Santa Pola, depending on the weather but maybe have to leave that until the following week.

Dinner was omelet with spinach and asparagus from the huge amount of veg I bought on Monday and it was delicious. The news that night was centred again on Venezuela and back here on the 16 day taxi strike in Madrid which thankfully ended that day. The taxi drivers and the local government are at stalemate in their negotiations and the former say they will battle on. They do not have the support of the public at large after their violent behaviour and they don't have mine.

Wednesday would see me in Madrid and what a lovely day I would have and above all a change in routine. I had to go into town to visit EQT's offices, the Investment Fund company that owns the majority of my customer Adamo, to check them out for Friday's press conference. I decided that once in Madrid I would go  to see the girls from my events agency, QuintaEsencia, Cristina, Gloria and Bea who are sisters by the way. I have known them for probably more than 20 years and we are more friends than work colleagues. Apart from events, they also have a new sideline business, selling lovely things called Qrabbit which now includes clothes. Cristina is the one who started the clothes side of the business and as I love her style, similar to mine, had seen some of the stuff on Instagram, and decided clothes from their range would be my birthday present. It was to their offices in Calle Lagasca that I went first as I had all  morning to visit EQT, after which I had a lunch appointment in the same area, the very swanky Serrano neighbourhood.

It was great to see the girls again but I was sorry for them when they showed me the result of a fallen false ceiling and flooding on their show room. It looked like a bomb had hit it. Thankfully insurance will cover the costs but not the inconvenience. Thus they had the clothes in their main meeting room. Here I spied all the items I wanted to try on and I bought every one of them. You can too if you go to see them at Lagasca number 33 or to their website here.

As I was trying everything on, in came Bea. She was wearing the same tartan coat I was trying on. Here we are, what a laugh.

Bea and I in the same tartan coat. 

It's typically oversize so looks a bit big on me. When I tried it on for Eladio he asked whether I had bought a dressing gown, hahaha. That's maybe  because I bought him some pyjamas in the same red tartan and I have a similar pair too. You probably have guessed by now that I love tartan. Actually, I have quite a few red tartan garments: trousers, a jacket, the pyjamas, a short Zara coat and now this one. I even spotted some red tartan shoes in a shop nearby later but resisted as they cost 200 euros, more than I spent on all the clothing I got at Qrabit hahaha.

I bought 5 garments, including a rain coat in a tartan, but not red this time . Later in the evening when I got home, I tried everything on and got Eladio to take photos of his presents for me (hahahaha) I shouldn't have as the clothes were for my birthday on Friday but I couldn't resist. Here is a little fashion show for you  of the other garments I got, including a lovely tartan raincoat.

Clothes from my shopping spree at QRabit for my birthday.

Don't you just love the pink fur denim jacket? I think it's my favourite as well as the pink jumper. While there I also bought a birthday present for my friend Fátima with whom I would have lunch afterwards with our other friend Julio to celebrate our birthdays, both hers and mine. I chose the tartan rain coat which was a huge success.

It was great trying on the clothes and being with the girls, catching up on each other's lives, but I was interrupted constantly by work related messages, mails, etc which made my time at QuintaEsencia a little stressful.

After the wonderful shopping spree, I went to see EQT's offices, accompanied by two of QuintaEsencia's account managers as I would need their assistance at the press conference on Friday. Located around the corner from Calle Serrano (Madrid's Bond Street) they are very Swedish and swish. I knew their main board room would be perfect for our event as soon as I saw it.

After the visit, the morning was nearly over and I had just 30 minutes to spare before meeting Julio and Fátima at a lovely but expensive restaurant, Paraguas on Calle Jorge Juan. So I sat in the sun on Calle Serrano, opposite Plaza de Colón and diagonally opposite the National Library. It was such a lovely moment, a moment to myself in town, after a successful shopping spree and feeling as free as a bird. I checked in at home, ringing Eladio, made a few work related phone calls and then walked at my leisure to the restaurant.

My friends were on time and we had a divine lunch. We chatted non stop so I forgot to take photos unfortunately. We left at around 4 pm; yes Spanish lunches start and end late:-) and after saying goodbye to Julio, I took Fátima to QuintaEsencia to pick up my clothes and also for her to have a look. She has a different style so was not so bowled over but did buy a garment for her daughter. My friend  then drove me to my car at the Metro Station, Colonia Jardin and we both agreed we must go into town together more often. I was home by about 5.30, not too late for my walk but I had to cancel it because of work. I think I was at my desk until 8 pm when it was time for dinner.

Meanwhile Oli was in a lovely little village in Burgos called Orbanejo del Castillo. It is apparently the second most popular village to visit in Spain. And I'd never heard of it. Now I have. That day, Oli was preparing a report for TV which would be broadcast on Friday. Here she is with Miguel by the famous waterfall in the village which is what makes it so attractive.

Orbaneja del Castillo - Oli and Miguel by the famous waterfall.

That night Real Madrid were playing Barcelona in a so called "Clásico" at the Camp Nou in the final stages of the Copa del Rey. Eladio watched it while I read. It ended in a draw 1-1 and we will have to wait to the second round to see who goes through to the final. I'm not really into the Copa del Real, far preferring international championships.

My current book? Well about WW2 again of course, this time the biography of one of Churchill's secretaries, Elizabeth Nell. Called "Winston Churchill by his personal Secretary, I am reading it for the second time and am loving every minute of it because you get to see the man as he was right up close. What amazing times.

Thursday came and I had just one day before "D Day", my press conference. It just would have to coincide with my birthday once again. This is the 3rd year in a row I've had to organise a press conference on my birthday  - not fair hahaha.

What a busy day it was. I worked frantically on preparations for the press conference and a bit frustratingly too as there were so many people involved and too many emails and people weren't answering and when they were I had to reply on my phone. It's because I use gmail which is so inferior to outlook. Anyway, all would be well on the day, Friday morning.

That morning, Bradford Grammar School, in preparations for an article in their magazine, The Bradfordian, on the occasion of my Father's upcoming 100th birthday sent me his mugshot. That is his photo which hangs on the walls outside the school common room along with other past masters. Teachers at the school, commonly known as "BGS" are always called masters and wear their University gowns.  This is the photo which must have been taken the year he retired as he signs it. He looks very stern but I promise it's only the exterior. Underneath is the nicest and most gentle man, in both senses, in the world. I showed it to him and he smiled. 

My Father's mug shot still hanging on the walls outside the Common Room at Bradford Grammar School

I must say the photo took me back a bit, as in back to memory lane and I was delighted to have it. 

Oli preparing her report for TVE1 in the village in Burgos

I was too busy on Thursday to see Olivia on TV where she was preparing her report. Here is a shot of her on camera interviewing the local people. Amazingly, this tiny village, receives some 4000 people in a day in the high season.  Later though it was posted on social media and  I was able to see it. You can too on this link.

I managed to go on our walk with Eladio and the dogs in between working but throughout the walk I was on my phone answering emails and when I got back at about 7 pm, I had to sit down at my desk and carry on until 10 pm at night. I do wish everything could have been arranged, prepared and ready to go a few days ago rather than at the very last minute. I felt pretty stressed. Finally I sat down to dinner with Eladio at 10 pm and even after that had to make a phone call. 

I didn't get to bed until really late and then found it difficult to sleep I was so worked up and my head full of the day's work and what lay ahead. We watched some documentary on the Pyramids and then one on the Crusades which I found fascinating. Thus I switched off the light really late.

I was awake and roaring to go on Friday morning at 5 damned 30 in the morning, far too early. However, wide awake by then, I got up and began my day. It was lovely to see already some birthday greetings on Facebook. They would continue throughout the day. I love Facebook on my birthday:-) I would be swamped with them. 

Javi and Alba, my Airbnb student guests had arrived during the night and I wouldn't see them until the next day. January has been very quiet and February too so far but thankfully I have them coming nearly every week and of course Andy our permanent lodger. 

Birthday greetings were coming all the time. However, I couldn't concentrate much on my big day as I would be busy all morning. I had the Adamo press conference that morning at EQT's offices in Madrid and could only concentrate on that. There were so many details to attend to even once I got there. It was starting at 11, but blow me, at 8 in the morning I found out Expansión - Spain's top financial newspaper - had given the game away. Through their sources in the financial sector they leaked the news. The news was Adamo had closed a financing deal of 100 million euros to further expand its network in rural Spain to reach 1 million homes. Damn it, if Expansión had already published it that would put off other journalists covering the story. In normal circumstances they probably wouldn't attend. But they did, apart from one whose editor wouldn't let him go,  as they are faithful to me and I was very grateful. I was also very happy that day to see my old boss from Yoigo, its ex CEO, the charismatic Swede Johan A who is actually Adamo's President. Here I am with him and 3 of the most senior and veteran reporters in the telecoms sector. Love the photo. It felt like old times and I was so glad I hadn't lost my touch in getting reporters to come to my press conferences and then publish the news.

With Johan and 3 veteran and well loved and respected reporters: Ana, Nacho and Miguel Angel

All the reporters knew it was my birthday and we took a photo together before the press conference began - very unorthodox for press conferences but that is how mine are. They sort of feel like a party and everyone feels at home.

With my 2 Swedish bosses, Johan and Fredrik and all my faithful journalists at Friday's press conference

The news was interesting for them and needless to say they would all publish the story. I spent the rest of the day monitoring all that was being published and frankly couldn't keep up with it as there was so much news. On Monday I should get a report from my press clipping agency, JP Media, but I already know I will have probably beaten a record for number of clippings.

I was on a big high and once it was over it was time to pack up, close my PC down, say goodbye to my Swedish bosses Johan and Fredrik who are just great to work with and leave feeling very happy for a job well done and for which they congratulated me. This may sound like boasting but it has been a year since I have held a national press conference and I'm always worried I'll lose my touch. But I haven't yet.

In the taxi home, my phone was full of messages from all the diverse media available to us and I could hardly keep up to. However, there was one particular email that made me very happy. It was from Clifton College Bristol where my Father and his brother Raymond went to school. They had unearthed his school photo from his file and this is it. I was delighted to see it and later showed it to my Father.

The file on my Father from his time at Clifton College Bristol. The photo is from 1933 when he was just 14. He was at North Tower, the day boy's tower.

They also included a photo of him and all his "chums" from North Tower, Clifton College, one of the day boys' towers. I must have it enlarged and printed. He was a very good looking boy. See if you can spot him in the photo.

My Father at Clifton College Bristol, his school. 1933.

I was home on time for lunch. I showed these photos excitedly to my Father who was rather surprised. I then told him what a fascinating life I thought he had. His reply was lovely "quite an enjoyable one I think".

We had a normal non birthday food lunch as I wasn't there to prepare it. But of course there was mabirthday cake, my favourite. Made with fruit, sponge and white chocolate it comes from Alveran, a bakery nearby.  You can see it in the photo at the top of this blog where I am about to blow out the candles. That is when I opened my presents, the clothes I had bought hahaha. I tried them on for all to see and they were met with approval.

Later I should have slept a siesta but was too revved up to sleep. I was also seeing and replying to all the amazing and countless birthday wishes. There were so many I couldn't keep up.

We went for our walk of course which was much needed after all that cake. I came home to find a beautiful plant on my desk. It was from Andy, our lovely Scottish lodger for my birthday. I was very touched.

That night we went out to dinner too, as we would on Saturday night. Friday night was just the 2 of us and we went to Ginos where I gobbled down a huge pizza, well not all of it. Talking about the biography of my Father we ended up talking about my dear brother George who died too young in 2001 and as ever I ended up crying. I carry him in my heart always. I was too sad to have my dessert which is saying something as I always have one when I got out to dinner.

Once home I calmed down and treated myself to a piece of chocolate. I also met my 2 lovely student guests, Alba and Javi and chatted to them for a while. They are the best type of guests.

We were in bed later than normal and thankfully I slept better than usual, although I woke up at 5.59 and got up early as always.

On Saturday my birthday celebrations would continue. It started with the birthday breakfast that didn't happen on the day because of the press conference. This year it was just the three of us, Daddy (my father), Eladio and I. I did miss not having the girls with us. Here is what the table looked like before my father and I gobbled down all the pastries. Eladio doesn't like them. He doesn't have the sweet tooth we do hahaha.

The table in the dining room laid for my birthday breakfast yesterday

Late I spent the whole morning updating the biography. I keep asking him for more information about his life, information I wish I had asked before. The poor man is being bombarded by me with so many questions. Then I keep adding gems from memories from some of his old boys. David Whitlam, turning 60 this year, who studied Russian at Oxford and was my father's star pupil, paid a beautiful tribute to his ex teacher on Facebook which, if you haven't seen it, I have to reproduce here. It's so moving. He used the lovely photo of my father which is reproduced above, of when he was just 13 at Clifton College Bristol, his old school. Here is the marvelous tribute.

"I owe this amazing man so much.  Courtenay Lloyd, my Russian, French and Swedish teacher at Bradford Grammar School. You advised me to go to University College, Oxford for Russian in 1978. You will be 100 years old this year. You made my life. Thank you Masha for sharing this photo of your wonderful dad, I owe you a lot, "Clarence" (his nickname at BGS). Thanks too Masha for this lovely reminder of your dad's centenary. It's huge for little me".

I was very moved. Other old boys started commenting on David's post and one post I have to reproduce here as it is so funny. You see my father is not the saint I always paint him, but only sometimes and when it is deserved. Julian Michael K replied to David's moving tribute: "He was a great teacher. Not afraid of using unconventional tactics, such as calling me a "filthy idle swine" which is probably about right". I was shocked and asked what had provoked my father to utter such words from his gentlemanly mouth. Julian explained: "I rashly admitted I probably performed best with a boot up my backside. He did look a bit self-conscious about delivering said boot". I replied, laughingly, that he, Julian, had deserved the words my father delivered. I hope that made you laugh. I just can't imagine my father saying those words hahaha. He was a very even tempered person but when he got angry which was very seldom, woe betide the person at the receiving end. I was often on it as a naughty teenager hahaha.

At lunch, I asked my father more about his early years and got more gems of information which had me updating his biography again in the afternoon. Thus there was no siesta. But there was a walk with Eladio and the dogs and the weather was glorious. We went quite late and saw later that it only gets dark now at around 7 pm. We weren't the only creatures on the walk, the herd of sheep was all over the fields near the path but thankfully there were no sheep dogs to shoo us away.

Sheep on our walk yesterday

Once home, it was time to go out again. We were taking Olivia and Miguel to celebrate my birthday at De Maria in Majadahonda, the stalking grounds of many of the players and staff of the Atlético de Madrid football club. The meal was divine and it was nice to catch up with my daughter who I hadn't seen all week. It was a nice end to what has been a frenetic, busy but a great week with the highlights being the successful press conference and my birthday of course.

Today is Sunday and the sun is shining. I am now at the end of the tales of this week and will love you now and leave you to get on with the day. I hope you have enjoyed this post.

Until next week my friends,

Masha

Montrondo in January, finally some snow, polar vortex in the USA, home again, stories and photos of my Father's life, and other tales.

Sunday 3rd February 2019

In Montrondo this week where it snowed but not as much as I had hoped.

Hello again friends and readers.

Gosh it's already February. How time flies but thankfully January is behind us. It's not my favourite month.

Last Sunday found us in Montrondo. We had come for a break and would stay until Thursday, Lucy's last day with us. We woke up to a thin coat of snow after a light snow fall the night before. We had expected much more  but it was not to be.

Snow on Sunday in Montrondo

It was cold and blustery outside and it carried on snowing but the snow flakes were tiny so it never settled. Thus we stayed indoors in the morning and had a very lazy day overall. Here is Eladio lying on the sofa after breakfast with the fire on and Pippa on his lap.

Eladio enjoying the comfort of our house in Montrondo while it was snowing outside last Sunday

We spent most of the morning watching our latest series, El Embarcadero on Movistar Plus on my iPad Pro. Our silly Ikea smart TV, an Uppleva which I regret buying, doesn't have this app so we had to make do with the iPad which was fine really. 

I only stopped to make lunch - roast chicken legs with jacket potatoes and a bit of the left over blue, purple or red cabbage hahaha. 

We had a lazy siesta when I read - another story of a female spy with the French resistance during WW2, "Nancy Wake, SOE's Greatest Heroine". It was quite a suitable story to read that day which was International Holocaust Remembrance Day - the day of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. That's not so long ago and we must never forget. There are people who don't believe it happened but it did and there is plenty of macabre evidence to prove it.

Later we wrapped up well - me with 4 layers - Pippa included, dared the elements and went on a long walk to Murias, to the end of the village and back. 

On our cold, snowy and blustery walk last Sunday

It snowed lightly as we walked but we were thankful for the bracing air after having been inside all day. I was delighted to see "my horses" again - the dappled ones, looking so beautiful in their field. I only wished I had brought some sugar cubes or bread to feed them.

Horses in the fields near Montrondo

I adore horses and always have although I never learned to ride. It was considered a very expensive sport when I was a child and I envied my friends who went riding.  I think horses are the most beautiful and  noble of all domestic animals. With the horses was one lone pony and a very friendly one at that. It came towards me and let me stroke it to my heart's content. It was so clean and beautiful I would have spent more time with it but Pippa was getting anxious and Eladio was getting cold. Here I am in my element with the friendly pony.

With "my little pony". Isn't it lovely?

We came home to watch the end of Season 1 of El Embarcadero. It ends on a cliff hanger which is very frustrating and we shall now have to wait for months and months until Season 2 comes out.

We had a luxurious dinner of giant prawns and salad and then watched the news and a political interview which was so boring I fell asleep in front of the fire. It was early to bed again that night at about 10.30.

Amazingly I woke up "late" for me on Monday morning at 7.15. It was cold again and all traces of snow had gone. We would have all the weathers on Monday and on Tuesday; snow, sun, wind, rain and sleet. I spent most of the day writing my Father's biography. I more or less finished it that day but would continue editing it during my stay here and am still adding more information to it as well as photos.  Once home I dug out photos to illustrate it which was very interesting if time consuming.  . His life story is really quite extraordinary although, being the modest man he is, I know he thinks it is quite ordinary but it is not. I have entitled it: "The unknown story of Charles Courtenay Lloyd, WW2 veteran who contributed to the Liberation of Norway, was an intelligence officer in the Allied Control Commission in Germany, a Selwyn College Cambridge graduate and teacher of spies in the Cold War who married a Russian princess and taught modern languages at Bradford Grammar School and who turns 100 on 1st May 2019".  I trust it will make interesting reading for his old school, University and hopefully the media.  This is the photo I have chosen to illustrate his biography. It sums up his positive attitude in life and how he enjoys the small things that give us pleasure, like drinking a glass of Rioja with his meals.  The photo was taken when his ex pupil Simon H, an art critic who lives in Geneva, came to visit him 2 years ago.
 

My Father enjoying life in Spain

I only stopped for lunch. Being away from home, I was not on a diet in Montrondo and that day we enjoyed a plate of fish and chips!

In the afternoon I went for a walk with Pippa. Eladio preferred to stay at home by the fire saying it was too cold outside. Actually it wasn't although it was pretty blustery. I did not see a soul on my walk. In fact until that afternoon I hadn't seen one of the villagers. My neighbour, Salo was away on holiday in Buenos Aires and it seemed the rest of the small group of villagers were indoors. I did see Manolita though that afternoon and it was nice to chat and catch up for a while.

I came home to watch Olivia on TV with Eladio. That day she was in Zaragoza covering the news of the flooding of the River Ebro. Here she is reporting live. Even though she has been working for TV for about 10 years now, I still get a thrill from watching her. I suppose that is normal if you are a Mother.

Oli reporting from Zaragoza on Monday evening on the flooding of the River Ebro in Zaragoza

Spain has been hit by a storm called Gabriel and there has been lots of flooding and freak weather mostly in the north of Spain. They are calling it that fashionable term "explosive cyclogenesis" which I don't quite understand.  I suppose though, that is why we had such strange weather in Montrondo. Later Storm Helena would replace Gabriel. 

We had a quite dinner and watched the news - mostly about the taxi driver strike in Madrid and the situation in Venezuela. Again we went to bed early.

Tuesday came and it was raining and would do so all morning. It was a dark and gloomy day and a day to stay indoors.

It was a dark, wet and gloomy day in Montrondo on Tuesday.

In fact I did stay indoors most of the day, skipping my walk. The bad weather didn't seem to bother the cows I saw visiting the field behind our house. I saw them grazing in the sleet and wind and felt rather sorry for them.

Cows grazing in the sleet in the fields behind our house on Tuesday afternoon

In the afternoon Manolita invited me over for coffee. Josefa, another villager, was there and we had a great chinwag over coffee and delicious biscuits and chocolates for a good hour or two. It was lovely to catch up. This area of Spain is very rural and sparsely populated, yet Manolita who lives alone lives a very full life. She goes to gym classes once a week, walks nearly every day, takes part in a theater group and travels extensively in Spain at least once a year. She is definitely the heart and soul of the village.

I wasn't at all hungry for dinner but of course we ended up eating again - salad with something and then sprawled on the sofa to watch the news. Oli wasn't on TV that day as she given time off after travelling to and from Zaragoza where she covered the news of the flooding of the Ebro River.

That night we switched off the light quite late after watching a disturbing documentary about religious sects in the USA that are against medical care. Believers are covered by law and not obliged to take their children to a doctor when they are ill. Healing apparently can only come from prayer and through God. That sounds great but it isn't because many many children and adults have died because of this belief. This is taking freedom to unacceptable extremes. America is rather a strange country is all I can say after seeing the documentary.

Wednesday was our last full day in Montrondo and we would enjoy it immensely. Our there was quiet and relaxing. Above all I was finally able to write and nearly   the biography of my Father which was pretty impossible to do at home with so many interruptions. I shared it with my oldest friend from St. Josephs (my school) Amanda. I wanted her feedback and some corrections. I loved her reaction which was so positive. She told me it brought back so many memories of our childhood, after all she had lived through most of them from the time we met as children aged 11 at school. I do miss my oldest and best friend who I haven't seen for so long.

That morning we woke up to sunshine; amazing. I prepared our lunch, a Spanish warm winter dish called "fabada"  which is really a butter bean stew. It took over 2 hours to cook but was well worth the time as it was just delicious.

Bean stew, a sort of "fabada"

Once it was ready, we went off for our walk at about midday. It was very frosty and there was a sprinkling of snow on the ground but not much. We met no one on our walk, not even my horses and pony which were high up on the hills behind Murias de Paredes. The photo illustrating this week's post is of me  on the old path from Montrondo. I needed one for this blog and Eladio obliged. Of course I had to have Pippa with me. She was well wrapped up in her red jumper as you can see in the picture below.

Eladio and little Pippa on our walk on Wednesday morning

We came back feeling refreshed and also hungry and we ate the stew with gusto while we watched the lunch time news. Tension is rising in Venezuela and things are not looking good. In Madrid the taxi strike continued with no solution yet.

Just as we were finishing lunch, snow began to fall in Montrondo and Eladio who knows, said that it was a proper snow fall. It was and it continued snowing until about 9 pm. Joy of joys. You are probably wondering why I like snow so much. I think the answer resides in my childhood in Yorkshire where I lived with my family in Bradford from the age of 7 in 1964 until I left for University aged 18. We had lots of snow in the winter and it always meant either no school which was great or going sledging with my brother and friends. We used to get massive snow falls, so much so the buses couldn't run. Thankfully, or not thankfully, we lived near enough for me to walk to school. Once it snowed  a lot and I got to school hoping they would announce it was to close and send us home. But they didn't. Thus I took matters in my own hands  - I was a very naughty girl in those days - and spread the rumour we had been told to go home. Thus the girls began to leave walking up Cunliffe Road to Manningham Lane, me leading them, while our teachers Mrs. Russel Jones and Mrs Plunket Jones could be heard crying: "girls come back, girls come back" but it was too late we had all gone by the then and weren't coming back. I think they never found out that I was the instigator of the prank and all thanks to the snow hahaha.

It carried on snowing and at around 5.30 Manolita sent me a whatsapp to tell me to meet at Josefa's house for coffee for another lovely natter with our neighbours here. Eladio preferred to stay behind reading his book about the beginnings of the Spanish Civil War. I wrapped up well and delightedly stepped outside into the snow and everything looked so beautiful, white and peaceful and I had to take lots of pictures. Here is a selfie for starters. Don't I look happy?

Happy that snow finally came 

The village looked lovely in the falling snow as you can see here.

The fields of Montrondo covered in snow with the church in the distance

I had to have one of the house too with the snow falling. Here it is. The one in the middle with the balcony is ours. The ones next to it belong to Eladio's siblings.

Our house when it was snowing on Wednesday

It's only a few metres to Josefa and her husband Jose Antonio's house but I arrived wet and covered in snow but  didn't mind at all. We sat in their big old kitchen, Montrondo style, with the heat coming from their "aga". Again we had a lovely chinwag and talked about the village in the past when it used to snow much more and the boys, including Eladio,  would ski to school on home made wooden skis.

As I stepped outside when we left, it was still snowing but already dark and it felt magical. I had to have more photos, including one of Manolita in the snow. Here she is.

Manolita in the snow in Montrondo on Wednesday afternoon

I came home to find Eladio still reading although he had stopped to move the car outside the front of our house so we would be able to leave in the morning. He needn't have bothered as later it rained in the night and all trace of snow had gone when we woke up on Thursday morning.

We were to leave quite early on Thursday to be home on time for lunch with my Father and also on time to see Lucy and say goodbye.  We left at about 10.15, stopped just once on the way for refreshments and were home by just before 3 pm, too late to have lunch with my Father.

Lucy was about to leave and said a very fond goodbye to my Father, she was crying in fact and telling him how much she loved him. With a heavy heart I drove her to the bus stop and we said goodbye. We will miss her a lot but I wish her great happiness now that she is returning to Paraguay. There on arrival she will see her granddaughter for the first time. She will also be going back to celebrate her daughter's wedding and I look forward to seeing the photos. The other Lucy who seems to be doing a good job will be filling in in the meantime.

We came home to find the central heating was not working properly. That meant the two top floors were freezing. However, I shouldn't complain about the cold or the weather here as it's much more extreme in other places. My cousins in New Zealand are suffering a heat wave but the biggest weather news came from the US, mostly from the Mid West including Chicago. Over there they were experiencing a "polar vortex" - cold winds coming from the North Pole. Chicago for example,  was suffering with temperatures nearing 40c below zero. That could be colder than even Siberia. I have a friend and ex Motorola colleague,  Carrie W who lives there. That day she posted a photo of herself all wrapped up and about to take her dogs for a walk, also suitably wrapped up. She said it took more time to wrap up than the actual walk. I don't know how they dared to go out. More than 20 people people have died from the bitter cold and the advice is not to leave one's house. I wouldn't. Here is Carrie all dressed up to go out. Imagine!

My friend Carrie in Chicago on Thursday!

We didn't go for a walk, but stayed at home and settled in. I had work to do as well. Also that afternoon, I dug out the photos I would be using for my Father's biography. Here for example is a photo of his parents on their wedding day on 15th Janary January 1918 in Uphill (Somerset) near Western-Super-Mere.  My Grandfather, John Collins Lloyd, is dressed in his WW1 uniform where he was a chaplain or "padre". I love the photo. Don't you?

My English grandparents on their wedding day, January 1918. 

I also dug out a photo of my Father when he was 13 about to turn 14 when he attended Clifton College Cambridge. He was so good looking. I added photos taken at the same time of his siblings, Raymond aged 10 and Gloria aged 6. Sadly Raymond died of polio aged 16 and Gloria died in an air crash with all her family in May 1971. RIP

My Father and his siblings, Bristol May 1933

Olivia meanwhile was in a small town in the nearby province of Avila, called Navarredonda. We once went to the lovely Parador there with my Father. It was at this Parador that Spain's Constitution was partly written and signed.  Her story that day was to explain how the village, which is in one of the coldest areas of Spain, prepares for the cold. Here she is preparing the report.

Olivia and her colleague editing their TV report on Thursday

Later we would see her report live on her programme España Directo. In the photo she is with a farmer and some stunning cows.  Well, at least I think they are stunning. Apparently they are very well fed and lots of the meat is sold to countries like Saudi Arabia!

Oli live on TVE from Navarredonda Avila on Thursday evening

After watching España Directo, it was time for dinner. We had some leftover soup which did wonders as it was so cold in the kitchen. Thankfully the boiler men or whatever they are called would come the next day to make the necessary reparations.

Friday come and it would be a busy day. I never stopped. In between writing my Father's biography, or rather adding more information and  photos, I had a long conference call with one of my customers and now have sudden and urgent work to do. There was not much time for anything else although I did accompany Eladio in the morning to pick up his Volvo after some very costly repairs. Poor Eladio had to deal with the central heating and later in the afternoon with the repairing of the water filter in the kitchen.

In the afternoon I spent a few hours with my Father asking him all sorts of questions about his life, specific dates, etc and he knew every one of them. This was for the biography so I had to get all my facts right. I also found out about the ships he served on in the War, HMS Wells and HMS Mansfield.

My Father Charles Courtenay Lloyd just after signing up with the Royal Navy. Photo taken Bristol 1940

My Father in 1941 just after he became an officer. 

Scotland 1941 by his first ship, the HMS Wells

He was a liaison officer with the latter which was loaned to the exiled Norwegian Navy where he was on board. He even remembered the name of the captain, Ulstrup as well as some of the officers on board: Holst, Haug and Fjellheim. Here my Father would participate in the Liberation of Norway until the Nazis finally surrendered in 1945 and gradually left the country.

The greatest achievement of the HMS Mansfield was the  raid of  a  German run fish oil factory in Norway Oksfjord near Hammerfest. He told me the"O" had a line down it while he spelled out the  names. He remembers too the view of the snow capped mountains above the fjord when they landed. He also told me the locals gave out post cards to the ship crew saying "Takk for besoket" (thank you for the visit!):

When I asked him where his Father was born in Anglesy, he told me it was in Holyhead and gave me the exact address: 19 Alderley Terrace. I looked it up on Google and found it is still there and is on sale. While going through his things, including his sister Gloria's WRAC (Women's Royal Army Corps) Army book we found ration coupons and many letters he and his sister had written to each other during the War and even a diary written by Raymond. 

My Father's sister Gloria's army book when she was with the WRACs in WW2 what a ind. 

I must read them. Later that night, out of interest, I looked up the Vicarage in Henbury on Station Road belonging to St. Mary's Parish (Bristol) where he had lived as a child because that afternoon we had seen photos of the family there. Very very sadly I read it had been burnt down this last summer after various arson attacks. When I read that, I burst into tears, tears of sadness and frustration. It was so sad to see a picture of the destroyed vicarage where my Father and his sister and brother played happily on the lawn. They are all gone now, apart from him, even the Vicarage where they were so happy. It felt like a curse. I think writing the whole biography has made me very sad about so many deaths; his brother Raymond, his parents too early in life, his sister Gloria and all her family who I miss to this day, and of course my brother George, my dearest Mother and Aunty Masha. They are all gone and only my Father and I are here today. But we remember. We shall never forget because they live on in our hearts.

After a long time with my Father, I had to rush out with Eladio to do the shopping which felt so mundane after delving into his past but it had to be done.  We didn't go on our walk that day as the weather was foul. I was gutted to see that there was a very heavy snowfall in Montrondo that day. It's Murphy's law. I wanted snow and the heavy snow fall came after we left. Bah, not fair.

This weekend's real snowfall in Montrondo - the one we missed. 

Oli missed appearing on TV with her live report on Friday as the cameraman went to the wrong town! Poor girl. We would see her on Saturday, for our French lesson and then she would join us for lunch.

We had a later dinner and then watched a film which was right up my street as it was about WW2. Called The Zookeeper's wife, it tells the true story of how she and her husband, the owner of the zoo in Warsaw, hid and saved hundreds of Jews during the war. It was very sad but a beautiful story.

I fell asleep late and feeling sad.

Saturday came. I had to do my French homework all about indirect and direct speech. Funnily enough our French teacher had lost her voice so the lesson was a bit difficult for her. Homework for next week is on the subjunctive. Remember "puisse", "sois", etc. Pity I never listened back at St. Joseph's College.

We had a healthy lunch where I gleaned more information from my Father. If only I could tape him but it's difficult. In the afternoon, I carried on reading, had a cup of tea and then went for a walk with Eladio. It was freezing and was actually quite unpleasant because of the wind.

I came back to spend more time with my Father sorting out his old letters and photos. Amazingly I found quite a few from my brother George to me from our University years. They will be lovely to read if a little sad.

Today is Sunday and I have work to do for my customer for a press release and press breakfast next week which seems as though it will fall on my birthday, Friday 8th Feb. It's funny but for the last 2 years I had a press event on my birthday and it looks like there will be another one this year.

Anyway friends and readers, I must sign off now, print a copy for my Father and leave you until next week.

Cheers all
Masha

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