A missed flight, Santander again, a second barbaric atrocity committed by the Islamic State, the last of the summer roses, a barbecue at home and other stories.

Sunday 7th September 2014

In beautiful Santander with its lovely flower beds

Hello everyone,

I can hardly believe another week has already passed and that summer is nearing its end. I can hardly believe too that once again I have been to Santander for this year’s annual telecoms conference.  Every year I go, I never know whether I will be going again the following year, so each year I try to enjoy it as if it were the last. And this year wasn’t going to be different although it got off to a bad start. 

I missed my 09.30 plane to Santander on Monday morning convinced it was leaving at 10.30.  This is the first time in my life I have missed a plane and I felt a complete idiot.  I was going through security at 09.15 at Terminal 4 when I realized the plane was actually leaving at 09.30, so started to panic.  I had more bad luck as the security officer asked me to open my suitcase as she thought there was liquid in it which there wasn’t.  Then I bolted for Gate K95 at the furthest end of the terminal only to see the boarding gate just shut in front of my eyes as I arrived.  I could see the plane on the tarmac but the ground hostess stuck to the rules and there and then I missed my plane.  There wasn’t another one until 8pm but it was full.  So I had no choice but to buy a ticket to nearby Bilbao which didn’t leave till 11.30.  Once in Bilbao I had hoped to take a taxi to Santander but the fare was astronomical so for once in my life I had to opt for a bus.  I could only get a seat on the 14.30 one and thus didn’t arrive at my hotel in Santander until 16.00h.  I felt as if I had spent the whole day travelling. But finally I was there. 

The weather was beautiful, my work was already done, so what did I do?  Yes you guessed right I crossed the road to my favourite town beach in Spain, El Sardinero.  There I grabbed a sunbed and after a quick bathe I lay and read a new book I had bought at the airport, Khaled Hossein’s latest novel,” And the mountains echoed”.  He is the author of “The Kite Runner” and “A thousand splendid suns” both of which I adored.  However his latest novel, also set in Afghanistan, is nowhere near as good, very rambling with a good initial plot which gets lost along the way and has a very disappointing end.  In a way it is a collection of short stories and I have never been a fan of short stories. Despite what I think there are some good reviews of Khaled Hossein’s latest novel. Getting a bit bored with it I went for the 40 minute walk from end to end of the lovely Sardinero beach. 

The Sardinero Beach in Santander, my favourite town beach in Spain.

Santander is one of my favourite towns in Spain, on the north coast with wonderful green and mountainous scenery.  The seaside town is one of the best kept in Spain with some superb architecture and beautiful flower beds along the pavements.  Despite there being a ferry service two or three times a week to Plymouth in the UK, I realized from comments from a friend on Facebook that Santander is only really known as a bank in England, not as a town.  So let me explain. The bank is called after the home town of the owner Emilio Botín, one of the richest men in Spain and father-in-law of world famous Spanish golf player, Seve Ballesteros.  So you would have thought that thanks to the bank’s branding the town would also be famous.  But there you and I are wrong.  It may be great branding but there must be something wrong with the marketing if this beautiful town is not well known outside Spain. Maybe that could be partially repaired as next week the 2014 Sailing World Championship takes place in Santander.  I don’t know much about sailing but can only imagine Santander being one of the best locations in the world for such an event.

There was a sea breeze which was quite strong so, despite the mild temperature of about 24ºc, it felt quite cool therefore at about 6.30 I headed back to my hotel across the road to have a shower and wash my hair in what I consider the best water in Spain for that purpose.  My hair always looks splendid after washing it in Santander or anywhere on the north coast really, much better than here in Madrid. That night I was to be free of any professional engagements so was able to go out to dinner with my great friend Fátima who was also in town.  I walked to her hotel at the far end of the beach and then we walked back towards the town.  We also walked back again after dinner and my fitbit was extremely pleased with me that day when it registered I had walked nearly 19km.  I think that’s my record.

A selfie of Fátima and I in Santander

Dinner was at La Posada del Mar, one of my 4 favourite restaurants in Santander which also include Zacarías, La Bombi and De Luz.  I am always made welcome at La Posada del Mar by the owner Tomás and his faithful group of waiters.

On Tuesday morning I was up early as that morning at the conference it was Yoigo’s turn to make a presentation.  I always walk to the lovely conference centre in La Magdalena Peninsula called “Caballerizas”.  Every year you see the same group of people, top representatives of most of the big telecoms companies in Spain.  In a way we all consider this event a bit like the start of school after the summer holidays.  Thus I saw many familiar faces and greeted many colleagues from my past and present professional life.  This year our CEO couldn’t make it to the conference so our CFO had to take his place.  Our presentation was much more institutional than I would have wanted but we did get our messages through.  Afterwards my CFO was subjected to many questions from the big group of Spanish telecoms press present which he answered very competently. 

Later Yoigo hostesses distributed invitations to our 80’s party that night which is a party I organize for all the conference attendants and which is much looked forward to by everyone.

Yoigo hostesses giving out our 80's party invitations

I was free for lunch that day too as was my other great friend in Santander, dearest Julio, so the two of us had lunch at De Luz. 

Lunch at De Luz

De Luz is a beautiful English looking house with a lush garden, flowers and hedges.  It feels like having lunch at someone’s house, even though it is a restaurant.  It’s quite unique really.

The De Luz restaurant in Santander, more like a beautiful private home.

Later Julio treated us both to one of the best ice creams in town, sold at a kiosk by the beach called Regma.  The size of the ice creams is huge so you have to eat it quickly otherwise it melts all over you. 

The Regma ice cream kiosk by the Sardinero beach in Santander

I was free again until the evening so once again spent time on the beach.  The sea was quite rough and when I bathed in the water I was tossed under by the strong waves. Once again I walked the length and back of the beach so as to tot up more mileage on my fitbit. 

It was when I was walking into town later that evening with Carlos and Isa from my PR agency to attend a big dinner I had organized for some of our distributors, that I heard from Carlos that the IS had published another video with the beheading of a second American journalist.  I was shocked, just as I was shocked at the previous video of the beheading of James Foley.  Even worse this time, the perpetrator warned the next victim would be a British aid worker.  It is time to fight back, it is time to stop the tolerance of the west towards these fanatical jihadists who want to conquer the Muslim world and even reconquer the Spanish territory, Andalusia which was once invaded by the Muslims centuries ago.  So I was glad to read later that 10 nations have formed a coalition to combat I.S.  I wasn’t happy to learn that Spain is not included in this list as I think it should.  However signs of tolerance here may just be beginning to wane as Spain announced this week it may prohibit that most awful and degrading of garments, the burka that covers women’s eyes.

At dinner that night with some of my fellow Yoigo colleagues and distributors, much of our conversation focused on this new and barbaric terrorist group but then, as is normal, returned to topics in the telecoms world.  All this was over a most wonderful dinner served by the waiters at La Bombi under the close surveillance of César and his brother, the owners of the restaurant.

A display of some of the food at La Bombi restaurant in Santander

After the most delicious dinner, it was time to go to our own party, the 80’s revival we had organized in the main “tapas” square in town, Plaza de Cañadío.  The party took place at a street level discotheque called Loft.  It was great fun, well patronized and full of all sorts of fun activities, such as having to sit on a balloon until it burst.  The prizes were popular too.

The Yoigo 80's party at Santander this year

I had an enormous headache that night, probably because of the white wine at dinner, so surreptitiously made my escape at just past midnight.  I walked back to my hotel in order to clear my head and of course add mileage to my fitbit. I slept badly that night after all the stress of the preparations for our activities in Santander but happy that all had gone well.

The next day was Wednesday and time to pack and leave Santander once again.  You spend the whole summer organizing your activities there, they take place and suddenly it’s all over and you get a feeling of emptiness.  This time I was not going to miss my flight and left the hotel early in a taxi shared with Carlos, Isabel and a colleague, Gaby.  We were in Madrid by mid-morning and I was home for lunch after a quick visit to the office.  It was great to have lunch with my Father and Eladio and to be home again.

Later that night I was to see Olivia and Miguel and we all had dinner together.  Whilst in Santander I had missed her live on the TV.  It was just lovely to be together again.  It was also good to witness the fact that my Father now seems nearly totally recovered from his operation.  He really is an amazing old soldier or should I say sailor as he was a Navy officer in WW2.

On Thursday my fasting was resumed as were my two morning walks.  Later I had to send reports on the media coverage obtained at the Santander conference as well as my monthly PR reports for the Board of Administration and our HQ in Stockholm.  Later that evening Eladio and I went to Ikea just to take a look at kitchens and bathrooms for our “new” house in Montrondo. It is early days, but we do want to be prepared for when the time comes. We want country style furniture and will be looking elsewhere but we did like this kitchen although everyone tells us to be careful about Ikea’s quality.  And here my feelings are divided.  I love the style, the price is good, but what will the end quality be like I wonder.

The kitchen we like from Ikea

On Thursday my Father’s day must have been brightened quite a lot when he received a long letter from Susana, handwritten and sent by post from London.  She sent it to him after his operation and with lovely grand daughterly love and concern.  Suzy that was lovely of you!  It made me reflect that no one sends letters anymore.  Of course we all have email and many other ways to connect instantly but there is something much more meaningful in a letter that these days is now nearly lost. 

Friday was quiet.  I went for my two morning walks, worked in the morning and went food shopping in the evening with Fátima.  I was back on time to watch Olivia on the television.  She did several reports that day but the most shocking one was about a 41 year old woman who is a University music teacher, who killed her two year old baby and then tried to commit suicide.  What an awful story. Olivia later told me the woman was a manic depressive.

Oli and her colleague Lourdes reporting on a very sad case on Friday 

I wasn’t to see Olivia again as she and Miguel went to Valencia for the weekend where he lives.  All I know is that they went to the beach and then did some clothes shopping.  I can imagine they also went for a run as they are a very sporty couple.

Meanwhile Suzy nominated me for the ice bucket challenge.  I got quite excited and started to think when I would do it and who I myself would nominate.  Eladio thought the whole idea was rather stupid as did my friend Sandra who said she would be quite happy to donate but didn’t want to get wet.  I actually now tend to agree.  Also I have learned, as I suspected, that many people, at least in Spain, are doing the challenge but not bothering to donate the 10 euros.  Maybe though the ALS association here is Spain hasn’t done enough to promote how to donate.  In the UK all you have to do is send a text message.  I am also seeing people doing the challenge but donating funds to other charities.  So, given all the above, I have decided not to take up the challenge.

Suzy and I spoke for quite a while on the phone on Friday and I was pleased to hear she has an interview on Monday and a couple of other openings coming her way.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for her.  Life in London for the unemployed is not easy as it is such a competitive and expensive place to live.  But I am sure in the end she will succeed.

On Friday evening Eladio and I went out to dinner to Ginos where of course we discussed Suzy’s situation and talked about a lot of other things which are on our mind at the moment.

And Saturday came and turned out to be the highlight of the week.  José Antonio and Dolores were coming for lunch and to spend the afternoon and evening with us.  We hadn’t seen them since we left Montrondo at the beginning of August and there was  lots to catch up on. 

In preparation for their arrival I pruned the roses with Eladio’s help and picked some of the loveliest red ones which I think will probably be the last of the summer roses.  Hopefully after the pruning we may just get another bloom before all the flowers in the garden go when autumn comes.

Red roses from our garden possibly the last summer roses this year

As I was up so early everything was ready well before our guests arrived which gave me time to relax by the pool with my new book also bought at Madrid airport on Monday.  Yesterday I started on JK Rowling’s new novel, Silkworm, written under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith.  The occasion was enhanced with a lovely mug of frothy coffee as you can see in the photo below:

A good book and a coffee by the pool, a wonderful way to relax

I’m not yet hooked on the book, finding it a bit slow.  I suppose after having read I am Pilgrim any other book will feel the same.

Lunch was to be a simple barbecue but dessert was to be raspberry syllabub made from a Jamie Oliver recipe with my own finishing touches.  I would hate to know how many calories each generous portion contained. 

The raspberry syllabub I made for lunch on Saturday

Our guests arrived just as Eladio lit the barbecue and we had a nice quiet lunch outside, if you discount the very annoying flies which seem to be invading our meals outside at this time of year.  Afterwards we spent our time sitting by the pool reading and talking.  Before sunset we took Toño and Dolores on our new walk which I think they liked even more than our normal walk.  Dolores, like us before, was tempted with the prickly pears and was later to regret that decision and had to use my tweezers to remove them.

Setting off on our walk yesterday

Dinner with no flies was more enjoyable than lunch; a very simple meal of salad, Spanish ham and bread followed by mini chocolate ice creams (delicious).  The house seemed very quiet when our guests left and being the early birds we are we went straight to bed.  I, as usual, fell asleep with the television on.

Today is Sunday, it is Fátima’s day off (well today and tomorrow) and there are just 3 of us in the house until Olivia returns tonight.  I shall be making our lunch soon and afterwards will be continuing with my book, Silkworm.  Then we shall go for our second walk when the sun is down, after which Eladio will drive to the station to pick Olivia up from the train station.  I shall stay at home making our dinner.

Tomorrow will be another day and another week.  There are no trips programmed so it will be very quiet. As you know I always like a bit of excitement on the horizon so I will just have to make do with some routine for a change. 

Meanwhile my friends and readers, I wish you all a great week ahead.  Till next time

Masha

To hospital and back, a horror story from Rotherham, my book of the decade “I am Pilgrim”, progress on the house in Montrondo, the truth behind the abduction of Aysha King from a British hospital and other stories.

Sunday 31st August 2014

Olivia and I with my Father at the excellent Rey Juan Carlos public hospital this week

Hi again everyone this very hot last Sunday in August. Calendar wise it is the end of summer but to judge by the temperatures here in Madrid you would think it was the beginning rather than the end. 

It has been an up and down week in many ways.  So let me start. On Monday, my first fasting day of the week, and after my two power walks, I heard of the sad death of Richard Attenborough perhaps the most famous name in the British film industry.  Aged 90 he will be most remembered for the film about Gandhi he directed in 1983.  That film had so much influence on me it was the main motivation of our 25^th wedding anniversary trip to India in 2008.  RIP Richard Attenborough you will never be forgotten.

Richard Attenborough who left us this week together with Ben Kingsley who starred in Gandhi.

That afternoon we swam in the pool as we did most afternoons but on Monday afternoon Elsa joined in or rather Eladio coaxed her into the water.  Elsa is a Labrador and should have taken to water like a duck but for some reason she is afraid.  I just love this photo I took of the two of them.

Eladio in the pool with Elsa on Monday

Meanwhile Olivia was busy at work reporting for her TV programme Aquí en Madrid.  She did a story that day on a woman kidnapped by her partner from a petrol station and later reported live on the story of the search for Spain’s public enemy number one.  The search is on for a man who has abducted and sexually abused young girls in the last few months on the outskirts of Madrid and near Ciudad Lineal. The story has gripped the nation.  In a way these kinds of stories are few and far between in Spain and I think the man in question may not be Spanish as he is described as being blonde and tall, not exactly a Spanish prototype.  I sincerely hope he is caught soon.

Oli reporting on Monday on the search for Spain's public enemy number one

Tuesday came; the date for my Father’s operation at the Spanish public hospital, Rey Juan Carlos in Móstoles, a working class suburb near where we live.  It was scheduled for the middle of the afternoon.  I was most impressed with the hospital itself and how efficiently it is run.  Later I heard from my Father’s local nurse that it is privately run.  Whatever the case it is a marvelous hospital and my Father was treated like royalty with a huge room to himself with all the mod cons you could imagine.  The hospital is incredibly clean and I couldn’t help comparing it to the only English hospitals I know; The British Royal Infirmary where my Mother died on a cancer ward and the Royal Free in London where my brother was ill with melanoma before he died in a hospice; the latter being a haven for terminally ill patients.  There is little privacy in these hospitals compared to the Rey Juan Carlos and I found them downtrodden and quite dismal whereas the Spanish hospital was gleaming and as far as hospitals go, probably one of the best ones you could find yourself if you are ill.  The operation took just under an hour and was successful.  The reanimation took some time and my Father wasn’t taken to his room until late at night.  Another thing I have to say is that my Father suffered absolutely no pain or discomfort throughout.  We got to talk to his surgeons and of course his nurses who told us he was a dream patient. Well of course I knew that.  My Father is nothing short of a gentlemen and never complains.

The very modern and avant guard Rey Juan Carlos hospital where my Father was operated this week

Our time was spent reading in the waiting room whilst my Father was having his operation and it was thanks to one of my favourite books, A time like Alice by Nevil Shute, that I was able to pass the time.  I finished it that very night and left it to my Father thinking it would be an easy read for him, with the added attraction that it was also one of my Mother’s favourite books and had belonged to his sister Gloria.  However I suspect it is not his kind of thing; he is far too intellectual to read Nevil Shute. 

On Wednesday morning my friend Beatriz sent me a wonderful parcel of ecologically grown fruit and vegetables from Galicia.  She knows we love fruit and veg so this gift was very special.

The wonderful ecological fruit and vegetables grown in Galicia which Beatriz sent to me this week

That night I cooked the green beans and leeks and I can’t begin to describe how much better they tasted than any I have ever eaten before. Thanks Bea, much appreciated.

Meanwhile Suzy in London posted a great picture of herself sitting on a giant green chair in London.  I am not quite sure why giant green furniture has been placed outside the National Theatre by the Southbank but it certainly must be an eye catcher.

Suzy sitting on a giant green chair outside the National Theatre on the Southbank in London this week 

It was on Wednesday that I was horrified to read about a report in the UK which told of the fate of some 1.400 young girls, some aged just 11, who had been systematically abused and raped by Pakistani men whilst the authorities not wanting to rock the racism boat looked the other way.  I find the story so evil I haven’t been able to get it out of my system and am so angry that in a town in Yorkshire, yes the county we call “God’s own country”, in Rotherham in South Yorkshire something like this could have happened. If it has happened there then it has also happened in other places.  I am aghast at how British tolerance has bowed so low as to view these white working class girls as “damaged goods” and not to understand their plight. Another thing I can’t get out of my mind either is a comment in an article in The Times by a journalist who has been following this and other cases who ventured to write that, in a similar way to jihadism, these men wanted to impregnate white British girls to spread the seed of their race or religion.  That is truly frightening.  Even today these vicious and evil men are getting away with what they are doing and have done.  Few of them have been imprisoned and many of those who have walk the streets again today.  I mean how can the British authorities be so tolerant and not care?  Can you imagine the story being the other way round and white British men abusing Muslim girls in places like Yemen or Saudi Arabia?  They would all immediately be beheaded in public whereas these Muslim men in Britain get off practically scot free.  There I have said it, but I haven’t got it out of my system. 

But back to the story of my Father in hospital, I would like to thank all my friends and family who have sent so many good wishes.  I appreciate them so much and I think my Father was very pleased to hear that so many people were thinking of him.  We went to see him twice on Wednesday and Olivia joined us on our second visit.  Olivia was equally impressed with his immaculate room and with the hospital in general. The photo illustrating this week’s post is of Oli and I by my Father’s bed.

On Thursday he was discharged and he was delighted to be taken home. However good the hospital is there is nothing like being at home. 

It was on Thursday that I started reading a book by Terry Hayes called I am Pilgrim which I had ordered on Amazon after recommendations from a friend on Facebook.  It is a spy story but very up to date and deals too with the jihadists and their revenge on the west.  To say that is not to give the book justice.  What I can say is that it is the best book I have read in the last ten years.  I finished it in three days and feel bereft now, knowing that no book will satisfy me after this one. If you haven’t read it yet, then get a copy and know that you will be hooked on the first page.  As an ex Finnish boss told me when I started the Stieg Larsson trilogy, similarly, you will have to say goodbye to your friends and family until you have finished it.  I loved Millenium but it is not a patch on I am Pilgrim.  I am dying for Terry Hayes to write the sequel.

The best thriller of the decade in my opinion

To whet your appetite, here is the publisher’s summary which I have copied for you here:

"Pilgrim is the codename for a man who doesn’t exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation. But that book will come back to haunt him. It will help NYPD detective Ben Bradley track him down. And it will take him to a rundown New York hotel room where the body of a woman is found facedown in a bath of acid, her features erased, her teeth missing, her fingerprints gone. It is a textbook murder – and Pilgrim wrote the book. What begins as an unusual and challenging investigation will become a terrifying race-against-time to save America from oblivion. Pilgrim will have to make a journey from a public beheading in Mecca to a deserted ruins on the Turkish coast via a Nazi death camp in Alsace and the barren wilderness of the Hindu Kush in search of the faceless man who would commit an appalling act of mass murder in the name of his God."

On Friday, our old home help Olga who is of Argentinian and Paraguayan origin, came to visit my Father bringing with her a huge bunch of flowers and chocolates.  Of all the women workers we have had I think she was the one who was closest to my Father.  He was very pleased to receive a visitor.  Our congratulations are due to her as she will be getting married in December to a Mexican.  Thanks Olga for coming, we hope to see you again.

Olga came to visit my Father when he came out of hospital

Whilst Olga was visiting I was out shopping with Fátima so missed seeing Olivia on TV that afternoon.  As I came back Eladio, Olga and my Father looked up from the screen to say I had just missed her.  Later she told me she had to do a story on the traffic in Spain at the end of the August holiday.  All journalists reporting on traffic go to the DGT HQ (General Directorate of Traffic). That day she coincided there with a legendary TV traffic reporter Anselmo Mancebo but also with her fellow internee Maria when they both started with TVE some 7 or 8 years ago when they worked for the documentary programme “Informe Semanal”.  It was quite a coincidence.

Oli at the DGT (Spanish G.D. of Traffic) with the famous traffic reporter Anselmo Mancebo and Maria who was a fellow internee when they both worked for Informe Semanal (TVE) after they left University.  

Olivia also told us what the TVs do not tell the public about holiday traffic.  In the old days there were huge holiday traffic jams so it was customary to report on them during the holiday season.  However the DGT keeps trying to tell the journalists that these hardly exist anymore as people’s holiday habits have changed and of course the roads have improved.  So really it is quite difficult for the reporters like Olivia, sent out by their producers to report on any news as the traffic was absolutely not newsworthy that day. I found that a very interesting piece of inside information.

Meanwhile on Friday in Montrondo, progress was finally made on the house we are building there.  The main beam arrived and was put in place on top of the new third floor.  The next day we saw photos of the building of the roof itself.  I can only hope work will speed up now and the house may well be ready by Easter or even before.

Halleluya the roof of the house we are renovating from scratch in Montrondo is finally being built

We spoke about the house, about the hospital, about Suzy in London and many other things that are on our minds these days when we went out to dinner that night.  We chose to dine at La Txitxarrería where we went for our anniversary dinner and it seems to be our latest favourite.  Here I spent some more of my abundant luncheon vouchers.  (one of my favourite corporate perks). I just have to add that I really think their steak is very possibly the best in town. 

Steak and chips at La Txitxarrería - divine

On Saturday we woke up to the news that the parents of a 5 year old boy Aysha King with brain cancer had abducted him from a hospital in Southampton and were being searched for in Spain.  The media and internet told us these parents were not looking after their child and even that as they were Jehova Witnesses they didn’t want him to undergo medical treatment all of which turned out to be far from the truth.  Yesterday evening the Spanish police found the family and the boy is now in a hospital in Málaga and the parents at a police station.  So far so good, what awful parents you probably think like I did until I saw the video posted on You Tube by Aysha’s father.  The video told a very different story and you can see it here.  The father’s story is that he wanted to find a beam treatment for his child not available on the NHS and only possible in other countries and that the doctors treating the child had threatened him with a court of ward order if he continued to challenge their treatment.  I only hope the wishes of the parents of the sick boy will be respected and that he finally gets the treatment he needs.  We shall more over the following days.  What a story.

Saturday was a busy day.  After my two power walks, Eladio washed our lovely dogs who now seem to enjoy the procedure.  Then I prepared lunch as Fátima our home help looked after my Father and cleaned the house.  Yesterday’s menu was to help beef up my Father who is anemic after losing so much blood over the past month or so. It’s good that after the operation he is no longer losing any more.  The menu consisted of homemade gazpacho, meat loaf and fresh vegetables.  Oli didn’t join us as she was having her own private party; a barbecue for the “manada” as the girls’ group of friends is called.

I made enough for us to repeat the menu for today’s Sunday lunch when we were joined by Olivia this time.  Olivia also joined us on my first morning walk today and agreed our new walk is much nicer than the previous one.

After lunch we watched the news as we usually do and heard that a 21 year old Spanish girl called Carolina Marín was making badminton history having reached the World Championship final in Copenhagen.  Last year she was the European champion and I remember writing about her in my blog. Badminton is a minority sport and Carolina Marín who is a huge sporting figure in Asia where the game is very popular is hardly known in her own country.  I read that Badminton has its origins in British India and was semi invented by the British military.  It is very popular funnily enough in Denmark where Carolina plays in the league but mostly in China, India and other Asian countries.  I have just heard she actually beat the number one badminton player in the world and has become the world champion.  Now isn’t that amazing for Spanish and European sport.  I was happy to see she beat Li Xuerei the number one seed from China 17-21, 21-17, 21-18. This is more great news for Spanish sport.

Carolina Marín, the 21 year old Spaniard who made sporting history today by winning the Badminton World Championship 

Tomorrow will be 1^st September and I will be off to Santander to take care of Yoigo’ PR activities there at the annual telecoms congress.  I am looking forward to a change of air and climate as it is so hot here in Madrid and 10 degrees less will be very agreeable. In my free time I look forward to a long walk or two on the wonderful Sardinero beach.

Hoping you have enjoyed this post, I wish you all a great week ahead,

Cheers till next time,

Masha

What the ice bucket challenge is all about, a “British” Islamic State militant beheads American photo journalist James Foley, 31 years together, Juana and Oscar came to dinner, Spain’s best swimmer ever and other stories.

Sunday 24th August 2014

Eladio and I celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary on Thursday 21st August

Hi everyone,

It’s Sunday again and the time to write my blog. Today is a quiet warm Sunday in August and the summer is still with us.  I have been on my two daily consecutive walks on my own and then with Eladio and the dogs, and after a quick bathe in the pool, here I am ready to tell you all about this week which had its highlights both at home and on the news front.

One item of news I thought was rather silly is the ongoing story of celebrities pouring ice cold water over themselves apparently to raise funds and awareness for some sort of Sclerosis.  In fact I got rather tired of what I thought was a silly stunt.  There were more and more high profile cases which I just couldn’t relate to, until a friend of mine on Facebook, Marianne opened my eyes to what it is all about.  She posted a video of a 26 year old American boy diagnosed with ALS which I learned is a terrible neurodegenerative disease that makes you weaker and weaker until most of the sufferers die. The most famous person afflicted with ALS is Stephen Hawking.  In this video the devastated youth describes just how happy the ice bucket challenge is making him and fellow sufferers by raising awareness and more importantly funds to find a cure for an illness which is just not profitable enough for pharmaceutical companies to bother with. My only worry here is whether the people taking up the ice bucket challenge are really donating funds to the cause.  So here is my part in the awareness story; this is the website where you can make your donation. 

The 26 year old American boy diagnosed with ALS and whose video made me understand the ice bucket challenge

On Monday as usual I fasted, did my two walks and enjoyed a quick bathe in the cool pool afterwards, it was such a warm day.  That day and all of the week really Olivia was busy reporting for her afternoon TV programme, Aquí En Madrid.  I missed her most days but watched her via streaming later whenever I could.  On Monday she reported on a crime of passion in a suburb of Madrid, Hortaleza.  She also reported on a very big story in Spain, about two Spanish couples who have adopted a child each in Ethiopia, a process which took up to 6 years, only to have the children taken away from them for political reasons; forces in the north of the country are against international adoption. 

Olivia adores children and this was clear in her report on an adoption problem case in Ethiopia this week

Susana meanwhile was causing a stir on Facebook when she published a lovely portrait of herself which Gabor had taken.  I can only imagine it is for her CV.  Nice isn’t it?

A new portrait of my darling daughter Suzy

Tuesday will go down in history as the day the world learned of the fate of an American freelance photo journalist called James Foley who had been kidnapped by IS (Islamic State) “jihadists” in Syria.  In a gruesome video sent to the media and later thankfully removed from internet, he is beheaded by an IS militant with a British accent, called John in retaliation for American forces striking their targets in Iraq.  This is a new kind of terrorism or indeed a sophistication of what we have previously seen from Al Qaeda. The press says the killer is British.  He may well have a British passport but he is of Asian origin. Governments around the world are very worried about the IS a new Islamic terrorist group which frighteningly aspires to governing the whole Muslim world. I very much fear that James Foley will not be the only western victim of this very extremist western hating group of jihadists. In the video there is promise of a second beheading of another American journalist.

James Foley the ex American photo journalist sadly became very famous this week

In any case life goes on and on Tuesday Eladio and I went into the quiet and empty streets of Madrid to look at some vintage bathroom suites for the house we are building in Montrondo.  They are empty as August is the holiday season in Spain and most people living here want to get away from the oppressive heat. Meanwhile Olivia was reporting on the atmosphere outside the Real Madrid Bernabeu stadium ahead of the first leg of the Spanish super cup against their city rivals Atlético de Madrid.  Her English came in handy during the report as she spoke to foreigners who had come especially from places like Miami, Brazil or Newcastle to see the match.  We didn’t watch it as it started really late at 11 pm.  The result was a draw 1-1 which would favour Atlético on aggregate in the second leg two days later.

Oli reporting from the Real Madrid stadium on Tuesday ahead of the first leg of the super cup trophy against rival city club Atético de Madrid.

That night I made a special dinner for Olivia and Miguel her boyfriend who had come to stay for the week.  Evening meals outside are so nice at this time of year and when I can I love to make family meals.

Nothing much happened on Wednesday which was a repeat of Monday and Tuesday for me.  Olivia that day reported on yet another summer fire, this time in Aranjuez in the south of Madrid.

Thursday was our big day, our 31^st wedding anniversary.  31 is not a significant number; it’s not 25 or 50 but in my mind, you never know what life is going to bring, so it is better to celebrate every year.  We have done so right from the start and always go out for dinner somewhere nice.  It’s amazing to think that we have been married for such a long time. When I posted on FB that it was our 31^st anniversary some joker friend wished us another 31 years together.  That is not going to happen unless Eladio lives till he is 100.  Someone else told me that in Spain at least there were now more divorces than marriages in one year.  So yeah, 31 years together is definitely something to celebrate.  You may want to know what the secrets of our successful relationship are, so let me tell you.  Basically it is mutual admiration, physical attraction and above all respect.  Eladio and I rarely argue (we both hate conflict) and one thing we never do is insult each other.  Then again maybe I am lucky as it is nearly impossible to argue with my tranquil husband.  It sounds simple to me but maybe it’s not so simple. 

Feeling very happy I went off to a meeting with my events agency to finalize details for our big party at the beginning of September in Santander.  Later in the evening Olivia sent us a photo of her reporting on Madrid’s number one attraction for tourists, the modern art museum, Reina Sofia.  Here tourists queue up mainly to see Picasso’s most famous masterpiece, “La Guernica”.  Once again Olivia’s English came in handy when interviewing foreign tourists queueing to enter the museum.  The news was related to the record number of foreign tourists to Spain and Madrid, Spain now being the number three hotspot in the world. I would have thought the main attraction in the capital city was the Real Madrid football stadium or the Prado, but no it is the Reina Sofia. 

Olivia reporting on Thursday from the Reina Sofia modern art museum in Madrid, the city's top tourist attraction.

That night both Olivia and Miguel joined us at dinner to celebrate our anniversary.  We went to La Txitxarrería in Pozuelo where we had an amazing dinner.  We started off with a plate of spectacular Spanish ham accompanied by grilled tiny green peppers (actually chilis only one of which was hot and which landed on Oli’s plate!).  Then Miguel, Oli and I devoured a plate of the most wonderful fillet steak you can eat in Madrid.  Miguel took the photo of us which illustrates this week’s post.  Today as I was choosing the photos for my blog, I decided to do a collage and add it to one of our wedding photos and this is the result.  Yes we have aged of course and quite a lot but I think we look fine for our age, don’t you think?  I still find Eladio just “drop dead gorgeous” even after all these years. 

31 very happy years separate these two pictures. Above 21.8.83, below 21.8.14

Meanwhile that night in London Gabor had taken Suzy out for a romantic dinner to celebrate their first anniversary as a couple. It’s funny it coincided with our day.  They went to The Attic Bar which has some great views of the city.  So congratulations go to Suzy and Gabor too this week.

Suzy and Gabor celebrating one year together this week, on the same day as our anniversary!

On Friday morning I was up early as usual and coincided with Olivia when I was about to go on my first walk.  She was just about to go for an early morning run with Miguel.  So we took a selfie of the moment and here it is.

A selfie of Oli and I on Friday morning about to run (Olivia) and walk (me.

Friday was a busy day for me.  Juana and Oscar, my ex Nokia colleagues, were coming for dinner that night.  They had just been to Israel on holiday and we were keen to exchange impressions as we also went there just a few years ago.  Whenever we have guests the house has to look its best which means a lot of preparations; Eladio had to cut the grass, Fátima had to do extra cleaning to include the swimming and kitchen terraces and I had to arrange the flowers and the meal.  Being summer and very warm I decided to make a light dinner and to prepare cold dishes which could be made in advance and sit chilling in the fridge.  The first course was to be homemade gazpacho which I wanted to serve in attractive individual little bottles as once seen at a wonderful restaurant called Gecko Beach Club in Formentera.  I found these at a Chinese “pound shop”.  The main course was to be my chicken Waldorf salad which includes mango instead of apple and the dessert was to be raspberry syllabub.  This is what the latter looked like.

The new dessert (syllabub) I made for dinner on Friday when we had guests

Whilst I was whipping the cream which turned into butter as Fátima had stored it outside the fridge and then sent Eladio out to get some more, Olivia was busy at work reporting once again on the pre match atmosphere but the second leg of the Madrid teams’ super cup match.  She did so riding a sort of “tuc tuc” type vehicle and sent us this photo.  Like me Olivia loves sport and so of course she enjoys reporting on it too.

Oli on a tuc tuc in Madrid on Friday reporting on the pre match atmosphere in the city that afternoon

We didn’t watch the second leg either as we were having guests but I was disappointed to learn later that Atlético, supposedly the underdog, had won the cup.  I sort of wondered whether there was some sort of pact between the two teams for the latter to win after Real Madrid had won the European Super Cup recently in Lisbon.  We will never know.

Meanwhile at home everything was ready for the arrival of our guests.  For once we were well ahead of time and spent the half or so before they came putting finishing touches to the evening, preparing a drinks tray, setting up the Spotify music on Eladio’s phone via our wonderful blue tooth Sony portable speaker, lighting candles etc.  This is what the table looked like.

The table I laid for our guests on Friday evening

And then our guests arrived and we welcomed them warmly. 

With my dear friend Juana at home on Friday night

The whole evening was quite magical.  We had a great time discussing our visits to Israel which of course then focused on the Israeli Arab issue.  Another topic of conversation was the crisis and how today’s generation are the lost generation, in that there are few jobs and those that exist are meagerly paid and how that leads to them neither getting married nor ever being able to buy a house.  Yes the future is difficult for them.  I just hope they rise to the challenge.  Other topics of conversation were light hearted, especially when Eladio spoke about how we used to sell beagle puppies and with the money actually managed to build our first swimming pool.  All in all it was a lovely evening and great to see my ex colleagues from Nokia.  Those of us who worked at Nokia in its heyday used to add an inside slogan to the more famous one: Nokia connecting people “and reuniting colleagues”. 

Aselfie with our friends Juana and Oscar on Friday at home, a bit grainy but you get the idea.

We didn’t get to bed until nearly two in the morning and I was up again the next day at my usual 7.30 which meant I only slept five and a half hours.  But Saturday after my walks was to be quite a lazy day.  It was spent with Eladio, mostly by the pool where we were joined by Olivia and Miguel.  It was yesterday on Saturday that I sort of first woke up to the fact that a young Spanish girl called Mireia Belmonte is making history for Spanish swimming, a sport that this country has not usually excelled at, excepting synchronized swimming of course.  So we watched with great awe as she took the gold medal in the 1.500m freestyle race at the Berlin European Swimming Championship.  As I am writing today she has just won another gold medal, coming first in the 200m butterfly race.  Her fellow countrywoman Judit Ignacio won the silver medal.  This is certainly great news for Spanish sport, excelling at swimming; which can be added to football, basketball, formula 1, motorcycling, cycling, tennis at which Spaniards already excel.  Mireia Belmonte aged only 23 must be the woman star of the championships, having also won silver and bronze medals in other races.  According to Miguel, Olivia’s boyfriend who is a keen swimmer, she is Spain’s equivalent to Michael Phelps. 

Spain's best professional swimmer ever, 23 year old Mireia Belmonte

Later we made a lovely dinner all together after which Miguel, Oli and I played sevens, the card game I learned from Sandra and Jeffer this summer.

And today is Sunday and it has been quiet too.  There is really nothing particularly relevant to report.  In a way no news is good news, it’s just another lovely Sunday in August spent at home.

This week coming will bring with it my Father’s operation on Tuesday afternoon, the most important item in the week.  I have lots of faith in Spanish doctors and I’m sure it will all go well as we have been told it’s a very simple keyhole type intervention.  In any case I shall be telling you how it went in next week’s post.

Meanwhile, I wish you all a good week,

Cheers till next time,

Masha