A girly weekend in London with Suzy and Oli, home again, a meeting with a magician, a press conference to announce Yoigo’s revamped image and a big party to celebrate it all on the same day, in love with “little Yoigo” a miniature dachshund puppy and the new company mascot, a new home help, Suzy with Pernille and her family in London and other stories.

The girls and I in London last weekend

Hi again everyone,

So much has happened since I last wrote on Friday 28^th November and today, the first Sunday in December, is the day to tell you all about it.  Let me add that the sun is shining as it has most of the week although the temperatures are much cooler now as winter approaches.

On Friday 28^th November I worked hard all day at home, leaving as much done as possible for my upcoming events, so that I could fully concentrate on my time in London with the girls.  I left the house at 17.30 and met Olivia at the airport.  We were flying with Easy Jet to Gatwick and our plane left at 21h, arriving at LGW at 22.30h.  I nearly always fly by Easy Jet to London because the price is reasonable and because there are many flights to choose from.  However I do not like their new rule; if you don’t check in your luggage which is quite costly and which we didn’t do, you are allowed one cabin bag only; i.e. your handbag has to go inside.  Our cabin luggage was full of things we were taking for Suzy but would be pretty empty on our way back with enough room for our intended shopping.  I soon realized how to skip combining my handbag with my onboard suitcase and put the former in a duty free plastic bag with things I bought at the airport.  Even Ryan Air these days doesn’t make you combine your handbag with your suitcase. 

A selfie on board

We arrived on time and Olivia followed me as I rushed through all the procedures of landing, the most important thing being to get to the front of the passport queue.  Thus we were on the Gatwick Express, thanks to my prepaid internet tickets, in a jiffy and even arrived at Victoria Station before Suzy was there to meet us.  Just five minutes later my darling daughter was there. I rushed to greet her as you can see in this video Olivia had a cool enough head to take. It was a wonderful moment.  You see I think this has been the longest time we have been apart.  The last time we saw her was at the beginning of August.

It was lovely to be reunited with Suzy 

Suzy who is so savvy with how things work in London ordered a taxi via Uber as soon as we had stopped hugging.  This was to be my first time and I was very impressed at the cost (half that of a black cab), the service and the app itself.  I have now downloaded it at home but unfortunately where we live there are no cars available. 

Uber rocks

Soon we were at Suzy’s new flat in South Bermondsey (one train stop from London Bridge) which she shares with her boyfriend Gabor and their flat mate, Stefania, an Italian research biologist.  Very sweetly Gabor and Suzy gave us their bedroom and they slept in the lounge.  We liked there home immediately, it is clean, compact, warm, light and we felt at home immediately.  We didn’t get to bed until 2 in the morning and despite a comfortable bed neither Oli nor I slept very well; mostly due to my snoring.  Sorry Oli.

We had a lovely breakfast together on Saturday morning and whilst both Gabor and Stefania went off to work, we got ready leisurely and generally enjoyed just being the three of us in Suzy’s flat.

Breakfast at Suzy's on our first day

We had a lunch appointment with Dolores my sister-in-law and her daughter Sara at one of my favourite restaurants in London, the Turkish Grand Bazaar just off Oxford Street.  Dolores was in London too that weekend as she was going to a 70^th birthday party of a friend of hers.  Our trip started at South Bermondsey station.  Here you can see my two lovely girls on the platform with the City in the background (the gherkin, etc).

Ready to go on our first day, the girls at South Bermondsey train station

We took the train to London Bridge and from there to Green Park and then walked to Oxford Street which was so packed we got away as fast as possible.  We walked through the lovely St. Christopher’s Place until we found the Grand Bazaar.  It was a bit early so we took a walk around the streets until it was time to meet Sara and Dolores.  And there they were and we were all delighted to see each other.

At the Grand Bazaar with Dolores and Sara, a great lunch

Suzy has turned vegan, much to my sorrow, but there was lots of choice for her on the wonderful mezze menus.  The food was delicious.  This is what some of it looked like. 

Some of the food at The Grand Bazaar - just look at the bread!

Afterwards we had mint tea and baklava on the street terrace where Sara took the photo illustrating this blog.  Soon they had to leave and we decided to spend the rest of the day shopping.  We ventured into H+M on Oxford Street but as it was so packed we decided to go to Westfield Shopping Centre at the end of the Jubilee Line.  It was packed too but not quite as much.  Here we parted as I went into Marks and Spencer and the girls went to Top Shop where Oli bought Suzy a lovely grey coat in which you can see her in some of the photos below.

Me at M+S at Westfield shopping centre

We decided to have dinner at home and buy the food from M+S and here we chose produce that would make a delicious bits and bobs dinner. 

On Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast again and then Suzy, Oli and I walked all the way to Brick Lane.  On the way we stopped for a coffee at St. Katherine’s Docks which is a very lovely area just next to Tower Hill.  Here we took lots of photos and it is difficult to choose one for this post.  But here you go, it’s a lovely one of the two sisters.

My girls at  St. Katherine's Docks on Sunday morning.

There were far too many people in Brick Lane so we carried on until we reached Spitalfields Market.  Here we had lunch.  Olivia’s and my choice was ….. yes you guessed right; fish and chips.

Fish and chips at Spitalfields market on Sunday

After lunch we made a quick entry into Urban Outfitters where we didn’t find anything that took our fancy and then made our way to Marble Arch.  We were to meet my niece Paula, her boyfriend Pedro and his brother at the entrance to Winter Wonderland; a sort of gigantic Christmas fun fair in Hyde Park.  I’m sure it’s lovely if you go on a Monday morning but on a Saturday afternoon in December the crowds were somewhat overwhelming.

With Paula, Pedro and his brother at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park last Sunday

In any case it was great to meet up with more of our family who once again just happened to be in London like us that weekend.

We parted at Green Park and the girls and I made our way home, stopping to do more shopping for dinner at Marks and Spencer’s. We were to be joined by Gabor and Stefania.

Dinner on Sunday night at Suzy and Gabor's flat

After dinner we played cards (sevens) accompanied by a wonderful box of M+S chocolates.

The next morning was Monday morning and our plane was in the evening at 7pm which meant we had most of the day to spend with Suzy.  We decided just to chill out together, instead of seeing the sights or walking in London.  We have done that a dozen times and what we most wanted to do was just be together. After getting ready and packing (me for Oli and I as usual), we went off to Tesco’s at Canada Water a 20 minute walk from their flat.

Going to Tesco on Suzy's bike

Suzy and Gabor do their shopping on their bikes.  That morning we went with Suzy on her bike and met Gabor at Tesco.  Here is a photo of Olivia trying it out.

Suzy shopping at Tesco

Dave, Gabor and Suzy’s friend who was in Olivia’s class at St. Michael’s school, came for lunch and made steak for the meat eaters.  It was to be our last meal together.  Afterwards we sat on the settee playing sevens and eating chocolate.

Our last afternoon at Suzy and Gabor's flat

Soon it was time to leave.  Suzy had ordered an Uber taxi for 15.30 which took us to Victoria.  We caught the Gatwick Express immediately and were at the airport with far too much time on our hands.  The trip back felt long and was a little sad after having such a good time in London with Suzy.  We were home at nearly midnight but Eladio was awake to welcome us. 

On Tuesday I felt tired all day and had to make an effort to move. My early morning walk felt very uphill.  I had a meeting in Madrid that morning with a magician.  Yes, a magician.  I was meeting a famous young Spanish magician called Jorge Blass who is well known around the world.  When he was very young he won the prize for best young magician in Europe or was it the world.  We were to contract his services for our party on Thursday and had to brief him about his audience and the party.  I had used him before twice when I worked for Nokia; once at an NGage launch in the pretty Segovian village called Pedraza and once for an employee Christmas party.  He remembered me as I remembered him.  He has an amazing number where he seemingly makes snow out of paper dipped into water and I told him that the first time I saw him do that in Pedraza I cried. I knew that his show at the Yoigo party was going to be just great and it was as I will tell you later.

Jorge Blass the young Spanish magician making snow on stage

That afternoon all I could do was sleep for 2 hours and go for my second walk.  I then worked a bit more on my two events whilst waiting for Olivia and Miguel to have dinner together.

On Wednesday I was refreshed and spent practically the whole day working on the last minute details of my two events the next day, a press conference to announce our revamped image and new tariff and a big party in the evening to celebrate the new image and Christmas with our staff and many of our partners.  We were to be some 300 people.

Finally Thursday arrived and I at least was ready.  All the documents; two press releases and a presentation were finalized after many drafts and the lists of confirmed journalists and guests for both events were done and ready. All that remained to do was to execute the two events in one day; events which my agencies and I had been working on for many weeks.  It was going to be a very long and stressful day so I was up early and went on my walk to charge my batteries.  Later in between the two events I did my second walk too just to feel fresh for the evening.

37 journalists attended our very uniquely organized press conference where our CEO dressed up as an Indian apache chief. (Some headlines in English: http://www.telecompaper.com/news/yoigo-revamps-image-unveils-5gb-data-tariff-for-eur-19--1053357). It took place at a new restaurant in Madrid called Casa Carolo which is partly owned by Bea from my events agency, QuintaEsencia. 

A few shots from our jam packed press conference

The tariff we announced is called the never ending tariff and appears in a spot with a sausage dog with a never ending body, part of the new image.  The dog (Nick) from the ad was present at the press conference! 

Our sausage dog ad.  The dog's name is Nick

Me with Nick at the press conference

Our new image keeps the essence of Yoigo’s values and logo but changes the positioning to “long live the difference”; i.e. Yoigo is different to the other operators and so are our customers.

Our new image

We had a field day using some of the elements from the new campaign and image; giving out banana shaped usbs, making bunches of sweets where all were of one kind except one single sweet.  We even got a wonderful cake maker, Ana, to make a giant sausage dog cake.

Ana and her giant sausage dog cake for our press conference

We had a great photographer that day and of all the photos he took of me, I think the one below sums up just how happy and content I felt when everything was over.  Just before our press conference Google Spain held their own where only 8 journalists turned up and yet Yoigo, the 4^th mobile network operator gathered nearly 40! 

Very happy at how our press conference went

The press conference which started at 1pm didn’t end till 4.30. Then I had to rush home to get changed, go on my walk, come home, shower and get ready to go out again to the second event of the day, our big party to celebrate the new image and Christmas. Thankfully my dearest friend Fátima was picking me up and would drive me home.  Julio would be joining us too and Olivia my daughter would be there to give me a hand, as well as her friend Ana, the incredible cake maker and it was lovely to have them with me.

With Fátima, Julio and my daughter at the big Yoigo party on Thursday night

The event took place at a singular location, a round marquee on the campus of the Madrid Complutense University called “Domo”.  All of its inside is a 360º screen and it is unique.  I think there are only three of its kind in the world.  On the outside we used the cowboys and Indians theme again and people could enter via a wigwam or a cowboy camp. Some of the Indians and cowboys were even on horseback.

The set up outside the event venue for our party

Inside was just as spectacular. We set up a Christmas corner with lots of prizes, the waiters dressed differently (women with rollers in their hair, people dressed up as doctors, firemen, etc) and there were tables and chairs for those who wanted to sit and have their cocktail dinner.  After the presentation of the new brand, the cocktail party started and then for me the best part of the night begun, Jorge Blass’ magic show.  Gloria and I were at the front enjoying every moment.  Here you can see us cheering at the end when he finished his act making snow appear in the whole marquee.  It was just amazing.

Gloria and I ecstatic at Jorge Blass' performance

One of his tricks was to make our new mascot appear, a miniature chocolate coloured dachshund puppy called “Yoigo”.  I fell in love with Yoigo as you can understand here from this lovely photo.

In love with little Yoigo our new mascot

After the show Jorge Blass stayed on to have a drink with us and it was lovely talking to him.  He started learning magic when he was 12 and was inspired by Tamariz, a very famous Spanish magician.  He also studied psychology and you can tell that helps him gain his audience although his charismatic eyes seem to do it all.  He is so special.

With Jorge Blass after the show with Ana, my daughter and Cristina

By 1 in the morning I had had enough. Everything had gone so well, I felt ok to leave.  So off we went quietly, Fátima and I to get her car and drive home.  I didn’t go to sleep until 2 in the morning telling Eladio all about the party which I think is possibly one of the best I have ever organized.  Thanks Bea, Cristina, Gloria and Miguel (QuintaEsencia),  thanks Isabel and Carlos (Ketchum) for being such a great team.

On Friday it felt like I had a non-alcoholic hangover.  I was so tired after so much tension and stress but happy that my events had been a success once again. 

It was on Friday that Suzy launched her new website where she offers dietitian services.  Take a look.  I like it.

Suzy's new website

I did the shopping in the afternoon with Eladio and in the evening I was too tired to go out to dinner as we usually do on Friday night.  So was Oli, so she and Miguel joined us for dinner which in the end was much nicer than going out to dinner on our own.

On Saturday I woke feeling refreshed.  Saturday 6^th December was Constitution Day as well as Independence Day in Finland.  It was finally a day I didn’t have to do any work, apart from cooking of which I did a lot. I made bean stew (fabada), chicken noodle soup and cream of vegetable soup for lunch and for dinners this week. 

On Saturday morning Gloria came to see us and brought little “Yoigo”, the new mascot which is hers.  The idea was for Eladio to fall in love with it and let me have one too as originally we had planned to have two.  He immediately understood what our ploy was about and said no but eventually warmed to the idea with the condition that the new puppy would be our responsibility, i.e, Oli’s and mine to which we agreed immediately.  Here is a collage of little Yoigo’s visit.

Little Yoigo came to visit and met Elsa and Norah

I was worried how Norah our beagle and Elsa our Labrador would react but it went fine as you can see in this lovely video.

On Saturday, Zena, our ex Ukrainian cleaner came to clean the house as Fátima our home help had serious problems.  She arrived one night this week with her two children, Omar aged 6 and Sara aged 10.  Since her sister who used to look after them has found a job and she had split up with her husband, the two children were alone at home.  The neighbours called the police and she was warned they could not be left alone at home.  Thus she came to our house with them asking if they could live with us.  We just couldn’t say yes so suggested she took a few days holiday to sort out her problem. And on Saturday she came again with the children and announced they were leaving for Paris to live with her other sister, Oufa who used to be our home help before her.  I’m so glad she sorted out her problem but of course that left us without a home help. However she had found a replacement, the mother of a friend of Oufa called Gema who came with her daughter Saida to see us yesterday afternoon. She seems suitable as her last job was looking after an elderly lady who has now died.  Gema will be starting tomorrow and Fátima will come too to show her the ropes. I hope it all works out. We shall miss Fátima dearly; she is such a lovely person and looked after my Father so well. 

And today is Sunday and has been quiet.  I have been writing my blog, making a delicious full roast lamb lunch where we joined by Oli and Miguel. 

Meanwhile in London, Suzy met up with our one and only adored Danish family, Pernille, Thomas and their two daughters Julie and Alberte.  Pernille was the girls’ au pair when they were little and we have been in touch ever since.  This is a photo of them together this afternoon.  I wish they had been in London last weekend instead of this one and then we would have seen them too.

Suzy with Pernille and her family in London today

Tomorrow is a holiday in Spain (the Immaculate Conception) and it will be nice to relax a bit more after these events and before the next ones. Quite a few are in the cooking but more about them next time.

Meanwhile I wish you all a great week,

Cheers Masha

PS Here is the full collection of photos of our trip to London.

Another interview, a sad end to Monday, Downton Abbey Season 5, Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Yoigo is “the pear”, off to London to see Suzy and other stories.

Friday 28th November 2014

Looking forward to being with Suzy in London this weekend

Hi everyone

You will be wondering why I am posting this week’s blog on a Friday instead of Sunday. The reason is that tonight I am going to London with Olivia to see Suzy until Monday, so thought I ought to summarize this week and tell you all about our trip next time.

It has been a very busy week indeed as I have two big events next week, a press conference and a party on the same day for 300 people.  You can’t imagine the amount of detail that goes into organizing them.  My intention is to finalize as much as I can before I leave for London and right now I have a quiet moment to write this week’s post. 

Last Sunday I was delighted to see the interview Top Comunicación had done with me about my career in PR in Spain on the occasion of the prize I got recently from ADSL Zone where the journalists voted me best Communications Director in the sector.  If you can understand Spanish here it is.

A screenshot of my interview on the Top Comunicación site

Monday was my fasting day.  I went into the office, this time for an interview with my boss for a video blog to be published in El Economista. Later Susana who used to be the account executive of Llorente y Cuenca, my PR agency when we started up Yoigo, came to have a coffee with me at Yoigo.  Susana is now the Communications Director of ITP a big aeronautical company that makes engines for airplanes.  It was great to catch up with her.

With Susana H at Yoigo on Monday

Monday ended sadly.  That afternoon Copi (the girls’ friend since they were very small) told us her godmother Ernestina, aged 69, had died of cancer that afternoon.  Ernestina, who I knew very well from school events, was much more than a godmother to Copi, she was like a second mother.  That evening Eladio, Olivia and I went to the funeral parlour in Boadilla to pay our respects.  Next week we shall be going to the funeral.  You see Copi is a very special person in our lives.  She is like an extended person in our family and we love her very much.  It was a very sad end to Monday.

Tuesday saw me in the office again for a very long management team meeting.  I came home feeling extremely hungry as I hadn’t had a bite to eat since 6.30 in the morning. After my evening walk I just managed to see Olivia reporting on robberies in Madrid street cafés. As I got out of my bath to quickly watch her, there she was sitting at the end of our bed watching herself on TV which I thought was very funny. 

Olivia reporting on robberies in street cafés this week

On Tuesday I robbed some time myself to watch episode 1 of Downton Abbey Season 5 which arrived last week.  I would love to binge watch the whole series but am too busy for words.  I must say I thought the first episode was very entertaining.

I am loving Season 5 of Downton Abbey

On Wednesday I was as busy as a bee again but had plenty of time for everything as I got up at 6.30 which seems to be the norm recently.  Thus I got in my first hour long walk early and took a break during the day for my second one.  I always come back feeling energized.  It’s so true that exercise releases the endorphins that make you feel happy as well as keeping you fit. 

It was on Wednesday that the builders of our house in Montrondo sent more photos to Eladio.  They are now working on my porch, the porch I so wanted.  It looks just as I wanted it.

The porch is coming along nicely in Montrondo

Yesterday Thursday was busy too but again I had time for everything as I was up at just past 6 in the morning.  Eladio was off to Montrondo with his brother to meet with the builders about many of the details of the building, not least, the final decision on the partitions of walls of the three floors.  Fátima prepared food for them both and I, as usual, packed his suitcase.  It’s funny whilst he is in Montrondo with his brother this weekend, I will be in London with Olivia and Suzy and will meet up with José Antonio’s wife, my sister-in-law, Dolores and her daughter Sara who will also be in London at the same time.   We shall also meet up with Paula, another of my nieces, and her boyfriend Pedro and family.  As Yoli, another of my sister-in-law’s, commented: “The Freijos in London” – Freijo being my husband’s family surname. So far I haven’t heard a word from Eladio, no calls, no messages, mostly because the mobile signal there is very limited.

Yesterday’s highlight was a tasting lunch at a wonderful building called The House of Velázquez (Casa de Velázquez) on the campus of the Madrid Complutense University building.  I was tasting the food for our big party next week together with Miguel and Cristina from my events agency, QuintaEsencia.  We also took the time to go over very many of the details of next week’s events.

Casa Velázquez, a beautiful building

Yesterday of course was Thanksgiving, that big American traditional holiday. Olivia did a report on an American family in Madrid preparing the traditional dinner which always includes turkey.  You can see it here.

Olivia during her report on Thanksgiving

Meanwhile I was shopping at Mercadona with Fátima, our home help when I came across a group of American students.  I looked at the contents of their trolley and noticed there was no turkey and commented on this to them.  They replied forlornly that there was no turkey to be had at Mercadona.  So I suggested they might find turkey legs at least at the local supermarket up the road.  I offered to ring and see if they had any.  They did and the students were very grateful.  I think that was my Thanksgiving good deed of the day.

I have never celebrated Thanksgiving as it is not an English tradition, however it is getting increasingly popular in Spain.  Also popular now is something called Black Friday (a sales day the day after Thanksgiving) and that has even caught on in Spain. I noticed too that it has also become something of a tradition in England and that Marks and Spencer's will have a 4 day long “Black Friday” coinciding with our visit.  I’m looking forward to that.

That night, Olivia and I had an ordinary dinner whilst Americans around the world were having their Thanksgiving dinners.  In bed alone that night I took advantage of Eladio’s absence to watch two more episodes of Downton Abbey.

And today is Friday and it has been raining non-stop all day, preventing me from going on my walk.  I was up early and took Olivia by car to the metro station and we will meet up again this evening at the airport.  I can’t wait!

Meanwhile work continues on my events next week.  Yesterday we sent out a physical invitation to 100 journalists inviting them to the press conference and party.  The claim on the invitation was “come and discover why Yoigo is the pear” (pear in Spanish means both the fruit but also exceptional or amazing. These days in the UK they would probably use the slang word “sick” or the “the dog’s bollocks”.  In any case we had sent the invitation with a real pear and all morning I have been monitoring twitter for reactions and they have been great.   Of course we also sent an online invitation, just in case some of the boxes with the real pear got left in receptions rather than delivered to the journalist in the newsrooms.

The Yoigo "pear" invitation we sent to the press 

Now my quiet time is over and I must get on with more work.  So I shall publish this now whilst wishing you all a great weekend and week ahead.

Till next time

Masha

What every European country is worst at, a meeting in Madrid with my PR and events agencies, Olivia reporting for Telemadrid, Suzy on coffee at Apple in London, the Duchess of Alba dies, progress on the house in Montrondo plus the kitchen and lounge plan, autumn colours and a “madroño” tree in the Retiro Park, buying pelmeni at the Russian shop in Madrid and other stories.

Sunday 23rd November 2014

In the Retiro Park with Eladio yesterday

Hello again,

It is Sunday and I should be on my first walk but it is raining cats and dogs, so here I am writing my post and reflecting on the week. If last week was the busiest in a long time, this week was even busier.  That’s because I am embarked on a very ambitious PR plan which will see me occupied from now until the middle of January.  I have so much to do I can’t find enough hours in the day.  No more reading or watching films for a while I’m afraid and that is quite serious because Downton Abbey Series 5 is on its way from Amazon right now.  I wonder when I will have time to “binge” watch that.

Monday was a great day.  I had a mid-morning meeting with my boss to present a project.  I was so happy when it was accepted and congratulated my teams on the great work we have done together so far.  My teams are external, 2 people from Ketchum our PR agency and 3 sisters, the owners of my events agency QuintaEsencia. 

That morning I wore black and white to work, quite appropriate for a journalist I thought as I drove there.

Dressed in black and white, ready to go to the office on Monday

After my meeting, three of the University students who had interviewed me last week for a study on crisis communication were waiting for me to take a photo together at Yoigo.  Remember I told you last week that their lecturer had thought it wasn’t very professional to have a meeting with me in a cafeteria! 

A photo with some of my University Communications students at Yoigo on Monday, Ruth, Tamara and Alba.

My experience with these students has been very positive.  I really enjoyed answering their questions and advising them about their studies and career.  It made me think that perhaps I would enjoy doing some part time lecturing on PR and communications in the corporate world. 

On Monday I came across the sort of survey I love; “what every European country is worst at”.  It was by no means rigorous but quite a bit of fun.  In short, Finland has the highest depression rate, Spain the highest dropout rate in education, France the lowest proficiency in English, Lithuania the highest suicide rate, Sweden the fewest hospital beds per capita and UK the highest use of cocaine. You can read the full report here. The Danish “worst at” was rather silly; the fewest Zara shops per square metre and annoyingly Russia was not on the list.  I can only conclude that that is because there are too many “worsts” there to choose from hahaha.

What every European country is worst at

Tuesday saw me in Madrid for a morning long meeting with my agencies followed by lunch.  We were to develop our PR plan and agree on the schedule, tasks etc and for the first time ever we held our meeting at the events’ agency’s offices, QuintaEsencia in the heart of the fashionable part of Madrid, on the Lagasca Street. This is a photo of our meeting; the sort of meeting I’m sure my communications’ students’ teacher would not approve of either. 

A very fruitful meeting in Madrid with my agencies Ketchum and QuintaEsencia this week

The meeting was constructive and a lot of fun and we continued working over lunch at a new restaurant which has just opened in Madrid; Casa Carolo. Bea from QuintaEsencia is one of the owners so we all felt very much at home.

Lunch at Casa Carolo on Tuesday.  In the forefront, Isa (left) and Bea (co-owner) right.

I was home on time for my second walk and even to watch Olivia on the TV.  That evening she reported on a financial scandal involving a Chinese gang in an area called “Polígono los Gallegos”.

Olivia reporting on a Chinese gang financial scandal on Tuesday

Later I saw a report she did on wine made in Madrid.  She told me some of the bottles cost 55 euros and when she tasted the wine, she thought it was very good but not worth the price.  For a lot less you can buy an excellent Rioja or Ribera del Duero.

Olivia reporting on wine made in Madrid 

Wednesday started off strangely.  I woke up, looked at the clock without my glasses and it was 8 am, very late for me to get up, so I rushed to get ready and start the day.  Once washed and dressed I put my glasses on and saw that it was not 8 but 6 in the morning, far too early to get up, so I went back to bed fully dressed until 7.30.  I felt such a fool.  Breakfast was with Olivia and Miguel, something I enjoy enormously.  When Miguel is with us, Elsa our golden Labrador is at her happiest.  She really has a thing about him.  I couldn’t help but snap this lovely moment in the day.

Miguel with Elsa our lab at breakfast on Wednesday

Wednesday was a busy day at home, working on the development of our PR plan and all that it entails.  The highlight though was lunch with my great friends Julio and Fátima whom I hadn’t seen for a few months.  We met to celebrate my prize as best communications director in the telecoms sector.  Unfortunately I completely forgot to take a photo.

Thursday was probably the busiest day of the week.  Whilst I was having a meeting at Yoigo Suzy was working at Apple in London as an outsourced dietitian, a part time job she enjoys very much. 

Suzy in the Apple cafeteria in one of their London offices this week

I was impressed when she sent me a photo of “coffee at Apple” whereby you order and choose your coffee on an iPad which is connected to a tap where you place your Apple mug.

Coffee at Apple is ordered via an iPad connected to a tap!

Later a former colleague from Nokia, Roberto, posted on Facebook that he has experienced coffee like this at Apple and another company but that according to him it never worked at the former’s offices.  Whatever the case, working conditions at Apple are magnificent.  They even have what is called a “wellness manager”.

On Thursday I had a lunch appointment with Jill, a global HR manager for Nokia, and her friend Lola who heads up a communications agency in Madrid.  It was a great lunch, part getting to know Lola and part talking about communications and some of my fun experiences at Nokia.  Once again I forgot to take a photo.  I should have because Jill, who is a very beautiful woman, was looking stunning that day.  Just as I was arriving home on time for my walk with Eladio, I realized I had left my PC at the IT sickbay in Yoigo and had to drive all the way back to Alcobendas to pick it up and then drive home again. Thus I wasted 2 hours hours of my day and once home had to catch up on my emails and forego my evening walk.

It was on Thursday that one of Spain’s most famous women died. The quirky, extraordinarily rich, eccentric, frizzy haired, squeaky voiced Duchess of Alba aged 88 had died at her home, Palacio de Dueñas, in Seville that morning.

The Duchess of Alba was quite beautiful when she was young.

There has been so much written about her during the aftermath of her death, including lots of news in the British press.  You can read her obituary here in The Guardian. She was, after all, related to the British monarchy and according to the Guinness Book of Records has more titles than any other noble in the world, including the Queen of England. She also claimed the title of Duchess of Berwick and was a distant relative of King James II, Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales. Her full name was María del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James-Stuart y de Silva.  Some of the eccentric privileges she enjoyed because of these titles were, for example not having to bow to the Pope or to the Queen of England.  Also, she is the only person in the world allowed to enter the Cathedral of Seville on horseback.  I’m not sure she ever did the latter but she may have as she was an accomplished horserider.

In Spain she was known as Cayetana and her more intimate friends called her “Tana”.  Cayetana was Spain’s most rebellious noblewoman, as well as the richest.  In her first marriage to a Duke’s son, Luis Martínez de Irujo, she bore him her 6 children.  He died in 1972 and after his death the Duchess came into her own becoming the rebel she was famous for being.  When she was married to her first husband, Picasso wanted to paint her nude, as Goya did her predecessor in the famous painting (the nude Maja) but she didn’t dare.  6 years after her first husband’s death she fell in love with her Jesuit priest confessor and they married in what was considered in Spain a huge scandal at the time.  Jesús Aguirre made her a widow in 2001 and then when she wanted to marry Alfonso Diez, a commoner 25 years younger than herself, in 2011 the scandal was even bigger.  Her 6 children were so against the marriage that she decided to hand over her inheritance to them before finally marrying her third husband.  In one interview she complained that if it was alright for her children to change their partners, why couldn’t she? 

The frightening looking Duchess the day she married her third husband (25 years younger) in 2011.

Considered a beauty as a young woman (see picture above), she turned into one of the ugliest women I have ever seen as she grew older, with her frizzy hair, huge lips and squeaky voice.  I can only imagine this was because of plastic surgery gone wrong although I don’t know. I once saw her dining at the same restaurant as me, at Annapurna, an Indian restaurant in Spain.  Her life and death will certainly go down in history and the Duchess of Alba will be remembered forever for her rebellious streak and scandalous marriages. RIP “Cayetana”.

Finally on Friday I was able to work quietly at home and had no lunches out.  It was on Friday that the builders of our house in Montrondo sent more photos of the progress.  It is incredibly exciting to see they are fitting in the windows and doors and building the staircases.  They have also started on the porch at the front of the house.

Lots of progress on the house in Montrondo this week

On Friday evening too we received the latest plan of the kitchen/dining room/lounge open space room which will be the most important room in the house.  It was the third attempt and we are very happy with it. Here are some drawings which will give you an idea of how it will look in the end.

The interior decorator's plans for our open space kitchen/dining room/ lounge area in Montrondo. 

The mail arrived just before Eladio and I were going out to dinner, so I printed it and we spent most of our meal at Gino’s discussing the layout.  I wrote to the decorator Raquel to tell her how pleased we are with the design.

Yesterday Saturday was a lovely day.  I should mention that the weather has been great all week and that autumn colours in Madrid were at their best.  We were to have lunch with José Antonio and Dolores but decided to go early into Madrid so as to enjoy the morning in the beautiful Retiro Park; Madrid’s equivalent to Hyde Park or Central Park and every bit as good or even more beautiful in my mind.  The photo illustrating this week's post is of Eladio and I at the park on Saturday.  We took many photos and they came out really well because the light was ideal.

We had a lovely walk in the Retiro Park yesterday

On our walk around the park we came across a “madroño tree".  “Madroño” means the “arbustus” fruit but is more commonly known as a “strawberry tree” as the fruit is supposed to look similar to strawberries.  I disagree and I am sure you will too when you see the photo below; a close up of the fruit I brought back to put in this vase on my desk.

"Madroño" fruit I picked at the Retiro Park.  The redder the fruit is the sweeeter the berry is.

You may not know but actually the “madroño” tree, or rather the bear and the madroño tree are a symbol of Madrid.  I knew that but did not know why and had never seen a real tree until Saturday in the Retiro.  I looked it up and this is the explanation I found on Wikipedia: “Madrid was originally thought to be named Ursa, which means "bear" in Latin. The reason for this is the area had at one time been a frequent spot for bears who would inhabit the nearby forest. Within this forest there are the "madroño" trees that have fruit growing that closely resembles strawberries, hence the bear and madroño symbol you see frequently used around Madrid.” If you have visited the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, I’m sure you have seen the statue below; a symbol of the city.

The bear and "madroño" tree statue in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid which tourists flock to see.

You can see the full collection of photos we took at the Retiro park here.

Lunch with Toño and Dolores was a lovely relaxed affair and we were joined by Juan, their youngest son, and his partner Cristina who is due to give birth to Toño and Dolores’ first grandchild just after Christmas. There is no name yet for the baby but I have a feeling it will be nicknamed “Toñín” which is what they are calling it whilst they finally decide on a name.

Whilst in Madrid I wanted to visit the Russian shop to buy frozen “pelmeni” (sort of Russian ravioli), so after lunch with the family we drove to one. I used to shop at a place called Tienda Bravo but it had shut down.  Thus we went to Mist Market (formerly called Yulya) near the Atocha train station.  It was actually run by Ukranians and there were plenty of them and Russians peacefully talking and buying produce in the well-stocked shop.  Here I bought various bags of pelmeni, a few cartons of “smetana” (Russian sour cream), a Russian newspaper for my Father and a bag of sweets he loves and which we used to call “krufki” at home.  It took me a while to explain what sweets I was looking for when the penny finally dropped and I was shown “karovki” which is the proper name.

Outside the Russian shop Mist Market in Madrid yesterday where I bought "pelmeni".

Once home, I had a long conversation on the phone with Suzy where we discussed point by point the items she had to give in or explain about after the assessment she received from the HCPC regarding her registration as a dietitian in England.  You would have thought that with her two degrees in Spain and her experience working as a dietitian for the last 8 years, she would automatically receive the “number” from the HCPC to be able to work as a fully qualified dietitian in the UK.  But that is not so, so right now Suzy is fully immersed in sending in everything they require by Friday next week.  Keep your fingers crossed.

And today is Sunday and it has just stopped raining as I finish this post.  So I shall leave you now and publish this later in order to go on our walk, come home, make lunch and have a well-deserved siesta to recharge my batteries as the week coming up will be just as busy as this one.

That’s it for this week folks, wishing you all the best, until next Sunday,

Cheers Masha