The world against Putin, the Ukrainians fight back, RIP Magda, reasons to smile and the stories of our week.

Sunday 6th March, 2022.

Despite everything that is going on, there are always reasons to smile in life. Coffee out with Eladio is one of them.  

Good morning all.

We are now into the second week of Putin's war against Ukraine. I am so shocked at events. I can't believe what is happening and am glued to the news every day. So why I am more shocked at the invasion of Ukraine and not at Putin's aggression in Afghanistan, Georgia, Chechenia or Syria? Because, my friends, Ukraine belongs to Europe and this aggression is knocking on our doors. Just as our ancestors were shocked to the core upon the eves of the First and Second World Wars, we are in a similar position today. If we let Putin continue his diabolical plan, the rest of Europe is in danger too as is peace and unity in the world. 

I have deliberately written Putin's war and not Russia's war as I  believe  many people in Russia are silently against it. Outwardly demonstration against it is dangerous and many have been arrested. In these past 10 days Russians have taken to the streets, including the elderly  activist Yelena Osipova who reportedly survived the Siege of Leningrad. They have arrested more than 7000 people, including children!

Yelena Osipova arrested for demonstrating against war in Ukarine. 

Foreign press has been suppressed and any Russian media reporting unfavourably on the invasion, a word they are not allowed to use, can now be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison! Just in case, the BBC pulled out its news staff there and can only now report on Russia from outside Russia. The West has also suppressed Russian fake news or disinformation news sites such as Russia Today or Sputnik. Other foreign news outlet have followed suit, such as Spain's state TV who Oli and Miguel work for; RTVE. Soon we will have no independent reporting from Moscow. That also means the Russians are only fed government controlled news outlets. That then means many Russians believe their government and think that the invasion (a forbidden word) is justified and that their troops only target military objectives. Many Ukrainians have family in Russia and I have read accounts of the latter not believing the images sent to them of Russian civil bombardments. That is because the Russian people have been brainwashed by Putin and Putin alone. 

The rest of the world is mostly against the war which is getting more and more violent, as I am and fervently so.  The Ukrainians are valiantly fighting back and creating resistance to the stunned no longer called "Red Army". I believe Russian troops lack morale and motivation.   They also lack strategy and it seems are having problems with food and fuel supplies on Ukrainian terrain. I read that they were given rations for 3 days as Putin thought he win over Ukraine in that time. They have been forced there and I truly believe those Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil are not happy with their lot.  Most of them were not told the truth of the mission. I think many must feel hesitant  attacking their "brothers" as after all these two countries are intrinsically linked in many ways. They will not have the motivation they had in Afghanistan - if they had any at all - or Syria. This is Ukraine, a country close to their hearts. If history were to repeat itself, the Russian people and only the Russian people could be the downfall of Vladmir Putin, a dictator not unlike Hitler in his quest for expanding his empire. He wants a return to the USSR but the world won't let that happen or at least I hope it won't.  We can impose as many sanctions as we want but Putin will remain in his bunker in his mad bubble and continue his madness.  They say a picture tells a thousand words. Well this one does. It shows how Putin is alone in the world - sitting at his famously large table and a photo of Zelensky eating with his team. I don't need to say more. The picture says it all.

Putin alone, Zelensky with his team. 

It is the ordinary Russians who will suffer and only they can topple him down just as their grandparents and  great grandparents toppled Tsar Nicholas II. Could history repeat itself?  Meanwhile, Putin has sent hit men to Kyiv to kill the courageous President, Zelensky but wouldn't it be great if Putin himself was killed by henchmen from his own country?  There have been 3 assassination attempts on his life which, according to The Times, were foiled because "disaffected FSB (secret service) officers leaked the details. No doubt, the CIA are looking for him like they did with Sadam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden but that could take years. Without Putin the world would be a better place. Right now we are witnessing the worst war in Europe since WW2 and we don't know when it will be over. With valiant Ukrainian resistance and military help from the Western world this could be a long drawn out war. But it could also end fast if Putin ramps up the bombing.  Putin should look at his history books though and remember how the small country of Finland beat the Russians in the last century or how they left Kabul with their tails between their legs. In 1939 Stalin attacked Finland expecting it to fall within days but the Finns fought back and it was almost  a year before the Winter War was over. The Finns  did this fighting in a similar way to Ukraine. I think Putin thought the invasion would be a push over and that he would get rid of Zelensky and replace him soon with a puppet leader. But he was wrong. Volodymyr Zelensky has emerged as a national hero. He was once an actor and clown. Now he is not acting and there is no fun in his motivational speeches and videos. The world is taking him seriously and he has the backing of the whole country. He is the force behind their resistance. 

Volodymyr Zelensky has emerged as a national hero

He is in fact Jewish which would not matter at all but Putin is saying his invasion is to "denazify" the country. I would say that it is Putin who is emulating the Nazis as I mentioned above. Photos of a fake Time magazine cover insinuate that.  Let me share it with you.

Fake Time magazine cover that captures the spirit of our times

Putin is now threatening the world with nuclear power. But would he press the button? We don't know. I sincerely hope he won't but he is mad enough to do so. He has been mad enough to bomb the Ukrainain nuclear power station in  Zaporizhzhia which it now controls. It is Europe's largest and imagine if it had been blown up completely. There is a photo circulating of a dove over Putin's head which I don't need to describe as you can see it below. 

The photo that brought me trouble on Facebook

I innocently posted it on social media and as a headline wrote "f*ck Putin". I was shocked when I got sudden replies from an enraged pro Putin Russian. She was none other than a former colleague at Nokia who used to be the head of communications for Nokia Russia and when we worked together we became good friends. She told me in no uncertain terms how wrong I was and that the Ukrainian government was fascist and that her country followed Putin 100% and that he had no other option than to invade the country. I was stunned. It was evidence of how many Russian people are brainwashed by Vladimir Putin. I looked at her Facebook feed and it was full of venom against the west. Instead of getting into a verbal brawl I chose to delete her comments. What would you have done?

With the most draconian sanctions ever, Putin and the Russian people are being cornered financially and technologically. Ukrainians are calling for the west to close its air space - a "no fly zone". If Nato did so it would have to fight Russian aircraft and that would mean entering in military conflict with Russia and the start of World War 3. For the moment that is completely off the cards. Sanctions are the answer for the moment. Before the invasion Biden and other leaders repeatedly said NATO would not intervene, possibly giving Putin more motivation to invade. I am not sure if it is off the cards forever. Nothing ever is. We only have to remember when the US said it would not enter the two last World Wars and that they did eventually. Maybe "eventually" is the wrong tactic as meanwhile many people's lives will be destroyed, not to mention a whole country. But then when I read that Biden told the Finnish PM he would intervene if Russia attacked Finland which is not a NATO member, I wondered why Finland and not Ukraine. 

Commercial airspace is being shut to Russia, Turkey has blocked the Black Sea for Russian ships, Apple has stopped sales of its products in Russia and even Boeing refuses now to maintain Russian owned Boeing planes.  Many other companies have followed suit including Visa and Mastercard (ouch).  The west has blocked half of Russia's reserves, many Russian banks have been blocked from the Swift international payment system and there are restrictions on Russian assets in many parts of the world. The super rich oligarchs have been targeted too and it goes on even to include sport and culture sanctions which means Russian athletes will not be able to compete in any international sporting competition.  And even though no country is sending the military to fight on the ground, many are sending military equipment. The fact that Germany is one of  those countries is considered historical.

 But  there is also a cyber war playing out that is hurting Russia. Those fighting, including the group Anonymous, are playing the Russians at their own game and they are winning. Hundreds of Russian sites have been hacked as has Russian TV. Hackers were able this week to air the Ukrainian national anthem on Russian TV as well as non doctored news on the invasion in Ukraine. 

Anonymous cyber warfare against Russia

It all feels good and I can only imagine these tactics are providing ammunition as morale for the Ukrainian people. The world is against Putin that is obvious. The only "if" is China but even China would not want to be seen as a pariah country like Russia and be subject to sanctions  as, after all, the world is their market. So they are being very cautious. Putin's only friend is the Belarus dictator, Lukashenko from where he lets the Russians attack Ukraine. His country will soon be subjected to similar sanctions and so it should. 

Meanwhile an estimated 1.3 million Ukrainians have fled the country and up to 7 million could do so if the war carries on for long. Where will they go? Many to border and EU countries. Luckily the EU has stepped up and is waiving visas and such to allow them entry. But how awful to have to leave your country, your home and your life and see your country slowly being turned into rubble.  Since the war began my thoughts have often turned to a Ukrainian woman I know very well; Zena who lives and works in Spain and was my father's weekend carer. If you know a Ukrainian I think the emotional impact of what is happening gets even stronger. I am relieved though that her family hails from Ternopol near Lviv in the western part of the country, near both the Polish and Belarus border. It seems the only safe haven right now and many Ukrainians are flocking there or passing through on their way to Poland. But even so Zena and her family are afraid. Right now Lviv is safe but for how long? 

Our stories of the week pale in comparison. We are lucky that Ukraine is over 4.500km away and that Spain is not one of Putin's targets. But in the end we shall all be affected one way or another. Life is a lottery and despite our nasty ex KGB operative invading our home - he once worked alongside Putin - I have nothing to complain about.

We left green and leafy Asturias last Sunday at around midday vowing we would be back as soon as events let us. The highlight of the day was lunch at the La Cueva restaurant in the small village of Alar del Rey in the province of Palencia. The food is smashing to use an old fashioned term. Here is Eladio about to eat his bowl of bean and hare stew. Hare as meat is pretty rare these days and not something I would ever choose but my husband loves it.

Lunch at Alar del Rey last Sunday

We were home just before 6. As soon as we had settled in we drove to Oli's flat to see the grandchildren and take them presents - toys I had bought in Llanes. We also took a basket heaving with wonderful Asturian products for their parents. We only went on a quick visit and were home for dinner and then to bed. It was wonderful to be in our own ginormous and comfortable bed - no bed in the world beats it for me - but I found it hard to sleep. That's maybe because I was back to reality - FT in the room next door.

I was up at 6 am on Monday morning. I had an appointment with the Social Security people about my retirement pension application which I had made on 10th February, 2 days after I turned 65. The appointment was in Aranjuez - a pretty town - but so far from home; 60km o so. That's because I couldn't get one anywhere near home on an earlier date.  I'm glad I went as some information was missing from my application which I had done online. That was rectified and I was told I had to wait up to one and a half months for the application to be processed. Meanwhile, I wouldn't get paid of course. What a pathetic system. It should be automatic for God's sake. But I got good news on Thursday morning. It seems my pension application has been resolved and approved and I shall be one of the few fortunate pensioners in this country to receive the maximum pension. I read that out of over 9 million pensioners in Spain only  a few thousand receive maximum payment. I obviously deserve this as I have been paying taxes and contributing to my pension for 40 years. But I was worried something would go south. For once I got some really good news. When I get my first pension payment we shall go out and celebrate. We need reasons to celebrate these days. 

That early morning excursion plus having slept probably not more than 4 hours the night before, had me shattered all day.  In the afternoon I had a quick skype call with Amanda to catch up. Then we were out again to join Oli and the kids as Miguel was working late this week not arriving home till 11 pm. Thus we had dinner together and we helped Oli bathe Elliot and Juliet. The most challenging part was getting Elliot into his pyjamas. I remarked to Oli that I had managed to do so and she laughed and said "yes, but you are sweating". I was hahahaha.

We were home on time to see an interview on TVE1 with the Spanish President Pedro Sánchez which mostly focused on the invasion of Ukraine. Coincidentally Miguel was one of the cameramen at the Moncloa palace, the seat of the Spanish government. RTVE which is state owned has to tow the party line in a way and I would have liked to see the interviewer, Carlos Franganillo, corner him more. He tried to but in far too subtle a way. He tried to pressure the President into answering why Spain was not sending arms  to Ukraine like other EU countries. Most of us watching reckoned that's because it is a coalition government and Podemos, the communist party, in coalition would not agree. They still think diplomacy is the way and it is not as we have seen.  Shame on Spain I thought. But maybe Franganillo's question nudged the President to change his mind as two days later, Sánchez, made a volte face when he announced that Spain would be sending offensive military equipment. This is on top of what the EU as a whole will be sending. 

I slept better than night. But I imagine my dear friend Sandra who lives in Brussels didn't. Sadly, her mother Magda aged 96 died on Monday morning. She had been ill and in hospital and even had Covid and was not able to recover. So sad. I last saw Magda in March 2019, just before the Covid lock downs. Here is a lovely photo with her; one I treasure.

With Magda in Brussels in March 2019

I was glad  that Sandra's brother and daughter, Paul and Ambra who live in Italy were able to be with Sandra and Magda. RIP Magda. Magda's life was not easy. As Sandra her loving daughter said in her tribute at the funeral on Thursday, Magda made three great journeys in life. The first was from Hungary in 1947 all the way to India and then in the 70's to London  - she had dreamed of a house with a garden in England as a child. Her final journey was to live with her daughter in Brussels a few years ago. Magda married an Italian and her journeys helped her learn English and Italian and no doubt some French. She was never the wife of a husband who kept her. Instead she set up her own business as a textile agent in London when they moved from Bombay. Magda. I loved knowing you. You were fun to be with. Not many ladies in their mid 90's can manage a Facebook account and current technology but you could.  You were a strong and wonderful woman. Magda survived the war in Hungary and would be appalled by the invasion of Ukraine, just as my mother would have been.

Tuesday dawned and as there is no peace for the wicked, my morning was to be interrupted by a journalist, Jessica, from the TV station Cuatro (Programme called "Todo es mentira"). She wanted to interview Felipe. I hoped she wanted to interview us too but she didn't which had me a bit wary. She came at around 10 am and knocked on his door repeatedly but he wouldn't open although he did talk and agreed to be interviewed later. And he kept his word. At 3.30 or so Jessica met him outside our house and interviewed him. As usual he said he wasn't a KGB spy and didn't belong to the mafia. He also told her, as usual, that he wasn't leaving until a judge ordered him to do so. Well, there is nothing new there. He did however threateningly remark that the judge might be on his side. If he is I think we have proof that someone somewhere is protecting him. Is he an informant here in Spain? I sincerely hope not.  

None of this made me happy and made me long for a carefree world. I want normal life back; no Covid, no invasion of Ukraine and no invasion of my house. Only then  will our normal world return.

However, we try to lead the most normal life we can. We went on our walk and again that afternoon joined Oli and the kids to give her a helping hand until Miguel was home. That day was Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras, Martes de Carnaval) and it is a tradition in the UK to eat pancakes. It isn't here but it is for me. Shrove Tuesday marks the beginning of Lent after which Christians are supposed to fast for 40 days. We won't fast for 40 days but we ate the pancakes which are made of flour, milk and eggs, all not to be eaten during Lent. I wonder if anyone does this anymore. I suppose Lent is a bit like Ramadan. The fasting is in imitation of Jesus Christ's fasting in the wilderness before his crucifixion.  I made the pancake mix in the morning and on our way to Oli's house bought strawberries, raspberries and cream as one of the fillings. I started making them at 7.15 and I only finished at 8 pm. Making pancakes at Oli's house reminded me of my mother making the Russian version of pancakes - blini - the difference being the latter contain yeast - for a blini dinner with colleagues and friends. She was in the middle of making them when she cut her finger - she actually cut it right off - and was taken to hospital. The dinner went ahead though and she came back with her finger whole again thank goodness. It went ahead because I took over making the blini. I must have been only 15 or so and it was quite a challenge. I had my Aunty Masha - my mother's younger sister - to help but it was only verbal help as she was on crutches after a hip operation. I do remember that the blini dinner went off well in the end. These were my thoughts as I made pancakes on Tuesday night. 

The pancakes I made for Shrove Tuesday at Oli's house

Soon it was time to help bathe the babies again and we only left at around 10 pm feeling, I have to confess, exhausted. But, it had been fun.

We came home to watch the tail end of the news. That day the Russians had blasted the telecommunications tower in Kyiv and a 60km long convoy of Russian military was heading there too - it is still held up, mostly stuck in mud.  Notice the spelling of the Ukraine capital. I was brought up to write Kiev but that my friends is the Russian spelling, not the Ukrainian. In the same way I now no longer refer to "The Ukraine" but to "Ukraine". I always used the former but learned recently that after independence in 1991 when the USSR fell, the latter is the official name of the country. I do know though that neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian languages include the use of the article "the". So maybe this makes sense. If you have ever listened to Russians speaking English you may have noticed some of them not using the article "the". That is the telltale sign they are Russian (or Ukrainian). 

Soon it was Wednesday and that day I had no urgent appointments or journalists coming - I can't take anymore of the latter.  So that day we did the food shopping as after our trip to Asturias and return our cupboards were getting bare. We love our food shopping outings as we don't do much else exciting these days. They are always accompanied with coffee out together and Wednesday was no different. On my desk at home there is a picture of the two of us shortly after we met and fell in love in the summer of 1980. I noticed I had a cup of coffee in my hand. So it seems our coffees together are something of a tradition; a tradition I started when I first met my husband who was not then a coffee drinker. In that picture I was just 23 and Eladio 35 and we have been in love ever since. That is another reason to smile. Oli pointed out my hair looked good. It was curly because I must had a perm which were so fashionable in the late 70's and early 80's. I wouldn't want one now though. It used to make my hair very frizzy. 

Coffee time with Eladio in 1980, the summer we met and fell in love. I wonder who took the photo because I am not looking at the camera. I remember Eladio's top and my cheap white necklace. Who would have known then what the future held in store for us? 

That day we went again to Alverán where we usually go and where Abel, the waiter, serves us our coffee just as we like it. The sun was shining and I captured a smiling Eladio having his coffee in a carefree moment. He later took a photo of me with my coffee.  That's the one I have chosen for this week's feature photo. A photo of peace and calm in the middle of turmoil. 

Eladio smiling over his coffee at Alverán on a sunny day this week.

 

I posted these photos on social media with the comment "there are always reasons to smile" and there are. Happiness, I have learned and always say, comes from the small moments of joy in life such as coffee together in harmony. I'm sure you agree. So what are our reasons to smile? Our marriage which is like a rock, our family, Pippa (of course), our financial stability, the country we live in with all its faults is still marvelous, our relatively good health (that should come first perhaps) and above all the peaceful life we live. If I think about the poor Ukrainians suffering, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Our worries are just minor, including the horrible Russian squatter. He has invaded our house but we know that at some time he will go. It is our grandchildren who give us perhaps the biggest joy. And here they are aged nearly 2 and a half years and 6 months. 

Our grandchildren, Elliot and Juliet, the loves of our lives; another reason to smile. 

Once again in the early evening we drove to Oli's house to give her a hand with the kids. We caught Elliot trying to eat spaghetti and I have to share this funny photo.

Elliot having dinner (hahaha)

For some reason he hadn't eaten at school that day so Oli made his favourite meal: "spag bol". It's most children's favourite dish and with my girls it was no different. When they were small I would take off all their clothes while they ate it hahahaha, so as not to stain their clothes.

Soon it was bath time and I helped bathe both babies. It was exhausting but fun too. I love the moment when I pick up baby Juliet from the water and also when I wrap a towel around Elliot and take him to his bed to dry. His trusting little eyes look up to me and we gaze at each other with love. 

We were home earlier that night just as the news had begun. It was dire, Russia was stepping up its military attack and cities in Ukraine were being bombed right left and centre. The war will go on and it's hard to watch.

Thursday came and the weather was to take a step for the worse. After weeks of glorious sunshine, it was supposed to rain and it did robbing us of our walk.  But Spain needs the rain so our walk didn't matter. They talk about mad dogs and English men in the rain but I have lived too long in Spain to want to go for a walk and get wet. We did go out though on two small errands, always an excuse for a coffee out. Our first destination was the local health centre where I had to request a new card after the change from residency to Spanish nationality. Finally I am in the system with my new DNI (documento nacional de identidad). From there we went to Alverán where we had a coffee. I had a "vigilante" (sort of straight sugary croissant) with my foamy coffee. It was to celebrate that my retirement pension application had been approved, word of which I got that morning.  

Celebration coffee (just as I like it) with a "vigilante" on Thursday

Once again in the early evening we went to Oli's house to help with the kids and once again we had dinner together. I brought ingredients for a chicken salad and Oli made a Catalan dish called "calçots". These are a type of green onion or rather onion or leek sprout. They are grilled or baked and served with romesco sauce which Oli made from scratch. We loved the combination. 

Calçots with romesco sauce

Bathing Elliot was a challenge again but worth it for that wonderful moment when I carry him in my arms wrapped in a towel and our eyes meet. God bless Elliot and little Juliet.

We were home on time for the news. That day the team from TVE1 were broadcasting from the Polish Ukrainian border. Oli, as a journalist, told me that that is where she would want to be right now; me too. So many people have gone there to help the refugees. I wish we could drive there and pick up a family to bring them here. If I were younger I wouldn't hesitate. Others were crossing the border into Ukraine to join the fight; some of them were non Ukrainians who would enlist in the international brigade. Good for them. By Thursday the news was dire. Macron spoke for 90 minutes on the phone to Putin and later an aide said the worst was to come. He intends not to stop until he has taken the whole of the country. After the assassination attempts on Zelensky's life  he no longer appears on videos by known landmarks so as not to be targeted. Targeted were Ukraine's main cities, including those with access to the sea. The final target will be Odessa, the prize as well as Kyiv of course. The Russian troops don't seem to be discriminating between military or civilian targets and there are thousands of casualties. In some areas people are without water or electricity and of course finding food must be hard and dangerous, not to mention it is freezing cold everywhere. 

We watched the news and then two programmes covering the war until very late. I woke up on Friday morning with a cold. Worried it was Covid I took a lateral flow test. Phew it was negative. The last thing I need right now is Covid. 

That morning Oli and I drove, with Juliet in the back, to the courts in Móstoles again - yes, that God forsaken and ugly suburban town outside Madrid. Apologies to anyone from Móstoles but I hate it so much because of the court which is so hostile to us. Even they though should admit it is an ugly town. What are its saving graces I wonder? I haven't found any. Well, maybe, yes, the saving grace is a court official called Luis who is the clerk in charge of the court where our hearing on 17th March will take place. He is always kind enough to let Oli, the baby in her pram and I into his office. He remains neutral but is not hostile and that day explained the legal situation. What we learned that day was a relief; the court case will  focus exclusively on the economic dispute; nothing else. Good. As to the date of eviction, set for 4th April, we learned it would probably be later. Oh well. 

Oli dropped me off at BM a quality supermarket where I buy our fish. The only drawback is the fishmonger counter queue. I was there for half an hour but had brought back fresh hake for dinner. Oli and the kids came for dinner that night instead of us going to her her place. That was because Lucy had left for the weekend and we didn't want to leave FT alone in the house. No, we can never do that I'm afraid. Dinner was simple and healthy except for the "I keem" (Elliot's pronunciation of ice cream)  and we had it in relative peace. 

We were in bed late, by about 10.30 and again watched news about Ukraine. I cannot get enough of it I'm afraid as I watch in trepidation, worried about how Putin will then expand beyond the country it is now destroying. 

Saturday dawned and as usual my first thoughts were about the war. Yesterday the situation in Ukraine can be best summed up by a map I stole from yesterday's edition of The Times. Well, I am a subscriber so I suppose the paper won't mind.

The situation in Ukraine yesterday, according to a map published in The Times. 

It is obvious from the map and the Russian tactics that the the objective is Odessa, Ukraine's port on the Black Sea. Capturing Odessa would cut the country off from the sea creating a land bridge with Crimea. It would also basically destroy Ukraine's economy, blocking exports of cereals, animal and vegetable oils.   Yesterday a cease fire that had been agreed to create a humanitarian route out of the town Mariupol on the sea but the Russians did not keep their word and continued bombing it. Today there will be a fresh attempt. 

After reading the news I did the daily Wordle game in both English and in Spanish and got better results than usual.  Today, I did the English version in just 2 attempts (fluke probably). Maybe that has to do with my asking friends on Facebook what words they use at the beginning. I had been using mostly "adieu" to get in as many vowels as possible but had also tried others. That day my first word was "arise". I was in luck as the r, the i and the s were in the mystery word and all in the right place. I got it in 3 tries. I was even luckier with the Spanish version; my first word being "aireo" and got it right on the second guess. If you are interested, these are the words some of my friends suggested for the first guess: story, opera, stair, stare, spate, resin, fault, satin, grout, and aside. What are yours?

Yesterday was the quietest day of the week and we were given time off vs a vs looking after the grandchildren. We went for our walk in the sun and returned to make a delicious lunch of stuffed shoulder of lamb. I spent the afternoon in between reading news of the war and watching the final episodes (again) of Line of Duty. I am now watching the much calmer and peaceful period drama, The Gilded Age by the maker of Downton Abbey. It is set in 19th Century New York .

Today is Sunday. We are alone except for FT (fed up of his presence) and we have no special plans for today. The day is ours for the taking but we can't leave the house so I suppose our day will pan out much like yesterday. I am not complaining. There is nothing to complain about when people are suffering the invasion of their country. God bless Ukraine. 

With that said, cheers till next week.

All the best Masha

War in Europe, Putin invades the Ukraine while we all watch in fear and the stories of our week.

 Sunday 27th February 2022

Photo of the week, me with a smile on my face in one of my favourite locations, Niembro

Dear all,

How has your week been?  On the world scene, this was the week Putin invaded the Ukraine. But no doubt you already know that. This is Europe's darkest moment since WW2. Putin has gone mad and is on a mission to demiliarise and "denazify" the Ukraine which he claims is historically Russian. His main fear that the Kiev government joins Nato. For weeks tension increased on the Ukraine border where he mobilised up to 200.000 troops. For weeks peace keeping talks took place but in vain. Joe Biden, no doubt with up to the minute info from the CIA, took him seriously and warned an invasion was coming any time. He was right, the time came on 24th February 2022, a date that will go down in history. The repercussions are not just for the Ukrainanian people but for the whole world. 

As to us, well this week brought a change. On Monday we left for our house in Asturias, the first time we have been since October. We left Lucy to hold the fort with FT hidden away in "his" room and a house full of guests first from Finland and then from France. Bookings are on the up. 

Last Sunday was quiet for us but it wasn't for Buckingham Palace PR staff. They issued a press release to tell the world HM The Queen had tested positive for Covid. Bless her I thought. Aged 95, this is not a good thing. However we were told her symptoms were mild and that she would carry on working but carrying out light duties. 

BP announced last Sunday that the Queen had tested positive for Covid

My goodness. Amazing that at her age she has to work still. Wouldn't it be great if politicians and royalty could also retire at around 65? If that were so though, her son the Prince of Wales whom she caught Covid from would be on the throne. Well, actually he would have retired too and it would be his son William and wife Kate who would be King and Queen (Consort) of my home country.  Well, that's a thought. But, I, like the vast majority, never want to see that happen. If only the Queen could carry on forever. Whether you are for or against royalty I am sure nearly everyone in the world appreciates the British Monarchy because of the Queen and the Queen alone. 

Covid is still very prevalent in the UK, otherwise maybe HM would not have caught it.  So why, oh why is Boris Johnson announcing the end of all Covid restrictions? I really don't get it. Do you? I don't get why old Boris the clown is still in power either, do you? I mean after his appalling behaviour just no one believes in him anymore or almost no one. Yet he is still there, hanging on. He has important topics to deal with that could distract the news of partygate but then who is listening on the world stage when he talks about the Russia Ukraine crisis?  No, the real statesman here is his French counterpart (ouch Brexit) Emmanuel Macron, who last Sunday spent 3 hours on the phone to Putin trying to work out a diplomatic solution to an imminent invasion of Russia's neighbour. It was Macron who orchestrated a summit to be held in person with Putin and Biden - that actually never happened. Could Johnson have managed that? No. It seems that Putin only listens to Macron from the Western Powers but could the Frenchman prevent war? No. In the end Putin played with him too. No one could with that madman in the driving seat. The world watched as Russia gathered the biggest military display on the Ukraine border along with Belarus (God forbid) since anything seen since WW2. I personally thought last week that it would never happen. But my thoughts went back to my father's opinion of an impending war when he visited Berlin in 1938. Ever the optimist he told me that although Nazi signs were everywhere, he said  "I thought it would all blow over". Well, it didn't did it. 

Life here was very very quiet - not unlike a phony war. Spain is far away from Russia and the Ukraine but repercussions will hit the whole world for sure. We may have to prepare for a cyber world attack from evil Putin and who knows what else. For sure this invasion is not only going to affect the Ukraine, it is going to affect the whole world in some way or other. Already high power prices soared the day after the invasion and soon some will find it too expensive to fill their tank or warm their homes. 

But it was all quiet on the Western Front here.  On the home front, our day was without event. It wasn't though for little Elliot who is not yet 2 and a half. He is a great fan of the comic series set in Wales called Fireman Sam. So he was delighted when his family was invited to a real fire station where one of the parents from the school works as a Spanish firefighter. If Elliot could talk properly and I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up, no doubt right now he would say a fireman. I hope he doesn't choose that profession. I really do. But I was happy to see him enjoying his outing with other children. Here are some photos Oli and Miguel sent us where we could see Elliot being Fireman Sam for one day bless him. 

Elliot - Fireman Sam for one day

For us it was an extremely quiet day with nothing to report really. We did not see or hear our squatter Felipe Turover who had not left his room since Friday. I seriously wondered whether he had taken his life. Why did I think that? Well, there was a precedent when a few weeks back he drank alcohol and took an over dose and then later he admitted to me had tried to commit suicide. With all the pills he has available he could do that any time. Was he having me on or was he serious? Those were my thoughts last Sunday. Both Eladio and I agreed if by Monday noon he hadn't left his room we would knock on his door. The consequences for us if he had taken his life were more than terrible. I was glad then that I had warned both the police and his doctor of my worries. So, even though I tried to keep him out of my mind I couldn't help thinking every now and again whether he was dead or alive. Damn the man for spoiling our lives.

Monday came and I got a sudden reservation for a group of 6 young men coming from Finland to our house for 3 nights. They would leave on Thursday and another group, this time, 6 women from France, were coming for the weekend. As we had no appointments of any kind this week, it was the perfect opportunity to go away for a few days leaving capable Lucy in charge. It was on Monday morning we knew FT was alive as a letter arrived for him with some legal heading. I guessed it was to inform him he had been assigned a pro bono lawyer. I didn't want to make our journey public so there was no news this week about our trip on my social media pages. But now I can say it as we are going home today.

We left late at around 12.30 and  stopped once for a late coffee at about 13 and then a not particularly good lunch in Simancas - home to most of Spain's old archives. We were in El Cuetu after 6 I think because I didn't look at my watch. There was Loli our neighbour and the person who looks after the house waiting to greet us and to show us the new door. We loved it. Finally there are no gaps at the bottom for cold to seep in and now there is more light in the house because of the 2 panes in the upper half of the new stable door. Oh, I do love stable doors don't you? Loli had put on the heating in the morning but it was rather cold I have to say. Outside the temperature was mild though. It took 2 days for the house to warm as the central heating here is pretty outdated. 

It took us a while to settle in and at about 8 pm we were sitting down to dinner - a simple tuna fish salad. Later we watched the news - Russia had not yet invaded the Ukraine - and watched a silly war film about General Patton in Africa fighting Rommel the Desert Fox. We both are avid fans of WW2 genre films and series but are not familiar with the war fought in Africa. Later I turned to the far more entertaining Line of Duty. I was interrupted by our guests arriving from Finland. I had to talk to the guest who had booked, a young man called Ihaab - not a very Finnish name - who asked if they could use the pool! I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. I suppose anyone from Finland thinks pools in Spain are open all year. They aren't. Public pools are open only from the middle of June to the middle of September. Ours being private is open from April or May to October but NOT in February. The next day the temperature would rise to 20ºc which I suppose is high for Fins but not for Spaniards. Ihaab later wrote to ask if he could use my car and offered to pay. Again I was astounded. Of course he can't. I don't lend my car to anyone, besides it is not insured for third party drivers. Oh dear I hoped this wouldn't be the beginning of difficult guests while we were away.

 I fell asleep very late and was up on Tuesday morning at 715. I woke up in Asturias and it felt strange but pleasant. We had got away from it all finally but not from world events. 

What was really strange about Tuesday 22nd February 2022 was the significance of the numbers of the date: 22022022. It can be read as the same both from left to right and from right to left which means it is a palindrome. But, it can also be read up upside down, something known as an "ambigram" - a word I had never heard of. 

A very significant date

For numerologists this date meant connection and love or something similar and couples in China scrambled to get married on Tuesday. 

But there was no love or connection on the Russo Ukraine border.  Instead there was bad news that day. In the Ukraine the pro Russian rebel areas of Luhansk and Donetsk were declared independent! 

This was the perfect excuse for Putin to send troops there after having recognised the rebel states as independent. He said he was sending in peacekeeping troops.  Why then was he sending blood reserves to his troops on the border; only because war is or was pending? The West reacted with threats of sanctions but I fear they will not be enough. In a way I thought Putin would only send troops to these areas to support the pro Russian rebels but I was wrong. He is after much bigger fish; the whole of the Ukraine. He wants to topple the pro west Kiev government and put a puppet leader in its place. 

In Spain after the scandal of the war between the opposition party leadership - Pablo Casado vs the President of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, dubbed by the British press as the "Spanish Thatcher" - his right hand man, Teodoro Garcia Egea resigned and there were all the signs Casado himself would do so. The next day he made a goodbye speech in Parliament and next week there will be a big party conference to decide who is to replace him. All bets are on a man called Alberto Núñez Fiejóo. I would prefer to see a woman leading the party but it won't happen. .The news programmes in Spain can't get enough of it. But I am beginning to tire of the story which I reckon will go on for weeks. 

But we didn't have to think about this or about the troubles in The Ukraine as we were back in our lovely house in the mountains in the divinely green area of Asturias on Spain's north coast often called The Green Coast. It was to be a sunny day and ours for the taking. That felt good. 

Our house in the sun

By the time we were ready to leave it was around 11 o'clock. We headed for the beautiful seaside town of Llanes, one we have come to know very well. It's quite upmarket in this area and very unspoiled. I could live there I love it so much. As usual we parked near the town beach, El Sablón and I was lured there as soon as I got out of the car. It was warm enough to sit on the beach but not to swim as the sea was rough. I loved watching the waves.

Eladio and Pippa by the Sablón beach in Llanes on Tuesday morning

Once we'd had our fill of that beautiful scene, we headed to the centre via the castle and old paved streets to the main square, one of our favourites; Plaza Sobrino Parres. Countless Spanish films have been filmed here as it it like time has not passed. We had coffee at La Galerna like we always do and sat in the sunshine enjoying the coffee and just being where we were as well as appreciating the moment.

Coffee (Fika) at La Galerna on Tuesday 

The danger or the advantage of having coffee at La Galerna is the temptation to go to the lovely butcher gourmet store called Aramburu opposite the cafe. I cannot resist it and that day spent the most I have ever have at that enticing shop.

Irresistible Aramburu

Everything it sells is of the highest quality and I can't resist quality when it comes to food. There I purchased Iberian ham, "cecina" (a sort of braseola), fish mousse (pastel de cabracho), meat pie, sardines, free range eggs, cheese for Eladio as well as the best kind of chorizo. I felt happy with my purchases knowing we would be enjoying loving dinners from shopping at Aramburu.

We then went in search of a photography shop. I have long wanted to replace a tacky painting of a horse in the lounge here - all the decoration was inherited and some of it is tacky. I wanted to replace it with a photo of the Torimbia beach. So I got the photo enlarged. The problem now is finding a frame but we will.

This is the photo by the way. I know it's good quality as it was chosen by RTVE for a competition. We would revisit that lovely beach the next day. It is famous for being a nudist beach but no one in their right mind would be bathing there in February or so I thought. 

This enlarged photo will soon be framed and hung in our lounge here. Playa de Torimbia

We still had time that morning for our walk and the most obvious choice was the Paseo de San Pedro above the town and Sablón beach. It is one of my favourite walks in the world and whoever designed it should get a prize. 

Eladio on the Paseo San Pedro walkway on Tuesday

We had had a wonderful carefree morning but it was getting late and time for lunch. We had our meal at about 3.15 - some leftovers I had brought from home and then rested but just for a while. It gets dark here at 7 pm and as it was a sunny day we wanted to make the most of it. Thus at around 5.45 we set off for another lovely spot we like and discovered on our last visit here - the village of Niembro with its pretty church, Our Lady of Sorrows on the beach where the sea is more like a fjord. What a wonderful spot. We caught the last of the sun and it was magic to be there. The feature photo is of me across the way from the church. We had the place to ourselves and with such scenery all my troubles seemed to waste away and I was feeling good with the world.

We walked to the end of the road that led to a tiny port and there we climbed up a small hill to get a view of the ocean at sunset. What a wonderful moment. Talk about peace and beauty all wrapped up in one. That's what if felt like.

The sea at sunset near Niembro

We then walked all the way back and across the beach to the little 18th century chapel. What is attractive there is the cemetery if you are into cemeteries. I'm not but am fascinated with this one where the tombs lie on a promontory as if they were on the sea itself. Some of them are very fine and some even have their own chapels. Spanish period series have been filmed here such as El Abuelo and La Señora. I am not surprised. It is a place where time seems to have stood still. There was  angrave for sale and I suggested to Eladio that it would be a lovely place to be buried not that I want to be buried any time soon hahahahah.

At 7, as expected, the sun set and we headed home. Dinner was delicious and easy to serve. Aramburu always comes up trumps. Then it was time for the news and more stories on Spanish politics and Putin's antics in the Ukraine.

That night it took me a while to sleep but for once I was at peace.

Wednesday came and it would be another sunny day and ours for the taking again. We felt happy and privileged and worry free, unless our thoughts turned to our squatter but I was determined he was not going to spoil my mood. That day we headed to Niembro again to the Torimbia beach I wrote about above. We parked on the cliff above it and admired the views of both sides, the Torimbia beach on the left and the smaller Toronda beach on the right. Wow I kept thinking. I cannot get enough of the scenery of this beautiful and rugged coast. There was hardly anyone in sight - the advantage of visiting in February and again we had the place to ourselves literally. I hate crowds so that suited me fine. I took tons of photos and here are two of the best; one of each of us as there was no one to take a photo of the two of us and selfies are not my forte. 

On the cliffs above the beautiful beach of Torimbia

We didn't walk to the end as it was quite a distance but instead walked to the top of the cliffs. We could have walked all the way down but the path was more suitable for goats and my knee was  not up to it as I have a torn meniscus. 

There was nowhere near for our "fika" (mid morning coffee) so we drove back to our nearest town, Posada de Llanes. We both commented it is not exactly "God Forsaken" but has few saving graces. What it does have is a pleasant town square and that is where we sat in the sun and had our coffee. I also went into the very good butchers there to get some prime steak for our lunch one day and into the ironmongers to get some decent kitchen knives.

We were home on time for a healthy lunch of fish with "padrón" green peppers. The afternoon was quiet and only interrupted by David the local carpenter who had made our new door. We have now asked him to make a coffee table out of the old door. I like that idea; preserving the past.

I was up late mesmerised by season 3 of Line of Duty - one of the best - and didn't dare look at my phone to see what time it was when I finally hit the sack.

I woke up on Thursday morning to the terrible news. A few hours earlier, Putin had invaded the Ukraine. So what we were all fearing had finally happened. Of course he was serious if he had gathered up to 200.000 troops on the border of the Ukraine. There was no other news that day. While the madman ordered troops to attack military infrastructure from all fronts and with all his military strength, there was not much the Ukrainian army could do in response. The problem here is that the Ukraine does not belong to NATO so there will be no military support from the west in the country. All the West can do is send military supplies and impose draconian sanctions on Russia. Putin doesn't seem to be afraid of the sanctions, however drastic they are. So the world just watched as the Ukraine was invaded and did little else. The Russians have done it again. When my mother was pregnant with me, she always told me about the Hungarian uprising in 1956 - I was born in 1957 and how it horrified her. I was 11 when the Prague uprising happened and again the Russians went in. I remember too how my mother took in a Czech family who had fled. They stayed in our house for free for many months. Now there will be many Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country. I hope there will be a lot of people like my mother to help them because help they need. I cannot believer there is a full scale war in Europe in 2022.

War or no war life continued quietly here in Asturias. It seemed so far away but it isn't. What if after the Ukraine, Putin goes for the Baltic states or comes knocking on the doors of the rest of Europe? It could happen. Meanwhile cyber attacks rocked the Ukraine and fuel prices, already high, soared in the rest of the world.

It was supposed to rain here on Thursday and although it was cloudy it did not rain. We went shopping to the local supermarket for basic household supplies for future guests. We had coffee in Posada and then drove to Llanes to get money out of the hole in the wall to pay the carpenter. 

In Llanes by the port on Thursday

We had time on our hands and decided to explore the other side of of the coast of Llanes towards the Toró beach. That day the sea was quite rough and I just loved watching the waves hit the rocks and cliffs and the sound of the ocean. 

The sea was rough on Thursday

On that side of the town we discovered a beautiful coastal path and road which we shall be returning to as we loved it so. 

That day we had lunch out. We went to a place in Poó (unfortunate name but pretty village) called Xagarda which looked popular. It was and the food was good and so were the prices. I went for the local bean stew: fabada. Eladio had the menu of the day.

The rest of our day was spent quietly until 7 pm. At that time I had a video call with a friend from the past; Mark A. He was part of the Bradford Grammar School crowd and from my group of friends. I hadn't seen him since we were at University - more than 40 years. We had so much to catch up on. Our call made my day. It was great to talk to you Mark. Really great. It was good to pick up from where we had left off after all these years. But childhood friendships can be very strong and we met in our formative years, years never to be forgotten. Mark used to play rugby for the 1st XVI and we would go and watch him play at the BGS playing fields at the weekend. Being a big guy, he was the perfect doorman for my parties, something we both well remembered. He also remembered my brother playing the piano when he and Simon, Chris, Andy and Tim had a band. He remembered it was at Eldwick Hall. I have vague memories of that. Wonderful.

We chatted for ages until I ran our of battery. We had a quick dinner and then plumped by the TV to watch the recap of the day on the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. The news was chilling to say the least.

Friday came. News from the Ukraine was worldwide. Just one look at the front page of The Times sent shivers down my spine.

Olena Kurilo the symbol of the conflict

The photo is of a teacher called Olena Kurilo. With a bandage on her head and blood on her face, she survived an attack on her home in Chuhuiv in Ukraine's Kharkov (Russian) or Kharkiv (Ukrainian) region. Her photo is one of the most striking of the conflict. So yes Russia was targeting military objectives but it also hit civilians. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians tried to flee the country but not men aged between 18 to 60 who have all been called up to fight the Russians and fight they did. There are many stories of heroism and the Ukrainian Army until Saturday morning at least held the Russians off. But for how long? If the Russians want they could wipe the face of the Ukraine off the world. So why doesn't Nato intervene? First the Ukraine does not belong to the alliance and second if it did it would be all out war between Russia and the 30 members of NATO. One of Putin's main reasons to invade is to stop the Ukraine from joining. Putin went as far this week as threatening Finland and Sweden not to join either. But will he stop at the Ukraine or will he continue and attack the Baltic states, also a former part of the USSR? If he does that then NATO will have to intervene as they are part of the alliance. It is all looking terribly grim. 

Far away here in the north of Spain everything was quiet and again the day was ours for taking. We had some good news when we heard the trial is on 17th March and that the eviction date remains the same, 4th April. We can live with that. It was good news and added a spring in our step on our way to the Picos de Europa - Peaks of Europe, the famous mountain range near our house - just 15km away or so. We had long wanted to visit the tiny village of Bulnes which gives the name to the highest mountain here  - 2.519 metres. The only access apart from mountain paths to the heart of the peaks is via cable car. I wondered how on earth the small group of villagers go about their life with no road access. We arrived early in Poncebos, 8km from Arenas de Cabrales. There were some cars but plenty of room. Try coming here in July or August and it would be impossible.

Entrance to the cable car 

It is an 8 minute ride and dogs have to wear a muzzle or go in the crate provided. Pippa hated the crate but I sat right in front of her all the way to reassure her all was ok. She was much happier when we got to Bulnes.

Pippa was happier outside than in the cable car

We thought the cable car would take us to the middle of the village but no and it's a 5 minute walk on a stone path. The scenery is amazing although being winter there was no green. The sheer rock mountains are very imposing.

Walking into Bulnes from the cable car

The village is tiny with about 3 or 4 people living there all year round. 

In the tiny isolated but pretty village of Bulnes on Friday 

It obviously comes to life in the summer as there were plenty of hostels and bars. Only one was open but the coffee machine needed heating up. We heard there was another part of the village a 10 minute walk up the mountains so off we went. But we made a huge mistake and took the wrong path. We must have walked up a path suitable only for goats that got steeper and steeper until we realised we were on the wrong one. So we walked down the best we could. 

Once back in the village we were able to have our coffee - very late at about 1.30. At 2 we caught the cable car back to Poncebos and then drove home for a very late lunch.

We did not leave the house again until Saturday morning.

By Saturday Russian troops were in Kiev. The Ukrainian resistance is amazing. But soon there will be street fighting, guerrilla warfare and blood on the streets. The streets are mostly empty as many citizens have left. Those who haven't seek shelter in the metro. My heart goes out to them.

Saturday was our last day here and we spent it quietly. Yesterday morning we did some shopping in Posada and then went to have coffee in Llanes. The highlight of the day was a walk on the Paseo de San Pedro. It was sunny and there were people on the beach but it was too cold for us.

Today we shall be leaving and don't know when we will be back. I hope it is soon. I also hope our journey home is uneventful and that all is well at home.

All the best until next week,

Cheers Masha.