Sunday 26th May 2013
 |
| Oli with the wonderful birthday cake made by Ana standing next to the photo call at her birthday party |
Hi everyone,
It’s the last Sunday in May and finally we have some
good weather. My mind this week has been
more in London than here, following Suzy’s adventures but also in Stockholm. The latter is because I have been preparing a
press trip there for most of this last week and tomorrow I will be taking 8 of the
main telecoms Spanish press to visit the country and experience 4G (the new
super fast mobile phone technology) which has been working there since
2009. So I was most surprised to hear
later in the week that this most revered, democratic and calm country had been
witness to violent riots from unemployed immigrants in the suburbs similar to
the outbreaks so common in the “banlieues of Paris”. I’m sure it will be a topic of conversation
amongst us tomorrow.
As usual, let me start from the beginning of last
week, or rather from last Sunday where I left off. Just as I had posted my blog post, RafaelNada beat his arch rival Roger Federer in the Italian Open final which was to
be his 7th title there. It
was the 30th time the pair met and maybe they will meet again soon
at the French Open at Roland Garros.
 |
| Rafa Nadal celebrating his win at the Italian tennis open last Sunday |
Monday was my fasting day. They were difficult at the beginning but now
I actually look forward to them. I had a
meeting in the office that morning and when I am busy I just don’t think about
food.
On Tuesday we woke up to the news of the disaster in
Oklahoma caused by a tornado of the highest possible strength, F5 on the scale
which measures tornados, the Fujita–Pearson scale. It has caused a
billion dollars worth of damage and killed 20 people, 10 of them children. The dantesque scenes, especially in Moore, a
suburb of Oklahoma, remind you of bombing scenes in the 2nd world
war. Buildings were completely destroyed
but few people died in the scale of things because of the tornado shelters most
of the population has access to and which exist because the area lies in what
is called the “tornado corridor”.
 |
| Some of the devastation caused by the tornado in Oklahoma |
Eladio would have heard of the disaster on the radio
in his car that morning when he was on the road early on his way to invigilate exams
at the UNED University. He was to be
invigilating most mornings of last week but would join us for lunch. He was home too to go on our daily walk,
something we never like to miss as I’m sure you know. It keeps us fit but also gives us quality time
together and is an intrinsic part of our lives.
That afternoon before our walk we had a date with our oldest couple
friends, Benito and Loli who were visiting a handicraft exhibition in
Villaviciosa de Odón. Whenever we meet
we always talk about how we met in Saconia where we all lived before we were
married.
Wednesday was Olivia’s 28th birthday but as
she is up so early to start work at 7am, we were not to see her until
lunch. That morning I had an important
appointment in Madrid. The financial
daily, El Economista, had just published the first edition of their new online
technology magazine and wanted to gather together the communications directors
of the main Spanish operators in a round table discussion on the sector. It is I think the first time we were all gathered
together and it was great to stand next to my counterparts in the other
operators who are both friends and foe from the competition. There was Pepe from Vodafone, Fernando from
Orange, Paz from Telefónica, Estefanía from Ono, Beatriz from Jazztel and
little me from Yoigo. This is all of us
together and thanks to the initiative of Antonio L from El Economista who we
all like so much.
 |
| The communications directors of the Spanish operators all gathered together |
After the historic encounter I had to rush back to
prepare for Oli’s birthday lunch. I went
to get her favourite cake made of pastry, cream and raspberries at a cake shop
in Boadilla. They didn’t have it but
offered to make it in just 10 minutes.
The sun was shining, I was feeling happy and had 10 minutes on my hands
so I decided to sit outside and enjoy a cup of coffee. I gave in to temptation and also had one of
their amazing fruit pies which you can see in the picture below.
 |
| A bit of indulgence on Olivia's birthday whilst waiting for her cake to be made |
The birthday lunch was very simple. Oli had asked for
fried eggs and chips which we would later turn into the Spanish dish called “huevos
rotos con jamón” (broken eggs with ham and chips). This is what it looked like before we broke
the eggs.
 |
| Olivia chose egg and chips for her birthday lunch |
At all birthdays in this house there is a cake, cards
and presents. The photo below is of her
reading our card and she looks lovely.
 |
| Olivia on her birthday at lunch |
As we sat around the dining room table we were all
conscious that Susana was not with us.
She is of course in London where she started living just over a week
ago.
I loved the photo she sent to Oli that morning to say
happy birthday. See for yourselves here.
 |
| Suzy's happy birthday photo to Olivia from London |
Her first week has been an intensive start to her
adventure there. She really is starting
from scratch and from the bottom, so there is only room to go up and not down. She and Chati are sharing a small bunk bed
room in a flat of 10 young Spaniards. I
was horrified to learn there are only two bathrooms for all of them. I also looked up their address on Google
Street View. The building looks like a
typical down market 60’s London block of flats in a rather dismal area but Suzy
says it’s brimming with life. I think
the East End is not what it used to be.
In any case they are enjoying their experience enormously. Suzy says there is a spirit of camaraderie
and they are learning the ropes fast; looking for jobs, applying for a national
insurance number, registering themselves as a nurse and dietitian with all the
bureaucracy that involves and even applying for what is called a “job seek
allowance”. They are in a bit of a catch
22 situation in that they cannot open a bank account because they cannot prove
they live in London as their accommodation is illegal and if they don’t have a
bank account they cannot receive a salary.
Hopefully they will find legal and better accommodation soon. Meanwhile Suzy’s English is improving daily
with lots of new vocabulary she never learned from me and she seems to be getting
to know parts of London I have never even heard of, such as Borough Market or
Dalston Roof.
On Tuesday they met up with Oli’s Erasmus Indian friend,
dear dear Sandeep whom we all love so much.
He lives in Cornwall and was in London last week to do some editing for
the Chelsea Flower Show. Here they are
together. Doesn’t Suzy look happy?
 |
| Suzy with Chati and Sandeep on Tuesday in Chelsea |
However she is not following the news, as she is
living in her own little bubble in London and had no idea of the terrible
terrorist attack that happened in Woolwich, an area she has not yet explored
but which is not so far from where she lives in Whitechapel.
On the night of Olivia’s birthday, a young soldier,
Drummer Lee Rigby, was killed and decapitated in full view of the public by two
members of a band of radicalized muslim youth.
The photo of one of them with his hands full of blood ranting in the
street will be remembered for a long time.
He justified the killing in revenge for the killing of muslims in Irak
and other countries by English and American soldiers.
 |
| The mad perpetrator of the Woolwich attack in London |
The next day, Thursday, was my second fasting day of
the week. I was so immersed in
preparations for the press trip I hardly thought about food. My mind was so
busy that afternoon that when I went shopping with Oufa I never noticed my
glasses falling off the neck of my blouse as I left the car to enter the super
market. I went back later to find them
broken on the kerb. Luckily the lenses
are not broken and I am now hoping Visionlab, where I bought them can find a
similar pair to be able to use the lenses.
If not I will have to fork out 600 euros for a new pair of varifocal
glasses. I have another pair but they
are red and as I always wear matching clothes and glasses, my biggest problem
was deciding what clothes to put in my suitcase for Stockholm when in my mind I
had decided on a lot of black and white for next week’s trip. I’m sure you think I am very silly. Well perhaps I am.
 |
| My broken glasses, a sorry story |
On Friday I had to go the office and then rush to
Boadilla for my lunch appointment with Julio and Fátima. It was to celebrate Julio’s birthday and he
invited us for lunch at El Buey where we always go for our celebrations. It being nearly summer salmorejo (a thick
type of gazpacho from Córdoba) was on the menu.
This is what it looked like.
Delicious it was too.
 |
| Wonderful salmorejo at El Buey on Friday with Fátima and Julio |
On Saturday Olivia was having a birthday party at home
for her RTVE colleagues and the girls’ group of friends commonly known as “la
manada” – the herd. I was to help her
prepare for the barbecue which thankfully her boyfriend Miguel took care of in
Eladio’s absence. Her friends Rocío and Dave turned up early to take care of
the decorations. I had made a photo call
and stickers and Anna had made a spectacular cake. It was very original too as it represented
Olivia when she reported on floodings in a river in Valladolid where she got
into trouble with the local authorities for dangerous reporting. The photo illustrating this week’s post is of
Olivia with the amazing cake by the photo call in the garden. Here you can see the cake close up. Isn’t it
amazing? It tasted really good too.
 |
| The amazing birthday cake Ana made for Olivia's party yesterday |
And today is Sunday, everything is cleared away and we
are getting ready for another barbecue.
Eladio’s brother, José Antonio and his wife Dolores and their son, Juan
(Eladio’s godson) and his girlfriend Cristina will be here for lunch
today. I spent part of yesterday
afternoon making salmorejo for the first course whilst Eladio cleaned and
prepared the terrace by the swimming pool for their visit. It is looking great now and I look forward to
the moment he removes the swimming pool cover and we take our first dip.
I must start on the rest of the lunch, so will finish
this post in haste. Next week will be
exciting. I always love going to
Stockholm but especially at this time of year when the weather is better and
there is light until late in the evening.
I wish you all a great week ahead. Until next week my friends,
Love Masha
No comments:
Post a Comment