Sunday 14th September, 2014
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| On one of our morning walks this week still wearing shorts. Photo taken by Olivia. |
Hi everyone,
How has your week been? Mine has been quiet. Even so there’s lots to tell you, so let me
start.
Last Sunday was quiet and the weather not quite as
warm as usual. In fact there was a 55%
chance of rain so when we went on our second walk in the evening we donned
raincoats. In the end we never needed
them. It still feels like summer here
and I am still wearing my shorts on our walks. Sandra, my friend who lives in
Brussels where the weather is not so benign was very jealous when I posted a
photo of Eladio and I on our walk one day this week and commented “still in
bloody shorts!” The photo is the one I have chosen to illustrate this week’s
blog post. I think we look quite good
for our age. I still marvel that I can
now wear shorts and not look too bad.
This is because in my “fat days” which represent most of my life until
about 2010 I wouldn’t have been seen dead in them.
Olivia was home from Valencia on time to have dinner
with us, the only time we spent with her last weekend. This weekend she is in Valencia too and we
are expecting her back tonight accompanied by her boyfriend Miguel. No doubt we
shall all have dinner together again which I am much looking forward to.
On Monday I
went to my much awaited appointment with a new doctor, an urologist, for the
record with an English surname, Litton, although he explained his family left
England for Spain in the 16th century and the surname still
survives. The appointment was important
for me, a sort of last chance to treat my OAB (overactive bladder). I have written about this very seldom in my
blog but it is a condition which very much affects my life and is a huge pain. I have never allowed it to dampen my spirits
and I get on with life despite it but when I heard that this doctor is a
specialist in the field I decided to go and see him. He was very understanding and we had a long
chat. The worst part was the exploration
of my urethra which hurt so much I ended up crying. It turns out it is both narrow and very
irritable and is part of my problem. OAB
is a condition much affected by the mind but by certain foods too. There and
then he made me quit coffee, tea, alcohol and fizzy drinks. Thankfully I can have decaf. But no more alcohol ever! OMG!
He also prescribed tablets which I started on Tuesday morning. Maybe I shouldn’t have read what the side
effects were, so when I got a migraine immediately after taking it, I realized
the cause. I rang the doctor who told me
to suspend the treatment. Meanwhile I
have to make a bloody diary of my visits to the loo during the day and at night
including the quantities. If the mind
affects this important organ, just imagine how much the issue of going to the
loo has been on my mind this week. The
issue continues to be a pain. I can only
hope and pray this new doctor has something else up his sleeve which might help. I debated whether I should include this
subject in my post this week and in the end decided I should as it has so much
importance in my life.
Tuesday was
dreadful because of the migraine; thus I spent at least 5 hours in bed. Eladio was a darling and I always need him
and appreciate him so much when I feel so bad like I did on Tuesday. Thankfully by the evening the pain was
receding and I was able to talk to Suzy.
She was delighted to tell us the landlord had accepted their offer
(hers, Gabor’s and their current Italian flat mate Stefania’s), to rent a new
flat in South Bermondsey. To judge by the
photos it looks lovely, two big bedrooms, a super kitchen, big lounge and
bathroom. They will be moving in this month.
Tuesday was
also the date of the Apple launch of its new iPhone and watch. But you know what? I was not really bothered
at all or even very excited. I am an
Apple user – I love my iPad – but far prefer Samsung mobile phones. It seems to me that the new iPhones don’t
offer anything the Samsung smartphones don’t already offer. As to the watch, well I’m just not into smartwatches
basically because I think they only do the same things a smartphone does, so
why would you need one? If it’s for
measuring your sports activities, well I far prefer my fitbit which is hidden
away for no one to see, whereas if I used a watch I would have a fashion
issue. I mean smartwatches can’t be worn
with elegant clothes. So for the while,
unless they come up with some gadget like my fitbit, I won’t be considering
Apple for measuring my sports activities.
On Wednesday
we woke up to the news that the Santander Bank chief, Emilio Botín, had died on
Tuesday night of a heart attack aged 79.
It’s funny I wrote about him in last week’s post, explaining that he had
called the bank after his home town, the beautiful seaside town in the north of
Spain called Santander. His daughter,
Ana Patricia Botín, aged 53, will take over as the bank’s CEO, leaving her
current role as CEO of the Santander Bank in the UK. He had planned for her to take over when he
retired (if he was ever going to do so) and I have read since that she may not
have all the support she needs in her new role.
I, for one, am happy that a woman will be at the helm of the Eurozone’s
biggest bank.
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| Ana and Emilio Botín |
Thursday was the
13th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in the
USA. This is a date none of us will ever
forget. The date is so ingrained in our minds that each and every one of us
knows exactly what we were doing when we heard the news. I was 44 and working at Nokia, when a
colleague walked into our open office space to tell us the news and to ask if
there was a television in the office. We
all scrambled to find one and were just on time to sit and watch aghast the
attack on the second tower. No, I will never forget and nor will you. 13 years ago we found out that the biggest
terrorist threat to the world was a group called Al-Qaeda lead by Bin
Laden. Today we all know that it is the
Islamic State group of terrorists.
This was on my
mind of course last Thursday but what was foremost in my mind was the fate of
the company I work for, Yoigo, since our mother company, the Swedish telecoms
group of operators, TeliaSonera, announced it was for sale at the beginning of
the summer. On Thursday there were
rumours that Jazztel, a Spanish fixed operator, was in talks to buy Yoigo. The press is and was full of the story; never
have we been so much in the news since our startup in 2006. The other company interested is Orange. I got
many calls from journalists but this is a subject only the owners may talk
about. Then I heard that the latter had
issued a press release to confirm initial talks with Jazztel and “others”. So right now we are very much in a waiting
mode. It seems to me that we have been
on and off sale since we launched nearly 8 years ago. The outcome is not clear. Meanwhile we all
just get on with our job which is what is expected of us.
What
brightened up my day on Thursday was the arrival of a parcel. I thought it was from Amazon, but no it was
from France. My dearest friend Adele had
sent me a blue and white striped t-shirt from Brittany. She had given Sandra and I t-shirts when she
came to stay in May. Mine was multi
coloured and Sandra’s was the blue and white one which afterwards I asked Adele
to buy for me. I had completely
forgotten about my request when it came on Thursday and was delighted. I put it on immediately and this is what I
looked like.
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| Wearing Adele's t-shirt from Brittany. Thanks darling, love it. |
I commented on
Facebook that Sandra and I would be twins now to which Adele replied we would
be triplets as she had ordered another one for herself. I can’t wait for the three of us to be
together again and what fun it will be when we all put on the striped t-shirts.
In the afternoon
on Thursday there was bad news from Montrondo. José Antonio, Eladio’s brother,
wrote to tell us their lovely mongrel dog Nuba had been run over by a
farmer. Her paws were badly damaged and
the vet wasn’t sure whether there was any internal damage and she was to be put
in observation for 48 hours after being given a dose of fendramin (urbason in
Spanish). So far so good I think but she
must have given a huge scare to José Antonio and Dolores. The accident was her own fault as she has a
tendency to bark and run after cars.
Hopefully she won’t ever be doing that again. I wish her a speedy recovery.
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| Little Nuba recovering from her car accident in Montrondo this week. |
Meanwhile on
Thursday Olivia was attending the Madrid Fashion Show reporting on the new
trends for her TV programme, Aquí en Madrid.
One of the brands on show was Desigual which both Olivia and I used to
love, however I think their clothes are actually far too similar, despite the
name of the company meaning “unequal” or different in Spanish. These days the Madrid Fashion Show is
sponsored by Mercedes Benz. I well
remember when I was marketing Manager of Motorola Spain being the first
commercial sponsor of the event. It
certainly gave me an insight into the fashion world and made me feel short,
dumpy, badly dressed and unattractive next to all those beautiful people
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| Olivia reported on the Madrid Fashion Show this week |
11th
September was also the “Diada”, or Catalonia Day where Catalans celebrate their
culture and customs. These days the
occasion has become politically charged as the local government there, led by a
man called Arturo (Artur in Catalán) Más, have decided to call a referendum for
a vote on independence on 9th November. This week too Scotland has been in the news
as the date for their referendum approaches this month and polls were showing a
lead for a yes vote, something the British Government never thought would
happen. There have been articles in the
British and American press comparing the two independence issues; some even
writing that the Spanish government is less democratic because it won’t allow a
referendum in Catalonia. However, they
are not explaining why, so let me tell you the difference. In the UK, a referendum in Scotland which
some 300 years ago was an independent country, is allowed under UK Law. In Spain, where Catalonia has never been an
independent country (remember that), a referendum would be illegal. This is because the Spanish constitution only
allows a national referendum. So if a
referendum were to be called the whole nation would have to vote. Of course if
the whole nation voted, Catalonia would never get its independence. For that to happen the 1978 constitution
would have to be changed and a new constitution would have to be voted for in a
national referendum. Meanwhile Arturo
Más continues his battle threatening to go ahead with the referendum. Today I have read that if he does so, he
could be sent to prison for prevarication, disobedience and sedition. As you can appreciate the political tension
between Barcelona and Madrid couldn’t be worse.
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| People lining the streets on the day of the Diada (Catalonia day) dressed in yellow and red to form a V for Victory and Vote along the Diagonal and Gran Via streets |
Friday was
quiet, the last day of the working week and generally my favourite day of the
week. That evening Eladio and I went out
to dinner to our latest favourite place, La Txitxarrería where I always order
steak and chips. They have the best beef
in town. Afterwards we came home on time
to watch a film called The Green Mile with Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is a prison warden on death row in
an American prison where an enormously big black man with healing powers is
sent after being wrongly accused of killing two little girls. I had seen it
before but didn’t really remember the script.
This time I watched it riveted from 10.30 until it finished at 1.30 in
the morning. It is a superb film.
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| The Green Mile, certainly my film of the week |
On the news
front Friday will be remembered as the day Ian Paisley died. If you are my age
and lived in England or Northern Ireland in the 70’s you will remember this
fanatical Protestant firebrand preacher turned politician whose arch enemy was
the IRA. Later he was reconciled with
them and had a big role in the peace process but back in the 70’s he was not a
popular figure.
Friday was also
the day of the sentence of Oscar Pistorius, the South African para Olympic
champion who shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, supposedly in self
defence. He was charged with “culpable
homicide”; i.e Judge Masipa, believed his story that he never meant to kill
her. I think we will never know the
complete truth as the trial has been long and complicated with very unreliable
witnesses, including the athlete himself.
I haven’t followed it so therefore can’t judge. But I mean to begin with, why did he have a
gun, and why, oh why, didn’t he check to see who was in the bathroom before
shooting? I mean where did he think his girlfriend
was if she wasn’t in the bedroom with him?
Saturday was
quiet after Olivia left for Valencia. We
spent the day reading and walking and I also swam after my walk in the evening
as I do every day. Saturday was my
dearest and oldest friend Amanda’s birthday.
We haven’t seen each other for such a long time that when I wrote to
send her birthday greetings we whatsapped to agree on a phone call time which
will be this evening. I am much looking
forward to talking to her and catching up on her news which I hope is good.
Meanwhile in
London Suzy was entertaining her ex Whitechapel flat mates as well as her
friend María’s family, Ele and co. From
the photo she posted on Facebook it looks like they all had dinner at Suzy and
Gabor’s place.
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| Suzy far left in the big denim jacket partying with her ex Whitechapel flat mates and the De La Fuente Family last night |
And now I’ve
got to Sunday, the last day of the week.
I was stunned to read at breakfast this morning that the deadly
terrorist group ISIS, IS or ISIL or whatever you want to call it had gone ahead
with their threat and beheaded David Haines the 44 year old UK aid worker they
had kidnapped in Syria some time ago.
They told the world in the same way they showed the beheadings of the 2
American journalists, through a vile video posted on internet where once again
the perpetrator was the English accented ex musician named John. This time it was in retaliation for the UK
government allying with Barack Obama who has started attacks on the group in
Iraq. The beheading is vile, atrocious,
disgusting and in my mind does not tally with any Muslim teaching or beliefs;
as for Muslims, the same as Christians and many other religions, it is a sin to
kill a person. Can the maniac or maniacs
who beheaded this lovely man who only wanted to help humanity, really think he
or they will be rewarded with whatever debauched ideas they have of what heaven
promises for them? At the same time I
was delighted to read that many young British Muslims who went out to Iraq to
fight with the group are now disgruntled and want to return, hardly believing
that part of their tasks was to kill other Muslims in the area, not to talk of
Kurds and other religious minorities. I sincerely hope David Cameron and Barack
Obama’s special forces find and punish the perpetrators of these ghastly
beheadings and that they do it soon, to spare the other hostages who may be
next on the list.
After reading
the story, I was much happier to read a whatsapp message from Olivia a bit
later on this morning. She told me
Miguel had come third in an open sea swimming race in Javea on the coast near
Valencia. To take part I think he got up at 5 in the morning. Well done Miguel,
we will celebrate tonight.
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| Miguel came third in today's open sea swimming race in Javea this morning. He certainly has the winning spirit |
My Father's day will have been brightened up today by an email that arrived just before lunch from the Mother of an ex pupil of his at Bradford Grammar School. Apparently her son whose surname is Crookes had read my blog (must have been the entry on my Father) and wanted to write to him. It seems my Father taught him French maybe 30 years ago. It's so nice that past pupils want to reach out to him. For me that is a sign that they must have considered him a good teacher. Of course he was but many years have gone by so it's still very touching to know there are ex pupils out there still thinking about him. Thank you Mrs. Crookes for writing to me.
I was just
about to sign off and say goodbye until next week when my phone bleeped and one
of my news clipping services let me know of the death of another 79 year old
high profile Spanish business man.
Isidoro Alvarez, Chairman of El Corte Inglés died a few minutes
ago. El Corte Inglés is Spain’s
equivalent to Selfridges or any other up market department store, with branches
all over Spain and some in Portugal. Despite this and other crises El Corte Inglés
has always fared well in this country. I
am a frequent customer of this wonderful store which has the best service as
far as shops go at least in Spain. RIP
Mr. Chairman you did a good job.
So that’s it
from me for this week. Wishing you all
the best, till next Sunday,
Masha
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