Sunday 1st
February 2015
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| One of the highlights of this week, receiving a lovely gourmet hamper from JP Media |
Hi everyone.
It is Sunday
again and time to write this week’s post.
It is also 2 weeks since I had my accident in Montrondo. I am bearing up as much as I can but I have
to say I have my down moments as I feel so trapped and dependent on the people
around me. Thank goodness for my PC,
mobile phone and iPad which keep me connected.
I have spent most of my time watching series and films; the best way to
pass the time and to ignore the pain. It
is receding but comes and goes all the time.
I left off on
Sunday. When the girls came back from
the hair and makeup session we had dinner in our room on trays. Eladio and I then watched the last episode of
The Fall which has had us riveted for weeks.
On Monday
morning, Suzy took me to the hospital to have the dressing changed on the
surgical wound on my ankle. It was a palava
to get there as you can imagine. We used
my Father’s wheel chair for me to get in the car and once at the hospital Suzy
got me another wheel chair to be able to go inside. A nurse removed the outer bandage on my
leg. Underneath, behind the leg and
under my foot there is a cast which can be removed and put back on. I was shocked to see I had had 17 stitches. Actually they are staples. She commented the wound was healing well
thankfully. I shall be going back next week for the dressing to be changed
again, for an x-ray and for an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon who
operated on me. This is what my leg
looked like. Sorry if the picture is
unpleasant but it is reality. I still
don’t know when I will be able to walk again and that is probably what the
doctor will tell me. I think I won’t be
able to put any weight on my leg for at least 2 months and will probably not be
able to walk again properly as I did before the fall for at least 6 or 8 months!
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| My poor leg |
When we got
home, just a while later, José Antonio and Dolores came to see me. They brought with them some bags of “pilmeni”
from the Russian shop which I had asked them to bring. They stayed for lunch and part of the
afternoon. It was great to have company.
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| Dolores and José Antonio came to visit on Monday. They came again on Friday too |
Whilst they
were there another present arrived. This one was from my news clipping agency,
JP Media. I was delighted to receive a
hamper of Spanish delicacies. Everything
in the hamper was wonderful and we ate most of it that night and the
following. The produce came from an
exclusive shop called “España en la mesa” which I look forward to visiting when
I up on my feet again. You cannot
imagine the things I want to do when I am up and about again; the list
increases every day. The photo illustrating this week’s post is of me in my
bed/office with the JP Media hamper.
On Monday the
main news believe it or not came from Greece of all places. The day before general elections were held
and the radical left wing party Syriza won. Although to govern they had to make
a pact with the centre-right party. On
Monday Alexis Tisipras was sworn in as prime minister and has promised to lead
an anti-austerity coalition government.
Later in the week officials from Brussels went to meet the new
government and meetings ended badly when Syriza refused to acknowledge the “troika”. Greece was bailed out recently and has a huge
debt which is what Syriza wants to negotiate.
I think they hope to be freed of it.
But if they are they will render money useless in my mind and the whole
situation will be a farse.
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| The new Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras head of te radical left wing party Syriza smiling after being sworn in. |
Meanwhile in
Spain at the Nato air base in Los Llanos in Albacete (south east Spain) an F16 Greek fighter jet failed to take off in military manoeuvres and somehow swerved
off the tarmac and crashed into a group of F16 causing an almighty
explosion. 12 Greek and French pilots
and their military colleagues were killed and 12 badly injured. It is yet to be revealed why the F16 failed
to take off and crashed into the other fighter jets.
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| The appalling Greek jet fighter crash at Los Llanos in Albacete |
So that was 2
pieces of news about Greece in one day. But
they weren’t to be the last as that night the Greek singer Demi Roussos died
aged 68. I remember him very much when
he was popular in the 70’s and 80’s. He
was very large and wore colourful kaftans.
I think his most famous song was “forever and ever”. RIP Demis Roussos.
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| Demis Rousson R.I.P |
On Tuesday
while Suzy was out to see her friend Pili on her last full day in Spain, when I
had my work out of the way I watched the end of The Honourable Woman which is
one of the best series I have seen in years.
It’s about a woman and her brother who have a telecoms company that
seeks peace between Israel and Palestine; something quite impossible. If you haven’t seen it, give it a try.
Eladio had
lunch out that day with his friends Roberto and Juanjo. So we were only three for lunch, Suzy, my
Father and I. That day I taught Gema how
to make “bitki” a staple part of our diet.
They are a sort of Russian hamburger but much nicer than any normal
hamburger. Gema made more of her delicious brown bread that morning which I
captured on my camera for my blog and for her daughter Saida.
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| Gema and her homemade bread |
When Dolores
saw the photo on Facebook she asked if she could come next time Gema made bread
to learn how to make it. Another
sister-in-law, Yoli also rang to ask for the recipe which of course I didn’t
have. On Friday, however, both Dolores
and I would find out as you will read later.
After lunch
Suzy and I watched “Saving Mr. Banks”, the supposed story behind the making of
the Mary Poppins film. We were both a
bit disappointed with the film but then Olivia had warned us we probably wouldn’t
like it. That’s probably because we are
huge fans of the original Mary Poppins film which in fact is hardly mentioned
in Saving Mr. Banks.
There was also
time to watch Olivia on the TV that afternoon. Last week I posted a photo of
her dressed up in medical surgical clothing as she was to do a report on the
benefits and drawbacks of fathers being present in the delivery room. It was on Tuesday that her report was
broadcast. You can see the full report
here. The verdict by the way is positive for the father and the mother. I wholeheartedly agree.
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| Oli's report on fathers in the delivery room |
Tuesday was
also the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz the
deadliest of the Nazi concentration camp where 1.1 million people, mostly Jews,
were killed. Other victims were gypsies,
disabled people, homosexuals, dissidents, non-Jewish Poles and Soviet prisoners. The Russian army liberated the camp and of
the many photos they took one stands out. It is of a group of children. 300 camp survivors returned for the ceremony
when a few years ago over a thousand were there to bear witness. I wonder how many there will be next time as
their numbers are dwindling. Of all the
news that day, it was the photograph of those children with 4 of them, now old,
standing by it and pointing out there picture at the time. Isn’t it incredible? The four survivors were 81-year-old Paula Lebovics,
79-year-old Miriam Ziegler, 85-year-old Gabor Hirsch and 80-year-old Eva Kor
and they remembered each other. I read
somewhere that a person in the US had investigated the names of all the people
on that photo that day, some of the few surviving children of the
holocaust. As I write this a shiver goes
down my spine. I was brought up on
stories of the Second World War as both my parents were in it and have been
fascinated with the holocaust ever since.
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| 4 of the survivors from this picture reunited in Auschwitz this week |
On Wednesday,
the day Suzy was going, I had breakfast downstairs for the first time. But I
won’t be doing that again for a while as I get very tired sitting down without
my leg up. It was on Wednesday that
another piece of international news interested me. The Obamas were visiting Saudi Arabia to pay
their respects after the recent death of King Abdullah. What most interested me, and people around the
world, was what Michelle was wearing, or rather wasn’t, much more than in the main
objective of their visit which was US and Saudi relations. The thing is the First Lady did not wear a headscarf. According to political and international protocol she is not obliged
to. However the Saudis saw this as a
sign of disrespect. I on the other hand,
think it was a lesson to the Muslim world.
I mean, if they don’t respect the way we live in the west why should a
western woman visiting them be expected to cover her head? I also noticed that in the hand shaking queue
many of the Saudis (all men unsurprisingly) did not shake her hand. That for me is a sign of disrespect on their part. I wonder if you agree.
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| It caused a bit of a stir when Michelle Obama did not wear a head scarf when visiting Saudi Arabia this week |
On Wednesday I
watched the lovely English TV mini-series South Riding, set in Yorkshire in the
30’s which is about a feisty woman head mistress and her relations with the
villagers. I loved it.
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| I loved this BBC TV mini series set in Yorkshire |
Gema, our
Moroccan living-in home help, made couscous with chicken which was just
delicious. Here is a photo of my plate.
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| Gema's couscous |
Soon after
lunch it was time for Suzy to leave.
Eladio was to take her to the airport.
She would have stayed longer but she had an interview with Decathlon the
next day. It was to be the second
interview so cross your fingers she gets the job. It is really an interim job until her
registration with the HCPC (health care and professions council) comes
through.
Just as they
had gone my dear friend Julio came to visit.
He and I go back a long time and first met as colleagues at Nokia in
2000. It was lovely to chat and catch
up. I had promised afternoon tea which
turned out to be a cup of tea and a biscuit.
For the record I just had the tea as I am steering clear of fattening
food so as not to put on weight whilst I am recovering from my fall. Here is a photo of us together. Thnks Juli for coming. Your visit was much appreciated.
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| A selfie with Julio when he came to visit this week |
On Thursday I
was quite busy work wise. TeliaSonera,
our mother company, was to announce the 4th quarter and full year
results for 2014. Luckily Yoigo
continues to be profitable, has kept its market share and has even increased
its subscriber base. There was a conference
call after which we sent out a press release on the local results, followed by
an internal release.
I spent part
of the day watching episodes from season 4 of Homeland and continued to do so
until yesterday. It’s very good but I
was not happy with the last episode as there was no closure. Now I will have to wait more than a year for
the next season. Meanwhile I am already
missing Carrie, Saul and Quinn.
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| I finished Season 4 of Homeland this week |
It was on
Thursday that I participated in a Betty’s Tea Room St. Valentine’s competition. This week I had come across a photo of myself
at a table in Betty’s in Harrogate. It was a photo Eladio took of me there in
1982. We were so in love we spent the
whole afternoon there in our own little world and Eladio kept taking photos of
me. This is the photo.
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| At Berry's in Harrogate in 1982 before we married |
I posted it on
their Twitter page and got some lovely feedback. They also encouraged me to
send in my story for the competition about how Betty’s featured in our romance. So this was my entry. I don’t know if I will win but I do think my
story is compelling. Don’t you?
How Bettys featured in our romance:
I have always loved Betty’s since living in
Yorkshire when I was a child. There used
to be one in Bradford where we lived and my parents would always take me for
tea and our favourite was the meringue cream cake. When it closed I would often visit the Ilkley,
York or Harrogate branch. For me Bettys
summed up a genteel classical romantic quintessential English tea room and I
loved every bit of the place. I always
have. So when I fell in love in the
early 80s I took my boyfriend to Betty’s in Harrogate. He was my boyfriend but no ordinary
boyfriend. Our relationship was illicit
as he was a Spanish catholic priest, something unheard of in Spain in those
days and our relationship was a secret. We sat one afternoon at a table in the
front window of Betty’s in Harrogate overlooking the Stray and it was the most
romantic afternoon we had ever had. We
were so much in love, he kept taking photographs of me over Betty’s glorious
afternoon tea (he had your fish and chips his favourite always at Betty’s when
we have been back). It was a cold frosty
Christmas afternoon day and I was smoking (unimaginable today) and looking at
him lovingly. I had long hair then and
think I looked quite beautiful in a white jumper; or at least he thought so. We
spent hours there and I was surprised the staff didn’t turn us out but they
were so polite as they always are. We
were in our own little world. It was
there that our wedding was forged and the summer afterwards we got
married. This year we will have been
married 32 years and it has been bliss.
We went to live in Spain which is where we have made our home ever since
building a lovely family. Even our girls
know Bettys (the one in Ilkley) where we took them after my Mother died as my
Father was and is an equal fan of Bettys.
29 years later in 2011 on a trip to Yorkshire, we
made sure Harrogate was on our agenda.
We hadn’t been back since 1982. There are many places to have lunch in
Harrogate but Bettys being a part of our romance was our one and only choice.
It would be our first time back since that romantic afternoon. We would have loved to have sat at the same
table again but it was full and just how could we explain to staff why? It was too long a story. Again my husband
took a photograph of me and here it is together with the one of 1982. I don’t look quite as beautiful as I did in
1982 but I know that I am still as in love with him as I was then.
The afternoon is one that I shall never forget and
whenever I think of it I feel even more love than could be possible. Thank you
Betty’s for being part of our romance.
In the collage photo enclosed you can see the photo
of me in 1982 and in 2011, as well as a photo of my husband queueing outside
the Tea Room in 2011. I just had to add
a photo of the way you serve tea too!
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| Betty's Harrogate 1982 and on our return visit 29 years later in 2011 |
I keep
visiting the competition page to see how the other stories compare to mine and
am keeping my fingers crossed I will win.
If I do I look forward to a lovely St. Valentines Hamper.
Meanwhile that
evening Olivia stayed in Madrid after work rather than coming home for dinner
with us as she usually does. She went
out with some of her journalist colleagues and here is a photo of them
together.
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| Oli had an evening out with her fellow TV reporters on Thursday evening |
On Friday
morning I was busy work wise again. We were to send out another press
release. This time on a new promotional
tariff for February that is very competitive. While I was working Eladio went
out to do the weekly shopping on his own.
I had drawn up a very clear and long list to make his task easier. It’s amazing how much food we get through in
a week, especially fruit and veg.
In the
afternoon Dolores and José Antonio came to visit again. Their main objective was for Dolores to learn
how to make Gema’s bread. They never come
empty handed and they brought me the lovely Crabtree and Evelyn white chocolate
and raspberry biscuits I had asked them to get from “Naranjas de la China”. You may remember me receiving a super fruit
basket from there last week which included these most delicious English biscuits.
They also brought two huge fresh fillets of cod, my favourite fish. Thank you so much Dolores and José Antonio.
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| Thank you José Antonio and Dolores for these amazing Crabtree and Evelyn biscuits |
We watched
Gema make her bread, or rather Dolores watched, took note and tried to learn
how to knead the dough, the most difficult part. Here is one of the photos we took of the
bread learning process.
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| Dolores learning how to make Gema's bread |
I’m not sure I
could do it on my own, but am very privileged to have Gema make us fresh bread
so often, so for the while I don’t need to.
Yesterday, on Saturday
a huge demonstration took place in Madrid lead by Spain’s increasingly popular
radical left wing party “Podemos” (we can) headed up by the pony tailed leader
and University teacher, Pablo Iglesias.
The demonstration was dubbed “the march for change” (against austerity
and corruption) and literally thousands marched from Cibeles to the Puerta del
Sol where the movement started some years ago. Like Syriza in Greece, Podemos
may well win the general elections at the end of this year. I have mixed feelings about this new party
which on television sounds great. But how would they deal with the “troika” in
Brussels I wonder and could their promises really become reality? Spain’s main problem is unemployment and I
don’t think even Podemos could wave a magic wand to rid Spain of such a high
number of unemployed people. It all
remains to be seen. What is true is that Podemos has certainly changed Spain’s
political scene and it will never be the same again.
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| The Podemos march for change in Madrid yesterday |
I spent most
of Saturday watching a new series for me, the new BBC version of the Forsyte
Saga by John Galsworthy – the Nobel prize winning English author. I am in the middle of it and I’m loving it. I
well remember watching the first series in 1967 at home with my parents in
Bradford. Funnily enough the actor for
Soames in the new series is the same actor who played Brodie in Homeland. I far prefer Eric Porter in the 1967 series.
It was while I
was watching the Forsyte Saga that I got a whatsapp message from Suzy that
could have blown me over with a feather.
She posted this picture and asked me if I knew where she was.
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| Suzy visiting my University, Nottingham. The Trent Building in the background |
I looked
carefully thinking she was in London then realized that no, the photo was of
Nottingham University where I finished my studies in 1980. I haven’t been back since 1981 and would love
to. Another thing to add to the list of
what I want I want to do when I get my mobility back! I had no idea she was going to
Nottingham. She had gone with Gabor and
other friends to stay with a friend of his who studied there and now works in
Nottingham. You cannot begin to imagine what
this photo means to me. It brought back
so many memories, mostly of my cycling on the beautiful campus from my Hall of
Residence, Nightingale Hall to the Trent Building where the Spanish department was
for my lectures. Suzy told me there were
lots of people on bikes. Of course there
would be as the area is very flat. Gosh
I do wish I could have been with Suzy yesterday. I would have taken her to all my old
haunts.
And today is
Sunday and whilst Suzy is still in Nottingham, here I am in bed writing my blog
as I can’t go anywhere.
I don’t have
much to look forward to next week just the hospital visit and more work on our
preparations for our participation in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at
the beginning of March which for the first time ever since I joined Yoigo I
will not be able to go to. I will of
course continue to watch TV series and films and today look forward to more of
the Forsyte Saga.
Wishing you
all a great week ahead, all the best till next Sunday
Masha
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