Sunday 20th
December 2015
 |
| Merry Christmas everyone |
Hi again this
last week before Christmas. We are all
ready for our Christmas now that all my Yoigo seasonal activities are over.
Today is Election Day in Spain and promises to be the most hotly contested one
ever. But let me start from the
beginning and come full circle about the elections at the end of this post.
Last Sunday we
had a family lunch and Oli and Miguel bought some “roscón de reyes” with cream
inside for “pudding”. The “Three Kings”
roscón is a Spanish sweet loaf brioche type bread baked in the shape of a ring
with a surprise inside and which is supposed to be eaten on 6th
January. That was the rule in our house
anyway until Oli and Miguel broke it last Sunday.
 |
| Roscón de Reyes |
On their
shopping outing Miguel bought a whole ham for us for Christmas which we were to
open later for dinner. It’s a very good one too and we are very grateful. We have already dug into more than half of it
and it’s not even Christmas yet hahaha.
 |
| The ham and "lomo" from Miguel to us for Christmas |
That night the
4 of us gravitated to the kitchen for dinner and there and then made an
impromptu dinner whilst opening the new ham. It was a lovely family feeling
making dinner together.
 |
| Preparing the impromptu dinner last Sunday - Eladio is wearing the roscón crown here hahaha |
Oli made me
wear the crown that comes with the “roscón” and duly named me “Queen of the
kitchen” as you can see in the photo below.
I suppose it’s ok for a kitchen queen to be wearing her dressing gown
like me haha.
 |
| Queen of the kitchen on Sunday |
The next day I
went from Kitchen Queen to Queen Anne Boleyn.
You will wonder why. The reason
is I went to Madrid to a shop to choose an outfit for the Yoigo employee
Christmas party which was to be held the next night and was to be a fancy dress
party.
 |
| Queen Anne Boleyn on Monday |
You may wonder
why I chose the Queen who was beheaded by Henry VIII. One of the reasons is
that from what I could see from the pictures on google she seemed to be the
only blonde one. I was not going to be
the austere Spanish Queen Catherine of Aragón and besides Anne Boleyn was also
known for her beauty. I remembered going to a photo studio in Camden town with
Eladio and Suzy a couple of years ago where we all dressed up and had our
photos taken. Eladio insisted on being
Henry VIII and I dressed up as one of his Tudor queens. I looked good in the Tudor clothing so
thought it would be appropriate for the fancy dress party.
However I
didn’t feel like a queen inside. My
whole body had been itching since the day before. I suspected it was from the graze on my knee
from the fall which could be infected. So I left the shop and made my way to
the Monteprincipe Hospital in Pozuelo.
There they insisted I see a traumatologist rather than a general
practitioner. The former said the
itching had nothing to do with the graze and that it looked ok; despite it
oozing with water. Then I saw a general
practitioner and was in the hospital for over 3 hours. He said I had “pruritis” (itching) but he didn’t
know the cause and that it wasn’t from the graze. He pumped antihistamine into my body and gave
me more tablets to take and told me to see a dermatologist if it didn’t get
better.
Meanwhile Oli
was at the dentist having complicated surgery to inject bone into her jaw in order
to be able to put in an implant. She was
to be off for the whole week to recover from the operation.
That night
there was a 2 party candidate debate on TV between the right wing PP Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy and the Socialist (PSOE) contender Pedro Sánchez. It was much criticized for not including
members of the two new parties, Ciudadanos and Podemos thanks to whom Spain is
seeing an end to the two party system. It turned out to be more like an
embarrassing shouting match with insults flying and the general consensus was
that both speakers were the losers. The
debate at least helped to keep my mind off the itching in my body. I fell asleep in the middle of it; a combination
of boredom and the effects of the extra strong antihistamine tablets I had been
prescribed.
 |
| The shouting match or exchange of insults - the 2 party TV political debate last Monday. |
On Tuesday I
woke up early, still itching of course and had yet another cold shower which
helped a bit. I was off to Yoigo to see
to lots of last minute errands to do with the employee Christmas party taking
place that night.
Meanwhile in
London, Chelsea FC manager, Jose Mourinho, often dubbed “the special one”, was
sacked having led the team to the bottom of the premiere league after
successive lost matches. It must have been a huge blow to his enormous
ego. Guus Hiddink the Dutch football
manager and former player has become his interim successor. Rumour has it Chelsea is after Atlético de
Madrid’s Diego Simeone from the Argentine.
Rumour also has it Jose is hoping to be the next Man United
Manager. However I think for the moment
all that can be said is “adios Jose”. I
can only imagine the Real Madrid players who suffered under his management,
laughing behind his back. For me the
only thing he has got going for him are his good looks. He may know a lot about football but he needs
a lesson in emotional intelligence and humility. No doubt he will fight his way back. I just hope
he has learned his lesson but I doubt it.
 |
| "Adiós Jose" |
That evening I
had to put my Tudor dress on. It was only
going to make the itching worse. It was
a great party but I was feeling pretty rotten and struggled to enjoy it. Still as the hostess I had to keep a good
face. Everyone said I looked great but I certainly didn’t feel so. Here I am
below with my team from the events agency QuintaEsencia.
 |
| At the Yoigo fancy dress party with my team from QuintaEsencia. They are the secret of my success. |
The fancy
dress party was held at a private actors club which is actually a small theatre
which has been beautifully restored recently.
It was built by King Alfonso XIII for his mistress who wanted to act and
of course couldn’t do so publically.
 |
| The Yoigo Christmas fancy dress party on Tuesday night |
As our venue
it was perfect for the activities we had planned the two main ones being a
fancy dress contest and a dance auction.
Here I was inspired by the film Gone with the Wind when Clark Gable bids
to dance with Viviane Leigh (remember she was wearing black and wasn’t supposed
to dance?). We chose 4 women and 4 men
candidates and the bidding started at 10 euros.
The bidders would not only get the prize of dancing with the person of
their choice but would also get a Christmas hamper. The highest bid went to be my boss and it was
for 230 euros! The proceeds were to go to the Red Cross.
You can see
the full set of photos of the party here.
On Wednesday I
spent some time organizing our own Christmas.
Itching still, I went shopping with Eladio. In the afternoon I had an appointment with
María José, the beautician who does my nails with semi-permanent nail varnish.
They are my trademark by the way. I
always say that it’s basic for a woman to look after her hair and her nails.
The same goes for men by the way. You could add to that, shoes, but not
necessarily in my case as I can only really wear flats.
 |
| Red nails - my trademark |
Later on
Wednesday evening I had an appointment with a local dermatologist about my
“pruritis”. I had never heard the word
before nor suffered it. I read on
internet that some people live with it. Poor things; I wouldn’t wish it on my
worst enemy I can tell you. It’s just
awful. Well the outcome was just what I
had suspected. The doctors at the Monteprincipe
got it wrong. This lady dermatologist
took one look at the graze on my knee and said it was very infected and was
causing the itching. She prescribed a
special solution and a cortisone and antibiotic cream. Since then the itching
has gone down but the graze still looks pretty nasty. It would heal better if it was left in the
open but the problem is it’s winter and you can hardly go outside without
covering your legs. Hopefully it will
recede soon and it will just have been a small incident. I am not posting a picture of the graze as
you wouldn’t like to see it hahaha.
On Thursday morning
it was my turn to go to the dentist. As
I told Eladio where I was going as I left, he remarked “you are looking after
yourself these days” with so many appointments haha. I suppose he’s right. I went for the final
stage of an implant of which I now have 3.
My dentist, Dr. Garralda (best dentist in the world by the way), was to
put in the actual tooth or crown as it is probably called. It’s wonderful for the hole not to be there
anymore and to have a full set of teeth.
I was to use
the full set of teeth for the first time that day at lunch. Teresa and her
English husband Tony who are the General Managers of Ketchum, our PR agency,
had invited us and the Yoigo PR team from the agency to lunch at their
wonderful house in the centre of Madrid.
On my way there I went to the English shop in Madrid (“Living in
London”) to get her a Christmas present and at the same time took the
opportunity to buy more crackers for home, plus scones, crumpets, etc. I arrived loaded with parcels and thankfully
my boss and another colleague were there to help me with them.
Teresa is from
Galicia and loves cooking. The meal was
splendid: mini scallops, octopus, Galician broth, monkfish followed by lemon
meringue pie. I think we spent nearly
the whole of the lunch talking about politics and what the outcome would be
today and how a new government could be formed.
 |
| Lunch at Teresa and Tony's on Thursday |
Lunches in
Spain tend to go on for a long time. So at 5 I had to make my exit if I was
going to get to Yoigo at 6pm when the employee children’s party was to
start. This year we had created a mini
Christmas theme park we called “Yoigolandia”.
Believe it or not, on our outdoor car park we managed to fit the
following: bumper cars, a carousel, a mini train, a Father Christmas set, a
balloon corner, a face painting area, an inflatable castle, as well as various
wooden kiosks serving hot dogs, McDonalds’ happy meals and waffles. The piece de resistance was the sweet store
where children could help themselves filling little boxes to the brim.
 |
| The Yoigoland party for the employees' children on Thursday evening |
The kids were
in their element. For them it was like
being at a theme park where everything was free which it was. The parents had a grand time too.
With the
children’s party over, my projects for this year came to an end. I was in for a deserved break but not until
Friday lunchtime.
On Friday
morning we had a management team breakfast where we all brought food to the
table. In my case I took along scones with clotted cream and homemade
strawberry jam and crumpets which I had acquired from the English shop in
Madrid.
 |
| Scones with jam and clotted cream which I took to the breakfast on Friday |
There was so
much on the table no way could we eat it all.
We spent the while going over this year and I was very happy to be
congratulated in public for the successful Christmas parties. I was happy with them too.
 |
| The Management Team breakfast on Friday morning |
Then I had to
rush home before I was off again. But
this time I was going to a personal Christmas lunch. It was to be with the “Ex Nokia girls”. Every so often, Jill, Juana, Fátima, Zenaida,
Susana, Ana and I meet up for lunch. We
call it the “ex Nokia” girls group but actually Jill, Fátima and Zenaida still
work for Nokia. The latter 2 couldn’t make it on Friday. However we had a new member at the lovely
Asturian restaurant Juana chose for us, in María Jesús. I hadn’t seen her since she left Nokia in the
early 2000s. Here we are enjoying our company and the food, at Carus in Pozuelo
on Friday.
 |
| Ex Nokia girl Christmas lunch on Friday |
I then rushed
home again. My whole week seems to have
been one big rush. I had to get home on
time to do the weekly food shopping with Eladio but also prepare dinner that
night. Two more ex Nokia colleagues, my
best friends Fátima and Julio were coming for the traditional Christmas dinner
at our house. In turn we go to Julio’s
place for another party after Christmas.
Thankfully I
had Salud to help with the cooking but I did it all I am proud to tell
you. I had prepared a careful menu only
to hear from Fátima that she has been diagnosed as gluten allergic and also
intolerant to any dairy produce from cows.
So I quickly had to change the menu. In the end I made artichoke hearts
with bacon bits for starters, followed by baked salmon served with mashed
potatoes, fresh peas and asparagus.
Dessert was strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
 |
| A Christmassy photo with my friends Julio and Fátima who came to dinner on Friday night |
We had a great
evening as usual and it was then I think that the real spirit of Christmas
came. The lounge looked beautiful with
all the Christmas decorations, soft lighting and candles. It couldn’t have been more “hyggelig”
(remember that Danish word for Nordic coziness I told you about last
week?). Oli and Miguel joined us after
dinner and thanks to Miguel I got a photo of the 4 of us that night.
 |
| With Julio and Fátima at home on Friday night |
Friday turned
out to be a great day for me. Not so for
Yorkshire. No, it was indeed a sad day
for the wonderful county I was brought up in.
It was on Friday that the last deep pit coal mine in the UK, the
Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, was closed. It was the biggest deep mine in Europe. Once it employed thousands of workers. On Friday there were just 450 miners left and
they went down the pit for the last time putting an end to deep coal mining in the UK.
 |
| Friday said goodbye to deep pit coal mining in the UK with the closure of the Kellingley colliery in Yorkshire |
It appears
there is lots of coal left but these days coal as a source of energy is being
replaced by cleaner energy. For me the
news brought back memories of the fight between Margaret Thatcher and the NUM
(National Union of Mining) led by Arthur Scargill – a hated figure for the
right wing. It also conjures up images
of that great film Billy Elliot set in a mining community in the North of
England.
On a more
positive note, I saw headlines about Norway giving away a mountain to mountainless Finland, its neighbour country.
I thought what a wonderful gesture until I read more. You see it’s not
quite like that. A group of Norwegians had launched a campaign to move the
country’s border by 200 metres to bring the peak of the Halti mountain into
Finnish territory. The idea is to give it to Finland, on the 100th
anniversary of its independence. Finland’s highest peak is 1.324 metres high
and forms part of the same mountain range and the Norwegian peak being offered
to Finland is not much higher (1.365m), so I don’t really see what the fuss is
about. I mean 1300 metres is not that
high if you consider Montrondo, our little village, lies at 1.100. For the Norwegians, whose highest mountain
lies at around 2.500 metres high, this is probably just considered a hill
hahaha. In any case the story made for a
good headline but it also taught me you have to read the small print behind an
alluring headline.
 |
| The Halti mountain in Norway on the Finnish border |
On Saturday I
was finally free; no engagements or meetings to go to. Also most of our Christmas arrangements are
already prepared and I was to begin my Christmas holiday. Oh what a joy. I started the day as I do mostly, having a
quiet breakfast on my own with the dogs.
This time I was to be reading the news on my new iPad Pro. Up till now I have used the iPad 2 and the
new one is just wow. It has been criticized
for being too big but it’s a great size for my eyesight. Perhaps its best feature is the sound as it
has 4 speakers and you can watch a film or video or listen to the radio without
needing external speakers. Eladio and I will
thus be able to watch Netflix in Montrondo in our bedroom – what a treat.
 |
| Reading the news on my new iPad Pro at breakfast on Saturday. |
It was the
perfect morning to join Olivia who had more Christmas shopping to do. I did get one more thing and it’s not going
under the tree. I got the smart cover for my new iPad as I hardly dare use it
without one.
We were home
for lunch with the men; Eladio, my Father and Miguel. Eladio and I, bar a walk and quick dinner,
spent most of the time watching more episodes of Prison Break. We are well and truly hooked.
There was a
frivolous piece of news last night in that Spain won the Miss World title for
the first time ever. I remember watching
Miss World as a child but I think it is no longer televised and has gone out of
fashion because of feminism. The title went to the 23 year old model, pharmacist
and piano player, Mireia Lalaguna, from Barcelona. I must say when I looked for photos to
accompany this piece of news I found her extremely beautiful. It’s good to know she is very intelligent
too. To quote The Daily Mail, she sums up “beauty and brains”. Well done Spain,
well done Mireia.
 |
| Beautiful and brainy Mireia Lalaguna from Barcelona was crowned Miss World this weekend - a first for Spain |
The event took
place in China so no doubt Mireia Lalaguna won’t be voting in today’s general elections
unless she did it by post; something not too easy to do. I didn’t vote either as I don’t have Spanish
nationality. My Father couldn’t vote either for the same reason. It seems strange that if I have lived here
for over 30 years that I can’t vote. As
I said at the beginning of today’s post, these are the most narrowly contested
elections ever with 4 parties very near each other, at least in the opinion
polls. There are 2 new parties making these elections a game changer and
putting an end to the two party system and they are Podemos (far left and led
by the brilliant 37 year old Pablo Iglesias) and Ciudadanos (central democratic
of Catalan origin which is against the excision of Catalonia).
 |
| The 4 main candidates for today's General Elections in Spain |
Even if we
couldn’t vote, both Pippa (hahaha) and I went with Eladio and Olivia who were
going to cast their votes but to different candidates. If I could have voted it would have been for
one of the new parties. I admire what the PP (Mariano Rajoy’s government) has
done to put Spain on the right path after the crisis but abhor the corruption
committed by some of the members of his party.
I also think it’s time for him to go and for fresh blood to be given a
chance.
 |
| Eladio and Olivia casting their votes this morning in today's general elections |
Afterwards, as
is very traditional here, the 4 of us (Pippa included) went to have a coffee or
cup of hot chocolate. We sat outside in
the sunshine on 20th December which is somewhat remarkable.
 |
| Coffee in the sun this morning after voting |
We won’t know
the results until late tonight but what is clear is that no party will get an
absolute majority which will make it difficult to form a new government.
But I’m more
interested tonight in Suzy coming home.
Yes, she’ll be arriving late tonight and will be here until the 29th.
My Christmas happiness will be complete when she arrives. The four of us, Miguel and Pippa will be off
to Montrondo tomorrow and staying until Christmas Eve when we will be back on
time for the Nochebuena dinner with my Father. I much look forward to quality family
time together in the village.
You will be
hearing all about that next week,
Meanwhile my
friends, I want to wish you a happy Christmas as when I write again next Sunday
Christmas day will have passed. The
photo illustrating this week’s post says it all: Merry Christmas everyone,
Cheers till
next week
Masha
No comments:
Post a Comment