Flash floods in Malaga, dinner at Oli's, off to Santa Pola, the clocks go back and other tales of the week.

Santa Pola. Sunday 28th October 2018

At the end of our walk on the beach on Saturday at my favourite picture spot and with Pippa of course. 

Good morning again friends and blog readers this time from our apartment in Santa Pola near the beach in the province of Alicante. 

Last night the clocks went back. I hate it when the clocks change, especially when they go back which means we shall have one hour less of sunlight in the evening. I do hope that one day we will do away with the clocks changing and I hope it's soon. 

Last Sunday was a sunny day. We went for a glorious walk with the dogs while Oli went swimming. We are all in need of exercise are't we?

Last Sunday too I wrote about the march in London for the people's vote. They weren't the only ones marching that day. For some weeks now, a growing group of Hondurans, up to 4.000 people, have been marching from their poverty stricken and violent country through Guatemala and Mexico hoping to get through the border there to the USA and to a better life.  Trump will stop them of course. He will do anything to stop them and calls them all criminals. I doubt they are. They are a sad group of bedraggled and hopeless people and 25% of them are minors. 

The Honduran caravan people's march to the USA

They are like the Irish who left the famines of their beloved country to make a new life in the USA in the 19th century. But they were lucky as the world didn't have the borders it has today. Trump is still hell bent on building a wall on its frontier with Mexico. Another wall, nearer to home,  in Melilla that Spanish enclave in Morocco, is also full of desperate people, mostly from North Africa, trying to climb over it to a better life in Spain. They have great difficulties too. 

Andy, meanwhile, drove up into the mountains outside Madrid and attempted to climb the highest of them all, Peñalara (2400m). He didn't make it to the top as it was far too foggy. I have never been up it and am not sure I want to try. The Tambaron  near Montrondo at 2.100m is enough for me. 

I made chicken curry for lunch that day and it was a pleasure to have Olivia join us. We all had a very lazy afternoon including the dogs. Here they are frolicking together. It's great to see Norah on the mend.  I sent the photo to Marianne, the little French girl who stayed with us in the summer. I wrote a message in French to her via her Mother to say Norah was better. Then I had a doubt between the two words "mieux" and "meilleur". I wrote "Norah est meilleure" but am not sure whether I should have used "mieux". I looked up the difference but found the explanation rather confusing. I would have to ask Helene, our French teacher later explain it properly.

The dogs frolicking together last Sunday afternoon

We had an early dinner on Sunday as Oli had to leave to go back to her apartment as she would be working all week. She would be joined by Miguel on Monday and later in the week we went to their place for dinner.

It was time for the news when Oli left. On Sunday night, the governments of the UK, France and Germany, issued a statement condemning the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and demanding urgent clarification on the circumstances of his death. Angela Merkel went even further and put a stop to the selling of arms from Germany. Where was Spain in this picture? Missing I'm afraid. Not so long ago, there was a big issue when the new Minister of Defence tried to stop the export of  a consignment of bombs. Her move backfired as the sale would have affected the supply of 5  corvettes which in turn would have meant a loss of jobs at a shipyard in the north of Spain. So dependent are we on Saudi Arabia here in Spain, that we cannot join forces with our allies in their condemnation of the killing of Khashoggi? I was disappointed. 

Later we tried to watch episode 6 of La Otra Mirada but the RTVE app was not working well with the video buffering the whole time. Thus we switched to terrestrial TV and saw a horrific film called Colonia . Set in Chile in 1973 during Pinochet's coup against Allende, it tells the story of a young German photographer, sympathetic to Allende, who is rounded up and taken to the notorious Villa Baviera at the "Colonia Dignidad" where he is tortured. His girlfriend, a German air hostess, infiltrates the cult group to find and rescue him. I'm not sure whether their story is true but what is true is that Pinochet used the installations to torture and kill his prisoners and. The Colony was run by the infamous and mad lay preacher Paul Schafer. Here he ran his own "world" which was closer to a Nazi concentration camp than anything else. What a story. It had a profound impact on me. 

Sunday's film was not for light viewing

The film also gives a hint at the collaboration of the German Embassy in Santiago de Chile. I was worried I would have nightmares afterwards but thankfully I didn't.

Monday dawned and it was to be a beautiful sunny day. Other parts of Spain weren't so lucky.  Last weekend many parts of the south and south east of the country were battered by flash floods. Some areas, mainly in Malaga, got more than half the rain they usually get in one year in just a few hours. 20 people have died in these floods and those of a few weeks ago. Remember Majorca and Valencia? Well this time it was the towns and villages on the Costa del Sol. There has been more than 30 million euros in damages. That's an awful lot. Perhaps the image which made most impact was that of the falling wall of the famous Arab baths in the beautiful town of Ronda. If you haven't seen the video, here it is. I think that the damage to the baths shows just how strong the floods and wind was this weekend. The baths have obviously seen and survived all sorts of weather and this must have been the worst since they were built over 500 years ago.

Part of the walls of the famous Arab baths in Ronda were destroyed in the flash floods in the South of Spain last weekend

No wonder the freak floods have been called "historic". They nearly ruined history too. Both Eladio and I have been shocked by so much damage in the last few weeks from some unprecedented weather in Spain and elsewhere.  That, my friends, is climate change for you and it's not going away. 

While people were clearing away debris, mud and water in these areas, we carried on with our peaceful life. I realise we live in a real bubble of peace and that our life is untouched by the horrors of the world. We only see them on television and in the news. We are indeed lucky.

That morning saw us on our walk with the dogs with Norah completely on the mend. It's shedding time for Elsa and on each walk these days, we carry a special brush to shed her as if she were a sheep hahaha. I had no idea when we got Elsa, that labradors shed their coat of hair twice a year and that it is a long process. We do our best to keep her out of the house, apart from the kitchen, and to keep it as clean and tidy as possible. Thankfully Lucy hoovers the carpets on the stairs every day. 

Being Monday, the day the Villaviciosa fruit and veg market opens, off we went after our walk to stock up on lots of it.  We dedicate a large portion of our shopping bill to fruit and veg and this is the stall we buy most of if from these days. 

The stall where we buy our fruit and vegetables at the Monday market in Villaviciosa de Odón

Later a friend sent me an article from The Guardian with fruit and veg in the headline. It was about a story I included in last Sunday's post on the subject of Spain being expected to top the world life expectancy by 2040. The Guardian's correspondent in Madrid, Sam Jones, thinks it's fruit, veg and family life, as well as a great health service that are the reasons Spaniards are living longer. I already knew fruit and veg and the good health service were great contributors and can only agree that family life, so important here, is a vital factor too. People here look after each other, especially families. For me there is nothing more important in my life and I didn't get that from living in Spain. It has been ingrained in me since I was a child. Maybe it's a Russian thing too, I don't know. The only issue I have with our family life at the moment is that our oldest daughter Suzy is living so far away and we have so little news from her. I sent her the article too, hoping it might make her realise that happiness is not in Indonesia but here in Spain with her family. She would appreciate the bit about fruit and veg as she is a vegan. Hope she reads it. Miss you and love you Suzy.

The rest of the day was very quiet. I sat outside in the afternoon with my cup of tea (decaf) and actually bumped into my two Norwegian lady guests who would leave on Tuesday morning. I had hardly seen them and wish I could have spent more time with them or introduce them to my Father, such a lover of Norway. They seem to have spent all their time out shopping, mostly for Spanish hams and other foods, and with Lise's son who is studying here. They told me they will be back in June for his graduation. I hoped they would leave me a good review and they did, yet another glowing 5 star review. 

I made a special effort for dinner that night, making one of our favourite dishes; fresh or so-called fresh giant prawns with avocado, lettuce and mango from the fruit market. Lots of fruit and vegetables you see. 

We were in bed early watching the news. There was a story on freak weather in Rome that night. More freak weather in Europe I thought, oh gosh no. The beautiful capital of Italy was covered in ice after a giant hail storm. Imagine. Thankfully no one was injured. 

Rome covered in ice after a freak hail storm on Monday

Another story of interest that day was more news on the murdering of the Saudi journalist and regime critic, Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi authorities have made a huge botch of their communication on the issue which is now dominating the world's news and worsening the kingdom's image by the minute, as if it wasn't already bad. The news that came out on Monday came from the CNN which showed footage of a man, acting as Jamal Khashoggi's double, leaving the consulate, dressed in the journalist's clothes but with different shoes, in an attempt to make it seem he had left alive. As the reporter wrote, they must have been still warm when he put them on. The Turkish authorities were quick to point out the man in the camera surveillance footage was not Jamal but a man acting as his double. Secretly, well no, not secretly at all,  I am enjoying the cringing embarrassment the whole issue must be causing the Crown Prince, who, few doubt, is the man behind the killing, despite all his efforts to hide the fact. I read he is very angry with the news coming out and that he had totally underestimated the west's reactions. I just hope the whole issue topples him off his crown. 

When the news was over, we turned to RTVE on our Amazon Fire stick. That night the buffering issue was not so bad so we enjoyed and devoured episodes six and seven of "La Otra Mirada". 

We were asleep by about midnight. I woke up on Tuesday morning very early, at around 6.05. It was to be another sunny day, one of the last before the cold weather forecast for this weekend.

Before our walk that day, we had a video call with Suzy with whom we hadn't spoken to for a long time, although we are in touch on a daily basis with the family whatsapp group. Oh I do miss her. She is so far away.  However, she seemed in very good spirits. She will be moving to new accommodation on 1st November, near to her Spanish friend, Ari who heads up the Monkey Surf Camp she stayed at in the beginning. She needs a decent place of her own with good wifi for the English online classes she gives. I asked her for a recent photo and this is what I got, a picture of her and her Indonesian boyfriend, Dous, They both look very happy. If she's happy, I am happy.

A recent photo of Suzy with her Indonesian boyfriend, Dous. 

It was just after our morning walk and over my second cup of coffee of the day, I got a sudden reservation from 2 Spanish workmen from Jaen, coming that evening for 2 nights. It was a good job Lucy had already prepared their room, the "green room" which the Norwegian ladies had just vacated. I can't believe the number of reservations for October that I have had with only one night free if you don't count our lodger, Andy. This month we have had 16 sets of guests, a record month and three more than September. November is looking quieter though as we move into the low season. The truth is I was actually looking forward to a quiet period with fewer guests, mostly because we wanted to get away for a week or so to either our house in Montrondo or our apartment near the beach. We hadn't been away since the end of August and I needed some time off and a change of environment. We chose Santa Pola in the end as the weather forecast was better.

It was such a sunny day that in the afternoon, before our guests arrived, Eladio and I sat by the pool terrace on the wicker sofas. That's such a lovely spot to sit and read in and we don't use it much in the summer as we prefer the cool of the garden.

The wicker sofas on the pool terrace. 

For dinner I prepared "chard" (acelgas in Spanish) I had bought at the fruit and veg market. Luckily we had finished our meal just before the guests started to arrive. Evgeniy from Odessa was the first to come in his little rented car. It's his first time in Madrid which he described as "such a cool city". He came  to attend dental training at a prestigious clinic in nearby Boadilla del Monte I liked him immediately. He loved his room and then I showed him round the house. He wanted to see the pool which he would later swim in. No doubt he will be the last guest to do so this year. I asked him how life was in Odessa and whether it had been affected by the troubles in the Ukraine. He said it hadn't and that it was the pearl of the Black Sea and was a peaceful lovely place. It sounds so exotic.

Not long afterwards Juan Manuel and his colleague, both from Jaen in Andalucia, arrived. They are our first worker guests, turning up in dusty overalls. They came to the area to do a a renovation job at a nearby shopping centre (Las Lomas). Our new guests then all went out in search of food and we were able to retire to our room to get ready for bed and to watch the news.

There were more developments that day in the murder case of Jamal Khashoggi. Erdogan, Turkey's PM, had promised to "reveal the naked truth" in Parliament that day. He did not reveal though, the tapes where the murder is supposedly recorded and stopped short of accusing MBS. Later though, Sky News reported that the journalist's body parts had been found in the Consul's garden!!!! What Erdogan did say though is that Khashoggi was a "victim of a ferocious pre-planned murder" which is something most of the world believes. Meanwhile, in Riyadh, King Salman and his son, MBS, the crown prince and de facto head of the kingdom and most likely mastermind behind the murder, summoned the journalist's son, Salah Khashoggi and his uncle to court.  They wanted to pay their condolences. What must the poor son have thought when having to shake the hand of his father's murderer? Inside sources of the royal family have said that Salah Khashoggi and other members of his family were being closely watched and were not allowed to travel outside the kingdom. However, there must have been some pressure from the US government as Salah has dual Saudi and US citizenship and on Friday we heard news he had left his home country. I bet every news outlet in the world would love to interview Khashoggi's son but I also guess he has to keep mum, to safeguard the rest of his relatives.

Another piece of news interested me and many people, I imagine, as it was on Tuesday that China's premiere, President Xi Jinpeng, opened the "world's longest sea-crossing bridge" At 55 kilometres long it will connect Hong Kong and Macao to mainland China.

Longest sea-crossing bridge in the world linking Hong Kong and Macao to mainland China

It took 9 years to build and cost 20 billion dollars (!!!).  I was in Hong Kong last year in May and saw part of it being built. Until now the islanders had to reach China by sea. I so remember taking the famous "Star ferry" from Lantau island where my hotel was to the Hong Kong main island. I did it on many occasions during my  fascinating 10 day stay in Hong Kong and each time marveled at the views of the sky lines of the different islands. Hong Kong is such an amazing place but I could not live there, at least not on the busy main islands.  I also remember visiting the "New Territories" island to see the famous Big Buda and this was where I could see the new bridge being built.

With the house full of guests, all of them male, we fell asleep late after watching 2 more episodes of "La Otra Mirada".

Wednesday came and I was up at the crack of dawn at just before 6 a.m. Suzy rang me which would be the second day in a row that we have spoken for quite a while. That was lovely and set me up for the day. She is far away and sometimes I feel as though I have lost her. But thanks to modern technology it's easy to be in touch. She's arriving on 12th December and she told me that she and Oli, if she is not travelling, will be singing in their school choir (St. Michaels) at a special Christmas concert to mark the 50th anniversary of the school. Both girls sang in the choir which was directed by the very talented and young choir master and music teacher, Javier. Suzy was often the solo singer. Those were happy days and we enjoyed going to their concerts. An ex member of the choir had the idea of old choir members coming together to sing this Christmas and I think it's a wonderful idea.  The concert will be on 14th December at the San Francisco el Grande church in Madrid and I won't miss it for the world. Suzy won't be able to take part in the rehearsals but they will send her the  music to study. Suzy has a great voice and is singing again in Indonesia. She rang me that morning to ask me how to set up a blog as she wants to do one for the new music group or band she is creating, "Los chuches" - an inside word the girls and their group of friends use. It was Oli who first used it when she was young, calling her sister Chuchi instead of Suzy and now all the girls use it as a term of endearment. I am so happy Suzy is singing again.

The day panned out quietly. It was another lovely sunny day. After our walk I had a sort of free morning as on Wednesday Lucy made the lunch, lentils a winter dish we favour in this house.

Pippa joined us for our siesta as she often does. She always has to have human contact and I couldn't resist taking this photo of her lying in between Eladio's legs. It's so cute.

Pippa having a siesta with us this week

The afternoon was quiet too with no sign of our guests. I would only see Andy that day.  We were invited to dinner at Oli and Miguel's that night. I offered to take along some food as they would both be home late and not have much time for cooking. I made Spanish tortilla and misjudged the amount so ended up making 3 small ones, 2 of which I took to their house.  And here they are; delicious I can tell you.

The tortillas I made this week

Miguel made some mushrooms with ham which we had with the omelets as well as fresh tomatoes, asparagus and "lomo". The table was heaving with lovely healthy food. And here we are in a selfie taken just before we started our dinner.

Dinner at Oli and Miguel's

We were up late for us - we go to bed so early - and enjoyed the food and the company and especially the "sobremesa", a word meaning the banter around a table after a meal which has no translation in English. We went for dinner that night as on Friday we would be off to Santa Pola and wouldn't see Oli for some time.

We were home by 11.30 and after seeing to the dogs and giving Norah her medicines, were in bed by nearly midnight. It was late but we couldn't resist watching a bit more of "La Otra Mirada".

On Thursday I was woken up by the sound of Elsa eating - perhaps devouring is the word - her breakfast in the kitchen - she makes so much noise when she is fed, haha. Lucy was up earlier than me and I was down by 6.05! We are early birds I must say.

Thursday saw the last of the unusually sunny weather and we made the most of it. Our walk was lovely, rather too hot actually and when I got home I changed into a summer dress probably for the last time.

I had a lunch appointment that day but before going I had to do the weekly Mercadona shopping, so as to leave enough food for Lucy and my Father in our absence.  Meanwhile Eladio went into Madrid to see his Mother who is staying with one of his brothers and where he would have lunch that day. I took the opportunity to have lunch with my best friend Fátima who, although she lives nearby, I don't see enough of. I joined her and some members of her family on Thursday where we had a meal at a quite good Asturian joint nearby, El Cielo. They offer a "menu del dia" at 12 euros per head and on Thursdays serve the popular "cocido madrileño" winter dish. This was what we had for a main course which is served after a bowl of broth with tiny noodles (caldo de cocido in Spanish).

The "cocido madrileño" we had for lunch at El Cielo de Asturias on Thursdday

Fátima was with her brother Manolo, his girlfriend Susana and their niece Sara aged 27. It was a lovely family meal. I am not part of their family but often feel like it. Here we are around the table.

Lunch with Fátima and her family

I was home by about 4ish and soon Eladio arrived. It was a bit late for a siesta so we turned to video streaming to watch more of La Otra Mirada on RTVE till we did sleep a bit. Amazingly we got up after 6 pm. So what! After a nice cup of tea, we both retired to the pool terrace to read. We were, of course, joined by Pippa. Here is Eladio reading that day.

Eladio reading by the pool on Thursday afternoon

And here am I reading opposite him with little Pippa in my arms.

Reading with Pippa on the wickerwork sofas by the pool on Thursday afternoon

We had an early dinner although I wasn't very hungry after the "cocido" and then it was up to our room again to watch the news and more of La Mirada. I was continually interrupted by Airbnb messages. First there were notifications from Alba, a student from Alicante, coming that night. Then came  a new booking for next week - just when I had hoped there would be no new guests while we were away and then a message from a guest who had booked for mid November that very morning. He wasn't very familiar with how Airbn works and we messaged backwards and forwards while I missed vital developments in our TV series. At around 11 pm, Alba arrived and I had to go out in my dressing gown to receive her. She loved the house and I loved her. She is just 23 and looks like an angel. Its a pity I wouldn't see much of her as we left for Santa Pola the next day.

The next morning, Friday, there would be no walk with the dogs as we were coming here. I gave Alba a cup of coffee and then the clever girl called an Uber which, for just 5 euros, takes her to the University in about 5 minutes The bus costs about 2 euros and takes ages so thank goodness for Uber. She will be coming back to stay at least 20 times from now until June as she is doing a Master's degree in, guess what? Well, she is a physiotherapist and her master will be in the approach of treatment to women's pelvic health after giving birth. Tell me about it! I then said goodbye to Evgeniy, knowing I would be leaving him in the good hands this weekend of Zena our weekend carer who is also from the Ukraine. I would have loved to be there when the two met.

Just as we were leaving, I got yet another Airbnb reservation, this time from a UK couple coming to see their son who is teaching English in Boadilla. It's for the  middle of November.  I didn't expect many reservations for November as it is the low season, but I now have about 6. The guy who did the professional photography for the listings (Airbnb word for adverts) assured me that with them I would get many more bookings. I think he is right.

So we left in our old Volvo (my ex Nokia car) with Pippa at about 11 am feeling happy. Everything was in order at home and we could leave for a week. I just hope all continues that way while we are in Santa Pola. It's a 4 hour drive but always takes us longer as we stop for lunch. Lunch on Friday was on the cafeteria terrace of the Parador in Albacete. It was very quiet but sunny. We were leaving the beginning of bad weather in Madrid for the sun of the South East coast. However the temperatures in this area have gone down today and rain is expected. In fact, it's expected everywhere in the country. As I said, we had debated going to Montrondo but the weather forecast was abysmal.

We got to our flat which was nice and clean, the way we had left it at the end of August, at around 4.30. It took us a while to install ourselves. We had brought new covers for the wicker chairs for the terrace and a new set of china from Ikea. I love bringing new things here.

Finally the wicker terrace chairs have new covers and they match the new sofa covers too. 

By 6.15, Pippa and I were out of the door and going for a walk to the lighthouse cliffs. Eladio stayed behind as he was tired from driving and needed a short nap as he had missed his much needed siesta.

It was a balmy evening and would be light until nearly 8 pm, not today unfortunately. We walked peacefully along the road to the end of the path which leads to the lighthouse cliffs. This is the view as we entered the path.

The lighthouse cliffs

It's a walk I always enjoy and never tire of the view. It takes about 1.5 hours there and back if you count the stop on the cliffs to sit and contemplate the view of the sea and island of Tabarca which we have now come to love. I had no one to take a photo so had to make do with a selfie and not a very good one. I am so full of wrinkles but I am 61 and have to accept them.

At the lighthouse cliffs

I tried to take one with Pippa with the sea in the background but it was mission impossible. Here I am with my darling miniature dachshund who is my shadow. Where I go, she goes and I wouldn't have it any other way.

With Pippa - a selfie by the lighthouse cliffs

There were far fewer people than in August which made the walk even nicer. We were home by about 7.30. Before we had dinner, I had some work to do. I had to update my Airbnb paperwork, mainly to include all the new reservations. What with Alba planning to come 21 times from now until next June, the task took me until well past  8 pm.

I made a lovely simple dinner with lots of veg and fruit, most of which I had bought at the Villaviciosa market  on Monday. We had lean ham with steamed asparagus, a platter of tomato with avocado and humus with carrot sticks. Dessert was melon with fresh figs. Of course Pippa got to try some of our dinner too. After all, she had been up since 6 that morning, had been on a long walk and her stomach was very empty by then.

Later we watched the news and then a very interesting documentary on the fate of more than 7000 Spaniards at the hands of the Nazis. 5000 of them died, mostly at the Mathausen concentration camp. They were not Jews and little is known of their history. They were exiled in France after the Civil War and were all Republicans who had fought against Franco. It was Franco's regime who handed them over to Hitler to do their dirty work. Most of them were rounded up in Angouleme in 1940 and we learned that the first convoy of prisoners to a concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis was of Spaniards. There are very few survivors and no homage has ever been paid to them in Spain. How unfair is that.

Later we fell asleep over another documentary, this time about Spain's number one drug trafficker, Sito Miñano from Galicia. We had seen the TV series, "Fariña" and were interested to know about the real man behind the actor who portrayed him in the series. But we fell asleep at around 11 pm and it was time for bed after a very long day.

Saturday dawned and it would be a lovely day. I was in need of a different routine after so many weeks at home, making everyone's lunches and taking care of my Airbnb guests. After a delicious breakfast - toast instead of porridge - we went into town to the Saturday market in Santa Pola. The fruit and veg on offer was a spectacular display of local and non local produce. It is much cheaper than the market in Villaviociosa. Most things were at a euro or two per kilo and we had a field day choosing and buying fruit and veg to last us until next Thursday when we shall go the same market, a smaller version of it, here in Gran Alacant. And here I am at the stall where we bought most of our provisions.

At the fruit and veg market in Santa Pola yesterday

The sun came out when we were at the market but it wouldn't last long. Later we drove to the beach to have a coffee and it began to rain, although very slightly. However, it was still warm at about 22c.

Eladio and Pippa by the beach in Santa Pola yesterday morning.

Some people were even bathing. We had more shopping to do before going home and after our coffee, we  headed to Mercadona where we bought enough, I hope, to last until we go. We came home to unload everything and by then it was time for lunch. Of course I used some of the fruit and veg - a vital part of our diet - such as the mushrooms, miniature green peppers (pimientos de padrón) which we had with some pork. Dessert was grapes, victoria plums, figs and even fresh dates. The latter grow here locally in Elche. They were delicious.

We had our lunch watching the news on the TV. That day they had caught the culprit who had been  sending letter bombs to prominent democrats in the USA. Thankfully none of them detonated. We also were horrified to hear later of the shooting in a synagogue on the Sabbath in Pittsburgh where 11 people died. Awful. These are hate crimes and terrorism, the scourge of our times.

After a restful siesta and a cup of tea, it was time for our daily walk and we went down to the beach with Pippa. It was a very different beach to when we go in the summer or when we were last here in August. There was zero problem parking and the beach was nearly empty. There were a few people strolling with their dogs and some doing exercise. What I found funny was to see two wedding photo shoots. Of course I had to photograph them, like this couple in front of a row of colourful beach cabins.

Photo shoot on the beach yesterday

I wondered whether the photos were being taken ahead of the wedding, the day of the wedding or a few days after the wedding. The latter seems to be increasingly popular. I could only suppose the couple were having photos taken after the event as later I saw them going into the sea and the bride's dress becoming impossibly wet. Surely she wasn't going out to party afterwards?

Bride and groom in the water!

We did not go in, neither did we fancy it. It wasn't cold but very windy. Pippa thoroughly enjoyed our windy walk on the beach yesterday. She ran here and there, rushing back to us but never venturing into the water which she hates. I had to bathe her though when we got back, something she is resigned to but never likes hahaha.

Eladio and Pippa on our walk on the empty beach yesterday

We walked to the end, to my favourite spot where the rocks begin and people go fishing. We only saw two people fishing that day. There is one particular rock I love and where I always sit when we get to the end of our walk. I have countless photos there and the photo Eladio took of me there yesterday is the one I have chosen to illustrate this week's post. It is from this point where you can see our apartment block and here I took a photo of Eladio pointing it out. I remember 19 years ago when we walked on this beach for the first time and looked up at the block of apartments where we had bought ours and being so happy with our choice.

Eladio pointing out our apartment block yesterday on our walk

It's a modest little place, nothing fancy, but suits our needs for holiday accommodation near the sea and we love coming here together.

We walked back, this time with the wind in our favour. It was getting dark already at 7.15. Today it will be even earlier. What a shame.

We came home to read a bit and potter around before making a lovely dinner of prawns with more produce from the market - avocados, lettuce and mango. That makes a delicious combination. Just as we were leisurely making our dinner it began to pour it down. Storms in this area - the Levante - can be ferocious and I was dreading anything like what had happened in Mallorca, Valencia or around Málaga. The skies were alight with lightening and the thunder was so loud, poor Pippa was scared and wouldn't leave our side. It bucketed it down for about an hour but thankfully the storm wound down not so long afterwards. When I took Pippa out to the garden later, there were already dry parts but some of the paths were a little flooded. I hope we don't get another storm like that today. In the north of Spain it has snowed, so no doubt it may well be all covered in white in Montrondo and far far colder.

We finished the TV series, La Mirada, last night and made ourselves stay up late so as not to wake up too early this morning because of the clocks going back. Thus we started on a new series on Netflix, The Bodyguard, which seems very promising.

Today I woke up early, too early and forced myself to stay in bed until 7 0'clock new time. It was nice to see it already light outside. But it was cold in the apartment as the temperature had plummeted after last night's storm. Thus the heating had to go on; our gas stove and our electric radiator which soon warmed up the apartment.

And here I am finishing writing this week's post with just Pippa for company. I'm not sure how today will pan out but no doubt you will read about it in next week's post.

I hope you enjoy reading the stories of this week. More from me next Sunday. Till then, cheers, Masha

Olivia home from the USA, Spain to top world life expectancy, Mariano Guindal receives prestigious press award, what happened to Jamal Khashoggi? Chocolate from Norway, the people marched in London and other stories.

Sunday 21st October, 2018

Eladio and I with our dear friend Mariano Guindal the night of his press award. 

Good  morning friends and readers. How has your week been? Here autumn arrived with a bang thanks to Hurrican Leslie which battered Portugal and left parts of Spain reeling from its aftermath with lots of rain and very strong winds.

Last Sunday was the first cold day after the summer. Our Russians from Lithuania left early and the house felt a little less invaded after their departure. Andy, our long staying lodger, went to visit Avila, that beautiful medieval walled city about 1.5h north of Madrid. I guess it wasn't the best day to go. Our Belgians, or should I say, our Lebanese guests went out too. Their destination were the fashion outlets in Las Rozas. 

The house felt quiet and after preparing the lunch, "fabada" (Asturian bean stew) and leaving it to simmer, Eladio and I dared the weather and went for our walk with the dogs. It was quite unpleasant; cold and windy with some rain. We didn't finish the walk and instead of doing 6km, we did about 4. I hate our walks in bad weather.

Just as we were sitting down to lunch with my Father, Oli had landed at Barajas airport from LA where her flight back from Albuquerque had been rerouted. She was home too late for lunch with us but we would see her later in the day.

We had a quiet afternoon together reading in the lounge, instead of by the pool - it was far too cold for that. There was some sunshine in the afternoon but the maximum temperature was only 15ºc so we stayed inside, reading to music. I don't know what Eladio was reading but I continued my book  on my trusted Kindle, South from Granada by Gerald Brennan. It is a fascinating insight into village life in Spain in the early 20's of the last century. 

Oli and Miguel arrived at about 19.30 and it was a joy to see them. Oli had been away for about 10 days and we had missed her. We made a delicious dinner of duck and mango salad which we had with a plate of good quality "lomo" and humus with carrot sticks. I wasn't very hungry after the fabada we had for lunch and didn't have much of the main course. However, after dinner, I got out Rania's delicious Belgian biscuits which none of us could resist. Miguel had given me a present too, a great big slab of Nestlé white chocolate he had bought on his travels in Croatia. He knows I can't resist white chocolate.

Miguel and Oli (with Pippa) at dinner on Sunday night

We had lots to catch up on during and after dinner and it was a very pleasant meal. My dear youngest daughter had bought us presents during her stay in New Mexico, t-shirts and a mini hot air balloon which is apparently a symbol of Albuquerque where a famous balloon festival takes place on an annual basis. She also brought a copy of Saturday's New York Times for my Father. He loves to read "foreign" newspapers and she nearly always brings him one from her travels. I wondered where she would be going next. 

Meanwhile, our Belgian-Lebanese family were out for dinner on their last night with us. We missed saying goodbye to Pierre, but later when we had gone to bed, they were back and I left our bedroom to say goodbye to Rania and her youngest son Raphael. It was sad to say goodbye and I only wished we had had more time together but of course my new found friend was with her family most of the time. Hopefully she will come again soon and maybe on her own. Or, maybe, as she suggests, I might visit her in Brussels. Sandra, if you are reading this, how about a girly weekend soon with you and Adele in the Belgian capital? I would love to introduce Rania to my dear friends Sandra and Adele too. 

TV on Sunday night was exciting as we happened across a film on terrestrial TV that was just starting as we got into bed and which looked promising. Starring Liam Neeson, of Schindler's List fame, "Unknown" (2011) is a psychological thriller set in Germany well worth watching if you haven't seen it already. It had us up and alert right to the very end, a sure sign of a good film. 

I didn't sleep very well after that, maybe because of too much suspense and action. But I did sleep through Rania and her family's departure. They must have left the house at about 5 am to catch their 7.30 flight back to Brussels.  I was up at just after 6.20 to find that Lucy had already fed the dogs. 

Monday would be the first day in a long time with no new guests. This week would be guest free, apart from our lodger Andy, until Wednesday. In a way it was nice to be alone.

It was a cold and wet day with mercury never rising above 13ºc. I so miss the warm weather.  However, I shouldn't complain as Madrid was not much affected by Hurricane Leslie which hit Portugal, Zamora in North West Spain and caused death and devastation in the South of France. We couldn't go for our walk that morning as we had an appointment with the vet for Norah. It was just  for a check up and blood test but even so we ended up paying over 150 euros! And here is our poor old Beagle at the vet. She doesn't have good memories of her stay at the hospital there a few weeks ago and didn't want to cross the threshold as we entered.

Norah at the vet on Monday.

We would get the results later in the day and would have to go back for her  new medication in the afternoon.

No sooner had we got home, then we were out again and off to the Villaviciosa Monday fruit and vegetable market. I should add I was wearing a coat for the first time in months. Eladio didn't wear his and was freezing. With two great crates of provisions, we drove to Carrefour Market to buy some lamb for lunch. Lamb is my favourite meat yet we hardly ever eat it.

It was in the middle of the morning that Kensington Palace made an important announcement. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle are expecting and will have a baby in the spring. That was quick work as they only married 5 months ago. The announcement came as they were making their first solo tour in Australia. The world was happy for them. Me too.

We came home and unloaded all the fruit and veg and then I made lunch; vegetable soup which I rustled up in a jiffy followed by lamb steak and baked potatoes. In between cooking and before and after our siesta I had some work to do which I managed to juggle into my day as I'm quite a good juggler you know hahaha. It was during lunch that my Father announced to us that he had been with us for 13 years that day and thanked us for looking after him. His memory is amazing. I knew he had come to live with us in October 2005 but had no idea of the date. Now I do, 15th October. Lovely to have you Daddy. 

We were soon upstairs in our room and watching the news after which we would have a short siesta. It was cold.  November is  the official month it is generally switched on in Spain and it goes back off again in May. I think that is a stupid custom. Thus I had to snuggle under a thick blanket. 

I was happy to hear the news issued from an organisation called WONCA (World Organisation of Family Doctors) that the winner for the Europe Award of Excellence in Health Care, something called The 5 Star Doctor 2017, had been awarded to a Spanish doctor, Dr. Veronica Casado from Valladolid in Spain. Well done Dr. Casado. I have to say Spanish doctors in general are very hands on and are much more approachable than in the UK, in my experience. She must have been bowled over when she heard she was chosen as the best GP in the world. 

Best GP in Europe according to Wonca, is from Spain. Well done Veronica Casado

On this same subject, while investigating this story, I also found out that Spanish healthcare is the most efficient in Europe and ranks 33rd in the world (source data analysis from Bloomberg - see link here). That did not surprise me, as although all Spaniards moan about the health system in Spain, I have only really ever had a good experience. I feel in safe hands here health wise and I think my Father would second that.

It rained so much in the afternoon that on Monday we totally skipped our walk and I missed it. Instead I worked and then read with Eladio in the lounge. I also prepared our dinner with the huge bunch of chard I had bought at the market. It's amazing how it shrinks so much when you cook it, much like spinach.

England played Spain that night in the new UEFA Nations League. The match was held in Seville and I'm embarrassed to say that a horrible group of thugs - football hooligans - clashed with the police as they went on a drunken rampage in that most beautiful of Spanish cities in the south of Spain. It was no surprise later that the Spanish spectators booed during the National Anthem although they shouldn't have. The match did not go well for Spain with England scoring 2 early goals. I was completely bored and suggested to Eladio we watch a film instead. I just didn't want to see Spain thrashed, although they weren't really as the final score was 3-2 to England.

In any case we turned to Netflix. That night we watched most of a period drama called The Remains of the Day with a host of well known stars including Anthony Hopkins. He plays an old time butler in an English manor house. The film is an adaptation of a Booker Prize novel by Kazuo Ishiguro and I loved it. Well, you see, I am a sucker for English period drama stories.

On Tuesday when dawn came and it comes late at this time of year at 07.30, the sun made its appearance and that really lifted my spirits. It was to be a warm day and a lovely one. That morning we only took Pippa and Elsa on our walk as Norah didn't look very well. However, later on, she perked up thankfully. She was worrying us a bit this week.

That morning, as usual,  I read the news and I was happy to read that in a study done by the University of Washington, Spain is predicted to top the world life expectancy league table in 2040, beating Japan. It already is in the top 3. Reportedly, health has a lot to do with it as does the Mediterranean diet. I'll be 83 by then and hopefully in good shape but who knows.

Spain's Mediterranean diet is part of the secret behind long life expectations in this country.

Spain's life expectancy is already one of the highest in the world and by 2040 the average age has gone up a few years from the current 85.8 to 87.4.  While Spain is top of this ranking, the UK, currently ranked 26th will rise  to 23rd with an average life expectancy of 83.3. The US is a lot further down the table. For your information, the bottom ranked country is Lesotho in Southern Africa. You can read more about the study here. I was happy to read that I am living in the right country for life expectancy, as well as with one of the best health systems in the world. Spain rocks!

On the subject of the Mediterranean diet, I made a typical Spanish dish on Tuesday for lunch, based on chickpeas, different sorts of meat and lots of vegetables, called "cocido madrileño". It's the perfect winter dish and I made it for Oli and Miguel who came to lunch that day.  So happy was I to see the lovely couple join us that I forgot to take a photo of the meal I made. So here is one I found on the web for those of you who are not familiar with this very Spanish dish which has its different variations depending on the area it is cooked in. I, myself, far prefer the Madrid recipe.

Cocido madrileño

Oli and I chatted for a while after lunch until it was time for a siesta. They left without me seeing them, but no worries, we would be seeing Oli, at least, again, on Friday when we went for our weekly dinner out. It was lovely to have her back.

Later I sat by the pool with my book for a while in the sun which was pure joy. I was joined by the dogs and soon by Eladio. But we couldn't read for long as we had to get ready to go out and be in Madrid by 7.30 pm. We had been invited to a very prestigious press award at the very swanky and imposing Madrid stock exchange palace next to the Prado and the Ritz hotel in Madrid. The prize was being awarded to our good friend and my colleague, Mariano Guindal. His wife, Mar, had invited us and we were looking forward to seeing their son San who we hadn't seen for a few years. Both my daughters tutored him when he was younger. So, we are very close to this lovely family. I know Mariano from since I was a Press officer for Motorola and he the chief financial editor of the La Vanguardia, Barcelona, based newspaper. After taking him on a celebrated press trip to visit the Motorola factory near Edinburgh and where we stayed at the incredible Gleneagles Hotel, we became friends for life. When we first met, he did not use a mobile phone, rather he relied on a pager which was old fashioned even for those times - the mid 90's I think.  I am told by Mar that in his autobiography, shortly to be published, I feature in the book (Un hombre con buena suerte). I can't wait to read it and also find out what he has written about me.

Mariano's new book soon to be out and in which apparently I feature.

He is one of the top, if not the top, financial journalists in this country and knows everyone there is to know. He was to receive the Carlos Humanes European financial journalist of the year award in its first edition. The prize was to be given to him by the new Minister for Finance, Nadia Calviño and is worth 20.000 euros. I hope they spend it on a lovely trip somewhere. They deserve it. The occasion deserved elegant evening wear. I had plenty of dresses to choose from but finding a decent outfit for my ex teacher husband Eladio, proved a little more difficult. He has suits but they are more than 20 years old. Well, in the end, we found a suitable beige one which he wore with a white shirt (what else?) and one of his bow ties. Not many men can carry off wearing a bow tie but they look great on my husband. Here he is ready to leave and looking very dapper. By the way, we were both pleasantly surprised to see the trousers were too big around the waist as it usually happens the other way around.

Eladio in a suit, not often that you see him in one

I wore a black dress with an orange blazer and embroidered pashmina I bought many years ago in Udaipur in India. Here I am too, ready for a wonderful night out.

Dressed up to go out on Tuesday

It was a beautiful balmy evening and wonderful to be going out and doing something different. Of course, during my long career I have been to many events like Tuesday night's. But I haven't done so for a long time and also the event would be very personal for us as Mariano and his wife Mar are our friends.

We parked amazingly easily, next to the Prado and walked the short distance to the magnificent Stock Exchange building which is really a palace.  It was packed with some very familiar faces. The creme de la creme of Spanish finances was present that night from the new Minister down. But it was Mariano we wanted to see and hug as well as his wife Mar and even more, their son San, who we hadn't seen for at least 4 years. We had a photo taken together which I later sent to the girls who are very fond of him.

With San at the Press Award event on Tuesday

Soon the ceremony started with lots of introductions and stories from Mariano's younger days. The ex Minister for Finance, under Felipe González, Carlos Solchaga, was especially interesting to hear. We were on the front row so I was in prime position to take photos such as the one below of the prize winner standing next to the two Ministers, one past and one present. I couldn't have been prouder, nor could his dear wife Mar who, by the way, is a journalist too and worked closely with him for 20 years for La Vanguardia.

Mariano pictured at the press award evening and flanked by two ministers

Mar and San looking on and Mar visibly emotional. I was too.

After the lovely prize giving ceremony, charged with emotion and laughter, a most amazing cocktail was served. Both Eladio and I were very hungry as I imagine everyone else was and soon we were being offered the most tantalising of dishes, each one more imaginative and tasty too. It was on Tuesday night that Eladio tried an oyster for the first time. There is always a first time for everything. He embarrassed me by asking the waiter how to eat it!!!! I think he replied, with your mouth hahahaha.   As we are early to bed people and we had a long drive home, at about 9.30 we made a move to leave, but not without thanking our lovely hosts and friends for a wonderful evening and of course congratulating them. I have chosen the photo of us both with Mariano as this week's feature photo. It was taken by San.

As we walked out of the magnificent stock exchange palace building and into the night, surrounded by beautiful old and prestigious buildings, such as the Ritz Hotel, we went to get our car, walking the lovely streets with the most amazing houses which must cost a fortune. I wondered why they make such ugly buildings today, compared to those of the past. We even walked by the house where the great Spanish writer of the Generation of 1927, Pio Baroja lived. His book, El Arbol de la Ciencia, was the first I ever read in Spanish when I began my degree at Nottingham University. I have come along way since then, but it was uncanny to walk past his house on Tuesday and think that what goes round comes round. It does doesn't it?

We were in bed by 10.30, happy with our lovely evening out and were soon watching or rather re-watching part of the Anthony Hopkins film, The Remains of the Day.

Wednesday came and it was another warm day; well the temperatures reached 22ºc which is not bad for the middle of October. Norah joined us on our walk that day. We had a quiet morning, part of which I spent working on an upcoming press release. Lunch was leftovers but also time with my Father. I always serve him my home made vegetable soup for starters which he loves. I make it with pumpkin, carrots, courgettes, leeks and potatoes and it lasts a few days. 

We watched the news after lunch as we always do. The mystery of the disappearance of the Saudi Arabian journalist and critic, Jamal Khashoggi, has continued to dominate the headlines this week and put a strain on relations with Saudi Arabia as so it should. The Turkish authorities swore they had evidence he was tortured to death but won't release the tapes. Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, oka MBS, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom, has been under so much pressure, he finally admitted the Saudi citizen may have been murdered "by mistake" by rogue killers at the Embassy. Later he would change his story once again. No one, except perhaps Donald Trump, believed him  as it would be unprecedented for something like this to happen without MBS' direct intervention. This ghastly, gory story continues and I can only hope that something good comes out of  it. Maybe the Saudi regime will finally realise that actions like this are totally unacceptable in the western world. 

Later I read by the pool. It was too cold in the shade so I sat for a while in the sun where it was too hot, hahha. Having finished Gerald Brennan's rather rambling story of Spain in the beginning of the last century, South from Granada, I went for something with a much faster pace. Frederick Forsyth's "Cobra" was my choice. It's about the war against the drug world, specifically cocaine coming out of Colombia. It makes for some chilling and frightening reading, must of it very true to real life. 

I was interrupted by the arrival of our new Airbnb guests, two Norwegian ladies who are cousins; Lise and Trina. Lise's son is studying psychology at the UEM University and they had come to see him. I and the 3 dogs duly greeted them, the dogs louder than I, hahahha and let them into the house. They remarked it was very big which is what most people say when they arrive.  A lot of people get lost too haha. They were to sleep in the "green room" which is a twin bedroom on the top floor with its own private terrace as well as bathroom. Trina was pleased as she was able to smoke outside. They had brought me a present; yet another present from yet another Airbnb guest. I seem to be getting a lot recently. They gave me some lovely thin heart shaped milk chocolates by the quite well known Norwegian chocolate makers, Freia. This is the lovely box.

The box of chocolates my Norwegian guests brought me

You may not know it but the Norwegian chocolate makers, Freia, also make a chocolate bar called "kvikk lunsj"(meaning quick lunch) which is nearly identical to Nestlé's  "kit kat" introduced by Rowntrees in 1935 I think. There has been an ongoing battle re patenting the shape of the chocolate - four fingered bar. Freia introduced the "kvikk lunsj" 2 years later than Rowntrees or so I read. Rowntrees was an English chocolate business with a factory in York which developed the kit kat but also "aero", fruit pastilles, rolos and Quality street. My brother used to work there in the summer when we lived in Yorkshire and lucky us, he would bring home free chocolate not suitable for sale because the shape was wrong. Later Rowntrees merged with Mackintosh in 1969 and they were eventually bought by Nestlé.  Oli's first trip with her travel programme was to Norway and she brought a "kvik lunsj" back for my Father, a great lover of that country and she told me that story which I found fascinating. But then I am  a great chocolate fan.

Kit Kat vs Kvikk Lunsj, the Norwegian version

Some years ago The Guardian did a survey to see which one tasted better. The Norwegian one came up better in taste but the crunch in the biscuit by Nestlé was apparently better. I don't know whether they taste the same as I have never tried a "kvikk lunsj" but certainly would not have it for "lunch". 

We had had a big lunch so went for a lighter dinner, well not that light hahaha. While our Norwegian ladies were enjoying a thermos of coffee and a bottle of wine and some of my Belgian biscuits on their terrace in the green room, I prepared our dinner. Out of some of the cooked chicken from the "cocido" I made a chicken mango and avocado salad with lettuce from the market. It's one of our favourite salads. I'm afraid that after dinner we tried the Norwegian chocolate and it was delicious. We left the box on the island in the kitchen for Andy, our Scottish guest, to help himself. We didn't see the Norwegians again until the next day although they went out to dinner with Lise's son and his girlfriend. What we did notice is that they left the lights on in their room, something guests do a lot and which drives Eladio mad hahaha.

TV streaming entertainment that night was disappointing. We tried a new series called The Haunting of Hill House, much recommended, but we just don't like fantasy, science fiction or ghost stories so we were soon asleep.

Thursday dawned and I had my leisurely breakfast over the news. I am fascinated and horrified of the story of the killing of the Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. That day The Washington Post published his last article and ironically it was about the lack of freedom of expression in the Arab world. You can read it here. As the story unfolds, we hear more gruesome details of the man's death at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul where he went to get a divorce certificate and never emerged again. We also heard on Thursday that finally the Saudis were "collaborating" with the Turkish authorities to investigate the events that led to his disappearance. It has been confirmed that the 15 men who arrived from Riyadh the night before Jamal entered the building are all members of MSB's hit brigade. So it's hard to believe that MSB who denies all knowledge, was not behind the killing. Of course he was but had to find an excuse for what happened. That would come on Saturday morning.  Funnily enough one of them was found dead in suspicious circumstances that day in Saudi Arabia. This whole event is becoming a turning point in relations between the West and the Kingdom with announcements of top participants boycotting the upcoming business forum there dubbed the Saudi "Davos". I'm glad that is happening. The West, until now, put up with the Saudi terror regime to secure arms deals worth billions of dollars and even more importantly many workers' jobs as well as cheap oil. That is the crux of the question; yes, money which always rears its ugly head. And, if there is lots of money, who cares about unscrupulous governments? 

The profile picture of Jamal Khashoggi which accompanies his last article published by the WP on Thursday

I was so engrossed in the news I completely forgot I had an appointment with my eye specialist at 9.30 that morning. I had to hurry if I was to be there on time and of course there would be traffic. I made it just on time but then the Doctor was late and I ended up waiting more than an hour in the waiting room. The check up was to see how my eyes were after the cataract surgery on both of them earlier in the year and corrective laser surgery on my left eye which had to be done as there was still some astigmatism after the first operation. I have to say that from about July onward, I have been seeing very well and have had little trouble with dry eye syndrome. I can see pretty well now although still better with my right eye. I use strength two prescription glasses  but only for very small print and usually forget to carry them, except when I go out for dinner so that I can read the restaurant menu. Why oh why, is the print on restaurant menus just so small? That added to dimmed lighting make them impossible to read. My eye doctor agreed and even he, like most of us over 50, uses the torch on his mobile phone to read them. Dr. Castillo was pleased with my progress, which, if not perfect, is good enough for every day life. Every day life without glasses was unthinkable for me before and now I have got used to it. I left the Eye Unit, feeling good but oh so hungry. It was 11.30 by the time I had finished and my breakfast which I had had at 6.30 was a forgotten meal. So, naughtily, I went into the hospital cafeteria to have a cup of coffee and a delicious croissant.

Oli rang me on my way out asking me things about Leeds of all places. If you are not from the UK, Leeds is a big city located in my beloved Yorkshire or rather West Yorkshire. My Mother used to teach at Leeds University. I thought she was asking me as it was to be her next destination with her programme job and had visions of joining her. But it turned out it was for a colleague. I suggested all sorts of things to do and visit outside Leeds such as: the Moors, Bronté country, the spa town of Harrogate, Saltaire village and of course the Yorkshire Dales. I don't know much about Leeds itself although I lived in Bradford which is actually terribly near. Thus I looked up what Leeds was famous for or rather unknown interesting facts about Leeds. I was surprised to find out that it was where the most successful design of  the common mouse trap was invented  (1899 the "little nipper mousetrap") as well as the board game Cluedo (Waddingtons 1949) and that M&S started there with its penny bazaar store set up by Mr. Michael Marks in 1884 . I wonder if any of my Yorkshire friends are reading this and knew about the latter hehehe. PS I found it all out on this link.  For me, it was the town I went  to by train to see my Mother or sometimes to go shopping. I was never impressed with it as it was just a big and ugly industrial city. Today, maybe, like Manchester, it has probably improved a lot. In any case, I shall certainly watch the programme when it is aired. 

I was home late but still on time for our walk. Noelia, Norah's vet, rang to say her blood test results for the leishmania she has were a lot better but to continue with her medication. She is a lot better and I think is now through the worst. So, our worries are now nearly over.

At lunch I told my Father the funny things I had found out about Leeds. I also told him that Oli's next destination maybe to the town of Graz in Austria. I have never been to Graz but I love Austria. 

It was supposed to rain on Thursday  in Madrid but it never came. Instead it poured it down in the South and South East with Valencia and Castellón the worst hit. Schools closed down and I heard on the news that there had been the equivalent of 5 litres of water per minute which is much more than torrential rain classified at 1 litre per minute. I think a lot of the images we saw on the TV news on TVE that day were from Oli's boyfriend Miguel who is a cameraman there. 

In the afternoon we read inside while our Norwegian guests were out shopping. They seem to be more keen on shopping centres than on tourism but then again they may have been here often. I must say we have hardly seen them. 

There's not much else to say about Thursday. It was a quiet day and ended with us watching a lovely new series on TV, this time on the RTVE streaming service which, unfortunately, does not have subtitles. Both Eladio and I need them as he can't hear very well and I have got used to them and now need them hahahah. We began watching a Spanish TV series called "La Otra Mirada" set in Seville in the 1920's and about a ladies college which is very modern for its times.  As I said, I love period dramas and so does Eladio.

Friday came and brought rain and lots of it. Thus we never got our walk. It was cold too as was the house and I insisted to Eladio it was time to turn on the central heating in all the house despite it not being 1st November.  He didn't protest and now I am writing from a warm room at last.

I did my French homework that day and it took me quite a while. It was exercises about prices and the horrible pronouns, celui-ci, celui-qui, etc which are not at all easy to use. I'm afraid my memory is not what it was and thus it is far more difficult today to memorise new grammar. Oh why didn't I listen to my French teachers at St. Joseph's College more? Most of my French comes from when my parents sent me to a camp aged 10 in Grenoble for 6 weeks and that is the vocab, etc, I remember and still rely on when talking French. However the gaps are slowly being filled and some progress is being made hahaha. It didn't help that the homework was from our lesson 3 weeks ago, before Oli went to New Mexico. I should have done it earlier.

Doing my French homework on Friday morning

A worse task was doing the weekly shopping with Eladio at Mercadona afterwards. I do like shopping, but not particularly food shopping, and I definitely do not like food shopping at the low cost supermarket which so dominates in Spain. We only go there for the basics and I'm afraid the basics don't "turn me on". I far prefer buying delicatessen stuff at Carrefour Market. We were home well on time for lunch which we had with my Father, as always, in our huge dining room, surrounded by antiques and bric-a-brac which come mostly from my grandparents. We do have the odd Russian piece or two such as a beautiful pre-revolutionary icon, my Mother smuggled out of Russia in the 60's, as well as her family somovar and a newer one too. After lunch we all indulged in the Norwegian chocolate. There was "turrón" (Spanish nougat eaten at Christmas) in the supermarket that day, a bit like crackers, etc in the UK in October, and I bought some for Eladio and my Father who both love it. I'm not particularly keen.

The afternoon was spent in the lounge reading and listening to Vivaldi's 4 seasons repeatedly as I couldn't be bothered to change the CD. But it's so beautiful I was happy to listen to it all afternoon. It was very cozy what with the rain outside. I was joined by Andy, back from work early, it being a Friday afternoon.

Oli was coming home on Friday after work and we would be going out to dinner, the 3 of us. We chose a place in Pozuelo, "Zurito" we hadn't been to for a long time. We had a great dinner but all agreed the service was slow and we complained they had taken our favourite item off the menu, the artichokes and there was not much more veg to choose from. In any case, we had a great meal and it was  a lovely way to end the week. I do so enjoy our Friday dinners out. And here are Oli and I at the table that evening enjoying being together.

Oli and I at Zurito in Pozuelo on Friday night

My meal was slightly interrupted by a ping on my phone from the Airbnb app - business is business you see (hahaha).  Yevgeni from Odessa in the Ukraine, of all places, had made an instant booking and I had to answer and fiddle around with the calendar, send him the house info pack, etc. He is a dentist and coming here to do some specialist course. He was interested to know about my Russian roots. Well, of course he would be. He arrives next Tuesday.  That night, too, my Italian repeat dental hygiene student arrived too so all three rooms that I hire out are occupied this weekend. 

We were home late, at about 11.30. Just as I got into bed, Eladio was watching the Tom Cruise film, Valkiria about the assassination attempt on Hitler. We had seen it before but ages ago. We didn't remember the details  - the outcome of course we knew - and were awake until the end which was about 1.30 in the morning. My night didn't start well. I had a nightmare about having a baby I kept forgetting to feed and it was getting skinnier and skinnier. My mother was in the dream as was Suzy, my older daughter and the dream took place in England in my parents's home in Bradford and at times moved to Callosa where we had a house near Alicante. Thank goodness I woke up before the baby died and had my dear husband comfort me through my tears. I hate my nightmares. They don't come often but they are always terrible. I have no idea what prompted Friday night's one.

Saturday came and I was up late, at nearly 7. I was astounded to read that the Saudi government had finally owned up to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,  admitting he had been "killed in a fight" at the consulate in Istanbul. It seems funny that if he only went into the consulate to get a divorce certificate that he would get into a fight with MSB's hit men. Some of his killers, all from MSB's security entail, were sacked, as his very obvious scapegoats in the whole affair. Up till now the Kingdom had denied the journalist had died so on Saturday they changed their story, obviously after the mounting international pressure. But who is to believe the Crown Prince was not behind his gruesome killing? I wonder what they will say when his dismembered body appears if it ever does? For me, nothing that comes out of that medieval and cruel country is worthy of any credibility whatsoever.

Saturday came and I was up late for me at just before 7 am. Oli and Eladio took a lot longer to get up and be ready for our walk. Thus I took the time to prepare our lunch. I made a delicious soup out of mushrooms and broccoli for my Father but which we ate too. I offered some to Andy, our lodger, who thought it was marvelous.

Marvelous indeed was our late walk that morning in the sun with the dogs. Oli came with us and while we walked she ran most of the way. There were few other walkers or bikers and we had the path mostly to ourselves.

I just had time to make a coffee for Oli and myself before our French lesson with Helene at 12.30. She always arrives promptly and lessons with her are both a challenge and a pleasure. We went over our homework and then started new exercises all about size, quantity and measurement. So that day I learned that square metres is "mètres carrés". The hour went past quickly as it always does. When Helene left, Oli went to get ready to go out to lunch with school friends and I went into the kitchen to make the final preparations for lunch. 

There were no signs of our Norwegian or Italian guests, just Andy. I only saw Giovanni in the afternoon. He arrived on Friday night late and I left the keys in a secret place for him. He will be leaving this morning and I do hope I get to say goodbye. He will be coming again in a few weeks time. He is the perfect guest and no doubt he loved staying in Suzy's large and beautiful room.

While we had a leisurely afternoon, some 700.000 people gathered in London for what has been called "the people's vote march", a protest in London to get a referendum on the final Brexit deal.  They came from all over the UK and from Europe. It was one of the biggest protest marchers since the one against war with Iraq. The organisers argue that when people voted in 2016 they "did not vote for a bad deal or no deal that looks set to wreck the economy for generations". I couldn't agree with them more. They are also calling for a second referendum to include staying in the EU. Lots of young people attended. It is estimated that there are about 2 million people who were too young to vote in 2016 and who argue they had no say in  being stripped of their freedom of movement and European citizenship. I didn't either and it annoys me greatly. I can only hope yesterday's march makes Theresa May and her Cabinet rethink what the hell they are doing and let the people speak for once. The people were lied to 2 years ago and it is the people who should decide their future not a divided and sinking government which is unable to deliver on the promises made for leaving Europe. I would have liked to be there yesterday, although I was there in spirit. 

An image of yesterday's people's vote march in London

I just hope the march serves its purpose. That's what Eladio and I spoke about over a quiet dinner where we had the kitchen to ourselves. It was much quieter here this weekend compared to last weekend when we had 8 guests staying.

I was amazed yesterday evening to suddenly get a reservation for August 2019, that is 10 months in advance. An English family of 5 have confirmed a booking for a week in August. That is early planning. 

It rained just before and after dinner. It didn't last long but was a very big downpour. We had left the poor dogs outside and Eladio had to rush down and let them in.  Ah, and that night, before going to bed we had our flu jabs. I had bought the vaccine this week and Eladio injected mine and needed my assistance to inject his, although I have to say he was the one who put the needle in. I have seen him do injections countless times and it looks easy, yet I have never tried.

We watched the news on 2 different channels - La Sexta and TVE - and knowing the news backwards we turned to video streaming. We continued watching "La Otra Mirada" and saw 2 episodes last night which we devoured. I am loving it. 

Actors and actresses from La Otra Mirada. 

Today my friends is Sunday and when I woke up it was raining again .Good weather was forecast for this weekend but the weather people got it wrong. Even so, I'm sure it will stop at some time, allowing us to go on our walk.

We shall have a quiet Sunday or at least that is my intention.

So my friends, I am now at the end of the tales of this week and will leave you to get on with the day.

I hope yours is good.

All the best till next week,

Masha