11th November 2018
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| With our dogs on our sunny walk on Thursday this week |
Today is Armistice Day. 100 years ago today on November 11th 1918, when my Father was a few months old, the armistice came into forth on "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" and marked the ceasefire of fighting between the Germans and the Allies in WW1 also to be known as the Great War. In England this is celebrated by wearing a red poppy, a tradition I loved when I lived in England.
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| Chelsea pensioners visiting the poppy factory in Edinburgh. Photo from the BBC |
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| The Tower of London lit up by torches in remembrance of WW1 |
There has been lots of news this week, most of it negative as usual. So I bring to you a different sort of news, something far nicer than the things we usually read. It was totally different story that captured my imagination this week and which although not a new story, only emerged this week. It's about an animal and you know my love of animals.
On 2nd October, a "zonkey" (cross between a zebra and donkey) was born in England, the second only in my home country. This is a very rare occurrence and I was interested to read how it had happened. Well, Zippy as the zonkey is called was born on October 2nd on a farm in Somerset. The owner Kristine Turner had a zebra, amazingly, which lived peacefully with her donkeys. She had hoped it would become pregnant with one of them and then never noticed when it did, as "it was always quite fat", until Zippy was born. Here by the way is Zippy, part wild, part domesticated with its Zebra mother, Ziggy. The Father, is a donkey called Rag. I wonder what Rag thinks about his funny offspring. I knew of course that you can cross donkeys with horses with which you get sterile mules and had heard of zebras being crossed with donkeys but this is the first case I have read about in recent years. I wonder if you can cross a horse with a zebra? Probably. The British press had a field day using "a zebra crossing" to describe the occasion. Oh don't they love tongue in cheek and play on words in their headlines. I do too.
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| Ziggy the mother Zebra with her offspring Zippy the "zonkey" |
Last Sunday was back to home routine. I was up at 7 rather than 6 and this has been happening a lot since the clocks turned back. I am surprised but pleased.
As I was writing last week's post, one of my Airbnb guests, a young student called Juan from Aguilas (Murcia) was leaving and wanted to say goodbye. We had hardly seen him as he had arrived when we were away. He says he will be back but we are nearly fully booked for the rest of the month so let's see. Believe it or not he had brought his own electric scooter to travel about on. He is my first and possibly last guest to leave my house on one. I had to have a photo. He told me the scooter has a maximum speed of 25 km/h, although I suppose that is on the flat. It's about 2.5km to the local UEM University so he must have got there quickly. And here he is leaving on this very new sort of transport which is gaining adepts as are new electric bicycles. For those interested, it cost him 400 euros and he takes it everywhere. However, it weighs a whopping 10 kilos. My "son-in-law", Miguel, has just bought an electric bike which he will be using locally when he is in Valencia.
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| Juan, my airbnb student guest leaving on his electric scooter last Sunday |
I asked him what he was studying and found it funny when he told me he is doing a master's degree in triathlon. Surely he should have run to the UEM instead of using a scooter?
We postponed our walk until the afternoon as at 12.15 Oli and I were having our weekly French lesson. That had been changed too, from Saturday to Sunday. I hadn't done my homework so, after breakfast, sat in our dining room pouring over my grammar book and trying to do the exercises which weren't very easy. It was all about the conditional, using expressions such as "au cas où" and was more uphill than usual as I was out of practice.
I hadn't seen Oli since we left for Santa Pola on 26th October and it was nice to be in our French lesson together. We caught up afterwards during lunch. Miguel came with her and I hadn't had time to make anything special. Thankfully I had lots of leftovers for everyone. It was full house for lunch that day. I had no fruit left but there was plenty of chocolate and the Belgian biscuits from Rania, plus Miguel had brought us some coconut turron and delicious chocolate covered macadamia nuts from a village in Valencia where turrón is made (a sort of Spanish nougat). We also enjoyed one of the bottles of Jumilla wine we had bought on Saturday.
Siesta time was in order afterwards but not for long as I wanted to get our walk in before it got dark. But before I had something important to do. Annoyingly, our dish washer (I always say "washing up machine") had broken down for good during our absence, thus I spent about 30 minutes ordering a new one on the El Corte Inglés online website, a Bosch, which I hoped would arrive this week - it did. It's so annoying that any sort of device, machine or gadget, these days is programmed to last so little. I think our old one was about 12 years old and had been repaired recently more than once. It's what they call "programmed obsolescence" and I hate it.
At about 5.30 we said goodbye to Oli and Miguel but were to see them again on Wednesday night, the night before our youngest daughter would be off on her travels again. On Thursday she would leave for Graz in Austria to interview "madrileños" there for her programme. She told us she may well visit Mathausen, the concentration camp where many Spaniards on the wrong side of the Civil War were sent to their death. It doesn't bear thinking about.
Our walk was lovely, both sunny and cold and for the first time I wore a thick puffer jacket. The dogs enjoyed it too. We were home with about an hour on my hands before making dinner and I spent it at leisure. It was then I got another sudden Airbnb reservation. Someone called José Manuel would be coming on Monday for 4 nights. Apparently he would be doing some sort of work at the local golf course. People do come for all sorts of different reasons.
As we sat down to dinner, Andy, our long stay Scottish lodger, arrived back after a day hiking in the mountains. Bless him, he had taken both dogs, Norah and Elsa out for walks in our absence. That was so kind.
We were in bed early, watched the news, then the Jordi Evole programme, last week about a secret sect - ghastly and soon fell asleep over some debate on the TV.
Monday came and brought rain. It was 5th November but there would be no bonfire night for me:-(. My friend Kathryn who lives in Yorkshire posted on social media that outside her house it sounded like WW3. It must be that fireworks are much more potent than when I was a child. My Father remarked during lunch how he used to light the catherine wheels and other fireworks from our garden on Guy Fawkes Day. I used to love it. Things are probably far more sophisticated today.
Monday not only brought rain but also cold. It was about 7ºc in the middle of the day. We skipped our walk because of the rain which I was not happy about. You see, on Monday, I went back on a strict diet and with a diet, exercise is always a must. After so much eating in Santa Pola, I need to shed some weight, otherwise I won't be getting into my jeans. At the moment I am wearing leggings. all the time. Leggings, by the way, for me are the greatest fashion invention of the century. There is nothing more comfortable and you can wear them with anything.
We were well wrapped up when we went out to the chemist to get my Father's prescriptions and then to the local Monday market in Villaviciosa. Our usual stall wasn't there so we had to choose another one. Here we bought and loaded fruit and vegetables into our car, hopefully to last the week. It was such a miserable day, I forgot to take a photo. We would have lots of the fruit and veg for both lunch and dinner.
From the market we went to get fish and some other produce from the upmarket supermarket Carrefour Market. So it was fresh fish for lunch. There were lots of chocolates, turrón and Rania's biscuits still left on the sideboard in our dining room but on Monday I ignored them.
I had a short siesta and didn't actually sleep as I was waiting for our new Airbnb guest to come, José Manuel from nearby Jerez (the sherry capital) in the south of Spain near Cádiz. He didn't turn up till past 7 so I had a long time waiting.
Meanwhile I read my book. Once again it was about the 2nd World War and specifically about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. It's the biography of Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist who survived that most terrible of camps. His book "If this is a man"(Survival in Auschwitz and Truce) is possibly the book of all books on the subject. In it he explores the extreme natures of mankind and it makes for terrible reading. From his book I have finally understood how some prisoners were able to survive and how others just gave in at the beginning or soon after arriving. A lot of it has to do with luck but also what we are like as human beings. Those who survived were the strongest in many ways but not always the best types of human beings. That, I think is his conclusion. Well, perhaps it is mine.
Monday not only brought rain but also cold. It was about 7ºc in the middle of the day. We skipped our walk because of the rain which I was not happy about. You see, on Monday, I went back on a strict diet and with a diet, exercise is always a must. After so much eating in Santa Pola, I need to shed some weight, otherwise I won't be getting into my jeans. At the moment I am wearing leggings. all the time. Leggings, by the way, for me are the greatest fashion invention of the century. There is nothing more comfortable and you can wear them with anything.
We were well wrapped up when we went out to the chemist to get my Father's prescriptions and then to the local Monday market in Villaviciosa. Our usual stall wasn't there so we had to choose another one. Here we bought and loaded fruit and vegetables into our car, hopefully to last the week. It was such a miserable day, I forgot to take a photo. We would have lots of the fruit and veg for both lunch and dinner.
From the market we went to get fish and some other produce from the upmarket supermarket Carrefour Market. So it was fresh fish for lunch. There were lots of chocolates, turrón and Rania's biscuits still left on the sideboard in our dining room but on Monday I ignored them.
I had a short siesta and didn't actually sleep as I was waiting for our new Airbnb guest to come, José Manuel from nearby Jerez (the sherry capital) in the south of Spain near Cádiz. He didn't turn up till past 7 so I had a long time waiting.
Meanwhile I read my book. Once again it was about the 2nd World War and specifically about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. It's the biography of Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist who survived that most terrible of camps. His book "If this is a man"(Survival in Auschwitz and Truce) is possibly the book of all books on the subject. In it he explores the extreme natures of mankind and it makes for terrible reading. From his book I have finally understood how some prisoners were able to survive and how others just gave in at the beginning or soon after arriving. A lot of it has to do with luck but also what we are like as human beings. Those who survived were the strongest in many ways but not always the best types of human beings. That, I think is his conclusion. Well, perhaps it is mine.
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| My book this week |
It was quite a reprieve to put it down to welcome our new guest. He was to sleep in the most beautiful bedroom in the house, Suzy's large room on the top floor, next to ours. He and his brother have a company based in Jerez (Spain's sherry capital) which specialises in machinery to repair golf courses of all places. José Manuel was here this week for work at the lovely golf course in our neighbourhood Las Lomas Bosque. It would have been lovelier, I imagine, without rain.
Later we would spend time with our other guests, Samir from Mexico as well as Andrew our long stay Scottish lodger. Samir, who studied engineering at the local University here, is an industrial designer and seems to be good at it. He had lots to tell us about a course on project management he had just done in Berlin. I don't know how but the conversation ended up being about John Cleese and Monty Python's circus as well as my beloved Fawlty Towers. Thus I went upstairs to bed that night, early, yes at 8.30 pm, but laughing all the way.
Fittingly we watched another film about war that night called Sarajevo which is about the assassination in that town belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Crown Prince of the Austrian Empire and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg on 28th June 1914.
I remember from my history lessons with Miss Scorer at St. Joseph's college, learning that this one event led to the beginning of the 1st World War. Austria declared war on Serbia for the assassination. It was a Bosnian Serb teenager, Gavrilo Princip, a member of a group called Young Bosnia who killed the Prince but still today it is not clear whether Serbia was really behind the killing. You could say that this group Mlada Bosna, mostly filled with Serb students wanting to end the Austro-Hungarian occupation in Bosnia Herzegovina, were precursors of terrorism as we know it today. However, the film is more about the investigation into the murder and less about how this magnicide sparked the Great War. The story is riveting but the film a little disappointing.
On Tuesday I woke up to no rain but it was very cold. Our Mexican guest, who I had said goodbye to the night before, had already left. So, I was not the earliest bird in the house that morning.
Tuesday was the day of the US Midterm elections and the voting would decide the power of the democrats in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Both had a Republican majority, giving Donald Trump all the power in the country. However if the democrats increased their seats to reach a majority in either House, Trump's power would be lesser and anything could happen. We would later hear the Democrats reached a majority in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. What will happen now I wonder, especially with immigration and the looming arrival of the human caravan from Honduras or with the issue of Russia's meddling in the elections which led to Trump's victory? Time will tell.
In Spain, people were far more concerned about a decision to be made by the Supreme Court on whether the bank or the borrowers have to pay stamp duty on mortgages. It has always been the latter until a recent ruling from the Supreme Court itself swayed in favour of it being the bank. There was much rejoicing in the country until the next day, the Supreme Court communicated its decision to reflect on the ruling about who pays the stamp duty. So when after 2 days of deliberations, 15 judges versus 13 ruled in favour of the bank rather than the borrowers, there was a huge outcry. I was furious as were many people in this country. How can the Supreme Court issue a sentence and the next day go back on their word and 2 weeks later renounce the decision? That makes it look as if there has been lobbying from the banks which there probably has. All I can say, as in Monopoly and everywhere, the bl**** bank always wins. It was not a good day for Spanish justice. On the bright side the socialist government announced the next morning it would change the law. Maybe the law should have been changed before. Even if the new law states that the bank pays the tax, no doubt the latter will somehow increase mortgage charges to compensate for that. As I say, the bank always wins.
With all these things happening, our little lives continued. We went for our walk in the sun this time although it was very cold. Once home, we got a video from Suzy, just to say she loves us. I tried to talk to her but wasn't able to because of the time difference. Oh how I miss her. I loved her video, especially her beautiful smile and happy face. Here is a screen shot of the video she sent with love from Indonesia.
The afternoon was spent reading and working which is a good thing. I also got a new Airbnb reservation that afternoon - they always cheer me up - this time from a French lady called Anne from a town called Prêchac in the south west of France. It was for February so quite a while away.
I continued with my diet on Tuesday - let's see how long it lasts - and was very good; only protein, vegetables and fruit for lunch and dinner. We were joined again by our Airbnb guests, Andy and José Manuel just as we were finishing our prawn salad - no sauce (hahaha).
The highlight of Tuesday and indeed the highlight of the week, was watching Oli's latest Madrileños por el Mundo programme on her recent trip to New Mexico in the US (link to the programme online here) It started late, at 10.45 - that's prime time for you in Spain - but I promise I didn't fall asleep as I loved every minute of it. It seems a fascinating state with 330 days of sun on the Mexican border and with a lot of both Spanish and Mexican influence. It was from here the terrible atom bombs were made that were dropped on Nagasaki and on Hiroshima. It is also in New Mexico where there is a little town also called Madrid and where the gun policy, thanks to the US 2nd amendment, is probably the most lax in the country. The programme saw Oli firing a pistol, getting into a hot air balloon - Albuquerque hosts the biggest balloon festival in the world - and sliding down a dune in the famous White Sands desert. Yep, I'm not surprised my youngest daughter liked New Mexico. Certainly after seeing the programme, I would like to visit it too.
We switched off the light very late on Tuesday night but even so I would be up early on Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday we woke up to rain again. At 09.30 we had to be at the garage in Majadahonda to take Eladio's Volvo to be repaired. The pilot lights did not work on the dashboard and there was a threatening message that the airbag was about to explode! Later we would be given the estimate for a new control panel; 1.200 euros. We both huffed and puffed at that. I hate unexpected expenses like this one. It came on top of the cost of having to buy a new dish washer, both of which would set us back a bit.
While at the garage, I finally got to talk to Suzy via whatsapp video chat. It was great to see her. She told me the rainy season had started in Indonesia (Bali) - the monsoon - and that she had never ever seen rain so strong as that. She is currently looking for new accommodation. She has also increased her English online classes and finally found somewhere to give them - a coworker space. We both reminded each other that it's only 5 weeks until she comes. I can't wait.
Leaving the Volvo at the garage, we drove home in my Mini to await the El Corte Inglés people who were to bring the new dishwasher. I actually hate dishwashers and never use ours, preferring to wash up by hand. I have always hated the smell of them. I remember as a very small child, my Mother ordering one when they had only just come onto the market. It must have been in the early 60's. My Father was so against it he threatened her with divorce. That never happened thank goodness. My Mother loved kitchen gadgets and I do too, except for washing up machines which is what we used to call them. The funny thing is she never really used them and they collected dust and it was my Father who ended up having to wash her gadgets by hand hahahaha. No wonder he hated them.
Later we did the weekly food shopping at Mercadona, a task I don't like much either. Thankfully, as we now buy our fruit and veg at a local market, it doesn't take as long to do anymore. Once home and after unloading and putting away the provisions, we went for our morning walk with the dogs. The rain had gone but the path was very muddy so we opted to walk through the fields getting lost every now and again as well as very wet. But at least we got our walk in.
The highlight of Wednesday was dinner at Oli and Miguel's, the night before she was to leave for Austria. I told her earlier that my Mother, her grandmother, had lived in Austria after the war and loved the country. She was both in Berlin and in Vienna during all the bombardments and even had a spate in a Gestapo run prison in Berlin - shortly after her escape from Bulgaria - but ended the war working for the French Control Commission in Austria. They were stationed in a pretty little village called Feldkirch on the border of Switzerland. Here her task was to translate for the French who were rounding up Russian soldiers and sending them back to Communist Russia. Many did not want to go back so she told the French they were not Russian but Bulgarian or some other Slav nationality, thus helping many to escape from a dire return to the Soviet Union. During her trip to Graz, as I said, Oli will be visiting Mathausen, the infamous concentration camp in Austria. No doubt, my Mother would have found out about what the Nazis did there during her time in Feldkirch. I always remember her telling me how she heard the screams of a young Jewish girl, her fellow prison inmate, being tortured. She probably ended up at in one of the death camps poor soul. I think she was only 15 years old and her only crime; being a Jew.
But at dinner at Oli and Miguel's we spoke about more mundane things, not about the war. Miguel had prepared a meat dish with lots of roast root vegetables which were yummy. He's a great cook. He's a great photographer too but the light in their dining area does not make for good pictures. This is the photo of the 3 of us enjoying dinner at their place on Wednesday night.
We took Pippa with us which always delights Oli. She had to be fed though while we were at the table haha. The food was all healthy so I did not break my diet except for a tiny drop of Jumilla wine.
While we were having dinner Real Madrid were playing a champions league match against the Czech team. Plzen. It was their third match win under the caretaker Manager Solari and they blasted the Czechs by 5-0. My guest from Jerez, José Manuel went to Madrid to watch it with a friend so it was the subject of conversation with him in the kitchen before he left for work the next day. Football is a conversation maker all over the world as well as a good ice breaker.
We left quite late, saying goodbye to Oli until next Thursday and wishing her a successful trip. We were in bed by after 11.30 and started watching a film on Amazon Prime. 23F is a film about the Spanish coup d'état in 1981, albeit the official version. Even so we really enjoyed it as it is a subject close to our hearts. I was in England when it happened and Eladio a priest in the Seminary in León. I remember watching the 9 o'clock news and being amazed seeing a Guardia Civil Colonel (Tejero) lead the attempted coup by storming the Spanish parliament, in the supposed name of the King. We were able to see some of the footage because TVE was broadcasting until they were made to stop later. I remember trying to ring Eladio and finding out most of the lines to Spain were engaged. It was a touch and go period but thankfully, calm reined when the King, Juan Carlos, stopped the coup, not without difficulty. It has never been confirmed whether he was initially in agreement with it or not. The official version shows him as the saver of Spanish democracy but some of us have our doubts.
We switched the light off really late, at around 1.30 in the morning but even so I was up early on Thursday. It was wet again but we were still able to go for our walk in the morning when a ray of sunshine appeared on the horizon.
We woke up that day to the news of yet another massacre gun killing in the US, this time in California. 12 people were shot dead by a young and former Marine with mental health problems in a bar in Thousand Oaks. David Long who had served in Afghanistan and suffered from PTSD later killed himself, making the total death toll of this mad act come to 13.
Locally many people in Spain were very surprised to hear of an attempted attack to kill the Spanish Prime Minister for wanting to exhume and move Franco's remains from the Valley of the Fallen. Manuel Murillo, a 63 year old security guard, a far right extremist with a history of mental health issues as well as an arsenal of weapons, was arrested and put in prison in September for plotting the assassination while looking for help with the "logistics". I was also surprised to see that the Spanish public were only finding out the news 2 months after it happened and still wonder why. Thankfully the madman is behind bars. But that doesn't take away the issue of Spain still being divided over Franco or whether his remains should be removed. I would say let sleeping dogs lie. The whole issue has only served to stir up old wounds which refuse to heal.
Meanwhile, Oli landed in Vienna. From the Austrian capital, she and her cameraman hired a car and drove to their destination, Graz which took them just under 2 hours. I looked up the weather there and was surprised to see it was sunny and dry and that she would have better weather throughout her trip than we would have here. The only downside for them is that it gets dark at 4.30 pm, 2 hours earlier than here, after which they cannot film. Later she sent me a photo in a square in that Austrian city just after dusk.
Oli had offered to bring us chocolates back. I told her maybe just a few but for Christmas only as I am on a diet (yes I am). I also told her I thought the Austrians, like the Germans and the Scandinavians have wonderful Christmas traditions and decorations and to look out for some of the latter to add to my increasing collection. Later she sent me a photo of a shop window which looked lovely.
I would have loved to be with her. She will be back next Thursday and on Friday will go shopping together so I will have to wait.
We went to get the Volvo that afternoon and now it's home and mended. It's old but has only done 150.000 km in 14 years and will have to probably last another 14 or more hahaha, that is if they don't finally ban diesel cars.
While I was working on Thursday, I was pleased to get a phone call from my new customer. We shall be having a follow up meeting next week on a PR plan I submitted a few months ago. I am really looking forward to working with this new customer although the plan and type of work is pretty challenging and shall take me out of my comfort zone. But it's great news to know I have new work coming up.
It rained in the afternoon and I sat in the main lounge with candles lit for extra atmosphere finishing my book by Primo Levi. Eladio had bought and installed a new thermostat for the central heating on that floor which had stopped working. Thus the whole house now feels warmer and cozier. Thanks Eladio. You are a great plumber! For a philosopher born in a village he is very good with his hands and I am grateful for that.
We had a healthy and "diety" dinner which Eladio didn't object too and were up in our room ready for the news, bed and Netflix by about 9 pm. I was happy to hear on the news of another Spanish sport victory although it's a sport I know nothing about - weightlifting. Lydia Valentín who is from León (like Eladio) won 2 gold and one bronze medal at the World Championships held in far away Turkmenistan. It was happy but also uplifting to see her receiving the medals and to hear the Spanish national anthem playing for this young, beautiful and very strong muscled lady from Spain. For your information she lifted 80 odd kilos and she herself weighs about 74! Well done Lidia.
Later we finished watching 23F and afterwards started on a new series on Netflix, "White Slave" which was disappointing.
I slept badly that night as once again I forgot to take my sleeping tablets. Thus I woke up many times during the night and finally got up at 6.15.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day which made our walk more enjoyable. I hate walking in the rain. But we were lucky that day. Short of a photo to illustrate this week's post, I got Eladio to take a photo of me with the dogs. It was impossible to get them to pose and I had to lift Pippa up by her harness to get her in the picture hahaha.
I came home to do some work and afterwards spent time in the kitchen concocting a healthy lunch which would include my home made meat loaf. I was accompanied, as always, by the dogs who were all resting after their walk. When I saw Pippa lying on top of Elsa our lab, I just had to have a photo. Aren't they adorable?
While I was cooking, Eladio was doing an annual task I hate. He was closing the pool with the ugly blue tarpaulin until next May. I hate the pool cover which gets full of leaves and forms an ugly pond of stagnant water from the rain in the middle. I tried to argue not to do it as it spoils the image Airbnb guests may have of the house; after all the pool is one of the highlights of our place and the photos in the listings are with the pool open. To no avail I am afraid. He needed help from Lucy and I. Reluctantly we left our chores. And here he is, in the sun, finishing the task. If you look carefully you can spot little Pippa in the picture too!
Meanwhile, in Austria, Oli was out filming with one of her interviewees from Madrid. That day saw them in a chocolate fountain café. It must have tasted amazing.
Imagine being paid to eat chocolate!
Friday was a holiday in Madrid and a day off for "madrlileños" to celebrate the city's patron saint, The Almudena. The Madrid cathedral is also called La Almudena and it is here that Franco's family want his remains to be buried. This has caused outrage as it would turn the Cathedral into a mausoleum for his fans and other fascists to pay him homage, just what the government is trying to stop by moving his remains from the Valley of the Fallen. In a way, they have gone out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In the afternoon, after having finished Primo Levi's amazing books, This is a Man and The Truce, the latter about his 2 year journey back from Poland to Italy, I started on another Auschwitz book. You will say I am obsessed and I suppose I am but for me WW2 and the holocaust were not so long ago. I have met survivors, I have met Jews who lost their whole families and of course I had my Mother's tales to hear as a child. So no wonder. On Friday afternoon, with my work out of the way, I started on the fascinating story of the Tattooist of Auschwitz. Lale Sokolov a business man from Slovakia, a young and smart looking man who spoke 5 or so languages, was landed the job as the tattooist's assistant without asking for it, soon after his arrival. Later he would become the main tattooist. He took it to survive and thanks to it he did survive but he also helped many others. He hated being seen as a "collaborator" of the Nazis and defiling his people. Whenever he could he told the victims he was sorry. As the tattooist, he had extra rations, was not destined for selection and even had a private room to sleep in. As the tattooist, a job he hated, he fell in love with a young girl Gita Fuhrmannova, the terrible moment he had to tattoo her arm. Their love blossomed in the camp with Lale saving Gita's life when she gets typhus by obtaining penicillin through a highly dangerous bartering system he set up with brave local Poles and brave Jewish girls working in "Canada" (the huts where the victims' possessions were sorted) who smuggled out valuables he could exchange with the local Poles working at the camp on the Crematorium. The wonderful thing about their story is that they both survived and then married after their love blossomed in Auschwitz. It must be one of very few happy endings and perhaps that's why, for once, I actually enjoyed the book.
It's all about the centenary of Armistice Day this week, but remember it is also the 80th anniversary of that most terrible of nights, "kristallnacht" (the night of broken glass) when Jews and their businesses, homes and synagogues were attacked so violently on 9th November 1938.
We had a healthy dinner, in keeping with my diet - tuna fish salad - and were in bed remarkably early at 8 pm. The main news on Friday night from abroad were the terrible forest fires in California. In the UK there was shocking news when Boris Johnson's younger brother "Jo", resigned as Transport Minister. He had quit over Brexit describing the prime minister’s negotiations as a “failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis”. He called for a new referendum, arguing that the democratic thing is to give people a final say over the outcome which he argues is totally different to what people voted for 2 years ago. Hear hear is my view.
Friday night TV streaming saw us hooked on season 2 of The Sinner and wow is it good. There are 8 episodes, albeit short, and we watched about 5. It's a thriller with great ingredients; a frightened 13 year old boy who apparently killed his parents, a disturbed detective returning to his home town to face his own demons while helping the boy, a mysterious and scary sect like commune where the boy is born and raised, all in 3 parallel stories which make for amazing watching. It had us up till nearly 1 in the morning and I swear I would have binge watched till the end but Eladio wanted to sleep. I, myself, could not sleep afterwards until way past 2 in the morning.
Saturday came. It was raining, so we postponed our walk until the afternoon. We spent a quiet morning reading in the lounge - I finished my book and soon it was time for lunch; another "diety" meal hahaha.
I was happy to learn about 2 more Spanish sporting victories on the news yesterday. First Marc Márquez, was celebrating his 7th world motorcycling title, 5 in MotoGP in his home town of "Cervera" in Catalonia. And then in a very different sport, Spain got another world champion. Sandra Sánchez won "Kata" gold in the karate world championships. I'm not sure what Kata is (a sort of Japanese martial art like karate) but I was amazed a Spanish girl could beat a Japanese opponent. She beat the previous world champion Kiyou Shimuzu (had to look that up haha). I don't think many people realise even here just how good Spain is at sport. Yes, we all know Nadal and "Seve" Ballesteros (RIP) and many of the football players but there are many more "Nadals" in Spain and many of them unknown. I am happy to contribute to their fame very modestly from this little blog. I do think Spain, as a nation should take more advantage of its sporting victories to enhance its global image. But, Spain is better at slating its country than praising it unfortunately. The latter seems to be the nation's sport.
Amazingly, at about 5 pm the weather cleared and off we went for our walk at about 5.15 when it was still light. And here are Eladio and Pippa in her red jumper to keep her warm .I love her in it, don't you?
It rained a little but was only slight drizzle and we enjoyed the walk. It was dark as we came home at about 6.45. The days are getting shorter now.
I finished The Tattooist of Auschwitz just on time for dinner which was salad again. Yes, the fruit and veg we got at the market on Monday have lasted the week.
Last night we watched the last 3 or 4 episodes of The Sinner and wow did we enjoy it. It's one of the best series we have seen in a long time. Go for it if you haven't seen it yesterday.
And today, Sunday, I was awake at 7. I immediately remembered it was Armistice Day and in order to document this blog post correctly, read up a lot about the armistice signing last night. It was signed 100 years ago today early in the morning, at about 5 am but did not become effective until 11 am. The signing was between the Allies, represented by France and Great Britain, and the defeated Germans. It was the latter who had asked for an armistice as their allies dropped out one by one and the Kaiser abdicated on 10th November. It took place in a carriage of a train, the train used by the Supreme Commander of the allied forces, the French Marshal Ferdinand Foch. He was mainly responsible for the text of the ceasefire. The real peace treaty would be signed later in Versailles on 28th June 1919. The famous train was stationed in a forest in Compiegne in France and the Armistice was signed there by Marshal Foch, First Sea Lord Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, the British representative and Matthias Erzberger from Germany.
In 1940, in revenge, Hitler used the same carriage or railway car, "the scene of the allies triumph" for an armistice to mark the surrender of France. Later when Germany was about to lose the war, Hitler destroyed the carriage. However, in the 60's a replica was rebuilt. Yesterday, in a very touching scene, today's French and German leaders, Macron and Merkel, visited the replica railway car where the armistices took place.
So that's a bit of history for you if you are interested. It was always my favourite subject at school funnily enough.
Now I must leave you as Sunday morning has just begun and I must get on with the day. I wish you all a happy Armistice Day, peace to you all, and a great week ahead.
Cheers for now/Masha
Tuesday was the day of the US Midterm elections and the voting would decide the power of the democrats in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Both had a Republican majority, giving Donald Trump all the power in the country. However if the democrats increased their seats to reach a majority in either House, Trump's power would be lesser and anything could happen. We would later hear the Democrats reached a majority in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. What will happen now I wonder, especially with immigration and the looming arrival of the human caravan from Honduras or with the issue of Russia's meddling in the elections which led to Trump's victory? Time will tell.
In Spain, people were far more concerned about a decision to be made by the Supreme Court on whether the bank or the borrowers have to pay stamp duty on mortgages. It has always been the latter until a recent ruling from the Supreme Court itself swayed in favour of it being the bank. There was much rejoicing in the country until the next day, the Supreme Court communicated its decision to reflect on the ruling about who pays the stamp duty. So when after 2 days of deliberations, 15 judges versus 13 ruled in favour of the bank rather than the borrowers, there was a huge outcry. I was furious as were many people in this country. How can the Supreme Court issue a sentence and the next day go back on their word and 2 weeks later renounce the decision? That makes it look as if there has been lobbying from the banks which there probably has. All I can say, as in Monopoly and everywhere, the bl**** bank always wins. It was not a good day for Spanish justice. On the bright side the socialist government announced the next morning it would change the law. Maybe the law should have been changed before. Even if the new law states that the bank pays the tax, no doubt the latter will somehow increase mortgage charges to compensate for that. As I say, the bank always wins.
With all these things happening, our little lives continued. We went for our walk in the sun this time although it was very cold. Once home, we got a video from Suzy, just to say she loves us. I tried to talk to her but wasn't able to because of the time difference. Oh how I miss her. I loved her video, especially her beautiful smile and happy face. Here is a screen shot of the video she sent with love from Indonesia.
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| Suzy sending us love from Indonesia |
I continued with my diet on Tuesday - let's see how long it lasts - and was very good; only protein, vegetables and fruit for lunch and dinner. We were joined again by our Airbnb guests, Andy and José Manuel just as we were finishing our prawn salad - no sauce (hahaha).
The highlight of Tuesday and indeed the highlight of the week, was watching Oli's latest Madrileños por el Mundo programme on her recent trip to New Mexico in the US (link to the programme online here) It started late, at 10.45 - that's prime time for you in Spain - but I promise I didn't fall asleep as I loved every minute of it. It seems a fascinating state with 330 days of sun on the Mexican border and with a lot of both Spanish and Mexican influence. It was from here the terrible atom bombs were made that were dropped on Nagasaki and on Hiroshima. It is also in New Mexico where there is a little town also called Madrid and where the gun policy, thanks to the US 2nd amendment, is probably the most lax in the country. The programme saw Oli firing a pistol, getting into a hot air balloon - Albuquerque hosts the biggest balloon festival in the world - and sliding down a dune in the famous White Sands desert. Yep, I'm not surprised my youngest daughter liked New Mexico. Certainly after seeing the programme, I would like to visit it too.
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| Oli at the White desert sands in New Mexico with one of her "madrileños" |
On Wednesday we woke up to rain again. At 09.30 we had to be at the garage in Majadahonda to take Eladio's Volvo to be repaired. The pilot lights did not work on the dashboard and there was a threatening message that the airbag was about to explode! Later we would be given the estimate for a new control panel; 1.200 euros. We both huffed and puffed at that. I hate unexpected expenses like this one. It came on top of the cost of having to buy a new dish washer, both of which would set us back a bit.
While at the garage, I finally got to talk to Suzy via whatsapp video chat. It was great to see her. She told me the rainy season had started in Indonesia (Bali) - the monsoon - and that she had never ever seen rain so strong as that. She is currently looking for new accommodation. She has also increased her English online classes and finally found somewhere to give them - a coworker space. We both reminded each other that it's only 5 weeks until she comes. I can't wait.
Leaving the Volvo at the garage, we drove home in my Mini to await the El Corte Inglés people who were to bring the new dishwasher. I actually hate dishwashers and never use ours, preferring to wash up by hand. I have always hated the smell of them. I remember as a very small child, my Mother ordering one when they had only just come onto the market. It must have been in the early 60's. My Father was so against it he threatened her with divorce. That never happened thank goodness. My Mother loved kitchen gadgets and I do too, except for washing up machines which is what we used to call them. The funny thing is she never really used them and they collected dust and it was my Father who ended up having to wash her gadgets by hand hahahaha. No wonder he hated them.
Later we did the weekly food shopping at Mercadona, a task I don't like much either. Thankfully, as we now buy our fruit and veg at a local market, it doesn't take as long to do anymore. Once home and after unloading and putting away the provisions, we went for our morning walk with the dogs. The rain had gone but the path was very muddy so we opted to walk through the fields getting lost every now and again as well as very wet. But at least we got our walk in.
The highlight of Wednesday was dinner at Oli and Miguel's, the night before she was to leave for Austria. I told her earlier that my Mother, her grandmother, had lived in Austria after the war and loved the country. She was both in Berlin and in Vienna during all the bombardments and even had a spate in a Gestapo run prison in Berlin - shortly after her escape from Bulgaria - but ended the war working for the French Control Commission in Austria. They were stationed in a pretty little village called Feldkirch on the border of Switzerland. Here her task was to translate for the French who were rounding up Russian soldiers and sending them back to Communist Russia. Many did not want to go back so she told the French they were not Russian but Bulgarian or some other Slav nationality, thus helping many to escape from a dire return to the Soviet Union. During her trip to Graz, as I said, Oli will be visiting Mathausen, the infamous concentration camp in Austria. No doubt, my Mother would have found out about what the Nazis did there during her time in Feldkirch. I always remember her telling me how she heard the screams of a young Jewish girl, her fellow prison inmate, being tortured. She probably ended up at in one of the death camps poor soul. I think she was only 15 years old and her only crime; being a Jew.
But at dinner at Oli and Miguel's we spoke about more mundane things, not about the war. Miguel had prepared a meat dish with lots of roast root vegetables which were yummy. He's a great cook. He's a great photographer too but the light in their dining area does not make for good pictures. This is the photo of the 3 of us enjoying dinner at their place on Wednesday night.
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| Dinner at Oli and Miguel's on Wednesday night. |
While we were having dinner Real Madrid were playing a champions league match against the Czech team. Plzen. It was their third match win under the caretaker Manager Solari and they blasted the Czechs by 5-0. My guest from Jerez, José Manuel went to Madrid to watch it with a friend so it was the subject of conversation with him in the kitchen before he left for work the next day. Football is a conversation maker all over the world as well as a good ice breaker.
We left quite late, saying goodbye to Oli until next Thursday and wishing her a successful trip. We were in bed by after 11.30 and started watching a film on Amazon Prime. 23F is a film about the Spanish coup d'état in 1981, albeit the official version. Even so we really enjoyed it as it is a subject close to our hearts. I was in England when it happened and Eladio a priest in the Seminary in León. I remember watching the 9 o'clock news and being amazed seeing a Guardia Civil Colonel (Tejero) lead the attempted coup by storming the Spanish parliament, in the supposed name of the King. We were able to see some of the footage because TVE was broadcasting until they were made to stop later. I remember trying to ring Eladio and finding out most of the lines to Spain were engaged. It was a touch and go period but thankfully, calm reined when the King, Juan Carlos, stopped the coup, not without difficulty. It has never been confirmed whether he was initially in agreement with it or not. The official version shows him as the saver of Spanish democracy but some of us have our doubts.
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| The film about the attempted Spanish coup d'état in 1981 |
We woke up that day to the news of yet another massacre gun killing in the US, this time in California. 12 people were shot dead by a young and former Marine with mental health problems in a bar in Thousand Oaks. David Long who had served in Afghanistan and suffered from PTSD later killed himself, making the total death toll of this mad act come to 13.
Locally many people in Spain were very surprised to hear of an attempted attack to kill the Spanish Prime Minister for wanting to exhume and move Franco's remains from the Valley of the Fallen. Manuel Murillo, a 63 year old security guard, a far right extremist with a history of mental health issues as well as an arsenal of weapons, was arrested and put in prison in September for plotting the assassination while looking for help with the "logistics". I was also surprised to see that the Spanish public were only finding out the news 2 months after it happened and still wonder why. Thankfully the madman is behind bars. But that doesn't take away the issue of Spain still being divided over Franco or whether his remains should be removed. I would say let sleeping dogs lie. The whole issue has only served to stir up old wounds which refuse to heal.
Meanwhile, Oli landed in Vienna. From the Austrian capital, she and her cameraman hired a car and drove to their destination, Graz which took them just under 2 hours. I looked up the weather there and was surprised to see it was sunny and dry and that she would have better weather throughout her trip than we would have here. The only downside for them is that it gets dark at 4.30 pm, 2 hours earlier than here, after which they cannot film. Later she sent me a photo in a square in that Austrian city just after dusk.
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| A selfie of Oli from Graz after she arrived on Thursday |
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| A "Christmassy shop window in Graz" |
We went to get the Volvo that afternoon and now it's home and mended. It's old but has only done 150.000 km in 14 years and will have to probably last another 14 or more hahaha, that is if they don't finally ban diesel cars.
While I was working on Thursday, I was pleased to get a phone call from my new customer. We shall be having a follow up meeting next week on a PR plan I submitted a few months ago. I am really looking forward to working with this new customer although the plan and type of work is pretty challenging and shall take me out of my comfort zone. But it's great news to know I have new work coming up.
It rained in the afternoon and I sat in the main lounge with candles lit for extra atmosphere finishing my book by Primo Levi. Eladio had bought and installed a new thermostat for the central heating on that floor which had stopped working. Thus the whole house now feels warmer and cozier. Thanks Eladio. You are a great plumber! For a philosopher born in a village he is very good with his hands and I am grateful for that.
We had a healthy and "diety" dinner which Eladio didn't object too and were up in our room ready for the news, bed and Netflix by about 9 pm. I was happy to hear on the news of another Spanish sport victory although it's a sport I know nothing about - weightlifting. Lydia Valentín who is from León (like Eladio) won 2 gold and one bronze medal at the World Championships held in far away Turkmenistan. It was happy but also uplifting to see her receiving the medals and to hear the Spanish national anthem playing for this young, beautiful and very strong muscled lady from Spain. For your information she lifted 80 odd kilos and she herself weighs about 74! Well done Lidia.
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| Lidia Valentín, the Spanish world champion weight lifter |
I slept badly that night as once again I forgot to take my sleeping tablets. Thus I woke up many times during the night and finally got up at 6.15.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day which made our walk more enjoyable. I hate walking in the rain. But we were lucky that day. Short of a photo to illustrate this week's post, I got Eladio to take a photo of me with the dogs. It was impossible to get them to pose and I had to lift Pippa up by her harness to get her in the picture hahaha.
I came home to do some work and afterwards spent time in the kitchen concocting a healthy lunch which would include my home made meat loaf. I was accompanied, as always, by the dogs who were all resting after their walk. When I saw Pippa lying on top of Elsa our lab, I just had to have a photo. Aren't they adorable?
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| Our 3 dogs sleeping peacefully together - I love to see Pippa on top of Elsa our lab hahaha. |
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| Eladio covering the pool. I always hate the day he does in in the Autumn. |
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| Oli and her "madrileño" filming yesterday in Graz at a chocolate café. How lucky |
Friday was a holiday in Madrid and a day off for "madrlileños" to celebrate the city's patron saint, The Almudena. The Madrid cathedral is also called La Almudena and it is here that Franco's family want his remains to be buried. This has caused outrage as it would turn the Cathedral into a mausoleum for his fans and other fascists to pay him homage, just what the government is trying to stop by moving his remains from the Valley of the Fallen. In a way, they have gone out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In the afternoon, after having finished Primo Levi's amazing books, This is a Man and The Truce, the latter about his 2 year journey back from Poland to Italy, I started on another Auschwitz book. You will say I am obsessed and I suppose I am but for me WW2 and the holocaust were not so long ago. I have met survivors, I have met Jews who lost their whole families and of course I had my Mother's tales to hear as a child. So no wonder. On Friday afternoon, with my work out of the way, I started on the fascinating story of the Tattooist of Auschwitz. Lale Sokolov a business man from Slovakia, a young and smart looking man who spoke 5 or so languages, was landed the job as the tattooist's assistant without asking for it, soon after his arrival. Later he would become the main tattooist. He took it to survive and thanks to it he did survive but he also helped many others. He hated being seen as a "collaborator" of the Nazis and defiling his people. Whenever he could he told the victims he was sorry. As the tattooist, he had extra rations, was not destined for selection and even had a private room to sleep in. As the tattooist, a job he hated, he fell in love with a young girl Gita Fuhrmannova, the terrible moment he had to tattoo her arm. Their love blossomed in the camp with Lale saving Gita's life when she gets typhus by obtaining penicillin through a highly dangerous bartering system he set up with brave local Poles and brave Jewish girls working in "Canada" (the huts where the victims' possessions were sorted) who smuggled out valuables he could exchange with the local Poles working at the camp on the Crematorium. The wonderful thing about their story is that they both survived and then married after their love blossomed in Auschwitz. It must be one of very few happy endings and perhaps that's why, for once, I actually enjoyed the book.
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| An amazing and uplifting story, one of the few to come out of Auschwitz |
We had a healthy dinner, in keeping with my diet - tuna fish salad - and were in bed remarkably early at 8 pm. The main news on Friday night from abroad were the terrible forest fires in California. In the UK there was shocking news when Boris Johnson's younger brother "Jo", resigned as Transport Minister. He had quit over Brexit describing the prime minister’s negotiations as a “failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis”. He called for a new referendum, arguing that the democratic thing is to give people a final say over the outcome which he argues is totally different to what people voted for 2 years ago. Hear hear is my view.
Friday night TV streaming saw us hooked on season 2 of The Sinner and wow is it good. There are 8 episodes, albeit short, and we watched about 5. It's a thriller with great ingredients; a frightened 13 year old boy who apparently killed his parents, a disturbed detective returning to his home town to face his own demons while helping the boy, a mysterious and scary sect like commune where the boy is born and raised, all in 3 parallel stories which make for amazing watching. It had us up till nearly 1 in the morning and I swear I would have binge watched till the end but Eladio wanted to sleep. I, myself, could not sleep afterwards until way past 2 in the morning.
Saturday came. It was raining, so we postponed our walk until the afternoon. We spent a quiet morning reading in the lounge - I finished my book and soon it was time for lunch; another "diety" meal hahaha.
I was happy to learn about 2 more Spanish sporting victories on the news yesterday. First Marc Márquez, was celebrating his 7th world motorcycling title, 5 in MotoGP in his home town of "Cervera" in Catalonia. And then in a very different sport, Spain got another world champion. Sandra Sánchez won "Kata" gold in the karate world championships. I'm not sure what Kata is (a sort of Japanese martial art like karate) but I was amazed a Spanish girl could beat a Japanese opponent. She beat the previous world champion Kiyou Shimuzu (had to look that up haha). I don't think many people realise even here just how good Spain is at sport. Yes, we all know Nadal and "Seve" Ballesteros (RIP) and many of the football players but there are many more "Nadals" in Spain and many of them unknown. I am happy to contribute to their fame very modestly from this little blog. I do think Spain, as a nation should take more advantage of its sporting victories to enhance its global image. But, Spain is better at slating its country than praising it unfortunately. The latter seems to be the nation's sport.
Amazingly, at about 5 pm the weather cleared and off we went for our walk at about 5.15 when it was still light. And here are Eladio and Pippa in her red jumper to keep her warm .I love her in it, don't you?
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| Ready for our walk yesterday - Pippa in her red jumper to keep warm |
I finished The Tattooist of Auschwitz just on time for dinner which was salad again. Yes, the fruit and veg we got at the market on Monday have lasted the week.
Last night we watched the last 3 or 4 episodes of The Sinner and wow did we enjoy it. It's one of the best series we have seen in a long time. Go for it if you haven't seen it yesterday.
And today, Sunday, I was awake at 7. I immediately remembered it was Armistice Day and in order to document this blog post correctly, read up a lot about the armistice signing last night. It was signed 100 years ago today early in the morning, at about 5 am but did not become effective until 11 am. The signing was between the Allies, represented by France and Great Britain, and the defeated Germans. It was the latter who had asked for an armistice as their allies dropped out one by one and the Kaiser abdicated on 10th November. It took place in a carriage of a train, the train used by the Supreme Commander of the allied forces, the French Marshal Ferdinand Foch. He was mainly responsible for the text of the ceasefire. The real peace treaty would be signed later in Versailles on 28th June 1919. The famous train was stationed in a forest in Compiegne in France and the Armistice was signed there by Marshal Foch, First Sea Lord Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, the British representative and Matthias Erzberger from Germany.
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| The signing of the armistice in 1918 - some of the members and signatories |
So that's a bit of history for you if you are interested. It was always my favourite subject at school funnily enough.
Now I must leave you as Sunday morning has just begun and I must get on with the day. I wish you all a happy Armistice Day, peace to you all, and a great week ahead.
Cheers for now/Masha
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