The clocks go forward today, St. David's College Lampeter, Ruskington, my father's WW2 R.N. service records, Brexit day came and went, wonderful news I am finally allowed to share and other stories.

Sunday 31st March, 2019

Ruskington with my Father and my brother George c 1961

Good morning everyone. How are you feeling after the clocks went forward last night. A bit strange like me maybe? It will certainly affect me today. It meant that instead of waking up at 6 or 6.30 I woke up to find it was one hour later, one hour lost in the day. However this evening when we go on our walk it will be lighter when we get back. There is talk of legislation of doing away with the change of the clocks twice a year. I think that's a good idea. However, each country, in the EU, will have to decide whether they stay permanently on summer or on winter time. I do hope Spain stays on summer time as that would give us all more light in the evenings, especially in the winter. 

Last Sunday was a quiet day and a bit of a girly day as I spent most of it with Olivia. We had our French lesson that morning at 11. It was to be our last with Helene although she didn't know it.  We are giving up lessons with her because we are not satisfied with her teaching. I think I have complained about it before. To cut a long story short, we didn't dare tell her that face to face but would later send a message with a little white lie to say we weren't able to carry on because of blablabla. We wondered how we could find a good teacher, preferably someone French who doesn't know Spanish or English or at least doesn't talk to us in anything other than French. What I really want is a good old fashioned teacher like my father who goes over the grammar thoroughly and makes us learn the vocabulary and repeat it over and over again.

I had made lunch before the lesson started  - stuffed peppers the Russian way - and thus Oli and I were free after the lesson. We went together to a big shopping centre, Gran Plaza 2 to buy a present for one of her friends. We looked in Zara where my daughter bought a couple of tops. Funnily enough for me, I just wasn't in the mood for buying clothes. Oli bought the present at Zara Home - oh I love that shop and we were soon on our way home and back in time for lunch with the men.

I tried to sleep a siesta but my eyes just wouldn't shut, so I got up and took my book or rather my kindle and with Pippa at my heels, went and sat on a sofa by the swimming pool. Oli soon joined me and even sunbathed. It was a lovely day but not warm enough  for sunbathing I thought. Eladio was surprised to find us there when he came down for his siesta.  No doubt it will be warmer in a month or so's time and hopefully my husband, the jack of all trades, will have the pool up and running for our Airbnb guests. We shan't bathe until it's really hot but I do like to see the pool without its ugly cover on.

Shortly afterwards and at around 5.30, we went on our walk with the dogs. It was lovely to have Olivia with us. She was wearing shorts and both father and daughter were wearing panama hats. Elsa got lost on the walk and we couldn't find her and she couldn't find us either. No doubt she was munching on some awful rabbit carcass  - we can't stop her - and had lost our scent. It was fellow walkers who found her and put her on the right route. My whistling to alert her helped. Did you know I am able to whistle like a pro? My mother used to whistle at a fox who would come and threaten her chickens when we lived in Ruskington in Lincolnshire. I learned the art from her and it is a very practical thing to know how to do.

 We came back to make dinner for the three of us. Andy was making his dinner in the kitchen after a long hike up more mountains outside Madrid but there was no sign of Rolando. I hadn't seen him for days.

Oli left after dinner to go back to her place which is quite far from here and we went up to watch the news. On Sunday nights we always watch the Jordi Evole programme but were disappointed with it that night. It was all about how different media are reporting on the Catalan politicians' trial. It was very boring and had me fall asleep. I woke up to see part of the next programme, an interview with the leader of the opposition, Pablo Casado (PP) and candidate to become President in the General Elections at the end of next month. He must have bored me too as I promptly fell asleep. If I am tired, I always find debates somniferous.

Monday was a quiet day. All my biography work was in my editor's hands, thus I had the morning more or less free. It was a sunny day and I chose to read on one of the sofas by the pool. Pippa joined me. I am enjoying Mary Churchill's biography but at times it too is a little somniferous, with so many descriptions of balls and outings. Thus from 1 to 2 pm, I fell fast asleep. I had lunch with my father and with Eladio. I also slept a bit of a siesta. Amanda's latest chunk of edited biography had arrived so I worked on that for most of the afternoon.

It was on Monday that Elisa, my new found friend, Joanne's daughter who is on her Erasmus year at the local University, came to join me on my walk. She had brought some chocolates for my father (Mint aeros) and 3 naughty Cadbury creme eggs for me. I introduced Elisa to my hard of hearing father who was very pleased with the chocolate. I had to open the packaging for him there and then. New packaging is hard enough for younger people but nearly impossible for someone approaching 100.

Eladio didn't join us on the walk as he had gone out to get lots of material for the garden, namely horse manure for my roses, bless him, as well as soil for the flowers, more paint etc.

Just as we came back, Oli was about to be live on TV so Elisa and I watched her together. That day she was reporting on the woes of occupants of council flats in an area outside Madrid, Sanchinarro, which had been built with the worst materials possible and were falling apart. At least that day, she didn't have to go too far for her reporting.

Later I would drive Elisa home and then come back to make our dinner. On Monday night we had giant prawns (shelled by Eladio - hate that job) with lettuce, mango and avocado. We adore that combination.

It was early to bed as usual and time to watch the 9 pm. news. Of course Brexit was the main topic. I don't think I can keep up with what is happening. What seemed clear  is that Teresa May's deal would not go through for a third time. The next day we read that Parliament had taken control of the reins. I had no idea of what was going to happen next. The next step was voting the deal again on Friday which failed and we are once again left in limbo. At least it didn't go through I thought, pathetically hoping for it never to happen. My father doesn't want it to happen either. As I am writing about his service in WW2 and talking to him about his time in the war, both of us remind ourselves that the European Union was formed precisely to avoid war and to bring peace and harmony. Well Brexit is only bringing division and if and when the UK leaves the EU it will only be smaller and weaker.

My father looking up from watching developments on Brexit on the BBC this week. He is not happy

On Tuesday, I had to finish commenting on Amanda's last chunk of editing which would take me a while. It was done and sent to her by 9.30. On the subject of the biography, I had written to New College Oxford to see if they would have the records of my grandfather's choral scholarship at New College School Oxford as a chorister for the choir of the university college. The school had no records from before 1920 and the university college has not replied yet. So once again I reached out to Barry in Holyhead and again he came up trumps. He sent me this cutting from the local Holyhead paper dated 1st July 1910. He got it through the  Welsh newspapers online which belongs to the National Library of Wales. Not only does the article confirm John Collins Lloyd obtained the scholarship, it also confirms something I didn't know. I knew he had graduated in Theology from the then St. David's College Lampeter University but it was thanks to this cutting I learned he did so with  a first class degree.  Good for him. Also in my research for the book I read that his University, Lampeter, was actually founded in the 19th century for Welsh ordinands. That was obviously why he went there.

A cutting form 1910 about my grandfather, John Collins Lloyd's education. The newspaper was "The Herald", its full name being Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald and North and South Wales Independent.

My grandfather, John Collins Lloyd, on Graduation Day in the summer of 1910.

The only time I have ever been to Wales was for University interviews when I was in Upper Sixth at St. Joseph's College Bradford. I wanted to study theology and Lampeter was the best University in the UK to study the subject.

A photo of St. David's College Lampeter  - 1912

So, inspired by my grandfather, I included Lampeter or St. David's College (now called University of Wales after merging with Trinity University College) and also Bangor. I loved the college but found it in a very remote area so decided against it. I remember finding it strange that everyone in the area seemed to speak Welsh. I had no idea it was a Welsh speaking area. As to Bangor I thought it was awful. In the end I chose Nottingham, not a bad choice I think as I look back. Ah and by the way you might like to know that after a first term of studying theology in a class of nearly all ordinands, I changed to Hispanic Studies. Theology then became my "subsid" subject. When I decided on studying theology, it was not really because of religion but because of an interest in the history of religions. It's a good job I changed subjects, otherwise I might never have met Eladio.  Coincidentally, of course, he is a theologian and was a  Catholic priest when we met. But you already knew that. 

Later I did some shopping but online. First I ordered 100 Nespresso capsules - they are so much better than the imitation ones, then I ordered my father's main birthday present but can't say what it is as he will read this. Lastly I ordered our Easter Eggs from Britsuperstore. It's an online shop of British produce that delivers worldwide. Delivery charges are a bit expensive but how else would I have bought the chocolate eggs?

There's not much else to tell about Tuesday. It was another gloriously sunny day. Brexit figured once again heavily on the news agenda. It is still a big mystery as to what the outcome will be. Oh how I hate it and how it has divided society. After dinner there was no news at 9 but a boring football match between Spain and Malta. Had it been Spain France or Spain England, then I would have been interested. Eladio enjoyed it and I was happy Spain won 2-1. That's no great score. I do remember  that the year we got married, in 1983, in a classifying match of some kind Spain beating Malta 12-1. Now there's a match that went down in history, not Tuesday night's.

Instead I carried on reading Mary Churchill's biography and got to the part where Winston Churchill loses the elections right after helping win WW2. It utterly depressed the man as it did all his family. It seems quite unfathomable after such victory. But that is what happened. He who fought for peace and unity and who looked for allies when Great Britain was all alone fighting Adolf Hitler, would be very upset about Brexit.

Wednesday came and there were more chunks of editing from Amanda.  I would spend most of the morning on them. It seems that the editing of a book actually takes longer than writing one. On that day I came across more old photos to include. Will this ever end? One of them was to illustrate my grandfather's purchase of a car in 1926 and bingo I found one. Doesn't it look so Downton Abbey like? I love these old photos.

My grandfather at the wheel of a car in around 1926 possibly in Sledmere. My father is standing by with his brother Raymond, both little boys at the time. 

I was interrupted by the door bell. Eladio was in the garden talking to two Honduran gardeners who would be coming to dig up and replant the small patch of grass under the trees by the pool yesterday. At the same time I was receiving a parcel for our neighbours from a messenger man. He asked me where I was from so I asked him. He answered, from Venezuela. The obligatory question on my part was  to ask whether he was on Maduro or Guaido's side. He told me that his family was suffering badly in Caracas and he wanted to see rid of Nicolas Maduro as quickly as possible and that of course he was on the side of Guaido. It was rather a good insight to hear from a Venezuelan in real life and not only rely on  what we read in the news.

But it was from Mexico that the most ridiculous news I have read for some time came. The new President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sent a letter this week to the King of Spain. In the letter  he  demanded an apology for the colonisation of Mexico 500 years ago. He prompted the most ridiculous diplomatic row after such a preposterous demand. He also wants an apology from the Pope. The Spanish government swiftly rejected the demands of the Mexican President. Spain's Foreign Minister, Josep Borrel, said in declarations that his country was not going to apologise for events that happened five centuries ago in the same way Spain was not going to ask for an apology from France for Napoleon having invaded Spain and gave similar examples. He has the backing of all the Spanish parties, except for Podemos, the communist party.

More serious news came from Westminster when Teresa May announced she would quit as PM which is great news. However, she laid down a condition; that her deal be approved by Parliament, something that wouldn't happen. Later in the day none of the the eight alternative proposals for new ways of dealing with Brexit managed a majority. It seems like a game of snakes and ladders and we are back at square one, except that the exit date is looming.

The best break of the day is always lunch which is also a good opportunity to talk to my father although talking these days is getting more difficult and sometimes I have to resort to pen and pencil. That day he told me a lovely anecdote about me when I was very small. We were living in Ruskington (Lincolnshire) when my father was a teacher at Cranwell RAF College. He would cycle there and back. When he came back in the evenings when it was already dark, the lights of his bicycle would shine on the windows and I, aged about 3, would excitedly shout out "Daddy coming night". He said I would then insistently tell my mother to open the door to let him in by saying "opit, opit". I thought that was very sweet. The photo I have chosen as this week's feature photo is one of my father at around that time holding George's and my hand in the garden of our bungalow on Rectory Road in Ruskington. It must have been a very warm day as both of us are in summer clothes, but not my father. I remember the blazer he must have worn it for years.

We lived in Ruskington, near Sleaford from 1960 to 1964 and I always remember our house. It was a bungalow on an acre of land. The house was called Fermain and was at 62 Rectory Road. 

Our house in Ruskington. I would love to go back one day

Although I was only 3 when we moved there from Cambridge, I remember the house and my early childhood quite well. My father grew a kitchen garden and my mother got into farming to feed us. She had pigs, ducks, geese and chickens. I used to help her collect the eggs.  My parents didn't drive and took us everywhere by bicycle. Of course that was quite the norm then, especially in Lincolnshire which is a very flat area of England. It was in Ruskington that George and I first went to school. It must have been the local primary school. On my first day I was given a small black slate and chalk to learn to read and write. How old fashioned is that. I also remember going to Sunday school. The church was right by the river and opposite there was a sweet shop where with the few coins my father would give us we would buy sweets and crisps after Sunday school. I remember that  a small packet of crisps with a little blue bag of salt in it cost 1 penny at the time. 

Of course I had to add that charming anecdote about waiting for my father to come home when I was little  to the biography too. I had a lazy afternoon reading and then going on our walk which of course is not too lazy. The rest of the day panned out as usual but with no Netflix I'm afraid as our fire stick had broken and we were waiting for a replacement to arrive. It duly arrived on Thursday. Eager to set it up I was frustrated to find the remote control was not working well, moving around of its own accord. I had to ring Amazon again and they will now be sending us a new one. Meanwhile we shall have to continue watching conventional TV until it comes.

Thursday came. That morning I worked on the order of the appendices in the biography. It was while I was saying goodbye to our Bolivian architect Airbnb guest while he was waiting for his luxurious Uber taxi to pick him up I noticed a large envelope in the letter box. I had no idea what it was so opened it there and then. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that it was from the Royal Navy Command in Portsmouth. It contained the full personal file of my father's time in the navy during the war. I had sent off the application only a few days ago. Of course that would mean updating the biography again with yet more information.

Frustratingly I couldn't start work on it as I had to go out and do the damned weekly food shopping. But as I wanted to share the news with my father, I gave him the records immediately for him to read. I think he was astonished that some 80 years after leaving the navy, these were still in existence.  However, at lunch time we had time to talk about them. He confirmed he had joined as an Ordinary Seaman but was soon promoted to Able Seaman, stressing the "Able". He then told me once again he had taken an officers' course on HMS Arthur in Brighton after which he was promoted to Sub Lieutenant. It was in 1943 that he would become Lieutenant.

Both my father and Eladio went to have their siestas after lunch but I rushed down to my desk to read the file. But my goodness it wasn't easy to interpret as there is so much navy lingo and so many naval abbreviations I found it hard going. It took me about 3 hours to digest it all and then to extract the important parts to be added to the biography. My father had always told me he had been on HMS Mansfield (destroyer loaned to the Norwegian Navy) as liaison officer and on board HMS Wells as Signal officer. Although he had mentioned HMS Norfolk and also HMS Lancaster he had been rather vague about his duties there.  In the file I was to see his whole war service log.  You can see it too below.

Page 1 of my father's WW2 service log with the RNVR

Page 2 of my father's RNVR service log

His first ship was HMS Norfolk and then HMS Mansfield after which he spent time as Signal and C.B. Officer on HMS Wells and then as Correspondent and Cable Officer on HMS Lancaster. From August 1944 he worked offshore in various missions with the Admiralty mainly in disarmament and intelligence roles. VE day saw him in Orkney at the RN base in the North Atlantic after which he was posted to Rosyth,  as Assistant to Staff Disarmament Officer with HMS Odyssey and the mysterious description "Naval Party 1736. I think it may have been a secret mission. His time in Rosyth, in his words was really waiting for his transfer to Norway. His last post with the RN was with the Admiralty in Oslo as Staff Disarmament Officer from October 1945 to April 1946.  As I have told you many times he was awarded the Freedom or Liberty Medal from King Haakon VII for his outstanding contribution to the Liberation of Norway.

For each appointment there were reports on his work and attitude by his superiors, usually the captain. These were the most interesting documents to read. I must say they were quite good psychologists as they seem to have understood him well. Captain Lee from HMS Wells writes "he is solitary in nature and though popular with his messmates prefers to go ashore himself"· I laughed when I read that as this is just him. He also writes: "he is a pleasant character full of good humour under normal circumstances but has fits of intense depression whenever he feels he has failed in any respect". Well of course, he is like that as he only ever wants to please. While reading the reports, I kept having to remember that at the time my father was very young, in his early 20's and so of course would need more experience to mature. This, Captain Lee must have understood as he also wrote: "It is thought that with experience he may gain self confidence and become more methodical". I was relieved to see that in his future reports he comes out a lot better. No doubt he had a lot to learn and it couldn't have been easy. His most outstanding skill was his ability to speak different languages (German, Norwegian, French, Dutch and Danish). This is mentioned again and again in his reports. They certainly did come in useful in the war and this is where he outshone his colleagues and possibly made up for lack in other fields.  He did improve as I could read from his captain's report for his time on HMS Lancaster in 1943. The captain writes: "Has considerable personal charm. Is well educated and intelligent. A good messmate. Has a good power of command, is a smart spoken Divisional Officer. An efficient O.O.W at sea". Lt. Colonel Cairncross writes of his duties on HMS Odyssey, saying: "A very able young officer who has worked hard. Thoroughly reliable and conscientious . His command of German and Norwegian has made his services extremely helpful. Popular with messmates".

I worked until my fingers would no longer respond to the keyboard and at around 6 pm joined Eladio and the dogs for a late but pleasant walk with still plenty of sunshine.  We came home just on time to watch Olivia on TV this time reporting from a small village called Bustarviejo.  By then my regular student guests, Alba and Javi had arrived and I greeted them with a delicious plate of fruit each. They are lovely guests. We had a late dinner and after watching the depressing news on Brexit developments, turned to a new and unknown TV channel. On this channel we watched a claustrophobic thriller of a newly married couple on a small lonely island. It had us glued to the screen until after midnight.

Friday came and I spent most of the morning and afternoon working on the editing together with Amanda. I had to change part of the section on my father's war after a chat with him at lunch where he was able to explain some of the mysteries in his war log. He hadn't forgotten.

I did stop in the morning to go with Eladio to buy some of the finer fresh produce in our weekly food shopping list from the gourmet Carrefour Market nearby. There we met up with our recent guest Rolando, the Bolivian architect, who gave us back the house keys he had mistakenly taken with him. We would bump into him later in every corner of the supermarket hahaha.

Of course Friday 29th March was supposed to be Brexit day, the day of the UK's formal departure from the European Union. However, as you all know, the day came and went and the UK is still in limbo as to its future vs a vs the EU. What a shambles.  At least and for the moment, we are still in the EU. I wonder for how long.

Eladio spoke about Brexit on our walk with the dogs as we would at dinner later. We came home just on time to watch Olivia live on TV reporting from a small town called Mora in Toledo. It was quite a funny story actually. Someone anonymous has being leaving little gifts at people's houses all over the town. The gifts are not expensive and include old fashioned looking watches, pens, purses, sunglasses, fans and even leather gloves. It's a complete mystery and the villagers have no idea who is leaving the gifts.

Oli reporting on TV on Friday from a town in Toledo about mysterious gifts being left at peoples houses 

Being Friday, Eladio and I went out to dinner. My husband chose Ginos, a local pizza pasta type place. He only chose it because it is the nearest place we like. I had a great big pizza but took off all the crust of which there was a lot. I hate the crust around pizzas. Aren't I funny?

Friday night's pizza at Ginos

I won't be having it again as I found it rather dry and insipid. I suspect they may have a new chef as the pizzas before were much better.

We went out to dinner relatively early for Spaniards, at 8.30 and  so were home early too. Bereft of TV streaming, we resorted to my iPad and were perfectly able to watch whatever we wanted. That night we continued the Spanish series we are following, "Secrets of State".

On Saturday, I was up, just a little bit later than normal, at 6.15. Both Amanda and I were taking a day off and would have a break from the biography. That wasn't quite true as I am so hooked on the project, I worked on the final content order and also made a list of hopefully final information to include. That information may well include our long lost cousin Jennifer Lloyd Radford, our only missing link. Jennifer is the daughter of my father's first cousin, Mona who was the daughter of his father's only sister Ellen or Aunty Nell. Joanne, my recently acquired friend who was my Airbnb guest here in January was on her trail when I had more or less given up. Yesterday it seems she had nearly found her. It was through the funeral directors of Jennifer's mother Mona's passing away. They had Jennifer's number and address. A woman from the funeral directors actually rang Jennifer to hear a message on her answering machine saying this is Jennifer Lloyd. Vanessa left her a message to call Joanne and she also sent her on a letter from me which I had emailed to Joanne. So, fingers crossed, we get an answer next week. She will be of course my first cousin once removed.

This English cousin relationship system with degrees and removals is incredibly complicated and has no equivalent abroad I think. It was designed to describe the relationship between two cousins and the ancestor they have in common but it baffles me.  However, wanting to understand it better as I have now found new cousins all over the place after doing the family tree, I looked it up. The chart below describes it best. I hope I am not preaching to the converted.

English cousin chart system. Seems simple but it is not

For the rest of the day I kept away from my desk.  I went shopping again but online which is so easy it can be addictive and I did that on my smartphone.  Yesterday I bought the following items: a new set of table tennis bats and balls to replace the old ones we have,  a small French cafetiere and a froth maker - these two to take with me on my trip to England, Wales and Ireland, to ensure I get a good cup of coffee every morning. I then bought or ordered two new garden benches. These are for the kitchen patio where the sun always seems to shine by the wooden cabin and next to the barbecue and which are lovely sunny spots in the winter. My final purchase was a wooden all in one picnic table with benches. It's to put in the garden under the trees where we often sit and read in the afternoons in the summer. I have always wanted one of these. This is it by way.

The picnic table I bought for the garden

After my purchases and late ablutions, I pre-prepared the lunch and then went and lay on one of the sofas by the swimming pool terrace and finished Mary Churchill's biography.   I then started on a novel recommended to me by Amanda. Inspired by my great Aunt Emily Collins née Pemberton, the botanist, she had recommended a book called The Signature of Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's a great story and I would read more in the afternoon.

Yesterday it was only Pippa and I on the walk as Eladio was busy in the garden. I think he was mending one of the irrigation sprinklers. He also laid seeds where there are patches of dry grass and no doubt did lots of other things that go unnoticed but are essential for our Mediterranean garden to look good for the summer.

Oli and Miguel came to dinner last night. We hadn't seen our youngest daughter Olivia for a week apart from on television of course. I made two tortillas to go with ham, pastrami, cherry tomatoes, spinach, etc and we ate in the dining room which we don't do often in the evenings. It was last night over dinner that I was finally given permission to share some wonderful news. Olivia, my friends, is pregnant and in her 17th week which means she is now nearing 4 months pregnancy. Isn't that wonderful? I have known since January and was overjoyed when I heard but very frustratingly for me, was not allowed to tell anyone.  It was difficult to contain my joy. I mean it's great for her and Miguel but it's also great for the rest of the family. She is going to be a mother, Miguel is going to be a father, Suzy is going to be an aunt, my father is going to become a great grandfather and Eladio and I, my friends will finally be grandparents. Me a grandmother? How can that be possible? A new member of the family will arrive in mid September. Oh what joy.  I wasn't able to share my joy with anyone until I was given permission yesterday evening. I was given permission to share the news here on my blog but not on social media. So if you get this far in my blog - you will find out this most wonderful news and gift from God. It's so lovely for this family "state secret" finally to be revealed.  Now I can talk about it and can share the news with everyone.

I have to say my  blog post this week ends on the happiest note possible.

Wishing you all a great week ahead,
Cheers till next time,
Masha



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