Easter Day, bombings in Sri Lanka, photos from my mother's past, World Book Day, a debate without women, Clifton College Bristol to honour my father's centenary, the pool opens for the summer, Happy birthday Suzy and other stories.

Sunday 28th April 2019

My father, Charles Courtenay Lloyd, aged 15 at his school Clifton College Bristol in 1934

Good morning all.

Today is election day in Spain but I won't be able to vote. However I will accompany my husband on this crucial day for my adopted country. It is also Suzy's 35th birthday. My goodness 35 already. Where has time gone? She is still in Bali but will be coming home on Tuesday and we shall be able to celebrate her birthday with her, albeit belatedly.

Last Sunday was Easter Day and for people in Sri Lanka it was one of the worst days in the history of that small country. 290 people died after a wave of bombings which targeted Easter services. Three churches were bombed as well as some of the capital Colombo's most luxurious hotels.  There were more bombs in Colombo; 8 in total. Many of the bombs were suicide bombs and it was thought the attackers were part of an extremist Islamic group. As it turned out ISIS claimed responsibility which did not surprise me. What a horrible group of radicals. 

Authorities examining the damage and loss of life at the St. Antony's Shrine church last Sunday

How awful for this to happen precisely on Easter Day. How many lives lost from fanaticisim? How long will this go on for? How can we stop it?

Our Easter Day was very traditional and quiet. I worked on the final touches of the PDF of my father's manuscript and sent it off to the publishers by about 11 am. Afterwards I was free to start preparations for our Easter Day lunch. Fittingly we would have a roast lamb lunch with all the trimmings. I was especially proud of the home made mint sauce I made from the mint leaves in the garden.

After lunch we all ate the Lindt Easter egg I had bought online. It was just delicious.

The chocolate egg we devoured on Easter Day 

I think it was the combination of a heavy stomach, red wine and chocolate that let me sleep a very long siesta until about 5.30.  A walk was in order after that and Oli joined Eladio and me and the dogs for a windy but sunny walk. We all needed the exercise.

When we got home we spied our nearly invisible cat Phoebe, perched by her living space. She sleeps under the roof tiles of the gate to our house. Sometimes it's difficult to see her as her colour is like a camouflage when she sits on the stone of the roof of a similar colour to her coating. She's a lovely cat but is very nervous and shy and hates our dogs, poor thing.

Phoebe our cat sitting by her living space - the roof top of the gate to our house. 

It was in the afternoon last Sunday that my cousin Zuka sent me lots of photos from my mother's past. Some I had seen before and some I hadn't. They will prove invaluable for the book about my mother and her family I shall start to write soon. But first we must do the research and for that I have the great help of Andy D. who did my father's family tree and is now engaged on my mother's family tree which is coming along marvelously. Zuka also sent me photos which I could well have used for my father's book, such as the photo of her wedding day but it was too late to include them. I was particularly interested to see the photo of my mother's parents' family home or one of their family homes. Called "Spasskoye House", it is on the Krivyakino Estate in Voskresensk near Moscow and is where my mother's parents and children lived before they fled the Revolution. Of course they never got it back. The Soviet regime would later turn it into a children's home. My father and my Aunty Masha (my Mother's youngest sister) and Aunty Valya (wife of my mother's youngest brother, Nikolai), saw it with their own eyes when they visited Voskresensk in 2003 to attend the Lieven Readings  - a sort of homage to the Lieven family. This is the house. Actually it is a painting of it which may have belonged to the family.

My paternal grandparents' family home in Voskresensk near Moscow 

She also sent me a  photo I had never seen before. It is of my mother when she was tiny with her siblings, Sasha, Olga and Daria together with their nanny, Niania Phima who my mother always called "Nashka". 

Niania Phima, my mother's nanny and her siblings, Sasha, Olga and Daria - Bulgaria early 20's

The photo must have been taken in the very early 20's in Bulgaria. Niania Phima was the only servant who accompanied the family when they fled the Revolution in 1920. She practically brought up my mother and her siblings single handedly and my mother always considered her surrogate mother. My grandmother, Sophie Lieven née Stachovich was incapable of bringing up 6 children alone. She had never had to do so she when she was rich and living in Russia where she was surrounded by wet nurses, maids, the lot. She simply did not know how to bring up her children, so she left the job to Nashka who they all adored.  However, she left them when she was quite young to marry someone who turned out to be a murderer believe it or not. My mother must have been about 6 when that happened and was devastated. When the children's nanny left, my grandmother opted to send them  away to be educated abroad and I suspect she did this so she wouldn't have to do Nashka's job. She sent the three girls, Olga, Daria and my mother to France for 4 years. Imagine my mother being put on a train from Sofia all the way to France aged just 6? Imagine not seeing your mother for 4 years? When she came back to Bulgaria, my mother found her last letter to her parents crumpled in a paper bin. She was the black sheep of the family and craved her parent's love, the love she had only really ever known from Nashka.  I met her many years later in Biarritz where she served a relative of the Tsar, a lady I knew as "Knigina" (Princess). She was tiny and illiterate and had a heart of gold. My mother adored her. God bless her. You see there is so much to tell about my mother's life and that of her family. Where shall I begin and what shall I call the book? It's not going to be as easy as writing my father's biography but at least I won't have the time constraint this time.

I mused on all this when I came home from our walk to find more photos from my cousin Zuka. I can't believe she will be arriving tomorrow for my father's hundredth. It's going to be great.

But back to last Sunday - how time has flown. No way was I hungry that night for dinner but my pregnant daughter Oli and my husband Eladio were. I had been so busy I hadn't done any food shopping for at least 10 days so there was not much to choose from. Thankfully there were 3 eggs left in the fridge which I used to make scrambled eggs. We had the last of the Easter egg for dinner too.

Oli left after dinner but I would see her the next day. I was to have the honour of accompanying her to the gynecologist for her 20 week scan. When she left we went up to our quarters to see the end of the news. Of interest was the landslide win of a comedian with no political experience, in the Ukrainian elections.  He got more than 70% of the votes. So lots of luck to Volodymyr Zelensky. Let's hope he realises it is no joke to govern a country.

We later watched a gripping film called Executive Decision about a hijacked plane with a deadly gas bomb on board which was destined to be detonated upon landing in Washington. It was a great film, one of the best we have seen in a a while and had us wide awake until the end.

On Monday morning I was up at my usual time, around 6 am. It was to be a busy day. Having abandoned all house keeping since embarking on the book and all the preparations for my father's big day, a trip to the supermarkets was a must. Thus Eladio and I went to stock up with food to last us a week. Once home, I had to rush off again to join Oli at for her scan appointment.  It was to be one of the most important ones when the baby's organs and everything else is checked and measured. The appointment was at 11.45 and I was there well on time. When it was our turn I was happy to be allowed to sit next to my daughter with a screen in front of me to watch the process. Although the doctor kept pointing out the upper and lower limbs and some of the organs I found it difficult to see the whole baby as such. I was delighted though to see it's little hands and the spinal chord. But baby was head down so its heart was not in the right position to be scanned. Thus we were sent out for Olivia to take a walk around. She was advised to have a sweet drink and I wondered why that would affect the baby's position. But it did. We went back in at least an hour later. But all ended well as the results were all good and the baby is progressing perfectly. It was lovely to be with Olivia for that all important scan. We parted ways at about 1.15. She had to go off to work and I had to return home to make the lunch.

For once I had a free afternoon with no texts to check and nothing to write. I slept a short siesta and then read in the lounge with Pippa until it was time for our walk. We came back to watch Olivia on the TV. That day she was reporting on the Metro Station in Plaza España which had been completely covered with the whole text of Cervantes' Don Quixote. This was done for World Book Day which would be on Tuesday 23rd April. It was also part of the centenary celebrations of the Madrid metro. Here she is reporting live.

Olivia reporting from Plaza de España on Monday evening. 

Shortly afterwards, at 8pm, a 5 hour long programme began on TVE1 on the 4 party leader general election debate which would take place at 10pm. Thus Eladio and I watched and listened to all the run up to the debate and by the time it actually started I nearly fell asleep. The 4 party leaders, Pedro Sánchez, the current Prime Minister, from the socialist PSOE party, Pablo Casado, the candidate for the right wing PP party, Albert Rivera, the candidate for the central to right wing party Ciudadanos and Pablo Iglesias, the candidate for the the far left party, Podemos, were at their stations in the TV studio well before it started. Ironically I noted they were all men. Last week there had been a 6 party debate with lots of women but that's because the party leaders had sent their second in commands and that's as far as women go in Spanish politics I'm afraid.   In fact there were very few women present. The party leaders were all allowed to bring one adviser with them and they were all men too. The only women to be seen anywhere near them looked like TVE PR or make up people. Then suddenly TVE showed footage of the preparations and suddenly two women came into the centre. Great, 2 women. They turned out to be the women who would clean the floors. This caused a big fuss on social media just as it should have. I noticed it immediately.  There you had 4 men party leaders who would be talking about women's matters which are so important to society and then 2 cleaning ladies who probably earn the minimum salary wage. As someone said on twitter: "1 man, 2 men, 3 men, 4 men and we women cleaning the floor. Where is the other half of Spain?" Where is it indeed?

The image of the night. The men ready to talk and a woman cleaning the floor.

That's what struck my attention that night. I dozed through some of the debate, waking up every now and again. The 4 alpha men were just getting at each other, not much else. Eladio watched until the end.

Just before the debate started, my publisher sent me the semi final proof of the book. It was 9 pm at night and I had to send my corrections through before 9 am the next morning. I think the book was more on my mind than the debate.

I woke up at 4.45 on Tuesday! And I got up at that time when I remembered I would need at least 3 hours to go through every word of the proof again. The work involved in editing is far more time consuming than the actual writing.

The final book cover with its sleeves. 

Tuesday was of course World Book Day and it's quite coincidental that my first book would go to print that day.

Tuesday was World Book Day the day I had my book printed. A lovely coincidence.

But actually it took a lot longer than I thought. However, finally the manuscript went off for printing at around 7pm. When it did, I felt like I was floating on air. I was also very happy to be in touch with The Yorkshire Post which  will be doing an article on my father. The same goes for the Telegraph and Argus, The Cambridge Independent and Western Daily Press. Fingers crossed.

Most of my day was taken up with last minute stuff on the book. I did go on our walk though. But my was it blustery and cold. The sun was out but it didn't make much difference as it was very cold.

Tuesday night saw the second general election debate with the 4 party leaders this time on a private broadcaster. Atresmedia weas careful not to broadcast any ladies cleaning the studio before it started. Once again it was on at 10 pm and I'm afraid I slept through a lot of it. I had been up since 4.45 am and was exhausted by the end of the day.

Wednesday came and it more or less rained from the beginning of the day to the end. That meant no walk. I only went out for a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I wore my sou'wester over my coat and had to take a brolly. I had a few errands to do afterwards and despite the rain protection I came home literally soaked. It's so unusual for it to rain so much here. In the south east, on the Costa Blanca, they have had it much worse with the biggest rainfall since 1957.  

On Wednesday a new Airbnb guest came, a chap called Chema from Valencia who we would hardly see. I have had quite a few new bookings recently so my summer calendar is filling up nicely. The  new reservations are  guests are from Spain, Holland and Norway. 

With work out of the way, I embarked on making "perushki" (Russian pies) for my father's birthday party. Lucy helped me and thus the job was halved. I made the original meat version but also a vegetarian version for my daughter Suzy. I can't believe Suzy will be here so soon. She's arriving on Tuesday afternoon, the day before my father's 100th.   We had some  of the perushki for dinner and they were delicious. Actually it's the pastry which is delicious. It's bought puff pastry which I would never be able to make as well myself, not to mention the amount of work put into making that type of pastry .

"Perushki" - little Russian pies

On Thursday I got up at 5 in the morning thinking it was 6 a.m. and promptly went back to bed. But I couldn't sleep so got up at 5.45. I had a few emails from journalists interested in publishing the story of my father turning 100 and had to send more information and lots of photos. There seems to be interest in the newspapers of the regions where he is most linked to such as Bristol, Cambridge and Yorkshire.  I can't quite believe that my father's birthday is now just days away after so much planning. I don't think he can either. He is literally counting the days. I showed him the amount of cards that had arrived - I gave him a sneak peak from the outside and I think he was a bit overawed. It's amazing.

I couldn't dawdle though that morning as I had an appointment to meet a student called Raquel at 10 am at the Alverán café nearby. She is doing a thesis on crises in social media focusing on the Samsung Note 7 issue and the Huawei PR crisis. She wanted to interview me on the day to day job of a community manager. It was easy-peasy for me I suppose but very important for her. She seemed pleased with my answers. I'm not a trained community manager but of course have done the job since social media began. I did so with no training, learning on the job and using my common sense. It's not that difficult. The main things to bear in mind are transparency, honesty and immediacy when engaging with customers on social media. Seems easy but not all companies do it well I can tell you. 

Finally on Thursday the weather turned for the better. The rain had gone and it looks like we are entering a sunny period now. Facebook reminded me that around this time last year, the weather was much warmer and that we had already opened the pool. I was hoping Eladio would open it this weekend on time for my father's birthday. Little did I know that my hopes would be fulfilled.

Oli and Miguel joined us for dinner that night and would sleep over as they had a doctor's appointment nearby the next day. I made a prawn and mango cocktail which we all loved. It's one of my favourite dishes. Later we all watched in our separate bedrooms a new TVE series called "Monteperdido" about two eleven old school friends who get kidnapped. One of them appears 5 years later and the search is on for the other one. It's quite good.

Friday came and I couldn't believe the week had passed by so quickly. It was to be a busy day for me and a very sad one for our friends Phil and Kathy from Yorkshire. Phil's mother passed away on Friday and my heart goes out to him. Losing a parent is a very difficult thing to go through and I know because I lost my mother. All we could do was to send them our condolences. He's going to have a rough time now, remembering his past, knowing he will never see his mother again. But, like me with my mother who passed away on 1st October 1999, he will carry his mother in his heart always. RIP.

Life went on as normal here at home. That morning I got a very surprising and pleasing email from the PA to the headmaster, Dr. Green, from Clifton College Bristol, my father's old school.

My father's old school - Clifton College Bristol

He and his brother Raymond attended this most prestigious school from 1928 when the family moved to Bristol after my grandfather was appointed Parish Vicar of St. Mary's in Henbury. In my preparations for my father's 100th, I wrote a while ago to the headmaster to let him know their old pupil - possibly their oldest living pupil - was going to turn 100 on 1st May. Their response has been amazing. The headmaster immediately went into action, telling me the school wanted to do something special for that occasion. He put me in contact with the Development Director - schools have them these days - Jeremy P. He in turn went in search of my father and his brother's school records and sent me photos of them at school in the 30's and even their school reports which would be invaluable for the biography I was writing. The school offered to fly their flag from the Wilson Tower on 1st May in homage to my father. I was astounded. I didn't really know what he meant but later learned the significance of the Clifton College Flag, a US flag. It had been donated to the school by Eisenhower, none less, for its efforts in WWII. This was because the school had been the US First Army HQ during the war. Since then the school has flown the US flag every year on 4th July - US Independence Day - and only on very special occasions. One of these occasions is my father's 100th. If that wasn't enough for Clifton College, in the mail I received on Friday they told me the whole school would sing Happy Birthday to my father on 1st May in the Chapel and they would send me a recording for my father to see. How kind and thoughtful and how respectful. I was overwhelmed and extremely touched. This is the text of the email which I have to share with you:

"Dear Masha. I hope you are well and that the preparations for your father's 10th birthday are coming along nicely. Dr. Greene (headmaster) has arranged for the College to sing Happy Birthday to your father on Wednesday morning in the chapel and we will also be flying the College flag in his honour. We would like to send you a recording of this via email on the day so that you can play it to him - so just a heads up to please check your emails on Wednesday 1st May!"

Isn't that just lovely? When I posted this on Facebook one friend said it made her feel warm inside. It made me feel on top of the moon. What a beautiful tribute to my father. For this week's feature photo I have chosen one the school sent to me for the book. It is of my father aged 15 in 1934 at the school. Jeremy told me both my father and his brother Raymond who were day pupils attended North Town House. That, by the way, was the old house of John Cleese and the cricketer A.E.J Collins. Former actors Michael Redgrave and Trevor Howard were also "Old Cliftonians" and my father coincided with the latter at school although he was older as he was born 6 years before my father. It is a very good school and counts among its past pupils with 3 Nobel Prize winners, John Kendrew (Chemistry), John Hicks (Economics) and Nevill Mott (Physics) as well as a host of other famous people. That's great company for my father in the list of Old Cliftonians. I can't wait to hear the tape. That will be one more exciting thing to happen on my father's 100th.

That lovely email set the mood for the day. I spent a lot of it talking to journalists in England in my PR media campaign to pitch my father's story. The response from some of them has been amazing too. They were so interested in his story. I can't wait to see the articles. In fact I can't wait for a lot of things. Next week is going to be just amazing. Everything I planned is coming together. But I have to say I am feeling pretty exhausted. I seem to have boundless energy but at some stage I shall need to rest. When I spoke to the book publisher that day, he told me he had never put together a book in such a short time and that it was a record for him. Imagine me and this is only my first book. I have learned so much in the process and hopefully this will be help me when I start on my mother's story. That will take longer I guess.

Being a beautiful sunny day, we enjoyed our walk in the afternoon with our dogs. Later we went out to dinner as it was Friday night. Eladio chose the place this time and opted for somewhere new. It's called "Casa Iván" and we had seen it often but never been. We had a quick look at the opinions on Tripadvisor which seemed to be mostly positive and based on them, booked a table. We were not disappointed with our choice. It's a great place, the food is divine and the price very reasonable. I know we shall be going back. We came home to carry on watching our new series "Monteperdido" until we both fell asleep.

Saturday came and for once I had nothing really to do. With time on my hands I rang Suzy who I hadn't spoken to for quite a while. Facebook reminded me that morning of our reunion in London two years ago after an absence of 4 months. She is coming on Tuesday afternoon and I all I want to do is hold her like I did in the photo below. Oh, how we miss her. It's fabulous though that this time she will be here for a long period, at least 6 months. Hurray.

An emotional reunion with Suzy two years ago in London. It will be equally emotional when I see her and hold her again when she comes on Tuesday. I can't wait. 

We didn't manage to speak but later she sent me an audio message. But we will definitely talk to her today which is her birthday. It's such a pity she isn't here to celebrate it with us. We shall make up for that when she comes next week though.

Later in the morning, I was pleasantly surprised when Eladio called Lucy and I to help him remove the cover from the pool. Was he really going to open it on time for the summer and on time for the party? Yes he was, bless him and needed no badgering from me this year. It's quite a big job, especially removing the canvas cover, cleaning it and then filtering the water. Thankfully the water this year didn't go green like last year. Here he is with his panama hat and white shirt which would soon go grey, beginning the task.  Lucy and I helped him remove the heavy canvas cover but he did the rest.

Eladio getting the pool ready on Saturday

Soon it was looking like this; very inviting but of course not warm enough to swim. I wonder who will be first in this year? I guess our Scottish lodger Andrew who seems immune to the cold.

The pool ready and open for the summer season, earlier than usual this year.

I spent most of the morning reading in the sun and when it got too hot, I made my way to the shade. I only interrupted my reading with preparations for lunch. At lunch yesterday, my father and I commented it was just 5 days until his 100th. He smiled. He doesn't know what he is in for. 

After a short siesta, I came downstairs and went to the pool terrace to read and enjoy my surroundings.  Pippa joined me. Here she is sitting on the white wicker sofa, a plum place to sit in the shade by the pool. 

Pippa, the queen on one of the white wicker sofas by the pool

I think she looks very elegant. Soon Eladio joined me too and at about 6ish off we went for our evening walk which was quite balmy. We came home to make a dinner of salad and cold cuts which we enjoyed alone in the kitchen and with the dogs at our feet.

Saturday was what's known in Spain as  "la jornada de reflexión", the day before elections; a "reflection day" where no political campaigning is allowed. I couldn't reflect much as I won't be able to vote. Having been outside the UK for more than 15 years I can't vote there and I cannot vote in Spanish general elections as I am not a Spanish citizen. Thus I am in voting limbo which is most unfair. But of course I am very interested to see how things go and what the final outcome will be after today's voting. These are the 5 candidates.

Spain's 5 candidates in today's general election - all men of course

The picture says it all: Spain is dominated by men. You can see 5 candidates from 5 parties, three of them new or "newish". The one to look out for is Vox (Santiago Abascal far right) the new far right wing party which is opposed to Catalan independence but also against abortion and same sex marriage. On his left is the furthest left candidate, Pablo Iglesias from Podemos. In the middle is my favourite, Albert Rivera of Ciudadanos, a sort of central democratic party with right wing leanings. His party  sprung up in Barcelona from anti independence roots. To his left is Pablo Casado the PP (Partido Popular) right wing party which has suffered a lot from corruption in the past and isn't looking too good in the polls. Then finally on the far left is the current PM, Pablo Sánchez, the leader of PSOE the traditional socialist party. Spain's politics has been traditionally a two party show. Now we have 5 parties but not much has changed, apart from Vox, in that we have two blocks, a left wing block and a right wing block. The results are almost bound to lead to a hung parliament as no party will win a majority and possibly neither of the blocks will have enough seats between them (178)  to govern without the alliance of smaller parties. Spain has  never had a coalition government but, depending on the results, it may lead to that. What I don't want to see is the left wing block have to depend on the Catalan independence party for support. If that happens, we will have a repeat of what led to the calling of elections today; a lack of support from the independence parties when it comes to approving the budget proposed by government. I can foresee long and ongoing negotiations until we have a new government. 

So no, I can't vote but I am very interested in the outcome and will be watching events with great interest. We watched the news of course after dinner in our room and then we watched the final edition of a lovely new talent show called "Prodigios" (the prodigious). Unusually for talent shows this is a classical music one in general. Last night there were two singers, two instrument players and two ballet dancers in the final. The jury which includes Spain's best known soprano, Ainhoa Arteta, would have a difficult job in choosing the best of the 6 candidates in their categories. I especially loved the young boy, Raul with his amazing triple voice a bit like the boy who sings in Les Choristes. His final act on stage was to sing Ave Maria. He is like an angel. I think everyone fell in love with this boy and his voice. But I was possibly more impressed with the violin virtuoso Jaime, who plays divinely. This is his interpretation of the soundtrack of Schindler's list.  I also loved Said the ballet dancer.  This was his final act. No doubt he will go far and will one day be a famous ballet dancer. These three were the winners of their categories. 

While we were watching and it was quite nail biting, my latest Airbnb guest, Alberto, a cameraman from northern Asturias, arrived late at around 11.30. I hated leaving the programme when the decisions were about to be announced but I had to. Once I had installed him in Suzy's room  -one of the nicest in our house - I returned to see the end of "Prodigios" which was a little disappointing for me. 

What I didn't like was that a final winner was to be chosen from the three of them and by the public and not the more expert jury. How on earth can you compare a singer to a violinist or to a ballet dancer? It didn't seem fair to me. In the end and very surprisingly the ballet dancer won. They are all young though and being the winner last night is only a part of the beginning of what I know for sure will be brilliant careers for all three of them. The programme was a pleasure to watch. We love music and especially singing in this house. I do hope the girls will sing a duet for their grandfather's birthday next week. 

The programme finished  late and I, at least fell asleep very late, after 1 am. I was up this morning at around 6 am, well before anyone else. 

Today as I said at the beginning, is Suzy's birthday. Being in Bali, all I could do was send her good wishes. I can't wait for her to be home to celebrate together. Meanwhile, happy birthday my darling daughter, 35 today. Where have the years gone? Love you to the moon and back only like a mother can love a daughter.

Suzy my beautiful older daughter whose birthday it is today.

And here I am now, finishing the story of this week. I have a wonderful week to look forward to, the week of my father's centenary and the week our darling daughter Suzy returns and of course the visit of my cousin Zuka and my friends Andy and Amanda who are all coming faithfully for my father's birthday. 

Zuka reminded me this morning that today is Russian Easter, so Xristos Vaskresi (Christ has risen) are the words to say today or chant at church for Orthodox Christians. My mother celebrated Russian Easter always when we were children and she would wake us up in the middle of the night to take us to the service and that's what people chanted. We would then come home to an Easter feast which included coloured eggs, "paskah" and "kulich". Oh how I miss those days.

So my friends, I shall leave you now to get on with the day. You will hear all about the coming week, which promises to be one of the happiest of the year, in next Sunday's post.

Cheers to you all and thanks for reading my blog.

Masha

Easter week, Notre Dame on fire, the book cover, outing into the city and other stories.

Easter Day, Sunday 21st April, 2019

Oli and I with Miguel and Claudia in Madrid on Friday afternoon

Good morning and Happy Easter to you all.

This Easter week has been full of stories. So let me start from last Sunday. It was a sunny day as the names suggests but it was also Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday always takes me back to my childhood when we would go to church and hold a dry palm leaf in our hands. I loved it. I remember once spending Palm Sunday in Chile in about 2004 when we visited Reñaca beach near Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, not far from the country's capital Santiago de Chile. There we saw a procession of people carrying palm leaves, just as the followers of Jesus laid down palm branches when he entered Jerusalem before his arrest on Maunday Thursday.  In Spain, Palm Sunday usually marks the beginning of the stunning Easter Processions that are held all around the country. One of the first is called "la borriquilla" meaning "little donkey" representing the fact that Jesus entered the holy city on a donkey. I remember seeing this procession in Granada with my father and Eladio some years ago. It is a fine spectacle.

La  borriquilla procession in Salamanca

This year we wouldn't be seeing any of the processions live as we finally stayed at home for Easter. The decision was because of the bad weather forecast in Montrondo, our village in the north west of Spain where we had planned to go. Sadly too many of them around the country were cancelled due to rain. 

Palm Sunday was a lazy day for me. I spent most of it reading. That day I finished The Signature of Things and would start on a new book, The Librarian of Auschwitz. The only thing I did of note that day was go on a very warm and sunny walk with Eladio and the dogs. 

On Monday my Airbnb gift arrived. This was a random gift sent by Airbnb to their finest superhosts, which they must consider me to be. It was nothing special, just a key ring and a mug but it's the thought that counts.

My Airbnb gift that arrived on Monday

We would have a new Airbnb guest arriving that evening, Andy's son Bruce who travelled from Nice but we wouldn't see him until the next day.

Being a quiet day, I went to the hairdresser to get my roots done. I think you know I'm no  great fan of hair salons. I only go because I have to. Unfortunately my favourite hairdresser, Cristina, is on sick leave and I'm not too keen on her replacement. I had to wait quite a long time and wasn't home until after 1 pm.

It was another beautiful day, sunny but a bit windy and maybe a perfect day for a picnic. We have just installed the picnic table I bought online recently and it looks lovely in the garden. I can't wait to use it in the summer with friends and family.

The new picnic table waiting to be used in the garden.

At lunch with my father, he remarked "just 16 days to go". I am well aware the clock is ticking fast towards his hundredth on 1st May but am not in such a hurry as he is for his centenary to arrive as I have so many things to do before. One of them is all the PR stuff around his story and the book that is being published. I keep worrying it won't be on time. Please cross your fingers. That day saw me replying to a journalist from a regional newspaper in the Bristol area where my father grew up.  They wanted photos from me and also a quote about my father. When I asked them what sort of quote, the chief reporter sent me his unfinished article so that I could get an idea. I was a bit shocked by his article which made my father seem to be a sort of James Bond of his time which he certainly wasn't. The reporter had far exaggerated the information contained in my press release. This was his opening paragraph. It made it sound as if my father had single-handedly liberated Norway and won WWII all by himself hahaha: "From vicar’s son to spymaster extraordinaire - the life of West Country-born Lt Courtenay Lloyd is so incredible it could be an inspiration behind Ian Fleming’s James Bond character. Because for Lt Lloyd, who turns 100 next month, he did it all.

From liberating Norway in World War Two to working as an intelligence officer in West Germany during the Cold War and even marrying a princess who fled Russia during the 1917 revolution. He could even speak six languages and later became a teacher at the Joint Services School of Languages, better known by the Soviet secret services as the UK’s spy school." 

I could only suppose that this was the  typical UK journalistic way of fantasising the facts and making a story much more fantastic than it actually is. No way was my father a James Bond character. He is far too modest for that.  I am now waiting in trepidation to see what is published hahaha.

After lunch that day and after all the PR stuff with the regional newspaper, I went to have a quick nap but ended up watching part of the new nature series on Netflix, Our Planet. It is narrated by David Attenborough whose voice is a joy to listen to.   For me at least it is the most stunning nature documentary ever made. It is also a big warning that we have to look after our planet and that there is only about 10 years left to do so. 

 On our walk later we also saw quite a lot of nature including many rabbits and even a grass snake. It was just as we were returning from our walk that I heard that the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was on fire. I had an eye witness to tell me, my cousin Elizabeth who lives in Paris was there in the centre of the city and saw it burn with her own eyes. This is one of her photos.

Notre Dame on fire - a photo sent to me by my cousin who was there while it burned.

Elizabeth was horrified as were we all when we found out. The fire started at about 6.30 pm and went on for hours until it was under control and finally put out by about 10 am the next day.  The whole world watched as the 90 metre high spire burned and fell as did nearly all  the roof and  the timber framework. This amazing symbol of Paris, of France, of catholicism, this 850 year old Gothic cathedral, the most visited monument in Europe was burning before the eyes of the world and it was terrible to watch. This was where Joan of Arc was beatified, where Napoleon was crowned Emperor and which means so much to France and the French people. It was as if the heart of the country had been ripped in two. Thankfully the stone structure itself is still in place and the cathedral can be rebuilt. Not all is lost.  Not so long ago York Cathedral and Windsor Castle and the Opera House of Barcelona were burned down too either entirely or partially. Eladio remembers in 1966 when he was training to become a priest when the Cathedral of León where he comes from went up in flames too. He was one of the people helping to rescue the art work inside. He told me that water should not be used to put out the flames of a cathedral as it will only make the damage worse. In the case of the Cathedral of León they had to wait for the timber structure to burn and fall before putting out the fire. We asked how this decision was reached and he said it was after consultation with stone masons. Well, they would know. 

We were joined by Olivia for dinner and the three of us watched the events feeling totally stunned. I mean who hasn't been to Notre Dame?  I have been many times but not in recent years. I want to remember it the way I saw it not the way I saw it on Monday, engulfed in fire. Some clever French newspaper used the headline "Notre Drame" (our drama). Indeed it was the world's drama and a very tragic one too.

There was no other news worth watching that night and we went to bed with sober thoughts.

Tuesday came and brought brilliant sunshine and the news that the cathedral structure was still intact and would be rebuilt. I sincerely hope it will and soon. Money has been pouring in from French billionaires and an international fund will be set up. The country's president, Emanuel Macron vowed for it be restored within 5 years. There has also been a lot of criticism about the money, hundreds of millions of euros which many people think should be spent on more worthy causes. I read in an article somewhere that the amount the three wealthiest men in France are donating is actually not that much for them.  The article says that if any of us none rich people had, let's say 3000 euros in our bank account and forked out ten euros towards the restoration of the cathedral, we would be giving  proportionally the same amount as these two rich Frenchmen; i.e. what they are donating hardly counts in comparison to their fortunes. The article also says that between them they have "significantly more money than several European states". So why don't they give the equivalent of a "tenner" to them to Notre Dame and a few more tenners to important humanitarian causes I ask?

The day was quiet and spent at home, apart from our walk. Andy, our lodger, spent the whole morning waiting until 1 pm for his 18 year old son to wake up. We both laughed when I commiserated with him and reminded him how teenagers tend to sleep until very late, just as we once did.

Tuesday saw the beginnings of my thoughts for my next book, this time about my mother. I consulted the transcriptions of her tapes - tapes of an interview with the ex husband of a friend of mine from years ago.  They were very revealing; her time in Berlin  and Vienna during WWII, in a Gestapo prison, her flight from the arrival of the Red Army to Salzburg, the people she met on her way and how she ended up working with the French Control Commission in Feldkirch in Austria. In the notes I read that she and her brother Nicki wanted to make their way to family in Salzburg; Uncle Misha and Aunty Olga. I just had to find out who they were. I learned from my cousin Zuka, they were my maternal grandmother's cousins but I need to know more. I also learned how my grandparents took the decision to stay in Bulgaria after the Soviet Occupation. They had had a chance to leave as did many Bulgarians and non Soviet Russians. My mother and her brothers Sasha and Nicki were expecting them to leave too but they never did. My grandfather, a priest, stubbornly decided to remain with his church in Sofia. Thus my mother never saw him again. She last saw him in 1944 when she was aged 24. That's war for you. Her story promises to be just as fascinating if not more than my father's. I have plenty of material but not many photos I am afraid. The itch to write her story has come but I won't start on it until after my father's 100th birthday. 

My mother in Feldkirch Austria just after the war was over in about 1945. She was 25 when the  photo was taken. 

I could have read the notes all day and will do soon. There is a lot to digest. 

My mother would have approved of our choice for lunch that day - a Russian dish called glupsy (stuffed cabbage leaves) and a dish she used to make. My father and I always loved it.

Both Eladio and I spent a lazy afternoon together both of us reading our respective books - his about the Spanish Civil war, mine about WWII. 

While we were having a lazy day, Oli was having a busy one. She did two reports that day; one about the restoration of the Barcelona Opera House (El Liceo) after the fire. This we were able to watch when we stopped under a tree in the shade on our walk and saw on my mobile. Isn't it wonderful to be able to watch live TV nearly wherever you are? The second one was a live report we would see on TV later. She was announcing the political debate to be held at the Prado del Rey studios where she works for TVE. It was and is one of the three debates to be held on TV before the general elections on 28th April next, in which, by the way I won't be able to vote. I am in voting limbo when it comes to general elections in my two countries; the one I was born in and the one I live in. I cannot vote in the UK elections as I have lived for more than 15 years outside the country and I cannot vote in the Spanish elections because I am not a Spanish citizen. 

Oli on TV reporting on the upcoming political debate on Tuesday night

She didn't have far to come after her live report and was soon home and on time for dinner with her parents. We love having her with us. Later we watched the debate which was pretty tense with most party representatives accusing each other most of the time rather than telling the spectators what their party plans are. 

It was on at prime time which is 10 pm in Spain and far too late. But everything is late in Spain, lunch, dinner, prime time, possibly later than anywhere else in the world. It took me years to adjust to having meals so late when I first started living here. Even so, we have ours much earlier than most people with lunch being at 2 pm and dinner at around 8.15 pm. 

I didn't sleep very well that night and was woken up by the Airbnb App ring tone. I saw I had a new booking. It was from a guest and his family who are from Miami and they will be coming in July where they will be joined by other members of their family from Taiwan! Isn't this just the most international house you have ever heard of?

I was up at the most unearthly hour on Wednesday. I was in the kitchen by 5.40 and feeding the dogs. I would be tired later.   I didn't do much that day. I was getting worried about how my book was progressing now in the hands of the book designers and printers. I finally heard from them that day. Mikel, the agency head, wrote to tell me they were working full speed on it but it was giving them more problems than usual because there a lot of pages and so many photos - there are about 140! However, he promised me he would send me the design of the cover that day and he did. This is the mock up.   There will also be sleeves and the book will be quite sizeable at 23cm x 17cm with a size 12 font for the text. Thank goodness for that as I hate small paperbacks with tiny print.  I have to say that receiving it gave me a thrill. No doubt the thrill will be even greater when I have the final book in my hands. My father will be amazed. He has read many many books in his life but this will be a very special book as it will be all about him. I hope he likes it.

The  design of the cover of the book - it's a mock up

Mikel's email arrived during the afternoon when my great friend Fátima came to see me. Thus I had to put off looking at in depth and sending my feedback although I was itching to. I hadn't seen Fátima since February and it was so nice to chat to her in the garden over a cup of tea and plate of grapes for nearly 4 hours. We got up to speed on each other's lives and both vowed to try and see each other more often.

My friend didn't leave until nearly 7 pm, far too late for our walk. Also by then rain was threatening. Wednesday was to be the last of the good weather. At about 19.20 Olivia was on TV live again, this time reporting from the Spanish traffic centre on the Easter weekend roads. Many people have taken the whole week off. Those who haven't will enjoy Maunday Thursday and Good Friday off as they are national holidays in many regions of Spain. She told spectators that there would be some 9 million people heading for their Easter holiday. Here she is reporting on the traffic and also on the new drones that will help to control it. She explained that these are drones that can see as far as 2km away from a car and can even see a person at the wheel. My goodness, I don't like that. But if it improves the way people behave behind the wheel, then maybe it's a good thing.

Oli reporting on the Easter traffic on TV on Wednesday evening.

Eladio and I had dinner alone that night as Oli had a dinner date with an ex colleague. Later we watched the news. One of the stories was that of the attempt of a Jihadist to blow himself up during the Easter processions in Seville. Thank God they caught him on time. Later we watched episode 10 of our latest favourite series, Secrets of State. It's very annoying that we can't watch it all at once and have to wait a whole week until the next episode is broadcast.

I didn't get a bad night's sleep on Wednesday and woke up on Thursday morning at 6 am. It was pouring it down when I got up. 

Although my book was with the printers, I knew there was still time to add more information, so when I got a reply from New College Oxford, one month after  I sent them an email requesting the records of my grandfather's choral scholarship there in the final years of the 19th century, I was overjoyed. But it meant I had to do more research and add yet another chunk to the book. But never mind. My grandfather, John Collins Lloyd, had won a scholarship to sing in the choir of the University Choir of New College and was there from 1899 to 1902 from the age of 11 until 14. He would have been uprooted from his quiet family life in far away Anglesey but it would have been his most important experience as a boy. What an opportunity for him. His parents must have been very proud. He would attend New College School which provided choristers for the choir. The archivist of the college confirmed the exact dates of my grandfather's time there. He boarded at 19 Holywell Street, a stunning location not far from the Bridge of Sighs and right next to the Bodleian Library. There he lived with 24 chorister boarders in the same house as the apparently "formidable George Carter", the headmaster at the time and with the latter's family.

The Carter family. George Carter sitting on a chair was the formidable headmaster when my grandfather was at New College School Oxford from 1899-1902

The archivist of the college told me there is a book on the history of the school, New College School: A history, by the current deputy headmaster, Matthew Jenkinson. I later wrote to him and he very kindly wrote back, providing me with photos like the one above. Unfortunately there are no photos of the choristers when my grandfather was there. In Jenkinson's book I was able to read about the life of the choristers at the time and it wasn't an easy one.

The boys dined with the family and shared the bathroom. Apparently the food was awful and the choristers must have gone hungry. I’m sure my grandfather pined for his Welsh mother’s cooking. Sometimes, the Wednesday and Friday litany was so long the pupils fainted as a result of their empty stomachs. Their schooling took place nearby at 6 New College Lane and their days were very full. They were up at 7.15 a.m. and in Chapel by 8 a.m. Breakfast was apparently small and lessons began at 9 a.m. and finished at 11.50 a.m. The choristers then returned to the college for three-quarters of an hour for choir practice. Lunch followed and then there was sport until 3 p.m. After sport the choristers resumed their lessons until 4.3 p.m. in time for evensong at 5 p.m. Tea was at 6 p.m. followed by two hours of homework, piano practice and finally games. The choristers hardly had any free time in their long days; just games before going to bed. Bedtime was at 9 p.m. What a hard life for an 11 year old boy. He must have missed home dreadfully. 

That day I also added more information on the fascinating time my father had as an Intelligence Officer with the British Control Commission after WWII in Germany. But I won't include it here as I have already given away far too much about my father's story. You will have to read it when it comes out, hopefully on 1st May next.

On Maunday Thursday it rained all day and all over Spain. Oli had been sent out to report on the Holy Week processions in Madrid. She was to report on one of the most famous ones called "Jesús el Pobre" (Jesus the Poor). Oli is not keen on the processions but she has to report on anything that comes her way.  So that day she had to do a very short intensive course, especially on the vocabulary used. She went there to find hundreds of people waiting outside and just as she appeared on television, it was announced that the procession would be cancelled, as so many others would around the country, owing to the rain. People cried. After all, these processions take nearly a year to prepare. She interviewed the head of the Jesús el Pobre association (called a Cofradía in Spain), Paco, who told her: "we don't cry, it's the rain that does". My daughter told me later that Paco cried too afterwards.

Olivia on TV talking to the head of the Jesús el Pobre association about the cancelled procession

She was on again a while later, this time talking to the people in the crowd who were so disappointed. It was literally raining cats and dogs and Oli had to use a TVE umbrella to talk to the woman. The latter had been coming to see the procession for the last 60 years and was most disappointed for it not to leave the church as she had also been waiting outside for three hours. The Easter processions are a big thing in Spain.

Oli interviewing a follower of the Jesús el Pobre association, upset about it being cancelled.

We cancelled our walk too because of the rain. That night just as I got into bed, I received the final proofs of my book. I was itching to get up and go down to my PC and start working on them but of course it was too late. We turned to Netflix for our entertainment and continued watching a series we had begun called Quicksand. It's not one of the best ones. I do hate it when films or series contain a whole lot of flashbacks and you only really understand what's going on when they end.

Friday of course was Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ was supposedly crucified. We didn't go to church but we did eat the hot cross buns Oli and I had made a couple of weeks ago. My, they were delicious.

I spent the whole morning working on the final proof of the book and was only interrupted by lunch. I would not be able to spend much time on it in the afternoon as Olivia and I had a coffee date in town, in the centre of Madrid. We went to meet my nephew, Miguel who is her cousin and his Cuban wife, Claudia, who is now 9 months pregnant.  We hadn't seen them for a very long time. Claudia's due date is at the beginning of May. We met a café on Goya street and sat for about 3 hours catching up on each other's lives. Yes we did that but actually we spent more time talking about pregnancy, giving birth and motherhood for more or less the duration. Claudia is so informed I told her she ought to train to be a midwife hahaha. Oli and I felt completely ignorant. I had to have a photo of the pregnant cousins for posterity. Here it is; Claudia at nearly 9 months and Oli at 4 months. I do hope their daughter to be, Luna, will be a good friend of my future grandson of no name for the moment. He has no name but I have been calling him "The Pea" from day 1 hahaha.

The two pregnant cousins, Claudia and Olivia in the centre of town on Friday afternoon

It was nice to go into town, into the centre of Madrid. I don't go often and have been so secluded at home for the last three months preparing my father's book and all the other things for his hundredth, that perhaps I needed a break.

Even so, when we got home and it was quite late, I continued with reading and correcting the proof but not for long. We had a dinner date at El Tinglado that night. Eladio and I had been to this new restaurant near us a couple of weeks ago and I was keen to take Olivia, if only to try their delicious foie. She loved it.

I was happy to see that later that night, Olivia made her pregnancy official finally by posting a photo of her with her bump on Facebook and Instagram. It's a lovely photo don't you think?  It's funny to think that inside that bump my little grandson is growing. I wonder what he will be like, the little boy with no name yet?

Oli finally announced her pregnancy on social media on Friday evening

Saturday came and we all had hot cross buns for breakfast again. I promise that after today I shall be back to healthy eating. On Saturday I continued work on the proof reading. I then sent it to my friend Amanda who checked it too. This morning I will go through it for the last time and then send it to my publisher. Fingers crossed there are no silly mistakes and fingers crossed it will be ready on the day.

It didn't rain in Madrid yesterday but it rained in many places in Spain, especially on the south east coast, the Costa Blanca. Ironically the weather was better in England than in Seville or St. Tropez. Yesterday was England's hottest day of the year with temperatures reaching 25c. That sounds wonderful except that it caused a fire on our beloved Ilkley Moor and surrounding areas. I couldn't believe  the moor was on fire.

Ilkley Moor on fire yesterday

A walk up Ilkley Moor was one of my father's favourite walks when he lived in Bradford from 1964-2005. He must have gone up it countless times. He used to take George and me too when we were children. I would have been about 7 or 8 when he took me for the first time and forever afterwards he would call me "his little moors' girl" except that I wasn't. I didn't really like him calling me that as when I was younger I was not keen on walking, especially uphill. What I did like though was being bought sweets or being taken to Betty's that quintessential Yorkshire tea room in Ilkley where both he and I would indulge in our favourite cake, the meringue with cream and fruit in it. Not for us the "fat rascal". It was only later in life that I developed his passion for walking. I'm sure my father will be very sad to read this morning about the fire on his beloved moor.

Our guests were out all day yesterday. We have hardly seen our Venezuelan doctor guests. I do know though that they sought refuge from the rain on Friday by visiting the Prado where they spent 6 hours contemplating the wonderful paintings in Spain's most famous art gallery. Otherwise we haven't seen them. Andy, our Scottish guest, did lots of "boy things" with his young son Bruce who came to spend the week with him. They went go-carting, did paint ball and yesterday played ping pong on our outdoor tennis table. I'm afraid Norah was naughty yesterday when she snatched and ate Andy's packet of chicken which was placed too dangerously near the edge of the kitchen top. What a naughty and greedy beagle we have.

Luckily as it didn't rain Eladio and I were able to take our dogs for a walk yesterday. It was quite pleasant with a temperature of about 21c but rather windy. We came home to have a light dinner - we had had fish and chips for lunch (naughty) - as we weren't very hungry.

For us it was early to bed and we didn't hear our guests come back. They will all be leaving this morning.

Today is Easter Day. All that remains for me now is to wish you all a very Happy Easter whether you celebrate and believe or not. I shall be preparing roast lamb for lunch and can't wait to have some of the luxury Lindt Easter Egg I ordered online. My father got his yesterday and it's a Thornton's one. No doubt he will love it if he hasn't already eaten it. He does have a very sweet tooth which I have inherited from him.

So my friends, I shall leave you now until next Sunday. All the best till then,
Cheers Masha

Hot cross buns, a visit from Selwyn College Cambridge, it's a boy, a big day for astrophysics, a breather for Brexit and other stories.

Sunday 14th April, 2019

My father looking smart and very happy during Erin's visit from Selwyn College Cambridge on Monday this week

Good morning again,

How has your week been? Mine has been great with continued preparations for my father's hundredth. Not long to go now.

Last Sunday was a wet and rainy day. I went out with Eladio and Oli to buy flowers for the garden and lots of soil too. Meanwhile I had left our lunch - cocido madrileño - on the boil with Zena to look after it. It was a very suitable dish for such a winter like day. 

Sunday's lunch - cocido madrileño

I could have done with a siesta but had work to do. I had finished the manuscript of my father's biography which had been proofread but I was still worried there could be mistakes. That's when our family friend, Andy D, stepped in and offered to give it a final proofread. Well he came up with lots of silly typos and some inaccuracies and sent me a four page list! So I had to painstakingly incorporate them into the manuscript. I also had to include the copyright page which I did and then sent it off. My publishers had now received the 3rd updated manuscript. No doubt I shall still be adding things and sincerely hope the book will be ready on time. My publisher assures me it will.

We didn't go for a walk that day as the weather was foul and we couldn't face getting drenched again. I suggested to Oli we bake this year's hot cross buns for Good Friday and that was what we did. They take at least five hours to make as they have to be proved for 1 hour three times. Thus we spent the whole afternoon and part of the evening on making two large batches - some 29 buns. Making the cross on them out of a mixture of flour and water was very challenging as I don't have a pastry sleeve and even if I did I would still have made a mess of it. They didn't come out of the oven until nearly 10.15 p.m. The smell in the house was wonderful but I refused to be tempted to try one. You see in our  house we only ever eat them on Good Friday and the following days.

Home made hot cross buns

I left them to cool and the next morning froze them all until Good Friday. Hot cross buns has always been part of the Easter traditions I was brought up on in England and they are only to be eaten from Good Friday onward. In Spain a very typical sweet equivalent is  "torrijas" a sort of French toast mostly eaten cold. Basically it is bread basted in whisked egg, coated with sugar and fried in oil. I have never been a fan but when Oli's boyfriend brought some of his mother's home made torrijas one night this week, I tried one and it was delicious. 

Monday came and it was to be an exciting morning for my father. You see, his old Cambridge college, Selwyn College, was sending out their Development Manager and Alumni Relations Officer, Erin B. to see him. It was to bring personal greetings from the college for his hundredth birthday. He is their oldest living pupil and the college, encouraged by the master, Roger Mosey, wanted to pay him homage and that is just what they did on Monday. Erin brought with her a restored photo of his matriculation in 1938 - 80 years ago. He was 19 years old at the time. She presented it to him in a large printed copy and he sat at his desk looking at it and trying to remember. 

The photo of my father after matriculution in 1938 at Selwyn College Cambridge. He is the second from the left on the second row 

He recognised himself of course but also a couple of other people. One was a German chap called Claus Brauer and the other was someone called W.A. Hollwey. We looked and both were there. Hollwey is next to him in glasses and Brauer is the chap in a dark jacket, the only one wearing a dark jacket.  He told us that he and Hollwey had once ridden on their bicycles from Cambridge to Bristol, to my father's family at the Vicarage in Henbury. Here he is pouring over the photo.

My father pouring over the old photo and pointing at himself in it

My father was very lucid during the visit and his memory was pretty sharp too. He told Erin that his room was on the F7 staircase. She told me that is in the old courtyard. He also remembered going to chapel at the college and having to wear a white surplice.  He said that the Chaplain was called Revd. A.C. Blythe. Selwyn in those days was very much linked to the Church of England and my father being the son of a vicar was sent there for that reason. He later told me the Master of the college at that time was George Armitage Chase. I looked him up and indeed my father's memory was right. Mr. Armitage was also a bishop. His teacher of German he said was Leonard Foster and that the administrator at the time was JP Darrant. He even remembered the name of his "gyp", "bedder" or scout, Freddy Fromint.  This is a person or was a person who would be a student's private servant, making their beds, lighting the fires in their rooms etc.  What a memory he has.  Erin also brought two beautiful prints of the college, one from the inside and one from the outside. 

My father looking at one of the prints of his college that Erin had brought for him as a present from Selwyn College Cambridge

My father remembered every corner of the college and that the road it's on is Grange Road. He enjoyed the visit enormously and was very flattered as was I. Erin loved the visit too. She is a young girl who is actually from Colorado in the US. Here she is with my father who was looking smart in a white shirt and his Selwyn tie Eladio had helped him put on for the occasion. I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time.

My father with Erin when she came to bring greetings from his old college

I have to say that the visit pleased us all round. It was a very special day for us all but especially for my father. Thank you Erin for coming over personally and a big thanks to the Master of the College  who organised the visit.  We are very grateful. 

I felt like I was floating on cloud 9 for most of the day. At around midday I took Oli to work at RTVE at Prado del Rey in nearby Pozuelo. I felt very proud leaving her there. It's Spain's most prestigious broadcaster and she is very lucky to work there. 

I came home to find Eladio still working on mounting the picnic table I had ordered on Amazon recently. It came without instructions and would need a whole day to mount. I often tell you my husband is a good jack of all trades. He can even do carpentry. Here he is starting on the job.

Eladio mounting the new picnic table for the garden

Shortly after I got home and still with my coat on and handbag on my shoulders, our new Airbnb guest arrived. Eric is Belgian from Liege, married to an Argentinian lady and they live with their family in Uruguay but are moving to Spain soon. They want to live in this area and he came to look at houses. He was a very nice and sociable person - another good looking guest:-) - but we didn't see much of him. 

On Monday I spoke to my publisher or rather designer and printer of my book. He told me that no way would a hard back edition be ready by 1st May but that he could do a paperback edition. So I went for that. He also asked me what I wanted the cover and back cover to look like. He had me stumped as I hadn't thought of that. So later I looked at various paperback biographies to see if any could inspire me for my book. Thus I sent him a description of the sort of style I wanted. Let's see what design he presents me with. 

It was late by then but we needed our walk, so I left my PC and Eladio left his picnic table and we took the dogs out. It was sunny but a bit cold because of the wind but thankfully there was no rain. 

That night we watched the latest episode of Secrets of State (Secretos de Estado) on Amazon Prime and it was one of the better episodes of this series about a fictional and rather corrupt Spanish government.

On Tuesday I was up early and after breakfast had a long video call with Suzy in Bali. We hadn't spoken for weeks and it was lovely to see her face and hear her voice. Soon she will be with us. She has had a virus of some kind which has left her feeling out of sorts but thankfully seems to be over the worst of it.

That was a great start to the day. That morning I saw to the administrative side of my work, scanning and filing invoices and receipts to send to my accountant. It sounds very grand to say "my accountant" but if you are self employed here the paperwork is pretty complicated and I need one.

Very soon afterwards we had news from Olivia. She and Miguel had gone for her 3 weekly check up. She wasn't prepared for the outcome when her doctor did a scan and asked them whether they wanted to know the sex of their baby. So that morning they were given the news that the baby she is carrying is a boy. It's a boy. I think she was really expecting it to be a girl and the news came as a surprise. For some reason I was sure it would be a boy. Of course we would have been delighted either way. Now they have to search for a boy's name. It has to work both in English and in Spanish of course because of the family roots. I sent a few suggestions  such as: Sam (Samuel), Julian, Sebastian, Leo, Tristan, Oscar, Lorenzo, Simon, Martin, Romeo, Noel, Benjamin, Gabriel, Noah and Bruno. For the moment the boy to be is nameless. I have been calling it 'The Pea' ever since we knew she was pregnant as in The Bump in the early weeks it says the size is that of "a pea". After having two girls, Eladio and I look forward to a boy in the family. It will be a change. We would celebrate that night. As soon as I knew, I told my father. He was pleased too. Later at lunch, he asked me whether I was able to know the sex of my babies when I was pregnant. The answer was yes. Of course in his day it was always a surprise. What  a year it is going to be, what with his hundredth birthday and the birth of a grandson who will be his great grandson.

For the rest of the day I was a bit lazy. Eladio wasn't though. He finished assembling the picnic table and one of the new garden benches that arrived in a flat pack as all furniture does these days. It was rainy and cold so we skipped our walk. Eladio spent the time planting some of the flowers - mostly geraniums around the pool.

Eladio watering the flowers he had planted around the pool

Geraniums are not my favourite flowers but they are the most sturdy for cold and hot weather.

Another reason I didn't go on my walk is that I had to pick up Oli from work. There was a lot of traffic on the drive out and back and again I thanked my lucky stars I work from home and don't have to face traffic everyday as most office workers do.

We came back to watch Olivia on the television with Olivia with us which was quite bizarre and never usually happens. We watched a report she had prepared last week while in Guardamar  - a seaside resort near Alicante - on the accumulation of plastic bottles and containers in the river that flows into the sea there. It was quite horrific. Also horrific was the amount of mini plastic bits littered all over the sand on the beach  and which come from the sea.

Later we made dinner which we would eat in the dining room and be joined by her partner Miguel. We made two scrumptious Spanish tortillas we had with salad, etc. I indulged in both wine and chocolates - we were celebrating the news of the baby's sex after all - and would get a headache later. We went to bed late and starting watching a series on Netflix that looked promising, The Traitors but which turned out to be one big yawn.

Wednesday was a big day for astrophysics and for science. Steven Hawkin's and Albert Einstein's famous black holes were finally confirmed when a photo was released and which hit the headlines around the world.

First image ever of a black hole released on Wednesday

This real life and historic image shows a donut like ring of fire leading to a black hole. I cannot pretend to understand it nor can many of us. This hole which is so large it is is 6.5 billion times heavier than the sun and is apparently 55 million light-years away from where we live.

It was also a day of relief for Brexit when the EU agreed to yet another extension until 31st October which is actually the night of Halloween. Thus the horror show will continue. The extension will allow the UK to leave earlier if a deal is agreed upon in Parliament. If it is not the UK will have to hold EU elections in June, not something Theresa May wants. The only bit of light relief of the day was when Theresa May came face to face with her German counterpart, Angela Merkel, and both laughed when they saw they were wearing identical colour jackets. That is probably the only thing they really agree upon, the colour of their clothes, so far away is the UK PM from the EU.

The German and UK Premieres in a moment of light relief when they met in Brussels this week and both were wearing the same  blue coloured jacket. 

It was a big day for science and a big day for the future of the UK but a very quiet day for me. I didn't have much to do and very unusually for me, actually watched a film in the morning on Netflix. Being a sucker for  films about institutions such as  hospitals, schools, prisons or convents, I came across aone called Novitiate on Netflix and had to watch it there and then. It's about a strict cloistered convent in the US that had to adapt to Vatican II which would make the Catholic church a lot less strict. It's also about becoming a novice in very strict conditions which makes many of the postulants and novitiates question their faith. I suppose films about nuns fascinate me as I often question my own faith too and have done so all my life.

The film I watched on Wednesday

I actually felt as guilty as a nun watching it. I felt guilty for being lazy, for not doing anything. You see I'm usually so busy it was funny to find myself with not much to do that day. Eladio told me I deserved to rest as I have worked so hard on my father's biography for months now. Now it is in the hands of my publisher and I am fretting they will get it right. It's like handing your baby to someone you don't know. Will they treat it okay? I hope so.

Oli was out that day filming. This time she was sent to a village in Toledo called Burguilla. From there she would join a tractor march making its way to the county town of Toledo. The drivers of the tractors were protesting for better conditions for agriculture and farming life. Oli joined a melon farmer who told her that she was paid 9 cents per kilo for the melons she grows which are later sold for 50 or 60 cents per kilo and that she couldn't make ends meet with rising prices of petrol and the standard of living. She said this price had not gone up in 25 years. Who wouldn't protest about that?Here is Oli inside the lorry with the farming lady and her cameraman.

Oli in the tractor

The other tractors in front of theirs making their way to Toledo 

Later we would see her report on TVE in the evening. You can see it  here too.

As I said, our day was quiet. We only ventured out for a walk in the afternoon which wasn't too pleasant as it was cold and windy and rain threatened. As I walked I remembered learning at school the description of the months of the year but could only remember "March winds" and "April showers". I think May is something like "brings flowers" but my memory is hazy. I do wish I could remember the rest. In Spanish April is described as "aguas mil" meaning a thousand waters and is the equivalent to "April showers".

I came back with time to read before dinner and continued with The Signature of Things. I am struggling with it actually. So I was relieved when it was 8 pm and time to go down to the kitchen to make our meal.  Andy was there but there was no sign of our other guest, Eric.

We watched the news where the main items were the EU Brexit extension announcement and of course the black hole. Later we continued with the series Hanna on Amazon Prime but I am also struggling with that. It was lights out at around 11 pm.

Thursday came and finally the sun shone again. The temperature rose a bit but only to 15ºc. I spent part of the morning at Ikea where I went to buy frames for the photo and prints Erin had brought from Selwyn College for my father. While there I got lots of goodies from the Swedish food store too.

That morning Airbnb informed me I was superhost again, in fact superhost for the 7th time in a row and with a  5 star overall rating, the maximum. To be a superhost on Airbnb you have to meet certain criteria: have an overall rating of minimum 4.8, a response rate of 90%, zero cancellations, a certain number of stays and number of guests staying at least 3 nights during the year and over 50% of trips hosted must be reviewed by the host. My degree of fulfillment of the criteria to be superhost is over and above and I do my best to maintain my superhost status. Later I got an email to say they were sending me a surprise gift. I wonder what it is. I have to say embarking on being an Airbnb host has been one of the best decisions I have made in the last few years. It has been  remarkable journey and for most of the time I enjoy it.

Airbnb Superhost again for the 7th time in the row

My success at hosting depends entirely on my husband's support. He is the chief maintenance officer for Airbnb guests (hahah) which means he has to keep house and garden in shape. Over the last few weeks he has been getting the garden ready for the summer as you saw with flowers above. Well on Thursday he finished assembling the new garden benches I had bought online to go in a sunny spot by the kitchen patio. Here they are. The dogs immediately joined him. It looks lovely with the daisies which by the way were a present from Lorena, an Airbnb guest from Venezuela last year.

New benches for a new sunny spot in the garden or rather in the kitchen patio

That was good news for me. Who had bad news that day was the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who has been living in asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy for the past 7 years. He was arrested and forcibly removed from the Embassy by the Metropolitan Police for skipping bail in the UK in 2012 after facing sexual abuse charges in Sweden. He also faces  charges in the US for his leaking of secret documents. The Ecuadorian Embassy, tired of his presence and apparent bad behaviour as well as supposed spying on the Embassy itself,  revoked his asylum on Thursday.  My father and I discussed the news at lunch. He may be approaching 100 but he knows exactly who Julian Assange is.

The afternoon was peaceful. I continued reading The Signature of Things and we went on our walk. That night we watched episode 9 of Secrets of State on Amazon Prime. What would we do without video streaming these days? Well, in the old days I used to read until I fell asleep. 

I woke up on Friday a little later than usual at around 6.30. I had a mission that day. I was going to send the press release on my father's biography and upcoming hundredth to the British press, both regional and national. I couldn't believe that by about 5 pm in the afternoon I had one national paper and 5 regional ones who want to publish his story. Wow! 

The weather was warmer on Friday and I even had to take my jacket off on my walk. The forecast for Easter in Madrid is good. We were thinking of going to Montrondo tomorrow but it will all depend on the weather as it looks like it will  rain pretty all the time we would be there. However, in the south east where our beach apartment is near Alicante the weather will be very good. Thus we are in two minds as to where to go or we may even stay at home. I far prefer to travel out of season and no doubt there will be a lot of Easter traffic. 

Being Friday we went out to dinner that night. Our choice was the recently opened "Abuela Lola" in nearby Boadilla. The food was good but the music a bit too loud for my taste. I prefer a quieter atmosphere when dining out.

We came home to find our new Airbnb guest, Lander, had arrived but was in his room. I wouldn't see him until the next day.

Saturday came and it would be another sunny day and warmer too. The temperature rose to 23ºc. Oli and Miguel were joining us for lunch and as our cupboards were bare, Eladio and I had to go out and do the food shopping which for me is a weekly task I find rather a bind. We were home by 11 am, with lots of time to unpack and store everything and for me to start on lunch. I made roast chicken legs with roast potatoes and roast red peppers; all very filling. A siesta was very much in order after that and while Oli and Miguel left to go shopping, we had a nap. I think it must have been the quarter glass of Juan Gil wine that helped me sleep as I didn't wake until 5 pm. When I woke up I took my kindle and, followed by Pippa, made my way to the sofas by the pool to read in quiet. I was soon joined by Eladio. Zena had taken my father out into the garden too and I joined him as he had a cup of tea and biscuits. We talked about his upcoming hundredth and hoped the weather would be just as good on his day as it was yesterday. I told him his niece, Zuka, was coming from France for the occasion and he was delighted. Me too. 

We went on a late but warm and sunny walk and came home to have a meager dinner after such a heavy lunch. I didn't sleep well last night but that's not news.

Today is Sunday and the good weather will continue so I look forward to another family lunch and lazy day. I shall have a rest from domestic duties as my father's weekend carer, Zena who is from the Ukraine will make the lunch. I bought the ingredients for her to make "glupsy" which translates into stuffed cabbage roles. I do write a lot about food in my blog don't I? 

Now my friends as I have reached the end of the tales of this week all that remains is for me to say have a good week ahead. 

Cheers till next Sunday, Easter Day, and all the best till then,

Masha.

c