Good morning all from Yorkshire, often called "God's own country". Finally we are here. But let me start from last Sunday when we were still at home.
Sunday 9th June will go down in tennis history as the day Rafael Nadal won his 12th French Open. He is the only tennis player ever to have one a grand slam that many times. The 33 year old Spaniard from Manacor in Mallorca beat the number 4 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria for the second year in a row this year by 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1. This is one great feat in tennis history and confirms Rafa is the King of Paris and the King of Clay. He first won in 2005 when he was just 19 and from then until this year he has won 12 times out of 14. He has never been beaten in a final in Paris which says an awful lot. After last Sunday's win he is now only 2 grand slams away from Roger Federer's 20. That means he is the second best tennis player ever. Federer is now 37 so Rafa still has some time to beat that record. Let's hope he does. What a champion for Spain. Rafa is our best ambassador.
I can only think he must have a very big house or somewhere very big to hold all the trophies he has won; the 12 from Roland Garros, the 3 from the US Open, the 2 from Wimbledon, the 1 from the Australian Open, not forgetting his 4 Davis Cup wins his two Olympic gold medals and a whole host of Masters 1000 titles.
Sunday for me was a quiet day. We went for our walk, I made lunch - Asturian bean stew, I read by the pool and had dinner with my family.
Monday came and I had a busy week ahead of me with last minute preparations for our trip to England, Wales and Ireland. It was a lovely warm day with temperatures reaching 30ºc. In England on the other hand the country was on alert for extremely heavy rain with some parts of the country expected to get in just one day the equivalent of a month of rain. I looked at the forecast for the next week or so and it's depressing. It looked like our time in England could well be washed out. Oh well, what can I do? Luckily though it hasn't been as bad as I had expected, so far.
The house was quiet with no guests during the day. I was expecting a Moroccan from France called Achraf that day but he had not communicated his time of arrival. I looked at his reviews and they were not good especially for cleanliness. Oh dear I thought. As a superhost I cannot cancel a guest reservation as if I do the penalty would be lose that status. So I just crossed my fingers. At last I got a call at around 5 to say he was coming. I left Eladio to receive him and went off to a routine doctor's appointment. Just as I got out my husband rang to say that there were 2 guests when the reservation clearly stated just 1 and of course they had paid for one guest and not two. Neither of them was Achraf but his brother Omar and friend Zakarias apparently a "rapper". Not too keen on rappers I have to say. That was very cheeky and happens every now and again but has only happened to me about 3 times. Some guests book for one person and then turn up with more thinking the house they have booked is empty; i.e. the hosts don't live there and that no one will know. Ah but our home is a shared one so they should have looked carefully before cheating. I was very nice to them but very firm too and made them change the reservation to 2 people. I then showed them the house and their rooms which they liked. They seemed nice kids but obviously come from an environment where it is ok to leave their stuff around and be as loud as they want. They were loud and rather brash and left the lights on all the time. I later heard from Andy, our Scottish lodger who found them in the kitchen, that they were eating our food! They had obviously never read the rules or house info pack I sent them . I have to say they are probably the worst guests we have ever had. Later they would give me the worst review I have ever had too with just 3 stars. I have an average of 5 stars with only one 4 star review. I just wished they had never come.
But other things happened on Monday. Suzy sent us a photo of her teaching online. Although on holiday in London, she was not on holiday from her daily online classes to her Chinese kids. Here she is all set up for her lessons that day. I love her "teacher" look haha.
 |
| Suzy the teacher - giving online classes in London on Monday |
I was supposed to accompany Olivia to another doctor appointment that day but she had to cancel it as her programme sent her to the town of Aranjuez just outside Madrid to cover a rather grisly story. It was about a feud between gypsy rivals. A man had shot and killed one of his sisters-in-law and wounded another one who later died too. That was one of the biggest news items that day and later we would see her on TV reporting from Aranjuez. She reported both for her programme España Directo and the TVE 24h channel. Here she is, lovely in red, but serious as the story required seriousness.
 |
| Oli reporting on a gruesome murder case in Aranjuez on Monday |
While our guests were splashing around noisily in the pool, Eladio and I had a quiet dinner on the kitchen patio. We often watch the news on my iPad while having dinner but that night there was a football match. It was a qualifier for the European cup between Spain and Sweden in the Real Madrid Bernabeu stadium. I was not the least bit interested although I was happy to see Spain win by 3-0.
I slept badly that night. I kept having to get up to switch off the lights all over the house that my two Moroccan guests had left on. They had their doors open and there was loud noise coming from both rooms. I think I didn't fall asleep until about 02.30. I was woken up by them with a lot of noise at 6 am and could have killed them. I asked them to shush and I suspect that they did as it looked like they were going to sleep just as they had woken me up. What a night.
I got up with a headache and felt pretty lousy as if I had a hangover. I can tell you that Omar and Zakarias (a supposedly famous Moroccan rapper of all things) would not be getting a good review from me and I would get a bad one form them. They slept all day believe it or not so there was no noise from them until about 6 in the evening. They then went in the pool and all hell was let loose. Then they surprised me at around 9 pm telling me they were leaving then and there. I was glad to see them go. I then went to look at their rooms fearing the worst. Yes, they were a complete mess which I had expected but at least nothing was broken.
Otherwise Tuesday was quiet. We went to do the weekly shopping and bought more than usual to last the household for a while during our absence. It was on Tuesday that I received a surprise email from the owner of the Old Rectory in Sledmere where my father's father was a vicar and where the family lived from 1924-1928. It was in answer to a letter I had written asking to see their home from more than 90 years ago when we visit Sledmere today. I was delighted. The Old Rectory will be one more site in this trip down memory lane in search of my father's roots.
Oli was busy that day. She had to do more reporting on the grisly murder case in Aranjuez and then also did a report on the dismantling of the Atlético de Madrid stadium, the famous Vicente Calderón after the Madrid team moved a while ago to the new stadium outside the city. She reported too from a school nearby which is being affected by the noise and rubble and coincidentally it turned out to be the Gran Capitán school where Eladio was a teacher in the 80's and early 90's. Oli couldn't believe it, neither could we. Ah and here is a snapshot of her reporting from Aranjuez which by the way is actually a beautiful town on the outskirts of Madrid famous for its palace and strawberry growing.
 |
| Oli reporting from Aranjuez again on Tuesday |
We were to have the pleasure of her company and Miguel's that night when they came to join us for dinner. That was just before our Moroccan guests left. We had a quiet dinner in the dining room and they left at around 10 pm, not before showing us boxes and boxes of baby stuff they are accumulating from friends and family.
That night, thankfully, I slept really well. Wednesday came, just two days to go to our trip to England. It was another quiet day and we had no guests. 8 came during our absence this weekend and I hope Suzy is coping. She has been left in charge while I am away. We didn't do much that day, or at least I didn't. Apart from going to the bank (boring) and Eladio having his hair cut at his barber in Boadilla - he has been going there since 1988 and a cut costs just 10 euros! - making soup for lunch and reading in the afternoon, there is practically nothing to report. But oh yes I have to tell you the 80 copies of my father's book arrived on time to take 20 of them to the UK. I was pleased about that. I was in touch with Kathryn about our stay in Yorkshire and for Friday she and Phil had suggested a visit to Saltaire to the Mill to see an exhibition about women in Bradford and lunch at the Saltaire Diner. I immediately said yes as I love Saltaire. We used to live very near and it was not a place I found at all special when we did but it has now become a UNESCO heritage site and is a very special place. While I read in the afternoon surrounded by our dogs, Eladio mowed the lawn. Hopefully it will last the 17 days we shall be away.
I slept fitfully that night, perhaps because I was so revved up about our trip but I was also woken up by a new Airbn request for October believe it or not so I got up at the unearthly hour of 5.40 am. In a way I think my "reiserfeber" was beginning. It's a German word which my mother always used to describe her feelings before a trip and literally means "travel fever". I went to the hairdresser in the morning for a hairdo and manicure to look good for the journey. Then while Eladio mowed more of the garden, I spent at least two hours packing. I always make a list of the important things to take which always includes my feather pillow. I never travel without it. Thankfully Lucy made the lunch that day - lentil stew - and soon afterwards I hit the road to pick Suzy up from the airport. Silly me, I missed the main turn off on the M40 ring road and went round and round in circles until I found my way there. Luckily I arrived just as Suzy was coming through passport control so I wasn't late. It was great to see her again after 3 weeks and soon she was at the wheel driving home. Suzy loves driving and I don't particularly so she usually takes the wheel when we are in the car together. She had had a great time in London seeing so many of her friends from her time there - 5 years. She was happy though to come home to sunshine and vowed she'd go straight into the pool upon arrival which she didn't in the end. Like a mother hen once home and after greeting her grandfather and father, I was with her as she unpacked. Later Eladio, Suzy and I sat under the trees in the shade by the pool reading and in her case working. Oli and Miguel were coming for dinner after my younger daughter's TV report on Picasso's Guernica painting at the Reina Sofia musuem. We watched her on my phone while Suzy and I busied ourselves making a splendid "itsy bitsy" dinner for all of us. It was great to be together again although we would be off the next day.
We went to bed quite early as we had to be up at 5 on Friday morning to catch the 8.10 Ryan Air plane to Manchester. Poor Suzy got up at the crack of dawn to take us. Everything went smoothly, no problems with the luggage and the plane was on time. We touched down in England to pouring rain at about 9. 20 and soon retrieved our luggage and were outside waiting for our pre-ordered taxi from a firm in Keighley where we are staying with our friends Kathy and Phil. I went to school with Kathy (St. Joseph's Catholic school in Bradford) and we found each other on Facebook about 10 years or so ago. Phil, her adorable husband, was a teacher of Spanish which gives us a lot in common. We now consider them some of our closest friends and feel very at home with them.
It's about an hour's drive through Colne in Lancashire and soon we were outside our dear friends' lovely Victorian terrace house, one in a row of houses built by the local Mill owner during the Industrial revolution.
 |
| Phil and Kath's lovely old Victorian house in Keighley where we are staying in West Yorkshire |
They welcomed us in and we had a cup of tea - well Eladio didn't. After unpacking a bit and chatting, we went out to lunch. The plan was to visit Saltaire - that UNESCO heritage site which is a Victorian "model village" built by Sir. Titus Salt in Shipley near Bradford. Built in 1851 and named after his surname and the river, he built a large wool mill by the Leeds Liverpool canal and moved all his workers there, taking them out of the slums of Bradford. He created a whole village for his workers including a school, houses for everyone, a church, hospital, a park, a town hall; in fact a village from scratch for all their needs right next to the factory they would work at. What he did not include was a pup as he was a teetotaler. In a way he was a philanthropist and a very modern man for his times.
 |
| A view of part of the Saltaire village. |
When we came to live as a family in Yorkshire in the early 60's the mill was running full time and workers lived in the village. In fact it closed down as late as 1986. At the time it was considered a very working class area and not at all admired. Today it is a world heritage site and attracts visitors from all around and no doubt the price of houses there has gone up enormously. It was funny being there as a tourist. The old mill has been turned into an exhibition centre with a permanent exhibition of David Hockney art - he was pupil at my father's old school Bradford Grammar School and perhaps their most famous past pupil. Born in 1937 he attended the school way before my father started teaching there in 1964 but his legend lives on. The mill, which has been beautifully restored preserving many of its original fixtures also houses a lovely restaurant, Salts Diner. This is where we had lunch on Friday.
 |
| Saltaire Mill, a magnificently restored building |
We all chose fish and chips and my were they delicious, some of the best I've ever had. I was very tempted to have one of my favourite English puddings - sticky toffee pudding - but resisted the temptation. As we walked out of the mill with all its artifacts, books, etc, I spied an old school desk, the type I used at school, probably at primary school and of course the child in me made me sit down in it. Here I am remembering my past in England as a school girl and inspecting the desk top for scratches and past pupils' names, probably engraved with a compass. If the desk could talk I'm sure it would have a lot to say.
 |
| Sitting at an old school desk at Salts' mill |
From Salts' Mill we took the car and Phil drove us to Shipley Glen which I hadn't been to for perhaps 50 years. It's somewhere between Bingley and Shipley on the moors. Luckily the rain had stopped and the sun made its appearance and it made for a beautiful walk with lovely green scenery. Oh how green and beautiful Yorkshire is. We stood on some of the ageless stones looking down into the valley where I suppose the River Aire passes and took photos.
 |
| Kathy and Phil |
 |
| At Shipley Glen on Friday afternoon |
It was not cold at all but it wasn't warm either but I wasn't complaining as the rain had gone. I was in my element on the glen enjoying the scenery. We came across a group of school children, all of them Asian, who would be camping in the area that night. Even though I was once a girl guide I did not envy them. We then came across a group of Asian girls on some sort of orienteering course for the famous Duke of Edinburgh award. They were a bit lost and their map reading was probably not up to scratch. They were not allowed to use their mobile phones, so I got mine out and opened the google maps app and helped them find their way. I hope they did and I hope they get their award.
We were all rather tired by then, having got up so early, so we made our way back "home" to Kath and Phil's house. Eladio was exhausted as it was also siesta time and went straight up to bed and promptly fell asleep until 7 pm. Lucky him hahaha. Phil, Kathy and I made our way into their lovely back garden with all its shrubs, flowers and trees, shed, a love seat, benches and green house where Phil grows tomatoes, peppers and courgettes. While Phil tended to the garden, Kathy and I sat on a bench with our coats on of course and had a good natter until we began to feel cold. We went inside later to start making dinner. But first our friends put the heating on and the lovely open fire. For us who live in Spain, it's strange in June to have the heating on. Here are Kathy and I by the hearth, me with a huge woolen scarf I found in our bedroom. I was wearing my "evening dress", i.e. my pyjamas and dressing gown which is how I love to be when I am at home and as I feel so at home at our friends house, I had no qualms about getting into my nightwear haha.
 |
| Getting warm by the hearth with Kathy |
I knew Phil who is the house cook was tired so I rustled up a tuna fish salad with Kathy and soon we were sitting down to a delicious and light dinner in their dining room with its lovely bay windows. We chatted afterwards about sad and happy things; poor Phil has just lost his mother and it's very hard. Of course it is. It was just great to be together again and wonderful to be in my beloved Yorkshire. I went to bed that night feeling a very lucky woman.
On Saturday morning I was awake at 4.45 which would be 5.45 my time in Spain. I was to have a very long day but a very enjoyable one. On the programme yesterday was a day in the Dales and a school reunion dinner. Rain was forecast but luckily it only rained when we came back thus we had a glorious day out in the country. We drove to the small and immaculate village of Burnsall near Grassington where we would leave our car and walk to the even smaller village of Appletreewick where Kathy had booked a table at the Craven Arms for lunch. It was lovely to be back in The Dales and I would have wanted to package all the scenery and just take it home with me. One day when I am retired I would love to spend long periods there renting a cottage in one of the delightful villages. Everything is immaculate and well kept with no litter or graffiti in sight. I could have just sat at one of the benches by the River Wharf bank like the one in the picture below and stay there all day but we had to make a move.
 |
| Everything in The Dales is a sight for sore eyes |
Before our walk we explored the little village of Burnsall, admiring the delightful cottages and wishing we could buy one there. All the Dales villages have beautiful churches and the one in Burnsall was no exception. It was built in Norman times with the first vicar recorded there in the 13th century and was rebuilt in Henry VIII times. We especially loved the quirky gate at the entrance.
 |
| Phil and Eladio like brothers at the gate to the entrance of the church in Burnsall |
 |
| Eladio at the graveyard of the church in Burnsall |
After exploring the village and going into the church, we set off on our walk to Appletreewick. It's not that far but I was happy to see at the end of the day we had done nearly 12km, the equivalent of burning 521 calories but I'm afraid that was not enough to reduce those we would take in with two heavy meals that day. We walked along a beautiful path by the river passing fields with typical Yorkshire sheep and the greenest fields imaginable.
 |
| Kathy and I on the walk yesterday |
I've always loved the styles and gates into and out of the fields in The Dales, many of them with warning signs to respect the lambing season. I do wish Spain could take note of this respect to the countryside.
 |
| By one of the styles on our walk yesterday |
Everywhere I looked I delighted at the scenery and would have wanted to bottle it all up and take it home. Oh how I love the Dales and how lovely it was to be back.
Appletreewick is a tiny linear and rather spread out village dominated by the famous Craven Arms, voted the best pub in Yorkshire in 2018 and we were looking forward to our lunch there. Spain again could take note of the respect to animals and how they are allowed in pubs, how the landlords provide water buckets and even biscuits for dogs who all behave wonderfully.
 |
| The Craven Arms in Appletreewick |
Many villages in England have signs from a crueler past and Appletreewick was no exception. There was as torture seat where obviously criminals were locked up for all to see. So I sat Eladio down for a photo; thankfully just for a photo.
 |
| Eladio in a torture seat in Appletreewick yesterday |
If the torture seat was peculiar to see, even more peculiar was an extraordinary three wheeler motor bike I saw arriving at the pub. I would have loved a ride on it.
 |
| A "Boom trike" on a trip round the Dales we saw yesterday |
I spoke to the driver, a "Dales' man" and he told me it was a "Boom trike" and that it was built in Germany. He had seen the comedian Billy Connolly on the TV on one of them touring the UK and decided to buy one and run a business taking tourists around Yorkshire. He now has two of them and a waiting list of anything up to 6 months to hire one. I thought it was quite unique.
The pub was pretty unique too. It was a beautifully restored quirky old Yorkshire pub with amazing fixtures and everything you would expect in a traditional pub in England. The food was great too and I had to go for the Steak and Ale pie which came with chips fried in beef dripping!!!!!
 |
| My steak and ale pie at the Craven Arms yesterday |
If anyone tells me English food is awful then they have never tried a dish like steak and ale pie or other traditional English dishes. I don't think I'd had a meal like it since I was about 15 and enjoyed every morsel although there was no way I could finish the chips.
With our stomachs full we set off on the walk back, this time on the road and again admiring the farm houses and green fields on our way. I would have been happy to buy any of former.
 |
| Stunning scenery on our walk back from Appletreewick to Burnsall yesterday |
We had had a really early lunch and arrived at the pub at 12 midday, very early for Eladio and I who are more used to Spanish eating times which you all know are probably the latest in the world. Thus we started on our drive home at around half past two and were home at about three. My Spanish husband who is a creature of habit went to have a very long siesta while Kathy, Phil and I enjoyed a "cuppa" in their lounge. We were soon joined by one of Kathy's four sons; William, his partner Katrina and their very well behaved 7 year old son, Charlie. I had met Kathy's other grandson Freddy but not Charlie. What a lovely boy and so well behaved. Kathy's sons are very keen on football and her eldest son Tom was a professional player having been the goalkeeper at Chesterfield F.C. for many years. Charlie looks like he will follow in his uncle's footsteps and is determined to be a goal keeper when he is older. Having only ever having met Tom, I was pleased to meet one of Kathy's other sons. I still have to meet Joe an Sam and hope to one day.
We had to be in Saltaire last night for our St. Joseph's College (S.J.C) reunion dinner at 7 pm, so we were in a bit of a rush to get ready when Will, Katrina and little Charlie - well not so little as he very tall for his age - left. Our friends had booked a taxi to take us to the train station where we could catch the train to Saltaire. I had to explain to my Spanish husband that most English people who are going out for drinks or dinner do not drive to their destinations to avoid drinking and driving. How right they are. That's another habit people in Spain should imitate.
We had a while to wait at Keighley station where I found it a bit chilly with my dinner dress and rather flimsy raincoat. But I looked around and everywhere I saw women much more scantily dressed than I and I wondered how they could stand the cold but they do. Here are Kathy and I ready for our ladies night out and waiting for the Skipton to Leeds train to arrive. I at least was wearing tights but my friend was bare legged and just looking at her made me feel even colder haha.
 |
| Kathy and I last night at Keighley train station yesterday evening. |
Our husbands traveled with us to Saltaire where they would go and have a curry for dinner at The Agra. As we got off the train at the heritage village which I am growing to love more every time I see it, two of our dinner companions and ex school friends, "Tricia" and Debby met us, having traveled on the same train but from an earlier stop. After greetings we walked up Victoria road and past the old Salts' hospital where I remember once taking my brother George and cousin Sasha there by taxi after one of them had hit the other on the head with a brick! My parents were not at home and I had to deal with the situation. Sadly the hospital closed down many years ago and was turned into flats but it is a gorgeous Victorian building. I am saying that the Saltaire village is Victorian and it was of course built in that period but actually the architecture is an imitation of 15th century Italianate architecture. No wonder it is so beautiful.
 |
| The former Sir Titus Salt hospital in Saltaire. |
At the main road we parted ways with our husbands and walked the short distance to a wine bar called Tallulah's where two more of our party, Geraldine and Maureen were waiting for us with a bottle of champagne. Of all the "girls" last night I knew them best. Dear Geraldine had acquired the newspapers my father appeared in about his 100th birthday and she handed both the Telegraph and Argus and The Yorkshire Post to me. I was very grateful. In return I gave them both a copy of my father's book but then promptly forgot to sign it. I hope they enjoy reading it.
From Tallulah's we went to the La Rue restaurant on the same street where Geraldine had booked us a table. We were joined there by another "girl", Andrea and would be a party of 8. To think we first met when we were 11. That was 51 years ago! I wonder if we shall still carry on having reunion dinners when we are in our 80s? Well, I'm all up for it, that is if we make it hahaha. As soon as we sat down I had a photo taken of us and that is the one I have chosen to illustrate this week's post. I love it. I only wish more other of the old girls could have made it but the date was not suitable for everyone. It was a cosy dinner and great food although I have to say the service was very slow and an hour after we had sat down we still hadn't been served any food. Our husbands had finished their curry by then and came to see how we were doing. After greeting us they took the train back home. I chose a wonderful seafood tapas platter which I adored. Geraldine had it too. I would have loved the Lamb Wellington on the menu but it would have been just too heavy. I usually score restaurants on their dessert menus and my goodness I gave La Rue top marks in that category. I couldn't decide between the date and sticky toffee pudding and the treacle tart but in the end went for the latter. There are no desserts like the English ones in Spain so the tart was a huge treat.
 |
| Last night's treacle tart - what a treat. |
We had a great dinner all round, chatting and catching up on our lives until quite late. I had such a good time I could hardly believe it was over at around 10.30. We all said goodbye wondering when the next reunion would be. I suggested they all come to Madrid for one next year.
Kathy, Debra, Tricia and I walked back to the Saltaire village train station and there was a train there just as we got to the platform. It was full and we continued our chatting until Debra pointed out we had missed the Keighley stop. We had no choice but to get off at Steeton, a place I do not know and which Kathy refers to as "no man's land". Getting a taxi back from there was mission impossible and it was raining and cold and the area we were waiting at was a little scary. Finally a taxi came from Keighley and finally were home around 11.30. Our dear husbands were waiting up for us. Having woken up so early I was shattered and all I could do was climb up the stairs and go to bed. Again I didn't sleep too well and was awake the next day at 6 am, 5 am for me.
Sunday is fathers's day in England and promises to be a very special day for me. Today, with my father very much in mind, we shall be visiting Sledmere where he lived with his family from 1924 to 1928 and where his father was the village vicar. We shall also be meeting one of his ex Bradford Grammar School pupils of Russian, J. Starkey who has kept in touch over the years and who lives near Sledmere. It's going to be a great day. You will be hearing all about that in next week's blog post which I shall be publishing from The Cotswold where we will be driving too on Tuesday morning on the second stage of our trip to my roots in the UK.
So that's the end of the stories of this week and I am so happy to be posting this blog from my beloved Yorkshire. Happy Sunday to you all and happy fathers' day too.
Till next week. Cheers for now,
Masha
No comments:
Post a Comment