Sunday 2nd June, 2019
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| Voting with my father last Sunday |
Good morning everyone,
How has your week been? Let me tell you about mine.
Unusually last Sunday was a very busy day. It was probably the highlight of the week. That morning Oli and Miguel continued their holiday in Mallorca and sent us photos of their relaxing time there, such as this one from the port of Andrax.
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| Oli and Miguel in Mallorca - Port of Andrax |
They would have a great week there relaxing before Oli gets heavier. It will be their last proper holiday before the baby, my grandson, is born.
Suzy was off to London that day and I drove her to the airport. We left later than we should and I feared she may miss her 11.30 flight to Stansted but owing to very little traffic we made it on time. I was sorry to see her go but knew she was dying to see the crowd of friends she had missed in this last year in Bali. Suzy lived in London for 5 years and for her it feels like home. She will be back on 13th June but the next day we are off to England, Wales and Ireland and won't be back until 1st July so we won't see much of her until our return.
Once home, we went off to vote, taking my 100 year old father with us. He was surprised we were taking him but of course we were. He had to exercise his democratic rights and it was nice for him to get out. Before we left he told us "I'm not voting for Vox". Vox is the new far right wing party. We wouldn't either. We don't take him out much as it's so difficult to get him into the car but we managed that day. We only had to go nearby to our polling station at a local school. Here I am pushing his old wheelchair on our way to it.
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| Taking my father to vote last Sunday |
As UK citizens in Spain we can only vote in the local and European elections. We can't vote in the general elections or the autonomous ones and neither can we vote in the general elections or any referendum in the UK as we have lived for more than 15 years outside England. When the UK leaves the EU our franchise rights will be completely diminished and we won't be able to vote anywhere. I will have to seriously consider adopting Spanish nationality. That is what Brexit has forced upon me. I can become Spanish but it's no easy feat, with a whole load of paperwork and not to mention difficult exams about the Spanish constitution and a language exam and a very hefty fee. In Spain there is no possibility of dual nationality. I would have to renounce my British citizenship - thank you Brexit - although the British authorities would probably never claim back my UK passport. It's not a nice situation. However, last Sunday we could still vote in two of the elections and my father and I were happy to exercise our democratic rights, rights my father had fought for in WW2. I think he was the oldest voter in the queue. Here we are in the queue to vote.
I asked whether there was any provision for people who are not mobile to be able to vote but it seems not in Spain. My father loved the trip out though and afterwards we went to have a coffee and some churros - well my father and I actually went for the thicker and longer version called "porras". Here are my father and Eladio at the café. It was a beautiful sunny day.
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| In the queue to vote with my father last Sunday |
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| Eladio and my father with our coffee, churros and porras after voting last Sunday |
We wouldn't hear the results until very late that night. It was to be a fight between the left and the right but there would be no clear winners. The overall winner would be the governing socialist party, PSOE but to govern they will have to contend with right wing coalition forces made up of the traditional PP party and the new social democratic party Ciudadanos and the far right party Vox. The PSOE won the European Elections too with a 32% share and will be the biggest social democratic delegation in Brussels.
I didn't have much time to make lunch when we got back so resorted to making a pizza but cheated by using bought pastry for the base and frankly it turned out to be a bit hard. I shall make my own base next time.
For once we had no guests in the house. Andy had gone out hiking and Alba and Javi had left early that morning and our next guest, Naoto from Japan, wasn't arriving until Tuesday. Because of this and Suzy's departure the house felt very empty. We had a siesta. Mine didn't last long and soon I was outside on the kitchen patio reading with my cup of tea and surrounded by the dogs.
Last Sunday we didn't go for our walk as we had a very early dinner date in Madrid. Friends of my beloved friend Sandra, Rob and Andrea, came to live in Madrid last September. Sandra was keen for us to meet them and it finally happened last Sunday when they invited us to their housewarming party at their new flat in the city, on Avenida de América, very near where we used to live when we bought our first house when we got married. So we know the area well. I was keen to meet Rob, a Canadian of Jewish Polish and Ukranian origin who had been Sandra's first love when they were 20 and 22. They went their different ways but have always remained friends. Rob's partner, Andrea, is a lovely bubbly person. Born in the UK to Austrian and Hungarian parents, Andrea was a primary school teacher but seems to be loving her new work free life in Madrid. Rob has his own company where he lectures at different places in the world on organizational excellence. It means he travels a lot but can live from anywhere. I was looking forward to meeting them and other international friends and I wasn't disappointed. They had invited all sorts of mixed marriage couples, like Eladio and I, an American married to a Spaniard, a Spaniard married to an Italian girl, a couple of single Brits and an American couple who have settled in Spain ah and Rob's delightful daughter Julie who now lives in Canada. So what a mixture of people we got to meet last Sunday. Andrea had prepared delicious food which we ate on their outdoor terrace with views of Madrid at night.
Eladio enjoyed both the company and the food. Here he is with Rob enjoying their dinner.
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| With Andrea and Rob at the housewarming party |
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| Eladio and Rob last Sunday |
I only wished Sandra was with us. She would have loved to be there, I know. Hopefully she will come to stay in Madrid soon and we can all meet.
We had been invited at the unearthly hour of 6.30 pm for Spaniards. As the invitation said "from 6.30" we got there by 7.30. An early night though meant leaving relatively early. By 10 pm it was getting dark and after eating Andrea's delicious cakes, it really was time to go as we live quite far out. To get there it took only 25 minutes as we knew the way. Going home was a different story. Our GPS misled us, we got lost and ended up nearly in Alcobendas before finding the M40. But we made it and were home by about 10.45 and in bed at 11 pm watching the results of the elections in Spain.
The PSOE party (Socialists) were the big winners in all three of the elections but as their natural partners, the far left party Podemos, lost many votes, they would lose crucial partners in setting up councils and government around the country. This is because the right wing parties, PP, Ciudadanos and the terrible far right party, Vox, outnumbered them in votes in many places. Madrid was the big surprise where there were more right wing votes than left wing. This means "Carmena" (the left wing "grandmother" mayor) would not continue and the PP would return to power unless of course Ciudadanos teams up with PSOE which is unlikely to happen. The coming weeks will be weeks of negotiating to see who will govern where. The biggest losers of the night were Podemos (far left communist party) who in many places have practically disappeared. Their pony tailed leader, Pablo Iglesias, a bit of a despot, has been left out in the cold but refuses to step down.
Monday came and I think it was the laziest day I've had in a long time. I spent most of it reading as did Eladio and we enjoyed a guest free house again for once. But it also felt lonely without the girls. Oli continued to enjoy what was her last holiday with Miguel before the baby is born. She posted a lovely photo that day of her and her bump at 26 weeks which means she is about 6 months pregnant. Gosh how time is flying. Both she and her bump looked beautiful.
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| Oli and her bump in Mallorca on Monday |
Suzy, meanwhile, was enjoying her first full day in London. She retrieved the bicycle she had left behind at her friend Sandra's place and was delighted to be cycling in London again. That was her main form of transport during the 5 years she lived there. She knows London nearly as well as some of the black cab taxi drivers. I always used to feel like a complete tourist with her when I visited. The weather wasn't so bad and that day saw her enjoying a picnic on Hampstead Heath with her friends.
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| Suzy on Hapstead Heath last Monday |
It was on Monday morning that my father received belated birthday greetings from the Royal Navy Association. I was delighted to see the letter written by the Secretary General, Captain Bill Oliphant. (love that surname). I think my father was surprised and read it with joy. Let me share it with you here. It's so fitting that the R.N. should have sent him recognition and thanks for his service during WW2 albeit belatedly. I forgave the Captain for spelling my name wrong. So many people think my name is spelled with an "r" as in Marsha rather than Masha. Even when I write first and sign Masha I often get a reply to Marsha and I hate it. But in this particular letter I didn't really mind.
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| The letter from the R.N. Association to my father which arrived on Monday |
If the morning was lazy so was the afternoon. It was hot too and we decided to skip our afternoon walk and go on it in the mornings straight after breakfast from then on. I think the dogs were disappointed. They kept waiting for us to make the signs to leave but they never came. In the end they gave up, resigning themselves. Norah, our beagle, at one stage just sat with her back to us in the little garden under the trees by the pool. I wondered what she was looking at as she stayed that way for such a long time. She seemed to be on the watch out for something but I never got to know what.
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| Norah on the watch out in the garden on Monday. Love the photo, it's like a post card |
The highlight of Monday was the Royal Navy's letter but it was also in the form of a long and newsy email from my best friend from school, Amanda, who had been with us on my father's birthday. Straight after that she and her husband Andy went on holiday in their new camper van to Scotland. They had tried to visit Orkney but were unable to because of some big RSPB event. In any case she thought of my father and sent this lovely photo of the lighthouse there which they could see from the mainland. When I showed it to my father he said "Scapa Flow". Well, he would know as he spent a long time at the end of the war at the R.N. base in Lyness. That is where he was on D-Day. One day I shall visit both Orkney and the Shetlands.
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| Scapa Flow lighthouse in Orkney |
I wrote back to her with an even longer email with all my news. We have agreed to meet when we are in the Cotswolds next month. I can't wait.
The rest of the day panned out as always, dinner, bed and TV streaming. That night we watched the rest of the film, Sentinel. What I really wanted to see was the film Victoria and Abdul which I realised had just been added to Amazon Prime. But I had to wait and find a moment to see it on my own in English. I could not bear to listen to the actress, Lady Judy Dench, as Queen Victoria speaking in dubbed Spanish and Eladio doesn't like watching films in English. That is the main inconvenience of a mixed marriage. I do miss watching films in English, especially British ones.
I slept relatively well that night and woke up quite late for me on Tuesday morning at just before 7 a.m. Tuesday was to be a more productive day.
We went for our walk at 8.45 and it was far cooler than in the evenings. I had hoped to see the fox again but no sign of it.
We came back and were soon out of the door again off to do our weekly shopping. I do love the fruit at this time of year and we bought lots of apricots and black cherries which make for great snacks. I made our lunch; "bitki" (Russian hamburgers) and froze a few. We had them with delicious roast peppers which we seem to be making a lot of recently.
I couldn't sleep during our siesta so that ended up being the moment I found to watch Victoria and Abdul, the film I was angling to see in English. And oh I loved it. It was just up my street. Eladio woke up and watched it with me despite it being in English and he loved it too. What a story and it is based on true facts
In about 1887 when Queen Victoria was in her late 60s and 30 years after the death of her beloved Albert, she made an unexpected friend from an Indian servant Abdul Karim. Feeling lonely and fed up with everyone fawning around her and waiting for her to die for her son Albert to become king, Abdul becomes her friend. He taught her Urdu for 13 years and she considered him his "Munshi". It was considered a scandal by the Royal Household who hated him. They hated him for his influence over the Queen and for her devotion to him. They were furious a "coloured" Indian Muslim upstart had become so important to her. When the Queen dies, Abdul and his family are ousted from the court and all her letters to him were set on fire. Their story of friendship, however, is a beautiful story for a lonely old Queen and makes a wonderful film. I wondered how much truth was behind it and looked it up afterwards. Sharabani Basu wrote the book which was turned into the film. 100 years after Munshi's death she found his journal which describes his story; quite a find. I immediately downloaded the book on my kindle and it would be my book of the week. What a story, what a film. I love it.
I told Suzy about it when she called me that afternoon. We had a lovely video call and I was so happy to see her in such good spirits. She is literally blooming. But I had to leave her as my Japanese guest who I kept calling "Kyoto" but whose name is Naoto had arrived. He had arrived at the local metro station and had no means of transport to get to our house unless he was to walk the 1.5km with his large suitcase. So being the motherly person I am, off I went to get him. He had no food so I suggested he bought some at Carrefour Market. He had never been to Spain before so everything was new to him. I had to navigate him around the store and help him at every turn. He wanted fruit, a piece of steak, croissants for breakfast and above all olives. I am not an olive fan so the store manager who speaks good English helped us. I asked him whether he might like to buy some sushi and he laughed, said no and told me the sushi we eat in the west is nothing like the sushi people eat in Japan. Interesting I thought.
I thought my Japanese guest was a young student but it turns out he is 41. He looked much younger. He was here for the Champions League final this weekend and is a TV sports commentator for a Japanese station. He was bowled over by the size of our house and garden, telling me that in Tokyo 4 people would be living in a room or flat the size of our garage!!!! He loved his room, the house in general and the pool. He just couldn't get over the size of everything.
He made his own dinner while Eladio and I read by the pool. I also saw Oli's latest report which was broadcast that evening. She had done it while in Valencia last week but it only got broadcast on Tuesday. It was about a lovely pink coloured lagoon or lake in Torrevieja which is also a salt lake with much of the salt being sold to cold countries in the north of Europe to melt snow. It is the biggest of its type in Spain and is quite a unique place. You can see the report here. I do love the music she chose for it. It makes it very romantic. Torrevieja is very near Santa Pola so I hope to visit the lagoon next time we go. It's funny but I had never heard of it.
We later had our own dinner and then went to bed. I had a quick look at my phone and at LinkedIn. I looked to see the sources of the viewers of my latest blog post. I saw that MásMóvil followed me. Well that I knew. I find it funny they do as they fired me when they bought Yoigo. I wonder if they are worried that one day I will write something bad about them. But what really surprised me was to see that the FBI, yes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are also following me. I wonder why. I really hope they are not out to censor me. Later in the week I saw that Huawei technologies was following me too, obviously because I wrote about their crisis in the post and they will be monitoring every mention of their company on internet. Maybe the FBI are too otherwise why would they read my blog post I wonder? Here is proof they have read my blog. AAGGHH. Should I be flattered or worried I wonder?
That night we watched episode 1 of Season 2 of a wonderful Spanish TV series called "La Otra Mirada" on TVE. It's about a rather forward thinking academy for young ladies set in the 20s in Seville.
Wednesday came. After our walk I had a coffee date with my friend and neighbour Elena who had just come back from her holiday in Japan. It was rather coincidental that I had a Japanese guest staying with me and I told her about our trip to the supermarket. He had just gone into Madrid for the day and would later tell me he didn't really like the city. He's my first guest who isn't keen on the city. I wonder what he was expecting. He told me found there were far too many people. I wondered why he said that as in his home city of Tokyo there are far more. He also told me didn't like Tokyo. We both agreed we were country rather than town people.
I came home to find a parcel for my father from my newly found cousin in Scotland, Katriona. She is the granddaughter of his Uncle Will (his father's brother). Apart from yet another birthday card to add to the collection she had sent him a very interesting book as a present. Called The Terror of Tobermory (capital of the Island of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides) where her mother was born, it tells the tale of Vice Admiral Gilbert (Puggy) Stephenson who was in charge of the R.N. training camp in Tobermory. He was apparently a very demanding man whose work was crucial in the chasing of Nazi U-boats, the mission of most of the ships my father was on during his time in the war. Amazingly my father told me he had been at Tobermory, obviously for training. I asked him whether he remembered the Admiral and he said yes, fleetingly, and that he was a "ferocious man". My cousin Katriona could not have chosen a better book for my father. His biography was written by the broadcaster Richard Baker who trained under him.
We went for our walk at 8.45 and it was far cooler than in the evenings. I had hoped to see the fox again but no sign of it.
We came back and were soon out of the door again off to do our weekly shopping. I do love the fruit at this time of year and we bought lots of apricots and black cherries which make for great snacks. I made our lunch; "bitki" (Russian hamburgers) and froze a few. We had them with delicious roast peppers which we seem to be making a lot of recently.
I couldn't sleep during our siesta so that ended up being the moment I found to watch Victoria and Abdul, the film I was angling to see in English. And oh I loved it. It was just up my street. Eladio woke up and watched it with me despite it being in English and he loved it too. What a story and it is based on true facts
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| Wonderful wonderful film. |
I told Suzy about it when she called me that afternoon. We had a lovely video call and I was so happy to see her in such good spirits. She is literally blooming. But I had to leave her as my Japanese guest who I kept calling "Kyoto" but whose name is Naoto had arrived. He had arrived at the local metro station and had no means of transport to get to our house unless he was to walk the 1.5km with his large suitcase. So being the motherly person I am, off I went to get him. He had no food so I suggested he bought some at Carrefour Market. He had never been to Spain before so everything was new to him. I had to navigate him around the store and help him at every turn. He wanted fruit, a piece of steak, croissants for breakfast and above all olives. I am not an olive fan so the store manager who speaks good English helped us. I asked him whether he might like to buy some sushi and he laughed, said no and told me the sushi we eat in the west is nothing like the sushi people eat in Japan. Interesting I thought.
I thought my Japanese guest was a young student but it turns out he is 41. He looked much younger. He was here for the Champions League final this weekend and is a TV sports commentator for a Japanese station. He was bowled over by the size of our house and garden, telling me that in Tokyo 4 people would be living in a room or flat the size of our garage!!!! He loved his room, the house in general and the pool. He just couldn't get over the size of everything.
He made his own dinner while Eladio and I read by the pool. I also saw Oli's latest report which was broadcast that evening. She had done it while in Valencia last week but it only got broadcast on Tuesday. It was about a lovely pink coloured lagoon or lake in Torrevieja which is also a salt lake with much of the salt being sold to cold countries in the north of Europe to melt snow. It is the biggest of its type in Spain and is quite a unique place. You can see the report here. I do love the music she chose for it. It makes it very romantic. Torrevieja is very near Santa Pola so I hope to visit the lagoon next time we go. It's funny but I had never heard of it.
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| Oli and the pink lagoon. |
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| The FBI read my blog my goodness. |
Wednesday came. After our walk I had a coffee date with my friend and neighbour Elena who had just come back from her holiday in Japan. It was rather coincidental that I had a Japanese guest staying with me and I told her about our trip to the supermarket. He had just gone into Madrid for the day and would later tell me he didn't really like the city. He's my first guest who isn't keen on the city. I wonder what he was expecting. He told me found there were far too many people. I wondered why he said that as in his home city of Tokyo there are far more. He also told me didn't like Tokyo. We both agreed we were country rather than town people.
I came home to find a parcel for my father from my newly found cousin in Scotland, Katriona. She is the granddaughter of his Uncle Will (his father's brother). Apart from yet another birthday card to add to the collection she had sent him a very interesting book as a present. Called The Terror of Tobermory (capital of the Island of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides) where her mother was born, it tells the tale of Vice Admiral Gilbert (Puggy) Stephenson who was in charge of the R.N. training camp in Tobermory. He was apparently a very demanding man whose work was crucial in the chasing of Nazi U-boats, the mission of most of the ships my father was on during his time in the war. Amazingly my father told me he had been at Tobermory, obviously for training. I asked him whether he remembered the Admiral and he said yes, fleetingly, and that he was a "ferocious man". My cousin Katriona could not have chosen a better book for my father. His biography was written by the broadcaster Richard Baker who trained under him.
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| A perfect choice for a book for my father for his birthday |
My father set about reading it immediately. I shall read it too and I shall add Tobermory to my list of places to see in Scotland next year. It looks such a beautiful place.
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| Tobermory in Scotland. It looks divine . |
My father loved the Hebrides and must have known Mull quite well. In a way my father's 100th birthday continues or rather the momentum of it continues and that is good for his morale. Both the letter from the R.N. and the parcel from Katriona made that possible. I hope to read The Terror of Tobermory when my father finishes it. It sounds interesting and will give me more insight into his time in his beloved Scotland during the war.
I had an email that morning from my father's old school where he taught from 1964-1983. It was from the Alumni officer Rebecca. She and Lindsey, the Development Manager, had offered to show me the school and have tea with them on our upcoming trip to Yorkshire. It now seems the headmaster wants to meet me too. I told my father and he was quite surprised. Rebecca had rescheduled the visit from 10 to 10.30 suggesting skipping the tour of the school. But I told her I had no intention of skipping it as the visit to BGS for me would part of my trip down memory lane. I particularly want to visit my father's form room. I asked one of his past pupils, Daniel, which it was and he said "Room 26 on the second floor by the refectory". I remember my father taking Eladio on a trip round the school in about 1981 and seeing his form for the first time. It was full of his Russian posters and maps and all the props he used for teaching; old Paris Match magazines, copies of the Russian newspaper, Isvestia, etc. It's going to be a memorable visit and I'm honoured that the Headmaster wants to meet me as I am honoured the Headmaster of Clifton College Bristol wants to meet me too. If only I could take my father.
I had a video call from Suzy from London that morning although we could only speak briefly as when she called I was having coffee with Elena. She was excited by a new post as a teacher to young children in a new English academy that is setting up in Boadilla in September. I was happy for her.
Oli continued her holiday in Mallorca with Miguel and that morning found them in the lovely Valdemossa area. I once remember being there on a Nokia summer party where we went on a regatta and had a splendid dinner at one of the fanciest hotels I have ever been to. Here is a photo of the two of them in matching hats. They had been eating the local pastry "ensaimada" typical of Mallorca which I love and I asked her to bring us one back for breakfast on Saturday.
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| Miguel and Oli in Valdemossa in Mallorca on Wednesday |
We had a quiet lunch with my father. I served some of the "bitki" I had made the day before with my father's favourite vegetable, cauliflower. It was preceded by my home made broccoli and mushroom soup. He ate it all. It's so important for him to eat healthily and I make sure he gets his daily ration of fruit, veg, protein and dairy.
Sleep eluded me during the siesta after the news and soon I was down by the pool and starting on my new book Victoria and Abdul and loving it. Eladio left his reading about crime in the Catholic Church - his latest passion, for a more down to earth task, that of mowing the lawn. I love it when he does it because of the smell and how nice it looks afterwards.
We had dinner again on the terrace and later watched the news. I interested to read that the devil of the man "Bojo", Boris John, will face trial for lying to the electorate in the Brexit referendum on how much the NHS cost per day - some 350 million pounds. Oh how I don't want him to become P.M.
Much more entertaining than the news was watching a new series on Amazon Prime, "Widow". We have only started it, so let's see if we shall continue. It started off well but we were soon asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night to what I thought was a bout of cystitis. Thankfully when I woke up on Thursday morning, it seemed to have gone. Cystitis is awful.
Thursday came and it was to be another lovely day with temperatures reaching 30c. After writing the stories of Wednesday for this blog which I generally do early in the morning, I wrote a long newsy email to my dear friend Amanda in reply to hers from the day before. We got very close during the preparations of my father's biography and I miss her. Hopefully soon when I begin work on my mother's story we will be in touch again.
We went on our morning walk at around 9.15 and it was already warm but still with some cool in the air. No doubt over the coming weeks it will get warmer. I do love this time of year with its long days and the summer to come. I came home to find my Japanese guest all ready to leave. He was off to Madrid from where he would be registering as a member of the press for the UEFA Champions League final this weekend. When he left, he got the Uber driver to take a photo to remember me. I was keen to get one too so as to remember Naoto, my first ever Japanese guest. Here we are together, both wearing shorts and he is bending down so that I don't look too small hahaha.
When he left, I organised lunch then went out on several errands in the neighbourhood. My first stop was the chemist to get a pill for Pippa against tics. Then I went to Lidl to stock up on different kinds of nuts such as pecan, walnut, brazil, etc which are not to be found elsewhere. My next stop was a big pet shop called Petuluku in Majadahonda. I went there to get a giant container of shampoo for the dogs and while there bought them some toy bones and some treats. My last stop was to El Corte Inglés to get a new watch strap for one of my favourite watches. I was home just on time to join my father and Eladio for lunch. They loved my vegetable soup. Lunch outside in the summer is like being in an oasis of green, surrounded by hedges with flowers and lush green grass thanks to Eladio's irrigation system. There is the sound of bird singing and the lure of the greengages we shall be picking next month from a beautiful fruit tree if the birds don't get them first. Conversation with my father is difficult as he is hard of hearing. I often have to resort to pen and pencil as I am determined to communicate with him and to keep him in high spirits after his 100th and I make sure we talk as much as possible every day.
Meanwhile Oli and Miguel were enjoying their last full day in Mallorca. Miguel is a cameraman as I have told you many times so of course he takes great pictures. As he dotes so much on my younger daughter he takes many photos of her and they are usually great. Here is one of her yesterday I particularly like where she is happily showing off her 6 month bump in a clingy striped dress. Good for her. When I was pregnant I had to wear a sort of tent dress as no one showed off a bump. Bumps were to be hidden but not any more thank goodness.
After a very short siesta on my part, I went down for my afternoon cup of decaf tea and then for a nice long read by the pool. It got a bit hot on the terrace so we moved to the benches under the trees in one of my favourite parts of the garden. Here is Eladio with his PC actually and if you look closely you can see little Pippa lying by his side. When we are outside reading we are always joined by the dogs.
We don't usually go out on a Thursday evening, reserving our dinners out for Friday nights but we had a dinner date with friends in Madrid on Thursday. We were to meet up with Roberto and Mari Carmen who although, officially divorced, continue to go out together - how civilised. We met in an area called "Madrid Río" by the River Tagus. It used to be a ghastly area until the whole embankment was transformed by burying the main inner Madrid ring road underground, the M30. It has turned into something like the London Southbank but in a more residential way. Since its transformation quite a few years ago, we were to see it close up for the first time.
After the pain of parking in Madrid with its ghastly traffic - oh how I far prefer living outside the city - we found our friends and walked under the Bridge of Segovia to discover the Madrid Rio walkway. Mari Carmen had made a reservation to eat on the outdoor terrace of the Madrid Rio Cafe restaurant. Despite being a Thursday night it was pretty full. As we sat we had views of the Madrid Palace (Palacio de Oriente) and other landmarks such as the San Francisco Grande church where the girls used to sing at Christmas with their school choir. It was a balmy night and great to see our friends again. Since they split up some years ago we don't see as much of each other as before. The company was good, the food quite acceptable and the temperature perfect so all in all it was a great night out. Here is a photo of the 4 of us. The building behind us is the illuminated Royal Palace
We were home later than usual and after reading for a bit, switched the light off at past 1 in the morning. I was up on Friday at around 7 a.m. 6 hours sleep is not bad.
Friday was a busy and pleasant day. My father received yet another email from an ex BGS pupil, Robert H, who he taught Russian in 1969 when he was the Head Boy. I often wondered how they chose or choose the head boy at the school. It must be a huge honour for the pupil in question. One of the boys in my group of friends, Bill Oliver, was head boy. Robert described my father as "one of a team of dedicated language teachers who inspired the budding linguists among us to greater efforts". My father was pleased to hear from yet another of his old pupils and told me he remembered Robert. That would have made his morning. It's great that the momentum of his 100th continues.
So what did I do on Friday? Well, first I had to greet my French guests who had arrived in our absence. Romain and Alexandre came to attend a course at the local University on hearing aids of all things. They are not the first group of French students coming to our house for that purpose. They are from Paris and seemed friendly but we wouldn't see much of them apart from in the mornings.
We went for our walk of course and we definitely felt the increase in temperatures. On Friday mercury reached 31ºc. We went a bit late and it was already hot at 10.30 or so when we got back. After organising the lunch, I went to the hairdresser for a well needed cut and dying of roots. For a change I went to a new hairdresser, one Suzy recommended to me. I think it was called "Bella Brasil". I have been going to one opposite called Marco Aldany for years so I felt a little bit of a traitor. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find 2 ex hairdressers from the latter who made me feel very welcome. I was the only customer there when I arrived which meant no waiting thank goodness. Contrary to most women I actually quite dislike going to have my hair done. I think it's because I can't sit quiet for a long time and am not in the driving seat. While there I went for the works and had my hands manicured, dyed my eye brows and eye lashes which are so blonde these days and of course dyed the roots of my hair and had it cut and blow dried. I should have felt pampered and beautiful but I didn't really. I quite liked the way the girl, Elena, did my hair so no doubt I shall be going back. Oli later told me I looked like a mushroom:( Thankfully other people liked the style; sort of bouncy which is how I like it. Here is a selfie of me with my new hair cut.
I was home on time for lunch with the men but had a short siesta as at 3.30 pm I had to leave to go and pick up Miguel and Olivia who were returning from Mallorca. I was there by 16.15, despite the traffic of which there was a lot but thankfully for me most of it on the other side of the road. I had forgotten that traffic on Friday afternoons in Madrid is particularly bad as many people hit the road for the beach or the mountains. It was lovely to see my pregnant daughter and Miguel both looking relaxed after 6 days of being pampered at a luxury hotel in Mallorca. Good for them. Miguel drove back and boy was there traffic. On the way out I spied one of the British football team coaches, either Tottenham or Liverpool being escorted by police vehicles. They were here of course for the Champions League final yesterday.
All Oli wanted when she got home was to enjoy the pool and that's what we did, sit by the pool while she went in gingerly. Miguel, not afraid of the cold, dived straight in. I hadn't seen them since Suzy and I were in Valencia and it was good to catch up on their lives. It was good too to see how Oli's pregnancy is progressing. She thinks her bump is enormous but it isn't and I'm afraid it is going to get a lot bigger soon. The heat is not going to help. Her wish for dinner was Spanish "tortilla" and a giant salad and that's what I made while the two of them went out house hunting. They are looking in the area which pleases me as I would love them to live near us.
When the sun was not quite so strong, Eladio finished mowing the garden by cutting the grass in the patch by the pool - my favourite part of the garden - and the patch by the kitchen patio. He then came to sit with us. By then Andy, our Scottish lodger was back. The two of them get on famously. Here they are together enjoying each other's company.
Soon I had to start on dinner, making the tortillas and salad. I did so peacefully and soon had three small and perfect Spanish omelets ready for dinner to have with the salad, some ham and accompanied by a nice bottle of Rioja. Dessert was delicious melon and raspberries - I love that combination. The four of us stayed up quite late and didn't go to bed until 10.30 or so. I slept quite well that night.
Saturday would be another hot day, possibly the hottest day of the year. It was also the hottest day of the year in England and no doubt Suzy who is in London would have enjoyed her day. Other people enjoying the day were the 10.000 football fans, the supporters of Liverpool and Tottenham who were in the Spanish capital for the final of the Champions League. It must be the first time in many years that two English teams have disputed the final. In a way roles were reversed as Madrid held the match at the Atlético stadium rather than any Spanish teams taking part. The 10.000 revelers in their red and white clothing took over the capital and bars and restaurants took advantage of the occasion, some of them charging 30 euros for two beers which is probably double the usual price. We steered clear of the centre. I would have paid not to go there and witness my badly behaved compatriots.
Instead we had a quiet day at home which started with our daily morning walk with the dogs. It was great to have Oli and Miguel back - they liven up the house. They went off to the local swimming club and I read and made our lunch - roast chicken, jacket potatoes and asparagus - much appreciated by everyone. As the day progressed, it got hotter and hotter again reaching 31ºc. That's hot but not as hot as it will get in July and August but even so we felt the heat. Oli had guests that afternoon and for dinner - her bosom Uni friend Anita and boyfriend Alberto so at around 5 she took me with her to buy food for dinner. I made my flagship tuna salad for the occasion. This is it and it has all these ingredients; tuna spread (with mayonnaise and spring onion), avocados, ripe red tomatoes, peppers, boiled egg and asparagus. It's a great dish for a summer night.
It was great to see Anita again and her boyfriend. We last saw them in December, quite a while ago. In the meantime Anita has undergone chemotherapy for Hodgkins disease which has been and is being very unpleasant. She has 3 sessions to go but the good news is that the treatment has worked and the disease is now well under control.
We sat in the shade by the pool before dinner and soon I was in it together with Andy, our lodger. Elsa wanted to join us but I wouldn't let her. It would be my first bathe of the season and my was the water cold. However, I felt very refreshed afterwards and no doubt will be going in again today.
Dinner on the kitchen patio table was a lovely friendly affair and carried on well into the night. Andy joined us and we spent part of the night suggesting names for Oli's baby which I call "The Pea" ever since I learned that in the very early stages of her pregnancy the baby was the size of a pea. They seem to be inclining towards the name Marco. Marco in Spanish means a window, picture or door frame as Eladio pointed out. We were trying to find names that would work in both English and Spanish and two of those suggested by Andy; Adrian and Owen were the ones we all found most popular except for Eladio who would prefer the name Luis. They have three months more to decide so let's see what The Pea ends up being called hahahaha.
As we were enjoying our dinner, Liverpool and Tottenham were playing in the final at the Atlético de Madrid stadium. I wondered how my Japanese Airbnb football commentator guest was enjoying the match. You will know by now that Liverpool garnered their 6th trophy. No doubt the supporters in town and around the world would be celebrating big time. No doubt too, the Tottenham supporters would be drowning their sorrows, in Madrid, at least, with very expensive beer.
We went to bed quite late at around 11.30, watched the end of a film called "Las chicas de la 6ª" (the girls from the 6th floor). Part comedy, part drama it is about a group of Spanish women who fled Franco's Spain after the Civil War and served in houses as maids in France. We enjoyed it and watched it until the end after which we switched the lights off.
I was awake at 5 something this morning but thankfully fell asleep again until 6.29. As usual I was the first person up this morning and my first task was to feed our hungry dogs.
Today will be a relaxing day and it will be hot too. Thankfully we have the pool so we can cool off when it gets hot.
Now, my friends, I have come to the end of the tales of this week and it is time to sign off and get on with the day. I wish you all a happy Sunday and week ahead. Until next time,
All the best
Masha.
c
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We went on our morning walk at around 9.15 and it was already warm but still with some cool in the air. No doubt over the coming weeks it will get warmer. I do love this time of year with its long days and the summer to come. I came home to find my Japanese guest all ready to leave. He was off to Madrid from where he would be registering as a member of the press for the UEFA Champions League final this weekend. When he left, he got the Uber driver to take a photo to remember me. I was keen to get one too so as to remember Naoto, my first ever Japanese guest. Here we are together, both wearing shorts and he is bending down so that I don't look too small hahaha.
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| Saying goodbye to Naoto |
Meanwhile Oli and Miguel were enjoying their last full day in Mallorca. Miguel is a cameraman as I have told you many times so of course he takes great pictures. As he dotes so much on my younger daughter he takes many photos of her and they are usually great. Here is one of her yesterday I particularly like where she is happily showing off her 6 month bump in a clingy striped dress. Good for her. When I was pregnant I had to wear a sort of tent dress as no one showed off a bump. Bumps were to be hidden but not any more thank goodness.
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| Oli and her bump in Mallorca on Thursday |
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| Eladio reading in the garden. |
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| Madrid Rio - or a part of it |
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| A night out in Madrid with our friends on Thursday |
Friday was a busy and pleasant day. My father received yet another email from an ex BGS pupil, Robert H, who he taught Russian in 1969 when he was the Head Boy. I often wondered how they chose or choose the head boy at the school. It must be a huge honour for the pupil in question. One of the boys in my group of friends, Bill Oliver, was head boy. Robert described my father as "one of a team of dedicated language teachers who inspired the budding linguists among us to greater efforts". My father was pleased to hear from yet another of his old pupils and told me he remembered Robert. That would have made his morning. It's great that the momentum of his 100th continues.
So what did I do on Friday? Well, first I had to greet my French guests who had arrived in our absence. Romain and Alexandre came to attend a course at the local University on hearing aids of all things. They are not the first group of French students coming to our house for that purpose. They are from Paris and seemed friendly but we wouldn't see much of them apart from in the mornings.
We went for our walk of course and we definitely felt the increase in temperatures. On Friday mercury reached 31ºc. We went a bit late and it was already hot at 10.30 or so when we got back. After organising the lunch, I went to the hairdresser for a well needed cut and dying of roots. For a change I went to a new hairdresser, one Suzy recommended to me. I think it was called "Bella Brasil". I have been going to one opposite called Marco Aldany for years so I felt a little bit of a traitor. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find 2 ex hairdressers from the latter who made me feel very welcome. I was the only customer there when I arrived which meant no waiting thank goodness. Contrary to most women I actually quite dislike going to have my hair done. I think it's because I can't sit quiet for a long time and am not in the driving seat. While there I went for the works and had my hands manicured, dyed my eye brows and eye lashes which are so blonde these days and of course dyed the roots of my hair and had it cut and blow dried. I should have felt pampered and beautiful but I didn't really. I quite liked the way the girl, Elena, did my hair so no doubt I shall be going back. Oli later told me I looked like a mushroom:( Thankfully other people liked the style; sort of bouncy which is how I like it. Here is a selfie of me with my new hair cut.
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| My new haircut, the same style as ever, just a bit more bouncy |
All Oli wanted when she got home was to enjoy the pool and that's what we did, sit by the pool while she went in gingerly. Miguel, not afraid of the cold, dived straight in. I hadn't seen them since Suzy and I were in Valencia and it was good to catch up on their lives. It was good too to see how Oli's pregnancy is progressing. She thinks her bump is enormous but it isn't and I'm afraid it is going to get a lot bigger soon. The heat is not going to help. Her wish for dinner was Spanish "tortilla" and a giant salad and that's what I made while the two of them went out house hunting. They are looking in the area which pleases me as I would love them to live near us.
When the sun was not quite so strong, Eladio finished mowing the garden by cutting the grass in the patch by the pool - my favourite part of the garden - and the patch by the kitchen patio. He then came to sit with us. By then Andy, our Scottish lodger was back. The two of them get on famously. Here they are together enjoying each other's company.
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| Elado and Andy by the pool on Friday evening |
Saturday would be another hot day, possibly the hottest day of the year. It was also the hottest day of the year in England and no doubt Suzy who is in London would have enjoyed her day. Other people enjoying the day were the 10.000 football fans, the supporters of Liverpool and Tottenham who were in the Spanish capital for the final of the Champions League. It must be the first time in many years that two English teams have disputed the final. In a way roles were reversed as Madrid held the match at the Atlético stadium rather than any Spanish teams taking part. The 10.000 revelers in their red and white clothing took over the capital and bars and restaurants took advantage of the occasion, some of them charging 30 euros for two beers which is probably double the usual price. We steered clear of the centre. I would have paid not to go there and witness my badly behaved compatriots.
Instead we had a quiet day at home which started with our daily morning walk with the dogs. It was great to have Oli and Miguel back - they liven up the house. They went off to the local swimming club and I read and made our lunch - roast chicken, jacket potatoes and asparagus - much appreciated by everyone. As the day progressed, it got hotter and hotter again reaching 31ºc. That's hot but not as hot as it will get in July and August but even so we felt the heat. Oli had guests that afternoon and for dinner - her bosom Uni friend Anita and boyfriend Alberto so at around 5 she took me with her to buy food for dinner. I made my flagship tuna salad for the occasion. This is it and it has all these ingredients; tuna spread (with mayonnaise and spring onion), avocados, ripe red tomatoes, peppers, boiled egg and asparagus. It's a great dish for a summer night.
 |
| My flagship tuna salad |
We sat in the shade by the pool before dinner and soon I was in it together with Andy, our lodger. Elsa wanted to join us but I wouldn't let her. It would be my first bathe of the season and my was the water cold. However, I felt very refreshed afterwards and no doubt will be going in again today.
Dinner on the kitchen patio table was a lovely friendly affair and carried on well into the night. Andy joined us and we spent part of the night suggesting names for Oli's baby which I call "The Pea" ever since I learned that in the very early stages of her pregnancy the baby was the size of a pea. They seem to be inclining towards the name Marco. Marco in Spanish means a window, picture or door frame as Eladio pointed out. We were trying to find names that would work in both English and Spanish and two of those suggested by Andy; Adrian and Owen were the ones we all found most popular except for Eladio who would prefer the name Luis. They have three months more to decide so let's see what The Pea ends up being called hahahaha.
As we were enjoying our dinner, Liverpool and Tottenham were playing in the final at the Atlético de Madrid stadium. I wondered how my Japanese Airbnb football commentator guest was enjoying the match. You will know by now that Liverpool garnered their 6th trophy. No doubt the supporters in town and around the world would be celebrating big time. No doubt too, the Tottenham supporters would be drowning their sorrows, in Madrid, at least, with very expensive beer.
We went to bed quite late at around 11.30, watched the end of a film called "Las chicas de la 6ª" (the girls from the 6th floor). Part comedy, part drama it is about a group of Spanish women who fled Franco's Spain after the Civil War and served in houses as maids in France. We enjoyed it and watched it until the end after which we switched the lights off.
I was awake at 5 something this morning but thankfully fell asleep again until 6.29. As usual I was the first person up this morning and my first task was to feed our hungry dogs.
Today will be a relaxing day and it will be hot too. Thankfully we have the pool so we can cool off when it gets hot.
Now, my friends, I have come to the end of the tales of this week and it is time to sign off and get on with the day. I wish you all a happy Sunday and week ahead. Until next time,
All the best
Masha.
c
c
c
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