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| At Tuareg the Moroccan restaurant on Friday night. |
Dear all.
How is life? Mine is good although I really can't wait for lockdown to be fully over - well as much as it can be - but I shall have to wait - but only for a week I think. This coronavirus crisis is a waiting game and I'm not finding it funny. However, I can now see light at the end of the tunnel. This week Madrid began its first week in Phase 2 of lockdown ease, although I didn't really notice the difference. I think some cinemas were open, there was an increase in use of space at bars and restaurants, but not much more. Madrid will continue to be in Phase 2 from tomorrow while most of the rest of Spain move on to Phase 3. The best news of the week came on Friday when we heard the end of lockdown for the whole of Spain would come on 21st June permitting freedom of movement in the whole country. That's next Sunday my friends and next Sunday or Monday, Eladio and I will pack our bags and drive to Santa Pola with Pippa, to stay at our apartment by the sea. I cannot wait for a change of scenery. As to the borders of the country opening, permitting travel abroad, it seems that won't happen until 1st July. The tourist sector needs open borders desperately but the country will have to keep the virus in check at the same time and it won't be easy. I dread new spikes in cases. If that happens the whole country won't go into lockdown again, but the areas affected will.
As to this week's figures, well, they are what they are and the virus continues to spread, especially in South America. They are on the decline in Europe which is why we are all gearing up for the lifting of lockdown. In the UK however, they are not declining fast enough, yet the government is pushing for ease of lockdown.
You can see the figures below from last Saturday 6th June and last night's figures to compare.
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| Figures for 6th June 2020. |
These are the figures one week later.
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| Figures for Saturday 12th June. |
The total number of cases went up from 6.099.052 to 7.812.145, over 2 million of them from the US alone and the worldwide death toll went up from 368.933 to 430.230. I always wonder what my dearly departed mother would have thought of this. She was born in 1920 just after the pandemic of the wrongly called "Spanish flu". She always told me her maternal grandmother died of it but she died in the 20's when I think it was over. Maybe it was a new outbreak before it was totally eradicated. It's funny to think my parents were born during the pandemic and 100 years later their great grandson, Elliot, was born just before the coronavirus pandemic.
Last Sunday was my mother's birthday. She would have turned 100. Wouldn't it have been great if she could still be here with my father and with us? Wouldn't it be lovely if she could know Elliot but no, she left us on 1st October 1999. However, she remains in our hearts always. When I posted a photo of her on Facebook in memory of her life, my dear ex school friend, Geraldine, from our school, St. Joseph's College, and who lives in Yorkshire, offered to take some flowers to her grave. Both her parents are buried at the same cemetery, Charlestown, in Shipley. She later sent me a photo. I was so touched. It's not the first time Geraldine has done this for me and it always makes me happy. Thanks my friend. It's great that there were flowers on her grave on what would have been her 100th birthday.
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| Geraldine's flowers on my mother's grave |
Sunday was another quiet day in lockdown for us. Being the weekend, Oli joined us on the walk and we hardly saw anyone. She went out to lunch with friends, taking the baby with her, so it was just Eladio, my father and I for lunch that day. We decided on a small barbecue. Here is Eladio grilling the sausages (butifarra) and American style gourmet hamburgers.
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| Eladio making our barbecue. Spot Pippa |
I had laid the table outside but it suddenly began to rain so we brought everything inside again. 5 minutes later the rain was gone and the sun was out. It felt silly to eat a barbecue lunch in the dining room rather than on the kitchen terrace.
From Sunday the good sunny weather was over for a while. This week the highest temperatures have only been in the low to mid 20's which is not warm for us. I complained that day to our friends Kathy and Phil that the weather had turned. They told me it was 11ºc in Yorkshire in England and there was I complaining about it being only 24ºc. 24ºc is hot for them hahahha. I would have considered it so too when I lived in England as a young girl. But today, hot for me is anything over 35ºc.
Oli and the baby were back by about 5 pm. She caught me reading and with Elliot around there is no possibility of reading so I closed my book or rather switched off my kindle. Later Suzy called from London where she is still a bit stuck and afterwards I had a great Facetime call with our friends Kathy and Phil.
We managed dinner on the table outside but for once we needed jumpers or a cardigan. The day ended with me in the bath with Elliot again and then free time watching a new series on Netflix - "Perdida" (The stolen daughter) about a 5 year old Spanish girl kidnapped by Colombian drug dealers which had us hooked all week.
I was awake at 7 am on Monday morning and happy to see I had a new reservation for Airbnb. That was good news although it is still taking some getting used to having the house full of guests again. Later in the day I got another booking for this weekend and a quite an interesting enquiry from a French family who wanted to stay here from 17th July to 25th August; 39 nights. I wondered if the booking would come through but it did. The family are international like us. They live in Paris and the father is half French and half English and his wife is Spanish. I have a feeling we will get on. In fact I had bookings and enquiries all week and now all the weekends from now to 25th August are all full! Whoopee.
I had a busy morning, mostly focused on domestic tasks and we went on our walk quite late, at about 12 midday. It was warm by then and there was no need to wear a cardigan. As we were not on grandparent duty this week, it meant it was just Eladio, the dogs and me on our walk and we were able to take the route through the woods where you cannnot take a push chair. We hardly encountered anyone on our way.
I also spent part of the morning planning a short summer holiday for Eladio and I. We weren't going to go anywhere apart from to Montrondo or Santa Pola but that has changed and now we shall be spending 6 nights in Asturias a lovely coastal region in the north of Spain to the east of Galicia. I had a 100 dollar coupon to spend on Airbnb which I had been awarded because of my super host status. I knew it would expire in October so decided to look at places near Montrondo this summer, places we could also take Pippa too which is not easy as Spain is not a dog friendly place. Olivia had sent me an interesting article on the most desired properties on Airbnb in Spain and there were three in Asturias. Two were fully booked except for one near Llanes which had just three nights available in July. So I booked it. Called "El Choco" this is it.
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| El Choco Airbnb near Llanes in Asturias |
I actually booked this place last week but on Monday I began to think that 3 nights away was not enough and decided to find somewhere else in Asturias to stay for another 3 nights. I didn't have to think much as my mind took me immediately to one of my favourite hotels in Spain; "La Casona de la Paca" near Cudillero a sort of Spanish Robin Hood's Bay. We have been there twice and I have always wanted to go back. I was in luck as they had 3 days vacancy before our check in to El Choco. I spoke to the owner, Montse, who is a darling and remembered us well. I can't wait to go back. We wont' be staying in the hotel part of the complex but in one of the self catering apartments where they allow pets. They look stunning and I can't wait to return to the wonderful Casona de la Paca.
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| The front of the hotel Casona de la Paca in El Pito near Cudillero, Asturias. |
Now we have something lovely to look forward to. I am really looking forward to returning to one of our favourite regions in Spain. We were last there on holiday in 2011, so it is high time to go back to visit new places and revisit our favourite haunts. A few days later, Olivia found an article in the Spanish paper, El Mundo, about top rural hotels in Spain which included La Casona de la Paca. This is it. If you ever get the opportunity to go, grab it because the place and the area are absolutely stunning.
The highlight of Monday was my Skype call with Amanda. In fact my calls with her since lockdown began have been the highlight of every Monday and I always look forward to them. We were on the phone for 1.5h. Imagine. We compared notes on our different stages of ease of lockdown both here and in the UK but also our conversation took us back to our school years at St. Joseph's catholic school in Bradford. We were talking about how most of our teachers were not good and that academic excellence was not what we got at school. But there were some very good teachers. We both agreed that our history, English and Geography teachers were the best. We both owe our knowledge of written English to the excellent Miss Speak who taught us English 'O' Level. I did English 'A' Level and so did Amanda but Miss Speak was not our teacher which was a huge pity. We spoke about our headmistress, Sister Wilfred, of Irish origin. We all knew she had a drinks cabinet in her office and it was rumoured she was an alcoholic but I don't think she was. I always remember her as a very kind woman but not a great headmistress. Our favourite nun was Sister Ana, a pretty young Irish nun who taught us Scripture. We will never forget her because of one major incident at school. We must have been in the Lower Sixth when we embarked on playing the Ouija game with a group of friends, including Brenda M. It got a bit out of hand and both Amanda and I became terrified. So one Saturday morning, we decided to visit Sister Ana at the convent which was a short walk away from the school. She received us and was very kind. She discouraged us from playing the Ouija and then she told us a prayer we could use to give us some solace. I have never forgotten that prayer and have used it many times over the years. In our call on Monday, I mentioned it to Amanda who had no recollection of Sister Ana's prayer. This is it:
Father we thank thee for the night,
and for the morning's pleasant light,
for rest and food and loving care,
and all that makes the world so fair.
Help us to do the things we should,
to be to others kind and good,
in all we do at work or play,
to grow more loving every day.
Amanda googled it and with slightly different words to those Sister Ana taught us, we found out it is a children's prayer written by a Rebecca Weston in 1890. You may not know me as a praying person and I am not generally but there are times I need to, possibly because of my upbringing. I only know three prayers really; The Lord's prayer, Hail Mary and Sister Ana's or Rebecca Weston's which is not saying much. Everyone knows The Lord's prayer. As to Hail Mary, well that is a RC prayer which I could not help but learning at St. Joseph's College where it was recited on every occasion at the school; morning assembly, feast days and at all the Masses that took place in the St. Josepsh's Hall chapel.
We also talked about my Scripture 'A' Level teacher, Miss Dyson. She was quite a prominent teacher. I shall never forget her telling our class that we were part of only 2% of our generation who would go to university. That must have been the year of 1976 and I was quite impressed. Today that percentage is far far higher.
At 7 pm we had to cut short our long call until next Monday. I then had to think about the family dinner, or rather I was reminded of it by Oli who had gone out with her family to have a coffee nearby. In the end we had a salady type meal. With no responsibility for Elliot's bath - he likes them again now thank goodness - we watched the end of the news and then continued watching our series "Perdida" (The stolen daughter). I recommended it to our friends Kathy and Phil as I thought Phil who lived and taught in Colomba during the Escobar years would be interested. They are loving it too.
Tuesday came and much of the day was dedicated to Airbnb. In the morning I negotiated with a production company who wanted to do a photo shoot for Samsung by our pool and came to a lucrative agreement. They would come on Friday morning - a team of 8 of them. Wow! In the afternoon too I came to an agreement with the French family and in between got lots of enquiries. My phone kept pinging with the special tone I have for Airbnb messages. I am still getting them and look forward to filling out the days in between the weekends.
By the way, this week I created a page on Facebook to get direct bookings for our house. This is it if you are interested or want to pass it on to friends and family.
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| I created a page on Facebook to rent out rooms at our house |
In my head this week there was a plan to put our beach apartment near Santa Pola (Alicante) on the Airbnb market too. I have thought of it over the years as the flat stands mostly empty. The problem I have is that we are far away and need someone to manage it; receiving guests and cleaning. I think though I have a candidate in our immediate neighbour and as soon as we can leave Madrid we shall be driving to Santa Pola to see if we can put these plans into motion. If our neighbour doesn't want the job I'm sure we can find someone through the concierge. So watch this space.
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| The view from our apartment in Santa Pola |
In my weekly Skype call that afternoon with Adele and Sandra I was happy to tell them my Airbnb business was recovering. Sandra who is more cautious than I am and worried about coronavirus, possibly because she has to shield her elderly mother, warned me to be very careful. We are but we are also aware of the risks.
Dinner time was also time to watch the news - so dominated by the virus. Since the start of the state of alarm I would say 90% of the news was about the virus and we were all hooked. I am less hooked now and so is the media to some extent. This week, the main news, alongside the virus, was the Black Lives Matter campaign. This week George Floyd's funeral took place and demonstrations against racism happened all over the world. The latest turn of events has seen statues of long gone men in history with a link to colonialism, being destroyed or under threat, including Christopher Columbus or Baden Powell and even Captain Cook in far away Australia. As I write, the big Churchill statue near Parliament in London has been boxed off. This happened after clashes between protesters against racism and far right protesters.
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| Churchill's statue near Westminster under heavy protection |
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| The Winston Churchill statue outside Westminster |
Would you believe that statues of both Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were also under protection? For me these three men are heroes of history and for me this is all going too far. Winston Churchill may have had his faults but he was the man who helped save us from Hitler for God's sake. His granddaughter, Emma Soames, said yesterday "we've come to this place where history is viewed entirely through the prism of the present". I can understand the feelings behind the protests after the dreadful killing of George Floyd but I would let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to statues. HBO, the video streaming company, obviously doesn't agree when this week the epic film Gone with the Wind was removed from its catalogue, calling it racist. Of course it was racist. Those were the times but if we have to eradicate any art, statue, book,film etc from our past that is linked to racism, then we shall have a huge gaping hole in history. The list could be endless. We should concentrate on the present and not on the past.
Violent protests have been escalating all around the world and I look on with horror as I see people not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. It is all getting out of hand and the usual thugs from the far right or far left have had a field day taking part to make the protests more violent.
On the home turf, a big piece of news was the going ahead of an investigation of the Emiritus King of Spain, Juan Carlos, over the scandal that he received multi million commissions for securing high speed train deals with Saudi Arabia. There are, however, no Spaniards on the streets demonstrating against the King. Maybe one day there will be a series on Netflix about his rather scandalous life. Right now, everyone on Netflix seems to be thrilled with a documentary series about that dreadful sex predator, Jeffrey Epstein. Eladio wasn't interested in the series but I was and watched a few episodes this week on my own. What a disgusting man!
That night we finished Perdida and then felt bereft, missing all the characters. What a great series and for once one with a happy ending.
Wednesday came and it was shopping day. I took Eladio again and gave him an easier list than before (hahaha). It was all done by about 1.30 when it was time for lunch. In the afternoon Oli, Miguel and Elliot left for their flat in Mirasierra just outside the centre of Madrid. They hadn't been there since before lockdown. It was funny to see them go but of course they need their space. It wouldn't be for long though as when Miguel drives back to Valencia tonight to work there next week, Oli will return here with Elliot.. Next week we will be on grandparent duty again but not for long as in July Oli will take her holiday. They will also be going to Asturias but on different dates and to a different Airbnb.
It was strange to have our dinner alone on the kitchen terrace but nice and comforting too. I love being together alone with my husband.
Thursday dawned and it would be a day alone without Oli and her family or guests. Early in the morning two nurses came from the local clinic to do a blood test on my father. Nothing is wrong with him but it's always good to do a blood test. They came looking like astronauts wearing their PPE outfits which I thought was most professional. I took the opportunity to ask them about Covid in our area. I was interested to know how our neighbourhood was affected as in the news there is not much information about where exactly the virus is more virulent. I was happy to hear there is very little Covid here but was told towns nearby like Leganés, Móstoles or Alcorcón had been badly hit.
Thursday was the morning when we finally got down to clearing out and doing a deep clean of the pantry on the ground floor. It's where we keep our deep freezer and second fridge, a wine rack and lots of old kitchen equipment which is either broken or we no longer use. Between Eladio, Lucy and I we took everything down from the shelves which I reckon had not been cleaned since we moved in 13 years ago! We threw so much away and nearly threw away a new toaster we thought was an old one but was actually brand new and which we had forgotten about (hahaha). Lucy had a vested interest as she was hoping to get things we no longer wanted - well, she got plenty. This was what the pantry looked like when we had removed everything.
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| The before photo of the pantry |
And this is what it looked like afterwards - a whole lot better and with everything arranged in order.
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| The pantry after the deep clean and throwing away of old stuff |
I have a large stock of good olive oil (remember the Fuenquesada oil?), jars of honey, Fairy foam washing up liquid (hard to find in the shops), himalayan salt of two types which I buy in bulk, etc, etc. Oli suggested I number each bottle, jar or packet. Suzy even suggested we do an inventory but I'm not good at that. The suggestions came as often things go mysteriously missing in this house, so Eladio went and numbered everything as you can see below.
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| All my bulk stock numbered in case of pilfering |
Later when I had lunch prepared, Eladio and I went on our walk. As we came back I was going to open the letter box to get the mail but was warned by my husband there was a bees' nest under the man in the hole (drain hole cover I think is the correct term) on the pavement just by it. He was right, there was a swarm of them. Eladio later rang the town council who then rang the police who then rang some bee company. The bee company people came and went and then, believe it or not, the firemen turned up and the police did too. The bottom line is that as bees are a protected species they have to be removed with care by bee experts. The fine for killing them is over 6000 euros! The problem now is who is going to pay for it and the town council want to wash their hands off the issue but we disagree as the bees are not actually on our property. They argue the pavement is part of our property. What a story. I do hope they are removed eventually and that they get to go and inhabit a nice hive somewhere and continue producing honey.
Eladio was as busy as a bee that day (hahaha) and also had to mow the lawn so that the garden looked good for the production company arriving the next day for the photo shoot. Here he is in the middle of the task.
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| Eladio mowing the front lawn on Thursday |
The temperature had gone down so, for the first time in ages, we had dinner indoors and on our own. That night we started watching The Handmaid's tale but Eladio hated it. I read the book when it came out but it is very negative and depressing and too much of a fantasy story. So we didn't continue with the series.
I was up at 6.30 on Friday morning, the morning of the photo shoot. The team of 9 people arrived promptly at 9 am. They caught me in the shower so Eladio received them. They were a very very young bunch of kids but they behaved well. We had had other production companies coming in the last three years and the experiences have not been very good. Thus I have been reluctant to accept new requests. I accepted this one as the budget was good and because they would only be shooting and filming outside and would not step indoors. They were busy most of the day and came with all sorts of props for the advert or video or whatever and all sorts of filming and photography equipment. They have promised to send me the video. I hope they do. I wanted to go outside and film them but thought I would be intruding. Thus I could only do so from inside.
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| Filming going on around the pool |
All the filming was centred around the pool which they filled with lilos and great big balls - I hoped they would leave them here but they didn't - They were little trouble and on the dot of 5pm started to leave. They asked me to take a photo of them by the pool and I did. This is it. They told me the house was wonderful for filming and so was the pool and that they loved our place. I do hope they come back to do more photo shoots. This is them just before they left.
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| The photo shoot team from the production company |
I only told them at the end of the day when they were leaving that I knew the telecoms market so well from my years at Motorola, Nokia and Yoigo and that of course I knew a lot of people at Samsung. There was a marketing girl from the Korean company's branch in Spain, Esther, and I asked her to pass on my greetings to former colleagues who work at the company. It seemed quite a coincidence that a company I was so familiar with would choose my house for a photo shoot for one of their flagship products.
As they were leaving one of the team members asked me whether the baby hedgehog he had seen in the garden was a pet. I had no idea we even had one. However, my Russian neighbour Ekaterina, who we met on our walk that morning had told us they had had a visit from one. The real term for a baby hedgehog is "hoglet". So yes, there was one in the garden. I'm not sure if it's the same one as our neighbours or if it's one with siblings looking for their mother. The boy from the production company took me to where he had seen the hoglet and there it was tiny and delicate and slightly hidden by a bush just by the wooden steps that lead down from the pool to the garden. It seemed quite tame.
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| The hoglet that visited our garden on Friday |
As soon as the team had left I went to find Eladio to show him our visitor. He was surprised and pleased. Pippa was alarmed and tried to attack the little animal but it hit back with its spines. Ekaterina told me they had fed it with milk. I was puzzled by that and googled what to feed a hoglet. I found out that cow's milk was a no no but that I could it give it non fishy tasting dog or cat food. Eladio said not to worry as hedgehogs are carniverous and eat insects and that in fact they are good for the garden. I went back yesterday morning to find it and it was no longer by the wooden steps.We enjoyed the visit and hope it comes back. I would love it to live in our garden. When I was a small child living in Ruskington (Lindolnshire) I well remember finding an adult hedgehog and putting it in my old pram (the one my mother used for George and me) in which I usually carried my dolls. My parents were dumbstruck to see me carrying a hedgehog in the pram. I don't remember what happened to it but I do remember being delighted to find the creature.
By then our new guest, Maria, had arrived. She had made the first reservation I got on Airbnb after lockdown or rather when we entered Phase 1 of ease of lockdown. She lives in Berlin with her three children and has a house not so far from here but rents it out. Thus she needed somewhere to stay. She has booked for two nights but will probably stay on next week. She is also a host on Airbnb so we have that in common.
I didn't see much of her though as on Friday night we went out to dinner which would be the highlight of our week. As soon as we knew that our favourite restaurant in nearby Villaviciosa, the Moroccan Arab Gastro Bar, called "El Tuareg" was opening again we booked a table for Friday night. Oli, who loves the place, joined us with Elliot and Miguel.
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| Eladio, Oli, Elliot and Miguel at El Tuareg on Friday night |
We got there first and were warmly greeted by the waiters who were happy to be back at work and out of furlough. I had to have a photo of the occasion and that is the one I have chosen as this week's feature photo. Suzy said I blended into the picture. I did I suppose as I was wearing white. It was great to put makeup on again and dress up to go out.
As we are in Phase 2 of lockdown restaurants can now open up 50% of the inside capacity, thus the restaurant was half full. Everything was very hygienic. The new normal for restaurants when it comes to seeing the menu is to take a photo of the QR code which leads you to the restaurant's menu on their website. I think it's far better and faster than the old system when you had to wait for the waiters to bring the menu.
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| The QR code at El Tuareg to see the menu |
We didn't really need the menu which we know off by heart and all of us have our favourite food on it. We enjoyed humus with pitta bread and falafel for starters. For seconds, Eladio had lamb tajin, Oli and Miguel shared a "sabila" (a kind of pumpkin hamburger) and the Moroccan chicken pie made with filo pastry which is called both Bastilla and Pastilla in English I think. In Spanish it is called "Pastela". That is always my choice and I have loved it every since I tried it in Marrakesh years ago. This was it.
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| Friday's "pastilla" at El Tuareg |
When we had a Moroccan woman, Fátima, who cared for my father, she used to make it for us. Hers was delicious too. It's quite fiddly to make but I might try one day. I found this recipe but I'm sure there are more.
I must love filo pastry as I also adore the typical Arab sweet pastry called "baklava". My mother adored it too and had eaten it in Bulgaria as a child where it is also popular. It is popular in most Middle Eastern countries as well as Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. I remember my Aunty Masha investing in a pastry making machine, once making huge quantities of baklava and apfelstrudel which were both delicious. These were the pastries we had at the restaurant on Friday night together with the typical Moroccan mint tea.
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| Baklava filo pastries with pistachio nuts at El Tuareg. |
When it came to paying the bill, we were told we had been treated to them free of charge. That was a lovely welcome back to one of our favourite restaurants. It was a lovely night out too. However, it was raining heavily when we left which surprised us all and of course none of us had brollies. So I made a dash to the car with my scarf covering my head, Arab style, which I suppose was fitting for the place I had come from😃.
We came home to a quiet house and were soon in bed. We started watching a film called Man to Man on Prime Video which is a little bizarre. It tells the tale of Scottish scientists who bring back a male and female pygmy from Africa for research purposes. If anything was racist, that was.
Saturday came and more guests would be arriving, a young couple who live in Moratalaz, a working class suburb of Madrid. It was at the Rey Pastor school (Instituto) there that I taught English in my year in Spain as part of my degree. I never liked the area. No doubt the couple were dying to retreat to the countryside with access to a pool after nearly 3 months of confinement in a high rise block of flats. They weren't coming until after lunch and once everything was ready for their arrival, Eladio and I went to Ikea. I needed to get a few things for the kitchen and had tried to order them online but the Ikea website was behaving badly, thus I suggested to Eladio that we go personally. It was our first trip to a big shop, other than a supermarket, since before lockdown. Everyone was wearing masks which are now mandatory and there was an orderly queue to enter the premises. We made sure we kept as far away from people as possible. Once I had our purchases in the trolley (chopping boards, napkins, slippers, vases and towels) I left Eladio to queue up and I headed to the Swedish food shop. There I bought meat balls, redcurrant jam to go with them and my father's favourite jam; cloudberry. I also got him some chocolate as well as alcohol free pear cider which Eladio and I love. The cashier asked me to distance myself a bit more in the queue and I took heed. The new protocol for shopping takes some getting used to. Later she told me that she had lost 5 members of her family to coronavirus. That really brought it home to me. I shall have to be even more vigilant now when I go shopping. I have to say I wasn't very happy seeing so many people in Ikea and maybe I shouldn't have gone. On the bright side, it was great to do something different, something that seemed normal and which we took for granted before all this started.
Once home, Eladio set about preparing the barbecue for our Saturday grill. This is him at work. He did the sausages (butifarra) and gourmet hamburgers to the treat.
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| Eladio doing the barbecue |
Our new guests didn't arrive until 4 pm and woke me up from my siesta but that's part and parcel of running Airbnb at home. I soon settled them in, left them at the pool and tried to nap a bit more. But sleep evaded me and I went out into the garden to read with Eladio.
Meanwhile Oli was at the hairdressers with Miguel and Elliot. It was her first time since before lockdown. The lucky girl got a free treatment as she knows the owners; Marco Aldany. She cut her hair quite a bit and looks quite different although as beautiful as ever.
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| Oli after her haircut yesterday |
They had spent a lovely family day together and Olivia was so happy to announce to us yesterday morning that for the first time since he was born, little Elliot had slept through the night without waking up once. I do hope that he will continue to do so as both parents are desperate for a good night's sleep themselves.
They were out and about yesterday morning and encountered someone walking a labrador puppy. Elliot was quite excited to see a dog like Elsa our lab. I love the photo his mother sent to us don't you? I also love the fact that Elliot will, no doubt, grow up to be an animal lover like us.
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| Elliot's encounter with a young labrador yesterday |
The owner told Oli that the labrador was to be a guide dog for the blind and when it was one year old they would have to give it up. I don't think I could do that as after having a dog for one year, I would be heartbroken to let go of it.
No doubt the Queen of England, a great animal lover, would agree. It was her official birthday yesterday but there would be no Trooping of the Colour as was normal on that day. You probably know her real birthday was on 21st April when she turned 94. Instead, a different type of ceremony was prepared at Windsor Castle where she is in lockdown. Yesterday was the first time she had taken part in an official engagement since it began. I think she looked marvelous.
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| The Queen yesterday during the ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark her official birthday |
The Queen sat alone on the dais flanked by two officials. I noticed she wasn't wearing a mask but it was pointed out to me she was outside so didn't need one. I don't actually agree as she is very close to them. The new ceremony was dubbed a "mini trooping" and was performed by the Welsh Guardsmen (very involved in fighting Covid) and a band from her own Household division. They all kept their distance during the ceremony which was quite unusual to watch. The royal guards did not need masks as they were wearing their trademark bearskins😉. The Queen was the only member of the family there. I was a bit surprised too not to see her larger than life husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who, by the way, turned 99 recently, but then again he retired from public life a while ago and I think never liked these type of ceremonies.
There was no mention of the Queen's official birthday on the Spanish news that night but plenty about the statues in danger during violent demonstrations around the world. Yesterday I was bushed, having got up before 6 am and only watched the telly on and off until I finally fell asleep at around midnight. At around midnight, Eladio told me our guests, were making their own barbecue!
Today is Sunday and the temperatures will begin to rise again. This week coming we look forward to temperatures in the 30º range. That makes me happy but what makes me even happier is - and I am writing this with a radiant smile on my face - that next week will hopefully be our last week in lockdown as we know it. What a period in our life we have gone through for 3 months now. It has been difficult but I have to praise the Lord we were not touched by it directly like the poor cashier girl at Ikea. We must count our blessings.
On that positive note, I leave you until next Sunday.
Cheers till then,
Masha
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