Sunday 4th October, 2020
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| With my dear friend Mariano Guindal |
Hi everyone. How has your week been? Mine had its ups and downs as you will read. Again the main topic on the news has been coronavirus. This week saw us pass the 1 million death toll mark and the number of infected rose to over 35 million. Imagine that! In may parts of Europe, with Spain leading, we are seeing cases on the rise and more and more areas going into lockdown or partial lockdown like in Madrid. We live in our little bubble here, thankfully and the area we live in is pretty free of it. Of course we come into contact with Airbnb guests but we are very careful as are they.
Last Sunday was a very quiet day. It was sunny, thankfully, and Eladio, I and the dogs went on our walk for the first time since we returned from Asturias. We have missed our lovely house there, La Casa del Cueto. Last Sunday saw the arrival of our first guests, a young British couple from London, Andrew and his partner. Loli, our neighbour who looks after the house, wrote to tell me they had arrived and were a lovely couple. Most importantly she told me they were delighted with our house. I was so pleased about that. Later Andrew wrote to me to say everything was lovely.
The last guest from our house, Alvaro, left that morning but returned later as he had left his pyjamas behind! Our other guests, Leire and her husband, left our apartment in Santa Pola early that morning. Despite the problems with the gas heater Leire posted a 5 star report. I was relieved.
Thus our house was empty of guests for the first time since the end of May. There has hardly been a guest free day since then but now the high season is definitely over and I only have two upcoming bookings. Normally October is quite full but I'm afraid because of coronavirus that this month will be pretty empty. On the one hand it's nice to have the house to ourselves but on the other hand it means a loss in income.
I spent most of the day reading but did make lunch; pork rib stew, which we had with my father. Suzy went to have lunch with her bosom friend Elenita. The afternoon was spent reading too, at times in the sun and at times in the shade, accompanied by our dogs. We got some bad news that day which destroyed all my joy and unfortunately it's something I can't share here. Thus I had no interest in food for dinner and ate 5 miserly grapes. I watched the last 4 episodes of Borgen trying not to think about the doom and gloom and it helped but when the series ended I found it difficult to sleep. It must have been 3 in the morning when I finally got some shut eye.
I was awake late for me on Monday morning, another cool but sunny day. I was busy on purpose that day so as not to think about the gloomy news. Thus I made medical appointments I had to put off in March; mostly to do with the annual gynecological tests but also a check up on my eyes. These are just routine tests but have to be done. I also got an appointment for a blood test. The tests were on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I was very wary of being in hospital environments and took all the precautions possible as did the hospital and medical centre I went to.
Then I set about scanning all my invoices and receipts for the third quarter of the year to send to my accountant. As a self employed person I have to pay taxes every quarter. That took me a while and I felt relieved when it was over. The sun was out and it was time for our walk with the dogs which we all enjoyed. Before lunch Eladio and I went back to Mercadona to get a few supplies I had forgotten to put on the shopping list the Friday before. While there I got a message from a close journalist friend, Miguel Angel M. He was going to see a common journalist friend, Mariano G. that afternoon and we agreed to go together. I hadn't seen Miguel Angel since my 60th birthday party and I hadn't seen Mariano for a good two years. I knew that seeing them would cheer me up.
While leaving, the swimming pool maintenance man was here for the last time and sadly, he covered the pool until next spring. I always hate that moment. On the bright side, at least Eladio didn't have to do it this year and it is quite a job.
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| Sadly, the pool is now covered |
For me the covering of the pool always symbolises the end of summer and all that that means. I am not a winter person although I do like autumn.
It was quite warm when I left home to drive to Mariano and his wife, Mar's house not so far from us. Miguel Angel was punctual and soon we were sitting on their lovely outdoor terrace by their open pool (hahahaha) and catching up on each other's lives. We know each other from the telecoms sector but what bound us together forever was as a press trip I organised to Edinburgh in the early 90's to see the Motorola mobile phone factory at Easter Inch. At the time I was in my 30's, Miguel Angel in his 20's and Mariano, the most senior journalist of the group, in his 40's. We stayed at the world famous Gleaneagles hotel which none of us will ever forget. Time has passed but our friendship remains the same. Today, dear Mariano who is retired but still writes articles in the press, is fighting cancer which began 15 years ago. Mar, his adored wife, is his nurse and carer. He's been through so much it's amazing he is in good spirits. That's possibly because he is one of the most positive people I know.
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| Miguel Angel, Mar and Mariano |
We had so much to speak about and not enough time to catch up on our lives in just 1.5h. I had to leave at 8 pm to go home for dinner with Eladio and Suzy. It was such a great reunion with old friends; we must do it again.
Dinner was a very healthy meal as that day, Monday 28th September, I started yet another diet in my life. During confinement and after all our travels this summer I have been careless and I now no longer fit into any of my jeans which means I am condemned to wearing leggings all the time. I am determined to get back into my size 12 jeans of which I have very few. Most of them are size 10 so let's see.
The news was not good that on Tuesday. The world had passed the 1 million mark in deaths caused by Covid but many think the figure is far higher. Mariano who has his sources as a seasoned journalist told us on Monday that there are estimates of up to 35 million deaths. Oh God, hurry up vaccine.
Tuesday was a busy day too. I was up early for my blood test. I was supposed to go on an empty stomach but as I can't do anything on an empty stomach in the morning I did have a cup of coffee. I felt guilty but my nutritionist daughter Suzy told me it would make no difference.
Once home I had my healthy breakfast - whole meal oat porridge and grapefruit (no more toast or croissants) and then it was time to take Norah to her appointment. As two of us can't go into the clinic, Eladio went on his own. The diagnosis is that she has some new type of parasite, apart from the leishmania, both of which need treating. She also has breast cancer but it has not spread. Funnily enough the tumour seems to have receded a bit. We cannot operate though, until she is cured of her other ailments. You can't believe the medication she is on and the application of it is so complicated. The task has been divided between Lucy, Suzy and Eladio.
Eladio and then went on our walk with the dogs and as soon as we were back, we were off again, this time to the Quirón hospital in Pozuelo for eye tests. Eladio thinks his eyesight is worse close up and I was undertaking tests as a follow up to the operation I had on my eyes to restore my eyesight 2 years ago. Eladio can't complain though as he never had any problems with his sight until now at the age of 76. All he needs now are glasses for reading; only that.
We were home just on time for lunch which we had as always with my father. Thankfully the afternoon was free, well not that free actually. I got a new reservation from a French girl from Brest at around 4 pm and found myself chatting to her on the app and on whatsapp until 23h that night believe it or not. She seemed to be a needy type guest and I wasn't sure I wanted her here. I only wish now I had rejected her enquiry to reserve. Her main issue was with the pool and would we open it especially for her. As if we could. She hadn't read that in my listing it says clearly that the pool is open from May to 1st October and always depending on the weather. Finally she was ok with that and then was worried about the dogs and whole lot of other minor things. She was frustrating me enormously and interrupted my afternoon, my dinner and when I was trying to watch the evening news. I kept urging her to cancel but she wouldn't so I didn't know what to expect when she arrived with her friend on Thursday afternoon. You will read on later what happened after that and it was not good.
I was exhausted by the time she finished sending me texts and was able to watch something on Netflix. We didn't find anything interesting until I came across a Spanish TV series called "Desaparecidos" (disappeared). Eladio soon fell asleep but I watched two episodes, unable to sleep, as usual.
I was up early on Wednesday morning. Eladio and I both had a hair dresser appointment at 9 am with a new hairdresser called Caty. She had been recommended to me by my friend Elena M. I was mostly lured by the fact that she is way cheaper than my usual hairdresser, Elena, and I only hoped that apart from "cheap" I would like the way she did my hair.
It was the first time ever Eladio and I have been to a hairdresser together to get our hair cut. Caty received us in her very humble installations and she was there on her own. She set about dying the roots of my hair while Eladio waited. Then it was my turn to wait for the dye to take effect and that's when she set about cutting my husband's hair. He has only ever been to a male barber and never to a mixed hairdresser so he was in for something new. First she insisted on washing his hair which his normal barber never does. She then went about cutting it with much flourish and obvious experience. Towards the end she asked him whether he wanted her to "fix his eyebrows". We were both astonished. Eladio couldn't believe what he was hearing; he is so traditional when it comes to grooming. He agreed though and really I didn't see much difference but was happy he had gone through the this pampering experience. He later left as I would take a lot longer but came back for me to drive me home. I could not believe that Caty only charged him 7 euros and that she only charged me 22! Normally I pay anything between 50 and 80. I put the photo of me with my new hairdo on social media and got lots of reactions from friends around Europe who couldn't believe the price either. This is the photo by the way.
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| My new haircut |
Firstly I wonder why she charges so little. I think the answer lies in that she works alone with no headcount to pay for and that she pays very little rent for the location. She was recommended to me by a friend, Elena, who assured me that nearly all the neighbourhood go there. She could charge more and she doesn't so maybe with all the clientele she has and low overheads, she earns enough. I did, of course, give her a tip but that is not so frequent here.
Yeah, I was surprised at such a low price but so were my friends. The price, by the way included, colour, washing, cutting and blow drying. My friend Veronica in Germany pays about 60 euros, pretty much equivalent to Spain. My friend Anne in Finland pays 120, my friend Sandra says the cost would be about 100 euros in Brussels. The highest price was in Norway where my friend Ellen said she paid 200. Someone remarked that Donald Trump paid 70.000 for his hahahahaha. We both came home happy with our haircuts and we will be back next time.
The different tests for my annual "MOT" continued that day and in the afternoon I went off to the Quiron hospital again, this time to do a mammogram and mammogram scan. The Quiron hospital is private and I go there because I have private insurance. Some may say that is a luxury but not for me. It means I have direct access to consultants of any speciality at any time and do not have to put up with long waiting lists. The tests were carried out very efficiently and punctually at the new Unit for Women. I was most impressed. I have to go back to do a bone test on 15th October and will then see the gynecologist in November and then my annual MOT will be over. In Spain most women do it once a year or once every two years from a very early age. I started after my two pregnancies. I always remember that my mother died of breast cancer so for me it is very important to go through my MOT regularly. How often do you go I wonder and since when?
Just as I was leaving the hospital I got a small piece of good news. It came from the Instituto Cervantes to inform me I had passed the Spanish knowledge test called CCSE ("CCSE stands for Constitutional and Sociocultural Aspects of Spain (Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España). This exam demonstrates a candidate's knowledge of the Spanish Constitution and different aspects of Spanish life and culture"). I know I got 25 out of 25 but all it says on the certificate is "apto" (passed). I still have to wait longer for the results of the language test. Funnily enough today an article popped up on my iPad on the test for UK nationality. Well I tried it and think I would have passed but would not have got every question right. This is it if you are interested. Here too are examples of the questions in Spanish for the CCSE test
I was home by 6, having stopped on the way at Carrefour to get some more fruit and vegetables to sustain my diet. Dinner was just Eladio and I and we were in bed early and on time to watch the news. There is a bit of a political fiasco in Spain at the moment with the Madrid government at loggerheads with the national government on how to tackle the virus in the capital. That evening the Minister of Health announced all towns with over 100k inhabitants and more than 500 cases per 100.00 people were to go into semi lockdown. This included the capital. The decision had been taken after a vote by the heads of the autonomous region which was not unanimous. Madrid voted against which now means we will have days of more arguing while the virus continues to spread its dreadful illness. For me one of the main obstacles in Spain when combating Covid, is the division in politics between the left wing government and the right wing opposition. If only they would all row in the same direction. We need consensus and unity and we do not have it. In any case the local Government had to apply the new rule even if it disputed it. This means that Madrid went into lockdown on Friday at 10 pm. What does that mean in real terms? Well, the lockdown is not as strict as during the first wave. People will be able to move out of lockdown areas for work, to go to school, to the doctor or for other important reasons. 40% of the population in the capital work outside it so movement will continue. What those affected won't be able to do is move out of their areas for other reasons which restricts their movement to other parts of the country. It will be very difficult to control movement, a bit like putting gates on fields or mountains so there are doubts as to how lockdown can be controlled. Here where we live we are not affected as the municipality where we live and neighbouring have lower levels of contagion. The rule for going into lockdown is for municipalities that report more than 500 cases per 100.000 inhabitants and so far, thankfully, lockdown does not apply to us. Thus someone who lives in the centre, for example, will not be allowed to leave the region, we here will be able to move freely anywhere where there is no lockdown. Not good news is it but hopefully the new restrictions will help flatten the curve of this new wave.
Thursday came and it was 1st October, a date ingrained in my brain ever since my dear mother, HSH, Elena Lloyd nee Von Lieven, died on 1st October 1999 at the Bradford Royal Infirmary, precisely of breast cancer.
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| My dear mother who left us 21 years ago this week |
I dug out this old photo of her with her typical smile, printed it and put it into a frame for my father. I knew he would be thinking of her that day, perhaps even more than he does usually; although I am sure she is forever in his mind. I sent the girls the picture too and both of them commented just how much they missed her. To think when she died I was only 42 and the girls 13 and 14. I remember the dreadful journey to Bradford where we arrived just after her death, having being deprived of spending the last hours with her on her death bed. Losing a mother is something one never gets over and she is forever in my heart, but especially so this week.
1st October also marked 14 years since I started my job at Yoigo, the ex Swedish owned operator. There I had some of the best years of my career as a Communications Director before things became sour and before the company was bought out and most of the management team ousted. Those were the good days and I prefer to remember the good times and not the end. At the time I was devastated and wondered just how I would pick up the pieces. Well, I did, and life is even better than before. As the quote from my favourite film, The Sound of Music, says, "Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window". He certainly opened a window for me and I have never looked back.
It was on Thursday morning that Eladio took Elsa, our lab, to the vet. She had been coughing strangely non stop the day before and we had no idea what it was. It turned out to be kennel cough which can be very contagious so we have to watch out for the other dogs. She was put on antibiotics and after her first two doses of medicine, she seemed a whole lot better. The vet said she has to rest; i.e. no walks until she is better. We now have 2 ill dogs in the house. I hope Pippa will be ok.
I spent some useless time that morning trying to cancel my account with the film streaming application, "Filmin". I wanted to try it out for a month and paid for September. On the last day of September I thought I had cancelled the subscription but no. Apple who I found out was the owner, sent me the October invoice. I looked everywhere on the Filmin page to see how to cancel the account and in the end had to get in touch with Apple on the phone to do so and to be reimbursed with the October bill. After nearly 50 minutes on the phone it was done. My conclusion is that apps of all types are really easy to suscribe to but nearly impossible to cancel. Companies do this on purpose. Shame on them and shame especially on Filmin and on Apple.
Feeling frustrated but relieved, we went on our walk but without the dogs, poor things. We were home on time for lunch which Suzy insisted we have outside. It may have been the last time this year as the weather turned for the worse on Friday when rain came.
The afternoon was spent reading and waiting for my French guests - Enora and her friend who is studying Physiotherapy at the local Uni. My whole afternoon was interrupted by constant whatsapp messages from them. I just wished they would stop messaging and only ring the bell when they arrived. They kept changing their arrival time too. Finally they got here at 6.30. I think then that Enora finally realised why we had shut the pool. The girls arrived with their masks on and I showed them around the house. In the end we had to speak in French as although Enora had written to me constantly in English, she couldn't speak it so I reckon she had been using Google Translate!!! It was her friend who was far more enthusiastic with her impressions of the house. I felt sorry for the girls when I had to tell them Madrid would be closed down on Friday at midnight as no doubt Enora had come to visit her friend and the city. We left them to it and later heard them leave the house after we had gone to bed. They had probably gone out to dinner and I wondered if they knew they had to book a table - mandatory now - and that restaurants will only take bookings until 22h and close at 23h.
That night we watched a new film on Netflix - Mary Queen of Scots, right up my street. I always used to get mixed up with Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart) and Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary for her persecution of the Protestants). Not any more. Dreadful to think that it was the former's cousin, Queen Elizabeth 1, who had her head chopped off, just like her father, Henry VIII, had her mother, Anne Boleyn's head chopped off. What dreadful times. For the record Mary Tudor (Queen Mary 1 of England - Bloody Mary) was the daughter of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon (married King Phillip II of Spain) and Mary Stuart (Mary Queen of Scots) was the only surviving daughter of King James V of Scotland.
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| Mary Stuart (Mary Queen of Scots) |
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| Mary Tudor, Mary 1 of England (Bloody Mary) |
My mother who was a great fan of this period in English and Scottish history would have been able to tell me the story of both Mary's. I remember too her avid fascination of the British drama The Six Wives of Henry VIII which was broadcast weekly in 1970. I liked it too as my favourite subject at school was history. My favourite teacher at St. Joseph's College was our history teacher too, Miss Scorer. A the time we had a black and white TV and once or twice it broke down. So needy of the seeing the next episode of the series, my mother took me with her to beg neighbours to be able to watch it at that houses and we did. Not long after, I think we got a new television. Hahaha.
I was awake on Friday morning at 7 am. I was astounded to read that Donald and Melanie Trump had both tested positive for cororonavirus. The very man leading the nation which has suffered most from the virus, the very man who has questioned its deadliness, the man who refused to wear a mask has now got the virus. He is 74 and therefore classified as vulnerable. I wonder how he feels. I also wonder how this will affect the Presidential campaign and the debates he has to take part in. The one this week with rival, Joe Biden, was a disgraceful example of how not to debate on television with Trump interrupting Biden more than 70 times. No doubt this issue will be among the leading items in the news for the next 14 days as the couple go into quarantine.
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| POTUS and FLOTUS have both tested positive for coronavirus |
There was much speculation in the media that day that Trump had faked his Covid infection to gain sympathy which may lead to more votes in the elections. On the other hand it could go the other way. If this was a political tactic and I'm not sure he has faked it as he went into hospital the next day, there are two ways it could go. If he has mild symptoms and doesn't fall ill, then his drive to minimise the effects of the virus may work his way with his supporters but not with those undecided. And if he becomes really ill, then he might benefit from a surge of sympathy just like Boris Johnson. But there may not be too much sympathy after the way he has managed the crisis. The bottom line I think is that he has continuously downplayed the dangers of the virus, never wearing a mask himself, and tried to carry on as if America has beaten Covid. His infection shows it has not. For sure though it will affect the election campaign as he won't be able to take part in all the rallies he had planned. We will see how this goes and will know more next week. I do not sympathise with the worst President ever of the US but of course I sympathise with his being ill with Covid.
On Friday morning the rain came and boy did it rain cats and dogs. Eladio and I went out on errands or rather he was my chauffeur that morning. I had a last eye test to be done where they dilate your pupils so you can't drive home and need someone with you. Before the appointment at 11 am we went to my local surgery to pick up the prescriptions for my sleeping pills. We then went to the chemist and to the post office to return an unused and useless Yoigo TV box. We were on time at the Quirón hospital but the waiting time, unlike the appointments for the mammogram, etc, were unacceptable. I always think they give out too many appointments and then can't deal with them. I was there for 1.5h while poor Eladio waited outside in the car as you can't go in accompanied to medical centres these days. Yes I was there for ages but the wait was worth it when I was given the all clear. My eyes are in good condition. Whooppee. My blood test results came that day too and they were good too. So far so good. Preventive medicine is the way to go and something much adhered to in this country. Maybe if my mother had gone for annual checkups they would have caught her breast cancer on time. I hate going to the doctors and always have.When I was a child and my mother took me to the surgery I was known to bite the doctors. I don't do that anymore, hahaha.
In the afternoon it didn't rain but the temperatures had dropped from about 24 to 14c and it felt cold. Thus we skipped our walk. The highlight of Friday was the arrival of my friend Julio at 7 pm. He came early as curfew started that night in Madrid, finally at 10 pm. I imagine lots of people met or left for their second homes on the coast before lockdown began that night. We had been wanting to meet for a long time to celebrate his new position as a fully fledged University professor at the UNED University, a lifetime job which he got when he passed the exams earlier this summer. Worried about Covid, instead of inviting us out to dinner, he brought dinner with him. He had purchased everything at the very exclusive gourmet store, "Mallorca". He brought with him the best Iberian ham, lomo, salmorejo, salmon, lettuce, mini tomatoes, two bottles of Pesquera wine and chocolates. It was a veritable feast. We had it in the dining room; just the three of us. A fourth person was sorely missing, our common friend, Fátima. Oh how we miss her. Eladio took a photo of us to record the moment and the lovely dinner.
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| With Julio at dinner on Friday night |
What a wonderful friend he is. We first met at Nokia when I joined the company in 2000, 20 years ago. He then hired Fátima who was 9 months pregnant at the time and the three of us were later inseparable. We spoke a lot about our "Nokia days", reflecting on all the perks and privileges we had and which perhaps at the time we took for granted. We would fly business class, stay at 5 star hotels, go to the most amazing restaurants and only now do we realise just how lucky we were. The best thing though for me at Nokia were the friends I made and Julio is at the very top of the list. He left at 9.30 worried about curfew and who knows when we will meet again. Blast Covid.
I slept badly that night and I think I didn't fall asleep until about 2 am (despite the sleeping pills ) and was up at 7 am. It would be another cold day with the highest temperature reaching 17c but at least it wouldn't rain. I had some good news that morning. Airbnb sent me an email to inform me I was superhost again for the 4th time in a row this year. I have now been a superhost practically since I started with them back in 2017. They sent me a bonus of 100 dollars to spend on Airbnb accommodation and also a summary of how I was doing. I got 5 stars again.
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| Super host again |
That perked me up I can tell you and are the fruits of my new work. Airbnb is my boss these days hahahahaha. However, as a host, you are always a slave to guests' reviews to maintain the superhost status.
What made me even happier was to know that Elliot was coming for lunch. We hadn't seen him for a whole week and a week at his age is an awful lot. We heard yesterday that Trump was doing well in hospital but the reports were conflicting. Who knows I wonder? Only him and his courtiers. Yesterday was the first day of partial lockdown in Madrid and it was a mess. There seem to be more exceptions than restrictions and people are not sure of the new rules as not everyone tunes into the news. There are a lot of doubts too. Both our carers were not sure they could come to our house and leave it as there homes are in restricted areas. I searched the net and came up with a form to fill out and sign to justify their coming here to take care of an elderly person. Oli and Miguel who live in Mirasierra on the outskirts of Madrid were not sure either whether they could come to see us. Oli argued that both she and Elliot are on the register as living where we do and Miguel is on the register in Valencia. So in theory they could come.
It was a sunny but cold morning. I'm afraid the summer has gone. Even so, Suzy did her morning yoga outside. I had to capture her on camera while the dogs looked on.
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| Suzy doing yoga in the sun yesterday morning |
We met Oli and her family for a walk in the local park in Boadilla at about 1 pm and it was wonderful to see Elliot again. He was in his pushchair. It was only when we got home that we were able to witness that our grandson who turned one two weeks ago has now taken his first steps. He can walk about 5 or 6 steps alone and then goes for someone's arms. He can walk with a person very steadily and I enjoyed holding his hand and walking with him. It's a lovely milestone. Next I suppose will come speech.
We had a lovely lunch together. Only Suzy was missing which was a pity. We won't see her until lunchtime today. Elliot loves his food and especially if it is solid. He now has 4 teeth and doesn't really like puree. He loves strawberries apparently and I fed him some from my lap. It was a delightful moment and Miguel caught it on camera.
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| A delightful moment feeding little Elliot stawberries |
My afternoon was rather spoiled by the two French guests. As I wrote above, I knew Enora (from Brest) aged only 21 had been a very needy guest from the start. We had only seen them once since their arrival when suddenly Enora cancelled the reservation which was a bit ridiculous as their check out was supposedly today. This happened just as I was finishing my lunch. Engaged in a battle to get a refund she bombarded me with messages on whatsapp and on the Airbnb. She accused me wrongly of: 1) having a closed pool (on the listing it says it closes on 1st Oct depending on the weather), 2) of not feeling comfortable because other people live here (as if she didn't know when she arrived on Thursday) and 3) of having asked her for money to open the pool - I never did. It was she who offered and I refused. She then requested her money back even though they had spent two nights here and their things were still in their room. The list went on and she had also threatened to leave a bad review if the house was not like in the photos. What a ghastly guest. I immediately got on to Airbnb who supported me through the process. The girls had to come home of course to get their things. I wanted to confront them and not have them sneak in and out and leave the keys in the post box. So I put a key in the inside lock of the main door so they would have to ring for me to open it. When they came, their attitude was now completely different. They told me they were really leaving as they were going to party far away and would be sleeping elsewhere. I should have told them parties are not allowed! They apologised for lying which is what they did. They then proceeded to go up to the room they had cancelled to get their things but spent 2 hours there showering, etc. So much for cancelling. I had to maintain my calm and with Eladio beside me I did. As an Airbnb host I am a slave to guests' reviews and just one bad review (from them or anyone else) would mean I would no longer be a superhost. You might think that that doesn't matter but it does matter and a lot. Only super hosts get priority placement and visibility on the platform. They left a little sheepishly and I told them that I would not be writing a review and suggested they did not either. So let's see if they do or they don't and whether I am still a super host next quarter. If they do write a bad review I can always refer to Airbnb but I know from other people's experience it is extremely difficult to get a bad review removed and that the company usually errs on the side of the guests. I think they are the worst guests I have ever had and I wish they had never come.
I was dealing with them after lunch and they spoiled my afternoon but at least I got to say goodbye to Elliot and family ah and have a skype call with my dear friends, Sandra and Adele. They were appalled to hear of the behaviour of my young French guests. I had to cut off the call though because of them as they arrived at the door when I was talking to my friends.
By the time they left it was almost 8 pm and I was tired and a bit down. Dinner with Eladio perked me up and soon we were in bed watching the dismal news. I was too tired to watch anything on Netflix that evening. Later when Suzy wrote to ask how my day had been. I told her it had had its ups and downs, a bit like most of this week. I think my dear mother would have used one of her favourite sayings: "like the curate's egg; good in parts" hahahahhaa.
Hopefully today will be better. At least I have no guests to deal with today. Tomorrow we are most probably off to our apartment in Santa Pola because the weather forecast is wonderful for that area and not so good here. In Montrondo, believe it or not, it seems to snowing to judge from one of the villager's posts on FB.. I long for one last bathe in the sea this season so hopefully I will be posting a photo of me on the beach in next week's post.
Cheers till then my friends,
Masha
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