Sunday, 20th December, 2020
 |
| Our small tree and and presents of which there are far fewer than other years. |
Good morning all.
It's Sunday again and the final Sunday before Christmas. Last Sunday I finally got the urge to put up the decorations, something I had put off as I just wasn't inspired. In this new world of Covid, Christmas just won't be the same. For some it will practically be cancelled as you well know. As the vaccines begin to roll out, ever so slowly, there is cause for hope but until up to 70% of the world's population is inoculated, it will continue to spread. This Sunday the figures jumped again of course. The total number of those infected rose from 72.1 to 76,6 million and the death toll went from 1.611.948 million to 1.692.114. Europe is particularly hard hit, seeing countries like Germany, who were earlier a shining example, moving to the top of the list.
At about 10 am, Eladio came upstairs with the tree. It's old and small but it will have to do. This Christmas will be an austere one I'm afraid as we have to keep costs down. When I was a child my father would always buy a large real tree which he would drag home towards the 23rd of December. It was always very exciting. The decorations were old but homely and I loved them. My mother was so old fashioned, we had candles on the tree and she was always worried it would light fire. When we first got married we used to buy a real tree too but, fed up of the pine needles drying and falling and the useless task of trying to replant it, we invested in this small artificial tree. Here is Eladio setting it up while I put on Christmas music to try to create the right atmosphere. In the old days, this job was lovely as the girls helped. This year it was just us and not quite the same. The magic has gone really, especially as Suzy won't be here this year. But we have Elliot for which I am grateful although God knows how he would react to the decorations hahahaha.
 |
| Eladio posing as he puts up the tree |
Soon afterwards my husband brought up the big Christmas box with all the decorations. There are decorations for the tree and for the three lounges, collected over the years. I have lots of mechanical and musical ones I love and until this year would buy one every season at the Christmas market in town in the Plaza Mayor to add to my collection- not this year though. My collection has got so big, that in the end it's not just a question of putting up the tree and some decorations but a whole private winter wonderland hahahahaha.
 |
Eladio bringing up the very heavy Christmas box |
Instead of the girls, I had Zena to help. She pointed out that half the Christmas tree lights didn't work. We didn't really mind and said they would have to do until next year. All the other lights worked though. After a bit of badgering, Eladio did the difficult job of fixing them to the doors. I only saw the end result in the afternoon when I switched all the lights and candles on and this is what our Christmas winter wonderland looks like. It took us more than 1.5h hours to set up, phew.
 |
| Our very own Christmas winter wonderland. |
There was time for a cup of coffee, quick preparation of our lunch and a walk before our meal. It was sunny and bright. Elsa, our lab, was better, but not well enough for the walk so she was locked in the kitchen when we went, poor dog.
I spent part of the afternoon reading Jenny Worth's memoirs upon which the Series Call the Midwife is based. I also finished the wonderful film starring Ingrid Bergman, The Inn of Sixth Happiness. Then I started on The King and I, the 1950's famous musical with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. It is rather quaint and old fashioned I have to say. Maybe "cheesy" is the modern word to describe it. It was another film my mother and I loved. I didn't finish it.
There was good news that day. Last Sunday was supposedly the final date for a Brexit deal to happen or not happen. Today is another deadline and we are all on tenterhooks. Will there be a deal or no deal? It's looking like the latter but a glimmer of hope was given when the PM and Ursula von der Leyen, announced they would "go the extra mile" and continue talks. Boris Johnson was not optimistic but the EU President was. It seems 97% of the conditions are agreed and they must find a way to agree on the final 3%. This came after war mongering threats from the UK, warning the R.N. would be used to protect British waters. It felt like a declaration of war on France, our neighbour. Today is the deadline for a deal and fishing is the main obstacle.
On the topic of Brexit, that morning I got a message from a fellow Brit in Spain, Tony, who is also seeking Spanish nationality. I heard from him that we, i.e. my father and I and all Brits in Spain, now have to apply for a special TIE residency card, specially for Brits. The card has to replace our current EU card. Oh dear I thought and looked up the process which was quite daunting but doable. The problem was with getting an appointment with the Police as, as far as I could see, there were no appointments available for the moment and the page to get one kept crashing. So, thanks Brexit, more bureaucracy for me and my father with all that that entails. It entailed getting a passport like photo of him but even worse, having to drag him out of the house at 101 years old to go to the police to get his new card. Apparently our EU residency certificate is still valid but not for much longer. So, I can't put this off. I will probably need it too even though I am going for Spanish nationality. But that, I am told, my friends, could take up to 1 year and I still have to receive my coveted non criminal records certificate from the UK to present my case. Oh, this did and does put me in a bad mood. It would you too I'm sure. P.S. For any Brits resident in Spain who are reading this, more information here.
Monday came and the first thing I did was to start gathering the documents to get our TIE card. I needed the following: Official form, payment form and proof of payment from a bank, photo, copy of our passports and current residency cards as well as a certificate from our town hall to prove that where we live is where we live, as if the authorities don't already know that. Everything had to be in duplicate and I also had to turn each document into a PDF, in case I had to send them by email to request an appointment. This week found me bogged down in gathering the paperwork and pretty cross about it too.
I also spent time trying to contact Norton who had charged me 114 euros for an automatic renewal of their anti virus which I don't want as I use McAfee. That had me resorting to Twitter. I also had to get in touch with Webcartucho to try and return the wrong printer toner they had sent me. Buying stuff online has its advantages but when you want to return something then the problems begin.
So, no Monday, did not start very well I'm afraid. It was raining too which reminded me of The Carpenters' song, "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down". Eladio and I were out and about on errands including going to the Post Office to pick up, guess what? A letter containing the deeds of the new house in Asturias. Why on earth couldn't the postman have delivered the envelope through our post box at home? That is pretty typical in Spain. While there, I sent 3 of my Christmas calendars to friends abroad. There was time for a coffee at Alverán with Eladio where I indulged in two mini croissants which we ate sitting outside and next to a gas heater. There are many of them around these days as most people don't want to be inside. I certainly try to avoid it.
Lunch was nothing special and I was busy while eating, texting with Norton. I finally got the problem solved thanks to using Twitter to air my case. I did the same with Webcartucho who asked me to delete my tweet. I said I would when they had resolved my issue. What a cheek I thought. Complaining on Twitter is by far the fastest way to get problems solved these days. If you haven't tried it, do.
The main news of the day came from the US and the UK. That day, a nurse called Sandra who works in Intensive Care in New York, was the first citizen to get the vaccination in the US. In the EU countries, inoculations are expected to begin on 27th of this month. Later in the week the US regulators also approved the Moderna vaccine which will be rolling out soon too.
Meanwhile the Electoral College voting took place that day and as predicted, their votes confirmed Joe Biden's victory. Trump's pathetic campaign to overturn his victory, thankfully, came to nothing. The UK news was of course the continuation of Brexit deal talks. According to the BBC, here are the three main issues summed up: "Fishing rights, level playing field rules on how far the UK should be able to diverge from EU laws and how any agreement should be policed in the future". I sincerely hope they will solve these last 3 issues and the UK does not crash out of the EU, their biggest trading market and which is right on their doorstep. They would be fools to crash out. We may know the outcome at the end of today or, as has happened now countless times, the talks may continue past the deadline.
The other news was and is the rise of Covid in Europe. Rising numbers in Germany, Holland, Italy and UK provoked more restrictions, including over Christmas. London was to move into Tier 3 and a new strain of the virus was found in the UK which seems to spread faster. We heard yesterday it is 70% more infectious than previous strains and is to be found mostly in London and nearby areas. In Spain the descent in numbers is at a plateau with areas seeing numbers going up and going down. They are going up in the popular Balearic Islands which saw plans to increase restrictions, even over Christmas. Madrid too is on the rise. We are being reminded to remain vigilant over Christmas if we want to avoid a third wave which would interrupt the vaccination roll out for sure. I wonder if there are plans on how to deal with inoculating people who may already have the virus. Is that something being contemplated? What would happen if people got the jab and already have the virus? Not good news I'm afraid.
Once again that night we turned to Season 6 of Homeland for our entertainment and to take our minds off this most depressing scenario.
On Tuesday morning I had an appointment at the local Town Hall to get the famous "padrón" certificate, which confirms you live where you live, as if the authorities don't already know that. I needed one for my father and one for myself for the damned post Brexit TIE card to allow us to live in Spain legally post Brexit. I then had to go the bank to pay for the process and also get a photo of my father printed. Dear Miguel, Oli's partner, converted one of his photos into a passport size one on a white background using a special app. Thanks to him, I don't have to take my poor dear father to a photo studio but he would have to go in person to the police when the time came. How pathetic. Thanks David Cameron. Miraculously, the time did come, as totally unexpectedly, after browsing the Ministry of the Interior page for the umpteenth time, I suddenly found free dates and appointment slots on the site, all after having submitted an email with the pdfs (time wasted). I got them for tomorrow at 9.30 (my father) and 9.45 (myself) at a police station about 20km from home. I feel so sorry for dragging my father there in his wheelchair, not to mention the enormous difficulty of getting him in and out of the car. I will let you know how it goes in my next blog post. The appointment is only for submitting the documents. If they are accepted we shall have to go back in person, again, to pick up the new card. I do feel sorry for my Father.
That day I also set about trying to apply online for my CRB check (no criminal records) as I am very worried that the procedure to get it via the Ministry of Justice just won't happen now with Brexit looming. I wished I hadn't once I started. The easy part is payment. The Kafkian part is submitting documents which have to be verified. That leads you to a verifying partner online who you also have to pay. I found myself embroiled in one big kafkian mess. Once again, thank you Brexit. Damn it. I gave up after a while and told myself I would resume later. I kept getting emails from the Verify Online site in the UK to make me pay when I already had but no sign on my account there that I had asked for verification of two documents, one being my passport! I tried to ring them but of course because of Covid they are not giving telephone support. So, I resorted to email and did get a reply. I had to resend my passport as the photo of it wasn't good enough. I would resume the process the next day and the next day and the next.
That had me in a thoroughly bad mood and worried and nervous most of the week. I joined Eladio watching the news after that but couldn't concentrate. Nor could I sleep and I needed to as I had woken up at 5.50 that day! I really was getting my knickers into a twist wasn't I? I turned to The Crown to relax my head and mind and it worked. Later I prepared our dinner - artichokes and prawns with garlic - before my weekly call with Amanda. She heard all about my frustrating efforts with paperwork and commiserated. There is nothing better than a female friend for understanding a woman's problems.
I was cheered up by Olivia later when she sent us a photo of little Elliot "writing". He is so sweet.
 |
| Elliot "writing" on Tuesday |
Later she gave us a shock when she rang her father. She was crying and we feared the worst. She told us that squatters had occupied her partner's flat in Valencia. That is very serious and difficult to deal with and will disrupt their lives until they find a way to get the squatters evicted. We were very sorry for them. Miguel went that very night to Valencia with his elderlyfather and the next day Oli would have to take the day off because of Elliot and would be with us in the afternoon. In the end she had to take the rest of the week off too. A cousin of Miguel's went to the flat with the police and the police did nothing. They even admitted they had orders not to evict anyone. Poor Miguel and his father had to stay at a hotel while squatters were illegally occupying his own flat bought with his own hard earned money but occupied by scroungers who had entered it illegally. He found out from the neighbour who lives opposite and was told the squatters or the mafia that run the illegal business had sawed a great big hole in the door to get in.
Needless to say I couldn't sleep after that. I used to be a person who was more carefree and not a worrier. I remember thinking my own mother was a worrier, so maybe it is thanks to age. Whatever the case, I just couldn't sleep. So I binge watched episode after episode of Season 6 of Homeland. I don't know what time I switched the TV off but it must have been late. Then my dreaded cough came and, yes, again I got a bad night's sleep. I actually am beginning to hate the process of going to bed.
Somehow I got through the night and actually got up at 7 am. It wasn't a good day. There I was dealing with the bloody CRB papers which took up most of my time. We did get our walk in though. I had to go to the post office again as another parcel had not been delivered here but required me to go in person. That's not so easy as our post office is about 9 km away, it is difficult to park and the queues are long. Hate the Spanish postal service. But the journey was worth it as there I was given a lovely Christmas parcel from my friend Joanne with presents for Elliot and my father. How sweet of her. Thanks my dear. I would love to send you something too one day but just can't compete with you hahahaha. Olivia is overwhelmed by your generosity. She has never seen anything like it.
She arrived on time for lunch which was full of talk and phone calls to do with the damned squatters in Valencia. Later she went to pick up Elliot from the nursery so we had the pleasure of his company that afternoon and evening and the rest of the week until yesterday. It was lovely to have him but he was a complete danger with the Christmas decorations hahahahhaa. He is also a complete danger when it comes to my bedside table and the drawer. It's like an Aladdin's cave to him. It's full of pills, scissors, nail clippers, lip balm, etc which he delights in. Here he is helping himself to its contents.
 |
| Elliot loves my bedside table and drawer. It's like an Aladdin's cave to him. |
I wondered if I would sleep better that night but no, I didn't. I binge watched 3 episodes of Season 7 of Homeland and couldn't sleep again. I must have done though eventually but did not feel rested in the morning.
Thursday came. I woke up to emails from the CRB sent at 6.15 in the morning. Was someone really writing at that time in the morning? The emails were to ask about my name and surname and question proof of my identity; something to prove I live at the address I do (OMG). I had to go into lengthy explanations about why I am commonly called Masha whereas my official name is Maria. I also had to explain that, yes, I was married, but had not changed my surname, telling them in Spain a woman does not take on her husband's. I felt like a criminal justifying my answers.
The other problem was finding the right document from their list with my name and address on it. I did not have any on their list as most of our bills, etc are in Eladio's name. It got worse and worse and I felt that my CRB check was proving elusive. Without it I cannot proceed with requesting Spanish nationality. All I can say, is "Bloody Brexit" again. I even went to our bank to try and get a bank statement with my name and address on it which the bank refused to give me as they said they weren't in the business of proving people's identity. I later wrote about 6 emails to the CRB to explain this and to submit other documents I thought might help.
If I was going through all this and losing sleep over it, Miguel's problems were far worse. He was in Valencia fighting to get his flat back from the squatters. The law always errs on their sides when there are minors involved so the case was not looking good. We heard too that day that the socialist government is going to ban evictions during the pandemic. The 23 year old woman who moved in with her mother in law, two children and a dog, are well known to the social services. The woman claimed she was there legally as she had signed a contract and was paying a monthly fee. Of course the contract is a fake and will have been given to her by mafia groups who seek empty houses to rent them illegally. The amazing thing is that the woman is not penniless, nor does she have nowhere to live. Her own mother has a house and her drug trafficking partner or partners are not without money and neither is her father in law who works. Seen by Miguel were luxury cars owned by the squatters who are just delinquents and not homeless people. Miguel also heard all his stuff had been removed from the flat so that the squatters could say it was empty when they moved in. But later in the day and rather miraculously, after presenting his case to the judge, he was told there would be a trial this Tuesday. So please cross your fingers it goes his way.
I got good news too that evening when I received an email from the CRB. It was to confirm that the processing of my application had been completed, that the application would be submitted to the police national data base, bla, bla, bla, and that a certificate would be sent to me. When? I don't know but I must say I felt very relieved at the news.
We had a funny sort of dinner to celebrate. Well, it wasn't to celebrate but I did drink some wine and eat some chocolate. I felt I deserved it after all my efforts. I used an English expression with Oli referring to Miguel's fight with the squatter situation: "if at first, you don't succeed, try, try again". It applies to me too and is a mantra of mine. It had worked with Norton, it had worked with Web Cartucho, it had worked getting an appointment for the TIE card and it had worked for the application for my CRB check. However, it always feels like a battle and I tend to feel tired and wounded afterwards. Basically, I was exhausted.
So was Elliot who hates going to bed at night. We had him in and out of our room until very late. Only when he finally left were we able to go to bed ourselves. We watched 2 episodes of Homeland Season 7 and flaked out. I slept well for the first time even though I was awake twice during the night. But, I felt rested on Friday morning.
Who probably didn't sleep very well was Emanuel Macron, France's Premiere, who this week tested positive for Covid. Wow! That meant other EU leaders who had been with him earlier, such as Spain's PM, Pedro Sánchez, all had to go into quarantine.
When Oli had left to take Elliot to the nursery, Eladio and I went to do the weekly food shop. The only bit we enjoy is going to have a coffee in between shops. This week I bought a lot of the ingredients for our festive meals but not all. I can't believe Christmas will be here on Thursday.
Oli came home for lunch but didn't eat any. She was just too worried for her partner and following all the events in Valencia. We heard a little later that the Judge had ordered the squatters to be evicted before the trial and to be evicted imminently. They are not a vulnerable family as the children go to a fee paying school and the grandmother has her own home. Wow, we were so pleased. But then the police took ages to arrive. 2 plain clothed officers finally took the eviction order to the flat but the squatters refused to budge. The police did not insist. What a let down. Miguel and his lawyer then went to the police and got in touch with the judge or tried to. It's unthinkable that the police did not follow her orders and accepted the squatters' saying they will move out tomorrow. I wonder if they will. In the morning, upon his lawyer's advice, Miguel, his father and friends went to the flat and stood outside to make sure no more of his contents were removed. He send a video to Olivia. One of the squatters told him he was making them feel very uncomfortable to which Miguel replied he felt uncomfortable too as they had occupied his flat. The squatters said he was not the owner!!! All this is on tape. What a situation. Imagine you going on holiday for a few weeks and coming back to find squatters have moved in. Try moving them out. The law is not always on your side. I immediately thought the best thing would be to cut the water, heating and electricity but then learned that is against the law as it is seen as coercing the squatters who have rights. Rights to move into people's private property!!!!!
Oli was upset all this week which is understandable but it was affecting her mood and health and I think Elliot noticed something was wrong as he was crying more than usual. He needs stability and peace. I hope he gets it soon. He will if the squatters are evicted. Cross your fingers again please.
The day ended with an interrupted dinner - thanks Elliot - I had to leave my food and go into the lounge to play with him. I also had to get into the bath for him to accept his bathe. I just wanted peace. I got it at about 22.30 that night when were finally alone and turned to another episode of Homeland.
I was up at 5.45 on Saturday morning. It was raining and would do all day. Elsa, our labrador, was not well. Her mouth infection is on the mend but her foot (paw, sorry) - due to be operated on soon - was playing her up and she just couldn't move. We had to help her by lifting all 25 kilos of her to go outside to do her doings. Poor thing.
With no more business in Valencia until tomorrow, Miguel and his father began the drive home to Madrid. Oli and Elliot left us at about midday and we have been alone since.
Who must feel very alone is my dear friend Julio. Julio was one of the "3 musketeers" with Fátima who left us sadly last year. Well yesterday, Julio, told me his sister had not made it to Christmas, having passed away after losing the battle to cancer last Sunday. She was a nurse and leaves her husband and daughter a widow and orphan. Oh how sad! I cried as I listened to him telling me. I wish I could have been at the funeral to comfort him but owing to Covid rules that just wasn't possible. Damn it. I will miss our Christmas dinners together. Each year since we met at Nokia in 2000, we would celebrate with a dinner at our house and a dinner at Julio's. As it is December, Facebook keeps reminding me of them. Yesterday I came across a photo of a dinner at our house in 2015, 2 years before my dear friend Fátima got the cancer she would fight for 3 years. I miss her so much and this year I will miss our Christmas dinners.
 |
| A photo taken of us "the three musketeers" at Christmas at our house in 2015. |
Many many people will be alone at Christmas so I mustn't complain. Restrictions for the Christmas period are being imposed everywhere. In Spain it's difficult to tell you what they are as every region is different. In Madrid though the limit on the number of people meeting has gone down from 10 to 6. It is far worse in the UK where to quote my friend Amanda, "Christmas is cancelled". It was cancelled yesterday after Boris Johnson announced new draconian measures, especially in London and some surrounding areas which are now to go into Tier 4. Basically that means not leaving your home, not even for Christmas. Thus my friends' daughter and son, Cord and Jake, who had planned to spend Christmas with their mother, will now have to stay in London and Amanda and her husband will be alone on Christmas Day. I felt so sorry for them as I do for all affected. It must be even worse for those living alone as at least Amanda has her husband with her. One of the main reasons for "cancelling Christmas" is the rise of a new strain of the virus which has become the dominant type especially in the London area and Scotland too.
 |
| The headlines in the British press this morning |
Our Christmas won't be cancelled as we are very few and Suzy isn't here this year (sniff). Definitely, though, it will be the strangest Christmas in our lifetime. It's not that I don't agree with the restrictions; I do. We need to fight the virus. It's just that it is a little sad. This post is my last post before Christmas, so I would like to wish you all the very best under the circumstances. We can only hope that next Christmas, everything will be back to normal. I sincerely hope we fight this virus with the new vaccines and that our living through this period will become a memory in years to come; tales to tell to our grandchildren.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Cheers until next week,
Masha.
No comments:
Post a Comment