Winston Churchill - his quotes and Covid - UK issues emergency approval of Pfizer vaccine, The Emperor's new clothes, Pippa turns 6, Remembering Fátima, out and about with Elliot and other tales of the week.

 Sunday 6th December, 2020

The last photo taken of Fátima and I and which I treasure. November 2019.

Good morning all. 

It's December now, the last month of what should be coined an "annus horribilis". 2020 will go down in the annals of history as such, owing to the Pandemic which is still with us and will probably never go away. We can only hope to keep it at bay. 

The numbers are evidence of this. If last Sunday the number of those infected was 62.6 million, this Sunday it has risen to 66.8 If last Sunday the total global death toll was 1.458.944 , today it stands at 1.534.806. And all this with Christmas looming. Spain's curve is downward and the country is now 8th in the awful ranking of countries with most infections and deaths. France, Italy and the UK are now ahead. The news of imminent vaccines gives us reason for hope. 

Last weekend saw shopping streets in Madrid and other Spanish cities teeming with people Christmas shopping, taking advantage of Black Friday discounts and enjoying the new Christmas lights.  I hope those there will not be paying the consequences this week. We did not go out and will do very little street shopping. 

Shoppers in Madrid last weekend

The highlight of last Sunday was when Olivia joined us for lunch. She didn't bring Elliot as Miguel had taken him to see his other grandparents. It was funny to have her without her son. We missed him but were happy that his other grandparents had a chance to see him. That's only fair. She came bearing gifts like the Three Wise Men, bringing with her a bottle of good Rioja wine, some excellent cheese and gourmet "turrón" - Spanish nougat popular at Christmas. She told me she is happy now that she is a mother.  Motherhood changes women in a way only mothers can know or understand. She asked me whether I was happy when the girls were born. Of course I was.  I remember realising that I was no longer number one in the world and never ever would be again. What a huge responsibility it is to be a mother or a father. It has its good moments and its bad moments as all parents know. The responsibility never goes away until we are old and then it is the turn of the offspring to take care of their elderly parents. I dread that day. I really do. 

When she'd gone to join her little family, we had  a nap and then I spent another whole afternoon guiltily binge watching the rest of Season 6 of Call the Midwife. Eladio keeps asking me how "my midwives" are? He then sneaks in to join me as secretly he likes the series. I love it and am obsessed with it. It's about motherhood too isn't it? So that's one of the reasons I like it I suppose.

Monday came and I had things to do. The process for acquiring Spanish nationality, or at least presenting the paper work is in its final stages. All I need now are my criminal records or should I say the certificate that proves I don't have any.  I have the Spanish ones and I had the UK ones but the latter  expired before the Pandemic. My lawyer said I could get the UK ones from the Spanish Ministry of Justice which still has access to the EU data base until the end of this month when the UK leaves the EU (sniff).  This is my last hurdle and biggest task in the near future. I got an appointment for 11th December and hopefully, hopefully I will be on time before the UK formally leaves the EU. Gathering the paperwork for Spanish nationality is a very long process, especially the exam part. The irony of it all is that  I could have got it automatically 5 years ago because of my long standing marriage to a Spaniard but then the law changed making it much more difficult.  I only decided to obtain it because of Brexit as I want to have an EU passport but now the process is long, challenging and expensive and would put most people off. It's designed to do so. 

Monday would have been Winston Churchill's birthday. Perhaps Britain's greatest statesman, he was born on 30th November 1874. One of my greatest heroes in history, he was alive when I was a child and when my father was a child and young man. He was 13 years older than my English grandfather, John Collins Lloyd, but outlived him by 4 years. Sadly, my wonderful grandfather died in 1961 aged just 74. Churchill died, aged 91, on 24th January 1965 when I was 8. Despite all his smoking and drinking he lived to quite an age. I remember spending all my pocket money (half a crown) on a glossy leaflet about him after his death. I do wish I had kept it. I also remember his state funeral on the television and the outpouring of grief. He deserved that  and I'm afraid Maradona is not in his league, despite the recent but exaggerated outpouring of grief after the latter's death. So Churchill was very much part of my childhood and I shall never forget him 

He is best known for his handling and contribution to victory over the Nazis in WW2 and had many facets, good and bad. He was an amazing orator and great with words - he had been a journalist and wrote many books. I had no idea that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values". He is still quoted today and I wondered which of his quotes would best fit our Covid world. I have no doubt that he would have done a better job at fighting it than some of our leaders. He used language like no other statesman to rouse the fighting spirit, something we miss in our leaders today. 

Britain's most famous statesman, Sir Winston Churchill. 

I found a few that could apply. I think we are now at the stage - undergoing the second wave and waiting for a vaccine - when this one fits best: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning". Fits right? He delivered these words in 1942 after driving Rommel and his forces out of Egypt, a turning point in WW2. Other fitting words would be "if you are going through hell, keep going". He did and we must. Another great quote that is also fitting today is "Never, never, ever give up". No, we mustn't although it is difficult to keep going. My mother would have said "it's shitty, could be shittier" and I always quote her on that. Sir Winston also liked toilet humour. Once on "the throne", i.e. in the WC (same as his initials hahahahahah), he was called to the telephone to talk to the Lord Privy, Seal,  He famously shouted back "Tell him I can only deal with one s*** at a time". I think that is one of his most hilarious quotes and if you hadn't heard it, I do hope it makes you laugh. There are not many things to laugh about today. So thanks Sir Winston for bringing a smile to our faces.  

I didn't smile much that day and any day really this week apart from my times with Elliot. I have come to the conclusion that what depresses me most about my situation right now, during the pandemic are three things: 1) I can't eat what I want because I am on a diet, 2) I can't go shopping and spend money because I have to keep a tight ship after buying our fourth house and 3) I can't travel. These are the three things I love most in the world and their deprivation gets me down. It is only binge watching Call the Midwife that gives me a lift. I know I shouldn't complain but it's just that every day seems the same. 

Every day seems the same as if we are going round and round in circles and not progressing. We will only progress when vaccination begins and it is daunting to think how long it will take to give the vaccine to everyone in the world, some 7.8 billion people!

On Tuesday we heard that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would be approved by the European Medical regulatory authorities on 29th December and 12th January. The UK, who is not buying it through the EU, announced the next day that the MHRA had approved its use.  The announcement makes the UK the first "western" country to get the vaccine, unless you count Russia which will beat it to the post.   It will get 800.000 initially, enough for 400.000 people and probably no more until the New Year. The UK  has a huge challenge getting it to care homes because of the logistical difficulties. The Pfizer vaccine as you probably know has to be stored at -70c. This was a great announcement from the UK and seemed to be a one up for Brexit. But you have to read the small print. Matt Hancock, the Health Minister, said it had been possible because "we've left the EU". But Dr. June Raine the MHRA boss said "We've been able to authorise supply of this vaccine under provisions under European law which exists until January 1st".  Really the approval was an emergency approval. It brought criticism from EU and US regulators who think it would have been better to wait for a "general licence". The truth is that they were able to issue a temporary authorisation "if there is a compelling case, on public health grounds, for using a vaccine before it is given a product licence." In practice this means the MHRA is only able to authorise batch by batch of the vaccine and that if anything goes wrong the onus lies with the governing body and not Pfizer. And all this just because Boris Johnson and his team wanted to accelerate the process when it is a very delicate process to accelerate. Time will tell.  The EU prefers to wait a couple of weeks more to authorise all batches and to do so in the time frame necessary. There seems to be country rivalry in announcing the vaccine first but this is not a football match and the vaccine is not "a yoghurt" to quote the UK's Chief Medical Officer, Van-Tam.

So, yes, great news but it's not the end of the pandemic. It's just the beginning of the end to quote Churchill. Even Boris Johnson warned caution and said the game is not over as it could take until April for all those most at risk to receive the new vaccine. He said so because of the time needed for us all to given the jab. We should know too  that the Pfizer vaccine does produce side effects similar to lighter symptoms of Covid that could last up to 3 weeks. We should know too that it will take 4 weeks for the jabs to take effect. There are two jabs with a 3 week period and it is only a week  after the second jab that the vaccine becomes effective. 

It will be coming to Spain soon too so there is light at the end of the tunnel. But not everyone here wants the vaccine. According to an article from The Evening Standard sent to me by my friend Joanne, more than 50% of the population are wary of it and don't want to be inoculated. From what I gather their worry is with the first vaccine working or the side effects it may produce. I'm all for vaccines but I do worry about the first batches. First batches of nearly everything are not often the best. But when our turn comes we shall take it. Neither Eladio nor I,  nor any of our nearest or dearest have been affected by the virus. But we have been affected by it financially and have no right to being furloughed. I refer to our home business of renting rooms and houses. Our guest from Panama never arrived that day as he got stuck at the airport there. He did not have a PCR test taken and missed some other document. So I don't know if he will ever arrive and I shall most probably have to return his much needed money. 

Despite all this gloom, I did lots of important things on Monday. I got my appointment at the Ministry of Justice and filled out all the forms I would have to take along. I sent out a media report to my customer with all the press clippings from last week's press release (more than 45 of them!) and got a prescription from the local private clinic for medicines I need. That may sound easy but it took nearly an hour to get through as the lines are so busy. When I had finished it was time for our walk. I didn't feel like going but once out enjoyed it as the sun shone. Lunch was leftovers - a bit depressing really - but the afternoon brought a highlight. The highlight was my weekly skype call with Amanda. We spoke about Covid, Churchill, the vaccine, Boris Johnson and his lack of leadership, Brexit and our lack of news since last week and how we can't yet see the end. When I told my friend I felt guilty binge watching Call the Midwife every afternoon, she told me not to because I had come to a stage in life when I should be able to do what I want and not feel guilty. That was good to hear and after our call, I continued watching the series and felt a little less guilty.

Tuesday came. The latest data on Covid in Spain was good and bad. On one hand the numbers are going down but deaths were still high. I watched Olivia report that morning that the November deaths (6,279) had been the highest since April (15.672).

Olivia reporting on Tuesday morning that the November death toll was the highest after April of this year. 

Tuesday was the first day of December. Many people have already decorated their houses for Christmas but not me. I am  against doing it in November and reluctant to do it too early in December. We have yet to decide when we put up the tree and decorate the house. This is supposedly the "season to be jolly" but I don't feel very jolly or christmassy at the moment so will wait for a while. 

It may have been the first day of a new month, but I still felt as though I was going round and round in circles. We didn't do much that day apart from going on our walk, etc, etc. Oli though was very very busy. I think she had to stand in for one of the main presenters of her programme which saw her reporting on all sorts of issues. One of them was about the opening of a new emergency hospital, "Enfermera Isabel Zenda. Fine you would think. Me too and most people, but as nearly everything in Spain it was politicised and used as ammunition by politicians. Built to the order of the Madrid authorities run by the right wing parties (PP, Vox and Ciudadanos), anyone not akin to their politics criticised the hospital. I must say I didn't like seeing it being opened officially when it wasn't yet ready to admit patients and has a skeleton staff. That was the main news in Spain that day. 

Oli reporting on Tuesday on the new emergency hospital in Madrid. 

The main news in the UK was the passing by Parliament of the new 3 tier system which came into force on Wednesday. That came despite more than 50 members of the Tory party voting against it. In real terms this means that more than 55 million people  will be in the two strictest tiers and cannot mix indoors with people from other households. The other news was the closure of Britain's most famous department store, Debenhams which affects all of its stores, 124 of them dotted around the UK.  Of course it comes because of slump in the economy thanks to Covid. It was never my favourite store but it's sad to see one of the UK's flagship shops disappearing from the high street. It follows Top Shop owned by Arcadia. 

Wednesday came and it was just another day, although sunny and we enjoyed our walk. We always do as do the dogs. Eladio, ever health conscious, told me had read an article or was it a video on You Tube that one hour walking is the equivalent to 3 hours on a bike. I find that hard to believe. What I do believe though is that our daily walks are fundamental to the good state of our health and mind. 

Oli brightened up our day when she sent us a lovely photo of Elliot. They always take him out in the afternoons to stop him from taking a nap. If he doesn't have a nap he tends to sleep better at night. He loves being out too. Here is looking very dapper. Isn't he lovely? I couldn't wait to see him and was happy to hear Oli suggest they come here on Friday which they did. That was the high point of the week. When they come they always bring light and joy into the house and of course lower the average age of its occupants (hahahaha). 

Elliot out and about on Wednesday afternoon

We got another photo shortly afterwards. It was of Elliot dressed in his new clothes, clothes Miguel had bought online. Miguel loves shopping of any kind, including clothes which is quite unusual for a man. Eladio has no interest in shopping of any kind unless it is to look at walking sticks or pen knives. He has a penchant for both. And here is the little chap in his new attire. 

Elliot in his new clothes. Warmly wrapped up and not like the naked Emperor from the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale

When I wrote in the headline, "Elliot's new clothes", I was reminded of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale "the Emperor's new clothes", one my mother loved and instilled in me as a child. I loved the story and the moral. The vain emperor is duped into paying for clothes supposed to be magical but invisible. He ends up believing the swindlers.  When he appears naked in front of crowds no one dares say anything until a child cries out that he is not wearing anything. The moral of the story is that pride often stops us speaking up when we know the truth and that children speak the truth where no one else will.  The Emperor's new clothes is also used as an idiom that describes a situation people are afraid of criticising because everyone else seems to think it is good or important. 

Illustration of The Emperor's New Clothes

Elliot is far too young to tell the truth as he still can't speak or to understand this story but as soon as he is old enough I look forward to reading him some of Hans Christian Andersen's tales, tales my mother read to me and which have stayed with me always. I hope he also likes the tale of the Emperor's new clothes. 

Wednesday was the day the UK announced the availability of the vaccine. Meanwhile in Spain the government announced the plans for a Covid safe Christmas. The rules for the whole of Spain will generally be the same. They apply to the period 23rd December to 6th January. 6th January is Kings' Day and is much celebrated here. During these dates people will be able to travel across the country to reunite with their families. A maximum of 10 people will be allowed to meet indoors on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and the curfew on these nights will be from 1.30 am to 06 am. These 10 people are supposed to come from only two households. The main message though was "stay at home".None of this came as a surprise. It won't be an issue for us as we are just 6 including Elliot. However, I wonder how on earth the authorities will be able to enforce the rules. I mean they can't go into every house to see whether people are sticking to them. 

Thursday came and it was shopping day - food shopping friends, not any other type. But it meant being able to go out. I used to hate shopping at Mercadona but now during our semi second lockdown it's something to look forward to. I never imagined that food shopping would be something to look forward to, did you? I actually really enjoyed my time out that morning. It saw me at the chemist, the bakers, Mercadona, Carrefour and BM. I only missed my partner accompanying me and having a coffee together out. Unusually for Eladio he had a coffee date with his friend Roberto so I had mine when I got home, late I should say, when I got back with my very big load of shopping. 

That morning I got an unexpected confirmed reservation for 3 nights at our house here for next week. It came from a girl from Seattle Washington. She wanted to know if the tennis court, pool and sauna would be open. Well, we don't have either a tennis court or sauna and our pool is open from May to October and not in the winter. It's now December and not the weather for swimming. I tried to tell her all this  but she insisted and even asked if we could open the pool for her as if that was easy.  She must think it is hot all year round in Spain and in all of the country when it is not so.I could tell she was a high maintenance guest who would bring me trouble, i.e. write a bad review because my pool wasn't open or anything else that came to her mind.  So, in  the end I decided to to ask Airbnb to cancel the reservation. I need guests, but not guests like her. 

That day Pippa, our lovely chocolate coloured miniature dachshund turned 6 years old. I can hardly believe she has been with us for 6 years already. She brings us so much joy, especially to me as she is like my shadow. Dachshunds latch on to one person and that person for Pippa is me. I love her so. I had to have a photo for the occasion. 

Pippa turned 6 on Thursday. Happy birthday little one.

Of course she had no idea it was her birthday but I treated her and the other dogs, Norah our beagle and Elsa our lab at lunchtime with tidbits from our plates.

For lunch that day I served home made meat balls and delicious chips. We hardly ever have chips and I was fed up of my diet that day so asked Lucy to make some. We all appreciated them. The dogs too hahahhaa.

Chips, glorious chips

Home made meat balls for lunch on Thursday

So if Pippa was 6, Eladio and I struggled to remember how old Norah and Elsa were. We had to resort to their doggy papers called a passport here (hahaha). The passports confirmed Norah our beagle is 12 and Elsa our labrador is 9. I wondered if 12 is old for a beagle and googled it. It is quite old and we must take care of her and of all of them. Bless them, they are so much part of our lives. 

Olivia and Elliot were supposed to be coming to see us this afternoon but didn't in the end. That left me a bit in the lurch but no worries I had time to watch more of Call the Midwife. I wonder what I will do when I finish Season 9, the last one - probably start The Crown all over again from the beginning. 

Of interest that day the world remembered Válery Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (try saying that with a French accent hahaha). He died that day of Covid (sniff) aged 94. He was a well known French statesman but not in the league of Charles de Gaulle. He was a centre right pro-EU politician who brought in new laws on divorce, abortion and contraception during his 7 years as President. He also got laws passed on equal pay for women and reduced the retirement age to 60. But not everything he did was good. He was much criticised for supporting one of Africa's worst dictators, Bokassa , "Emperor" of the Central African Republic. He loved luxury and was quite an aristocratic figure and seemingly had a few famous affairs - so French. In fact his mother descended from Louis XV via one of his mistresses.  It was even rumoured he had an affair with Lady Diana. 

Válery Giscard D'Estgaing with Lady Diana. They may not have been lovers but they certainly had quite a close relationship. 

He said he didn't but curiously wrote a novel called "The Princess and the President"about a secret love affair between a French President and an unhappy British princess who was obviously based on Princess Diana. I must read it. Giscard D'Estaing insisted the book was fiction but I wonder if it was. 

Friday came. Oli and Elliot were coming in the afternoon so I had something to look forward to that lifted my spirits. It was a beautiful sunny day here and funny to think that in other parts of Spain, including Montrondo, it was snowing. There was no sign of snow here but there was a distinct chill in the air. As we came home we spotted Phoebe, our 13 year old cat, perched high up on the roof of the gate which is her home. She lives under the tiles of it and only comes into the house in the morning and evening for sustenance. Here she is observing life from her home and far from the dogs.

Phoebe our 13 year old cat perched on top of the roof of the gate to our house 

Oli and Elliot arrived in the afternoon just after lunch, interrupting our siesta, but I didn't mind as I was dying to see them. They brought a breath of fresh air and joy. Elliot is a bundle of fun and has so much energy. Apart from music he is obsessed with photographs and there are lots of them in our house as you can imagine. He likes nothing best than being in our arms and shown photos. We ask him to point people out and he gets it right every time. He loves video calls too but is a bit too keen on the red button often cutting our calls off. We had a call with Suzy that night and we asked him to kiss her and he obliged by kissing the screen, sweet little boy. 

We had a feast for dinner that night. When Miguel arrived he came bringing some amazing sirloin steak which we had with chips (again!) made by Lucy. That was breaking my diet big time but I needed the indulgence. We further indulged with ice cream and chocolate afterwards. Amazingly I didn't get a headache for once but my sleep was still spoiled. I seemed to cough all night. My cold just won't go away. 

Oli and her family stayed the night so it was delightful to see little Elliot in the morning. He rushed straight into my arms. I love the fact that he loves me and knows me and I love him so. 

With Elliot, the light of my life, yesterday morning. 

He didn't know but Saturday, 5th December, was the first anniversary of the passing away of my dearest friend Fátima. I was in need of his company to cheer me up. He definitely helped me get through the day. Oh how I miss her. I can't believe a whole year has passed since she went. She left a gaping big hole in my life, not to mention in her family's life. I miss our deep friendship and complicity. We were like sisters, soul sisters even. She was a sunny and positive person and very loving, the person I could most open up to. I like to think I was the same for her. I also miss our fun moments, endless laughter and our times working together at Motorola and Nokia, especially the ones with the Motorola Cycling Team. Oh what fun we had. That's how I like to remember her best, when we were laughing like in this photo below which  was taken at the Tour of Spain in the early 90's when we were so young. 

Fátima and I were always laughing

I have so many memories of her, memories I carry in my heart. When she died and I was there at her side when she took her last breath, I could not say goodbye to her. She is still here, living on in our hearts. But I do miss her physically. She would have been a blessing this Covid year. I know what she would have thought of it but it would have made it much easier to get through 2020 together. As her sister Gloria remarked yesterday, thank God her death came 3 months before Covid and that we were all able to be with her. I probably remember her every day but especially so yesterday.

It was Elliot who cheered me up and made me enjoy the day, bless him. We spent most of the day as a family together which was a huge tonic for me and Eladio. At Oli's suggestion we went for a walk in the lovely park in Boadilla. We had to go well wrapped up as the highest temperature was 7ºc. Thankfully it was quite sunny. Here we are on the walk with the Palace of Boadilla in view.

On our walk yesterday in Boadilla.

For once, wearing our masks was a blessing. They kept our faces warm but I was glad to take mine off when we went to have a well deserved cup of coffee and a little something at Alverán, our favourite bakery in Boadilla. This time it was the turn of Oli and her family to have their photograph taken.

Oli and her little family or Oli and her men, at Alverán yesterday

For the "little something" we ordered "vigilantes" which are a sort of croissant but instead of crescent shaped they are like little sticks. Whatever the shape, they are delicious. Elliot agreed.

We then walked the pleasant streets of the modern part of Boadilla, an area both Oli and Miguel would love to buy a house but they are so expensive. I wonder too if we may end up living there after my retirement when we have sold our current house, that is, if we ever do. Don't know. It was lovely to be out and about with Ellio and, contrary to the city centre of Madrid, these streets were pretty empty. While Oli went to look at sun glasses, Eladio and I went to buy a "roscón" (typical cake filled with cream and eaten on Kings' Day) as I know Oli loves it - well we all do. Here he is coming out of "Manacor" bakery - they didn't have them at Alverán.

Eladio holding the roscón.

I'm usually very traditional and don't normally buy a "roscón" before Kings' Day but then nothing will be normal about this Christmas. It's a funny feeling. I'm still not feeling Christmassy. Are you?

We were home to a laid table. I had arranged lunch (cream of red lentil soup, "butifarra" sausage with roast peppers and pumpkin) which Lucy had prepared. It was quite a feast again and another lovely family lunch. We missed Suzy of course. My father was delighted to see Elliot as he always is.

My father with Oli and Elliot yesterday at lunch

As usual, I had to have a photo before we tucked in. I sent it to the family whatsapp group and Suzy far away in Costa Rica, wrote how she missed moments like these. We miss her too.

Our family lunch yesterday

She probably missed the roscón too.   This is what it looked like and I can tell you it was delicious.

Our first Roscón this Christmas

A siesta was in order afterwards and then we had some more quality time with Elliot, playing with him in the TV/library lounge. They left just after it was dark and the house seemed empty without them. The day ended sadly when Eladio and I went to the 8pm memorial mass for Fátima. I hadn't been to church since her funeral. Because of Covid everyone was sitting far apart which was a good thing. The mass, led by a boring priest, was not up to my standards or Fátima's I'm sure. I kept waiting for a mention of her as he went through the motions of what is a very boring service - all masses in Spain are the same and I have never been to an uplifting one. They just don't know how to do them. I mused to myself that if Fátima had been with me, she would have agreed. It wasn't until just before or was it after? the Eucharist, that her name was mentioned. Just a mention. She deserved so much more. I would have liked to see her daughter's friend, Almudena, a superb soprano, sing. I would have liked to see her daughter and family and myself too, talk about her. But no, just a mention of her name and it was over. At least I was able to greet her family who I hadn't seen since last year. It was good to be with them again. At least we were all there to remember her in public. A whole year has passed and I still can't get used to not having Fátima in my life. Bless you my friend.

Bless you all too for reading my blog. Fátima loved it and I hope you like the tales of this week. Now it's time to sign off and leave you till next Sunday.

Cheers till then,

Masha.