Anniversary of Spain's first lock down, Spring is in the air, International Women's Day, the Meghan and Harry interview, The Queen responds, a new anti Covid vaccine, photos of the girls from the past, to the hospital and back with my father, reading with Elliot and other stories.

 Sunday, 14th March, 2021

Reading with Elliot yesterday, our little book worm.

 Good morning all. 

Today is 14th March and marks the anniversary of the beginning of the first lock down in Spain due to Covid after the country went into a State of Alarm.  It began this very day one year ago and what a troubled year it has been. We are still in lock down today but nowhere near as strict as the first one. When lock down or house arrest as I call it, began last year, we were already worried about the figures. I reported a handful on 28th February 2020 which rose to 8000 cases on 15th March and by 29th March the figure reached 73.000. It was only in March last year that most governments around the world started taking measures. But, it was already too late as the virus had spread globally. Today, one year later the total number of infected is over 120 million and the death toll a chilling 2,659.836. Today in Spain the total number of cases, including those who have recovered, is 3.183.704 and the death toll is 72.258. . 

As we all began lock down in Spain last year,  l we had no idea what was coming, how many people would die, nor how our lives would change forever, most probably. We also had no clue that it would take (only) a year for a vaccine to be produced. Spain experienced one of the strictest lock downs in Europe. We were not even allowed out to exercise. We could take dogs out but only within a radius of 200 metres from our houses. Schools closed of course and only essential services were allowed including supermarkets and  chemists. We were lucky we had Oli, Miguel and Elliot with us. They became part of our bubble. Not so most grandparents and parents around the world. Now, one year later we are still in partial lock down with travel not allowed and restrictions on meeting people outside your bubble. As I told my friend Amanda this week, I'm not so worried about our social life (we don't have much of one) but what I miss most is travel. We live in a wonderful house but we desperately need a change of scenery. 

Thankfully in all the lock downs after 14th March last year, we have all been allowed outside to exercise. I think that has a lot to do with the finding that the virus spreads mostly indoors and not outdoors because of aerosols. Thus last Sunday we went on our daily walk with our two dogs, Norah and Pippa, still missing dear Elsa. Spring was in the air. A sure sign of it is the blossom from the ornamental plum trees in our garden. I took a photo to record the moment. 

Blossom in our garden - a sure sign of spring

I love the spring and can't wait for the clocks to go forward marking summer time, on 27th March. That will give us an extra hour of sunlight, sunlight I crave. I don't think I could live in a country with short daylight hours. I thrive on natural light, preferably sun light and in fact am no fan of electric lighting. I never switch on the lights in the morning when I have breakfast. I have light green eyes and electric lighting doesn't seem to agree with them. When I used to travel in the corporate world, there was nothing worse than all the little lights in hotel rooms, especially the lights that would turn on when you opened a wardrobe. It used to drive me made. 

We were alone when we came back from our walk. Oli and family had gone to have lunch at Miguel's parents' place. It was a quiet afternoon only interrupted with my now weekly Sunday afternoon Facetime call with Kathy and Phil who live in my beloved Yorkshire. I always enjoy our natter and can't wait to see our friends in the flesh. None of knows when that can be and none of us can make plans yet but I do hope we see them this summer in Spain at one of our houses. Who knows which? I would love to  host them at our new house in Asturias. Who knows when travel will resume? Hopefully it will be this summer and maybe we will all need vaccine passports. When travel resumes, my little Airbnb business will boom again. I was very happy that day to get a booking for 4 people for the three main days of Easter. They are guests from Madrid coming here on a stay cation as for the moment we cannot move out of the region.  I also have bookings for the summer; 3 for El Cueto in Asturias and 2 for our seaside apartment.

Before moving onto Monday, I should mention that Sunday 7th March, was Eladio's mother's birthday. She turned 99. It's so sad that he hasn't seen her for more than a year. 

Monday 8th was of course International Women's Day, a day to celebrate yes, but  more like a day to protest for gender equality.

Monday was International Women's Day

There is probably no International Men's day as every day except for 8th March, is their day. 8th March is no cause for celebration, it is a day to protest for equality for women. We have come a long way but there is still an equally long way to go. I can only hope my granddaughter- to-be (that is if baby x that Oli is pregnant with, turns out to be a girl) experiences a more gender equal world than women today.  I was brought up in a non sexist household. My parents were very equal with my father doing most of the household tasks after my mother went back to work when I was about 8. It was only after University that I encountered gender inequality and lots of it, mostly in the work place in Spain. It's quite a miracle I reached the top of my profession as a Communications Director for a big mobile operator in a very sexist country but I was one of very few. I also know for a fact I earned a lot less than my male counterparts. It was not easy making my way up. I had to perform far better than most men and was never considered their equal. I remember the first meeting when I was finally admitted to the all male Management Team of Yoigo (my last workplace). I was a bit shocked when our boss who was Swedish made the remark "at last we have a pretty face". I didn't want to be on the team because of my pretty face. I wanted to be there because I was as good as all the men. If that remark came from a Swede, I dread to think what the other men, mostly Spaniards, were thinking. They all had far higher salaries and better cars and I was supposed to be grateful just to be let into their club, albeit as a lesser member. 

I am lucky too that I married a man who believes in gender equality. We both do our bit for the household to be run. We both have different tasks and both contribute equally but I think that the onus is on me when it comes to the actual management of our day to day lives, as it is on most women. I am lucky that I can delegate as we have a live in domestic helper but the organisation is up to me.  For younger women starting out in their careers and with young babies, life is not easy. It wasn't for me but then I had Eladio who had a teacher's timetable and was able to be there always for the girls. He supported my career too. Without him I would not have reached the top. So, yes, I was one of the lucky ones but many other women are not.  Equality, though, is not the only issue. Far worse  is gender violence. The WHO issued the results of a study the next day where I learned that 1 in 3 women globally experience violence. It said violence was endemic in every walk of society everywhere. In Mexico alone, 10 women are killed every day. What is the answer to this I wonder? Education only? I don't think so. Women are not safe on the streets either. We all know that. I was horrified to read this week the awful story of the death of a 33 year old marketing executive, Sarah Everad who was kidnapped and killed in London at the hands of a police officer. I mean the police are supposed to be there to protect us and London is not Mexico. It could have been my daughter Suzy who lived in London for 5 years. How dreadful.

The news was full of the subject of women's day. Thankfully this year there were fewer virus spreading demonstrations. The news too was full of the tell all Oprah Winfrey interview with the Duke and Duchess of Susses, aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who stepped down from their royal duties a year ago and are now living the life of Riley in California. The much publicised interview was aired in the US on Sunday night and would be broadcast in the UK on Monday night. Unfortunately, for me, it was not broadcast in Spain as here I don't think people give a damn about the Sussexes. But I do as I have always been a bit fascinated with the British royal family. It was broadcast here  finally though yesterday and will be repeated tonight at midnight. I hope to watch it tonight. I have read the full transcription though, so I think  I know what I am talking about.

In my Monday afternoon skype call with Amanda, we broached the subject. By then we knew the most salient facts to come out of the interview which had as many spectators as the Super Bowl or so I read. Some of the  main revelations to come out of the interview were: questions within the Royal Family as to the possible skin colour of Meghan's first baby Archie  - thus accusing the Palace of racism -  Meghan's mental struggles and suicidal thoughts, Harry feeling let down by his father, Prince Charles, when he wouldn't take his son Harry's calls after the Royal breakup,and being cut off financially (don't feel sorry for him as his "Mum" left him 23 million pounds), an accusation that Kate Middleton made Meghan cry over the wedding "flower dressses"  and not the other way round, the fact that Archie, their first son, was not given the title of Prince thus being stripped of security (grandchildren of the Queen are not automatically given that title) and the rift between Harry and his brother, William, the Prince of Wales.  It was also   about the supposed lack of support from the Palace from the hounding by the tabloid press and social media. Harry went as far as to say he felt trapped within the system and he once again said the treatment of Meghan by the press and palace were similar to the treatment of his mother, Lady Diana. This interview was a bombshell as was the interview on Panorama with his mother where Lady Diana famously said "we were three in the marriage", referring to Prince Charles' now wife, Camilla Parker Bowles. I suppose Harry is right when he says history is repeating itself.  But what was he doing doing serving up himself and his wife to the tabloids with this interview then?

Harry and Meghan holding hands during the very well orchestrated interview with Oprah Winfrey

I am no great fan of Meghan Markle although I welcomed her at the beginning as a breath of fresh air the British monarchy needed. For all her "troubles" and they are nothing compared to the vast majority of people who are really suffering poverty, racism etc, I see this interview as revenge on the palace for what she thinks is unjust treatment. Whether it was or it wasn't, I see this as a petulant act and that Meghan and Harry should not "wash their dirty linen in public". No doubt some people will get on the bandwagon now and trash the Royal Family for being racist which I doubt it is and for being out of touch and unfeeling which it may be.  Meghan knew just how to play the right cards to be seen as the poor victim; race and mental health. The Firm's  mantra is always "don't complain, don't explain". But I also think that Meghan got things wrong. Did she really not know what she was going into when she joined the Royal Family? Come on , of course, of course she did. She didn't stick the course either, only lasting 18 months. She was popular at the beginning and could have won the press over but she wanted things done her way and that doesn't work at Buckingham Palace. Being a royal you cannot have your cake and eat it. She wanted to have her cake and eat it but should have known that was never possible. I also think this interview was very badly timed, coinciding with the very ill health of her father-in-law, Prince Philip. That was very unfeeling of the grandson of The Queen and his wife, Meghan. If they really love the Queen as they tried to point out to Oprah, then they shouldn't have agreed to this bombshell interview or its timing. It's not going to heal any rifts. Quite the opposite; it's going to distance them even more from their family. Furthermore, it's going to add fuel to the tabloids that they so hate. Again, if they always said they wanted privacy then why agree to this interview? I can only conclude that Meghan did this out of spite and Harry, putty in her hands, went along with it without thinking about the consequences. That's my opinion and possibly the opinion of a lot of people my age born in the UK as we were brought up to respect the Royal Family, especially The Queen. So, yes, maybe I am a bit biased but I still believe family fights should be held in private and not in public. 

Amanda, being of the very same generation as me and who agreed with my opinion but was worried the interview would polarise society, was looking forward to the 2 hour long interview that was broadcast that night in the UK at 9 pm. I, of course, would miss it and have to make do with the reports in the media and the odd video clip. But I will watch it tonight. I look forward to that.

My daughters, having being brought up in Spain, are not  very interested in the Royal family. I did not bring them up to be either as the British family is not so relevant here. Suzy, with her mind on something totally different and far away in Costa Rica was enjoying life there. That day she posted a photo of herself after surfing the ocean. Suzy has always had a phobia about the sea, possibly because the film Jaws had a huge impact on her when she was a child. Well, that day, she got over her phobia and experienced surfing. She was ecstatic. Good for her. I don't have a phobia about the sea but I once tried surfing and was hopeless at it. 

Suzy overcoming her fear of the sea and learning to surf in Costa Rica

My only outing of the day on Monday, apart from our walk, was to the local health clinic. I went for a blood test for an upcoming and dreaded colonoscopy. When I told my new doctor that my mother had had bowel cancel, she insisted I have that dreaded test, telling me I should have one every year! I have done it before and the worst thing is preparing for it. Those of you who have done the test will sympathise. 

Tuesday came and the UK was reeling from the Meghan and Harry interview. The tabloids, so hated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were full of it. Well they would be wouldn't they? Society was divided as was also predicted. Piers Morgan, the loudmouthed presenter of ITV's "Good Morning Britain", said he didn't believe a word the duchess told Oprah Winfrey in an argument with the weather presenter,  Alex, who is mixed race (am I allowed to say that?) and stormed off the set. Later in the day ITV issued a statement to say he had decided to leave the programme. I reckon it was the programme that fired him. Prince Charles, meanwhile, on his first public engagement after the interview, kept mum. Privately it is said he felt let down. On the accusation of having not financially supported his son and daughter-in-law, a palace source said he went out of his way to support them financially. It appears that not all of what was said by the Duke and Duchess was completely correct. Maybe, too, as a friend pointed out, Oprah should have done her homework better. She was the opposite of impartial as an interviewer in my opinion.

Tuesday for us was quiet and just another day during this never ending pandemic. Olivia surprised us by joining us for lunch and was happy to hear I had made "cocido madrileño" (a chickpea based soup come stew). She left shortly afterwards to pick up little Elliot to take him for his chicken pox vaccine. There were no vaccines for chicken pox when my girls were small, nor when I was.  I remember suffering the dreadful itching of the spots as my girls did. I'm glad Elliot won't have to go through that. 

It was later in the day, just before our quiet dinner, that Buckingham Palace issued a short but very diplomatic and cleverly written statement in response to the accusations made by Madame Markle and Prince Harry. If you haven't seen it - but I'm sure you have - this is it. Many British royal correspondents see the whole debacle as the biggest crisis to hit the Royal House of Windsor since the death of Lady Diana. Others compare it to the abdication of King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) in favour of the American divorcee Wallace Simpson. There certainly are similarities: two American women dividing the Royal family.

The statement from Buckingham Palace issued on Tuesday evening in response to the interview

The statement was diplomatic and sympathetic as it expressed sadness for the challenges met by Harry and Meghan as well as concern for the issue of race. So far so good. The well phrased sentence including the words  "some recollections may vary", insinuated there is disagreement on some of the accusations. Then came the claim that the issues will be taken seriously but will be addressed privately. This for me was a hint that any disagreements should be worked out between the family and not aired in public. The last sentence about Harry and his family always being much loved members of the family,  suggests that any rifts could be still be healed despite everything. I think that may have come from the heart.  His brother William, heir to the throne also responded to the interview later in the week. When asked whether the Royal family was racist he replied, absolutely not. He also said he would be calling his brother Harry soon. How sad their mother, Princess Diana would be to see her sons estranged. 

I wonder whether The Queen is able to sleep well these days. Not only has she got to deal with this monumental crisis but also with the worry of her lifelong partner's health. Aged 99 and still in hospital, I can only imagine what Prince Philip's thoughts on the crisis are. Neither of them need any of this at such a critical moment in their life.

I, on the other hand, am sleeping quite well these days and no longer getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning. On Tuesday night after watching a rather violent French film called Sentinel, we switched off the light at around 11 pm and although I woke up a couple of times during the night I then slept on until 7.15 in the morning. That day I had an appointment with my new hairdresser, Caty, at 9.30. I'm not like most women who love going to the hairdresser. I see it more as an obligation. Unlike my mother and her generation, I dye my roots to avoid having grey hair which would me make me look older than my years. It's a sacrifice I have to make for my own vanity. Caty is efficient and quick and by 11 am, all was done; the roots, a cut and blow dry all for a paltry 22 euros. I used to pay up to 70 euros for the same treatment. This is what I looked like when I came out. My hairstyle, a bit like Nancy Reagan I was once told, hasn't changed since after I  was a teenager when I used to wear my hair long. Today I maintain a neck length bob. As to the colour, well, it's much blonder than it was when I was a teenager and just a little darker than  when I was a child. 

After the my visit to the hairdresser on Wednesday morning

I wasn't the only one in this house to get a blow dry that day. Norah, our beagle, had a very much needed bath after lunch on Wednesday. Eladio then used the hairdryer on her and she didn't seem to mind at all. He was worried she would feel cold after her bath. 

Norah being blow dried after her bath on Wednesday

We had an unexpected visit that afternoon.  Oli and Miguel  had been to see yet another flat nearby and decided to come and stay. Miguel shortly left for an evening shift at TVE and we spent the rest of the afternoon with Oli and Elliot. I got Lucy to make us Spanish tortilla for dinner, a favourite dish in this family. But what Elliot loves best is his bedtime bottle of milk with cereals in it. I had to have him on camera. 

Elliot with his bedtime bottle of milk

As I watched Oli making the formula: milk and cereals, it reminded me of when she and Suzy were small. In those days you could only get the cereal formula at a chemist. These days everything to do with babyhood is so much more advanced. Our girls loved their nightly bottle which as they got older just contained milk. Oli loved hers so much she carried on using it until she was at least 8 or 9 years old. Obviously by then we had cut the ends of the teats off. When her friends came round she would hide the bottle, ashamed to be using it at her age. After writing that I searched in all our old albums for a photo of the girls with their night bottles and found one. It was taken in 1989 when the girls would have been 4 and 5. Here they are perched on the counter of the kitchen at our old house in Río Tajo with our cat, a ginger cat but I don't remember its name - we've had so many over the years.

The girls in 1989 with their milk bottles. Oh how they loved them. 

After Elliot had has his milk we all went to bed early as Oli and co had to get up early the next day. I was awake late though watching more of the thriller series Taken.

Thursday dawned and it was to be another sunny day. It wasn't any Thursday, it was 11th March which marked the 10th anniversary of the worst earthquake in Japan. It also marked the 17th anniversary of the train bombs in Madrid, a day no Spaniard will ever forget. 

On Thursday the European Medicine agency approved a new vaccine, "Janssen" by Johnson and Johnson. Its advantage is that only one jab is needed but its efficacy is lower than Pfizer and Moderna. 

The newly approved vaccine in the EU

On the same day, the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine took another hit as 7 countries in Europe stopped administering it. The reason was that  20 or so people developed blood clots and some died. Experts think the blood clots are not related but who knows? If I could choose I would go for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. I think everyone would. But for the moment there is no choosing and probably won't be. The other problem is that there are not enough vaccines to go around and even the new vaccine, Janssen, won't be supplied in big enough numbers. 

On the bright side that day we had a date for a coffee with our friends Roberto and Mari Carmen whom we hadn't seen since the end of the first lock down last June. We have a very small circle of friends and not much social life so it was great to leave the house that day for a social engagement, albeit just a cup of coffee on a street terrace. Our friends are divorced but very amicably so and have lunch together each day. It was good to see them. Mari Carmen is a pharmacist and has a chemist in the south of Madrid. She has had to work all through the pandemic with all its dangers. We had lots to catch up on and time flew. I later regretted not taking a photo to share here. 

On the subject of photos from the past, that night Oli sent us a photo of a photo of the girls when they were small; another photo from their childhood and past.

The grainy photo of a photo that Oli sent us and made me look back over the years

I well remembered the photo as it was one we had taken in a studio. The girls were wearing very floral dresses I had bought in London on one of my endless business trips. I later looked for the original photos in our albums - quite a task as there are at least 30 of them - and came up with this one of the two of them. It was taken in 1992 when they would have been 7 (Oli) and (8) so nearly 30 years ago. They were so beautiful and still are. If I look closely at Oli I can see a resemblance in Elliot although it is true he does look a bit more like his father than his mother.

Suzy left and Oli right in their floral dresses - taken in 1992

I posted Oli's photo and added the caption: "they will always be my little girls". That is so true. The photo took both Eladio and I back to our past when we first formed our family. It seems so many years ago and now we are old. Gosh. I hadn't heard from Suzy since 6th March and when I saw the photo I wondered if she was ok. I like to hear from her regularly to make sure she is doing well so far away in Costa Rica. She didn't answer any of my messages and I got so worried as we mothers do. Finally she answered on whatsapp and I heaved a huge sigh of relief. She didn't seem in the best of spirits and that worried me too. Can we ever stop worrying about our children I wonder? No, we can't. 

Friday came, our weekly shopping day and we had lots of errands to do as well as the food shopping. It was a busy morning and I had no idea what was coming. We were home from our errands and my father's nurse had arrived to check on the huge bruising on his leg. It was worse because of large swelling (edema) from his foot to the top of the leg. She was slightly alarmed and so were we. Later his doctor rang me to say he needed to go to the hospital. OMG, those words; "the hospital" were the last I wanted to hear. I had to tell my poor father. We were able to have lunch and this time I packed things we would need for a long afternoon and possible overnight stay or longer.  I went prepared and took along a flask of tea and biscuits for him, as well as his glasses and book. The ambulance came at about 3 pm but wouldn't let me in with because of Covid protocol - damn it. I was too nervous to drive behind it so Eladio took me. 

The ambulance leaving our house with my father inside it and Eladio and I behind in my car

We arrived at the brand new, state of the art Rey Juan Carlos hospital in Móstoles which I know well. Again because of Covid I wasn't allowed in and felt for my 101 year old father who probably didn't know why I wasn't with him. I wasn't even allowed in the waiting room. I was asked for my mobile phone number and would be contacted if needed. I didn't have to wait long for the doctor treating my father to ring me and ask me all about his health and what had happened to his leg - you will remember he got the bruise after coming back from his first vaccine on 2nd March. He told me they would proceed to drain the edema and more importantly said he was not in danger. Oh, what a relief. A short while later he rang again to say my father's leg had been drained and bandaged properly and that he could go home. Wow oh wow, he wasn't going to stay the night there. I was so relieved. The doctor even allowed me to go home with him in the ambulance this time. I think the whole procedure from door to door lasted 3 hours. It was all so efficient. He got first class support and treatment. People in Spain often complain about the public health service here but I only have good words for it. Maybe if they were familiar with health services in other countries they would agree with me. My father  came out smiling and the ambulance staff handed me the medical report which I relayed to his GP by whatsapp (thanks Dr. Pilar Martín for being there for me on whatsapp always). He will have a follow up appointment with a plastic surgeon in a week's time and a nurse will come tomorrow to change the dressing. In the report I read there were multiple blood clots in his leg. I don't like the words "blood clots". They are dangerous. It also got me thinking that maybe, somehow, the bruise was caused by the vaccine but I'm not sure. It probably wasn't but we don't know as we never saw him bump his leg when we took him for the vaccine. It was a relief for my father and for me to be home. In the ambulance on the way back, both of with our masks on (his slightly wrongly put on), I tried to comfort him, held his hand and told him all would be ok. I just have to hope now that the swelling will not come back. I have to say my father is a real trooper to suffer the ordeal he did on Friday with not one complaint, only thanks to everyone for their help. He is a wonderful man and I love him so. 

 

My dear 101 year old father (Charles Courtenay Lloyd)  in the ambulance coming home on Friday after his ordeal at A&E

His generation were and are exceptional, never complaining and just getting on with it. I have to take my hat off to him. I, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves but so relieved once he was home and safe with us. I feel sorry for other elderly parents who have to live in care homes. I would never ever send my father to one. His place is with me and with this family and in our home. 

I think I was a bit nervous for the rest of the day really. I binge watched a great British series, Collateral, late into the night. I just wanted my mind on other things. I never was a worrier but now entering "old age" I am becoming more of one, a bit like my mother was I think. I should be cool, calm and collected. Those were words my father used when I once told him I wanted to be a nurse when I was a child. They are not words that describe me I am afraid.

Saturday came and it was another sunny day.  We were busy in the morning and went on our walk. I made our lunch - steak and chips (yummy). Then it was time for our siesta and I was looking forward to watching a mega long session dedicated to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from 16h to 21h on Antena 3 TV.  It included the film, "Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance, a documentary about their wedding and then the interview. But it was not to be as Oli and family arrived at about 17h and of course Elliot was not going to let me watch the TV. I didn't mind really as I was delighted to see my grandson. He immediately rushed for his toys and books. He handed me his favourite; "The very hungry caterpillar" which I have read to him countless times. He then wanted me to sit with him on the sofa and read, each with our own book. I was happy to oblige and love to see the interest he has in books. I got Oli to capture the moment on camera and chose one of the photos as this week's feature photo. Here is another.

Reading with Elliot

While we were "reading", Oli and Miguel carried on their search for a new home on their mobiles. They came across a flat they wanted to see which is 5 minutes from our house and off they went. They left Elliot with us and he seemed happy. Miguel brought up his "toto" - his words for his motorbike which he loves. Here he is on it.

Elliot on his "toto"

Oli and Miguel were soon back and a bit disappointed as the flat they wanted to see had just been sold. There seems to be a huge demand these days for new homes and old and great competition. As to to the prices they are sky high. It seems there is a lot of demand for homes outside the city centre, after the experience of lock down in flats with no gardens or outdoor space.

By then it was time for dinner and I made a veritable feast of Chinese Dim Sum and spaghetti with a ham and mushroom creamy sauce. Yummy. We were in our room on time for the news and later watched "Prodigios" a children's talent show we love which was back on air in its third or fourth season now. We watched it unitl 1 am in the  morning. Still awake, Eladio flipped the channels and found a political debate (his favourite genre on TV). Right now Spanish politics is in a turmoil with lots of in fighting between parties, new and old. It bores me stiff but he finds it fascinating. 

And today is Sunday and as I write this final paragraph, I can hear little Elliot upstairs. So I shall leave you now until next week. Hope you all have a good one.

Cheers Masha