Sunday, 18th April, 2021
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| Eladio and I happy to be in Rueda at Palacio de Bornos again |
Good morning all.
Maybe I am surprising you all by writing from "our village", Montrondo where my husband was born and where we have a house which we haven't been to since last summer. So what are we doing breaking the rules and coming here? We came to see Eladio's mother, soon to turn 100, at her care home in León. They haven't seen each other since January 2020 - a long time; too long. He hasn't seen her for such a long time because of the pandemic. When we were here last summer she wasn't allowed visitors and is only recently allowed one visit a week. That's why were finally able to visit her. Eladio was scared she might die without seeing her again. It was to be an emotional reunion. So, we got a "justificante" a sort of certificate from the care home to allow us to travel to see her. We think that is allowed but we are not sure because the restrictions are so complicated and not always clear. We weren't sure we could even leave the area we live in; some people said we could and some said we couldn't. In the end we decided to take the bull by the horns - after all we do live in Spain - dare it and come here. You can judge us if you want if you belong to the "Covid police" or "balcony police" as it's called here in Spain.
Before continuing, let me wind back to last Sunday as this blog is a diary of my life (or my own personal newspaper as my friend Amanda calls it) and it has to be in chronological order; an order I respect and like. That's why I hate films, books and series that include confusing flashbacks. Last Sunday we were all still mourning the passing away of The Duke of Edinburgh, referred to as "the grandfather of the nation" by his not very popular middle son Prince Andrew. I like the term though. If you are not British born, you may not understand our fascination and respect for the Royal Family. Part of it comes from the fact that we lead parallel lives to theirs and were brought up to be patriotic. We weren't brought up to be deliberately so. It just happened because of where we were born. There is no simple answer. Being patriotic often involves a love of the monarchy. I don't love the monarchy so much anymore - it's not infallible - but I am patriotic and I love the Queen. There, I've said it. English people of my generation mostly feel the same. In all my video calls to my closest friends, we all agree. It upset us all dreadfully or rather came as a big shock. He has left a huge void as he was a constant presence in our lives, since we were born. If his death has had that affect on us I dread to think what it will be like when the soon to be 95 year old monarch, our dear Queen, passes away. That day will be a very big national tragedy; on a par with the passing away of Queen Victoria I imagine. I dread that day.
In my video call with Kathy and Phil last week (my friends from Keighley in West Yorkshire) they felt exactly the same. That call was the highlight of my day. I enjoyed too the tales of Kathy's son's wedding to his lovely Indian wife, Sital. The only sadness was the tiny size of the wedding; just 6 people and poor Phil had to sit outside. The happy part is that they are now married. No doubt they will celebrate with the rest of the family on a larger and happier scale when all this is over.
"All this" refers to Covid. It's still here and I have now been reporting on the numbers every week for over a year. When will I stop doing that I wonder? So, if last Sunday the total number of infections was 136.044.098 and the total death toll was 2,859.650, this week the numbers have risen to 141.323.933 and 3.024.317. Did you read that? This week Covid deaths passed 3.000.000 people! The US, India and Brazil which are the countries with most recorded infections account for more than a third of the deaths. The numbers are going up in Europe too. Germany, Italy, Poland, Turkey and France mostly. In Spain the rise is gentle but alarming. In the UK the numbers are going down simply because so many more people have been vaccinated. Nationals of the UK were looking forward to the lifting of more restrictions from Monday last when guess what? Yes, the pubs were opening; well just outside. Life in England without pubs is not the same is it? My dear friends were looking forward to their first trip outside their area since the summer and on Saturday were off to Devon in their adored camper van. I am looking forward to hearing all about it today in our Skype call this afternoon.
Last Sunday was quiet for us. We got our walk in with the dogs - sadly only 2 now - which we both much needed. The rest of the day was free of events bar my call with Kathy and Phil. We consider them our best friends and I can't wait to see them again, either here or in my absolutely beloved Yorkshire. It's not called "God's own country" for nothing. Often in my dreams I think of buying a cottage in the Dales and retiring there.
There was some good news for me last Sunday. I got 2 new bookings for our new house in Asturias. You might want to know that our latest retirement plans which keep changing, include us going to live in Asturias - that luscious green coastal area of Spain. They are all for July and August. Later in the week I got even more and now have 12; 7 for El Cueto and 5 for Santa Pola. That amounts to more than 75% occupancy for those two months; not bad at all. I am also getting lots of inquiries from groups for weekends at our house outside Madrid, plus our semi permanent guest, Felipe of Russian origin, renewed his stay for the 10th time. He has now been with us for more than 3 months and is a pleasure to host.
Monday came and that was the day we decided to go to León. Eladio spoke with his mother's care home and got the necessary authorisation. Good. We were happy. I was happy most of the day with this news and felt a spring in my feet as we went on our walk in the sun. I had something to look forward to that morning; coffee with a friend and neighbour, Elena. We have much in common. We both come from the telecoms industry and we were Communications Directors at the same time. Then we are the same age and we are neighbours. It's always dear Elena who makes the first move. I'm so lazy these days. But I was looking forward to some girly time together in the sun over a cup of coffee. It was wonderful to be out and to be doing something different. We chatted for nearly 2 hours before it was time to head home for lunch.
I would have more girly time that afternoon as at 4.30 I had a skype call with my dear Uni friends, Adele who lives in France and Sandra who lives in Brussels. They studied French with Spanish "subsid" and I studied Spanish as you know at Nottingham University yonks ago now. Who would have thought then that our friendship would last 45 years and more? Well, it's thanks, partly, to new technology of course. Then at 5.30 I had my weekly Skype call with my oldest and dearest friend Amanda who lives in Devon. You probably know we went to school together and met when we were 11 at St. Joseph's Catholic Grammar School in Bradford. That is now 53 years ago and our friendship is as strong as it was then. We both wish we live nearer. We have so much in common too. Both of us have lightning speed minds that drive our husbands mad and both of us love to laugh. Amanda always makes me laugh and I make her laugh. She is a person I can really pour my soul out to. She will always understand and never judge me.That's why women need women friends. Men don't understand us in the ways women do. When we are down or have problems all we want is a sympathetic and understanding ear. Men generally are more rational and don't give us the reaction we want. Amanda and I can chat for hours but we put a stop to at 7 pm as it was time for her dinner. It gave me more time for another Grey's Anatomy episode before it was our dinner time. I made it at lightening speed and ate it at the same speed hahaha.
I actually slept quite well that night and woke up on Tuesday morning feeling cheerful. We had something different to look forward to. We were going away for the first time since the end of October, 5 months ago. Oh how we needed it. We left with a car full of food accompanied by little Pippa. Where I go, shes goes. We were worried we would be stopped by the police but we weren't. We took the drive slowly as we didn't have to be at my mother in law's care home until 4.45. So first we stopped for a coffee about one hour after leaving. I need my second cup of coffee of the day at noon - equivalent, I suppose to "elevenses" in the UK. We stopped at a pristine road side cafe - oh how they have improved over the years. I got Eladio to take a photo to remember the moment. It was a good feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love our house in Madrid, but so needed a change of scenery and a bit of freedom.
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| Coffee on the way |
Our next stop was at our favourite place,
Palacio de Bornos in Rueda - the wine growing area which makes some of the best white wine in Spain. If you have never tried it, I recommend you do. The owners were happy to see us again and so were we to see them. The shop and bar belonging to the "bodega· is full of enticing local produce and we always have a plate of ham and lomo with fresh bread laced with olive oil and a glass of wine each.
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| The shop and bar belonging to the Palacio de Bornos winery in Rueda |
Eladio goes for sauvignon and I go for the local "verdejo" which is slightly stronger and more fruity. Oh what a treat was awaiting us. I got the waitress to take a photo to record the moment and have chosen it as this week's feature photo. Before we tucked in, I had to have another photo.
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| Savouring the moment at Palacio de Bornos on Tuesday |
I can't tell you just how wonderful it was to be back, We lingered over our lunch - it was pouring with rain outside - as we were on plenty of time for the visit to the care home in León. It was on the way that I heard about the latest developments with the new relatively new US "one jab" vaccine Janssen made by Johnson and Johnson. Spain was expecting 300.000 thousand of this vaccine when the US health authorities paused its use after finding 6 cases of blood clots, the same type as caused by the now famous Oxford vaccine. There were 6 cases with one death in over 6 million doses administered. Oh dear that was not good news. That day in Spain too one person died of blood clots in the brain from the Astrazeneca vaccine, a 30 year old male teacher from Toledo. The bad news for the Janssen vaccine will be a set back in the roll out of vaccine programmes all over the world. The Janssen and Oxford vaccines share the same technology and are traditional vaccines carrying the DNA for Covid. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are different and are MRNA vaccines carrying genetic sequence into the body. I'm not sure I've explained that well. In essence the former are more traditional and the latter are not. So if we have seen blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is no surprise we are seeing them in the Janssen vaccine. Despite this we are finally seeing in Europe a ramp up of the vaccine programme but now there is an added problem. The existing vaccines seem to be resistant to the new South African strain of the virus. Science is going to have to keep up with all the different new strains and I hope they do that fast. In the UK numbers are going down as more people are vaccinated but the South African strain is emerging and who knows what that means.
Thankfully we are now vaccinated and Eladio's mother, aged 99 and turning 100 next year, has, like my father, received her two doses. We arrived at the care home with an hour to spare so went for a boring walk around the block with little Pippa who was happy to stretch her legs. It was funny to be back in León. León has its merits - a wonderful cathedral and churches - but on the whole it is a very ugly city, mostly due to the awful high rise blocks of flats which are everywhere. The weather doesn't help. When it is damp and cloudy which it mostly is, it only makes the city look uglier. It's also one of the coldest provincial capitals in Spain and I would never want to live there. Finally 4.45 arrived and there we were promptly at the care home. We had to go through all sorts of anti Covid procedures before we were allowed to see Eladio's mother. We had to sit in a waiting room until she was brought in in her wheel chair. What a moment. I felt so sorry for Eladio. Ernestina was looking good physically but her mental decline was obvious. She has lost her ability to talk almost completely so communication was difficult. We used pen and paper to write to her.
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| Eladio and his mother reunited |
It took a while for her to come round and I'm not sure she realised who we were. I felt for Eladio, her oldest son, whose mother didn't know who he was. How sad. I shed a tear or two and couldn't help it. All I could do was hold her hand and she held mine too. Then, suddenly, she put her arms around us both in an emotional moment. It was as if she knew who we were or at least that we were family. She smiled and we smiled back. Eladio took a selfie.
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| A selfie with Eladio's mother |
We brought her biscuits from the shop in Rueda - she always loved biscuits and she showed interest. Eladio's sisters arrived and were able to greet us from the outside of the window but were not allowed in. Ernestina could only have two visitors and not for longer than half an hour. She wanted them to come in and also suggested going out. I would have loved to take her out but her daughters thought it was too cold for her. She has probably hardly been outside since Covid began and for the most part the restrictions were so strict at her care home, no visits were allowed at all. I felt for her and the situation. I don't honestly think that I could have stood not seeing my father for a year and three months. I am so privileged to have him with us every day.
It was sad to say goodbye and I wondered when we would see Ernestina again. She was taken back to her quarters by a nurse and that was that. Off into her little world. We left the care home and went off into the big world. What a difference. I swear I don't want to live in a care home when I get to her age. Before we left for Montrondo, we had a coffee with Eladio's sisters whom he hadn't seen since last summer.
By 7 pm or so we arrived in the village happy to be back to our house here which we rebuilt 5 years ago and to our specs. We love it. But there were problems when we arrived; a huge leak from one of the showers on the top floor. That meant Eladio had to switch off the water while I was unpacking everything and trying to make dinner. That's when I found nearly all the cupboards in the kitchen full of mice droppings. Not a nice welcome. Eladio managed to stop the leak by putting the water pressure down and we called a plumber to come the next day. Meanwhile the mice droppings would have to wait until Wednesday. All was well until I topped it all by spilling part of a bottle of gazpacho down my front. Problems came in threes that night. But finally we sat down to a simple meal at about 10 pm. Then we collapsed on the uncomfortable Ikea sofa to carry on watching a series on Netflix called "El sabor de las margaritas" until I fell asleep.
I was awake at 7.15 on Wednesday morning and by 8 the sun was shining. It was supposed to rain but it didn't. The forecast for Montrondo is often wrong. We had a leisurely breakfast reading the headlines. The news that day vs a vs vaccines was not good. The US health authorities banned the use of the new Janssen vaccine skewing many countries' plans. I read that for next year the US authorities will not hold or sign contracts with either AstraZeneca or Janssen. That only leaves Pfizer and Moderna. The EU that day secured another 21 million doses of the former. Hopefully that will be enough.
In the morning the plumber came to deal with the leak from the taps of the shower. A new one was needed and we would have to find it. Meanwhile though he was able to shut off the water in that bathroom and we could have water in the rest of the house. By then I had missed my much needed morning shower. With water we were able to tackle the not so small task of removing the damned mice droppings from all the food cupboards. Eladio then laid mice traps. That was a massive task but at the same time tidied up the cupboards so that I now know what I have in them. So much stuff was out of date, including the rice we had for lunch which had expired in 2016 the year we finished building the house.
After dealing with that disagreeable task and with some chicken left out to unfreeze, we went on a walk in glorious sunshine. We hardly saw a soul apart from our neighbours, Salo and "Logio". It was sunny but chilly and we were not complaining. It felt great to be going on a different walk after 5 months so of course I kept taking pictures. Here is Eladio on the old walk to Murias, the nearest village.
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| Eladio on our walk on Wednesday |
It's a tradition of mine to take photos at the half way mark between Montrondo and Murias de Paredes. There is a simple rock there to mark the place and it is known as "la peña de Dios" (God's rock). I wonder who named it so and why. Every nook and cranny has a local name here and Eladio knows them all. I am particularly fond of La Peña de Dios. That morning Eladio obliged and took a photo of me and Pippa. She knows every nook and cranny of Montrondo but not the names hahaha.
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| On "God's rock" during our walk to Murias and back on Wednesday |
We didn't get any further than Murias as my husband didn't fancy continuing on to the next village, Senra with the bar with the surly owner. In any case it was too late for a mid morning cup of coffee. We were home by 1.30 or so and I quickly rustled up a dish of chicken curry including the expired rice which tasted fine by the way.
We both had a long siesta until nearly 6 pm. I would have liked to venture out again but the urge to watch more of Grey's Anatomy was stronger. At about 8 pm - our normal dinner time - I made our dinner. Eladio wanted fried eggs a typical evening meal in Montrondo. There were no chips to go with it. It was too late to watch the news after that but who cares because we weren't going to hear anything new. Instead we continued watching our Spanish detective series "El sabor de las margaritas" until we finished season 1 at 1 in the morning. I did not sleep well that night, tossing and turning the whole time. I think I may have finally fallen asleep at past 3 in the morning.
I woke at 8.25 so got a few hours of shut eye in. It was another sunny day. I went outside to take some pictures of the back of the house and surroundings - the beautiful mountains. While posting one of the pics I came across a new app that turns pictures into sketches like the ones below. So, here you have our beautiful mountain house in sketches. Lovely isn't it? We love it too. If only the house wasn't adjoined to two other houses. That's the only drawback.
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| A sketch of the house from the back |
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| A sketch of the house from the front |
After breakfast together we set off for the nearest local town, the old mining town, Villablino. We went to get the new tap set for Oli's bathroom here and to buy more food for our stay. I had brought a lot but not enough. So off we went on another glorious sunny day. We didn't find a tap and had to order it on Amazon. Why hadn't I thought of that before I wonder? These days you can get anything on Amazon. I actually don't admire Amazon for its greediness and monopoly on online shopping but as a customer it's the best. We had a coffee at Selene - my favourite cafe in Vallablino and did the shopping at Gadis - a great supermarket you only find in the north of Spain. By 1ish we were home putting everything away. I made lunch - steak and chips; naughty but nice. We were too lazy to go on a walk in the afternoon which I spent lazily watching Grey's Anatomy. At about 7 pm, our dear neighbour Salo (Salomé) brought round a piece of cake and home made donuts. It was her birthday and she wanted to share her lovely home baked food with us. That was so unexpected and kind. This is what she brought.
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| Salo's birthday fare which she shared with us. |
We enjoyed some of it after dinner. Again we watched more of our latest series and that night I did get a good sleep.
Thursday came. I woke up to an audio from Suzy in Costa Rica. She's coming home or at least she plans to. I can't wait for the moment. She needs to be with us and we need her home.
Friday was a quiet and peaceful day. I made a big "cocido" (stew with chickpeas and all sorts of meats, bones and veg) which took more than 3 hours to cook. In between we went on our walk, again to Murias and back and again we didn't see a soul. This place is practically empty. The cocido was good and my siesta short. At 5.15 I had a date. Wow, a date. I went to have coffee (well tea in my case - a bag of decaf tea I can only buy on, yes you guess, Amazon) with my neighbour and the other women in the village; Salo, Manolita, Josefa, Pili and another lady whose name escapes me. I am terrible with names. We all sat in Salo's ample kitchen far from each other and with our masks mostly on apart from when we sipped our beverages or ate the lovely biscuits on offer. I had three (naughty). These ladies bake delicious biscuits and cake. It was a real "girly time" episode during my stay and lovely to talk to different people. During the pandemic we only see people from our bubble and it's nice occasionally to see and talk to different people. Funnily enough we didn't talk much about Covid, except for the vaccine of course. The ladies were interested to know my opinion as an English born citizen on the death of the dear Duke of Edinburgh. I had the floor to try and explain the obsession of the Brits with our Royalty. As I said above it is difficult to explain but in a way part of our DNA, at least my generation's.
I came home to find Eladio mowing the front lawn. It doesn't get dark here until nearly 9.30 pm so the afternoons are long. Pippa and I preferred the back garden. I caught her on camera peacefully enjoying it and being near me. She always has to be near me. If not, she gets anxious. I love her so.
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| Pippa enjoying sunshine in the back garden |
Not much else happened that day. It was just another day during the pandemic; the difference being we were in our village and not home in Madrid.
Saturday came, the day of the funeral of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and I was determined to see it from beginning to end. The plans for the funeral were drawn up meticulously by the Duke himself. He wanted a small military funeral, not a state one and I think he would have been happy that because of Covid only 30 members of the family could attend rather than 800 which were the plans for his funeral at the beautiful St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The 30, led by the Queen included 3 of his German cousins. I read all about the plans so knew how this scaled down, intimate and mostly family funeral would go. I think that maybe would have made the Duke happy.
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| The funeral procession plans |
His funeral would reflect his links and love of the military, the sea, the environment, sport and nature. We too love nature and that morning saw us on a lovely walk bathed in sunshine and blue skies, as was the Prince's funeral. This time we walked to Murias up the mountain road called "El camino valle". It runs parallel to the river and takes you through woods we had just to ourselves. There was not a soul and although it's not allowed, we did not wear our masks, except for when we were in the village.
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Eladio and Pippa walking through the woods
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The entrance to the village from the mountain pathway is over an old stone bridge and we always take photos there like this one of me yesterday.
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On the stone bridge at the entrance to Murias
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Our aim in Murias was to have a coffee at the only bar, "El holandés errante" (Flying Dutchman). It is owned by a Dutchman, hence the name but run by a local couple, Sonia and Toño. The bar is also a hostal with 5 rooms. My father used to stay there when he joined us in Montrondo.
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Eladio at the bar yesterday in Murias
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Coffee time at the bar in Murias was our reward for the hard walk up the mountain and we enjoyed it immensely. There was no one else there. No doubt villagers would come later for the typical "aperitivo" before lunch.
We walked home on the main road admiring the views and the blue sky. What wonderful weather we have had. The weather was good enough for a barbecue and that's what we had yesterday.
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Eladio preparing yesterday's barbecue
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However, it was too cold to have it inside.
Soon it was time for the news at 3 pm which was of course 2 pm in the UK and one hour before the funeral. Spanish TV would be broadcasting it but I didn't want commentary in Spanish. Thus I turned to the BBC world service on my iPad and I was soon set up to watch the funeral. Wild horses wouldn't have dragged me away.
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In Montrondo ready to watch the funeral yesterday
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Not being a royalist nor understanding my need to watch the laying to rest of Prince Philip, Eladio preferred a siesta. It was only Pippa accompanying me and a box of tissues.
So what can I say about the funeral that hasn't already been said or written about? Well, I have my own opinion and this is it. The funeral was sombre but beautiful, it was moving, amazingly well organised and despite the Duke not wanting too much of a fuss, it was British pomp at its best even during Covid.
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The very empty St. George's chapel during the funeral yesterday
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The choreographer, the Duke himself, had done a fine job and whoever organised it to fulfil his wishes did an even better job. I have to say the sun and blue sky over the old chapel and castle helped make the day. It was a sad day, the laying to rest of a much loved figure, but at the same time it was a wonderful way to go. It may have been a family funeral but the whole world got to see it. It was the Duke himself who first made big royal occasions available on television, like his own wife's coronation. For all his life he went 3 steps behind her. Yesterday, for the first time, she went behind him. It was the Queen we all wanted to see and we first got a glimpse as she arrived in a state Bentley before entering the chapel to be greeted by the Dean of Windsor. That was when I wept as I am sure many other people did too. What a forlorn picture of Her Majesty. I felt so sorry for her walking in alone. The Queen was there to mourn her partner of 73 years and she was devastated. So were her children and grandchildren who walked behind the Duke too, led by Prince Charles. The papers said he cried but I didn't see tears on his face in any of the photos; just a very grim look. After seeing The Queen emerge, everyone's eyes were on the so-called dueling Princes William and Harry. Their walking behind their grandfather's coffin placed on a land rover hearse he designed, made us all remember how these two boys walked behind their own mother's coffin. Then they were flanked by their grandfather. Between the two princes walked their cousin Philip, son of Princess Anne. It's funny to think that the last time the two of them were at St. George's chapel was when Prince Harry married Meghan and we all know what happened later. After the funeral though they were seen talking together which I think is a very good sign.
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The Princes talking and walking with Kate after the funeral
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After the preliminary procession and military bands in the quadrangle, the coffin was taken into the chapel by pallbearers - representatives of the military regiments the Duke was close to. Just before, a minutes silence was held throughout the UK. Once inside we glimpsed a sight of Her Majesty dressed in black and all alone.
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The stark figure of the Queen alone dressed in black and masked.
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That was the saddest scene I saw during the funeral. She made a stark, dark, figure, now a widow, in mourning sitting by herself. What were her thoughts I wondered? What too was written in her hand on the card placed on her husband's coffin?
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The Queen's hand written card to The Duke
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It's difficult to decipher. Some say it reads "Your loving Lilibet" and others say it reads "In loving memory Elizabeth" I'm not sure what to think. I would have loved her to sign "Cabbage", the endearing nickname he used for her.
The Duke chose beautiful music. It started with the bands playing I vow to thee my country and Jerusalem in the quadrangle, perhaps two of the most patriotic British hymns. That made me weep too. Beautiful too was the scaled down choir of just 4 singers in the chapel. Their voices were beautiful and strong - I spotted a Welsh tenor I think - and they made up for a larger choir. There were no sermons, no eulogies, no reading from any of the mourners and the funeral lasted just under one hour. The most poignant moment apart from the Queen on her own was the moment the coffin was dropped down into the Royal Vault, to lie in peace finally. He lies in the same place as King Henry VIII but when the Queen dies, his remains will join hers at Westminster Abbey or so I read.
As soon as the funeral finished, the Queen was led back to her Bentley where she was joined by her lady in waiting and taken back to her private apartments at the castle. The family decided to walk up the hill instead of taking the cars and that's when we saw the Princes talking. I do hope they reconcile. I am sure it would have been the Duke's wish and I'm sure it would make their "Granny" happier.
I felt emotionally drained when the funeral was over. Soon my thoughts were on other things when we had a video call with my daughter Suzy far away in Costa Rica. She does not understand my feelings for the Duke of Edinburgh of course. Well, I never brought her up to think much about the Royal Family as we lived in Spain. The rest of the day panned out in the same way it has every day here during our stay which is now coming to an end.
Today is Sunday and it's sunny again. I think we will do a repeat walk of yesterday. Then we shall eat leftovers as I have cooked so much here. So, my friends, I shall leave you now to get ready for our walk. All the best until next Sunday. Keep well,
Masha
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