2nd May celebrations, 9th May the end of the state of alarm in Spain, conservatives win snap elections in Madrid, my father gave us a shock, dinner on the street, our first barbecue of the year and other stories.

 Sunday 9th May, 2021

With Elliot on barbecue day yesterday

Good morning everyone. 

Today is a very significant day in Spain. It is the end of the State of Alarm that started at the end of October 2020, robbing us of many rights in order to fix Covid. Covid has not been fixed but we are on the way thanks to the vaccine roll out. Worldwide figures continue to increase, notably in India with over 300.000 newly infected recorded daily. In the US and the EU numbers are down, mostly thanks to vaccinations but we are nowhere near out of the woods yet. Last Sunday the global figures for infections and deaths were 152.829.820 and 3.206.849. Today these figures stand at 158.336.434 and 3.297.081 respectively. 

Meanwhile we have seen our fundamental rights stripped, those of seeing friends and family and the prohibition of travel. I'm not sure however that our rights are ours again as this country is in a mess as to what to do. It would be easy if we only had one government but we don't. Spain is like a federal state and we have 17 autonomous regions each with their own governments. The central government, knowing an extension of the State of Alarm would not be approved in Parliament, leaves the matter of how to go forward in the hands of the 17 regional governments. This, no doubt, will make rules different all over the country. It has as it turned out but one thing they have all allowed from today onward is unrestricted travel between regions. Wow, great. That means that if we wanted we could be off today to one of our homes to Santa Pola, Montrondo or Asturias. We wanted to go to Asturias but the weather forecast is dreadful. We shall be on the watch out and as soon as some sun is forecast, off we will go. 

Last Sunday then was the last Sunday under the state of alarm. It was also 2nd May, a holiday in Madrid to commemorate the 1808 uprising   and rebellion against Napoleon's troops occupying the capital. 2nd May was also Russian Easter or rather the Orthodox Church Easter. It doesn't mean much to me anymore although my Mother was Russian. She used to organise the celebrations at home which consisted of going to church in Bradford at midnight and coming home in the early hours of the morning to a table laid with Russian Easter fare. As a child I found it very exciting to be woken up after I had gone to bed and to go to church. The Russian Easter Service is a long drawn out ceremony and is difficult to endure as you have to stand the whole time. Everyone holds a lit candle and I remember my brother trying to burn my hair (hahaha). For the past few years, our Russian neighbour, Katya, brought over some "kulitch" ( similar to panetone) and coloured eggs. That reminded me of helping my mother dye eggs at home. They are colourful but I'm not very keen on boiled eggs. Eladio is though and ate them all. 

The gift of Russian Easter fare from our neighbour Katya

A lot of things were celebrated then on 2nd May. It was also Mothers' Day in Spain. That's not something I was brought up to celebrate but over the years I have come to acknowledge it as I have with St. Valentine's Day. Only Olivia sent me a laconic little message on Whatsapp. Suzy totally forgot so I didn't feel much of a celebrated mother that day. Facebook reminded me that 6 years ago Suzy did remember and sent me a lovely photo collage. This is it.

Mothers' Day photo collage Suzy sent me 6 years ago

Suzy did ring me on Sunday afternoon  but it was not to wish me a happy Mothers' Day. She just skyped me  to try out internet her end in a remote region of Nicaragua called Muelle de los Bueyes. I looked it up and its about 250km from Managua. We spoke briefly and agreed to talk later. 

I have told you all about the different events of 2nd May but really I didn't celebrate any of them. It was a quiet day, except for the arrival of 2 new guests. Eduardo and his partner arrived in the afternoon. They were going to drop off their luggage, go and see friends and come back at night. But when they saw the pool they decided to spend the afternoon by it.

The pool ready for visitors

I don't know if they went in the water. I wouldn't have as the temperature did not rise above 18c that day. It was good to have new guests. I had another reservation from a golf player who came on Wednesday and wow I also got a reservation from a Belgium girl who is coming alone at the end of June. She is coming solely for the use of the pool and some peace and quiet. She will get it. 

Not much else happened on Sunday last so let me move on to Monday. My two young guests left while we were on our walk. I was happy to get a glowing 5 star review from them.  Another guest was arriving on Wednesday, a Spanish golf player called Jaume B. taking part in a tournament who would stay from Wednesday to Saturday. It's good to see the house with more guests again. Felipe continues his stay here and has now been with us for 4 months. 

It was a quiet day for me. I didn't have my weekly Skype call with my dearest friend Amanda as she was away on holiday, a holiday she and her partner Andy much needed and deserved as they haven't been away since last Sunday. They are in some remote part of Scotland. I wished we could travel too. On Monday the EU announced it would allow travel into the EU countries for those with two vaccinations. The UK which has a traffic light system for countries allowed and not allowed announced the green light countries Brits can travel to from now on. Only Portugal is included in Europe. However, the list will be updated every few weeks so hopefully Spain will be included too. 

There was no news from either of our girls. I have to think always that no news is good news. Eladio made use of the time to paint the ceiling of the outdoor bathroom by the swimming pool. It had been affected by the snow storm "Filomena" back in January. He did so in his best jeans and nice blue M+S shirt. He got into trouble for not changing his clothes for painting. My husband has a big aversion to changing his clothes during the day; something I have never understood. Thus his clothes are full of paint and bleach marks or simply torn. 

Tuesday came and the temperatures went up and it would be sunny until yesterday. Tuesday was the day of the much publicised 4th May Madrid snap elections; much polarazied and downright aggressive. There have even been death threats to tar the campaign between the left and right wing candidates. There may be 5 or 6 parties but there are only two blocks; left and right, blocks that have divided Spain always and which caused the Spanish Civil War. I was sick and tired of the campaign ranting. I just wanted it to be all over and for government to be restored. I heaved a sigh of desperation every time news of the snap election was on the TV. In any case I cannot vote. You will know that as a British citizen who has lived in Spain since 1981, I have no significant voting rights in the UK or in Spain except for the EU and very local elections; not the regional or national elections. That is voting limbo and is not fair. A British citizen who has lived outside the UK for more than 15 years is not allowed to vote in the UK. I have no words to describe my frustration over that; especially as I wasn't allowed to vote in the Brexit referendum and being one of those directly affected by its outcome. I actually reckon that if Brits in my situation in the EU had been able to vote, the outcome may have been favourable to staying in the EU. So, no I couldn't vote. Maybe I will be able to do so in a year or so when my request for Spanish nationality comes through and don't get me writing about that frustrating and Kafkian process.....

So Tuesday saw me accompanying Eladio to vote. We walked the dogs to the voting centre at a local school.  There was quite a queue and the turnout would be pretty high - about 75%. In Spain voting day is always something of a celebration and people have an "aperitif" together afterwards. I wanted to take a photo of my husband voting or in the queue but he didn't oblige. Thus, with the dogs, I made my way to the local "churros" cafe which was full of people who had just voted - mostly elderly (like us!!!!). The area we live in is very conservative and always has been. It was a beautiful sunny day and a wonderful moment to enjoy a coffee outside with a "porra". I did take a photo though of the cafe terraces to show you. You may be able to spot Eladio somewhere in it. 

Festive atmosphere after voting on Tuesday

Olivia also had to vote as she is registered in our area. Thus she and her little family came for lunch. It was great to see Elliot again. I knew for certain that my husband and my daughter had voted for different candidates. However, none of us knew at lunchtime, who would win. The polls though were predicting a large victory for the incumbent conservative leader of the Madrid party PP (People's Party), Isabel Diaz Ayuso. She has become popular maybe because she has dared to keep Madrid open during the pandemic. Her brave decision to support the economy has its dangers but as we would see later that night it was probably one of the main factors of her victory.

Oli and family left after their siesta and we hoped we would see them again this weekend. Eladio and I spent the afternoon quietly meeting up again for dinner in the kitchen. At 9 pm sharp we were in bed and watching a programme dedicated to results' night. I didn't like the campaign but I am always keen on watching results programmes. At home in Bradford as a child, it was a sort of festive occasion and my mother would be the last to leave the TV set. Very soon afterwards the results started coming in and from the very beginning it was clear that Diaz Ayuso would have  a landslide victory. She ended up with more votes than the whole of the left block but just short of a majority. That means she will have to rely on the support of the far right wing party Vox. I didn't vote for her but I was quite pleased that she won and I'm not sure why. Perhaps its because there were no candidates on the left that allured me. One in particular, Pablo Iglesias, "coletas" (pony tail) as he is called here, makes my stomach heave. He is still the leader of the communist party, Podemos, and even left his government post of deputy Prime Minister to lead his party for the Madrid elections. He didn't do well and has announced his retirement from politics. Good riddance is all I can say. These are the results of the snap elections in Madrid.

Results of the snap elections in Madrid this week

Some people are saying these results could be mirrored nationally but I doubt it. Madrid has been in the hands of the conservatives for many years now but that is not the case in the rest of Spain. 

We fell asleep just as we listened to Pablo Iglesias saying he was retiring from politics. Maybe that is one of the most important outcomes of the snap elections. There were local elections too this week in my home country and as predicted, the Conservatives won again, even in the so called Red belt areas. Despite all his bad politics and scandals, Boris Johnson is faring well politically; something I do not understand. Possibly the alternative is not convincing. 

Wednesday dawned, the sun shone and the temperature rose to 24ºc. It felt like summer on our walk. Such good weather was forecast for this weekend that I was not really surprised to receive my first "Swimmy" reservation. 4 young women would be coming to use our pool on Friday from 2 to 6 pm. Swimmy is a French owned platform for renting and hiring the use of private pools. It's not as lucrative as Airbnb but a nice income to receive if no one is staying or using the pool. I did have 4 guests this week but they were not pool users. I haven't gone in yet either.

One of the highlights of Wednesday was my weekly Facetime video call with Phil and Kathy who live in Keighley, West Yorkshire. It had been nearly a week since Phil had his shoulder replacement operation at the Yorkshire Clinic and he was recovering slowly. I told my friend that soon it would just be a memory and they would be on their way in their camper van to sunny Spain. 

That evening, I did something different which I'm sure Kathy and Phil would have enjoyed. I invited Eladio to a glass of wine and pistachios by the swimming pool before our dinner. It was a lovely moment so I took a photo to share with you.

An aperitif by the pool on Wednesday evening

The moment was marred a bit by my worrying over Suzy who seemed to have gone AWOL in Nicaragua. I hadn't heard from her since 2nd May. My elder daughter may have read my thoughts as just before dinner she rang me. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. She had been away in the countryside with no internet connection. Uff. Thank goodness. 

I texted Kathy to say I had heard from Suzy and she was glad. Kathy added that we spend "so much time hoping, praying and bloody worrying". Too right we do. She also said something I agree with; that she felt she had aged so much during this (yes bloody again) pandemic. I feel that is true. I can't wait for it to be over.

I slept relatively well that night and was awake at 7ish on Thursday morning. All was well. I had a much awaited appointment at the hairdresser at 9 am. I was just getting out of the shower when Lucy called to say my father was in a bad way. Still wet, I rushed downstairs to his room with Eladio and we saw a very alarming sight. My father had his head slumped over the table where he had started his breakfast. He was not moving and there seemed to be no response. I feared the worst until Eladio checked his pulse and he was breathing. I immediately rang his doctor on Whatsapp (bless her for allowing me to do that) and within 20 minutes she was there with 2 nurses. By then we had my father lying on his bed. I really thought it was his death bed and I can't begin to tell you how I felt. The doctor checked him over and told us all his vital signs were fine; body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and blood pressure. We didn't know what had happened. Maybe he had fainted. There was no knowing. There was an option to take him to hospital but we decided against that as it's so invasive and I wouldn't have been able to be with him. I sat by his bedside most of the morning talking to him even if he couldn't hear me. I was so worried I even rang the Anglican Church in Madrid in case he needed Last Rites. I didn't know if he wanted them but he is the son of a clergyman and deep down is a believer so I thought it was the right thing to do.  We watched him all day. Occasionally he stirred and said the odd word. He was conscious but didn't know what had happened. We spoon fed him a cup of tea which he drank gratefully but had no strength to drink by himself. I made a fortified chicken broth which I knew would do him good and a raspberry smoothie for his lunch. In the middle of the afternoon he began to revive and ask for more food. Oh what a good sign. By 7.30 he was better and out of bed. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him sitting at the table and having his supper - cocoa and biscuits - by himself. He had completely resuscitated. Here he is smiling for the camera. 

My father recovered

I know he is 102, a grand old age, but my father is my father and I do not ever want to lose him nor am I prepared. He has been in my life forever and has been and is a wonderful father. I tried to tell him that while he was lying semi asleep on his bed. He told me he was proud of me - cherished words - although I'm not sure why. I certainly am proud of him. How strong he is for his age to have recovered so quickly and how relieved I was to see him better.

He slept well that night and woke up bright as a button on Friday morning; had his shower and when I went in to see him he was having his breakfast, almost completely recovered. I'm so glad I have my father back. I still checked up on him during the day. I was glad to see he was reading again. When he doesn't read I worry as without books he would have nothing to do. That day I gave him my new updated book or rather the proof or sample that my British publisher sent me recently. It has some corrections and additions. I hoped it would spark my father's interest in reading again and I was happy to see it did.

Friday morning was our weekly shopping morning and after our walk off we went to Mercadona, then a stop for coffee at Alverán, finishing at Carrefour Market. Meanwhile Lucy had cleaned the swimming pool terrace and Javier had been to do an extra cleaning job of the pool in time for the arrival of our first "Swimmy" guests. The girls arrived at about 2.45 just after our lunch and immediately fell in love with the house, garden and pool. They wanted to know if they could to spend the night another time and for sure I said yes as I gave them a tour of the house. They were an interesting group. There was a Chinese girl called Lucia who speaks Spanish like a native, another Chinese girl who had come to Spain recently, a Spanish friend and interestingly a young woman who was Russian born to a Russian mother and Cuban father. She is from St. Petersburg but has lived here for 17 years. I tried out my very limited Russian on her but soon switched to Spanish. 

I left them to it to have a siesta where I didn't sleep. I spent all afternoon trying to send money to Suzy in Nicaragua using Western Union. Her Revolut credit card doesn't work there so the only way was to use WU for her to be able to pick up cash at a local office. I have used Transfer Wise successfully but Western Union was a drag and very picky. I finally managed to make a transfer after setting up an account which involved loads of personal questions (I suppose to avoid fraud). That was done but when Suzy went to pick up the money in the small town of Muelle de los Bueyes they were picky and wouldn't hand it over. We had no idea why. So I tried again and again until I was able to make another seemingly successful transfer. I had to wait until about 9 pm to hear that she had finally been able to pick it up in cash. Damn Western Union and damn Suzy's decision to travel to Nicaragua from where it is now difficult to return to Spain, something we are working on. If only she had stayed in Costa Rica. If she had she would be home by now. Unless you are desperate I would not recommend you ever use Western Union. 

When I got the news Eladio and I were out for dinner. Out for dinner you may ask.  Yes!!! It was the first time since the autumn. We went because I needed it and we went because it was warm enough to eat outside. We chose a very local place called "El Tinglado" which is perhaps a bit too popular and was thus crowded. We changed tables 3 times as it was so noisy. We ended up eating at a table on the street which is on a roundabout with lots of traffic. But it was nice to be out and to relax over a delicious meal and to drink the wine El Tinglado serves. Eladio went for their quasi fish and chips. The amount of fish was staggering but my husband went through it all. I had to have a photo.

Eladio's fish and chips Spanish style on our table in the street (haha). 

I went for artichoke followed by this restaurant's best starter, "dessert foie". This is basically frozen foie which they then grind and it ends up looking like sand which you eat with a spoon. 

We were home by 9.30 (early for Spain), greeted Felipe, our Russian born guest, who was enjoying his dinner al fresco on the kitchen patio. The dogs who adore him were salivating at his feet. He always buys sausages as snacks for them which is doing them no good but I don't know how to tell him to stop.

Again that night I was up late watching more of Grey's Anatomy. Even so I was up early on Saturday morning at 7 am sharp. Our golf player guest, the young and handsome Jaume from the Lleida region in Spain, soon joined me. He would be off to play golf in a local tournament on his last day with us. He has been a pleasure to host.

Saturday was to be a family day. Oli suggested we celebrate my father's recovery and I was all for it. Our choice for a celebration was to have our first barbecue of the season. I also made special tartlets for dessert. I love fruit and cream tarts so when I found some tart shells at Mercadona, I bought strawberry jam and whipping cream to make my own. This was the result. They were absolutely delicious and easy peasy to make.

My fruit and cream tartlets

I also made tuna fish spread vol au vent for an apertif to have with some Rioja wine (Luis Cañas). The barbecue would consist of gourmet hamburgers, chorizo, jacket potatoes all washed down with gazpacho and more wine. Here is Eladio grilling the burgers.

Eladio, our barbecue chef

Oli and family arrived early and it was wonderful to be reunited with Elliot who is growing bigger by the day. We brought up his ball park and I spent quality time playing with him. Oli took photos and I chose one of them as this week's feature photo. 

I should have taken a photo of us all around the table but forgot as we dug into the food. It had me feeling full all afternoon and with little appetite for dinner. While Oli and family spent the next two hours in the pool, Eladio and I had a siesta. We then adjoined by the pool for some quality family time. By then Elliot was having his siesta, exhausted from the sun and the water. He is even lovelier when he is asleep. They left at around 7.30 so I had half an hour to catch up on Grey's Anatomy before dinner which we had on the kitchen patio. We were in bed early and soon fell asleep watching a complicated detective series called The Innocent. 

I was up today, the first day of freedom, after the end of the State of Alarm, to find a cooler day. It even began to rain. So there will be no eating outside today or sitting by the pool. If the weather had been better we would have been off to Asturias but will wait now for it to improve. So who knows where I will be writing from next Sunday.

I have come to the end of the tales of this week; a pretty quiet one you will agree, apart from the tremendous shock my father gave us. I shall now print this off for him. He always loves reading my blog and I love giving him his copy. Bless him.

Bless you all too until next Sunday,

Cheers till then, Masha. 

c