Jon Rham first Spanish golf player to win the US Open, Summer Solstice, rainy days in Montrondo, visiting Eladio's mother, home again, happy 90th Mr. Lindley, goodbye masks in public, UK health minister resigns and other stories.

 Sunday, 27th June, 2021

On our walk, prepared for rain, last Sunday in Montrondo

Good morning folks!

How are you all? Well, I hope. I have nothing to complain about and my only wishes are that my family keep safe and well and that the damned pandemic decreases the damage it is doing. One thing shining on the horizon here in Spain is that from yesterday 26th June, facial masks are no longer required in public. That may be too soon as we still have about 95 cases per 100.000 people and are seeing approximately 4000 cases a day but Covid is finally getting under control in Spain with the vaccination programme having inoculated over 50% of the population. Right or wrong a decision, I am all for not wearing masks in the open air where it is more difficult to catch the horrible virus. I think really it should be up to the individual when to and when not to wear a mask in public. The rules for Covid are all based on city life but in Montrondo, for instance, there are only about 15 inhabitants and where we live outside Madrid is pretty sparse. I have to admit that no one in Montrondo wears one outside their houses and we didn't wear one on our walks where we hardly saw a soul. We may have been flouting the rules but there was absolutely no danger there. I would, however, wear one in the street if I saw a lot of people. So, using caution, I thing mask wearing in public is not necessary and I hail the fact that they are no longer obligatory as I particularly hate them. I hate them because you can't see people's faces properly and because, in my case, masks make my chin and neck itch which is very annoying. 

Away in Montrondo  you would be forgiven if you didn't think about Covid as the village is so rural and  remote that social distancing is the norm. But Covid continues to dominate our lives. Worldwide last week the figures for infections and mortality were 178.965.038 and 3.875.687. Today these figures have risen to 181.669.092 and 3.932.982. Vaccination is key to fighting Covid and rich countries continue their successful programmes. Not so for the underdeveloped world I'm afraid. I am happy to announce that Spain has now vaccinated more than 50% of the population and vaccines will be offered for all those between 19 and 40 by appointment from 1st July. That means my 7 month pregnant daughter will get her jab soon. Suzy, I am afraid is anti vaccine. What can I do?

Last Sunday saw us in Montrondo with our minds not on Covid but on enjoying our stay despite the rain. It rained there every day while we were there but we managed to thwart the weather apart from on 21st June - the summer solstice,  going out for our walks when the rain stopped and it generally worked. We had planned to stay a day or too more and then go on to Asturias to our new house but the weather has been so bad in the north of Spain that we decided to cut short our stay and return to sunny and warm Madrid on Wednesday. Besides, I was keen to get home to see my father, be with Suzy and to get things ready for new guests who arrived on Thursday, Swimmy bathers who are coming today and a trio group of Argentinians arriving tomorrow.  Most of all the lawn needed mowing. With all this rain the grass had gone wild. 

This day last week we went for our walk about 2 hours before lunch and enjoyed a rain free if humid and windy walk. The sun made a short appearance and never came out again. Here are Eladio and little Pippa on the road leading us back to Montrondo from Murias. We couldn't take the old path as the grass is high there and we would have got soaked.

Eladio on our walk last Sunday

I came home to make our lunch, a splendid Sunday roast. I had bought 2 small shoulders of baby lamb from Mercadona and I roasted them in baking bags and then added potatoes. I also made gravy and some veg (leeks). My, what a treat. Of course we were not hungry again for hours after that. There is something in the mountain air that makes food taste better and your appetite bigger in Montrondo. Thus, it is not a good idea to stay for long periods of time at our house in the village.

The rest of the day was spent lazily inside as it was pouring down outside. Eladio lit the fire and the central heating was on. That is unprecedented in June in Montrondo in my experience. I had more book keeping to do as more reservations came in that day and both Santa Pola and the house in Asturias are almost fully booked for the summer. That makes me happy.

Meanwhile, Oli and her family were enjoying the last day of their holiday in Benicassim, Castellón, where it rained too. I think I showed you the video of little Elliot splashing around in puddles in my last post. Here now is a photo of my little grandson on the beach that day. It's a wonderful photo that I shall treasure.

Elliot's last day on the beach

I asked Oli if Elliot had enjoyed his holiday and was told he had except that he didn't like the sand getting in his toes hahaha. Never a good sleeper, he slept generally quite well at the hotel, his first time at a hotel. If he follows in my footsteps  he will love hotels.

In fact I have booked 3 nights at hotel called  Hospedería Señorío de Briñas in La Rioja for our wedding anniversary in August. I added two nights in Nájera, also in La Rioja at an Airbnb that ended up costing me just 15 euros as I had a coupon for being a Super Host and some credit. That is something to look forward to. We stayed at the Señorío de Briñas hotel in 2009 on a site inspection trip for my former employer, Yoigo, and have wonderful memories of both the hotel and the area. Of course we plan to visit bodegas and buy Rioja wine.

I have booked 3 nights at the Señorio de Briñas hotel in August

That will be our real holiday and something to look forward to. I would have loved a trip to England but because of the pandemic I cannot go. I hope to next year.

Sunday was a quiet day for us but a day in history for Spanish golf when the Basque player Jon Rham, currently the world's number two, won the US Open.  He is the first Spaniard to win the US Open. I am not really a golf fan but always celebrate Spanish sporting victories. So I was happy to read that this young player had won his first major title. He dedicated it to his hero, Seve Ballesteros who died 10 years ago of cancer. Ballesteros is a golf legend who won 5 major titles but never the US Open. 

Jon Rham holding up the US Open cup. What a win for Spain

If only the Spanish football team, La Rioja, were doing as well as Rham. The fact is in the Euro Cup they have only managed to draw with Portugal and Poland so far. Luckily they beat Slovakia and are through but as runners up in their group. They actually thrashed the Slovaks 5-0. England will be playing Germany at Wembley this week and all that that means for both sides. I don't have to go into the history of their rivalry which still resonates some hostility from both WW1 and WW2. May the best side win but I do hope the best side is England. 

That night we watched the famous South Korean film, Parasite which won an Oscar and many more film awards. Curious to see why, I watched some of it that night but found it a bit too silly. The idea is good but I got bored with the script and once again turned to Grey's Anatomy.

Monday came and it was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. and also the official beginning of summer.  In Montrondo, daylight came at 6.46 and dusk at 22.42 (wow). However there was little sun to be seen that day in our village. It rained non stop until about 9 pm just before dusk. I always love this day but this year was a sheer disappointment. If you didn't know it, below is a simple explanation of the summer solstice, also called estival solstice or midsummer: " it occurs when one of the earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the sun". It happens twice a year, once in each hemisphere. I always wonder why the longest day of the year is also called "midsummer" as it is not midsummer but the beginning of summer. Weird right?

I only hope that those celebrating what is a festival for some countries - notably in Scandinavia - had better weather. In Spain Midsummer is called St. John (San Juan) and bonfires are lit on beaches especially in the north of Spain. I reckon there were no bonfires this year in the north of Spain because of the damned rain.

We stayed inside literally all day and were robbed of our walk. I spent the whole morning making a chickpea stew like dish called "cocido madrileño". In Spain the cost of electricity has gone up 40% this month and costs more than any other country in Europe. There have been timetables introduced with cheaper and more expensive hours. The whole thing is stupid as it means you have to put the washing machine on at midnight and cook between 8 and 10 am. I suggested to my husband that we try out our cast iron wood fueled cooker - so typical in this area of Spain - which we had never used until Tuesday instead of our induction stove. It was there more for decoration than anything else. However, we had used the old one at our house in Asturias recently and successfully so I thought Tuesday would be a good idea to try it out. Here is Eladio after having lit the wood and my God does it consume a lot of it.

Eladio lighting the cast iron stove

The experience was good and bad. To maintain a high temperature you have to constantly feed the cooker with wood and watch it. If you don't the fire goes out and the food cooking loses temperature. The stew which includes bones and all sorts of meats can take up to 3h on a normal stove but took longer on Tuesday precisely because the fire kept going out. For the last 30 minutes I had to resort to my induction cooker. In any case the meal was delicious if a bit copious and there was loads left over. I had too many leftovers in our fridge to know what to do with hahahhaa. 

I was happy that day to be visited by my nephew, his wife and their child who is just a little older than Elliot. I can't wait for them to meet and play. That was my only distraction on Tuesday. With the rain there was nothing to do but stay inside.

Tuesday would be similar. It rained again all day. That day in Spain, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced the official government pardons of the leaders of the illegal Catalan independence referendum. This has been much questioned by many and has the country and political parties divided. In a poll, more than 60% of the population is against it. So why did Sánchez do this? The answer is easy, he depends on the Catalan independence parties for support in government. He argues it is to smooth relations and I suppose let bygones be bygones but that is not fair for all others in prison. I think he could have found people more worthy of pardons and not this lot who caused so much angst in Spain and divided people even more. 

The pardoning made my blood boil and I largely tried to ignore the news I'm afraid. It was a rainy day again but we managed another walk just before lunch and before it bucketed it down again. Again we walked on the tarmac road to Murias as any other path would have been too wet. On our way back Eladio pointed out one of the plots of land, a field, he owns very near the village. Not that we shall ever do anything with it as it doesn't have planning permission. I guess it's just nice to have. Funnily enough a young man called David, perhaps the youngest person in Murias, and his wife have a herd of cows for their meat business (poor cows) and came last week to ask if they could rent the field. Rent here is symbolic, about 3 euros a year hahahaha. Of course we said yes. This is the field and Eladio looking at it.

Eladio showing his field outside the village

Lunch was leftovers and our siesta short that day as we were visiting Eladio's 99 year old mother, my mother-in-law, Ernestina, at her care home in León at 5.30. She is allowed just one visit a week - on Tuesdays from 5.30 to 6 pm and this would be our second visit since the first lockdown. It's just over an hour's drive to the capital of the province also called León. We left Montrondo in pouring rain and a temperature of 11ºc and just 70km away in the capital the temperature was double that and the sun was shining. It was, however, very windy. We had rung to ask if we could take flowers and were told we could. There is a florist next to the care home where I bought a great big bunch to make her happy. I argued that women in general love flowers. Well, I do and only wish my dear husband would remember that occasionally. 

This time it was relatively easy to visit Ernestina and they even let us take her out in her wheelchair. Wow, she is now allowed out. She certainly needs it as the rest of the week she is cooped up inside. We were delighted to see her as she was us, although communication is extremely limited. Here she is with Eladio and the flowers.

Eladio and his mother on Tuesday outside her residence

As she doesn't get out often we decided to treat her to a coffee in a bar. Once there we offered her a "decaf" to which she whispered "a normal one please" . That had the other drinkers laughing out loud. My mother-in-law has always loved a good cup of coffee.

Eladio's mother kissing him

We could hardly talk as Ernestina is nearly totally deaf. She can barely talk anymore either as her vocal chords seem not to work so she can only really whisper and we can't hear her. Thus communication is very frustrating. We had to resort to sign language and to writing words in big letters on a piece of paper. She understood as much as possible. Eladio then showed her pictures of the family, notably of Elliot and while he did, she reached up to kiss her oldest son. We had been told no hugging or kissing but again we broke the rules. An old lady like that devoid of communication needs to hug and kiss. I was very touched to see the gesture. She also clapped her hands in appreciation of the visit. We then took her for a walk around the block for her to see normal life outside her quiet residency which I'm sure did her a lot of good. The only thing was that the cold and blustery wind was not too good for a very old lady who hardly ever goes out. We were with her for over an hour and when it got even colder we took her back. We were told not to kiss her goodbye but we had already done so outside (sorry). Once inside, the nurse or carer sprayed her entirely with alcohol (damned Covid) and off she went. I wondered when we would see her again. She looked very good physically so I hope we can see her again in August as it was obvious our visit was a tonic for her.

It was another hour's journey back to the village where Pippa was anxiously awaiting us. We had more leftovers for dinner and then watched part of a film called Tokyo Trial about the trial of Japanese war criminals after WW2 (yes more WW2 films). I found it difficult to sleep that night - damn it - and eventually dosed off at about 2 am. 

On Wednesday I woke up at 7.15 and felt tired and down most of the day. The weather was slightly better but just not what you expect in Spain at the end of June. Thus we decided to go home to sunnier Madrid and of course to skip Asturias. We stayed for lunch though and that day Eladio made a barbecue out of two pieces of steak which would have gone bad. Here he is lighting the barbecue. I, meanwhile, made chips to go with our meal.

Eladio making the barbecue

The whole point of a barbecue is to have it outside but it was too cold and we ate our meal indoors as we did all meals during our rainy and cold stay in the village. After a short siesta and all the packing, we left the house at around 5 pm. I took one last goodbye photo of the field with the church which shows you just how dark and cloudy it was; not good enough weather to continue our stay.

Dark and gloomy Montrondo, my goodbye photo

As our journey progressed south so did the thermometer and upwards and we arrived to 24ºc in Madrid. Oh how lovely compared to Montrondo. The rest of the week and the week to come is summer as usual in the centre of the country.

It was great to be home but it was late and I didn't see my father until the next day. I spent at least an hour unpacking food and clothes and at about 10 pm, when it was still light (I love this time of year); Eladio and I had a small dinner "al fresco", something I missed in Montrondo.

I slept wonderfully that night in my own bed - in my opinion the most comfortable in the world - and was awake on Thursday morning at 7.15 ready to face the world. I had a lazy and quiet day compared to events in the world. Much in the news this week was the story of a British RN destroyer ship in the Crimea. Crimea, in the Ukraine,  was annexed by Russia in recent years but the UK and many other countries do not recognise it as part of Russia. The Russians do of course and warned the British ship by actually firing at it. This has led to a diplomatic row between the two countries. The last thing we need right now is a row between the UK and Russia, just as the sausage row over Northern Ireland with the EU seems to be cooling down. 

Thursday was my dear friend Kathy's father, "Brian" - Mr. Lindley's 90th birthday. A Yorkshire man born and bred, I have only met him once but was impressed with the man who is kind and gentle and a very loving father and husband. He is by the way a rose expert (I admire people who know a lot about roses - he used to be the rose judge at the Yorkshire Show). My generation find it difficult to call people older than us by their name rather than their surnames. So I shall stick to Mr. Lindley in a sign of respect. Mr. Lindley was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago but somehow has battled through to make it to 90 - his wish. That day he was surrounded by his loved ones, wife, Jean and daughters and grandchildren of which he has a few. I was so glad for him as he and his wife have had to live in semi isolation since the damned pandemic began at the beginning of 2019. Thankfully his 90th birthday fell when there are now fewer restrictions and he was able to be with his family; no doubt his greatest wish. too 

Mr Lindley and Mrs Lindley - aka Brian and Jean. Mr. Lindley turned 90 this year, quite an achievement.

I spent a lot of the morning on my work - aka my little hospitality business. I had more book keeping to do after new reservations (and one cancellation sniff). I also had to prune the roses and the geraniums for them to look in good shape for our new guests arriving that day. Eladio mowed the small lawns, leaving the big one for Saturday. 

Joy of joys Oli and Miguel came to lunch although without Elliot who I missed. We had leftovers from the big cocido I made on the cast iron stove in Montrondo. It was then siesta time but mine was interrupted by my guests arriving. Patrick, who is from Toulon is of Spanish origin as is his brother Jack with whom he came. Patrick and his wife, Corinne, a nurse (busy vaccinating now) came last year to bring their daughter Jade to her accommodation for her Erasmus year in Spain at the local Uni (Universidad Europea de Madrid). Patrick and his brother had come to take Jade back. I felt sorry for Jade whose Erasmus year was so interrupted by the pandemic. It was nice to have repeat guests and we had built up a rapport with Patrick who often wrote to us during the pandemic.

When they were settled in and gone again, there was no point trying to return to my siesta. In any case Suzy joined me in the kitchen where I made my afternoon "cuppa" (decaf tea by the way) and we later convened to the wicker sofas by the pristine pool. Patrick and co would not be using it as they have their own pool in Toulon, France, and live by the sea. We didn't go in but we sat by the pool all afternoon. Suzy was working  on an article for a vegan magazine and I was consuming my latest drug - Grey's Anatomy. We were joined by the dogs but wouldn't let them near the sofas with their cleanly laundered white covers hahahaha. I caught a shot of Suzy while she was working. Here she is.

Suzy working by the pool this week

Dinner was a light affair - tuna salad and then it was time for bed. I fell asleep over the news and then woke up at 0.50 after which I could not go back to sleep. I had to take two pills in the end and then woke up early at 6 but got up at 7. 

Friday would be busy. It always is as it's shopping day. As you know the highlight in between shopping is having a coffee together at one of our preferred cafes. This time it was Manacor. Lunch had to be early that day as Suzy had a 15.30 appointment in the centre of Madrid. I accompanied her and we had good mother and daughter time. From Madrid we drove home but stopped off for an hour or so to visit Elliot and family or should I say Oli and family? We hadn't seen the "little baby" since before our trip to Montrondo and their trip to Castellón. He was delighted to see us and we were to see him. We immediately sat on the floor with him to play with a lego train set his father had just bought him. I wanted to see some of the new features of the new flat which Miguel showed me but was interrupted by Elliot who came to find me, hold my hand and take me back to the lounge where his toys were. He is hardly verbal but can make himself very clear. 

While we played Suzy fed him some slices of mango and flat peach. I think he nearly said the word "mango" (haha - that is for you Daddy as you commented you like it when I add "haha" to stories in my blog).

Suzy and Elliot at their flat on Friday evening

Oli watched as we played and rested I think. The poor girl who is almost 7 months pregnant had tripped over a paper basket and fell on the floor in the middle of her TV studio that morning. I should add it happened 1 minute before she had to be live.  Thankfully the only damage done was to the knees upon which she landed when she fell. Everyone in the newsroom was scared stiff. Oli and Miguel had been shopping in the sales for clothes for Juliet - my granddaughter to come (due date now 4th September). They were lovely and I felt a little guilty I haven't yet got anything for her. Maybe I am superstitious  or something but I always give gifts after the birth of a baby. In any case she has everything she needs from all Elliot's stuff. I love visiting Oli and family at their new flat which is soooo new and modern you can't believe it. Our house seems veritably old fashioned in comparison. But our visit had to be short as Suzy had a dinner date with Elenita and my husband was waiting for me for our dinner. But we would be seeing them again yesterday when we had  dinner her last night. 

We had our again al fresco and in peace except for the dogs salivating at our side (haha - for you again Daddy). We were in bed early and it seems very early these days as dusk is after 10 pm. We didn't watch anything special - in fact I dozed over the news and woke up again past midnight. 

Saturday came and my French guests left early in the morning. They had a long drive to Toulon on the Côte D'Azure  (not Toulouse hahaha - again - Remember Too Long and Too Loose which is lost on the Spaniards by the way?) - about 12000 km and more than a 12 hour drive. I wished Patrick and his brother Jack a safe journey and turned to make my breakfast. 

It was a beautiful morning and would be a guest free day except for my long standing Russian lodger, Felipe. 

Saturday morning view from one of the bedroom terraces

Eladio took the time to mow the big lawn which takes 2 or 3 hours. But it had to be done for the bathers coming today and for guests coming tomorrow. 

Eladio mowing the lawn yesterday

I had lots to do but decided while Eladio mowed the lawn, I needed to go on a walk as I have hardly moved since our return from Montrondo. I didn't take the dogs as 2 are difficult to manage. Wearing my headphones and listening to Spotify, I remembered that masks in public were no longer obligatory as from that day. Oh what a joy. I didn't wear a mask on our walks before the end of masks but always put one on if I saw anyone coming. I read that day that face masks in the outdoors have been obligatory now for 401 days. Imagine. 

Once home, I was out again, on errands. I went to the chemist and had to remember not to put my mask on when I got out of the car. Other people obviously have mixed feelings as there were plenty of people still wearing masks outdoors. From the chemist I went to the upmarket BM supermarket to get some fresh fish for our lunch. Meanwhile Oili had asked me to to go round as little Elliot was out of sorts with a temperature and Miguel was out. 

Elliot feeling unwell yesterday morning

Thus I rushed home to unload the fish, etc and prepare it for our lunch. A few minutes later I was at Oli's house. I had taken Pippa with me to cheer Elliot up only to realise that once inside their compound I had left her in my car in the boiling heat. I dashed back for her feeling extremely guilty. It was to be her first visit to Oli's new flat. By the time we were there, little Elliot's temperature had gone and he was feeling fine. We think it was a side effect of the meningitis vaccine he had been given on Friday. Talking of vaccines, Miguel was out precisely because he had gone for his anti Covid vaccine appointment. He was given the one dose Janssen vaccine and proudly showed us his arm and the certificate to prove he has been given the vaccine. 

Miguel, just after his Covid vaccine yesterday

Oli offered me a coffee as it was coffee time. Then we were joined by Eladio who came looking gorgeous after his post mowing the lawn shower and we had some quality time with Elliot. We agreed to see each other later in the day at our place or for dinner.

It's just 3.8km to our house from their flat which meant we were home in a jiffy. Before our lunch, I made some delicacies for that night's family dinner: tuna fish canapés and small fruit tarts. These are the delicious tartlets. I still have some left over and will be taking them on our journey today - yes we will be off again, this time to sunny parts, to our apartment near the beach. 

My little fruit and cream tarts

Lunch was fish and chips with my father and Eladio. Suzy had friends coming for lunch; Juli and Elenita and they would make their own meal. I joined them after my short siesta and soon afterwards Oli and family were here again. They had had lunch at Miguel's parents' place to celebrate his mother's birthday. 

Thus we had some lovely family and friend time by the pool until it was time for Juli and Elenita to go. I made a splendid dinner for us last night which we had on the kitchen terrace. The food looks delicious don't you think?

Our dinner last night.

In this family we call meals like this "bits and bobs" and they are generally our favourite. Oli and family left after 9 and we were in bed late. It was then that I read the bombshell headline that the UK health Minister, Matt Hancock had resigned. 

That may not matter to many people but in the UK it was huge news. So what happened for him to resign? For those of you not familiar with the facts let me enlighten you a bit. Matt Hancock has been the public face of the government dishing out the lockdown rules; one being about social distancing and not hugging anyone outside your bubble. That rule has now been relaxed but while it was still in force, the UK's head of health was seen on a CCTV camera dated 6th May in Parliament, literally "snogging" and fondling his mistress Gina Coladengelo, a friend he hired as an aide - they are both married but were having an affair (now public of course) The image was leaked to The Sun and since then he has been under extreme pressure to resign.  He has also come under scrutiny too for cronyism for hiring Mrs. Coladengelo. 

The kiss that ended the Health Minister's career

Of course his main misdemeanor was flouting the very rule he had imposed on the public. His error reminded us all of Dominic Cummings and his flouting of the rules with his trip to Durham during lock down. Boris (Johnson) hoped the new (sex) scandal would go away but it didn't. Instead of Johnson firing Matt Hancock which is what he should have done, finally on Friday night the now ex health minister resigned. The whole affair has affected his and his mistress' families for very obvious reasons. I feel sorry not for the health minister but for his wife Martha who knew nothing about his liaison. Sex scandals in England are the stuff that make up the biggest news; not so in Spain. 

That was the news my fellow Brits went to bed with last night but not Spaniards who don't care much about sex scandals or breaking rules as much as the Brits. I'm not sure if I care or not but I do care when those who make the rules break them themselves. For once a rule maker and rule breaker did the decent thing and resigned. So he should have.

And today is Sunday, the second day of no masks outdoors. As I hinted earlier on, we shall be off to our apartment near the beach and near Santa Pola. We haven't been since last October and are keen to go back and it will be lovely to have Suzy with us. I have had to block the calendar from now to Friday just in case I get a booking while we are there. We have guests leaving today and guests coming next Friday which gives us just 5 nights at our pad by the sea and we are going to enjoy every moment of our time there. 

You will hear all about our time there in next week's blog post. Meanwhile, friends, keep well.

Cheers till next Sunday,

Masha

Biden has tea with the Queen, View from my room, my second vaccine, TV cameras come to our house again, Elliot at the beach, off to Montrondo and other stories,.

 Montrondo, Sunday 20th June, 2020

After my 2nd jab on Tuesday

Good morning all. I hope you are keeping well and I hope the Pandemic is still not affecting your lives as much. In the UK it was announced that the date for the end of restrictions which should have been tomorrow 21st June, has now been put forward to another month or more. That is because of the increase in reported cases due to the Indian, now called Delta, variant. Vaccinations increase in the rich world. I am one of the fortunate as I got my second dose this week - but more about that later on. As to the numbers worldwide, well they are still on the rise. The big fear now is the spread in Africa where only a tiny portion of the population has been inoculated. At last week's G7, the leaders of the richest countries promised to give away 1 billion doses to poorer countries. Sounds good right? Well, it isn't as we have to make a concentrated effort to offer the vaccine to everyone wherever they live. 1 billion is a fraction of the world's population. Thus I see no generosity in the G7 promise. If the world is not inoculated the numbers are going to increase and will come back to hunt those of us who are inoculated as at some stage the effects will ware off and new variants will come along which may need new vaccines. As I said, the numbers continue to rise. If last Sunday the number of cases and deaths was 176.422.387 and 3.810,952. This Sunday they stand at 178.965.038 and 3.875.687. I have been reporting on Covid figures since March 2020 and I really hope that some day soon I won't have to.

Last Sunday was the final day of the G7 summit which was tainted by the NI post Brexit "sausage war". Johnson vowed to keep the integrity of the UK but he already compromised it when he signed the get out of Europe contract. That included Northern Ireland being part of the EU trade block making goods going to Northern Ireland and back being checked on. He signed what Theresa May refused to sign. He now has to deal with it. He may claim the UK is better off as a solo nation but he is not even making a good job of that. The G7 meeting was also in the eye of the hurricane when pictures emerged of the participants not wearing masks or practicing social distancing at a beach barbecue. As usual, rules do not apply to those who make them. 

The G7 beach barbecue which did not adhere to Covid restrictions last weekend

Joe Biden's first visit to the UK and his first overseas trip since becoming POTUS, did not end in Cornwall. On Sunday afternoon, he and his wife, Joe, were invited by HM The Queen to tea at Windsor Castle. Now that was something he was looking forward. I mean, who wouldn't want to have tea with the Queen at Windsor? For HM it was to be her 13th encounter with a US President. Of the 14 in her time as Queen, she only missed meeting Lyndon Johnson. Her first was with Truman. It is said her favourite was Ronald Reagan. I would have said Obama. I do not know what she thought of Biden but she gave him and his wife a magnificent welcome. At 95 she was looking a picture. Later Biden said she reminded him of his mother. The papers say that was a huge compliment. Really?

The Queen with POTUS and FLOTUS at Windsor on Sunday last

Our Sunday was quiet in comparison. In the morning after our walk we had to get the pool and pool terrace clean and ready for new Swimmy bathers who had booked it that afternoon from 2 to 6 pm. While Eladio was cleaning the pool and Zena the floors, etc, I went to have my shower. I could see what was going on my from the terrace in our room. So I caught Eladio unawares. Here he is doing his job as Head of Maintenance hahahaha.

View from my room - spying Eladio cleaning the pool last Sunday

The other view I had was of Suzy at her favourite spot (and mine) working on her computer on the relatively new picnic table on the patio outside our study. Pippa is in the photo too, of course.

View from my room - Suzy at her favourite space

The dogs feature heavily in photos in this blog so let me remind you we have a cat as well. Yes, we do but she is quite independent and we don't often see her. She hates the dogs for obvious reasons. Phoebe has made her home under the tiles over the entrance to the property. I spied her upon our return from our walk. She likes to sit on the roof tiles contemplating life. She doesn't mind posing for pictures I take.

Phoebe, sitting outside "her house" - the tiles of the roof over the gate

I didn't have much to do on Sunday other than prepare for our new Swimmy guests. They arrived promptly at 2 pm - a father and 4 girls aged 11. I guess one of them was his and he is probably divorced or maybe a widow. I don't know and I didn't find out. I did find out though, rather annoyingly, that one of the girls is petrified of dogs. So Javier, asked me to keep them inside. That's easy with Pippa our mini dachshund but Norah our beagle doesn't like being kept inside. She cried on and off for more than the 4 hours they were there. To top it off they stayed half an hour extra. The girls were extremely noisy and probably interrupted neighbours' nap time (aka siesta). On the Swimmy platform children are charged half the price, yet they make much worse guests than adults. I wasn't very happy with this group as they spoiled my siesta and alone time so I was very happy to see them go. I'm sure though that they had a splendid time to judge by the splashing and shouting and thankfully a very positive 5 star review from Javier, one of their father's. 

Suzy had people round too - 2 of her friends, Juli and Elenita. They spent the afternoon on the kitchen patio. It's great we have different spaces so people don't coincide. While all this was going on, the French Open Final was being played by Djokovic and Tsitsipas, a Greek God looking tennis player. I was sad Rafa Nadal wasn't in the final but I was interested in the outcome. The Serb did well to come back after losing 2 sets to win his 2nd Coupe des Mousquetaires. He now has 19 grand slam titles, one less than Nadal and Federer. In Spain we were all hoping that Nadal would win and thus garner 21 making him what the tennis world calls "GOAT" (greatest of all times). 

No doubt the POTUS and FLOTUS were enjoying a fancy dinner in Brussels where they flew to attend a NATO meeting, after the fancy afternoon tea at Windsor Castle. We had a normal dinner compared. But I did make an effort and made  a pretty and tasty looking tuna salad that included asparagus, boiled egg, lettuce, tomato and avocado pear. I should have taken a photo. 

We were in bed early and that night was cooler as shortly after our Swimmy guests had left, there was a rain storm. That refreshed the air and made sleeping easier. Just after we had gone to bed we realised the water supply had gone again for the second time in 7 days. I read on the neighbours' whatsapp group that there had been a huge leakage on one of the streets near us and that repairs would begin on Monday at 7 am.

I was up at 7 am on Monday and there was no water. That was very annoying. There was still no water when we went on our walk. We decided to go and see where the damage had been done and to ask when the precious mineral would be running out of the taps again. This is what we found; a huge big crater in the pavement where repairs to pipes were being made.

The root of the water supply problem on Sunday night and Monday morning last

We were happy to hear from the man in the crane that water had been restored after repairs. That was more than 12 hours without water; not good. Thankfully we were able to shower upon the return from our walk. During our time without water I reflected on what it must be like for those people in the world who do not have access to running water. Dire, frankly.

I have to say I had a very lazy day on Monday and there is not much to report. The highlight was my weekly Skype call with Amanda. She always cheers me up. I just wish we could meet face to face. I haven't seen her for 2 years and that is too long.

Tuesday came, the day of my second jab and there was lots to do in the morning before I left for the huge vaccination centre at the Zendal hospital where my appointment was at 2.50. That was annoyingly around our lunchtime so we had to put the meal forward. I was not looking forward to the huge queues in the hot sun as this week has been as hot as last. If in the UK the highest temperature of the year was recorded this week (28c in London - I think). It was 32ºc on the same day in Spain and on some days reached 35`c.  So I was sure I was in for a hot wait. When I had my first jab I had waited about 1.5h. 

We had lunch early and although my appointment wasn't until 2.53, we set off at 1.30 expecting huge queues. Well, this time I was in for a pleasant surprise as there were no queues to be seen and all I had to do was follow a few people and walk into the new big hospital built specially for Covid. There seemed to be as many nurses as those receiving jabs and within minutes of entering the building a needle was going into my left arm.  Everyone receiving their jab like me was in my age bracket - 60 - 69 and if felt weird to be surrounded just by people my own age. I observed how some looked really old, some their age and some really young. It's funny how we are all different. I think I am in the second group (looking my age). Then I had to queue for registration to get the coveted certificate proving I had received both jabs. I was told to wait for 15 minutes but I risked it and walked outside into the sauna like temperature in the street where Eladio was waiting for me. I got him to take a photo of me with the certificate outside the hospital. I later converted it into this week's feature photo.

Just after my 2nd jab on Tuesday

We left the area - Valdebebas -  where the new Real Madrid practicing grounds are and about 40km from home, at a few minutes before my scheduled appointment. You know I felt privileged to be receiving my second jab when billions, literally billions haven't even received their first jab in many parts of the world. The vaccination roll out in Spain may not be as advanced as in the UK but we are catching up with more than 40% of the population inoculated and those in their 40's and 30's now being given appointments. Numbers are down in Spain and the mortality rate, thank God, is dwindling. Of all new cases only 1% is of the Indian, Delta variant, so I have a feeling that we are doing OK given the circumstances. However the WHO announced recently that soon it will account for 90% of new Covid cases. So, yes I was fully vaccinated but won't be fully immune or as immune as the Astrazeneca can make you, for 2 weeks, until 30th June. Thus I still have to be careful. I came home feeling good. It felt even better to lie down on our bed in our air conditioned room watching the the end of the news. I then watched the end of season 16 of Grey's Anatomy. Missing the characters so much, I went back to Season 1 and am now watching it all over again. For the record the only side effect this time was a slightly sore arm. Last time I had lumber pain for 10 days or so. Thank God no blood clots!

That night we had a low key celebration when I suggested to Eladio that we go to a new burger joint near us called Carls Jr. One has just gone up next to Carrefour and I was inspired by Grey's Anatomy, where it is mentioned, to at least go and try it. Over our delicious burger and chips in an almost empty restaurant, Eladio and I tried to remember the last time we went for a burger. I think it was in November 2019. Sorry about the red meat but I can't cut it out completely.

Wednesday came and I had another appointment, this time with the "Pension people", the Instituto de la Seguridad Social to ask specific questions about my retirement which will begin on my next birthday, 8th February 2022. Wednesday was to be quite exciting - no not the pension part - but because TV cameras from the state broadcaster, TVE, were coming to film our pool and garden, sponsored by the swimming pool rental firm, Swimmy which is French owned. So once again in my life, TV cameras were coming to our house. It's funny but the programme they would be filming for is "España Directo" which Oli used to work for. What a coincidence. Oli knew the cameraman, Hugo, who she has worked with many times in the past for different programmes. She told me he is the best cameraman she has ever worked with. He had high praise for her too.

In the headline I write "TV cameras come to our house again", precisely because their appearance this week was nothing new for me. TV cameras have been coming here many times. I particularly remember the time when I featured in the programme "Undercover Boss" for Yoigo and their coming to our home. A Swedish crew once came too to include me in a report on work life balance and more recently a crew came during lockdown for a report on the increase of internet traffic because so many people were working from home. I am quite used to the cameras and every time they come I always wish I had become a journalist.  I only realised that was my vocation when it was a bit too late in life. That's why I love to see Olivia living my dream. I only wish she had been with me on Wednesday. 

The pension part of the day was a drag but important. I got confirmation I will have the maximum pension but also heard I am paying too much towards it now. I will have to do something about that. From the Seguridad Social building in Móstoles we drove to our next appointment, or rather Eladio's, also in Móstoles. We got completely lost, driving on a path in what seemed like a wilderness and thus missed his appointment. We felt so stupid. The damned GPS was stupid too. Once we found a proper road and not a dusty path we were able to find our way home. I got home just in time to make our lunch  with Suzy - chicken curry for us and vegetarian curry for my daughter. Dear Felipe, our Russian guest, went out to get us some authentic naans from the only Curry house nearby (India Gate). That added a flavour of authenticity to our curry.

I was just about finished when our 5 bathers, procured by Swimmy, and the journalist and cameraman arrived at around 13h. Everyone seemed to think our house, garden and pool were spectacular. I suppose they are but I am no longer objective as I have lived here since 2006. The whole filming process lasted till about 3 pm and the bathers stayed on until nearly 7 pm. I got paid for hosting the bathers and I have to see the whole filming episode as good free publicity. But it was so hot and I got hot and bothered and needed a shower when the TV crew left. They organised a barbecue to be filmed and even went to buy sausages which Norah, our beagle, nearly ate but I saved the day. Suzy did a little video of me being filmed which you can see below. 

I too secretly took a photo of the crew filming the bathers making their barbecue and had a photo taken with Hugo for Oli. Such a nice guy.

The TV crew shooting the barbecue

With Hugo the cameraman

Another coincidence is that Hugo was the cameraman who was part of the team who came to film me for a report on Airbnb hosting, just as I started out my fledgling hospitality business after losing my job as Communications Director of Adamo 4 and a half years ago. I was about to turn 60 and somehow had to reinvent myself and make a living so as to maintain our great big sprawling house. Who would have told me then how I would progress? I have now added our apartment in Santa Pola, our new house in 
Asturias and of course our pool. That is a full time job for me now, especially in the summer.

Finally at about 3.30 I was able to relax, have another shower and take a short siesta. While I was relaxing after a stressful but productive morning, little Elliot was getting acquainted with the beach in Castellón (on the Costa Blanca, not far from Valencia) where his parents had taken him on holiday. Oli and Miguel had booked 5 nights at the Voramar Hotel right on the beach. It's their first holiday in a long time. I enjoyed the photos Oli sent us of their first day on the beach. I was told he wasn't too keen on the sea water and nor did he like the sand too much. It was all so new for him. The photos took me back to the time when we first took our girls to the beach when they were small. Where has time gone? Now it is Oli taking her baby boy to the beach. I felt somewhat nostalgic. There is one particular photo I love and want to show to you. Taken by Miguel, a seasoned cameraman, it is of Oli who is 6 and a half months pregnant with Juliet with 20 month old Elliot. It is the epitome of motherhood don't you think???

Elliot on the beach with his mother on Wednesday PM. 

Here is one too with his father, Miguel. The hotel they are staying at is just behind them. It looks a great place. 

Elliot with his father on the beach on Wednesday afternoon

I spent a relaxing afternoon until it was dinner time which I had alone with Eladio as Suzy went off to have dinner with her friend Elena. Just as we were finishing I got a sudden reservation for our apartment for the next day. A family of 6 was arriving on Thursday and I had to get in touch with the guest and also with Lucy, our neighbour there, who looks after our guests. I was pretty pleased to have another reservation. It's funny but nearly all my reservations for both Asturias and the seaside apartment come from Booking and not Airbnb. 

I flopped into bed to see the tail end of the news and was particularly interested to hear the story of the first encounter of Biden and Putin that day in Geneva. Relations between the USA and Russia ( I nearly wrote the USSR) are at an all time low since the Cold War. I can only hope the meeting will somehow improve relations although I doubt it. 

The meeting between Biden and Putin was big news this week

After the news we flicked channels until we came across a documentary about Oskar Schindler that had us glued to the TV from beginning to end. Suzy came in to say goodnight and commented that we are so fixated with the past. I replied that we are because I was a child of WW2, my parents both having lived it intensely. My fascination with WW2 comes from my childhood and I shall be forever fixated on the subject.

Thursday came and it was shopping day as on Friday we would be leaving for Montrondo.  Eladio and I did the shopping on our own as Suzy was busy - working and looking for work (good for her). She did though take Lucy, our Paraguayan carer to the local health centre for her one jab vaccine. Finally she got it. Apparently they had been ringing her for weeks at her old mobile number. Anyway, it's done now. We came back with loads of food, enough to leave the household with enough supplies for a week or more and some stuff to bring here until we could go shopping again. I tried to rest after lunch but was unusually busy answering enquiries on Airbnb, all of them for our house in Madrid. One chap had me messaging until late at night. I found him so picky and full of doubts that I declined his potential booking. I just knew he would be trouble. He was furious I did that. Well, you know, you can't accept all guests. Sometimes there is a gut feeling that they are not the right fit. Meanwhile, in Santa Pola, our latest guests from Zaragoza were arriving. Thank God for Lucy our neighbour there who looks after all their needs. 

In the late afternoon I accompanied Suzy to a routine medical appointment in Madrid. It was the second time in the city centre in 10 days after months without going. While I waited, in a pretty little park by the way, I rang my friends Kathy and Phil who were on holiday in lovely, lovely Cornwall. They have had great weather but told me everything is crowded. I suppose that is because Brits can only really travel within the UK. That day the number of infected rose to over 11.000 thanks to the Indian (Delta) variant. Deaths remained low though (19). In Spain the number of infections was around 4000 with the exact same number of deaths. 

Suzy and I were not home on time for dinner with Eladio but he sat with us. There was lots of choice thanks to having done the food shopping that day. It's always like for the first few days. We were in bed a bit later and trying to watch our latest series, Deutschland, but I kept getting interrupted by more and more Airbnb enquiries. One, thankfully, turned into a confirmed reservation. A young chap is coming tomorrow but I won't meet him. Then two Frenchmen are coming on Thursday and I won't meet them either. Neither did I meet my 10 Swimmy bathers yesterday. I left them all in the capable hands of both Suzy and Lucy and all went well. I highly recommend the art of delegating, my friends. 

Friday came, the day of our trip here. I had to pack for both Montrondo and possibly Asturias, if we decide to go there, and we left at around 11.30. Half an hour later I got a whatsapp from Lucy to say we had left our great big suitcase in the bedroom. Thus we had to turn back to retrieve it. We were not on the road again until past 12. We stopped for a coffee at 12.30 and by 2 we were at El Palacio de Bornos, in Rueda. We always stop here on our way to Montrondo and I wouldn't miss our lunch there for all the tea in China. We always have the same: a platter of ibérico ham, half a platter of lomo, bread dosed with olive oil and all washed down with the local wine. In my opinion the best white wine in Spain comes from Rueda. 

Our lunch on Friday. Great to be back in Rueda

As usual we brought the delicious white almond chocolate slab on sale there to eat as we continued our drive. Little did I know a chunk of it fell on the seat and stuck to my trousers. Not only did I have chocolate on my bottom but the stitches had come undone and I had a gaping hole. I desperately tried to pull down my t-shirt to cover it and the first thing I did when we arrived in Montrondo was to take them off and put on some leggings. Thank God I wasn't anywhere important hahahaha.

It was raining here when we arrived, as predicted. I really don't know why we have come as it will continue to rain for the next 10 days and it is as bad or worse in Asturias. Annoyingly in Madrid the weather is of course warm. I suppose that despite the wet weather a change is as good as a rest. Thankfully this time there were no nasty surprises awaiting us. Last time there were mice, mice droppings and a water leak. Everything was ok and as clean as we had left it except for a few spiders' webs. It was too wet for a walk so I watched Grey's Anatomy until it was time for dinner. We had fried eggs and ham (more ham as Eladio pointed out) and wonderful Luis Cañas Rioja wine. The evening ended with entertainment from Netflix when we watched a Spanish film called "La flaqueza del Bolchevhique"starring an actor we like, Luis Tosar".  It is a sort modern day Spanish "Lolita"; strange but moving. 

We were in bed early and I slept relatively well although I woke up yesterday morning at 6.15. I did more book keeping on my little hospitality business until breakfast. It rained when I got up but by 11. 30 when we left to do the shopping in Villablino, the skies cleared and it didn't rain again until night time. In Villablino, a mining town 20 minutes from here but across a mountain pass, we always go to the Gadis supermarket. This is a chain of superb supermarkets which only operate in the north. But first things first. We went to have a coffee at a nearby bar. We stocked up at Gadis with supplies to last us until we return to Madrid. We were home by 1 and after unloading our shopping and putting it away I heated up some chicken curry I had brought from home and added more chicken and tikka masala sauce. It was delicious. Unepectedly the sun came out after lunch and in the afternoon we went on our first walk here. Everything looked lush and green with  lovely pre summer wild flowers blooming. I love Montrondo at this time of hear when nature is at its very best. Here I am with Pippa about to take the old path to Murias.

With Pippa on our walk yesterday

Thanks Eladio for the photo. I took one of you too. This is it

Eladio and Pippa on the old path yesterday

The village looked pretty in the sun and some of the best views of Montrondo can be seen on this quaint country path to the next village, Murias.

View of the village from the old path

Everything was lush but what most struck me was the abundance and variety of wild flowers that bloom at this time of year. I had to have photos of them and later turned them into this collage to share with you here.

Some of the wild flowers I saw on our walk yesterday

We didn't go further than Murias de Paredes as we were afraid it would rain. We were lucky though as it only started to rain when we got home.

It was raining in many parts of Spain too, including Castellón on the Costa Blanca where Oli and family were holidaying. That day saw them hire bicycles and Elliot went on one with his father. He loved it but the motion and sound of the wheels soon made him fall asleep hahaha.

Oli, Miguel and Elliot on bicycles yesterday in Benicassim (Castellón)

The rain came in the evening too in Castellón and Elliot adored splashing in puddles as you can see in the sweet video below that his mother sent us. Oli commented he was trying out the "muddy puddles" he had learned about in the Peppa Pig story hahahaha.

Elliot enjoying the puddles in the rain yesterday in Castellón

Meanwhile, back home in Madrid, the temperature was 26ºc and no sign of rain. Our bathers enjoyed their day as did Suzy. She had company yesterday when her best friend from childhood, Copi, came from Vitoria. They were joined by Elena and Juli and had a great time together. I was sorry to miss Copi. 

By the time we were home from our walk it was nearly dinner time. We had bought big clams at Gadis for me to make a popular Spanish dish called "almejas a la marinera" (clams in sea food sauce). They are a dream to eat and we had a feast of them accompanied by half a bottle of Rueda white wine. 

Clams in sea food sauce (almejas a la marinera) which I made for dinner last night.

We watched another film with the Spanish actor Luis Tosar until I fell asleep and today I didn't wake up until 7.30 am. I woke up to rain and I think it might well rain all day. Let's hope for a break so as to go on another walk today.

Now I am finishing writing this week's post. I am having difficulties as the internet connection is a bit patchy at the moment and won't let me upload new photos. Thus I shall publish it without them and add them when the connection is stronger.

That's it then folks for this week. I wish you a happy Sunday and great week ahead. Till next time,

Masha.