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.