Back from Santa Pola, a tea cabin in the making, a quiet week, time with Elliot and Juliet, ceasefire in Lebanon, Olivia reporting from Valencia one month after the floods, Notre Dame restored and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 1st December, 2024

A wrinkly lady enjoying her morning coffee

Good morning again all.

As the title suggests it has been a quiet week. When I have weeks like this one, I often wonder what there is to recount in my blog and find it hard to come up with any interesting content. It's far easier to write about a jolly in London or New York. There were no jollies, as such this week but still life went on as it always does and I am grateful for that.

Last Sunday had us ready to leave our flat in Gran Alacant and waiting for Alicia from the cleaning company we had finally chosen to come and pick up the keys. Would you believe she never came and nor did she ring to say why? In the end we gave the keys to our second favourite candidate, Gina who we liked and is our neighbour Lucy's friend.  We finally left at around 11.30 am with a car full of stuff we don't need there but could be of use in El Cuetu or at home. It was a boring drive home which was punctuated with a very disappointing lunch at El Restaurante Vasco where we shall not return. The food was very expensive and  rather stodgy. 

We came home to find a team of builders from Paraguay who are restoring the wooden cabin in front of the kitchen patio. It's 25 years old and was in a ruinous state. It's a far cry from the garden house we wanted to build but will look lovely when it's finished. This time we are not going to fill it with dustbins, garden tools or barbecue stuff. Instead, we are going to turn it into a little place to sit and read, work or have a cup of tea. That is why I have named it the "tea cabin". This is what it looked like when we arrived home that day.

The wooden cabin being restored

Later in the week we searched online for wooden pallet furniture which has already arrived - 2 small sofas and 1 table plus the cushions to go with it. After much deliberation I went for a pistachio green colour. 

Furniture for the "tea cabin"

We would be thinking about this little project for the next few days. Meanwhile, it was wonderful to be back to our luxurious house, especially our own quarters. I have told Eladio we need a new memory foam mattress in our small bedroom in Santa Pola and a large screen TV. 

I came back to find all my guests well. Jen's son was readmitted to the Uni residence and I was very happy for her. It was to be her last week and also Betty's from Mexico. They have been great guests. Leopoldo who works for the Santander bank arrived late that night and after greeting him I never saw him again.  Suzy was back shortly after we arrived, after having spent the day with her sister. The two of them left the kids at their other grandmother's house and went off to have lunch alone in Madrid. Good for them. 

We had dinner together in our enormous dining room but none of us was hungry. Pippa who had stayed behind with Suzy is now torn between who she sleeps with at night. It's quite funny. Next week, on 3rd December, she will turn 10 which I can hardly believe. It seems like yesterday when she arrived bringing joy to our family. 

On Monday I was awake at 6 am after just 5h sleep - dammit. I can't complain too much though as overall I am sleeping rather better these days. 

It rained all day but did not rob us of a walk as we had to go the local hospital, HM Monteprincipe for Eladio's post cataract surgery check up. He has done quite well and his eyesight has improved overall to about 65% vision. That's not a lot but in his case it is as he has (dry) macular degeneration in both eyes. Thankfully, he won't lose his eyesight completely but I wonder if he will pass his test to renew his driving licence in 2026. I sincerely hope so. 

On Tuesday I woke up after having slept 7.5h and felt on top of the world. We went off on errands which including coffee at Alverán and shopping at Mercadona, the supermarket that feeds most of Spain and which I don't particularly like. If I could I would buy all our food at M+S but I can't hahaha. Oli was with us for lunch and then again when she brought the kids for us to babysit while she went off to her bi-weekly French lessons she takes so seriously. Tres bien ma petite. 

We had fun with our grandchildren. They behaved quite well. Part of the entertainment was time on the swings in our very autumnal looking garden. I am not in the photo as I was wearing my pyjamas, my dressing gown and one of Eladio's coats on top (hahaha). This is the best photo I could get of the kids with Eladio and Suzy who they adore. 

Time with Juliet and Elliot this week

We later adjourned to the TV room which doubles as their toy room. That was when Suzy suggested Elliot might like to watch the film Billy Elliot. He was surprised and delighted his name featured there although we didn't tell him it was the boy's surname. He loved the film which I had to explain as we went along. Thank God for the Geordie accent (set in Durham) as the language was strong for his little ears. But oh,. he loved it. It's a film I have always loved too if only they wouldn't use the "f" word so much. Soon it was their dinner time and they ate the pizza I prepared with gusto. Then it was bath time and we were running late. Suzy bathed them both and Elliot especially enjoyed it when she put the jacuzzi on at the end. Here are the two of the at and after bath time.

Bath time with the kids

I got their pyjamas mixed up, putting  Elliot's on Juliet and vice versa after Juliet instructed me so. Elliot, thankfully, did not make a fuss but later told his mother I had mixed up the pyjamas, hahahaha.

That night a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah of Lebanon was announced after much insistence from the USA. The Lebanese were thrilled but those who returned home, mostly did so to rubble. Mohhamad whose sister is a doctor at the American hospital in Beirut told me the apartment block next to hers was destroyed and that she had moved to the hospital. I can only suppose the Israelies would not dare attack an American hospital in Beirut. I don't have much hope for this ceasefire which has not been confirmed as permanent and feel so sorry for the Lebanese people caught up in it. Aren't we lucky in comparison?

Not so about 1 million people from 78 townships in the Valencia region who one month ago this week on Friday  suffered the worst natural disaster  in Spanish history from voracious flooding. Olivia was sent there on Wednesday as on Friday her programme was broadcasting from the area to mark one month since the floods. It was a tragedy of such a scale that could only happen once in a thousand years. 222 people died in the region, 4 are still missing,  tens of thousands of houses and 100.000 cars were damaged or destroyed as well as countless numbers of businesses. People are in shock and still up to their knees in mud. I ask myself how is that their lives are not being restored faster. Spain is not Syria, we have the resources and why, oh why, couldn't we have avoided so many deaths by sending out an alert far earlier and making resources immediately available. I can understand just how complicated it must be to coordinate the recovery of the region but help has been slow, as is funding.  Olivia who works for TVE, Spain's main broadcaster, had the privilege as a journalist to see the aftermath in Paiporta, the epicentre of the floods this week which I know made a huge impression on her and I was glad she was able to see it. 

While she was on her way to Valencia we went to Leroy Merlin to get wood to mend some of the benches on the kitchen patio which will look a lot nicer now the cabin has been painted. And here is the man on the job later in the week.

Eladio painting and mending the benches on the kitchen patio

Thursday was quiet too and that morning we found time for our supposed daily walk. It was that day that Mohammad, my guest from Iraq who has been here for over a year, announced he would be going to stay with his family who have recently moved to Oman but won't be returning. I will sorely miss him. He has been like a son to me in many ways and I do hope he returns.

That afternoon some crackers I had ordered from Amazon arrived. But would you believe that they didn't contain a snap? No way, I returned them immediately. Even though today is 1st December I am still not into the spirit of Christmas but have made some purchases to make sure I can create a proper English Christmas. More is arriving. In this house we don't put the tree up until well into December but I must begin to think about presents and menus. I must.

Friday came and I was up a bit late, but not too late to watch Olivia live, reporting from Valencia for her programme  La Hora de la 1.  I watched all her reports and found them heartbreaking. 

Olivia reporting from Paiporta Valencia one month after the floods.

She interviewed a teacher whose kindergarden is now closed as many still are, as well as schools. She also interviewed Julio  whose wife, a nurse, lost her life in the floods. This is it. I thought she showed a lot of empathy as she reported and interviewed people.  

It must have been harrowing for her and later she told me it was so impressive it was impossible to transmit the magnitude of the disaster. She posted some photos on Instagram which I want to reproduce here in memory of the floods, a tragedy that has made an impact on the whole country. 

Photos Olivia took in Valencia

 

The afternoon was going to be quiet until we got a message from Olivia asking us to pick up the kids from school as she was arriving a bit late from Valencia. I was in my pyjamas but I was sure no one would notice when I put my coat on, hahahaha. We got to the school but couldn't find Juliet and Elliot as she hadn't told us they were at the gym after their judo class. Elliot was amused to know we had had trouble finding them and anxious also to tell us about his day. His class had planted 200 trees behind the local Mercadona. We took them to their house and never mentioned they were in the back of the car with me without stipulated child seats as we had no time to put them in, plus they are very difficult to fix as I'm most grandparents find.

We were all happy to see Olivia and the kids melted into her arms. She had brought "horchata" a special ground almond drink which I think today is called Tiger Milk and hails from Valencia. Oli loves it as do the kids. Their snack was apple slices with peanut butter. I had   a spoonful of the latter which I think I  hadn't eaten since I was a teenager. Oh, how delicious. I told Oli that in the US they eat it with jam which they call jelly in a sandwich. Oli's recipe is a lot healthier. We spent some time again with our grandchildren who were full of beans and left at around 7 pm, just before dinner which we had with Suzy at home.

Far away in Paris that day, the authorities were to see the recently restored Notre-Dame which was damaged by a shocking fire 5 years ago. When President Macrown saw it he said to the workers "The blaze at Notre-Dame was a national wound and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment. I am deeply grateful" and added "you have brought Notre-Dame back. This is how it looked 5 and a half years ago when the fire started and this is what it looks like today.

Notre-Dame before and after

It will be open to the public on 7th December. I have seen it many times but shall never forget my first visit. It was on a school trip from Bradford to Paris with St. Joseph's College. I remember we climbed to the top and I especially remember the gargoyles. I didn't know much about cathedrals at the time and maybe didn't appreciate it being renowned for its stunning Gothic architecture. Later I saw many more cathedrals which seemed like copies. And when I saw it burning down, I really thought it would turn into ash but a miracle happened and the great dame of France is now back in splendid glory for all to see. Magnifique. 

On Saturday the Paraguyan builders who were supposed to come that morning, didn't turn up which disappointed us a lot. They have promised to come today and I really hope they do. In their absence we went for a walk and had coffee at La Flaca where Eladio took my photo which is this week's feature photo,  for want of a better one. When I enlarged it I was aghast at the wrinkles I saw. My dear husband whose eyes don't see them told me I looked beautiful. While I drank my coffee and smoked my cigarette he made me a paper boat and said "here, so you can travel to America". We won't be going anywhere by boat as neither of us are into cruises but I shall be keeping the paper boat, bless him. 

The afternoon was quiet but not the evening as we were joined by Oli, Elliot and Juliet. In Tana's absence, Suzy and I put hands to deck to come up with something to put on the table. It was what we call in this house a "bits and bobs dinner".  The children came bearing flowers and I had to take a picture to show you. Aren't they sweet? Oli knows I love flowers so thank you darling.

My grandchildren bringing me flowers last night

Dinner was ready when they came.  It was a joy to be all together and I have to say both kids behaved well and ate well. They especially enjoyed the ice cream. Once in the toy and TV room we watched the end of Billy Elliot and my grandson loved it so much we had start it over. He's hooked on it and I'm so glad he doesn't understand the Geordie accent as some of the language is beyond his years and not a good example hahahaha. It even stumps me and the girls found it difficult to understand as well, hahahaha. It's set during the miners' strikes in 1984, something I had to explain to them - not a nice part of the UK's recent history. 

Today is Sunday and will be a quiet day I expect. I have now come to the end of the stories of this week and hope you have enjoyed reading them. Wishing you all a happy Sunday, cheers for now,

Masha

c