A visitor for Suzy in London, lunch with my Spanish family, turmoil in Spanish politics, “a bitter future for Britain”, the premiere of Olivia’s new TV programme, an historic day for Yoigo, Suzy in Zurich and other stories.

Sunday 9^th October 2016

Lunch with "my Spanish family" last Saturday 1st October

Hi again

Another week, but what a week it’s been in many ways. 

Saturday was good.  It started off with breakfast with Eladio and Oli; a luxury. As always, we all read the news.  In London, meanwhile, Suzy and the girls, Chati and Ana, her flat mates, would be having breakfast with J, another member of their group of friends they call “la manada” (the herd).  He was to be their visitor for a few days during which I heard they had a blast. 

The girls in London last weekend with their visitor.

Indeed they would have a grand time, biking all around the capital together.  Here they are near Tower Bridge with more of Suzy’s friends.

The Manada having fun in London and biking everywhere

That morning I went with Oli to get a birthday present for her Father. The poor girl has been so busy since she started as a reporter for the TV programme (Mi Cámara y yo), she hasn’t had a moment to do so.  She chose a lovely pair of blue Armani sunglasses.  Oli  gave them to him later when we met in Mirasierra where we would be going to have lunch with “my Spanish family”.

Oli bought new sun glasses for Eladio for his birthday

We were invited that day by Gerardo and his wife Vicky and their large group of children.  His sister Irene and her husband Tomas came too with 3 of their brood of 5.  Also there was Lucía, the youngest sister and her newly wedded husband “Juancar” (Juan Carlos). The photo illustrating this week’s post is of all of us around the table.  What fun we had.

About a year ago Gerardo and his family moved into a big new house and we were to see it for the first time.

Gerardo and Vicky's cool new house and terrace where we had lunch last Saturday

We felt completely at home as of course for me they are my Spanish family and I know the feeling is mutual.  It’s great that after all these years we are now in closer contact than ever before.  Eladio enjoys their company too and there are lots of philosophical and religious conversations which have everyone questioning facts and beliefs.  Gerardo was the chef that day and made a super barbecue for us all which we ate around 2 big tables on their elegant porch.

The chef Gerardo and Eladio. Juancar and Marga in the background.

I just love their kids and I was a popular guest as I had brought with me 2 huge bags of sweets.  Lunch dragged on, or rather the conversation was so stimulating, we didn’t make a move until about 8 in the evening. 

Whilst I was there I was alerted to the fact that the programme I had starred in a year ago, “Undercover Boss, was on yet again. Thus my phone was buzzing with lots of messages from spectators, most of them hoping I could offer them a job. I wish I could.  But I do faithfully answer them all. 

We came home to the news that Spanish politics was in turmoil.  Pedro Sánchez, leader of the PSOE socialist party had resigned. 

Goodbye Pedro Sánchez, leader of the Spanish socialist party

You probably know that there has been nearly a year’s deadlock to form a government after two hung parliaments in succession. The acting PP (right wing) party led by Mariano Rajoy won the second round of elections with 137 seats but they need 176 votes to form a government. They have come to an agreement with the new moderate party, Ciudadanos who have 32, so not enough. The PSOE (socialist party) won far fewer, just 85, but led by Pedro Sánchez have refused to abstain and let Mariano Rajoy get on with the job.  It’s no joke having an acting government; things just slow down.  Many members of the PSOE, in disagreement with Pedro Sánchez who kept repeating “no is no”, forced him to resign in a party conference on Saturday.  It is not clear who will be his successor. Hopefully his resignation will now end the deadlock. We have yet to see whether the PSOE will just abstain or whether the two parties will form a coalition.  Thankfully the news on Saturday has put an end to the calling of a third general election scheduled for Christmas Day this year.  So, yes, Spanish politics was in complete turmoil but hopefully will soon be back on course.  I’m no great fan of either of the leaders but am fed up of the political stalemate.

Sunday was another beautiful sunny day.  The sun doesn’t seem to want to go and I’m not complaining.   I even swam in the pool after our morning walk again.  Meanwhile Suzy and the girls were enjoying the company of J in London.  Here they are below having a picnic in a park there where it seems the sun was shining too.

Suzy and Anita having a picnic in a park in London with their visitor J.

We didn’t have a picnic but I made roast chicken for lunch.  I was fully conscious it would be the last family meal together where I would be able to enjoy any food I wanted  for a long time as on Tuesday I would be starting the Pronokal diet, the one that Suzy prescribes at the clinic she works at in Harley Street. 

The roast chicken I made last Sunday for lunch

We spent  the afternoon reading by the pool. My choice was a book called The Marrying of Chani Kaufmann by Eve Harris.

One of my latest books  - a inside view of the life of Hasidic Jewish women

I seem to be very attracted to the genre of books about Hasidic Jewish women, or rather the incredibly strict lives they lead.  This extreme Ultra-Orthodox sect seems to me to be one of the most restrictive for women in the world and I mean that. I am so glad that I was born into a liberal society and way of life where women, if not completely equal to men, are free enough to live how they like. 

If there was turmoil in Spanish politics, there was turmoil too in British politics last weekend.   Dear Theresa May, who is reminding me more and more of an extreme version of Margaret Thatcher, said at the Tory Conference on Sunday that “Brexit is Brexit”. She has threatened to invoke article 50 in spring 2017 which means we could be out completely by 2019. You know, I never thought it would come to that. Hopefully she would eat her words when later in the week the pound plummeted to an all-time low level against the dollar (she didn't of course). But I’ll come to that later.

 The slogan for the conference was “A better future for Britain” but when the new Iron Lady put her hand up against the words a very awkward photo appeared as she turned the "e" into an "i".  You see she was now promising “A bitter future for Britain”.  Indeed it seems bitter.  I am bitter and angry about Brexit.

An awkward photo for Theresa May that came out of the Tory party conference last weekend

Many people are angry with her, but no one can beat 5 year old Brooke whose surname is Blaire by the way. This determined little girl is worried about the homeless and so her Mother posted a video of her giving Theresa May a real telling off about it, telling her she should be out giving them biscuits and hot chocolate.   

Brook Blair, the angry 5 year old who told Theresa May to help the homeless

The video became an immediate sensation on social media and television.  I would love to know what the Prime Minister thought when she saw it. 

Monday came.  I read the US beat Europe in the Ryder Cup. More interestingly and more surprisingly in a referendum on Sunday Colombians rejected the peace treaty President Juan Manuel Santos had forged and signed with the FARC guerrillas.  In a way I understand them because with the peace treaty there would be no recriminations or punishment for their crimes - more than 250.000 deaths in some 50 years.  They would just slink back into society with all their sins forgiven. I'm not sure what the referendum result means now for the treaty. Hopefully the guerrilla warfare is over despite the vote on Sunday. 

Monday was an important day for me.  I had an appointment with the doctor I had seen to go on the Pronokal diet but I could only start after he had seen the results of my blood test. Well they were good (sigh of relief) and he prescribed the diet.  Basically in the first phase you only eat vegetables (and only some) at lunch and dinner and substitute food presented in many forms which you must have 5 units of each day.  There are also lots of supplements and vitamins to take.  Once I had his prescription, off I went to the clinic in Madrid where I was attended to by a far too slim dietitian.  I was very impressed with the sleek premises. She seemed much stricter than Suzy  - no sugar free chewing gum (Suzy says I can have up to 3 a day and I am) and no milk in my coffee (Suzy says I can have up to 300ml of soy milk a day and I am). 

Pronokal products at their gleaming clinic in the centre of Madrid.

I paid a packet for all the stuff - enough to last me the three weeks of the strict phase 1. Thankfully the later phases introduce real food gradually after that. 

Monday night would be my "last supper" of real food and I enjoyed it with Eladio and Oli who came home to watch the debut of her new TV programme together with us.

I loved every minute of the report called "raro raro" about unique and special things in Madrid but then I am her Mother.  If you haven't already see it you can judge for yourselves by watching it on this link here.  Later in the week they released a great video clip with her and her colleague Amaya R to promote the programme which you can see here too. 

On Tuesday I started the diet.  It's tough but doable.  The best thing is it sheds weight fast or is supposed to and you are not hungry. As I ate the dry rusks with watery coffee for breakfast  I wondered to myself just how many diets I have been on in my life and whether this would be my last.  I would like to think it will and that I will be able to maintain the weight loss but I doubt it will happen.  At least it will give me a few years of looking slimmer hahaha.  It's great to know though that I have Suzy at a distance taking care of me and advising me. She went on it herself to find out what it's like for her patients and lost 6 kilos in 3 weeks!  I'm older so I don't expect it to be quite as fast for me.  But I promise you I shall stick it out and do all the phases.  When I have a goal I have endless will power I can tell you.  But when I don't I go the opposite way.  That's how I am, no two halves about me. 

Some of that weight was probably lost due to her cycling in London. That morning she sent me this photo of her with her new bike on Tower Bridge.  I do admire her and must say she knows her way around London like a black cab driver; well not quite but nearly.  Good for her.

Suzy on her bike in London this week

I didn't have much time to think about food that day as I was busy working. I had a meeting with my new boss and had lots of communications materials to prepare and get ready for sending regarding the acquisition of our company (Yoigo) by the smaller Spanish operator MásMóvil.  However I did feel thirsty all day and had a bit of a headache - side effects of the diet of course.

Wednesday, Day 2 of my diet brought another headache and more thirst but I stuck at it.  I had another meeting, this time at the offices of MásMóvil in Pozuelo with the head of HR, my new boss and my PR agency.  It was a strange sensation to enter their offices. That very day payment was being made to the previous owners, the Swedish Finnish operator TeliaSonera to finalise the deal.  It was an historic day for Yoigo and I had funny bitter sweet feelings all day.  It felt like being orphaned and not knowing what the future would be bring. At Yoigo we are just 100 people and have 3.6 million customers. The company that has bought us has over 400 employees and far fewer customers. Right now we are undergoing the integration process and it feels so strange. 

Oli was having problems at work.  She was preparing her next programme about roof tops in Madrid - the kind with spectacular views and something special to offer and the locations were either not easy to find or people just didn't want to be on TV.  She would have problems all week and would be working at the weekend. She was very stressed but I knew that all would be right on the day.

Oli on a rooftop in Madrid this week with her cameraman preparing her next programme

Work continued for me on Thursday when finally the press release went out to announce the termination of the acquisition of Yoigo. I was involved in informing the employees and of course posting it on our social media pages. Again it felt funny.  I had expected some sort of formal goodbye from our previous owners, TeliaSonera.  After all I had worked for them for 10 years but all I got was a laconic email and a short note from another colleague. I would have loved to attend the recently celebrated global comms day to be able to say goodbye to all my colleagues.

In the evening I was at the hospital in Pozuelo for yearly gynaecological tests. This year they included a bone densitometry scan which I have never done. I suppose that's because of my age. Its objective is to measure the density of bone mineral.  I do hope I don't have the dreaded osteoporosis. I will get the results later this month and will see the gynaecologist at the end of November.  As I was leaving, it must have been nearly 8 pm and just then I received an email  inviting the management teams of both companies to a meeting at our offices the next morning and to a lunch where we would be informed of the new organisation chart.  I looked at the list and saw that there were only 2 women on it, 2 of us from Yoigo. It was to start at 11 am. I had a conference call with a journalist and our technology director at 10, so decided to wake up at 6 the next morning to avoid the traffic and get to the offices well on time on Friday morning. 

Friday 7th October was Happy World Smile Day. But there was no smile on my face when I looked at my phone whilst drinking my coffee at 6.15.  There was a message to cancel the conference call which meant I needn't have got up so early.

Friday was Happy World Smile Day.

There were no smiles in the financial markets that morning either.  It was black Friday for the pound sterling which dropped or rather plummeted 10% to 1.15 USD. It happened overnight and blame has been put on a "fat finger" in the stock market and trading in Asia.  It is much more likely due to Brexit.  I wonder what Theresa May thought about that after she had promised a "better" or was it "bitter" future for Britain.  I was sorry for the Brits who were cheated at airports being given less than a euro for their pound, I was sorry for my Father's pension but sorry for what will become of the UK without Europe.  Ok I was born a UK citizen but when the UK entered the EU I also became an EU citizen and now because of Brexit I have been stripped of that citizenship. To top it all I didn't even have a say as there is a law that you cannot vote if you have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years.  

It was pretty ironic that that very day the UK Government made a proposal for Brits who have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years to be able to vote. 

This proposal from the Government for people living abroad to be able to vote has come too late to save Brexit

It was bitter sweet news as the proposal has come too late.  Between 1 and 2 million British people live outside the UK in other countries in Europe and I guess that if those of us who have been away for more than 15 years had voted in the Referendum the result would have been  In and not Out.  It's ironic isn't it?  

This was on my mind as I drove to the office for the meeting. But also during the day I would be thinking of my brother-in-law who was being operated on in León.  It would be a very long day for him and his family. I wished I could have been there with them but I had to be at the office.

I joined the meeting room full of men.  I'm used to there being more men than women around in my sector but on Friday I was 1 of 2 women only and some 20 odd men. It was daunting. I wonder how each one of them would have felt if it had been the opposite way round.  Just before it started,the meeting was cancelled so I was stuck at the office until the lunch at 2.30. I stayed around working on my laptop and catching up with colleagues and wondering very much what the changes would be. 

The last thing I wanted after having started my diet was to go to a corporate lunch but I had no choice.  It was a rice place and I knew there would be paella on the menu so before entering I asked the staff to quietly prepare and serve me a plate of grilled vegetables without oil and without any fuss.  If I was 1 of 2 women earlier on, at the lunch I was the only woman and I didn't like it I can tell you and the last thing I wanted was for them to comment on what I was eating. Aaagghh. 

Finally we were informed of the changes and the new owners have been respectful and kept us all on, although we are now, all but one, in number 2 positions and not the top spots.  It was a bit like reckoning day but I drove home very relieved if not exhausted.  

My dear darling husband was at home waiting for me.  It was Friday night and the night we usually go out to dinner together. Thanks to my diet, however, there will be no more dinners out for quite a while. Watch this space hahaha.  

The main news of the day by the way on Friday, apart from the drop in the pound, was the announcement of the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.  It went to President Juan Manuel Santos because of the peace treaty with the FARC guerrillas; the one the country voted against. 

Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia - this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner

Well good for him. He strove for peace in very difficult circumstances.  I don't know who the other candidates were but I did hear that the buffoon Donald Trump had been nominated. I can only think that it was a joke. 

Who was smiling that day was Suzy, my daughter who lives in London. She was off to visit Zurich for 5 days with Chati and Anita to stay with a friend they had met in their recent trip to Nicaragua.  She had never been to Switzerland and I warned her that it was expensive.  I can imagine it is even more so after the pound dropped. Poor Suzy. I haven't heard much, just seen photos of nice looking buildings with grey weather in the background. But there is one photo of Suzy enjoying an enormous glass of beer on Friday night. 

Suzy in Zurich enjoying a huge glass of beer

I hope to hear more about the trip; not just the beer drinking hahaha.

On Saturday I woke up with a bit of a cold.  I was happy to see I had lost 3 cm around my waist and another 3 around my hips. I'm dying for the kilos to shed and to get into clothes that no longer fit.  We went for our walk and I had my diet lunch with my Father and Eladio. I ate cooked cauliflower and broccoli and a ghastly coconut flavoured packet dessert by Pronokal whilst they enjoyed Salud's spaghetti bolognese.  

Meanwhile Oli was working - yes on a Saturday. Not fair, not it's not but she has negotiated that if she works on a Saturday she will get 1 day off and if she works on a Sunday she will get 2 working days off. Now that was clever of her.  She went with her team to film a wedding on a luxury hotel rooftop. I sort of wondered how the bride and groom would accept their wedding being on TV but they appear to be happy about it as you can judge in the photo below.

Oli with the bride and groom - filming a wedding on a hotel rooftop in Madrid for her next programme.

All in all Saturday was a quiet day with not much to report which was quite welcome after such a busy week with all its ups and downs.

And today is Sunday and it promises to be another quiet day.  I shall be going for our walk now with the dogs and later make lunch for the men. They will get fabada. I will get more vegetables hahahaha.

And next week will be another story which I shall telling you all about in my following post.

Meanwhile I wish you all a happy Sunday and a great week ahead,

Cheers/Masha

Ikea with Oli, Spanish elections; deadlock again, Spain loses to Italy and England humiliated by Iceland and out of the EU and the Euros, a goodbye dinner, Suzy in Nicaragua, Yoigo meets MásMóvil, Oli flies the nest, trying to fly to Paris and other stories.

Friday 1st July, 2016

Going out to dinner on Monday night.

Hi again,

I am writing during the week this time as at the weekend I will be in France and too busy to pay much attention to my blog. So here goes.

Saturday was a quiet day and hot of course as summer is here with a vengeance with temperatures reaching 35c!  It was the day after the Brexit outcome and I was and am still reeling from the news; gutted and gobsmacked.  I still can’t believe it.  There is a glimmer of light in the tunnel that it may never happen but everything is speculation at the moment and it is depressing. I spent the weekend thinking about acquiring Spanish nationality after making an initial enquiry on Friday afternoon. In the end I have decided to postpone the decision until there really is a need.  I hope not.

We spent the afternoon by the pool with Oli and Miguel. They joined us for dinner too; all this whilst Wales beat Northern Ireland after an own goal by the latter.  Wales, the only British team now left in the competition, has made football history by going through to the quarter finals in "The Euros" and I wish them luck.

Wales made it through to the Quarter Finals of the Euro Cup for the first time in history

Sunday was the Spanish elections after the deadlock caused by those held on 20^th December last. I can’t vote.  I have no democratic election rights – so unfair – and could only accompany Oli and Eladio whilst they voted.  I suspect their votes went to different candidates but I’m not telling who.

Eladio and Oli voting last Sunday

The polls had predicted that the PP would win without a majority and that Podemos, the new radical party, would surpass the PSOE party.  They would be proved wrong about the latter but we would only know the outcome that night and get the final results on Monday morning.

Meanwhile I joined Oli and we went to the new Ikea in Alcorcón to buy all the things she needs to equip the kitchen in the new flat Miguel and her will be moving into next week.  It had been advertised as the biggest Ikea store in Europe.  Well yes it was huge but very difficult to find.  We made it finally thanks to the satnav on Oli’s phone, not the car one or mine. We took 2 trolleys; one for Oli and one for me. I am a sucker for Ikea kitchen stuff and their home decoration and accessories section even though I don’t really need anything.  I also filled up at the food store, mostly on alcohol free pear cider which we love.  Here we are Oli and I with our two trolleys just as we were leaving. 

Oli and I buying stuff for her new flat at Ikea's newest and biggest store in Europe in Alcorcón (Madrid)

I was especially pleased with a photo mural I got there; one that Paula, our interior decorator had included for Oli and Miguel’s lounge.  Here it is gracing one of our bedroom walls and yet to be filled with more photos.

The very original photo mural I bought at Ikea and which is now hanging on the wall in our bedroom

Lunch was pelmeni which Zinaida (Zena), our Ukranian weekend carer and home help, had bought for us at a Russian shop in Aluche.  Again we spent the afternoon by the pool.  Oli was joined by her friends from “La Manada”, Elena and Juli who I caught on camera enjoying the pool. Pippa, as usual, is in the picture hahaha.

By the pool on Sunday afternoon - Oli with her friends (Pippa always in the picture hahaha).

Dinner was outside watching the news on my iPad.  By 9 o’clock at night it was obvious the PP party had won but without a majority again.  They were the only party to gain seats.  The PSOE had their worst result in history and Podemos did not overtake them as predicted.  Finally, Ciudadanos, the new moderate party, lost seats too.  The turnout was also the lowest in history with about 61% voting.  It looked like it would be another deadlock but we would have to wait till Monday morning to get the full results.  Another deadlock is something no one wants because we had it before after the general elections on 20^th December where no party got an overall majority and they were not able to come to an agreement on a coalition party. 

On Monday morning we had the full results and the PP had won again with more seats but far short of a majority.  This is the picture where you can see the seats won this time round compared to December.

The results of the second Spanish general elections last Sunday - another deadlock

To govern the PP needs 176 seats between their own members of parliament and those from other parties that support them.  There are only two possibilities if you do the mathematics which is very simple.  Either the PP and PSOE join forces which the latter refuses to do or the PP gets support from Ciudadanos and other minority moderate parties.  But we still have to wait and see.  The exit polls got it all wrong and the PSOE and Podemos are still wondering why their results were so disappointing. My theory is that the general voting population is sick of politics and fed up with the negotiations which got nowhere last time but that they also might have been influenced by the Brexit referendum and people went for the safe PP vote.  We now have to face weeks or months of negotiations until a new government can be formed.  The same as in the UK, there is not much faith in politicians here either. This photo sums it up quite well don’t you think?

In the afternoon on Monday though, everyone forgot about politics and looked for hope in the national sport, football.  Spain was playing Italy.  I have no faith in politicians and not much faith in the national team either; judging by the way they had played so far in the Euro Cup.  As soon as the Italians scored their first goal I gave up watching. They went on to win 2-0 knocking out the reigning champions of the competition.  So no one was happy on Monday.

There was a silver lining to the cloud though and it was at Wimbledon; although I’m not sure it was raining there.  Whilst Italy was thrashing Spain at football, Spain was playing against Italy at tennis in the first round.  Garbiñe Muguruza (admittedly half Spanish and half Venezuelan), the number 2 seed in the world, last year’s finalist and this year’s winner at Roland Garros, was playing the Italian Camila Giorgi. The silver lining was that Garbiñe beat her 6-2 5-7 6-4.  My joy didn't last long when she had a shock exit in the second round:-(

At least Spain beat Italy at tennis on Monday - Garbiñe Muguruza at Wimbledon when she played and won against Camila Giorgi 

Whilst both matches were being played I was getting ready to go out.  On Monday night I was to attend a sort of goodbye, celebratory dinner after the announced sale of Yoigo with the board and management team members.  We were to be 12 and there were a few jokes about it being The Last Supper. The photo illustrating this week's post is of me all dolled up and ready to go out.  The Topics at dinner would of course be about Brexit, the Spanish general election results and Spain’s defeat by Italy.  I just hoped the food would be good. 

With my dinner partners at the goodbye "last supper" on Monday night

The food was excellent but then when during the middle of the meal I was informed by my dinner partners (Swedes, Finns, French, Spanish and English (me)) that England had lost to Iceland I thought it just couldn’t get much worse.  The immediate reaction was of course that England was out of the EU and now out of the Euro Cup. Not funny but spot on. Maybe we should have spoken about the weather.  But no there were all sorts of jokes thrown at me and there have been many more in the press and on internet since.Twitter couldn’t stop making Brexit jokes. The dinner finished really late.  Despite the above, my stiff upper lip let me enjoy it and of course it’s better to laugh than to cry.  I mean how funny can it get?  Iceland with a population of 330.000 people beats the country which invented football and is supposed to have one of the best teams in the world.  Oh well life is a game hahaha.

At least the English were able to resort to their sense of humour after their humiliating loss to little Iceland in the Euros on Monday night.

Here are some of the best jokes I have seen: “England freeze against Iceland” “England backs Brexit” or “Roses are red, violets are blue, we’re out of the Euros and out of the EU”.  I just love the British sense of humour and how they have risen to the occasion. I suppose it’s not funny for the team or their manager who resigned immediately. Let’s see how Iceland does now when they face France.

On Monday and Tuesday Suzy was travelling to Nicaragua with her flat mate and fellow “Manada” member, Anita.  They left London early on Monday morning and flew first to Houston.  When she messaged us that they arrived there we all joked we hoped she wouldn’t have the proverbial problem. Luckily they didn’t.  They boarded for a flight to Managua at about 2 in the morning Spanish time.

Anita and Suzy boarding for Managua in Houston

From Managua they would be taking a pre booked safe taxi to Popoyo (wherever that is haha) which would take 2 hours. They got to their hotel (La Ola Verde) safely where their other Manada friends, Rocío and Chati, were already staying with Rocio’s boyfriend and some of his friends.  They must have checked in at 12.30 on Monday night which for us was 08.30 on Tuesday morning.  I had asked Suzy to give us regular updates and so far she has. Now the group is all together and her holiday really begins. Some 6 hours later we got a photo of the girls together with Rocio's boyfriend having breakfast at their hotel by the beach and looking very relaxed.  

"The Manada" in Nicaragua"

Tuesday ended very sadly.  Three suicide bombers attacked people at Istanbul airport that night, killing over 40 and injuring more than 200 people.  Who was to blame?  Well we know of course, bloody ISIS.  How I hate this new form of terror and war.  Ataturk airport is one of the busiest in Europe and was not prepared for the carnage.  Whoever is? I am also very sorry for Turkey a country I have visited 2 or 3 times and loved and a country whose economy relies on tourism.  This is a hard blow to Turkey. 

Terror at Ataturk airport Istanbul on Tuesday night.

Wednesday was a big day for Yoigo employees who would be meeting the CEO of the group that is buying our company from our Swedish and Spanish shareholders; Másmóvil. I had a surprise in store for everyone.  We had decorated the cafeteria with balloons and there were sweets on hand and a big welcoming banner.  The place looked really festive. But above all it was good communication; a chance for the employees to meet the face of the new company and get the opportunity to ask questions.  These events are called "Yoigo Mornings" and there is always full house as there was on Wednesday.

I put on a lovely reception for  the special Yoigo Morning on Wednesday.

This week the Pride Festival in Madrid took place.  I thought it was called The Gay Parade but Olivia corrected me.  She was covering it for her TV programme as you can see in the photo below.

It's a very big thing here but I didn't envy her as it was so hot.  She must have melted in the heat waiting to go live on camera.

I was melting too and spent most of the afternoon indoors with the air conditioning on.  The pool was out of action as another leak has been found and the swimming pool people came to fix it. Thankfully it was a leak from the skimmer so we didn't have to empty the pool again.

We've had leaks in the garden too from the irrigation system and on Wednesday the gardeners laid down a whole new pipe.  They  dug up most of the garden and it's not a pretty sight.  I do hope their efforts succeed as Eladio has been forever fixing little leaks here and there all over the lawn for years now each of which take up a lot of his time and worry him or course; not to mention the cost in the waste of water.

On Thursday, my fasting day,  I was busy with work as we had announced on our social media sites that the Sinfin 20gb tariff was returning as a promotion in July.  We got a lot of stick from some of our followers who criticized us for the tariff only being available for new customers.  Well it's just a promotion and promotions come and go.  Do people complain when a product is at a certain price at a shop and then goes down in the sales? Well no right.  In any case it's the best mobile tariff by far in the market and anyone joining us now will be happy I can tell you; practically unlimited voice and data. And once they've signed on the tariff is forever.  So, if you are in Spain and belong to another operator, this is your chance to join Yoigo.  You won't be disappointed. Well there is a bit of propaganda for you hahaha.

The Sinfín 20gb is back for the month of July, by far the best mobile tariff in the market.

Whilst that was happening one good piece of news emerged; that Boris Johnson was not running for Tory leadership.  Thank goodness for that. It is now between Teresa May and Michael Gove.  I'm not familiar with either but was not happy to read that the former said she would propose a Brexit leaver to head up the negotiations with the EU on the UK's withdrawal.  You see I'm still hoping Parliament will not approve it.

On Thursday morning too Eladio went to buy a ceiling fan lamp to replace the ghastly dining room lamp in our bedroom which we bought second hand when we first got married.  It really was time for a change. We have air conditioning but on not such hot evenings it will be nice to use. But above all it looked a lot better.

The new ceiling fan lamp in our bedroom.  Love it!

We tried it out for the first time last night and loved it.  As we watched our new series on Netflix I kept getting messages to say the programme; Undercover boss that I had starred in was on again on TV.  It must have been as I got loads of messages on social media and more followers too.  Most of it was positive but I did get one hate tweet.  It certainly made me understand the lives of the famous and I wouldn't really like to be one of them.

Me on the telly again on Thursday night.  A photo one of the participants sent me when she watched the programme.

Last night we didn't have dinner with Oli.  She had it on her own. You see she moved into her new flat yesterday.  She didn't make the full move which will happen gradually over the weekend and next week when Miguel returns from Valencia.  She was flying the nest and it was strange not to see her last night or for breakfast this morning.  As the move will be gradual it won't be quite so heartbreaking as it could.  Oli hope you are really happy in this next stage of your life.  Love you.

Oli with the keys to her new rented flat.  She moved in on Thursday night.

Friday finally came, the day I was off to France for the cousin reunion.  My cousin Masha would be picking me up at Paris CDG airport. On Saturday we would be travelling to Poitiers to meet up with my cousin Zuka, her daughter Katty and kids Luc, Sam and Ruby and my Aunty Valya.

Well that was how it was supposed to be.  I am now writing from Madrid Barajas airport after my 12.20 Vueling flight to Paris was cancelled.  Like when I tried to travel with Norwegian to London not long ago this flight was cancelled and I was offered another flight tomorrow.  Obviously I didn't accept it as I wanted to arrive today.  So I had to buy another ticket.  I was lucky to get one as today is 1st July.  I will now hopefully be flying out of Madrid at 18.45 arriving Orly at 20.40 if all goes well. As I have plenty of time on my hands now I thought I would finish this post and publish it whilst I am here.  It's bad luck isn't it? To quote my Mother: "it's shitty, could be shittier".  Hope Google doesn't censor this hahaha.

Keeping my fingers crossed I will get to Paris tonight.

So I'll leave you now until next week when I hope to tell you all about my trip to France

Cheers till then,

Masha.

Home from Montrondo, Suzy’s new job, Summer Solstice, proud of my Welsh surname “Lloyd”, Goodbye Telia Hello MásMóvil and a bright future for Yoigo, my first bathe of the year, gutted and shocked by the Brexit referendum outcome and other tales of the week

Sunday 26^th June 2016

Leaving for the office on Monday morning, happy and blissfully unaware of the Brexit outcome

Hi again.

I write today with a heavy heart because of the Brexit outcome. When I left off last Sunday I could hardly have imagined that 52% of the population would vote to leave the EU.  But let me start from where I left off when I was blissfully unaware of the catastrophe that was looming.

Sunday was our last day in Montrondo.  We had a leisurely breakfast with our guests and friends Julio and Fátima.

The table laid for breakfast on Sunday morning in Montrondo

Meanwhile at home Oli had guests too; the girls’ best friend from their Scout days; Laura and her toddler daughter Maia.  They had a grand time, including Maia who took to the dogs very well and even to their beds hahaha.  The photo below of this sweet little baby sitting in one of the beds next to Elsa made me smile and I bet it makes you smile too.

Maia in the dogs' bed next to Elsa!

Our friends were leaving at midday but there was time for a walk and back to Murias before they went.  We went to pick up Adela who would join us on the walk and whilst there went into the field next door to take a close view of a baby foal and its Mother.  It was a wonderful scene for someone like me who adores 4 legged animals.  I should add that I only like 4 legged animals from cats and rabbits upwards; nothing smaller such as mice or similar.

The days old foal and its mother mare in the field next to Adela's house in Montrondo

We had coffee with Adela and Primo when our guests left and then it was time to clean and iron to leave the house spick and span for next time.  It was a glorious sunny day and we had lunch with my in-laws on their lovely terrace overlooking the fields in front of the church; the best view in the village. We left at around 6 and drove non-stop and were home in record time.

Monday was my fasting day.  In the morning I had a meeting in the office.  It was very sunny and time to wear some of my new clothes, including the Oysho pink and green flowery pyjama top which I am using as a light summer jacket haha.  The photo featured above is of me ready to go to the office. 

Suzy had good news that day after some bad news from her previous new employer, Hifas Da Terra. After a successful start with them as a freelancer they took new tasks away from her, leaving her with only 2 days of work per week which of course was not financially viable for living in the city of London.  She panicked and immediately started looking for a new job; this time as a dietitian.  Between the previous Thursday and Monday she had two interviews with the Spanish dietitian group of clinics, Pronokal and they have taken her on full time in their UK clinic in the most prestigious medical street in the world; Harley Street.  Finally she will be doing what she trained to be and full time too.  Hifas Da Terra took her resignation badly which I do not understand.  They said they had high hopes for her and were disappointed she had resigned.  Could they not understand that she was the one to be disappointed when they told her they only wanted her to work for 2 days a week?  So my friends it’s goodbye Hifas and Hello Pronokal. Hello Harley Street too.

Suzy's new job will be as a dietitian in Harley Street!

But first Suzy will take a well-deserved but holiday she probably cannot afford with some of the friends from the girls’ group “La Manada” and will be off, of all places, to Nicaragua, next Monday for 10 days.  The destination worries me slightly as it hardly the safest country in the world.  I wish her a safe journey and stay there and of course lots of luck in her new job.

 

Monday 20^th was the Summer Solstice, the transition between seasons and the official start of Summer.  It takes place when the earth is at its maximum tilt towards the sun.  The exact point at when it occurred on Monday was at 11.34 pm. For June 20^th sunrise was at 5.44 am and sunset at 10.34 in European time.  But something else occurred that day that only happens rarely. The solstice coincided with a full moon and that is apparently called a strawberry moon.

The Solstice "strawberry moon"

Here in Madrid I saw the full moon with my own eyes from the balcony of our bedroom and was disappointed it wasn’t a strawberry shape or colour. It was full of course but looked the same as usual.

Monday thus was the longest day in the year and it certainly felt like it for me. Things were moving fast with the planned sale of Yoigo by its main shareholder the Telia Company (formerly called TeliaSonera) to MásMóvil.  I knew that evening that the contract would be signed that night and the monies moved the next morning.  A press release was prepared to go out at 9 am but we wouldn’t know for certain if things would go according to plan until early in the morning.  Thus I agreed with my CEO and PR team from Ketchum to meet at 8 in the morning at the office to put into motion our PR plan; the most important part of which was to inform the staff.  That night I hardly slept as I didn’t get the main green light until past midnight.  I had my alarm clock on for 5.30 in the morning as traffic to the office can be hazardous and it could take anything up to 2 hours to drive to Yoigo.  But and it was a big but; I forgot to take my sleeping tablets and thus hardly slept, waking up every half an hour to check my phone for news.  So you see it really was the longest day in the year for me.

If Monday was the longest day, Tuesday felt equally long.  There was to be a new future for Yoigo.  The company has been on sale practically from the start, when I joined nearly 10 years ago.  I am sorry to see the Swedes go but on the other hand we always felt a bit like the ugly duckling of the group.  I mulled over this whilst I had my breakfast.  I didn’t have time for much else that morning but I did skip through the headlines of the main news.  What made me smile that day was that Wales beat Russia in the UEFA Euro Cup 3-0 the night before.  That was a kick in the **** to the Russian hooligans. You will know that I am half Russian and half English.  But you probably don’t know that my paternal grandfather was Welsh.  On Monday morning I was proud of my surname, Lloyd which if you didn’t know actually means the colour grey.

Proud of my Welsh surname

Well it was not a grey day for Wales, it was an historic day.  They will now meet Northern Ireland in the last 16 and I wonder what the outcome will be. I will be cheering for Wales that’s for sure.

Tuesday was the start of a new future for Yoigo.  Telia had sold us to MásMóvil, a Spanish telecom group of companies.  The price? 612k euros! Funnily enough it is 10 times smaller than Yoigo but as a group it knows where it’s going and it wants to grow with Yoigo.  More recently they had bought Pepephone, a mobile virtual operator like themselves and now they will be able to use our own network and between us the future looks bright for the more than 4 million customers the group now possesses. 

Later in the day I went to the MásMóvil press conference to officially present the project to the Spanish telecoms press.

The CEO of the MásMóvil group that has bought Yoigo

It felt funny to be invited and not the organizer.  Of course I knew everyone there so felt pretty much at home. I was impressed with the CEO of the company, Meinrad Spenger, an Austrian entrepreneur who has made Spain his home like me.  He gave a very calm message to the public when he assured the press there would be no job cuts and that the 3 brands, MásMóvil, Pepephone and Yoigo would remain.  Yoigo brings a lot of talent and experience to the group as well as a very well-known brand which is why it makes sense for it to remain. 

The day did not end well for Spain in the Euro Cup.  I couldn’t believe how the Spanish team threw their chances away by losing to a very strong Croatian team; especially Sergio Ramos missing the penalty.  God knows why he kicked it and I wish he hadn’t. They now go through as second in their group and will be playing Italy next Monday.  Spain is the reigning champion but looks a little fragile at the moment. I will not watch that match as it will be too nerve wracking for me.  The Italians are not happy either and many of their articles carried the words “mamma mia”.  They have not won a match to Spain in many years and the stakes will be big next week for both countries.

If you are interested, this is the draw for the last 16.  You will notice Iceland got through; that is news for that valiant little country which will be playing England.  Let’s see who wins and I hope the UK hooligans behave this time although that is asking for a lot.

The draw for the last 16 in the UEFA Euro Cup

Wednesday was the beginning of a new day for Yoigo.  In effect though not much will happen for another 3 months as first the Spanish regulator, the CNMC, has to approve the operation which they are guaranteed to do as there are no threats to competition in the market; quite the opposite. Then Telia will hand over the company formally to MásMóvil.  In the meantime our customers should have no fears as this operation only brings them more benefits.  The three operators united will create real competition in the Spanish telecoms market and that is to be applauded.

The week has been very hot indeed and Wednesday was the day I had my first bathe in our recently repaired, painted and filled swimming pool.  I was not, however, the first person in the family to do so.  Olivia pipped me to the post. For the records the temperature reached 35c that day.  In fahrenheit, 93º, it sounds a lot higher.

My first bathe of the year

Elsa, our lab, was more hesitant.  Labradors are supposed to adore water and she doesn’t seem to fit the norm.  I think she is attracted to the water as she stands on the steps but hesitates to go in.  Here she is on camera debating whether to overcome her fears or not.  She didn’t in the end haha.

Elsa our lab hesitant to go into the water

The only place to be in the garden when it is so hot is in the shade.

The shade in the garden by the pool, the only place to be when it so hot,

As I sat in the shade after my bathe I thought about our plans for retirement.  The latest ones were to move out of our enormous house and buy two flats, one to live in and one to let.  As I bathed and sat in the shade I began to realise what a stupid idea that was.  Eladio asked me this week if I really wanted to live in a flat, squeezed in a space shared with many other occupants.  My answer is no. Ok our house is far too big but we have got used to the space and the independence.  I think I would regret leaving and moving somewhere smaller.  Anyway we shall cross that bridge when we come to it. Meanwhile I am enjoying the summer here with the pool and terraces where we can have our meals outside and of course all the foliage and green we are surrounded by. We wouldn’t have that in a pokey little flat which is how the majority of people live in this country; something I have never understood.

Thursday was quiet and hot again as it has been all week.  I had to go to a dermatologist when a rash I had on my legs spread, became redder and redder and began to itch all over.  It turned out I had eczema; something I have never had before and something I would not wish on my worst enemy (well maybe on Boris Johnson hahaha).  Thankfully I was prescribed a cream which seems to be working.

Thursday of course was the day of the historic referendum in Great Britain to decide whether the country would remain or leave the European Europe. I had been watching the news closely and my forecast was a win, albeit very minor, to the remain camp.  So when I woke up on Friday morning to hear that Brexit had won by 52%for and 48% against I was truly devastated.  I am still reeling from the news.

How England voted in the referendum to remain or leave the EU.

I was even more stunned to learn that it was the older people who had voted to leave and the younger people to remain. That is so unfair as the older people have decided in one stroke their children’s bleak future.

How the different ages voted. It was mostly the old who voted out and the young who voted to remain.

I was truly shocked at the result.  Early on Friday morning David Cameron, the instigator of the referendum, resigned.  He is a true loser and is much to blame as he orfanised the referendum in effect to become Prime Minister in the last elections.  Well now he’s out of the government and out of Europe.  Was it worth it David? You will now only be remembered in history for leading the UK out of the European Union!!!

David Cameron had no option but to resign. It will become effective in October after the Tory Party conference

My first thoughts were practical ones.  I have lived in Spain for some 35 years and have never had the need to acquire Spanish nationality.  Now thanks to the bigoted, over-zealous and ignorant out voters, I now face the long and hard road to becoming a Spanish citizen with all the bureaucracy and paperwork it requires, not to mention the stupid cultural and language exams I have to take.  I took a look at the tests and they are ridiculous.  Of course I would pass but on the cultural questions, not the ones about how many delegates there are in the Senate or what dates it sits, etc.  I have now rung a lawyer recommended to me.  Thankfully she assured me I will not have to give up my UK passport.  It will take more than a year and will cost over 600 euros.  Thank you Brexit Out camp for making me have to take this forced, complicated and emotional decision.

On Friday, as predicted, the pound plummeted.  I thought of my Father’s pension in pounds.  He will now be worse off, like the other estimated 700.000 British people living in the UK.  Didn’t the Out Camp think about that? Then I learned that the day afterwards the most googled terms in the UK were: “What is the EU?” and “Brexit” and I was furious.  I mean why didn’t they do that before?  Didn’t they realise what the repercussions would be.  This is what I wrote on Facebook in response:

“I can't believe Brits who voted out are now googling “Brexit” and “What is the EU? That is sheer ignorance coming from that silly island that still thinks it rules the Empire. How stupid can you get? The repercussions are catastrophic. In one blow the out campaign has just denied their citizens freedom to live in or travel freely to 27 countries with no access to health care not to mention all the disaster in economic terms. I am beyond belief. It is thanks to the 52% of my ignorant countrymen that I now have to start the long and painful procedure to become a Spanish citizen, something I didn't need to do in all the 35 years I have lived in Spain. Thank you Brexit. You make me ashamed to be a British citizen”.

A reader of the Financial Times was much more eloquent than me and I am happy to share his or her words.  They will make you think:

Perhaps the most eloquent comment on the result of the referendum comes from a reader of the Financial Times

As the day wore on and the days wear on, we are seeing and will be seeing many movements not predicted.  Importantly Scotland now out of the EU wants a new referendum to separate itself from the UK.  Good luck to them I say.  They have the right.  Northern Ireland too is threatening to unite with Eire (Southern Ireland) which is part of the EU and I support that too. I wonder what the likes of Boris Johnson and that madman Farage will think about their politics when the United Kingdom is no longer united.  In fact it is not united now and the results show that.  There is even a petition gaining momentum to discredit the results as the margin for leaving was so small and only 75% of voters went to the polls. I do not want Boris Johnson to become the next Prime Minister.  He reminds me of Donald Trump or as Donald Trump with “a Thesaurus” as a friend commented to me.  But oh boy how he manipulated the masses. If only Winston Churchill could rise from the grave and turn the vote around. 

Boris Johnson, the main backer of Brexit, Englands answer to Donald Trump.  Eton doesn't always produce the best of men or the most intelligent and even so he is likely to be the UK's next PM.!

The whole process of leaving Brussels will take a long time. There is even a glimmer of hope it doesn’t happen as I read in an article in the FT. I was staggered to read the referendum was not legally binding, merely advisory, and that it would need a vote from Parliament before the latter invokes the now famous article 50 of the EU rules to exit the Union.  I would like to think that would happen but doubt Westminster would go against the wishes of the British people, however stupid they are. 

On our walk that morning, all Eladio and I could talk about was Brexit. In fact it has been on my mind ever since.  I wish it was Sunday again and I was blissfully unaware of what was to come. 

On our walk on Friday all we talked about was the outcome of the UK leaving the EU

We went out to dinner with Oli and Miguel on Friday night.  Of course it wasn’t to celebrate.  It was to commiserate about Brexit. Both my girls who have Spanish and English passports are equally devastated.  Suzy will be able to continue to live in London but I wonder about all her EU friends and colleagues of whom there are many in the capital.  They will be worried, as worried as the Brits in the EU, like me or my Father.   But we did celebrate one thing; Oli and Miguel moving into a new flat on 1^st July. I have mixed feelings on my darling daughter flying the nest but that is natural. 

Oli and Miguel - a happy moment this week

Today is Saturday, the day after what has been denominated “Independence Day” and I still can’t get over the news.  I can’t believe the UK has done this but it has and life goes on and we will cross all the bridges we have to when we get to them.  But it will be a damned difficult and uncertain journey. 

So today I went for our walk with Eladio and the dogs as usual, had a bathe in the pool, made the lunch and will be reading by the pool  in the afternoon. When Oli asked me what I was going to do tiday and I answered the above, she wondered whether I didn’t get bored.  I laughed and told her the older you get the less bored you are and that I had a wonderful life.  I am never bored.  I have no time to be bored. Life is for living and enjoying as much as you can and if you have free time; i.e. time for yourself the last thing you want is to be bored.  So no, I was not bored yesterday; nor am I today, nor am I ever.  If I ever was, I would always find .

I am posting this week's tales today Saturday as I want to be free tomorrow to be with Olivia.  She plans to take me to Ikea to get all the kitchen stuff they need for the new flat, so here you have my post one day early.

Let's see what the coming week brings, but of course I shall be telling you all about that in next weekend's post.

Cheer up, if, you, like me, are devastated by the vote to leave the EU by 52% of the voters of the referendum in the UK.  Let's just hope it doesn't have a domino effect.  

All the best until next week,

Masha