Suzy’s 30th birthday visit, this year’s top restaurants, an all-Spanish Champions League final, my Father’s 95th birthday, Finnish Vappu, off to Montrondo again, Mothers’ day in Spain, Olivia in Galicia reporting for TVE1 and other stories.

Monday 5th May 2014

Celebrating Suzy's birthday last Monday with a selfie

Hello my friends,

Wow last week was probably the best week of the year so far.  That was mainly because Suzy came to celebrate her 30^th birthday but also for other reasons which you will find out about if you carry on reading.

After I left off last Sunday, Suzy was continuing her pre birthday celebrations with a dinner party at home for the girls’ friends, commonly known as “la manada” (the herd).  It was on Sunday too that a young girl called Carolina Marín became known as the Spanish queen of badminton.  A star in Asia but literally unknown here, she “wrote her name into Spanish badminton history books” by winning the women’s singles gold medal in the European Championship.  This was yet another sporting victory for Spain.

Carolina Marín, Spain's queen of badminton

Sport and sports’ victories are the norm these days in Spain but what is not the norm is a racist incident in sport in this country.  So when a “fan” threw a banana at FC Barcelona player Dani Alves, last Sunday at the game against Villarreal, he decided to eat it to the astonishment and applause of the public.  The episode quickly turned into a worldwide anti-racism campaign after his team mate Neymar posted a picture of himself on Twitter with his son and a banana. 

Neymar posted a photo with his son after the racist banana episode

Monday came and finally it was Suzy’s official 30^th birthday.  I was up early to make a wonderful breakfast for everyone, including the girls’ boyfriends Miguel and Gabor. This was what the table looked like. Unfortunately for you Olivia vetoed the photos of us at breakfast as she was wearing pyjamas.

The breakfast table on Suzy's birthday

After breakfast we gave her our presents.  The star present was an album I had made for her with a significant photo of each year of her life so that she could see how she has developed through the years. The idea was mine but I have to publically thank Beatriz, Cristina and Gloria for making it happen.  Thanks girls, without your help the end product would not be the same.  You can see the video of the album here.

The inside cover of Suzy's special 30th birthday album I made for the occasion

But of course the main event of the day would be lunch which would be outside because of the glorious weather.  I had to work so ended up buying a take away lunch from the superb Mallorca gourmet shop.  I had bought the cake too, one of our favourites, made of pastry, cream and raspberries.  Olivia inspired us to take a super selfie photo of all of us, including my Father and the cake which I have chosen to illustrate this week’s blog post.  We had such fun taking it.

In the afternoon I spent time with Olivia and Gabor by the still covered pool after which I did two consecutive hour long walks.  Dinner that night was just the two of us.  That day I was especially pleased to announce our agreement with the Spanish College of Telecommunications Engineers which came about thanks to my ex colleague and friend Julio.  Here is a photo of us all when the agreement was signed.

With Julio, far right, after signing the agreement with the COIT

It was on Monday that the new list of the world’s best restaurants was announced.  Last year’s best restaurant El Celler de Can Roca was “relegated” to the number two spot being overtaken by Noma, the Danish restaurant.  But Spain faired extremely well, being the only nation with 3 restaurants in the top ten.  Thus Spain continues to dominate the food world when it comes to top restaurants.  Interestingly there was not one French representative, the nation that used to dominate this list.  For the records, these are the top 10: 1) Noma – Denmark 2) El Celler de Can Roca – Spain 3) Osteria Francescana - -Italy 4) Eleven Madison Park - United States 5) Dinner - United Kingdom 6) Mugaritz – Spain 7) .O.M. – Brazil 8) Arzak – Spain 9) Alinea - United States 10) The Ledbury - United Kingdom. I have only ever been to one of them; Arzak in San Sebastian and forever remember the amazing gourmet experience, although you will be interested to hear Eladio was not particularly impressed!

Tuesday was Suzy and Gabor’s last day so I decided to spend as much time with them as possible.  So did Olivia who actually took last week off as a holiday.  We went to Villanueva de la Cañada to close Suzy’s old bank account in the morning and here is the last pic of Suzy and I together.  Typically we are both looking at our phone screens.

The last photo of me with Suzy during her visit - last Tuesday

I made lunch for everyone but didn’t eat as I was fasting instead of Monday.  I would also fast on Wednesday so as to be able to enjoy my Father’s birthday meals on Thursday.  Fasting two days in a row is no easy task.  Oli and I took Suzy and Gabor to the airport where we said our goodbyes not knowing when we would meet next.  All I can say is that a great time was had by all.  Suzy’s birthday and birthday visit were a complete success and filled our hearts with joy.  I reflected on this when I went on two consecutive hour long walks in the evening.

That night Eladio and I and most of Spain watched a decisive football match.  Real Madrid was playing the second leg of the Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich in Germany.  The Spaniards beat the Germans a crushing 4-0 and got through to the final in Lisbon in May.  We wouldn’t know until the next day whether their opponent there would be Chelsea or Atlético de Madrid.  Madrid will be looking to win “la décima”, their 10^th victory after 12 barren years of never making it past the semifinals.

On Wednesday I was expecting Juan Carlos the dog trainer to come.  He was to help us make the dogs keep to heel on our walks but I’m afraid he failed to turn up.  Eladio was not at all in favour of hiring his services so I’m afraid I have given up in this area. 

At lunchtime Olivia and I went to Madrid to visit the new Zara flagship store in Madrid’s most prestigious shopping street, Calle Serrano.  We had a lot of traffic to confront and it was difficult to park.  We both remarked we far preferred living outside the city after the all the effort of getting there.  Once inside I think our inspiration for shopping had waned but we felt obliged to buy something.  I was not particularly impressed with the size of the store, having hoped it would be something like M&S at Marble Arch but it was much smaller.  I ended up buying a lovely blue bag but nothing else. 

The blue bag I bought at Zara's new flagship store in Calle Serrano

After lunch Olivia was off to stay with her boyfriend in Valencia where he lives.  She was looking forward to time on the beach.  I spoke to her yesterday and she told me she had a great time but that there was a lot of wind.  Unfortunately she never took any pictures for me to include in this week’s post. 

It was on Wednesday that The Local (Spain) published their article on whether it was time for Brits to leave Spain or not.  If you read my post last week you will know I wrote to them to tell them I would not be leaving and why.  So I was very “chuffed” to see they included most of my comments.  You can read their article here.

That night we found out who Real Madrid would be playing in the Champions League final in May.  Amazingly Atlético de Madrid beat Mourinho’s Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.  This will prevent “the special one” from having his revenge on Real Madrid which he left on ugly terms.  For the rest of the football world the final will be the first time two teams from the same town meet together.  May the best team win and here I mean Real Madrid, our team.  The outcome will be on 24^th May in Lisbon.  Cross your fingers for Real please in this all Spanish final.

Thursday was 1^st May, Labour Day and was a holiday in Spain and in most of the world. Most importantly to us it was my Father’s 95^th birthday.  This year the girls couldn’t be with us but I made it as nice a day as I could for my Father.  First there was a splendid breakfast with “chocolate and churros” followed by the traditional birthday card and presents.

Giving my Father his presents at the special breakfast I prepared for him on his 95th  birthday on 1st May

For lunch I made lasagna which I think is one of his favourite meals.  We had it outside as the weather continued to be pleasant.  The main moment of the day of course was the birthday cake.  Here is a photo of my Father blowing out his candles.  I can only hope and pray that we will continue to celebrate his birthday for many more years. 

My father blowing out the candles on his birthday on 1st May

1st May was also Vappu day in Finland.  I asked my Finnish friends to send me photos of them in the traditional white student caps and Timo obliged.  He also told me that the Finnish festivities of the 1^st May are celebrated in Helsinki, at least, at a big open air picnic at a place with the unpronounceable name of “Ullanlinnanmäki”, a hill in the Kaivopuisto park by the sea.  Vappu celebrates student graduations but student or not everyone seems to participate.

My friend and colleague Timo wearing the customary white cap on Vappu Day in Finland on 1st May

After lunch Eladio and I left for Montrondo where we would be spending the 1^st May bank holiday with some of his family.  Friday 2^nd May would also be a holiday for “madrileños” like us. We weren’t just going for fun as we had important tasks to complete in our path to rebuilding the old house we have “inherited”. We were to meet builders and discuss estimates as well as clear out the old house for when the refurbishment happens, hopefully this very month.

We arrived in the late afternoon, just on time for a walk to Murias with Dolores, Juan, Cristina and Sara.  Meanwhile Eladio met one set of builders who I was able to talk to when I came back from our walk.

At the "peña de dios" with some of my family walking to Murias on Thursday evening

That night we didn’t get a good night’s sleep.  The alarm went off at home and Fátima our home help didn’t notice. So the security company tried to ring Eladio.  He didn’t take the call at midnight as the number was unknown.  Then we heard from Olivia who was away in Valencia and who they had called too but of course she couldn’t help.  They tried all our numbers to no avail.  We eventually got through to Fátima but she wasn’t much help either.  It was worse for Olivia who got phone calls from the company until about 3 in the morning.  We can only imagine that Fátima left the garage door open and the dogs went in, but we shall never know.  It’s a bit worrying to think what would have happened in our absence if instead of a dog in an open garage, thieves really had got in.  Well thank goodness they didn’t but we shall have to be more cautious next time.

The forecast for weather in Montrondo was pretty bad with lots of cloud and rain but thankfully the “weather people” got it wrong and we had glorious sunshine throughout.  Spring is now much more noticeable there and everything was green.  On Friday morning I went for a pre breakfast walk to Murias and back as I would every day until we left on Sunday.

Taken on my walk to Senra with Sara - notice the beautiful blue sky. There is no pollution here.

We came home, had breakfast, made some preparations for lunch and then I was off again, this time with Sara, Dolores’ daughter, to Senra (the village after Murias) and back, some 8km all in all.  On our way we bumped into Pili, Eladio’s youngest sister, and my mother-in-law Ernestina, as well as Pili’s lovely dalmation, Trébol who were driving to Montrondo from León.  They joined us for a cup of coffee at the only bar in Senra, Cumbres de Omaña.  It was only later that she asked Pili who we were and if we were from the area.  It’s sad her memory is going.  She realized her mistake later, so all is not lost, she just has occasional relapses.

We had been 7 for dinner the night before and on lunch on Friday the number increased to 10 with the arrival of Pili, Andrés and my mother-in-law.  We all chipped in with different dishes to share.  As usual there was far too much food.

After everyone had had a siesta – not me, I was reading my book “Mao’s last dancer” in the sun, I persuaded a group of us to go on a trek up the mountains.  By the end of the day I would have walked more than 24 kilometres!  Once you get over the first three incredibly steep ramps you can enjoy the rest of the walk.  The views are wonderful. I never tire of them.  There was still some snow on the mountain tops but a lot less than last time.  Here is a photo of us on the walk.  Eladio was the photographer.

On the trek in the mountains on Friday 

Happy to read the statistics on my Fitbit, that day I burnt nearly 3.000 calories.

On Saturday after my early morning walk with Dolores, Eladio and I hit the road destination a small village near Bembibre about 1.5 hours from Montrondo.  One of the builders wanted to show us a country hotel he was building and we took the opportunity to clarify many aspects of his estimate.  We were home by 2.30 and just on time for lunch.  Today the numbers increased to 14 as Isidro, Eladio’s youngest brother, and his wife Yoli had come for the day as had Adela, Eladio’s oldest sister, and her husband Primo.  They brought more food and we had a sort of wonderful buffet lunch. 

In the afternoon I was hoping to go on another trek up the mountains but Pili intervened.  She got us all started on emptying the old house and transporting things to the restored barn next door where we will be cooking in the summer whilst our house is being rebuilt.  We threw out so much stuff we had accumulated over the years.  There was a moment of hysteria when a mouse was found in the pantry. 

By about 7pm we had finished for the day, so bereft of the walk up the mountains, Dolores and I set off for Senra, to add another 8km to the kilometres we had walked in the morning to Murias and back.  It was sunny again and the tan on my face and arms increased.  The rest of me, though, is still white!

Meanwhile in London Suzy was continuing her birthday celebrations.  She organized a BBQ at their new house and celebrated her 30^th birthday together with her new Czech friend Jane who was celebrating her 25^th year.  Later they went into London to celebrate more.  Here is a photo of part of the group.

Suzy celebrating her 30th birthday for the last time, this time in London.

Sunday was our last day in Montrondo but we enjoyed it to the full.  It was only after the early morning walk and breakfast that we all realized Sunday was Mother’s Day in Spain.  So we all congratulated Eladio’s Mother.  I waited for messages from my lovely daughters which eventually came through.  Thank you darlings.

We decided to stay for lunch and enjoy the morning. Dolores and I went for another walk to Senra and back whilst Eladio, Toño and Pili removed more stuff from the house.  The “kids”, Sara, Juan and Cristina left early as they had plans that day in Madrid. I made lunch for everyone as I did most days.  We had fabulous steak with chips made from potatoes grown in Montrondo, followed by Eton Mess, my favourite dessert which I made every day when we were there and which proved immensely popular with everyone.

The Eton Mess dessert I made in Montrondo - in fact I made it every day and it was hugely popular

We were all ready to leave by just after 16.30 and set off a bit worried we might run into heavy traffic at the end of the bank holiday. But we were in luck, it was not too bad and after having left Toño and Dolores in Madrid we were home by 9pm, too late to write my blog of course.  Olivia wasn’t at home as that morning she had flown from Valencia to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia where she will be reporting live for TVE1 this week. Eladio took Fátima to the bus stop with the weekly food shopping I provide her with so her kids are better nourished and we spent the rest of the evening unpacking, making a very light dinner and falling asleep in bed with the TV on, in need of a rest after the exertions in Montrondo. By the way you can see the rest of the photos of our stay here.

This morning, Monday morning has been busy. I was up early and had a conference call with my communications colleagues. Then we sent out a press release on an agreement with a new insurance company for our customers to insure phones at Yoigo shops.

There was time though to watch Olivia live on TVE1 from Pontevedra in Galicia.  It was to be our highlight of the day.  Eladio, my Father and I watched her live at 11.46 and she was on TV for about half an hour reporting on the case of a violent drunkard who attacked people at a hospital in Vilanova de Arousa where his elderly Mother had been admitted. 

Olivia reporting from Galicia this morning

I am fasting today as I will be tomorrow.  I want to get my two fasting days over before my beloved friends Sandra and Adele come from Belgium and France with their respective partners, Jeffer and Bernard.  They will be staying until Sunday and are in luck because the temperature will be in the very high twenties and we will be opening the pool for their visit.  My blog post next week will be full of news of their visit.

Meanwhile I will leave you until next time, wishing you all a great week,

Masha

A rainbow in Montrondo, a claw foot bathtub, Olivia reporting for TVE from Cartagena, a business lunch with Julio, a letter to The Local on why I’m a Brit who is staying in Spain, another photo from the past, the end of an era; Nokia becomes Microsoft Mobile, RIP Tito Vilanova, Suzy is home, a shopping expedition with the girls and other stories

Sunday 27^th April 2014

Shopping with Suzy on Saturday morning

Hi everyone,

This week I have been as busy as a bee.  There has been so much to do on the work front and at home; preparing for Suzy’s arrival on Friday and so many other things.  I felt like “speedy gonzález”, only stopping to think for myself on my two hourly walks per day.

We came back from Montrondo last Sunday after a wonderful Easter break and the weather held until we left.  Just as I had published last week’s “missal”, my sister-in-law sent me a photo of the view from their kitchen of the village with a full rainbow.  Maybe there was a pot of honey or of gold at the end, but for me it was the photo of the week.  If you look closely you can see another lighter coloured rainbow just behind.

The rainbow in Montrondo last Sunday after we left

Since we returned Eladio has been busy talking to builders and the town council for the building license.  In any spare time I have had I have been researching rural and old fashioned type bathroom suites.  In my mind I can see a black and white floor with white tiling and old fashioned furniture, especially for our own bathroom in the newly reformed house.  One of the elements just has to be a claw foot bathtub and here Eladio has gone all out to find me one. And voilà, he did, from a small factory in the province of Toledo and it is now on its way. 

At “home” (my childhood home at 6 Heaton Grove) in England, all the bathroom furniture was Victorian and we still regret enormously not bringing it all from the house when my Father came to live with us.  The bath tub at home was enormous and I remember my Mother enjoying her baths there when I would sit and chat to her, both of us smoking.  So maybe my quest for old fashioned bathroom furniture has something to do with nostalgia for the beautiful Victorian washbasins we had in all our rooms with their old fashioned taps.  In any case the quest for the rest of the elements continues while the house hasn’t even been started on yet.

Monday was quiet and busy with me working from home as usual.  Olivia meanwhile was in Cartagena, a big town in the province of Murcia.  She had been sent by TVE to report on the story of a civil guard who had shot a young man and left him paraplegic after a silly brawl about a fight over a car mirror. 

Olivia is at her best reporting on court cases and had learnt about the rather complicated case and her reporting was flawless.  She was on at 11.40 and you can see the clip here if you fast forward to that time.  She was on again at 13.08 with an update on how the trial was going which you can see on the same link if you go to that time.

Olivia, my youngest daughter, reporting live for TVE from Cartagena on Monday

I think I told you last week that her cameraman that day was to be her boyfriend Miguel.  That was certainly a plus for both of them.  She sent me this lovely photo of the two of them by the TVE truck.

Olivia and Miguel "working together" on Monday in Cartagena

On Tuesday I had an important business lunch.  It was with Yoigo and the COIT (Spanish official college of telecommunications engineers).  It sounds like a boring business lunch but it wasn’t because my great friend and ex Nokia colleague, Julio who works part time for the COIT was also there.  After the lunch we went to the College offices to sign the agreement and official photos of the event were taken.  I just love the one of Julio and myself with the Spanish flag behind us. I cropped the photo so that just the two of us appear in the photo.  Great isn’t it?  You may notice I was wearing the Zara “kaftan” type dress I had bought the week before with a matching green summer coat from the same shop I bought last year.

With my best friend Julio on official business on Tuesday

That night was the first leg of the Champions League semifinal between Atlético de Madrid and José Mourinho’s Chelsea FC.  Thus most Spaniards, even if they were Real Madrid or Barcelona fans, would be behind the Spanish team. Even I watched the match last night.  I write a lot about football in my blog but I have to confess I am not actually so interested in the play itself, although I like to see the goals, as in the outcome and the competition.  As the match started around dinner time, we decided to eat in our room.  Soon Olivia joined us and found the scene so funny she had to grab us on camera and here we are.

Candid camera:  Photo Olivia took of us having dinner and watching the Chelsea Atlético Madrid match on Tuesday

As there were no goals the match was very boring, so whilst Eladio had his eyes on the screen I started reading my new book delivered by Amazon this week, Mao’s last dancer, the story I told you about last week.  It is going to be a great read and in the league of “Wild Swans, three daughters of China” from what I have read so far.  When I’ve finished it I shall pass it on to my Father who I know will also be very interested in Li Cunxin’s life story.

Wednesday was St. George’s day and I couldn’t help remembering my brother.  My Mother always told me she chose that name for her son in honour of St. George and the dragon.  In many parts of the world it was celebrated and very much so in the Barcelona area of Spain where the tradition is for men to give women a red rose and for women to give men a book; a bit chauvinist I think but a nice idea too. 

I had no time for thoughts of that English saint that morning when I had a very early start that morning.  You see it was results day when TeliaSonera, Yoigo’s “mother company” was announcing the first quarter financial results.  I had to attend a conference call at 8 and then watch the web cast of the conference call in Stockholm at 10.30 as well as send out a press and internal releases. The results in market share were good for Yoigo.  We had reached over 4 million customers but it had come at a cost in profitability.  In operator business you always have to balance customer intake with profitability; never an easy balance.  At 12, I had another conference call, this time with Finland, with my new communications boss, Tatu.  Later I had another business lunch, this time with Xavi, an ex-Motorola colleague.  It was great to see him. Thanks for the splendid lunch at La Española in Pozuelo Xavi my friend.

It was on Wednesday after my evening walk that I decided to write to The Local.  This is an online English written newspaper which has editions in many countries and I find the Spanish version really quite entertaining.  It explains local events well and is mainly targeted at British people living in Spain, like me.  So when I read an article about Brits leaving Spain because of the crisis, entitled “British expats flee from crisis-hit Spain” it rather rattled me.  On their Facebook page they asked Brits to tell them why they were leaving and I suggested they also asked Brits why they were staying.  This is the letter I wrote to them and which I share with you here, for you to understand why I am staying here and not leaving.  By the way I got an answer and I think they will be quoting in me in another article soon, so watch this space.

My letter to The Local:

Hi

 Yesterday I read your article about Brits leaving Spain (I read many of your articles and find most of them very informative and entertaining).  It was also echoed on the news here. This morning on your FB page you said you would love to speak to Brits who had left Spain to find out their reasons for doing so.  That sort of annoyed me as I think the statistics are not very clear and can hardly imagine the British love affair with Spain being over, despite the crisis, although of course some people are leaving, either because they want to spend their final years back home or because they can't find a job.  

I suggested you also talk to Brits, like me, who choose to stay on so as to tell both sides of the story and you asked me to write and tell you why I am staying.

I am a British born woman who fell in love with Spain in the 70's in my teens when my parents bought a ruin of a house in a remote village in the hills of Alicante.  I went on to study Spanish at University, fell in love and married a Spanish priest and came to live in Madrid in the early 80's.  I have had a bird's eye view of the development of this amazing country from the times when Franco was in power, to the transition to democracy and have lived through both times of economic boom and crisis.  It was never easy to get a job but I always managed and have gone from working as a teacher of English to translator, to being part of  marketing departments of multinationals and latterly heading up PR in telecommunications companies.  I do not live in an English bubble and have never had the need.  I consider living in Spain like marriage, you carry on through the good times and the bad if you love the country like I do. 

Ok we have had a crisis since 2008 and of course it's tough for many people but if you have a job here and a house, there is absolutely no need to go.  Life is great in Spain; the climate, the food, the people, the very open society with far less rigid rules than in the UK for example.  Spain is also one of the most liberal countries in the world and has come a very long way from Franco's times.  Spaniards live life to the full; enjoying work and play. You might also like to add that the siesta and "mañana" attitude are clichés and things of the past.  Healthcare is of a very high standard.  I wouldn't leave Spain for "all the tea in China". The only home comforts I miss from the UK I can get online.  When I first arrived in Spain in the 70's you couldn't even get corn flakes or fresh butter.  Now everything is available. 

So please also include in your story that there are English people staying on in Spain who are happy to do so.  The quality of life in Spain is just too good for me to ever want to leave.  Ask your other British readers living in Spain and I'm sure they will agree.

That's all from me, hope my side of the story is relevant to you,

 Best regards

I could have added in the letter that Spain plays probably the best football in the world, something Brits here will also appreciate.  Proof of that, once again, was that night when Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in their first leg of the Champions League semifinal; although ironically the winning goal came from a Frenchman, Benzema. Everyone here is hoping for an all-Spanish final but that remains to be seen.  Last year we wished for the same when both Real Madrid and Barcelona were in the semifinals only to be beaten by Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (last year’s winner) in an all-German final.

Thursday was another busy day working at home. There is not much to report unless you count my two hour long walks, a visit to the chiropodist, food shopping with Fátima our home help and other domestic duties. 

Friday started off early too.  There were lots of things to do in preparation for Susana and Gabor’s arrival late that night.  I will have told you already that they were coming for Suzy’s 30^th birthday which is on Monday.  First things first; upon Suzy’s request, I made a big fruit trifle which we would have for lunch on Saturday.  Then I went out on various birthday errands which I can’t write about as I don’t want to include any birthday spoilers in case Suzy reads this post before Monday. I wanted the house to look nice so I gathered flowers of all types from the garden and filled our home with even more colour.  Suzy got some beautiful yellow roses in her room which I also put in a vase on one of the tables in our lounge.  We even bathed the dogs so that Norah and Elsa would be sweet smelling for Suzy’s arrival.  I’m not sure they appreciated the gesture hahaha.

I filled the house with flowers for Suzy's arrival

I felt happy and excited whilst preparing for Suzy’s visit.  The other day Olivia had been copying some of our old photos of when they were small, like the “photo from the past” I posted last week and she dug out another wonderful photo, this time of me with both girls.  I put it on FB that morning in honour of Suzy’s arrival and I am happy to share it with you here too.  It was taken in our first Madrid house in the Calle Francisco Silvela in 1986 when Suzy was 2 and Olivia was 1. Suzy later told me she remembered the giant pink rabbit in the picture. I got some wonderful compliments on my looks which was great for my ego too.  But I specially love the “bubbliness” on Suzy’s face.  It just sums her up when she was a toddler, happy and full of life.

This week's photo from the past.  1986 with Suzy aged 2 and Olivia aged 1

Ok so on Friday I was happy and excited.  However Friday also marked the end of an era for the telecommunications industry and for me too.  It was the day the Nokia branded phone division was to become Microsoft Mobile. For an ex Nokia employee, like me, that was especially poignant news.  I can only imagine how hard that must be for current Finnish Nokia employees.  I have often written about my times working with Nokia and as a company it was just the best in terms of culture and employee welfare and here I am referring to the company, certainly not Nokia Spain which was a different story completely.

The end of an era

The sports world went into mourning on Friday evening.  The ex-Barcelona coach, 45 year old Tito Vilanova died after a long struggle with cancer. 

RIP Tito Vilanova

Condolences came from all around the world.  Especially ironic was a tweet from Chelsea FC from “the special one”.  It is not surprising he should be sad too but then I think he must regret forever his antics when he got into a brawl with him, poking him in the eye and calling him “Pito” instead of “Tito” (pito also meaning “penis” in Spanish) as if he was a nobody, during the 2010 Spanish Super Cup won by Barcelona.  His tweet made no mention of the incident on Friday when he wrote: “On behalf of Chelsea Football Club I send my deepest condolences at this most difficult time".

To fill the time until Suzy and Gabor’s arrival at midnight, Eladio and I went out to dinner.  Unfortunately all our favourite restaurants on The Fork are no longer available.  In the end we went to Ginos to have pizza and pasta.  The day seemed endless until it was time to go and pick Suzy and Gabor up.  Luckily they were on time and as they didn’t have to wait for any luggage, soon my darling daughter was in my arms.  That night we all went to bed very late but very happy.

Saturday was the highlight of the week, the happiest day so far.  It started with breakfast all together in the kitchen.  Both girls were with us and both boyfriends too, Gabor and Miguel. I quickly prepared the food for the family lunch: homemade Spanish lentil soup, fish to be baked in the oven accompanied by fresh peas and artichokes and Suzy’s favourite, mashed potatoes. The dessert would be my trifle.  Thus I was free to go out shopping with the girls.

We went to Gran Plaza 2, one of the bigger but more manageable shopping centres.  First and last stop for me was Zara.  Here I bought a lovely red summer coat I don’t really need but couldn’t resist.

My new red coat from Zara

Olivia very generously bought all the clothes Suzy chose as part of her birthday present.  What a generous daughter I have.  The photo with Suzy illustrating this week's blogpost is of us shopping in Zara.

We all had a huge siesta afterwards, tired from so much emotion and from having gone to bed late the night before.  Later Eladio and I went on our walk with the dogs which I would repeat an hour later.  The girls meanwhile were getting ready to go out to Suzy’s 30^th birthday party at a place called Euphoria which belongs to one of their friends.  Copi and her boyfriend Miguel came to join them in their preparations, or rather Copi made up both girls as she is an expert in face makeup.  Meanwhile both Miguels made dinner for the group. 

They were going out to a great birthday party but we just stayed at home and went to bed, feeling exhausted and a bit flat really.  It wasn’t until today that I got to see photos of the party. Everyone who was anyone in Suzy’s circle of friends and family were there, including her cousins, Juan, Sara, Alicia and Paula and their partners.  I love this photo of them together although unfortunately Juan had left when the photo was taken.  I think I heard them returning this morning at around 4 so a good time must have been had by all.

Suzy's 30th birthday party yesterday in Madrid with some of her cousins

Celebrations will continue today and tomorrow.  I have always said that Suzy’s birthdays are like Indian weddings, they go on for a week or longer.  In fact she will be having another one in London on 2^nd May.  Meanwhile today we will be having a family barbecue so when I sign off I shall start preparing for that.

Tomorrow will be her official birthday but of course I will tell you all about that in next week’s post.

So cheers till then

Masha