Kings’ day and Russian Christmas, jihadist horror in France, Je suis Charlie, Je suis Flic, introducing Pippa, dinner at Julio’s and other stories.

Sunday 11th January 2014

Kings' Day lunch

Hi everyone,

Well yes Christmas is over but it wasn’t when I wrote last Sunday.  That day I cut my finger whilst chopping potatoes and even now it is a little difficult to type but it’s getting better.  Of note last Sunday I watched the end of the 2014 Downton Abbey Christmas special and must admit it was the best Christmas special ever.  I am missing the characters already and will have to wait more than a year for the next season.  Bereft of anything interesting to watch I ordered the film Hawking and the series Missing from Amazon and look forward to watching them when I get a moment, hopefully with Olivia and Eladio.

This year's Downton Abbey Christmas special was the best ever

On Monday I fasted for the first time since the beginning of the festivities and I think it did my body a lot of good.  I felt really detoxed and am now determined to return to 5:2 rather than 6:1.  If you are not familiar with the numbers they refer to the “Fast diet” where five days a week you eat normally and two days a week you fast on just 500 calories. In the month running up to Christmas I had been doing 6:1. 

I didn’t have much time to think about food as Monday was a very busy day. After my early morning walk I went to the hairdressers to redo my roots and cut my very long hair.  In the afternoon I went on a very funny expedition with Eladio. We went to buy 4 loos and 4 bidets for our bathrooms in Montrondo.  We had finally found someone who sold new “old fashioned” ones which we think are perfect for the style of the new house.  They only just fitted in our X5 and now they are all sitting in the garage.  They look a funny sight. The guy who sold them to us thought they were for a hotel!  If you are English you might wonder why we would bother with bidets.  Well the truth is they are a wonderful invention and after having lived in Spain for more than 30 years I couldn’t do without one.

The loos and bidets in our garage waiting to be taken to Montrondo

It was on Monday that I heard from my great friend Sandra who lives in Brussels that the Bollywood film she had a small part in had finally been aired. It is called PK and was filmed I think in Bruges. You can see her role here.  I just love her voice.  Well done Sandra.

It was well done to Olivia too that night when I and many other people watched her report live on the Kings’ parade in Madrid, the biggest of all of them in Spain.  She must have been on the TV over 10 times and I was so proud of her. As I watched her impromptu and charismatic reporting, especially when she spoke to children, I felt guilty that I had never taken the girls to the Kings’ parade in the capital when they were small.  But as my friend Jacky pointed out on Facebook: “not to worry she’s enjoying it now”.  And she really was as she told me later.  You can see the whole retransmission here.

Oli reporting live from the Kings' Day parade in Madrid on Monday evening

The Parades always take place on the eve of Kings’ day, a magical night for Spanish children as they receive their presents the next day, just as children in England receive theirs on Christmas morning.  These days in Spain people give and receive presents on both days, but Kings’ day is when most are given.  At home, we respect both traditions except that Christmas day is more important for us than Kings’ Day.  So everything was prepared for this last day of Christmas in our house.  In a way it is a great end to Christmas, it makes it go out with a bang and this year was no exception.

The day started with a special breakfast all together in the dining room with the piece de resistance being the “roscón” (kings’ cake) which for the occasion we toasted.  Later we moved to the lounge to open our presents, just 2 or 3 each but all very much appreciated.  I especially liked my jumper and scarf (bought with Eladio a day or two before haha).  There was even time for a walk in between breakfast and lunch where we were joined by Olivia and Miguel.  It was a lovely sunny day as it has been for weeks now.  Then I made lunch, roast lamb, whilst Oli and Miguel made a carrot cake which was delicious.  The only thing missing on Kings’ day was Suzy.  Meanwhile in London she celebrated with Gabor.  He had invited her out to lunch that day to a special vegan restaurant in the centre.  Her main present to him was a Ryan Air flight to Copenhagen in the spring. They will be staying with our dear Danish family, Pernille and Thomas. I made a collage of some of the best photos of the day here below.  The full collection can be found on this link.

Being the last night of Christmas, Oli, Eladio and I had dinner in the lounge with the fire on.  Eladio only ever lights it at Christmas but when he does we love it.

The next day was Wednesday 7^th January and Christmas was officially over.  In my mind however I knew it wasn’t as it was Russian Christmas that day.  The Russian Orthodox follows the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian one and I remember as a child celebrating it thanks to my Russian Mother.  Sadly I did not continue the tradition.  There is something luring and mystical about the Russian Orthodox religion and its church services have probably not changed since they started.  Still when I think about the few times my Mother and Aunt took us to a Russian church, I get goose pimples remembering the smell of incense, the chanting in Church Slavonic, the candles, the icons, the robed and bearded priests as well as the distinctive cross.  Whenever I get the chance to enter a Russian church as I did when I was in Vilnius in September, I buy a candle, light it and say a prayer for my Mother, my Aunt and my brother, whilst making the sign of the cross the Russian way, from right to left, different to the Roman Catholics who do it from left to right.  I asked my husband who is an ex Catholic priest the reason for the difference and he had no explanation.  I haven’t found one on internet either.  If any of you reading this know the answer do please leave a comment in this post.

It was Russian Christmas on 7th January

That morning Eladio and I went to the Corte Inglés department store.  It was the beginning of the January sales and the place was packed.  We only wanted to change some presents and buy some for our annual end of Christmas dinner at Julio’s house on Friday.  We also took the opportunity to buy a new printer as ours has finally died, most possibly due to programmed obsolescence; something I hate.  When we installed our new wireless and wifi HP Envy 4500 I realized we had been living in the dark ages as far as printers are concerned.  It was very easy to set up and lovely to be able to print remotely with no cables from our PCs.  However from our mobiles only I am able to print on it.  We also have a Samsung laser jet printer which only works from Eladio’s mobile.  I must say printer technology is fine but can be frustrating.  The same applies to TVs, at least in my case.  Thankfully I am something of an expert in mobile phones but that is because I work in the sector.

Whilst we were out shopping, something dreadful was happening in France.  Two Jihadist brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi of Algerian origin had stormed the offices of the satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo in Paris.  It is well known for poking fun at everything from religion to feminism, including Mohammed.  There and then they killed most of the staff as well as a policeman on their way out.  Ironically he was a Muslim.  The news stunned the world.  This was an attack on freedom of expression.  These jihadists who work for Al Qaeda and possibly IS, attacked Charlie Hebdo in retaliation for their satirical cartoons of Mohammed.  As they charged into the room heavily armed where the editorial committee was planning the next edition, they shouted something similar to “you will pay the greatest price for your insults to the prophet”.  What they did was perpetrate an attack on freedom of expression.  Whether you agree with the magazine’s stance or like their cartoons, what happened on France’s 9^th January was a pure attack on freedom of speech from fanatical Muslims whose God is against murder.  Whilst thousands of gendarmes searched for the fleeing brothers, the world protested.  People started posting photos with the slogan “Je suis Charlie”.  I did too.  Only later did I realise that we were all echoing Spartacus when I read Dominic Lawson’s article in The Times today and which I quote here: “This rallying cry is presumably meant to evoke the scene in Spartacus when the Romans demand the eponymous slave leader is handed over for execution. They ask the captured slaves which among them is Spartacus. First one and then all of them shout: “I’m Spartacus!”— offering their own lives rather than see their leader executed”.  My friend Adele who lives in France has a daughter-in-law who is a policewoman in Paris and Carole posted not only “Je suis Charlie” but “Je suis flic” (I am a policeman) on internet as we are all mourning the deaths of the staff of the magazine but not the deaths of the policemen and policewomen who have been killed too. On that same day in another shootout in Paris a policewoman was killed.  Only later did the French authorities confirm that the attacks were linked.  Meanwhile my friend Adele told me “the police know for a fact that all the stations, families of police etc are targets. They all have to wear bullet proof vests & carry their arms home”.  My heart went out to both women and to all the police in France and around the world who defend us from terrorism.  The story did not end there as we would find out two days later.

On Thursday I was up at dawn as I had to be in the centre of Madrid early in the morning for an interview with El Economista.  It was organized by our advertising agency and was supposed to centre on their advertising campaign for our company. However they only told me about it the day before.  Thus I had little time to prepare.  The interview, as I predicted, turned out to centre 99% on the company business with hardly a mention of the advertising agency.  This is the article which funnily enough came out in a Mexican newspaper, El Universal the next day  but which was also published offline in Spain yesterday.

From the advertising agency offices I made my way to my PR agency’s offices in downtown Madrid for a quick meeting with my team there.  It was lovely to see Cris, Gloria, Bea, Miguel and Julia but especially little Yoigo, the company mascot whose owner is Gloria.  Little Yoigo is a miniature chocolate coloured dachshund and is adorable.  

Later that day I got photos of the second company mascot which is still too little to be separated from its Mother.  So here and today I proudly introduce you to “Pippa” (or Pipa in Spanish) who will live with us.  I can’t wait for the day she comes and see how Elsa and Norah get on with her.  I predict they will both vie to be her Mother.

Introducing you to Pippa

Finally on Thursday afternoon Eladio and I had some spare time to take down the Christmas decorations a task I hate.  It takes so long to put them up but a very short time to take them down.  Now they are safely tucked away in one of our store rooms until next year.

Friday saw the end of the jihadist attacks in France.  Not only were the two brothers found who had taken a hostage at a print works in Dammartin-en-Goële near Paris, but the same killer of the policewoman on 9^th January, another Jihadist called Amedi Coulibaly stormed a Jewish kosher supermarket where he took hostages many of whom were women and children.  Both sieges ended in blood when French Special forces burst into both locations.  The terrorists were all killed and very sadly 4 of the hostages too, although they were killed before the forces entered the premises.  All in all the horror attacks in France this week cost the lives of 17 people. My friend Adele called it France’s World War III and I tend to agree.

Meanwhile in other countries in Europe governments raised the safety levels.  The head of the M15 in the UK spoke of at least 3 thwarted attacks in London.  Here in Spain one of our top members of government told the country that Spain was one of the safest countries in the world.  Has she forgotten our 11M (the Madrid train bombings)?  It may be the end of the attacks in France, but I think there will be more.  I dread to think where and when.

However life continues and I was pleased to see one of my Amazon purchases arrive.  It was a dvd, season 2 of The Fall.  We shall be watching that this evening; i.e. Eladio, Olivia and I.  I will try and persuade Eladio to put the fire on but I doubt he will as he cleaned the fireplace yesterday.

That morning Eladio and I made a quick trip to our local shopping centre.  I needed to get a last minute present and we had a couple errands to do. I decided to wear the jumper and scarf Eladio had bought for me for Reyes.  This is it.  Do you like it?  When I asked Olivia whether she did, she commented it was for “oldies”. I don’t think it is. Do you?  

Wearing my "Reyes" new jumper and scarf  this week - at my desk at home

Friday evening was the second highlight of the week after Reyes.  It was the annual post-Christmas dinner at Julio’s house. We used to go with my Father and the girls but now it is just Julio, Fátima, Eladio and I.  It was a great dinner as it always is.  The food was super, especially Fátima’s mother’s tortillas and Julio’s mother’s chorizo and the company even better.  The piece de resistance at Julio’s dinner is always the roscón with cream.  Then we pulled the crackers which I had brought after which we gave out our presents and toasted with cava.  The routine of this dinner never changes and I hope it never will.  Long live post-Christmas dinners with Julio and Fátima! Here is a photo of us all enjoying the dinner. 

Yesterday Saturday was another busy and productive day.  It started with a walk after which I prepared our lunch.  The walks in the morning are cold and frosty but very sunny as you can appreciate in this picture.

On my cold frosty but sunny walk on Saturday morning

Then Eladio and I went to Centro Oeste once again. We needed a new orange juice maker as ours had gone wonky; another issue of “programmed obsolescence” or perhaps overuse as we make 4 or 5 glasses of juice every morning?  We were home on time for another walk before lunch.  With both walks out of the way in the afternoon, I enjoyed a quick siesta after which I spent some time downloading Homeland Series 4.  We decided to go out to dinner yesterday night after great recommendations from Olivia and Miguel of a new restaurant they had found on The Fork, El Zurito in Pozuelo, which offered 30% discount.  In my favour it also accepts luncheon vouchers.  So off we went and were not disappointed.  It is a great new find and the food is super.  Here is a photo of us both enjoying our dinner at this new restaurant.

Dinner at El Zurito with Eladio last night

Meanwhile in London, Suzy was also out, but she was in Clapham Common.  Olivia and I had spoken to her earlier and she told me she would be going out with her flatmate Stefania to the pub where Gabor works sometimes.  I grabbed this picture of the three girls out together from Stefania’s Facebook page as it is the only one I have of Suzy this week and I always want to include her in my blog.  Hope you had a great evening sweetie.

Suzy at Clapham Common last night with her friends

And today is Sunday and it another sunny and frosty day.  When I have finished writing this post I shall be going for my second walk, then making lunch and hopefully in the afternoon will be starting watching Season 2 of The Fall with Olivia and Eladio.  I will tell you next week whether Eladio lit the fire or not.

So, that’s it for this week folks.  Wishing you all a great week ahead, see you next week,

Cheers Masha

Goodbye Suzy, New Year in Montrondo with slippery paths and new equestrian friends, “Intrepid apostles”, farewell 2014 and other things.

Cooking with the girls on Suzy's last day last Sunday

Hi everyone and Happy New Year to you all.

Today is the first Sunday of the New Year and my first post in 2015.  Just one week ago when I left off, it was Suzy’s last day with us.  It was of course 28^th December, Spain’s April Fools’ Day but when my Father woke us up at 7 in the morning instead of 8 I knew he wasn’t joking; he had just confused the time on his clock. 

Being “innocents’ day”, from a PR perspective we aimed to play a joke about Yoigo on our social media pages and even sent out a press release.  We were inspired by one of our new images (bananas and one single pear) and decided to announce that in the New Year Yoigo would be selling fruit and fiber and even distributing all the bananas from the Canary Islands!  I was glad to see we got some media coverage and lots of comments on social media.

Yoigo celebrating the diffference

But it was no joke that Suzy was leaving that day and I was determined to make the most of it.  We had our last meal together and we “girls” cooked it together.  The photo illustrating this week’s post is of Suzy, Oli and I cooking.  For the record Olivia made mushroom risotto which was delicious.

It was no joke either that day that another Malaysian airplane went missing, Air Asia over the sea of Java in Indonesia.  That was the main news this week.  A few days later bodies and wreckage began to appear of the more than 160 passengers and crew who perished last Sunday in an accident apparently caused by extreme weather conditions.

On Monday Eladio and I were going to Montrondo to join his brother José Antonio.  The idea was to inspect the progress on the house, spend a few days there and join the rest of the family for New Year’s Eve in León at Amancio, the restaurant we go to nearly every year. 

On our way, as tradition dictates, we stopped at Rueda, a small town famous for its white wine in the province of Valladolid, for a plate of Spanish cured ham and a glass of wine at Bodegas Palacio de Bornos. Here we are enjoying the moment.

Our stop in Rueda for a little something on the way to Montrondo  this Monday

We were glad to see some snow on the ground when we arrived and also happy that José Antonio had arrived the night before, thus warming up his house for our arrival.  The men went straight to inspect the building of the house whilst I quickly made our lunch.  As usual I was to be the cook.  When travelling to Montrondo you have to be very organized about meals and take all the necessary ingredients as there are no shops in the vicinity.  I am so organized I had even made up the menus for all the lunches and dinners from Monday to Thursday.  I think my efforts were appreciated.

Once lunch was ready to serve, l covered it up to keep warm and dashed to join the men to see the progress on the house. I had last seen it in November so there really was something to see and appreciate this time.  It is coming on nicely, especially from the outside.  The divisions of all the rooms have been made as well as the temporary staircases.  Finally it is now beginning to look as though progress has been made and I can begin to imagine what it will look like when it is finished.

The house is coming on nicely in Montrondo

After lunch, I managed to persuade the brothers to skip their usual siesta and take advantage of the sunlight as it gets dark at 6pm and off we went for a walk up the mountains.  It was cold but sunny and we enjoyed walking up the snowy path in our new boots.  However there were quite a few patches of ice and we had to step carefully because the path was very slippery in certain places.

Eladio and José Antonio on our walk up the mountains on Monday afternoon

Enjoying the snow in the mountains of Montrondo

We were amazed to see many animal footprints in the virgin snow as we climbed higher and higher.  At the beginning we thought they were dog footprints but soon realized they were very big, some even bigger than a hand.  We then began to imagine the big ones were from a bear and the medium sized ones from wolves.  Later I asked one of the villagers who confirmed that yes indeed there was a bear or even two and a pack of wolves in the area.  The prints were very fresh so it’s quite obvious the bear must have crossed the same path as us just a while before.  I don’t know much about bears but did know that in Spain there is only one type, the brown bear or “oso pardo” which mostly lives in the north of Spain and is an endangered species.  I would have thought it would be hibernating at this time of year but maybe climate change has altered its habits.  I later found out that there are 8 types of bear in the world with variations of some of them, the polar bear being the biggest.

Wolf and  bear footprints on our walk

On our way down we had to walk with greater care because of the ice and as usual, as I have a tendency to do so, I fell flat on my back.  Later Eladio tried to help me as I nearly fell a second time and whilst doing so he fell too.  We didn’t do any damage thankfully and lay there laughing as José Antonio took a photo of us. 

Slipping on the ice

We were home just as the sun had set and were not surprised to read on José Antonio’s outside thermometer that the temperature had fallen to -6ºc.  During the day whilst we were there it didn’t rise much above 0ºc which meant the snow on the ground never melted.

When I was not out walking or cooking, my entertainment was my kindle and I was riveted reading Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, a crime novel set in Stalin’s Russia.  A film was made of it and I tried to find it on Amazon to no avail.  Then very happily I found it for free on You Tube (all this once at home of course) here and look forward to watching it soon. I have now also bought the sequel The Secret Speech and hope it is just as good as Child 44. There is no internet in Montrondo, at least at my brother in law’s house, which for me is very frustrating and why I cannot spend more than a few days in the village.  It is frustrating from a work perspective as my work depends on internet but also from a personal point of view.  Rest assured we shall have internet in our new house as I consider it a utility as important as water or heating.

On Tuesday morning whilst my Fabada (Asturian bean stew) was cooking we made a full inspection of the house and all the “rooms” which are small but will be very comfortable.  We measured them all to see if the furniture would fit and thankfully it will. What won’t fit in the master bathroom is the claw foot bath tub we bought at my insistence.  However there and then we realized it would fit perfectly in our bedroom and there it will go!

We had an early lunch so as the brothers could have their siesta before it got too dark and we could go on another long walk.  This time they wanted to show me a different path the one that goes up the mountain called “la peña mala”.  However the track was very difficult to negotiate and felt more like a path for goats then for people.  What I did appreciate though was the great view of the village from this side of the mountains.  Here is a panoramic view of our beloved Montrondo taken from there.

A panoramic view of Montrondo from "la peña mala"

As the path was too difficult to walk on we had no other option than to go down to the village again and take the old path to Murias de Paredes, a shorter walk but very pretty and more comfortable for me as the terrain is flat.

On Wednesday morning I decided to go on the walk all the way to Senra and back, some two hours whilst the brothers pottered around the houses.  By the way you might be interested to see the compound where we all have our houses.  In this photo you can see the converted barn, then our house to the right, then Pili’s yellow house and far right José Antonio and Dolores’ house.  Ours, the stone house, is the original family house, the one we are rebuilding which as you can see is something of a “sandwich house”.  The only way of making it bigger was adding a third floor and building a porch and terrace.

Part of the Freijo family compound in Montrondo.  Our house is the grey stone one on the left.

On my walk I was able to download the photos and video I had been sent from my PR team in Madrid, as the mobile internet signal is a little stronger in Murias and Senra.  They were of a PR activity we had carried out the night before 30^th December, the “pre new year’s eve” event which takes place to make sure the clock in the Puerta del Sol would be working perfectly for the 31^st at midnight.  On New Year’s Eve at midnight Spaniards eat 12 grapes, one for every chime to bring luck for the New Year.  In the trial run on Tuesday night we gave out some 15.000 thousand bags, not of grapes, but of sweets – 11 bananas and 1 pear.  The idea behind this came again from the new image of bananas and one pear, stressing that Yoigo is different and bringing the difference to the people celebrating with bananas and a pear instead of grapes. You can see the video here.

Yoigo's big PR stunt at the Puerta del Sol on the rehearsal night for NYE.

Just as I was leaving Murias on the path to Senra I saw three lovely horses in one of the fields.  I was particularly attracted to this beautiful red horse which came to me immediately when I held my hand out with the only thing I had available, a piece of chewing gum.  I stroked it behind its ears which it seemed to enjoy and I decided to bring more sweets the next day.

A selfie with my new friend on the road in between Murias and Senra

The afternoon was ours for the having until the evening when we would get ready and dressed up to drive to León to join the rest of the family for the New Year’s Eve dinner.  We decided our walk would be up the normal mountain route (Cumbres de Omaña; the path to the highest peak in the area, “El Tambarón” which is 2.102m high).  There seemed to be even more ice than the on our previous walk and this time we were to fall again.  Just look how treacherous some of the path looked and how we had to walk on the side of the ice to continue.

Eladio helping me steer past the ice on the path in the mountains 

Just as we got to the bear and wolf foot prints Eladio thought we should turn round and walk back.  I think he was worried we might see them but we never did.  It was on the walk down that I fell, this time hurting myself quite a lot.  I hit the side of my face and my knee.  I then had to walk down hanging on to Eladio’s arm.  When we got to the fork in the path where you either take the gentle path called “el retorno” back to the village or the steeper one called “la cuesta de la bidulina” we had to decide which one would be easier. So Eladio being a galant husband walked down the latter and we watched from above as he fell flat on his back just by the spring “la Fuente de Antón”.  I commented to José Antonio that that was not the path to take.  When we returned, via “el retorno” and got home, poor Elaidio’s hip and lower part of his back was inflamed.  The next day he would have a bruise which covered most of his back. Thankfully he didn’t break anything.  I must admit we were a little adventurous going up the very slippery paths with wolves and bears in the area.  On the bright side they were beautiful sunny walks in the snow and wonderful exercise with the best air in the world for our lungs.

Thankfully Eladio was ok enough to go to León that night, so the three of us got ready and left Montrondo just before 8 in the evening as it would take us at least 1.5 hours to get to León, as the roads are dark and very winding.  Nearly everyone was at Amancio when we arrived.  However I had to stay in the car for a while to send some emails which I couldn’t send from Montrondo due to the lack of mobile internet.  In León Yoigo’s 4G was working perfectly and by 9.30 I was in the restaurant with all the family.

This year there were only 16 of us around the table which is probably the lowest number ever.  There have been times when there were nearly 30 of us.  In any case it was a lovely meal and great to be with the family. 

NYE dinner with part of the family in León 

Just before the chimes I rang Olivia quickly to wish her a Happy New Year.  I did not have the same luck with Suzy as the lines were busy.  Later I was happy to know she had spent the evening in the company of her closest Spanish friends in London such as Mónica and Chati.  Here is a photo of the 3 of them together.

Suzy celebrating NYE in style in London with her Spanish friends

She told me they had organized a dinner at Chati’s house and she had bought crackers. At about 10 they went to a pub to celebrate and at 11 o’clock English time  and 12 o’clock Spanish time they went out into the street to eat their 12 grapes listening to TVE which I thought was a lovely thing to do.

It’s funny but my year ended in León and began there as it has it has nearly every year since we were married.  We left the restaurant at past 1 in the morning and didn’t get to bed in Montrondo till after 2 which is terribly late for me.  On 1^st January 2015 I woke up at 9 am and after breakfast as the brothers cleaned the house ready to leave at 12, I went on my last walk to Senra and back.  This time I carried a pack of sugar free polos to give to my new equestrian friends.  Really I should have taken lumps of sugar or bits of bread but I didn’t have the former and didn’t think of the latter.

As we left the house just after 12 I asked Eladio to stop the car for me to say my proper goodbye to the horses.  This time José Antonio joined me whilst Eladio took photos of us.  As soon as I approached the fence, all three horses came to enjoy the polo mints from our hands. 

Saying goodbye to my new equestrian friends in Montrondo with José Antonio

On our way home we stopped at the Parador in Benavente where José Antonio treated us to lunch.  As usual we enjoyed the chick peas from Fuentesauco “garbanzos”.  Here is a photo of the two brothers at the Parador.

The two brothers enjoying lunch on New Year's Day at the Parador in Benavente

We were home by 6 and glad to see that everything was in order at home.  You see it was the first time we were leaving our new home help Gema alone at home with my Father.  Thankfully she passed the test.  She has now been with us for a month and will be staying on permanently, however long permanent means for a maid in our house.  We enjoyed dinner with Miguel and Olivia and we also had time to call Suzy and wish her a happy new year.  She sounded in good spirits.

On Friday we thought it was time to go to Ikea and order all the rest of the furniture we need for the new house in Montrondo.  We have already planned the furniture for the kitchen/dining and lounge area and needed some furniture for the 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.  The task ended up taking till past 4 in the afternoon and giving me a migraine in the process.  We came home and all I could do was to lie down in bed, take more pills which wouldn’t help and breathe in tiger balm. The next day I read in the facebook forum for the 5:2 “fast” diet that a possible remedy for migraines is salt.  I read this article and shall certainly be trying it out next time I have a strong headache.

I was a bit better by 7 pm so we went to do the food shopping.  I must say I miss doing the shopping with our previous home help Fátima as she took care of everything especially loading the car, unloading it and putting everything away once back home.  Because of my headache we skipped on dinner out on Friday night and just went to bed early.

Yesterday was Saturday and I woke up headache-free thank goodness.  I was full of energy and our morning was particularly productive and efficient.  I was up at 7.30, had my breakfast and went for my hour long walk, after which I prepared lunch whilst Eladio washed both dogs.  We then went out to buy lottery tickets for the next big Spanish lottery called “El Niño” (the child) which is drawn on 5^th January and which actually gives more prize money than the Christmas lottery “El Gordo”.  Whilst Eladio was buying the tickets I went to the post office.  When he told me later he had spent 280 euros I was aghast.  We could win a fortune but of course we won’t.  However dreaming is free so this morning on my walk I thought about what we would do if we won a million euros! 

After buying the lottery tickets we drove to Centro Oeste shopping centre to buy a new coffee machine and also buy a present for each member of the family for Kings’ Day on 6^th January, the last festive day of the season.  In Spain “Reyes” is just as important or more than Father Christmas and Centro Oeste was packed. 

In the afternoon I finished Child 44 and then after our second walk I decided to start on the Downton Abbey Christmas special 2014 which had arrived the previous day.  I would have preferred to binge watch it but I had to make dinner so now I have the second half to look forward to watching this afternoon.

Suzy meanwhile was biking her way around London with Gabor and friends.  I’m not sure where they went but judging from the pictures the bikes were hired in the centre of the city.  They were lucky with the weather and must have had a great time.

Suzy cycling with Gabor and friends yesterday in London

And today is Sunday and to quote my Father “blog day”.  As soon as I finish this post I shall start making lunch for everyone (English fish and chips today!).  In the afternoon you will not be surprised to know I will be going on my second walk and will be joined by Eladio and the dogs.

I must also mention that today I found out that my friend Javier, who is an avid reader of my blog, has published a book which as soon as I heard, I bought for my kindle.  It is entitled "Apósteles Intrépidos: Jóvenes que (además) creen en Dios" (intrepid apostles: Young people who, also, believe in God) and is dedicated to his youngest daughter who just recently announced to her parents that she did not want to be confirmed.  I shall be reading it with great interest.  Well done Javier, I’m very proud of you.

The book my friend Javier has just published and which I shall be reading very soon

So I have finished telling you about this week, but I haven’t quite finished this post. As it is the first post of the year, I would like to make a quick reflection and summary of what this year has been like; my farewell to 2014 which all in all has treated us very nicely.

As I said earlier, 2014 as always started in León with Eladio’s family.  The year will be remembered in the news for the Ukraine issue, the Islamic State, Ebola in Africa and its repercussions in Europe as well as the silly ice bucket challenge.  In football terms it was the year Real Madrid won “la décima” (the tenth time it won the Champions League).

For me it will be remembered for some significant birthdays.  Suzy turned 30, my Father turned 95 and Eladio, my gorgeous looking husband became 70 in September which seems unbelievable as he doesn’t look a year older than say 55! In 2014 perhaps our most exciting project was starting the rebuilding on the house in Montrondo.  It will also be remembered for quite a few trips; two to Stockholm, one to Lithuania, two to London to be with Suzy, as well as visits to Santander and Barcelona and days away with Eladio to Soria, Santiago and Doñana.  We also entertained friends from abroad. Kathy and Phil came to see us in March, Adele and Sandie and their partners came in May and Keith and Lorraine came in June.  The summer was super with time spent in Santa Pola with our friends Sandra and Jeffer and in Montrondo. 2014 was also the year Olivia changed jobs, leaving TVE after 8 years and joining Aquí en Madrid a programme made by Boomerang for Telemadrid. It was the year the King of Spain abdicated and Olivia had the privilege of reporting on the story the very day the new programme went live. It was the year of our 31^st wedding anniversary, the year my Father had a tumour removed from his bladder successfully and on a professional level it was the year I was voted best communications director in the sector. All in all it has been a good year.  I can only hope that 2015 will be just as good.  I do not want to be greedy and ask for anything more. I know I am a lucky person living a wonderful life and should not ask for more.  If I had to ask for anything it would just be health. If I could squeeze in another request it would be to finish the building of our house in Montrondo in a satisfactory way but I think that is a given.

So my friends, all that remains now is to thank you for following my life, for reading my posts every week and of course to wish you all a great 2015. 

Cheers till next week

Masha

“El Gordo” the biggest lottery in the world, a tragedy in Glasgow, Olivia interviews the family, our Christmas, Gael is born and other stories.

Saturday 27th December 2014

The four of us on Christmas Day

Hi everyone,

Here I am writing this week’s post on Saturday instead of Sunday.  That’s because tomorrow is Suzy’s last day with us and I don’t want to miss a minute of it.  Both girls will be out for lunch today with the “manada” with whom they will be spending the day. Thus now is the perfect time to write.

I left off last Sunday.  The sports news that day was that Real Madrid was the club world champion for those of you interested in football.  The girls had a long lunch with the manada and the kitchen was invaded from about midday to midnight.  Here is a photo of the whole group of them around our dining room table.

The "manada" at our house last Sunday

Sunday of course was the start of the winter and it was the longest night of the year, the winter solstice.  Thankfully now the days will start to get longer.  In any case we have been blessed with sunshine since Suzy came and I’m sure she appreciates it, as she surely has enjoyed the extra two hours of sun each evening.  Dusk in London is just before 4 in the afternoon whereas the sun sets here at about 6pm.

On Monday I fasted and went for my two walks as usual.  Suzy has been joining me on many of them.  I was also busy with the issue of a joint press release with Ericsson to announce our renewed contract for managed services of our network.  I spent some of my time making food for Christmas Eve and would continue doing so the next day too.  Oli was ill with a nasty cold which she still has.  However she was well enough to give me a helping hand with the croquettes and perushki (little Russian meat pies). 

Monday 22^nd December is a very important date in Spain. It’s when the Christmas lottery “el gordo” is drawn.  It is the biggest lottery in the world and it is typical to buy tickets for your friends and family.  Unlike other lotteries there is not just one jack pot but several prizes and the winnings are distributed amongst thousands of people.  A “décimo” (a tenth of a ticket) which is what most people buy costs 20 euros and if your number coincides with the first prize you win 400.000 euros. For the first time ever I know someone who won this year.  Well done Javi, I’m very pleased for you. Eladio won a modest 180 euros which he immediately went to spend on the next biggest lottery in Spain, “El niño” (the child) which is drawn on 5^th January.  Many people in all parts of Spain were celebrating winning El Gordo on Monday.  We have never won a significant amount but as I heard one winner say on the television; “if you don’t buy a ticket you don’t win”.  So we shall try our luck again next year as we do every year.

People queuing up to buy a lottery ticket for El Gordo

In Scotland on Monday no one was celebrating; instead they were mourning their dead after a dustbin lorry lost control and crashed into pedestrians in George Square killing 6 people.  3 of them came from the same family.  From what I have read it seems the lorry driver had a heart attack.

The Glasgow bin lorry crash

On Tuesday I spent some quality time with Suzy.  We went to do the Christmas food shopping and Tuesday was the first time the five of us had lunch alone together for a very long time.  It was lovely to see all of my immediate family around the table.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve which in Spain is as important as Christmas day or more.  Their main Christmas meal is on the evening of the 24^th.  In our house we respect both the Spanish and English traditions.  Olivia was back to work that day, although she was still suffering from a bad cold.  She was doing a report on the use of credit cards at a shopping centre not far from where we live, Gran Plaza 2 in Las Rozas.  We decided to go and see her there which we did only to find out that she wanted to use all three of us for her report. We were not to be interviewed by her as  her family but as "spontaneous shoppers". In a way we would be helping her as it is always difficult to persuade passersby to volunteer and talk to a TV camera.  I was very eager to be interviewed by my daughter and was the perfect candidate as my purse is bursting to the seams with credit cards and shop receipts.  Suzy and Eladio were more reluctant but enjoyed the experience in the end. In these three photos you can see Olivia interviewing us.  The report came out yesterday and you can see it on this link at the beginning if you go to where it says 19.33h on the screen.

Olivia interviewing Suzy

Olivia interviewing her father

Olivia interviewing me

On the topic of interviews, there is a huge issue in the news around a film made by Sony Pictures called “The Interview” which is a parody of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.  About 10 days ago Sony’s computers were hacked which led to the Hollywood studio cancelling the release of the film.  The US blamed North Korea for the cyberattack.  Then the latter suffered an internet outage (although that wouldn’t have affected much of the population as internet is the privilege of very few in that cruel country) for which North Korea blamed the US.  Perhaps the original cyberattack was not a good idea as it gave the film much more publicity than it would ever have and now the whole world can see it for free as Sony has decided to release it on internet in a stand to defend freedom of speech.  I am certainly going to watch it to see what all the fuss is about.  You can too if you go to this link.

The film by Sony which was cyberattacked

I spent most of the afternoon finishing preparations for our Christmas Eve meal which was to consist of what we call in our family “a bits and bobs meal”: potato salad, lobster salad, bacon rolls, “perushki” (little Russian meat pies), croquettes and foie.  There was to be no proper dessert as we would be eating “turrón” (Spanish nougat eaten only at Christmas) and chocolates.  Suzy made her own vegan variety of food and this is what the table looked like.

Our table on Christmas Eve

The best moment was the cracker moment and here is a fun selfie we took of the five of us.  It was difficult to take it as we were laughing so much and had glasses of champagne in our hands, including Olivia’s who was the photographer of the moment.

The cracker moment selfie

We all read out the jokes which were better than the presents inside the crackers.  Here is Grandpa reading out his with his magnifying glass which we thought was hilarious.

My 95 year old Father reading his cracker joke with a magnifying glass on Christmas Eve

One of the best was: “why did the doughnut worker leave his job?  Because he was fed up with the “hole” business.

Later we played trivial, the girls against the parents.  When Miguel joined us they were leading but it was late so we decided to go to bed.  The next item on the Christmas agenda was to fill the girls’ stockings and put them outside their bedrooms. This has been a tradition for me since I was a child and I always threaten to put an end to it but the girls always insist.  So once again there were stockings for the girls.

On Christmas day I was woken up by Olivia at 7 in the morning.  She had gone into Suzy’s room to open the presents in the stockings and I joined them.  I think it is the first time I have ever seen them opening them.  I was not allowed to take a photo though as the girls were in their pyjamas.

Next came breakfast which I prepared with loving care in the dining room with our best china.  I had bought some croissants the day before and this is what the table looked like. 

Breakfast on Christmas morning

After breakfast it was time to open our presents. There seemed to be so many this year and it is always the moment we all look forward to most at Christmas.  As Miguel was with us I asked him to take the traditional photo of Eladio and I just before starting.  This is the result:

Eladio and I on Christmas Day just before opening the presents

Later he took one of me with my girls to remember the occasion. I love it.

With my girls on Christmas Day whilst opening our presents

I think we were all very pleased with our presents.  Amongst many other things I got a lovely white handbag by Michael Kors.  One of my presents to Eladio was a traditional duffel coat which looks great on him.

My lovely new handbag from my Father and Eladio

Both Suzy and I coincided by giving selfie sticks which we had both bought on Amazon.  It turned out mine worked better on our phones and I felt sorry for Suzy.  I think the selfie stick has probably been one of the most popular Christmas gifts this year.  However I am not very impressed with mine. It’s a bit heavy so the phone moves and you end up with slightly blurred photos. 

I spent the rest of the morning making the Christmas lunch which would be a traditional English Christmas day meal, except that I substitute turkey for a special chicken which I think is called “pullet” in English.  The trimmings were: cranberry sauce, sage and onion stuffing, sprouts, peas and carrots, roast potatoes and gravy. The girls’ friend Juli joined us as he does most years and the photo illustrating this week’s blog is of the four of us around the table at lunch on Christmas Day.

Of course we went for a walk in the afternoon to work off some of the excess.  Later we watched a film with the girls in the lounge with the fire on.  Unfortunately the film was not very good but it was nice to be together.

And yesterday was Boxing Day which is not celebrated here. However Olivia had the day off for once.  We decided to go to the shops to return or exchange some of the gifts the girls got and were joined by Miguel.  It was a lovely morning together.  Once again in the evening Eladio and I enjoyed the fire in the lounge together with the dogs and watched a film, another disappointing one.

For the records yesterday was also the 10^th anniversary of the 2004 Tsunami which hit 13 countries and killed 280.000 people.  Who does not remember seeing the news on Boxing Day in 2004 of this terrible natural disaster?

And today is Saturday, Suzy’s last day with us.  As I said the girls have gone off to have lunch with the “manada”.  The news of the day though is that Gael was born early this morning.  Gale is the first son of Juan, Eladio’s godson and son of José Antonio and Dolores. His wife Cristina gave birth to their first grandchild early this morning after being admitted to hospital yesterday.  So we have a new Christmas baby in the family.  If Cristina is recovered by tomorrow we plan to go and see the new baby on our way to taking Suzy to the airport.  I do hope Suzy gets to see her cousin’s baby before she returns to London.  Welcome Gael to the Freijo family and to the world. No pictures I’m afraid as I have seen one but wouldn’t dare to publish it here without permission.

It has been a lovely family Christmas which is not over yet of course. There is still New Year’s Eve to come.  We shall be going to Montrondo on Monday to join José Antonio and, hopefully Dolores too.  Eladio is keen to see the progress on the new house.  On Wednesday we shall travel by car to León to have dinner with the family at Amancio a restaurant in the city which is where we usually celebrate the New Year.  But of course I shall be telling you all about that next week.

Meanwhile my friends I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and I wish you all a great new year.

Cheers till next week

Masha