Easter day at home, AstraZeneca vaccine - EMA finds possible link to blood clots, my father gets his second jab and Eladio gets his first, HRH Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh dies aged 99, Rachael Blackmore the real live National Velvet and other stories.

 Sunday, 11th April, 2021

This week we mourn the death of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. His death was a shock for everyone and marks the end of an era. 

Good morning all. It's been a quiet week compared to last week. Last Sunday was Easter Day and we celebrated as we always do together with the family.

Our Airbnb guests left and it was a bit of a relief. Because of the pandemic we haven't had many group bookings and I had forgotten how stressful they can be. It was a rush to get the bedrooms all clean again and then in between that and our sunny walk I had to make an Easter day Sunday roast. I roasted 2 whole chickens as Oli and family were coming. I did not have the usual trimmings; sage and onion stuffing nor cranberry sauce but it was still delicious.

Our Easter day roast lunch

Before we all tucked in I took a family photo. Here we are - except me - around the table.

The family Easter day lunch

The best part of the lunch was the Easter eggs, bunnies, etc. Elliot adores chocolate like my father and  Oli and Miguel have to ration it for him. However, being Easter day, he was allowed his fill and oh how he loved it.

Elliot in his element enjoying chocolate on Easter day

I was in much need of a siesta after all that food, chocolate and wine and slept till after 5 pm when it was time for Oli and family to leave. The rest of the day was spent lazily watching my latest TV series - Grey's Anatomy on Prime Video. I love hospital series but I am still missing Outlander. There are 16 or so seasons each with more than 20 episodes so I have guaranteed entertainment for quite a while to come; my way of evading the pandemic. 

Monday came and the sun shined as it would most of the week. That morning I spent a large part of my time writing a tribute to my Aunty Gloria, my father's sister, and all her family who died tragically in an air crash 50 years ago on 23rd May. The church in Ickenham where they lived had asked me to write an article for the church newsletter coming out in May or June. I wrote it from the bottom of my heart and included many of the lovely messages and poignant memories people from the village had written to me on the village Facebook page I stumbled upon last week. After finding that page and people who still remembered, I could not stop thinking about this. I'm still thinking about it today. I was hesitant to show the article to my father as I know this is something that, like me, he never got over but that he cannot express. It is too harrowing for him. It is harrowing for me but I am an expressive and emotional sort of person which he isn't. He keeps his sorrow to himself. I can't. The vicar thanked me for it but asked me to shorten it to 500 words - a difficult task - but wanted to use my tribute for the memorial service to be broadcast at St. Giles Church on 23rd May this year. There cannot be a proper physical one because of Covid of course. She has also asked me to send a video tribute to be included. That will be harder. I had to find photos too and I am so sad I don't have one photo of the family together, only of them separately. There is one photo of the three children - playing in the snow. It is not ours. It comes from one of the news clippings my father kept and which I still have. This is it. 

My 3 cousins; Jacqueline, Michael and Antony. 

But I had to get on with the day. I had to make lunch and go on our walk and do typical day to day errands. I was only free in the afternoon. I was cheered up by my nearly 2 hour long Facetime call with Kathy from Keighley although our chat centred mostly on negative subjects; mostly Covid. I told her I wondered when the day would come when Covid was no longer news. Eladio said the other day that in his lifetime, at least, he thought it would never go away.

No, it's not going away at all. Believe it or now, our area of Madrid has gone into special lockdown meaning we cannot leave the village or town from 5th to 19th April. Spain is seeing numbers spike a bit, but mostly in the Madrid area. It is much worse in France, Italy, Germany and of course South America. In the UK the numbers are decreasing thanks to the fast vaccine roll out there. Worldwide the numbers went up again this week. When will they ever go down I wonder. If last Sunday the total number infections and death toll were 131.394.182 and 2.859.650, this week the numbers have gone up to 136.044.098 and 2.939.793. So, no we are not going away anytime soon unfortunately. It's "home arrest" for us for quite a while. Meanwhile in the UK, my birth country, the PM outlined the new traffic light easing of restrictions. Everyone was waiting to know when international travel would be allowed but Boris Johnson was hesitant on that. 

Tuesday came and it was just another day in lockdown. We only left the house for our walk. Good news came that day from our head of government, Pedro Sánchez when he announced the State of Alarm would end on 9th May. That doesn't mean Covid is over in Spain. It just means any restrictions, ease of lockdown or otherwise will be dictated now by the 17 autonomous governments. Spain doesn't have 1 government it has 17 regional governments which often have more power than the central government. It's always a fight as different parties lead different regions. The other good news was that the vaccine roll out is accelerating and Sánchez assured the nation that 70% of the population will have received their two jabs by the end of August. That is one month behind the UK. Not bad if it is true. Signs are that it is as more and more supplies arrive and more vaccine hubs appear.  What was not good news that day was findings from the head of vaccines at the European Medicine agency who claimed that blood clots were caused by the ever more maligned Oxford vaccine. The agency said the findings were not certain and that they would be announced towards the end of the week. Meanwhile, in the UK, trials of the vaccine on children were postponed. This Anglo Swedish vaccine got off to a bad start and has gone from bad to worse. In my opinion, no one dares say it's unsafe as that would play havoc with the vaccine roll out. I'm still not happy mine was the Oxford vaccine and am on the lookout for blood clots. They probably won't appear. But what if I am one of the unlucky ones? The clots are rare but people have died and more than would normally die with or without the vaccine. 

The nurse's visit was the highlight of the day. She thought my father's huge wound looked less deep. It looked the same to me. We would know more after the follow up appointment with the plastic surgeon at the hospital on Thursday. I felt dreadful subjecting my father to that trip in an ambulance and back which takes up to 3 or 4 hours. He is far better off at home but then plastic surgeons don't do home visits. However, as you will read, it didn't happen, damn it. 

The other highlight of Tuesday was my belated weekly Skype call with Amanda. I love my weekly calls with her and with Kathy. With my friends I can be my true self  and tell them my worries, something I can't really do with my blog where I often have to censor myself for obvious reasons. With them I can pour out my soul. That's what friends are for isn't it?

That night Eladio and I finished a series we had binge watched in just 3 nights. Everyone was talking about "Who killed Sara" and now we are. It's addictive if a bit violent. It's a very well done Mexican TV who-dunnit series. Later I watched more of Grey's Anatomy.  I always told you about my secret penchant for hospital series didn't I' I wonder why that is as I don't really like hospitals in real life. 

Wednesday came and there was nothing on our agenda that day. How depressing. Every day is the same basically. It was on Wednesday that the EMA (European Medical Agency) announced there was a possible link between the blood clots and the Astrazeneca vaccine, as if we hadn't figured that out already. You can read the announcement here. Even so we are told the benefits are greater than the risks. Tell that to those whose loved ones have died. The ratio of blood clots is somewhere between one in 150 or 200.000. The study by the EMA looked at 86 cases in Europe where some 25 million jabs have been administered. So, the EMA confirmed the links but still recommended the vaccine. Reactions from governments and health authorities differed around the world even in the EU. Each country decided what to do after the announcement or what not to do and nowhere is it the same. This is more bad news for the Oxford company and the roll out of the vaccine programme. In the UK people under 30 were advised to take another vaccine. In Spain they limited its use to people aged 60 to 65 and the next day upped that to 69. This is all very confusing for the public. There has been such bad press for the vaccine that many people in Spain due for a jab did not turn up; as much as 45% in some areas. The governments now have to decide what to do with people not in the age group assigned for Astrazeneca who are due for their second jab. Each country will make its own decision. In Spain they are talking about skipping the second jab as the first supposedly gives you 70% immunity. I think that is damn right stupid to use plain language. Why not use Astrazeneca for their second jab for those people - the vast majority - who had no adverse reaction to the first jab? Oh, well, it's not up to me. In any case I am in the age range where I have no choice and therefore my second jab will be the same; the Oxford one. Do I still have side affects? Well, yes. I can't get rid of pain in my back which seems like it's where my kidneys are. But no blood clots so far. Unfortunately too there have been reports of blood clots coming from another vaccine, the Janssen, shortly to be used around Europe which is based on the same science as AstraZeneca. Not good. 

On Wednesday it was Miguel's birthday. Oli's partner turned 46 that day but he would have to delay the celebrations as Elliot was ill with a stomach virus he caught at the nursery. Oli got it too as did many of the parents and children. On Wednesday I ventured out to the local chemist and was on the look out for police because of the local lockdwon. I had been told there were police controls at the two entry and exit points of the area we live in. This was to stop people leaving. There were controls and people were stopped. That meant that in theory this week we couldn't go shopping to Boadilla which is our nearest shopping centre, about 1.5km away. How depressing again. We did though as you will read later. 

To cheer myself up I resorted to binge watching Grey's Anatomy every afternoon and at night. I know I'm stupid and should find something more productive to do but I'm beyond that. The state of alarm and this pandemic is getting me down.

Thursday came and stressed me out. That day my father had his appointment at 13.15 at the hospital for a follow up consultation with the plastic surgeon about the huge wound on his leg caused by a bruise after we took him for his first vaccine on 2nd March.  His doctor had ordered him an ambulance as we cannot get him in our car. Well, I was blowed when I got a call from the ambulance service to say they would be at our house by 8.30 or 9. They insisted his appointment was at 10.10 but it wasn't. The doctor got the time wrong. The damned ambulance arrived and I had to send it back. I then quickly showered and drove to the health centre to try and get a later ambulance. It was impossible to do so on the phone. I must have spent 1.5 hours there and in the end there was no ambulance and we had to postpone his appointment until 22nd April. I should have been cross with his doctor but I wasn't. How could I be? She is so accommodating and kind to us. So I just had to accept what happened but it stressed me out. I came home to another "situation". Oli had come home with her stomach virus and I was worried sick we would catch it or more worryingly my father. She later brought Elliot and I had no option but to wear a mask around them and arrange for my father to have his lunch alone in his room.

There was good news though. While I was at the health centre Eladio got a call from the health services. Finally they were coming to our house to give my father his second jab and at the same time give Eladio his first jab. That's because my husband is his official carer on paper. It has been a long wait but well worth it. 

There was some other minor good news too. As I drove home from the health centre I arrived to see the sight of a lorry removing the huge amount of garden waste from all the cutting and pruning that had to be done after the freak snow storm in Madrid in January called Filomena. I had to take a photo to record the occasion. We had been waiting for 3 months. All over the area debris was being removed finally and hopefully soon everything will be back to normal. Filomena caused havoc to our garden.

The lorry that came to remove all the garden waste after the snow storm in January

When we went on our much needed walk after that, we saw more signs of clearing broken branches and trees not just on the roads but on the paths in between the houses. That was a good sign. But I was cross with one of the workers for throwing his cigarette buts on the path while working. This is a conservation area. He shouldn't do that. Spaniards are not very good at litter I'm afraid. 

Friday came, the day of my father's second jab and Eladio's first. It was an important day and I was ready with my camera. Two nurses arrived promptly at 9.30 and after the paperwork I witnessed them preparing the two vital syringes for the two men I love most in my life. It was an historic moment and I was glad they were getting the Pfizer. Here is my father about to receive his dose. Eladio didn't like the picture I took of him so I shall have to keep it to myself.

My father getting his second jab at home on Friday morning

That's my father done now and Eladio will get his second jab at the local health centre in 3 weeks time. We are nearly all set now thank goodness. 

It rained most of the day and we did not go on our walk. I was totally shocked to read that HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, had passed away "peacefully" at Windsor Castle that morning, aged just 2 months short of 100. I first found out on whatsapp from my friend Amanda, who, although not a monarchist (like me) was totally stunned. I was so shocked I burst into tears. For me the Duke of Edinburgh, like The Queen,  has been a presence in my life ever since I was born. He seemed eternal so his death was like the end of an era. I was so sorry for the Queen for whom he had always been her "strength and stay". I dare to say that Queen Elizabeth is the best monarch England has ever had but that she wouldn't have been able to do it without her beloved husband at her side. I think he was the only person in the world who was able to treat her as a normal person. I also think it was his sense of humour that was part of the glue of their marriage. He called her "Lilibet" but also "sausage". Her face always lit up when he walked into a room. He was the fun side to her seriousness and she needed him to light up the room for her. What will she do without him? No doubt she knew his end was coming as he had been very ill for quite a while, but, like Queen Victoria when Prince Albert died, she will mourn him in her heart from now until her death. Unlike her predecessor, though, Queen Elizabeth will carry on and keep her feelings to herself. How difficult that must be. 

The announcement from Buckingham Palace

He came from the same generation as my father and both of them were lieutenants in the Royal Navy fighting the Nazis in WW2. He spent much of the war, like my father, patrolling for U-boats in the North Sea. There are not many of them left. They are a generation to be admired for values we don't see so much today. My friend Amanda pointed out another similarity and a tragic one too. They both lost a sister in an air crash and both dealt with the loss in a similar stoic way.  Emotions were pushed aside.

Prince Philip was the Queen's rock. He gave up his naval career for her, to be her consort, not King, and always to walk 3 steps behind her in public. For a man in the 50's that could not have been easy. When his wife became Queen he became her consort. He didn't know what that role involved and neither did anyone else. He only knew he had to protect her and be at her side. Frustrated without a clear role, he carved out his own career, involving himself enthusiastically in many projects and associations close to his heart such as the World Wildlife Fund and more famously the very prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Awards. 

It is said the then Princess Royal and heir to the throne,  first fell in love with this penniless ousted and homeless Greek Prince who made a dashing figure in his navy uniform, when she was just 13 and he was 18. It was a marriage many courtiers did not bet on yet it survived more than 70 years. The Queen was the head of the monarch, yet he was head of the family, the one was always there for you to quote his daughter Princess Anne and the one with a twinkle in his eye to quote his youngest son, Prince Edward. The family he and the Queen formed is now extensive and I copied the photo of family tree below from The Times (sorry) for the records. In any case, I love family trees. 

The Duke of Edinburgh and The Queen's immediate family tree

On Friday after the BBC announced his death there was "wall to wall coverage" of his life. I felt frustrated to be in Spain where there was no such thing. 

An official portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh in his later years

It was the twinkle in his eye and his sense of humour and irreverent way of speaking and breaking the ice that endeared the public to him - well not all the public.  He may have been the man behind the strong woman but he was a forceful and strongly independent person himself; not someone to be dealt with lightly. My mother used to adore him; especially his so called "gaffes" - there is a list of them here. They weren't gaffes. I think they were ice breakers and a need to speak his own mind. He could be blunt and outspoken and even racist. He himself coined the term "dontopedalogy", "the science for opening your mouth and putting your foot in it".  He will be remembered for saying on a trip to Canada in 1969: " I declare this thing open, whatever it is". On a visit to Scotland he asked a driving instructor "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to take the test?". His most famous gaff was probably on a visit to China when he told British students not to stay too long as they might get slit eyes. No other person in a role like his could have got away with speaking in such a way. But he was the Duke of Edinburgh, a unique person who could more or less get away with anything. The Queen probably loved him more because of this and she tolerated and secretly loved  his talent for dontepedalogy.  It was probably part of the glue too. I love him for it and so did many other people. His departure has left a huge gaping hole in the monarchy and in our lives. He will be sorely missed but never ever forgotten. 

Anything else that happened on Friday paled in comparison, especially in our quiet little lives in lockdown here on the outskirts of Madrid. What did not go unnoticed though that day was the continued increase in the number of those infected with Covid and the ongoing media coverage and confusion over the Oxford vaccine. 

Saturday came and it did not rain, at least in the morning. We went to do the food shopping yesterday; our "excursion" of the week. That's so funny. I used to hate food shopping and now, because of the pandemic, I actually look forward to it. We also broke the law to do so as we drove to nearby Boadilla. We expected a police control but we were lucky. Just as we got back with our provisions, all over England and nearer home, in Gibraltar, 41 gun salutes were fired in tribute to Prince Philip. In many churches too 99 bells were rung in his honour.  This marked the beginning of two weeks of official mourning for the Duke. Shortly afterwards his son and heir to the throne, Prince Charles, wearing a black tie, made a special appearance outside his magnificent house in Highgrove paying tribute to his "dear Papa".  He told the nation "my family and I miss my father enormously". I was interested to hear he calls his father "Papa" and his mother "Mama"  and not Daddy and Mummy as you would expect. That was good to hear as we have always known relations between father and son were tense, at least when the heir was younger. Prince Philip obviously mellowed over the years. Preparations were being made for his funeral - one he had designed himself and which would have to be adapted to Covid restrictions; i.e. only 30 people present. That means Boris Johnson doesn't get to go; only the immediate family. The Duke did not want a state funeral but something quieter, just with the family and the military. He will get that next Saturday and I shall be watching it on my father's TV in the study where we can get the BBC World Service. I am seriously thinking now of signing up to some VPN service to be able to get the iPlayer. 

Meanwhile in Yorkshire, in Sheffield, my dear friends Kathy and Phil were attending her son Tom's wedding to the lovely Indian girl Sital. Only 6 people were allowed which made it somewhat intimate. The rest of the family had to watch on Zoom. Imagine, a wedding on Zoom. The couple were going to marry last year before anyone knew anything about Covid. Their plans have been cancelled countless times but finally yesterday they were married. Hearty congratulation to the bride and groom and to the family. Kathy sent me a set of photos, two of which I want to share - after all they are followers of this blog. Today I look forward to hearing all the details in our weekly Facetime call.

The happy couple yesterday

The other happy couple, Kathy and Phil

That was a very happy story. Another happy story yesterday seems like a fairy tale come true. It's about the first woman ever to win the Grand National - the world's biggest horse race. Rachel Blackmore from Tipperary in Ireland won the race yesterday at Aintree.  

Rachel Blackmore and Minella Times racing in The Grand National yesterday

That's an amazing feat for her and her beautiful horse Minella Times and reminds me of the book and film, starring the young Elizabeth Taylor, called National Velvet. I adored that film where a young girl dresses like a boy to take place in the Grand National and wins it. Yesterday, Rachel Blackmore, made that tale come true. As one of the biggest horse fans in the world I hope the news comforted The Queen.  If you are not a horse fan or don't live in England, you probably don't know what The Grand National means, not only to the Queen but to most of the country. It's a national institution. Like the Spanish national lottery, El Gordo, it is customary to bet on a horse and rider when you are not usually a gambler or person who bets on anything.  I remember my father doing it when I was a child. Saturday thus ended on a happier note.

Today is Sunday and the rain has gone. We shall go on our walk as we do most days and look forward to another quiet day in lockdown. I'm not sure look forward is the right way to describe it. I should not complain but life is a bit boring. I just can't wait for it to be normal again. 

So friends and readers, that's it for this week. I did not expect the Duke of Edinburgh to die this week but you never know what the next day will bring, so my friends, while you can and Covid permitting, "Carpe Diem". No doubt Prince Philip would have agreed with that.

Cheers till next Sunday,

Masha

Palm Sunday, Suez Canal reopens, Torimbia beach in Asturias, Juliet is coming, a funeral, the Ickenham connection, I got my first anti Covid jab and other stories.

Easter Day, Sunday 4th April 2021

Photo just after my first jab on Friday.  What a moment. 

Good morning everyone and Happy Easter if you celebrate it. We do, more out of tradition than anything else. Besides, it's always nice to have something to celebrate during the pandemic. Oh the damned pandemic. I can't wait for it to go. This week, as every week since more than a year ago, I follow the figures for global infections and death and they are grim. Last Sunday the total numbers for infections and death were 123.488.430 and 2.789.920. Today the figures stand at 131.394.182 and 2.859.650. In Spain we are seeing figures increasing but slowly. In France, Italy, Turkey, Poland and to a lesser extent, Germany, the figures are dire. France and Italy have gone back into strict lockdown. Happily though, as you will read, most unexpectedly I got my first vaccine jab this week. I should be pleased. I am, except that I would have far preferred another vaccine to AstraZeneca. But that's another subject. 

If today is Easter Day, last Sunday was "Palm Sunday". It passed by with not much to report on. I do remember as  a child getting excited at church when we were given a palm leaf. Eladio and I both remember too that one Palm Sunday we were in Chile, at the seaside town of Renaca on the Pacific Coast near Valparaiso where we bought a beautiful palm leaf. We kept it for years but I don't know where it is now. I also remember a more colourful Palm Sunday in Granada on a trip to Andalucía and Gibraltar with my father in 2008. That day we were travelling to Granada and stopped on the way for lunch at a marvelous luxury hotel nestled in olive tree groves called "La Bobadilla" (near Loja). I have a photo of my father and I to remember that much more remarkable Palm Sunday in 2008.

With my father in 2008 on our Easter holiday trip in Andalucia. 

I'll never forget when we reached Granada that the whole city was dominated by the first Easter Procession called "La Boriquilla" (little donkey). Spain's Easter processions are world famous. I don't like them when they are crowded but when they aren't they are a sight for sore eyes. Sadly, because of the pandemic, they were suspended last year and this year too. 

The Palm Sunday procession as seen by me in Granada in 2008

The only procession we saw that day was little Elliot on his tricycle. That day he started using the pedals for the first time as you can see in this video. 

Elliot using pedals for the first time. Last Sunday at home

Oli and family left just before lunch and after our glorious sunny walk. Our long term guest, Felipe, was out too and the house was quiet afterwards. I quickly rustled up a dish of chicken curry for lunch and left him a bowl for his dinner which he said was delicious. It was. Eladio says it was just as good as any curry he has ever had at an Indian restaurant but it's only really a made up recipe by me, just quasi Indian. We both remember eating curry every day on our trip to India in 2008 and being very disappointed. The curries in India that we had were full of bones and far too hot for our taste buds. My first taste of curry ever was in what is now known as the curry capital of England - Bradford in West Yorkshire where we used to live. It was at the first curry house ever in Bradford and the UK and was called The Kashmir. This year it is celebrating its 70th anniversary. I would love to go again one day. It was housed right next to the city's mortuary and there were all sorts of jokes about the meat content. There were there types available ranging from the mild Korma to the medium mild Madras and then the extra hot Vindaloo. I always went for the Korma and my brother George always chose Vindaloo. There was no cutlery and I learned to eat curry the Indian way with chapatis (thin Indian bread). I still eat it that way today.  There would always be a huge jug of water on the table to soften the effects of the hot curry and when I tried the hotter versions I drank copious amounts of the water. In the 6th form at St. Joseph's Catholic College in Bradford a group of us would often go there for lunch. I remember very vividly how Jackie Mosley (daughter of Brian Mosley who played Alf Roberts in Coronation Street) found a cockroach in her track suit trousers when we returned. The Kashmir was not known for its hygiene but oh my how wonderful their food was. 

After our curry it was time for a siesta and I needed one. I woke at 5 pm - so late - but on time for my weekly Sunday Facetime call with Kathy and Phil who live in Yorkshire. Lucky them as they have a huge choice of curry houses to go to. Not so here in Madrid. We spoke for 2 hours long until my iPad warned me I only had 10% battery left. They were looking forward to the first step of coming out of lock down when on Monday up to 6 people out of your bubble were allowed to meet outdoors in England. We are far away from coming out of lock down here in Spain although "house arrest" as I call it here, is nowhere near as strict as last year.

By the time we had chatted until we had no more to say, I watched about 15 minutes of Outlander and then went down to make our dinner. It was a healthy choice of grilled hake with garlic and some left over Brussel sprouts and runner beans. That night we watched a film both of us were interested in. It was about the current pope or rather his life before he became Pope. The production was Argentinian and maybe biased in his favour but we loved it. Called Francis Pray For Me, "The story narrates the life of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Darío Grandinetti), the man who would later become Pope Francis in the perspective of a Spanish journalist named Ana (Silvia Abascal), who first met the future pope at the 2005 Papal conclave, until the naming of Bergoglio as pope at the 2013 Papal conclave". 

Our choice of film last Sunday night - Palm Sunday

We loved every minute of it. Of course Father George is described in a very good light but then again I really do think he is a very good man and the best Pope the Vatican could have in these modern days. No doubt he would love to do more to modernise the church but that cannot be easy. I suppose it was a fitting film to be broadcast on Palm Sunday. 

I was awake at 7.55 on Monday morning which was of course 6.55 still for me. It meant too that I was robbed of an hour of the new day. On Monday the biggest news was the unblocking of the huge 400 metre long Japanese container ship, the Ever Given, on the Suez Canal where it had been stuck for more than a week. 

The Ever Given container ship when it was blocked. 

Being the busiest passageway in the world, hundreds of ships were waiting to pass through and others made a round turn and headed for the longer rout via The Cape of Good Hope.  What a nightmare for merchant shipping. Thank God it is over but there will be repercussions and the "knock-on effect to global shipping could take weeks or even months to resolve" according to the BBC where I got this information. 

Monday was a special day for my countrymen in the UK. It was the second stage in the lifting of restrictions. From that day as you can see from the photo below, up to 6 people from 2 households could meet outdoors, outdoor sports was resumed and travel outside the local area was allowed but without overnight stays. I was happy for my countrymen. I hope the lockdown easing goes to schedule and British tourists can once again go on holiday abroad this summer. 

We had a quiet sunny day with temperatures reaching 22c. Our walk was a delight and we are seeing more and more signs of spring, notably in lots of pretty wild flowers. Apart from the walk I only went out on a few errands to the chemist to get more clinical bandaging - some sophisticated type made of silicone which doesn't stick to the skin - for my father's leg which needs changing every 48 hours. I also went to Mercadona - the ubiquitous low cost supermarket chain here in Spain. Our local branch was closing on 31st March so that would be my last visit there. From now on we have to go to another branch in Boadilla. It's far bigger and I still get lost going around the aisles.

I had a bit of a high that morning when Oli told me a photo I had sent in to her programme, "La Hora de la 1" had been selected for a competition for the best photo of landscape or nature in Spain.  This is the Twitter link where you can see the photos chosen. I sent in 3 and this was the one they chose. It's of a stunning beach in Asturias called "Torimbia" famous for being a nudist beach. I took the photo when we were there at the end of October and the beach was completely empty.

My photo selected by Oli's programme for a photo competition.

Do you like it? My friend Amanda, commented it looked a lot like Scotland. Asturias does in a way with an equally dramatic coast line but better weather I would add. It's the cliffs that are so stunning and the combination of golden sandy beaches all surrounded by green. It's so back to nature. This particular beach is a hidden away gem and only accessible on foot. Maybe that's why it became popular with nudists. I have never gone nude on a beach but would love to. I'm not sure Eladio agrees. As it's quite near our new house in Asturias I know we will be going back either to swim, or just for the views and a marvelous walk or maybe to go nude. Who knows? 

Interestingly and to my merit Oli never told her colleague running the competition that I had sent in photos. So when colleagues recognised my surname and asked  whether I was her mother, she said yes but that she had had nothing to do with it. Maybe I will be penalised now for being connected to her. It was just nice to have that photo selected. Lovely beach. I can't wait to go back there again. I am missing Asturias and missing travel. 

Oli joined us for lunch as she had her monthly appointment with the gynecologist in the early afternoon. She is now into her 17th or 18th week so the ultrasound scan would be able to reveal the gender of our new grandchild. In her last scan the doctor thought it looked like "it" would be a girl but it wasn't until this Monday that she could confirm it. Half way through our siesta we got word that Juliet is coming. We also got the "photo" of the ultrasound. I never understand them but treasure them as they are proof all is going well.

Juliet is coming. 

Isn't that wonderful?  Oli and Miguel will be having a girl and sister for Elliot. Oli wanted a girl. We didn't mind so long as "it" is healthy. Juliet is coming on 1st September if all goes to plan. Oli always loved the name of Juliet. Her first friend at pre school was called Juliet so now she can name her new baby after her. I like the name Juliet in English but do not like the Spanish version as much - "Julieta" -  because of the "J" (called jota) which is pronounced like a very hard "h". But what a lucky daughter I have, I thought. She has a great job, a great partner, a lovely baby, a new baby to look forward to and also a new house. Her position is enviable and I am happy for her and her family. I wish I could say the same about my equally adored daughter, Suzy, far away in Costa Rica and not at all settled. Will she ever I wonder? All I really want is for her to be happy. The trappings don't matter. 

She was on my mind most of the afternoon and evening. She had had a small accident - walking barefoot - and had injured her big toe. I had to help with her health policy and they were slow. Thankfully by the end of the day they were in touch with her and the toe would be sorted at a local clinic by a kindly Cuban doctor.  

Once again I turned to the TV series Outlander, for pure evasion. I was loving it though and might well watch it all over again from the beginning. My Monday skype call with Amanda was postponed until Tuesday. Eladio, being more practical than me, turned to the garden for his escapism by mending a leak in the irrigation system and mowing the front lawn. I should have been more productive but wasn't. It's this damned pandemic.

Tuesday came and the weather held with temperatures rising a degree more  to 23ºc. Wow, that's so lovely. If only it hadn't changed for the worse on Thursday when my Airbnb group was coming for Easter. 

Tuesday was a very sad day. It was the day the girls' best friend Elenita' brother died. Jesús  was diagnosed with brain cancer just a year and a half ago. He was only 37 or 38. So cruel. He and the family have been through hell but not back. He had been sedated for 3 weeks before his death on Tuesday. It's a terrible time to die but at least his wife was able to be with him. As to his parents and sisters Elena and Chati they could only see him for 10 minute intervals and dressed in full PPE outfits but of course he didn't even know who they were.    I know what the girls will be going through now as I lost my own brother, George aged 46 to cancer - melanoma - in 2001. That is 20 years ago. It's useless to tell them that time heals. It doesn't. It just numbs the pain. You never forget. You can't forget and I don't want to forget. In a way my brother lives on in my heart. That's the only comfort I have.  I know what an awful period this will be for them but I cannot begin to imagine what it will be like for his parents. For parents to be outlived by their offspring is something they can never accept. I just can't envisage myself in their position. If I lost one of my girls I would go mad with grief and part of me would die. RIP. I am so sorry for your loss. 

So, yes Tuesday was a very sad day. But I had good and unexpected news that morning. I was quite surprised to receive an SMS message from the local health authorities giving me an appointment for my vaccine. Yes, "my vaccine".  

The most important message I will get this year I think or one of them. 

I immediately clicked on the message to confirm and saw my appointment was for this Thursday at 18.27 at the brand new emergency Covid hospital Isabel Zendal. I was happy to see that vaccinations were being carried out over the Easter holidays. 

Confirmation of my vaccine

Vaccinations are ramping up in Spain, finally, after  1 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines arrived in Spain and another  million arrived later from AstraZeneca. I knew before anyone told me that I would be getting the problematic AstraZeneca vaccine as the age for its administration had gone up from 55 to 65 and I am 64. People older than that get Pfizer or Moderna. So why hasn't my husband got his? Well, he is in a different system as he was a civil servant and will be either called for his first vaccine by them (mutualistas) or he will be vaccinated together with my father at home as on paper, he is my father's carer.  My father had his first dose on 2nd March and did not go for the second jab 3 weeks later as we put him on the list to have his dose at home. We just can't take him by car for fear of him getting hurt again after he got a terrible bruise which turned into full blown necrosis. So for now it's just me getting the vaccine. Of course I wanted it but I was hesitant about the Anglo Swedish vaccine for all the troubles reported. The latest came that day as both Germany and Canada suspended its use. In Germany alone there were 31 cases of thrombosis and 9 people died - mostly women. That' something to look out for. And yesterday 7 deaths were reported in the UK. In any case, I was pleased that at last I would have my jab but I did have my reservations. 

In my weekly call with Amanda which we had on Tuesday, I had lots of news to share. My dear friend, shielding with her husband in Devon, had less news but it was wonderful to have someone to share my trials, tribulations and joys with..

Wednesday was a sad day too when I accompanied Olivia to the funeral of Elena's brother, Jesús.  I went to pay my respects but also to represent Suzy my other daughter who is Elena's best friend. They met at University and are very close. Suzy was devastated to hear the news so I had to go on her behalf. Before going I went to buy some flowers to add to the many many other wreaths that would be at the cemetery in Villanueva de la Cañada.

Flowers for Jesús

It was a very sad gathering I found. I wanted to give my condolences to Elenita, her sister Chati and parents Elena and Fernando. There were no words to give them any relief. Although it wasn't allowed I hugged them tightly as I accompanied them on the worst day of their life. Oli arrived shortly afterwards and was as distraught as me. The worst image was seeing the mother crying over her son's coffin. There can be nothing worse than losing a child, whatever his or her age.  That's why it was so tragic on Tuesday. As Covid protocol dictates we were all outside and with masks on. I cried for the family, for Jesús but also for my own brother George. Tuesday brought it all back. 

We left the sad dwindling gathering at about 1 pm to go home for lunch which I had prepared before leaving. In the afternoon we were joined by the rest of Oli's family and it was a tonic to have little Elliot with us. It was  a sunny day and we were out most of the time. Here he is on the swings, the swings which used to be the girls. We bought them when they were 3 and 4. Here are Oli and Elliot on her swings that day.

Swing time with Mummy 

Later Oli and Miguel went off to sign the preliminary contract for their new flat (exciting) and we looked after Elliot. He made a beeline for his favourite book, "The very hungry caterpillar". I'm sorry Juliet will inherit such a dog eared version hahahha. We gave him his dinner while watching Peppa Pig and as always, he ate every morsel given. He has a great appetite. Soon he was whisked away from us as Oli had to be up early on Maunday Thursday for her job as a TV presenter. We would see them on Friday night and on Easter Day. 

Of note the proof of my father's book arrived from my London based publisher. I was a bit disappointed as the quality is not as good as mine - the one I self printed and the flaps are missing. I would have to talk to them. But no doubt if they improve the quality the street price will go up. 

I didn't sleep well that night. I had no real reason not to but I had a lot on mind. So I was up late on Thursday, at 8 am and nearly missed Oli on the TV. It was April Fools' Day but it passed without notice for me.  I was happy to see I had a sudden reservation for Easter on Booking for our flat in Santa Pola. That's my first reservation with Booking as up till recently I only used Airbnb. The guests were local of course. I had to organise their arrival as soon as possible and thanks to our neighbour there, Lucy, all would be ready. We too would be busy at home getting ready for 4 local guests coming to stay at our house. I can't wait for the world to go back to normal which will bring more bookings. Right now in Spain people can only travel locally. 

Thankfully I had Lucy to do most of the donkey work. Mine consisted of arranging flowers, welcome notes, water, chocolates, etc in the rooms and supervising all was ready for their arrival. We had time for our walk before they came at just after 13h. They seemed a pleasant group. I showed them their rooms and the ropes  and they were soon off again to get food for their stay. I hardly saw them again after their arrival.

You will probably wonder why I have included "remembering Ickenham" in my headline this week. Well, that's a story in itself and one I have written about often. What was different this time was that I got in contact with the village Facebook group. I was hoping to find people who remembered my father's family who died in a terrible air crash on 23rd May 1971. You will have read about Gloria, my father's sister, her husband Derek and my cousins Jacqueline, Michael and Antony aged 12, 9 and 7. This year will be the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. They were our only closest family as my mother's family lived abroad and Gloria and my father had lost their other sibling, Raymond, to polio in 1938 aged 16. Thus they so meant so much to us. My father and I are their only living close relations as Derek, my uncle, was an only child. If you haven't read about it before here is a link to one of my posts. In 2016 I visited the village, their house and their grave which you can read about here. They lived in Ickenham and as a child I spent every Christmas there with them and my grandparents until the year they died.  We also spent many an Easter and summer holiday too at their home in Ickenham, a village very close to my heart.  Ickenham which is quite affluent now is in Middlesex, not far from London. Recently a friend of Michael's wrote to me and reminded me that this year was the 50th anniversary. In turn I wrote to the church to arrange to send flowers on the day.    That got me thinking there must be many people who remember my cousins and even my aunt and uncle.  And God blow me I found them on the village Facebook page on Thursday. I wrote a simple message asking if anyone remembered them. The replies came in fast. It was amazing to hear from Michael's best friend, Peter M and from Tim, Antony's friend who lived nearly next door to my grandparents at 17 Hoylake Crescent and others.  But above all I wanted to hear from friends of my oldest cousin Jacqueline as she was 12 and nearest my age - I was 14 at the time. And, I found her.  I hope Sally won't mind my reproducing her message here: 

Yes Jacqueline was a dear friend. Our mothers had introduced us to each other before we started at Hillingdon Court convent together. We used to walk home from school together, through the old air force base in Uxbridge eating crab apples off the trees in the Autumn. Jacqueline was a kind and gentle soul. She came to our house on the day that they were leaving to get a stamp for a letter.

It was hard when she died, such a shock.

I put a rose in their grave last Christmas and gave it a brush.

Jacqueline would be 62 now. Jan 18

Sally and I are now in touch outside the group and I was very happy to receive from her a photo of my cousins, Jacqueline and Michael in their garden in 1970 or 1971. Sally told me Jacqueline was wearing her school jumper - They both went to a Catholic school (like me) after Breakspear - the local school. It was called Hillingdon Court Convent. I was young at the time but remember talks between my father and his sister about Jacqueline's education and the suitability of a Catholic Grammar school - after all they were very Anglican.  I think the fact that I myself was at a Convent school must have swayed them. It went ahead but of course Jacqueline was there for only a short time, but time enough to become close friends with Sally who has never forgotten her.

The photo of my cousins, Jacqueline and Michael in their garden in 1970 or 1971 that Sally sent me. 

Another person, Jenny, sent a photo from the  the junior school (Breakspear) which I was told was taken in the summer of 1970. It was Sally who found Jacqueline (on the left, third row back and third in).

Breakspear School (Ickenham) Summer of 1970

I got many messages and this one from Boo was really quite extraordinary:

My name is Boo and for many years I lived in Ivy House Road in Ickenham. My mum is nearly 91 and is still living at no 35. I am pretty sure I was in the same class as Michael at Breakspear school. All the mums in that era were very friendly and supportive of one another. The lady who lived next door to Gloria was called Audrey who was often popping in to see our mum. I still have a clear memory of that fateful evening, when Audrey came down to mum realising that the family was on that flight. I asked mum yesterday if she remembered the Orchard family. She said of course, we were in the same bubble ! Masha, I have an incredibly poignant memory, that obviously to this day I will never forget. Before Gloria and the family went away she gave mum Jackie’s summer Breakspear school dresses for me as she was changing schools or had outgrown them. They had Jackie’s name sewn into the dresses. I remember walking home from school the day after the accident and another little girl I often walked home with said to me. I am glad they are all in heaven together. Although I am a non believer these days, as children we took great comfort from those thoughts. I am glad so many people had such fond memories of the family, Kind regards.

All this was very coincidental as apparently the church was looking for me too, to explore ways of remembering the family this year. Someone posted this message on the group page: 

The Church of St. Giles in Ickenham was looking for me and I found them

The messages continued pouring in. It's amazing how this village has never forgotten. It is also enormously comforting to me to know there are people out there who still think about my father's family and not just my father and I. This was very comforting and very moving.  The church has asked me to contribute to the next edition of their magazine which I look forward to. For my part I have suggested we hold a belated 50th anniversary memorial next year when I can travel and the pandemic is over. The tragedy happened on 23rd May 1971 and it has never gone away.

That's all I could think about on Thursday afternoon and evening although I went through the motions of daily life; not that I was very busy that day. 

Friday came; Good Friday and I got out the hot cross buns I had made weeks ago.  It rained that day but not when we went for our walk. Being Friday we walked to the nearest cafe and had a coffee with a "porra" - well me, not Eladio. Thus I wasn't very hungry at lunchtime.

My first vaccine appointment was at 18.27 that evening and we left at 17.30 as the Enfermera Zendal emergency Hospital is about 40km from home. It is near the airport and the Real Madrid practice grounds. I couldn't believe the queues when we got there at 6pm.

Queuing up for my vaccine

I think I queued for an hour and a quarter for a two or three second jab which didn't hurt. We were told to use our left arm if we were right handed. That's because the arm can get sore after the jab  and it's better not to have the pain in the right arm.  I then had to queue for registration and was given instructions for the next time - in 10 to 12 weeks. That's one of the disadvantages of the Anglo Swedish vaccine - one of many. The others, Pfizer and Moderna, have only a 3 week period in between jabs and immunity kicks in far quicker. I waited for a while afterwards in case I felt ill but I didn't. I did though see other people having bad reactions. I kept waiting for side effects such as a strong headache and sore arm but all seemed ok. Eladio was waiting outside and obliged me by taking the photo that illustrates this blog. It's the photo of the year that records a very historic moment. I was happy to see the vaccine roll out live and the new massive vaccine centres. The queues told me that. I was happy too that vaccine took place over Easter. Yesterday the figure for those vaccinated in Spain was just over 12%. There is a long way to go to reach the figure in the UK where over 47% of the population have had their jabs.My experience on Saturday though showed me there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

From the Zendal hospital we drove to Oli and Miguel's flat to have dinner with them. It was a delight to see Elliot who was having his dinner. Eladio sat next to him and helped him eat - not difficult hahahahaa. They also played with his giant Lego bricks. 

Eladio and Elliot on Friday evening

We had a pleasant dinner our hosts had made and were soon sitting down at their dining room table. Our conversation was mostly about the decor of their new house. Here are Eladio and Oli, father and daughter waiting for dinner to start.

Father and daughter at dinner on Friday night

We left shortly after 10 pm and came home to a dark house except for the lounge where our guests were playing video games. As I got undressed, I looked in awe at the little bandage on my arm. There was proof of the vaccine and all that it means in the fight against Covid. I got my dear husband to take a photo to record that moment too.

Proof of my jab - the little bandage on my left arm after the vaccine. 

We were soon in bed and watching rubbish on the TV and soon too fell asleep. I woke up yesterday just after 7 am to a very quiet house. You wouldn't believe there were 9 people sleeping in it. I kept looking out for side effects from the vaccine, especially the dreaded headache as I am a headache sufferer. I did feel aches and pains in the afternoon and at night which still haven't gone away. I hope they do soon.

Saturday was shopping day and "coffee time" out at the Manacor cafe. Lunch was steak and chips - a favourite and easy to make. I continued receiving messages from the Ickenham village group, even from the Vicar, who is a lady - I bet Aunty Gloria would be pleased about that. We watched the semi final of a children's talent show for classical music and dancing; "Prodigios" which ended really late. I should have been able to sleep after that but found it difficult. I had been deeply impressed and affected by the people who wrote of their memories of my cousins and Aunt and Uncle and my mind was focused on trying to remember the childhood time I spent with them. Memories go fuzzy after 50 years. I must have dozed off at about 2 am and was up today at 7 am.

Today is Easter Day; a happy day it should be. It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for those who believe. We shall celebrate it as we always do as a family. Oh how I would love to be transported back to St. Giles Church in Ickenham with my Auntie Gloria and family when she would take us there on Easter Day.

I will leave you now to get on with the day - I have two roast chickens to make  - and also see off our Airbnb guests. 

All the best then until next Sunday,

Masha

40 years in Spain, more conflicting news on the AstraZeneca vaccine, "coffee time", "Doric", Scotland's 4th language, remembering Cathy from St. Joseph's College, lunch out with friends in El Pardo, musical discoveries, a visit to the hospital with my father, dinner at "Oli's", "habemus domum", the clocks go forward and other stories.

 Sunday, 28th March, 2021

Our all important coffee time - me on Tuesday with my beloved mug. 

Good morning all. How are you feeling? Have you been affected by the clocks going forward last night in Europe? The change in the hour always leaves me a bit confused and today was no different. I far prefer the change in spring to the clocks going back in autumn. That's because we shall now have one more hour of sunlight. In our area of Spain, just outside Madrid, it's now light from 08.06 until 20.36. I love long hours of light.  We have been lucky all this week as it has been sunny every day. I suppose that is the benefit of living in Spain. I don't think I could live in a country with few hours of light during the day. As a child, teenager and young adult when I lived in the UK, I just accepted British weather and dark days for normal, sun only being something I enjoyed on holiday in France or Spain. Today after 40 years in Spain I realise just how lucky I am. Spaniards take it for granted; I don't. 

40 years. Oh my God. Have I really lived in Spain for 40 years? Well, yes, nearly. I moved here in 1981, in the summer. I moved from my home country in England to be with my boyfriend, Eladio, who I later married in 1983. I was 24 at the time and I am now 64. Eladio was 36 and is now 76. Where has the time gone? It has flown but life has been full, very full, of good times and bad but mostly good. I remember we both had a photo taken in the autumn of 1981 at a shop that no longer exists called "Simanco" in Cuatro Caminos (area of Madrid) soon after my arrival.  Simanco was a bit like Woolworth, cheap and nasty but they had a good photo service. We got printed copies of course and we framed them. They still decorate our study today. I took photos of them to show you. I also posted my photo on Instagram this week and many people told me I look just like Suzy, my older daughter, or is it that she looks just like me. It's funny but I don't see the resemblance. Maybe you do. Here are our photos. What do you think?

Me aged 24 in the year I came to live in Spain - 1981

Eladio 40 years ago when he was aged 36. 1981, the year I came to Spain to live with him and then marry. Wow, hasn't time flown?

We were quite a good looking couple I think. At least I always thought my husband was very handsome. I don't like his glasses very much but they were in fashion at the time hahaha. Today he no longer needs them. 

Last Sunday was sunny too as it has been for weeks now and we went on our usual walk. We always do the same walk and I am yearning for new surroundings. But we are home bound because of Covid of course and can't move out of the province of Madrid. Covid dominates the  news even after a year of living with it. I yearn too for the days when it is no longer a news item. Last Sunday the total number of infections was 123.488.430 and today it has risen to 127.321.712. Last Sunday the global death toll was 2.723.061 and today it has risen to 2.789.920. We are seeing numbers rise in many countries in Europe; France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Portugal for example. This is partly a direct result of the slow roll out of vaccines in the EU countries. Those countries with high vaccination rates (Israel, UK, US) are seeing the numbers going down. I wish I could tell you we have been vaccinated this week but we haven't. There is a battle going on between the EU and the UK vs a vs vaccine supply which is short enough as it is. It makes me sick to see rich countries fighting for supplies. We should all be in this together. Really we should. 

The week has been full of news, not least the vaccine battle and Covid. However there is one piece of news dominating the headlines right now that is causing havoc with shipping. A huge Japanese container ship called "Ever Given" got stuck at the narrowest point of the Suez Canal, the largest shipping highway in the world. The blockage has resulted in ships, some of them with livestock on board, waiting to go through to take the alternative route via the Cape of Good Hope (12 days longer). It is estimated there are or were more than 160 ships waiting to go through. According to the BBC, the Suez blockage is holding up 9.6bn of goods a day! As I write Ever Given, the length of "four football pitches", is still stuck. The tailback in the arrival of goods is likely to put up prices on oil and many other products. The other news, no one is paying much attention about, is the violence resulting from the military coup in Burma, now called Myanmar. Since the coup, hundreds have been killed while protesting. It is a terrible story. 

Last Sunday was a quiet day for us. Apart from the walk we didn't go out and of course had no visitors. Lunch was a quiet affair too and I catered to Eladio's wishes by making a chick pea and meat stew. My husband loves country food and even more so if it is eaten with a spoon. That's why I make so many soups, stews and casseroles. Not for him fine dining, nouvelle cuisine or Michelin star restaurants. I once took him to the world famous Arzac restaurant in San Sebastian, the cradle of gastronomy in Spain, and he wasn't very impressed. People flock from the world over for a place at a table at Arzac - in fact San Sebastian is at the top of gourmet lovers destinations - but my husband would far prefer a "menu of the day" with things like tripe on it. In that we are both very different. I love fine dining, top Michelin star restaurants and above all the creativity in the cuisine as well as the way it is served and the decor.  I was very lucky to go to many top restaurants around the world thanks to my job as a Communications Director when I worked for Motorola, Nokia and Yoigo but gone are those days as are the days of travel for business. A former colleague, Veronica, posted a list of the countries she had visited on the Beyond Nokia Facebook group page while working for the Finnish mobile phone company.  I tried to make my own list too and I think this is it: Shanghai, Mexico City, Budapest, Prague, Helsinki, London, Paris, Stockholm, Santiago de Chile, Copenhagen, Cape Town, Marrakech, Nice, Cannes, Monaco, Munich, Berlin,  Hannover, Tallinn, Cambridge, Milan, St. Petersburg, Athens and  Los Angeles to name a few.  I traveled to many of them multiple times and we traveled in style too. All long haul flights were in business class and we stayed at the finest hotels. As to Finland, I travelled to Helsinki on many occasion and also visited Kuusamo and Rovaniemi in Lapland. Thanks to Nokia I came to love Finland and the Finns. I still consider Helsinki my second or third home in Europe. Those were the days. Today I can only dream. 

The highlight of the day was my two hour Facetime video call in the afternoon with Phil and Kathy which is now a weekly call. I love catching up with them. Even Eladio joined us for a little while. Phil was a teacher of Spanish and loves practicing the language with my Spanish husband. I always look forward to these calls and they always make me long for Yorkshire where I spent my formative years and where they hail from. I have a bucket list of places I want to visit when we go again and this week Kathy mentioned the "Yorkshire bumps" near Keighley. I asked her to add them to the list. My bucket list would include all my old haunts from when we lived in Bradford and some more. First and foremost would be my mother's grave at Charlestown Cemetery in Shipley. I would want to see Bradford City Centre, our old house (6 Heaton Grove), Bolton Abbey, The Strid, Haworth, home to the Brontë's, Skipton, Ilkley, York (including Betty's tea shops), the Dales which would have to include a hearty pub lunch with steak and ale pie on the menu, as well as the coast; Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay, Scarborough and anywhere else on the way. The list is endless. Oh, how I miss Yorkshire. Again I can dream. 

The day ended with me watching more of the addictive TV series Outlander. Season 2 is nowhere near as good as Season 1 but as I am now so familiar with the characters, I just had to keep on watching. It's a good trick for mental evasion.

Monday dawned. The weather got better and there was some good news about the now much maligned AstraZeneca vaccine. The results from a US trial of the vaccine deemed that the jab is both safe and highly effective. The study was performed on 32.000 volunteers . It proved to be 79% effective at stopping Covid and 100% effective at preventing people dying. That was great news. Oli picked it up, from the BBC, by the way and was one of her stories of the day. I saw her announcing the news.

Oli reporting on the favourable report on the Astrazeneca vaccine on Monday

So, for once there was good news for the Anglo Swedish vaccine. That didn't last long as the very next day, another medical body in the US, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases said it "had been notified by the trial's data and safety monitoring board that "it was concerned by information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its Covid vaccine clinical trial" It went on to say that the Board "expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data". So one day its efficacy is high and the next day we hear it may not be as the data was incomplete. 

Later I read though that the real test of the vaccine would come from the FDA after it makes an exhaustive study. Meanwhile, in Europe, where supplies run thin and there is a battle with the UK on exports, I saw a poll on people's trust in the vaccine in the biggest countries in Europe, including the UK.  This is it.

Trust in the AstraZeneca vaccine is not high in Europe

Of course the trust is low with so much conflicting news and much of it negative.  People don't know what to believe any more. Spain announced that day that the maximum age for administering this vaccine was to go up from 55 to 65. That means I could well get it.  Of course there will be no choice. I shall get what I am given. To add even more fire to the flames, I read on Thursday that more women then men get side effects. The Dutch News website reported on the finding in Holland that women under the age of 65 (and that's me too) are around twice as likely to develop side effects than those that receive the Pfizer. These include: headaches, muscle pain and tiredness. It won't fare well with me then as a chronic headache sufferer. Oh dear.  Again I ask myself what a dreadful PR job the Anglo Swedish vaccine makers are doing. Again I doubt they even have a PR team. A company's reputation lies with good PR. Of course though good PR can only happen when the company product is good. I know that as it has been my profession for many years. 

My father's nurse came that morning to look at his leg. She uncovered the bandages and it looked much the same to me - with a gigantic black scab. Patricia reckoned the plastic surgeon he was to see on Thursday would probably remove it.  But he is not suffering and his leg is not infected so we are grateful for that.

The nurse came just after our walk and our coffee time. Eladio and I usually have a mid morning coffee together at around 12. This was Eladio enjoying his coffee on one of the benches on the kitchen patio. He is looking very dapper except for his slippers and socks hahaha. 

Coffee time on Monday

Coffee time for Eladio and I is a mid morning daily tradition the two of us enjoy. During the day we are both rather independent so these moments together are important. Other moments together which are conducive to good communication are our daily walks. I have always heard that you have to keep the flame going in romance or marriage. We strive to do just that while maintaining our independence. I don't think either of us could live cooped up together somewhere small. We love being together but also need our space.  Our "coffee time" is one of the rituals that bring us together so I have chosen a photo of me with my coffee - in one of the lovely mugs from Oli's TV programme, as this week's feature photo.  As to the coffee, it has to be the best. We use "Oquendo" recyclable Nespresso compatible pods. The strength is intense and I add to mine milk foamed with my manual milk frother - a combination of skimmed and soy milk. Eladio has his with still  milk (always soy) and he adds a generous spoonful of honey. I also often use my lovely Emma Bridgewater mugs but have noticed lately that many are missing. Are my guests stealing them I wonder? I really don't have the answer. 

If I have coffee in the mornings, I have a cup of decaf tea in the afternoon, always from one of my Emma Bridgewater mugs. Having been born in Britain I have my tea with milk  - in this case semi skimmed and no sugar.  I am one of those tea drinkers who puts in their milk after brewing. Do you pour your milk in first or after? It's one of those silly things Brits are divided on. My skype calls with friends always coincide with my afternoon "cuppa" at around 5.30 my time. Monday afternoon was Skype time with my friend Amanda - my oldest and closest school friend - who lives in Devon. My husband always wonder how we fill 2 hours with conversation. Well, we always do and we even have quite a few laughs. I love my friend's sense of humour. She always makes me laugh and I always make her laugh. Laughter is the greatest tonic during bad times like these. Our subjects ranged from weather to cooking, from travelling to dialects in Scotland. 

I had read that day there is a fourth unknown language called Doric in Scotland.  It is the fourth language or dialect after English, Gaelic and Scots. That got me wondering what the difference was between Gaelic and Scots. This is the answer that I obtained from Google: "The main difference between the languages is that Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language with ties to Old Irish, while Scots is a Germanic language descending from Old English".    Doric is spoken mostly in North East Scotland (Aberdeen land I think) but apparently does not have the same prestige as Scots or Gaelic. Its origins come from the language of the Anglo Saxen invaders and there are connections to ancient Greek. To illustrate the language I found this photo where you can see the difference between Doric and English. 

Doric and English  - weather words 

Interesting don't you think? I found the article about Doric on the BBC and it probably wouldn't have interested me much but it does now as I am watching the series Outlander set mostly in the 18th century in the Scottish Highlands. The subject interested my friend Amanda too as she and her husband often go to Scotland on holiday. Even my Oxford learned friend had not heard of Doric. I wonder if my father has? He is a great lover of Scotland too where he was based for most of WW2. 

Amanda and always end up talking about our past, our school days at St. Joseph's college- a catholic grammar school in Bradford (West Yorkshire) run by Irish nuns. We remembered the girl who used to bully me and put the fear of God into me- Catherine Redmond and even tried to find her on Facebook. It's difficult to find women in England on FB as of course when they marry they change their surnames. We also spoke about the Irish connection with the school - both the nuns and the girls. I was inspired to talk about it after having read an interesting article in the T&A (Telegraph and Argus - Bradford paper) on the history of Irish migrants in Bradford.   I remembered  another Catherine, Cathy Staincliffe, a much nicer girl and now a famous British author.  I always remember Cathy telling me her mother was Irish and had given her up in adoption as in the 50's and 60's in Ireland being a single mother was not a possibility. We remember her well as she played the main part in our school play, Faust, as Faust himself. We googled her and found that she is still a beautiful woman today as well as quite a famous author. 

Cathy today

Her story of adoption has a happy ending if you wish to read it here. She wrote a book I read a few years ago loosely based on her story called Trio. You can find it here. Amanda told me she was always in awe of Cathy as we called her then. I wasn't (Today she goes by Cath and not Cathy). I liked her and she intrigued me. I am so glad she went on to have a happy life and be so successful. 

Amanda and I could have chatted on through the night but we had to stop at 8 pm my time, our dinner time. It was a quiet dinner, just Eladio and I, quiet as our day had been and days are now during the pandemic. 

Who had a more exciting day was our little grandson Elliot - or not so little as he is enormous for his age (18 months). That day the eagerly awaited scooter cum trike or bike his father had ordered had arrived. Miguel, his father, is always looking out for the latest gadgets, toys, etc and had spied this new toddler vehicle being used by other fortunate children and got one for Elliot. It arrived on Monday and Elliot loved it. I can tell that by the photo his father sent. Here he is trying out his new vehicle. 

Elliot on his new vehicle - a cross between a scooter and a tricycle. 

We went to bed at the usual time and watched the news and later I binge watched more of Outlander until nearly 3 in the morning. Oh how naughty. 

Tuesday came and for once we had something different to look forward to. We were going to El Pardo - a pretty village about 5 km outside Madrid and near where the King lives. It is also where Franco used to live and we once visited his Palace and saw his bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. First though we had our walk, our "coffee time" and then a quick visit to get my Mini's first MOT. I have had it for four years now after leaving Yoigo but we hardly use it.

 From the MOT centre we left for El Pardo at around 12.45 on a beautiful sunny day. Our friends were already there when we arrived .Benito and Loli are a married couple and ex teachers who we first met when "we lived in sin" in the progressive working class area called "Saconia", another suburb of Madrid. I can hardly believe that that was 40 years ago and that Benito is now 80 and his very young looking wife, Loli, is 76, like Eladio. We have kept in touch over the years but hadn't seen each other for probably two years. It was great to be out seeing friends. I felt like a child going into a sweet shop with some pocket money on a Sunday. We have hardly socialised since the first lockdown so Tuesday was a very special day. Before having lunch at El Gamo, the most famous restaurant in El Pardo, we took a stroll in the gardens of Franco's palace. We were so engrossed in talking, I forgot to take a picture so have found one on internet for you to see.

Franco's palace in El Pardo

By 2 pm we were sitting at a table on the terrace of El Gamo ready for a lovely lunch together. Eladio was  a little worried it wasn't open enough and he was probably right as it got fuller and fuller of people - mostly pensioners. 

Eladio, Benito and Loli at lunch on Tuesday at El Gamo in El Pardo

We went for the menu of the day which was magnificent. I had fresh prawns followed by suckling lamb, my favourite meat. This was it.

Suckling lamb the Spanish way - lunch at El Gamo 

After lunch we drove up the road to El Cristo de El Pardo to another restaurant, a rather big one, called El Torréon, with loads of outside space where we had a coffee. We lingered over it until about 5.30. Spanish lunches can be notoriously long. That's when we made a day of it, said our goodbyes and drove off home. It had been a wonderful day out. Loli and Benito had insisted on treating us so it will be our turn next. I am determined it won't be another 2 years before we see them again. 

We came home feeling pretty stuffed. As soon as I had changed my clothes and taken off my make up I was on our huge bed watching more of Outlander. Neither of us were hungry for dinner so we skipped it. We were soon in our room again watching the news and that night there was no staying up late watching my series. I was so bushed I fell asleep early and although I was awake at 4, at 5 and at 6, I finally got out of bed at 7.15.

I woke up to another sunny day on Wednesday when the temperature would rise to 20ºc. Wonderful. We both commented on our walk that good weather always lifts your spirits and makes you feel good as opposed to rain, cold weather and clouds or fog. It's so true. We had a literal spring in our step as we took our walk that day. I had to be back on time to leave for a medical appointment. It was a follow up appointment at the Quirón hospital with a maxilofacial consultant. She had to take a swab from my mouth to send it to the laboratory to determine whether the mitosis (oral thrush) from my mouth had gone. I'm not sure it has but won't know for 10 days. 

The rest of our day was pretty much the same as most days in these times. There was a distraction when our latest guest arrived. Abdel is from  a city in Canada called Mississuaga near Toronto and is a student of dentistry at the nearby University. Of course his studies have been interrupted because of Covid but he is now back for the rest of the term. He chose our house to stay for a few nights and from where he will look for long term accommodation. I found him charming and a very well mannered young man and I know he will cause me no problems. I was happy to have another guest apart from Felipe. Next week we have a small group coming for three days at Easter. Rest assured all of you, we keep our distance and that is easy in our huge sprawling house. We often don't see any of our guests for days. Meanwhile I am gathering reservations for both our apartment by the sea near Santa Pola and our "new" house in Asturias called El Cueto. I now have 6 bookings for July and August for Santa Pola and 3 for Asturias. They all come from Booking so let's see if there aren't too many cancellations. I am much more familiar with Airbnb and am puzzled as to why all the new reservations are coming from Booking. Let's hope they all work out. 

Before retiring to bed that night to watch the news and more of my beloved series Outlander, I had a longish skype call with my lovely daughter Suzy who you will know lives in Costa Rica for now. I hadn't spoken to her properly since the beginning of the month. She has her days, bad and good and I feel for her so much on her bad days. I feel helpless as a mother. Thus I was happy to find her in good spirits that night. She was making dinner for her and her boyfriend - Eric is from Nicaragua and they have been going out for 4 months now. I hope he treats her well. I really do. They are both looking for a flat to move into together and I hope it works out for her. 

I caught the tail end of the news after my call. I reached the part where they were reporting on increasing numbers of Covid in Spain. The increase is very slow but it's clear. We need more vaccines to be administered and it's not happening, at least here in Madrid. But it wasn't all bad news that night. I watched a story about a young Polish countertenor with an amazing voice. I had never heard of him and I'm so glad I have now. Jakub Józef Orlínski from Poland is a 30 year old unique Baroque singer with a voice from heaven. He also practices break dance. I suppose that is quite modern for an opera singer. What to hear him sing and experience ecstasy? Watch and listen here. He is definitely worth looking at too. He looks like a Greek God. I wonder if you agree.

This week I discovered the Polish Counter tenor Jakub Józef Orlínski. Wow! 

He was interviewed on the news that night and he mentioned he was inspired by The King's Singers when it comes to Baroque music. I had heard of them but not listened to them. Out of interest and from Orlinski's recommendation I found them on Spotify and now have a playlist from one of their marvelous albums. Oh what a wonderful singing group. 

This week I discovered too the existence of a 13 year old Russian prodigy, a pianist called Daria Korotkova who no doubt soon will become one of the most famous pianists in the world. 

Daria Korotkova the 13 year old Russian prodigy pianist soon to be discovered more widely. 

Oh what talent she has. Here she is playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. That's pretty wow too. There's not much about her yet on the world wide web but soon there should be as she is a genius. This is what I found if you are interested to read more about her. This week was certainly a week of musical discovery for me. 

No doubt as musicians, both Orlinski and Korotkova will be fans or at least admire or be inspired by Maria Callas, the American born Greek opera soprano and  world's best and most famous opera soprano singer ever. 

Maria Callas - La Divina. She may not have been beautiful in the normal way but she had an elegance and beauty of her own. She was both beautiful and ugly at the same time. Funny. 

Why I am mentioning her you are probably wondering? Well after the news that night we saw a documentary on the life of the "La Divina". And, oh how divine she was when she sang. But her life was like one of her operas, so much tragedy and happiness all mixed together. She was La Divina but she was also a very tragic figure. Her love for Aristotle Onassis tortured her. She would have given up singing to marry him and have children but it was not to be. I was astounded to learn she died alone in her flat in Paris of a heart attack aged just 54. Maybe she died of a broken heart. However, she has left the most incredible legacy and it's wonderful that we can still watch and listen to her today. If you want to be reminded of her voice, here she is singing Puccini's O  mio Babbino Caro. It's breathtaking as she was. 

After Callas I turned to Outlander until I fell asleep rather late - I think it could have been 2.30 am in the morning. That shows just how hooked I am on the series. 

On Thursday I was up at 7ish after only a few hours sleep and I had a long day ahead of me. The main task was to take my father to the hospital, the state of the art public Hospital Rey Juan Carlos. My father had a follow up appointment with the plastic surgeon for his leg bruise at 14.45 and his GP  had ordered an ambulance. It arrived far too early, at 12.30 and we were at the hospital one hour behind schedule. Thus our lunch would be very late that day.

The Rey Juan Carlos hospital in Móstoles

We had an hour to spare so before getting my ticket for the appointment - everything is automised there and can be baffling - I took my father for a stroll outside in the sun and for him to see the very modern hospital. Sadly it is where my bosom friend Fátima died. It is also where my father was operated on for bladder cancer and given care after his various falls - including the head injury last September. I have to say the hospital is marvelous at least in my experience. By 13.30 we were sitting in the waiting room waiting to be called. I took a photo of my father to record the occasion. Of course he was wearing his mask as I was wearing mine.

My father in the waiting room at the hospital on Thursday

We didn't have to wait long. Covid protocol doesn't allow patients to be accompanied unless they are children or have mobility problems. So I was able to go in with him in his wheelchair. The plastic surgeon with the help of nurses, managed somehow to transfer my father from his chair to the couch where they took a look at his leg and decided what to do. The scar was all necrosis, i.e. black and dead skin with no skin left underneath. The surgeon removed it and told me that some time later my father would need an operation for a skin graph. Poor man I thought. They then proceeded to bandage his leg with great care. I took note so as to tell Lucy, his carer, exactly how to do it. We have to change the bandage every 48 hours and have a follow up appointment on 8th April. We then went to ask for an ambulance for the return journey. I had to go back by car. We had quite a long wait and weren't home until about 15.45. Both my father and I were starving. I was tired too and I imagine my father was as well. I spent the afternoon resting and watching more of Outlander. 

Meanwhile, Oli and her family were out and about. They had taken Elliot for a walk with his new scooter. He must have got tired of it at some stage to prove from a photo my daughter sent me and in which Miguel is carrying the very modern scooter.  This is it. 

Elliot and his father - carrying his new and very modern scooter

I didn't see my new guest at all that day but I did see Felipe. He had brought me some lovely waffle biscuits filled with caramel. He always brings me thing and I always offer him food. He was very happy to try my "bitki" (Russian type hamburgers) this week. The singular is "bitok". I make them from my mother's recipe (minced meat, bread soaked in milk, an egg, chopped onion and seasoning) and freeze them in batches. They always come in handy when I don't know what to serve.

I was far too tired to watch anything that night. The news wasn't on as Spain was playing Greece in a football match in which I had zero interest. I was much more interested to see part of a travel programme on a town called Yakutsk in East Siberia in Russia. It is supposedly the coldest large city in the world. It is about 450 km south of the Arctic Circle. The people living there looked semi Chinese to me. They are not of course.  The Yakuts,  are are a Turkic ethnic group from Russia. How they manage to live with temperatures often below 40ºc in the winter I do not know. They can't even have indoor toilets or running water as the pipes freeze. What a life! It may be an interesting place to visit as a tourist but I could not live with that climate. Luckily their summers are warm. In the table below you can the see the daily average temperatures. It may be of interest if you ever plan to visit Yakutsk, haha. I read that only 2000 people a year visit this very remote city in Russia. 

I must have fallen asleep at around 10 pm. My sleep was restored when I got up at 6.30 on Friday morning. 

Unlike the Yakuts, I woke up to a very mild temperature on Friday morning. It was to be a busy day; shopping day. Eladio and I went off on our errands visiting the chemist for bandages, etc for my father and then to Mercadona, Lidl (to find Easter eggs) and Carrefour. Coffee time was on the agenda of course and being Friday we had it at Alverán, one of our favourite cafes. Just as we got back with our shopping my father's nurse, Patricia had arrived. I was on time to be with her while she examined my father's leg and re bandaged it giving us new instructions on how to proceed going forward. It didn't look too bad thankfully. My dear father has never complained even when they removed the dead skin which must have hurt. 

We had something to look forward to that night. We were going to Oli's place for dinner and they would be making us dinner. It was lovely to go out but even lovelier to be reunited with Elliot. He was pleased as punch to see us. He had lots of toys to show us and we reveled in playing with him. Eladio caught me on camera with him in his play corner as you can see in the photo below.

Play time with Elliot on Friday night at his place

Dinner was splendid - home made pizzas. Eladio played with Elliot too and also read to him, which is what he loves most. Here are the two of them together. When I posted the photo on social media some people said he looks like his grandfather. Does he? I'm not sure.

Eladio reading to Elliot at his place on Friday night

Elliot has acquired so many possessions since we were last at his flat. I particularly liked his new blue chair and I got him to sit on it so I could take a photo. He posed as he was holding on to a piece of sweet turrón (Spanish nougat) for dear life. Isn't he cute?

Elliot on his new blue chair holding on to his sweet turron for dear life

But the evening drew to an end and at about 10.30 pm we left to drive home in the dark. Soon we were in bed and watching a talent show. Later I watched more of Outlander until about 1.30.

Saturday dawned. It was to be an historic day for the family. Oli messaged us to say their offer for a flat they wanted to buy had been accepted. Wow. That was excellent news. They have been house hunting for about 2 months now and finally found the flat that suited them. It suits us too as it less than 3km from our house.  From the advert I could see it was a very modern flat in a very modern complex - typical of property for young couples with families these days. The flats are 4 story high blocks of which there are 9 in a huge complex including swimming pools, padel court, play area, picnic area, gardens, etc, etc. It also has a concierge and is very safe for children. We were invited to go with Oli and her family to see it that afternoon at 6. How exciting for our daughter and her family. If all goes well they will be moving in at the end of May so will have everything ready for the summer and of course for the arrival of the new baby. Oli's words when she sent the message were "Habemus casa". The real words should be "habemus domum" - we have a house. We are so happy that they have now got onto the property ladder. We wish them all the luck in the world and a happy life in their new home.

Yesterday Miguel went with Elliot to his parents' home for lunch. Oli was coming here but first the two of us went out on a small shopping expedition - what joy. She needed to buy some birthday presents for Elenita and I needed to buy fresh fish for dinner. It was lovely to be out and about with her alone - good quality time with my younger daughter. 

Later in the day we left the house to be picked up by Miguel and Elliot to go and see the new flat. It's so near us we were there in a jiffy. Before entering the complex I had to have a photo of Oli and family outside the main entrance. Here they are.

Miguel and Oli with Elliot in her arms outside the main entrance to their new home

They went up alone to see the house again and talk to the owners, a young couple with two small children while we explored the gardens and complex with little Elliot. Below are photos I took of the flat and surroundings. 

Photos of the flat and surroundings on our visit there yesterday with Elliot. He enjoyed the swings and play area. 

My conclusion of the complex is that is an excellent environment to bring up young children who will make lots of friends and enjoy the installations together. Later we went up to see the flat for ourselves. The flat was built in 2016 so it's very new and incredibly modern. There will be no need for any changes except for painting it before they move in. Oli and I hate the current decor which she plans to change. Eladio and Miguel thought it was fine. Well, they would hahaha. 

We were home by about 7.30 happy with the visit and the occasion. It really was an important day in the lives of our family. We came back to make a delicious dinner of tortilla (Spanish omelet), smoked salmon and salad which we had with Elliot who wanted to try a bit of everything. He has such a good appetite and is a joy to watch eating.  

The day ended on another musical note when we watched the lovely musical talent show: "Prodigios". It ended at 12.45 which of course was already 1.45 am as the clocks went forward last night. I later watched more of Outlander and this morning woke up at 7.50 (new time). I was the first one up and fed the dogs before I was joined by little Elliot and family.

Today will be another sunny day and a quiet one I expect. Of course you will hear about it in next week's tales. 

Meanwhile, let me wish you all a good day and week ahead. Cheers till next Sunday,

Masha