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| The family barbecue on Saturday |
Hi again my friends
Well this week I haven’t been anywhere and have had a quiet week at home getting up to speed with my work. I have had time for lots of things, including reading and watching films which you will find out about in this week’s chronicle.
I left off last Tuesday, so let me start from there. That day we heard from our neighbour that she had finally sold her house. It had been on sale for a few years now and was difficult to sell, because it is unfinished but also because of the crisis. We were amazed to hear that the new neighbours, whom we haven’t yet met, have some affinity with us. They are a couple in their forties with two young children. The Father is Spanish and the Mother is Russian and they met in England. To top the affinity, they apparently own and run a production company. I really look forward to meeting them and also to having people live next door as our neighbour never lived there.
If you read my post last week, you will remember that Olivia had been sent suddenly to Galicia that day, to the capital Santiago, to cover the terrible case of the murdered 12 year old adopted Chinese girl Asunta.
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| Asunta, the 12 year old Chinese girl found killed last week |
She was on the television various times on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday covering the development of the case which has become national news. Since the body of the girl was found last Sunday both parents have been charged with possible homicide. So many rumours have been spread but there is no real apparent motive and no incriminating clue that links either of them to the murder of their adopted daughter; a brilliant young teenager who excelled at school and was turning into a beautiful young girl. The case has gripped the country and I was proud to see my daughter covering such a high profile case live on TV. I was equally puzzled as to how any parent could possibly kill their child when Eladio shocked meby telling me he had read that some 300 children had been killed at the hands of their parents in the last few years. I can only imagine that you have to be mad to kill your own child.
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| Olivia and the team in Galicia she worked with reporting on the case |
Suzy meanwhile was getting ready to start her new job with Create Food and Party Design based in Wimbledon. However she had started a nasty cold and had to go the doctor for the first time since she arrived in England. I must tell you about the visit as it indicative of times in England. As Suzy lives in the East End it was not surprising that the doctor she went to see was Muslim. She was amazed that he listened to her chest without telling her to remove her jumper and that he did so through the garment; obviously not wanting to see her naked chest! What kind of doctor is that I ask myself? She then went on to tell him she had some strange bruises on her legs that she wanted to show him. Well, believe it or not, he refused to look at them. I have since told her to go and find a “white doctor”. On the bright side she told us the medicine was free at the chemist and she is now a lot better.
The next day Wednesday was her first day with Food Create and Party Design. She went in twice this week and will be starting properly next Monday. Her role eventually will be to supervise the catering at events at the art deco and famous Oxo Building which is much nearer where she lives. I was happy to hear that all her colleagues are English so finally she will only be living in a “Spanish bubble” in London.
Meanwhile at home I had time in the evenings to start watching Broadchurch, the DVD TV series I bought some time ago and which my friend Amanda recommended me. It is a great “who dunnit” set in Dorset and has you riveted as to who could possibly have killed the young boy found dead on the beach in the first episode. In true Agatha Christie fashion, just everyone seems suspect. I am embarrassed to say I saw the whole of it in just two days.
I then went on to watch a TV film I had bought in the same Amazon purchase spate a while ago; Our Girl. This is a very different story and is about an 18 year old teenager, Molly Dawes, from a problem family who ends up joining The British Army and gets sent to Afghanistan. I can highly recommend it.
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| Poster of the film I watched this week: Our Girl |
If those were my films of the week, I must also tell you about my reading. Last weekend I read somewhere that the Duchess of Cornwall, yes the famous Camilla Parker Bowles, had been caught reading the Cazelet Chronicles. Interested to see what her taste is like, I googled them to find they are written by Elizabeth Jane Howard and knew I would like them. They are now out of print but I managed to buy second hand copies on Amazon and this week three of the four arrived: The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off. On Friday afternoon I started on The Light Years and so far am enjoying it thoroughly. The Cazalet Chronicles is a family saga set just before and after the Second World War in England and is the “chronicle” of a well off middle class family, their servants and friends. I read somewhere that it is a good “comfort read” and I thoroughly agree.
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| The Cazalet Chronicles which will be keeping me entertained for a while now |
I also had time for shopping this week, and not only food shopping. With the excuse of going to the post office to pick up some of the Amazon books which for some mysterious reason had not been hand delivered, I made my way to Zara. Here I found two wonderful garments which I may well be wearing soon as the weather has finally turned autumnal this weekend.
I was particularly happy to find out that tartan is once again in fashion – when has it ever gone out of fashion? and grabbed this blazer as soon as I saw it.
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| The red tartan blazer I got from Zara this week |
I also loved the look of this red and black squared top with zips down the side – seem to be in fashion too. Luckily it looked good on me, not like a pair of dark green tartan trousers which just didn’t fit – I know, I have put on a bit of weight after the summer but promise you my “fast diet” should deal with the problem shortly.
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| The red and black top I also purchased at Zara this week |
On the work side, I am excited to tell you Yoigo launched 4G in Valencia and Málaga this week, after completing the launch in Madrid. We sent out a press release on Thursday which got quite a lot of coverage. I look forward to telling the press next month that we have also launched in Barcelona and other provinces.
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| Our 4G advertising on the trams in Valencia this week where we launched the new technology |
On Friday Olivia was back from Galicia, happy with her week of reporting on such a high profile case. She was pretty exhausted too and didn’t even go out that night, preferring to stay at home to unpack and pack again for her journey the next day to London.
Meanwhile, Eladio and I, true to tradition, went out to dinner to Ginos for a gorge of pasta which I love. We always go out to dinner on a Friday night in Madrid but of course haven’t done so for weeks because of our constant travelling.
Yesterday, Saturday, was the highlight of the week in many ways. First I got up early to have breakfast with Olivia and help her in last minute preparations for her trip to London to see Suzy. I was so excited that our two daughters would be reunited there and rather regretted not having bought a ticket too. Eladio took Olivia to the airport and I saw her off outside the house. Here is the photo of them leaving in the car.
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| Oli leaving on Saturday morning for the airport. |
Later at lunch, after some messaging where my help was needed in reuniting them at Victoria Station, I was delighted to receive a photo of the moment they were finally together in London.
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| My two beautiful daughters reunited in London yesterday |
I knew they would be happy that day, but probably arguing the next day, as is typical of them and of most siblings. I look forward to seeing more photos of them together and hope they have a good time and don’t quarrel too much.
In the morning after Olivia left I was busy, as was Fátima, our home help, and Eladio when he returned, getting things ready for the family barbecue. José Antonio, Dolores, their daughter Sara and son Juan and his girlfriend Cristina were coming for lunch. Rain was forecast and in the middle of the morning it started to pour, so we decided to lay the table by the pool which has a covered terrace. Luckily when we sat down to eat the rain had stopped and the sun came out. The photo illustrating this week’s post is of the family round the table. My father looks great doesn’t he? as my friend Brenda commented on FB and who hasn’t seen him for years and years.
The weather got colder so we spent the afternoon inside, reading and talking with music on in our lovely lounge and having a light “afternoon tea” on my lovely Emma Bridgewater pottery. Later Juan and Cristina had to go but Sara stayed to join us on our walk. It was threatening rain again so we kitted everyone out with old rain coats, some of them promotional and pretty old.
In this photo you can see my walk companions kitted out in rain ware at the beginning of the walk. Notice the different colours; a bit like the Spanish red and yellow flag. We must have looked a picture but thankfully we were the only people out on the walk yesterday. The others, wisely, had not ventured out and would not be drenched like us.
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| Kitted out for what turned out to be an extremely wet walk! |
As we advanced on our walk with the dogs and just as we were at the half way mark, it began to pour heavily and we had to shelter in the trees which wasn’t much help as the wind was so strong. We just had to grin and bear it, getting wetter and wetter and make our way home. Thankfully it wasn’t cold and was rather a fun episode to record in this week’s blog. When we got home, we had the luxury of removing our wet clothes, drying off and putting on warm clothes. Later they stayed for dinner which we enjoyed in the dining room. It was one of those nice impromptu family dinners where we spoke for ages afterwards. The main topic of conversation was Montrondo, or rather how and when we are going to do the makeover of the old house and all that that entails. José Antonio, Dolores and Sara who built a new house from scratch there not so long ago have plenty of experiences to share with us.
They left late at night but we hope to see them again next weekend. All in all it was a great day.
And today is Sunday, the last day to record on my blog. Well there is not much to say about today. We are alone at home with my Father as it is Fátima’s day off and will probably be having the leftovers of yesterday’s barbecue for lunch. My plan for the day is to carry on reading The Light Years and to go for another walk this afternoon. However we must be careful not to get caught in heavy rain again.
And on that note, my friends, I will leave you until next week, wishing you all the very best,
Cheers/Masha
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