Happy New Year, the family is growing and love at first sight.

Me and my wonderful husband on New Year's Eve this year.
Hi again, my first post of the New Year. I have just realised that I have more than 30.000 readers, that’s a lot of readers for a private blog and I wish them all a very happy new year. 2009 was a wonderful year for me and hopefully 2010 will be just as good. I would not dare to ask for better. For starters Eladio and I will be going to Brussels in February for a reunion with my Nottingham University friends, Sandra and Adele and then in March there is our much awaited trip to New York to look forward to. Hopefully there we will meet up there with my cousin André, our long lost friends Rosa and Angel and of course Javier and Ana. Yeah it’s gonna be good as the Americans say:-)

What was also good was the run up to the New Year. The week after Christmas was quiet and we spent our time looking after Eladio’s Mother who tends to need a lot more company than my very independent Father. To fill her time we gave her knitting to do and she knitted us all woolly socks and a scarf for Suzy. We also took her out, with my Father of course. Once we went to Zielo, the new shopping centre in Pozuelo which she loved. We all spent money here, at the bookshop (a gold mine in cheap English books), at the perfume shop (yes, “Lola” by Marc Jacobs for Fátima for Christmas) and also at the superb super market, Sánchez Romero.
Lola by Marc Jacobs, my favourite perfume at the moment.
Soon her stay with us came to an end and on Saturday 31st we set off, just the 3 of us to León for New Year’s Eve and of course to take Eladio’s Mother home. Olivia had to work and Suzy stayed behind probably out of solidarity, I don’t know. It was the perfect excuse for my 90 year old Father to stay behind too as I think late night rowdy and multitudinous dinners are something that tire him out. They tire us out too as you will hear later.

It rained all the way, as it had done all week but of course that didn’t deter us from stopping at the Palacio de Bornos in Rueda for a coffee and, of course, a plate of delicious ham. Unfortunately I couldn’t have the lovely Rueda white wine owing to a stubborn headache. From Rueda we drove straight to León and to Pili and Andres’ house where we to have lunch. We were greeted outside by Andrés and Mario and their adorable dalmation puppy, Trebol and it was love at first sight. Trebol has brought much joy to the family and seems to have united them even more. They are all in love with it and treat it as a new born baby and as a new member of the family. I don’t think they can envisage life without Trebol and I can quite understand.
Me and Trebol, love at first sight.
The afternoon was spent at Eladio’s other sister, Adela’s house where his Mother lives. However before we left (it’s only across the road), I helped Andrés create a Facebook profile which I hope he will be using regularly. One by one we all arrived at Adela’s to be together but also to celebrate her son Roberto’s 38th birthday. Roberto is the oldest of the nieces and nephews and is fact about to be a Father. Here is a picture of Ana, his wife, on 31st December very much pregnant as she was actually due yesterday. We are waiting for news of the birth of their daughter Diana which will make the whole family very happy.
Ana, Roberto'w wife, due to deliver Diana any day now.
Alvaro, Alejandro’s son also came to visit with his “wife” Bea and their adorable one year old Liam who had us all, the women at least, enchanted as you can see in the photo. Bea is also pregnant and expecting a little girl in February so the family is really growing. Here, by the way, is a video I took to capture Liam's visit.
All the women in the family crowded round Liam the first great grand child
The afternoon ended and we all left to get ready for the dinner but before some of us went on a quick walk to work up an appetite and get rid of the lethargy created by sitting down all afternoon in a crowded atmosphere.

Dinner was to take place at Amancio, somewhere we have been many times over the years. The food is great but maybe the place itself could do with some renovation.
The outside of the Amancio restaurant in León where we had dinner on New Year's Eve, nothing special but the food is superb
This year we were only 19 people. Marta and Fernando, Suzy and Oli and Alvaro were missing and Roberto and Ana too, although they came for coffee afterwards. As usual I contributed to the celebration with lots of funny hats I had acquired at the Christmas market in the Plaza Mayor and with crackers as well as a raffle at the end of the dinner of all sorts of bits and bobs I had accumulated over the year, well in fact over 2 years as last year we were in India. This all seemed to be much appreciated as I was given a standing ovation at the end of the dinner.
The family at the New Year's Eve dinner this year.
Of course after dinner the younger generation went off for more celebrations and we “oldies” went back to Pili and Andres’ place where most of us sunk into the sofas and sat watching the stupid programmes on the TV that seem to saturate all stations at this time of year. We didn’t get to bed till past 3. Very kindly Pili and Andrés had lent us their bedroom so we should have got a good night’s sleep. In the end I woke up feeling like something the cat had brought in (and I had hardly drunk the night before I promise) and Eladio had symptoms of the beginning of a cold. We both spent most of the day feeling awful and the journey back was difficult for us both. I think the older you get the worse for wear you feel when you do not respect your normal routine.

We were very well hosted and Andrés took me out for a coffee to the superb cafeteria they have beneath their flat, Flecha and where we bought some cakes for my Father who always says that’s where the best cakes are made in Spain. Andrés also took me for a long walk along the river Bernesga near their house whilst Eladio watched the Vienna New Year Concert which, of course, my Father was also watching at home.

Pili put on a splendid lunch again and we were 13 round the table on New Year’s Day. Adela contributed with some lovely local fare called “botillo” which is known as “llosco” in Montrondo. We were all so full. I have been trying to do my “up and down” diet despite the Christmas period and it has proven tough. It will be much easier when all the eating is over.

It’s nice to be home again. Christmas is nearly over but not quite as Wednesday 6th January is Kings’ day and we will be having another special meal. We will be joined by José Antonio and Dolores making it even more special.

And as I come to the end of this first blog post of the year, I must send birthday greetings to our friend Mari Carmen whose birthday it is today. We will be celebrating with her and her husband Roberto on Tuesday at yet another dinner.
Meanwhile have a great week and a fantastic year 2010.

Cheers/Masha
PS you can see the rest of the New Year's Eve photos in León here on Facebook.

Semana Santa, women in government, off to Montrondo with Anne and all good things come to an end.

Semana Santa in Spain - a very typical sight, probably in Seville.
Hi again,

Well today is Easter Monday, officially a working day and the end of Semana Santa as Easter is called here. Holy Week in Spain is all about tradition with their world famous processions, such as the ones in Seville. This is what De Brasa y Puchero which has great home made country food on its menu and where they make you feel very welcome.

Last week was a short working week and the pace was very slow. Perhaps that’s why Zapatero, Spain’s premiere, chose that time to announce the reshuffle in his cabinet. Unfortunately for him some of the changes had filtered to the press the week before during his highly awaited for meeting with Obama in Prague which overshadowed the news of the meeting itself. In any case, whatever the timing, the changes are quite significant as is the fact that over half of the cabinet are now women and in some of the most important posts such as Finance a big issue in Spain due to the financial crisis.

I, for one, am all for more women in top government positions and in politics in general as well as in other walks of life. No one ever made a commen when the governments were all male. Will there ever be a day when cabinets are all female? I understand some people’s thinking that it should be the best person for the job irrespective of their sex. However if example is not made, change will probably never happen. Things like this take time in a highly male dominated society like Spain.
PICTURE HAD TO BE REMOVED
Zapatero and his new cabinet, more than 50% are women.
Where they are second nature is in Finland, the opposite end of Spain in Europe, where my dear friend Anne is from. Anne who came to stay with us for Easter and is a great fan of Spain would be happy to know that there are now more women in the Spanish government.

Anne came on Wednesday night for her half yearly jab of Spain (sun, friends, jamón, wine, shopping,…)and we took her with us to Montrondo, my husband’s family village and to see the one part of my life she was not familiar with.

On our way we made the usual stop at the Palacio de Bornos wine cellar in Rueda and here we enjoyed a glass of great wine wine (Colagón) and plate of ham and chorizo. In case I haven’t told you before, Rueda is where the best white wine comes from in the world. Anne was duly impressed as we expected her to be. We stopped too on the way back to load 2 crates of the lovely liquid in the car.

Anne in Rueda
As we left Madrid and drove north the weather got worse but then that was to be expected as the weather is always bad in Spain in Semana Santa, although no one ever learns that.

We were the first to arrive in Montrondo as the rest of the family was arriving on Friday. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and settled in to the very cold and unkempt house which we never really got warm until the next day. As I had told Anne in my Facebook message: “there is no central heating but there are great views”!

Eladio stoking the fire in the aga cooking range in the kitchen in Montrondo
Despite these obstacles we enjoyed our time and went for a very long walk up the mountains and through snow to reach an area called “la solapaña”. Every stone, hill, path, fountain, rock or valley has a name in Montrondo and if you were not born there they are not easy to learn.

Anne and on the walk to La solapeña. We got drenched
We slept in extremely cold beds with hot water bottles and a building brick heated in the kitchen fire which was covered in newspaper. They certainly helped to keep the cold away. Breakfast was a quiet affair in the big family kitchen.

Anne and I enjoying breakfast before everyone arrived
After that I started on the cooking as I had offered to make “cocido madrileño” for lunch on Friday. This is a very typical winter Spanish dish consisting of chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage and many different sorts of meats and bones, the first course being the broth it’s all cooked in. We were to be 26 people so calculating quantities was quite difficult.

Me making the cocido in the kitchen in Montrondo.
Very soon the family arrived as they had travelled together. It was amazing how the peace and quiet turned into total mayhem, but happy mayhem. The member of the family I was most pleased to see was Lian, the latest addition and the very youngest member. He is the first great grandson in the family and was the centre of attention. In fact there were queues to hold him and I never got a chance. Here is a video I took after lunch where you can see him close up, as well as his proud Mother, Bea, and grand father, Alejandro who is Eladio's brother.

Ernestina, the great grandmother of Lian.
To work off the cocido a lot of us made our way up the mountains again and stopped many times for impromptu snow ball fights or group photos.

The group walk to La Solapeña to work off the cocido and enjoy the mountains of Montrondo. There was also time to catch up with each other's news.
On Saturday morning I showed Anne the village and we walked to Murias de Paredes the next village to get bread at the local bakery. It was also an excuse for another walk and more photography. Montrondo is really off the beaten track and a very authentic rural and remote village in the north west of Spain, in the province of León. It has just 15 or so permanent inhabitants but many more in the holidays as ex residents return.

On the walk to Murias. I love the sign of Montrondo.
If you have been born in Montrondo it is in your blood as I have learned over the years. There is a saying there which they all firmly believe and which goes like this: “Londres, Paris, Granada, como Montrondo, no hay nada”. I can’t equate with this as I was born in Cambridge and not Montrondo. But I have really grown to love the place.

We drove back to Madrid on Saturday, in part to escape the holiday traffic but also the cold. We also wanted to get back to check on my Father and, of course, our animals, our cats Phoebe and Joe and darling Norah. Thankfully all were safe and sound and had survived our absence uneventfully.

The girls came back yesterday, just in time for a family lunch to celebrate Easter day. And as an end to the holiday, Anne, Eladio and I went to see the Clint Eastwood film everyone was recommending me, The Gran Torino. Anne and I loved it but Eladio had his doubts.

Anne relaxing with Norah by the pool on Easter day. There were a few rays of sunshine my Finnish friend could not resist.
And now it’s all over. You spend so much time planning and looking forward to events and all you are left with so soon after are the memories. As they say in England “all good things come to an end”. So thank God for the photos (here is the full album of our trip to Montrondo on Facebook) and for the new events coming up. But then that’s life, one event or activity rolls into another as one ends and another one starts.

So yes, all good things come to an end, but a good time was had by all.

Until next week
Masha

Liam was born, Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States, was sworn to office, a windy week in Spain and other things.

Barack Obama solemnly swore on Abraham Lincoln's bible to be the new President of the United states, the one the eyes of the world will be watching closely to see how he "rebuilds" America
Hi again,

We’ve now been back from India for nearly two weeks and a lot has happened since then.

Something very important happened in our family as the first great grand child was born. Liam, the son of Alvaro and Bea was born in León on 15th January just after our return from India. Alvaro is the son of Alejandro who is Eladio’s brother and the 4th offspring of 6 that their Mother, Ernestina, and Father, Antonio, raised in their beloved village, Montrondo. Antonio is no longer with us but Ernestina is now, thanks to Liam, a proud great grandmother. Liam does not only make Ernestina a great grandmother, he also makes Alvaro a father and Alejandro a grandfather. Furthermore he also makes Eladio a great uncle and believe it or not that means that I am now a great aunt!!! Wow Liam what have you done?

Alejandro, who is not the most expressive of the brothers, had just returned from his very first trip abroad which was to Havana to see their cousin Rosi and her family. You will remember that Rosi visited Spain and our family very recently. José Antonio picked him up from the airport and they came here to fetch his car and only then, and quite by accident, did we find out that Lian had been born during his absence in Cuba.

And yesterday, finally, we got to “see” Liam in the multimedia message Alejandro sent Eladio and I and which is posted here.
Liam, the first great grandchild in the Freijo family
And this week the world witnessed the swearing in of Barack Obama as the first black President of the United States. The world was glued to the television and internet on Tuesday 20th January 2009 to follow the inauguration events. The ceremony was identical to that of his 43 predecessors but could well have been the coldest as it was -10ºc when he addressed the nation and the world.
Over a million people witnessed the inauguration ceremony at Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
Like most of the world I am a fan of Obama but wonder whether the machinery around him will let him make the changes he wants to. I ask myself, why both sides seem to love him, well perhaps not the Israelis, and come up with the reasons that attract me to him personally.

Basically it’s because he’s charismatic – what a marvellous orator he is. It’s also because he’s black – except that he’s only half black. And it’s definitely because he signifies the end of George Bush, that most unpopular of American Presidents. And finally, he means hope for the global crisis. I just wonder how much will really come of his “Yes we can” promise which has become the catch phrase of the moment.
George Bush, leaving the Presidency
I was disappointed to see that the cost of the inauguration festivities was the same or more as his predecessors. I was, perhaps naively, hoping the money would be spent on the needy in these times of crisis. But that was not to be. I’m also hoping those in charge will let him continue using his blackberry, so vital for him to keep in touch with the world beyond the bubble he will be living in from now on.
Security, part of the bubble Obama will be living in.
The first measure he has taken since becoming President on Tuesday is to close Guantanamo, that most frightening detention centre for supposed terrorists. This measure was accompanied by a ban on torture and a review on military trials, all making a very good start. What is not good is that it’s going to take a year to close Guantanamo. Why I ask myself?

This last week was the first full week home after our trip to India which is still very much in our minds. I took the time to post 2 albums on Facebook, one of our visit to the Taj Mahal and the other of our dressing up in local costumes in Udaipur in Rajasthan.

This week I had meetings with my press and events agencies. The former was to close 2008 and compare our results with 2007. From the evidence gathered it is obvious we have done a really good job.

I also met Phillip P from my Nokia Network days for a quick coffee at the Corté Inglés on Tuesday. He was here on business. We hadn’t seen each other for a while and enjoyed an hour catching up on how life has treated us since we left Nokia. Phillip is doing fine, living in Austria and GM of a local network company there. He got married and they have a lovely little boy called Jamie.

Later in the week I also met up with Elena, my neighbour and friend and ex colleague in the telecoms market. I think I spent the whole hour telling her about our trip to India and I hope I didn’t bore her.

At the weekend we went to the cinema and out to dinner which is what we like to do best. On Friday we went to see Australia, a film I was keen to see with Nicole Kidman in her home territory. The film is very long and the beginning rather silly. However it gets more entertaining as it goes on. I was most captivated by the young aborigine, Nullah, played by Brandon Walters. He was superb and brought out all my most motherly instincts as he did Nicole Kidman’s.
12 year old Nullah, captivating in Australia.

Yesterday, Saturday, was a lazy day spent at home with the family. I made lacón con grelos (cooked ham with “turnip grass”) a typical delicacy from the Galicia region. Judging by the favourable comments from the family, I will be repeating the recipe soon.
After lacón con grelos, we had a siesta, that most famous of Spanish “sports”, then a quick Jacuzzi (rather than a leisurely one as time back home, is now a problem – I often think there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to). This was followed by an outing with the girls to the cinema, again.

This time we went to see Revolutionary Road. I was attracted to seeing Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio together for the first time since Titanic. Funnily enough the Director was Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet’s husband! Eladio and the girls loved the film but I was somewhat disappointed. The plot just didn’t interest me. The idea is similar to American Beauty or even Desperate Housewives and it portrays the lie of the American dream, or the sham of the supposed perfect life and perfect marriage, something I cannot ever relate to, probably because I myself am very happily married. I was not really convinced by “Jack and Rose’s” histrionic shouting matches andjust didn’t believe what they were saying. For me, they will always be Jack and Rose and the epitome of true love, not a jaded American way of life couple.

After Revolutionary Road, the girls had plans and Eladio and I returned to our "scene of the crime", i.e. our all time favourite restaurant, La Alpargateria. It's like walking into your home when you go in and I even got the feeling the staff had possibly missed us. We didn't get our favourite table, number 7, though due to some mix up. It's just not the same having dinner at a different table but it was nice to be back.

This weekend has brought with it terrible winds. Our walks have been so windy they have been actually unpleasant. My father braved them and I wonder he didn’t get blown over. Big branches from a tree fell into the driveway. Other parts of Spain were much harder hit and there have been fatal consequences, the most notable of which was the death of 4 young children when the roof of a sports centre caved in on them in Sant Boi in Cataluña. In some parts of the country the winds reached over 160km/h!

Coinciding this week with Obama’s swearing in as the new President of the United States, I got news from there too, news which took us back in time at least 23 or 24 years. The news was from Rosa. Recently I had found Angel, her husband on LinkedIn and we had exchanged emails summarising our lives of the last 20 odd years. Well this week I got an email from Rosa.

Rosa, of Cuban origin but brought up in the US, was a colleague in my first job. In fact we both started at Defex together, that company I sometimes admit I worked for which exported “defence material” to the third world. Yes, I worked in the arms industry for 8 years in the early 80’s. And so did Rosa.

Rosa and Angel were part of our beginnings in Madrid when Eladio and I “lived in sin” in Saconia, that trendy part of Madrid for intellectuals or left wingers at the time. Angel taught maths at the Autónomo University and they had 2 children at around the same time as us. Very soon they decided to return to the US and set up life there. I was very upset to lose them and as time went by we lost touch. In those days there was no email or mobile phones and keeping in touch was much more difficult. Well now we have found them 20 odd years later and with the wonderful communications tools available today, we shall continue our relationship where it left off. Hopefully too we will see each other this summer in Alicante where Angel’s family is from.

And that’s it for this week.

Cheers as always, Masha.