The boy in the striped pyjamas

Hi again

I have just read an amazing book, sent to me by my good friend, Cristina Miranda. It is so good I am writing about it in my blog, which is usually reserved for more domestic and mundane aspects of my daily life.

It is a book written by the Irish writer, John Boyne and is supposedly for children but really only adults will understand the full nuance of the book which is about a 9 year old boy struggling to understand what is happening around him in Auschwitz during the Second World War. He is uprooted from his comfortable home in Berlin to Poland where his Father, unknowingly to him, is made the Camp Commander by personal intervention from whom he calls “The Fury”. From his attic window in his new bedroom he can just glimpse some people in a field wondering around in “pyjamas” and cannot understand what they are doing there or why they are wearing pyjamas. When he dares to ask his Father, he is told “Oh, them; they are not people”.

I won’t tell you more and just hope I have wetted your appetite sufficiently to look out for this jewel of a book which can actually be read in one go.

I cannot recommend it more highly. It has left me with a haunting feeling and a sort of emptiness inside.

Cheers/Masha

After Stockholm, back home, renovation going on at home, lunch with Cristina and Paloma, a visit from Pili and family and a bad back.

Hi again

Well here I am writing my blog after a week’s absence. I have been a bit out of action due to a cervicobrachial disorder, more commonly known as back and arm ache caused by the inflammation of the cervical cords. This has given me endless pain and 2 or 3 sleepless nights. However I finally went to the Hospital yesterday and was prescribed some pretty strong drugs which seem to be working. This is the 4th time it has happened in my life and the pain is so strong that I forever remember each and every episode.

But back ache aside, the week up until it started to get really bad has been busy and there has also been lots going on in the personal and home front. On Tuesday we started on the renovation of one of the guest rooms on the ground floor where we are widening the window, putting in a wooden floor, painting the walls, putting lights in the ceiling and also adding ceiling plaster. Of course this brings with it many inconveniences, noise, dust and rubble. We just hope they will make a good job of it. Cross your fingers.

Renovation of the guest room
Midweek I had lunch with 2 lovely friends from Nokia, Cristina and Paloma. They are both faring very well and looking great. We had a good time gossiping about people we had worked with and generally catching up on each other’s news. It was good to see you both and happy birthday Palomita this week!

Paloma (left) and Cristina (right)
Also this week we had a surprise visit from Pili (Eladio’s youngest sister) and family; Andrés her husband and one of my favourite brother in law’s, Paula her beautiful daughter and Mario her noble and loving and extremely tall son. They had been staying at our flat in Santa Pola and stopped off for a night to see us on their way home to León in the north of Spain. Of course, this was a great opportunity for a big family dinner which Eladio and I put on in no time as soon as we knew they were coming. Well a trip to the Supercor supermarket for some gourmet goodies did the trick actually.

It was great having them and we were all up late talking and catching up on all our news and Summer activities. And here is a picture of the dinner we had on the terrace that evening. Family life is the best, really.

And that’s all for this week.

Cheers till later
Masha

Spirit of the Wild Exhibition in Stockholm

Hi again

I just had to add a piece in my blog about the Spirit of the Wild exhibition I saw recently as it made a big impression on me.

While in Stockholm we had the luck of seeing the Spirit of the Wild Exhibition. This was an outdoor photographic exhibition which happened to be located on the doorstep of our hotel in Nyrbokagen (I think that’s how you spell it).

It is an exhibition of photographs of the wild by a South African photographer called Steve Bloom. We were so struck and impressed by the photos that we kept going back to see them throughout our stay. Apart from buying the book I also took photos of the pictures that I liked best. They are just so beautiful, as you can see below.

I didn’t know who Steve Bloom was and have just now looked him up in internet and this is what it says:

“Over the past twelve years, Steve Bloom has emerged as one of the world's leading photographers of the living world. his expressive and evocative photographs of wild animals in their natural surroundings have earned him several international awards, and his books have been published around the world. Outdoor Photography Magazine described his book, Untamed, as "the best case yet for the defence of the Earth", and Lufthansa Magazine called Elephant a "declaration of love".

Hope you enjoy the photos too, even if it’s only through my blog.

Cheers/Masha

Stockholm, a romantic and wet weekend

Hiya

Here are the photos of our trip. Suffice it to say we had a great time, although we were pretty washed out by the rain on Saturday and Sunday.

Eladio thought it was the most beautiful city he has ever seen. Not for nothing is it called the Venice of the North.

Great monuments, great views, great food and rather nice people too. And many thanks to Lena Dworen for the private tour of Stockholm, Town Hall included. Also much fun was driving through the city in her little Ford Ka; quite an experience.

We loved the Vasa museum, the Skansen park and above all the old town.

Cheers Masha
Album in Facebook

Eladio and I on one of the many ferries between the islands.

Eladio showing the candle holder we bought at the Skansen park souvenir shop

Me showing the Swedish horse (sort of symbol of Sweden) we also bought at Skansen. We actually went into the museum shop to escape from the horrendous rain!

Eladio filming the replica of the Vasa ship

Eladio and I outside the Town Hall. This photo is courtesy of Lena Dworen and is the one I look best in; probably because I still had some makeup on from after the meeting.
Eladio in the blustering wind near the Royal Palace.PS. Here are the pictures I posted on Facebook. To see them pictures, click on the cross.

Back to Santander with a splash!

Hi again,

And wow wasn’t it great to be back in Santander; seeing familiar faces, enjoying the beautiful city, the beaches and the food. I had been away for 2 years and was really roaring to be back. It was a very full 2 days of pr and socialising and now I am back home at my desk pretty exhausted but happy.


Julio and then me on the walk in the morning from the hotel to the Conference centre at La Magdalena
My main mission was the organisation of a big party for all the attendees which took place last night and I am glad to say now that it was a complete success to judge by the attendance (over 170 people) and the great atmosphere.

The party venue with our logos.

The Motorola clan at the party. They certainly know how to have a good time. Thanks guys for your enthusiasm.
Sunday night I had dinner at Zacarías with Julio (my “bestest” friend), my ex boss, Félix, probably the best boss I have ever had and my dear friend and colleague José Luis Pérez who is now the Nokia Siemens Country Director, Monday lunch was with work colleagues at La Posada del Mar (highly recommendable) and last night we were invited by Sony Ericsson to dinner at La Bombi. La Bombi is a Santander must for me and something of a tradition. This was arranged by a ex colleague of Motorola and great sector friend, dear Gonzalo Eguiluz – note how good looking he is just past his 40th birthday and to think we first met when he was 28; a spring chicken who had just married and used to eat pop corn for dinner as he and his child wife, Alicia did not know how to cook!! Thanks Gonzi for the wonderful dinner and the fun at the party. Sorry I’m such a lousy dancer.

Gonzalo and I, 12 years on and looking good.
I was staying at the hotel I nearly always stay at, called Rhin Santander (now Río Silken) and it is right opposite the Sardinero Beach; probably the most beautiful and certainly the best kept beach in Spain. It is within walking distance of the Magdalena Peninsula which is where the telecoms conference takes place. And, yesterday, in between the end of the conference and the dinner I had time to swim and finally took the plunge so to say. I have been going to Santander for years but have never ever bathed. So this time and in order to revive for the dinner and party after a long day of pr, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity for a walk and bathe on the beautiful Sardinero beach.

The view from my hotel room of the Sardinero beach.
I enjoyed it so much that I repeated the experience again today just before having lunch with Julio and his friend Javier after which I was to grab a cab to the airport and make my way home.

Home is where I am now, back safe and sound, but not for long as tomorrow we are off to Stockholm.

So more of my news next week (and here is the complete photo album).

Update of the week; catching up with friends, some happy birthdays, welcome back Miguel and off to Santander and Stockholm.

Hi again

This week has been quite busy workwise, getting ready for our participation in the annual telecomms event in Santander starting tomorrow. But there has been time for quite a lot of after Summer holiday get togethers too.

Last Sunday we had José Antonio, Eladio’s beloved brother, for lunch as his family were nearly all in London settling Sarita in who is now back from China. We didn’t get to see her in between trips which we all very much regret. Eladio and José Antonio spent most of their time talking about old times which is a very respectable thing to do, so I left them to it.


Pictures of the two "boys" chatting and relaxing, one with darling Phoebe
During the week I met up with a journalist friend of mine, Vicente Fernández de Bobadilla. We hadn’t seen each other for over 2 years and there was a lot to catch up. Vicente is much more a friend than a colleague.

And on Friday Eladio and I went out to dinner with Eduardo and Graciela, ex colleagues from Nokia. They live very near us actually so we had been planning this dinner for sometime. We finally went to a place I have been dying to try out in Majadahonda called Ars Vivendi. And here is a picture of them both which I had fun taking and am having fun posting here because, in a way, I am “formalising” their relationship which was actually a bit hush hush when we worked together. As anticipated we did, of course, talk about old times, the good ones and the bad ones of which there were quite a few. But that is all over now.

Graciela and Eduardo
And this week I have to say happy birthday to 3 people: Pili, one of my favourite sisters in law, Ana Valdivieso, my lovely pregnant lawyer friend and also to Lars Wallmark, a fun colleague of mine from Sweden.

And finally I have to welcome back Miguel, one of my favourite nephews. He is returning to Madrid after a 2 year stint in London and he is returning to work for a British firm who are setting up offices in Spain. Great to have you back Miguel.

And I will be travelling this afternoon to Santander to the annual telecoms conference. I will be returning after a 2 year absence and am really looking forward to it as anyone who is anyone from the sector will be there. Also Santander is probably one of my favourite cities in Spain and we will be staying at a hotel right on the Playa de Sardinero, a short walk away from El Palacio de la Magdalena where the conference takes place.

Palacio de la Magdalena, UIMP Santander.
The return will be short and sweet though as I have to curtail the trip to return on Tuesday evening as I will be travelling to Stockholm on Wednesday for meetings on Thursday and Friday. The good thing though is that I will be taking Eladio with me and we will be staying the weekend.

So I have a great week ahead of me.

Cheers to you all.
Masha

Changes to my blog, link to Facebook, language translator and the weather. 9000 visits.

Hi again

Hope you have noticed the link to my spot in Facebook. If you click on me you get sent to my profile where you can sign up to Facebook if you want. But if you click on the picture below that takes you to my latest photo album in Facebook. I can really recommend Facebook as I have found so many “lost” contacts through it and can now keep up with so many friends and also have loads of fun with some of the applications. Do try it out.

Also you will see I have added a translator at the left hand side of the blog. You just have to click on the flag of the language you want. It is automatic but the quality, I am afraid, is a bit poor. The funniest thing I saw was Santa Pola (Spanish town) translated into Spanish by “Papa Noel Pola” because “Santa” was understood as Father Christmas!!!! I have to thank Roberto Hortal for the translator as he told me where to get the link. Thanks Roberto, my distant IT advisor.

Finally I have added a weather forecast for Madrid which updates daily.

One thing I haven’t done yet and that is change the complete look of the blog. I would like to but am petrified I will lose some of the content!! So it will just have to stay the same.

By the way, I now have registered over 9000 visits. That’s not bad for a private and domestic blog. If you look at the country and continent counter at the end of the blog, it’s amazing to see I have readers from all the continents in the world. I just don’t understand how my life could possibly interest people who don’t know me. After all it’s not particularly exciting. Or is it?

Cheers again.
Masha