Montrondo again, the Spanish revolution, Elections in Spain and Oli’s birthday

Eladio and the girls voting today which will always be remembered because of the Spanish Revolution

Hi everyone,

I have just come back from Montrondo and am home again today, Sunday 22^nd, important because it is Oli’s birthday but it is also the day of the much awaited Spanish local elections which are coinciding with the ever growing Spanish Revolution.  However let me start from the beginning of my week as always before I get to that.

Monday was the day my pc died and I am now writing on my new HP ProBook which is a huge improvement.  On Monday I was at the dentist again and had hoped to have my new implant and bridge put in but will have to wait another month until the swelling recedes. 

Monday was also my dear friend Julio’s birthday which we celebrated on Tuesday.  Fátima, Julio and I went to El Oso and had a scrumptious lunch together.  We also caught up on each other’s news again and made plans to go for a weekend to Julio’s new apartment near Alicante. It will probably be in September as all our diaries seem to be too full to find a free weekend until then.

Wednesday was important in our lives as we went to see Fátima’s brother, Manolo, who lives near us, to see his Labrador’s new born puppies.  When Manolo, my Father’s Russian pupil, told me his black Labrador Dunia was having puppies I began to wonder whether we could buy one from him.  I have always adored Labradors, especially the golden or yellow ones but my obstacle was Eladio.  The girls immediately agreed and the only way to get Eladio to change his mind was by taking him to see them.  Of course we loved all three on sight.  Poor Dunia had given birth to 7 but 4 didn’t survive the very difficult birth.  Manolo has offered us Elsa, the bigger of the two girl puppies (just can’t use the word “bitch”) and we are all delighted.  We shall have to wait of course until she is at least 2 months old or so before we bring her home.  The good thing though is that we can see her as often as we like in between as Manolo lives very near us.

Dunia the Labrador with her puppies. One of them is Elsa and will be ours.

Whilst we were going to see the puppy, or early this week at least, the news of the detainment of the head of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), DominiqueStrauss Kahn from France, in New York hit the world’s media.  We all began to judge him from a distance for sexual assault of a chambermaid at his hotel in New York.  He seems to me to be what I would have called “a dirty old man” when I was young, as other similar stories have since transpired since his arrest in New York.  Of course he later resigned as head of the IMF and is now free on bail after paying 1 billion dollars!!!!!!!!!!!1

Dominique Strauss Kahn, the ex head of the IMF, very much in the news this week

A few days before this banker’s arrest, a movement in Spain began precisely against corrupt politicians and bankers, quite a coincidence I thought. The so called Spanish revolution started on 15^th May and is an apolitical movement which is gathering followers by the minute via social media.  The protesters are demanding jobs, better living standards and a fairer system of democracy.  Some people think they are inspired by the Arab Spring phenomena or by the May 1968 uprising.  Whatever has inspired them, the youth of this country with some 40% of people in their 20’s unemployed,  have finally woken up and taken to the streets in the big cities in Spain and outside Spanish Embassies abroad in a peaceful and festive manner.  Their protests have coincided with today’s local elections and demonstrations on the day before are not allowed on what is called “the day of reflection”.   The Government preferred peace I think and in the end, the protesters were allowed to continue to camp in the main square of Madrid, la Puerta del Sol, and other cities in the country.  The protesters are attacking the country's political establishment with slogans such as "violence is earning 600 euros", "if you don't let us dream we won't let you sleep" and "the guilty ones should pay for the crisis".

The famous Puerta del Sol in Madrid overtaken by the Spanish Revolution

The movement, stemming from popular indignation with how the government has handled the crisis, has caught the political parties unawares and we have yet to see whether the protests will affect the outcome of today’s vote.  The polls predict a landslide victory for the right wing opposition, Partido Popular. Meanwhile the “indignados” will continue to camp for at least another week.  They are very organized and have the support of the local people who provide them with electricity, food, internet and other basic needs.  I for one support them wholeheartedly as I am sure many other people who have children their age do too.

News of the Spanish revolution has of course hit the headlines outside Spain.  To give you an idea of its importance, the Washington Post included it in on the front page of its Thursday’s edition.

News of the Spanish Revolution has hit the news wires all around the world.

Internet is full of the news and there is one particular video which sums up the movement in English quite well so I thought I ought to post it here too if you haven’t already seen it.

On Friday when there was great uncertainty whether to ban the concentration   Eladio and I went off to Montrondo for the annual family gathering in memory of my late Father-in-law, Antonio, who died 6 years ago.  He continues to unite us every year and this year was not to be different. We left quite late as I had to go into the office for a media interview.  Thus we only reached the Palacio de Bornos in Rueda at just before 15h.  Here we enjoyed, as always, a plate of ham, lomo and chorizo washed down by their delicious sauvignon locally made white wine, for me the best in the world.

Eladio in Rueda on our way to Montrondo

We reached Montrondo in the early evening and were greeted by José Antonio, Dolores, Miguel, my Mother-in-law Ernestina, Pili and Andrés and the dogs Nuba and Trébol.  A little later Adela, Primo, Roberto, Ana, Diana and Marta arrived. 

Saturday was the big day, the day of the funeral mass and annual lunch.  I got up early and decided on a walk on my own  to Murias via the old path which I love. 

The old path to Murias from Montrondo, the path I love so much

When I got back Isidro, Yoli, Laura and Alejandro had arrived and now we were all together.  The mass was at 13h but before entering the church we went to put flowers on Antonio’s grave. Each time we do so I am reminded of the scene in the Pedro Almodóvar film “Volver”, when Penelope Cruz and other actresses are in the local cemetery cleaning the tombs and replacing the flowers.  It is just so Spanish!

At the cemetery in Montrondo

The mass was different from any mass ever held in Montrondo and they are always the same and quite boring.  The men sit at the back, the women at the front and the priest recites the words of the mass monotonously.  Saturday was different.  There was a new young priest who accompanied Paulino, the parish priest.  He wore ear rings, a ring and half of his hair was shaved.  When he spoke in Spanish it took me just a minute or two to realize he was most probably from the US but had learned Spanish in Latin America.  I could only conclude he was gay from his mannerisms and of course I have no problems with that just that it was very unusual.  His enthusiastic manner of saying the mass and his difficulty with the pronunciation of the Castillian Spanish form of “vosotros” certainly added to the exotic situation of Saturday’s funeral service compared to other years. The women in our family were delighted with his performance and waited outside to clap when he came out which took him totally by surprise.  He told me he was from Massachusetts and had met Paulino whilst studying in Salamanca.  I do wish I had remembered to take a photo. 

The afternoon was spent together, some sleeping, some talking, some working.  I felt in need of another walk after the copious lunch and enthused Eladio, Yoli, Dolores, Marta, Laura, Pili and Andrés to join me. So for the second time I walked to Murias and back via the old path surrounded by nature at its very best at the end of the spring.  The walk there and back takes just under an hour and the half way mark is a big rock called “la peña de dios” or “God’s rock”.  This time I stopped for a photo with my husband Eladio who actually doesn’t have very good memories of the path to Murias as he always associates it with hard work in his childhood.

 You can see the full set of the photos I took this weekend in Montrondo here.

Eladio and I by the Peña de Dios on the old path to Murias

This morning we were up bright and early as we wanted to get home in time for a birthday lunch with Olivia.  Miguel came with us but stopped to vote first in Murias as he now lives semi permanently in Montrondo.  He was the first voter of the day and here is a photo to record the moment.  On the far left is Salo, the Mayoress of Montrondo and a reader of my blog. Hello Salo!

Miguel voting in Murias this morning

As soon as we were home, we were greeted by the girls who were going to vote so we joined them and took my Father too. The picture illustrating this week’s blog is of Eladio and the girls queuing to vote and you can see more photos of them voting here.

I’m afraid the only photo I have of Olivia’s birthday is of her voting.  We had a rushed birthday lunch and she had to go off before we could even eat the cake, so the photo below will have to suffice for this year’s birthday photo.  She is 26 today and this week will be graduating from her master in TV journalism and we all look forward to being there.  Afterwards she will have a respite of a week or so before joining Spanish TV (TV 24 horas) for a 3 month internship. I wish her all the luck in the world.

Olivia the birthday girl voting this morning

I have now reached the end of this week’s blog on this important day, 22^nd May 2011.  Once I have uploaded the photos and published it, I will be going with Eladio to join the Spanish Revolution in the Puerta del Sol.  I think it is going to be a very uplifting experience.  But let me tell you all about it next week.

Till then, cheers

Masha

The curate’s egg, bad news from the Giro, an earthquake in Spain, remembering George and news from abroad.

An expression we use a lot in our family comes from this picture called "True Humility" by George du Maurier. It was originally published in Punch in 1895 to illustrate the "curate's egg" joke. The conversation goes like this: Bishop: "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr Jones"; Curate: "Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!"

Good afternoon my friends this sunny Sunday afternoon in May.

I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been a bit like the curate’s egg, only good in parts. How can an egg be good in parts you may ask? If an egg is not good, it’s bad I would have thought. That expression has been used often in my family and was first seen in a cartoon in the famous magazine Punch in 1895. A bishop and his curate were having breakfast and the bishop told the curate his egg looked bad. The curate, trying to be polite, answered it was “good in parts”. The exact conversation actually went like this: “Bishop: "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr Jones"; Curate: "Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!" My Father used it again this week to refer to the pineapple we had at lunch one day and when he explained the joke to Eladio we all had a good laugh.

So yes, this week has been a bit like the “curate’s egg”, only good in parts. Bad news came for me last Monday when I heard that a colleague of mine, Fernando’s Mother had died. She was just 70 and had an attack in the car last weekend whilst they were driving with his small children to a first holy communion. She had thrombosis caused by defective arteries and died later in the hospital. A year and a half before Fernando had lost his Father too, so now he is an orphan. What a tragedy.

There was news of another tragedy on Monday too when the 26 year old Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt met his death at the Giro, the Tour of Italy. It was after a high-speed crash during a descent about 25km from the finish of the stage from Reggio Emilia to Rapallo on 3rd day of the Tour.

The young Belgian rider, Wouter Weylandt who met his death on a descent on the 3rd stage of the Giro on Monday

His death which the cycling world mourns brought memories for me of the equally tragic death of another cyclist, the young Italian Olympic gold medallist, Fabio Casartelli. He rode for the Motorola Cycling Team when I worked for Motorola and I happened to be at the stage at the Tour of France when he died. It was on another descent, that of the very steep Col de Portet d’Aspet during the 15th stage of the 1995 Tour de France. I had been with him that same morning before the start when the team were fooling about and we were all laughing. I shall never forget how I found out. I was in one of the team support cars with Fátima and Eddie, the Belgian soigneur, was driving. We were going towards the finish line ahead of the peloton and were out of the range of the race radio so wouldn’t have heard the news. A Belgian press car was going passed and stopped to tell us the news in French: “Fabio est mort” (Fabio has died). We stopped the car, not quite believing the news and were only confronted with reality when we reached the finish line. That was a terrible day for cycling and something I shall never forget. The next day Lance Armstrong, the team leader, with the blessing of the whole peloton, won the stage and dedicated the victory to his team mate Casartelli. Fátima and I could only watch it in on the TV in our bleak hotel room in Paris and cried our eyes out. We had left the mourning cycling world and felt orphaned and bereft watching this amazing gesture alone in Paris. Being part of something like that leaves a mark on you and so the sad news of the death of Vouter Weyland reminded me of that tragic day in the Tour de France. I used to be very close to the cycling world and so could understand how the cycling family will have felt at the Giro on Monday, bereft, just as Fátima and I felt in that hotel room in Paris in 1995. RIP Wouter, the cycling world will always remember you.

Lance Armstrong who won the stage for his team mate Fabio Casartelli who had died the day before in the Tour de France.

The only good thing about Monday was that Susana was starting her career as a nutritionist and dietician with the big American company Aramark. She has been visiting a psychiatric hospital and senior citizen residence this week as well as going to a meeting at the Madrid headquarters on Thursday. She has also worked from home quite a lot; something she will be encouraged to do with her new job. Now that’s a step in the right direction I certainly think. Here is a photo of her all dressed and ready to go to her first meeting this Thursday.

Suzy looking smart for her first company meeting with Aramark on Thursday

Tragedy struck on Wednesday too. It was the day of Seve Ballestero’s funeral which I watched part of live. I was amazed to see the coverage on the BBC. But then again “Seve” as he is known there is “God” for the British sports and golfing world. It was a sad day for the golfing family too.

Seve Ballestero's funeral in Pedreña on Wednesday

Just a few hours later, we heard that tragedy had struck the small town of Lorca in the province of Murcia in south east Spain. This town of some 90.000 inhabitants was hit by an earthquake. The first one of a magnitude of 4.4 hit the town early on Wednesday evening and around two hours later it was hit by a bigger one measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale. Murcia lies close to the large fault line where Europe and Africa meet. I didn’t know it but apparently Spain has hundreds of earthquakes every year, most of them being too small to be noticed. But this was the worst earthquake for Spain in 50 years, killing 9 people and destroying some 20.000 buildings. It has come as a huge shock to this country and was completely unexpected. We hear about earthquakes in other parts of the world and were shocked reading about Japan’s recent experience, but never believe it could happen here. The whole country has rallied around to help the town and the inhabitants affected. Some 20% of the people are immigrants and they are the ones you see mostly on the television in the make shift camps queuing for blankets and food. The local residents either have second homes or families nearby to go to.

Terror hit Lorca, a medium sized town in Murcia this week when it was struck by two earthquakes

As soon as I heard, I knew that at Yoigo we should do something to help. So I got in touch with my RSC colleague and friend Belén who soon organised an sms number for our customers to send messages to and donate the cost of the message. The text messages would be in the form of donations to the Red Cross. So if you are a Yoigo customer reading this, or even a customer of our competitors Orange or Movistar here in Spain, I urge you to send a message to 28077 with the text LORCA. You will contribute 1.20 euros which will go entirely to the Spanish Red Cross and will be used for aid for the people and town of Lorca. Thanks.

All this bad news put a bit of a damper on me really this week and I didn’t pick up until the weekend. Yesterday, Saturday, was a good day, perhaps the best of this week. I went shopping with Suzy to Centro Oeste, a nearby shopping centre. I couldn’t resist some lovely bright red and bright green tight trousers at Zara which I shall be sharing with the girls. It’s nice to be able to do that these days I must say. In the evening I dragged Eladio back there with me to try on some white shorts at Zara which he didn’t like. We ended up buying him some very colourful bathing trunks at Cortefiel. As shopping makes you hungry we decided to go to dinner to one of our all time favourites at the nearby Equinoccio leisure centre, to La Alpargatería. As we got there early we were able to sit at our favourite corner table number 7. To our delight the menu has been improved with some delicious new dishes, such as the green tagliatelli with artichoke and ham I tried. True to habit, dessert was at Haagen Dazs afterwards. I mean they do have the best ice cream in the world don’t they?

We were home early and could have watched the end of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest but Eladio refused point blank. I didn’t insist as these days it’s just not what it used to be. The songs are more than lousy, Spain never wins and England doesn’t either these days. One of reasons is that countries near each other vote for their neighbours and neither England nor Spain have many so it’s nearly impossible to win. There was not much interest in the event this year as seems to be the tonic of the last 10 or 15 years. I used to enjoy it as a child and teenager but for me at least, it no longer has the magic it used to hold. I woke up to the news that Azerbaijan (and I had to google the name to know how to spell it!) had won which didn’t really excite me. The couple called Ell and Nikki who won will of course be delighted. You can listen to their song, Running Scared,  here on You Tube and judge for yourselves whether they deserved to win. One good thing for Ell and Nikki, a lot more people will now know how to spell their country’s name. Well done for winning this year’s contest.

The winners of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Ell and Nikki with their song Running Scared are from Azerbaijan.  I had to google the name to be able to spell it!

That piece of news brings me to the end of the week, to Sunday 15th May. Today is the patron saint of Madrid, San Isidro. Today is Eladio’s brother Isidro’s 49th birthday, just one year to go to 50. Happy birthday Isidro. But today, above all, for my Father and I, it is the tenth anniversary of the death of my dear brother George. There are 4 dates for me in the year that I can never forget apart from my family’s birthdays and they are the days of my Mother and brother’s birthdays and the days of their deaths. Once we were four but today we are only two.

We were once a family of 4.  Now we are only 2.  My parents and my brother and I in 1961 in Cambridge, UK

Today as I write and think about him I have a lump in my throat. George was born with all the talents. He was tall, blonde, blue eyed, incredibly good looking, gentle and very talented at music, sport and languages. He excelled at them all but could not make a career of any of them because of drugs and later mental illness. He loved travelling and had the same “itchy feet” bug I have inherited from my Father. Life did not treat him fairly but I like to think he had his good moments when he was speaking to locals in some village in Afghanistan or Mexico or composing a song on his guitar or working out a piece of music on my grandmother’s old piano. I think one of his happiest moments was probably two years before he died when he married Sanya, his dear Serbian wife who sadly is no longer with us either. She died of a broken heart. RIP together dear George and Sanya. I carry you both in my heat always.

George and Sanya on their wedding day in February 1999, the happiest day of their lives. 
Sadly they are no longer with us.

I don’t want to finish this week’s blogpost on a sad note, so let me tell you about the news from abroad I have had this week. On Monday I got a surprise email from someone I don’t know. It was from Andrea all the way from San Francisco. She is the niece of George Konzevich and his wife Valya, my parents’ friends, who I had written about here when George passed away in March this year. She had googled his name and up came my blog post. Isn’t the world a small place in these days of the internet I thought, and how marvellous that all these communication tools are available for people to keep in touch. Life would have been very different for George, Valya and my Mother, all of whom were refugees and had family all over the world with whom it was not possible to communicate with as it is for us today. And it was thanks to Internet too this week that I heard for the first time from my school friend Maggie W. since we left St. Joseph’s College in Bradford. Maggie it was great to get your news and know you are living in Edinburgh and have two grown up children like me. I do hope you will write again.

A photo with a group of friends at school in our last year, 1974.  I heard from Maggie W. this week for the first time thanks to internet. She is in the middle of the front row.  Nice to hear from you Maggie.

Maybe Maggie and Andrea will now read my blog too. I hope so. Well dear readers, I have come to the end of this week’s activities and will now leave you before we go for our daily walk and out to dinner with Roberto and Mari Carmen as we do most Sundays. I hope you all have a good week ahead of you and that mine this time will not be like the curate's egg; only good in parts.

Cheers till next week

Masha

Goodbye Lancia, reflections on the cycle of life, farewell Seve, the most universal Spanish sportsman of all times and an enjoyable birthday party.

This week we finally replaced the Lancia we bought in 1992.  This is a picture of the four of us in December 1992 about to embark on our first trip in the new car.

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a good week. Mine was ok, nothing really special to report, no trips or fancy events but still lots to tell you as always.

The week started with a pre summer cold which I still haven’t shaken off. However it wasn’t bad enough to send me to bed or put me out of action in any way.

This week we said goodbye to our 19 year old Lancia Dedra car, the first new car we ever bought as a married couple in 1992. It is still going strong and has some life left in it and will be sold for a pittance, if anyone wants it, but is no longer good for long journeys and it was time to get another car for the girls to take its place. We got it at Christmas in 1992 when the girls were just 7 and 8. The photo illustrating this blogpost is of the four of us here outside our old house in Río Tajo, proudly setting off for Montrondo in what we thought at the time was a luxurious car.

The Lancia today, 19 years later, on sale for a pittance!

Who would have guessed then that the girls would drive it when they got older? But they grew up of course and did drive it and now need cars of their own. We bought a second hand Seat Córdoba in the autumn for them to share after getting rid of another automobile legacy, my old Alfa Romeo 146 and first company car from my days at Motorola. Living where we live it is difficult to share cars and as Suzy was starting her new job this morning with Aramark, Eladio thought it fit to buy another second hand car so the girls wouldn’t have to share. That of course meant the end of the Lancia and a welcome to another Seat Córdoba, this time in black; the idea being to avoid any squabbling which is unavoidable when you buy two of anything different for two very close sisters like Suzy and Oli! At least the girls have agreed on which colour car they want so Suzy will be driving the red one and Oli the black one. It's not about horse power for them, but about colour.

20 years have gone past and that and other things made me reflect a bit on our life as I was later to comment to Eladio on one of our walks last week. We are all in a certain stage of the cycle of life but it seems to me that instead of enjoying the moment we are always anxious about the next stage. I mean you get married, fine, you have your children then worry about them eating, sleeping, growing, walking and then think about their schooling. You don’t enjoy that either and are anxious most of the time about their studies, waiting for them to pass their exams and then go to University. Then you are still not happy as you want them to do well and finish. Once they are finished, you are worried about the next stage, will they get a job and when will they leave home? We are at this particular stage in life and I have suddenly realised that we should stop worrying, enjoy the moment and let life take its course. Otherwise we will still be worried when they have jobs and leave home, wondering when they will get married and whether the partner they have chosen is good enough. Then we will wonder when they will have children and the cycle will begin again as we will begin to have the very same worries for our grandchildren as we did for them. The cycle will never end, it will go on but by the time we stop worrying, if we ever do, we will suddenly be old and wonder why we never enjoyed that moment in life or the company of our children instead of thinking about the next step in their future.

Reflecting a bit more, it may be natural to be concerned about the next stage in your or your family’s life but if I look back at my own youth and the youth of many people I know who are my age today, we really shouldn’t worry as life will take its course anyway. We were all once at the same uncertain future as our girls today, leaving home, with precarious jobs, yet we all went on to the next stages without too many hitches and most of us are pillars of society today and even if some of us have had some hitches, then that’s the spice of life. I wonder if you agree. In any case we have taken the decision to enjoy the girls whilst they are still with us and stop worrying about their next stage or even our next stage in life. When I told the girls, Olivia commented “carpe diem” and in a way she’s right but it’s more than that, it’s about seizing the moment and enjoying the journey rather than the destination. Perhaps it’s always been obvious to you but it’s only become obvious to me now. So from now on I shall enjoy life without always thinking about what’s coming next. Or at least I shall try to!

Someone who reached the end of his particular cycle of life this week is the golf legend Severiano Ballesteros, known simply as “Seve” outside Spain. He died on Saturday morning after playing his final game, the one he would never win, the fight against brain cancer. He went far too early in life, aged just 54, my age. I read in one of his countless obituaries that in 2003, “as it became clear that he was in the twilight of his career, he observed philosophically, “You were born, you live and you die and it is the same with golf: you go up, you are there for some time and then you go down”. How right he was. I am no golf fan and have had very little experience with the golfing world but if I were to name just one famous golf player it would be the dashing Spaniard from the town of Pedreña in Santander, Severiano Ballesteros. Coming from humble origins, practising golf with pebble on the beach and furtively at night at the famous Pedreña golf course he became the European King of the sport in the 70’s when he was just a teenager and dominated the sport from then on. He was dashing, talented, amazingly good looking, outspoken, frightened of none and it seems very popular with his opponents.

He won the British Open when he was just 22 in 1979 and then went on to be the first European to win the prestigious Masters Tournament in Augusta.

The dashing 22 year old Seve when he had just won his first British Open

His contribution to golf is phenomenal and one of the many things for which he will be remembered is for changing the Ryder Cup rules, first by changing the tradition of the Americans playing the British to the Americans playing the Europeans and secondly by bringing the location to Europe for the first time ever when he brought it to Valderrama, his native Spain in 1997. He was of course Captain of the team which went on to win. This photo is of Seve with the coveted trophy.

Seve who changed the Ryder Cup rules, holding the coveted trophy as Captain of the winning team in Valderrama, Spain in 1997

He himself said that the happiest moment of his sporting life was when he won at St. Andrew’s in 1984, the birthplace of the game. He called it “my moment of glory, my most fantastic shot. So much so that the picture of me gesturing in triumph is now the logo of my companies”. I think that picture is the most famous one there is of him and I, for one, adore it. It sums up triumph and success but also charisma. He just drew the crowds and made golf an exciting game.

Seve described this moment at St. Andrew's in 1984, as the happiest moment in his life. I love this photo which has become so famous the world round.

In all his obituaries and there are many from the world around, more even than from his native Spain, he is referred to as having charisma. Yes he did have charisma and this weekend it was written of him that when he was in a good mood, "the world smiled with him" that “he could change the weather with his face” and  “the shotmaking, the charisma, the adulation from galleries, the legacy he has left behind, Seve had it all". He had it all and thanks to him Spain began to appear on the sports map of the world, something much needed in the dark era just before and after Franco’s death when Spain was so isolated. He also turned an elitist sport practised by the rich few into a more popular game and he will be remembered for that forever.

I once had a picture of myself with Seve and now unfortunately cannot find it. For I once met the legend too. It was in my Motorola days and we were a minor sponsor at the Spanish Open. I remember we too wanted to get on the band wagon of his popularity and as part of the sponsoring rights, I had negotiated giving him a mobile phone for which I would be able to use the photograph. The year must have been 1994. I left home for the posh Moraleja golf club only to realise I had left the phone behind. Too late to go back for it, I had to borrow one from Marieta, then the sales and marketing manager of the mobile phone chain Nefitel. Seve turned up at our stand with an entourage of PR people, plus his protective brother Baldomero. I was warned that when giving him a kiss on both cheeks that it was his right cheek (or was it his left cheek?) that had to appear for the camera. He of course didn’t know who I was and came expecting to meet a man because my name, Masha, was not Spanish or familiar. He seemed a little disgruntled that I was a young PR woman instead of some important looking top male executive from the company or at least that was what I interpreted. I am sorry now that my experience with him somewhat stains for me the legendary image the world has of him. But it is understandable. After all I was after his fame too and was no one to him.

Despite the incident I have extreme respect for the man and for what he did for the sport, but above all what he did for Spanish sport. After him came others like Miguel Indurain, Fermin Cacho, Fernando Alonso or Rafa Nadal, all ambassadors of sport for this wonderful country. Of all of them I think Seve is the most universal and most respected, at least to judge from the amount of ink used in the media coverage after his death this weekend, most of it being in England and America. I wonder if there would be the same amount of coverage for any of the other sports figures I have just mentioned? Probably not and why? Simply because of his talent? no, I sincerely think it’s because of his charisma too. RIP Seve, the world will never forget you and is truly sorry you did not win your last and most important game.

So true to my newfound decision to appreciate the moment, I certainly enjoyed Susana’s 27th birthday party the next day, taking a big part in the preparations and in the party itself.

Enjoying being with some of Suzy's friends at her birthday party on Sunday

Suzy had some 30 friends for lunch and as usual made far too much food. Poor Norah was locked away for most of the time to avoid her over indulging as there is no gene in her to tell her when she has eaten too much! There were party games too and one of the games we played was “true and false” stories about Suzy’s life. I was the compere for that game and had a field day with the questions, about the time of day she was born, how much she weighed, when she had her first kiss, did her first piercing and some other interesting information her friends had to guess was right or wrong. There were two teams competing and one of the games was arm wrestling. Olivia beat Suzy’s school friend Tef (Estafanía) in this hilarious video filmed by Rocío which I proudly share with you here.

My beautiful girls at Suzy's birthday party yesterday

You can see some more photos of Suzy’s big party here on Facebook which I posted this morning.  The photo I like best  however is one taken by Juli of the 4 of us during the birthday party.  We don't have many good photos of us together so when there is a good one, I treasure it like this one.  Thanks Juli.

A great photo of the 4 of us yesterday at Suzy's birthday party taken by Juli.  Thanks Juli!

And today Monday, Suzy has started with Aramark, the big American food services company. We are proud and happy for her. Thus this week has started off on a good note plus we all had lunch outside together for the first time this year. That always marks for me the beginning of the summer which I always enjoy. But meanwhile I look forward to a nice quiet week, mostly working from home.

I wish you all a good week too.

All the best, Masha.

A new walk, two birthdays, a royal wedding, a circus, some good and some breaking news and other things

Suzy's 27th birthday this Thursday, one of the many highlights of this week

Well hello again

Today is 1st May, Sunday, Labour Day, Mother’s Day (in Spain) but it is also my Father’s birthday and he is 92 today. He is my most loyal reader and always gets a printed copy of my blog as soon as it is published. Therefore it is fitting that the first words of today’s entry be to him. “Happy birthday Daddy and long may you live and be happy with us!”. But more about his birthday later as I have to tell you all about this week first.

This week has had its ups and downs, but mostly ups. Last Sunday, Easter Sunday, we went out to dinner with our friends Roberto and Mari Carmen to Arrepiento, a little Andalusian place in Pozuelo. Monday of course brought with it the return to the fold of the Dukan Diet after 10 days of over indulging during my trips to Asturias and Ibiza. 3 days of pure protein were sufficient to lose the 2 kilos I had put on and this seems to be the norm with me these days; a bit of over eating and then a couple of days of sacrifice and the scales return to my ideal weight. I wonder if it will always be like that.

Olivia had introduced me on Good Friday to a new walk on the paths in the woods behind the houses where we live. Suzy, the instigator of this new route, was our guide on Monday afternoon’s walk, which Eladio and I loved. I should add here that Suzy has the best sense of direction in the family. The walk is longer and has some obstacles with sudden steep paths but is glorious because of the spring vegetation and above all because of the peace and quiet. Norah, I know, must appreciate the lack of noisy vehicles as we have the path almost to ourselves. On Wednesday and Thursday the four of us were able to enjoy this new walk together, quite an occasion and you can see some of the photos here. I have included the new walk in the title above because of its importance to us. Walking has become an essential part of our daily lives as a married couple. Of course we do it for the exercise but it is more than that, it is an activity that unites us and gives us quality time together daily. Add to that the endorphins the exercise produces and the end result is a bit of extra daily happiness. I recommend you to try it if you don’t already do so.

Eladio, Suzy and Norah on our lovely new walk.

Happiness was not exactly the key note on Tuesday. I got into trouble over an article in the press which made me realise that being a communications director is a bit like walking on a tight rope. I am responsible for the information given for the press about my company but have no control over what they write. Then of course when something is published that is controversial, negative or wrong, I am in the eye of the hurricane and there is not much I can do about it. It is a job with a risk which all in all I generally enjoy but it is a job which every now and again I lose my sleep over.

No,Tuesday was not a good day. In the afternoon I had a big session at the dentist for more root treatment for another tooth under the bridge my dentist has had to remove. I am waiting for the day when the new bridge and the implant on the other side are finally in place. I am also hoping I will be comfortable with them and one day soon will be able to eat on both sides again.  For the moment I will have to wait.

Wednesday was better. I went shopping with Suzy in the evening after our lovely new walk. Of course I had to get something for her birthday the next day. That night was not a good night for Real Madrid. After winning the King’s Cup recently to their arch rival Barcelona, on Wednesday they lost to them in the first leg of the Champions League final 2-3 on their own turf. They ended up with 10 men as seems to be the norm for Real Madrid these days. I for one shall not be watching the second leg at the Camp Nou next Tuesday. I mean why would I want to watch them not make it through to the final at Wembley in May? That match is almost certainly reserved for Sir. Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola's teams to play; in a way England vs Spain for me which has has my loyalty somewhat divided.

Thursday brought with it the first birthday of the week. Suzy was 27, the same age I was when I gave birth to her, my wonderful outgoing fun-to-be with daughter. Suzy celebrates in style and birthdays are of utmost importance to her. I certainly brought up both girls in the importance of celebrating them. Thursday was the family birthday, just the beginning, as she will be having a party for her friends sometime next week. We had breakfast together when we gave her our presents and cards. Lunch was special too and that's when we had her spectacular two flavour cake made the night before. In the evening after another walk on the new route, this time all four of us, we went out for a birthday dinner. We went to La Vaca Argentina, surprise, surprise and were joined by Gaby, Suzy's boyfriend. Oli was joining us straight from her postgraduate lectures and got lost on the way, running out of petrol, having left her purse at home! Suzy and Gaby went to her rescue and so we started a late dinner with me trying to pacify everyone’s nerves as so often happens at family occasions. I just want us all to be happy and hate rowing. If you know me you will understand that.  You can see the rest of the photos of Suzy's big day here.

Suzy made her own double flavoured birthday cake which was delicious

Friday was the highlight of my week bringing with it numerous events, the most important of all, of course, being the royal wedding. It was a very full day and started with me doing some quick shopping locally. I went to a nearby shopping centre and when I had finished decided on a cup of coffee in the sun at the Mirabal Café. There on the table next to me was a group of English teachers from the local Olivar de Mirabal school and I couldn’t resist introducing myself. I have lived in Spain now for longer than I ever lived in England and as I progress into my mid fifties I find myself feeling more and more nostalgic about my origins. It was great to meet Carol from Liverpool and Victoria, of Russian origin, like me, from Queens in New York and the other two ladies, all about my age. I gave them my card and I now hope they will follow this blog but even more I look forward to having coffee with them again at the Mirabal Café and exchanging notes about being British or American and living in Spain. Here is the photo of this delightful group of ladies as promised to them for this week’s blog post.

The group of English teachers I met on Friday

As soon as I was home I switched on the BBC on the ground floor and was soon joined by my Father, Oli and Eladio to watch the much awaited wedding ceremony of William and Kate; the so called "wedding of the century".  I have to say I loved every moment of it. Britain was at its best on Friday and is the country which knows how to put on the greatest show possible in pomp, pageantry but also emotion. The numbers were enormous: more than a million people in the streets of London and some 2 billion television spectators from around the world. I well remember watching Prince William’s Mother, Diana marrying Prince Charles 30 years ago in 1981. I was in Callosa at the time and had just met Eladio. We had no access to a television and watched it in a bar and I think I was the only person interested! Their marriage proved to be a disaster as we all know. I on the other hand have now been happily married for nearly 30 years ....

The wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981, 30 years later and what a difference to their son's!

And on Friday it was Princess Diana’s son, William, marrying Kate Middleton, a “commoner” and it was a fairy tale come true but on the biggest scale possible. This time the wedding was available on any media channel you could wish for; be that TV, Twitter, Facebook or their own official wedding website.   You can even watch it and watch it over again here on You Tube if you so wish.

I don't think I can even begin to imagine what the the lump in the throat was like for Kate's Father as he walked with her up the aisle at Westminster Abbey, knowing he was giving his daughter in marriage to the future King of England. The only person missing was of course William’s dearest Mother, Diana. In her place was  “Camilla”, the lady Prince Charles should have married in 1981! I later realised that a tribute was paid to Diana in the singing of one of the  hymns, "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer", which was also sung at her funeral. I love that hymn as I also loved "Love Divine all Love's Excelling" but above all I rejoiced to hear Jerusalem by Sir Hubert Parry, that most patriotic of hymns always reserved for the Last Night at the Proms. It begins with the words; "And did those feet in ancient times" as the lyrics are by the British Poet William Blake whose poem is called that.  It made me feel even more emotional and so when the National Anthem was played afterwards both my Father and I stood up out of respect and tradition. Olivia was amused but then again I haven’t brought up my daughters to be patriotic about their other homeland.

The truly happy newly-weds, William and Kate, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, my home town which makes me doubly happy

I should spare a few lines in this blogpost to mention the dress as there has been so much expectation and coverage about her choice, mostly in favour. Yes I loved Kate’s “Grace Kellyesque” romantic yet simple dress, in sharp contrast to the over the top gown designed for her late and lovely mother in law. I should mention the name of the designer was Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen's fashion house. All I know is that she is a British designer. I have to admit too that Kate’s sister, Pippa, the Royal Maid of Honour (commonly known as chief bridesmaid in an ordinary wedding!) was dressed in a divine gown, also by Sarah Burton. However it surprised me and others that it was white. I always thought you couldn’t wear white so as not to outshine the bride. Pippa did not manage to outshine her sister but did win many hearts that day for her beauty, poise and sheer radiance. Unfortunately for some of them, it seems her heart is already taken.

Kate's simple, beautiful and romantic wedding dress

Her sister Pippa's, much admired gown also designed by Sarah Burton

All in all this wedding was a truly joyous occasion and much happier than the one I watched in 1981 in Callosa. I think it brought back the shine to British royalty and brought with it too, a moment of light in the economic gloom, this last to quote The Guardian, bar Princess Ann and the ghastly daughters of the Duke of York as I wrote to Amanda yesterday. I also wrote that Friday was one of those days I really wanted to be in England, in "that green and pleasant land", a line from Jerusalem, that hymn I love so much and is so quintessentially British and which, as I mentioned above, was sung at the wedding on Friday.

After the “Yes I will”, the big moment I and I suppose most of the world was waiting for was the kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.  I had left the television screen for a few moments so missed the moment live but of course have seen it countless times since. This is a picture  I particularly like as it includes one of the small bridesmaids screwing up her face and holding her ears from the noise made by the “fly over” that took place during the event.

The Royal Wedding kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

On the day of the wedding, Eladio, Susana, Olivia and I had a family outing to look forward to later in the evening. Some of the employees at Yoigo  had been invited by our network supplier, Ericsson, to the Cirque du Soleil show called Corteo. It was something we had been looking forward to for quite some time but it turned out to contribute to one of the down moments of the week as we got lost on the way. It was taking place at a big marquee in the Madrid park called La Casa de Campo, somewhere I nearly always get lost in. And true to tradition it happened again. We all argued in the car about how to get there and time was running out. The roads in the park were closed off in many places and in the end we just parked the car outside the fun fair and made our way to a road nearby on foot and called a taxi. The taxi brought us to the entrance 15 minutes after the circus had started and our nerves were all on edge so we were not in the best mood to enjoy this much awaited occasion. So did we like it? Sort of but not enormously. A few years ago Eladio and I had seen  Saltimbaco also by the Cirque du Soleil and I have much better memories of the latter. I did enjoy some of the trapeze artists’ amazing feats on Friday but did not really understand the story line which I think was based on a funeral starring a not so funny fat Italian artist, at least for me.

A photo taken live at the Cirque du Soleil Corteo show on Friday

Afterwards, Suzy went off to Cadiz for the weekend for a first holy communion with her boyfriend Gaby and Olivia went to meet friends. Eladio and I finished the day by having dinner at one of our usual favourite places, Tony Romas in Majadahonda. It was a better finish to the day than the Cirque du Soleil.

Whilst we were at the circus, my Father was giving a Russian lesson to my friend Fátima’s brother, Manolo a self learner of this most difficult language. Daddy, who also gives English lessons informally to Olga each day at tea-time, is most happy to be back at his trade. He was a successful teacher of French, German and Russian during his working life and I think these lessons will give him something useful to do and to look forward to. Manolo is very lucky in having the best teacher in Russian to help him with his doubts in his self-learning. My Father too self taught himself Russian as the story goes. When he finished his studies in German and Scandinavian languages at Cambridge University in the early 50’s, the Professor of Russian, Dame Elizabeth Hill, offered him a job teaching Russian to British officers. It was the Cold War and many of them were to use their knowledge in this language later as spies.  He replied that he didn’t know the language, her answer being, “don’t worry, you just have to be one lesson ahead of your pupils”! And so his journey to learn this language began. The journey included meeting my Russian born Mother who was a secretary at these secret Cambridge courses. He went on to master the language to perfection and it became an essential part of his life. No doubt he is happy to be dabbling again at what he is best at, teaching Russian. And Manolo is a very lucky pupil to have him.

Friday was indeed the highlight of our week as it brought great news for Susana and of course for us. 10 days earlier she  had an interview with the big American multinational, Aramark, a food services company that supplies food to all sorts of big institutions. Amazingly Suzy was chosen for the job and the phone call came in the morning. Whilst the kiss on the balcony was taking place, Suzy told me her good news. Thus missing the moment live was well worth it! She will be a intern nutritionist for the 50 senior citizen residences that Aramark supplies to in Spain. Well done Suzy. I know the pay is nothing special and that the contract is a two year internship but it is a great company and it is a foot on the career ladder for your future. Well done too darling, you are now joining the work force as Spain has just announced nearly 5 million people unemployed, not an easy feat.

Sunday too was a highlight in our lives and the lives around us.  It was May 1st, workers’ day but also Mothers’ day in Spain. But most important of all it was my Father’s 92nd birthday. The day began with presents and a card at breakfast. I then made a special birthday lunch which included home-made “salmorejo” (thick gazpacho), followed by one of my specialities, meat loaf. Lunch included a lovely Sacher chocolate birthday cake. Here is the moment when Daddy blew the candles.

Grandpa celebrating his 92nd birthday on 1st May yesterday

Sunday was important for my Father but it was even more important for the late John Paul II who was being beatified in Rome; apparently the fast track process to later sainthood in front of more than a million fervent Catholics.  When my Mother was alive she always used to say my Father looked like Karol Wojtyla and I think he did. So it’s fitting these two events happened simultaneously yesterday.

John Paul II's beatification took place yesterday in Rome, Daddy's look-alike according to my Mother!

My Father and probably the late Pope too, will have and would have been pleased at this morning’s breaking news which once again proved how printed newspapers have been overtaken by the internet when it comes to news. Amazingly I heard thanks to Facebook that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by American forces yesterday in Pakistan, with the help of Pakistan’s Government. Osama Bin Laden, America’s most wanted person, the leader of Al Qaeda, was the instigator of the 11th September attacks in 2001 and it has taken them some 10 years to finally track him down. Let me quote the NYT here as I just couldn’t put it in better words: “Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan on Sunday, President Obama announced”.

Today's breaking news, the killing of America's most wanted person, Osama Bin Laden

I imagine that the second most wanted person for the US Government is Colonel Gaddafi of Libya, a country which is undergoing huge revolts to oust this dictator and protector of terrorists. I don’t think it will take 10 years as it did with Bin Laden but is proving difficult. Yesterday, in fact, Nato attacks on the dictator killed his youngest son Saif aged 29 as well as three grandchildren.

The news came this morning, the 2nd of May a holiday in Madrid. It commemorates the Second of May uprising when in 1808 the people of this city rebelled against its occupation by Napoleon’s troops and which triggered the famous Peninsula War. For me and people in Madrid it means a bank holiday one week after the Easter break this year, but is very welcome in any case. Thanks to the holiday too, I have been lazy with this week’s blog which will get published today instead of yesterday.

For those of you working, and those of you who are not, I hope you enjoy this week’s bumper edition about the royal wedding, our family birthdays and of course Susana’s good news.

Cheers till next week my friends

Masha