Sunday 4th November 2012
Hurricane
Sandy, Oli our weather reporter, the heating went and so did Ivanka, horrid
Halloween and other stories.
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| Olivia our very own weather reporter, here in Córdoba on Tuesday |
Hi again this very wet Sunday morning in November,
I am sitting
at my desk and it’s cold. The central heating broke down on Wednesday which
also means no hot water. Unfortunately
it happened just before the All Saints’ Day bank holiday so the plumber won’t
be coming till Monday. It’s also raining
outside as it has been most of the week.
The weather
has been in the news all week. On Monday
we heard of the threat of Hurricane Sandy making its way to the US East Coast
after it had caused havoc in Cuba and Haiti.
Meanwhile as the inhabitants of New Jersey and New York were preparing
for “the perfect storm” which was also dubbed as the “Frankenstorm” we had our
own mini Sandy in Madrid where it rained non-stop all day long. Sandy even
caused the US election campaign to go on hold whilst Barack Obama took charge
of preparations which included evacuating many people and bringing public
transport to a halt, including air traffic. He was very much visible
throughout, possibly because he wanted to avoid a disaster similar to Hurricane
Katrina but also maybe because his efforts would also pay off in more votes in
next Tuesday’s presidential elections.
The media
reported extensively on Hurricane Sandy in the New York and New Jersey areas
but almost forgot it had caused just as much devastation and deaths in the
Caribbean area. I suppose tragedy in
that area is less newsworthy than in Manhattan, the famous Big Apple. As the
East Coast was preparing for the worst, fake photographs like the one below
appeared on social media. It might be
fake, but it’s a fantastic image.
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| A great fake photo of Hurricane Sandy that went viral on social media |
I have a
friend, Angel J, who lives in downtown New York and is a great
photographer. Here is a photo he posted
just before Sandy made its awful appearance.
I actually followed the storm and its effect on Manhattan via his
Twitter and Facebook postings.
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| NYC just before it was hit by Sandy |
Sandy arrived
at night, the biggest impact being on New Jersey but it also caused havoc in
the surrounding areas. Hospitals had to
be evacuated as generators broke down, nearly a hundred houses burned in
Queens, flooding blocked the “subway” and many homes, the death toll increased day
by day and millions of people were without electricity.
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| Hurricane Sandy just as it hit NYC |
I was worried
about our friends Angel and Rosa who live in a small town outside New Jersey
but got an email later from Angel to say they that were ok but of course
without electricity and that their street was full of fallen trees but nothing
worse than that. I was relieved for
them. When the storm left on its way to
Canada but with its strength ebbed, the people of New York and New Jersey woke
up to devastation. However the Americans
being the Americans, they will soon be back on their feet and order restored,
unlike their poorer cousins in the Caribbean.
Wall Street closed for two days, the first time since 9/1, schools too
closed and people had to charge the batteries on their mobile phones via
special chargers set up in the street – I’m sure that didn’t happen in Haiti. Even
the famous New York marathon was cancelled yesterday as it was supposed to
start in Staten Island one of the worst affected areas by the storm. Electricity is slowly being restored;
affected people are being helped and finally the campaigning for the elections
has been resumed. It remains to be seen
if Obama’s heroic involvement in the catastrophe will bring him more
votes. But that we will only know next
week.
It rained all
day on Monday and we had to cancel our walk with the three dogs and I kept
thinking about the Carpenters’ song, Rainy days and Mondays always get me
down. However Monday was a good day at
work for me. On Monday the interview with
my new boss in Expansión was published.
Expansión is Spain’s top business daily and the interview, luckily, was
very positive.
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| The interview in Expansión on Monday |
On Monday too
we sent out a media alert to announce Yoigo would be commercializing Samsung’s
new Galaxy S3 mini. The news was we
would be the first operator to launch the new phone, a lighter version of the
very popular and expensive S3. I think
that’s the first time we have launched a terminal alone, quite a big feat as we
are the smallest mobile network operator and a story like this puts us in the
big picture, consolidating our strong market position in these crisis hit
times.
On Tuesday it
was weather for ducks again. Suzy’s car
broke down twice and Eladio had to pick her up at the garage. That day Olivia
was to be programme’s weather girl and was sent off to Córdoba on the earliest “AVE”
high speed train as apparently the south of Spain was to be hit by severe thunderstorms. However when she got there the sun was
shining. As it was still raining in
Madrid I commented to her that she should have stayed here to report on the
weather nearer home. In any case the sky
grew darker and she made an appearance at 11.35 (you can see the video here if
you go to that time), standing on the old Roman bridge with the view of the
Mezquita (Mosque) in the background. I
missed that live report as I had to go to the office but was able to see it
later. The photo illustrating this post is of her with her TVE anorak on ready
for her live appearance from that beautiful city, one of my favourites in
Spain.
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| Olivia reporting live on the weather in Córdoba on Tuesday |
On Wednesday it
not only rained but also snowed in the mountains outside Madrid. Olivia was a weather reporter again that day
as she was sent off to Navacerrada, the ski resort outside Madrid, to report on
the snow fall, the first this year.
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| Olivia reporting live on the snow in Navacerrada on Wednesday |
We watched her
at home with her new boyfriend Miguel and of course my Father. Miguel later commented to Olivia how happy
her appearance had made her grandfather, whereupon I asked him to let us know
this week when they are in Valencia working together when she will be on the
television. Olivia doesn’t always let us
know but when she does, her appearances make our day. Next week, they will be working together for
the first time, Olivia as the reporter and Miguel as her cameraman. As my friend Amanda commented, it is quite
glamorous to have a cameraman as a boyfriend.
Wednesday was
the day the central heating stopped working and it was also the day Ivanka
announced suddenly she had to go to Bulgaria the very next day as her
mother-in-law had been taken ill and was in hospital. We later understood that her husband didn’t
want to go on his own and sort of accused her of not wanting to look after his
Mother. I also understood that Ivanka
didn’t want to lose her job. She packed
and left that very night but didn’t say a final goodbye so we thought she would
be coming back. However the next morning
we realised she had completely cleared out her room not leaving any belongings
at all as if she knew she wasn’t returning.
So I rang her just as she was leaving for the airport and asked her what
her intentions were. She said she would
know more once she got to Sofia and would ring me on Saturday. Well Saturday has passed and she hasn’t
rung. I have tried to contact her to no
avail and can only presume that she has left for good. This is a big blow for us as she looks after
my Father very well, and of course the house too. We have had no alternative but to look for someone
else and between today and tomorrow we will be interviewing new candidates. Meanwhile my trusted and beloved Ukranian
cleaning lady, Zena, will be here tomorrow morning to clean. I so look forward to that as no one cleans as
well as dear Zena.
Wednesday of
course was the last day of October and Halloween. I hate Halloween as much as my girls love
it. In fact I think it is horrible and
scary. That is probably because I was
not brought up to celebrate it but the girls were and I used to heave every
year when I got instructions from their school about the Halloween disguises. I might be a great party maker but am
incapable of sewing or cutting out outfits.
The girls of course love it and prepare for it weeks in advance. Miguel, Olivia’s boyfriend, was made to dress
up too and I sort of suspect that he wasn’t brought up on the tradition either but
just went along with Olivia’s plans to please her. Later the girls sent me this ghastly photo of
the two of them in this year’s outfits.
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| Olivia in blue and Suzy in black dressed up for Halloween on Wednesday night |
Halloween this
year will be remembered in Spain because of a tragedy that happened at a huge
public party in Madrid for young people that night. In the crush to get out or to get in, 2 girls
died, another one died on arrival at the hospital and a fourth girl, aged just
17, died yesterday. There is another
girl fighting for her life as I write.
For me it was a horrid Halloween made even worse by the tragedy at the
Madrid Arena building in the well known Casa de Campo. Thank goodness our girls
returned to their beds safe and sound.
Thursday 1st
November was a holiday. It is a tradition
in Spain to visit the cemetery and take flowers to the graves of loved ones who
have passed away. Actually the day for
visiting the cemetery is officially 2nd November but more people go
on the 1st as it as a national holiday. This year was no exception for Eladio’s
family and Pili, his sister and her husband Andrés kept us posted via whatsapp
from Montrondo on the rainy occasion when they went to a memorial mass and put
flowers on my father-in-law Antonio’s grave.
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| Pili and my mother-in-law Ernestina in Montrondo on 1st November |
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| They went to put flowers on my father-in-law's grave as they do every year on 1st November |
Friday being
the day in between the bank holiday and the weekend was a non working day for
most, including myself and Olivia. We
had a family lunch where I managed to destroy my home made croquettes and in
the afternoon I went shopping with Susana to the new Gran Plaza 2 centre. I had
no need for any new clothes but was tempted by some dark blue corduroy
trousers, a long blue and grey striped jumper (what another striped jumper
remarked Olivia!) and a red and blue checked lumberjack type shirt from H+M,
all of which I wore that day and the next.
Since I was a child I have always wanted to immediately wear new
clothing or shoes and the habit has not worn off.
Later that
evening, after tucking my Father into bed, Eladio and I went out to dinner to
La Vaca Argentina, tempted to go there after having received an email invitation
of a free bottle of Ribera del Duero wine. The dinner was superb and instead of
falling immediately asleep when we got back, we became glued to an old Polish
film about the life of Karol Wojtyła who
became the late Pope John Paul II. For
the records it was called: “Karol: A man who became Pope”. We loved every moment
of it even though we admitted it was immensely favourable to the charismatic
Pole. We both are suckers for films with
a religious or World War II theme, obviously because of our own religious heritage
and of course because of my obsession and now Eladio’s of people’s experiences
in the war both my parents survived and which has made such an impact on me
since childhood.
-Poster.jpg) |
| This film, the story of John Paul II was right up our street |
Because of the
long bank holiday weekend, yesterday Saturday felt like Sunday. After a family lunch, Olivia and Miguel left
for Valencia as I mentioned above. The
weather forecast there for today was 27ºC and they had plans to go swimming. Miguel is a keen long distance swimmer and he
talked of swimming some 4km today with Olivia near the Malvarrosa beach in the
city. And today Oli posted a photo of
herself kitted up in a wet suit which was very impressive.
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| Olivia in a wet suit in Valencia this morning |
Whilst they
talked of the beach I could only dream of a hot shower which I haven’t had
since Wednesday. So after lunch
yesterday I drove to Suzy’s house to use her facilities and I must say her
shower is fabulous with great pressure and an endless supply of extremely hot
water. Thanks Suzy, will probably be coming
again tomorrow if the plumber doesn’t do his job!
Just as I got
back José Antonio and Dolores arrived to pick up their mongrel Nuba who had
been staying with us whilst they were away at a spa in Montanejos in the province
of Castellón with Dolores’ family. They
came just in time for afternoon tea and biscuits which we had round the kitchen
table with the dogs at our feet. I think
Nuba was sorry to leave after the company of our dogs and the garden and walks
but will probably not have regretted going back as at home in Madrid she sleeps
inside and not out in the cold like Norah and Elsa who wouldn’t let her into
their wooden kennel. She will also be glad
to have her blanket back which Norah kept stealing from her. She was a delight to have actually and didn’t
cause any trouble at all. Goodbye Nuba,
until next time.
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| Little Nuba went yesterday |
I have now
come to the end of the tales of this week, the week of bad weather and no hot
water or central heating and the week Ivanka left. Today Sunday it has been
raining again and the only bright point was Suzy joining us for lunch. This
afternoon we shall be interviewing two candidates to replace her and another
one tomorrow morning. Eladio posted an
advertisement on internet on www.segundamano.es
earlier and you can’t imagine how many calls I have received since. We now have enough candidates to interview
and thankfully Eladio has removed the advert. Let’s hope we can find a good
replacement for Ivanka.
So my friends,
that’s it for this week. I wish you all
the best and will sign off now and publish this before I have to rush off and
pick up the Moroccan lady who is coming for the interview. You might be interested to know she warned me
that she wears a scarf around her head.
As you can imagine I told her that was no problem at all, so long as she
didn’t cover her eyes which she assured me she didn’t. She then explained that it worried some people
to which I replied we are pretty liberal people and respect religion.
And on that
note, I leave you till next week.
Cheers Masha
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