Spain in lockdown - Day 47

Well the big news of the day is that exercise will be permitted from 2nd May 🎉   The government has set a timetable for walks as part of the confinement de-escalation with different groups of people to go out at different times as follows:

• People can do individual sports or walks between 6-10am and 8-11pm for 1 hour no more than 1km from home.  You can go with one other person that lives with you but not in the car or doing sports together and cannot leave your own municipality.  
• Children can go out between 12 noon-7pm with only the one parent as before.  
• People over 70 can go out between 10am-12 noon and 7- 8pm up to 1km, maximum of 2 people.  
• Municipalities of less than 5,000 inhabitants can go out freely once a day up to 11pm and within 1km.  

Bit different to the UK I think - whether or not you agree with the new rules.  In any event, we are too populated for the last part to apply, so here we will be out either first thing or last thing.  For me, it'll be the early one so tomorrow I'm going to spend time working out where 1km is in all different directions ready for Saturday - eek the excitement!  I may even take Ian with me if he's lucky 😂 STOP PRESS UPDATE:  if we're walking, or walking together we can only go 1km but if it's running, I can go as far as I like if it's within the municipality and for no longer than one hour.  Now that's exciting!!

Summer is definitely on the way; you can feel how much warmer it's getting now so I think a little job putting away my winter clothes and shoes and getting the summer ones organised is on the cards.  Today was in the early 20's and because of this and the increase in pedestrians due to children, things do feel a little more 'normal' here in PP although of course there's a very long way to go yet.  I took a little detour with the dogs at lunchtime today and walked past Nostalgia and then left in the corner of the square by Bonys, and took this picture:

I spent some time today putting together the playlist for Saturday in lieu of the Graham and Sarah Saturday Show on English Radio Pollensa - this week the theme is family,  I think everyone is missing members of their family so it was an easy choice.  Some great suggestions, as ever, and I really enjoy putting things together.  Mind you, I'd rather be doing the radio show and am sooooo looking forward to being back on air at some point.

I've spent some time today on the new jigsaw puzzle and have decided that it's all very well deliberately getting a 'busy' one so that I don't have hundreds of pieces of blue sky for example, but actually this one is so busy that it's making me quite dizzy!  Still, I've started so I'll finish......

Other activities included some domestic goddess credentials renewal aka cleaning, doing some logic puzzles and reading.  And of course the 8pm applause for key workers.  Our dog Alfie now actually reminds us when it's due, goes to the balcony and always, always joins in, barking his little heart out the minute he hears the police sirens, even in the distance!  This is all very lovely and sweet at the moment, but once we're back to normal, he's going to bark like mad every time he hears a siren which is going to be a bit of a pain 😳

So, this has been quite a day for a lot of us who are excitedly looking forward to Saturday now - will the streets be thronged at 6am?  We shall see 😜

Stay safe and hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown - Day 46

Awoke to find the Spanish de-escalation plan continuing to be the talk of social media and to be honest, 46 days in under stringent regulations that's hardly surprising.  My approach is to take it a step at a time and massively hope that we can go out to exercise sometime soon but that's as much as I want to realistically think about at the moment.  In any event, central government has said that the Canary and Balearic Islands can handle their own phases of de-escalation.  Formentera and maybe Menorca will go directly to Phase 1 as outlined in yesterday's blog; Ibiza and Mallorca will be on Phase 0 until 11th May.  Restrictions will be lifted very slowly and carefully and once we are allowed out it's very possible that children, vulnerable and elderly people will have specific times to go out to avoid cross-infection from the rest of us.  Anyway, let's see what happens.....

The day started here with the usual Wednesday morning online gym class and then a 2km run on the running machine.  While I was doing this Ian was off to the dentist as he's had a tooth giving him problems for about 3 weeks.  And on return it turns out he needs a root canal treatment at a cost of 400€ - yay, just what we need whilst I'm furloughed 😩 Ah well, that's life!  After that he went off to Eroski to get the things we can't/don't get at Lidl so he won in the lottery of life today.  Mind you, given that next week he's going to have a root canal treatment I think he deserves it - rather him than me!

I've also made some progress today on my latest jigsaw puzzle and even managed some of the ubiquitous blue pieces - go me!  We also spent a bit of time on the roof terrace although, as is often the case here in the afternoons, it got a bit breezy so after an hour or so we retreated for a nice cuppa.  But it's definitely getting a LOT warmer 🌞 And I've been playing online Scrabble with one of my daughters.  So what with all this and another teaching webinar, the day has flown by.  

As Ian was the lucky one doing the Eroski shopping, I took the dogs for their lunchtime and evening toilet walks.  At lunchtime the sun shone in a cobalt blue sky and I took this picture:

But......do you know where it was taken?  Let's see who knows!

Both of us have also done some more work on our Spanish.  This lockdown has been brilliant for Ian who has done more on his Spanish during it than in the entire rest of the time we've lived here 😎  I'm missing my weekly chat in Spanish with my friend Elvira and also my twice weekly classes at the town hall but the lockdown has been a good opportunity to work on the less glamorous aspects of Spanish like grammar, although if the truth be told I do quite like the grammar side of things.  I think it's the teacher in me!

In other general news, the council is finally out and about cutting the grass etc which is good to see.  And they've been keeping the beaches raked over throughout.  I just wish they were responsible for the grass down at the carpark by the marina on the seafront where we take the dogs for two of their three toilet walks, but sadly that is the responsibility of the Port authority and they leave it to the last minute at the best of times.  Currently the grass is practically waist level (ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea) and there is so much dog poop there, that quite a lot of it has literally biodegraded.  Which I suppose is quite helpful.  We continue, of course, to poop scoop but it's hard to stay motivated with so much other poop around; if we were to scoop all the poop there, we'd need a dustbin bag 😳

And on that rather unsavoury note - stay safe and hasta mañana!

Spain in lockdown - Day 45

Lidl outing day dawned bright and sunny and I was up, dressed and breakfasted with the enthusiasm of .......well.....of someone who's been in lockdown for 45 days and doesn't get out much 😂  It was fab-u-lous driving our car all of 5km to Lidl and I had the added bonus thrill of going to the filling station behind Lidl first!  Lidl remains well-stocked and civilised and I didn't even have to queue for a till.  Mind you, the cashier played the game I mentioned a while back where they try to get the items scanned and down the end of the till quicker than you can pack them so that you're left struggling to do about eleventy nine things all at once - I'm sure there's a special training unit in the cashier training scheme that teaches them how to do it!  Anyway......I drove blissfully home (my goodness, how I miss driving, who knew it would come to this?!) and that was it for another week.

I attended another teaching webinar today and also updated my online classrooms with work for next week which is keeping my professional side of things going despite being furloughed.  And *girly alert* I treated myself to a nice manicure with two different alternating colours by way of a change.

Ian also did his own kind of varnishing but of the outside furniture variety as we put the little table and two chairs out on our bedroom balcony today, and the table was definitely the worse for wear.  So Ian made a little trip to the ferretería and got the necessary stuff and got going.  

I did the lunchtime and evening dog toilet walks and there's definitely more 'traffic' both of the motorised and two-legged variety (also four-legged to be fair).  The vehicles are, I hope, to do with people's work and in fact the majority are vans or similar.  I've got unused to 'sharing' the area with other pedestrians over the past 6.5 weeks and it feels strange now that there are parents and children out and about - but strange in a good way 😝  And I can report that in the Port, generally speaking, parents are sticking to the rules regarding one parent with up to 3 children, social distancing etc.  

Whilst out for the dog walk at lunchtime I walked to the 1919 roundabout to look to see if the other beached boats had been moved following yesterday's removal of the wrecked catamaran by the roundabout.  They're still there.  Goodness knows when they're intending to remove them (by 'they' I mean the town council, it's not their fault but ultimately they are the ones who will have to take action, however unfair that is) as currently would be the perfect time - very few people about and construction type work allowed.  We shall see what happens over the next couple of weeks......

Today the government gave the Spanish exit plan from the lockdown.  Apparently there will be a gradual and asymmetrical de-escalation as it will be different for the various regions.  But the Balearics are in a good position so to speak.  Anyway....from 2 May it looks likely that people will be allowed out for exercise and walks but specific details are still to follow. Next is phase 1 which will let small retailers open under strict conditions; terraces, hotels and places of worship will also be able to open but all with restrictions.  Phase 2 will see restaurants and cultural facilities open but with much reduced capacity.  The final Phase 3 will see the commercial sector open with reduced capacity, and a relaxation of mobility.  Each phase is to last for a minimum of 2 weeks so the government is currently seeing the end of June as the "new normality".  All provinces meeting the requirements (and the Balearics are one of those) will move to Phase 1 on 11 May.  This is all dependent on the figures continuing to improve as they have been.  So whilst this is great news it's important to still take one day at a time and assume nothing.  But I must admit, it's good to see the projected plan so at least we know where we'll be heading if we cross all our fingers and toes 😎

Take care and hasta luego!

Spain in lockdown - Day 44

Day 44 - I do like a nice balanced number 😆 and the days are certainly whizzing past now but the downside to that is that when you reach a certain age you'd rather they did so in more enjoyable circumstances!  Ah well, you can't always have what you want.

The day started with an online strength training gym class and then a quick (literally) 2km sprint on the running machine.  Whilst cooling down I finished the tedious but necessary sorting and laying out of all the new jigsaw puzzle pieces; I put them in groups of a predominant colour which is very helpful, but with this puzzle there are rather too many pieces of blue sky for my liking 😱  Mind you it's definitely going to be easier than the puzzle my youngest daughter is doing of The Great Wave by Hokusai which is basically some blue and the rest is all white/cream (the foam of the wave) - rather her than me let me tell you!  And I made a lot of teaching resources, my laminator working its little socks off laminating cards for games etc.  Not sure when I'll actually get to next use them but, as an ex-scout leader of more years than I care to admit to, 'be prepared' and all that.

A major (well it is if you live in PP) event is that finally the damaged catamaran that has been filling the dinghy dock (on the left as you walk towards the yacht club) since the big storm in January, was finally moved today.  It was picked up out of the water by crane which we could see from our roof terrace and loaded onto a huge flatbed lorry which then slowly made its way up the road from the marina out of town complete with car with flashing light leading the way.  And as it's a catamaran it was VERY wide.  Here it is passing our apartment! 😲

I'll have to walk the dogs by the 1919 roundabout tomorrow in order to look along the beaches from the Miramar to see if the other few remaining (and quite large) beached yachts there have been moved yet.  Lots ended up on the beaches in the storm and when the lockdown started there were still about 4 left which were just left and I guess the council would have removed them due to the then impending start of the season but of course events overtook us.  I assume the local taxpayers will end up footing the bill for their removal 😠 but we know that the catamaran was bought in its damaged state after the storm by someone local with a view to taking it to a local boat yard for repairs but they had been waiting for the correct permit from the council to close the road at the 1919 roundabout for the crane.  And the wheels of Spanish bureaucracy run notoriously slowly!  Then the lockdown happened.  But today finally....

It's still on the cards that adults will be allowed out for exercise from 2nd May but it does hinge on the continuing downward trajectory of Covid-19 cases and deaths, and I suspect also probably depends on how many liberties people take with taking children out!  Obviously most people abide by the rules but there are a great many people who aren't - whether by ignorance or wilful disregard who can tell?  I mentioned yesterday one or two transgressors here in the Port, but apparently in the south of the island there really was quite a lot of rule breaking with regard to taking children outside so we shall have to wait and see how things settle down.

Tomorrow I have the first of this week's three teaching webinars so that will keep me out of mischief for an hour or so and I have a Lidl trip planned in the morning which is as exciting as it gets for a very great many of us in the Port 😂   Stay safe and hasta mañana!

Spain in lockdown - Day 43

Another lovely sunny day and the first day that children have been allowed out under certain conditions from 9am.  Ian saw them during the morning dog walk because many parents obviously did what I would have done which is have those children dressed and ready by the front door as 9am struck!  Both they and the parents must have been finding the lockdown very hard and I just cast my mind back to when my four were young and imagine what it would have been like and believe me I'd have practically fallen out of that front door at 9 😂

I did the lunchtime dog walk and the first thing I noticed was the sound of children's voices.  And on the pavement opposite our street level front door was a mum and her two little boys, one of about 4 or 5 on his little bike and his maybe 3 year old brother on one of those tiny bikes with no pedals that they just push along with their legs.  Poor mum was trying to keep an eye on both enthusiastic and excited boys; the older one was out in front, the little chap behind her was paddling along with little chubby legs going like the clappers as if his life depended on it.  It put a smile 😃 on my face and I'd barely left my house.

So I walked on around to the beach by Stay and there they were!!  It was like a mirage......children walking on the beach, on the promenade, on the wall between the two, mums with pushchairs - and it was glorious! 👏👏 Brought a bit of a tear to the eye if I'm honest.  Children - our future and absent from sight and sound for so long - suddenly present, running, jumping, skating, scootering, cycling....it was bloody wonderful!  They must have been loving the gorgeous sunny day god love them, and the parents must have been sighing with relief.  I didn't want to obviously be taking photos of children as this might have looked a bit weird, not to mention inappropriate, but here is a photo taken from a distance with everyone at the correct social distance just by Brisa Marina 😍

However, there does seem to have been some, shall we call it creative, interpretation of the rules however....both parents with children, female friends with children, one family were walking along - she with a baby in a sling and her partner with them; occasionally he moved 1-2m away but basically he had no reason to be out at all according to the rules.  And I believe groups of people with children were walking through La Gola according to people living next to it - and La Gola is actually still closed at the moment and has been for a couple of weeks as people were congregating there especially in the evenings so the police took action.  It's hard to be disapproving in the face of the joy and delight on the children's faces and of course it's also easy to understand the parents assuming that as they live together they must be able to go outside together.  BUT this is against the rules as it's one adult for up to 3 children that they live with who are under the age of 14, for one hour and no more than 1km from home.  The police weren't in much evidence so I think they were letting things settle down a bit on the first day but I assume they'll be as vigilant about keeping people obeying the regulations as they have been with us dog walkers 😝  In any event, lots of people were sticking to the regulations and it took dog walkers a few days to get the hang of the rules too if I'm honest so let's see how it's going in a few days.  

This weekend would have been the Wine Fair in Pollensa and is one of my favourite events of the year so I'm sad that there won't be one this year.  I keep the little book from it each year until the next one so I guess this one's going to get kept a bit longer than usual then!

From what I can see on Facebook I'm not the only one who would have been there.  Every year we've gone on the Saturday and had a wonderful time trying various wines and then buying.  We've mostly focused on wines from the Pollensa(ish) area and luckily last year we bought more than usual so we still have quite a few bottles as we save them for special occasions.  I guess you could say the lockdown is a special occasion but we'll still save them for a time when we can savour them with friends.  

In other news we've spent time in the sun on the roof terrace, I've finished the frame of my new jigsaw puzzle and laid out most of the other pieces, and I went for a 5km run on the running machine; I've have improved my time by 1min 11 seconds in two days and got to within 33 seconds of my current target time, so within the next week I'm hoping to not only achieve it but to set a new target time which makes me a very happy bunny indeed!  

All in all, a great day today and seeing all the children has given me a real morale boost and a reminder that things WILL be ok.  Hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown - Day 42

Saturday dawned warm but cloudy.  I slept really well last night, think it must have been the fish and chips and then carrot cake as I was completely stuffed!  After breakfast I posted my latest vinyl album challenge on Facebook, I've really loved this challenge and I don't normally do them but because it's music it's different.  I'm missing doing the Saturday radio show on English Radio Pollensa soooooo much but at least I'm continuing to share an alternative of a Spotify playlist for everyone.  I'm posting the theme and asking for suggestions as I always have done and then just putting a playlist together using listener suggestions, together with a Top 10 from this week in a year gone by plus a few other great tracks including latest releases and....well that's about as much as I can offer right now.  We can't broadcast using Facebook Live due to copyright issues on the music.  This week's playlist includes the wonderful "Times Like These" from the Radio 1 Live Lounge Allstars and the number 1 single from Captain Tom and Michael Ball which is a real tear-jerker.  But how wonderful that he's number 1 as he turns 100 👏

I've also broken up my first puzzle - it's only taken me about a week before I could bear to do it 😂 - and started working on the outer edge of a new puzzle.  So that should keep me out of mischief for a while.  And then, in view of my planned project for today, I warmed up my domestic goddess muscles by doing a little bit of ironing (we don't do much, mainly due to the clothes drying uncreased in the good weather here).  

So after lunch and in full goddess mode I moved on to the project which was my first ever effort to bake........ a carrot cake.  Turns out carrots are a pain in the b**t to grate 😂 but other than that it was a pretty simple recipe to follow.  Then I realised I only had one cake tin so had to bake one half and then the other so the whole things took absolutely ages.  But here it is:

Ian thinks it's absolutely wonderful and I must say it does taste pretty good.  It's also nice and moist (love that word 😂 very 'Miranda').  And yes, I made cream cheese icing.  Nigella eat your heart out!

The rest of the day was taken up by watching the latest Star Wars film (The Rise of Skywalker) which was good fun but nothing like those very first three Star Wars films, the dates of which I looked up only to scare myself by the fact that the first was in 1977 and the others in 1980 and 1983 😳  I mean really??!!  Surely the internet is misinformed......

Speaking of which, I've been playing Scrabble on the internet against family and friends which is great fun.  But as an English teacher I always feel the expectation on myself to perform well so I'm not entirely sure it's relaxing lol!   I've also been doing some Sudoku as well.  Now the ones graded easy are just my kind of level, maybe medium on a really, really good (and lucky!) day but only just.  Ian on the other hand is brilliant at Sudoku and works his way through medium and hard ones like a knife through butter so each to their own I guess.  

In the meantime we're getting closer to Monday when children will finally be able to emerge from the shadows and go out for exercise accompanied by one adult.  It will be strange but lovely to see children again as the only ones we've seen are two very small children who live above the pharmacy opposite and sometimes join in with the applause at 8pm, and the three children of our nearby neighbour Valentin when they go out on their roof terrace which is lower than ours.  All at a far distance.  So it will be nice to see some children out and about.  There is also (whisper it) a rumour - so let's not read too much into it just yet - that adults might be able to go out for exercise from 2nd May but I'm trying not to think about that as I don't want to be disappointed.

Stay safe and hasta luego!

Spain in lockdown Day 41

We've now hit the 40 day mark and passed it.  The days are passing remarkably quickly which is a good thing really because we've got minimally another 16 days to go, and who knows what the situation will be even after that.  In any event, with numbers on the island of Mallorca so good and with only 5 cases in the Pollensa municipality, I feel completely safe.  It is sad however, that we all walk around carefully manoeuvring away from each other, it's like some weird sort of dance.  And sometimes the suspicious/accusing glances if you actually get a little closer in order to get past, so we all keep our eyes down to avoid those glances; if you happen to cough or sniff due to hay fever for example, well....... you can clear an aisle in Eroski in 5 seconds 😳  That everyday semi-social contact, the hurly burly of normal life - it seems to have gone 😔 and from what we hear on TV about having to wait for vaccines etc this is now the new norm for the foreseeable future.  But it's sad.  Very sad.

Today started with a 5km run on the running machine and I'll be focusing on trying to break my time for the distance in the future if I haven't already done an online gym class (too tired for 5km if I have lol!).  Once I've done some exercise I feel really good and ready for anything, I think it's the endorphins.  But I know we're lucky because we have the running machine and I'm so grateful for it.  Those of us living here really envy those living in the UK who can go out for exercise once a day

After my run and once I'd cooled down, changed into non-exercise clothes and made myself look presentable, I walked up to the big Eroski to get a few bits and bobs to see us through the weekend and some ingredients for my project for tomorrow.  Let's just say there'll be more baking and I'll be flexing those domestic goddess muscles a treat......💪

It was really sunny and warm today so we spent some time on the roof terrace enjoying the wonderful bright blue skies and warmth of the sun.  It was heavenly, especially with the gorgeous views of the Port that we're lucky enough to enjoy.  I did some of the sudoku and logic puzzles in two activity books that arrived via Amazon this morning which was another bonus.

This evening we had a real treat which I'd been looking forward to all day - a delivery of fish and chips complete with mushy peas and tartare sauce plus dessert of carrot cake and apple cake from Al Fresco Deli.  The portions were VERY generous.  Absolutely scrumptious, highly recommended and went down a treat with a nice glass of white wine - salud! 

Last night's fantastic games night with my three daughters (all in the UK) has made me think we should do another or similar one as it was so much fun.  Also, a brilliant way to spend time with loved ones who 'get' each other - I mean when you're playing pictionary with the subject of 'rock/pop star' and your youngest daughter gets the correct answer Jimi Hendrix from this 😂

Looks a bit like Ian would look right now if I hadn't cut his hair.......

Take care and hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown - Day 40

Finally!  The sun has got his hat on and has come out to play 🌞 - and about time too!  It's a bit breezy it must be said but let's not be picky.  We spent time on the roof terrace reading but didn't stay there ages as it was even windier up there.  But there is a real warmth in the sun now with a promise of things to come.  Speaking of which, there are lots of rumours around - there's not going to be any summer holiday season, there is going to be but it will be late, variations on both of these - the list is endless.  The point is that none of us know what will happen so we'll just have to wait and see.  However the good news is that today the Prime Minister announced that they've done a U-turn on their policy about children going outside; the proposal now is that children will be able to go out with an adult for one hour and within 1km of their home for exercise and that they will be able to bring for example a scooter with them.  Social distancing must be observed and frequent hand-washing take place.  AND the government has indicated that after the next lockdown extension until 10th May, there could be the start of a lessening of the restrictions in the second half of May if the numbers continue as they have been.  So maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

The sun today has certainly made dog walking very enjoyable and I expect the dogs found it a lot cooler with less fur on them (more about that in a moment!).  Here are some pictures of this evening's dog walk:

 

                                                                                             

Today the Froome Dog Grooming Salon opened again for business.  The unsuspecting Alfie was ambushed on the sofa and taken to the Salon (aka the kitchen) with a look on his face that clearly said "Damn, I thought I'd got away with it!".  We've got a little more confident now which is a good thing as he's not as placid as Tally, but he was actually very good bless him!  And now we can see one or two bits we can improve on Tally so she'll have a 'tidy up' tomorrow.  Anyway, here is the result and a very handsome boy he looks too 😍

This evening my oldest daughter organised an online quiz night for myself and her sisters.  They are all key workers and the youngest two work shifts so this was a good date where they were available at the same time.  We did a four way call and played 5 rounds; the first was a topic and a letter and we all had to think of something beginning with that letter related to the topic and the person saying something when the buzzer on a gizmo she had went off got the point.  This was followed by catchphrase, charades, pictionary and guess the song.  It was occasionally difficult to see and/or hear not the least due to lots of laughter and the middle daughter's little dog who wanted to join in but we had a great time.  even though yours truly came 4th 😂

Tomorrow we've ordered takeout home delivery for dinner which is very exciting; let's face it, it's about as exciting as it gets right now, and we can't wait 😋

Take care and hasta mañana!

Spain in lockdown - Day 39

We awoke to a great deal of controversy here in Spain over the issue I mentioned yesterday whereby the government proposed that children could only go out from 27th April with a parent to the supermarket, bank or pharmacy etc.  This has NOT gone down well with a lot of Spanish parents and the government opposition has joined in in criticising this proposal. So now it is strongly rumoured that the government may do a U turn but we won't know for a few more days.  So....watch this space!

Anyway, a busy day today!  This morning was an exercise one.  Both Ian and myself did a Tabata (high intensity interval training) class for an hour with an online class and then I smashed my own time on the running machine for 4km 💪 so that set a good slant on the day from the get go.  We then bathed both the dogs.  Tally's coat was clean when we clipped her yesterday and was easily washed today as her coat is now very manageable.  She's a real fusspot and refuses pointblank to walk in any mud or through water.  Even on a really wet day she somehow comes home with only damp feet.  Alfie is a typically grubby boy who makes a point of heading for the dirtiest puddle he can find to roll in if he can possibly manage it so he needed washing before we tackle his groom tomorrow and that's going to be quite a challenge as he's a bit of a fidget.  Wish us luck.....

The weather today started damp but then improved so we spent a little time on the roof terrace which makes a change after the weather we've had lately.  We'd ordered some new Lafuma chair canvases from Amazon the other day after Ian sat on one and went right through as it had perished after several years in all weathers.  They arrived a couple of days ago and today he fitted them both; they're actually a better colour and now match our terrace furniture cushions (which is most satisfying!) and we have the remaining intact old chair canvas put aside as an emergency backup.  I fell asleep in the sun sitting on one so now have a very fetchingly pink striped neck  as my head was slightly forward on the headrest 😂 Hence I was more than grateful that I wouldn't see many people when I took the dogs for their evening toilet walk.  I walked them up to and around Stay which I know a lot of people love and miss.  So here is a photo from the back corner of Stay this evening:

In terms of Port activity around where we walk the dogs, they're doing some work on Hostal Bellavista where there is the vegetarian/vegan Restaurant Bellaverde in their lovely garden. I think they're doing it themselves in and have worked on the reception area at the very least.  I think I've also heard them doing some work in the restaurant/garden area.  So we'll definitely have to explore that once they re-open as eating their vegan burger sitting under the huge old fig trees is one  .  I also saw Karen from Tonik Bar on C/Roger de Flor (which she and Toni have now sold) putting up signs outside their new venture in C/Juan XXIII this evening - Mi Querencia.  It's to be a cafe/patisseria so the focus will be on her fabulous cakes etc.  It was about to open just as they announced the lockdown so it's good to see that they're still looking to go ahead, hopefully sometime soon.  Matarello, the little Italian deli, is more or less next door and they are open at the moment anyway.  The building work at the Daina Hotel has continued apart from the two weeks recently when construction work was also banned.  And they also recommenced the work on the RCNPP (yacht club) marina at the same time.  This is as much as I can see from dog walks and to Eroski.  Incidentally various restaurants are doing home delivery to keep themselves going - Celler La Parra, Finac49, Bella Roma, Al Fresco Deli, Portofino off the top of my head.  

This evening during the 8pm applause, Joan the birthday boy from the other evening, was outside his front door as usual but got a little over-excited and took a little tumble, managing to cling to the tree outside his home, but was unable to get up again.  His wife hadn't come out and of course we and our other neighbours opposite could do nothing.  Thankfully one of the pharmacy staff had been outside for the applause and ran across and at the very moment the two police cars with blues and twos came down the street, saw the issue and stopped immediately; both police officers leapt out their vehicles and ran across to help him up.  Quite apart from the lovely way they responded to the little crisis, I realised how long it had been since I'd seen strangers physically touching another person.  Thought-provoking indeed.

Take care everyone and hasta luego!

Spain in lockdown - Day 38

My little sun dance didn't work so here we are again with a grey wet day whilst it's rather nice in the UK.  This is really not on! 😂  So can we have our sun back please?  It was grey and damp all day here and then late this afternoon it started to rain quite hard and doesn't look like stopping any time soon.  I guess we've had such a wonderfully sunny winter right through to March, that we shouldn't really complain and of course the reservoirs here need the water.  But ironically I'm guessing that there won't really be the demand for water this summer that there usually is given that the tourist season isn't going to happen.  Ah well, such is life....

Today I worked on all my online classrooms, setting new assignments and just generally keeping abreast of all things English teaching related.  I've signed up for three more webinars next week to keep professional development up-to-date and have pounced on a teaching resource website that normally charges a subscription to access most of it's material but currently, due to the lockdown, has made everything available free of charge.  So I've been printing and saving to a memory stick like mad before they change their minds!  I've also explored some great teaching websites that I learned about recently so that filled a lot of the morning up nicely.

The big event of the day however was the grand opening of the Froome Dog Grooming Salon for full grooms (before we only did a little trim).  Tally was done today because she's far less wriggly than Alfie.  They are both Lhasa Apsos which is a non-shedding breed and normally need to go to the groomers roughly about every 7-8 weeks so they're both well used to it.  They are brilliant if you are allergic to dogs as Ian is, because of the non-shedding plus there isn't lots of dog fur all over the house which is a bonus.  Soooo....we watched a few YouTube videos and cleared the kitchen worktop before breaking the glad tidings to Tally who, as you may imagine, was utterly thrilled that her parents were going to give her a DIY haircut.  She stood there with a look of long-suffering disdain, you could almost hear her thinking "amateurs" 😂  As I clipped it was like sheep shearing, we had enough fur to stuff a pillow by the end of it and she still has plenty on her lol.  Anyway, here are the before and after pictures, one or two bits we'll tidy up over the next day or so but we're actually rather pleased, especially as we've seen some real disasters on social media! 😳

We're leaving Alfie until Thursday as tomorrow is exercise/gym morning and we'd rather do it in the morning as the light is better, especially if it continues to be such miserable weather.  

Further updates to the situation in Spain reveal that although the numbers continue to look good and the government is definitely proposing a change for children from 27th April, that change is that [drumroll] children can accompany an adult to the supermarket, bank or pharmacy.  Not for actual exercise 😟   I'm not sure it's a good idea for kids who've been cooped up for so long to be heading for a great time out in Eroski; it's not their fault they've been housebound for 38 days and counting, and naturally they'll want to stretch their legs but this will be a problem for the accompanying parent trying to get the shopping done and for other shoppers trying to maintain the social distance.  And pity the poor parent trying to get a young child to wear gloves and keep them on and not touch everything and.... well you get the general idea.  I don't think this is the best idea they've had if I'm honest and given that this had been suggested as children going out for exercise purposes I'm sure there's a lot of very disappointed children and parents in Spain right now.  Unlike in the UK, children here have been inside now for six weeks, many of them in modest apartments with very little, if any, outside space.  A walk to the bank or pharmacy for example is better than nothing I suppose and there's no time limit on these trips.....BUT it's not really a child-friendly decision and I hope they change it very soon. 

Other than the excitement of the dog grooming, today has been quite a quiet day with Spanish study, reading and TV.  Tomorrow, as well as the gym morning, I'm thinking about breaking up my completed jigsaw puzzle to make space for starting another one.  The excitement is almost unbearable.....😂 

Stay safe and hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown - Day 37

Today is best described as wet.  Very wet.  Wetter than a wet weekend in Skegness in fact. (with apologies to those in Skegness).   What is happening?  The weather in the UK seems to be lovely.  Has there been some sort of weather switch or something?  The mountains around the Port have all but disappeared and grey is the colour that best describes the day.  Unsurprisingly, dog toilet walks have been fairly perfunctory.  Ian did the evening walk and wore full wet weather gear.  He came back dripping as did the dogs.  So now we have a gentle waft of Eau de Damp Dog in our apartment.  As you may imagine, we're thrilled ......

The day kicked off with an online gym class followed by a cheeky 4km run on the running machine and whilst Ian took a turn on it, I had a video call with my oldest daughter and granddaughter.   And then, with little else to do on such a 'bleugh' day, we simply watched TV, did some Spanish studying and read.    During the day I received a WhatsApp from our party animal neighbours opposite letting us know that there was another birthday today - just how many people are born in March and April for goodness sake?!! 😂  A couple lives on the ground floor of the house opposite; the other night when they came out for the 8pm applause, I swear the lady of the house was putting her teeth back in - maybe it was a trick of the light.....😳 but I digress.  Anyway, it's Joan's 72nd birthday; he comes out every evening during the 8pm applause for essential workers and loves giving the thumbs up to the policia who seem happy to return the favour.  By the way if you're not aware and are wondering, Joan is a boy's name and is the Catalan version of Juan.  

There was a great deal of banter from Joan who seems to be quite the raconteur.  He told us that actually he's 27, not 72 and then tried to persuade us that one of those small balloons you can see on his banner behind him was the size of his..... well.....his..... never mind, I think you're probably with me by now 😂😜  Before the lockdown we had hardly ever laid eyes on either of them; since the lockdown we see them every evening.  As I mentioned yesterday, I think the lockdown might be bringing people together more than it is keeping people apart.  Molt d'anys Joan! 🎉🎈

Given that the weather today was so rubbish, I thought it was time to whip out those domestic goddess skills again and I made some little cakes much to Ian's joy.  The only 

problem with all this domesticity is maintaining the momentum once the lockdown has ended.  I'm fairly sure that I can't maintain this trajectory for very many more weeks.  In fact I'm a bit stunned I've kept going this long!

Given that the weather is not exactly cheerful, I thought I'd make a little list of the small (so not things like video calls lol) but simple pleasures that I'm enjoying and am grateful for during this time of enforced time at home:

• music - without a doubt, one of my favourite things of all time and a big part of my life
• a fresh still warm baguette from Eroski
• our cacti and succulents and especially their current colourful little flowers
• my morning shower
• tea (Tetley since you ask, gotta love those tea folk!)
• the views from our roof terrace
• clean sheets
• the smell of bacon 
• toilet rolls 😂😂
• kisses from our two little dogs
• scented candles

Let's all be grateful for those little things 😍

Take care everyone and hasta luego!

Spain in lockdown - Day 36

Well today we went to the theatre!  It was fabulous and whiled away the best part of three hours.  Yes, we watched "The Phantom of the Opera" on The Shows Must Go On YouTube channel.  It was the 25th anniversary special show at The Royal Albert Hall and is only available to watch free this weekend.  And it was fab-u-lous 👏👏👏  We've seen it in the West End before but to see it staged in the Albert Hall was something else.  

What a wonderful thing that it's been available to watch.  It certainly provided us with some fantastic entertainment and we felt a bit like we'd had an outing.  I think they've shown Jesus Christ Superstar already and maybe Joseph.  Joseph is great fun but Phantom was emotional enough for us at the moment.  I only saw Jesus Christ Superstar once when I was young and it had me in floods at the end so I'm not sure that would be the way to go just now during the lockdown 😣

I'm really glad we had the theatre to "go" to because the weather today is definitely 'meh' - it rained all night and has been warm but very grey and overcast all day.  This is not helped by the fact that the weather in the UK seems to be rather lovely.  Ah well, we can't once in a while begrudge the UK the weather that is rightfully ours in Mallorca 😛😂  In the meantime, here is a photo of the Port taken this evening from just by the 1919 roundabout with the low cloud cover right down over the mountains - but it's still there and still beautiful so for those of you missing the Port......

We've also finally finished the second series of "The Killing" by binge watching several episodes on the trot.  Square eyes doesn't begin to cover it 😂 but, yep, finally we got to find out how Rosie Larsen died and it's only taken 26 episodes!!

In other news, we'd called across yesterday to our party animal neighbours aka Rita and Joaquin to ask if they had a number or email address, to pop it in our letterbox and we'd send them some of the photos we've taken of them and the elderly upstairs neighbours who recently had their 80th and 77th birthdays.   So today we did just that and they were delighted.  It's an interesting observation but we've got to know all of them quite well since the lockdown so maybe there really is proof that these events are bringing people together despite being apart 💗

In terms of the overall picture here in Spain, it appears that if the numbers keep going in the current direction, we should have a relaxation of the rules for children going outside from 27th April (as mentioned yesterday).  What I have seen on Spanish TV suggests 'or in groups of 3' - whether that means the rest of us or just people with children remains to be seen.  There is also a suggestion that people may be able to go outside for exercise for one hour on their own but this has, quite literally on the TV screen, a question mark.  So I'm not holding my breath to avoid disappointment!  Then the suggestion is that from 11th - 24th May movement will be permitted but no bars or larger gatherings and that from 25th May and all of June "normal life" will be permitted but with restrictions on social life.  Flights are another thing altogether and currently talk is that this season will be Spanish holidaymakers only.  It's important to remember this is only what has been on Spanish TV and is IF the current trajectory continues so with the exception of children going outside from 27th April and the extension until 10th May which seems reasonably certain, I think we have to just note the rest as 'interesting' and wait to see what happens in reality.

Sooooo..... a pretty good weekend all in all 😎 let's see what next week brings us all.  In the meantime, stay safe!  Hasta pronto......

Spain in lockdown - Day 35

It's another weekend and the days are slipping effortlessly by now.  I woke up this morning and wasn't 100% sure what day it was, I guess one day is very much like another at the moment.  But UK breakfast TV soon put me right which is where I saw the video and heard the Captain Tom song with Michael Ball - "You'll Never Walk Alone".  Now this is an emotive enough song anyway but together with NHS staff and the nation's favourite pensioner singing....well it tugs those heartstrings doesn't it?  I don't know about you but - cue the tears 💧  In any event, it looks like it'll be number 1 in the charts next week ie. in time for Captain Tom's birthday.  I'm not sure another 100 year old will ever make the charts do you?

Ian has been busy today doing some maintenance on our bamboo screening around our roof terrace and also getting rid of the rust on a lovely Moroccan type lamp that we had left out on one of the balconies when we moved in without realising.  I'd forgotten we had it and found it by accident two days ago.  It's made of metal and of course the humidity here meant that it was completely rusty despite being out of any direct rain.  I thought it was a goner, but he's done some amazing work with WD40 and metal polish and it's now hanging in the living room so it feels like I've got a new purchase without having been shopping.  Result!

The Guardia Civil here (a police force run as a military force) has recently issued four printouts of four emergency vehicles for children to make which is such a lovely idea! 😍

They've also produced this great certificate for children online and which parents can download and award.  It says 'Awarded to__________ for having spent the first state of alarm for the coronavirus at home with a good attitude, behaviour and a big smile'.  

Today I gave some thought to the things, in no particular order, about normal life out here that I am looking forward to returning to once this is over apart from the obvious which is seeing friends (family are in the UK so that will take a little longer):

Tapas - these are a thing of joy and beauty and when one appears on the table alongside your lovely big (and brilliant value) glass of wine, it's hard not to feel that the Spanish have definitely got the right idea.  

The scenery - Mallorca is just SO beautiful and although we are lucky enough to have wonderful views of the Port from our roof terrace it will be so wonderful to enjoy all the other gorgeous places - Formentor, almost anywhere in the Tramuntana mountains...the list is endless!

Café con leche - I haven't had a cup of coffee since the lockdown started.  I don't like instant coffee and am very much looking forward to a nice cup, preferably with one of those little biscuits in a packet, as soon as possible.

Proper dog walks - a dog walk with the dogs off the leads in fact; and the very first place we'll be heading to for that are the woods at Cala St Vincenc with the wonderful green canopy of the trees overhead.

Browsing in one of Chinese shops - the non-electrical item that isn't sold by any of the Chinese shops hasn't yet been invented.  Fact.  

Not that we'll be returning to normal just yet mind.  The Spanish Prime Minister is set to ask for an extension to midnight on 9th May.  But there's a rumour that the confinement rules may be relaxed from 27th April for children.  So let's see.

In the meantime, take care and.....hasta mañana!

Spain in lockdown - Day 34

Well it's Friday night - time to be a hero and rescue some wine trapped in a bottle 😂 Today has been a busy one and I think I deserve it.  Cheers! 🍷

So, what has today brought?  In general terms, the numbers for Mallorca are looking very promising: numbers of cases are down and one ICU in Mallorca has been shut as it is not required.  Apparently 70% of new cases are from care homes which is tragic but does indicate that perhaps our lockdown of the general population is having the required effect.  So this is very encouraging.  However we will still be in lockdown for some time to come in line with the rest of the country and I think we all accept that this is for the best to prevent a second spike in infections.  Certainly today there seemed to be a few more people out and about although everyone was at the correct social distance.  But at the moment I think we all accept that we're in it for the long haul, like it or not!

Today I didn't do my online gym class as I hurt my back on Wednesday and the hardcore lesson would certainly not have been wise.  However I'm ok if upright so to speak, so I went for a cheeky 4km run on the running machine which was fine.  It's not just important to keep fit for fitness sake, but it's better for mental health to keep active so after I'd finished Ian also used it.  Getting outside is also good to lift the spirits but today's weather has been a little 'meh'.  And is forecast to be 'meh' for some time to come more's the pity.

This morning I also made a cheeky trip to Eroski to get the things I couldn't get at Lidl.  Whilst there and in the queue for the till I met one of my adult beginner English students although I almost didn't recognise her behind the face mask.  Anyway, we had a chat in Spanish; she asked when the school might re-open but I had to say I had no idea.  I didn't like to say but I think that probably we won't be back until September which is heartbreaking but..... it is what it is.

Mindful of professional development despite currently being furloughed, I attended another teachers webinar again today.  It's really nice for one hour to be reminded of my job which I enjoy very much but which feels like I last did a lifetime ago never mind the fact that I have no idea when I'll be doing it again.  I guess a lot of us are feeling like that.

I've been watching UK TV and like everyone else, falling just a little bit in love with Captain Tom Moore.  What a great character!  £20million to date 😲 quite incredible!  Not a dry eye in the house as he finished his 100th lap the other morning.  I also finally finished my jigsaw puzzle today but more importantly I renewed my domestic goddess credentials by firstly cleaning our two flights of internal stairs and then cooking dinner including tumbet courtesy of The Hairy Bikers recipe; this was inspired by watching the repeat of The Hairy Bikers Mediterranean Adventure episode where they visited Mallorca including here in the Port and Pollensa itself and which was on TV a couple of nights ago.   Here is the result:

Very tasty it was too but quite a lot of prep is required and nothing compares with the tumbet from some of the local restaurants.  However it may be quite some time until they'll be open again so my efforts will have to do.  Worryingly I've already been thinking about what I would do slightly differently next time so Ian is wondering where his wife is and what has someone done with her 😜  I think I may need to get out more.  Oh, wait......

Be sure to stay safe and..... hasta luego!