Category Archives: friends

almost!

05 Friday May 2017

Posted by in cats, friends, home, sevilla

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It was touch and go there for about 24 hours as I wrestled with the notion of taking in Pinza, this tiny 3 week old kitten found in the street by my friend Elena, outside La Azotea where she works. I mean, I knew that I shouldn’t, and really possibly couldn’t, since I’ve always said that having 4 cats would be that slippery slope to officially being a Mad Cat Woman (waves to @sledpress!). I was also thinking that while this apartment is actually big enough to house another cat, my next one might not be. Anyhow, I was steeling myself and checking Elena’s instagram regularly for updates. And then finally I saw this photo of Elena holding Pinza, wishing her well in her new home. Phew!

kate

03 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in friends, instagram, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars

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The last time I saw Kate was when we bumped into each other last year at Vinoble in Jerez, and prior to that was the time she came for a visit in October 2013, which was the first time we’d seen each other in over 20 years, since our days working together in Bristol. So when I heard Kate would be passing through Sevilla one a 3-day press visit to Sanlúcar de Barrameda we checked her (jam-packed) itinerary for a possible moment when we could meet up. Which almost didn’t happen as they got to Sevilla an hour or so later than planned and still had to visit the feria and, after my night out with Barbara, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be up for meeting up late in the evening.

So after a bit of frantic texting it looked like it wasn’t going to work out as Kate didn’t think she’d be back at her hotel until after 10 pm, and so I got into PJs and settled in for an evening of netflixing with the cats. Then another message came through – “I’m in a taxi heading for the centre!” – and so we arranged for the driver to drop her in my ‘hood, I threw on some clothes, raced over to the Plaza Alfalfa, and suddenly there were big hugs all round. We popped into a couple bars, more for some wine and chat since neither of us was very hungry. Good thing too because the food wasn’t really up to scratch where we ended up. But it didn’t matter because the wine was good and the company even better. Once again we discussed the idea for a Málaga Getaway including other friends from Bristol and London, possibly in September. I think that would be fabulous.

barbara

02 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in friends, social media, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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Neither Barbara @emoticomma nor I can remember when we started following each other on Twitter, other than it was several years ago. But when I found out she was going to be making a one day only “cameo appearance” in Sevilla of course we had to meet up. We ended up doing a nice tapeo in barrio San Lorenzo, where mucho jamón was consumed. Also mucho vino, finishing with some lovely cava at La Azotea. Barbara promises to come back with her husband next time for a longer stay. Good ol’ Twitter.  🙂

lee buckley

22 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in cancer, friends, hope, life stuff, love

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For ages this was the only image I ever had of Lee, from her Facebook page… and I came to think of her as this sassy Raggedy Ann chica. Then at long last I had the chance to meet her in person when I was in Madrid last January. She was still quite weak from cancer treatment, but was up for going out to have lunch, and we spent a lovely afternoon together.

Lee said she thought of me as her “cancer sister” because reading about my various struggles with cancer on my blog helped her when she was diagnosed. We could compare notes, as it were, and although our situations were very different, Lee felt like I would at least “get” what she was talking about. And yes, I think I did. I also got to enjoy chat sessions with a bright and funny woman, who loved cats as much as I do. I was also thrilled to meet her beautiful boy Tony during that last visit.

Anyhow, this morning I was out at that gastronomy event by the river and was randomly going through messages while enjoying a beer in the sun. Then I saw a message request on FB from someone I didn’t know. I clicked on it, and it was Lee’s dear friend Chris, telling me as delicately as possible that Lee had passed away a few days ago. And since then I haven’t known what to feel. Because the feelings are all so mixed up, the happy and sad ones, the scary and hopeful ones. And the worst one of all, the one I can’t yet accept – that I won’t ever be able to talk to Lee again. So for now, that’s all I can say. Except… be sure to hug someone you love today, and let them know how much they mean to you, how much you love them.  xx

Lee and I enjoying a fabulous lunch at Tandem in Madrid