Welcome to the Mad Hatters Tea Party
“Wouldn’t it be great, if just for one
moment, everything was alright!” – Tom Petty, Mystic Eyes
I know I’d said that
the Blog was over. However I didn’t know at the time that the World would be
facing extraordinary times. Let me start by saying, as this is a blog that started about my
fun ‘n games with cancer that it isn’t back. I haven’t got a raging
temperature, cough or aching bones. I’ve got a sore throat, but that’s been a
given since June 2017.
Carol and I had booked a
holiday to the Barcelo Hotel in Corralejo, Fuerteventura where we’d stayed four
times before and flew out on 6th March when everything was
alright………… unless you count having to change planes, luckily not mid-flight,
and then wait for a new crew to arrive. At this point whilst the news about
Coronavirus was on the radar, it wasn’t overly worrying. We had a cracking 10
days without really keeping up with the news from the UK until the last couple
of days. The Supermarkets were fully stocked, we saw no signs of panic buying,
the sun was shining, the wine was flowing, the hot tub was hot.
It was on our final Saturday
that we heard that flights from Jet2 were being turned around mid-flight, and
that the Island was likely to be going onto lockdown. That night there was a
strange atmosphere in the town. The restaurant we were in was packed, mainly
with local Spanish people who were out for a last hurrah, but the rest of the
town was pretty deserted. We retreated back to the hotel and the comfort of the
hot tub and bottle of Spanish brandy fairly early.
The next day we traveled for
our scheduled flight back to the UK which departed an hour late due to a lack
of Air Traffic Controllers, but we got home ok.
It was when sitting in the
comfort of my own home that the reality of a lockdown really hit me. Whilst
we’d been away we’d frequented the same bars and restaurants as previous years,
with one notable and welcomed exception. These people probably don’t have deep pockets and a
close down of business will no doubt have a major impact on them. Here are the
guys that we visited and we’re worried about.
Obviously the whole of the resort will be impacted and we can but hope that when things turn around, and they will, there will still be holiday resorts around the world and in the UK to visit. I follow a number of Cornish pages on Facebook, the locals there are urging holiday makers to stay away for the time being as the infrastructure just couldn't cope with a mass outbreak, I truly hope folk heed this request. Holiday's will happen again, lets just get through this crap first.
Tapas Oscars
We’ve been going to Oscars
Tapas for the last few visits to the Island. The food is authentic Spanish,
from tapas to suckling pig and goat. Often we were the only non-local Spanish
people in the restaurant. The staff were great, one advantage of being a Lary
is that you’re usually recognised quite quickly. The young lady in the
photo served us each time we visited, by the second time she was reaching for
the bottle of Rioja as we were looking at the menu, and not giving us the
pudding menu and just delivering us the milk rice infused with orange, she’d
then share a honey rum with us before we made our merry way home to the hot tub
and brandy.
Alegria Cocktail Bar
We’d used
the cocktail bar once the last time we’d been, however this year it was our
place of choice each evening before deciding where to go for dinner. Now, I’m a
big fan of the TV series Mad Men. One of the main characters was Don Draper who
drank something called “Old Fashioned” so when I saw it on the menu I thought
I’d give it a go, blimey it was good. Here’s the recipe –
·
50ml bourbon or rye
whiskey
·
ice
·
5ml 2:1 sugar syrup
·
2 dashes Angostura
bitters
·
orange
or
lemon zest to garnish (lemon for rye whiskey, orange for bourbon)
The service was never rushed
in the bar (or even quick), but it was attentive and small plates of tapas were
brought out to enjoy whilst waiting for the drinks to arrive. It’s a lovely bar
to “people watch” from. What really stood out for both of us was the different
attire folk were wearing. The holiday makers were generally in shorts and
T-Shirts, the local in puffa jackets and scarves!
By the final night of our
holiday, when the news of closure had broken the barman was taking no risks
whilst shaking
Dehesa de Salamanca (No relation to Hector)
Now for the newly discovered place for us, that was a real hidden gem. Situated
on the corner between Oscars and Alegria was a restaurant that neither Carol
nor I could remember seeing before. It was almost like a Mr Ben moment where a
building appeared where one had never existed before J A lot of the restaurants employ people outside to
try and get customers in. Instead of the usual “Hi Guys, table for two? Best
steak on the Island” we heard a “Hello, would you like to try some of our
cheese and salami? If you like it perhaps you’ll come back one night.” To my
dismay I can’t remember the name of the chap, he was Greek and the name had for
more letters in it that a normal Anglo Saxon can handle. We stopped, had some
cheese which was delicious and said we’d be back the next night (Wednesday).
Dimitri (Not his name) explained that Wednesday was the night they were closed,
but he’d love to see us on Thursday. This non pushy sales pitch persuaded us to
change our minds and take a table for two that night. Earlier in the holiday
I’d had perhaps the worst meal out for a number of years. Pork ribs which were
so tough they were inedible. I was slightly dismayed to see that Dehesa de
Salamanca specialised in pork dishes. However my fears were unfounded. I ordered pork cheeks on the promise that they’d be tender…………… melt in the mouth would
have been a better description, one of the best meals I’ve had in five visits
to Corralejo.
Barcelo Corralejo Bay Hotel
The forth time we’ve stayed at Barcelo, the seventh time at the group.
It’s a lovely hotel. Adults only so it’s quiet and pretty sophisticated, unlike
me I guess, but they let me in anyway. From check in, with a glass of bubbly,
to the cava and fruit delivered to our room, to Fredico the barman who remember
our drinks after one night and was almost in tears on our last night, to the
Receptionist who wished us a safe flight home despite being clearly concerned
for her own future.
The Beer Shack
When we arrived we hired bikes for the week. The intention was to cycle
into the sand dunes to get some vitamin Sea each day, then cycle back for a
leisurely lunch. Carol would then go to the hotel spa whilst I cycled a bit
further in the afternoon.
Most days (Ok, every day) I stopped at a beer hut which was situated on
the harbour, about half way on my ride. The hut was run by a lady who was
called Africa (I think) she vaguely recognised me from previous visits, and by
the third day she was pouring my beer as I was dismounting. Her English wasn’t
great, and my Spanish is fairly limited however we managed to have a good chat
whilst I was downing my beer. One day she was coughing quite heavily, she said
“Too much smoking” I pointed at my stoma and said “Si, too much smoking” By the
forth day she was pouring two honey rums for us to down as I left. The wheels
got a bit more wobbly for the rest of my ride. Africa has lived a life. She
looks after and feeds to the local stray cats, she’s obviously a friend of the
local fishermen too who frequented her shack to have a drink, an argument and a
back slap. I hope she and the other friends we made will still be there when we go back, and we will go back.
Those were the people we interacted with and made friends with. Those, and
many more, are the people who’ll probably now be living hand to mouth until
this pandemic is resolved. There are people all around the world in the same
position, it’s horrible what we’re going through at the moment. As soon as
things get back to normal, whatever that may mean, we’ll be trying to go back
to Corralejo, Padstow and Porthcothan to support the people who make our
holidays so special.
Now for the final “Retail”
thank you to more local businesses . Probably six or seven times a week Nev and
I will pop into Mad Hatters in Tilehurst village. They serve great coffee and
act as a community hub for a lot of people in the area. I see the same people
in the cafe each time I visit. The welcome is always warm and friendly, they
know my preference and Nev enjoys the ear rubs and dog biscuits. Due to the
ongoing bollox they’ve taken the decision to only offer takeaway service, but
the welcome is still the same, warm and friendly. The younger staff are dancing to the music being played, and Arron (?) came out with the most millennial statement of all time by saying he doesn't know how to use a clock. Regular readers will know we
frequent Nino’s in Pangbourne whenever we can, again he’s decided that takeaway
is the only way forward, but he’s going above and beyond. Nino’s has offered to
do local deliveries, not just of his wonderful food, but also of staples for
those who are having to Self Isolate. The community is pulling together……………….
For now.
As of Monday Carol will be
back working on the hospital wards for the first time in probably 25 years. As
a highly experienced Respiratory Nurse it’s likely she’ll be thrown straight
into the high risk areas and will be exposed to the virus. Due to Chemo and
being a neck breather I’m classed as high risk so it could well be we don’t see
that much of each other for a while. Luckily we’ve two bathrooms and spare
bedrooms, unless the kids decide to visit. I’m self isolating as much as I can
at the moment. I’m avoiding people when out walking with Nev, I’m at least two
metres away from the guys in Mad Hatters when they serve me. I’ve never been
the most social person anyway, but I’d imagine after a couple of weeks I’ll be
climbing the walls, especially as there is no sport to photograph.
I know of three people who’ve
probably had a dose of the virus, they’ve been sensible and stayed at home. If
I start to show symptoms then I’ll do the same. Anyone who treats this like a case of flu
needs their heads testing as they’re being so irresponsible.
Be nice to everyone.
Especially your nurse, the person who serves you in the supermarket, the person
who delivers your Amazon parcel, your postman, the local shopkeepers who are
keeping the wheels turning.
As always, thanks for reading.
Stay safe.
Don't panic buy.
Look after your loved ones.
It's OK to be scared.
#Shoulder2Shoulder
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