One day I came home, deflated and dreaming of Wakefield (as unlikely as that seems!), to find a parcel on my sitting room table. Intrigued, I sat on my bed and ripped through the protective plastic packaging and parcel tape. And my heart burst. A simple but beautifully wrapped box, bearing the message “Simple pleasure No.1: Receiving packages in the post”.
I was so moved that for a while I just sat and stared at it. I knew already by this point who it was from – and I knew that it would contain something special – but for that moment it was more than enough just to stroke the silky soft yellow ribbon. Eventually, I pulled at the bow, disrobing the box of its decoration. Inside was padded with white and gold tissue paper, and on the top was “Simple pleasure No. 2: Greetings from friends oversees” – a festive card in a vibrant red envelope, to remind me of friendship and finding simple pleasures in challenging times. Beneath this I uncovered a Tupperware tied up with purple ribbon, bearing the message “ Simple pleasure No.3: The smells and tastes of Christmas time”. Surely not? To my knowledge, the only people I had conveyed my yearning for mince pies to were my parents… and this parcel wasn’t a parental gift. And yet there they were, tucked away in baking parchment, three perfect mince pies. Setting them to one side, I went on to find “Simple pleasure No.4: a steaming mug of hot chocolate on a cold day” and “Simple pleasure No. 5: a bit of me-time” – two sachets of instant hot chocolate (which, unbeknownst to the gifter, is impossible to find here) and a packet of face mask. I sat and let the kindness wash over me. I had reached the bottom of the box, and I was still surprised at the existence of the box itself, let alone its contents. After a while I made the move to re-pack the box (so that I might have the pleasure of uncovering it all again when the mince pie craving hit), and I noticed one final, very flat item nestled underneath a final layer of tissue paper. “Simple pleasure No.6: Songs that transport you to somewhere you once were (or someone you once were)”: a mix-tape… or a mix-CD, at any rate, with 17 songs, some of which I knew, some of which I was unfamiliar with.
So guess what I had for breakfast today? I indulged in music and my first mince pie of the season. And I really lived them both. I took my time and sat and listened to the music, letting it take me over, letting the lyrics have meaning to me, letting the melodies flow in through my ears. Morsels of rich, crumbly, buttery shortcrust melted on my tongue. I felt the juicy burst of the raisins between my front teeth and the mellow nutty bite of the chopped almonds on my back teeth. I isolated the soft citrus tang of candied peel , and revelled in the gloriously familiar, distinctive Christmas sugar and spice of the thick enveloping syrup.
In all my mince-pie eating years, never have I experienced a mince pie so wholly. Thank you, Catherine.
One of my own simple pleasures of the week was coming out of work to find the sky on fire. I’ll steal a line from the first track of the mix-tape – and incidentally one of my favourite ever songs – “Waterloo Sunset” by The Kinks: “as long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset, I am in paradise”.
The other important event of my week was the company Christmas party. I had been looking forward to it for some time. However, pre-Christmas is an unfortunate time to party here, as it is the busiest week of the year, and so on the day I discovered that all the British team except myself had pulled their plans to go, as had the Spanish woman who I work closest with. It was not without apprehension, therefore, that I set out in my appropriately festive gold dress. Were it not for the fact that I had already paid and I wasn’t about to waste 25€, I might not have gone. I’m glad I did though, because as it turned out, I had a really good time. I was adopted by the two girls who work in finance who I often eat my breakfast with at work, and by their friends who work in another office who I had never met before. It was so lovely to be sitting on a table of young women for once! I understood most of the conversations that went on, and even managed to contribute now and then. Those nearest to me made an effort to get me talking, and complemented me on my Spanish despite my stilted speech. There was one point when I got very confused, because everybody suddenly got up and started singing a random song about Christmas Eve… but I just looked bemused and laughed and clapped along with the rhythm! And the food… oh the food! We began eating at 9:30pm and didn’t finish until 1am! Tapas dish after tapas dish came out: slices of rich manchego cheese with raisins; tiny slivers of salty, high quality cured ham; tomato bruscetta; ham, cheese and potato croquettes with sweet onion chutney; smoked salmon wrapped in sweet pancakes with soured cream and jalepeno chillies (sounds bizarre, but tasted amazing!); garlic prawns; lightly battered cod and alioli in a rich tomato sauce; pork medallions and sautéed potatoes in a red wine sauce… and then the desserts – tapas sized portions of caramel flan, chocolate brownie, tiramisu and fresh fruit. I had been intending to stay for a drink, but I hadn’t anticipated that the eating would last for so long, and unlike most, I had to work the following day (Saturday), so really I left before the party even started (it lasted until 7am…), but I left well-fed and content.
And the advent calendar… I know the question you’re all asking: has he come yet?? Let’s see shall we?
On Monday 12th, we had a steaming mug of lemsip and a lie-in.
On Tuesday 13th, we had a beautiful white swan with a long neck, gliding on a pond.
On Wednesday 14th, we had a freshly baked lebkuchen with wafts of Christmas spice.
On Thursday 15th, we fell to our knees in adoration, because LO – HE CAME AMONG US!!!
On Friday 16th, we had a round robin (there was a definite bird theme this week).
On Saturday 17th, we had a big golden shiny bell chiming.
And finally, on Sunday 18th, we had a bunch of parsnips.
As next weekend is Christmas and I will be making the most of every second that I’m at home, I’m taking a week’s holiday from blogging. But fear not, faithful readers, I shall be back before you know it! Have a very merry Christmas full of happiness and good food and good friends.
As they say here, “felices fiestas”!
Hasta luego.
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ReplyDelete*cartwheel*
ReplyDeleteThat package was a simple pleasure for me, too; we both got to enjoy it! (and not only because I got to have one of the mince pies that wouldn't fit in the box!)
Yogic mince pie eating - that's a good way to approach Christmas treats and I shall strive to do the same!