Tortilla-Gate, Mackerels and Fish Pie

Connemara/Ireland, August 2022

Escaping from 44 degrees Celsius in Formentera was such a relief, when stepping out of the plane in Dublin airport with Sue and Bill, my chosen godparents I grew up with in Formentera, and my best friend Tamsin‘s parents. We drove all the way to the West Coast to Connemara Bay area with a rental car, where Sue had found an amazing cottage right by the sea close to Connemara Nature Park. Tamsin, Ivan and their girls arrived next day. So did Tony, Bill‘s cousin. For us simply always the great Uncle Tony!

For the next six days, I would be part of a wonderful loving family reunion, including a few dramas such as „tortilla-gate“ which caused a major marriage disagreement and a fishing excursion that lead to an important family discussion in between males and females, questioning again those antic gender role models in a family. Unfortunately, I found myself in between the front lines as I went off fishing too. Shame on me. WW II scenario: the german double agent spying in between scottish/welsh and spanish diplomacy. I should have been hung like a traitor for this! Lucky me, death penalty stays in the past (at least in Europe).

But at the end, this vivid interaction is much better then silently shuffling problems under the carpet. Most of it happened in the kitchen while preparing food, by the way. I could only fulfill my job as an assistant for several chefs and foodies, in one kitchen, especially Sue, Bill and Tamsin. Tony set the table and took care about refilling the wine glasses. Ivan helped doing all this nonstop cleaning, scrubbing, storing away and swiping. It felt like living the reality of „Hundred years of Solitude“ by Gabriel García Marquez, which I read about three times during teenage and young adult days. I was actually surprised how much preparation and time consumption all these dishes required. Especially Sue’s distinguished fish pie, made carefully out of the fresh fish we caught. Because we had come home with a lot of Pollocks and Mackerels! That fishing day was such a success concerning the catch, the fun and the learning experience, I must admit. It had started as a sunny and warm day, to end grey, windy and cold. But like the people from Iceland taught me: there is no bad weather, but bad clothing. We are tough people, right?

The kids were more than happy running around through stunning landscape during low tide, collecting shell fish with grandpa Bill and jumping from rock to rock or between the huge sea weed bushes laying around, that became a forest under water with high tide. It was then when going off swimming every day in the refreshing cold waters just below the house by the pier, observing those huge sea weed forests under water. What a spectacle of nature this is! Tamsin and I played Badminton in the green grass with kids and I managed to run and jump around the best I could. My physical situation is actually getting worse and worse but will try and sort it out in two weeks with my neurologist in Berlin. We collected wild berries for every day‘s breakfast with the kids and gave a visit to the horses, donkeys and cows in the neighbourhood of the cottage. What a life!

On my last evening, Bill served his Mackerel Ceviche and all the drama was vanished. Tamsin prepared a very yummy rhubarb and strawberry crumble while multitasking with her three beautiful daughters who demand attention and answers to absolutely everything, as still discovering the world! This is a proper functioning family: drama and tears and kisses and hugs. And always lots and lots of love and no regrets. Another day to be concluded.

Nighty night John Boy! ( The Waltons )