Eton Mess

Eton Mess is a classical.

A traditional English summer dessert, consisting of a mixture of strawberries, broken meringue and whipped cream. Utterly delicious. It is commonly believed it was originated at Eton’s dining tables more than one century ago.

Since last summer, you may find this dessert renamed to “Brexit” in menus around England. Making honour to the famous, acid and sharp British humour, many restaurants changed the pudding’s name, because most of the politicians involved in the Brexit chaos attended such prestigious school.

I am telling all this because, two years ago, when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life in Madrid, I thought the best idea would be working for the British Embassy. It really made a lot of sense to keep as close as possible to the country that hosted me for years, -reshaping myself in many ways- and, in a bigger scale, keeping in touch with the international community.

I was proudly holding a British passport, brand new and recently issued, and that was the main requirement to apply for a vacancy. Hence, I joined their data base and I was usually sent emails with the new vacancies available. 

A few months later, a very special job offer description was sent to me. This was back in February 2018, before witnessing again and again what a failure the whole Brexit process is been from the beginning till our days.

I can not be more thankful to the Gods, appreciate more that the planets didn’t align for me on this one, or that the universe had a different path, because I put all my efforts to be hired as a Brexit negotiator with the Spanish authorities!

Yes, I know.

I always considered myself very lucky and I couldn’t understand what was going on! Why I was not getting away with it this time, why they were not calling me back??? I thought it was a role made just for me: fluent in both languages, legal background, many years of experience as a lawyer, and a person with the true interest to seek for the best result! And I couldn’t believe the hiring people were not seeing that it mas ME who they needed.

Now I look backwards and I see. With the perspective that time gives us, is easy to get the accurate picture. Still, I can understand how difficult sometimes is to make the right move when your vision is blurry. I really feel moved by my old me acting childishly on denial, being reluctant to close the chapter and let go. It’s not so easy to accept the closure and move on. It takes a lot of maturity and guts, because it involves a very painful loss.

And then, I can imagine my life if I would have got the job. A desperate, uncertain and precarious  role at the Embassy, trying to figure out what to do, how to negotiate Brexit when Brexit doesn’t exist, no one knows what it means, no proposal so far been supported by the Parliament. It’s the XXI century chaos and I’d have been working for it!

Disaster!

Further, how do you introduce yourself for any other position, trying to move to another job after the fiasco, explaining that last dark line on your C.V.? Or worse, socially at parties: when someone asks you –“So, what do you do?” And you answer: -“I have the right to remain in silence.”

I know myself and I would be snoozing my morning alarm forever. After all, I must admit, I was being very lucky!!!