Last day in England with Amanda and Andy, Marks and Spencers, Sunday roast and more ludo. Flight home, preparing for Christmas and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 21st December, 2025

Sunday roast with my dear friends at The Linney in Coffinswell

Good morning again.

Here I am at home with only a few days to go to Christmas while just last Sunday I was still in England enjoying my final day with Amanda and Andy. 

That day we woke up to the news of the mass shooting and killing of innocent Jews celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Australia. Two gunmen killed 15 people including a child. Killing for the sake of killing. It's horrible. 

Far away in Devon, I went to M&S - my favourite store in the UK - with Andy for one last trip. It was to get some M&S perishable food I wanted to take home. It opened at 9.30 but you couldn't start paying until 10 am. There was already a queue at the Torquay store when we got there.

I had to have one more visit to M&S on my last day in England

This was that morning's stash.

Last purchases at Marks and Spencer 

It was only when I got home to Madrid,  I realised I had left my prized sausage rolls in my friends' fridge and that instead of the delicious salmon paté I had bought 2 packs of prawn salad which expired the next day. Silly me.

Next on the agenda was a brisk walk with Amanda before our lunch out. It's very steep where they live and there was quite a hill to climb on the way back which Andy refuses to climb. I see his point. Soon we were in their lovely new Volvo again and on our way to The Linny at Coffinswell. We had gone to have a proper British Sunday roast and had chosen the right place. If I said last week that a trip to England is not complete without fish and chips, it is not complete  without a Sunday roast either. I was in for a treat. Well, we all were. Here are some photos of that lovely lunch and pub with its thatched roof.  I chose the one of the three of us for this week's feature photo, just before we dug in. 

Sunday roast at The Linny with my dear friends last Sunday

My only problem was choosing between roast lamb or beef and went for the former. The roasts came with all the trimmings, including a very well presented Yorkshire pudding. Dessert was a delicious strawberry pavlova with the meringue just right. 

We came home bursting full and we all  decided to watch the latest Downton Abbey Film, the Grand Finale. Unfortunately we all started falling asleep so we gave it up and Amanda and I played our last games of Ludo - well, Parchis, the more strategic Spanish version.  We played so often we got Andy to take a photo for the record. This is it.

Playing Ludo (parchis) with Amanda

Later we had some dinner as I couldn't resist the M&S food on offer and played more games of Sevens before we retired to bed.

Monday came, the day of my departure when my poor friends had to drive me  to Bristol airport and back which was a 4 hour drive for them.

I packed, hoping that everything I had bought at M&S and mostly food, would fit in my suitcase and not go over the 23kg limit. I had 12.5kg free space but when Andy weighed my case it was 26kg so I had to offload quite a lot of the food into my PC bag which would prove unbearably heavy. I also took a large carrier bag of food which I would put into a Duty Free bag at the airport so as to be able to get on my 
Easy Jet flight without infringing the rules although I was of course flouting them.

It rained  when we left but I didn't mind as we had had great weather. My flight was at 13.45 and we were at the airport well on time. It was sad to say goodbye to my wonderful friends and hosts who I hope to see again soon in the New Year.

I got a trolley for all my things but had to give it up when I went through security which was strict although I wasn't searched again. Once in the departure lounge, in need of a Duty Free bag to carry my M&S stuff on board, I had to buy some more chocolate (hahaha). Then I grabbed a sandwich, some water and a coffee at Starbucks and with no hands free walked the tortuous way to my departure gate with my unbearable load.  I didn't realise it but I nearly missed the plane if it hadn't been for two kind cleaners who handed me a wheelchair to place all my stuff on.  I think I was the last but one on and asked two Chinese boys to carry my stuff on board which they kindly did. 

The flight was smooth but once again I had the challenge of walking at the airport in Madrid with all my stuff and no trolley. I am now determined to buy a small suitcase that can go in the cabin free of charge and that has wheels. My back is still suffering from carrying that awfully heavy PC case. But I made it. I had ordered an Uber for the first time to save Eladio driving to the airport. It was an ok experience as I didn't know where the pick up point was and the driver was late. He was called Volodymyr so I guessed he was Ukrainian. He was and we had an interesting chat on the way home. He settled in Spain in 2016 so wasn't caught in the war nor did he sign up but who can judge him. 

And there was my wonderful husband waiting for me in the street as I hadn't taken my keys with me. He is always there, my steadfast partner. It had taken 8h door to door. I unpacked all the food and the Christmas presents I had bought. Suzy joined us for dinner and I offered them a splendid spread from M&S. It was good to be back, to be with my family which includes dear Pippa.

I slept so so but it was nice to wake up in my own bed on Tuesday morning. It was pyjama day at our grandchildren's school. They were delighted as you can see in the photo Oli sent me. 

Pyjama day at school for Juliet and Elliot on Tuesday

Meanwhile, Eladio and I had work to do; that is put up the tree and all the Christmas decorations. Here is Eladio bringing the big box.

Eladio bringing up Christmas from the garage haha

Eladio did the tree and the lights and Suzy decorated it while I put up all the other decorations, including my mechanical toys, in the lounges and dining room. As we put everything up carols were playing in the background as is the tradition in our house. I think it took us less than 2 hours to have everything done and dusted. Finally Christmas had come to our house. 

Our little tree with its 10 or more year old lights which are still going, at least some of them, hahaha.

Apart from putting up the tree and decorating the house, it was quite a lazy day. This year all my Christmas shopping has been done at M&S and here in the comfort of our home on Amazon. Parcels arrived all week and now I have everything ready but in a cupboard. We can't put the presents under the tree because Juliet and Elliot still believe in Father Christmas and would be surprised to see them before the big day. I got Eladio to wrap everything up which took him a while. Poor man has had a cold this week which he caught from Tana. I am waiting to catch it from them  any moment but so far, so good, I'm ok. Let's hope it stays that way. 

On Wednesday morning I had an appointment at the Spanish Treasury office to renew my digital certificate, a sort of digital ID - the one I have to use online especially for filing income tax returns. It was a bore to go but had to be done. Later at home I downloaded it on my PC and managed also to get it to work on mobile. I am now good for another 3 years. 

We did most of the Christmas food shopping after that although I had to go back a couple of times to get ingredients for new recipes I tried out this week. 

Suzy had to go to work that morning as during the festive season they will be working in a different hospital. She later came back bringing a huge Christmas hamper that Sodexho gave to all their employees. We were all very impressed and congratulated her. This was the content of the big box she brought home.

The contents of Suzy's big Christmas hamper from Sodexho

She is a bit down these days and I'm not sure why. It's maybe because she finds herself once again alone after her recent trips to see friends in Vitoria and Castellón and the visit of her friends from London which took place while I was away. I think she is feeling a bit flat but I do hope she cheers up for Christmas. She told me she doesn't care much about life these days which I hope is only temporary. She works at the weekend and bank holidays so will have to work on Christmas and New Year's Day but that's good for her. 

That night I did a very silly thing. I wanted to free up space on my lovely Samsung S25 and deleted over 1000 files. It was only later One Drive - the cloud storage I use from Microsoft - sent me an email directing me to my recycle bin. I checked on my PC and realised I had nearly deleted everything on my PC, including my father's book and all my Airbnb stuff. Thankfully I was able to restore everything but had to do it file by file as you can't see the content of the files in the bin. That was a shock but all is good now. I hate to imagine what would have happened otherwise.  Oh I do hate tech sometimes.

It was on Thursday that Eladio woke up with a cold. Thus I went on our walk alone but with Pippa of course. That morning was Juliet's class Christmas show which I wish Oli had told me about as I would have gone. I only knew when she sent the photos.  Here is one of my cheeky, smiling 4 year old granddaughter, Juliet enjoying her moment of fame.

Juliet during her class Christmas show this week which we missed. 

I didn't see Juliet but I did see Oli who was working afternoons this week. She came to make a French quiche pie as her entry for this year's language food competition. She had made a trial run and baked her final entry at our house. Suzy later took it the Language school and "cor blimey", Oli later found out she had come first. Well done Oli.  This was her quiche.

Oli's winning quiche for the language school food competition this week which she won. 

She made a small one for us which we had with coleslaw made by Suzy. 

Coleslaw made by Suzy and Olis mini quiche which we enjoyed for lunch this week

I, meanwhile, made a dish I love but have never made before. Called "fideua" it's like paella but with vermicelli. I got the recipe from Instagram which you can see here. This is what it looked like on my plate at lunch that day.

Fideua made by me this week

We were rather stuffed but pleasantly so as it was great to eat different food, or not our usual. I made quite a few different dishes this week to add to my rather limited range of dishes we normally eat.  

I spent most of the afternoon watching comfort TV. Finding nothing on any streaming platform, I dug into my collection of favourite DVDs and watched The Inn of Sixth Happiness with Ingrid Bergman which I have watched countless times and never tire of. It was made in 1958 and I still love it. 

That night one of our last guests of the year, Laura, arrived but I didn't see her as she is a repeat guest and picks up the keys herself. 

Friday came and it was Elliot's class Christmas show this time which we only got to see in photos again. He did his part well and I loved his green jumper with  pompoms on it. 

Elliot during his class Christmas performance on Friday

I did a lot of cooking that day. In the morning I made a chicken curry for us and a vegetarian version for Suzy both of which we are still eating. I only went out to get a prescription and some ingredients for dinner that night. Oli and family were coming for dinner and I wanted to make a special one. For the first time ever I made a creamy  "bisque soup" which Eladio always chooses if it's on the menu when we eat out. He later told me it was restaurant quality. I think it was and it's a pity I didn't take a photo. Once again I got the recipe from Instagram which you can find here. I also served them some of the coleslaw and fideua as well as our famed perushki pies for the kids and the amazing M&S duck parfait. For dessert I made mini fruit tarts as we all love whipped cream. But there I had a problem as my Kenwood has broken down. Eladio helped me whip the cream with my trusted English hand whisk. If you don't know it, it's like this.

My old fashioned hand whisk with which we were able to whisk the cream for my mini fruit tarts

And these were them.

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My mini fruit tarts which I served for dessert on Friday night when Oli and family came for dinner

Oli and family will be spending Christmas Eve with Miguel's mother; I think for the first time, so I wanted to make Friday night's dinner something to remember. We had such a good time that night, I forgot to take photos. The only damper was that Suzy didn't join us. She doesn't usually eat dinner and was a bit down. Before they left, we opened the old oak chest in the hall which is full of our collection of disguises and Christmas hats, etc. The kids had a field day. That chest has been in our family at least since 1860 odd which we know because it is papered inside with newspaper with that date. Imagine. Just as they left, our last but one guest of the year, Dani, arrived and also picked up his keys.  

Saturday came and Eladio was feeling better so joined me and Pippa on our walk. He also had a decaf with me but we didn't go out. Suzy was at work and joined us for lunch which was, of course, leftovers. The fridge is groaning with food and the furthest thing from my mind is Mounjaro and a diet now that Christmas is here. I will think about that in the New Year when I can't get into my jeans. It's the same old story all my life.

It was yesterday that the much awaited but very redacted Epstein files were released. Images of the sexual predator's friends such as the former Prince Andrew, Michael Jackson (no surprise) and Bill Clinton, without being totally compromising, lead me to understand they all took part in his obscene behaviour and were a part of it all. 

It was just before lunch that our very last guest of the day, Joaquín, a student from Peru, arrived. He will be here until 24th when we shut shop for Christmas. It has been a very good year, not quite as good as last year but I'm not complaining. 

And today is Sunday and we wont' be doing much. It's four days to Christmas so let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas. I made a photo for the occasion which I am happy to include here.

Happy Christmas from Eladio and I

I think I chose the best photo of the two of us taken this year. It was at a dinner in the summer with our friends Gerardo and Irene, their spouses and Andy and Amanda, at Quënco, the restaurant where we had our wedding reception. My husband, though, was much more creative and sent a lovely festive message to our friends. This was it in Spanish and below a poor translation: "Queridos amigos, la Navidad aviva el recuerdo de todo lo bueno que nos ha pasado en la vida y vosotros formáis parte de ese todo, que ha resistido el paso del tiempo.Feliz Navidad y feliz año nuevo.Un abrazo grande. Masha y Eladio" . translation: Dear friends, Christmas rekindles memories of all the good things that have happened to us in life and you form part of it which has stood the test of time. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year". He couldn't have worded it better. 

That's it from me for this week. Enjoy Christmas.

Cheers Masha

c

A Christmassy morning in Boadilla, trip to England, quality time with Amanda and Andy, escape from Venezuela, M&S here I come, Memories of St. Joseph's College Bradford, Babbacombe, fish and chips and other stories of the week.

 Maidencombe, Devon, UK Sunday 14th December 2025

Together again - having lunch at Riverford Field Kitchen on Friday was a special treat.

Good morning from my friends Andy and Amanda's lovely house overlooking the sea in Devon, UK. I can hardly believe this trip  that I so looked forward to, is coming to an end. It has been a tonic for us all as you will read.

First let me rewind to last Sunday. There is not much to tell but for the record we enjoyed our morning walk in the sunshine while our 8 guests from Valencia were out. Oli and family were out too. They went to the newly installed outdoor skating rink in Boadilla. We came to live in this small town outside the city in 1988 looking for  a countryside life and where Oli and Miguel have now set up their home so close to us. I love ice rinks, especially outdoor ones. The pictures of Elliot and Miguel taking their first steps on the ice brought back memories of the Ice Rink in Bradford where my brother George and I learned to skate. It was also where Suzy and Oli did too when they were quite small. An outdoor skating rink is such a Christmassy thing, we went to see it the next day. I didn't dare compete with the kids on ice and wondered if I would remember how to skate but thought it better not to try. 

Sunday night saw us watching a film called The Mission which has always been one of my favourites. Filmed in 1986 it stars Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons. It's a historical drama about Jesuit missionaries in 18th century Latin America who try to protect the Guarani tribe from being made slaves by the Portuguese colonisers while ownership of the territories changes hands. It is up to the Pope's representative to solve the conflict and preserve the Jesuits in Europe. He reluctantly decides the Guarani's fate by closing the missions and handing over the people to the Portuguese.  It's a tragic, tragic end and the film's only saving grace is Ennio Morricone's sound track considered his finest work. 

Monday, the day of the Immaculate Conception, came and was the end of the bank holiday in Spain. I rather like to see that Spain still respects the Christian calendar and makes no shame of it,  despite being governed by a far left party. I think if they did away with it there would be rather an uproar. Our group of 8 from Valencia left and Tana spent all morning cleaning and preparing all 4 rooms. 

We went for a different walk that day, to the park by the palace in Boadilla where we got to see the ice rink and took photos.

A Christmassy morning in Boadilla

The rink was lovely, not on a par with the Rockerfeller Centre, but very Christmassy. I had a coffee on the terrace and later we went for a walk in the huge park that surrounds the palace.

Our walk by the palace last Monday

The girls were having a Christmas party at home for their crowd and when Suzy told me they would be 12 we made our great escape, hahaha. We decided on a curry at India Gate which was quite good. It was amazing to see so many people having lunch and many of them outside in the sunshine; not like here in Devon in November which, luckily is quite sunny but not warm enough for eating alfresco.  I love the sun in Spain. Did you know that the average amount of sun hours is 3000 a year? That's possibly one of the reasons Spain is the second most visited country in the world and it is predicted it will beat France to the number one spot by 2040.  It was sunny that morning and we loved our walk and our curry out.

Our Indian meal last Monday

We came home to greet the 12 diners and quickly escaped to our bedroom. While my husband managed to sleep I heard my grandmother's piano being banged on as well as many doors slammed by the kids and their friends. I'm afraid I did not venture from our room until everyone had gone. My behaviour was anti social but I felt overwhelmed and just had to make my escape.

Suzy was off to Castellón that night and instead of driving her in the dark to the train station I just ordered her an Uber to save us having to take her. In the meantime, I did my packing for England and found myself a little jittery and somewhat flustered. It was a bad case of "reisefieber" - a wonderful German term meaning "travel fever", often known as butterflies in your tummy. I wondered if it was age related. 

Tuesday came, the big day, the day I travelled to Bristol, UK, to be reunited with my great friends, Amanda and her husband Andy. Amanda and I met at school, St. Joseph's Catholic College, in Bradford, aged 11 and we both met Andy who was in my father's form at Bradford Grammar School when he played in a band with Amanda's brother, Simon. It would be our 4th reunion this year and I was looking forward to time off with them.

I booked an Uber to the airport rather than impose a long drive there and back on Eladio. Meanwhile, Andy had to drive 2h to Bristol to pick me up. My plane was delayed due to bad weather in Bristol.We disembarked onto the tarmac and the wind nearly blew me over. Before I could leave the terminal I was stopped by the police in what felt like a very US experience. He was to search me and my luggage and ask all sorts of security questions such as whether I was carrying firearms! It is the first time I have ever been stopped like that in the UK and it was not the arrival I had been looking forward to and I told the policeman my thoughts. I felt nervous, intimidated and a bit violated. I suppose he was doing his job but I still don't know why he chose me. It felt like being on the bad end of an interview in Line of Duty. Finally I got out of his clutches and found Andy. We quickly set off in the rain and wind and actually had a pleasant drive talking all the way back. It was great to see Amanda upon arrival at their lovely house in Maidencombe overlooking the sea.

I settled into my room and soon we were in their fabulous kitchen eating M&S food which I can never get tired of. We played the card game, Sevens until late, laughing throughout. What fun it was and has been

Both Amanda and I sleep badly. My friend offered me a new sleeping pill, "zolpidem" but it did nothing for me and I just tossed and turned all night. Pain from my neck probably owing to arthritis made my night even worse and I got up feeling like something the cat had brought it. But I was not going to let that spoil my first full day back in England, my home country which I always miss and love to come back to.

On Wednesday I was up at 7ish UK time, made my coffee - in the dark as I can't stand electric light in the mornings and went outside to enjoy my first coffee and my first fag. 2 minutes later the heavens opened and rain poured down on me and ruined the moment. I have to say I do love England but I do not love the weather here. Sunny days are few and far between, especially at this time of year. But then the rain stopped and the sun came out and it has hardly rained since. I took advantage of the "good weather" to take a picture of the view from the house to show you.

The view from Andy and Amanda's house

We were a bit stuck that morning when Andy found their new state of the art hybrid Volvo had a puncture. Meanwhile, we had our breakfasts and played ludo. We actually play the Spanish version "parchis" which I taught them and which is far more strategic and I got them hooked just as I got them hooked on Sevens. The tyres  were  dealt with efficiently and by late morning Amanda drove me to nearby Shaldon for a walk. This is the view of Teignmouth (pronounced Tinmuth)  from The Ness in Shaldon. 

Teignmouth as seen from Shaldon

They call it the English Riviera which is a bit of a stretch in my opinion, hahaha. Then again I have never seen this area in sunny and good weather. 

We walked round the village of Shaldon and I admired the cottages which Amanda said are almost all holiday rentals. We had our long walk and came back to have lunch at 4.30 pm which is neither  British nor Spanish time for a meal. I love the fact that I have had a break from our routine at home and eat when we are hungry and when we feel like it. Again we had marvelous M&S food such as their thinly sliced roast beef, duck parfait, smoked salmon pate and other delicacies. If I lived here all my food would come from Marks and Sparks. 

We played ludo again after our meal when I got a lovely message from my husband which, with his permission, I shall reproduce here in Spanish: "Sobrevivo bien. No he salido de casa. Pero estoy contento, siempre pendiente de las noticias .... Claro que te hecho de menos pero es algo pasajero .. y sé que estás haciendo algo hermoso. Qué disfrutes mucho. Un gran abrazo para Andy y Amanda, con mis mejores deseos". I thought that was lovely. I find that even after 44 years of marriage our love does not fade. If anything it matures with time. Bless you Eladio. 

He was of course following all the news  of  yet more corruption and sex scandals emerging from the PSOE party in government. Surely they have to call elections? It cannot carry on this way. I was following the headlines of what happened in Spain but what interested me most that day was the story of  the Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader of the Venezuela, María Corina Machado who has lived in hiding for more than a year. No one thought she would make it to Oslo to collect her prize which her daughter received on her behalf. But, blow me, she got out of Venezuela in disguise and was taken to a Dutch island by boat and from there all the way to Oslo. Machado got to the Norwegian capital a few hours after the ceremony. What a story. If she goes back and is caught Maduro will put her in prison. Meanwhile, Trump is threatening Maduro and Venezuela and it's anyone's guess how this may end. I don't like Trump's tactics but I don't like Maduro either who rules with an iron rod in a so-called socialist government. 

Soon my thoughts were back to where I was and Amanda and I continued our heart to hearts. We were interrupted by little audios from Juliet wishing us all Merry Christmas in English. Sweet Juliet. They were very amusing. 

Dinner was more M&S food - divine - and after dinner there was more laughter, reminiscing and hilarity over words or terms such as "skidmark", "winnet" and "dingleberry" which is a not a berry. Sorry if you feel this is not appropriate but then again I am not a politically correct person, hahahaha. I just like a bit of a laugh.  All this was while playing Sevens and that night Andy beat us both much to his delight as he used to lose hahaha. I don't care who wins or loses, I just like playing cards with my friends.

I had a relatively good  night and woke up feeling a whole lot better on Thursday morning. The days were passing too fast for my liking but every day was a good day and a tonic  for us all. We played ludo in the morning which we both are so addicted to. It was around then that I got a 10 out of 10 review on Booking from the guests who had been to El Cuetu (our house in Asturias) last week.  Their stay was not very lucrative but oh boy that 10 really made my day. Thank you Alejandro.

We all needed exercise so that morning my friends took me on a very, very blustery walk by the seafront at Teignmouth. Parallel to it is the railway line which is the London to Penzance train and oh boy did they come fast and surprise us on our walk.

The London to Penzance train which runs parallel to the coast in Teignmouth

Andy took some pictures which are rather funny as our hair is much affected by the very strong wind haha. Here is one of them.

A blustery walk on the seafront in Teignmouth

We came home for lunch which was bits and bobs and Amanda and I then had a very long chat about our childhood and motherhood too. We are so in sync and what I love most is we share so mant memories of our childhood and teenage years, the most formative. 

The highlight of the day was our afternoon spree at M&S. I love that store, especially the food, and I had a long list. The place is enormous so I was glad to have my friend guiding me around it. And here I am at checkout with lots of goodies and I would go back for more. I did a lot of my Christmas shopping there and hope everyone will love what I bought. 

M&S here I come hahaha.

Every time I visit England I have to go to the store and stock up and only wish we had an M&S in Madrid. We did once but it shut down. That was the first of our visits here. We went back on Friday and we will be going again today when I shall be getting more delicacies, more presents and lots of chocolate for Christmas at home. Andy loves M&S too and always stocks up at the Food store as he did on Friday. 

Andy who is now the house chef later made us a delicious dinner of hake with potatoes and veg after which of course we played Sevens yet again

Friday came and the sun continued to shine. I had a relatively good night again and was raring to go that morning. My friend took me on a walk in her neighbourhood. The highlight was seeing what was to be the house of Isambard Kingdom Brunel; Brunel Manor. Yet sadly he died before he could move in. If you are English you will have heard of Brunel but for those of you who haven't, let me introduce him briefly. He was born to an English mother, Sophia Kingdom, and a French father, Sir Marc Isambard Brunel  who was a prominent civil engineer  who fled the French revolution. He obviously influenced his son who also became a prominent civil and mechanical engineer and is one of the most important figures of the Industrial Revolution. He is best known for designing the Great Western Railway a part of which I saw on our walk the day before. Perhaps his most famous work is the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol but he also designed what were state of the art steamships at the time such as the SS. Great Britain. There you go, a little history about Brunel who is so important round here. Ah and this is what I could see of his house which I think should be turned into a museum of his life and works because it seems to be running to seed at the moment.

Brunel Manor 

Talking of houses, here is a photo of my friend's beautiful house  where I have had the privilege to stay. I got Amanda to pose next to it.

My friend's beautiful house

That day Amanda had booked us a table at the Riverford Field Kitchen, the restaurant part of Riverford Organic Farm where she gets lots of her groceries. It's called a field kitchen because of the way it is run; almost like a canteen. It's quite laid back and the food is divine; all sourced by the farm and cooked on site by two very creative chefs who make vegetables as tasty and attractive as any comfort food. This week's feature photo was taken there.I took one too of my friends at our table at Riverford to show you. Here it is.

A wonderful lunch at Riverford Field Kitchen

The sun was shining all day and as we left we fancied a walk but hadn't brought our walking shoes. So what did we do instead? Drive to Marks and Spencer of course, hahaha. 

In the afternoon I got my friends to finish the Christmas decorations and by the evening we could all feel the spirit of Christmas. In the background we listened to Christmas carols which we have always loved. We were treated to carols sung by the choirs of King's College Cambridge and Westminster Abbey. As Amanda said, it made our hair stand on end. My friend went as far as to say that carols and hymns meant her childhood. Mine too and then we reminisced about the choir at our school, St. Joseph's College, run by the legendary A. J. O'Rourke who was an awful teacher but a marvelous choir conductor. It was then that Amanda reminded me of the school handbook we were given as first formers and a poem she and I had written for the school magazine, all about the teachers. Let me reproduce it here, lest I lose this treasure. It was written when we were in 4 Kappa so must have been 14 years old.

A poem Amanda and I (then Sharon and then Maria and with the surname spelled wrong - it is Lloyd) wrote for the St.Josoph's Colllege magazine in about 1972 when we would have been about 13 or 14. 

The handbook is a treasure too which I actually remember. It is full of do's and don'ts, mostly don'ts and sounds very strict but schools were in those days and we respected our teachers and generally behaved ok - well, not always. It's a piece of the school's history so I shall include it all just for posterity.

What a find, the St. Joseph's College handbook which was given to us as first formers in 1968

While I am at it, let me share a video I compiled for a 2012 school reunion which includes lots of photos taken with my first instamatic camera during the 6th form. It is quite a treasure too. This is it. 

Back to the decorations again. Here are some pictures of what it looked after putting up the tree and decorations.

We put up the Christmas decorations while I was here

That's a job Eladio and I have to do when I return home this week. 

It was on Friday that the democrats released a selection of photos from Epstein's estate. This is prior to the government releasing his case files. Among them can be seen Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the former Prince Andrew as well as Woody Allen and Bill Gates, some of the most famous men in the country and well known figures worldwide. The photos don't suggest they did anything untoward but just being with Epstein suggests they most probably shared his weird attraction for young girls. Other photos showed sex toys and there is a photo of Trump and Epstein surrounded by girls. Hopefully the files yet to be released will give more direct evidence and all these men will get their comeuppance. It's a very sick story and the perpetrators have to be punished. I'm sure you agree.

Meanwhile, at home that evening, Oli and the kids were having dinner with Eladio and Suzy was fetching her friends at the airport. 3 of her London friends came for the weekend but unfortunately I would miss them. I'm sure they had a great time and  was a tonic for Suzy

Saturday dawned and brought more sunshine. I suggested fish and chips for lunch that day as no trip to England is complete without them. My friends obliged but first for a walk. They took me to Babbacombe (pronounced Babacom) where you can take the funicular down to the Oddicombe beach but we preferred to walk. It's a local beauty spot and I was astonished to see people really bathing in the sea. At this time of year, it's a bit bonkers. Here are some pics to remember the walk and visit.

Oddicombe beach with the Babbacombe Cliff railway which we didn't take.

Walking down was ok but climbing up was challenging although I'm sure it did us good. Once in Babbacombe again, we admired the views and took photos. Here is a lovely one of the two of us taken by Andy which I shall treasure.

In Babbacombe yesterday overlooking the red cliffs

From there it was just a stroll to a very good fish and chip shop called Hanburys. I got Amanda to take a photo for me to include here.

Fish and chips from Hanburys, one of the highlights of this visit. 

We took them home to eat and the portions were so large, it was enough to fill me up for the rest of the day. The rest of the day, my friends, was spent playing at least another 3 games of ludo with Amanda as well as a few rounds of Sevens with Andy. I was exhausted in the evening, having only slept 4.5h the night before so went to bed at around 11 am.

Today is Sunday, my last full day before leaving tomorrow. We shall be going yet again to Marks and Spencer for me to take some fresh delicacies to take home. Lunch will be a Sunday roast - another must when visiting England - at The Linny in Coffinswell. Of course you will read all about it in next week's blog post

Wishing you all a good Sunday and week ahead, that's it from me for this now.

Cheers Masha