On the way to recovery, 1st anniversary of the floods in Valencia, Andrew no longer prince, Elliot and Juliet enjoy Halloween, remembering Bradford in 1975 and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, 2nd November, 2025

Coffee at home this week - on the way to recovery.

Good morning all. 

What can I say about this week? Nearly every day has felt like Groundhog day because I have not been out and about. If you read last week's post, you will know that on 24th October I had major surgery on my pelvic floor organs which is not nice at all to recover from. But just one week later, I can report I am feeling a lot better. I still have a very foggy brain and am lacking my usual energy. Right now I can't wait to feel 100% and be on the road again. We are planning a mini break for when I feel much better so watch this space.

Last Sunday I was beginning my journey of recovery and hardly noticed the clocks went back except in the evening. I don't like it being dark so early on. It's also got colder and there has been some rain and this week the heating went on for the first time since the spring. It's nice and cozy now.  There was no walk that day as there wouldn't be a proper one until yesterday.  Oli came for lunch which, amazingly, we had outside and probably for the last time. 

Monday was, as I said, like groundhog day and I was in quite a bit of pain. My dear friend Amanda cheered me up as she always does in our weekly Facetime calls. Here she is this week looking lovely.

My dear friend Amanda

A new guest came that day, Marjorie from the French Riviera. She was a journalist and is now a teacher in Monaco. She describes some of the super rich Monegasque pupils who sit side by side with French children from not so rich nearby villages. Marjorie and her daughter Chiara were most welcome here and I hope to see them again. So too Elena from Slovenia who also came this week and  lives in the Dominican Republic, owning at least 12 sausage dogs. She and Pippa got on famously. I enjoyed my conversations with both of them. This weekend we have a family from Antwerp and another solo guest from Belgium whom I haven't seen yet. I can't believe the house is still full in November. That's a good thing.

On Tuesday I felt a bit better and was determined to do things. I walked 11 laps of the garden and got down to some of my rental admin work which I cannot let pile up and generally don't. I already have my calendar for 2026 and  24 bookings for next year. Tana was having a late weekend off and we were alone for our meals as Suzy was out socialising. I'm so happy for her. She now has a reason to wake up in the mornings.  What was not good about Tuesday was to hear that Israel had resumed bombing Gaza and breaking the ceasefire. Both sides have and until the mediators can negotiate the next part of the peace plan, the Gazan population will continue to suffer. 

On Wednesday it rained non stop which is pretty unusual for Madrid. We went out shopping for fresh food. It was nice to go out but I felt exhausted when I got home. Once again Suzy was out, this time having lunch with Olivia and her great friend Copi. Copi has done her a lot of good and it all started with her wedding this summer where the girls were her bridesmaids. I have a lot to thank her  for. Gracias Copi. Gradually, since then, she has reintegrated into society. She now has a job and even a beau. 

Wednesday was also the day that Category 5 Hurricane Melissa landed in Jamaica causing widespread damage and loss of lives also in the Domincan Republic and Haiti. It was rather fitting that it rained in most of Spain on that day which was the 1st anniversary of the terrible flash floods in Valencia last year, the worst natural disaster that has ever hit Spain. It resulted in the death of 237 people, mostly in the Valencia region. 60.000 homes were lost, as were 105.000 cars and 10.000 shops. 

 It's impossible to describe the damage done and how it has affected those who survived, many of whom are still waiting for promised financial help. I have seen many images on the TV, especially of cars piled up like this and the whole thing looks like the aftermath of a tsunami. 

This image of the flash floods is the one that will stay in my head forever

This week we watched a documentary on Prime Video called Riadas (Flash Floods) which goes much deeper into what really happened. Here is the trailer. The people affected are still very angry, and rightly so, as they were not warned in advance. The warning came at 8.15 in the evening when most of the deaths had already occurred. They blame the local President, Carlos Mazon who happens to be from the right wing opposition party, the PP. He still has to account for where he was when all this happened. The whole thing has become so politicised and the central left wing government, the PSOE, led by Pedro Sánchez, uses the tragedy to undermine the Opposition. They were never to agree and nor were they coordinated and it was up to volunteers to clear up the mess initially before the Army stepped in. It took too long. Mazón was having lunch with a journalist and Sánchez was in India. Wednesday was the day of the state funeral of the 1st anniversary and it was a very somber affair, held in the City of Arts. Many of the victims strongly protested at the presence of Mazon who has become the scapegoat. He has to resign and resign soon but the government has to keep its word and make the funding it promised in the first few days, available for people who still haven't regained their homes or businesses. To think that in some of the blocks of flats the lifts are still not working after one year with all that that means to people with reduced mobility, seems a crime to me. The "Dana" was the main news this week. What a terrible tragedy. There was a similar flood in 1957 but since then only one proper measure was put in place to avoid flooding and since then homes have been built in flood risk areas. There was a plan made in 2010 which would have saved many lives but it was never put into action. 

I had invited Oli and family round for an early dinner that day so missed watching the funeral. Eladio couldn't take his eyes off the TV and when he came down there were tears in them. I have hardly ever  seen my husband cry. That says something.

We had a crazy time with the kids as usual. They never eat properly and run round taking off their clothes and causing chaos but I love them. They are so enthusiastic. Elliot's obsession that day was for his parents to get him a new costume for Halloween as if money grew on trees. I suggested he watch some of the images of children in Gaza before crying over a Halloween costume. That's the way kids are brought up today, at least in my milieu. They have everything and sometimes I think it is too much. It's not just my grandchildren; it's their generation; those lucky enough to live in comfort. I witnessed them being given  some new pyjamas from Primark which didn't seem to impress them.  It brought back a memory of my mother buying George and I new pyjamas from Marks and Spencer in Lincoln, when we lived in Ruskington. We hardly ever had anything new so I remember us jumping up and down on the bed we were so happy to have them. My mother used to make our birthday presents and I remember being given a rag doll I was delighted with. Unfortunately George buried it in the garden where it was found a year later or so. Anyway, maybe it's better to have lots than to have little. I don't know. 

Thursday came and I was delighted to hear from Oli that Juliet was ok after a routine scan. Here they are together

Mother and daughter on Thursday morning

I got dressed up in winter clothes to go out and have coffee with Eladio but we didn't and ended up having it at home. My dear husband who hardly every drinks coffee but often joins me, took photos of me and told me I was looking good. I was dressed in green and looked like I was going out hunting but of course I wasn't. For want of another photo I chose one of them to illustrate this week's post. Here is another one to remember the moment.

Coffee at home this week

5 new suspects were arrested in connection with the Louvre robbery that day.  So far they have caught 3 of the 4 thieves but there is still no sign of the jewels. Amanda and I Facetimed again that afternoon and planned my trip in December to see her. Shortly after, I booked my flights to Bristol. It will be lovely to see her and Andy and to be in England again. I hope we can do some Christmas shopping, talk lots, play Sevens and Ludo (Parchis) and I hope to get the opportunity to eat fish and chips and if there is time I would love to have a posh afternoon tea somewhere. After all, Devon is famous for its wonderful clotted cream. Roll on December. 

It was very shortly after our call that bombshell news came from Buckingham Palace. If a couple of weeks ago, King Charles stripped his shamed brother Andrew of his Dukedom and other titles, this time he defenestrated him by removing his title of Prince and the style of HRH and all other titles and styles that remained. His shunned brother, known as Randy Andy and Air Miles Andy and more recently embroiled in the Epstein scandal, accused by Virginia Guiffre of being raped by him, something he denies, will also have to move out of the 30 room Royal Lodge in Windsor where he was paying what they call "Peppercorn rent". He will be sent to Sandringham so don't worry; he will still live in luxury. This was the statement.

The bombshell statement from Buckingham Palace.

The Queen's supposed favourite son, Andrew who is 3 years my junior, will now be known as plain Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Well, he had it coming to him. From all accounts and purposes the once hailed hero pilot in the Falklands war, was a very demanding and entitled person, known for his expensive tastes and demands of those who served him. I had heard about his teddy bears and need for them to be placed in a certain order. This is what I got from IA: "Prince Andrew has a well-documented and extensive collection of teddy bears and other stuffed animals which, according to former royal staff, had to be arranged in a very specific order every day. Staff even received a day's training and used a laminated diagram to ensure the precise placement of the toys". And woe betide if they get it wrong as he is known for shouting and screaming at his staff. You can even read too the precise instructions on how he likes his 4 poster bed made with bows hanging in the right place as well as pillows. What an entitled idiot. He has fed on his royal status so this will really hurt. And so it should.

If he is like this with his staff, I wonder how he treated people like Virginia Guiffre, who sadly took her own life this year after publishing her book which I am trying to read but finding uphill as it is so awful.  Mr. Mountbatten Windsor may deny her allegations but they are surely documented somewhere as it is known that the paedophile Epstein filmed his friends. Hopefully more will come out when the Epstein files are fully released.  Hopefully too, one day, his former wife and cohabitant at Royal Lodge, Sarah Ferguson, will spill the beans. Meanwhile, Guiffre's family were delighted with the news of the former Prince being stripped of his royal status, styles and titles. But they suggest that he be put behind bars. I totally agree with them. 

Friday was Halloween and I didn't care. I do not like this new wave of the celebration of death. I was not brought up on it. Neither was Spain but oh boy how the Spaniards have embraced it. Oli sent photos of our grandchildren dressed up for the occasion. I was happy to see they hadn't given into any demands for new costumes. As last year, Elliot was dressed as Edward Scissor Hands and Juliet as a beautiful witch as you can see below.

Elliot and Juliet off to school in their Halloween outfits. They look smashing

That photo put me to shame really as when our girls were small we also had to dress them up for Halloween. But in those days there was no Amazon or online shopping and it was difficult to buy outfits. I remember how a neighbour, Inés, the mother of their friend Beatriz, kindly made both Suzy and Oli a simple witch costume which they wore year after year and always complained about. I should have made more of an effort. 

I had news for Elliot on Friday. He is obsessed with the tallest buildings in the world so when I read that the Sagrada Familia cathedral, designed by the famous architect, Gaudi, and which is still being built, is now the tallest church in the world, I wanted him to know. After a part of its central tower was lifted into place it now measures 162.9 metres, which overtakes Ulm Minster in Germany (161.53). In 2026 it should be completed and will then reach 172m. 

I only ever saw it inside once and that was many, many years ago but it is a church, or cathedral of wonder.

This week I watched a lot of television as you can imagine. It's a coincidence really but when Oli told me of a TV series called The Long Shadow (again on Prime Video) that she recommended I was intrigued as it is about the Yorkshire Ripper. You see, this week is the 50th anniversary of his first awful killing; well the first we know of and I was living in Bradford then where he was from. I lived in Bradford from 1964 to 1981 bar the academic years spent at Uni. So, my formative years there made a huge mark on me. 

In 1975 the Labour Government was led by Yorkshire man, Harold Wilson. It was a year of high inflation, many strikes and also the first ever national referendum which was to join the EU. I voted for that as I had just turned 18. It was also the year Margaret Thatcher was appointed leader of the Conservative party. Bradford, a big industrial city in central northern England and once the capital of the wool industry was in decline with factories closing and it showed. Immigration from Pakistan mostly was at its height. It was a grim city with some saving graces - mostly the outskirts; Bronte Country, The Dales and some beautiful places such as Ilkley, Harrogate and York. I didn't like the city and couldn't wait to leave which I did when I went to Nottingham University from 1976 to 1980 and in 1981 I moved to Spain permanently. Today I don't hate it; I just feel nostalgic about Bradford and Yorkshire which I do love.

I lived at home again from 1980 to 1981, the year the monster was caught so lived through the horrible period. In 1975, I was only 18 and remember well those 5 years he was on the rampage and wasn't caught while he killed so many women. One of the last women he killed was a student of French at Leeds University where my mother taught Russian. I remember very well the fear and the newspapers warning women not to trust even their fathers, their husbands or their brothers. But I trusted my father who would pick me up always from the bus stop. I also remember when Peter Sutcliffe was caught and it turned out he lived a mile or so up the road in the Heaton area. It was my Aunty Masha who took my mother and I to see his house. That was both macabre but memorable. To think he lived so close. I am still watching the series which has transported me back to that frightening period. But it has also transported me back to the Bradford and Yorkshire of 1975. Everything is so familiar; the way people dress, the way they speak, the buildings, the weather, the police uniforms, the cars. So, yes it was 50 years ago this week and may he rot in hell. My heart goes out to those victims and their families who have suffered ever since. What a horrible time it was. I can never forget. Meanwhile I am transfixed and taken back in time.

Saturday came, 1st November and All Saints' Day but most importantly for us, Suzy's first day at work on her own without training. She was scared I think but well prepared as she has been having training all of last week and on Thursday and Friday. I am happy to report she came home feeling triumphant when everything went well yesterday and she knew she could do the job - she is working as a dietitian for Sodexho, in charge of menus and meals for hospital patients and will be working only on weekends and holidays which is enough for her at the moment. For the first time in many months I saw a huge smile on her face. She has come a long way and I am proud of her. We shall be celebrating next week so watch this space. 

Yesterday was the first day I dared go on our hour long morning walk and it felt good. For lunch I made masses of curry, chicken for us and prawn for Suzy. We convened again later for wine time at around 7.30. It was by the pool but with our dressing gowns on, hahaha.

Today is Sunday and I woke up to the most awful news  - also hailing, in a way from my beloved Yorkshire. A train from Doncaster in Yorkshire travelling to London Kings Cross underwent the madness of multiple stabbing by a man or two men on board wielding a knife. He was subsequently caught but by then he had injured 9 people. So far no fatalities have been reported. I know that train. I have been on it countless times going from Yorkshire to London. How awful! How can this happen? I find it deeply concerning.  It's not nice news to wake up to. 

Today will be a quiet and sunny day; another Groundhog day but I'm not complaining. That's it from me for this week. Cheers till next time, Masha

The Louvre robbed of Napoleonic crown jewels in a spectacular heist, Suzy starts work, pre-op tests, KIng Charles makes history praying with Pope Leo X1V, the operation, my stay in the hospital and home again, the clocks go back and other stories of the week

 Madrid, Sunday, 26th October, 2026

In my room at the Quirón Hospital waiting to be operated on on Friday morning. I was all smiles but inside I was a little nervous. My friend Amanda asked how I managed to look glamorous even in hospital. That's probably because the camera was being kind to me. 

Dear all

I actually wrote most of today's blog on  Thursday, as my operation was on Friday as I didn't know whether I would be up to writing after it. I didn't know how it would go; well, I hoped and I had my worries as anyone would. Come Saturday morning I shall update you on how I am.

First let me rewind to the beginning, to last Sunday. The big news of the week came that day when at just past 9 in the morning, the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, was robbed of some of the French Crown jewels from the Napoleonic era.  In an amazing heist, similar to those we see in films, it  has left the French and the world stunned. The robbery was actually a rather easy feat and it was done in just 7 minutes, daringly and security was weak. 4 men posing as workers parked a vehicle with an electric ladder next to the Louvre and opposite the Seine.

2 of them  got out in broad daylight, climbed the ladder, broke the window of the Apollo Gallery, got in and went straight to the vitrines where France's crown jewels from the Napoleonic era are on display.  They used power tools to threaten unarmed guards and smashed several display cases. In all, they grabbed 8 pieces of jewelry of incalculable worth. The alarms went off while the robbers fled down the ladder to where high powered scooters were waiting for them. They literally scooted off but in their haste dropped and damaged probably the most priceless piece of their heist, the crown of Empress Eugenie  (wife of Napoleon III) as well her corsage bow. 

The crown belonging to Empress Eugenie which  the thieves dropped and damaged in their rush to leave

They have not been seen since and neither have the jewels worth over 80 million euros in money but far more in terms of French heritage and history. It beggars me how on earth they were able to penetrate the Louvre so easily. Where were the cameras and where was the security? How could they just park like that and smash a window easily as well as the vitrines? Shouldn't all this be heavily protected? That's what the French are asking themselves. It's not the first time this famous museum has suffered a robbery. We have all learned that the Mona Lisa was stolen by a worker in 1911 but this is 2025. Hasn't security got better? Maybe the thieves will be caught but most probably some of France's most famous jewels will never be found as they will  likely all be taken apart and sold in pieces of gold and stones. The story fascinates me and is ongoing. 

Life at home was quiet in comparison. That morning I made a Sunday roast with lamb - my favourite. This was it.

Roast lamb for lunch last Sunday

It wasn't peaceful in the Middle East. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continued to bomb Gaza. Both sides accuse each other of breaking it and Trump insists it is in place. I don't know, do you?

I had a French couple from Poitiers who arrived that afternoon and as soon as they realised I could get by in French, French it was which left me quite exhausted. I never saw them again and they left on Friday. They must have been happy as Cecile and Benoit gave me 5 stars. Merci.  Later Cassandra, a very young student from Ottawa arrived. She wanted to use the pool at this time of year. Each to their own haha. I also got a booking from a girl from the UK coming to a wedding next month and when I looked her up on AI it seems she is possibly one of the Manchester Arena bombing survivors. Wow I thought!

I spent free time in the afternoon watching Season 3 of The Diplomat. I rather like it but it's a bit too cloak and daggery and it's easy to lose the plot. 

Monday was the day Suzy started work as a dietitian with Sodexho, the French catering multinational that employs around 450.000 people. Being her first week she has spent it being trained for the job. She and the team at the University in Villanueva, provide meals for patients at a local hospital, that is 50 lunches and 50 dinners a day. It seems easy but it's not as Suzy was explaining - it's quite a responsibility. You can't give the same food to post operative patients, diabetics, etc. Suzy started her career in a similar role with Aramark, Sodexho's American competitor. She says it's like going back to square one. It's not. It's a huge achievement after all she has gone through and surviving this week is a feather in her cap. She has come a long way from how she was a year ago. I maybe shouldn't tell you but she's also got a beau and I'm so happy for her. These days I see her smiling more often. Oh Suzy all I want for you are good things. I' m so proud of you.

We had our usual morning; a walk, coffee, etc and I kept thinking about her, of course. She came home for lunch with a smile of survival on her face. She is so brave.

Meanwhile in Washington, Zelensky was in town to see Trump who probably wasn't reeling from the 7 million who demonstrated against him on Sunday. They are sick and tired of him and his autocracy and so am I. It transpired later that their meeting once again turned into a shouting match. Trump wants to do with the Ukraine what he has tried to do in the Middle East but Putin is not having it. Putin will only end the war if Russia can keep the territory they have won and if Ukraine does not join Nato. Those are two big red lines for Ukraine and for Europe. So we are at stalemate again. Trump has decided to cancel the meeting with Putin in Budapest and has now imposed more sanctions; sanctions that never work. Poor Ukraine. This week the Russian army bombed a children's nursery. Really? 

On Tuesday, the French must have felt embarrassed again with the image of their country when Nicolas Sarkozy, former President (2012-2017) was escorted to La Santé prison for all the world to see. Reuters wrote later that he has received death threat from inmates but don't worry, he has his own body guards, even in prison. It was a very unusual scene. His crime appears to be funding for his campaign from that horrible dictator Gaddifi of Libya. I think of Presidents and Prime Ministers who have done worse things and never been punished. In any case his stay will be pretty token as he is now 70 and it is thought he will only be in jail for a few weeks. Interestingly he took with him Dumas'  Count of Monte Cristo who was innocent. This was Sarkozy making a point I suppose. 

It was on Tuesday that I wore a coat for the first time on our walk since well before the summer. It has not been cold but we have had some showers; rather welcome ones. The highlight of the day was my weekly Facetime call with Amanda. After catching up on each other's lives, we even played a game together - a word game called "Contexto". 

On Wednesday I finally met my guest Eric from Chiapas in Mexico. He came the Friday before, but we were out and Tana received him. What a lovely chap. He is an architect as his aspiring daughter will be too as she is studying the subject here at the UEM University. The dear man brought us some coffee from Chiapas saying the area was famous for its coffee. I thought it was more famous for the Zapatista uprising in 1994. He actually agreed. He left the next day for Copenhagen where he hopes to learn more about cycle lanes - good place, of course. 

We had a late walk and combined it with my morning coffee. We took photos as I hadn't taken any till then. Here we are growing old gracefully hahahah.

Coffee at the Churros bar on Wednesday

We went to the local churros bar and I am proud to say I resisted eating one. Lunch was late but wonderful because the four of us were together as I had invited Oli. She says we have to celebrate Suzy's new job and oh yes we will. For the record I made a smashing chicken curry and a prawn version for Suzy and later gave lots to Oli to take home as she has little time to cook 

Thursday was a big day. I spent the morning at the hospital from 9 till 1 doing a blood test, a chest x-ray and an electrocardiogram after which I saw the anesthetist who would decide if I was fit enough for  general anesthesia and for the operation. I was scared about the x-ray as I am a smoker but he said my chest; i.e. lungs and heart were fine as were the other tests. So I was good to go. I found it funny to be seen by a very fat anesthetist who didn't give a very good image. When he asked me how much I weighed I told him 60 kilos  but that I had lost 11 taking the pen (Monjauro) and hoped it might stick with him. I was home for lunch for which we were joined by Suzy.

I was amazed to get a sudden booking late that afternoon from a British couple for 4 nights at our apartment in Santa Pola. Thankfully it was clean and ready and Gina was around to hand them the keys. 

It was on Thursday that Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III made history. He was the first English king to pray publicly with a Pope since Henry VIII split from Rome in 1534. It was an event seen as a symbolic reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Church of England. Here is a photo of this historic moment.

History in the making this week 

Interestingly, the Queen, as a non catholic Queen, wore black and covered her head with a black veil adhering to the traditional dress code. When Catholic Queens visit the pope they wear "privilège du blanc". I remember that from seeing the Queen of Spain, Doña Letizia in white at the Vatican. I wonder what was going on insider the Spanish monarch's head when she was there.That's because before she married she was a republican and never a practicing catholic. The things one has to do for love, hahahaha. 

Friday dawned, my very big day but I was ready physically and mentally for this major surgery on my pelvic floor organs which were in a very bad state and I won't go into details.  I had a coffee before I left even if I shouldn't but I knew I had a long day ahead of me most of it "nil by mouth". Eladio took me, of course. I reminded him of our wedding vows; "in sickness and in health" which for us are a given. I do love the man so much, I do. After admission at around 9 am into the Women's Health department of the Quiron hospital in Pozuelo,  I was given room 176 which was quite plush. That's where Eladio took this week's feature photo.  The Quirón is where Oli gave birth to Juliet and where the former King of Spain was given a replacement hip after a scandalous trip to Botswana to hunt elephants. Soon Olivia and Miguel were there to see me and to get a medical certificate.We were all amazed that Spanish law allows first and second degree family members 5 working days off if the patient is admitted to hospital, even if it's only for one day and even if he or she is not operated on (not my case). Here are Oli and I hugging when they came and shortly before I was taken away.

With Oli at the hospital on Friday

And here I am being carried  away on a stretcher by an orderly along long passages in a very big hospital, to my destination, the third surgery of my life. The first was to remove my wisdom teeth in my early 20s at the Leeds General Infirmary,  the second was to mend a fibula bone I broke in the ice coming down a mountain near Montrondo in about 2014.  This one though was more serious but I had no worries about anesthesia. However, I was in for a bit of a shock when I came round.

On the stretcher waving goodbye to my dear husband who was left waiting in our room for quite a few hours

I was prepped for surgery not unlike what we see on hospital series. Everyone was very nice, including my surgeon, María del Mar de Haro - a competent woman probably in her 50's. I remember being taken into the theatre with lots of people around and music too and after that I don't remember a thing. From what I have been told the operation took longer than scheduled as not only did I have cystocele, I also had  a rectocele and a torn perineum.  Basically the surgeon strengthened the walls of my pelvic floor, repositioned both my bladder and my rectum and mended the torn perineum. 

Last week I did some research into female pelvic floor anatomy which I didn't know much about but now I do. I concluded we women are not well designed "down there", are we? It's all too close.

Women's pelvic floor anatomy

I also wondered later whether all this was caused by giving birth 40 years ago. These days women who give birth are given pelvic floor physiotherapy to correct anything that might have been disturbed during birthing.  In my day and I imagine my mother's day, we would take the babies to be seen but no one looked at "our parts" to see if there was any damage apart from the awful stitches. Maybe mine came undone and my perineum has been torn ever since. And imagine Eladio's mother who gave birth in the 40's in an isolated rural village with only a local woman to help. Any birth that went wrong in Montrondo ended in death. Today things are so much better. 

 I woke up from the anesthesia very, very confused. I thought I was dreaming and wanted to get up and go to the toilet. I also wanted my husband with me and had no idea the operation had already been performed. I also woke up to terrible pain - they had left an enormous amount of gauze inside me to absorb the blood which hurt. They had also fixed a dreaded catheter which I find more difficult than most women to tolerate because of my underlying bladder condition (dry OAB). I was in a sorry state when I was returned to my room at about 2.30 and just melted into my husband's arms. All I wanted was him.  I was hungry and thirsty too but wasn't allowed to drink water until 5 pm. At 6, I was given pear juice and later a light dinner I ate ravenously. If it had been offered to me anywhere else I wouldn't have touched it but I was starving and ate every morsel. 

I slept on and off while Eladio went to have a late lunch. I was given more pain killers and was advised to walk around which we did together. We even went outside for me to have a "fag" which I did very sneakily. My husband could have spent the night with me but it wasn't necessary and also he needed a break so off he went at around 7 pm. I was feeling better and more so after a cheering up video call with my dear friend Amanda who I had been keeping up to date all day as well as my other friends, Sandra and Adele who are in Brittany together now and of course Kathy and Phil who are at a wedding in Kew Gardens. I do envy them all. 

I was surrounded by my technology - my PC, kindle, phone, headphones, etc but only read a bit on my kindle to help me fall asleep. I woke up at about 5.15 am on Saturday morning and thanks to Eladio was able to have a  "café con leche" and a yoghurt he had brought up for me from the cafeteria before he left. The coffee was cold but it was coffee and you all know I can't start my day without one. I was given pain killers again at 7.30 and told the doctor wouldn't be coming to discharge me, prior to removing the catheter and me weeing until 10.30 - so feeling better I went and got breakfast from the cafeteria wearing just my nightie and some slippers I had brought. I later had the coffee and pain au chocolate in my bathroom and ignored the ghastly breakfast they brought me at 9.30. To cut a long story short, the gynecologist came on time and removed the never ending piece of gauze stuck up me. Then a nurse removed the catheter and it was up to me to drink lots of water and try and pee which was not easy but I did it. By 12.30 or so Eladio was there to take me home. I came  out clutching my medical report including prescriptions for a host of pills, and everything under the sun for a vagina including dreaded suppositories. We stopped at the chemist to get everything and soon we were home. Oh home sweet home, the best place to be in the world. I was greeted in this order by Pippa (of course), Tana and my sweet daughter Suzy. I was starving for lunch and ate everything on the table;  a bit of ham, some salad, vegetable soup followed by curry with rice and a mandarin. I have been told to eat a lot fibre; i.e. veg and fruit and my body is craving for both. 

It was lovely to rest at home and most of the pain had gone. I have a month to recover and must not do anything strenuous or lift weights but I can go for short walks and I shall do so. It wasn't pleasant but the worst part is over. All I need now is lots of TLC (tender loving care) which I know I will get at home.

I hope I haven't bored you with all these details of my operation and the experience at the hospital but it was a big thing for me and I have suffered for years like "a good beast and in silence", something I learned from my father. But I don't want to suffer anymore. I hope this will now make a new woman of me. Time will tell but I am sure it will. 

Last night the clocks went back which is always confusing. Today is Sunday and we have been robbed of one hour and of light in the afternoon. Instead of getting dark at 8 pm it will now get dark at 7pm. I do wish we could do away with the changing of the clocks and I vote for staying permanently on summer time. 

I had a reasonable night's sleep and am feeling less pain today. I shall take it slowly. Until next time, my friends, that's it from me for this week.

Cheers Masha

The last Israeli hostages released, Trump's embarrassing peace summit, playing with Elliot and Juliet, Pippa was sick, lots of cooking, Prince Andrew no longer Duke of York and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 19th October, 2025.

Having my morning coffee yesterday at home after our walk

Good morning everyone. Hope you are all having a good Sunday. I know mine will be quiet. It will also be the last Sunday of Summer Time as next Saturday the clocks go forward robbing us of an hour of daylight. 

Last Sunday was Spain's national day but as I wrote last week, we didn't celebrate as it is not really a tradition here. We had the house to ourselves as all our guests had left and Tana was enjoying her weekend. In the afternoon Suzy went to her choir rehearsal and my highlight of the day was my weekly Facetime call with my dearest friend Amanda. The other highlight was wine and pistachio time by the pool at 7pm which is now an established part of our routine. I'm not sure a glass of wine every day is good for me but I do enjoy the moment. 

On Monday, 72 hours after the Gaza Israeli War ceasefire began, Hamas returned  the remaining 20   hostages still alive who underwent wicked conditions for two years in tunnels with little food and no daylight. The treatment was unacceptable but I'm afraid to say the treatment meted out to Palestinian prisoners who were exchanged that day was equally unacceptable both on a par with how prisoners lived in concentration camps in WW2. The same can be said of how the Flotilla aid members were treated in an Israeli prison which was more than shocking.  Now they are all free and face a brave new world with all that has happened to them. As to the dead bodies of the hostages who died or were killed in Gaza, few have been returned. Hamas says most of them are under rubble from the war and I can only hope and pray they are unearthed and returned to their families. So, the world heaved a sigh of relief that finally all the hostages alive were returned. Trump who is such a narcissist was there to witness the putting into motion of his peace plan. Whether we like it or not, it is his plan but without the help of the mediator countries, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar I doubt it would have happened. His greatest triumph was getting Netanyahu on board, no easy feat. So there you had him wallowing in glory and praise from the hostage families and the Israeli government, enjoying his great moment. From there he travelled to Egypt for a Peace Summit of sorts with representatives from over 30 countries witnessing him signing the Peace declaration. The only thing is that there was no representative from either Hamas or Israel. The other thing was the presence of one woman only, Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Trumps' words to her were how beautiful she was. Could he not be more male chauvinist? By saying that he was disrespecting half the world. Damn the man. This is the "family photo" with most of the representatives fawning over him and suggesting he get the Nobel Peace Prize.

Notice, just one woman and no representatives from Israel or Hamas

I found the whole thing embarrassing. Asked whether the war had ended,Trump said it had. It hasn't. This is just Stage 1 of the plan with 20 points and the other stages have not been agreed upon yet. 

Israel is now claiming the ceasefire has been violated by Hamas who have only returned 9 of the 28 dead bodies. As to Hamas, who are supposed to disarm and disband, the ceasefire has only given them ammunition to show their power They have showed it by executing who they call collaborators of Israel. There are various factions and clans who are now at war with each other and Hamas is killing people left right and centre. As one militia leader said " We came out of a military war into a war of terrorists".  That I'm afraid is the situation in Gaza today. But at least some aid is now finally getting through with hundreds of lorries with enough food to feed the 2 million population of the Strip for 3 months. The problem is distributing it and rebuilding the area while Hamas is on the rampage. So, no, we don't have peace in the Middle East. I doubt if we ever will. 

On a more local note, Trump who treated leaders of the countries present as if they were naughty or good boys, chose to scold Spain's PM by saying, yet again, that the country is not contributing enough to Nato. We give 2% of our GDP and he wants it to be 5%. But Spain is exempt from any increase of its GDP on weapons as he should know.

Talking of aid, I am glad to report that Suzy spent her first day on Monday as a weekly volunteer with the Red Cross. She didn't tell me much about it. What is good is that she is making the effort; she is going to the choir, she is volunteering with the Red Cross or intends to, she goes to singing lessons when she can get there, she is seeing friends and oh yes, she begins work tomorrow 20th October. It will start with a week's  training for her dietitian role with Sodexho for whom she will be working on weekends and holidays. She is still down and depressed but so much better than a year ago this week which is when she came from Santa Pola to live with us. What a year it has been. All I want for her are good things. She needs them as she has nothing. 

While she was out, Oli brought the kids to be with us from 1 until 5.30 as even though Monday wasn't a holiday it was for schools in the area. Oli fed them and then went to work as this week she has been working in the afternoons. We had our own food with them playing up and then had to find a way to entertain them. We taught them to play English hide and seek which they adored. When we were tired - not them - we took them to the swings, the very swings their Mother and Aunt played on when they were their age. It always brings back memories. 

Our grandchildren on their mother and aunt's swings with their grandfather

We had a good time but short of a siesta, we were beat when Miguel came to pick them up at 5.30. Only then could we rest.

Tuesday was a cooking day, like many more this week. After coming off "the pen", aka Monjauro, I am enjoying cooking again. There is a dish from Galicia I love but I have probably never made. It's called "lacón con grelos". Lacon is cured pork shoulder which you boil for hours and hours and grelos are the greens from turnips. The dish is complete when you add potatoes and chorizo. Grelos are hard to find but the local BM, a rather upmarket supermarket, told me they sell them on Tuesdays. So that's where I went after my walk on Tuesday. And this is what the dish looked like when I served it.

Lacón con grelos - a dish I adore. I love the combination.

With all the stock except the stock from the pork which is too salty, I made a soup  called "Caldo Gallego" with the leftovers - all chopped up to which I added white haricot beans. I made so much we have been having it every day.

On another domestic note, some lovely cushion covers arrived from Ikea. They were to replace some lovely embroidered ones also from Ikea but which were falling apart  as they had been washed so often. These are the new ones.

Lovely new cushion covers from Ikea for one of our guest rooms

It was on Tuesday that I got a call from the Quirón Hospital in Pozuelo to tell me my operation will be on Friday 24th October which is rather record time. I was amazed it was so soon after seeing the consultant. For the record this is the official name of the operation which sounds frightening. "Conservative partial uterine prolapse surgery, using Manchester or similar procedure and with or without a rectocele"! I was amused at the word Manchester and later looked it up - it's a type of operation first performed in Manchester. I think the formal or another name of the surgery is an "anterior colporrhaphy". Sounds ominous - well they will be repositioning most of my pelvic organs I suppose. I am not looking forward to it but no, there is no alternative as I cannot carry on like this. 

Pippa was sick that night and I blamed myself after seeing pieces of Juliet's leftover lunch I had fed her and probably shouldn't have. She had vomited all over our bed and bed linen and poor Tana had to deal with it. It happened again on Wednesday night after which we restricted her diet to only dry food. We also made her sleep on her blanket on the floor next to our bed. It was the first time she hadn't slept with us when we are at home since she came and that's nearly 12 years. It felt so strange and I missed her. I expected her to put up a huge fuss but she didn't, bless her, and submissively and obediently returned to her blanket every time we told her to. Now she is no longer sick and I want her back in our bed but Eladio doesn't. It's just not the same and she looks so forlorn on the floor. I could get her a proper bed but she might reject it.

Little Pippa who has been confined to sleeping on her blanket on the floor rather than on our bed in between the two of us. 

I miss cuddling her during the night and I'm sure she misses it too. I feel bad as she won't understand why we have literally kicked her out of our bed where she has slept with us for the last 11 years or so. Sorry Pips. 

On Wednesday morning  our 3rd online shopping order arrived, the 2nd from Carrefour. 

The online order from Carrefour arriving promptly on Tuesday morning

I'm so glad we no longer have to do such a huge weekly shop and can get the heavy stuff and the basics delivered. I just wonder why we didn't do it before.  We did the shopping for the fresh stuff - meat, fish, fruit, greens, etc and Suzy helped us. We came back with just 3 full shopping bags  instead of about 8 or 9.

Suzy was out and about with a friend in the afternoon while we whiled away the time. We don't do much in the afternoons as you will have noticed. 

Thursday was another cooking day. That morning Tana and I between us made the batter for cod fritters, a new dish for our repertoire of meals.  Here she is frying them. They are greasy but delicious and have lots and lots of cod in them. So that's fish and it's good, isn't it?

Tana frying cod fritters for lunch on Thursday

Suzy missed her singing lesson that morning as she couldn't find anywhere to park and had to come back. I ask myself why does she always have to have bad luck? 

We had been guest free since Sunday but that changed on Thursday when Laura from Salamanca arrived. Then Maria del Mar from Palma de Mallorca, Olga from Eladio's town, Leon and Eric from Mexico came on Friday and the house is full and will be so until the end of October. Three more people are arriving today.

Friday dawned and it was yet another sunny day. What wonderful weather we have been having all this month. Of course we went for our walk in the morning as we have done every day this week 

I was a bit worried that my health insurance company, Adeslas, was taking too long to authorise the operation so it was a happy moment when it came through. It found us having my morning coffee at Alverán with Eladio. I was overjoyed as I had been a bit worried but I shouldn't have been as I knew the policy I have covers the operation. 

We had lunch on our own and it was a good thing as it meant Suzy was out having lunch with her sister Oli (Olivia). They sent us a picture which I treasure. Thank you girlies.

The girls having lunch together at a veggie place they love on Friday

Suzy was happy for once that day as things were looking up for her. She was out for lunch with her sister, she was seeing her "beau" that evening and was going to the cinema with her Ukrainian friend from group therapy last summer, on Saturday. What a difference from a year ago when she shunned society completely. She is slowly coming back. 

Friday was the day Zelensky was in Washington. After his success with the Gaza ceasefire, Trump now wants to tackle the Ukraine war and bring peace there. He has spoken with Putin this week and the two dictators are to meet in 2 weeks time in Budapest. Zelensky was hoping for some Tomahawks but didn't get them. I hope he gets a good deal and doesn't have to give up any territory. Trump is eager to get a peace deal not really because he is worried about the Ukraine, but because he wants to look good and be fawned upon and is angling for the Nobel Peace prize - next year, not this year. I hope he brings peace but doesn't get any Nobel prize he doesn't deserve. 

I was feeling peckish for comfort food that afternoon so during our wine and pistachio moment I suggested dinner out. Yes dinner  out on a Friday night; something which used to be part of our routine and the highlight of our week. We stopped doing it because we felt lazy I suppose. But it was so nice to go out for dinner that evening. We chose Ginos a quasi Italian but Spanish run restaurant chain because I had a craving for their "paglia e fieno" - you know that green and white pasta smothered in cream and ham. Well I was in for a disappointment as it is no longer on the menu. Instead I went for a pizza - this was it.

Pizza at Ginos on Friday like old times

I ate part of it but removed all the crust. Eladio had some of my pizza and a dish of 5 miserly mussels. The dessert was to die for though. I chose the cherry flavoured "gelato colossale" which came smothered in chocolate with a thick biscuit base. It was so good I think I will go back one day just to have that dessert.

My dessert at Ginos 

It's a dessert I think I shall try and make as I still have some Amarena cherries I bought in Bologna on last year's road trip. 

I came home bursting and feeling as though I had put on at least 2 kilos. I had stuffed my face with that dessert which seemed to have been created with me in mind. It had everything I love on the plate in terms of puddings with ice cream.

Once home I met the three girl guests who had arrived in our absence and who Tana had received. She is such a treasure. They have all come for Master degrees they are taking at the UEM University. 2 of them are physiotherapists and one is studying Pharmacy. We do get some lovely guests. 

We watched an interesting film that night which was new on Netflix.  "She walks in  darkness" or in Spanish "Un fantasma en la batalla" is a Spanish political thriller about a police woman (civil guard) who infiltrates the Basque terrorist group ETA for many years. The film which is very tense is absolutely inspired by real events and brought back to us the terror we lived through in Spain while bringing up our family.  We had it on our own doorstep in 1985. On 12th June I went out to buy some tobacco and witnessed the aftermath of the assassination of Colonel Vicente Romero González Calatayud who lived on the street round the corner from us; General Oraa. I remember the man well. He used to come out of the door in the street to get into a chauffeur driven car every morning and we always saw him. I will never forget that day. The chauffeur died too of course.  Thank goodness this fanatical terrorist group disarmed in 2011. 

Saturday brought bad news for The Queen's supposed favourite son, Prince Andrew. After all the scandal of his association with Jeffry Epstein and after he lied about when he cut off ties with the sexual monster, the Palace or rather his brother, King Charles had to do something drastic. He left public life after the first scandal during his mother's reign which must have hurt her a lot. He was also stripped of his Royal stipend and the Palace wants him to leave the Royal Lodge. But now he is now also embroiled in another scandal - a Chinese spy one - and on Saturday it was announced that he Prince Andrew had renounced the title of Duke of York which is always given to the second son of a reining monarch. If he hadn't agreed it would have had to go to Parliament. This was the announcement from the Palace.

A statement from Prince Andrew - by heck it isn't what he would have wanted to write.

So now he lives in even more shame. He has also had to give up all his other titles apart from Prince which he cannot be stripped of. So he will live in shame watching the telly, playing video games and riding his horse or seeing his daughters. His wife, Sarah is no longer a duchess either. He will not be seen in public anymore and from what I have read is not even invited to the family Christmases. He is in deep trouble and must be regretting his actions. Anyway, we no longer have a Duke of York. To quote the end of the the famous children's nursery rhyme; "The grand old duke of York and all his men are hiding in their beds". They are literally.

We were not hiding in our beds yesterday, we were having a fine day. After our walk I had my coffee joined by Eladio and Pippa on the kitchen patio. That was a lovely moment and I have chosen a photo taken yesterday morning for this week's feature photo. I didn't have a photo of myself this week and would have included one at dinner at Ginos but I looked ghastly. Eladio took one there but I deleted it. Moments later my phone reminded me of a photo of me taken on 17th October 2012, 13 years ago when I was 55 - I am now 68 and looking a lot older. I remember the photo being taken with a giant phone for some Yoigo related project. This is it.

Me 13 years ago this week when I was 55 and worked at Yoigo

Was that really me? Olivia replied that I "look good for my age" which I suppose is a consolation of some kind. 

Anyway, after the coffee in the sun with Eladio and Pippa, I did more cooking. I made a huge amount of meatballs for Elliot who was coming for lunch with of course his mother and sister Juliet. He is not a good eater but adores meatballs. So that is why I made them. Would you believe he ate 10 of them? I got a photo before they tucked in.

Meatballs for Elliot and Juliet

I was pleased to see my grandson eating well for a change. Maybe I should always make him meatballs when he comes......  I gave Oli a big tupperware of them, some rice and some of my "caldo gallego" to take home.

Suzy was back after lunch so we left them to it. They were going to have an ice cream together before she met Lana to go to what we used to call either "the flicks" or "the pictures".

We retired to our quarters with Pippa for a well deserved rest. While Eladio slept; I read and later wrote most of this week's post before "wine and pistachio time". 

In all it has been a good week although we haven't done anything exciting. Maybe excitement is not always key to happiness.

And today is Sunday and the sun is shining which is always a good thing as I hate the rain. It's time to sign off now and leave you until next week.

Hope you all have a good day, cheers Masha

Airbnb super host again, a triple birthday lunch, Gaza peace deal ceasefire begins, Nobel peace prize goes to Maria Corina Machado and other stories of the week.,

 Madrid, Sunday 12th October, 2025

All dressed up and ready to go out for the special triple birthday lunch on Wednesday

Good morning everyone. Today is 12th October and the national day of Spain. But it's nothing like Bastille Day in France or 4th July in the USA.  Very few people celebrate it. Unfortunately any use of the national flag here is equated with the far right and there is a sort of lack of national identity or pride of origin which I have never understood. 12th October commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492 and is a public holiday. Unlike in the UK if a national holiday falls on a Sunday the Monday is a bank holiday, there is no day off  for workers. There will be a huge military parade in Madrid in front of the Spanish Royal family which I know my husband Eladio will love to watch; not me so much.

Today, at least for me, will be pretty much like last Sunday. Our weekend guests will be leaving and the house was full with 8 guests, a family from Bordeaux to see their student children and 2 young boys from Albacete here to see the bull fighting - that's a first for me hahaha. Spain is famous for its atrocious tradition of bull fighting and I would say the majority of the population find it cruel and think it should be eradicated but it has its avid followers I'm afraid. 

We went on our walk as we always try to do. Oli and family whom we didn't see last weekend, were at the Boadilla fiestas and sent us a lovely family picture.

Olivia with her family last Sunday in Boadilla at the fiestas

It was quiet day and as we sat and and enjoyed our nearly daily wine and pistachio moment in the evening we could hear sirens and see helicopters flying above us. 

One of our wine and pistachio moments. Love the glasses from Zara Home and the coconut bowls from Ribadasella which I bought with Amanda in the summer. 

We always enjoy these moments but it was a bit frightening to find out there was a fire about 500 metres away from us. Thankfully it was put out very quickly. 

I also enjoy being alerted by Airbnb on a quarterly and yearly basis that once again I have achieved super host status. I got the yearly announcement that evening as we were going to bed. 

Airbnb super host once again

It may seem easy but I can assure you it's not. Most guests are generous with their reviews but there are a few bad eggs who aren't.  Recently a rather nasty lady from Ecuador gave me what's called a revenge review with just 1 star out of 5. That really killed me as it was a room that has had a constant ranking of 5 stars after many years. It went down to 4.8 but is rising again to 4.9. Unfortunately the system will now never allow it to return to 5 stars. The system is pretty unfair to hosts, less so to guests. I have now been doing this - i.e. renting rooms in our house and the apartment in Santa Pola and latterly our holiday cottage in Asturias - since 2017. Mostly things go smoothly but not always as you probably know from some of my gripes. But as a friend, Veronica, commented "all that hard work paying off". She is right and I felt good. It's nice to be given a pat on the back sometimes. 

Monday came and brought with it an interesting email from a former pupil of Bradford Grammar School where my father taught from 1964 to 1983. Nigel who was at the school from 1964 to 1971, is embarking on a biography of those times at the school through the tales of its some of its most memorable teachers, including my dear father, even though he was never taught by him. It's so funny how my father's school comes back to haunt me over the years in a very positive way. I was close to it because of my father but also because most of our teenage gang was made up of a lot of its pupils with whom I am still in touch. His email was a nice start to the week and once again, I felt honoured and proud of "Daddy" who I still sorely miss. 

I made my second big online food order that day, this time from Mercadona and found it so easy. I just wonder why I never did it before. 

All eyes were on Egypt that day as representatives and diplomats from the USA, Israel, Egypt and Qatar were in meetings until the end of the week to put into practice the Gaza peace deal announced so proudly by Trump. He was hoping that in exchange for the deal he would win the Nobel Peace Prize. What a joke and thank God he didn't. In Spain all eyes were on the return of the Spanish members of the Gaza aid flotilla which had been detained by Israel. We knew it would never reach Gazan waters but I didn't like reading about the bad and rather inhumane treatment at the hands of the Israeli authorities meted out to the activists. 

While that was happening, far away on Mount Everest there was a huge blizzard and non stop snow which I suppose is pretty normal so high up. What amazed me was how many people were trapped. Were there honestly 1000 on the world's highest mountain? Thankfully they were all rescued. 

Tuesday marked the 2nd anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. The fanatical Palestinian group killed some 1200 people and kidnapped 250 others. It was terrible but more terrible in my mind was Israel's disproportionate response. Since then the IDF has killed over 67.000 Gazans and almost destroyed the Gaza Strip.  Perhaps the main point of the Peace Plan is the return of the remaining 46 hostages of whom only 26 are dead. The others will hopefully return to Israel tomorrow. Now Hamas has lost its last bargaining chip. But honestly too, why did Hamas continue to fight knowing that the Gaza Strip and its people were being annihilated and that they could never win? Nobody seems to be asking that question. 

Life continued at home peacefully - aren't we lucky to live where we do? That day saw us in something similar to an Aladdin's Cave. In Spain there is a minority population of Chinese and apart from restaurants, many of them set up cheapo type shops which literally sell everything, including the kitchen sink.  We needed to buy some birthday cake candles and headed to one not far from here as the local one has closed down. What a place, it was enormous and sold everything. I can't begin to describe it with its endless aisles but it was most enticing. 

At the big Chinese shop this week

Of note we had the pleasure of the company of a 26 year old Chinese girl called Mira who was here on business. She fell in love with the house and with us and we had long conversations. If only she would have switched the lights off sometimes or close her door. 

Ah, I must record too that after more digging out of clothes in my overloaded walk in dressing room, I dug out a colourful denim waistcoat which I hadn't worn for years. I bought it in Sedona, Arizona, on a Motorola press trip there in about 1993, so more than 20 years ago. This is it.

Rediscovering my denim waist coat from Sedona bought over 20 years ago. I loved it then and I love it now.. 

I wore it again on Friday and Oli complemented on me on how good I looked. She remembers the waist coat. There was skirt to go with it but who knows where it is now.

In Spain the big news that day was the collapse of a building that was being renovated and turned into a hotel. I don't quite know what happened but I do know that tragically, 4 workers died, 3 of them from Mali, Ghana and Ecuador and a young Spanish female architect. Dreadful. 

Wednesday came and it was a big day. We had the lunch to go to of course, but I also had an appointment with a pelvic floor gynecologist at the private hospital in Pozuelo called Quirón where I always go for my annual woman's check up.  I went because I have a prolapse  that happened in 2022 but it has become unbearable. Dra. Del Haro was lovely. She pronounced it was a Stage 3 cystocele and offered surgery already next month. She will be performing what I have learned is called an anterior colporrhaphy. I'm not scared of the operation but very wary of the recovery stage as this is not so simple for me as I have lifelong bladder condition of hyper sensitivity which complicates everything. Suffice it to say, peeing, right now is awful and very similar to cystitis. If you have ever had cystitis you will understand. The doctor was very understanding but wondered why on earth previous gynecologists had not suggested this operation. I wonder why too.

I didn't have much time to think about the operation for which I am having the pre-op tests on 23rd October, as we had to head to our lunch. 

So, to our lunch. It was to celebrate not only Eladio's birthday, but also his two best friends, Roberto and Juanjo who he used to work with  in the Spanish Ministry of Education.  It would be the birthday "boys" and their partners, Mari Carmen and Justi. All three of them turned 81 this year; Eladio's birthday being the last. He himself organised the lunch and he bought the cake and the candles. Well done my dear husband. If you read last weeks' blog, you may remember I had a few outfits to choose from and asked your opinions. In the end I did what I wanted and wore the Zara white laced chemise over black leggings. Someone told me I was too short to wear that outfit but I didn't care. Tana took photos of us before we left and I have chosen one of them for this week's feature photo. For the occasion, Eladio is wearing the turquoise linen shirt we bought in Altea last month. 

And not to bore you with details of our lunch at El Jardin de la Máquina, here are some photos to remember the triple birthday lunch which we much enjoyed. It was so lovely to dress up and go out for once.  We should do it more often.

Pictures from the triple birthday lunch with our friends, from left to right: Justi, Eladio, Juanjo, Roberto and Mari Carmen

We had such a good time we didn't get home till nearly 6 pm - sort of dinner time in some countries, hahaha. Spain does have late eating times but I've got used to that after nearly all my life living here. 

Suzy joined us for some wine by the kitchen patio upon our return and I was upset to see her so depressed again. It's continuous and she told me she thought she will never ever feel happy again and that she has no reason to get out of bed in the mornings. She breaks my heart. I am hoping things will get a bit better when she starts her weekend job as a dietitian on 20th October, although I am secretly worried she might not be up to it. Bless her. I do wish I knew how to help her. 

Thursday brought peace finally after 2 years of the Gaza war with Israel. At least it brought a ceasefire of 72 hours.  The parties had agreed to the first phase of the Gaza peace plan which includes the release of the last of the hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the entry of aid into the Strip. The first phase came into force on Friday at noon. I honestly hope that there will be agreement on the rest of the plan and that eventually there will be a Palestinian state governed by reasonable people. It's a lot to hope for but this is the beginning. Trump is taking all the credit and I think a lot should also go to diplomats from Qatar and Egypt but his ego so is so big. He is flying there today, I think, to sign the agreement which he is so proud of.  Can't stand the man and I hate to read about the horrible deportations in the US of immigrants - that is hardly peace is it? Or his military interventions in big cities like Chicago. 

And there I was peacefully making boeuf stroganof for lunch when I realised  I had forgotten my video call with Nigel the writer and ex pupil of BGS: Finally we had it a bit late but it was most enjoyable and there was lots to tell each other. I later sent him lots of contacts of people who I knew would want to help too with his biography of the school in the 60's and its teachers. 

Storm Alice was brewing in South East Spain that day on the Valencian coast, including Alicante and Murcia where a lot of rain was forecast. The authorities who have learned from the disastrous management of  the big "Dana" storm in Valencia which killed so many people a year ago were more prepared this time. They ordered the closing of schools, big events and even camping sites. Thus I was very surprised to get a sudden  booking to stay at our apartment in Santa Pola that very day. Thankfully the place was clean and ready and dear Gina gave the girls the keys and showed them the flat. They were looking for accommodation as their concert had been cancelled and the campsite closed. Their misfortune was my fortune I suppose. I think they were a group of 5 girls who must have spent the time playing cards as it has rained non stop in that area. 

On Friday the first stage of the peace deal was ratified by the Israeli government and the ceasefire began. 

This is the outline. 

Outline of the peace deal

Only the first stage has been agreed to. How the rest will pan out will depend largely on Hamas who are supposed to disarm and leave government to other parties. Just yesterday Hamas began recalling its members to reassert control over Gaza causing internal fighting between the factions. 

After the beginning of the ceasefire there began the long road home for displaced Palestinians on their way back to Gaza City to find nothing but rubble. Remember Aleppo in Syria? This is far worse and Similar to what Berlin looked like at the end of the WW2.  This image I copied from The Times brings back memories of displaced people in WW2 or the migration after the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. 

Gazans wearily making their way back, not to their homes which have been destroyed but to where they lived before to hopefully, one day, rebuild their homes and their lives.

Shortly afterwards the Nobel Prize for peace was announced, the one that Trump was longing for. But it didn't go to him, it went to Maria Corina Machado from Venezuela. 

The 58 year old opposition leader lives in hiding and in fear of being jailed by Maduro, the country's dictator. She hasn't really brought peace to her country but was awarded the prize for "her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in the words of the The Norwegian Nobel Committee. Whether she will ever be able to do that remains to be seen. María is a very courageous woman. It also remains to be seen if she will be able to travel to Oslo for the prize which I very much doubt as she lives in fear of her life. I heard her take the phone call telling her she had won the prize. She could hardly believe it and kept saying "oh my God, I can't believe it". It will certainly spur her on in her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela. God help her. Trump was pretty furious and later said that the Nobel committee had prized politics over peace. Unbelievably later Machado dedicated her prize to Trump! Apparently he later spoke to her and said she had accepted the prize "in honour of him". Can his ego get even bigger?

All this was happening during our morning walk and these were the topics of our conversation.More mundanely I was thinking of possible menus for that night's dinner with Oli and family. In the end I made my trademark and trusty potato salad but I also dared make for the first time ever, cod fritters called "buñuelos de bacaloa". This was my potato salad. The ingredients are: potatoes, carrots, peas, chopped spring onion, chopped hard boiled eggs, prawns and home made mayonnaise. 

My trademark potato salad from a recipe I have inherited from my paternal grandfather and which comes from a Swiss recipe book I no longer have. 

Oli and family arrived a bit late and half way through our meal our French guests arrived from Bordeaux. I had to leave the table to greet them. Celine is a teacher of Spanish in France and her husband Bruno speak Spanish. They would be a group of 6 and we hardly saw them as they were always out. Only when I had settled them in could I return to the table. Shortly afterwards Oli and co left and we went to bed early. Well, we always go to bed early. 

Saturday came and Tana was rushing round doing her morning tasks as fast as possible so as to leave early for her weekend off.  We went on our walk and I came home to have coffee in the kitchen and then make our lunch. For the record I made another trademark dish - my version of Chicken Tikka Masala. But it was only Eladio and me for lunch yesterday so there is plenty left. Suzy was out with her bosom friend Copi and later told me she had had a better day than if she had stayed at home. 

And today is Sunday, Spain's national day  - not that we will be celebrating it - and today will be a lot like most of our Sundays these last few weeks. It will be another sunny day making our walk very pleasant but gone are the temperatures in the high twenties. However,  we can still expect 24ºc which I am sure is better than in my beloved Yorkshire or England in general. Hopefully Storm Alice will have waned by now and soon there will be sun again in Santa Pola as there nearly always is.

So that's it from me for this week. Wishing you a happy Sunday, cheers for now,

Masha