Madrid, Sunday 9th March, 2025
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| Suzy and Pippa with Elliot and Juliet on Monday |
Good morning everyone.
This has not been a good week although it had its highlights. It was not good for Europe and it was not good for Canada or Mexico because of a new tariff war. On the news front, it is all thanks to Donald Trump who has now halted any more military aid or security information to Ukraine. After the debacle at the White House where he and Vance bullied Zelensky, Europe has rushed to support the Ukrainian Premiere who Trump wants out. He would like to replace him with a puppet for Moscow. Meanwhile in London where Starmer held a meeting with many European leaders as well as Justin Trudeau, this grey British Premiere, somehow rose to the occasion as a proper statesman. He has created a "coalition of the willing" to come to the aid of Ukraine after Trump abandoned him, although the mineral peace deal is far from over. Apart from European countries, others could be Australia, New Zealand, Canada and even Turkey. I think he is taking the right role, together with Macron. Macron went as far as addressing the French nation on the danger to Europe given Trump's stance and even offered French nuclear weapons as an "umbrella". Putin likened him to Napoleon and told the public we all know how that ended. Well the Coalition of the Willing won't have to face General Winter as snow does not stop missiles. If Zelensky had been bullied and kicked out of the Oval Office, he couldn't have had a warmer welcome than in London. He even met with the King. If only I could have been a fly on the wall during their meeting.
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| The King of England with Zelensky last Sunday at Highgrove, a very different scene than at the White House a few days earlier. He also met with Justin Trudeau and is worried about Canada v Trump and will call for unity. |
The European Union rallied to the occasion too and are planning a defence plan to help Ukraine with a budget of 800 thousand million euros. However, that is paltry compared to the military power of Russia. Europe is in trouble and just has to make more of an effort. Can Europe beat Russia and the USA? I doubt it. But then no one ever thought Churchill could beat the Nazis. He did, but only with the help of the former. Is this history repeating itself? I think so.
On the home front it wasn't a good week either as you will read on. Last Sunday we woke up to cold and rain. It doesn't look like we will get any spring weather until the middle of the month. A cold front has hit the Spanish peninsula with strong rain and winds. The areas most affected are the Canary Islands, Andalusia, Catalonia, Murcia and, once again, Valencia. Everyone feared another "dana" but this time local governments were more prepared.
With the weather being so horrible, we didn't leave the house. I had a shower and then put my pyjamas straight back on again; far more comfortable that way. The highlight of Sunday was a Skype call with my dearest and oldest friend, Amanda who lives in Devon. When I visited not so long ago, the weather there was foul but when we spoke this week it was sunny. Unfair!
I woke up on
Monday to the news of the Oscars. The only film I am interested in seeing is Conclave but it only got a minor prize. The Catholic Church has always fascinated me, having gone to a Catholic school run by Irish nuns, as well as having married a Catholic priest, haha, whereby lies the interest. Thus I am following closely the health reports of Pope Francis who, aged 88, seems to be at the end of his life although he is still all there and this week recorded a few words of thanks to all the people praying for him in St. Peter's Square. He did it in Spanish, his native tongue and sounded very tired. I pray for him.
Monday was a local holiday to celebrate Carnival. I should have remembered pancake day but I didn't. Maybe that's a blessing as I am on week 3 of Mounjaro - the supposed appetite suppressing drug which so far hasn't worked on me but maybe it's early days.
I spent the day in my pyjamas and the morning working on my computer to submit a request for a Registry Number from the local Land Registry Office. I need one for each room I rent and for the group of rooms I rent. That took me all morning but when I had finished submitting all the documents I felt as if I had won a battle. I haven't as I still have to be given the stupid numbers but at least the process is working.
I did leave the house in the afternoon, going in my pyjamas with a coat on to accompany Eladio to pick up our grandchildren, Elliot and Juliet from an English academy called La Casita. Oli had sent them there as there was no school that day. They love that place and came out with a bag full of the things they had created during the English speaking practical lessons. They came back to have tea and biscuits with Suzy and I. She was still out of sorts since the weekend but made a huge effort to be with them and me. That's why I have chosen the photo I took of her with them that afternoon as this week's feature photo. It's the photo of the week. Our task was slightly easier that day as Juliet (who has worms by the way, hahahaha) was exhausted from such a full day and fell asleep on the sofa next to Pippa. Here they are together.
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| Juliet sleeping with Pippa next to her |
While she slept, we entertained Elliot. He wanted to have a running race, indoors of course, and I was to time him. He made me compete which was a huge laugh. Later we showed him clips from the famous film ET, because we thought he might like it but also because the protagonist has the same name as him. He was absolutely fascinated. Our grandparent duty was short that day as their father Miguel came quite early to pick them up.
Tuesday came and it rained again, robbing us of yet another walk. That day Trump enforced the 25% tariffs on imports into the US from Mexico and Canada and high tariffs on Chinese goods too. Canada had to retaliate against its will which made Trump furious, threatening to double any amount Canada imposed. Since then he has relaxed the measure but world trade is in a total mess because of this madman who wants to make America great again but isn't managing it. He will be imposing similar tariffs on EU countries and went as far as to say that the EU had been created to "screw the US". Far from it. You should know your allies and your foes and Russia is not your ally. Funnily enough, later in the week he seemed to change his tune, threatening Russia with sanctions if it didn't stop bombarding Ukraine. I'm not sure what to believe from the mouth of that awful orange faced man.
In Spain, meanwhile, our weak socialist government propped up by so many left wing and nationalist parties, announced it would be handing over the responsibility and handling of immigration in Catalonia to the local Catalonian government. This was blackmail from the fugitive Carles Puigdemon whose 7 votes help prop up our fragile coalition government. I have no time for him or for Pedro Sánchez who wants power at any cost. He now has to scramble to increase expenditure on defence material for Ukraine but he won't get any votes from his normal allies. This time he will have to depend on the right wing party, the PP which I'm sure he won't find funny or easy. But he always gets what he wants.
We had problems with Suzy that day which had already started at the weekend and would develop over the week bringing trouble to the family. She wanted money to go out but we cannot finance her drug addiction. When we said no we got a horrible threatening audio and then she went off in a huff, taking Eladio's old Volvo and didn't come back till late at night. We worried if she had left with no intention of coming back. Panicking, I went into her room to find 2 suitcases packed as if she meant to leave. However, she came back at around 9.30 and we were very relieved.
She missed more time with Elliot and Juliet while she was out as we had to pick them up again on Tuesday, this time from school. They had gone dressed for Carnival and here is Elliot with his Harry Potter outfit on. He looked great.
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| Elliot dressed up as Harry Potter this week for Carnival |
They behaved very well and we didn't have them for long as by about 6 pm Miguel came to get them. I had to go anyway as I had an appointment with my new GP, Elena C. She is lovely and reluctantly, but kindly prescribed me 2 more months of Mounjaro, this time with a higher dose - 5mg. Let's see if that works.
On Wednesday I had two more routine medical appointments, both at the private hospital, Quirón, in Pozuelo. The first was with the dermatologist to remove a "lipoma" from my back. This is the third I have had removed. They are benign lumps formed by fat but must be removed because if they burst they can be dangerous. That was easy peasy. Then at 10.30 I saw a gynaecologist for my annual check up. She was very efficient, did the horrible smear with great care and then gave me appointments for both a mammogram and eco mammogram. She also gave me an appointment for a bone density scan and told me that last year's had shown signs of weaker bones, a condition called osteopenia. Thankfully it is not osteoporosis and she recommended more calcium in my diet. I had left the house at 7.45 a.m. and wasn't home till 12. I felt shattered after the appointments but also because I had had only had 5 hours sleep.
After lunch Suzy had a meltdown which scared me stiff. She would't let me in the room where she was entrenched with the door locked with a key as it always is. But we had to go out to be with Juliet at a birthday party. Thankfully it was not for long and we were soon home. I knew something was brewing with Suzy since we got back from El Cuetu and we both felt powerless, knowing how little help we get from the state because she is an adult with rights and refuses medicine and therapy. Damn our government.
Thursday came and we took the difficult decision of ringing the emergency services. The medic who I spoke to told me they don't send psychiatrists and that if the patient is coherent and stable she would not be admitted to hospital. She sent a medic (and about 6 policemen) and we didn't hope for much. To cut a very long story short, the medic was very professional and did not succumb to Suzy's "I'm ok story". An ambulance took her to A&E and we followed behind even though she didn't want us there. Once there, the psychiatrist assigned to her came out to talk to us. Honestly he is the first mental health professional who has listened to us. He told us she would be admitted but as they didn't have any beds, she would be sent to another hospital. I felt relieved but guilty and so sorry for my daughter. I knew we were doing the right thing but if felt horrible and still does. It must be much worse for her, poor soul. That was trouble at home my friends, a trouble that never goes away. On the bright side, she is now registered in the health system in Madrid and they have her records. This time I don't have any high hopes of her continuing her medication or therapy when she is discharged but we will continue to fight for her to get better; for all of us to get better.
I had a house full of guests and life went on but my mind was focused only on my daughter. I watched the frightening documentary which won an Oscar, 20 days in Mariupol with Eladio that night. It should have been enough to take my mind off Suzy but it wasn't.
On
Friday our mission was to wait for a call from the new hospital, from another psychiatrist. It came at around midday and I can tell you it wasn't pleasant as the doctor was nothing like the young man who listened to us at the first hospital. She wanted me to summarise Suzy's problems in minutes on the phone with both of us on speaker and a bad line. I did not feel listened to. We should be hearing from her again tomorrow.
It was very sad to hear that day that my dear school friend, Maureen, who reads my blog, had lost her husband Philip this week aged only 76. She must be grief stricken. My heart goes out to her and all her family. She has lost her life partner, which I just cannot imagine happening. I wish I could have been in Yorkshire for his funeral. Damn.
In the afternoon I called Suzy during the allowed hours to call from 6 to 7 in the afternoons. I knew she wouldn't want to speak to me but I tried. Meanwhile all my reading is about her condition Chronic Delusional Disorder, which although severe, seems to be quite rare and there is little information to be found. As I took my 3rd dose of Mounjaro, I thought of Suzy who had administered me the first one. The house feels so strange without her presence, especially at meal times. Pippa is distraught with her absence and I am sure Suzy misses her too. Poor darling Suzy.
On Saturday, International Women's Day, I woke up to news of another death. Nacho Salcedo my colleague at Defex who I first met in 1981 and who went on to be my colleague when I recommended him to HR at Motorola, died at 03.50 that morning. He was well loved. He and his former wife, Peggy, an English woman like myself, were friends when we were younger. They were at our wedding and came to stay with us in England when my babies were born. They gave us our first beagle, Daisy, when Snuffles their English born beagle had a litter. Years later when Snuffles died, we gave them a puppy from one of our litters. Thanks to Peggy and Nacho we had a spate of breeding beagles, still my favourite breed of dog today.
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| Nacho (left) and I with Jesús and Oscar, two other Motorola colleagues at the Mobile World Congress in 2010. |
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| With my Defex colleagues. Nacho (far right) and Peggy (second from the left with her brother) at our wedding on 21st August 1983. I was 26 and Nacho was 27.He died far too young. RIP Nacho. PS the other two are Rosa (left of Eladio) and Beatriz (in between Nacho and me). |
We went out a lot and one of those nights sticks out in my mind and will never be forgotten. They lived in Alberto Alcócer and frequented a restaurant and bar nearby called Qüenco where we had dinner that night. Thanks to Nacho we later celebrated our wedding there. I remember after leaving the restaurant very late and as Nacho had drunk more than Eladio my husband had to drive his great big vintage Mercedes car around the main streets of Madrid, a type of car my husband had never driven. I think we got back to our flat at dawn, got refreshed and then went to work without having slept. We laughed and drank all night and that is how I want to remember you, a quiet fun loving person who everyone liked. I heard later that Peggy died in 2023 which is very young as she was only 10 years older than me. I also heard Nacho remarried last year but hasn't made his first anniversary. I hope he was happy although I am sure he was. Later in the day we went to the wake.
Oli and the kids came for lunch yesterday, taking my mind off Suzy (only a bit) and Nacho's death. I made "cocido madrileño". Later we resumed to the TV lounge where we joined Elliot watching one of his favourite films, Pete and the Dragon. At around 6 we had to leave and as Elliot is very interested in death he wanted to know all about Nacho. We told him we were going to his "wake" that afternoon and I laughed when he asked if that meant we were going to "wake" him up. If only
In Spain when someone dies, the wake takes place immediately with friends and family gathering to see the body at a funeral parlour. The body is then cremated or buried the very next day. The funeral parlour was in Pozuelo, not far from home. There I was to meet up with some colleagues from Defex whom I hadn't seen for over 35 years, such as Juan and Mar or Paloma. I remarked how it had to be Nacho who united us in his death. Yesterday was very moving but also in a way it made us get out of our bubble of worry and it felt strange to socialise but good at the same time. I was especially pleased to see my friends and colleagues from Motorola such as Gonzalo, his new girlfriend, Albisu, Carlos and Iñigo.
Today is Sunday and the funeral is at 10 am so I must rush to get this published. Wishing you all the very best, more news from me next week.
Cheers for now,
Masha
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