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