Tragic train crash caused by a fractured rail kills 45 in Spain, Oli reporting from Adamuz, Greenland sovereingty saved for the moment, funeral for Benito, the American dream has become a nightmare, precious family time and other stories of the week.

Madrid, Sunday 25th January, 2026.

Precious family time on Saturday 

Good morning everyone. 

What a tragic week it has been. Spain suffered the worst train crash in a decade with a death toll of 45 people in an accident that could have been avoided as we would find out during the week.

Last Sunday morning those who died that night after the crash of two trains in Adamuz on the Andalusia Madrid high speed corridor at around 7.45 pm, were going about their lives. How life can change to death in just a few minutes with no prior warning. We had a quiet Sunday although I was very upset about my friends' loss something only time can heal and then never properly.

 It was cold but sunny in Madrid that day and perfect for our walk.  Here is Eladio fastening little Pippa's harness as she always comes with us. Usually she needs her woolen jumper but not that day.

I love this picture of Eladio so lovingly preparing Pippa for her walk last Sunday

We were alone with all the guests gone, as well as Tana and Suzy at work. She has been a bit down lately but I think that after some cajoling from us, her mood has improved a bit. She always worries me. 

We heard about the train crash while watching the evening news in bed. At the time we were told that 2 had died. By the time I went to sleep the death toll had risen to 22 and to 39 in the morning until it reached 45 people. What on earth had happened? In the first place an Iryo train run by an Italian company which was heading to Madrid from Málaga and carrying 300 people, derailed from carriage 6 to 8 just outside Adamuz, in a remote part of Córdoba. That meant it fell on the opposite track. If it had just derailed and the traffic halted, there would probably have been no fatalities. But oh my God, just 20 seconds after it derailed another train, an Alvia (hybrid high speed train) carrying 180 people and heading from Madrid to Huelva, collided with the 3 carriages. The impact forced the first few carriages of the Renfe Alvia to fall down an embankment. That was also a fatality as it wasn't  until at least 45 minutes later that rescue forces get to it. Below is a very good diagram of the accident I found from a railway expert.

A diagram of the collision 

I woke up on Monday morning to read all this and was horrified. If only the second train hadn't been coming just 20 seconds after the first one had derailed. 

Spain is so proud of its high speed train network, the largest in Europe and the second longest in the world after China.  But I don't think anyone feels proud this week. Sad is the word or astounded. But of course accidents happen and it wasn't the only one this week. The others though happened due to external circumstances. With 4000 km of track the network connects most major cities in the country. In Spain the high speed network is called the "AVE" meaning a bird and I have taken it numerous times always feeling safe. I was on one of the first trains ever from Madrid to Seville during the Tour of Spain in 1992. It has grown so much since that most people today prefer the Ave to flying as it is much quicker. It boasts carrying 40 million passengers annually. Until now there has never been a fatal accident on a pure high speed train. The last major train crash which was in 2013, happened to an Alvia a hybrid version. It took place just outside Santiago de Compostela from where my daughter Olivia, a budding TV journalist at the time,  reported extensively on the crash. She would also be reporting from the site of this week's terrible crash in the very unknown village of Adamuz, until now.  With just 4000 inhabitants,  it is nestled in an area populated with nothing more than olive trees and is about half an hour away from Córdoba. The villagers rose to the occasion and some of them reached the site saving people's lives before the rescue people got there. There was an added complication in that the Alvia was almost unreachable after falling down an embankment, leaving it 800 km away from the first train.  Oli sent me lots of photos and was told she was being sent to cover the story of the villagers' involvement the next day. 

The Iryo train after derailing and being crashed into by the Alvia train.

Meanwhile, I had to rush off as I had an appointment with a doctor about what I though was oral thrush. I was to see a maxillofacial consultant at the local hospital, The Quiron, in Pozuelo. She took one look and told me it wasn't thrush but that I had a "geographic tongue". I had never heard of this apparently benign condition where the tongue goes red and feels inflamed and your taste buds are heightened so much you cannot stand even tooth paste. It creates a map like pattern, hence the name, when for unknown reasons the papillae move around leaving bare patches. She prescribed vitamins. I'm not sure whether they work or not but I can happily report it's much better now. Funny thing to have but thankfully it is benign. 

We followed the news of the crash after lunch and most of the week in fact. It really affected me and I know no one involved but even so. That very morning as they were rescuing people, the investigations began and lots of speculation too. From very early on the Guardia Civil found a broken track  which later turned out to be the reason for the derailment or so a preliminary report published on Friday.

The crack in the track that is being treated as the main cause of the derailment of the first train. 

An English railway expert I came across on Twitter (sorry, Z), called Gareth Dennis wrote that "the Adamuz crash has a clear and predictable mechanism, triggered with very high likelihood by a broken rail at a weld" and according to him "this failure can only be because of inadequate inspection and maintenance".  According to the report the rail investigation commission (CIAF), the 40 cm fracture occurred prior to the passage of the train. They know that from the notches seen on wheels of three earlier trains. The passage of the trains must have widened the crack until the disaster happened. It's difficult to envisage how 4000 km of rail track can be in a continuously perfect state without non stop maintenance.  The Minister in charge, Oscar Puente swears maintenance took place regularly on this track and elsewhere but cannot explain the fracture. The investigation will now centre on the metal piece of the track to find out why it cracked. It shouldn't have. The big worry is if this can happen again. Spain declared three days of official mourning so for the first few days no one tried to take political advantage of the tragedy. Now the opposition is having a field day. 

Meanwhile, Trump was playing his strange international political game. He published private letters to and from the Norwegian government and one from Macron. In his letter to the the Norwegian PM, he gripes about not getting the Nobel Peace Prize. In Spain, at least this week, he has garnered far less coverage than normal owing to our own tragedy. It was  a good break but didn't last. 

It was lovely to talk that afternoon with my dear friends Kathy and Phil. We had so much to tell each other. I do miss them and hope I can travel sometime this year to Yorkshire to be with them.

Oli had already travelled to Córdoba with her team and was reporting early in the morning from Adamuz. I followed her whole programme  on Tuesday morning and felt very involved when it finished. She interviewed a 16 year old boy called Julio from the village who has since become known as the "Angel of Adamuz". He and his mother and a friend were coming back from fishing and were one of the first on the scene. They helped pulls victims from the wreckage and Julio gave a victim his own shoes. He saved one man's life whose father said Julio was his son's "guardian angel". 

Olivia interviewing Julio the "angel of Adamuz" on Monday

For a boy aged 16 he spoke remarkably well on TV and was very erudite despite  his strong local accent. I wanted to know about his friend José's involvement and later Oli told me he just could not talk on camera. Here is the video of Oli's report and interview which I uploaded to my YouTube channel. Julio soon emerged as a national hero and was greeted by the King and Queen when they visited Adamuz that day. King Felipe told him  he saw the best of Spanish youth reflected him. There were many other heroes from Adumuz, a town which will always be associated with this dreadful crash. I love the stories of how they all rallied round and helped the victims through the night. 

Olivia later sent us a photo with a team from the French national broadcaster, TF1 she had bumped into in Adamuz.  She said it was the highlight of her day as she is so keen on French as you all know. 

Olivia happy to meet colleagues from TF1 while reporting from Adamuz

It was on Tuesday that Storm Harry hit Spain. It was because of the storm that another fatal train accident happened which claimed the life of a young trainee driver. It was an intercity train belonging to the Rodiales network in the Barcelona area which was hit by a landslide from a retaining wall dividing the track from the AP7 motorway. The wall collapsed on the train as it was passing by. It wasn't a problem of maintenance, just   sheer bad luck. The landslide was caused by the heavy rain brought about by Storm Harry. Since then 2 more train accidents were reported this week making everyone go jittery about the safety of trains in Spain.  One was in Cartagena where a building crane collided with the train and the other was in Asturias. Rock fell on the train as it came out of a tunnel. Thankfully, there were no fatalities on these last 2 accidents. 

On Wednesday I was looking forward to watching Oli interview Julio again but she never told me when she would be on so I missed her. It was a rainy day as Storm Harry continued to cause havoc mostly in the north of Spain. When my daughter returned home from Córdoba and her children were whinging, she said to them "hey family, we are alive". How right she was in saying that. Indeed, we are all alive and have nothing relevant to whinge about. 

We did not go for a walk as the weather was foul. Instead I spent part of the morning  cooking peacefully with Suzy. I made a chicken curry while she made a veg one and we ate in harmony together. I am glad to see that she is eating with us again, even if she only eats one meal a day.  I must tell you too that we shall be enjoying her Kings' Day present, an invitation for the 4 of us to have lunch at Honest Greens on 6th February. I look forward to that. 

Thursday was important for Greenland. World leaders and important people were meeting in Davos this week and Trump was there too, of course and that day announced a deal for Greenland.  I think the head of Nato, the former Dutch PM, Mark Rutte, must have got his ear and brought him to his senses about his obsession to claim Greenland.   I have been reading that Trump is often referred to as "TACO" and it's not the Mexican tortilla. It means "Trump always chickens out". I think the meaning is that he is extreme in his negotiating and aims higher than is imaginable just to get his objective. So, maybe, in the end he didn't really mean to claim Greenland  - which by the way he often referred to as Iceland by mistake - but to get what he wanted there; more NATO and US presence. I might be wrong or right I don't know with this man. The stupid thing is that with the current agreement signed between Denmark and the USA after WW2, all or most of what Trump wanted he already had, such as more US bases. Rutte must have got him to agree to more military presence of both the US and NATO on the biggest island in the world. For the moment Greenland's sovereignty is saved and the 25% tariffs imposed on the EU countries who sent troops, withdrawn. All that drama for what I ask?

While in Davos, Trump continued to advertise his latest scheme, his very own Board of Peace which many think he wants to put in place to rival the United Nations. On board now are some very dubious countries who have paid millions to be members. First on the agenda is turning Gaza into a sort of Middle East Miami. The UK and Spain have refused to become members. 

Nothing exciting was happening here that day or on Friday.  We went food shopping and it was lovely that Suzy joined us and got out of the house for once. Coffee at Alverán was the highlight although we had to have it inside as it was so cold. 

Storm Harry now turned into Storm Ingrid hit León where we are going tomorrow as well as Montrondo. We had toyed with going to Montrondo this weekend but couldn't even think of trying to get there because of a heavy snowfall. Eladio's sister rang worried about our car journey to León tomorrow as it was snowing there too that morning. The alternative is going by the AVE which for the moment  neither of us wants to do. Hopefully by tomorrow all the roads will be clear. We are going and coming back on the same day. It's to meet with Eladio's siblings to finally sign papers and get individual deeds for the houses and plots of land we have in Montrondo. 

On Friday we had an important engagement in Madrid. It was to go to the funeral of our friend Benito  who passed away just before Christmas. You will have read about his passing away when I wrote a while back. What a sad Christmas for his wife and life time partner Loli. They are our oldest friends in Spain and we met them when we lived in Saconia in about 1981 or 1982 and have kept in touch always. Here is a photo of the four of last year just before Christmas. No one knew it would be Benito's last. How sad.

With Benito and Loli on 10th December last year at Filandón.

We went by car and metro to the church in Madrid where the funeral was held. The Iglesia de Santa Teresa and Santa Elena is beautiful. I'm not sure but I think it is where they first met and fell in love. Benito, like Eladio, was a man of the cloth too so we share similar romantic beginnings. They were both teachers like Eladio so we had a lot in common. 

Just before the funeral began, Loli asked Eladio to read one of the lessons which I thought was very touching. But sadly, very sadly, when he saw the text shown to him by the priest, he had to decline because of his poor eyesight. Eladio has degenerative macular disease in both eyes and can only read if the text is very big. The funeral was very fitting with lovely music - an organ player and male singer. We were happy to see too a very big turn out at the lovely church. When the mass was over we paid our condolences once again to Loli and then slipped out quietly into the dark and cold night in the centre of Madrid. In Spain there is no tradition of a wake; food and drink after a funeral which I always find a little lacking but that's how it is. 

We were home late but on time for a little something to eat. We coincided with the arrival of one our guests, Mar who Pippa was barking at madly. I haven't seen our other two guests, Leonardo and Dani but hope their stay was uneventful.

Saturday dawned and the sun shone. I had something to smile about yesterday as Oli and family were coming for dinner that night.

The sun didn't shine in Minnesota and no one was smiling.  It is freezing cold there and as you know there is huge unrest after Trump's thugs - the ICE immigration forces - 2000 of them - are hunting for illegal immigrants. This is part of Trump's crack down on immigrants. Since he came to office last year there have been 2.2 million self deportations and more than 675.000 deportations, almost all of them carried out in a disgusting and cruel way. ICE are even detaining small children. Yesterday they shot a young man who was protesting as many locals are because they cannot comprehend what is happening and are appalled. His name was Alex Pretti and he was a 37 year old nurse born and bred in the States. ICE are even going after their own citizens. They claimed he was brandishing his gun when he wasn't. All I can say is that the US is a monster government with a monster at the helm. This cannot be happening and reminds me of how Hitler's thugs went after Jews in Germany before and during WW2. This is history repeating itself in the USA, the very country that opened its arms to survivors of the War. It beggars belief. It really does. What happened to liberty, equality, democracy and the rule of law, all values of the US Constitution? I am infinitely glad I live in Spain where we have our problems but none like this. But my heart goes out to those immigrants living in fear of deportation, not daring to leave their houses. Their American dream has become a nightmare. 

Our day was quiet. Tana left for the weekend and our guests were in class at the University. We went for our walk and had a pleasant lunch with Suzy. It was in the late afternoon I prepared our family dinner and made meat loaf with oven baked root vegetables to go with it. For the first time ever we were to taste dark purple carrots I had found at Carrefour. 

Oli and family, meanwhile, were at a Judo competition, Elliot was participating in. And my goodness, he came second, quite a feat. Here is a picture to remember the day and his win. I love his blue kimono.

Elliot came 2nd in the judo competition he participated in yesterday

After a sleepless siesta, I went down to the kitchen to prepare our dinner but got a bit waylaid when our friend Loli rang me to thank us for going to the funeral. She didn't have to thank us as we wanted to be there. As Loli is from Seville, we spoke about the train accident. Would you believe 2 of her ex colleagues were in carriage number 5 of the Iryo train accident and made it to the funeral? Carriage 5 was saved as it didn't derail. The train shuddered and stopped but they didn't know what had happened even when they got them out. They were led to the village of Adamuz and from there went by bus to Madrid. Only when they saw the images on the TV did they realise the magnitude of the accident they had escaped. They are still reeling from the shock of it.

Oli and family came early and we had quality time together. It was Juliet who said she wanted a photo with her grandparents and thus we had  a photo session in the kitchen with me, as usual, in my pink dressing gown which I seem to live in. I have chosen one of them as this week's feature photo and here is one of Oli and her family together.

A lovely picture from last night

With no Tana to help, we all lent a hand clearing up the dinner. I think the kids had a grand time when we played charades and hide and seek. We had a lovely time last night - quality time with the family. 

Today is Sunday, the guests have left, Tana is away and Suzy is at work and will later have lunch with Oli and Elena at Honest Greens. Thus we are on our own, something that doesn't often happen in this house so we shall enjoy it.

That's it for now friends and readers and cheers till next Sunday,

Masha

An uneventful, cold and rainy week in January, all eyes on Iran, Greenland, Venezuela and Minnesota and other stories of the week

 Madrid, 18th January, 2026

Coffee at Alverán this week

Good morning on another wet and cold day in January. Oh how I long for warmer days. Don't you? I must have the post Christmas blues. When my 4 year old granddaughter,  Juliet, came this week she wanted to know where all the decorations were and I had to tell her that sadly, Christmas was over.

As I sit down to write about my week I'm just wondering what to tell you. But perhaps a week with no news is good news. When nothing bad happens we have to count our blessings. My heart goes out this week to a very close friend who is battling a loss; something no one should have to go through and my mind has been on her all week. I wish I could be nearer to comfort her. Bless you, my love. Anything I write now pales in comparison but I must soldier on. That is something my father always taught me although it is not always easy to do so. 

So let me commence. Last Sunday we were alone until Houssam, the Lebanese seafood lover who lives in Dubai, and his son, Alex arrived. He left this morning and was  a pleasure to host. Elliot, my 6 year old grandson who has an obsession with the world's tallest buildings, met my guest and when we told him Houssam was from Dubai he said that's where the Burj Khalifa is built. He went on to draw it, perfectly I must say,  and told us falteringly that it is 829m high. In May Oli and Miguel are taking the kids to Paris. It will be their first time on an airplane  and Elliot is dying to see the Eiffel Tower. This week he told me all about the World Trade Centre and what became known as 11th September. Bless him; he asked if it had happened when he was born. I patiently explained he was born in 2019 and it happened as we all know in 2001. I love his enthusiasm for learning, that earnest little face of a boy who this year will turn 7. When did that happen? 

Of note that day I slept a 2 hour siesta, something unheard of but I have to grab my sleep when I get it. My entertainment that day and most days this week has been re watching Season 1 of The Night Manager and starting on Season 2. I can highly recommend both if you like good old British made spy stories. 

Monday, like most days this week was cold and rainy. It was not cold and rainy in Iran where the streets were bloodied from the Revolutionary Guards striking down  protesters. The protests began at the end of December over the economy and have turned into calls to topple the authoritarian strict Islamic government. Since then  3000 people have been killed and over 10.000 arrested. Some activist groups estimate these figures to be far higher. Meanwhile the Ayatollah regime has more or less cut off Internet and Trump threatened to attack the country. He then went back on his word after hearing the government would not go ahead with planned executions for some protesters but urged the people to carry on demonstrating.  I don't think anyone knows what is going to happen next.

Neither do we know what is going to happen to Greenland which Trump wants to get for the US for their "security" by hook or by crook. This can't be happening but it is. The US already has military bases on the island which he says will be taken by Russia or China if he doesn't take it which is bullshit. The whole issue is a bullet in the heart of Nato which was set up by the USA in 1949 when Truman was President. This week a commission from Denmark and Greenland met with Trump's Government in Washington. They got nothing out of it and once outside the White House I saw the Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Rasmussen light up a cigarette. He was quickly joined, in solidarity, I imagine, by Greenland's Foreign Minister, Vivian Motzfeldt. That moment went viral. As a fellow smoker and great admirer of the Nordic countries, they had my solidarity too. The Danes are very pragmatic and easy going, reserved but friendly and have a deep sense of justice and equality as well as a wonderful sense of humour. But they will not be laughing about Trump wanting Greenland. They will be appalled. It's like WW2 again with Trump at the helm. The Greenlanders may have their issues with belonging to Denmark but they have made it clear this week they do not want to belong to the US and would prefer the status quo. Since the meeting, Copenhagen has increased its military presence and small units of troops from other NATO allies, including Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and Finland and Holland, have also been deployed. The Danish PM warned Trump that any US move against Greenland could end the Atlantic Alliance. Unfortunately the story won't end there. Trump is on a mission and he gets what he wants. We are in the hands of an autocratic dictator who has now threatened those countries with troops in Greenland 25% on tariffs for goods sold to the US. 

Life continued for us and that day saw us taking the train to the Principe Pío station to get a replacement senior citizen travel card after mine was stolen in December. I don't know when I will be using it again but it's nice to have. I was out again in the afternoon, this time to see Conchi, my hairdresser. I had my hair cut and roots done for a paltry 16 euros. I don't care if her salon hasn't been refurbished since the 70's and is quite shabby, she does a great job and is fast and cheap. 

On Tuesday I had a complicated morning. I had problems with my digital certificate and then spent useless time trying to find out more about the latest obstacle to Airbnb owners in Spain. Apparently the government wants us to submit a list of all our guests and what they came for their statistics and our headache. It is supposed to be complied with by 1st February but I cannot find anything to fill in on the Land Registry website. What a pain. It really got me in a bad mood but I cheered up when we went on our walk and decided not to let it bother me. I will cross that bridge when it comes to it. Spain has a huge housing crisis in that young people cannot get on the property ladder for love or money and they government wants to put the onus on Airbnb hosts which is a drop in the ocean. The real problem is that they don't have enough affordable housing and never have. The government also consistently tries to intervene in the rental market; mostly second homes hard working Spaniards have invested in but that's not on either. The only solution is building more affordable housing and that's what they have to do dammit. 

Wednesday came and I was up at 5 in the bl**** morning. I was bushed all day. At 10 am I had an appointment with the eye specialist for a general check up. I don't do many of them but because Eladio has degenerative macular disease which is age related, I thought I should have mine checked. After all the tests I was happy to hear all was well, my corneas and optical nerves were fine as was the macula in both eyes. Great stuff I thought. 

I came home to find a group of South American gardeners trimming and pruning the garden which has to be done once a year. They were to come back on Saturday but it rained so heavily they will be coming again next week. Oh how desolate the garden looks at this time of year and after the trimming and pruning.  Most people pay them in cash. No one wants to pay tax and the workers who are probably illegal don't want to declare their earnings. Spain's submerged economy which is about 18 to 20% of its GDP, significantly higher than in other EU countries, apparently  just a paltry 200 or 300 billion euros. Is that bad I ask myself? I imagine my hairdresser doesn't pay her taxes either but as salaries are so low here and housing so expensive, sometimes there is no choice. And if you are officially self employed even if you don't earn anything one month you still have to pay taxes. I was self employed for 2 years and the tax was horrendous. 

Thursday dawned and I slept a bit better. Oli had the day off and came to study some French and then make more perushki. She spent quality time with Suzy but not with us as we were about to go out and do the shopping when she arrived. I came home to make the lunch which would be the boeuf stroganoff, one of my favourite dishes all time. This was it.

The boeuf stroganoff I made this week

It's always known to be a dish fit for the tsars and its origins come from the wealthy Stroganoff family from St. Petersburg. However, they had a Fench chef so maybe the origin is more French than Russian. Today it includes onions, mushrooms and wine but originally it was just sauteed beef cubes with a mixture of mustard and smetana (sour cream). The beef has to be the best and most tender. In Spain that is "solomillo" which is tenderloin or filet mignon which cost me a small fortune. But it was delicious.

While we were enjoying the stroganoff, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado was on her way to the White House to meet Trump. She took with her her prize to share with Trump. There was much news about her giving it to him this week but it cannot be given to another person. No way. She had to butter up his ego I suppose though if she is to have any say in the future of Venezuela. Just before the meeting Trump, the de facto leader of the country, praised the new President, Dency Rodriguez who has stepped into the left wing dictator Maduro's shoes while he fests in a cell in Brooklyn. Meanwhile very few political prisoners have been released. The world seems to have got used to the news that  Trump intervened in Venezuela and applied the "Monroe Doctirne" which seeks to have power over the whole of the American continent. The US has consistently tried to quash the threat of communism over the years in its "back yard". Remember Nicaragua supporting the Contras against the Sandinistas, Chile, the coup against Allende and putting Pinochet in power, Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala and now Venezuela. And if the right wing President Milei had not won the elections in Argentina, he would have intervened there too. The world looks on and can do nothing. 

His own back yard is also Minnesota where thousands of his  thugs from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have been seen cracking down on protesters after the unlawful  killing of Nicole Good last week. Scenes coming out of Minnesota are very similar to those we are seeing in Iran. Trump is just as bad as the autocratic dictators he wants to eliminate elsewhere. Where will this lead us to. Some say to a police state where he will be able to enter a third term of presidency in three years time which is fundamentally against the US Constitution. It is happening now and no one has the power to stop the man who says he needs no international law but relies on his own morality. 

Friday came and it seems as if January is whizzing past. I did lots of cooking after our big shop the day before. By 10 I had ready to make or already made; a chicken noodle soup, a cocido stew, waldorf salad as well as stuffed shoulder of lamb which we had for lunch that day. Some of the rest was just batch cooking and some was for serving for dinner that night when Oli and family were coming.

Dinner with them was the highlight of the week and joy of joys Suzy joined us. We had a grand time eating and enjoying their company. It was good to have them over; a real tonic.But it didn't turn out well for Suzy who was sick that night and couldn't go to work yesterday. I think it must have been eating rich food after a week of fasting. 

We didn't leave the house on Saturday as it rained all day. I was a bit bored really as I had no cooking to do nor any admin work for my rental business which is very quiet at the moment. And today, Sunday,  Houssam will be leaving and we won't have any new guests until the weekend. I suppose it is  a respite. I am rather fed up of this cold and rainy weather and Eladio and I are trying to decide what to do for my birthday. He even suggested a few days in the Canary Islands. I don't think we will go but I have been looking at the temperatures there and they are not that great either. Anyway, watch this space.

And that's it from me my friends for this week, a very quiet week in cold and wet January. Here's hoping next week will be better.

All the best till then,

Masha

Trump's own morality is the only thing stopping him, the origins of "trifle", quiet Kings' Day at home, Christmas is over, Oli and family in Santa Pola and other stories of the week

 Madrid, Sunday 11th January, 2026

Kings' Day with my grandchildren, Juliet and Elliot

Good morning friends and readers. 

I don't know whether I am reeling from the end of Christmas or from Maduro's abduction in Venezuela and Trump's threats to Greenland, Mexico, Colombia and Cuba. This week he said something along the lines of "I don't need international law, my own morality is the only thing that can stop me". That is very worrying to hear as we know that he lacks morals. He loves the world's attention of his frightening actions and seems to thrive on what people say about him, be it good or bad. It's obvious we have a psychopath in the White House who won't stop at anything to get his way. It's obvious too he doesn't give a damn about international law as he showed when he ordered the abduction of dictator Maduro. So when he says he wants Greenland, this time I believe him. We are living in a new world and it is not a brave one. The west is frightened of Trump, worried about trade, when Europe should get its act together and stand up to him. But we don't and so he carries on. The world is in the hands of psychopaths in Russia, China and the USA and where does that leave Europe and the rest of the world? I don't know. All the rules have changed and I cannot guess; only worry.

Last Sunday was a day to remember. Oli and family were with us all day and the children were looking forward to Kings' Day when they would get even more presents. 

They were coming for lunch on Monday 5th, traditionally "Kings' Night" as on the day itself,the 6th, they would be spending it at Miguel's mother's place. For the occasion I made a "cocido"  - a well loved chickpea, meat and vegetable concoction and then a very British dessert, a strawberry trifle. This was it.

My trifle

It's one of my favourite puddings and as I was making it I wondered why it's called trifle. AI told me it comes from an old French word, trufe or trufle meaning something of little importance and that's because it was made of humble ingredients such as old sponge cake. Trufe or trufle also means something easy to assemble which this pudding really is. The name might point to easy to make origins but modern day versions are much grander with jelly and cream and fruit. However, I would question AI's answer because trifle in English means the same, a trinket or something of little value. Whatever its origin, we all enjoyed my trifle on Monday and over the next few days too as, as usual, I made far too much.

I was up at 6 that morning making the dessert and cocido, wrapping King's Day presents and only when I finished could I go out to do more errands. They are never ending. I also accompanied Oli to a routine doctor's appointment. We parted ways and I went to get 2 roscones (Kings' Day cakes), one with whipped cream and one without. Spaniards traditionally make or buy a roscón for the 6th January. This is what the cream filled one looks like.

Spanish "Roscón de Reyes" - Kings' Cake

Panettones have caught on in Spain but will never replace the far tastier roscón which is steeped in tradition. Inside there is usually a hidden bean and a hidden king. Who finds the figure is considered lucky and who finds the bean must pay for the roscón the following year. This is part of the magic of the 3 Kings tradition in Spain. 

Once home I went for our walk with Eladio. My head was full of the things I had to do to put the cocido on the table for lunch, I probably wasn't looking, stumbled and fell flat on my face; thankfully on my side so I didn't hit my head or my back. Oh dear I am so clumsy always falling. Eladio somehow got me up and I arrived home covered in mud and soil. After cleaning myself up I was back in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to our lunch which everyone enjoyed. 

The kids didn't stay long as at 5.30 they had to be at the Kings' Parade, a lovely event hosted by nearly every town and village in the country; the arrival of Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar. That brought back memories of our taking the girls to the parade when they were small. We once went with Elliot and Juliet but no longer - we are getting too old for such things I am afraid.

Instead we watched Nicolás Maduro and his wife being taken to court in New York. It's as if Trump wanted to show off his prize and what a spectacle was made of their transfer with hands cuffed and cavalcades of security cars. Maduro chose the same lawyer as Julian Assange and as predicted, pleaded not guilty. The trial won't begin until March so he will have to stew in a small cell at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn. In Venezuela he lived in 8 different luxurious locations and lived off the money his countrymen were deprived of, in obscene wealth which coming from a communist leader does not sit well. I think it will do him good to see how the other side lived, or rather how the people he jailed, those who opposed him had to live, except that conditions in Venezuelan jails are even more frightening and include torture chambers. This will be torture for him I suppose. He has certainly got his comeuppance. However, his countrymen are still just as badly off. He has been deposed but the regime remains intact, the same cruel regime he led. Now it is his second in command, the notorious Delcy Rodríguez who is the President but she has to kowtow to Trump if she wants to continue in power. He, meanwhile, says he is in charge albeit remotely of the country and has grabbed the oil which is the main reason he wanted Maduro out. Venezuela has tons of oil but it's bad quality and the infrastructure is decades old. He wants the big US oil companies to invest there and then see the gains but they are reluctant and I tend to understand them. 

Tuesday 6th January was Kings' Day and the last day of Christmas in Spain. It was very quiet at home as Oli and the kids wouldn't be coming until the afternoon. We heard from her that they got up at 5.30 in the morning because of the excitement. They spent the rest of the day at their other grandmother's where they were plied with so many gifts I doubt they even know what they had been given. I noticed this Christmas that what they like best is just tearing off the wrapping with hardly a look at what is inside. Knowing this, I only got them 2 presents each and pretty small ones. 

It was just Suzy, Eladio and I for lunch and I made a Chicken Waldor Salad which we had followed by more trifle. We had hardly touched the roscones and I now have one in the freezer for next year as in the afternoon Oli brought yet another one:-( 

They arrived at about 6.30 and we were waiting for them around the Christmas tree. I managed to get  a couple of photos with the kids before they pounced on the presents, hahaha. I chose one of them for this week's feature photo and here is one with little Elliot.

With Elliot on Kings' Day

And here is one of my girls with Oli showing her present. I realised later I had given jumpers to everyone and 3 of them were striped. I do love my stripes hahaha.

My girls on Kings' Day

When they left, that was Christmas officially over. It had been the quietest Kings' Day ever. 

I didn't have the heart to take down the Christmas decorations on Wednesday 7th, which by the way was Russian Christmas. We left it until Thursday.

 Oli and family left that day for Santa Pola to relax there after Christmas until their return today. January is not the best time to go to the beach but the weather was kind to them and they even ventured into the sea. Just look.

Juliet and Elliot playing in the waves in Santa Pola

While they were there they made the most of their time. They visited the castle in Alicante, went to the beach, to the Museum of the the Sea in Santa Pola, the palm tree park in Elche and also the railway museum there. Here are some photos to remember their stay.

Oli and family having fun in and around Santa Pola this week

I am glad they had a good time. They will have gone to the weekly Saturday market yesterday and bought local fruit and veg . I hope they bring us some oranges. 

Eladio and I went out but not to the sales which started on the 7th January and which I nearly always ignore. We had a coffee at Centro Oeste and went to get a prescription after which we came home for our morning walk we never like to miss.

I must not forget to mention something terrible that happened on Trump's own turf that day in Minnesota and happened thanks to the bully tactics he has allowed his feared ICE agents to apply to immigrants. A woman called Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old US citizen and not an immigrant but  an ordinary mother of three was shot and killed by one of his ICE agents  who did so in cold blood. Trump's stooges claim the woman was an agitator who tried to run over the agents with her car. She did no such thing and they had no right at all to kill her. What is happening in America reminds me of the beginnings of Nazism. Freedom is being slowly eroded in the US. There, I have said it. 

On Thursday Eladio wore his new striped jumper with its fashionable quarter zip. I had to have a photo of my handsome husband. 

Eladio looking smart in his new jumper from Zara which was his Kings' Day present

I got another one after he taken it off when I took a photo of him with the empty Christmas box about to take down all the decorations. This is it and it signalled the end of Christmas.

Taking the decorations down  means Christmas is finally over

Our peace was over as a family as that day our first guest of the year arrived; Mar. Then Leonardo arrived on Friday and a Lebanese man called Houssam is arriving today from Dubai to install his son at the local University. His wife who is from Belarus made the strangest request I have ever had from a guest in my 8 years as a host. She wanted to know which all you can eat seafood restaurant I could recommend in the vicinity as her husband is crazy about seafood. I was stumped as there are no all you can eat restaurants that I know of in Spain, never mind seafood ones. Probably Dubai has lots, but not so here. For once I couldn't help. Airbnb recognised my efforts that day when they awarded me with Superhost status for the 34th quarter in a row. Wow. I got 4.9 out of 5 stars which is great but last year I got 5. The score went down because of a nasty retaliatory 1 star review from a nasty lady from Ecuador. But I was still pleased. 

It was on Thursday that the Venezuelan government, probably prompted by their new owners, the USA, released some of their 800 political prisoners, but just a few. 5 of them were Spanish. It was big news here but journalists were thwarted when they were scuttled out of the airport and sent straight to their homes so they could not be interviewed. I think that might have been part of the deal with the Venezuelan government. Meanwhile, Trump has intervened quite a few oil tankers in the Caribbean with sanctioned oil destined for China probably. He intends to keep the oil. 

Friday was another quiet day in January after Christmas. I don't like the beginning of January and I never have.  We did the food shopping and then our walk. The highlight of the afternoon was my Facetime video call with Amanda who I hadn't spoken to since I left Devon on 15th December. There was so much to catch up on. Lovely to talk to you my friend.

Saturday came and saw me spend part of the morning at A&E at the private hospital Monteprincipe in Pozuelo. I had a sore tongue which was really bothering me. Turns out I have oral thrush which I wouldn't wish on anyone as it's very hard eating. Hopefully it will get better soon with the treatment I have been given.

We had lunch on our own as Suzy is fasting after Christmas and Tana was not around. She was supposed to be leaving for her weekend off but isn't feeling too good. I hope she gets better soon. We then watched the news which we always do and apart from Trump reordering the world, there is big trouble in Iran. Demonstrations have been going on for weeks. The people are fed up with the government - who blames them? It all started when the local currency crashed but it has developed into something so big I think the Ayatollah Khomeini may well be planning to flee the country. The government has literally turned off Internet - ah but some people have Elon Musk's Starlink - has killed 48 people and detained more than 2000. Trump has threatened to intervene if the killings continue. So we have a big issue in Iran. I honestly hope the regime is toppled. But I'm not sure I want the Sha's Peacock Emperor son returning to rule the country. Apparently he crowned himself in Egypt not so long ago. I feel for the people of Iran, especially the women for whom life must be very limiting.

Today is Sunday and I have come to the end of my tales of the week. For us it was a pleasant week. For the world it was a worrying one. I shall leave you now to get on with the day. 

Cheers for now, Masha. 

Outing to the centre of Madrid with Elliot and Juliet, our quiet New Year's Eve, lunch with Julio at El Filandón, Trump attacks Venezuela and captures President Maduro and other stories of the week.

 Sunday 4th January, 2026

On the tube with Juliet and Elliot this week

Good morning everyone and thank you for reading my first post of the year. 

 I hope the New Year has started well for you. It has for me in many ways, not so for those who lost their lives in a bar in Switzerland on NYE when it set on fire, nor so for Nicolás Maduro, now ex President of Venezuela and awaiting a trial in the US. Wow! That is huge but let me come to it later

Our Christmas continued quietly and last Sunday was not much different. It was  the day Brigitte Bardot died, the famous French actress and pro animal activist. She would not see in the New Year and neither would many others who lost their lives this year. Names that come to mind are Robert Redford, Claudia Cardinale, Giorgio Armani, Pope Francis, Diane Keaton, Marianne Faithful, Jane Goodall, Frank Ghery, Boris Spassky, Gene Hackman, Richard Chamberlain, Jean Marie Le Pen, the Duchess of Kent, Aga Khan, Frederick Forsyth, Joanne Trollope, Tom Stoppard, Jilly Cooper and Mario Vargas Llosa. Neither did our friend Benito who died on 23rd December and my heart goes out to his widow Loli. 

I cooked a lot of veg that day as after so many carbs, my body was crying out for healthy food. It's terrible how badly we eat at  Christmas. In a way I look forward to back to normal on 7th January when Christmas is officially over in Spain. Suzy had lunch with George who gave her a bottle of wine for me - thank you George. 

While I was watching the BBC Call the Midwife Christmas Special, Zelensky was in Mar A Lago with Trump for a peace meeting. It may sound good on paper but Putin won't back it so we are back to square one. 

On the bright side, that day we got a wedding invitation from our goddaughter, Alicia, who is getting married at the end of August. That will be another lovely family wedding to look forward to.

My cough continues, mostly thanks to my smoking and that night was one of the worst. I  was up later on Monday morning. We had lots to do that day. The Volvo was towed to the garage to get a new battery, fuel came for the central heating and only then could we venture out. We went to do the Kings' day present shopping and now I have everything ready for Kings' Day on 6th January. It's a big thing in Spain although they also have Father Christmas. 

Tuesday was the highlight of my week when I went into Madrid with Oli, Miguel and the kids. We left the car at the metro station. Taking the train into the centre was very exciting for Juliet and Elliot. I have chosen a photo of me with them on the train as this weeks' feature photo. I love it.

We got off at Plaza de España and joined the crowds walking up Gran Via to the Puerta del Sol. The place was very crowded. The kids don't usually venture much further than Boadilla where they live so Tuesday was exciting for them and us. And here are the four of them in the Puerta del Sol where the next day people would be ringing in the New Year to the chimes of the clock in that most famous square.

Oli and family in Puerta del Sol this week

From there we took the kids to the Plaza Mayor to the Christmas market to buy them joke items from the stalls there. They were in their element, especially when Miguel bought them bangers from the street sellers, who looked as though they were mostly from the Indian Subcontinent. 

Oli and family in the Plaza Mayor 

Miguel did the typical thing people do in the Plaza Mayor and that is buy a "bocadillo de calamares" - a sandwich filled with squid. Sounds awful but it's tasty. It was then that I bumped into Carmen, or "Carmencita", a lovely girl, now aged 50, who used to be my intern at Nokia. How lovely to see her again. We spoke for ages and Oli took a photo of the two of us. 

With "Carmencita" who I bumped into this week in Madrid

Carmen left Nokia to set up a music school with her partner Mupi, called Marand. They had huge success and it is now an academy that feeds Madrid's "Broadway" with young singers. Very sadly, Mupi passed away last year which must have been a huge set back for my friend. But she is soldiering on. It was lovely to see her.

We came home for lunch and all ate spag bol which I had prepared before we left. 

Wednesday 31st was the last day of the year. I did lots of food shopping as we were hosting the New Year's Eve dinner at home. My contribution was perushki and Chicken Waldorf Salad. Oli came with bags of food to make at home. And thank goodness we had Tana to help. She made two lovely dishes; little red peppers stuffed with prawns and mushrooms and phyllo pastry rolls stuffed with some pork creation. It was lovely to cook together and the table looked divine when we sat down. Only missing was Suzy who rang in the New Year with her friend Copi at a small dinner party nearby. 

New Year's Eve dinner this week

As usual, Oli borrowed one of my dresses to wear that most important of nights and she looked lovely. Here is a photo of her with her beautiful children just before we sat down to eat.

Olivia and her gorgeous children Elliot and Juliet on NYE

We are not great fans of celebrating New Year's Eve and I think if Oli and family hadn't been coming, we would probably have gone to bed early. In fact, for the first time ever, we did not stay up until 12 to watch the New Year come in and thus we didn't eat the grapes. Oli and Miguel took them home to eat at 12 midnight. 

Thursday was the 1st of January and the first day of the year. It was to be just the four of us for lunch that day and I made roast lamb with all the trimmings which even Suzy ate with gusto. But first for our walk in the cold. I can't wait for better weather and longer days. Once home I got my lovely iPad out to watch the Vienna  New Year Concert while creating our wonderful lunch. I was soon joined by my two daughters and we watched it together. And this was our lunch which we were still eating yesterday, hahaha.

New Year's Day lunch, roast lamb and all the trimmings including Yorkshire pudding and mint sauce.

As we had no one to take a photo, we took a selfie. 

Our New Year's Day lunch with the girls

Dessert was apple crumble made by me which we are also still eating. Oh dear, this has got to stop.

Oli and Suzy later went to be with Copi and her mother while we had our proverbial siesta. I was going to watch more of Line of Duty when I spied The Sound of Music on the BBC iPlayer. It's such a Christmas thing to watch.

Friday came, 2nd January, the day of our second Christmas lunch engagement with Julio. But first for a walk and this time I naughtily took Eladio to have some churros except that only I had them  - well, a "porra" with coffee actually. 

We left for the lunch just before Oli came with her family as they were going to have theirs with Suzy and eat all the leftovers from NYE. We drove to El Filandón, a restaurant we always love going to. Julio was there waiting for us and we had lots to talk about while eating the delicious food this popular and upmarket restaurant has to offer. Afterwards we exchanged Christmas gifts. I bought a three piece outfit for Julio from Zara and he got Eladio a wonderful bottle of wine and a new perfume for me by Guerlain. It's Aqua Allegoria Forte Florabloom. I usually use their Mandarin Basilic but wanted to try their more flowery version. I love it.

As we left, we got a passerby to take a photo of the three of us outside El Filandón which is so beautifully decorated at Christmas.

Lunch with Julio this week at El Filandón. Superb

We came home to find Oli and the kids here and all their usual mess, hahaha. We had hoped for a siesta but Elliot and Juliet weren't having it. It was lovely having fun in our bedroom with them. Eventually Oli gathered them up and took them home and we resumed our siesta. Would you believe I slept until 7 pm? Wow, I needed it.

On Saturday we woke up to the news that Trump, as he had threatened, had attacked Caracas. He had also captured or kidnapped Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Weeks before Trump had urged Maduro to resign which he didn't but I didn't think he would have the nerve to attack a foreign country and kidnap its president, even if he is a despot and fixed the elections to continue in power. Trump wanted his guts for garters. In a huge military build up, not seen since the Cold War, the US President threatened him, accusing him of narco-terrorism and of filling the US with lethal drugs and of course immigrants. Since he took power, 8 million Venezuelans fled the country - the population is 28 million. Over a million of them are in the US and half a million in Spain. I don't like Maduro but I don't like the way Trump did this with no international legal backing. We had our eye on the news all day and it was only in the afternoon when we learned that Maduro and his wife were on a US military ship on their way  to New York. Trump published the first photo of the ex President with his eyes covered and in handcuffs. What a picture.

First image released of Maduro in captivity

In a press conference held from Mar A Lago later in the day, Trump confirmed the couple would be tried in New York  for Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, cocaine importation, among other crimes. He will probably live the rest of his life in an American prison. Not nice. We watched the press conference and my conclusion is that Trump wants his hands on Venezuelan oil or rather that this was hi main objective. He also wants to make sure the whole of the American is under his control. The US will be governing for the moment until a transition can take place. Does that mean the Nobel Peace prize winner María Corina Machado will take his place? You would think so but when answering one of the journalists, Trump said she didn't have the support of the people and that she had been put there by Maduro.  If it's not her, who will it be and what does all this mean for Venezuela and its people? Time will tell but I am still reeling from this news of another American invasion. How Trump gets away with everything he does, astonishes me. He may also have other objectives  in mind in the region. So look out Colombia, Cuba or Nicaragua or even Greenland. Trump went against international law invading another country. He calls himself a peacemaker but he isn't. Worryingly, I wonder if this venture could open the door to China invading Taiwan. The whole geopolitical scene has now changed and the future is very uncertain.

Our life continued normally yesterday. We didn't go on our walk though because of the rain and instead went to have coffee out. While out we also cashed in our El Gordo lottery winnings - a paltry 120 euros which Eladio spent on  6 tickets for the Kings' Day lottery.  I doubt we will win anything but there is always hope.

I agreed with Oli to have our Kings' Day lunch a day earlier, so they will be coming tomorrow 5th January. Thus I bought the ingredients for a trifle which Suzy has been at me to make this Christmas. I shall do that for her. 

Today is Sunday and promises to be quiet and we shall be following the news from Venezuela as most of the world will be too.

Cheers then until next Sunday when Christmas will be over and the new year just begun.

Masha