Madrid, 18th January, 2026
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| Coffee at Alverán this week |
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.
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| The boeuf stroganoff I made this week |
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
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