The war with Iran continues, Trump has his eyes on Cuba, time with Elliot and Juliet, an old photo turned into a video with AI - scary and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 22nd March, 2026

Not a very happy face this week

Good morning all. 

It has been a stressful week as you will read. On the world scene, the war with Iran continues into its third week and is not looking good. Trump can see no way of unblocking the Strait of Hormuz to let ships sail which in turn decreases the amount of oil for the world. I honestly think Trump has bitten off more than he can chew and that this will turn into another war of attrition. Did he really need to attack Iran together with Israel?  Now he is talking of boots on the ground, Israel is bombing gas infrastructure and any leader they can find and Iran in turn is bombing energy infrastructure in the Gulf states and US bases. The UK, meanwhile, has given permission to the US to use British military bases for strikes against Iranian missile sites and to protect international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Thankfully, so far no country has agreed to help Trump in that task directly. Why would they? It's not their war and it would be sending naval personnel straight to their death. This morning I read he has now threatened Iran with obliterating Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within the next 48 hours. Would he really do that?

Life continued somewhat peacefully on the home front for the first half of the week. Last Sunday we had guests leaving and changing rooms which kept Tana busy. We would not be able to run this little business without her. We went on our walk in the sun and had churros which sort of defeated the object and we did that again today as you will read later. 

We had Olivia and the kids for dinner which is always a bit like feeding time at the zoo at their age, hahahaha. She needed our help this week as Miguel was sent to work in Valencia covering the "Fallas" festival. If you haven't heard of it, it's a huge festival that displays and then burns giant sculptures called "fallas" (also ninots). The fiesta goes on for a full week and if you like crowds and loud bangers then it might be your thing. It is not mine. 

Monday came and it was another sunny day. The workers supposed to be replacing the ground floor parquet came to inspect it and informed us they would come back to do the work on Wednesday. They also said the job would be finished in one day. It wasn't. By Friday they hadn't finished which had me worried stiff about guests coming and I had to change everyone's rooms. Hopefully they will finish the job tomorrow. 

While they came to inspect the floor, Eladio went off to renew his driving licence which involves a test of eyesight and dexterity. Once you get to 80 they only renew it yearly. I have to do mine next February and it will only be for 2 years. For everyone else under 65 the renewal is for 10 years. So I call this age discrimination.  We were both worried he might not pass owing to the macula degeneration he suffers but I am very happy to announce that he did pass. I dread the moment his licence is not renewed. He would be housebound and reliant on me to go anywhere. Not fair.

The highlight of Monday was my weekly Facetime call with my dear friend Amanda. We discussed our upcoming trips together and family news. We also expressed our frustration with Trump's warmongering. He drives us bonkers. He is now threatening Cuba. He went as far as to say it would be a "great honour to take Cuba". 

I am sure Eladio's cousins, Lecinia and Rosa who live in Havana are appalled. They are, as most of the population is, fierce supporters of the Cuban communist regime. Lecinia and Rosa are the daughters of Roche whose father Constante was Eladio's grandmother's brother. Constante left Montrondo in around 1920 and never returned. Roche and Rosa have been to Spain but Lecinia, a retired dentist, has never been here.. Now that she no longer has to care for her elderly parents, she is free to come. Both sisters have a Spanish passport so that is not the issue. I just wonder if and when she comes, what she will think of how we live in Spain compared to Cuba. It will be a huge cultural shock. When Roche came he refused to visit the centre of Madrid, only wanting to see Montrondo and whatever he saw here he refused to let it interfere with his deep rooted communist beliefs. Rosa tells me no oil has entered Cuba since Venezuela fell. She blames Trump and the US but is blinkered when it comes to recognising that they live under a dictatorship and maybe Cuba's situation is the fault of the their longstanding revolution which has only led to poverty.  I will always remember our visit to Cuba in January 2017 to attend Miguel and Claudia's wedding. While we were there we visited Roche's home and met Lecinia for the first time. Here are the two sisters in a photo I took of them at the wedding of my nephew Miguel.

Eladio's Cuban cousins Lecinia and Rosa, photo taken at my nephew Miguel's wedding to a Cuban girl in Havana in January 2017, 9 years ago. 

If life in Cuba looked very difficult in 2017 I dread to think what it is like today. Shortages doesn't even begin to describe the dire situation of the country, so near yet so far from the USA:

Tuesday dawned and it was another sunny day. I knew something was up with Suzy although she masks it very well. We had to look after the kids in the afternoon, pick them up from school and take Elliot to athletics. We took Juliet to the park afterwards and were later joined by Oli who had picked up Elliot after her French lessons which she takes so seriously.  Here is a quick photo I took of Juliet about to go on the zip line. There were no zip lines when I was young and I wonder if I would have been as daring as Juliet when I was 4. She shows a lot of courage.

Juliet at the park on Tuesday afternoon getting on the zip line. 

They stayed for dinner and it was during dinner that Miguel sent me a video version of the photo on my Whatsapp profile. It's a lovely photo of the girls when they were about 6 and 7 or 7 and 8. They used to love their evening bottle of milk and would drink it sitting on the kitchen top. Let me share it with you.

An old photo of the girls.

And here is the video that Miguel, my son-in-law, turned it into using Artificial Intelligence. 

The video made with AI

It's quite scary really as these days it is nearly impossible to know what is original and what is fake. In any case I did find it a lot of fun and watched it over and over again. When the girls were drinking their milk with Ginger our cat next to them, none of us could envisage such a thing as Artificial Intelligence. I use AI mode on Google for nearly everything these days and if I am not satisfied with the result I tell the robot what I need; be that summarise the text, send me the links, a photo, etc. It is quite incredible. At the same time AI is not infallible and still makes mistakes. So I have to watch out and be discerning. Soon it will probably be perfect. As my friend who invented the AI robot, Handled, who posts this blog here, says, if I wanted Handled to actually write my blog, it could. But I don't want that do I? Not me but many others do I am sure. Scary as I say.

Wednesday dawned. Just as the floor men came, Suzy had such a crisis, even she agreed I should ring the emergency services which is what I did. She has been in hospital since then and doesn't want to see us, yet. We are beside ourselves but I won't go into any detail as it's not fair to her. I was worried too she would lose her job so I did all I could to get a sick note sent to her employers who have been very understanding. Hopefully next week she will be more stable and able to come home. Meanwhile we are destroyed but trying to muddle on.

I don't know how I did it but I managed to make dinner for the kids that night but even they couldn't cheer me up.

Thursday 19th March was Father's Day in Spain but poor Eladio didn't get to celebrate it. We were not in the mood. The floor hadn't been finished and I had guests coming which put my nerves on edge. 

Once again in the afternoon we had to pick up the kids, take Elliot to athletics after which we went to the park again, the best place for them to be. Eladio had to leave an hour later to pick Elliot up as Oli was otherwise engaged that night as an Emcee for a United Nations World Tourism Organisation event in the city. She was not in the mood of course but had to do it. Thus we had the kids until very late that night. They ate well and then we bathed them and bath time went on forever so as to kill the time. We dressed them in old pyjamas  which are now too small and then deposited them on our bed. I put Peppa Pig on so they wouldn't play up. Elliot was asleep by the time his mother came but she later told me Juliet was full of beans and up until past 11 pm. Oh what energy she has.

Friday was uphill too. I had a constant lump in my throat which I still have. But I cannot break down. What good would that do? Yet how can I be happy when my daughter is angry, isolated, lonely and depressed? I can't. But I have to carry on just the way my father used to and my mother. In the afternoon we went to see her during visiting hours. I knew she didn't want to see us but we had to be there. We came home with a heavy heart and to add insult to injury got lost on the way.

Saturday 21st March marked the first day of spring. On our walk I suggested to Eladio we go and have chocolate and churros to improve my mood at least. Later Oli and the kids joined us which made it fun. Here is little Elliot drawing while his  grandfather who he still calls Booboo (sometimes), looks on. 

Elliot drawing while Eladio looks on at the cafe yesterday

It was quite a pick me up to have their company. Oli was going out to lunch and leaving the kids with her babysitter, Sophie. We walked home quietly and enjoyed lunch on our own served to us by dear Tana.

Once again we went to see Suzy in the afternoon and once again we came back without seeing her. She will come round I am sure but it will take time. My heart goes out to her.

It was lovely to talk to Phil and Kath, our friends from Yorkshire, in the early evening. They have just come back from a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. It must be beautiful but is not somewhere I want to go as I once had to bail Suzy out. We had a lovely heart to heart. It's at times like this that one needs friends. Thank you Kathy and Phil. 

And today is Sunday and we have no plans. Even if we had we can't go anywhere at the moment. The sun will be out again today which always brightens my mood. 

So my friends, that's it for this week. Not a good one. Life is full of ups and downs and I should be used to it by now, I suppose. 

Anyway, cheers till next week,

Masha

War with Iran gets out of hand, oil prices soar, renovations on the ground floor, making Moroccan pastilla pie, the pains of installing a new door in Santa Pola, Eladio gets a new phone, and other stories of the week.

 Sunday 15th March, 2026

Elevenses one day this week at Manacor. Coffee in the sunshine is my kind of happiness.

Good morning all. 

While the world has gone mad we have had a quiet week with our own little headaches and ups and downs but really no complaints. 

Last Sunday was quiet. I spent most of the morning cooking for our weekly family lunch and I'm sorry to say I took no photos. The kids will be coming today for dinner so I must remember to capture them on camera - in the hope that one day in the future when I am long gone, they will read my blog with nostalgia. 

That day Segundo, a doctor and gynecologist, from Peru came to stay for 3 weeks. He is a charming man but we have not mentioned women's matters, hahahaha. 

Monday came and Iran, not cowered by Trump and Netanyahu's war on their country, appointed Mojatba Khameini, son of Ali Khameini, who was assassinated by Israeli forces, the new Supreme Leader. Many of their family were  killed including both their wives. If Trump hoped to replace Ali Khameini with a more liberal leader, he lost his chance as he hinted they were all dead now. Some of the more liberal choices died  in the assassination of 40 top officials. Mojatba who vows to continue his father's work and is blamed for the killing of 30.000 of his own people in recent protests, is a sitting duck right now. Apparently he was injured in the blasts and has not been seen since his appointment. So he must be in hiding. If Trump had hoped to change the regime, this choice must now come as a blow to his administration.

Life continued as normal at home. That  morning we did the weekly shop and took the bike we lend to guests to have the wheels changed. We had time to treat ourselves to chocolate and  churros which seems to be turning into a weekly tradition. What a lovely tradition. Here is Eladio enjoying his chocolate and churros.

Chocolate and Churros in Boadilla del Monte on Monday - what a lovely pleasure

We watched the news as we do every day and follow every moment of what is happening in the Middle East. That day saw Trump saying the war would end soon which helped the oil index go down a bit but not for long. For most of the week it is around 100 dollars a barrel. He threatened to hit Iran 20 times harder if it stopped the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormus. Both things have happened. 20% of the world's oil passes through those straits. His MAGA fans are not too happy either as he promised no wars so he keeps saying the war will be over soon. Reality is we have no idea when it will end. Things are not going well for the attackers. They miscalculated Iran's response and maybe did not factor in the threat of closing the Straits of Hormus or the continuation of the Ayotollah regime. I think the war is getting out of hand. In the first week of war  alone it cost 11 billion dollars. So at over a billion dollars a day, even the mighty USA economy will be affected. The thing is this affects the whole world, putting prices up on everything that is powered in some way by oil, including the food basket and airline tickets. It hits the ordinary person. Last week if we paid about 1.5 euros a litre of petrol, today that has gone up to 2 euros and will continue to soar. It has also affected 16 countries who are being attacked by Iran in the region. We have even learned this week that Putin is the hidden hand behind Iran which doesn't surprise me. Even worse, Trump went and lifted oil sanctions so Russia can sell its oil again. Thus Russia is the winner in this war. Makes me sick.

Tuesday was a bit of an upheaval. The insurance people were coming to put down a new floor on the ground floor. They didn't finish the job as they found some damp which later turned out to be condensation. Hopefully they will finish the job tomorrow. Meanwhile the place looks ghastly and is a bit embarrassing vs a vs our guests. Thankfully the rooms themselves don't have to be renovated.

Renovations on the ground floor this week. Hopefully they will lay down the new floor tomorrow. 

We had more work going on at home when a firm came to clean the guttering. We had no idea until clumps of grass kept falling that they needed cleaning. The man who did the job and went up on to the roof told me there was a veritable garden growing in the guttering. Oh dear. 

The man on top of the roof cleaning the guttering

There is always so much to do to maintain a house and I like to think we keep a tight ship to quote my friend Nurse Crane from Call the Midwife. It's like running a small company and you can't let things run down. So we are constantly on the move. It's a bore but keeps us busy. 

I left everyone to it and went out to get some ingredients to make a Moroccan flaky chicken pie - a very famous dish from that North African country called "pastilla"  and one I love. The excuse was I had lots or cold chicken in the fridge. Suzy helped me make it but actually it is quite easy. I  used a recipe from YouTube but there are many on the internet. And voila, this was the result when we had already dug into it

For those not in the know, I copied this description from Google: "Moroccan Chicken Pastilla is a traditional, festive savoury sweet pie featuring layers of thin crispy pastry (phyllo) filled with shredded chicken, a spiced onion and egg mixure and toasted ground almonds. It combines savoury meat with aromatic spices like cinnamon and saffron topped with a dusting of icing sugar". I was really very proud of the result and we had it two days running. I froze a piece for Oli who loves it too and is coming today. Now I know how to make pastilla we shall be including it in our repertoire of meals at home. 

I told Amanda about it in our weekly Facetime call and next time they come I shall make it. Talking to my friend is always the highlight of the week.

On Wednesday the rain went finally and we had a sunny day which was perfect for our walk. Of note that day I bought tickets to see the show How Horses Dance at the Real Escuela Andaluza de arte equestre (the Royal school of equestrian art) which is world famous and rivals with the Spanish school of riding in Vienna. The academy is in Jerez, the sherry capital, which we shall visit in May with Andy and Amanda. Wonderful!

That day I was also dealing with installing the new door to the flat in Santa Pola. I had contracted and paid a carpenter back in November and the door arrived on 15th February but Mauricio kept putting off the job. I had no other option than to find another carpenter. I did but he didn't do a great job. We also needed a locksmith and work went on for two days. This was the old door and below the new door.

Our very old and crumbling door

The new door

However, the carpenter had a problem with the floor which now looks like this and is rather depressing. 

This needs to be fixed

This has to be fixed and the door also needs a doorknob, a handle and a peep hole. Installing a new door is a whole new world for me and one I am not familiar with. It will all be fixed but meanwhile is a pain.

Thursday came and brought something exciting, a new  mobile phone for Eladio. He always seems to inherit my old phones or Olivia's and was struggling with a 5 year old Samsung Galaxy S20. So last week we ordered him a brand new Samsung Galaxy S26. Thus he is the member of the family with the most up to date phone and that makes me happy for him. We took it to a local phone shop to have everything transferred from the old phone. I had to do the rest and it took a few days. It always does. Here is is happily showing me his new phone, bless him.

Eladio happy with his new phone

We signed up for a swap contract whereby you pay a renting fee per month and every two years you get a new phone. Sounds good. I'm glad for my husband. I just hope that with his new phone he will answer  it when I call or message him, hahaha.

It was that day that a photo emerged of three bad men together from the Epstein files which must have been released that day. It is of the former Prince Andrew and former British Ambassador to the US, Mandelson in bathrobes with the infamous paedophile. For the records this is it.

Three bad men, former Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson in bathrobes with the paedophile Jeffrey Eptstein. 

They thoroughly disgust me. 

Friday was another sunny day and I had slept well that night which is unusual for me. We went on our walk then to the bank to to get a code for the app in Eladio's phone. From there we went to Gran Plaza 2 shopping centre to get him a new case and other accessories. 

That day lots of guests arrived, thankfully many of them repeat guests who I leave the keys for and don't have to greet. The house is full this weekend but you wouldn't notice. It's lovely to have my Dutch guest Rachel here again with her son. She lives in Milan and has come to cook for him while he does his exams. Isn't that sweet?

Saturday dawned and the main news again was the war with Iran. I just hope it won't go on for years and end up like Iraq or Afghanistan or Ukraine. While the worlds' eyes are on Iran no one is thinking about Ukraine and Putin can do what he wants. The world needs rid of people like Putin and Trump. As I said last week, we need women to rule the world. We really do.

Today is Sunday and the only plan we have  today is dinner at home with Oli and the kids while Miguel has been sent to Valencia for the week. We shall go on our walk, I shall have my mid morning coffee and I will rustle up something for lunch and not much more. I wish someone could transport me to some lovely beach with good weather and no worries about doors, floors, guests, shopping etc. I need a break from routine. We all do.

So that my friends, is it for this week. I wish you all well. Cheers for now,

Masha

Military campaign against Iran escalates, Spain says no to war, time with Elliot, prayer session in the Oval Office legitimising war and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 8th March

Coffee in the sun, Eladio and Suzy at Alverán on Monday 

Good morning. 

Today is 8th March and International Women's Day. Good for us. Maybe I should be taking part in demonstrations for more equality for women. Many other women will but I hate crowds. Although the world is not equal and never will be, I am glad at least to be a woman in the West. Things have changed in my lifetime. When I was a girl, a woman needed her husband's authorisation to open a bank account, to apply for a passport and countless other things.  Women generally had to stop working when they married. Divorce was frowned upon and many women lived in loveless and sometimes violent households. The violence has not gone away but women today are a lot better off than they were. That's not saying there isn't room for improvement. This week more than ever I honestly wish women ruled the world. If we did, I wouldn't be writing about the terrible war in the Middle East at the hands of Trump and Netanyahu. Russia would not have invaded Ukraine, the UK would not have left the EU and women would be free in countries like Yemen or Agfghanistan. Imagine. I'm afraid that is all we can do at the moment, imagine. 

Last Sunday was day 2 of the attack on Iran called "Epic Fury" - what violent words and what a violent war it is. Israeli forces killed the President, Khameini and up to 40 top government officials. Together with the USA they are pounding both Iran and Lebanon and Iran, as expected, has retaliated. The war has now affected many Gulf countries, Azerbajan, even Turkey and of course, as we know, Cyprus which is very close to home and part of the EU.

Eladio and I meanwhile, went on our walk and treated ourselves to chocolate con churros. Here is my dear husband partaking in this treat.

A moment of peace and joy - chocolate con churros - with Eladio last Sunday

On Monday the war raged in the Middle East as it has all week. I'm not sure whether the aggressors have eliminated all Iran's nuclear arsenal but their retaliation and the war itself began to affect the rest of the world. Airspace was closed and many people are trapped and unable to come home. Some have managed it traipsing overland to Oman or Saudi Arabia and some have been rescued but many still remain. I had one guest coming from Israel who obviously had to cancel her stay with us. The price of oil and gas went up also immediately as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. That will affect transport and thus goods will soon cost more too. Other than eliminating the repressive government and Iran's nuclear project,  there doesn't seem to be a proper plan for what happens next.

Spain's far left PM, Pedro Sánchez, meanwhile prohibited the US from using their bases here for operations against Iran arguing it would violate international law. This infuriated Trump who called Spain all sorts of names and said he would cut off trade with us; except that he can't unless he cuts off trade with the whole of the EU.  He went as far as to say no one could stop the US from using them and I gather they still are. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I don't like the Iranian repressive regime but I don't like a country with nuclear power ignoring international law by invading another country to remove it of that power.  I hate the Ayotollahs and their repression not only of women, but what will become of the people once the attacks seize and the country lies in ruins? 

Sánchez is not the only European leader who is not popular with Donald Trump. This week he said of UK's Prime Minister, Starmer that he was no Churchill. It was in response to the PM also being reluctant to let the US use its bases in UK territory.  Since then Starmer has let the US use them for defence purposes only. Today I read that the UK was getting two aircraft carriers ready to go to the Middle East if necessary. This also unleashed Trump's fury accusing the UK of seeking to "join wars after we've already won" He added "That's OK Primer Minister Starmer, we don't need them any longer - But we will remember. We don't need people that join wars after we've already won". That was a huge attack on the now not so special relationship.

Life continued as normal where we live and that morning saw us do the weekly shop. We bumped into Suzy and seized the moment to have coffee in the sun together at Alverán. I took a picture which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. Love it.

The highlight of Monday was my weekly Facetime call with Amanda. We have so much to look forward to when we meet in May and June and possibly September too. 

Tuesday came and brought with it normality and routine. Thus we went on our walk and were blessed with sunshine. Unfortunately the rain came on Wednesday and it robbed us of future walks. It was on Tuesday that our friend Phil sent me a random photo that came up on his phone. It was of Eladio and I walking in the sun in Altea last September arm in arm. It is not a pretty close up and in fact we have our backs to the camera  but it is a lovely photo that sums up our companionship and love. This is it. 

A lovely photo from Phil of Eladio and I with our backs to the camera in Altea walking in the sun last September. 

Of note that day I made chicken Korma for lunch with naans I had bought at Quicksave in Santa Pola and went to my hairdresser to have my roots died and my hair cut, all for a paltry 17 euros. That night we watched a film called Los Domingos. About a 17 year old girl who wants to become a cloistered nun against her family's will, it won the Spanish film awards, The Goyas, last week.  I generally love films about nuns but I was a bit disappointed. It lacked oomph. 

Wednesday dawned and that day  Pedro Sánchez addressed the Congress after the debacle with Trump over the use of their joint bases in Spain.  His main message was "No to war" (no a la guerra). He added that Spain would not be complicit in actions against the country's values out of fear of reprisals (from Trump). That unleashed more fury from the US President who I suspect is loving the power he has to invoke war on Iran. He said Spain was a loser, a terrible country and very hostile to NATO. He can't get over the fact that Spain is the only country which has refused to pay 5% of its GDP towards the North Atlantic Alliance. It remains at 2%. Meanwhile, France's Premiere, Macron organised a European response to defend Cyprus where a UK military base had been under attack from Iran. All the big countries in Europe, the UK included, joined in but not Spain. That gave me mixed feelings too. 

It was on Wednesday that we had the pleasure of the company of our 6 year old grandson, Elliot in the afternoon after school. Miguel was taking Juliet our granddaughter to a birthday party  so he came alone. I don't think we have ever had to babysit for him alone, except when his sister was born. I gave him his afternoon tea, a sandwich and almonds and some special chocolate biscuits and then he told us he had to do his homework, bless him. I had to leave for a routine doctor's appointment but caught him on camera about to start his homework. He really behaved so well when he came this week. 

Elliot doing his homework at our house this week

I later heard Suzy whisked him off to her room where she helped him do it. He then did lots of drawing sitting at her desk quietly. Olivia was delighted to hear he had behaved himself, hahaha. 

If on Wednesday Pedro Sánchez had said no to war and no to the US using its military bases in Spain. on Thursday the Spanish government announced it was sending its flagship frigate, Cristóbal Colón, to bolster the Frence led flotilla to Cyprus. He was immediately accused of going back on his word. Who knows what went on there behind the scenes?

Eladio and I went to Primark of all places while all this was going on. I wanted  to get him new jeans to replace a pair he had stained with some glue he had used to stick tiles together and which are now ruined. While out, I had coffee at Starbucks with a croissant (divine) and from there we drove to a local telephony shop to order Eladio a new phone. He has been using my Samsung Galaxy S20 which is now dying on him and is in desperate need of a new one. I am pleased to announce he is going to be the proud owner of the Korean firm's latest model, the S26. He deserves it. 

Friday dawned and I was happy to get a photo of Juliet ready for school that Olivia sent me. She was wearing a lovely M&S Christmas jumper I had bought her when I was in Devon last November.

Juliet wearing the lovely M&S jumper I bought her in Devon last November

In the photo  she looks so sweet butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. But that is only when she wants to. I heard  this week that she had called her gym teacher "fat".  Oh dear.

On Friday it rained and we only went out on routine errands. It was that day that more of the Epstein files were released. In them there are documents pertaining to an interview with a woman who accused both Trump and Epstein of raping her when she was 12 or 13. She described both ghastly men referring to girls as "untainted" and "young meat". Trump continues to get away with it and many say the Iran military operation is a good smokescreen to do so.  

Nothing surprises us about this ghastly man but he did surprise some when he appeared that day in photos and videos in a praying session in his office, the Oval Office.

Trump in a praying session in the Oval Office this week

The pastors there were asking God to protect the American military and to give Trump wisdom. I find that so contradictory - war being blessed by the church and Trump having pastors' hands laid on him as if he were some sort of modern day saint. He is an evil and dangerous man who is destroying the world as we know it. One thing he does need, of course, is wisdom but he is lacking in that and many other departments. 

Frighteningly Trump has now set his eyes on Cuba saying it comes next. He has used the term "friendly takeover"  calling Cuba a failing nation, even cancer, in its last moments of life. Well, no wonder, his measures have pushed the Caribbean Island to its limits with virtually no oil imports since the Venezuela takeover. When will this lunatic stop?

Thankfully I had other things on my mind that day. Oli and family were coming for dinner and that is always an event. This time the kids behaved a bit better, hahaha. I was lucky to have Tana make the dinner so I could spend time with my family and it was a happy time. Elliot was happy too as that night he was going to have his first sleepover, spending the night at his friend Adrian's. No doubt he will be telling me all about it when he comes for lunch today. They are all coming today and this time I don't have Tana but we will manage as we always have.

Saturday came. One piece of news I read that morning I found outrageous and ridiculous. The Spanish Treasury will be taxing newly weds on their wedding presents. Really? This won't work. The Spaniards are too picaresque and will of course just give cash - usually 150 euros per head, instead of making a bank transfer. 

We set off on our walk but soon had to come home because of the rain. As we returned I was thinking how un English I have become as Brits walk come rain or shine or they used to at least. 

Of note yesterday I booked our 4X4 guided tour of the Doñana National Park for when we go in May. It will be lovely in May I'm sure.

Last night things escalated to a next level in Iran when Israel began bombarding oil refineries. This came after Trump  said Iran would be "very hard hit". Where will this end and how? Honestly is this war worth it?

Today is Sunday and I have come to the end of my tales for this week. I will be busy cooking lasagne and another pasta dish for our family lunch today so must sign off now if I am to get anything done this morning.

Cheers then to you all. Have a great day and week,

Masha