Madrid, Sunday 29th March, 2026
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| Coffee in the sun yesterday |
Good morning all.
It's been an up and down week and I really look forward to a break. I can't wait for our trip to Seville and Doñana in May and to Yorkshire later that month.
This week marks a month since the USA and Israel attacked Iran. Israel is also bombing the Lebanon and threatens to turn it into another Gaza. Both countries had high hopes of annihilating both the regime and the country's military and nuclear power. But Iran has proved a difficult rival and has attacked back mercilessly. The main issue now is the blockade of the Hormuz Strait where 20% of oil tankers sail through. As they can't, the price of oil has gone up globally affecting the stock market and our pockets. Both Trump and the Iranians ramped up threats and then Trump went TACO (Trump always chickens out) again. He ceased the threats and instead turned to negotiating. He must have been worried his objectives were not being met and worse, for him, that the war is increasingly unpopular with his voters. He presented a 15 point peace plan which has been met with scorn by the Iranian government whoever they are as we don't know at the moment. The US may be claiming to winding down the attacks but the conflict has spread to include Yemen. Yemen's Houthi rebels entered the war on Friday by launching missiles at Israeli military bases. This is where we are at the moment, Trump at loggerheads with Iran. But at least diplomacy is being tried again.
Life was quiet in comparison at home.
Last Sunday I couldn't be bothered to cook so we went out for a curry to India Gate. To think we actually did visit India Gate in Delhi on our anniversary trip in 2008, quite a while back. In the afternoon we went to visit Suzy who was happy to see us. What a joyous moment. We have been going all week, taking turns with Oli.
Monday was a quiet day too. The workmen came to finish the floor downstairs which after all the fuss looks quite good now. Eladio had to be there with them so I did the weekly shop on my own. I can't wait for Suzy to be back for us to do it together.
I must have been thinking about our Yorkshire trip that day, as prompted by a reel on Instagram, I learned that my beloved Betty's cafes now let you book a table. Betty's is famous for its queues. There and then I booked a table for us when we are staying at the Midland for the first part of our trip. I booked at the Ilkley branch and I already know what I will be ordering. Yes, Afternoon tea. Eladio, no doubt, will go for their excellent fish and chips. Once in Bradford we shall also being having a meal at the Kashmir but I don't think I have to book. In my day, in the early 70's it was the very first curry house that opened in that most Asian of cities in the UK, Bradford. I went many times and remember being served my lamb Korma with chapatis and no cutlery. My brother George would go for the Vindaloo (the strongest) washed down with jugs and jugs of water. Both Betty's and the Kashmir are at the top of my list of things to do in Yorkshire.
It was on Monday that Trump announced a ceasefire of sorts - but only on Iranian power plants. His aim of course was to calm the markets and for the price of oil to go down. It did for a while and some people got rich in the process. Others got poorer.
In the afternoon Oli came with me to the hospital. It's very comforting going with her. I love to see how the girls are so close and support each other. I gave her an Easter basket for the kids so that they can do an Easter Egg hunt in Montrondo where they are going today. Later I heard she didn't give it to them as they would not have eaten their dinner, hahaha. This was it.
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| An Easter basket for Juliet and Elliot to take to Montrondo today |
If you are wondering why I included Carr's crackers, it's because they love them. Me too and with butter and not cheese as you all know I hate the latter.
Tuesday dawned and it was a sunny day. In fact it has been sunny all week although there is a chill in the air. We went on our walk which did us both a lot of good. I love to see the signs of spring with so many wild flowers blossoming and the grass growing higher and higher. I do love this time of year when nature works its magic after winter.
In the afternoon Eladio went with Oli to the hospital and I stayed at home as she is only allowed 2 visitors. That gave me the opportunity to Facetime with my dear friend Amanda who I will be seeing again soon. I love our chats. We are such a comfort to each other.
On Wednesday, Eladio must have felt inspired as he got out the lawnmower to tackle the grass. I wish he would get a gardener to do it but he insists, although now he does it over two days. I caught him on camera to share in today's blog post.
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| Eladio mowing the lawn |
While he was mowing the lawn I got news from the lady who cleans and looks after our flat in Santa Pola that the new door was finally properly in place. The previous carpenter had not only done a bad job with door but also with the floor. The new worker, a friend of Gina's, also added a door handle, a knob and a peephole. This is the photo I have of it.
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| Finally a new door in Santa Pola |
It's a huge improvement on the original door. We began the whole process back in November and it's been a bit of a nightmare. Happily it is now over.
Wednesday was a big day for social media when a Los Angeles jury found Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp) and Google guilty of designing platforms that are addictive and harmful to children. This is the first of 10.000 similar lawsuits which could change the way platforms are designed. At least I hope so. Tik Tok and Snap, equally guilty, settled out of court. Kaley, the accuser, started using these platforms when she was just 6 and ended up using them for 16 hours a day. Her lawyer claimed this had caused her "body dysmorphia, depression and suicidal thoughts". She has been awarded 6 million dollars for damages. If the other lawsuits go the same way, these monstrous companies will have to rethink their designs. Kaley's lawyers claimed the main culprits were the infinite scrolling, auto play and constant notifications. I'm glad the likes of Instagram have got their comeuppance. I myself use social media a lot but I don't do infinite scrolling and have all notifications turned off. I use it for what I want and one of the uses is coming across new recipes to cook for the family and to keep me occupied. Cooking is always a lovely distraction when it is not a chore.
The kids were coming for dinner that night after my visit with Olivia to see Suzy and I wanted to make them something they love. They love my "perushki" - little meat pies of Russian origin. So I went out to buy the ingredients. I made the filling (fried onions and mince meat with a bit or rice) and Tana made them in the afternoon.
On Thursday I cooked again. I made potato salad for dinner on Friday when Oli and family would be coming again. As you know it is a family favourite and the recipe is one my Russian grandfather got from a Swiss recipe book probably a 100 years ago. My ingredients are: potatoes, carrots, peas, spring onion, chopped boiled eggs, prawns and home made mayonnaise. Voilá this was the one I made this week.
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| My potato salad |
I also made a new pasta dish I found on Instagram. It's basically pasta nests cooked in the same pan as tomatoes, onions, spinach and in my case I added ham. Instead of cheese I used cream. It was delicious and I shall be making it again. It's very easy to make and takes just 10 minutes.
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| A new pasta dish I got from Instagram. |
A lot of women were cooking around the world while I was but one woman wasn't and that was the mother of Noelia. Noelia was a 25 year old Spanish girl who on Thursday at 6 pm lost her life in a hospital in Barcelona by euthanasia which she herself had petitioned for. Her story is not a pretty one. As a young girl she was put under state care and there she was group raped. A while later she tried to commit suicide and ended up paraplegic and with lifelong pain she said she could no longer suffer. On the other hand she was diagnosed with OCD and borderline personality disorder. Her father with whom she had a difficult relationship, fought her decision to end her life arguing she did not have the mental capacity to take such a decision at her age. Did she I wonder? She gave an interview to Antena 3 TV which was broadcast this week and which I watched from beginning to end. It was chilling. When I saw her smiling with her mother looking at photos of her as a child, I couldn't help feeling that society has failed her and she could have been saved. The case has rocked the nation. It is so shocking that a 25 year girl wants to end her life and for those reasons. This is Noelia during the interview, God bless her. God bless her mother too and all her family.
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| Noelia the girl who chose euthanasia over life, aged just 25 and with her mother. |
Noelia said that a family's happiness should not supersede that of a daughter. Is she right? As a mother I would probably want to have died with her. RIP Noelia. You will not be forgotten.
When I went to visit Suzy with Eladio in the afternoon, I didn't tell her this story but I did tell her about my cooking. She was drooling over my potato salad. I suggested we go to Honest Greens when she is discharged. She loves that place and I do too.
Of note that day, Rachel, my Dutch guest and her son, Alex - both live in Milan - left for Easter just after Alex had finished his Dentistry exams. They were here for nearly 2 weeks and I loved talking to Rachel. I said to Eladio that if she lived her, I'm sure we would be friends. Just as they were leaving, Lydia, a 25 year old student from Algeria, arrived for 6 nights. She is a lovely girl and I wish she was staying for longer. Come to think of it I think she is our first guest from that North African country. I asked her what Algeria is like. Her answer was that it's great but she wanted more opportunities. Lydia told me that in her country, half the women think more freely and don't wear a veil and the other half are very traditional. She does not wear a veil and is extremely beautiful.
Friday was a bit uphill for me when I learned Suzy wouldn't be discharged until at least next Wednesday. I had to renew the sick leave note to be sent to her employer which was quite stressful but I managed, finally. Her boss, Lara, was very kind and understanding and said not to worry. Later I had a video call with my friends Kathy and Phil who are so lovely.
In the afternoon Oli and I went to see Suzy. I took her my father's book so she could look at the photos and feel our love. We came back just before the kids arrived and thank you Tana for preparing the dinner. I made ham and avocado sandwiches to add to the table to be eaten with the potato salad and more perushki. What a lovely family dinner. If only Suzy had been with us. The kids didn't eat much so I gave Olivia a doggy back for later.
Saturday dawned and I slept just under 6h thankfully. Segundo, our Peruvian gynecologist, who has been here for 3 weeks, left. He was very happy with his stay and we were very happy with him as a guest. That morning we had to take Eladio's PC for a hardware part to be replaced and which had come from China. We then did some shopping for ingredients for new recipes I had found on Instagram and wanted to make for lunch. But before going home we went for a coffee and some churros which we had in the sun. This week's feature photo is of me in that moment. I always learned from my father that it is the small moments of joy that bring happiness. How right he is.
I came home to make a new pasta dish. This one is made with tomatoes, onion, garlic and spinach to which I added cream and ham bits. I didn't take a photo as it is very similar to the other pasta dish I made earlier in the week. I did take a photo of the flaky pastry apple tarts I tried to make from another recipe I found on Instagram. I have to say they tasted better than they look. These were them.
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| My attempt at flaky pastry apple tarts |
Yesterday Eladio went with Olivia to see Suzy so I was free to write this week's blog post. I was happy to hear from Olivia that Suzy was fine and that they had a lovely and relaxing conversation together. I shall be going again today and every day until she is discharged and we can bring her back to her loving home.
Yesterday too the clocks went forward to Daylight saving time or whatever it is called. I love it when the days are longer or rather it is light until later. It takes some time to get used to as we are robbed of an hour. I honestly wish we could stay on Daylight saving time and not have to change the clock twice a year. I just don't think it is necessary.
Today is Sunday and we have no plans. Oli and the family are off to Montrondo where they can look forward to a rain free Easter. The kids will have a grand time with their little cousins, just as our daughters did when they were children. I hope they have a great time and look forward to seeing lots of photos.
That's it from me this week. Not much news really and a week of up and downs. I look forward to better times. Life does tend to throw things at you that you don't expect and you just have to grin and bear it and carry on. I will try.
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