A lazy week at home, Facebook to pay 18 billion dollars in child social media addiction lawsuit, back to Montrondo, King of Norway dies, a family wedding in León and other stories of the week.

Montrondo, Sunday 30th August, 2026

Parents, aunts and uncles with the bride and groom yesterday at the wedding.

Good morning from Montrondo again. 

We left on 20th August after over a month here with the family and came back this week a few days before our goddaughter Alicia's wedding which was yesterday in León. 

Before I get to that, let me rewind to last Sunday and tell you about this week which has been quite a lazy one.  The heatwave in Madrid was finally over and we resumed our morning walks that day. The two of us and Pippa thoroughly enjoyed it. Later I spent time lazing by the pool and reading. It was sheer luxury to have it to myself. Eladio took a picture. This is it.

Lazing by the pool last Sunday

I lazed in the afternoon during which I slept a 2 hour long siesta I desperately needed.

On Monday two French girl guests  left after a great wedding in Madrid. That day I finally met our current guest, José who is from Colombia. He has quite a story if you look up the name of his company; a string of bakeries called "José Pan". He was a policeman in his home country and came to Spain in the 90's to escape the violence there. With very humble beginnings he is now a rather rich businessman. 

Monday too was Independence Day in the Ukraine. Many European leaders visited Kyiv, including the new Labour PM, Andy Burnham. It seems unbelievable that the war with Russia has lasted so long; since 22nd February 2022 and that neither side has won. I am on firmly on the side of Ukraine and just wish Putin would end this senseless war.

I went to the hairdresser in the morning for a much needed dye and cut. Tana was off for a well deserved couple of days rest so I made our lunch. Amanda was travelling this week so there was no Monday afternoon FaceTime call that day which I missed a lot. 

I slept badly that night and couldn't  fall asleep until past 2 pm. I missed Oli on the TV on Tuesday morning but she later sent me photos. She looked spectacular this week dressed up for her news desk reporting job.

Olivia looking good in the outfits she was given to wear for her job this week

While she was working, I was having a lazy week but I am happy to say she is now on holiday and this morning after the wedding they are driving to the house in Asturias. It is only the second time they have been there and it will be all very new for the kids. I rather wish we were with them but don't want to invade their space.

Wednesday saw Suzy and I doing the weekly shop which I hadn't done since before our long stay in Montrondo. It was good to have my daughter's help. It was good too, to have a coffee together at Alverán. I also went to the bank to withdraw money for the wedding. These days the bride and groom only want money and even include their bank account number on the invitation. The cost is to cover the food and help towards the honeymoon. In Spain the minimum you are expected to pay is 200 euros per person. Some people don't accept invitations because they can't afford it. It is not a practice I adhere to but you can't get out of it in this country.

We came home to unpack the food and put it away. Suzy made a wonderful gazpacho with water melon and I made the filling for perushkis (little Russian pies) Tana batch baked in the afternoon. 

I packed in the afternoon for Montrondo as we were leaving on Thursday and I made sure I took lots of warm clothes. It just wasn't going to be the same lovely weather as before. As I packed, I reflected on how many "necessities" we have when we travel, even if it is for only one night. That includes my pillow, pills, potions, lotions, decaf tea, God knows what else, food of course and then most importantly all our technology: 2 PCs with their chargers, headphones, our charging stations, my kindle and my iPad. Just that fills a suitcase I bought specially for this purpose. Suzy took lots too so she must have her own necessities, one of which is "mate", the famous Argentinian tea like drink. She and Tana both drink it religiously every day. I tasted it once and far prefer proper tea. Well, I am originally British aren't I? 

Oli and family arrived for dinner which was a splendid affair. The table was groaning with home made gazpacho, perushki, roast chicken and fresh fruit. We had dinner outside which is unthinkable of here in Montrondo although the weather should get better today and I still have hopes of some sunny walks to Murias.

We watched the news after they left. In Nepal and Tibet there were terrible flash floods caused by a glacier that had melted in the Himalayas. Over 500 have died and many more are missing. 596 foreigners from 33 countries are included in those missing. What a dreadful holiday for them. The images are pretty frightening. The stupidest piece of news I heard this week was that Trump wants to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. He really is on a mission to obliterate his neighbour Canada. 

The main news here is the ongoing invasion of Ceuta where at least 10.000 illegal immigrants, mainly from Morocco but from Sub-Saharan Africa too, remain. A month ago some 80.000 crossed over into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa which has a population of a similar number. Most of them returned but those remaining have to be processed, including about 1000 minors which the Spanish government is happy to welcome free into the country. They are living on the beaches and are being fed by the Red Cross. God knows where they go to the bathroom. They are not all peaceful souls hoping for a better life.  Many are convicts and known criminals and the local population is terrified. There have been 13 accounts of rape and quite a lot of violence. I ask myself why this Government has not dealt with the issue swiftly. The press say the PM, Sánchez is to blame as he flew to Ceuta, promised help which never came and then quickly went on holiday to the Canary Islands where he was guarded by nearly 100 armed police officers. The press also blame the Moroccan government who they accuse of causing the avalanche of their countrymen as political leverage against the Spanish government. The story gets uglier. Apparently the Moroccan Government has tapes of Sanchez' mobile phone the latter would prefer not to be published. Who knows? What I do know is that this cannot go on for much longer. 

Thursday came and I was up early. Before leaving I was able to watch Olivia on TV. She was reporting on the Meta (owner of FB, Instagram and Whatsapp) settlement with US states of 18 billion dollars. Meta was rightly accused of adding and including features that cause social media addiction to children and young people and mental health issues. Meta pays this money to the government but also faces hundreds of private lawsuits. That probably won't hurt Mark Zuckerberg too much. What will hurt more probably are the changes his company will have to make to his platforms to make them less addictive. I would love to see the end of infinite scrolling but I don't know how they will implement that. They have also promised to limit the use of their platforms to 2 hours a day and include a night time black out for under 18's. Best of all they have to hide the "Like" counts which are so addictive.  It sounds good. Will it happen? I hope so. One article I read likened this lawsuit to the tobacco companies years ago. Hopefully, things will get stricter and stricter. It is hoped too that the other major social media platforms such as YouTube and Tik Tok will follow suit.

When we were ready, we left for Montrondo in our lovely new car. It was sad to leave Pippa behind but she couldn't go to the wedding and we didn't want to leave here here for a whole day. Tana remained to hold the fort and look after both the house and the guests.

Suzy and Eladio drove and we only stopped once for a coffee. It was pouring with rain when we arrived and freezing cold and the village seemed deserted. But it wasn't entirely. Pili, Eladio's sister was still here although she left later. We had coffee here with her and Toño and Dolores who are leaving today after two and a half months here. Later Pili and I went to get eggs from Manolo and then were joined by Dolores to buy Christmas lottery tickets at the bar. By evening we were alone in our house warmed by central heating. How different to the weather in Madrid. It was too wet for a walk so we stayed in. Eladio had Manolo's eggs for dinner of course. I had my usual: some fruit, a coconut yoghurt and a medjoul date.

We watched the news again about Ceuta mostly and went to bed early. I slept 5.5h and was up at 6,30 am on Friday morning.  At 7.50 I was watching Oli's programme; all about Ceuta too. She came on later and for me gave the most important news of the day. King Harald V of Norway, aged 89, died at 6.35 am that morning, 5 minutes after I woke up. He died peacefully of a rare blood infection surrounded by his family. I will always be grateful to him for sending my father a birthday card when he turned 100. This is it.

The birthday card to my father from the King of Norway who died this week

If you follow this blog or have read my father's book, you will know that he was involved in the Liberation of Norway at the end of WW2. For this he was awarded the Freedom Medal from King Harald's grandfather, King Haakon VII for his outstanding contribution to the Liberation of Norway. King Harald was the most popular member of the current Norwegian Royal Family but I wonder how popular his heir, King Haakon VIII will be. His wife, now the Queen Consort, Mette-Marit is known for her links with Epstein and her son, Marius from her previous marriage is a convicted sex criminal. Hardly a good start. I imagine both his great grandfather and my own father would have been appalled. 

It was cold and raining here and at mid morning I went to have coffee with Toño and Dolores our wonderful companions here who have now sadly left. Eladio joined us but didn't drink any coffee as he doesn't like it. He put on his wooden clogs, called "madreñas" because of the rain. They are worn in Asturias, León and Cantabria and were largely used by country folk and farmers not to get their shoes or boots dirty and to keep their feet warm and dry. You wear them over slippers and they have three "legs" so that you walk above mud, water or snow. But my they are difficult to wear if you haven't been brought up on them. Here is a photo of my husband wearing traditional "madreñas".

Eladio wearing his wooden clogs over his slippers so as to keep his feet warm and dry in the rain.

I made soup for lunch thanks to Dolores who gave me some locally sourced courgettes and potatoes to which I added one of her onions and some carrots. It was delicious. The second course was chicken Waldorf Salad which we all love.

I had a bit of a siesta and then invited my brother and sister-in-law for tea and coffee (and some delicious biscuits). Later the rain stopped and we were able to go on our walk to Murias. It was glorious and I was happy to see my donkey, pony and horses but again forgot to take them apples, blast.

I came home to a task I wasn't looking forward to. I had to iron Eladio's suit and shirt for the wedding. He hadn't worn it since he left it in France about 3 years ago. That was a very difficult job I somehow managed to do.

Saturday came, the day of the wedding and Suzy, Eladio and I dressed up in our finest. We took some photos which I am happy to share here.

All ready for the wedding

The wedding to be held at El Caserío in León, was starting at 12.45 so we set off well in time as it takes about an hour and a quarter to reach León. Once there we picked up Toño and Dolores from their daughter, Sara's flat and drove to the venue on the outskirts of the city. Many other members of the family were arriving too. You may know Eladio is the oldest of 6 siblings and it was his youngest brother, Isidro who is 17 years younger, whose youngest daughter, Alicia, aged 34, who was getting married that day. The sun shone for Alicia and Luisme, now her husband. She is a nurse and he is a doctor and we later heard they fell in love in the hospital theatre where they work. Oli and Miguel and the kids had driven from Madrid and got there well on time. 

The first part was a ceremony of the marriage of the bride and groom, although they had been wed the day before in a Registry Office. Here we are watching the ceremony.

Watching the ceremony

The kids got bored as it lasted over an hour and soon escaped to run around and get a better look. And here are the bride and groom when it was over.

The bride and groom

As they walked out, they were feted by the Tuna group. That is a traditional University group of minstrels who play and sing popular music. They wear traditional clothing and are well known in Spain. Luisme is the Director of this group which featured rather heavily throughout the wedding.

The bride and groom being feted by the Tuna minstrel group

From there we were all ushered through to a patio where we were to partake of the cocktail part of the wedding which went on for at least 2 hours. Here are some pics taken during that part.

Some of my pics taken during the cocktail party. Here with Toño and Dolores

We were then called to have our pictures taken with the bride and groom. I have chosen the one of the older generation with the bride and groom as this week's feature photo. And here is one of the younger generation, mostly the cousins and their offspring.

The bride and groom with all the cousins

The cocktail party went on for hours and we were well fed. But we still had to have a formal sit down lunch which didn't start until 4.30 pm and it went on till nearly 8 pm. By then I was not hungry.

We sat on Table 2 with all of Eladio's brothers and sisters and their spouses as well as Alicia's maternal grandparents. The cousins were all together on one big table and happily for their parents, the kids sat on a table just for them. Later they were entertained by two monitors and had a grand time. Everyone had a grand time and it was a very happy wedding. My last photos have to be of Juliet and Elliot with the big bag of sweets and sundry they were given. The size was a bit over the top but they were delighted, hahaha.

The kids had a grand time at the wedding

We left before the dancing began as well as the drinking as we had a long way to go home and we were tired. It was sad to say goodbye to Oli and the kids.Juliet commented: "you always go away" with a sad look on her face. But it had been a happy wedding and a lovely celebration on a beautiful sunny day at a marvellous venue.  I wish the bride and groom every happiness and thank them from these pages for a splendid wedding and for bringing all the family together. 

Suzy drove us home and we were here at about 9.30. All we wanted to do was take all our finery off. I especially wanted to remove my heels, makeup and take off my jewelry. Thank God I don't have to dress up everyday. But for Alicia's wedding it was a pleasure.

I slept marvellously last night and woke up this morning at 7.45 after 7 hours of sleep. The wedding obviously did me good. 

Today is Sunday and the sun is shining. Our only plans this morning are to enjoy Montrondo, go and have a coffee to Senra, make lunch, have a siesta and go on a walk. Montrondo is a very resting place and good for the soul.

Now I shall leave you to get on with the day. Cheers till next week and I hope you have a wonderful day,

Masha

Last week in our beloved house in Montrondo, finally got our car back, cancelled our trip to Biarritz, home again, our 43rd wedding anniversary, big family barbecue and other stories of the week.

Madrid, Sunday 23rd August 2026

Visiting "La Moncloa", the new village landmark. 

Good morning everyone. 

We are home which was not in our plans. From Montrondo we were going to drive to Biarritz, the place we had chosen to celebrate this year's wedding anniversary. I had been looking forward to it so much but had to cancel when the weather forecast changed completely for the worse. Biarritz in the rain is not much fun. I did look for alternatives but didn't find any. Instead, I am devising a plan for a mini road trip at the end of September or maybe October. The idea is to visit Gibraltar, Tarifa and cross over the sea to Tangiers in Morocco. Let's see if it happens.

A week ago today was our last Sunday in Montrondo where we had been for over a month; the longest we have ever stayed. I enjoyed every minute. Honestly it was a lovely slow paced and quiet holiday with good walks, good company, good food and good weather in general. We managed too to escape the heat of the rest of most of Spain. We had such a good time I think we will go for at least as long next year or more. 

That day we went for our walk to Murias in the morning as we knew it would rain in the afternoon. I came home to make boeuf stroganof and made far too much. It is made with fillet steak and is my favourite Russian dish. I also made too much soup for Eladio's dinners and we ended up chucking it out. I should add I hate wasting food. 

It did rain in the afternoon but soon the sun came back and out came a rainbow. 

"I can see a rainbow"

We went out too and found some of Eladio's family picking plums and we joined in. From there we walked to the end of the village to a place known as "La Moncloa". It is named after the Spanish Presidential palace for fun I suppose and was designed as a  place to rest, meet and maybe debate. It is a relatively new village landmark built in 2013 with the help of Javi, a very smart local carpenter. We took some pictures. I chose one for this week's blog post and here is another one of Eladio.

Visiting La Moncloa last Sunday

I was not hungry for dinner and had my usual; a piece of fruit, a yoghurt and a medjoul date. That's all I need while I am on the pen (Monjauro). 

We tried to watch TV but the signal was pretty bad that night. Just before we went to bed, my sister-in-law, very kindly brought us a bag of locally sourced vegetables including a lettuce, runner beans and courgettes. Thank you Dolores.

Monday came and I got on the scales. I was delighted to be down to 60.5 kilos. I weighed 66.2 on 15th May and have lost just under 6 kilos. For you Brits and Americans that is 12.5 lbs, nearly a stone. I have reached my target weight and now have to maintain it. While I am on Monjauro that is well and good. Let's see what happens afterwards. You know what? If I do put on weight  I shall just go on the pen again. No more stupid diets for me. A dietitian friend of Suzy's asked me if I had any side effects. I don't. On the contrary, my blood pressure and cholesterol are at excellent levels and I feel good.  It is wonderful to fit into what were once tight trousers or dresses. The battle of the bulge has been the bane of my existence but not anymore.

As if to celebrate I made a cake.  It wasn't for me but for Eladio's sister, Adela whose birthday it was the next day. I wanted to surprise her so made that most British of cakes, Victoria Sponge. I put jam and whipped cream in the middle and cover the top with proper icing. But that I would do the next day. I used AI for the recipe and both layers turned out divine with no caving in the middle. 

I wasn't celebrating the fact we had no news from Volkswagen about our new T-Roc which had been a whole week in the garage in León. We had to ring every day to find out what was happening and when we would get it back and things were not looking good. I do not recommend Volkswagen Customer Care, especially not in August when everything is practically closed in Spain. 

I ran out of eggs making the cake so walked to the farmer Manolo's house at the end of the village in the hope he had some. He had just one dozen, fine for me. There is a huge difference between eating supermarket and locally produced eggs, the latter being far superior. 

I had more washing of towels and sheets to do and finally the top floor was ready for the next visitors. As I inspected the rooms I took photos to share here for you to see the top floor bedrooms and bathrooms which I still love. We built the house or rather finished it in 2015 and it still looks brand new. We really love it and it is the first and last brand new house that we have inhabited. Here are some of them including the kids' bedroom which was my study before but now has bunk beds.

The top floor bedrooms and bathrooms in our house in Montrondo

Monday's highlight, as always, was my weekly FaceTime video call with Amanda. It's only a few weeks until we set off for Devon where we will be celebrating her 70th birthday. I am really looking forward to that. Apart from seeing my friend, I always love going to Blighty!

It was on Tuesday that I cancelled our trip to Biarritz because of the weather. I had been checking the weather there every day since we arrived in Montrondo. It looked like it would rain heavily for most of our stay from 20th to 27th August and as I said at the beginning, Biarritz is no fun in the rain. I rather regret the decision now as as the week came to a close, the forecast got better. Oh well, Biarritz will have to wait for another time.

I finished making Adela's cake and went to see Lourdes from the village, famed for her baking, to ask for a candle and something to decorate the cake with. She had both a  candle and some coloured sprinklers, just the thing. This was what the cake looked like.

The birthday cake I made for Adela, Eladio's sister, the elder of the two.

It was just before lunch that we finally heard from Volkswagen. The car was ready and mended. They provided a taxi for us to pick it up in León on Wednesday. Finally, after 12 days we would have our car back.

We all gathered at Adela and Primo's house in the afternoon to celebrate her 77th birthday. She did not expect the present from Dolores, Toño, Eladio and I; a bottle of Eua de Rochas, nor did she expect the cake. I was so glad it made her happy. Here she is blowing out Lourdes' candle. It had to be a question mark as we couldn't find two 7s.

Adela blowing out the candle of her birthday cake

We had a grand afternoon and after a thick slice of Victoria sponge cake, I was not hungry for dinner. That evening we went on our last but one walk to Murias. I was glad to see my equestrian friends again but never got the chance to give them the apples I had bought especially for them.

Sadly, Wednesday was our last day in Montrondo. I was up early as usual and was glad to receive a photo from Olivia of her about to go live and report from the news desk. I haven't mentioned it but I watched her every morning.

Olivia ready to go live on TVE one morning this week

The taxi to drive us to León arrived on time. It's about 1.15h to the city but this driver went a long way round and took at least 15 minutes longer. It didn't matter. What did matter was that we were about to get our new car back. So what was wrong with it? It apparently had a software glitch with the brake pads. Thankfully it was a glitch only. It was great to drive it again. While in León, I wanted to see if I could buy a dress for this week's wedding. On Saturday, Alicia, our niece and Goddaughter is getting married to Luismi in León and we shall all be together again. I had worried all summer about what to wear. I had decided on a white embroidered tunic top from Zara to be worn with black trousers, lent to me by Pili. But I knew I would be the ugly duckling again at a wedding. We went to El Corté Inglés but I found nothing. I wanted a dress with sleeves and to go just below the knees, thus hiding my legs and arms. So, of course I found nothing. It was once I was home I came across an outfit I think will do. It's a simple black dress with a transparent long blouse like garment with coloured flowers. I last wore it on my 35th wedding anniversary which we shared with Phil and Kathy when we went to La Finca near Santa Pola. I dug out the photo to show to Pili, my fashion stylist and she approved. This is the outfit.

The outfit I shall probably be wearing for Alicia's wedding next Saturday

It was late by then and we had nothing planned for lunch so bought ready made food at El Corte Inglés to eat in Montrondo. And there was Pili waiting for us with more food and locally picked greengages, bless her. I went with her to pick more in the afternoon and we ended up in the bar having a drink with lots of other women. It was a good end to the day and to our stay.

We went on our last walk with Toño and Dolores. We watched the TV afterwards and I was very happy to hear of a promising vaccine for patients with Melanoma, that terrible skin cancer my brother died of. Also this week we heard that Harry and Meghan will be returning to the UK. Well, good luck to them. I don't really care. 

 That night I went to bed with mixed feelings. I would miss our house in Montrondo and our peaceful life there and didn't really want to go home.

Thursday did come, the day of our return and I was reminded, as always, by a phrase taught to me by my father; "all good things come to an end". How true.

After saying our goodbyes, we set off at about 10.30 with a heavy heart I should add. We only stopped once for a coffee and were home on time for lunch. We were greeted sweetly by Pippa first, always her first, then by Suzy. It was great to see them both. It was much hotter in Madrid but not sweltering. I had to put the air con in our room. What a difference from Montrondo where we slept with the heating on, pyjamas and a duvet.

It took forever to unpack and I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening, lounging in our room and not doing much. I missed our evening walk as it is too hot to go for walks here. But it was good to be home and to sleep in our more usual bed. For dinner we treated ourselves to scrambled eggs I got from Manolo and we all agreed they are superior to anything bought. 

Friday was our 43rd wedding anniversary and we were to celebrate it at home rather than in Biarritz which was a bit sad really. Eladio and I went shopping and of course I had a coffee at Alverán. We talked about our wedding and all these years together. I wonder if we will make it to our 50th wedding anniversary when we will both be rather gaga. So we agreed to celebrate together as often as possible. Thus the possible upcoming road trip to Morocco. Watch this space.

Oli and the kids joined us for lunch and stayed until late in the afternoon. It was good to see them and the kids behaved quite well. We had a late siesta when they went and at about 7ish I had a shower and got changed and made up to go out for our anniversary dinner. I am afraid there is no anniversary picture this year of the two of us  as the light at La Roca restaurant in Pozuelo was not flattering. Eladio took one of me where I look like my mother when she was old. I don't like it but it's what it is.

Photo of me at our anniversary dinner on Friday night. I don't particularly like it. 

I have to say the dinner was very good. I had delicious itsy bitsy things and Eladio went for lubina, a sort of sea bass. We dame home feeling good and not too full. I didn't sleep well that night and was up early as usual on Saturday morning. 

Yesterday Oli was coming with the kids and three of the girls' friends for a barbecue - Elena, Chati and Juli.  We hadn't bought enough burgers so Suzy and I went to get more. We also went for a coffee together at Manacor. She is looking good and I hope she is enjoying her new job. She was promised 10 days training which didn't happen and she says she is doing her best although it is very stressful. I wish her all the best in her new job.

Tana was back on Saturday and without her the lunch would not have been the same. I got everything out and Suzy laid the table. Eladio grilled the burgers and sausages and Tana did the rest. Just before we dug in, we had some photos taken. Here is the best one out of about 10. In the rest Elliot is making silly faces:-)

Yesterday's barbecue

We were exhausted afterwards and retired to our room while the young ones spent the afternoon by the pool. 

Today is Sunday and we have no plans but that is a good thing isn't it?  It's quite fresh at the moment so when I publish this post, maybe we will go for a walk. We certainly need one.

That's it from me for this week. I didn't have much to recount but hoped you enjoyed the read. Cheers till next week,

Masha.

c

Juliet and Elliot left, without a car in Montrondo, Olivia reporting live from her news desk, our experience of the full eclipse in Senra and other stories of the week.

 Montrondo, Sunday 16th August, 2026

Ready for the full solar eclipse in nearby Senra

Good morning once again from Montrondo where we have now been for a whole month, the longest time ever. We are enjoying quiet time here with Eladio's siblings and their families and are happy to have escaped the heat of Madrid.

This time last Sunday, Oli and family left us after nearly 2 weeks. They took Pippa with them as we had no one to look after her when we go to Biarritz this week. We were sad to see them go. They were too, especially Juliet who burst into tears when she realised what was happening. I cried too. She is a little devil but a very affectionate little girl. Oli later sent me a photo of the three of them in the back of the car.

Elliot and Juliet going home to Madrid and taking Pippa with them

They were at our house within just 4 hours and Pippa was soon in Suzy's arms whom she loves just as much as she loves us or maybe more. Here she is back home. I have missed her every day, especially on our walks.

Pippa home and in Suzy's arms, bless her. Isn't she lovely?

The house was empty without her and even emptier without our grandchildren. We stripped some of the beds, started on the washing and cleaning which is quite a job but kept us busy for a few days. Lunch was a bit of a disaster. I was going to make spaghetti carbonara.  I thought I was missing eggs which Pili gave me. Then I didn't have any spaghetti so got some from Dolores. When I realised the pancetta wasn't there either I had to improvise and made fried eggs and chips. We were running out of provisions. 

Eladio commented he thought the brakes of our brand new Volkswagen T Roc were not working right. He had noticed it a week before on a drive to Villablino. If only he hadn't waited a week to tell me. Now we had less time to react before our trip to Biarritz which at the moment is touch and go. On Monday we called VW who sent a breakdown truck to pick it up. They took it to the VW garage in León, an hour and a quarter away from here, on Tuesday and we didn't hear from them till Wednesday and then again on Friday. Bottom line is they won't inspect it until tomorrow 17th and we are off on 20th. We asked for a courtesy car, of course, but they didn't have one. Thus we have been without a car since Monday. If the car is not ready we shall have to take a bus or train to San Sebastian and another bus or train to Biarritz which would take a whole day rather than a 5 hour drive in our new car. Fingers crossed it will be fixed before our trip. Thanks. 

That evening there was a  dinner and dance in the marquee on the village green. As we don't eat much dinner we didn't have dinner but went to see what was going on after our walk. On our walk, amazingly, we bumped into two ladies speaking English which is unheard of here. Jacky who is a bit older than me is from London and married a man from this area in the 70's. They have a house in Murias and live in Pozuelo, near us in Madrid. What a coincidence. We met them again another day and no doubt I would have met up with Jacky for a coffee but she has just left for England. 

Dancing is not my thing as I have two left feet and so does Eladio but it was quite lively. Eladio had a wonderful time socialising with friends he went to school with and who are now in their 80s. He came home feeling quite emotional which is unusual for him. It was cold as we left and we came back to a quiet house with the central heating on. As we have done every night we slept in our pyjamas and covered with a duvet. That would be impossible in Madrid and feels like luxury.

Monday came and Oli was back to work. Her next holiday isn't until the beginning of September. This week she has been the presenter for the news desk which I think she quite enjoys although she confessed she far prefers being out on the job. She was on and off the TV all morning and I caught her about twice. The main news topics this week were the earthquake in Colombia, the eclipse - of course - and the situation in Ceuta where there are at least still 10.000 illegal immigrants.  She sent me some photos after being made up for the job. She looks stunning. 

Olivia all dressed up and ready for her news desk reporting job this week for her programme, La Hora de la 1. She does a splendid job.

I switched her programme on every day  this week on my iPad and had the pleasure of seeing her reporting live multiple times. 

Meanwhile in Montrondo, I hitched a ride with Eladio's sisters and went shopping in Villablino as we were running out of food. This time I made sure I had the ingredients to make spaghetti carbonara. 

In the afternoon we invited the family for coffee here on the back terrace which is the coolest place to be in hot weather. We tried out the eclipse glasses and I was thankful to see they were the approved ones. There was so much talk about wrong glasses and the danger of looking at the sun during an eclipse we all became a bit worried. That afternoon, Eladio and I socialised again and went to the village bar where we sat with lots of women from his generation and whom he had been to school with too. I had to have a photo to share here.

At the bar this week with some of the women Eladio went to school with many, many years ago.

The day ended with a frugal dinner followed by our daily evening walk with Toño and Dolores before going to bed. 

On Tuesday morning I went with Pili in her car to have coffee at Senra. There was to be no visibility of the eclipse the next day in either Montrondo nor Murias but we had been told that Senra was the place as the mountains don't cover the sun at that time - 8.30 pm. A local told us the exact two places which he himself had checked. Thus we later confirmed with the family where to go to watch the spectacle, the first full eclipse in over 100 years in Spain.

I came home to do more washing and then some ironing and made "solomillo" (tenderloin steak) with fresh mushrooms for lunch. The cut was divine. 

The rest of the day was spent having coffee with the family, making up the beds, our walk and watching something on the TV.

Wednesday came, the day of the much awaited, once in a century full eclipse. As Spain was the main inhabited region in the world of its path of totality, it drew massive astro and non astro tourism. NASA came and took over a whole village. The totality was mostly in northern and central Spain so many off the map villages  became visitor hubs but not Senra. We are far too way off the tourist map. What had started in Siberia ended in the Balearic islands. This eclipse is the start of a trilogy of eclipses to happen in Spain. Next year another total eclipse will take place in the south in Andalusia on August 2nd and in 2028 there will be what is called an annular ring of fire eclipse on January 26th. So Spain is the place to be for these astronomical events. I read many people have booked accommodation 4 years ago for the one next year. Last August a Canadian couple booked our place in Asturias but I am very sorry it was so cloudy there I think they didn't see much. 

We had a hearty lunch of roast lamb which I roasted slowly in the oven and it was divine. I think I was too excited to sleep a siesta so I made sandwiches to have while waiting for the eclipse. We had been told the moon would begin to cover the sun from 7.30 pm.  I made a very English sandwich filling of egg mayonnaise which was lovely although I think my Spanish family were a bit dubious. I also took plums, water and a jacket as apparently during the full eclipse when everything is dark it suddenly gets cold. I sort of wished the eclipse was at midday to get the full effect rather than at 8.30 pm, just one hour before sunset but apparently that was to add to the magic. 

At about 7 pm we set off in cars, some on bicycles, in the hot sun to find a spot to park in Senra. We had expected it to be full but it wasn't. We took along some beach chairs for the wait which we all appreciated. And here is some of Eladio's family wearing their special glasses; an historic photo I must say and difficult to get as everyone was all over the place and not paying attention.

The family ready to watch the eclipse

Pili took one of Eladio and I with ours on which I have chosen as this week's feature photo.

Meanwhile in Madrid, where visibility would be 99%, Suzy was out in the countryside near our house with Tana and Pippa also waiting for the eclipse. This is the photo she sent me.

Suzy and Tana with Pippa about to watch the eclipse

Thankfully, Pippa's eyes would not be damaged as I doubt she tried to look at the sun. And in Boadilla, Oli and Miguel chose to stay at home so as not to have problems with the children taking off their glasses. They did well to do that; much safer than arguing with a 4 year old to put his or her glasses on. 

Miguel with the kids waiting for the eclipse with their glasses on

By 7.45 we could already see the sun partially eclipsed by the moon but with our glasses and great care. That was difficult as everything is dark with them on. Then oh dear the clouds appeared and we thought that would be the end of our experience. But the stars aligned better than ever and at the last minute the clouds  went and we were able to watch the sun completely covered by the moon and  its corona and then a ring of what looked like red fire. That was a special moment. By then it was night time during the day, perhaps the most incredible moment. People cheered and 1 minute 40 seconds later it was daylight again, like dawn. What an amazing experience. I was unable to take any photos as I couldn't see to do so. I got this wonderful one from NASA taken in Zaragoza where the eclipse is reflected in the river so you get two eclipses.

NASA's best picture of the eclipse taken in Zaragoza

We walked home and I felt so energised. We saw people appear from fields where they had gathered to see this rare event which we felt part of. And then it got dark again naturally as the sun set at around 9.30 pm. We had had two dawns and two sunsets that day; something to remember always.

Thursday was an important day for Suzy. She was starting her new job as a dietitian for the Compass Group, a British catering company. She is working at the hospital in Alcorcón not far from home. I wish her a lot of luck. She deserves this chance. I went with Pili again to Senra to the grumpy man's bar - who, by the way was not interested in the eclipse - for our morning coffee which has been a bit of a ritual here and a nice one. It was a very hot day and in the evening we went on our walk with Toño and Dolores. I was happy to see my pony and my donkey back in their field. Eladio took a photo of me with my equestrian friends. I promised them I would bring them some food next time. I bought apples especially for them at the supermarket on Friday but they had moved fields. 

Greeting my equestrian friends on one of our walks this week

I should have slept well that night but only got 5 hours sleep. On Friday morning Dolores and I went with Pili to get more provisions at Villablino. Pili also had to take her car for its annual MOT which, thankfully, it passed.

Once home and with the shopping unloaded,I made salmorejo - a thicker type of gazpacho - which we had followed by fish served with leek and potatoes. After our siesta we joined Eladio's family at Pili's house right next door to ours. At first we sat in the shade to have our afternoon coffee but soon the clouds came and then a thunderstorm. It lasted till late at night and briefly internet went. 

Back home, Suzy and Oli were at a birthday party for Celeste, Copi's mother. They sent me a lovely photo of the two of them together wearing flowers. Flowers were part of the party I later heard.

Suzy and Oli at Celeste's birthday party this weekend

It was on Friday evening that Tana told me Pippa wasn't eating her food, her dog food and what to do. I was a bit alarmed. Pippa is 12, going on 13 which is considered very old for a dog. For sure she is fed up of her usual kibble but I also think her taste and smell may be diminished because of her age. I gave her instructions and Suzy too, to buy her some appropriate human food; chicken, rice, sweet potato, boiled egg, beef, etc the very next day. They did that and she is now eating again bless her. 

We watched a great film on Netflix that night. Called "Los Creyentes" in Spanish,it is badly translated into "Truthers". It stars one of my favourite Spanish actors, José Coronado and nearly all the films he is in are good. Apparently it is in the Netflix top 10 in 65 countries. It had us riveted until nearly midnight.

Saturday dawned and I was up at 7 am and had slept 6 hours which is great for me. The main news that day was a 5 scale earthquake in Granada which saw no victims but did its damage to homes and cars. The other topic was Ceuta. It was expected there would be another influx of migrants like the one on 30th July when over 70.000 stormed the border from Morocco into Spain. It is said the Moroccan government allowed that to happen to get political clout. This time the latter thwarted the efforts of 300 migrants, nearly all of them from Sub Saharan Africa. They did so  by deploying hundreds of riot police, using water cannon, razor wire and tear gas on those poor souls hoping for a better life. I didn't like those scenes. And I don't like the scenes of more than 5000 desperate migrants stranded and desperate in Ceuta. There have been terrible stories of Moroccan migrants raping young Moroccan girls. The Spanish authorities have to step up there however difficult it is. 

Back in Montrondo, we knew another thunderstorm was coming in the afternoon so went on our walk in the morning, not wanting to be robbed of one again. Toño and Dolores with their dog, Pipo, came too. Morning coffee was at home this time after which I made our lunch, smoked pork cutlets with fresh asparagus and mushrooms again. I slept an hour long siesta after which the rain started and turned into a full blown thunderstorm including hail. It went on for hours and both the electricity and internet went. Life without internet is not much fun. I lit candles of which we have many around the house and waited for internet and electricity to return. It was only when Toño and Dolores came to see us hours later that we realised  the electricity had only gone in  our house. Eladio switched it on again and we had both light and internet again. How stupid we felt. 

Today is Sunday and the sun is shining although we expect another storm in the afternoon. Today will be a quiet day. Hopefully tomorrow we will have good news about the car. But more about that next week when we should be in Biarritz celebrating our 43rd wedding anniversary. 

Cheers till then and all the best from Montrondo,

Masha

Buying eggs in Montrondo with Juliet, to the vet with Pippa, spectacular herd of cows passes through the village, Spain and Italy impose border checks after Ceuta migrant influx and other stories of the week.

 Montrondo, Sunday, 9th August, 2026

Elliot and Juliet came with us to the Vet in Villablino on Monday

Good morning from Montrondo, once again. We have now been here for 3 whole weeks and have another 2 to go until our holiday in Biarritz. 

It has been a very quiet week with not much to tell. We have continued to have the company of Oli and family and to enjoy our grandchildren, Elliot (6) and Juliet (4). Sadly, they are leaving this  morning as our daughter has to work on Monday.

Last Sunday was the day after the village fiesta and the family christening and lots of  people were here. One week later, many have left and it is much quieter. That  morning we joined some of Eladio's siblings for coffee in Senra. Here is a photo to remember the moment.

Coffee in Senra last Sunday with some of Eladio's family

I came home to put the roast chicken on. We had got it locally, from Riello and you could tell it wasn't shop bought. With the remains I later made a chicken noodle soup which everyone loves.

That day our Canadian guests who had booked our house in El Cuetu a whole year ago, to see the solar eclipse on 12th August, arrived. They nearly locked themselves in, sending me a message for me to "please" order my neighbour to go over with the key "immediately" . My neighbour is an elderly lady with Parkinsons so no way was I going to give her that order. There is a hidden spare key for emergencies which, in the end, they didn't need. This week I had more rental problems. The air con in the Green Room at home was not working and I had just one day to find someone to fix it. I did, at a very elevated cost. In Santa Pola, the guests broke the glass of the TV table. Thankfully, Gina, the lady who takes care of the apartment, fixed that . Hopefully the guests will pay the cost. They should do. 

Our day ended, as it nearly always does here, with an evening walk to Murias and back after dinner.

On Monday I was up at the crack of dawn at 5.30 am! When she was up,  Juliet  went with me to buy eggs from one of the farmers. My granddaughter insisted Pippa came with us. Here is a photo of her trying to walk our dog on the lead.

Juliet and Pippa came with me to buy eggs in the village on Monday

Juliet asked the farmer if she could see his hens which, kindly, he did. I took a photo of that moment to share with you here.

Juliet with some of the hens whose eggs we buy in the village. 

It must have been quite an experience for Juliet to come with me to buy eggs as she is more used to seeing her mother buy them in a supermarket! Buying eggs in Montrondo is very bucolic I think. Later my granddaughter who isn't afraid to speak her mind, asked the farmer why he only had one tooth and would he please show it to her. I was mortified and hope his feelings were not hurt.

Oli and her family later drove to Villablino for more provisions and I went with my neighbour Pili, Eladio's youngest sister,  to have morning coffee at the old prison in Murias which nowadays is a successfully run rural hotel. There is a large signpost saying the terrace is for guests only but we ignored it and enjoyed our coffee in the most beautiful of surroundings. Morning coffee is often the highlight of the day for me which you will know if you read this blog regularly.

 I came home to find Pippa being sick over and over again on an empty stomach which had me worried. After lunch she had diarrhea and I didn't hesitate to find and ring a vet. I rang one in Villablino and that is where we spent the afternoon. The kids wanted to come with us and I thought it would be an interesting experience for them and it was. We took a photo of them at the vet which I have chosen for this week's feature photo. They had a grand time and the best thing is that Pippa was promptly dealt with. The vet pronounced she had gastroenteritis. She took her temperature through her bum to the delight of Elliot and Juliet. They were sorry for her when she was administered 2 injections, an antibiotic and one to stop her being sick. They behaved so well, we invited them to an ice cream across the road from the vet before going home. I had  a panic moment when Juliet wanted to go to the loo. She was wearing a pinafore dress with devilish buttons at the back. I don't know how I got them off but had to ask the waitress to put them on again afterwards, haha.

Here they are enjoying the moment and also doing some puzzles the kind vet, Elena, had given them along with some crayons.

Lovely moments with our grandchildren when they came with us to the Vet on Monday

We later had a small dinner at home followed by our walk. Once back we spent time before bed with José Antonio and Dolores. 

I had a better night and woke up more refreshed on Tuesday. I was up at 6.20 - better than 5.30 - and fed Pippa the special food the vet gave us which she seemed to like. Her gastroenteritis soon disappeared and she was herself again, thank goodness. 

We went food shopping with José Antonio and Dolores, the highlight always being coffee and biscuits at a bar in Villablino. I brought back enough food for our lunches until Oli and family were leaving. No doubt we will be going again next Tuesday but will buy a lot less as I will only be making meals for 2; just us and not even Pippa. Pips, sadly, will be returning to Madrid today with Oli and family as we have no one to look after her when we go to France. So tonight she will be sleeping with Suzy. We will miss her badly and so will a lot of the village kids. 

I had my weekly Facetime call with Amanda in the afternoon. To get some privacy I sat on a chair near Toño's chickens, another local spectacle. We spoke for 1.5h and it was great therapy as usual. In a month's time we will be in Devon to celebrate her 70th birthday - yes 70! We have been friends for nearly 60 years, a lifetime. 

Once our call was over,  I joined Oli on a walk round the village following Juliet who went to her friend Carla's house where they have a bouncing castle. She loved it. I had to leave them to join Eladio for his 8 pm dinner after which we were joined by José Antonio and Dolores on our evening walk. It was good to have company and they have gone with us on more walks since then.

Wednesday came and wonder of wonders I had slept for nearly 6 and a half hours. Eladio and I took the kids with us for coffee at Senra and I got them a Fanta each as well as a small box of Pringles and some crisps. That meant, of course, they would not be hungry for lunch damn it. I go all out to make lunches I think they will like but they never do. I think they live off crisps, biscuits and sweets. No doubt they will go back to normal at school in September. 

Just as I got up from my siesta, I heard cows and walked to the main gate of our complex. Indeed there were cows and many of them, over 100 I would say. They had been dropped off in Murias and were being walked through Montrondo and up to the mountains where they will spend the rest of the summer. It was a beautiful spectacle and a bit of fun too as some of them veered across the road and into a neighbour's garden. The people here are used to cows but not so many at the same time. Our grandchildren loved what they saw. I took a video to share with you which you can see here.

Eladio felt like going out afterwards and wanted to visit his parents and grandmother's graves so we took Juliet (and Pippa) with us. Here is Juliet on her bike with Eladio on our way to the church.

Juliet on her bike coming with us to the cemetery

Eladio became very nostalgic, melanchonic and sad as he sat and contemplated the graves.I told Juliet her grandfather (Booboo) was sad and she went and gave him a hug, bless her. This was the moment.

Juliet hugging her beloved "Booboo" at the cemetery this week

She soon got bored and wanted to leave and we walked with her to the village green called "El Campo". A group of mostly men were playing a game of bowls unique to the area but although Eladio knows how to play he didn't want to join in. Instead he took a photo of me by the "Pilón", a well where his family used to get water before they had running water in the house. Imagine!

Me by the well on the village green this week

Eladio felt like socialising that day and suggested we go to the bar. We sat with a group of women we know well and felt at home. Later we went outside to talk to another group, some of whom had gone to school with Eladio. When they are here, Eladio and his siblings love to reminisce. They had a hard life but despite the difficulties there are many good times for them to look back on. 

The day ended the same as every day this week, dinner alone, our walk to Murias and back and early to bed.

On Thursday I weighed myself for the first time since I left Madrid, thanks to some modern scales Dolores gave us. Thank you Dolores. If the scales are right I now weigh about 61 kilos and have lost 5 thanks to Mounjaro. Whoopee. Again that morning I went with Pili for coffee at La Cárcel. 

I can't remember what I made for lunch that day - oh yes, roast chicken legs with potatoes - and again it was a struggle for the kids to eat the meal I had made. They have no idea at age 4 and  6 the effort I put in here to feed everyone everyday. 

Suzy had good news that day. She had been offered another job, this one was up her street as a dietitian at a hospital in Alcorcón, a town near us. She has been hired by a British catering company called Compass Group. Later came the bad news, she wants to leave home which we know will be difficult on her salary and her intention is to go and live in London again. What worries us is that she won't take her medication if she leaves home. She starts next week and I wish her luck. 

Friday morning saw me making "cocido madrileño", a slow cooked chickpea, meat and vegetable stew which we all love. I spent all morning making it, only stopping to go with Eladio for a coffee to Senra. We had a lazy afternoon and evening and our day ended as usual. 

On Saturday I was up at about 6 am and had only had 5 hours sleep; just not enough. It was Oli family's last full day here. We went on our only walk together and it was to Murias where, unfortunately, there was nowhere to have our coffee. Meanwhile, Eladio and Toño, together with Pippa who I miss already, walked up the mountains as far as the Birch tree forest and came back exhausted. Pippa came back very dirty and had to have another bathe in our claw foot bathtub:-)

The big news that day came from the Spanish government which introduced temporary border checks on visitors from Italy. This was in retaliation for Rome imposing similar measures to Spanish visitors after the major influx of migrants to Ceuta. Georgia Meloni, the Italian Premiere announced the extreme measure even though she knew and knows that any non EU visitor has to face a Police Control when leaving Ceuta for the Spanish mainland. The whole thing is a political storm in a teacup and is ridiculous. The press published pictures yesterday of the new control for Spaniards arriving in Italy who now have to go through a separate lane and be checked for their ID. This goes against the Schengen agreement where EU citizens travelling within the EU are not generally submitted to border checks. It made me quite angry when I saw this photo.

A special lane for Spaniards arriving in Italy.

It rained yesterday, on and off for the second time in 3 weeks. There was a huge thunderstorm with lightning which thankfully did not cause a fire as the terrain was wet. It was lightning during a dry thunderstorm that caused last year's dreadful fire.

It was Oli and family's last day with us and it was bittersweet. Juliet told us she wanted to stay with her grandparents and was very loving towards us. It was Elliot's last day with his favourite cousin, Oliver, who have been inseparable throughout their stay. It was lovely to see their friendship blossom. 

Today is Sunday and as I write, they have just left. Poor Juliet burst into tears of emotion to leave us behind. That made me cry too but I hastened to tell her we will see each other again soon at Alicia's wedding in León at the end of the month. Pippa was fastened in between Elliot and Juliet and seemed to be quite comfortable but it was heart wrenching to see her go too. It was  a sad moment as their car left the gates and they were on their way. We wish them a very safe journey.

Our day will be much quieter and less chaotic without them I suppose. We shall continue to enjoy our stay here but it won't be the same.

Now it is time to leave you and have my second cup of coffee before I take my shower and get on with the day.

Wishing you all the best, cheers Masha