El Cuetu in mourning, last few days in Asturias, housing crisis and protests in Spain, home again, family reunion with Eladio's Cuban cousin, Lecinia and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 4th October, 2026

Family gathering to welcome Lecinia and celebrate Eladio's, Elliot's and Juliet's September birthdays yesterday.

Good morning all. How have you been?

It's been quite a week for us and for many others too. Last Sunday El Cuetu was reeling from the news of the death of 20 year old Soraya in a car rally the day before. The village was in mourning and was like an open air funeral parlour with many, many people coming to mourn Soraya and pay their condolences to the family. 

We had a few days until we left on Wednesday so filled it with activities and visits to new places and old as best we could although a lot of the joy had gone out of our stay. That morning we visited the pretty town of Porrúa - it's dreadful to think but Soraya's boyfriend, the driver, Germán is from there. He was still in hospital when we left. We had a coffee at the local bar and admired the houses so typical of the area. 

A house in Porrúa with two horses outside. Lovely picture.

There were local newspapers lying around, all including the terrible news of the death of this young girl. 

The tragic news in all the local papers

Of interest in Porrúa is the open air museum of times gone by in the area. Called Museo Etnográfico de Oriente de Asturias,  it showcases rural life in around 1900 and the museum is really a farm looking like it would have then. There was a granery or  "horreo" so typical of the area. 

Outside the granary in Porrua last Sunday

Then there was the house and all the buildings you see on a farm, barns and so forth. It was all fully furnished with objects and furniture of the times as well as farming tools. All of it was very familiar to Eladio who was born in the 40's in Montrondo. He recognised so many of them. Here are some photos of our visit to this marvelous museum. 

The farm museum in Porrua

Later, keen to visit a beach I had heard about called Playa de la Huelga, we drove as near to it as we could. It's a wild beach with at least a 2 or 3km walk to get there. But what a wonderful walk to this secluded beach known for its stunning sea arch. Thankfully it was mid tide so we could enjoy walking on the beach as at high tide the sand completely disappears. I am afraid though that we both got our trainers soaked as there was a stream of water running through this lovely and uncrowded beach.

At Playa de la Huelga last Sunday

Once home we had lunch which was the contents of the doggy bag we brought back from Casa Xico the day before. It was delicious and the best thing is that I didn't have to cook. 

The news from England was not good. There was a frustrated terrorist plot at an RAF base in Fairford, Gloucestershire. British authorities say there are strong indications the Iranians are to blame. If they are it will be in retaliation for the US Army using the military base to launch its attacks on Iran. What a stupid war this is. Trump got us into it and he can't get us out of it. 

It was strange sitting outside on our terrace in the afternoon with so many mourners coming.  The atmosphere could not have been sadder.

Monday came and the village continued to be in mourning. I had embraced both Loli and Pepe, our neighbours and the girl's grandparents who just couldn't take it in. Loli had lost her other son 23 years ago aged just 23 and she wondered why she was being punished so severely for the second time. We didn't want to disturb the parents, Lucía and Emilio and the brother Pablo but plucked up courage to do so. Knocking on their door was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. What can you say to a family who have lost their daughter and sister aged just 20? We didn't have the words. All I could do was hug  and cry with them. They have been in my thoughts since that fateful Saturday 26th September and will be always.

We left feeling helpless and sad. How on earth can they rebuild their lives now? Time helps but the sadness will never leave, just as it never left Loli when she lost her son Juan Pablo 23 years ago. My heart goes out to this family who did not deserve the worst blow there is in life. 

Life for us continued and this week saw me counting my blessings. We went to Posada to get fruit and then decided to visit the town of Ribadasella, a pretty and very popular town in Asturias. We have been there countless times but I never tire of it. I love the Santa Marina beach which we walked along. It was on this beach with my friend Amanda on 8th September 2022, we heard the Queen was gravely ill. We were together when we heard the news of her death. Anyway, here is a photo Eladio took of me by that wonderful beach where, one day, for sure, I will bathe.

Enjoying a walk on the Santa Marina beach in Ribadasella

We came home to find we had a new neighbour, a rather skinny horse in the field near our house. I would have loved to stroke it but it was full of flies, poor beast. 

Our new neighbour in El Cuetu

That day I did have to make lunch. These days, maybe because I am on Mounjaro, I am rather fed up of cooking and feeding everyone. I am retired but this burden is always on my shoulders. Of course, I have Tana to help me now but the mental load is always mine. So when I go away, the last thing I want is to to spend my mornings cooking. Thus I made something very simple, fried eggs, pork loins and chips with fresh tomatoes. Eladio loved what is called here a "plato combinado". 

My afternoon was cheered up by my weekly video call with Amanda. As she has been to El Cuetu she knows Loli, my neighbour and understood the awful tragedy that had hit the village. 

Tuesday came and I was up at 6 am. It was our last full day and the warmest with the temperature rising to 26ºc. That day we simply went to Llanes where I had a coffee at La Galerna after which we went on that marvellous walk called Paseo de San Pedro. We never tire of that walk with its rocks and great views.

Paseo San Pedro in Llanes was the place we chose for our walk on Tuesday

It was that day that the new  PM, Andy Burnham, finally spoke about the elephant in the room, Brexit. Speaking at the Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool, his words were "Brexit has done more harm than good". His speech was hailed as historic. I only listened to part of it but he is a good narrator. However, when I had a video call that afternoon with my school friend, Kathy, from Keighley, she was not quite as enthusiastic as he also said in the speech he would downgrade the famous "triple lock" state pension which affects all pensioners in the UK. He needs the funding to improve the NHS. But pensioners won't be happy. 

Wednesday dawned, the day of our departure. We had to leave early as we were seeing a contractor at 4 pm at home. He will be doing major repairs in the garage and the front terrace where water has seeped in and done a lot of damage. We went to say goodbye to our distraught neighbours but only Pepe was up. We hugged him and left him looking very forlorn. 

On our way home we only stopped once for a coffee and quick bite. While Eladio drove, I played games on my mobile but also caught up on the main news in Spain which is no longer Ceuta. It is the housing crisis which after the eviction of an old lady, Mari Carmen, turned into huge protests with 1000 demonstrators camping in Puerta del Sol, the very centre of Madrid. This lady who has become a household name, was actually quite fortunate and not the victim she is made out to be. She has lived in a 92m2 flat in the Retiro Park area, one of the most expensive in the capital, for 70 years or more. She inherited the contract her father signed in 1956 and paid a pittance in rent. The contract was what is called "renta antigua" wherein in Franco's Spain, the landlord could never increase the rent and the tenancy lasted for 3 generations. However, the Socialist party, who see Mari Carmen as a victim and catalyst of the housing crisis, were responsible for changing Franco's law and stopped all old contracts. She was a civil servant, had a good job but when offered to buy the flat she refused. With the new socialist law, she had to vacate the property in the 2000's but she never did until after a long legal battle, she was finally evicted from what she calls her home on 23rd September. She was offered an almost free flat from the local government, a place in a care home and even her family offered her to live with them. She refused and guess what? She has now been allowed to go back to the flat and pay only 500 euros a month for it when the going price is over 2000. Those who know her say she is a despot and nasty neighbour. Be that as it may, her case, handled by a far left wing tenants association, who went as far as to send a box of live cockroaches to the owner, has now reached all four corners of this country and inspired 1000 disgruntled people to protest and sleep in the Puerta del Sol. The Spanish government who has been in power for 8 years has done nothing to fix the housing crisis in Spain -basically it is impossible for young people to rent or buy on a low salary - suddenly went into action and came up with two housing decrees to be approved this Friday. The measures were only really in favour of tenants leaving most landlords with no wish whatsoever to rent their houses they could probably never get back.  What this government has not understood is that it is not the responsibility of private owners to house people who cannot buy or rent a property. It is their responsibility and they have had plenty of time to build social housing. That is the answer to the housing crisis in Spain and only that. Thankfully,  the decrees did not go through. In order to do so, the Socialist party needed the support of all its coalition partners, including Junts, that far right Catalan Independence party led by fugitive Puigdemont. His 7 seats swayed the vote. It is ironic that the latter made him PM and is now ousting him from Parliament. It is obvious Sánchez does not have the support necessary in his minority government. Now we are all wondering if Sánchez will call a general election ahead of next year. 

Meanwhile, the motley group of people camping in Sol continue their protests. Not all are genuine lack of housing sufferers. There are groups there raising funds for ETA terrorist prisoners and even pro squatter groups giving lessons on how to squat and milk the system. Squatting is another main reason landlords are unwilling to rent. In France too there are protests and they are quite violent.  Students, indignant that Macron has reduced the budget for education, have taken to the streets and have the country gripped with their violent behaviour. I hope the protests in Spain don't get as nasty as in France. 

Anyway, back to our little life which is so quiet usually. We were home by 3 and Tana had our lunch ready. The man who came to talk to Eladio about the repair work doubled his estimate and we had to make a big decision. We agreed finally and work will start on Monday. 

Later I unpacked and met my Serbian guests who left on Friday. This weekend we are full house again. We spent part of the afternoon planning our next few weeks which will see us on the road again. 

The big news internationally that day was the story of the Dubai flight to Tel Aviv. The co pilot from Oman stabbed the captain with the intention of crashing the plane. Thankfully he was thwarted by a heroic group of passengers.

Thursday was 1st October, a significant day for me as it is the anniversary of the passing away of my dear mother. I think about her every day and have missed her since 1999 when I was just 42, Suzy's age. Olivia commented it was too young to lose a mother. It was. God bless you Mummy. I hope you are with Daddy.

I had an appointment that morning with a urologist at the local private hospital, Monteprincipe in Pozuelo. My urinary infection was back with a vengeance after I had finished the 7 day course of antibiotics. The culture result revealed I have another nasty bug called klebsiella pneumoniae and which is different from the one I had in the summer. The doctor prescribed new and stronger antibiotics to be taken for 10 days. Thankfully I am feeling better since I started them. At the end of the month I will have a scan and they will do another culture. In all my life until this summer I had never ever suffered from a UTI and am wondering why it is happening. Hopefully they will get to the bottom of it soon. 

Later we went for a coffee and another appointment with the relationship manager of our bank. I came home and had the sudden urge to clean and clear out my shoe and boot cupboards. I didn't even know what I had. Now everything is looking shipshape and Bristol fashion. 

It was on Friday that we finally saw Suzy whom we hadn't seen since we left for Asturias. She seemed in fine fettle although busy with her work and her new beau. She said to me yesterday that she has a new life! At the moment we are like ships in the night but I am so glad she was off on Saturday and could join in the family reunion yesterday. 

Friday was the day of the voting of the new housing decrees. I had a vested interest in them not going through as there were measures in it to increase the already stringent conditions to host on Airbnb and Booking including a huge increase in tax. Airbnb is the scapegoat of the housing crisis along with so called vulture funds. However, they only represent a small percentage of the rental market, between 4 and 1.30% between them. Many landlords who rented long term turned to Airbnb instead as there is less likelihood of guests turning into squatters, plus it is more lucrative. A lot of older people, rent out one room in their own house to increase their paltry pension and they were to be penalised too. I am glad it hasn't got through.

I spent part of Friday afternoon batch cooking - yes cooking again - for the weekend and to take to Montrondo where we shall be going with Lecinia tomorrow. It was from Montrondo her grandfather, Constante, aged just 17, left the village in around 1920 for Cuba in search of a better life. He never came back. It's nice to think his granddaughter went back for him. 

Saturday was to be a busy day. I was up early and cooking again for the family lunch. I made spaghetti bolognese as it is popular with Elliot and Juliet.   We then drove into Madrid to Eladio's brother's house where we used to live too when we first got married. There we would meet Lecinia. We had only met her once before and it was in Havana in January 2017 when José Antonio's eldest son, Miguel, got married to Claudia, a Cuban girl. Lecinia is Eladio's second cousin. Her grandfather, Constante, was the brother of Eladio's beloved grandmother, Lecinia to whom she owes her name.

Coming to Spain must abe a huge cultural shock for Lecinia. The Cubsns blames the US blockade and never thinks their communist government may be to blame in any way. Besides, Cuba still maintains the possibility of trading with 100 other countries but has virtually nothing to export.. The government is so inept, Cuba even needs to import sugar. Immigrants from Spain went there at the beginning of the last century to work on the sugar plantations like her grandfather. I wonder what Constante would have thought.

It was a pleasure to meet her again and as soon as we hugged, she felt like family. Eladio and his sister Pili say she looks just like their grandmother and her great aunt Lecinia. We drove her home but stopped on the way for a coffee at Alverán and to pick up the birthday cake for lunch where we would celebrate Juliet, Elliot and Eladio's September birthdays together and welcome their new cousin. We also stopped at Carrefour to pick up spaghetti. I didn't say anything but could just imagine what was going through our Cuban cousin's head as she saw the huge variety and quality of the produce. 10 years ago in Havana I went into a couple of supermarkets and to an outdoor fruit and vegetable market. There was so little there, it reminded me of the stories my parents told of Russia before communism fell. Soon we were home to our massive house and there was Pippa to greet us. 

We installed Leci as she is known in the green room for which she was grateful as it has a terrace and she is a smoker. We showed her around the house and introduced her to Suzy, Tana and the latter's sister, Elsa. There was the odd guest around too so the house felt very merry. Lunch was ready and while we waited for Oli and family to arrive, we had a glass of sherry outside. I seized the moment and took a photo of Eladio with his cousin who is 

Eladio with his cousin Lecinia who arrived yesterday at our house after a week with my in-laws, Toño and Dolores. Aged just 64 she is 18 years younger than him. 

As you can imagine, nearly all our conversation was about Cuba, how her grandfather left Spain and what life is like today. Life is terrible. Lecinia was a dentist until she retired so it was great when Oli showed her Elliot's teeth as he has one growing under the other.

When Oli, Miguel and our 2 amazing grandchildren arrived, the family was complete. We were 8 at the table which Tana had laid so well as we got out all the finery. Before we tucked into our soup and spag bol, we had photos taken. I chose one of the them as this weeks' feature photo to remember the day. 

We spent a lovely afternoon together and as I said, it felt like family. Even Pippa realised that and the kids were very affectionate with their new cousin. Here are some more photos of yesterday.

Photos from yesterday's lunch and family gathering

It was good to see Oli too whom I hadn't seen since Alicia's wedding at the end of August. She was looking good. 

When everyone had gone, it was just Eladio, Lecinia and I left and we spent time by the pool over a glass of dry sherry and we introduced our Cuban cousin to pistachios. The variety of food in Cuba is very limited. We know that as we went 10 years ago but now it is even worse. You cannot get fresh milk for love or money, only powder milk. My nephew Miguel who lived there told me they eat rice and beans every day and sometimes have pork or chicken and not much else.  Even eggs are hard to come by. There is hardly any fresh fruit or vegetables.  I served peeled prawns for dinner with a salad and mayonnaise which our guest ate heartily. She will eat well while she is in Spain. 

We went to bed extremely tired but happy. I was happy too to get a message that evening from an estate agency in Llanes. They had shown a new client our house in El Cuetu yesterday who had written to the agency to say they really liked it. So we are getting nearer. Maybe it will turn into a sale and maybe we will have to wait. We don't mind.

Today is Sunday and we have no plans. Originally we were going to Montrondo today but have postponed it until tomorrow to fit in with Eladio's siblings's plans. I think we will just have a quiet day with Lecinia and more enjoyable conversation. 

That's it from me for this week. Wishing you all a good Sunday,

Cheers Masha

Olivia's stories from Ceuta, celebrating Eladio's birthday with Suzy, Harvard student asks Pedro Sánchez awkward questions, off to Asturias, discovering new places, tragedy in El Cuetu and other stories of the week.

Casa del Cuetu, Asturias, Sunday 27th September, 2026

Celebrating Eladio's birthday with Suzy on Wednesday at El Jardín de la Máquina

Good morning. I am happy to be publishing this week's blog post from El Cuetu, our house in Asturias where we came on Thursday. It is only our second trip here this year as there just hasn't been time. 

There was plenty of time on our hands last Sunday. It was the last day of summer but didn't feel as though the season had gone as it is still so hot in Madrid. That morning I took my weekly dose of Mounjaro and then got on the scales. I was relieved I had not put on any weight during our stay in England - all those afternoon teas and fish and chips -and weighed 59.6kg (9.5 stone). Not bad. This week, for the first time in many, many years, I wore my tops inside my trousers using a belt. Usually I covered up my non existing waist so was happy to see the result.

Me with a belt on and my top inside my trousers, something unheard of in the last decade or so. 

After publishing my blog I had moments with Suzy who is busy working and we don't often coincide. She seems fine but getting to work and back means a long drive to the airport and long hours. Olivia was still in Ceuta and I saw her again that morning when she reported on the heavy military presence at the border with Morocco as another massive invasion of immigrants was expected and thankfully didn't happen. You can see her here. 

I may have told you last week about her encounter with a young Moroccan nurse, Ikram, who had swum to Ceuta and was living on a football pitch. Olivia and her team adopted her and have tried to help her this week. Ikram spent the whole week with the TVE team and even sent me lovely messages in French which I somehow mananged to reply to in my haltering French.

Olivia and her TVE team with Ikram. She was so happy to be adopted by them. 

In the afternoon after a 1.5h siesta during which I had a nightmare about missing a flight to England, I had a long 2 hour video call with Amanda my dear friend. It was hard to think that only the Sunday before was her much awaited 70th birthday. We had a great catch up.

That night on the news we watched how in Germany in the elections, the far right party, AFD, surged ahead while the far left did so in Berlin. The difficulty is for Chancellor Friedrich Merz whose CDU party was removed from regional government. He vows to stay on.

After that we continued watching Season 5 of Fauda which had us riveted all week until we finished all 11 episodes. 2 of them were harrowing as they recounted the 7th October attacks by Hamas on Israel as seen through the eyes of Doron and his friends. 

Monday came and it was Autumn but again didn't feel like it. That day all our guests left and no more were coming until Wednesday, apart from Mark who is living here until December. Even Tana had gone - to be with her youngest son, Dennis, the youngest of 6, who had arrived that day and whom she hadn't seen for nearly 4 years. Later she brought him home for the night and by ·Wednesday he was on a train to Jaén where a job awaited him care of his aunt, as a bricklayer. I felt sorry that Tana didn't have any more time with him. I wish him lots of luck as an immigrant starting life in Spain. 

We went for our walk and then to our bank for a meeting with our "relationship manager" if that is what the role is called this day. It was Suzy's day off and she had lunch with us - not the only one this week. She is dating again and using something called Tinder. From what I can see, she has having a grand time. I spent time by the pool and I actually went in although the water was freezing. I think it's only the third time I have been in this summer. That afternoon I had a sensation similar to cystitis and was immediately worried it could be the infection I had in July and August that was back or had laid dormant. I did not have a good night with frequent visits to the small room. 

On Tuesday it felt better for a while so I got on with life. Reading the news over breakfast, in an article by one of The Times correspondents, here, David S. who I happen to know a bit as he covered our Felipe squatter story. He had quoted the Irish historian Ian Gibson as calling Spain's Federico García Lorca, Spain's "Shakespeare". As I don't agree I wrote to David who happens to be Ian's neighbour and we have suggested meeting up for a drink in Madrid. That would be something. Ian Gibson is probably the world's foremost scholar on Spain's poet and writer, Lorca, who was killed by Franco's regime at the prime of his life for being a socialist and gay. Lorca is much revered in Spain but much more so by British hispanists. As a former student of Hispanic Studies at Nottingham University, I too fell in love with Lorca and his works, memorably The House of Bernarda Alba. There is something in Lorca that attracts the British more than the Spanish and I would love to have that conversation with Ian Gibson. 

We skipped our walk to go to A&E as I knew the cystitis, if that is what is it, was not better.  A bit suspicious too is the fact that my kidneys hurt slightly too and they have done since the summer. They did tests but need the results of a culture to determine what it is. They gave me another course of antiobitics which don't seem to be doing the trick so I don't know what to think. Meanwhile, I have an appointment with an urologist on 1st October to see what this is all about. Nearly a year ago I had a cystocele operation to repair a prolapse and other things that had dropped (oh God) and things have been great until now. Meanwhile, this is an absolute pain. 

We came back to find Suzy with her old school friend, Pilar, whom I hadn't seen for years. But she was there for me when Suzy was so unwell and didn't want to see anyone. How good to see the two of them together again. Thus we had lunch alone. I spent a lot of the afternoon on all my rental admin and bookings. Apart from two days this week, we are fully booked from now till the end of October. This weekend we have a group of 8 young people and I am so glad Tana is there to make their stay a pleasant one and not me, hahaha. 

Wednesday, 23rd September was my dear husband, Eladio's, birthday. He never seems to age does he? I was up way before him, having my coffee and fags and watching the news. I could not resist watching the interview by the BBC with Charles Spencer on his book about his sister called Swan Song. Of course as soon as it came out, I bought it on Kindle but haven't read it yet. You can see the interview here. His main revelations are quite explosive. He tells of a phone call by the then Prince of Wales about the funeral in which he says "We'll forget her soon enough" in what Spencer calls a "giddy tone" as if he were pleased. Spencer didn't want the "boys" to walk behind their mother's coffin which his brother in law insisted on. Spencer argued their mother would not have liked it. It happened and was monstrous. 

When Eladio came down to the kitchen, all thoughts of this subject left my head and turned to my husband's birthday. There waiting for him were two gifts and a card. I had bought him a suitcase which was too big to wrap up and a blue leather belt. Here he is with his gifts.

Eladio and his birthday presents

For his birthday we went out for breakfast and for lunch which turned out to be a bit too much. We went to have chocolate con churros, except that I had coffee with porras, the thicker version. They were amazing and we both enjoyed the moment.

Churros for breakfast on Eladio's birthday

We came home to go on our walk to work off some of the calories but not many, I am afraid. Later we went to do the weekly shopping to leave food at home and to take to Asturias. 

I had booked a table for Eladio's birthday lunch at El Jardín de la Máquina, in Pozuelo, where we would be joined by Suzy who got there after her morning shift. That is the photo I have chosen for this week's blog post. It was a lovely lunch and we enjoyed wonderful food such as mini scallops and artichokes. We even had a glass of pink champagne at the end of the meal. 

I was bursting when I got home and all I wanted was to go to bed. I slept a good 2 hours and woke up feeling slightly sick. No way could I have any dinner. Our day was long as we had to wait up for our new guests, 3 Portuguese drone experts who arrived just after 10 pm. My dear husband went to recieve them and I would meet them the next day.

All in all, I think Eladio had a great birthday. However, we didn't see our grandchildren or Olivia who missed his birthday and Elliot's so we are working on a date when we all here to celebrate the three September birthdays as a family. Hopefully, that will be soon.

Thursday came, the day of our departure to Asturias. I was up really early and greeted my guests and even spoke a bit of my rusty Portuguese which rather amazed them coming from an English woman. 

Before we left I managed to see Olivia again on TV. More interestingly she sent me a photo of a woman who had crossed into Ceuta from Morocco and whose baby was born a week or so ago. What a photo!

Olivia interviewing a Moroccan couple whose baby, Yusra,  was in the mother's womb when she crossed into Ceuta. 

She interviewed other immigrants, women mostly, whose living conditions as shown in this photo tell a dire story. Despite their terrible conditions, none of them want to return to Morocco. They are stuck in Ceuta where they cannot reach the Spanish peninsula and will continue to be for a long time. The situation is untenable. 

A Moroccan woman immigrant washing her hair in a camp in Ceuta

Meanwhile, in New York, Spain's PM, Pedro Sánchez, was taking part in the UN General Assembly. While there he visited Harvard to lead a debate about Artificial Intelligence. He did not expect some of the questions posed to him by students on his management of government in Spain. A third year student called Peter posed the most awkward of questions when he asked him  the following this: read on - 

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Peter. I'm a third-year student at the university and an AI safety researcher. I agree with many of the points you've made about artificial intelligence and how money tends to be a corrupting influence in politics. And in that context, I'm very curious to ask you about the fact that your wife, your brother, your former Attorney General, your former chief of staff, and your wife's personal assistant are among nine different corruption investigations currently underway involving your government. Some people are in jail over this. Some people are on trial. Some people have been indicted. So I'm curious — when we have this conversation about how to restore faith in government and get rid of the perception that government is influenced by dark money — how do you see yourself and your government at a time when, according to European Commission opinion polls, many Spaniards think you are one of the reasons behind corruption in Spain. Thank you."

So there he was at one of the US' most hallowed Universities, being asked about all the corruption cases in his government including his wife and brother. Sánchez has been much revered outside Spain because of his stance against Trump and Netanyahu, but this is a cover up to gain a positive image across the world. So thank you Peter for sticking your oar in Spanish politics for the world to see because your question went viral. But not the answer which didn't make the cut.

These topics kept me occupied while Eladio enjoyed driving our new T Roc to Asturias.We stopped for a swanky lunch at Hosteria Los Palmeros in Frómista in the province of Palencia on the way, a marvellous place but not cheap. 

Lunch in Frómista on our way to El Cueut

It was hot in the village when we arrived but the house is always cool. It took us longer than usual to settle in. Nothing was in its place, we had to make all the beds as the cleaner had not done a good job. Then I had to wrestle with the new TV, all solvable issues and finally the moment came when we could sit outside on the terrace and enjoy our wine and pistachio time. Loli, our neighbour and close friend came to greet us and we had a pleasant chat. She was telling me about her grandchildren, Pablo and Soraya who were taking part in a car rally in Llanes this weekend. Little did we know how that would end in tragedy.

Friday was much cooler and certainly not a beach day. I saw Olivia on TV in her last appearance in Ceuta after which she had to take the long journey home; ferry to Algeciras, car to Málaga and then the high speed train to Madrid. She was dying to go home and be with her babies after all the suffering she had seen. 

We decided to spend the morning in our beloved Llanes, that pretty coastal town near us. We had coffee at La Galerna and I did some shopping at Aramburu and the cake shop (oh dear). We took photos by the port over the bridge, a place we both love.

By the port in Llanes on Friday

From there we walked to the other town beach, Playa de Toro, enjoying the views on our way and taking more photos like these. I love some of the Indiana houses in that area.

Llanes and its beautiful houses and beaches on Friday

We went home for lunch that day and ate food I had brought from home that only needed heating up. We had a short siesta as prospective buyers were coming at 5 to see the house. It was quite a surprise to find out they live in Boadilla near us in Madrid. We didn't hear from them again. Neither have we heard from another client who made us an offer last week just below the asking price and we are now wondering whether we should have accepted it. However, we are not in a hurry and shall continue to enjoy this house until we finally sell it. 

While we were leading a peaceful life in El Cuetu, far away, in Washington, Donald Trump was hosting the Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife for whom they rolled out the red carpet. The whole scene makes me rather sick as these two world leaders are the wrong people in the wrong jobs and they are dangerous. 

Saturday came and out we went again, but this time to explore new places. We were going to visit the village of Pendueles, near Unquera where Olivia and family went in the summer. We were keen to see the Indiana houses and walk to the wild beach of the same name, Pendueles which below a high cliff. We loved the walk across the fields to get to the top of the cliff overlooking the beach and took loads of photos like this one.

Overlooking the Pendueles beach

More than a beach, it is a wild cove famous for its rocky islet, Los Picones which you can reach at low tide. It was low tide but was too rocky to walk to. It is certainly not a place to swim because of the strong waves but we did see one bather risk it. I took a video which you can see here. It was quite  a steep walk down and I took great care as I did not want to fall. But oh how wonderful when we got to this rugged beach which we had to ourselves. 

The wild beach in Pendueles, near Unquera which we visited yesterday

The sun came out and it was a magical moment of peace and beauty with the only sounds coming from the waves crashing against the rocks. Once back at the top I asked a couple to take a photo of both of us to share with you here and to remember the moment.

A beautiful spot overlooking the rugged beach of Pendueles

We know many many places in this area so it was great yesterday to explore and discover a new one. We shall be back. 

At 2pm we had a reservation at a restaurant called Casa  Xico in Mestas de Ardisana. My friend Gerardo had recommended it to me and Oli and Miguel went there and loved it. So off we went. It is near our house but on a country lane which had been cut off because of the Llanes Rally car race. So we had to go another way. Finally we made it and were surprised just how many cars were parked in this tiny village. Obviously, Casa Xico, is very popular.  They offer a fixed menu for 30 euros a head and serve local food. We both chose tomatoes for starters. For our second course, Eladio went for the roast goat (not my thing) and I went for a "fabada" - the famous Asturian bean stew. Neither of us could finish our second course so brought back a doggy bag for today. 

We left feeling rather full and happy with our choice of restaurant. Here are some pictures.

Casa Xico restaurant near us and which runs a very successful business.

Yesterday we discovered two more places in the area and today we shall discovrr two more, to Porrua and Playa de la Huelga, although my heart is not in it.

My heart is with Loli my neighbour. Yesterday afternoon as I was on the terrace in the shade I saw many people around who were crying and ringing their hands. I imagined someone had died so I sent a message to my neighbour to ask her who had died. I could not believe my eyes when she wrote back to say that it was her 20 year old granddaughter, Soraya Barreiro. But how I asked? She was taking part in the car rally  (49th Rally Villa de Llanes) near here with her boyfriend German who was the pilot while she was the co pilot. This happened yesterday at around 2 pm when their car veered off the side of the road just after the start where her grandparents Loli and Pepe were cheering her on. The car veered off a steep ascent near El Mazuco a road I know and hate. It fell into a wooded area and caught fire. German managed to get out but while trying to get Soraya out too, the car exploded and there was nothing he could do. Loli told me her granddaughter did not suffer as she was unconscious when the car burst into flames. Although they were on site when it happened they only saw the smoke. Loli and Pepe lost their only other child, Juan Pablo, brother to Soraya's mother, Lucia  more than 20 years ago who, I imagine, is now destroyed as a mother as are all of them. This is the biggest tragedy that can hit a family and I cannot begin to imagine their suffering. I honestly don't know how they will pick up their lives now. Time will help but a part of them will have died with their daughter, sister, granddaughter and partner. My heart goes out to all of them.

Today is Sunday and I imagine none of them will have slept. I saw Loli and Pepe again this morning and Loli and I hugged. I have no words to comfort her. Words at these times are useless. They are in my heart and thoughts and if we are still here we shall be going to the funeral to pay our respects. 

Loli with her beloved granddaughter Soraya who died in a tragic accident yesterday in El Mazuco

RIP Soraya. No one will ever forget you.  Life is so cruel that it had to take you at such a young age. 

Soraya and German.

Lord give strength to your family and may your memory live on in them always.

And that is life my friends.

Till next Sunday when I hope to have happier news, 

Masha

v

Amanda's 70th birthday, last days in Devon, home again, Suzy has a new job, Olivia reporting for RTVE from Ceuta, reunion with our grandchildren, Elliot turns 7, goodbye Booking and other stories of the week.

 Home again, Madrid, 20th September, 2026

The two of us together on Amanda's 70th birthday last Sunday

Good morning all!

Our wonderful week in Devon is over. How can that be? Time flies so fast. We seem to have been on the go for months now  so it's good to be home. Ah, but not for long. If we have our way, we shall be going to El Cuetu next week where the weather promises to be fantastic and on a mini road trip to Tangiers in October.

Last Sunday was our last full day in the UK. It was also Amanda's actual 70th and after the dinner the night before she had invited her family and friends to a house party where they served brunch from 11.15. We dressed casually for the occasion but I made an effort and wore a black and white outfit again.  This is what I wore.

Ready to go to Amanda's birthday party

I was wearing an M&S white top and black trousers.  The polka dot jacket is from Zara, the white sneakers from Clarks and the bag from Uniqlo. Eladio wore his new M&S jumper and looked good too.

Eladio ready for Amanda's party last Sunday

Now he was wearing Primark jeans but the rest was M&S, including his white shirt, the said jumper and his sneakers. I love buying him clothes and seeing him look dapper.

It was a glorious day and the party was very relaxed. My friend was wearing wonderful Levi dungarees which suited her. I didn't take many pics as I seemed to be chatting all day, but I did get one of the two of us, courtesy of Eladio and that is the one I have chosen as this week's feature photo. We also got one of Jake, Amanda's son, whom we hadn't seen since Andy and Amanda's wedding in 2005, too long ago. He is posing with his big love, Simba. What a handsome man he is now.

Jake and Simba

We arrived just after our massive planter had got there and Amanda loved it. I also gave her a personalised birthday card which I hope she treasures. This is it:

My birthday card to Amanda. I used a photo of us taken in Seville in April.

It was a very relaxed and happy event and it was lovely to talk to so many members of her family who feel like family to me and also to get to know her other friends who I had heard so much about. I chatted non stop so  I hardly ate any of the delicious food provided by The Strand in Shaldon. Thankfully I was able to grab some leftovers: half a scone, half an almond croissant and a small piece of birthday cake. It was beautiful weather too so much of the time was spent outdoors. I wish I had taken a photo of the view of the sea from their house which I was seeing in blue for the first time. Devon in the sun is heavenly.

All good things come to an end and suddenly we had to say goodbye and I don't yet know when we shall see each other again. If Amanda can't come out this autumn, for sure I will return to Devon before Christmas.

We came home to chill out and even have a light dinner from the remains of the M&S gourmet food we had bought at the beginning of the week. It was such a shame we had to chuck some of it away.

I woke up on Monday after nearly 7h sleep and felt great. Amanda's brother, Simon, and his wife, Gill, who were driving up to Yorkshire, were taking us to Briston airport which is a good 1.5h drive from Shaldon. They weren't doing so until midday which gave us plenty of time to get ready to leave and even go for a walk. I had a hell of a job packing all the stuff I had bought, mostly at M&S; just look at the suitcases before I had even finished:-)

Packing to go home was quite a challenge!

As I was up so early, around 6 am, we were done and dusted by about 9.30. We had to leave the keys at the Cottage people's office before 10 am where we also left our luggage.We had two hours to spare so decided to walk to Teignmouth across the bridge and then take the ferry back. And that's what we did. But once in the town, I spied a shop I was on the lookout for. Called Lazy Jack's, I think it is from South Devon. It is heaven for anyone who likes stripes like me. There was  a sale on and I couldn't resist this colourful zipped sweatshirt. I honestly would have bought more if I had had room  in my suitcase. I put it on for a photo and then somehow managed to get it into our holdall.

I couldn't resist this colourful sweatshirt from Lazy Jacks in Teignmouth on our last day

After my successful purchase, we walked all the way to the ferry on Back Beach. However, we had a problem. They only accept cash and the only shop that sells a ticket where you can pay by card wasn't open. In the end they let us cross the estuary for free. This was the view of Shaldon I took from the ferry and one I shall remember for a long time. 

View of Shaldon from the ferry on our last day

The little boat left us on the beach a few yards from The Strand café where we were meeting Simon and Gill. We didn't know where our next meal would come from, so just in case, we had something to eat at the cafe on their lovely terrace by the beach. Eladio had smoked salmon, scrambled egg and avocado and I went for a decaf with a delicious almond croissant. Soon Simon and Gill were there and after having a coffee and enjoying our time, we set off in their lovely hybrid Mercedes. It was a smooth ride and we had lots to talk about, especially how much we had enjoyed  celebrating Amanda's 70th. They dropped us off at the airport well on time and everything went smoothly except at security. Last May when returning from Manchester, they took a pocket knife away from Eladio at security (he has a penchant for pocket knifes). So this time, on our way out, we put it in the suitcase but neither of us remembered to do that on our return. So, there he was, once again at security with another pocket knife. He hid it in the holdall but of course they found it and took it off him. 

The rest of the time in the departure lounge was a bit boring and the place was chock a block. One thing I have to say though is how civilised it is that the airport has a smoking area where I went a few times. I got chatting to a fellow smoker who told me a packet of cigarettes now costs 18 pounds in the UK! Wow and I thought they were expensive in Spain where they cost between 5 and 6 euros. The passenger was flying to Turkey and I had good news for her. I told her a packet there in Duty Free costs about 1 euro only!  We also had a bite to eat. Eladio had chicken tikka masala while I had some rather spicy humus. Soon it was time to board and thankfully the plane was not entirely full and we had 3 seats to ourselves. The 2 hour flight went past quickly and we landed in Madrid at around 20.40 local time to over 30c temperature; pleasant but not stifling. We took an Uber back and were home in a jiffy. Suzy was asleep by then with Pippa so there was only Tana to greet us and help us with the luggage. The house was full of guests from Guatemala, Mexico and France but I only saw them the next day. 

It took a while to unpack but we did it all. Then we could finally enjoy being back in our own room and comfortable bed with crisp and clean white sheets. We had had a grand time but it was good to be back. Coming home is always lovely if things are going well and they are for us at the moment. Long live that moment.

I only slept 5.5h but woke up happy to be home on Tuesday. It was great to see Pippa who had slept with Suzy. But I didn't see my elder daughter because she had gone to work. I am happy to tell you she has a new job. She is a promoter for a turrón (Spanish nougat)  company at the airport in Duty Free. This is her in her uniform.

Suzy has a new job. 

Life has been very difficult for her for quite a few years but these days I see a huge improvement in her and a gusto for life which just wasn't there before. She is even dating and seems happy, something I haven't seen for a long time so I am rejoicing for her. This may not be her dream job, nor a job connected to her studies as a nutritionist and dietitian, but my friends, she is back in this world and that is what counts. I am so happy for her and long may this stable period last. 

Oli's job that day took her all the way to Ceuta, that Spanish city in North Africa with land only measuring some 7 square miles and  where 80.000 illegal migrants invaded it on 30th and 31st July last. Many returned but there are still anything up to 20.000 living in harsh conditions. It is the biggest news we have in Spain and is an ongoing crisis which won't go away soon. It's easy to say just send them back but the law doesn't work that way. Each person has to be processed and have a lawyer and an interpreter and each case can take months to file. In order for that to happen, the immigrants have to be in a place where they are under control; refugee camps.  Those not in the camps are living in dreadful conditions and some are violent and have committed crimes, including rape, but not the majority. Among them are up to 3000 minors who cannot be sent back. The population of Ceuta which is about 85.000 is fed up with the situation. They cannot live their normal lives, they are afraid to take their children to school, to do the shopping and cannot use the beaches which are the main area the illegal immigrants are "living" in if you can call it that. As my daughter got off the ferry the first thing she saw was the Army everywhere and small children begging for food. She also saw lots of Spanish flags hanging from buildings all over the town. She was going to have a hard job telling the story from both sides and she was going to see a lot of misery. She met one Moroccan girl called Ikram (I think) aged 23 who is a nurse from Fez. She had been interviewed on TVE and I saw the clip. This girl swam to Ceuta to find a job and pay for an operation her mother needs and which her salary as a nurse in Morocco is too low to pay for. She had not been raped but had been leered at by men and even had one point a pistol at her. I am proud to say that Olivia's team took her under their wing and she is now sleeping in one of her colleague's rooms. The problem for Ikram will be when they leave. 

We had our own jobs to do that day. We had to inflate the tyres of the Mini which is such a bore, then do the shopping. But in between I had a lovely coffee at Alverán. That's when it felt we were really home. Tana made our lunch and later I had a whole 2 hour power nap I much needed. That afternoon I booked 3 nights at The Rock hotel in Gibraltar where we will be going on a mini road trip to Tangiers, Morocco, in October. Another trip to look forward to. 

Suzy was back from work just as it was wine and pistachio time by the pool and we had a great catch up. She was busy on her phone with her potential dates which had me laughing and happy for her. The next day she was meeting an American from Chicago, Michael and taking him to El Escorial. I think it went well. She is no longer taking weed, she is having her meds and she is a different girl. 

On Wednesday I was up just before 7 am and soon I was watching Olivia live from Ceuta. She has been reporting all week not only for her programme, La Hora de La 1 but also for the early morning news,  Mañaneros, TVE24h and even for the lunchtime news. I am so proud of her and happy for her too because as a journalist she loves to be where the action is. She has been sent for 10 whole days. It's a long time away from her kids but I think now that they are a little older, she can focus more on her job. Up till now she nearly always had to turn down covering news if it meant she had to travel and be away for long. I have lots of photos I took of her on the screen and also some she sent. Here are a few I want to share and remember.

Olivia told me that this one was one of the immigrants she interviewed who told her that the Spanish Army had hit him and his friends and stolen their mobile phones!

Some photos of Olivia in Ceuta and reporting live

One day this week she was in real danger. She was reporting on the chaotic transfer of 1700 out of 4000 immigrants from the beaches to a new camp. While covering the tense situation, she and her cameraman got caught in a stampede of desperate men who were being fired at with rubber bullets by the police. Thank goodness she came away unscathed. I also followed her on TVE's social media and would particularly like to share you one link where in one of her reports she interviews a Moroccan in French while translating for the spectators. I heard later she and her team were congratulated by some  rather top bosses. My dream would be for her to be posted as a foreign correspondent. Wouldn't that be great? 

After watching just some of her live reporting, we went out on more errands and coffee again at Alverán. We came home for lunch I made and then watched the news. I was happy to hear that the EU supports Ceuta. Not sure they can help either. I was also happy to hear they had invited Canada, to Trump's fury, to be an associate member. As to the Greenland agreement reached between Denmark and Trump, it makes me sick. Yes, Greenland remains Danish, but at what a price? Now the USA can veto countries like Russia and China buying critical minerals. It can also build more military installations without permission from Denmark. Trump could not "buy" Greenland but this agreement gives him much tighter control over the Arctic compared to the previous treaty. I bet the Danish are not happy. 

On Wednesday we had Miguel and the kids for dinner. We hadn't seen them since Alicia's wedding at the end of August so it was wonderful to be reunited. Juliet had turned 5 on 4th September while they were in El Cuetu and Elliot was turning 7 the next day. We had brought them presents from England, clothes from M&S as, honestly, I wouldn't know what toys to buy them. I think they liked them. They posed for me and for this blog.

Lovely to be reunited with Elliot and Juliet this week

Elliot had had a hair design in his last hair cut; a sort of zigzag shaved on one side of his hair which he told me his mother wouldn't have allowed him. So he wouldn't let me take a photo to send her.  Miguel thinks it will have grown by the time Oli is back hahaha.

We had dinner outside as the weather was great and it was quite cool. We served the kids their favourite: my bitki (well Tana's now) - small Russian hamburgers, with rice, followed by ice cream. The next day Elliot was having his party at some raucous children's place with lots of noise so we didn't go. I know he wanted to celebrate his party at our house and we felt bad saying no, but no way could we have 10 kids in the pool and all their noise, especially because of the guests. When we were finishing our dinner, José, our new Colombian guest, the one with lots of bakeries, arrived. He loves it here and comes whenever I have a spare room. I like the guy but can't stand his eau de cologne which is so strong and lingers in the house for days. Soon the dinner was over and the kids and Miguel left but it had been great to see them. 

Thursday came, the day Elliot turned 7. 7 is no longer a toddler and now that they are 5 and 7 they are much easier to handle and more of a joy to us. His mother, of course, missed his birthday which I know she will have been sad about. Again I watched her first thing in the morning. We went for a walk as we did most days this week after which I made our lunch; a dish with chicken from a recipe I found on Instagram.

I had a problem in the afternoon using Booking to reserve a room in a hotel in a place on our way to Gibraltar. I began to realise they had blocked my account for who knows what reason as I have Genius membership on Booking and am also a host for them. They make it very difficult to contact them but I did, only to be told they had suspended my account but couldn't tell me why as it was sensitive information which had me fuming. But meanwhile, I had written to them on Twitter only to realise much later that the replies I was getting were not from Booking but someone masking them. I got a call from them, or so I thought. It turned out to be a scam; a man from Kenya who got my bank details and I had to block my card. The whole issue was awful. I do wish I could tell Booking and could talk to a human there who could look into my account and see that I am bonafide. As that is not going to happen, I shall use Booking to look up places and then ring the hotels and book directly. I did exactly that for The Rock and the other hotel and do you know what? It was cheaper and I got free cancellationfor both reservations. So damn you Booking and goodbye. You have just lost a good guest. 

Our evening entertainment that night was watching episode 1 of the newly released Series 5 of Fauda but I fell asleep. I didn't really like it actually as it is too intense and quite complicated to follow. 

Friday came and I was up at 6 am, the usual. After watching Oli live on TV umpteen times, we went on our walk with Pippa. That day I had two visits to the house in El Cuetu. Interest seems to be on the up. The day before I got an offer below the asking price and the man who made it wanted to pay more than half of it in cash! No way José! A while later we got the best offer so far, just 10k below the asking price but we said no. We are not in a hurry and if the client wants it, he won't let the house go. Houses in Asturias are much in demand but there are not many at the price we are asking where you can move in without having to make major reforms; plus El Cuetu could not be better located - near the beaches in Llanes and the Picos mountain range. When it comes to the crunch I think we will be sad to see it go.

After our walk we went to have coffee with Eladio's friend and former teaching colleague, Roberto at Alverán. It was a pity Mari Carmen couldn't come. I hope she will next time. While Eladio and Roberto chatted, I went to our bank to get a new visa card which took a while. What took a lot longer was changing the payment method on all sorts of online platforms: Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google, PayPay, Carrefour, Ikea, Express VPN and many more I might have forgotten and which will bring problems when they try to charge me. The world is getting a more and more complicated place especially for elderly people many of whom cannot keep up with the online world and feel lost and left out. 

Later that day my latest guests arrived, 2 sisters who looked like mother and daughter, from Brittany arrived for 3 nights to see one of their sons. I had no option but to talk to them in French and I managed as I always do.  The day ended with wine and pistachios on the terrace by the pool which I have hardly used this summer.

Saturday dawned. It was sort of cooler so I looked for different clothes to shorts and t-shirts. I tried on trousers and tops I hadn't worn for years and was delighted to get into some light pink jeans and others. We went to El Corte Inglés and I felt quite elegant, so much so, one of the assistants complimented me on my flowery patterned blouse which is actually a pyjama top from Oysho! Before doing our shopping there we watched Oli live again, this time on my phone. Only then could I order an expensive coffee from Starbucks but they do have great coffee. We were at this flagship Spanish department store to get a blue leather belt (hard to find) for Eladio for his birthday this Wednesday as well as - yes, 2 toilet brushes (hahaha). We also went into the supermarket section to get some extra things for lunch and I have to say it is a superb supermarket, as good as M&S, except that it doesn't sell their wonderful food that I so miss, such as sausage rolls hahahhaa.

I came home to finish making lunch - "cocido madrileño". While it cooked Tana and I cleared a cupboard so full of empty glass jars that Eladio collects, the tupperwares wouldn't fit. I can't tell you how many we threw away and how many spare lids too. It was quite a job but a very satisfactory one. When I told Eladio we both laughed at his and Olivia's inability to throw away jam jars likening it to a syndrome called "Diogenes". Want to know more about this syndrome and who Diogenes was? Here is your answer.

I was proud to watch Olivia at 14.58 reporting live for the first time ever on the main lunchtime news of the day: TD1 on TVE which you can see here too. After the news I had another power nap, this time lasting 1.5 hours and again, as happens so often these days, I had an odd dream about my parents. Talking about parents, I was very sad to hear that our lovely Danish au pair and friend, Pernille's mother had died this week. I remember her well as a lovely woman and am so sorry for her daughter, Pernille and family in this difficult time. Bless you all. 

The day ended again with wine and pistachios by the pool terrace and I got a photo of Eladio pouring the wine to remember the moment. Isn't he gorgeous?

Wine and pistachio moment yesterday

Today is Sunday and the sun is shining as it nearly always does. If it's not too hot we shall go on our walk later. Otherwise we have no other plans. Both Suzy and Oli will be working today but we, as pensioners, are free as birds, today, at least. Retirement in good health is the best time of life.

Now I have come to the end of my stories for this week. I hope you have enjoyed the read. Cheers now until next time, 

Masha