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

Back to Madrid but not for long, oh so hot. Off to Devon in England for Amanda's 70th birthday, remembering our school days, awful outward journey, great time with my friends, visiting Teignmouth, Brixham and Exeter, the dangers of AI, reunion with Sandeep, the dinner party and other stories of the week.

Shaldon, near Teignmouth, South Devon, UK, Sunday 13th September, 2026

Group photo of my teenage friends and their partners taken at Amanda's 70th birthday party last night. From left to right: Chris, Simon, Gael, Sarah, Mark, Gill, Amanda, Andy, me and Eladio.

Dear all. 

I am writing today from Shaldon in Devon where we have come to partake in the celebrations of my dearest friend Amanda's 70th birthday. What a week it has been but it hasn't finished. She turns 70 today and there will be a final gathering of her family and friends. 

We have been friends since starting at school together in Class 1 Kappa at St. Joseph's College (SJC),  Bradford in West Yorkshire. Bradford was and probably still is one of Britain's grimmest cities. I think it was 1968 and we were about 11 and our friendship grew from our first day at St. Joseph's. It was a Catholic Grammar School for girls run by Irish nuns where my mother had taught and she loved it. Neither of us were Catholics nor born in Yorkshire (she was born in Bristol while I was born in Cambridge), nor had we passed the awful 11 Plus which is why we went to SJC and not Bradford Girls Grammar.  Amanda remembers we had to take an exam to get in which I don't remember. I was tall at the time although nearly all the girls outgrew me later and Amanda was small. She was thin and I was fat which always made us laugh. She was the clever one who went on to study at Oxford and I was much lazier and just scraped into Nottingham University. I was the naughty girl she loved to egg on and I always got into trouble while the teachers thought she was angelic. In one of her school reports a teacher wrote: "Better away from Maria" as I was known at the time. That really hurt I can tell you. But she took no notice of the teacher.

Amanda and I outside the 6th form common room and below with our group of friends on what I think was our last day at school. I am in the back row second to the right. Amanda is on the front row and first on the left. Wow, what memories. At that moment we had our whole lives ahead of us. Did we do it right? 

Amanda's parents knew mine and her older brother, Simon, who did pass his 11 plus (haha) was at  Bradford Grammar School where my father taught. It was through Simon that Amanda and I made lots of BGS friends  some of whom we are still friends with today. Both Chris and Mark are here today and and of course Andy, who is now her husband.   I have fond memories of Amanda's family as she does of mine. We go back a long way and it's marvellous that our friendship has lasted so long. Little did we know back in September 1968 that I would be living in Spain and coming out to celebrate her 70th birthday with my Spanish husband Eladio. So now you know more about her, let me rewind, as usual to the beginning of the week.

Last Sunday was our first day back home after returning from our second stay in Montrondo. It was much hotter in Madrid; almost unbearable and was a bit of a shock after the cooler weather in the village. Our house was full of guests. This week we had people from Slovenia, Croatia, Spain and Colombia and this weekend we have a lady from France and a lady from Serbia - that's nearly all the Balkans.  Suzy, Eladio and I went out to do the shopping which is unusual on a Sunday but we were leaving for England the next day so there wasn't much time. We all have different tastes and each ate something different while Tana had the weekend off which she much deserved. 

I had a siesta in our air conditioned room and later tried to pack for Devon where the temperature would be 20 degrees less. I do wish now I had brought a proper coat. 

Monday came, the day of our departure but our Easy Jet flight to Bristol was not leaving until 21.50 - very late. That gave me plenty of time to pack all our essentials and the list is endless. Suzy took us to the airport where it was 37ºc - could you believe it? She took a photo of the two of us to remember the moment.

 

We had an awful outward journey.  Our Easy Jet flight was delayed until 22.30 and didn't actually leave until 11 0'clock at night. We had hours and hours to kill at the airport and I, of course, was dying for a "fag".  Poor Andy was waiting for us at Bristol airport where it was raining and quite cold. He drove us home which took forever as there were major roadworks on the motorway. It seemed to take forever until we reached our Airbnb in Shaldon and I think we went to bed at past 3 in the morning. It was a nightmare of a journey. Thankfully, Andy and Amanda had picked up our keys earlier in the day. They had also bought some Weetabix and milk for our breakfast. 

I must have slept about 4 hours only and was up on Tuesday morning to more rain. It rained until midday and thankfully, after that, the weather improved; all week in fact. So finally I have seen Devon in the sunshine.  I went out early in the morning to buy provisions for breakfast at the village shop and when we had been fed and I'd had my two coffees, we ventured outside. We didn't have to be at Amanda and Andy's until 2ish, so we had time to walk around Shaldon - a pretty coastal village near Teignmouth in South Devon. Here is a photo of our Airbnb (actually I got it on Booking) and one of me by the harbour in Shaldon. 

The building where are apartment in Shaldon is and me by the beach. Not beach weather as you can see. 

Our first call of port just had to be Marks and Spencer. To get there I managed to find a taxi to Torbay which isn't far but difficult to get to. We spent a good 2.5h inside my favourite store in the UK which is perhaps top of the list of the things I miss most about my birth country. We got clothes but also stocked up on food from the amazing Food Hall for the times we weren't eating with our friends. 

Marks and Spencers in Torbay was our first port of call after arriving in England!

We then got another taxi to Andy and Amanda's house. If you are wondering why we aren't staying there the answer is simple; between us all; her friends and family, we just don't fit so it was decided everyone,  even her kids would stay somewhere else. I have stayed there many times but it was Eladio's first visit and he loved their home with its fabulous views of the sea. 

Andy and Amanda's house

We were very privileged that day to be invited to lunch after the arrival of Andy's son and partner, Johnathan and Dani and their  6 month old baby, Flynn, who Andy and Amanda were seeing for the first time. That is because they live in Australia and see each other not as much as they would want.  It was beautiful to see them together. When they had gone, Amanda and I played a game of Ludo, or rather the Spanish version called "Parchis" which we are both mad about. I went "home" later and Eladio and I went for a wonderful walk in the village and across the bridge to Teignmouth. 

By the bridge to Teignmouth (pronounced Tinmuth) in Shaldon on our first evening in Devon.

We came back to enjoy yummy gourmet M&S food including my favourite; white crab meat. I don't like fish very much (apart from fish and chips) but I adore seafood.

I slept well that night and woke up on Wednesday morning after 6.5h sleep. After breakfast we walked to Teignmouth and enjoyed a walk along the seafront.

On the seafront in Teignmouth on Wednesday morning

I had hoped to find some good shops but was disappointed. There were lots of charity shops but not much else. Amanda says Teignmouth is run down but we liked it. Instead of walking back to Shaldon we caught the quaint ferry from Back Beach.

Catching the ferry to Shaldon from Teignmouth on Wednesday morning

There was time for a coffee at Amanda's favourite café, The Strand from where our friends picked us up later. We drove to The Linny pub in Coffinswell, a marvelous 14th century establishment where we were to have lunch with their offspring and grandsons, Cord, Johnathan, Danny, Jane, Peter and little Flynn and Louis. It was great food - Eladio and I chose a Sunday roast even if it wasn't Sunday. The company was great too. As we left we had some group photos taken by the pub. This was one of them.

Group photo outside The Linny in Coffinswell on Wednesday. What a wonderful lunch we had.

After that it was back to our friends' house where Amanda and I played Ludo again. Later she drove me "home". I wasn't hungry for dinner but we had so many M&S delicacies I had had to have something. To work it off we went on a rather cold and blustery walk. 

Thursday came and it was cold, at least for us "Spaniards". I had looked up shops in Shaldon but only found one open, Helen, it was called. There I bought 2 lovely jumpers. In the picture below I am wearing the white one.

My new white jumper from Shaldon

We had time to kill until Andy and Amanda were coming to pick us up again and decided to visit the Botanical Gardens. There was a lot of steep climbing to get there but it was worth it.

At the Botanical Gardens in Shaldon

The walk home was a bit scary, on a main road with no pavement. Amanda told me later that a woman my age had been run over and killed there a week ago. 

They picked us up later from our lodgings, "Osborne House" and we drove to a place I had heard of but never been to. Brixham is supposed to be Britain's biggest fishing port. We found it very attractive, a bit like a larger version of Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire or Cudillero in Spain. Again we were having lunch with the family and it was at a fish restaurant by the harbour called Fish Rock. There Eladio and I  had dressed crab which I adore and can't get in Spain. That was followed by fresh fish and chips which I could not finish. However, I could finish the divine dessert: "sticky toffee pudding". When lunch was over, again we did a sort of photo shoot to remember the day and which I am happy to share with you here.

Some photos from our outing to Brixham where we went for lunch on Thursday

The skies cleared a bit after lunch and we walked along the main street. I tried to explain the concept of English seaside towns to Eladio as there is no comparison. Only English people reading this will understand me: the slot machines, rock, cockles and welts, ice cream in any weather, mini funfairs, a pier, beach huts. All of this is because of the unpredictable weather of course. In Spain, none of this is needed. But I liked seeing it all again as it reminded of my childhood family holidays at the seaside. When I was small, there were lots of Donkeys to ride but I am so glad that is no longer a part of British seaside holidaying as it is so cruel to those lovely animals. My husband got very excited - and he never gets excited - when he saw a replica of a ship called "The Golden Hind". Naturally, as we are in Devon, it was Sir Francis Drake's ship. And, naturally, for any Spaniard, Drake is considered a pirate and a thief. My husband explained with great laughter how the latter stole Spanish gold bullion from ships coming from South America.  Queen Elizabeth I knighted him on that same ship in reward for plundering Spanish riches. So you see, the British regard him as a national hero and the Spaniards as a pirate and thief, hahaha. 

And here he is on the said ship which he later read about with great interest. I was happy to see him excited about something for once as he is usually very placid and always on an even keel. I am the one who is more up and down. 

Eladio on board the replica of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind in Brixham.

Time with our friends in Brixham came to an end after Eladio's visit to the ship. But our day did not end there as on the way home, we stopped for another visit to M&S. We also went to Sainsbury's to get a few items but it was gigantic and freezing inside, we didn't get much. At M&S we bought a lovely jumper for Eladio. Here he is trying it on. 

Eladio's new M&S jumper

He wanted to wear it immediately which he did, except that the assistant hadn't removed the tag .We were stopped by security and had to have it removed. I remarked to the shop assistant that if it had been in  the USA he would have been taken to a cell. She replied he would be the best dressed man there hahahaha. 

We finally got home, too late for a siesta, tired, a bit cold but very happy. We have had a marvellous time, enjoying every minute. I slept well that night too. 

The week flew past and suddenly it was Friday. It wasn't any other Friday. It was 11th September, 9/11and the 25th anniversary of the bombings. How life has changed since then. We now have Trump in government. This week he announced he would give 5000 dollars to everyone who voted for him in the Mid term elections. He is literally buying votes, except that he does not have the 1.3 trillion dollars necessary to keep his word. In Spain,  the PM Pedro Sánchez also wants to hang on to power. He is trying to give the vote to 2.5 million people; the grandchildren of those who fled the country after being on the losing side in the Spanish Civil War. He has already bought more votes this year by giving residency to 1.5 million immigrants who, will, when it comes to it, of course vote for him. And only this week his party voted to grant citizenship to 200.000 people from the Western Sahara! He has to go, his governance after the invasion of Ceuta has been abominable. Oli will see what is happening in Ceuta with her own eyes this week as she is being sent there to cover the topic for her TVE programme. She will be there for 10 days so I think we won't see her next week. 

Anyway, back to Devon and more pleasant subjects. 

Friday was the only day we had to ourselves and we spent it in Exeter, the county town of Devon where I had never been. Devon had never been my stomping ground - that is Yorkshire - but I do like it. We took the ferry to Teignmouth again from where we caught a train to Exeter. The journey was pretty short and took under an hour from door to door. I was enamoured with the city as soon as we walked out of the pretty train station. We were soon on the High Street full of shops and lovely Tudor buildings.

Beautiful Tudor houses on the High Street in Exeter

I spied a Lakeland, a British shop that sells great kitchen ware and bought bits and bobs there including two sillicone poached egg moulds, one for us and one for Oli. I also got toast tongs and some lovely pegs. From there we walked to the Cathedral, a mixture of English Gothic and Norman style. Here is a photo. In the picture too is a statue of a priest and theologian, Richard Hooker (an unfortunate name these days).He is famous for shaping mainstream Anglican doctrine and is said to have been of great influence to John Locke. 

Exeter Cathedral

We then spotted a nice looking café called Côte where I had a wonderful  decaf cappuccino and admired my surroundings. Exeter is a quintessential British city and I thought it was beautiful.

On my to do list for this week in England was to have an afternoon tea. I did my homework on the train and found a place by the cathedral called Eat on the Green in another beautiful Tudor house. I had to order and pay for the said afternoon tea on the phone which was well worth it. They gave us the best seat in the restaurant and this was what I was served. Just look.

My amazing afternoon tea at Eat on the Green in Exeter on Friday

Eladio and  I are chalk and cheese in our preferences for food and he went for a full English breakfast. We were having lunch but who cares. I could only eat half of my afternoon tea and took a doggy bag home. Couldn't waste even a morsel of the clotted cream could I?

Later we went into M&S (again), this time to get underwear for Oli - bras and thongs which she had chosen online previously. While there I got more knickers, socks and bras for me too. Love that shop. I also love Boots where we went too to get things like E45 cream. When we had shopped till we had to stop, we headed home and were in Teignmouth well on time to catch the last ferry back to Shaldon.

We bought some more milk and fruit (lovely British strawberries) at the Village Shop on our way home. We had had a very enjoyable day out. But I had homework to do, as I did every day this week - writing each day of my blog as I could not do it all in one go today - no way. At the same time I was texting with Amanda who was fretting about her speech and also with Pili who was back in Montrondo with other members of the family. 

And that was Friday. Now on to Saturday which was very special too. 

I was up really early as, between you and me, I am like the captain of the ship who couldn't remember port is left and starboard is right. My problem is I never know if it is an hour later in Spain or in England. I thought I was up at 7 am but it actually was 6 am, dammit. 

The news that made the most impact on me yesterday was about AI. We all use it, it gets better every day but Oh my God it is becoming dangerous. Jacob Coxon, an Anglo French AI researcher quit his role as a training researcher at Anthropic (Claude) this week. He also left Open AI (Chat GPT) previously. He did so while issuing a warning on his X handle that has gone viral.  He believes that these AI companies are "gambling with our lives" and that "advanced AI could cause human destruction by 2030". He warns it will soon be smart enough to kill us. The race is on to create super human AI which, obviously, could make it more intelligent than human beings. Someone wrote this week that we will be like  apes and the machine like humans and we will be outsmarted. Dangerous? Yeah, extremely. He isn't the only one who thinks this in the industry. The real scare came some time ago when Open AI went rogue and autonomously hacked a digital library and platform called Hugging Face. This has to be controlled, but how if these AI platforms are competing with each other? I don't know the answer but the whole issue is one of the most frightening we are up against in this generation. Does it frighten you? Hopefully, this will never happen and it will be controlled on time because AI  should and has to be developed for our benefit and our benefit only. 

My thoughts were interrupted by the agenda of the day. On Saturday morning we were having an amazing reunion with a friend of Olivia's from her Erasmus year in Falmouth, UK in 2006. We were meeting dear Sandeep who lives and works in Plymouth,  not far from here. Eladio and I had met him and his soul mate, Summit, who are both from India, when we went to visit our daughter in Cornwall. I have to say we hit it off immediately.  Falmouth University specialises in Film Studies and both "boys" now work in the industry. Sandeep is an editor for TV programmes such as Love Island and Summit who lives in Bombay is a script writer for Bollywood. Olivia went on to become a TV reporter and presenter but her beginnings in that genre happened in Falmouth when they did all sorts of videos together. We met them again when they came to stay with us in 2010 but that is 16 years ago. Suzy also became friends with Sandeep when she lived in London.  So when Sandeep (Sandy to his friends) reached out to me this week to see if we could meet, I was so happy. We agreed on yesterday and I booked a table for a late breakfast at The Strand in Shaldon. I kept the reunion secret from Olivia and Suzy and then we rang them both. Oli nearly had a heart attack and ended up sobbing with emotion. Suzy's reaction was similar. We have all agreed that Sandy must come and stay with us soon. It was so good to catch up although I didn't have to tell him much as he is a loyal reader of my blog. When we first met the boys and Oli were around 21. Now they are in their early 40's and we, of course, are old hahaha.  After time at the café we took the ferry again to Teignmouth to see Sandeep off and were so grateful he took the time to come and see us. What a wonderful reunion. Here are some photos to remember yesterday.

Reunion with Sandeep yesterday

Thank you Sandeep too for the lovely M&S goodie bag. You know me well:-)

After that we continued our walk along the seafront to the other end of Teignmouth where we took photos too, like this one.

Photo from our walk yesterday along the seafront of Teignmouth

It's a lovely walk along a path between the sea front and the train line where I have walked before with Amanda and Andy but always in the winter with blustery and freezing cold weather.  The sun was shining yesterday and the walk was very pleasant.

On our way back along the seafront to catch the ferry back to Shaldon, we stopped to share a portion of fish and chips which looked good and were good. 

Sharing a take away portion of fish and chips yesterday with Eladio in Teignmouth

Once in Shaldon where the ferry lands actually on the beach itself, it was a short walk back to our lodgings. 

We weren't there for long as we had to be ready at 6.10 pm for our taxi to take us to Riverford restaurant where the big birthday party dinner was taking place to celebrate Amanda's 70th which is actually today, Sunday.

Soon, Cordelia (commonly known as Cord), Amanda's daughter and her partner Tommy who were coming with us, arrived and we had some quality time together before I had to get all dressed up. Note I bought some high heels from M&S just for the occasion and they killed me all night but were worth it. A taxi drove us to Riverford where we had to be by 7pm. All the Bradford crowd from BGS were there and of course Amanda's family. The other people were many of her friends I knew the names of but had never met. I sat on a table next to some of the Bradford crowd and one man on my left I did not know. That always happens to me at big gatherings. But it didn't matter as talking to Mark, Chris and their wives Sarah and Gael was my highlight. There were speeches of course. I wasn't asked to make one but as Amanda's oldest friend there and having coming all the way from Spain I thought it was my prerogative. If you can be bothered to read it or want to know more about our youth together, this was it: 

"Good evening everyone. For those who don’t know me, I am Masha Lloyd. I haven't actually been asked to make a speech tonight, but as Amanda's oldest friend here—and having flown all the way from Spain—I've decided to make one anyway.  We've been friends since starting school together at St. Joseph's College, Bradford—England's grimmest city. It was 1968, we were 11 years old, and St. Joseph's was a Catholic grammar school for girls run by Irish nuns! Neither of us were Catholic, nor were we born in Yorkshire, so we stuck out like two sore thumbs. Mind you, we can both do a cracking Yorkshire accent when it suits us! The real reason we ended up there, though, is that neither of us passed the dreaded 11 Plus. Now, here's another secret that very few of you will know. In those days, we went by completely different names—Maria and Sharon. But that’s a story for another day... and definitely another drink.  Back then, I was tall—before every other girl in the class outgrew me—and Amanda was small. I was the fat one, she was the thin one, so naturally we called ourselves Laurel and Hardy. She was the clever one who went to Oxford; I was the lazy one who scraped into Nottingham. I was the naughty girl Amanda loved to egg on. I always got caught, while the teachers were convinced she was an absolute angel. Only I knew she wasn’t one. Although she looked like one with her golden hair and pretty face. No one was surprised when she was given the part of the Good Angel in Marlowe's Dr Faustus. I, meanwhile, was cast as one of the buffoons. A teacher even wrote in one of her school reports: "Better away from Maria." Thankfully, Amanda ignored her completely. Loyal doesn't even begin to describe her. But it was always her quick thinking and brilliant sense of humour that sparked our friendship.  Her older brother Simon—who did pass his 11 Plus and is here tonight—was incredibly important in our teenage years. He went to Bradford Grammar School, where my father, Mr Lloyd, was a teacher. Through Simon, we met a whole gang of boys from his school, three of whom are here tonight: Chris Vigrass, Mark Ashley, and Andy Myers who is now Amanda's husband. All three boys were in my father's class, and much to his despair, I hosted rather a lot of raucous parties at our home at 6 Heaton Grove. Mark, thank you for being such a marvellous bouncer at those parties!  Amanda has been there for me at every major moment of my life both good and bad.  Thank you, my friend. She always says my parents were like surrogate parents to her, which I suppose makes me her surrogate sister—though honestly, there’s no 'surrogate' about it.  Back in 1968, two 11-year-old girls in Bradford could never have imagined we'd be here toasting her 70th birthday tonight. So please, raise your glasses with me—to friendship, to family, and to Amanda, who is somehow, impossibly, 70 tomorrow. Cheers!"

We all had a grand time even though we didn't all know each other and it must have been marvellous for my friend to gather all the people she loves most together in one place. I didn't take any photos as the lighting was not conducive. But someone took a few of us as a group and I got Chat GPT to improve it. That's the photo I have chosen as this week's feature photo. I think AI made our faces look younger but I'm not complaining about that. I forgot to ask it to remove the Exit sign but never mind.

All good things come to an end and this lovely 70th birthday party dinner went far too fast. Suddenly Cord was telling me it was 11pm and our taxi was arriving. My feet were happy but not my head. We were in bed past midnight and oh dear, oh dear, I only got 4.5h sleep last night and woke up today, Sunday, at 6 am UK time.

And here I am writing now on our last full day in England. Today is going to be great as the party continues with brunch at Amanda's house this morning. My present should be arriving in the middle of it. Not knowing what to get her as she literally has everything, I resorted to an indoor plant or planter which I was able to order online locally here. The Flower Corner in Torquay sent me a photo of it yesterday and I  hope she likes it.

Our birthday present to Amanda which will be delivered today during the day party.

I have come to the end of my stories for this week which has been such fun. Oh how I love being with my dearest friend and spending time in England. Chris said to me last night when he asked what I most miss about my birth country - M&S, the BBC, English puddings, fish and chips, Sunday roasts, curries, afternoon tea, the English sense of humour, Church on Sunday, hearing my language spoken everywhere;  just to name some - he replied "you never really left". With my body I did but not with my mind.

And that's it for today. Cheers all and have a great day. Till next Sunday,

Yours, Masha