Snap elections called in Spain over the housing crisis, we took Lecinia to Montrondo her grandfather, Constante's village, Cuban Spanish cousin reunion, photos from Eladio's past, home again, return to Gibraltar and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, Sunday 11th October, 2026

Eladio's family with their Cuban cousin Lecinia this week

Hi again everyone. How has your week been? As always on a Sunday, here is the story of our week.

Last Sunday we had a leisurely morning. It was our cousin Lecinia's second day with us. If you read last week's blog, you will know she is the granddaughter of Constante, brother of Eladio's maternal grandmother also called Lecinia, who emigrated from Montrondo aged just 17 to Cuba and never came back. This is the trip of her lifetime, a journey to her Spanish roots. 

We went on a walk together and took her to have a very typical Spanish breakfast; "chocolate con churros". It was a lovely sunny day and we all enjoyed the walk and the churros.

On our walk with Lecinia and Pippa last Sunday

Tana was away so I made lunch which I hoped our cousin would like: chickpea stew followed by chicken waldorf salad. We had a leisurely afternoon too until it was time for dinner but I couldn't face food. Since I have been on Mounjaro I am never hungry in the evenings. 

Unbelievably that day in Ceuta, the police were dismantling the campsites on the beaches made by thousands of illegal Moroccans who had crossed into the Spanish territory over 2 months ago. They were to be rounded up and taken to be counted and their request to stay in Spain processed. Many of them knew they would never get asylum so a lot of them escaped. Why did the government take over 2 months to clear the beaches? There are two possible answers: the King is visiting this week which will also anger the Moroccans and secondly for political and electoral reasons. Pedro Sánchez knows people are angry at his inaction in the Ceuta immigrant crisis and wants it to be over for the elections.

Monday came and predictably Sánchez called for a snap election on 29th November. This came after the housing crisis exploded brought about by the eviction of 87 year old Mari Carmen from the house she had lived in for 70 years but was paying a pittance for. The previous Friday he had tried to get two housing decrees passed by Parliament favouring tenants but leading to total vulnerability  for landlords, of which 92% are private owners most of the whom only own one second property to make ends meet. Sánchez is now going to champion housing in his electoral campaign when he did nothing in 8 years. What he did do though was to increase the demand by giving residency to over a million immigrants. He had hoped they would vote for him but didn't stop to think where they would be able to live.  The decrees, if they go through and he is trying to go another route, will only make landlords unwilling to rent and thus sell their properties. In Spain it is dangerous to rent a property as so many tenants become squatters who you can never get to leave. 

Olivia was reporting that morning from the Socialist government party HQ but I didn't see her. We, meanwhile, were on our way to Montrondo with Lecinia. We stopped as we often do at Bodega Palacio de Bornos. We wanted her to enjoy the wine and ham there which I know she did. Here is a photo of that lovely moment in one of my favourite places.

Eladio and Lecinia in Rueda at the Bodega Palacio de Bornos on Monday

We arrived to a warm house as my dear neighbour Salo had put the heating on for us. She had also got us a loaf of local bread. We soon settled in and Eladio and Leci had some lunch but I wasn't hungry after the wine and ham in Rueda. 

Soon Eladio's younger sister, Pili, was with us, having come specially from León to spend time in Montrondo with her cousin. When they were children they were pen friends and Pili and her husband Andrés (RIP) saw her when they visited Cuba in 2012. It was a sweet reunion. We took her for a walk around the village and got some eggs from Manolo for our dinner. Here are some photos we took that rather wet afternoon.

Lecinia on her first day in Montrondo

We all had dinner together at our house and spent time chatting about the family. There was so much to talk about. We also talked about the crisis in Cuba. Cuba was always in our conversations.

Tuesday dawned and it was sunny for a while. Pili joined us outside the back of our house and she found me teaching Lecinia Montrondo vocabulary. I told her the stone bench she was sitting on was called a "poyo" of which there are many in the area. I also told her that our little gathering was called a "calecho". The vocabulary lesson continued: "emporcarse" (to get dirty), "mancarse" to get a stain and "sorracar" (to get rid of) and many more. I took a photo of the "calecho" to remember the moment.

A "calecho" - gathering outside the back of our house

When we were all ready, we took her to the church, first getting the key from my neighbour. This was the church her grandfather, Constante, would have been baptised in. Here is a photo of her with Pili and Eladio on our way.

Showing Lecinia the village

I then made her walk up the steep stone steps to the belfry to show her the marvellous view. While there and much to Pili's chagrin, I actually dared ring one of the bells which is strictly prohibited. 

We asked Lecinia what her impressions of the village were. Her reply was that it was much bigger than she had imagined. She loved the green and the mountains and the peace which we all love too.  We also visited the cemetery where she saw the family graves. When she had had her fill of the village  we drove to Senra for our morning coffee. It is the only place with a bar, the grumpy man's bar is what we call it as you may have read before.

I made lunch for us all including chips which she so misses as potatoes are hard to come by in her country. From what I gather the staple food is beans and rice and not much more. We are so lucky here but take everything we have for granted.

It was over coffee at Pili's in the afternoon that my sister-in-law got out old photos of the family. There were some treasures I had never seen of Eladio when he was young which I have to include here for posterity. One was taken on the day of the celebration of his ordainment. There was also one of his being ordained lying flat on his stomach at the Cathedral in León but I didn't like that one. I do like this one with the young men from the village and the one below of him opening a church with a big key. 

Photos from Eladio's past

He was aged 23 imagine - almost 60 years ago. I sent them to the family Whatsapp group and Elliot saw them. He commented "Booboo" looks just the same but with wrinkles and that his mother, Olivia, has more wrinkles now than Eladio did then. That had us in stitches. 

Later Pili sent us one of Constante obviously taken in Cuba probably in the 1930's

Constante. Lecinia's grandfather born in Montrondo 

Wednesday was the anniversary of the 7th October Hamas attacks on Israel. Just look what that led us to. On the other side of the world in the US, a prisoner called Christine Pike was to be executed by a lethal injection. Neither the first nor the second injection worked and the prisoner is recovering in hospital. It is so medieval that the US still has the death penalty. Even worse, this week it was announced that Nidal Malik Hasan former US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at a military base, is to be executed by a military firing squad on 3rd December.  Not only that, but it will be live streamed on television; i.e. a public execution. This is beyond disgusting and on a par with repressive regimes who carry out public executions like Iran or Afghanistan. But this is happening in the USA and it shouldn't be. It is barbaric. Shame on the USA.

Far away in little and peaceful Montrondo where nothing like this happens, we were in our own little bubble. We were awaiting the arrival of Eladio's other siblings and their partners who were coming from León to meet Lecinia. The only sibling missing was José Antonio who was in Madrid and who had already hosted our Cuban cousin for a  week. Once we had all greeted each other, it was time for a group photo. I took it so am not in it but I don't mind. 

The Cuban Spanish cousin reunion in Montrondo on Wednesday

From left to right - back row: Pili, Alejandro, Yoli, Primo and Adela, Front row Isidro, Eladio and Lecinia. What a happy photo 

We soon left for Senra about 4km away to the grumpy man's bar, Cumbres de Omaña to have lunch together. The food there is basic but good home made fare. The photo illustrating this week's post is of all of us having lunch together on Wednesday. It was simply a marvellous reunion and I think Lecinia must have felt the emotion of the gathering. We all did, really.

All good things come to an end, although this meet up will remain in our memories for a very long time. I will never forget it. We went home to have a siesta and I was asleep when dear Pili left. Later Lecinia and I braved the rain and put on some wellies and raincoats and went to get more eggs from Manolo to take home to Madrid. That night I made 2 small Spanish tortillas (made with eggs, potatoes and onions) using  some from the previous dozen I had bought. No supermarket eggs can beat the quality of the eggs in Montrondo. 

Very late that night we had a visit from more cousins - Eva who was the granddaughter of Constante and Lecinia's other brother, Elías and her son Víctor. Víctor a bachelor who lives in Asturias and works as an ambulance driver is a staunch communist and described Cuba as the last symbol or bastion of communism. I pointed out that there were also Nicaragua and North Korea but my words fell on deaf ears. The conversation was very pro the Cuban regime which I am afraid I cannot agree with. Cuba for me is a symbol that communism doesn't work. There is hardly any electricity which means hardly any internet, sporadic ability to communicate, cook or do anything else. Even water is scarce and don't get me started on the subject of fuel, food  or medicines or lack of. Pension are just 4 euros a month. How can people live like that and yet still support the regime and blame America for all their troubles? Because they are blindfolded and still believe that Cuba will be victorious. I feel for its people though. 

I went to bed late with my head throbbing. And just before I fell asleep I heard that the now famous Mari Carmen, the evicted 87 year old lady had died. She has, of course, become a martyr and is being used for political benefit. That whole story is a shambles. It is sad she was evicted but the house she was paying peppercorn rent for was not hers and when she was offered multiple alternatives, she refused them all. In the end the authorities gave into her which I call favouritism. I am a bit fed up of her story and all that it is leading too. What really needs to happen in this country is to stop the squatting and build social housing. If the government prohibits evicting vulnerable people, nobody is going to rent a property to vulnerable people. Is that so difficult to understand? Sorry about my ranting.

Thursday dawned, the day we were leaving. On our way we stopped in Riello a village near León where my nephew and his wife live.  He is my favourite nephew.  Theirs was another sweet reunion. 

On our way home, reading my phone, I saw an email from Airbnb. It read: "You are an unstoppable Superhost, Masha!" I had continued to be a Superhost for the last year and ever since I started in 2017. It was a proud moment. The day before, two guests from Boston, Paul and Jennifer wrote this to me: "This place is absolutely lovely. We just discovered the book you have written about your father and I am eager to look at it more closely". The next morning I met them. What a delightful couple they are and I was so happy to hear from Jennifer that she had finished the book and loved it. Music to my ears. She told me she was a teacher of writing which flattered me as I am not a professional writer but she seems to like my writing. Thank you Jennifer.

We arrived home on time for lunch and to pay the builders the second payment for the huge job they are doing on the terrace. No sooner had we eaten and unpacked, we had to go out again, this time to pick up the kids from school. It was great to see Elliot and Juliet who greeted us so enthusiastically. We spent some quality time with them at home until Olivia arrived to pick them up. At 5 and 7 they are a lot less of a handful and are a joy. 

Friday came, Lecinia's last day with us. That morning we took her to a big shopping centre, Gran Plaza 2 in Majadahonda. I don't think she had ever seen anything like it. After a coffee and a pastry, we went round the shops. First we went into Zara where we didn't find anything and then into Primark where I got a jumper for myself and for my cousin. From Gran Plaza we went to do the shopping before our  road trip to Gibraltar and Morocco today. I think she was stunned at the range and quality of the produce in the supermarkets compared to Cuba. Who wouldn't be? Why do we have everything and they have nothing? I think I know the answer to that: communism doesn't work but she doesn't agree. 

The rest of the day was very quiet. We had a good long chat after dinner - another "calecho" where Eladio recited a beautiful poem by José Zorrilla about a Christian Princess from León who is captured by the Moors and taken to Granada. Called "Corriendo por la vega", you can read about it here. I told Lecinia that one of the reasons I fell in love with Eladio was because he is so cultured. His memory is amazing.

I did not sleep well that night and woke up short of sleep on Saturday morning. Yesterday Lecinia left but not for Cuba. She is extending her stay to look after a friend of her sister Rosa who is recovering from a stroke. I hope everything goes well for her. It was wonderful to have her and sad to say goodbye.

Oli and the kids were coming for lunch which was all preprepared by Tana, bless her. We pottered around until it was time for Lecinia to leave for Illescas. By then Suzy had arrived too so we were all there to say goodbye.

Lunch was just us with no guests coming until later. A couple from Vigo came in the afternoon and three young boys from the Canary Islands. They have to come to some event at a discotheque so I hope they behave themselves. My least favourite guests are groups of young boys. I might be wrong. I spent the rest of the  afternoon packing for our trip today.

Today is Sunday and we are going on a road trip with no return date. We shall sleep tonight in a town called Andújar in Jaén and continue our journey on Monday to Gibraltar where we will stay for 3 nights at the legendary Rock Hotel. After that we want to visit Ceuta and see it with our own eyes and also travel to Tangiers and maybe Tetuan. When we first met in the summer of 1980 we did a road trip to Morocco staying in Ceuta and in Tetuán but that is such a long time ago. At the time we couldn't visit Gibraltar as Franco had closed the border and it wasn't opened again until 1985. Just for fun I have dug out a photo Eladio took of me by the closed border when I was just 23. Wow!

Me in the summer of 1980 outside the closed border with Gibraltar aged just 23.

We went back there with my father 28 years later in 2008 which was great fun.  I have dug out a picture of me there when the border was opened. 

Me by the Rock of Gibraltar in 2008 aged 51

This week I shall take another one to have a trio of photos of trips to Gib, aged 23, 51 and now 69.

Only recently was the border fully opened to all traffic after the Brexit fiasco. It's not the monkeys I want to see. I am more interested in the M&S and Morrisons there, hahahaha.

Now I must publish this post before we leave. You will hear all about our travels in next week's blog post which at the moment I don't know where I will be writing from as I have only booked the first 4 nights. We shall see.

Cheers everyone,

Masha

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

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