A crappy Monday, my knee gave in again, Olivia reporting on the Rubiales unsolicited "kiss case", Trump wants to take over Gaza and expel the Palestinians, to the coast for a winter break and a bus man's holiday, Elliot goes skiing, my birthday and other stories of the week.

 Sunday 9th February, 2025

Enjoying a coffee in the sun

Good morning everyone.

How has your week been? Mine started off being very crappy literally, as you will read on but got better as the week progressed.  My knee caved in again and only on Tuesday were we able to get away to the coast for a winter break. It's actually been more like a "bus man's holiday" to quote my father when my parents taught in the summer holidays, because we had lots to do here as you will learn later too. 

Last Sunday was Groundhog day which was quite appropriate for me as all days leading up to it seemed the same to me. The groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter; i.e. bad weather but it's been wonderful here. I went for my first walk since I had an issue with my knee last month and it did me the world of good. It was just half an hour but it felt splendid.

On Monday though, I went for an hour long walk which I would regret as my knee caved in that afternoon. I had obviously overdone it. The day started well for me with Olivia covering the high profile court case of Luis Rubiales, Spain's former head of the Spanish Football Association. I'm calling it the "kiss case".You will remember this creepy man forcing an unwanted kiss on player Jennifer Hermoso just after Spain won the women's Football World Cup championship. He then went on to coerce her into saying publicly that it was consensual. He is also involved in other scandals but this is Spain's Me Too moment in football and sport in general and the media attention has and is being incredible. This week it was one of  Spain's main topics and my daughter was covering it for her programme La Hora de la 1 for TVE, the country's public broadcaster. I can't tell you how proud of her I am. Later she told me that the Discovery Channel from the UK filmed her reporting and will be interviewing her on 21st Feb and she wants me there. Great.  Here are some stills from her live reports.

Olivia reporting on the Rubiales case this week

Her husband Miguel later told me she had been congratulated by some quite high up people in the corporation. Oli never blows her own trumpet so we have to instead.

Monday was very crappy apart from seeing Oli on the TV,  in both senses of the word I'm afraid. It was the day of my dreaded colonoscopy at 8pm which had me on the loo from noon until noon the next day. Unfortunately, the beverage they gave me didn't work as fast as it should have. That meant that my gut wasn't completely empty so they could only see 75% of it. They suggested I come back for another test next week. But, no way I am going through that again. No way. I hobbled there and hobbled back and came out feeling absolutely lousy. My dear husband was there for me. After 2 days of only liquids, it was wonderful to be able to eat again. Generally the day was so crappy I consider it one of the worst in recent times.

The only good news that day was that Trump gave both Canada and Mexico a breather, by delaying the imposition of 25%  on goods exported to the US: How did he do it? In exchange for stricter border controls to stop immigrants and fentanyl from entering the USA. Later in the week he threatened the EU with similar tariffs but not the UK for the moment. 

I managed 6 hours sleep that night and was up early on Tuesday morning and able to watch Olivia reporting live again from the courts in far away San Fernando de Henares. She must have got up before the crack of dawn, poor girl. But as I told her, "don't complain you could be working for a bird magazine or something boring." I did later hear from her that she loves her job. Gosh, job satisfaction is more than important isn't it?

I was still crapping that morning and cursing ever having asked to do the damn test. That day we had decided to come here to our apartment on the coast as many things needed doing. We also wanted a winter break and to celebrate my birthday quietly. Before leaving, we went to A&E where I saw the same doctor who is treating my knee. He told me that I should not walk for more than half an hour. That is very limiting and inconvenient for us, for whom our daily walks are so important. 

As we drove to Santa Pola, I read that there had been a shooting at a school in Sweden with 10 people killed. It probably has to do with the terrible gang violence gripping the country. This, otherwise peaceful country, until no so long ago, now has the second highest crime death rate in Europe after Albania. According to an article I read "poverty is the main driver" in areas called "utsatta" or vulnerable areas. They are probably more like immigrant ghettos although no one wants to use that term.

We stopped for lunch at Mesón San José on our way. Reading the news while my husband drove on afterwards, I was astounded to hear Trump's latest. He wants to take over Gaza and drive away the Palestinians by sending them to Egypt and Jordan, while he turns the area into a sort of "Middle East Riviera". This came during his first meeting with Netanyahu  who was in Washington this week. No doubt it was music to the latter's ears but not to Palestinians or any other Muslim or non Muslim country.  Is this any of his business? Really? Is he mad? Yes, well, we know that. Later on in the week, the man once again insisted that Palestinians be expelled after Israel cedes  the territory to the US who will turn it into some sort of haven. This was his tweet on Thursday afternoon. Honestly, I have no words.

In his own words. Frightening. 

He is making some terrible decisions for democracy in America too which certainly aren't going to make it great again. I read worryingly that he wants to make America all white with special emphasis on Latinos. It is estimated there are some 11 to 13 million illegal immigrants many of whom are fearing deportation. In a Stalin like style he is offering 1000 dollars to people to snitch on them so they can be deported. Just yesterday 300 Brazilians were flown home, shackled again. Does this man have no humanity? Making America great again - his electoral pledge, he is very serious too about annexing Canada as Justin Trudeau let slip this week in words heard when he thought the mikes were off. 

All thoughts of Sweden or Trump mania left my head when we got here. We arrived to find a sparkling clean apartment with a new kitchen sink - the latter took 2 years to achieve - won't go into the details. It was good to see how well the pantry had been painted in our absence and how clean Gina our new cleaner had left it. She is a treasure. We soon settled in to our old flat which we bought in 1999. We were very grateful for the warmth from the AC/heat combo pump we had installed in the main living area last summer.Most people in this area do not need or have central heating but it can get cold. Eladio set about mounting a fruit and veg rack to replace a horrible one we had and a hanging fruit and veg basket contraption. What a difference this all made. I saw Lucy our lovely neighbour who returned to me an heirloom, a very valuable brooch that belonged to my English grandmother which Suzy had brought here. I was so relieved to get it back. I've hardly ever worn it but it's beautiful.

I slept very well that night; 7 whole hours which is a lot for me. I missed Oli on the TV that morning - she doesn't always warn me (boohoo). Later she sent photos of Elliot skiing for the first time. Her husband Miguel had taken him  out of school to enjoy a day skiing. Aged only 5 it was probably the best day of his life so far and he will remember it always. Here he is, all kitted out.

Elliot (5) went skiing this week

And here you can see him skiing with his father in a video where you can tell just how happy both of them were.

Elliot skiing (for the first time) with his father

While Oli was reporting and Elliot and Miguel skiing, we went out to do various tasks. Our first stop was to print some documents to take to the Land Registry Office the next day. Then we drove to Euronics to buy another AC/hot air pump  as well as a large screen Samsung smart  TV, both for our bedroom here. To make it even more comfortable for our stays  in winter and summer, I also invested in a memory foam mattress topper I got on Amazon. Thankfully, Euronics could get an electrician and air con installer to come during our stay. I have long wanted to make these changes which, of course, our guests will also enjoy. It was only after that that we had some free time in the morning - heaven forbid; we do not work in the afternoons, hahahaha.

 Later I took Eladio to one of my favourite places here, Choco & Latte by Dalua in the main square of Santa Pola where the castle is; in the heart of this small seaside town. I was pining to have a coffee there in the sun and my wish was granted. Eladio took a photo of me which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. It was a happy moment. But we came away having taken a hard decision. There will be no road trip this year. We realise now that we cannot leave Suzy alone at home ever again for more than a week. We haven't told her we are here, for fear she would have insisted on coming with us and then staying to live. She can never live here alone again. Her delusions would get worse and she would take drugs again. So with a heavy heart, we had to make this decision for the sake of our daughter's safety. So no more long walks and no more road trips. There you go. Resilience which was my motto last week is to be my motto forever more my friends. We have to live, despite the very big problem in our lives. There you have it. And we will live and try to be happy. 

As one has to eat to live, on our way home we stopped at Mercadona to get provisions for our stay. I later remarked how easy it is to shop and cook for just two people and not four and a dog. 

I spent the afternoon finishing The Missing on BBC iPlayer and then went on to watch the series Baptiste with the same "French" detective. He is called Tcheky Karyo and was actually born  in Turkey. I love him and I love both series. 

After a dinner of giant prawns with salad, I had an hour long Skype call with my dear friend Kathy (and her husband Phil - at times). It was lovely to catch up. We do miss them and hope to see them this year. I do pine for Yorkshire where they live.

On Thursday morning after another 7h hours sleep (hurray), the first thing I saw on my phone was a video from Olivia. She was reporting again on the case but this time the video was about being a reporter on the streets before daylight. You can see it here. 

Early morning video from Olivia showing her preparations: coffee, her notes, gloves and a brush!

Our morning wasn't quite as early but we had to hurry up to get the Land Registry office as the AC/heat pump people were coming to install it at noon. I had to go there to submit a form to request a registry code number in compliance with tougher laws for tourist rentals imposed by our socialist/communist government. It's funny really but Spain's last right wing President, Mariano Rajoy, who was a Land Registry officer before entering politics, went back to work at this same office when he was ousted from government. The staff there later told me he was a very nice person. Never in his time would he have made such stupid laws around tourism, the very heart of Spain's economy. To cut a long story short, I had to go and print something else, request it online, go home and submit it online, only to go back again physically to complete the process of requesting the damn number. Finally at noon I was done and I now have to wait for a call to come and collect the stupid new document. But I had done it and felt I had climbed a mountain.

I came back to find a group of Argentinians installing the AC/heat pump. They finished while we we were having our lunch after which we cleaned the floor. Oh what a difference the warm room made for our siesta. Not that I slept but I lay on my bed watching Baptiste on my trusted iPad. Lovely. 

On Friday finally we had no more tasks to complete. I suggested we spend the morning in Alicante with the excuse of going to El Corte Inglés (Spain's flagship department store) to get my birthday present and then have a coffee by the beach. And that is what we did. I am very happy with the noise cancelling headphones by Sony in white we got there. I tried them out at the store and was amazed at the quality.  My previous headphones have conked out and I needed new ones to watch stuff on my iPad when I don't want to disturb my husband. 

From there we drove to the port. Eladio parked while I went to look for a table at a bar in front of the Postiguet beach. It was a sunny day, slightly windy but the temperature was 17c which is pretty amazing for February. Did you know that Alicante is the sunniest city in Europe? I found a great table and the bar buzzing with people speaking, well, all the languages under the sun. Here are some photos of those happy moments by the beach on Friday.

Coffee in the sun on Friday in Alicante

On our way home we picked up my Amazon parcel containing the memory foam mattress toppers. It should have been delivered at home but the driver obviously thought it was more convenient to take it to a pick up spot. It contained two  for our twin beds and when Eladio  opened them I was a bit disappointed. They looked hard and thin. But, oh my goodness, about 3 hours later, they had expanded to the right measurement - 7cm - and we immediately put them on our beds. These are them.

Our new memory foam mattress toppers are divine

We didn't want to spend a fortune on new memory foam mattresses here where we don't come very often, so these have been the perfect solution. I am even thinking of getting one for our 180x190 bed at home as I think it's lost some of its foam or spring. What a wonderful idea. The proof would be in the pudding though so I wondered how I would sleep that night. I slept very comfortably. My wishes for our bedroom here in Santa Pola (heating and air con, a large TV and a new mattress) would be complete the next day when someone came to install the giant screen smart TV we got at Euronics on Wednesday. Mission completed along with the admin at the Land Registry Office.  

So when Saturday came, my birthday, I was free to celebrate it, bar the man coming to install the TV at 09.30. He rather spoiled my proposal to have breakfast at Choco & Latte in Santa Pola. Ah, but I had booked a table at a new restaurant for us that had been recommended by people in the area. It was at La Masía de Chencho somewhere on the outskirts of Elche, not far from here. 

I ate 2 mini croissants  and 2 mini pains au chocolate for breakfast while Eladio had his usual healthy stuff. That's when I opened my present (hahaha) and tried it out on my phone, PC and iPad. Then my dear husband presented me with a birthday card he got at the British supermarket, Quicksave, across the way. I had sort of nudged him to do so, but even so, I was very happy. It said on the front "For my really special wife on her birthday". I can't be that special if they make cards saying so can I hahaha? Then to make my happiness complete, Oli and the kids rang. They were so funny. Oli kept lighting  a match while they sang Happy Birthday to you, many times over. Juliet knows the words in English now. Ah, and this week, Oli told me she had learned to write her name. Also this week Miguel did a photo collage of her for school which I wanted to share with you here. Isn't she lovely? Well, not always hahaha.

Sweet Juliet (3)

By 12 noon the TV was working and we were free to leave. Before going for lunch we stopped at the Saturday market in Santa Pola where, wait for it; we got 12 kilos of giant oranges at 1 euro a kilo and 6 kilos of giant mandarins; all locally sourced. They look amazing. Here I am at the stand where we got the fruit.

Buying locally grown oranges at the market

Soon it was time to drive to the restaurant, La Masía de Chencho  which is on the outskirts of Elche in a rural area surrounded by olive groves and palm trees. What a wonderful place it is too. I wondered why we had never heard of it before. We thought La Finca was the best but this is top notch too. And here I am sitting and waiting for the delicious food we would be served and enjoying my birthday.

About to enjoy lunch on my birthday at La Masía de Chencho 

We had fried baby squid for starters, some amazing artichoke dish, followed by rice with cod and vegetables. This was it. It is a local variation on paella and just as good. 

Our rice dish "arroz con bacalao" at La Masía de Chencho

For  dessert I had to go for their home made lemon pie which was divine; really divine. 

And so, full, tired and happy we made our way "home" after a lovely birthday lunch at a new place we shall no doubt return to many times. 

Once home I set up all the apps on the new TV set and soon we had Netflix, Prime Video, Movistar Plus and RTVE Play all working for us to watch at our leisure from the comfort of our now more comfortable bed. 

But Saturday wasn't all about my birthday. On the international scene, and in the 5th release, three more hostages were returned to Israel from Hamas. Very worryingly they were handed over in a terrible state, infra nourished and looking like prisoners freed from Auschwitz. All of them were men and one, Eli Sharabi,  came home to be told something he could never have envisaged. His wife, his two daughters and his brother had been murdered by Hamas when they kidnapped him on that terrible night, 7th October 2023. I have no words to even begin to understand his misery. I really don't. How can he begin to live again?

I had a wonderful end to my birthday which by the way I shall continue to celebrate tomorrow at home with the girls and Juliet and Elliot. I had bought a mini cake from El Corte Inglés which was divine. It was made of some of my favourite things; pistachio and white chocolate. This was it.

My little birthday cake we or I had last night

Eladio isn't into cakes or many sweet things so I had most of it, hahahaha. Have you noticed the question mark shaped candle? So how old did I turn yesterday? Not telling hahahhahaha.

Last night, true to tradition in Madrid, we went to bed to watch the news. The new TV is a big plus in our room here as is the AC/hot air pump and new memory foam mattress top. I slept like a baby last night and woke up after 8 hours sleep and I am feeling on top of the world.

I don't want to go home today but we have to go back to be with Suzy and I must prepare for my upcoming trip to Devon next Wednesday. I shall have to prepare for the cold in good old Blighty too. If this morning the minimum temperature here was 8ºc and the maximum will be 18ºc or so, in Devon the minimum will be 4 and the maximum 8. But I don't care, I just want to go to England and see my dear friend Amanda and her husband Andy. 

So next week I will be writing from near Torquay. I've never been to Devon except for a stop off at Plymouth once, so will be looking forward to their famed Devonshire creamed teas, as well as fish and chips I hope. 

As I come to the end of this post, all that remains is to wish you all a happy Sunday.

Till next week, all the best, Masha