A family birthday dinner, off to England, time with my friends Amanda and Andy in Devon, foul weather, eating, drinking, playing cards and having fun and other stories of the week.

South Devon, Sunday 16th February 2025

With my best friend Amanda in Devon this week. We braved the weather as you can see

Hi there everyone. Well, this week finds me home in the UK for the first time since November 2023. I am  staying with my oldest friends, Amanda and Andy in their most beautiful home overlooking the sea in this wonderful part of the country I did not know before I came this week.  They live not so far from Torquay, Torbay and a place called Teignmouth (pronounced teenmuth). Their nearest towns or villages are Shaldon and Babbacombe. I had to look at a map to see where I was staying and  share with you. Here is one I found. This is England's West Country. 

Map of Devon

Devon is sandwhiched in  between Cornwall to the west and Somerset and Dorset further north. I was to learn more about the area during my stay. But before I tell you all about it, let me rewind to last Sunday.

It's amazing to think that only a week ago today, we left our apartment by the coast to come home after our bus man's holiday. What a difference in weather both in Madrid and here. To think just over a week ago we were having coffee in the sun in Alicante where the temperature was 21ºc. No wonder so many retired people live there. 

I took one last photo before we left on Sunday morning of the view from our apartment of the Bay of Alicante, a view I never tire of.

View from our apartment

We had lunch on the way back at one of our favourite places on the A3, Mesón de los Rosales. Love that place. We were home by about 4 pm. The house was full as Oli and the kids had come for lunch. It was great to see them, Suzy of course and Pippa. Above all, I loved seeing the sisters on good terms together. That night though we had dinner alone and went to bed early. I only slept 4.5 hours - not good. 

Early on Monday morning I enjoyed watching Oli live on TV reporting on the Rubiales case. She has borrowed a few of my coats -the ones that no longer fit (boohoo) and looked great in my red one. Here she is, clever girl.

Oli reporting on the Rubiales case on Monday morning

That was the day Trump announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium entering the US from any country. The world was not happy. That was also the day that Hamas announced it would delay the next hostage release for this Saturday, claiming Israel had broken the ceasefire. Trump was the first to react saying that all hell would let loose if they were not released this week. God help us. I think he did because on Friday Hamas issued the names of the next 3 (men) hostages to be released this week. This week, thankfully, those who were released were not emaciated but the parading of them continued. 

Life continued in El Bosque, the area where we live and that evening Oli and family were coming to celebrate my birthday belatedly. I was to make fish and chips for 8 and thank God for Tana as it's a very messy process. My sweet grandchildren came bearing red roses with which I was delighted. Here they are in this lovely photo, bless them.

My grandchildren bringing me red roses for my birthday

As I love receiving flowers and my husband never buys them, I told him to look  and learn hahahah. 

Everyone enjoyed this most English of meals and it being a birthday there was, of course, a cake. And below, my friends is the cake moment which is quite funny. Elliot wanted to blow out the candle while they sang and I had to put my hand over his blowing lips to stop him spoil the moment hahaha. Miguel took a video with his new Samsung S25 which you can see here on my YouTube channel. 

Monday came and once again Oli was reporting on the high profile Rubiales case. This time she was wearing my blue coat hahahaha. If she wears my coats, she must think I have good taste I thought. 

Oliva reporting on Tuesday again

The damn man claimed the kiss had been consensual but that was not the case. Believe it or not, the BBC wrote to her that morning to interview her on the case for their programme Newshour at 15h. I didn't know but for her or any employee from RTVE to appear on another TV channel, they need permission. She was gutted it wasn't granted, the main excuse being there wasn't time to process her request. Not fair boohoo.

I spent part of my day packing. I also went to have my nails done and then I had an all important appointment with my new GP, 30 year old Elena Criado, who I loved at first sight. She shared my blood test results and told me my cholesterol was very high. I knew there was a new drug, Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) which is the new weight loss wonder drug. It suppresses your appetite but also brings down cholesterol. To be prescribed with it you have to be pretty over weight and the dear doctor put down in my notes that I weighed a lot more than I do although, my friends, my weight is a state secret and I don't even know what I weigh myself as I detest scales. I wont' start taking it until I get back from England but watch this space. This could be miraculous for me. Let's see. My main reason though for the appointment was to talk about my daughter Suzy. Ideally I wanted the doctor to get her records from Alicante but she told me our hands are tied as she can only do that at a patient's request. So we remain in a Catch 22 position. We can do nothing, just wait for another crisis.  This week too, we learned she is back on dope. But we do not know how on earth she is funding it as we cut the financial cord 2 months ago. God help us.

Finally Wednesday 12th February came, the day of my trip to England. It was also, my friends, my brother George's birthday. He would have turned 70 this week but unfairly died aged 46, 24 years ago of melanoma. He is always in my heart. I love the fact that my dear friends Amanda and Andy knew him too and my family of course. So I could talk about him to them and they understood. 

Eladio drove me to the airport and we left at 7.45 even though my flight to Bristol wasn't until 11.15 but we had to factor in the morning traffic on the M50 ring road. I am so glad I no longer have to face it now that I am retired. Everything went smoothly and my Easy Jet flight landed early to fog and cold weather which was not unexpected. I was flying to Bristol but wouldn't  visit and kept thinking of my roots to the city where my father spent most of his childhood at the  New Vicarage in Henbury and went to the famous public school, Clifton College. My dearest friend Amanda was there waiting for me and it was wonderful to see each other again after more than 2 years. We have been friends since we started grammar school at St. Joseph's College Bradford when we were either 10 or 11. Her husband Andy was also an integral part of my teenage years. He was my father's pupil at Bradford Grammar School and my friend too as he was my best friend's boyfriend. I used to host amazing parties at home, with the blessing of my mother and I well remember my friends' first kiss  happening in our house with my mother and I looking on. Now nearly in our 70's we are still friends and it is just wonderful to be with them here in for what for me is their new home which is gorgeous by the way.

It's an hour and a half's drive from their home to Bristol so bless them for picking me up. On the way home they took me to a lovely cafe for lunch. Called Dart's Farm it's a very enticing place. There I couldn't resist a cup of tea with a scone filled with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam and  a cherry pie. Don't worry guys, I will be starting a diet when I get back with the help of the new miracle drug Mounjaro. 

It didn't take long from there to drive home to my friends' house. And what a beautiful house it is. Above all it has a stunning view. The inside is superbly decorated and comfortable and nothing looks dated like our house I'm afraid. I was taken up to my splendid en suite room with lovely views of the sea and I soon settled in. 

View from my friends' house

It felt so strange to be back in England and to be staying on my own here but it felt good. I loved the independence of my room and just felt at home with my dearest and oldest friends.

If Andy was our chauffeur he was also our chef, throughout and makes delicious healthy food from some healthy cooking app, The Doctor's Kitchen. Interestingly, he has a book called "Food as medicine". That night we had fish and veg with a glass of delicious Sauvignon from New Zealand called Stoneleigh. While Andy made our dinner, Amanda and I started watching a new series on the BBC filmed in Bradford, our city of course. Called Virdee we did not like it. There was hardly a white face in the series which I suppose sums up Bradford today which, this year is the City of Culture. Bradford is a much maligned city but it has its beauty spots such as the Town Hall, St. Georges's Hall, the Cathedral, the Corn and Wool exchanges and many other amazing buildings from the time of the Industrial Revolution. This was when Bradford was the wool centre of the world. Today it is not the centre of anything apart from crime as it has an  astonishingly high crime rate. I still love Bradford because of nostalgia for my childhood but wasn't keen on Virdee. 

It was funny to wake up in Devon, a part of England I really didn't know, on Friday morning. I was happy to find a Nespresso machine and milk frother in my friends' enormous kitchen. Mid morning Amanda drove me to the local village called Shaldon which is described as a quaint seaside village or town. But it was pretty empty that morning and bitterly cold. Our first stop was at the lovely pub and cafe The Ness overlooking the Teign estuary. I had to have a photo to immortalise the moment haha.

Happy to be back in England even though it was freezing cold and very windy

I loved the pub and we were lucky to get seats or rather very comfortable arm chairs next to an open fire. There were people, mostly with dogs there as the UK is such a dog friendly country, unlike Spain. 

We then went for a very bracing walk around Shaldon which was pretty deserted. Amanda told me that half of the houses were holiday homes as Devon is  coveted place for British tourists in good weather obviously. This week was not good weather. Just look at how my friend is kitted out to shelter from the cold. I got a picture of her next to The Ness, a beautiful building I thought.

Amanda outside The Ness in Shaldon

Lunch was lovely; most of it from M+S. Andy and I shared a scotch egg and sausage roll we got at Dart's farm which I adored. Whoever says Engish cuisine is rubbish is very wrong. On the table there were lovely M+S food; prawns, salmon pate and coleslaw, followed, my friends by apple crumble which Andy and I shared .It was a divine lunch. Later Amanda and I played Ludo which I adore and introduced her to when she came to Spain in September 2023. For the record she just beat me after 1.5h play. It might seem a childlike game but I can tell you it has its strategy.

Shortly afterwards my friends took me to M+S where I had a list of lingerie to buy for Oli and myself.  We then walked across the car park to Sainsbury's where I got clothes for my grandchildren. If I had an M`+S anywhere near me in Madrid I would probably spend all my money there, go bankrupt and be so fat I couldn't get in the door  hahahaha.

Once home, Andy started making dinner for us; a concoction made of red rice, prawns and veg, while Amanda and I started watching a series she highly recommended me called Bad Sisters on Apple TV which I do not subscribe to at home. I'm not sure about it yet. The Irish accent was so thick I needed subtitles, unlike Virdee where the Yorkshire accent, however thick, is very familiar to me. 

I slept so so that night, having tried a new sleeping tablet prescribed to my friend which did not work at all. I woke up with a splitting headache which thankfully went after my first caffeine shot. On Friday morning I read that Trump is to impose tariffs on the EU, damn the man. I also read he was pushing for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in a meeting to be held in Munich of all places; so reminiscent of Hitler's time which by the way, did not happen. I also read somewhere that Russia had already been promised they can keep the territory they have claimed during the war. For me these talks are a non starter; totally unacceptable to Ukraine. To quote the BBC, "Trump wants peace .Ukrainians fear what that might look like". However, a headline I saw on CNN worried me too. It is a quotation from Vance the US VP and  reads "US could send troops to Ukraine if Russia doesn't seek peace with Kyiv". I'm not sure I see that happening do you? There was actually a meeting this week in Munich - a big Security Conference, attended by Trump's VP, JD Vance. He took world stage berating European countries for their economy and accusing Germany, Sweden and the UK of censoring free speech. 

It was absolutely foul weather on Friday and I did not go out. It was also Saint Valentine's Day which I always spend with Eladio, except for this year. But we shall celebrate when I get home. How lucky I am to have the husband I have. 

Missing Eladio on Valentine's Day this week

I spent the day inside and we had great fun really and ate well. We had sausage rolls again for lunch; that is Andy and I, as well as some M+S pork pie, neither of which I could resist.  We also had Eton Mess or rather Andy and I did. We both seem to love the same fattening food. I commented that if he and I were married, we would both be obese and that it was a good job we had the partners we do who are so moderate about their intake, like Eladio. I then had a short siesta after which we played Trivial Pursuit which had the most devilish questions. It was a UK edition so not to my advantage as I have been out of the country since 1981. Amanda beat us both hands down. But I beat her at ludo later. After another delicious meal by Andy from the healthy cook book, we all played 3 card brag. We used to be mad on it at school but that was over 50 years ago and none of us really remembered how to play. Thus we turned to a more traditional card game called Sevens which I won each time hahahaha. We really had a lot of fun and games this week and I was in my element, eating, drinking, playing cards and laughing all the time. Oh how I love my friends and wish I saw them more often.

I went to bed pretty late for me after enjoying a day playing cards and a board game which I love but don't do at home as no one is interested I'm afraid.

We woke up to dense fog and rain on Saturday morning. We braved the weather though and went out, for more food my friends. I can't stay here much longer as, like Pooh Bear, if I carry on eating like this, I won't be able to get out of the door to go home, hahahhaa. 

My friends took me to a very special place which is a farm but also has a restaurant where everyone gets served a surprise menu and only when everyone is sitting down to eat. The farm specialises in organic veg and my friends get all their veg from them. Called Riverford Field Kitchen I loved it at first sight. I got more photos that day and here is one of my dear friends outside the "field kitchen" before we went in.

Outside Riverford Field Kitchen yesterday

The whole place was rustic and warm with a great atmosphere. As to the food, it kept coming, dishes and dishes, mostly of amazing veg with some incredible combinations. Our mains was duck in beetroot sauce. But best of all was my sticky toffee pudding for dessert; probably my favourite English pudding of all. Here are some pics to remember that lovely place and meal.

Wonderful lunch yesterday

By the time we had finished the rain had stopped for the first time in a day and a half. Thus we were able to go for a walk. My friends took me to the beach front called St. Michael's Promenade in Teignmouth right next to the railway line built by Isambard Kingdom Brunnel which went into operation in 1846. It is the line that runs from London to Penzance. The 10.000 or so passengers who travelled on it the summer every week then, must have loved the scenery. I did too but it was bitterly cold and rather windy. My friends keep telling  me this area is glorious in the summer but of course I have come in February. But who cares about foul weather when you are in England with your best friends, spending all your time, eating, drinking playing cards, laughing and generally having lots of fun? What a break this has been for me this week and there are still a few more days to go until I return home on 20th. Here is a pics from our walk  by the tacky Teignmouth sign hahaha. 

On our walk yesterday

Andy took more, including this week's feature photo. He also took this one where I was trying to push my hair back and it ended up like this - so funny

A funny picture on our walk yesterday in Teignmouth 

Once home, we all grabbed a glass of that lovely New Zealand wine which I nursed for hours while we played cards and played until it was time for bed.  As teenagers we loved playing betting games such as 3 card brag, poker or pontoon. That was over 50 yeas ago so our memories of the rules were not intact. Yesterday we tried pontoon using lots of coins that Andy has stored somewhere and then went back to Sevens. What fun. I am looking forward to more fun today but please Andy no more pork pie, sausage roll or sticky toffee pudding hahahaha.

That's it from me from Devon today until next Sunday.

Cheers all, Masha