Madrid, Sunday 21st June, 2026.
Summer Solstice
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| Reunited with Elliot and Juliet this week whom we hadn't seen since before we left for England. They are wearing the M&S clothes I bought for them at the Pudsey store near Bradford. |
Hi everyone this hot morning in Madrid. The temperature will reach an unbearable 40ºc here today and marks the beginning of the first major summer heatwave as if June hasn't already been boiling. Today is the first day of summer and also the Solstice and Midsummer. Thus it will be the longest day of the year. The sun rose this morning at 6.44 am in Madrid and will set at around 9.48 tonight. We won't be here at sunset though as we are leaving shortly to escape the heat to Asturias and get the house ready for all the bookings this summer. The temperature there will reach a more bearable 28ºc. That's why so many Spaniards head to the North Coast in the summer and how right they are. In El Cuetu which is further north, the sun will set at 10.06 pm although the last light will be at least an hour later. I do love the solstice in Spain and the long hours of daylight, up to 16 hours in one day. There maybe more daylight hours in the Nordics but dawn starts earlier and the last light is pretty similar. Anyway, I shall enjoy the day and look forward to wine and pistachio time tonight on the terrace of our house in El Cuetu where we haven't been since last September.
Last Sunday was our first day home from Yorkshire. We had a grand time as you will know if you read my blog but I do not miss the weather which I gather perked up just as we left - Murphy's law. We had a lot to do that morning as the cupboards were bare. We took the new car, the VW T-Roc which we had only enjoyed for 2 days before our holiday. It is so lovely to drive. Here is a close up of Eladio at the wheel. Just look at the enormous screen, a bit like my large iPad.
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| Eladio reunited with his new car last Sunday |
We went for a coffee to Alverán, my happy place round here and to get petrol as well as food from Carrefour; mostly fruit and veg I had so missed in the UK and which had me bunged up big time. There is is never any fruit when you eat out and all veg comes smothered in sauces so no wonder. We eat so much more healthily here and always cook from scratch. I do love fish and chips, curry, a Sunday roast and Afternoon Tea but if I ate that every week I would be enormous and feeling sluggish the whole time. Thankfully I was on Mounjaro while there and my appetite could not take too much food.
On the topic of food we had some of the M&S delicacies I had bought in Halifax for lunch that day; but healthy stuff: smoked mackerel, sliced roast beef, salmon pate and one rather naughty sausage roll. We were eating it most of the week but always had it with a salad followed by delicious summer fruit; thick black cherries, all types of peaches, melon, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple or fresh figs. Oh how I missed Spanish fruit.
I managed an hour's siesta in the afternoon which was followed by a long Facetime call with my dear friend Amanda who wasn't able to travel to Yorkshire. Oh how I missed her. We had a great catch up though and I can't wait for September when we will be going for her 70th birthday bash. We have 4 birthdays to celebrate that month; Juliet's on the 4th, Amanda's on the 13th, Elliot's on the 17th and Eladio's on the 23rd. Juliet and Elliot are growing up fast and will turn 5 and 7 respectively. How time flies.
Time does fly and in February I will turn 70. How can I be 70, an old woman? Anyway, I told the family a while back in a very generous moment that I would be inviting them all to a trip abroad for 5 to 7 days. The good weather options for February are Madeira, The Canaries and Marrakech. There are no direct flights to Madeira and the Canaries is not exciting so I have decided on Marrakech which seems the most exotic option. I have been twice before and Oli has been too but yonks ago and I liked it a lot. I have seen very reasonable flights on Ryanair as well as some lovely Riads to stay at. I would love to stay at the Hotel La Mamounia, the best hotel in Morocco but as we can't, I shall invite the family to dinner or lunch there for sure. It was Churchill's favourite and it is mine too. I am now looking into the possibility of a night away in a desert in tents and searching for a restaurant for the birthday dinner with Moroccan entertainment. It's a nice project to work on and I hope it all works out and we have a trip we all enjoy and one to remember. It's 8 months away so I haven't booked anything yet but I will do soon.
We came home to lots of guests. I have so many this year I can't keep up with them and can no longer rely on my memory and have to use my special calendar and of course the Airbnb app. Tana had looked after them all so well she deserves huge praise. She is a treasure, without whom we could not run this little business so well.
There was a thunderstorm which cleared the air a bit and we had dinner outside after which we had a bit of a heart to heart with Suzy. I felt guilty having left her alone for so long and was upset to hear she had quit her job. It was too much for her but bless her, she is looking for another one.
Monday came. Guests left and new ones arrived but we had a morning without any which is quite unusual. Eladio and Suzy went to take the Mini for its biannual servicing. The last one was in Thessalonika and cost a lot less haha. Thus we had one car only. I had an appointment with my psychologist and Suzy with the hairdresser so she drove me there and picked me up later. She was looking good for an interview she had that day as a clinic dietitian.
Oli, whom we hadn't seen since before leaving for Yorkshire, came for lunch and it was lovely to see her. It was just the three of us and she got to enjoy the M&S food I brought too. I also gave her a goodie bag including M&S bras for her and clothes for the children and a refill of their lovely Calm hand liquid soap as well as some of those amazing "outrageously chocolatey" biscuits all in one of the colourful Sainsbury's "sturdy" bags. Just as she was leaving, my new French family arrived, Jean Paul, Laurence and their daughter who has just graduated in Physiotherapy at the UEM University. They are from Normandy. She stayed to help me a bit and to practice her French which she loves so much. Later in the week Clemente, a French physiotherapist who lives in Switzerland, arrived for his second stay with us and will be here for two weeks. On Thursday night, very late, another French family arrived from somewhere in the Pas de Calais region, so I was speaking French a lot of the week. Oli was too when she coincided.
In the afternoon Eladio watched Spain's first World Cup match against Cape Verde. Would you believe they drew? Honestly, it should have been a doddle. Here he is watching it in our bedroom on the big screen.
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| Eladio watching Spain's pathetic debut match in the World Cup against Cape Verde with whom they could only draw 1-1. |
Spain is in Group H which also includes Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Thankfully they also drew and right now all 4 countries have only 1 point each. I hope Spain plays a bit better when they meet Saudi Arabia today. England which is in group L did much better in their opening match beating their biggest rival in the group, Uruguay 4-2. The other countries are Ghana and Panama and right now they both have 3 points .Ghana and Panama should be a walk in the park as should Spain have been against Cape Verde. As you can imagine I am routing for both Spain and England.
Tuesday did not get off to a good start. Eladio scratched the brand new car while reversing down the drive. He took too long and the automatic gate shut on him just as he had reached it. We were very upset until we realised the insurance will cover it. We have an appointment when we come back from Asturias. We were on our way to the Inland Revenue people and were half an hour late. We went to get a new digital certificate for Eladio which is like an electronic ID to carry out bureaucratic stuff with the Spanish administration from your PC or mobile. I hate bureaucracy in Spain. We then went to pick up the Mini and came home in two cars, meaning I drove the Volkswagen which I love but takes some getting used to. We were only really given a cursory course on the basics and there is so much more. When Eladio drives, I spend my time figuring out the digital screen.
On Wednesday we had more errands to do. They have seemed endless after having been away for so long. I accompanied Eladio for a routine ear doctor appointment and then we had a coffee on the Gran Via in Majadahonda. I went to pick up my mother's engagement ring which had a broken turquoise and a missing tiny diamond. I put it on as soon as they gave the mended ring to me. It means so much to me. My parents bought it second hand. I know it's old fashioned too but I like that. When I wear it I am reminded of her wearing it on her beautiful tapered hands. Bless you Mummy. When I wear it I think of you.
It was a delight to be reunited with Elliot and Juliet that evening when they came for dinner and we made a splendid one indeed. It was too hot to eat outside so dinner was in the dining room with air conditioning on full blast. This week's feature photo is of my two grandchildren who came that day dressed in the M&S clothes I bought them in Yorkshire. Here is another of the two of them smiling for my friends Andy and Amanda with an ice cream in each hand:-)
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| Juliet and Elliot who came on Wednesday for dinner |
We had fun and it was a good evening together which ended with a swim in the pool and a shower in our bathroom. I told Elliot about our trip to Marrakech and he was delighted as it means he will be going on an airplane again. It will ne his and Juliet's third time after their trip to Paris recently and a flight to Mallorca this summer. Lucky children. Do you remember your first flight ever? I do. It was to Munich to stay with my Aunty Masha in the summer of 1966. I was 9 at the time and remember too that England won the World Cup in Germany while we were there. Could they do it again this year?
On Thursday Oli was off to Lyon, the third largest city in France, with some of her colleagues from her French classes. She should be back today and no doubt will have enjoyed a break both from work and from motherhood. I must share a photo here to remember her trip.
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| Oli in Lyon with her French class this weekend |
In France that day, and no less than in Versailles, Trump signed the much awaited Memorandum of Understanding without the Iranians present. It was during the G7. I'm not sure he knew the bad outcomes of Versailles Treaties but no doubt Macron did. I do not believe in this peace plan as Israel is still bombing the Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz is not really open. I do not believe in it because there is no agreement on disarming Iran of nuclear power which is the main obstacle. Honestly, if the USA and Israel had not entered this stupid war there would be no need for any MOU. In fact from the little I have read, Iran, according to the plan, will be better off than before the invasion. Trump is an idiot. He was an idiot when he claimed that Georgia Meloni, the Italian President, had begged him for a photo together and he has now sparked an international conflict. He had told an Italian TV channel that Meloni wanted a picture with him so badly, he felt sorry for her and added "she is probably happy I spoke to her. I didn't have to talk to her". He made it even worse when he accused Meloni of having declining popularity and trying to use him to get her numbers up. In my opinion he was just getting back at her for not supporting the US against Iran. Meloni answered tacitly saying the story was untrue and that "neither I nor Italy ever beg". The man has to go and soon.
Our day was quiet in comparison. We accompanied Suzy for her monthly routine hospital appointment after which we had a coffee together at Alverán. I came home to have a quick catch up with Amanda on Facetime. Our sleep was badly interrupted that night as we had to wake up to receive new guests, the family from Pas de Calais. They are lovely but getting up in the middle of the night is not the fun part of being hosts. Thankfully it doesn't happen often.
We have followed the news as usual since we got back from England. That day, Spain's former socilaist PM, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was in the dock answering questions from the judge. He has been charged with no less than 6 financial and corruption related crimes, mostly related to his getting kick backs while being a peace envoy in Venezuela. In reality he made money out of that role. He also has had to answer questions as to where he got a stash of jewelry worth over a million euros found in a safe box in his office. When asked he basically didn't reply and said he was not guilty of anything. He is and he knows it and I really hope he gets his comeuppance. Meanwhile, the current socialist PM, Pedro Sánchez continues to believe in his innocence. This is just one of the soap operas going on related to corruption cases within the governing socialist party. This week too Sanchez' wife, Begoña Gómez, was in the dock too answering questions from a judge related to four financial and corruption crimes. He, and I mean, Pedro Sánchez, has to go too but he is hanging on by the skin of his teeth and has refused to call elections this year. For different reasons, in the UK, PM Kier Starmer is also holding on to his job by the skin of his teeth. From what I have read he may well be replaced by the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham. I thought he would do a job but apparently not.
Friday was my red letter day. It was my Mounjaro injection day and time to go on the scales, the first since I left for Yorkshire. I was worried I had either put on weight or was stuck at the same weight. But, no, I was in for a pleasant surprise. I had lost 1.6kg (3.5lbs). Thus I have lost a whole 3.1 kg (just over 7lbs) and now weigh a reasonable 63.1 kg (just under 10 stone). I aim to be back at 60 kilos and have 6 more weeks of Mounjaro to do so. I might even lose more but I'm not sure I want to as the bloody weight doesn't go off the thighs or bum but off my scrawny neck and face. I am sagging a bit and I hate wearing short sleeved clothes because of my ugly arms but it's so hot I have to. One thing for sure, after Mounjaro, I shall never ever go on a conventional sacrificial diet again. If there is a pill to take to repress your appetite, that's the way to go. Although I am no friend of the scales, they made me happy on Friday. Whoopee.
We went out for coffee and did more shopping so as to have enough to take to Asturias and to leave behind for Suzy and Tana. Tana was off that day and will be back this morning. Thus I made the lunch and I prepared a spaghetti dish with prawns and spinach which we loved.
On Friday too we received a 60th birthday invitation from dear Irene. She is the daughter of my Spanish family, the family I lived with for a year when I was a student. When I went to live with them, I was 21 and Irene was just 12. It is so lovely that our friendship has continued for so long. I am looking forward to the party, I really am.
Saturday was quiet too. I was waiting for a Colombian couple to arrive early but they arrived when I was in the shower so Eladio received them. This weekend, like most, we are fully booked. Santa Pola is too but not El Cuetu which I booked for ourselves. We only went out once yesterday and it was for a coffee but when Eladio took the wrong turn, we ended up going to Leroy Merlin (French DIY store) to get a new dustbin so that we have enough to separate our rubbish for the new bins which we have to take by car and is such a bore. I had a coffee and a tiny cake at Starbucks after which we chose the bloody bin. Now we have 3 inside and 1 outside. I often wonder if all the efforts of separating rubbish at home are worth it as I often suspect that those in charge, here, at least, don't do a proper job of recycling.
We had lunch on our own as Suzy was in Madrid having lunch with a friend. There is nothing much more to report about yesterday. Today, my friends, as I said at the beginning is Sunday 21st June and the summer solstice. We shall be leaving shortly for the cooler area of Asturias which will be what my father used to call a busman's holiday. We have to work and get things ready for the summer season but we shall also enjoy being back at our house which as you know is now on sale. I love it there in the good weather and we are going to good weather.
You will hear all about our stay in El Cuetu in next week's post. Let me sign off now and wish you all a good Sunday and week ahead.
Cheers Masha
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