Madrid, Sunday 12th July, 2026
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| A charming photo of Elliot with Pippa yesterday |
Good morning everyone.
How has your week been? Mine has been hot and I can't wait to get away from the heat again. We were going to Montrondo today but our plans have been thwarted. The heatwave continues and is unbearable. Just look at the forecast for Madrid for the week of 19th July. I have never seen such high temperatures where we live.
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| The forecast for Madrid next week. Just look at those temperatures. They are frightening. |
I read this today and I believe it is true: "
Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service". The heat is causing deaths and wild fires. The wild fires are the main news in Spain where they have come earlier than usual. The one in Almeria you will have read about is the most tragic with a death toll of 12 people and 23 missing. Hopefully, we won't have another fire in Montrondo like the one last year. I am crossing my fingers here.
Despite the air conditioning in our room where I spend most of my time, I don't sleep well. Last Sunday, after only 4h sleep I was a wreck and spent most of the day in bed trying to reach the Land of Nod, to no avail. With this heat we don't get any exercise which I hope to rectify when we finally go to Montrondo with a daily evening walk we so need.
A lovely new guest arrived. Called Emma she is from Montpelier but lives in Biarritz. She is studying dentistry and her teeth were perfect. She looked like an angel. Later she said she had bleached them and they had veneers. Well, she would know. I had guests arriving at El Cuetu that afternoon for 2 weeks and I was very happy to get a message from them that all was ok. They seem to be having a grand time and good weather without the extreme heat we have in the rest of Spain.
It was a good day for England when they beat Mexico. They met Norway last night who had eliminated Brazil (amazing). Norway would be no walk in the park but the Red Lions beat them last night 2-1 and are through to the Semi Finals against, I'm afraid, the reigning champions, Argentina. Maybe England will get its revenge this time.
I woke up on Monday at around 6 am to 24ºc already. It seemed cool to me but I knew what was coming later. Oli was working afternoon shifts this week so she and Suzy spent time together in the mornings and having lunch. That gladdened my heart.
Amanda and I had our weekly Facetime call that afternoon. My friend was complaining it was 28ºc and sweltering in Devon while it was 38ºc here. Oh no. You may wonder why we don't use the pool more often when it is so hot. That's because even the tiles are warm and it feels so close. However, I did bathe that afternoon and maybe I should do so more often.
The World Cup was hit by the news that Trump had got the FIFA to lift a red car suspension for the US striker Balogun. With the red card, Balogun would not have been able to play in the QF with Belgium. Does the man have no limits? I am wondering. In the end Balogun played and the US team lost to Belgium to the delight of fans and non fans around the world. Spain played Portugal that night and the outcome could have gone either way. Ronaldo now aged 41 has never won the World Cup unlike his nemesis Messi. So when Spain beat Portugal 1 - 0 at the very end, he was the unhappiest person in the world. There is a rumour going round that the US wants Argentina to win because of Messi who is popular in the US where he plays for Miami. So will the final be rigged? I honestly hope not. What is the point of the sport if that is so?
On Tuesday I woke up after about 5 hours sleep which is becoming the norm. Suzy thinks that is the amount of sleep my body needs. I am not so sure. Pippa was having her teeth professionally cleaned to remove plaque and tartar under general anesthetic that morning and the poor love did not understand why I didn't give her her breakfast. That day was all about Pippa. I'm afraid I have been so inactive this week I hardly have any photos. So here is one of her I took last week on our bed where she keeps me company and also enjoys the air conditioning.
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| Little Pippa who underwent general anesthetic on Monday to have her teeth completely cleaned and cleared of plaque. |
Actually I got another one of her yestereday with Elliot and I pounced on it for this weeks' feature photo. I love seeing Elliot and Juliet bonding with Pippa. Suzy and I took her and she knew she was going to the vet and tried to protest but really she is a very submissive little dog who knows when there is nothing doing. Eladio and I picked her up just before lunch and wow her teeth were sparkling. We were told her teeth had so much plaque, one molar had to be removed. She underwent this same procedure about 2 or 3 years ago but we should do this once a year and not leave it as long. I got some special anti plaque turkey flavoured tooth paste and she loves it. We had to feed her soft food and since Tuesday Pippa has been eating proper food; mainly chicken, rice and grated carrot. I think she thinks she is in heaven.
I went to my hairdresser, Conchi, in the afternoon and braved the boiling hot air. Thankfully when I came out there was a thunderstorm, albeit a dry one, but the temperature went down a few degrees. I came home to bathe and enjoyed the pool. While I was out, the man from the garage brought our new T-Roc back which was looking gleaming as it should. Eladio had to drive him back but finally we have our new car again which we have missed. I admitted to my husband though this week, and he agrees, that I far prefer driving the Mini as the VW is very high tech and there is so much we still don't know and I wonder if we ever will, hahaha.
While our mundane life was going on, the annual NATO summit took place that day and on Wednesday in Ankara, hosted by Erdogan. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that he had given each leader a revolver with ammunition as a present. I think Erdogan lives in another world. Presidents and Prime Ministers don't own guns in Europe, at least. Sánchez, Spain's PM, also lives in another world, a corrupt bubble really. His wife who is facing a trial and has had her passport confiscated by the Judge, made a special request to join her husband in Turkey which was rejected. At the same time she asked to be present at her daughter's graduation at Bristol University which was allowed. If she was a normal citizen, there would be no allowances. Sánchez when greeted at the airport in Ankara did not quite know what to do with the flowers which were meant for his wife. Trump who we know lives in another world, was the main protagonist in Turkey. I imagine Sánchez was cringing when he blasted Spain for not contributing 5% of the GDP to NATO which has been an ongoing issue. He said we were a "terrible partner" and a "lost cause". He said he didn't want to have anything to do with Spain and ordered his minions to cut off trade ties with Spain. 24 hours later he said Spain had been very generous and had redeemed itself. No one in Spain knows why. No one knows either why he referred to Iran as the Islamic Republic of Japan or why he referred to Zelensky as Putin. He also called Turkey a "company" rather than a "country". I suspect these slips have a lot to do with his cognitive health and, of course, his age too. He is not fit to be President of the USA and that is obvious. He also caused a stir when once again he said the US should own Greenland. It makes me sick to watch Mark Rutte, the Dutch Secretary General of NATO be such a sycophant, sit next to him with a smile on his face and never challenge him. However, Danish journalist Rasmus Svaneborg challenged the SC and I thought he was wonderful. This is what he said: "Mark, you sat next to Donald Trump in moments where he talks about conquering Greenland, talks about lashing out at allies like Spain, starting trade wars. Things that it doesn't seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any effect on your self-respect when you sit next to him like that and say nothing? I was not so impressed with the Dutchman's evasive response. The NATO summit will also be remembered for the break up of the peace deal with Iran. They are once again at war and that is not good.
The good news that day in the UK was that Nigel Farage resigned as MP. The bad news is that he did it to avoid a Parliamentary investigation over millions of pounds of undeclared funding of his nasty party. I don't quite understand why, but now there will be a by election and he will try to get his seat back.
Wednesday came and it was slightly cooler at 5.40 in the morning when I got up. The good news of the day for me was being Super Host again on Airbnb for the period 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026. It's always good to see my efforts rewarded. We have had so many guests this year it is mind boggling and a lot of work. But what would I do with my time if I didn't have my little rental business? Not much.
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| Super host again. Thank you Airbnb |
Suzy and I did the weekly shop together but there was no time for coffee as she was going to Oli's house again and I had an appointment with my psychologist, Graciela. I'm not really sure if it adds anything to my life but it can't be bad can it? It does make you reflect on some things which you probably had never thought of.
Tana made us lentils for lunch which we had again on Friday. I can't be bothered to cook in this heat. Maybe we should install air conditioning in the kitchen. Maybe. I managed a 1.5h sleep during my usually sleepless siesta so that had me feeling great. What was great too was Arthur Fery, an Anglo French wild card at Wimbledon, who got through to the Semi Finals.Wow. Unfortunately he could not beat Zverev in the Semis. As Djokovic lost to Sinner in his Semi Finals too. the Final today will now be between Alexander Zverev of Germany and of course Janik Sinner of Italy who is likely to win his first Wimbledon, in the absence of injured Carlos Alcaraz.
While they played, I spent my afternoon on Booking and Airbnb admin and reaching out to all my guests this month and some of next to send them the information for check in, etc. One of them, a guy called Janus from Canada booked our house in El Cuetu a year ago. He is coming with his family specially to witness the total eclipse on 12th August. Wow. We shall be seeing that too as Montrondo is on the direct path although we might have to drive a few kilometres away as we are surrounded by high mountains. This week I bought the special eclipse glasses for when we are there. If there are no clouds when it happens at 20.30 we might be in for something amazing. I have never seen a total sun eclipse. Have you?
Thursday dawned and I did actually cook. I made some vichyssoise soup for the second time this week. We love it in this weather and it makes a change from gazpacho every day. Eladio and I went out on a few errands and I had a coffee in the shade at Alverán at about 11 am when it was already too hot.
More guests arrived that day. Grecia and Mariana from Mexico who will be staying here for 10 days and Raul and his friend who came for 3 nights. Also staying with us were an Italian man Guiseppe and his son Tomas. Thus, that night we had 7 guests in the house. Amazing.
For want of anything else to do, I started on our packing for Montrondo. When we finally go, we shall be away for a long time, staying there until the 20th August and then we shall be going to Biarritz for a week after which we shall be back in Montrondo for a family wedding on 29th August in León. Thus I have to pack for three events, our time in the village, a week in France and for the wedding. Our car will be very full when we leave.
It was a very sad day to wake up to on Friday and learn about the tragic wild fire in Los Gallardos, Almeria, in Southern Spain that claimed 12 lives. The origin seemed to be a fallen electricity cable but that has been ruled out. Whatever the origin, the fire was terrible and is still ongoing. The extreme heat, the low humidity and high winds triggered what the weather people call the critical rule of 30 which creates an unstoppable fire. The geography with its ravines and steep slopes hasn't helped either. It is a sparsely populated area so firefighters had to go from house to house to tell people to stay put or follow them to safety. Not everyone did that and made their own way only to be faced with flames and no way out. Thus they died; 4 in a car who it seems were British as the steering wheel was on the right and 9 who went on foot in the wrong direction. Tragic. No doubt there will be political repercussions here when the blame game begins, but the truth is this was unpreventable in my opinion
Friday for me was quiet and the highlight was having coffee in the morning with my friend and neighbour Elena. We haven't seen each other for a long time but then she is always away, mostly on long cruises all round the world. Good for her. She has auto immune diabetes as well as severe osteoporosis but still lives a very full life. It was good to go out and meet a friend. That doesn't happen often.
The highlight for most people in Spain and in Belgium that day was the Quarter Final match held in Los Angeles. It was very respectful to watch a minutes silence before the game for those who died in the wild fire. Happily, Spain beat Belgium 2-1; the last goal once again coming from Arsenal player, Merino who had come on minutes before. He did a repeat performance of his match with Portugal. Thus Spain, like England, goes through to the Semi Finals. It is for the second time in its history. The last time was in 2010 when Spain won the World Cup. Now Spain meets France next week on 14th July, Bastille Day, of all days. Do they have a chance? The bookies think not but take into account Spain beat France in the last Euro Cup which they won and the Euro Nation League cup too, so they can do it if they have a good day. Imagine a Spain England final! I would be so divided.
I couldn't sleep that night and went down to the pool terrace for a midnight "fag". I sat with my legs in the water and on the spur of the moment took off my clothes and had a skinny dip which was marvellous. I think I only slept 4h that night and woke up on Saturday a wreck again. I am hoping I will be able to sleep better in Montrondo. Keeping my fingers crossed here.
Suzy spent the day with Oli yesterday which again gladdens my heart. They were at a friends' birthday party and sent me this lovely photo. It is good to see Suzy so well these days. Both girls will be joining us in Montrondo and it will be great to be all together.
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| Suzy and Oli together today. |
I wasn't feeling well but had to make an effort and get up and make lunch as the children were coming while Oli was at the party and Miguel at work. Their babysitters dropped them off at 2pm sharp. Lunch was on the table in the dining room and the air conditioning was on and it was a good meal although I did miss Tana's help. And here they are after lunch drawing in the new exercise books I had bought them.
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| Juliet and Elliot peacefully drawing after lunch yesterday |
Later we had a semi siesta - well, Juliet and Eladio slept - while I tried to and Elliot watched some rubbish on Netflix. Their father Miguel came to pick them up after his shift ended and I tried to get some slumber but it escaped me. I didn't feel well at all yesterday and thought I had cystitis. After a very cursory dinner, Eladio drove me to A&E at the Montrpríncipe Hospital in Pozuelo. They did a urine sample and I came out with a rather scary diagnosis for which they nearly admitted me. It wasn't cystitis but a kidney infection called
pyelonephritis. Gosh I wondered how I got that. I was immediately prescribed a 10 day course of antibiotics which I started last night. AI interpreted the urine test results and my levels are pretty high. Untreated, this illness could be deathly but thankfully it was caught on time. The doctor said no way could I travel anywhere for the next few days. I was gutted we can't go to Montrondo today but I have to give my body time to recover.
So here I am on Sunday morning feeling sorry for myself but hopeful I will feel better soon when the antibiotics begin to do their job.
Thus I have to put up with this awful heat for a few more days
Wish me a swift recovery please while I wish you all a good Sunday and week ahead.
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