This week I spent most of the week trying to get rid of a cold & resting my leg.

Week 50 of 2023.

Monday, 11th December.

Today I woke around 6 am, I felt better again today & continued working on my photos until around 8:45 am. Just before 9 am, I went to the doctor's surgery to get my regular blood test done. It was strange today, as I sat there a constant stream of beautiful women kept coming in dressed in very fancy outfits. It almost felt like I was watching a fashion show on a catwalk.

After having my blood test I asked about having my flu & COVID jabs. I was supposed to have had them when I was on holiday & missed them. The receptionist, Rosa (It seems I know a lot of ladies called Rosa), said she would try & book it for me & that it would be around a week & that she would call me with my appointment. I left the surgery & went back to my apartment.

As the sun was out & it felt quite warm I got on my disability scooter & went for a ride along the beach on my way to the office. There were still quite a few people sunbathing on the beach as I went past but I guess they were all tourists rather than people that live here.

I arrived at the office a bit early at 11:45 am & Martin, the boss, wasn't there yet. My wife, Rosa, saw me & came out & got me a drink to go with the big beautiful smile that she always wears. I sat reading my Kindle until Martin arrived & we worked slowly until Aria arrived on her school bus. Martin took Aria home & I went back to my apartment.

This afternoon & evening I watched a couple of films on the TV & checked online to see if my blood test results were back, before going to bed at around 10 pm. 

Tuesday, 12th December.

I woke up at around 7:45 am & got myself some cereal for breakfast & as I started to sort out my tablets for the next few weeks I realised I needed to get some new ones that I had run low on. At about 9 am I went to the pharmacy I use in Los Alcazares & asked for the tablets I needed. The lady behind the counter gave me my tablets & I thanked her for them. As I was about to leave she told me to wait a minute & then handed me a beautiful Poinsettia plant. They were giving them away to customers for Christmas & I loved it, it reminded me of when I lived in Orlando, Florida & had them all around the house.

I left the pharmacy & took my plant home. As soon as I had put it on a table & given it some water my neighbour Liz called to see if I wanted to go for coffee at the Buena Vista restaurant. We walked around to the restaurant & sat chatting for a couple of hours whilst we drank coffee & ate our tostadas.

After I got home I continued to work on my website & as I was working I had a phone call from the doctor's surgery. They had managed to get me an appointment for my COVID & flu jabs tomorrow lunchtime & asked me to go in at midday for them.

As I sat watching the TV this evening my friend Pat messaged me to see if I wanted to go for fish & chips on Friday. I booked us a table at Campbell's bar & then let him know the time I had booked.

This evening I watched Arsenal's last game in the Champions League group stages. They had already qualified, as had PSV Eindhoven, whom they were playing. The game finished 1-1, it wasn't a bad game but I think Arteta should have given some of the up-and-coming youth players a chance to play. He gave some of our fringe players game time but as I don't think they will be with Arsenal after Januarys' transfer period, I think he should have benched them & given the youngsters a chance.
 

Wednesday, 13th December.

I woke around 7:30 am & got myself a coffee & a bacon sandwich for my breakfast. I worked on my website until I had to leave to go to the doctor's surgery for my flu & COVID jabs at around 11:55 am. I went into the surgery & was seen & given both jabs almost immediately.

When I left the surgery I went to La Playa bar for a coffee. I sat inside for around half an hour whilst I drank my coffee & talked with Juan & then continued back to my apartment.

This afternoon my arm began to ache a bit so I just lay on the sofa watching TV until I went to bed at about 10 pm.

Thursday, 14th December.

I woke up early this morning at around 6:30 am. My arm still ached a bit & I thought I would get a coffee. I went to switch the kitchen light on but it didn't work. A quick check on the appliances & other lights in the apartment showed me that there was a power cut somewhere. I looked out & realised that all the street lights on Plaza de Espejo, which are always on, were off. I realised that it wasn't just my apartment or block, but a wider area & that I wouldn't be able to do anything.

I took my tablets, settled down on the sofa & read my Kindle. Around 9 am I heard my neighbour calling my name from outside & when I went out, she asked if my electricity was off. I told her it was & pointed out that none of the surrounding homes or lights had power either & that I had a message from the electric company telling me that there was a power cut in the area & that it would be coming back on at 10:35 am, she returned home, happy that it wasn't just her apartment.

I read my Kindle & although the power did click on briefly it went off just as quickly. At 10:35 am the power did come back as promised by the electric company. I have to say I was impressed by the way that they sent me a text message & an email to tell me there was a problem & that it would come back on & the time it would come back on. I was even more impressed by how accurate they were when they told me the time it would come back on & that it did come on at exactly the time they said it would.

I spent the rest of the day typing up notes from my Brazil holiday & working on photos from my time on the   Costa Favolosa.

Friday, 15th December.

I felt a lot better this morning when I got up at around 7:30 am. I got myself a coffee & some cereal for breakfast & sat down at my computer to work on photos from my website. 

At around 5 pm my friend Pat picked me up & we went to Campbell´s Bar in Roda for fish & Chips. We had a great meal & chatted for a couple of hours before we left. On the way home I got Pat to drop me at La Playa bar. There were only 4 people there, myself, Shellie the owner, Yuan who works there & Steve the only other customer. We all talked until about 9 pm when the bar closed & then walked home. Yuan lives very close to me & we walked back along the beach together. There were only a couple of people out & it was beginning to get cold & I was glad to get home where I had left the heating on earlier.

Saturday, 16th December.

I woke up at around 8:30 am & again I felt better than I had. Once again I started working on my website & worked until around midday before I stopped & turned the computer off.

When I checked my phone I realised that I hadn't checked it at all yesterday & that I had a message from Marcus, whom I met on my last cruise. He had sent me some photos of the two of us when we were in   Salvador, Brazil. Unfortunately, although I can see what they are, the quality of them is not very good & I won't be able to use them on my website.

This afternoon & evening I watched some football on the television before going to bed at around 10 pm.

Sunday, 17th December.

I woke up at around 7 am, I got myself a coffee & continued putting photos on my website. I worked until around 1:30 pm before I got something to eat, turned my computer off & then walked to Rio Nalon in Los Alcazares to go to   Harry's Sports Bar, to watch the Arsenal vs Brighton football match.

I enjoyed the football, especially as Arsenal played so well & beat Brighton 2-0, with goals from Gabriel Jesus & Kai Havertz. The Kai Havertz goal did get me singing, £65 million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again.

As the game was finishing my friends Neil & Suzi arrived & I sat outside chatting with Suzi for a while until it got cold & we headed back inside. Neil joined us when his friends left & we all sat catching up at the bar. It was great to see them both again & to enjoy their company.

At about 8 pm I left Harry´s Bar & walked home. When I got home I sat on the sofa watching television until MOTD came on & I could watch the Arsenal game again, before going to bed.