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28 March 2024
2022, week 38

This week I spent time with my sister Karen & her other half Brett. We went swimming each morning & sat feeding the fish as they swam around us in the Mar Menor. It was great to see each other again after not seeing each other for nearly four years.

Week 38 of 2022.

Monday, 19th September.

I slept well last night & woke up around 7:00 am today. I waited until the sun had come up & then took a loaf of bread & some croissants down to the beach to feed the fish. I was joined by my sister Karen & her other half Brett. We sat in the Mar Menor with the fish circling the three of us as we sat & fed them for about half an hour.

After we had used up all the bread & croissants we all swam out to the rocks & sat on the rocks for a while before swimming back in. Karen & Brett went back to their apartment & I swam back out to the rocks for a second time. The tide was picking up a bit by now & I finished my swim & went to the chiringuito for a coffee & tostada. Karen & Brett joined me for breakfast & Brett & I had an Asiatica coffee to finish breakfast off.

Today Karen & Brett went to see the Flamingos at San Pedro del Pinatar whilst I had to go to the office to work. On my way to the office, I went along the beachfront & saw many different types of birds on the beach so I suppose you could say that my sister & I both share an ornithological interest.

At the office, we are joined by Martins's sister Lesley, who has just arrived for a short break. Work is cut short today & we leave the office & go to Jardin III for lunch at about 1:30 pm, along with Martins's wife Kate & daughter Aria. We all had very good food, a few beers & sat talking, eating & drinking until 4:30 pm. Lesley & I had similar tastes so we just kept ordering & sharing whatever arrived, we ate far too much & had orange duck, teriyaki chicken, BBQ ribs, egg fried rice, grilled mussels, tempura prawns, about 5 different types of sushi & about a million garlic prawns which were fantastic. When we left I went back along the beachfront to my apartment & as soon as I got in I sat on my sofa & fell asleep in front of the television.

Sometime in the evening, Brett messaged me & I walked down to meet him. I said that he can use my kayak during the week, so I had to show him where it was kept & how to get through the different locked doors to get to it. We then went back to our apartments & I once again watched the Arsenal game on repeat television just to check the score was correct & that I hadn't been dreaming of the result yesterday. I went to bed at about 10:45 pm & thanks to all the fresh air & good food I fell asleep quite quickly.

Tuesday, 20th September.

I woke at about 6:30 am & as it was too dark to go swimming yet, I got a coffee & worked on my website until the sun came up. When the sun rose, I met my sister's other half, Brett, outside the garage. I helped him carry my kayak down to the Mar Menor where he went out on it for a while.

My sister Karen met me in the sea & we sat in the water feeding the fish until Brett came back on the kayak. We all went swimming for a while before Karen & Brett went to the Tuesday market in Los Alcázares & I went to see my friend Colin to see if I could help him with a problem with his Kindle. As it turned out, it wasn't a problem with the Kindle but a problem with purchasing from the Kindle store. I think we fixed it but I arranged to go back tomorrow morning to see if the book has downloaded correctly.

This afternoon I met Karen & Brett & we wandered around to El Callejon de las Brujas for some lunch. Unfortunately, the bar was just shutting as we arrived due to a family bereavement. We walked to the Avenue Cafe & had an Asiatico before we walked onto La Playa bar for something to eat. When we finished our food we all went back to our apartments, I don't know about Karen & Brett but I was tired out from all the swimming & walking but it was a good day.

Wednesday, 21st September.

I woke at around 7 am today. I got myself a coffee & waited for the sun to come up before I walked down to the Mar Menor for a swim. I called out to my sister as I walked past the apartment she is in & carried on into the sea for my swim.

Karen & Brett soon joined me, we swam & again fed the fish. The little fish eating bread right out of our hands & swimming in circles all around us were soon joined by three big fish. It is an amazing feeling as the fish eat bread, cake & cornflakes right out of our hands.

At 11 am I go to see my friend Colin who is having problems with his Kindle. He is not able to get his Kindle to synch the book he bought from Amazon Germany. It is made even more difficult because his Amazon account in Spain is all in Spanish & he doesn't have access to his actual Amazon account as he has no computer or laptop that works. After looking at all the settings I can find nothing wrong. We go to the computer repair shop near the Arches in Los Narejos to see if they can help but they don't work on Kindles.

We stop off at Rocco's for a beer & I tell Colin that if he brings the Kindle to my apartment I will work on it & check his Amazon account online so that I can see what is actually happening on his account. He agrees to this & I tell him I need to get a burger at   Cafe Parking for lunch whilst he goes home & waits there for me. I order a burger but the Cafe is so busy it takes me nearly an hour to order, receive, eat & pay for my burger. The burger however was fantastic & great value, I will definitely be going back more often. 

After my burger, I head off to meet Colin but when I get there he has figured out the problem with the download of the new book. The book he has bought isn't available for download yet & he paid for a pre-order only. This is why it helps if you can actually see what you are ordering on your Amazon account. I leave Colin & go back to my apartment.

This afternoon I walk down to the apartment my sister is staying in with a bottle of wine that I bought on my   Bodega trip a few weeks ago. I sat outside on the balcony with Karen & Brett for a few hours, we quickly finished the bottle of wine & I sent Brett to my apartment to collect a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin. We had a few more drinks before poor Brett was overcome with a bout of sleepy head & went inside to sleep on the sofa. Karen & I continued talking & reminiscing before I left to go back up to my apartment to have something to eat.

I made myself a sandwich for supper & went to bed a few hours later after watching a bit of television. 

Thursday, 22nd September.

I woke early this morning & had a coffee before going down to the Mar Menor for my swim. I am joined by Karen & Brett & we sit in the water feeding the fish for a while before going for a swim.

Once we finish our swim we all return to our apartments. I have a shower & then rejoin Karen & Brett to go to La Zenia Boulevard shopping centre to look for some shorts & some trousers. I do actually find trousers & shorts that will fit me around the waist but they are so tight around my calf & thighs that I have trouble getting them on. They are definitely not made for people with muscular legs or people whose legs swell up with exercise. I can not find any that will be any good for me.

Whilst at La Zenia Boulevard I look for a new television, the one I have is still working at the moment but there are spots of light appearing on it as the screen is beginning to deteriorate. I find one I like but at over €1600 it can stay in the store, I hope my television will last until the new year & I hope that I will then be able to get one in the January Sales.

We get a bit of shopping at the supermarket & I stop of at the Tea Shop to get some more tea leaves. This time I get a green tea with Jasmine & Peach & buy myself a new box to keep my tea in. When we get home I go back to my apartment for a sandwich & to rest my legs. Karen & Brett return to their apartment to go out for a meal on their last night here.

My knee is quite painful this evening so I keep my feet raised on my sofa & watch television before going to bed at about 10:30 pm. It is getting quieter now & I am able to sleep with the windows open, which keeps the apartment cooler without having to put the air conditioning on. 

Friday, 23rd September.

I woke around 7:45 am, my knees still ache a bit but I go down to the Mar Menor with some bread to feed the fish. Brett has got my kayak in the water & is going off to explore the Mar Menor before he & Karen fly home this evening. I sit in the water with my sister chatting, we feed our bread to the fish & then go for a swim. As we finish our swim, Brett comes back in the Kayak. Karen goes for a shower & Brett & I go to the chiringuito for a coffee & tostada.

After breakfast, I go back to my apartment. As I approach the front door there is a delivery man ringing all the doorbells, as I approach he recognises me & hands me a parcel that he has for me, I take the parcel off of him & then I go home for a shower. After my shower, I check the parcel & it is a medical bracelet that I ordered, I put it on before going back downstairs to see Karen & Brett before they leave.

Karen & Brett empty their fridge & bring me all the unused groceries before they leave to go back to the airport. We say our goodbyes & at about 1:15 pm I wish them a safe trip home & wonder if it will be another 4 years before we see each other again. After they leave I turn on my electrical foot massager & sit for an hour having a massage in the hope that it will loosen up my calf muscles a little. Feeling very relaxed afterwards I sit down, eat a cheese & ham croissant & shortly after fall asleep for about 2 ½ hours.

When I woke up at about 5:30 pm I check my email & read a message from the company I am going on a cruise with in October. From October 8th it will no longer be necessary to have an antigen test before going on a cruise & I will be able to check in, online before I go.

This evening I walk down to La Playa bar to see my friend Alan Bond who will be performing & running his karaoke. Due to a lack of people willing to tell me how bad I am & throw me out I actually sing three times. I sing ¨Combine Harvester by the Worzels¨, always a popular little number, ¨Rabbit by Chaz & Dave¨, & ¨Friends in low places by Garth Brooks¨ because I have a few of these. My apologies to anyone who had to endure my singing, the way to stop me is by singing yourself.

Looking back on the day I realise how clever my sister was leaving before I started to sing tonight. 

Saturday, 24th September.

I slept well last night & get up around 9 am. I realise I am going to have to order new clothes from Amazon as I have been unable to find any trousers & shorts that will go over my calf or thigh muscles anywhere in Spain. I go online & order 4 pairs of shorts & two pairs of trousers, at least with Amazon, returning goods is easy if they don't fit.

I spend the day procrastinating over my washing & eventually decide it can wait until tomorrow. The entire day is spent reading, watching television or chatting with family in Wales, England & Australia, via Facebook messenger. Whatever your view on Facebook it is a great way to keep in touch with people all around the world.

I go to bed at 10:30 pm, I get back up because I can't sleep. I watch television & fall asleep on the sofa around 2 am. I woke up around 4 am & go back to bed.

Sunday, 25th September.

I woke around 8:30 am & got up & put my washing on. No procrastinating today I am straight into my jobs. For breakfast, I have a couple of crumpets with Nutella & wash them down with a pot of Green Mango tea.

When the first lot of washing has been done I stick on a half load with the last of my clothes. It is overcast & windy today & AEMET (The State Meteorological Agency in Spain) has issued a warning for bad weather so I don't think I will be going far from the apartment today.

My new shorts are delivered at about 1 pm. I try them on & to my delight they all fit & are of good quality, I hope the trousers which I ordered are as good when they arrive next week.

This afternoon the rain starts, there are large black clouds, thunder begins to roll & lightning lightens the sky. It is nice to be safe indoors listening to the heavy rain outside whilst it cools us all off. I am very lucky & have no damage caused by the storms.

This video was taken on my balcony overlooking the Plaza del Espejo in Los Alcázares.