Week 19 of 2021 started quietly. I had chocolate pancakes for breakfast before reading my Kindle at the beach.
Friday, May 7th.
I bought some premade chocolate pancakes at the shop yesterday and tried them out for the first time this morning. They pop in the microwave for 2 minutes, from frozen, and they are lovely. Today was a lazy day. I spent the whole day within a few metres of my apartment. In the morning, I went swimming and met my friend, Mike, at the chiringuito outside my apartment for coffee. He had popped around to pick up a couple of mobile phones that I had and no longer wanted.
I also arranged to do a bit more printing for my friend Theresa and said I would meet her at the chiringuito. I sat all day waiting for her, occasionally going swimming but always making sure people at the chiringuito were looking out for her. She never turned up, and it turned out Mike had told her I had gone out on my bike. In the afternoon, I was joined by my friends Matt, Mark, Keith, Jo, and Michael at different stages and ended up getting sunburnt. Lots of after-sun was put on before going to bed tonight.
Saturday, May 8th.
This morning I was up early and at 9 am I walked to the Tipsy Thistle bar for a full English breakfast. I was joined by my neighbour, Russ, and after breakfast we moved on to Café Parking where I had an Asiatico coffee. Whilst sitting at the café, I picked up my sunglasses and the arm fell off them. As I was sitting opposite Optica Optima, I walked across to them and they fixed them in about two seconds. Thank you very much for your help, Optica Optima.
After walking back home, I rested for a while, and around lunchtime, my friend George called me to ask for some help with his computer. I was leaving to go to A Time 4 A Change for a wine-tasting event they were having, so I said I would pop in after visiting the shop. I tried three wines, which were all fairly nice, although I don't really know anything about wines at all, so I can't really give a wine connoisseur's view.
I then walked around to George and Yvonne's apartment, where George just needed some advice on using a website where he was ordering a shirt. After assisting George with his order, we walked to El Callejón de las Brujas for a few beers and tapas. This was a lovely little bar, and the service was always brilliant. I can highly recommend it. I left George, Yvonne and Jim at the bar and walked home via the chiringuito outside my home. I had one beer, but my leg was aching from all the walking today, and I didn't stop long before going home to watch this evening's football on television.
Sunday, May 9th.
Today would have been my mum's 82nd birthday. I still found myself talking to her occasionally, and I wondered if everyone finds themselves doing this to people they have lost, be it parents, wives, family or just good friends. If you do, you are all in my thoughts today.
I was awake around 5 am and decided that I would go for a bike ride this morning when it is light and if it is not too windy. At about 8 am, I headed towards El Carmoli on my bike. When I got to El Carmoli, my legs began to ache, so I turned round and headed home. As I got back to Los Alcázares, my bum ached, my legs ached, and a few rain clouds were gathering overhead; it was the correct decision to come back when I did. When I finally got home, I had travelled just under 15 km in just under 50 minutes, my legs felt like jelly, and I sat down to rest for a while before having a poached egg on toast for breakfast.
While I was sitting down, my phone rang, and Avatel customer service called me to help me access their website so I could view my bills and usage. Within minutes, I had access back again to their website. I was really impressed as I only sent them an email when I got in from my ride, they had called me back and helped with my problem within 30 minutes, and it's a Sunday, I wasn't expecting a reply till Monday at the earliest.
My legs ached more than I thought they were going to, so I decided to be a football slob for the rest of the day. I watched Portsmouth vs Accrington Stanley, Accrington won 1-0, then I watched Aston Villa vs Manchester United, United won 1-3, then West Ham vs Everton, Everton won 1-0, and finally I watched Arsenal win 3-1 against West Brom. This result didn't do much for Arsenal, but it relegated West Brom.
Monday, May 10th.
I woke up with a sore back this morning, something I suffer from quite a bit. There has also been a lorry working on cleaning the drains since early in the morning, and the noise is very grating on my nerves. I had to get a little bit of shopping, so I went out and got away from the noise for a while. I went to Café Prensa for coffee and a chat with my friend Steve. After coffee, I popped around to check on my friend Mike, then went to La Sombre for a beer with my friend Martin. We sat there for a few hours chatting, and his family joined us. His daughter Aria wants to go for a ride on my mobility scooter, and she quickly works out which dial controls the speed and is telling me to go faster.
On my way to my friend Frouk's home, I came across another friend who was looking a bit worse for wear and asked me for my help getting into her home. I unlocked her house and attempted to help her in, but as I was trying, her husband arrived and was able to help her in. With all the excitement, I completely forgot to go to my friend's house until it was too late, sorry Frouk.
Tuesday, May 11th.
I went out this morning and got my tablets at the local pharmacy, then went to Lidl for a couple of rolls. On my way home, I stopped off at a Chino shop for some key rings. I had so many keys all on one ring and wanted to separate them so I don't have to carry them all around, all the time. When I got in, I made bacon, mushroom, and egg roll for myself and my neighbour Russ, whom I saw as I got home.
While I was sitting in my apartment, the doorbell went off, and it was the postman with a delivery from my friend Jim in the UK. He knows I have started cycling and has sent me two pairs of padded cycling shorts, which should make it more comfortable for me when I go out on my bike.
The rest of the day was spent reading my Kindle and watching films.
Wednesday, May 12th.
I woke up this morning and had pain in my right leg that my doctor in the UK used to tell me was shin splints. It was excruciating, and I hoped that it would soon wear off as it made walking very difficult. The day looked like it was going to be a beautiful one, and the blue sky always brings a smile to my face.
I made my way to Café Prensa on my mobility scooter for a coffee and to check on my friend Mike. He wasn't there unusually, so I went to check on him. Luckily, he was OK, as usual, he is a marvellous host, talking to me through his gate. I left him and headed home.
On my way home, I went past my friend Bernard's home, he waved, asked how I was and invited me in for a cup of 'Liverpool' tea. It was a nice cup of tea, and it was very pleasant catching up with Bernard. We both like our different types of tea, and whilst the ladies are at their coffee mornings, we could start a tea morning.
After leaving Bernard, I stopped at the Chino shop that was local to me. I bought a new flower pot to transfer my Schlumbergera (Christmas Cactus) into. Once home, I transferred it from its old small pot into the new larger one on my balcony. I also cut back and transferred my Sansevieria Trifasciata (Mother-in-Law's tongue) into a larger pot. My Poinsettia, which looked like it had died off, I cut back to leave one small stem, repotted it, and hoped that it would come back to life with a bit of tender loving care. After pottering about on my balcony, I was worn out and rested my feet for a while. My balcony will look very nice as my plants fill out and provide me with a sunny refuge to read my Kindle in.
This evening I watched Chelsea vs Arsenal, and remarkably Arsenal played very well, and thanks to a mistake by the Chelsea defence, Arsenal nicked a goal and got a 0-1 win.
Thursday, May 13th.
This morning I went outside and walked into the sea to feed the fish bread. It is great feeding them and watching them swim all around my feet in the crystal clear water of the Mar Menor, but the wind is a bit cooler, and it was not quite warm enough for me to go swimming today. After feeding the fish, I ordered a tostada and coffee at the Chiringuito, where Bernard and Sheila joined me. We sat talking for a while, and when they left, I sat in the sun, reading my Kindle for a few hours. After getting a bit burnt already this year, I covered up in a factor 50 sun cream, but after a few hours, I went back indoors so I don't get too much sun.
For lunch, I had a protein shake. Tonight, I met friends at the Massala Cottage Indian restaurant for a meal. This is my favourite restaurant in Los Alcázares, and I love the food.
At 18:30, I walked to Chiringuito El Lobo outside my apartment for a quick pint. I had a pint and a chat with friends there before walking up to the main road, where I was picked up by my friend Pat to go to Massala Cottage. We were meeting our other friends, James and Bernard, at Trebol sports bar next to the restaurant for a beer. We sat outside the sports bar and had a few beers before moving next door for our curry.
As always, the food was excellent, the service was brilliant, and the company was great. I had a Prawn Puri starter that was gorgeous. We all shared some papadoms, naan bread and a few other side dishes. A few beers helped wash it all down, and some homemade Indian ice cream and Baileys followed it. I really enjoyed my evening. It was the first time I had been out for a nice meal (other than breakfast) since before COVID started last year.
I hoped that days like today would become more frequent as we all adjust to life after the COVID lockdown, and that people would still be sensible until we have completely recovered from this pandemic.