Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A quiet start at home, a sociable weekend of meals and music, a chaotic ATM saga and a boys’ curry night to round off a week where I finally felt more like myself again.
Friday, December 3rd
A productive day at the computer and an evening at La Playa
I woke around 7:45, made myself a coffee and settled at my computer. With nothing planned, I spent most of the day adding metadata, structured data and tidying up the 500+ pages on my website. It’s a long job, but perfect for taking things easy.
After a late lunch or early dinner, I walked along the promenade to La Playa Bar with my Kindle. I sat inside reading, chatting with old friends, meeting new ones and enjoying the bar’s finest beer.
Saturday, December 4th
A swollen leg, a day of rest, and a MASH marathon
My leg was swollen, so I decided to rest ahead of tomorrow’s lunch with friends. After updating my website, I settled in to watch MASH season one and various football matches. After finishing the season of MASH, I watched Match of the Day highlights before heading to bed.
Sunday, December 5th
A lovely Sunday lunch and a night of music at La Playa
I woke refreshed, had a coffee while checking emails and updating my website, then showered and shaved, long overdue, before lunch with Agent Fisher and his lovely wife.
Bernard and Christina picked me up and we went to Campbell’s in Roda. Christina and I had roast lamb, Bernard had roast beef, knowing he’d steal some lamb anyway. After coffee, they dropped me home.
In the evening I went to La Playa to hear Diana sing. It was a great night with Jim and John, and perhaps one or two lagers to prevent dehydration. I got home late and went straight to bed.
Monday, December 6th
A business meeting, a broken ATM, and a disappointing Arsenal match
After my morning coffee, I played Civilization VI until it was time for the weekly business meeting at Pizzería La Sombra.
I was late because I stopped at an ATM that didn’t work and didn’t want to return my card, only then remembering my Bankia card had been replaced by a Caixa one. My bank has changed hands more times than a whore drops their knickers when the fleet’s in town.
After leaving I chatted briefly with Jacqueline on the way to the office, then arrived late and was reprimanded before we began. After the meeting, I walked to La Playa for a pizza before watching Everton vs Arsenal.
Arsenal were abysmal and lost 2-1. How Everton finished with 10 men is beyond me, Ben Godfrey stamped on Tomiyasu’s face and VAR still took no action.
Tuesday, December 7th
Helping Colin, a swift beer, and a quiet evening
I had my regular morning coffee while checking emails, Farcebook and updating my website. Colin needed help with his computer, so I played a game and took rubbish out while waiting for his call. I beat him back to his house and waited for him to return from the doctor.
After giving him my expert advice, we went to Boochies for a swift beer and saw Elaine, Lilly and Janice. I didn’t stay long, went home for lunch, a nice lasagne from Kilo y Medio, and later watched Portsmouth vs Sheffield Wednesday, which helped me drift off to sleep.
Wednesday, December 8th
ATM success, a surprise birthday meal, and Christmas films
I woke early, had coffee, showered, shaved and went to the bank. The two indoor ATMs still didn’t work, one even turned off while I was using it, but the new outdoor machine with facial recognition worked perfectly.
Back home, my Uncle Paul attempted a Skype call. His cleaner had managed to get the computer on and the video working, but he still had no sound, so I couldn’t hear a word.
At 13:00 Pat and Sandra picked me up for Bernard’s surprise birthday meal at Galin’s. Sheila had organised it, and around 17 of us arrived early. The set Christmas menu was excellent, and Sheila’s birthday cake was beautiful. Bernard claimed he was 35; others said 75. I think 55 is a fair compromise.
After being dropped home, I tidied the kitchen, put the dishwasher on and spent the evening drifting between sleep and Christmas films.
Thursday, December 9th
Early morning work, budgeting, and a brilliant curry night
I woke at 5:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I worked on my website for three hours before returning to bed for a couple more.
When I got up properly, I made porridge with raisins and bananas and watched Gordon Ramsay fix another restaurant. I spent a few hours catching up on my budget records, I’ve tracked every penny this year to understand my annual living costs.
For lunch I had a burger, then worked on my website all afternoon.
In the evening Pat picked me up for a boys’ curry night. We met at Trebol for a couple of beers before heading next door to Masala Cottage, my favourite restaurant in Los Alcázares. As always, the service and food were excellent. The six of us, John, Paul, Bernard, Gary, Pat and myself, had a brilliant night.
Pat dropped me home afterwards and I went straight to bed. This has been my most enjoyable week in a long time. Since my operation, I’ve felt more sociable and more like myself again. Long may it continue. Thank you to everyone who helped me when I wasn’t feeling well.
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