Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A quieter week after the fun and chaos of last week, filled with website work, gentle routines, football highs and lows, a birthday meal and the ongoing saga of banks, parcels and booster jabs.
Friday, December 10th
A slow morning, a beer at Rocco’s, and a Lord of the Rings evening
I woke around 08:00, made a coffee and prepared for a long, hard day of doing very little. Around 11:00 I visited Colin to help with a computer and phone problem. After a chat, we hopped on our trusty chariots and rode to Rocco’s for a swift beer.
After one drink I headed home and worked on my website for most of the day. By evening I’d had enough of staring at a screen, so I settled down to watch two of the Lord of the Rings films before going to bed.
Saturday, December 11th
Camomile tea, washing, shopping, and a great Arsenal win
I slept well and started the day with a pot of camomile tea. I haven’t been drinking it much lately and my leg has started aching again. It really does help with cramps and swelling.
I did my weekend washing, cheaper electricity, even lowering the temperature by 10 degrees as Ariel advised in an advert. After pottering about, I took the Sharky Mobile to Mercadona for shopping and had a cheese and ham roll for lunch.
In the afternoon I watched Ancient Aliens before settling in for Arsenal vs Southampton. Southampton started better, but Arsenal scored one of the goals of the season, a move from their own penalty area finished by Lacazette. Tierney then produced a comical but effective assist for Odegaard, and Gabriel added a header for a 3-0 win. Ramsdale made several brilliant saves.
In the evening I watched I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, absolute rubbish but strangely addictive, then Match of the Day before bed.
Sunday, December 12th
A cold day indoors and a quiet evening
I got up in time to watch Match of the Day again while eating two bacon and egg rolls and drinking coffee. After some website work and kitchen tidying, I planned to go to La Playa to watch Diana sing, but I couldn’t warm up all day. When the time came, I was still shivering, so I stayed under a blanket with the heating on. Hopefully just a one off chill.
Monday, December 13th
A trip to the post office, a relocated business meeting, and a quiet night
I woke early but managed to get back to sleep until 8:30. After coffee and emails, I felt much better than yesterday.
Liz came with me to the post office to collect a parcel from my niece. Instead of handing it over, they gave me a form to send by registered post to Madrid, where customs are holding the parcel. It should arrive in about a month, with duties payable on delivery.
We then went to Julian’s bar for coffee and tostada before heading home. I grabbed my sunglasses and went to The Office for the weekly business meeting, late again. Due to logistical issues, we relocated to LA’s bar to continue.
After a productive meeting, I stopped at Mercadona for shopping, then spent the evening watching TV.
Tuesday, December 14th
Bank chaos, investment discussions, and beers at La Playa
I had a 10:00 bank appointment but arrived at 09:30. My original advisor had left, so I was assigned a new account manager and finally saw her at 10:30. She was helping the bank manager, so everything took longer.
She removed my old debit card from the system, activated my new combined debit and credit card and even took me outside to test it at the ATM. We discussed investment options and she emailed me information to read. She tried repeatedly to install the bank app on my phone but couldn’t get it to work. She promised to investigate and book another appointment next week.
When I got home, I couldn’t log in, my password needed resetting. I emailed her again and arranged another appointment for Thursday.
In the evening I walked to La Playa Bar for beers and a chat with friends.
Wednesday, December 15th
A surprise delivery, COVID paperwork, and a big Arsenal win
I was having my morning coffee when the doorbell rang, a delivery driver with my printer ink, a day early. Good thing I wasn’t still at the bank.
I spent the day sorting paperwork and installed a COVID passport app on my phone. Scanning the barcodes worked perfectly and my jab information appeared instantly. If I can get to the booster centre tomorrow, I’ll try for my jab.
In the evening I watched Arsenal vs West Ham. With Aubameyang stripped of the captaincy and left out again, Arsenal played brilliantly and won 2-0. It should have been more, but the West Ham keeper made some great saves, including a penalty. Aubameyang wasn’t missed at all.
Thursday, December 16th
A failed booster attempt, a cold walk home, and website fixes
I woke early, made coffee and updated my website. I checked the Correos tracking for my customs paperwork, it arrived in Madrid on the 14th, so now I wait.
I went to the Los Narejos health centre for a booster jab, but the queue wrapped around three sides of the building. It was freezing, so I continued to Bernard’s for tea. Later I checked again, the queue was still huge and people without appointments were being turned away. I’ll try to book online and go next week.
Back home, I put the heating on, had coffee and cooked a tuna pie for lunch. Only then did I remember my bank appointment, I messaged them and rescheduled for tomorrow.
In the afternoon I ran code checks on my website and fixed the errors. In the evening I watched Liverpool vs Newcastle. Liverpool won 3-1, but it wasn’t the easy match their fans expected.
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