In week 21 of 2021, I lost my friend & neighbour Russ Morgan. His favourite saying was 'It's nice to be nice' & he was certainly a nice man. He was always available when I needed any help & kept all his friends laughing with his stories & tales of his adventures in the Dominican Republic last year. RIP Russ, you will be missed.

Week 21 of 2021.

Friday, May 21st.

I get up & print off two photos I took at the chiringuito yesterday. It is of my friend Matt & the guy that works at the bar, Victor. I save one copy for Matt & then take another copy down to the chiringuito for Victor. Maria & Victor like it & it is soon hanging up behind the bar. I have a coffee & a tostada before deciding to go swimming. I go back up to my apartment, get my trunks on & collect my swimming mask so I can go snorkelling for a while.

I swim for about 1½ hours, I find watching the fish swim around the rock reef very relaxing. When I finish my snorkelling I sit at the chiringuito & I am joined by my friends Matt, Russ, John & a few other people. During the afternoon my friend George rings me up & I go to meet George & Yvonne at another local bar called the Piramide bar. We sit there for a few hours chatting before we all leave & go our own way again. I return to the chiringuito where Russ is still sitting, we have a drink & then walk along the beachfront to La Playa bar.

When we leave La Playa bar & are walking home, my left knee pops out. It hasn't done this for a while but it is very painful when it does. Luckily for me, I have had large amounts of painkilling liquid throughout the day & am able to struggle home where I immediately go to bed.

Saturday, May 22nd.

When I woke up this morning my knee has swollen up like a football & is very sore. I will have to spend the day resting it & trying not to put any weight on it. For dinner I have a very large steak, with it, I have mashed potato, fried mushrooms & a pepper sauce. It is very nice & what should have done for two meals is eaten in one go. This evening I end up watching the Eurovision song contest, a lot of the songs were rubbish, my favourite song was by a singer from Portugal but it didn't even make the top ten. I wonder how people judge this competition as the singer from the UK doesn't score any points at all. Whilst I didn't like the record it was a lot better than some of the songs that scored quite well, how the Russian song made the top ten I will never know.

Sunday, May 23rd.

When I woke up today the swelling on my knee had gone down & is not sore anymore, yesterdays rest obviously helped. Today a possible Dana weather system may hit the area. This morning it is overcast & very grey, there is a little light rain but the heavy rain has not yet arrived. Due to the weather, I will again rest up but will be glued to the television this afternoon when the last games of this seasons football matches are being played. Arsenal has an outside chance of still getting into European competition next year, it may be a slim chance but I will grasp at it until it is no longer possible.

Arsenal manages a win but Tottenham also wins to give them the last European spot next season. I spend the rest of the night watching the PGA tournament on the golf channel. I am amazed by how badly behaved the golf fans are, especially coming up the last hole when Phil Mickelson was mobbed by fans as he walked onto the green. The match still hadn't finished & he had fans jumping all over to congratulate him, he could easily have been shaken up enough to have missed the putt & not have won the contest. Golf tournaments have to give the players more security from overzealous fans & so-called golf fans should behave a lot better.

The rain got a lot worse late tonight & in the early hours of the morning, it was so loud I had to turn the sound up on the television just to hear the golf commentary.

Monday, May 25th.

This morning I go to the opticians to get one of the lenses on my glasses popped back in. The optician very quickly just popped the lens back in for me, I didn't want to try in case I broke something but he made it look easy & shows me how.

I then go on my disability scooter to see my friend Martin at La Sombra. I have a glass of water & a quick chat then head back along the beach looking out for any wildlife that may be circling the beach. Whilst out I go to the doctor's surgery to make an appointment for my regular blood test to check my INR. I make an appointment for tomorrow & stop at the chiringuito for a bottle of water & a chat with Andrew.

Andrew is worried about my neighbour Russ as he hasn't seen him for a few days. I tell him that I saw him yesterday as I knocked on his door & he answered the door to talk to me. This evening my other neighbour, Christine asks if I have seen Russ today, I haven't & we knock on his door but there is no answer. Christine contacts the management company to see if they have a key that they can use to enter the apartment that Russ lives in & they tell her they will get a key.

Tuesday, May 26th.

I go along to the Dr this morning & have my blood test done. Then I go along to La Encarnacion for a tostada & coffee & read my kindle for a while. On my way back home I see Andrew at the chiringuito & he tells me they are getting a key to enter Russ's apartment & asks me to go in with him. When we enter Russ's apartment we find his body in his bedroom, he is grey & has no pulse, he must have died sometime between Sunday afternoon & this morning. The police & emergency crews are called out but there is nothing that can now be done for him.

I spend most of the morning talking with Andrew at the chiringuito & let a few of Russ's friends know the bad news. This afternoon & evening are spent quietly at home.

Wednesday, May 27th.

I didn't sleep very well last night & after falling asleep in the early hours of this morning I woke around 10 am. This morning my friend Mike is popping around to see me at the chiringuito so I kill time on my laptop till around 11 am & then go down to meet him for coffee. The rest of the day is spent at the beach bar, talking with old friends & meeting new ones.

A lot of the conversation is about the sad loss of our friend Russ yesterday & we make a toast to his memory with his favourite vodka. Rest in peace Russ, save me a spot at the bar, but don't expect me anytime soon mate.

Thursday, May 28th.

Today I am expecting a delivery from Amazon. I ordered some tea for my friend Bernard & it arrived at midday, I drop the tea off to Bernard this afternoon & then do some shopping at Mercadona. On my way home I stop off at Piramide bar for a coffee with my friend George, I don't stop long as I don't want my frozen shopping to defrost.

This afternoon I see a Facebook post from the town hall of Los Alcázares advertising that Bonnie Tyler will be putting on a show in LA in August. After many attempts at trying to get on the website, I finally manage to get a ticket for é25. I am very happy & really looking forward to the event, hopefully as more & more people are given their COVID jabs & it begins to come under control, more events like this will be able to be put on in LA.

I spend the evening watching television & scouring football websites for stories on any transfer activity Arsenal may be involved in.