During week 48 of 2021, I went on a shopping trip to MediaMkt, in Cartagena, during the Black Friday sales.

Week 48 of 2021.

Friday, November 26th.

Today my friend & neighbour Liz is taking me to MediMkt in Cartagena for the Black Friday sales. I buy a coffee machine as I miss my coffee at the chiringuito in the mornings & as its getting colder I don't want to walk too far to get one.

When we get to the shop I look around & I get a great deal. The one I choose is normally 109€ but if you buy 19€ of coffee to go with it they give you 40€ off. After we finish shopping we go to my favourite restaurant, Toscana in Roldan. Liz has helped me a lot since I came out of the hospital & I buy dinner to say thank you.

I have the roasted lamb which is fantastic, I had forgotten how good this restaurant is. For 13€ the  Menu del Dia includes a huge salad, which has tuna & ham on it as well as all the normal salad ingredients you can think of. It also includes a cheesy garlic bread which the restaurant makes using a pizza base, it is beautiful. After my main of roast lamb, I then have a really nice tiramisu for my pudding. I drink my nice glass of red wine, included with my meal, before finishing with a coffee. As always the service was brilliant, there is nothing I could fault & I will try to get back on a more regular basis from now on.

On our way home we miss our turning so Liz also takes me on a magical mystery tour before returning home. The day was great but I am worn out when I get in. I rest in front of the television with the heat on for the rest of the day.

Saturday, November 27th.

I set up the radio that I also got from MediaMkt yesterday before settling down to watch the Arsenal v Newcastle game on the television. I was a bit worried that after last weeks hammering from Liverpool that Arsenal would not perform. I didn't have to worry, Arsenal won 2 - 0 to return to winning ways. Newcastle forced the Arsenal keeper to make two world-class saves but Arsenal returned the favour at the other end with the Newcastle keeper making some fantastic saves & the Arsenal forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing the goal when it looked easier to score.

After yesterday's walking & exercise I fell asleep in front of a film this evening, waking up as it finished & going to bed.

Sunday, November 28th.

I attempt to set up my coffee machine this morning but fail miserably when the coffee isn't mixed with the water & all I get is a glass of hot water. I try to see what I have done wrong, drop the coffee capsule & decide to try again later after a bacon & egg sandwich.

I put some pork ribs in my slow cooker for this evening but do little else. This afternoon my neighbour Liz pops in to see me & shows me how to use my new coffee machine. I think I was using it correctly, I just didn't close the handle far enough to puncture the coffee capsule. I put some washing in the washing machine & wait for it to finish before putting it in the tumble dryer.

I watch some football matches this afternoon & eat the ribs that I put in the slow cooker. The ribs were very good & the meat just fell off of the bone. The excitement from the week has caught up with me & I sleep most of the evening, drifting in & out whilst I watch films on the television & make a list of shopping I need to get tomorrow.

Monday, November 29th.

I didn't sleep very well last night & woke up several times during the night. I eventually get up around 10 am & take a shower. After showering I cleaned the wound on my stomach but this time left off the plaster to give it a chance to dry out completely.

I remembered that I still hadn't been to the local Ferreteria shop to get a washer for the connection on the hose I bought to water my plants. I picked up the hose connection, put it in my pocket & fired up the Sharky mobile to go to the Ferretaria in Los Narejos. When I got to the shop, I walked in & straight away the man who works there asked me if he could help me & within seconds I had two washers & had made my purchase.

When I got outside I thought how nice it was outside & decided to have a coffee rather than head straight home. My friend Jim had bought me a cappuccino at a nearby cafe when I was ill & I decided to go there for a coffee. I was soon sat outside drinking a lovely cappuccino. It was then I remembered it was Monday & that I really should be at a business meeting with my friend Martin. I finished my coffee, jumped on the Sharky mobile & drove to La Sombra Pizzeria for the meeting. When I got there I was late & Martin had quite rightly started the meeting without me, I was soon up to date but because I was late the meeting did overrun a little bit. Whilst at the meeting Agent Fisher rushed past on a mission but did stop off for a brief chat before heading off to catch up with Mrs Agent Fisher.

After the meeting, I stopped off at the Mercadona supermarket to get some shopping on my way home. I had arranged for another friend, David, to give me a quote for some work I wanted to have done at home. I had just got home when David arrived so I forced him to help me carry my shopping up to my apartment. I need to have the cord for the shutters on two of my windows changed, I want to have two curtain rails installed in my bedrooms, some photos hung on the walls & a hole drilled in a wall to pass a hose through to water plants on my balcony. David had a look at the jobs, gave me a quote & a date to do the work before he left.

I had a great day today running around doing a few things & seeing a few people. It made me realise how lucky I am to live here & to have so many friends nearby.

Tuesday, November 30th.

I woke up early today & now I had some condensed milk I thought I would try out my new coffee machine. After my lesson on how to use it from my neighbour Liz, I was confident I would be able to get it to work. Sure enough, I was soon drinking a large cafe bonbon & was settled down in front of my computer updating my website.

After having porridge with banana & blueberries in it for breakfast I put the washer I bought Monday into the hose in my utility room & was then able to water the plants on my balcony. I haven't watered them for a while but as the majority of them are cactus or other succulents they didn't look too bad. The lavender is in need of a trim but should liven up after being watered. I will have to replant one or two of my plants in the coming days & will buy one or two new ones to grace my balcony but I do like how it is beginning to look, when it is warm it will be a great place to sit amongst the plants, read, relax & watch the world go by.

This afternoon my neighbour Liz drops in for a chat & a cup of tea but apart from that, I do very little. In the evening I watch the Newcastle v Norwich football match on the television. It was a 1 - 1 draw, I wish I had been able to watch the English lady's game, they beat Latvia ladies 20 - 0, setting a new biggest win record.

Wednesday, December 1st.

I woke up early at about 5:30 am & when I can't get back to sleep I get a coffee, log on to my computer & send my lovely sister a ´Pinch & a Punch for the first of the month´ message, she does so love to get them. By 7 am I am feeling hungry so I get myself a bacon & egg roll, there is nothing like starting the day off with a bacon roll.

Today was a nice sunny day & I decided to go for a walk along the promenade. I set off, walked along the promenade & turned up to walk where a lot of bars & restaurants are, Rio Nalon. By the time I got to Rocco's bar I was a bit puffed & sat down for a rest. I ordered a coffee & sat outside drinking it & reading my kindle. After about an hour my friend Colin arrived, he ordered a bottle of beer & I decided to order one as well. We sat talking for a while & had another bottle of beer, we were talking but kept being interrupted by a very loud man who kept butting in on our conversation. To get away from the very loud man we moved up to Boochies bar, sat outside & had a beer sat in the sun.

After finishing the beer, Colin headed home & as the loud man had gone I went back to Rocco's bar to have a pint in memory of my good friend Paul Hooper, who when visiting me used to enjoy sitting there to watch the world go by. After my beer I headed home, walking along the promenade it was noticeable how much the temperature had dropped since this morning & I started to feel the cold. As soon as I got into my apartment I switched my heat on to warm me up. I had some chicken wings for my tea & spent the rest of the evening watching football on the television.

Thursday, December 2nd.

This morning I got up made myself a coffee & sat down at my computer for a while. The time flew by whilst I worked on my website & the next thing I knew it was 11 am & my friend George was picking me up to get some shopping in San Javier at El Kilo y Medio, a supermarket with a good butcher.

I stood waiting to be served at the meat counter for a while before George pointed out that they use a ticket system that I hadn't seen because of my eyesight. I got a ticket & was served fairly quickly, luckily there hadn't been many people that would have got in front of me because of my mistake. I ordered a kilo of boned chicken & also some lasagna to try out. I picked up some other shopping in the store & then George dropped me back at home. 

This evening I was very disappointed to see Arsenal lose 3 - 2 to Manchester United. It was a good game to watch with some very dodgy referring decisions, which affected both sides. Love him or hate him, Christiano Ronaldo is still a great player, today I hated him as he scored twice to help Manchester United to a win. Arsenal played well but they desperately need to start scoring more goals, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a shadow of the player he was since getting his new very large contract. He needs to be replaced, as does Alexandre Lacazette, his lack of pace & ability to complete 90 minutes is a real worry.

Other players like Bernd Leno, Pablo Mari, Sead Kolasinac, Calum Chambers, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pepe, Alex Runarsson, Hector Bellerin, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi & Eddie Nketiah all need to be sold as well. That is a total of 15 players, some of whom are on very high wages & don't even play for Arsenal anymore. Arsenal to need to clear out the deadwood, don't loan them out, get them off the books. Some other very good younger players need to be sent out on loan to get playing time so that they can get used to playing every week. Arsenal should also spend big in the January transfer window to buy a very good striker, one that is ready to play every week, score goals & integrate into this team straight away. That is my Arsenal moan out of the way, Arsenal board members please take note.