Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A slow start to the week with website work and balcony gardening, followed by knee trouble, fish feeding, a website crash, football, and finally a weekend trip to Albacete to see Texas live in concert.
Monday, 29th August
Website work, crisp‑eating lessons and a quiet afternoon
I woke up, got a coffee and continued indexing more pages of my website on Google. As usual, I lost track of time and before I knew it, it was time to go to the office.
I arrived at about 12:10, but Martin didn’t mind. We did a good amount of work, including learning new crisp‑eating techniques demonstrated by his daughter Aria. Kate agreed to take me to the garden centre tomorrow as I had seen some plants I wanted for my balcony garden.
After work I went to Economy Cash for rolls and a Murciano pie. I stopped at Rocco’s bar for a beer on the way home, tested one pint and found it satisfactory. I had the pie for a late lunch, took a siesta and then spent the evening browsing cruise websites for my October trip.
I went to bed around 23:00.
Tuesday, 30th August
A twisted knee, garden centre hunting and a relaxing evening
I had a terrible night’s sleep and somehow twisted my knee while fidgeting. It was painful this morning. I worked on my website until Kate messaged to say she was on her way.
I waited for her on a wall outside a house that has always been empty. The owner came out to complain, but after seeing my walking stick she turned around and went back inside. Thank you, kind Spanish neighbour.
The succulents I wanted had all been sold, so Kate took me to another garden centre in San Javier, but they didn’t have them either. I bought a leafy succulent instead. I also looked at electric waterfalls but none were solar powered.
Back at the office my knee was throbbing. I felt light‑headed and sick, so I took painkillers and drank water. After chatting with Martin, Kate, Dave and Viv, Kate took me home. I put the air conditioning on and rested for the rest of the day.
In the evening I ordered a solar‑powered waterfall online after seeing a video review. I watched the film The Upside, which was excellent, and went to bed.
Wednesday, 31st August
A website disaster, balcony gardening and Arsenal win again
I woke at 07:00 feeling much better. Light rain made the air cooler. I made a backup of my website before updating Joomla. That went fine, so I updated PHP and everything crashed.
The front end showed nothing but code and I couldn’t log in to the admin area. Support helped me restore my backups and advised leaving the PHP update to them. They will do it before the end of November.
With the site working again, I indexed more pages on Google and went to the Chinese store for plants and a new pot. Back home I repotted plants, rearranged furniture and tidied the balcony ready for the new solar fountain.
In the evening I watched Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2–1. Five wins from five. What a difference a year makes. After the match I watered the balcony and enjoyed how nice it is starting to look.
Thursday, 1st September
Fish feeding, a haircut and transfer deadline day
I woke at 07:00, had a coffee and worked on my website until it was light enough to swim. I took bread to the Mar Menor and sat in the water feeding the fish. They went into a frenzy, eating the bread straight from my hands.
After the bread was gone I swam three laps to the rocks and back, then returned home for a shower and another coffee.
At lunchtime I went to D’Pollo and bought two meals, one for now and one for later. As soon as I finished eating, Bob arrived to cut my hair. A number one all over — perfect. After sweeping up, I let Peggy vacuum the living room.
The rest of the day was spent watching the transfer deadline show. Arsenal tried to sign Douglas Luiz but all bids were rejected. At least they managed to move a couple of players on.
Friday, 2nd September
A rainy swim, errands and a great takeaway
I woke just before sunrise, had a coffee and went for my swim. I swam three laps before light rain started. I didn’t want to get wet, so I went home for a shower.
I checked with my neighbour about tomorrow’s lift to the train station, then had a bacon, egg and mushroom sandwich. After taking rubbish out I went to the pharmacy for tablets and treated myself to ice cream.
I worked on my website, watched a film and finally figured out how to use my selfie stick, by turning on Bluetooth. I charged my camera and prepared my backpack for tomorrow.
In the evening I tried a new restaurant, Shine Tandoori. The cheese pakora was disappointing, but the mango chicken and vegetable rice were excellent. I will definitely go again.
I watched television until 23:00 and set my alarm for the morning.
Saturday, 3rd & Sunday, 4th September
A weekend in Albacete and seeing Texas live
I travelled to Albacete this weekend. I went to see the band Texas on Sunday night and decided to stay for a couple of days to explore the city while I was there.
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