Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A wet start turned into a bright, productive week spent organising genealogy records, enjoying Caldero Day, testing a new smart oven, catching up with friends and watching Arsenal grind out another important win.
Monday, 10th October
Storms, quizzes and a Murciano pie
I woke still smiling after Arsenal’s win over Liverpool. After coffee I worked on my website until 11:50, then headed to the office. It was a slow day and I left around 15:00 to buy bread and a Murciano pie.
Walking through Río Nalón, my friend Andy called me over at Rocco’s. One beer turned into a few, and I ended up helping some people with the quiz. A huge storm rolled in, so we moved inside. I chatted with some golfers who knew the Orlando area where I used to live.
I joined a game of killer pool, which turned out to be “hand all your money to the young lad playing”. He went home very happy. When the rain stopped, I headed home and had the Murciano pie for supper before bed.
Tuesday, 11th October
A slow morning and tech support for Martin
I didn’t wake until 10:00 and felt about 100 years old. I had missed calls from Martin, who was at the chiringuito, so I went down to meet him for coffee and a tostada.
Back at my apartment I scanned his passport and helped him get his new Facebook account working. Feeling rough, I watched Sunday’s Arsenal match again and did a bit more computer work before going to bed early.
Wednesday, 12th October
Caldero Day, loud music and a windy finish
I woke at 06:00 to the sound of people setting up for Caldero Day. At 09:30 I took bread to the sea to feed the fish and chatted with a few people. I checked supermarket opening times with Paul and walked to Lidl for fresh rolls.
Back home I had a bacon and egg roll and then walked along the beach. I saw Jo setting up Perlita’s pitch and later found Dave and Viv near the Mermaid statues. After a chat I returned home.
The travelling DJ was so loud I couldn’t hear my television even with the volume up. When he finally moved on, I opened the windows and watched a film, Interstate 60, which was excellent.
At 17:00 I went back to the beach. Perlita’s group asked me to charge their speaker, so I took it home. I then visited Dave for a beer before walking back with Paul. When I returned with the speaker, Kate told me they were packing up because of the wind, so I kept it for her to collect tomorrow.
I watched television and went to bed early. The wind meant the celebrations ended earlier than usual, so I slept well.
Thursday, 13th October
A quiet day and another Arsenal win
I woke early to sunshine and had a long phone call with my friend Elaine before working on my website and having a bacon sandwich.
Most of the day was spent reading my Kindle and updating my library. One of my Joomla extensions is being updated, so I didn’t do much website work.
In the evening I watched Bodo/Glimt vs Arsenal. It wasn’t a great match, but Arsenal won 0–1 and stayed top of the group. A gritty performance from a young team.
Friday, 14th October
Genealogy marathon and a smart oven surprise
I woke at 07:00 and got up early because my new oven was due to arrive. I spent the morning sorting my genealogy census records, over 312 of them. I organised them by country and year and added the dates they were taken. Later I filed birth, baptism, marriage and death records. Lightroom training has made this much easier.
The new oven arrived at 16:30. I set it up and connected it to my Wi‑Fi, which took a couple of attempts. I ran the first‑use cleaning cycle, had a shower and got ready for a party I thought was tonight.
After waiting outside for 20 minutes, I realised the party is tomorrow. Amazon changed the oven delivery date, but the party date stayed the same. I felt very silly, but at least no one saw me.
Back home I tested the oven with a pizza using the phone app. It preheated, beeped to tell me to put the pizza in and turned itself off when done. The pizza was perfect. I watched some detective shows and went to bed around 22:50, adding a blanket because it was the first chilly night in a long time.
Saturday, 15th October
A perfect pizza, a birthday party and live music
I woke at 08:30, put my washing on and worked on my website. At 11:30 I put a small pizza in the oven but left it off. I went out for coffee, milk and rolls, but my scooter battery was low so I stopped at Economy Cash instead.
Halfway home I used the oven app to start cooking the pizza. When I opened my apartment door, the smell hit me, perfectly cooked. I am very happy with my new toy.
In the evening Frouk and Reinder picked me up for Paul and Lesley’s joint birthday party in Los Urrutias. The restaurant filled quickly and I chatted with lots of friends. The band was good but sitting next to it meant I couldn’t hear anyone.
After food from the buffet I moved to the bar where I could hear again. We left around 21:20 and they dropped me near the Rambla. I walked to La Playa bar for a pint and found Gary playing guitar and singing. I chatted with a few people and stayed until the bar closed at 01:30 before walking home along the beachfront.
Sunday, 16th October
A tough match and a four‑point lead
I woke at 08:00, had coffee and a bacon roll and worked on my website until lunchtime. Then I settled in for the football.
Arsenal vs Leeds was chaotic. A power cut at VAR headquarters suspended the match for 30 minutes. When it restarted, Arsenal struggled and Leeds were excellent in the second half. A mix of luck and brilliant goalkeeping kept the score at 0–1.
Saka’s goal was superb and worthy of winning any match. Later Liverpool beat Manchester City 1–0, giving Arsenal a four‑point lead at the top. I still think a top‑four finish would be a great season, but it’s nice to dream.
Add comment