I had not been doing my weekly update this year and had decided to continue it this week. It helps with my memory and gives me something to do when I have my morning coffee.
Monday, 2nd May.
I woke up around 7 am this morning, and after moaning to myself about an aching back, I decided to get up for a coffee. I got myself a coffee and then sat down at my computer, which I do most mornings, to check my email and work on my website. After my coffee, I get myself a lemsip with honey in it. I have had flu for over 3 weeks, but the lemsip cocktails do seem to be helping. I have a bit of phlegm and a slight cough left now.
I have a new kettle being delivered today. Is it just me, or does anyone else find that kettles in Spain don't last very long? This is about the 4th kettle I have had in the last 4 years. I can only remember having one kettle in the UK. This time, I have given up trying the electric plug-in kettles, and I am trying a free-standing kettle that can be used on an electric hob. It's cheaper than the other kettles I have bought, and I hope that as it has fewer electronic parts, it may last longer. I hoped that I didn't have to wait until 10 tonight for it to be delivered.
This morning, I cleaned up my kitchen and then arranged to send back a toilet seat I had bought from Amazon. It was a lovely bamboo seat, but the fittings on it can not be changed to fit the toilet bowl I have. After arranging that, I set Peggy, my robot hoover, off to vacuum the apartment. It has been fondly named Peggy after my dear mum, who used to, it seemed, enjoy nothing more than cleaning and dusting her little boy's apartment whenever she visited.
For my lunch today, I made myself fish and chips in my air fryer and washed them down with a lemsip cocktail to try and shift the last remaining bit of phlegm from my chest before I go away at the end of the week. Just as I was about to sit down for my lunch, Amazon arrived with my new kettle. I placed it in my kitchen, ready to test it out later when I have a pot of tea and watch tonight's football.
This afternoon, I was feeling well enough to decide to go out to get myself some ice cream. Off I went on my disability scooter to my local supermarket, but when I got there, it was shut. I couldn't remember it being closed before, and I went to another shop. It was only when I got there and found that it too was closed that I remembered that today was a bank holiday and that the shops would all be closed.
The evening was spent watching the Manchester United vs Brentford football match before having another Lemsip cocktail and going to bed.
Tuesday, 3rd May.
I woke up around 7:30 this morning. I got myself a coffee and then sat down at my computer. I had an email from Correos telling me to expect a parcel delivery in the next few days. I was expecting a small parcel today from Amazon and can only assume that is what it is. Rather than wait all day for it, I will risk going out, and if I miss it, I can pick it up at the post office later in the week.
My mobile phone has been playing up again so I went to Avatel to see if they could fix the problem. Luckily, I was seen immediately, as no one was waiting. Quickly, they told me I needed a new SIM card. It would be my 4th one this year. They put a new SIM in my phone and tested it, assuring me it was all fixed. My fingers were crossed it lasted longer than the previous ones.
I then cycled on to meet my friend Martin at the office, La Sombra, where we met to go over some paperwork and discuss any problems. After discussing 2 or 3 good points, Martin went to pick his daughter up from the bus, and I went on to La Zona Terraza. I see a friend that I haven't seen for a while, Terry, and sit down with him for a chat and a pint. We are joined by Martin, who has just done his shopping and is stopping off for a quick beer.
I left my bike locked up at La Zona whilst I got some shopping for my dinner at Mercadona and then cycled home. After having my dinner, I sat down to watch the Villarreal vs Liverpool football match on television. Villarreal was 0-2 down after the first leg but played very well. After a poor performance from Liverpool in the first half of this game, the score was 2-2. Jurgen Klopp must have read Liverpool the riot act at halftime because they played a lot better in the second half, scoring three goals and winning the match 2-5 on aggregate to get to the final.
Wednesday, 4th May.
I woke this morning with a blocked nose and decided to stay in and continue taking the lemsip to fight off the remnants of the flu that I have been suffering with for weeks. When I sat down at my computer with a lemsip, I noticed that it was raining and that there were dark clouds overhead. Staying in will not be a discomfort today.
I spend the whole day working on my website. I was updating the photo albums so that I can add extra information to the photos in the future and make it easier to navigate around the photos.
This evening, I watched the Arsenal ladies beat Tottenham, ladies, 3-0 before switching over to watch Real Madrid make a stunning comeback against Manchester City, beat them 6-5 on aggregate and go on to meet Liverpool in the European Champions Final.
Thursday, 5th May.
When I woke up today, it was overcast and raining, which is a good reason to stay indoors with a lemsip, stay warm, and hope that this flu will soon be gone.
I settled down at my computer and continued to adjust the way my website showed my photos. It involved a lot of work on the backend that no one ever saw, and it meant a lot of the photos had to be reloaded to the site or moved around on the server to be used by the new pages I was designing. I did enjoy this, and when I looked up and thought about getting some lunch, I saw that it was nearly 7 in the evening. I stopped work, made a few sandwiches and moved to the lounge to rest and watch some of tonight's football on the television.
Friday, 6th May.
I woke up this morning and made my coffee before checking my email and messages on Facebook. Afterwards, I took a shower and then got the Sharky mobile out to get some drugs at the pharmacy.
I was nearly out of Sintrom and Omeprazole and had run out of lemsip. I went to the pharmacy to get my tablets and a lemsip replacement that is sold in Spain and called Frenadol. It doesn't taste that good, but I put some honey and a splash of spiced rum in it. It tastes better, and hopefully, it works as well as lemsip, and I am soon feeling ready to run a marathon. Please note that I said I was feeling ready, not that I would run a marathon. On the way home, I stopped at a local bakery to buy a cake to help me take my medicine.
When I got home, I sat down at my computer to make some adjustments to a menu that I was designing for my friend Shellie, who has a local bar called La Playa. After finishing it, I go to the bar with a printout of it to show her. I left it with her to make any notes about changes that she may want and headed home for some lunch. For my lunch, I had some beef stew.
This evening I went to Rocco's bar to take some photos of my friends Matt and Jo's engagement party. I stay around 2 hours before heading home.
Saturday, 7th May.
I woke up early and worked on Matt and Jo´s photos from last night. After selecting the best ones, I edited them, resized them and sent them to Matt. I also printed a few off for Matt and Jo and dropped them off at Rocco's bar, along with a photo I printed for Rachid. When I got back, I made the changes Shellie wanted to make to her menu and emailed the finished file to her.
I then went out to pick up my delivery of two pairs of shorts, which would be just in time for my trip to Cordoba. When I got them home, I tried them on. They are so small they will not get much further than my knees, so they will have to be returned, and it looks like I won't have new shorts for my trip away.
This afternoon I watched football on the television. I watched Chelsea draw 2-2 with Wolves, before then watching Liverpool draw 1-1 with Tottenham. Neither result was great for Arsenal, but neither was that bad either. We can get two points closer to Chelsea if we beat Leeds on Sunday and move further away from Tottenham if we win.
Sunday, 8th May.
I am woken by my alarm at 6:45 am this morning. I quickly shaved, showered, and finished packing my case. This morning, I set off for my trip to Cordoba to see the Patio Festival. One of my neighbours had said she would take me to catch the coach at The Arches in Los Alcázares, and we were to leave at 8:20 am. I messaged her at 7:45 am to say I would be down soon. At 8:15 am, I knocked on her door and couldn't get an answer. I called through her window and still could not get an answer. I knocked on her door again, fearing she was out, and at 8:25 am, I knocked on my other neighbour's door, panicking that I would miss my coach.
Luckily for me, he took me straight away, and as we were leaving, the coach company called me to tell me they were already there but would wait as they were a bit early. Thank you, John, for saving the day.
When I got to the coach, my stuff was loaded on, and we set off. As we were driving down the motorway, I got a message from my neighbour who was initially taking me to tell me she was sitting in her car in the garage. I messaged her back to tell her I had already left, and as I couldn't get a reply from her, my other neighbour took me. I soon got a rude reply in return, and I treated it with the response it deserved and ignored it.
We stopped off about an hour and a half into the journey for a comfort break before continuing. As we got back to our seats, the guide asked me if I would move to the front of the coach so that a lady at the back could stretch out. I moved to the front seat, where I could stretch out myself and see where the coach was going. At around 1 pm, we stopped for another break to get a drink and food, but I didn't fancy eating. We were back on the coach within the hour and headed off towards our hotel in Cordoba.
We were dropped off around the corner from our hotel, the Hotel Selu, as it is on a back street, which is too small for the coach to get down. We walked a short distance to the hotel. I had stayed there before and am hoping I don't get the same room as before, as it was horrible. After trying my key several times, it opened to let me in, and I was pleased to say it was a lovely room with everything I needed.
After unpacking my case, I listened to the 2nd half commentary of the Arsenal vs Leeds game. Arsenal won 2-1, and they were getting closer to qualifying for the Champions League again next season. I then walked around the corner for something to eat at Mercado Victoria. I got a plate of rice and chicken at the local food court. I washed it down with a beer, and as I was still hungry, I got a burger on the way back to the hotel.
On my return to my room, the key card for my door was not working again, so I had to go back to the front desk to exchange it for a new one. With a nice new shiny door key, I returned to my room. Once again, the new door key would not work, and I had to change it again. This time, 3rd time lucky, I got into my room.
After a long, exhausting day doing very little, I updated my website and then retired for an early night with a bottle of water and my Kindle. I was in bed by 9 pm. I must be getting old; the last time I was in Cordoba was for the Flamenco Festival, and the shows did not start till midnight and went on till about 6 am the following day.