This week was a fairly quiet week again. I didn't find out until the end of the week but another very nice man I know passed away this week, RIP Jim you will be missed but not forgotten.
Monday, 22nd August.
I woke fairly early this morning and began to sort through my tablets, putting them into my monthly pill box. I sat at my computer with a coffee and began working on my website. I lost track of time whilst I was working and before I knew it it was time to go to the office.
When I went to the garage of the apartment, I remembered that I had not put my disability scooter on charge. Because of this, it would mean going to work on my bike. Unfortunately, I could not get the pump to work to inflate the tires on my bike so I had to quickly send a message to the boss for a day off work. I put the Sharky Mobile on charge for tomorrow and went back to my apartment.
The afternoon and evening were again spent at the computer working on my website until the Monday night football match came on, Manchester United v Liverpool. Liverpool had not played well so far this season and had drawn their first two games, Manchester United had lost both of theirs and I think most people expected Liverpool to get their season going by beating Manchester United easily.
Manchester United won the game 2-1 and never really looked in danger of losing despite Liverpool being better in the second half. The result was good for Manchester United and even lifted them off the bottom of the league and above Liverpool.
Tuesday, 23rd August.
I woke around 7 am this morning, I took my tablets with a glass of water and a coffee before heading off to the doctor surgery for my blood test. When I got there I was seen very quickly by a new nurse. She questioned why they gave me a full blood test every time instead of using the finger prick machine method for blood tests. It turns out the surgery does not have a finger prick machine so she is going to get her boss to get one. This will make it a lot quicker for the nurses and a lot more comfortable for me when I have to have my blood test taken.
After I leave the surgery I go back along the beach and as the chiringuito outside my apartment has stopped opening before about 9:30 am I go into the new one on the other side of the square outside my apartment, it is called La Concha. I have a coffee and tostada and sit down at a table, it is after I sit down that I notice one of my Spanish neighbours sitting with her beautiful daughter at the table next to me. We exchange greetings and I then continue to have my breakfast.
As I leave the chiringuito I notice my friend Diane and her husband at the other chiringuito, which is now open. I used to see them both regularly as we swam in the Mar Menor. I go past and stop for a chat for a while before returning to my apartment. At around 11:30 I leave to go to the office to see Martin. I leave early to go the long way there, so that I may continue my ornithology studies on the way. I have to say the extra distance travelled was worth it, I saw some extremely pleasant birds this morning, some of them I had never seen before which made the extra time well spent. Some of the birds appeared to be moulting because of the heat, many of their feathers had dropped off, leaving their exposed frames on show to the many bird-loving twitchers walking along the promenade.
I spent a couple of hours chatting with Martin at the office but we didn't work particularly hard today. I think it was too hot for work and neither of us seemed ready to work too hard. When I left, I stopped at D´Pollo on my way home, I got myself a lamb shank with chips, followed by a three-layered chocolate tart for my dessert. When I got home I quickly finished off the meal, it was beautiful, before having a short siesta.
Around 3:30 pm a locksmith arrives to work on the door lock in my apartment. He has the door lock off in seconds using an electronic screwdriver, not unlike the one that Dr Who used to use. He sprays it with WD40, tests it, puts the handle back on and is gone in less than 5 minutes. The €40 charge I think is a little high for 5 minutes of work, but it is better than finding myself stuck in an apartment I can't get out of. At least I saw what he did and will be able to do it myself if it gets stuck again.
This evening I watched the film Jack Reacher. I thought I had seen it before but I hadn't so Im glad I watched it. It was very good and I really enjoyed it. Before going to bed I get the results from this morning's blood test, by logging onto the surgery website. I work out my pills for the next few weeks and then retire for the night.
Wednesday, 24th August.
I woke around 7:30 am, I took my tablets for the morning, worked on my website for half an hour then took some stale bread down to the Mar Menor to feed the fish before I went for a swim.
I sit in the Mar Menor completely surrounded by fish swimming in a circle around me. The water looks like it is boiling around me as the fish go into a feeding frenzy as I crumble bread rolls in the water. Some of the fish are literally jumping out of the water in their effort to get to the bread. I am battered by fish leaping out of the water for the bread, they fly into me in their attempt to get to the last bits of bread. In less than 10 minutes the four rolls I brought with me had disappeared but the fish still circled me waiting for more.
After a short time spent watching the fish swim around me, I go for a very short swim but just enjoy being in the soothing water again. I need to try to get back into my routine of swimming every morning. When I finish my swim I dry off and have a quick chat with my friend Diane and her husband whilst they have coffee at the chiringuito. I then go back to my apartment, have a shower, have a coffee and make myself a tostada with tomatoes on.
After breakfast I go to the Economy Cash supermarket to get some rolls, they do the best bread and rolls there and I can also get a Murciano pie for my lunch whilst there. After getting my shopping I return home and get back to work on my website. At lunchtime, I stop and have the Murciano pie I bought earlier before carrying on with the work on my website.
Tonight I watch a second Jack Reacher film on the television. It is OK but nowhere near as good as the first one. There is supposed to be a television serialization for the Jack Reacher books but I can't find it. I look the books up on Amazon and there are lots of them, if I ever finish all the free books I get for my kindle I will buy some to see what they are like.
I go to bed at 11 pm and listen to the saxophonist playing in the square outside my apartment until I finally fall asleep.
Thursday, 25th August.
I woke at 7:30 am, get myself a coffee, take my tablets and sit down at my computer and check my messages before going for a morning swim in the Mar Menor.
I took my snorkel with me for my swim this morning. I swam out to the rocks and then did a circuit around the whole length of this man-made reef in the Mar Menor. I saw lots of fish during my swim, and even though the water wasn't crystal clear, visibility was still good enough for me to see the bottom and watch all the different species of fish as I swam amongst them. After about an hour I returned to my apartment for a shower.
After my shower, I made myself a bacon and egg roll for breakfast and sat down to eat it in front of my computer. I washed the roll down with a coffee and then sit on my balcony reading my kindle for a few hours. A large glass of cold white wine with gaseosa keeps me hydrated but to be safe I do have a second glass, just in case.
This afternoon I have a siesta back inside out of the heat and when I rouse from my slumber I have a steak sandwich for supper. This evening I watch television before going to bed at 11 pm.
Friday, 26th August.
I woke at 7 am today and it is already hot and humid. There are a few clouds overhead and I take my morning batch of tablets and vitamins with a coffee before heading down to the Mar Menor for a swim.
I managed to do three trips to the rocks and back on my swim this morning. It was hard work but I felt better for doing it. After my swim, I shower, shave and make myself look oh-so handsome. I have breakfast, bacon, egg and mushroom sandwich, before starting work on my website. I have been and will be continuing to get Google to Index the pages of my website but it will only let you Index a maximum of ten pages a day, my website currently has over 300 pages. As well as doing the work with Google I add descriptions and map locations to more of my photos, today I have been working on the Los Alcázares photo section of the website.
This morning my friend Claire gave me some information about a man who does taxi day trips in Napoli, Italy, one of the places I am visiting on my cruise later in the year. I look at his Facebook page and start to plan a day trip to see Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii when I am in Naples. Needless to say, I am getting very excited about going.
I found out this morning that a lovely man I knew had passed away at the start of the week and that I had missed his funeral and his wake. He was a very kind and genuine man and will be missed by everyone that knew him. He was known by lots of people but I used to speak to him mostly over a coffee or a pint at either his daughter-in-law Jo´s bar, La Zona, or at the Cafe Avenida in Los Alcázares where we would chat with our friends George and Yvonne. RIP Jim.
This evening I have a cold evening meal of ham, potato salad with mixed veg in it, and 3 different types of cheese. I sit and eat my meal in front of the television and watch details for any late transfer activity by Arsenal. It is confirmed that the Arsenal player Nicholas Pepe has left on a year loan to go and play for Nice. I wish him luck but, forgive my pun, he wasn´t in the same league as other Arsenal players and should never have been signed in the first place, let alone be Arsenal's record signing at £72,000,000, someone made a lot of money from signing him.
I go to bed at about 11 pm, planning to be up early to go for a morning swim before the beach gets busy in the morning.
Saturday, 27th August.
This morning I am awake by 6 am. I get a coffee and update my website until the sun comes up and it is light enough for me to go for a swim. As I look from my balcony garden to the beach, I can see several people fishing but I expect they will be replaced with early-morning swimmers like me soon.
I take a couple of slices of bread with me to feed the fish and head down to the beach for my swim at around 7:30 am. I swim out to the rocks and back 3 times and then return to my apartment for a shower.
After my shower, I get a coffee, put on my Arsenal shirt and sit down at my computer. I look at today's offering of free books for my Kindle on Amazon and select eight books to download. I love the fact that I can download free books every day. Travelling is so much better when you have a couple of thousand books on your Kindle rather than a bulky book in your bag. I was one of the people who say a book in the hand just feels right. Now I wouldn't be without my Kindle and I take it everywhere.
I put on my first lot of washing this morning and then got myself a bacon, mushroom and egg sandwich. I deserve a treat after my swim this morning. I work on my website getting some more pages indexed by Google and entering dates, descriptions and maps to more of my photos. This morning I worked on photos from my air balloon ride.
Shortly before the football started today all of my parcels from Amazon arrived, including the one that was supposed to be delivered Monday so I will stop moaning about them splitting my delivery up. I now have some new leather sandals for my holiday in October and some new swimming shorts for my morning swims in the Mar Menor.
There were some fantastic football games today, Manchester City coming from 0-2 down against Crystal Palace to eventually win 4-2 and Liverpool beating Bournemouth 9-0. The Arsenal game was incredible, against the run of play, Fulham went 0-1 ahead but Arsenal dug in and scored two late goals to win 2-1 and went back to the top of the Premier League. My voice is croaky from shouting at the television but the bottle of red wine I am celebrating with is helping.
With such a great atmosphere amongst the supporters before, during and after the game there is only one video I can share with you today. Arsenals' new anthem by Louis Dunford, The Angel (North London Forever). Long may it be sung loud around The Emirates.
Sunday, 28th August.
This morning, I only managed a short swim as my arms were aching. After my swim, I showered and then got a coffee and a tuna and tomato Tostado for my breakfast.
The morning and early afternoon was spent reading my Kindle on my balcony. I finished the book I was reading and the bottle of red wine I had opened yesterday.
I watched the Nottingham Forest v Tottenham football match this afternoon, Tottenham won 0-2, Harry Kane scored both goals and also missed a penalty. The scoreline doesn't really do Forest justice, they were great to watch and I felt with a bit of luck could just as easily have won the game.
This evening I walk along to La Playa bar to listen to my friend Alan Bond who is comparing Karaoke there. It was a great night, listening to different people sing as well as Alan, I didn't destroy anybody's eardrums this week, I was feeling generous and I didn't sing. There had been a foam party outside my apartment at Plaza de Espejo tonight, I didn't attend but the foam was still all over the square as I walked past it to my apartment.