Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A hot August week of swims, website work, genealogy discoveries, meals with friends, football, a pub crawl, and festival celebrations in Los Alcázares.
Monday, 21st August
I woke around 08:00, had coffee, orange juice and cereal, and spent most of the day editing videos for my website. I finished around 15:30 and then worked on my genealogy pages.
For dinner, I cooked turkey breast with mashed potato, carrots, sweetcorn and peas. I finished just in time to watch Crystal Palace vs Arsenal. Arsenal won 0–1 despite playing 30 minutes with ten men. Tomiyasu’s red card was ridiculous, two yellows for nothing, while Ayew kicked players all game and only got one.
Tuesday, 22nd August
I woke at 06:15, stripped my bed and put the linen in the washing machine. After coffee, I worked on my website until it was light enough to swim. I swam two laps to the rocks before tiring.
After breakfast, I messaged Lesley Burns to help translate at the town hall about the embargo on my bank account. Some staff are helpful, but others make everything difficult, so having Lesley with me will help.
I ordered a new laptop from PC Components, the small notepad I bought earlier this year isn’t good enough for travelling.
I forgot to charge my disability scooter again, so I walked to the bus stop and caught the bus to see Mike. He had already left, so I went to Pizzeria La Sombra to wait for Martin. It was too hot for Aria, so Martin took her home and returned. Dave and Viv arrived later, and Viv dropped me home.
When I got in, I realised I’d lost my reading glasses. Martin checked the office, and Viv found them in her car. Martin dropped them off at 19:00. I didn’t realise how much I rely on them until they were gone. I spent the evening watching Jonathan Creek.
Wednesday, 23rd August
I woke at 07:00, had coffee and worked on my website. My new laptop arrived at 14:00. I must have ordered incorrectly because two laptop bags came. I arranged to return one.
I spent the afternoon setting up the new laptop, removing bloatware, installing my usual software and antivirus. It will be useful for updating my website while travelling in Brazil.
In the evening, I watched more Jonathan Creek and went to bed at 22:00.
Thursday, 24th August
I woke at 08:00, had coffee and aloe vera water with my tablets, then checked messages before swimming at 08:45. I swam two laps, showered and shaved.
I rode my disability scooter to the return shop in Rio Nalon and dropped off the extra laptop bag. Then I went to Economy Cash for bread and condensed milk.
Back home, I edited genealogy graphics until 17:00, had a meat pastry for tea, watched some TV and then continued working on my website.
Friday, 25th August
I woke at 07:00, had coffee and swam in the Mar Menor. The water was cloudy and algae levels had increased slightly, probably because the jellyfish numbers have dropped.
After toast and jam, I spent the entire day doing website administration until 20:00, when I watched Chelsea vs Luton. Chelsea won 3–0, but the score flattered them.
Saturday, 26th August
I woke at 06:00, had coffee, put washing on and worked on my website while using my circulation machine. The kids outside were still making noise, nocturnal creatures scattering when they saw my lights come on.
I swam at 08:00 before the beach got busy. I chatted with Liz on the beach, then swam several laps.
After a shower, I worked on my website and finished adding new genealogy headers. For lunch, I had toasted cheese and turkey sandwiches.
At 15:30, I walked to Rio Nalon to watch Arsenal vs Fulham with Jacqui. It finished 2–2. Arteta’s new defensive experiments aren’t working, he needs to return to a back four.
After the match, Jacqui and I went to Perlita’s, then The Celt, then Rocco’s, chatting with friends along the way. It turned into a full pub crawl. After Jacqui left, I stayed with John and his family before we all went to Zarco’s for a cocktail. I caught the last tourist train home.
I considered watching Match of the Day, but the beer convinced me to go straight to bed.
Sunday, 27th August
I woke at 10:00 after yesterday’s pub crawl. After several coffees, I worked on Google indexing for my website.
At 13:30, I cooked pork in the air fryer. While it cooked, I found a distant cousin through a Welsh Facebook page, a lady recognised her mother in a 1915 photo I posted. Another cousin realised she went to school with the woman’s daughter. Small world.
The pork tasted fantastic, I’ll post the recipe soon. I spent the afternoon working on my website and watching football.
At 21:00, I walked to La Playa bar to watch Alan Bond’s karaoke. I didn’t sing this week, I like to give people time to recover between performances. One man sang a song from A Star Is Born beautifully. It always brings a tear to my eye.
I walked home just after midnight, rewrote a friend’s post and shared it. A lovely reminder to live life fully and appreciate the time we have.
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