This week, I started to swim a bit more in the mornings. My sister Karen was staying in Los Alcazares for a week and joined me several times to feed the fish. I bought a few things for my apartment to make my life a bit easier, but I generally just took it easy.
Monday, 5th June.
I woke up around 7 am and pottered about working on my computer until around 8 am when I had to prepare for my visit to the Doctor this morning. First, I had to collect a urine sample. No problem. I had been given a small pot to pee in. That was easy. Next, I had to collect two stool samples. I have reached the grand old age of 56 and never had to collect a stool sample before. How the hell was I supposed to know how to get a walnut size piece of poo in a pot a third of the size of a coffee mug?
I considered the scoop from the bowl method, but the sample couldn't get wet, so that was out of the question. I considered the squat and aim method but decided that was very hit-or-miss and could get messy if my aim and control weren't very good. I couldn't think of a good method, so I Googled ´stool collection´. You can imagine some of the weird and wonderful methods Google supplied. The advice from the NHS website said to use the hat provided with the collection kit.
I hadn't been provided with a hat, and I decided I wasn't going to take a crap in any of my hats. It didn't matter how much I scrubbed them afterwards; I wouldn't want to put them on my head again. Another suggestion was to put cling film over the toilet bowl and collect the sample in the cling film. This seemed like a good idea, but my cling film was quite narrow and couldn't be stretched across the toilet bowl without breaking. I was at a loss, and I sat on the bidet, staring at the toilet bowl next to me, wondering what to do. I suddenly had a Eureka moment. I had never really seen a point in the humble bidet. I always washed my feet in the shower. It did, however, now throw up a solution; I could lay clingfilm in it and use it to catch the stool sample and then thoroughly clean the bidet with warm water, disinfectant, more disinfectant, more warm water and then a last lot of hot water.
When I was eventually happy with my two walnut-size pieces of crap and my nice warm urine sample, I placed all of the samples in the bag provided by the surgery and travelled there on my disability scooter, making sure not to go too fast over any speed bumps. Any fallout caused by a bump or collision could have caused a catastrophic ecological disaster to the delicate balance of the local ecosystem. When I went into the surgery, I was seen almost immediately, and the nurse took my samples and stuck preprinted computer labels on each sample bottle before placing them in the fridge. I hope it's not the same fridge where the staff keep their lemonade and chocolate spread sandwiches for the morning break.
We then started sorting through needles of different sizes to take blood samples. I am used to having my blood taken as I have it done monthly to get my Sintrom tablet dose correct. I have never seen such a large vial attached to a needle before. This was going to be very draining. Luckily for me, the nurse listened to me when I explained I have very poor veins and stuck the needle in my arm where I told him the best spot for blood would be. The blood initially flowed slowly but soon filled up the vial and was transferred into six smaller vials to have different tests run on it.
I was soon leaving the Doctor and headed back towards my apartment. As I approached my apartment, I saw my sister Karen and her partner Brett swimming and feeding the fish some bread. I chatted with them before heading off for breakfast at Buena Vista restaurant. When I arrived at the restaurant, they were only opening up, so I went home and collected the bags of recycled refuse I had at home and took the rubbish to the local recycling bins. I then carried onto the Economy Cash supermarket to get a few groceries. When I had my groceries, I returned to the restaurant and had a cooked breakfast and a couple of coffees while reading my Kindle.
After breakfast, I took my shopping home and then set off to see Martin at the office. Dave soon joined us, and we were chatting when Dave's wife, Viv, turned up. Unfortunately, she had thought it was bring your child to work day. Our normal high-level management meeting soon became noisy as our numbers were swelled by Viv, her son Sean, her daughter Vicky and two grandchildren. We were officially in the summer; the school bus arrived an hour earlier than in winter, and Aria, Martin's daughter, joined our number. Shortly after, Kate, Martin's wife, arrived.
The office isn't built to hold large meetings like this, and the management meeting couldn't go on with this number of participants all trying to get their point of view across. The meeting eventually broke up, and all of the late arrivals left, leaving Martin and me alone to make some last-minute high-level business decisions before we left to go home.
As I approached my apartment, I saw some of my neighbours, John, Richard and Val, outside the apartment block and stopped to chat with them. Just after John left, my sister arrived, and I introduced her to Richard and Val. As the four of us started chatting, my friend Jan walked past, and I introduced her to my sister. We all chatted for a while before heading off home.
This evening, I walked down to see Karen, Brett, and Holly in their rented apartment. We had a drink and chatted before they went off for dinner. They did invite me to go along, but I already had plans for my dinner, and a nice bit of steak was already waiting for me in my apartment. After eating dinner, I watched TV for a while and had an early night, going to bed around 10 pm.
Tuesday, 6th June.
I woke around 7 am and got myself a drink of cold tea before sitting to work on my computer for a couple of hours. At around 9:30 am, I took some stale bread down to the Mar Menor to feed the fish. After feeding all my bread to the fish, I swam out to the rocks about 200 m from the beach. I sat on the rocks for a while before swimming back into the shore and then sitting in the shallow water whilst the fish swam in circles around me.
After swimming, I returned to my apartment, showered and got ready to go to the office this morning. At about 11:45 am, I got on my disability scooter and went to the office. Dave joined Martin and me, and we sat chatting for a few hours before heading in different directions. When I left, I headed towards La Playa bar. I was making a delivery to Paul, who works behind the bar. His wife, Wendy, swam across the Mar Menor for charity last week but was stung by jellyfish on her journey across. I had been stung by jellyfish several times whilst swimming, and my Doctor prescribed me some gel to rub into it to help with the pain and the itch. I still had the gel at home and was passing it on to her to use. I hope it helps Wendy.
Karen, Holly and Alan on the promenade in Los Alcazares.
I met a few friends in La Playa bar and chatted before leaving to return to my apartment. Later, I went out for a meal with Karen, Brett, and Holly. We all walked to El Patio II for a meal at 8:30 pm. I hadn't been to the restaurant for a long time, and I was pleasantly surprised by how the outside courtyard had been improved. First, we had a few different things we could all try. We had potato and ham croquettes, garlic prawns, baby squid in batter, potatoes in garlic and vinegar and a large salad. For my main meal, I had a lamb shoulder. It was gorgeous but so big that I couldn't eat it all. We washed our meals down with a bottle of rose wine before leaving. We stopped at Rocco´s bar on the way home for a drink. While Bret and Holly honed their pool skills, Karen and I chatted outside.
When we returned to the apartment, we all said goodnight and returned home. I found a large box on my front door mat when I got to my apartment door. It was a delivery of coffee. It should keep me going for about 6 months, if not more. I was shattered after all the walking, and after getting some water to drink, I went straight to bed.
Wednesday, 7th June.
I woke around 7:30 am this morning but seemed to have no energy. I checked online, and the results of my tests at the Doctors' surgery were back. I do not understand them so I must go to the Doctor for an explanation. I have another delivery arriving today, so I won't go far. I will have to walk to the Doctors surgery tomorrow.
This evening, Brett came to my apartment and helped me move furniture around. It looks much better now and is much more usable for me, and it is beginning to resemble a proper man cave these days. All I have to do now is tidy up the leads and things I keep hanging around in case I need them.
My delivery from Amazon arrived around 7 pm, just as I sat down with my dinner. At least I now have toilet rolls for the next year. I sat and watched the Fiorentina vs West Ham UEFA Europa Conference League Final tonight. It wasn't the best game to watch, with very little goal-mouth action, but I was pleased to see West Ham win their first piece of silverware in 43 years. I was also pleased to see their Captain, Declan Rice, come through the game uninjured. According to reports, rumours, and gossip, there is a good chance he will soon join Arsenal. Well done, the Hammers.
Thursday, 8th June.
I woke up around 8 am today. It was overcast and clammy as I sat at my computer with a Ginseng Coffee. I do like Ginseng Coffee. If you've never tried it, buy some and give it a go; it wakes you up in the morning and clears your head quickly. I worked at my computer for a while before going out on my disability scooter.
This morning, I went to the local Dia store. I like the Muelsi they sell with fruit already in it, and want to get some for my breakfast. After getting the Muelsli I went to the Doctors surgery to make an appointment to see the Doctor. I wanted to check what the results from all my Monday tests mean. I made an appointment for Monday next week and then went across the road to A Time 4 A Change to pick up a small bread maker I had bought. When I had collected it, I went to the Bodega Mar Menor to get something called Gulf. It is like Baileys but is brandy-based instead of whisky-based and is for a friend who likes it.
When I returned to my apartment, I filled in a return form on Amazon to return some pads I had bought for my new washer/dryer but didn't need. While on Amazon, I also ordered a new dishwasher. My old dishwasher broke down earlier in the year, and I have been getting by without one but decided to get myself a new one. After reading many reviews, I picked a good make and model and arranged for it to be delivered and fitted next Tuesday. As soon as this was done, I dropped some rubbish at the bins and went to the post office to drop off the parcel for Amazon but realised my disability scooter wouldn't get me there and back. I returned home, and as my sister, Karen and her partner Brett were staying in an apartment below me, I got Brett to take me to the post office to drop the parcel off. When this was done, Brett helped me drop off an old cupboard in the recycling bins.
Once home, I messaged a friend that I would buy a bed from him to replace mine before going back online and ordering some baskets to store in my kitchen. Hopefully, before I go away to see Bob Dylan next week, my apartment will be tidy and have a new dishwasher and some new baskets for storage.
Karen, Bret, Holly, and I walked to the Buena Vista Restaurant this evening. We had an International mix of food between us. I had an all-Indian meal with a Prawn Puri starter and a Roghan Josh curry. Bret, Karen, and Holly had a mix between them, including Mexican starters and a mix of Mexican, Indian, and Italian main courses. All the food was very good, as usual, and after Bret forced me to have ice cream for dessert, we walked the short distance home. Having a nice restaurant within a few minute's walk of my home on the beachfront is great. Once home, I watched an episode of The Godfather of Harlem on TV before bed.
Friday, 9th June.
Today, I woke up at around 7:15 am. I got myself a ginseng coffee, checked my email and messages on my computer and went down to the Mar Menor for a morning swim at around 8:30 am. Brett was already swimming in the sea, and I sat in the water, watching the fish swimming around me. As I sat there, my sister Karen arrived with some bread so I could feed the fish. After I fed the fish, I swam out to the rocks. I sat on the rocks, watching the joggers and walkers going up and down the promenade before swimming back to the shore.
After swimming, I returned to my apartment and took a shower before checking my computer for messages. I walked down to the chiringuito for a coffee and tostada at around 10:45 am. I was ambushed on my way to the chiringuito and ended up sitting with my sister outside the apartment she had been renting. We sat for a couple of hours before I returned inside out of the sun. Even after living here for 8 years, I seem to burn quickly. I cover up with a factor 50 sun cream, but my nose resembles a red Belisha beacon.
This evening, I had intended to go with Karen, Brett, and Holly for a drink, but unfortunately, the sun cream I had put on my head mixed with sweat on my forehead and ran into my eyes. This caused my eyes to sting like crazy all evening, and I couldn't see properly, so I decided to stay in.
Saturday, 10th June.
I woke up around 7 am today. At about 8:30 am, I swam in the Mar Menor. As I sat in the water, allowing my body to get used to the temperature before swimming, the fish started congregating around me. My sister arrived a little while later carrying some bread, and she threw it to me so I could feed the fish. The fish ate the bread right out of my hands, and some people walking along the promenade even stopped to film me feeding the hundreds of fish that were swimming around me. When I ran out of bread, I swam to the rocks and back before returning to my apartment.
I showered and covered myself in sun cream again before returning to the promenade to sit with Karen, Brett and Holly. I sat reading my Kindle, and as we sat there, a very posh horse and trap came down to Plaza de Espejo with a newly married couple in it. A page boy helped them out of the cart, and they spent some time there posing for wedding photos before climbing back in and departing.
I saw my neighbours Richard and Val and briefly chatted with them before I went back to my apartment for something to eat. After eating, I sat on my balcony and finished reading the book I had been reading about drug cartels in Columbia. It was a factual documentary rather than a fantasy story, and it still amazes me how corrupt the American government and American law enforcement agencies are. American tax money is given to drug cartels to help them wage war on their governments. This is done so that the USA can get leaders in these countries that they can control and stop Communist governments from taking over. The book I read was The Cali Cartel Beyond Narcos by Shaun Attwood.
My sister Karen and her family left this evening to go back to England, and after they left, I walked down to La Playa bar to meet my friend Vince for a drink, a chat and to watch the Manchester City vs Inter Milan European Champions final. We seemed to be chatting more than watching the football. Halfway through the game, Vince's phone rang, and he had to leave immediately because his wife Jan had taken a fall and had probably broken her arm.
Manchester City were good in the first half and took a 1-0 lead, but Inter Milan was the better team in the second half. Manchester City held on for a 1-0 win, and by winning, they completed the great feat of winning three competitions in the same season. They had won the treble, the Premier League, the FA Cup and the European Champions League. Well done, City. After the game, I left the bar, walked home and went straight to bed.
Sunday, 11th June.
I didn't wake up until around 9 am this morning, very late for me. I got a coffee and sat at my computer to read my messages. I had intended to go for my morning swim, but I lost track of time, and at about 11 am, I thought I had better get ready to go out for lunch with June later.
June picked me up at 12:45 to go to lunch at Campbell's. We had a great meal, and when we left, June drove me to a pharmacy in San Javier to get my tablets for the coming month. After picking my tablets up and going to the ATM to get some money, June dropped me off at my apartment. When I got in, I got a message from Vince. His wife Jan had broken her elbow last night. I hope they can fix it for her and give her adequate painkillers.
I intended to go to La Playa bar tonight, but somehow, I twisted my knee today, which was very sore. Instead of going out, I stayed home and watched some films on the TV.