This week I did a lot of swimming. I went to Murcia to see Rod Stewart in concert & met my friend Gail there. I went to San Pedro del Pinatar with my friends Kathy & Tony to see the Arsenal U21´s play Villareal B in a friendly football match.

Week 29 of 2023.

Monday, 17th July.

I woke up at about 6:45 am today. I had a coffee & sat at my computer checking my messages. My friend Gina had got some peppers for me & was going to drop them off to me at the beach as she passed by. I went down for my swim at around 7:30 am & took some bread to feed the fish as I waited for Gina. The wind was quite strong & the waves made it difficult to see the fish but they did take all the bread I had for them. After sitting in the water for a while, I saw Gina coming along the beach & got out to meet her. She gave me a bag of peppers & continued on her morning walk.

I started to swim out to the rocks & swam straight into a huge floating group of jellyfish. I swam through them to the rocks where I had seen something floating on the water as I stood on the beach. As I went around the rocks I looked & saw that the floating object was two men on very small floating kayaks. They were fishing, & the line from the film Jaws, came back to me as I watched them, ´I think we going to need a bigger boat´. I swam back through the jellyfish & decided as the waves were getting bigger that I would stop swimming & take my peppers back to my apartment.

After having a shower, I updated my website before having some cereal, another coffee & some orange juice for breakfast. At around 11:30 I set off to see my friend Martin at the office. We sat chatting for a few hours, putting the world to rights, laughing, & discussing what we would do if we ever won the lottery. After leaving Martin & Aria, I went straight home & got myself a pizza to eat.

I sat at home with the air conditioning on watching some television. Every now & then I could hear shouting outside & when I looked to see what was happening there was a large group of kids gathered around with two or three of them throwing punches at each other. One boy with bright blue hair seemed to be pushing another around but the fight soon broke up & all the kids dispersed. I didn't see if one of the kids' parents intervened but they all quickly moved off & didn't return.

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Tuesday, 18th July.

I woke up around 5 am this morning & couldn't get back to sleep. The apartment block I live in has a demolition order on it & there is a meeting about it next week & this kept going around in my head, keeping me awake. I got up & checked my computer for messages & got a coffee.

I went for a swim at about 6:45 am. I was the only person in the sea this morning & there were hardly any waves making it easier to swim & to see the jellyfish so that I could avoid them. I kept going this morning & managed to swim to the rocks & back 5 times, which is 2 km, so I was very pleased if a bit worn out when I finished.

After my swim, I took a shower & had a shave before getting some cereal & some orange juice for breakfast. I then went back to my computer & worked on my family tree until around 11:30 am. Then I packed an overnight bag & got ready to set off to catch a bus to Murcia to see Rod Stewart tonight. 

2000 m

Wednesday, 19th July.

I got back from my trip to see Rod Stewart at around 11:30 am. I actually got off the bus early at the town hall instead of waiting till I got further along. I have met many Mormons & I have been to the Tabernacle in Utah & every Mormon I met was very nice. That is until I sat next to two very young Mormons on the bus back from Murcia.

They constantly talked to someone else on a video call & were giving him their ideas on how to get more people to be baptised. A lot of the respect I had for Mormons previously was slowly worn down listening to them talk. They discussed putting social media bans on their fellow missionaries & made getting more people to join them sound like it was some sort of bonus system. Anyone listening to them for an hour, as I had to, would quickly have lost any interest in joining them for anything. I am not a religious person but have no problem with people believing what they want about their own God, I just hate it when they start to try to get others to believe in their version of God. I don't believe if there is a God that they will care what we drink, what we wear, or how we practice our beliefs. I think if a God did put us on this planet, they would be happy for us to just live our own lives without hurting, harming or hindering others & would like us to celebrate this in our own way, & not be forced to follow a doctrine enforced by so-called religious leaders. Incidentally on the last Census record in the UK that I had to fill in, my religion was entered saying that I was a Gooner.

I got off the bus a stop early so I wouldn't have to listen to the two young Mormons any longer. I walked back along the beach to my apartment. The heat was already getting too hot for me & I immediately put the air conditioning on & decided I would remain inside for the rest of the day. I put my feet up & got some lunch & watched the temperature rise outside. My new thermometer peaked at 48°c sometime in the afternoon & I understood why the local town hall kept putting out heat warnings & telling people to stay indoors wherever possible.

I went to bed at about 11 pm after resting my legs all afternoon, they ached a bit, probably from all the walking as much as the heat.

Thursday, 20th July.

I woke up around 7:30 am & after checking for messages I went down to the Mar Menor for my morning swim. As I went down I saw my neighbour Liz & asked her if she would like to come to the apartment's AGM meeting next week. We will be told more about the worrying demolition order on the apartment block. I´m hoping that as we are also holding talks about next year's budget etc, it isn't as bad as it sounds.

I felt a bit lethargic today after all the exercise over the last few days & the hot & sticky conditions. I only did one lap, swimming to the rocks & back once before going back to my apartment for some breakfast. After eating my cereal & drinking a couple of coffees I sat down at my computer to edit some of the video clips from the Rod Stewart concert before I posted it to my YouTube channel.

By lunchtime, I was feeling a little more lively & got myself a trout wrap to eat. Afterwards, I carried on editing pages on my website & then watched the opening ladies' game in the Women's World Cup, Australia v Republic of Ireland. I wanted the Irish ladies to win but unfortunately, they lost 1-0 after giving away a penalty.

This evening I had a small bit of steak with mushrooms & a fried egg for my dinner & then spent the rest of the evening watching television & talking to my friend Gail who has booked to go on the same cruise as me in November. The trouble with travelling is as soon as you return from one adventure you want to book your next one.

400 m

Friday, 21st July.

I woke up early at around 5 am, I felt too hot to go back to sleep so I got up & looked for a few things that I want on Amazon. Waking up early & getting bored before I can go for my swim can work out expensive. I ordered a new food mixer, a new leather wallet, some replacement zip kits, & new cases for my sunglasses & reading glasses. I hate wearing one pair around my neck & balancing another pair on my head & this will ensure they stay in good condition.

At 7 am I decided it was light enough to go for my morning swim & walked down to the Mar Menor. It was lovely & quiet when I started my swim but by the time I had swam to the rocks & back four times the local Spanish ladies were in the water forming a barrier to swim around. It was noticeable that even with my head under the water, with my snorkel on, I could still hear them shouting at each other. After I finished my swim I went back to my apartment to take a shower & get ready to be picked up by my friends Kathy & Tony at lunchtime to go to San Pedro del Pinatar for the afternoon & to see the Arsenal U21 team play football this evening.

When I am dropped home by Tony this evening I go straight to bed. 

1600 m

Saturday, 22nd July.

I slept very well last night & didn't wake until around 8 am. I got myself a coffee & some cereal & then sat down to work on my website adding videos & photos about yesterday's trip to San Pedro & the Arsenal game. At about 11 am I took a break from my computer & put some washing in my washing machine.

My delivery from Amazon arrived & I was very pleased with the food mixer & the zip repair kit I had bought, but the cases for my glasses were terrible. They were supposed to be hard cases but felt like they were made from cardboard with a felt covering. I immediately went onto the Amazon website to return them & once the return had been processed I took the cases to a nearby drop-off point in a shop in Rio Nalon to return them to Amazon. When the glasses case had been returned I carried onto the Economy Cash supermarket & bought some rolls & tomatoes for my lunch.

I did very little this afternoon, I stayed out of the heat & watched a film called God Is a Bullet. It was about a Detective, who tried to infiltrate an evil cult to save his kidnapped daughter & avenge the murder of his wife. It was based on a true story, & even if it was changed a little, it was very moving in parts & very violent in others.

In the evening, I did manage to stay awake & watch the Arsenal v Manchester United friendly game on the television tonight. Arsenal lost 0-2, much the same as the under-21s did yesterday. You can't read too much into a friendly game, Arsenal was the better team at the start of the game but Manchester United did take control & Arsenal looked jaded in the second half. I hope they start to play better quickly.

Sunday, 23rd July.

I woke up around 7:00 am today. I got up & went down to the Mar Menor for a swim. I managed two laps to the rocks & back before I started to get a small ache in my legs & stopped. I went back to my apartment & had a shower, put some washing in the washing machine & set my dishwasher going & then got myself a drink.

I had arranged to meet my friend Jacqueline for coffee this morning so I walked down to the chiringuito to wait there for her at about 9:30 am & sat reading my Kindle until she arrived. We sat chatting until around 11 am & when Jacqueline walked back home I went back to my apartment to check on my washing. 

Soon my delivery from Amazon arrived. The new wallet I had ordered was just what I wanted & I was very pleased with it. I did a lot more research into my family tree this afternoon & was pleased to find information on my 3rd great Grandfather William Wilson & my 3rd great Grandmother Mary Harding. I worked on my family tree until after 5 pm & then stopped to get myself something to eat.

I had a tuna steak & some sweet potato fries & it tasted fantastic, I will definitely be having it again. After dinner, it got too hot in my apartment & I put the air conditioning on for a while & sat & watched a film called Love Again. It was quite a good rom-com with a happy ending & if you have some time to kill I would recommend it.

This evening I popped in to see my neighbour Liz just to check that she can still come to the buildings AGM tomorrow when we should hear more about the demolition order on the apartment block. We sat chatting for a while before I went back to my apartment where I watched television until I went to bed at about 11 pm, but not before I got a message from my friend Gail telling me that the other lady on our Mediterranean cruise, Val, had liked the sound of the Brazil cruise in November & had booked to come on it with us. The Three Amigos will be reunited. 

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