This week I did a lot of swimming. I went to Murcia to see Rod Stewart in concert and met my friend Gail there. I went to San Pedro del Pinatar with my friends Kathy and Tony to see the Arsenal U21s play Villareal B in a friendly football match.
Monday, 17th July.
I woke up at about 6:45 am today. I had a coffee and sat at my computer, checking my messages. My friend Gina had got some peppers for me and would drop them off as she passed by. I went down for my swim around 7:30 am and took some bread to feed the fish as I waited for Gina. The wind was quite strong, and 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, I saw Gina approaching the beach and got out to meet her. She gave me a bag of peppers and continued on her morning walk.
I started to swim out to the rocks and 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 and saw that the floating object was two men on very small floating kayaks. They were fishing, and the line from the film Jaws returned to me as I watched them, ´I think we going to need a bigger boat´. I swam back through the jellyfish and decided that as the waves were getting bigger, I would stop swimming and take my peppers back to my apartment.
After a shower, I updated my website before having some cereal, coffee and orange juice for breakfast. At around 11:30, I saw my friend Martin at the office. We sat chatting for a few hours, putting the world to rights, laughing, and discussing what we would do if we ever won the lottery. After leaving Martin and Aria, I went home and got myself a pizza.
I sat at home with the air conditioning on, watching some television. Now and then, I could hear shouting outside, and when I looked to see what was happening, a large group of kids were gathered around. 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, and all the kids dispersed. I didn't see if one of the kids' parents intervened, but they all quickly moved off and didn't return.
Tuesday, 18th July.
I woke up around 5 am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. The apartment block I live in has a demolition order, and there is a meeting about it next week. This kept going around in my head, keeping me awake. I got up and checked my computer for messages and got a coffee.
I went for a swim at about 6:45 am. I was the only person in the sea this morning, and there were hardly any waves, making it easier to swim and see the jellyfish to avoid them. I kept going this morning and managed to swim to the rocks and back 5 times, which is 2 km. I was very pleased if a bit worn out when I finished.
After my swim, I showered and shaved before getting cereal and orange juice for breakfast. I then returned to my computer and worked on my family tree until around 11:30 am. Then, I packed an overnight bag and set off to catch a bus to Murcia to see Rod Stewart tonight.
Wednesday, 19th July.
I returned from my trip to see Rod Stewart around 11:30 am. I got off the bus early at the town hall instead of waiting till I got further along. I have met many Mormons, and I have been to the Tabernacle in Utah and every Mormon I met was very nice. That is until I sat beside two young Mormons on the bus back from Murcia.
They constantly talked to someone else on a video call and gave him their ideas on getting 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 and made getting more people to join them sound like it was some 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 I have no problem with people believing what they want about their own God. I 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 live our own lives without hurting, harming or hindering others and would like us to celebrate this in our way and 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 as 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 and I immediately put the air conditioning on and decided to remain inside for the rest of the day. I put my feet up, got lunch, and watched the temperature rise outside. My new thermometer peaked at 48°c sometime in the afternoon, and I understood why the local town hall kept giving heat warnings and 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, and after checking for messages, I went down to the Mar Menor for my morning swim. As I went down, I saw my neighbour Liz and asked if she would like to attend 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 and the hot and sticky conditions. I only did one lap, swimming to the rocks and back once before returning to my apartment for breakfast. After eating my cereal and drinking a few coffees, I sat down at my computer to edit some of the video clips from the Rod Stewart concert before posting them to my YouTube channel.
By lunchtime, I felt a little more lively and got myself a trout wrap. Afterwards, I edited pages on my website and watched the opening ladies' game in the Women's World Cup, Australia vs 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 steak with mushrooms and a fried egg for my dinner and then spent the rest of the evening watching television and talking to my friend Gail who has booked to go on the same cruise as me in November. The trouble with travelling is when you return from one adventure you want to book your next one.
Friday, 21st July.
I woke up early, at around 5 am. I felt too hot to go back to sleep, so I got up and looked for a few things I wanted on Amazon. Waking up early and 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, and new cases for my sunglasses and reading glasses.
At 7 am I decided it was light enough for my morning swim and walked down to the Mar Menor. It was lovely and quiet when I started my swim but by the time I had swam to the rocks and 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, took a shower and got ready to be picked up by my friends Kathy and Tony at lunchtime to go to San Pedro del Pinatar for the afternoon and to see the Arsenal U21 team play football this evening.
When Tony drops me home this evening, I go straight to bed.
Saturday, 22nd July.
I slept well last night and didn't wake until around 8 am. I got myself a coffee and some cereal and then sat down to work on my website adding videos and photos about yesterday's trip to San Pedro and the Arsenal game. At about 11 am I took a break from my computer and put some washing in my washing machine.
My delivery from Amazon arrived and I was very pleased with the food mixer and 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, and 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 and bought some rolls and tomatoes for my lunch.
I did very little this afternoon, I stayed out of the heat and 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 and avenge the murder of his wife. It was based on a true story, and even if it was changed a little, it was very moving in parts and very violent in others.
In the evening, I did manage to stay awake and watch the Arsenal vs 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, and 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 and went down to the Mar Menor for a swim. I managed two laps to the rocks and back before I started to get a small ache in my legs and stopped. I went back to my apartment and had a shower, put some washing in the washing machine set my dishwasher going and 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 and read my Kindle until she arrived. We sat chatting until around 11 am, and 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, and I was very pleased with it. I did a lot more research into my family tree this afternoon and was pleased to find information on my 3rd great Grandfather William Wilson, and my 3rd great Grandmother Mary Harding. I worked on my family tree until after 5 pm and then stopped to get myself something to eat.
I had a tuna steak and some sweet potato fries, and it tasted fantastic, I will definitely be having it again. After dinner, it got too hot in my apartment and I put the air conditioning on for a while and sat and watched a film called Love Again. It was quite a good rom-com with a happy ending, and if you have some time to kill I would recommend it.
This evening I popped in to see my neighbour Liz 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 and had booked to come on it with us. The Three Amigos will be reunited.