Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of photo‑sorting marathons, sore throats, antibiotics, coffee trips, friends, football, and a powerful reminder of real heroism. You kept busy despite feeling under the weather.
Monday, 19th February
I woke around 06:00, had coffee and worked on my photos. It was a dull day. I deleted duplicated pictures, took some smelly rubbish to the bin and then went to see Martin at the office. We talked until 13:30 before I returned home.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening deleting duplicate photos, stopping only for a half‑hour tea break. I finished at 22:30 and went to bed.
Tuesday, 20th February
I woke at 06:30, had coffee and continued working on my computer. At 10:30, I decided to get out for a while and rode my disability scooter along the promenade into Los Alcázares. I went to DialPrix, which I had not visited for a long time. They had items my usual shops do not stock, but the bill reminded me why I rarely go there.
I returned along the beach in the sunshine and even saw some brave souls paddling in the Mar Menor. Back home, I put everything away and continued working on my website.
Jim phoned to say he, David and Doreen were going to Poseidon bar and asked if I wanted to join them. On the way, my knee gave way, and I was glad I had my walking stick. We sat in the sun with coffee until my alarm reminded me to take my antibiotics.
Back home, I had a sore throat and could not eat, so I drank water and watched TV before bed at 23:00.
Wednesday, 21st February
I woke around 07:00 with a sore throat and mouth ulcers. I knew the antibiotics had caused them and was glad I had finished the course. I had coffee and porridge, but even that was difficult to swallow.
At 10:30, I went to Mercadona for the items I could not get yesterday. I returned along the promenade and spent the afternoon working on my website while drinking ginger lemon tea with honey.
I felt frustrated that such small things had made me feel so unwell. I am sure I did not feel this bad when I had half my leg cut away or when I was in intensive care after my car accident.
In the evening, I watched Porto vs Arsenal. Arsenal were poor, and Porto scored a screamer in extra time to win 1–0. I hope Arsenal recover at the weekend against Newcastle.
Thursday, 22nd February
My throat was still very sore, so I drank lots of water and ginger lemon tea with honey. I worked on my website and took long siestas. The strong paracetamol helped me sleep.
I received an email from NCL with changes to my cruise schedule. Only the order of the Alaska ports had changed, and all my excursions had been automatically adjusted. They also added an onboard behind‑the‑scenes tour of the NCL Spirit.
Friday, 23rd February
I woke at 06:30. My throat was still sore but slightly better. After coffee and a bacon roll, I booked the NCL Spirit tour for one of the sea days between Hawaii and Alaska. I then added blank pages to my website for each day of the cruise.
By 11:30, I felt cold, so I had a hot shower and shave before returning to my computer. Jim phoned asking if I wanted to go to Cartagena. He was going to Mediamarkt and Carrefour, so I went along for the drive.
After shopping, we stopped at a café near my apartment. Jim had coffee, and I had an Asiatico. When I got home, Lottie and Alison messaged to say they were at Buena Vista, so I walked around and joined them for another Asiatico.
Back home, I put the heating on and had a chicken burger for tea before watching TV.
Saturday, 24th February
I woke at 06:15, had coffee and continued sorting duplicate photos. The software still showed around 3,000 duplicates left to sort.
At 10:00, I messaged Liz to see if she wanted coffee at Buena Vista. We sat in the sun watching people walk along the beachfront until 11:30. Back home, I plugged my scooter in to charge for next week.
For dinner, I cooked fish and chips in the Ninja air fryer. Being able to cook two different things at different temperatures and have them finish together is brilliant. Dinner was fantastic.
In the afternoon, I worked on photos while flicking between football matches. In the evening, I watched Arsenal vs Newcastle. Arsenal were superb and won 4–1. After the poor performance against Porto, this restored my faith in the team.
I finished sorting duplicate photos until 00:30 and then went to bed.
Sunday, 25th February
I woke at 07:30, had coffee and checked messages before making a bacon and egg sandwich. I washed it down with green tea and honey to help my throat.
I spent the morning finishing the sorting and deleting of photos. Next, I will organise my online backups and then start adding more photos to my website. I hope to add family tree photos in a way that only requires uploading each image once.
The annual dog show was held in Plaza Espejo today. It was too cold to stay outside long, but I popped down to say hello to Frouk, who was helping on one of the charity stalls.
For dinner, I cooked pork cutlets with mashed potato, sweetcorn, peas and carrots. I have been eating more protein to help my leg wounds heal, and many of them have now closed. I hope the last one heals soon so I can swim again in the Mar Menor or even in Hawaii.
In the evening, I watched a film called One Life, about Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued over 600 children from Nazi‑occupied Czechoslovakia. I cried my eyes out. He was a real hero, unlike many of today’s made‑for‑TV celebrities. Films like this should be shown in schools so we never forget our history.
After the film, I watched the end of the Carabao Cup Final before going to bed.
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