2024, Week 52 journal.

In week 52 of 2024, I spent most of the week indoors, avoiding Christmas and the cold and flu bug going around. I watched lots of films and spoke with a few old friends via Facebook and other messenger systems.

Monday, 23rd December.

I woke up early today and felt cold immediately. I got myself a coffee, checked for messages on my computer and did the Wordle puzzle. At around 10 am, I set off on my disability scooter to see some friends at Cafe Prensa for coffee and a chat.

As I went past my friend Mike's house, I looked to see if he had left to go for his coffee yet. His gates were all closed, and I thought this was strange as they are usually open. I soon arrived at the cafe and sat with Christine, Theresa and Steve. Bev, Steve and Lawrence soon joined us. While we were talking, I realised that the person they were talking about, who was in hospital, was my friend Mike. He had a fall about two weeks ago and has been in hospital since. Unfortunately, no one is quite sure what hospital he is in, so visiting him is impossible. Wherever you are, Mike, I hope you are being looked after and will be able to leave soon.

Before I left the cafe, Steve asked me if I wanted to meet him on Christmas Day for a drink. A few people were going to be meeting between 1 and 2 pm, and as I would be on my own, I said I would go. When I left the cafe, I went straight home on my disability scooter, hoping that I would get home before the first of the deliveries I was expecting arrived. When I got home, I plugged in my TV box to see if it would reset after not working yesterday. I plugged it in, but it still wasn't working, and the message that came up on the screen informed me that the box wasn't working. I didn't think I had it that long, but when I checked, I realised I had had it for about six years. 

I checked the manufacturer's website and found that I could get a new one for around €105 but that it would be a while before they could deliver it because of Christmas. I looked for it on Amazon and found the same box available for €129 that could be delivered tomorrow. I did not want to be without TV for a long time as I love watching football, and being on my own, the TV is the only thing that stops me from talking to myself all day. I ordered a new box and hoped that they would manage to deliver it tomorrow.

The orders I made on Amazon last week, that were arriving today came in the afternoon. I had bought myself a Christmas present, new slippers, and they fit me well, which meant I could throw out the old ones. The kitchen waste recycle bin arrived, and I put it in my kitchen, ready to start collecting vegetable waste, coffee grinds and tea leaves.

This evening, as I couldn't watch regular TV, I binge-watched a series on Amazon Prime called The Wheel of Time. It started pretty well, and it gave me something to fall asleep to in my chair.

This evening, I went to the Hong Kong Chinese restaurant near me and got a takeaway. When I got there, I looked at what I wanted and then ordered something completely different. When I went to place my order, I decided that as I didn't know if I could get out tomorrow because I would be waiting for deliveries, I would get two meals. To save money, I ordered a meal for two people. I would split it into two meals, have half tonight and keep the rest for tomorrow. Maybe the restaurant does it a lot; they have never done it to me before, but they gave me a bottle of wine to take away with me as well.

When I got home, I ate the starters that came with the meal: chicken wings, giant spring rolls and prawn crackers. When I had eaten them all, I didn't really want anything else, so I placed all the rest of the food and the wine in the fridge for tomorrow. My sister rang this evening, and we chatted for a while, caught up and talked about our plans for next year. Afterwards, I sat down to watch more episodes of The Wheel of Time before going to bed at 10 pm.

Tuesday, 24th December.

I woke up around 3 am today. I went to the bathroom and went back to bed, where I managed to fall asleep quickly. I got up at around 7 am, got a coffee and decided I would have some toast. I then realised the bread was still in the freezer. I got it out and put it on the kitchen worktop to thaw out.

I checked my emails and was pleased to have an email from Amazon saying that my new TV box would be delivered today. I got myself another coffee and sat at my computer to work on my website. I sat listening to Radio Two and kept my ears open for the buzzer at the apartment door when the Amazon delivery driver arrived.

My Amazon deliveries arrived about midday and were followed up by my meal from Mio Cafe being delivered around 1 pm. As a bonus, Darren included a couple of extra bits for me. He must know I'm fading away and that I need a good meal.

It was nice to get a call from my friend Wayne this afternoon to say hello, see how I was and wish me a happy Christmas. Like quite a few others, he sounded terrible and admitted he had a bad cold. Although I am bored at home, I am glad I chose not to go out and to try to avoid catching a cold or flu this year.

I set up the new TV box, which arrived earlier, and I was able to do it quickly with all the codes necessary for it to run. The box fired up, unlike the old one, but all it showed me was a message saying I didn't have a subscription. I messaged the provider several times during the evening and night but never got it working. I hate this time of the year anyway, but it's made worse by not even having a TV to watch.

I could watch Amazon Prime via the smart TV, so I watched the last few episodes of the first series of The Wheel of Time before going to bed at 11 pm.

Wednesday, 25th December.

I woke up today at about 2:15 am as a big group of kids held a party in the square, playing thunderous music from a boom box. I think the police must have arrived about 25 minutes later as the music suddenly went dead, and the loud kids became quiet and slowly drifted off. I got back to sleep about an hour later.

I woke up again at about 7:45 am. I got up, made coffee, and sat at my computer to check messages and do the Wordle puzzle. I struggled with the puzzle today as there were too many words it could be. I finally got it on the 6th and final attempt. As I sat there at my computer, I realised that living in Spain makes Christmas worse for me than it would be if I were still living in the UK or the US. In Spain, I have to put up with the false over happy celebrations for something I don't believe in twice. Once, for Christmas, the majority of Christians celebrate it on December 25th, and again in January when the Spanish celebrate the Three Kings. I have never enjoyed Christmas. To me, it is just an excuse for people who don't believe in it to party. Bah Humbug.

After doing the Wordle puzzle, I tried my TV, but I still had the "no subscription" message on the screen. It looked like I was going to be without TV for a third day in a row. I continued to update the structured data on my website, putting new images in where necessary and adding missing data where necessary.

At around 11:45 am, I reheated the second half of Monday's Chinese meal and had it for lunch. Once I had eaten lunch, I went out and walked to meet my friend Steve for a beer at La Esquina cafe in Los Narejos. It took me around 40 minutes to get there, and when I arrived, Steve and Darren were already there. I was so puffed out when I arrived that I found it difficult to breathe. I sat down with Steve and Darren and ordered a coffee. 

We sat chatting, and after I got my breath back, I had a beer. It was good to catch up with them both. Although I see Steve occasionally, I haven't seen Darren since I met him on my cruise on the MSC Lirica in 2023. After a second beer, we all left to go our own way. I walked through the estate where I used to live and onto La Ola Bar. When I arrived at the bar, there were only a couple of people there and no one I knew. Instead of stopping, I walked around the corner to a bar Darren and Steve had told me about, Drums. When I got there, it was closed, so I continued walking back in the direction of my apartment.

As I walked past Rio Nalon, my legs were starting to ache, so I decided to stop at Harry's bar. When I got there, it was closed, too. I walked to Rocco's bar, and although it was open, there was no one there. I decided to try to walk to the R&G Cocktail Bar. I headed back to the main road and headed in that general direction, but as I got closer to my apartment, I realised that my legs wouldn't carry me all the way to the bar and most certainly wouldn't get me to the bar and then back home. I decided to go straight home instead, and just after 4 pm, I made it back to my apartment.

When I got in, I got a big glass of cold water and a slice of pork pie. I sat in my armchair and spent the evening watching The Wheel of Time on Amazon. I messaged Dave again, asking him to sort out my TV box for tomorrow and then went to bed around 10 pm.

Thursday, 26th December.

I slept well last night, probably because of the exercise I got yesterday, and it helped that no kids were partying late last night in Plaza de Espejo. I got up at 7 am, got a coffee and did the Wordle puzzle before getting a second coffee and starting work on my website.

At 11:30, I had a message to check my TV and found that the box was finally working. After having no TV for three days, I was thrilled because it meant I could watch the football today and, more importantly, tomorrow when Arsenal plays.

As the day went on today, my dark mood from yesterday lifted, and I relaxed more. This afternoon, I sat in my armchair and watched the final episode of Gavin and Stacey on catch-up TV. What can I say? It was emotional.

For dinner today, I had the Christmas dinner I had got from  Café Mío. It was all delicious, and I was stuffed after eating it all. When the Manchester City vs Everton game started, I put it on and watched bits of it but could not stay interested in it, so I went back to Amazon Prime and watched the rest of season two of The Wheel of Time. When I finished watching season two of the program, I went to bed early.

Friday, 27th December.

Today, I woke up just before 7 am. I got up, got a coffee and checked for messages on my computer. I did the Wordle puzzle, getting lucky and almost getting today's puzzle on my second go; I did get it on my third go. I got myself a second coffee, and when I had woken up completely, I got ready to go out.

I was on my to Mercadona on my disability scooter to get some green tea when my phone rang. I stopped in a layby and answered my phone. My friend, Lawrence, asked if I wanted to meet for a coffee. I changed my route and went to meet him at Cafe Prensa. When I arrived, Lawrence, Steve and Christine were already there. We sat chatting for about an hour, and Lawrence asked if I could order something on Amazon for him. I told him I could do it today and arranged for him to pop around to my apartment in an hour to make the order.

On my way home, I stopped at Economycash and got a few groceries before continuing to go back to my apartment. I was pretty cold when I got back, but just outside the apartment block, my neighbour Liz stopped me and introduced me to our new neighbour Marie, a Spanish lady who is moving into the newly built apartment opposite us. It was too cold to hang about, but I said hello and told Liz I would meet her for coffee tomorrow.

I went back to my apartment, put the heat on and waited for Lawrence to arrive. When he arrived, I let him in and showed him around my apartment before we sat down at my computer. I ordered the TV stand that he wanted. It should be delivered to me on the 4th of January, and I will let him know when it arrives. We sat talking for a while and said we would meet up in the new year to go for a beer in Los Alcazares somewhere.

This afternoon, I watched different programs on TV, had a kip and woke up in time to watch the Arsenal vs Ipswich football match. Arsenal completely dominated the game but only scored once, winning the game 1-0. I hope that the New Year brings a new striker to swell their ranks, or it will be another season of what-ifs.

Saturday, 28th December.

I slept well last night and woke up around 7 am. I got up and got myself a coffee before doing the Wordle puzzle and checking for messages on my computer. At about 10 am, I went to see if my neighbour Liz wanted to get a coffee. As we sat talking, I had a message to say that the Amazon delivery that was due to arrive tomorrow would be arriving today and that the driver was only four stops away. Knowing how bad the app is at telling me how far away the delivery is, I ignored it. After a short chat in Liz's apartment, during which her gorgeous physio called in, we left to walk to the Buena Vista restaurant.

We had a coffee and a tostado and sat chatting for an hour before we walked back to our apartments. As soon as I got in, I put the heating on and sat down to wait for my delivery to arrive. Just after 1 pm, 3 hours after Amazon had told me that the parcel was very close, the Amazon driver phoned me to say he would be at my apartment in a minute. I walked downstairs and collected the parcel from him when he pulled up outside the apartment.

When I went back into my apartment, I unpacked the delivery and was delighted with my purchase. After throwing away many old pans that were falling apart or badly worn, I ordered a new saucepan to heat milk or cook scrambled eggs in. I was delighted with the size of the pan, and after washing it, I used it to cook myself some scrambled eggs to have on toast.

I noticed posts from quite a few people I know on Facebook talking about how bad they felt after the cold they had come down with. It made me happy about my decision not to swim in the Mar Menor this Christmas and to avoid enclosed places with lots of people. So far this year I have managed to avoid any sniffles, sore throats, coughs or colds.

There were no football matches in the Premier League today, so I spent the day watching films. The first film I watched was About Time, a film I had seen before but really liked. It's a really weepy film, so if you watch it, be prepared to cry. One of the people in the film is Bill Nighy. I haven't seen him in a film that I didn't like.

One film that I had never seen anything about before today but watched was called Kinky Boots. It was not what I expected at all from the name, and it was a heartwarming and sometimes funny story that was based on real life. If you haven't seen the film, it is definitely one to put on your watchlist for a cold, dark afternoon or evening.

I had been unable to find any Worcestershire sauce in the local shops and asked my friends via Facebook if anyone knew where I could buy some locally. A few different friends posted suggestions, but as I sat reading them, my friend June rang me to say that she wanted to get some shopping tomorrow and that she would pick me up and take me somewhere that she thought sold it. She said she would pick me up at 10:30 am tomorrow, so hopefully, I will be able to buy some for my recipes.

I also swapped messages with my friend Mel this afternoon. We met when we went on a guided tour of China with the JustYou group back in 2014. We talked about the trip I am going on to India with the same company in February next year. It was a trip that Mel would have loved to have gone on, but when she looked at joining me, it was sold out. Hopefully, we will be able to meet up and go on another trip together soon.

Tonight, I watched another film I had seen many times, but being a big fan of Julia Roberts, I watched Notting Hill again before going to bed at around 1 am.

Sunday, 29th December.

I woke up at 7:30 am today, and because I couldn't get back to sleep, I got up and got myself a coffee. I took my tablets and surfed the Internet before getting some toast with jam for breakfast.

At 10:30 am, I walked outside to meet my friend June. She arrived a short time later and picked me up in her car to take me to Cabo Roig and some shops she wanted to visit. I went inside the store that sells English goods. I quickly found the couple of things I wanted: some Quaker Oats porridge and some Worcestershire Sauce. Once we had our shopping, June drove me home and dropped me at my apartment.

I was quickly inside my apartment in the warm and put my feet up for a while. Once I was rested, I went into the kitchen and peeled some apples, cored them and chopped them up, ready to put in some apple crumbles. I then peeled and chopped up some carrots I had bought during the week and put them in the freezer. Once again, I sat down for a while before getting myself some lunch. I couldn't be bothered to cook much, but I had a tuna steak ready for lunch. I fried it in some lemon and olive oil and just had it in a sandwich. It was very nice.

After eating, I fell asleep in my chair. When I woke up I continued to make the apple crumbles. When they were finished, I left one out for later and put three in my freezer. Once they were all put away, I watched bits of the West Ham vs Liverpool game. It was very one-sided, and Liverpool won 0-5. The result wasn't good news for Arsenal, but it was okay for my fantasy football team because I had Liverpool player Mo Salah as the captain of my team this week. He scored a goal and provided an assist for two more, giving me a few points.

This evening, I added a new page to my website, a new thing to my bucket list, and a Hobbiton page was added to the site's memories and bucket list section.