2025, Week 4 journal.

Week 4 of 2025 saw me reach the ripe old age of 58. I had a quiet week and toned down the walking a bit to ensure my legs are in good nick for my upcoming holiday. Best of all, my new coffee machine finally arrived.

Monday 20th January.

I woke up around 7 am and got out of bed around 8 am. I felt cold in my apartment and immediately put the heating on. I sat at my computer to check for messages and found I had two emails about my coffee maker that should have already been delivered but hadn't been. I had one from the manufacturers and one from the company who should have delivered it, and both said that it would be delivered today.

I settled at my computer, did the Wordle puzzle and then went to cook myself a fry-up for breakfast. Once I had eaten breakfast, I began editing and adding new image files in the new format for some of the sections of my website. When I needed a break from the computer, I took the composter I had bought earlier in the year out of the box in the living room and put it together. It seemed quite a simple job, and it was. Once I had put it together, I made space for it on my balcony, put it there, and emptied the small kitchen composter into it.

At about 12:30, the delivery I had been waiting for since the start of January finally arrived. My new coffee machine has been delivered. I quickly unpacked it all, checked it over and put it in place in the kitchen. I put coffee beans in it and gave it a quick test. Even without any milk, which I usually have in my coffee, the first coffee tasted good.

I needed to get some milk and a couple of other groceries, so I went out on my disability scooter to Mercadona. I quickly got everything I needed and returned home. I put my shopping away and then had a go at getting my first coffee with milk out of the new coffee machine. I was delighted with it. It tasted great. I will have to work out how to use all the different settings, but I am happy with the new machine.

This afternoon, I worked on my OneNote skills for a couple of hours. I updated my Notepad and added details for my upcoming holiday. I added copies of all the documents to it as well and hope that if I ever lose any of the paperwork, I will now have easy access to copies of it wherever I go. I got myself a coffee in the evening and quickly worked out how to get a larger-sized drink by changing the settings on the machine. I liked the way that the machine cleaned itself before making a new coffee and how easy it was to remove the milk container so that I could put it in the fridge until I needed it again. I was also impressed with how easy it seemed to empty the coffee grains, which I put in my kitchen composter.

At about 6:30 pm, I got myself something to eat and then sat down in my armchair to work on some photos. I attempted to use my photo image manager and found the database was corrupt, so I had to reinstall it. I tried a few different ways and was unable to do it. The photos are all still there and accessible; it is just the management of them that is a problem. I finally gave up at 11 pm and told myself it would be clearer tomorrow after a good night's sleep. The story of the day seemed to be problems sorted out, new problems arrived.

Tuesday 21st January.

First coffee.

I woke up very early today, at about 4:30 am. I tried to get back to sleep but couldn't, so I got up at about 5 am. I went to the kitchen and got myself a coffee using my new coffee machine. I managed to work out how to get a large latte from it and then went through to my lounge to sit at my computer to check for messages.

I noticed that my good friend Jim was online and had a chat with him. I complain about the cold, but because he is in Scotland, I decided that I was probably warmer than he was. Unfortunately, he has not been well, so I talked to him for a while and wished him well. We always complain about our everyday lives, but we are fortunate every time we wake up.

I decided to try to update the DigiKam software and database on my computer again today, and this time it worked. It seemed that the SQL that was attached to the database had changed and needed updating. Once it had been updated, I set DigiKam to run to update the database. It took an hour or more, but it did appear to have worked. Only when I have started using it again will I know if it worked properly.

After the database had been updated, I continued to update the image files on my website, changing the images on the pages about my cruise on the Costa Diadema. At around 10:15, I went to Cafe Prensa to see some friends and have a coffee. I sat chatting with them, and at around 12, my friend Martin arrived as well. We had coffee there before Martin and I moved to Mr 16 Kitchen to meet Dave and have a beer. 

We sat chatting at the bar until around 1:30 pm and then moved to The Corner Bar. We sat there chatting, and Kate joined us. When Aria's bus arrived, we all moved off and went back to Martin and Kate's house, where Kate trimmed my beard and moustache for me. We then all left. Kate went shopping, and Martin and I went to have a beer at La Zona. We had a beer, and then I left to go home. On my way past Harry's bar, I saw my friend John and stopped to chat with him. While I was there, I also saw and chatted with my friends Andy and Wayne before continuing home.

By the time I got home, the temperature had dropped, and I was freezing, so I put the heating on and jumped straight into bed to try to warm up. I did warm up quickly, almost as quickly as I fell asleep.

Wednesday, 22nd January.

I got up around 8 am and straight away checked for messages on my computer. I began to do some work on my website until my friend Lawrence called me and asked if I wanted to go and get a coffee and go for lunch afterwards. Having no plans for the day, I agreed, and he said he would call me when he was on his way to pick me up.

At about 10:15, I walked outside and met Lawrence. We drove to Cafe Prensa and joined a group of friends who were having coffee. It was my friend Christines' birthday, and we all shared a lovely cake that Theresa had made her. We sat chatting and laughing until after midday when everybody began to head home or go to other places.

Lawrence and I got in his car, and we went to Venta Simon for a "Menu of the day". Once again, the meal was very nice. Today, I had chorizo pasta as my starter, and for my main course, I had grilled squid with chips. My dessert was a coffee flan. It was nice, but I preferred the chocolate one I had on my last visit. When we left, Lawrence dropped me at home, and I wrapped up under a blanket in my armchair to watch TV.

Tonight I watched the Arsenal vs Dynamo Zagreb football match. Arsenal played well and won the game 3-0, which means they should qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament without having to play a qualifier in February. After watching the game, I went to bed and fell asleep quickly.

Thursday, 23rd January.

I woke up today at around 7 am. I got up and got myself some porridge with banana and honey. I got myself a coffee and sat down at my computer to check for messages. I also opened a couple of letters that had arrived yesterday. They were both birthday cards from England: one from my sister Karen, her husband Brett and my niece Holly, and the second one was from my friends Dave and Tracy. Dave made me laugh because the only other time he had sent me a birthday card was 40 years ago for my 18th. It was, in fact, a bereavement card in which he had written, who needs to be reminded that they are another year older. I thought it was hilarious. A lot has happened since then, Dave.

I spent all day trying to keep warm today. I curled up under a blanket and watched a film called Back in Action, which was very entertaining. I tried to watch some of the football this evening but couldn't stay interested enough to watch either of the games all the way through. Instead, I browsed the Internet most of the night. As I reached the ripe old age of 58 today, I thought I had better start acting my age. I went to bed nice and early, at about 10 pm.

I want to thank the 200+ people who sent me a message today to wish me a happy birthday. It meant a lot to a silly old duffer who lives on his own.

Friday, 24th January.

I woke up around 7:30 am and finally dragged myself out of bed at 8 am. I checked for messages and then did some updates on my website before getting some breakfast.

I spent the rest of the day working on my website and watching films. I seemed to have no energy for anything else today and hoped I would get some energy from somewhere tomorrow. I went to bed at 10 pm.

Saturday 25th January.

I woke up around 7 am and felt much better than I did yesterday. After getting a black coffee, I had some cereal for breakfast and did some work on my website, replacing header images in the section for my cruise to Brazil.

Just after 10 am, I went out on my disability scooter. I first dropped off a load of plastic recycling and then went to a pharmacy in Los Alcazares. When I arrived at the pharmacy, it was shut. I went back towards my apartment and hoped the one nearer my home would be open. When I got there, it was open, and I was able to get enough tablets to cover me until I came back from my trip to India in February. I get annoyed when I see the pack of tablets that used to contain 28 tablets, enough to fill my tablet dispenser for four weeks, now only has 14 in a pack. Without putting the price up for the box of tablets, I am now paying double the price for them as the box has half what it used to have. I can't wait for my health card to arrive so that I can get the discount on my tablets.

When I got back to my apartment, I put some washing in the washing machine and the dishwasher and set them to run. I continued to work on my website until mid-afternoon, when I stopped for something to eat. I had one of the cottage pies I had made and put in the freezer a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious, and I will have to make some more when I get back from my holiday.

This afternoon, I sat and watched the Wolves vs Arsenal football match on TV. Arsenal won the game 0-1, but the most significant talking point of the game was the terrible decision by Michael Oliver, the game referee and the VAR official Darren England, to send off Arsenals Myles Lewis Skelly for a challenge that they deemed to be violent conduct. It was a decision by Michael Oliver that means he has sent an Arsenal player off in 23% of the games he has refereed in which Arsenal have taken part. Indeed, he has a bias against Arsenal and must not be allowed to referee Arsenal games in the future. Oliver later gave a second yellow and a red to Wolves player João Gomes for a challenge that was as bad if not worse than Skellys, but he deemed it was only a yellow card. I hope that the FA overturn the red card, but the decision in this game and previous games this year could have cost Arsenal valuable points in their attempt to win the league this season.

Tonight, I stayed up to watch the Wolves vs Arsenal game on MOTD to see what the commentators thought of the red card issued to Myles Lewis Skelly. All of them thought the same as I did that the card was unjust and should have been a yellow only.

Sunday 26th January.

I woke up at around 6:30 am, and because I was unable to get back to sleep, I got up just before 7 am. I sat at my computer and checked for messages. I went online and downloaded the final set of documents that JustYou had issued me for my upcoming holiday. I got myself some coffee and some porridge with banana and honey and sat down to watch MOTD again.

I spent the morning adding new photos to my website pages, and it seemed that no time had gone when it was time to leave for lunch with Lawrence and Debbie. Lawrence picked me up, and we drove to Roda to go to Campbells' bar, where we would meet Debbie.

We sat in the bar and ordered our drinks before we went through to the restaurant for our Sunday Lunch. I had the lamb, and as always, it was lovely. For the first time, I can remember I finished my meal first because Debbie and Lawrence didn't stop talking. It usually is me who doesn't shut up and is last to finish my meal. After finishing my meal, I had a piece of Bailey's cheesecake, my favourite, before we moved back into the bar and sat talking while we had an Asiatico coffee. Debbie very kindly paid for my meal as a present for my birthday this week. Thank you, Debbie.

When we left, we went to La Ola bar in Los Narejos. We sat and had a glass of wine, and as we were talking, my friend Alison walked in. She sat down with us for a brief chat, and while I chatted with her, Lawrence drove Debbie home before returning for me. Alison chatted with me for a short while before leaving, and Lawrence took me home.

Once home, I put the heating on in my apartment and attempted to watch a film on the TV. The good food and wine had other ideas, though, and I was soon asleep. I woke up to watch some of today's football but wasn't that interested, as tonight's game was only Manchester United. I do wonder how much longer Tottenham will keep their manager, as they lost again earlier in the day and are hovering just above the relegation zone in the Premier League.