Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: My first full week back home after India was a mixture of jet lag, photo editing, catching up with friends, preparing for Mike’s memorial, and settling back into my routines. A new reclining chair arrived, I worked through mountains of holiday photos, and I slowly adjusted back to Spanish time.
Monday, 24th February
I woke at 04:00, wide awake and unable to get back to sleep. Jet lag had its claws in me. By 04:30, I gave up trying and started transferring all my holiday photos from various devices onto my main hard drive. At 10:00, I went to Café Prensa to see friends. They told me they were organising a get together to remember Mike, who had passed away while I was in India. I said I would be there.
Afterwards, I met Martin, Dave, Sean, Jes and Aria at The Corner Bar. I asked if anyone had a black armband for the memorial, and Sean said he could lend me one. On the way home, I stopped at Mercadona for coffee beans. When I got back, I found a message from El Corte Inglés saying my new reclining chair would be delivered on Wednesday, earlier than expected.
By late afternoon, the jet lag hit me hard. I could not keep my eyes open and went to bed at 19:00.
Tuesday, 25th February
Another early start, awake at 04:30. I put washing in the machine, made porridge and coffee, and did Wordle. I spent the entire day editing photos from my India trip, managing to finish about half of the Delhi set and upload them to my website.
Wayne came round and helped me move half of my settee down to the garage lock up to make space for the new chair. Later, I ordered a new external hard drive with much faster speeds so I could separate my photos and videos onto different drives. With the amount of media I now create, it made sense.
I tried to stay awake as long as possible to reset my body clock, but by 21:00, I gave in and went to bed.
Wednesday, 26th February
I woke at 06:30, finally a normal time. I made tea, set another load of washing to run at 04:00 the next morning, and finished editing the photos from my first day in India. I uploaded them and published the Delhi to Jaipur album.
At 13:00, my new reclining chair arrived. The delivery men brought it in, unwrapped it, showed me how it worked, and took away the broken Eco De chair. The difference in quality was unbelievable. El Corte Inglés had done everything properly. Eco De had been a disaster from start to finish. I sat in the new chair to test it and fell asleep within fifteen minutes.
In the evening, I had one of my turkey stews from the freezer and watched Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal. Arsenal dominated but had no strikers available, and the match ended 0-0, handing Liverpool a huge advantage in the title race.
Thursday, 27th February
I woke at 07:00 feeling more like myself. After Wordle and a bit of computer time, Lawrence picked me up. I stopped at Martin’s house to collect the black armband he had left out for me, but it turned out to be something that looked more like a curtain tie. Not quite what I needed.
We met friends at Café Prensa, and I had coffee and a tostada. Later, Lawrence and I drove to El Puente in Avileses for lunch. We waited until 13:00 for the menu of the day. The salad was lovely, and the turkey stew tasted good, though it was mostly vegetables and bones. The rabbit paella at the next table looked like the better choice.
Back home, I tested the new recliner again and promptly fell asleep. In the evening, I started rewatching Grimm and went to bed at 22:00.
Friday, 28th February
I woke at 06:45 and made tea. A strange WhatsApp message from El Corte Inglés asked me to contact them about delivering my chair, even though it had already arrived. I replied, wondering if the message had been delayed or if they were about to deliver a second one.
I made a PBJ sandwich for breakfast and rode my scooter to Café Prensa. A children’s parade blocked the road, so I had to detour. The café was packed, and it took forty minutes to get my coffee. Afterwards, I stopped briefly to chat with my cousin Jill at La Zona, then went to Mercadona for milk and a cheeseburger.
Back home, I tried to contact Lawrence for a lift to Las Claras for Mike’s memorial but could not reach him. Just as I was about to leave, a man arrived to collect my coffee machine for repair. He had no appointment time, no paperwork, and no receipt, but he let me photograph his collection order on his phone. Once he left, I walked to Las Claras in strong winds.
I arrived at 13:45, the first one there. I got a pint and rested until others arrived. When everyone was gathered, I read the short speech I had prepared for Mike. A few tears were shed, and it felt like a fitting tribute. We left around 16:00.
Lawrence and I had arranged dinner at El Patio, so I walked to Rocco’s for a beer while I waited. I chatted with Terry, Matt, Jo and Rashid, reminiscing about friends who had passed. At 19:00, I met Lawrence at El Patio. I had calamari and a steak with Roquefort sauce and sweet potato chips. After dinner, Lawrence drove me home, and I went to bed soon after.
Saturday, 1st March
I woke at 06:30 and had porridge before editing more holiday photos. In the afternoon, my new external hard drive arrived. It was tiny, only a few centimetres across, but incredibly fast. I backed up all my videos onto it, pleased with how well it worked.
In the evening, I watched Grimm and went to bed at 22:00.
Sunday, 2nd March
I woke at 06:45 to the sound of rain. Plaza Espejo was covered in puddles. By 10:00, I was hungry, so I asked Liz if she wanted to join me for breakfast at Buena Vista. She said she would meet me there, so I walked along the beachfront in the cold wind and rain.
I sat inside by the window and ordered a medium breakfast and a coffee. The waves on the usually calm Mar Menor were rough and choppy. Liz arrived shortly after, and we chatted over breakfast and another coffee before walking home.
Back in my apartment, I settled into my new recliner with my laptop and played Civilisation VI, choosing to play as India in honour of my recent trip. I stopped occasionally for food or a drink, but the hours slipped away. When I finally yawned and checked the time, it was 01:00. Time for bed.
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