Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week battling the heat, juggling clinic visits, helping friends, doing a huge amount of work on my website and genealogy pages, and trying to keep myself cool and functioning. I met friends for coffees and meals, had a couple of exhausting moments, and made good progress on my research. Summer has definitely arrived, and I felt every degree of it.
Monday, 23rd June
I woke at 06:30, had coffee and did Wordle. After a second coffee, my brain finally kicked in. Lawrence messaged to say he’d pick me up at 09:00 for Café Prensa. Before he arrived, I remembered the heavy box of rubbish in the garage. I dragged it to the bin and just about managed to lift it in. By the time I sat outside waiting for Lawrence, I was exhausted and overheating. He was late, so I went back inside to cool down.
When he arrived, I took the small rubbish bag and two cushion covers for Theresa. We went to Café Prensa and were joined by friends. Theresa took the cushion covers to fill for me. At 11:15, Lawrence drove me to the clinic for my ankle appointment. I was seen quickly, the wound was cleaned and redressed, and I got a new appointment for Friday.
Lawrence dropped me at La Sombre. Martin arrived almost immediately, followed by Dave and Sean, then Viv. When Aria arrived, she checked my ankle and my belly scar, as she always does, to make sure I wasn’t about to drop dead. After Kate finished packing for their holiday, Martin and Aria left. Dave dropped me at Rio Nalon.
I went to No Name Café, then Henry’s Bar, then Roccos, then The Celt, where I bumped into my old friend Rich Williams. After a drink, I walked to catch the train home, but it never came, so I walked. My ankle was sore by the time I got home. I went to bed around 23:00.
Tuesday, 24th June
I woke at 07:15, had coffee and did Wordle. I added OG tags to my website pages, then went out for breakfast at the Corner Bar. The breakfast was excellent. Martin arrived briefly, then I joined him at La Sombre. Dave joined us too.
George phoned asking for help sending paperwork to his doctor, so I told him to come tomorrow. Later, I saw Mike at La Zona and chatted with several old friends. Jo asked me to send her copies of my TIE card so she could try to book a social services appointment for me.
I stopped at Harry’s Bar, then went home and ordered a laptop cooling pad and cushion from Amazon. I spent the rest of the day hiding from the heat, watching TV and playing CIV VI.
Wednesday, 25th June
I felt better this morning. After coffee and Wordle, George arrived with two CDs and over 2,000 images he needed me to send to his doctor. What he described as a ten minute job took over two hours. I separated everything into folders, zipped them and emailed them.
We walked to the pharmacy together. I refused to go into Avenida Bar after discovering they had been charging me tourist prices. I collected my Sintrom tablets for €0.37. In the UK, the same prescription would cost £257.40 a year. I couldn’t afford to be ill in the UK.
My laptop cooling pad arrived and worked brilliantly. I spent the rest of the day playing CIV VI.
Thursday, 26th June
I woke at 05:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep. At 05:45, I broke one of my expensive double‑insulated coffee glasses. I had to carefully clean up the shattered glass, worrying I might miss a piece and cut my feet, especially with being on Sintrom.
I worked on my website from 06:00 onwards, adding OG tags. Amazon delivered a new garden hose, but the fittings didn’t match my connections, despite the listing claiming they would. I initiated a return and carried on working.
Friday, 27th June
I woke at 07:30, had coffee and sorted through electrical leads that had been on my lounge floor forever. I threw out a lot of rubbish and went to Mercadona for shopping. On the way home, I stopped at Lawrence’s, and he gave me the cushion fillings Theresa had prepared.
I put my shopping away and admired the cushion she had filled. I’ll need to get the zip repaired on the other one. In the evening, Debbie messaged asking if I wanted dinner at Thai Aroi. I walked there and waited inside because it was too hot to sit outside while she vaped.
I had a banana milkshake and a Thai green curry. Debbie had a spicy cashew chicken dish. After dinner, we went to Buena Vista for drinks. The owner didn’t recognise me without my beard and did a double take. We chatted about cruises, but I think we’d drive each other mad on one. I walked home along the beach and went to bed at midnight.
Saturday, 28th June
I woke feeling good, but it was already 36°C when Lawrence picked me up for coffee. Café 16 Kitchen was closed despite its confusing opening hours, so I returned to Café Prensa. We were joined by friends, and I drank water to stay hydrated.
After coffee, Lawrence took me to Leroy Merlin to buy a garden hose. A helpful assistant opened a box to check the fittings matched mine. They did. We then stopped at Iceland, and I made a reservation for Lawrence and his son at Campbell’s.
Back home, I connected the new hose, stripped my bed, and played CIV VI. Wayne cancelled our meeting, which meant I didn’t have to go back out in the heat. I watched the last ten minutes of England vs Germany U21s. England won 3-2.
I made my bed, put towels in the wash and went to bed at 01:30.
Sunday, 29th June
I woke at 02:30 but fell back asleep until 09:30. After coffee and Wordle, I cleaned my balcony, hosed it down and watered the plants. I added new pages to my website for my genealogy research and one about Omeprazole.
I was too hot to cook a proper dinner, so while Lawrence and his son enjoyed a roast at Campbell’s, I had cheese and ham sandwiches, ice cream and a banana. I spent the rest of the day researching my family tree and went to bed at 22:00.
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