2025 was a year of contrasts, from the vibrant chaos of my India coach tour to the quiet routines, challenges and small victories of life in Los Alcázares. These journals capture it all: the long walks for coffee, the website projects, the genealogy breakthroughs, the hospital stay that turned life upside down for a while, and the slow, determined recovery that followed. Alongside the everyday moments with friends, football, food and Spanish sunshine, you’ll also find the colour, culture and unforgettable experiences of travelling through Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambore, Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Amritsar. If you enjoy honest snapshots of real life, the good, the frustrating, the funny and the unexpected, this collection offers a week‑by‑week look at a year that never stood still.
I stopped writing my journals for 2025 after week 49 but hoped to go back to writing them in 2026 when I got back from my trip to Australia & New Zealand.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week walking more, meeting friends, sorting out errands, dealing with nurse appointments, and working on my website. I also enjoyed some good meals, had a few unexpected encounters, and watched plenty of football. My ankle continued to heal, and I tried to follow the doctor’s advice to eat better and exercise more.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week juggling nurse appointments, website work, meals with friends, a few frustrating moments at the clinic, and the usual mix of football, errands and socialising. My ankle continued to heal, my new phone arrived, and my Japanese toilet finally got installed. It was a busy but productive week.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week juggling clinic visits, deliveries, website work, meals with friends, and the long‑awaited installation of my new Japanese toilet. My ankle continued to heal, my new phone arrived, and I enjoyed some good company, good food and plenty of football. It was a busy but satisfying week.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week dealing with disturbed sleep, frustrating medical appointments, good breakfasts, website work, catching up with friends, and a few emotional moments. I also had some lovely meals, sorted out health admin, and watched plenty of football. My ankle continued to heal, and although I was puffed out most days, I kept going.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week juggling clinic visits, blood tests, website work, annoying deliveries, and a broken water heater that thankfully got replaced. I also caught up with friends, ate some good meals, and watched plenty of football. My ankle continued to heal, and although I was puffed out most days, I slowly felt myself improving.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week visiting the nurse three times to have my leg dressed and my blood pressure checked. My water heater broke, but thankfully a friend installed a new one for me. Best of all, the sun returned to Los Alcázares, and everything looks better when it is warm and sunny.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week easing myself back into normal life after the hospital stay. I saw friends, kept up with my medical appointments, worked on my website, reorganised parts of my apartment, and enjoyed plenty of football. My ankle slowly improved, and I started to feel more like myself again.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the week recovering from the hospital stay, dealing with pain, medical appointments, friends helping me, and slowly getting back into my routines. I worked on my website, rearranged parts of my apartment, enjoyed some good meals, and watched plenty of football.
Location: Virgen de la Caridad Hospital, Cartagena, and Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: I spent the start of the week still in hospital, going through endless drips, scans and bland meals, before finally being discharged on Thursday. The rest of the week was spent recovering at home, dealing with pain, medical appointments, and trying to get back to some kind of normal routine.
Location: Virgen de la Caridad Hospital, Cartagena, Spain
Summary: A full week in hospital, filled with endless drips, scans, antibiotics, bland food, room changes, confused nurses, pain, worry and exhaustion. There were small moments of comfort from friends, but mostly it was a long, difficult stretch of days spent fighting infection and trying to stay positive.
Location: Los Alcázares and Cartagena, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A frightening and painful week dominated by a rapidly worsening ankle injury, sleepless nights, hallucinations from pain, emergency hospital visits, blood tests, antibiotics, and finally being admitted to hospital. Friends and neighbours rallied around you, and by the end of the week you were finally receiving proper treatment and some relief.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of passport renewals, rain showers, Chinese meals, sliced fingers, long walks, website work, and a painful ankle to finish it off. Plenty of coffees, plenty of friends, and plenty of small dramas that kept life interesting.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of long walks, birthday celebrations, cooking, accidents, football, website work and the usual rhythm of coffees, friends and familiar places. Storms came and went, my finger caused chaos, and Arsenal kept my blood pressure high.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A windy, stormy week filled with long walks for coffee, good company, Chinese food, website work, football highs and lows, and the small comforts of home. I settled back into my routines after India, enjoyed time with friends, and kept myself busy with photos, games and TV.
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.
Location: India, England
Summary: This week marked the end of my India adventure. I travelled from Varanasi back to Delhi, continued north to Amritsar, witnessed the unforgettable Wagah border ceremony, and then began the long journey home via Heathrow. It was a week of early mornings, airports, trains, and the slow transition from the colour and chaos of India back to the familiar chill of England.
Location: India
Summary: This week took me from Jaipur to Ranthambore, then on to Agra, Lucknow and finally Varanasi. It was a week of early mornings, long drives, breathtaking sights, and unforgettable moments on the River Ganges.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: The week began with final preparations for my India trip and ended with me landing in New Delhi. In between, there were coffees with friends, frantic packing, travel hiccups, lost phones, noisy hotels, airport assistance, and the long journey from Spain to the UK and then on to India.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week dominated by knee pain, cold weather, coffees with friends, a long awaited health card, and the countdown to my India trip. I spent most days juggling rest, painkillers, website work, and football, with a few bright moments of good company and good food.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of cold mornings, long waits for deliveries, good food, helpful friends, frustrating technology, and plenty of football. I spent most of the week indoors working on my website, learning new software, and keeping warm, but still managed coffees, meals out, and a great catch‑up with Gail and Rob.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of cold mornings, long waits, coffees with friends, birthday messages, website work, and a brilliant catch up with Gail and Rob. My new coffee machine finally arrived, I kept learning OneNote, and I spent plenty of time trying to stay warm while juggling technology, friends, and football.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A cold January week filled with small dramas, warm food, long chats, unexpected parcels, football highs and lows, and the steady rhythm of daily life in Los Alcázares. I cooked, walked, met friends, battled the weather, worked on my website and prepared for my upcoming trip to India.
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: This week was cold, wet and full of walking, deliveries, films and food. I spent New Year’s Eve at home, caught up with friends, battled a broken TV box, cooked plenty of meals and kept myself busy with website work and genealogy. I also enjoyed some football, avoided the winter bugs going around and started the new year with a long walk and a good Sunday lunch.
