MANILVA START OF THE WEEKEND.

THURSAY/FRIDAY 25^th/26^th/ AUGUST 2011.

On Thursday morning after our tea and toast I got on with getting our dinner on the way; Braised Steak with Onions and Mushrooms, I sauté off the sliced Onions and then the steak in seasoned flour before making the sauce, diced Carrots, Swede, Celery, Leek, Onion, whole Baby Mushrooms and Green Beans make up the rich braising sauce along with a slug of Red wine and a good Beef and Vegetable stock together with all the ‘Sexton’ secret herbs and spices! Brenda’s now famous Cabbage with Alselgas and New local Potatoes help it along as it came out of the oven after cooking for two hours – you could get the aromas up on the roof terrace! Later in the evening we watched the final episode of ‘The Tudors’ He died! Luckily I had read up on the succession so we were able to follow the history update on Edward VI, Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth 1^st and all the religious intrigue !

All week the council has been putting up the canopy along Calle Mar as you can see in the pictures that I have added below; we did the shopping on Friday morning and as we got back Cheta came bashing in, she is in a right mess and needs a shampoo and groom after her short holiday in the country! The weather continues to be hot and sunny but it has gone a little cooler at night thankfully; for supper we had Prawns a la Plancha and then watched a good film. Later in the evening all this week and last I’ve been watching the ‘ Heineken Jazzaldia ’festival from San Sebastian which was recorded back in July; the stage is set up in a spectacular plaza in the old town which is surrounded by high granite cliffs which form a natural amphitheatre with houses with balconies on them. The weather at the time was horrendous with heavy rain so the audience all wear white plastic macks with hoods; the festival was opened by BB King which they have not shown yet, over the last few nights it has been modern jazz which does nothing for me ! Suddenly on Thursday evening the mood changed for the better; I didn’t catch the start of the concert so did not know who the lady singer was at first, dressed in a Black Leather cat suit with wild blonde hair she was cross between Blondie and Suzy Quatro ! The music was raw Rock and Blues and she had a fantastic mature voice as she belted out the songs with a together backing band featuring a Harmonica player, it was only when she spoke with a Brooklyn accent that I realized that it was Cyndi Lauper ( Girls just want to have fun ) A great concert and I really enjoyed the music ! Last night it was the turn of Jools Holland favourite; Mavis Staples the legendary rhythm and blues gospel singer – wow !

Thought for the Day;

When you are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.

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