MANILVA THIS WEEK.

THURSDAY 5th JANUARY 2012 “ THREE KINGS PARADE ”

It was a clear and crisp evening as we walked up to Bar Rojas to grab a table under the Sonbrajo to watch the parade go past; the whole village turns out with all the children with their plastic bags ready to catch the ‘ Caramelos ’that are thrown by the floats as they pass, the noise is unbelievable as it builds up to the time, always late, as the whole parade has been down in Castilla Duquesa and Sabinillas earlier ! The police lead the way with their lights flashing and the sirens at full blast; this year the ‘ Pastoral ’ Band led the way with the ‘ Zambomba ’ drums thumping out the beat. The cartoon characters soon get the crowds going, the young children squeal with delight, as you can see ‘ Sponge Bob ’attacked me, it turned out to be Mario, our local councilor, who told me this morning down at the Basketball that it was him !

The Three Kings, Gasper,Melchior and Balthaser,then come along Calle Mar with the Chi Chi Pom ‘ Charanga ’ Band for 2012 made up from members of the Manilva Brass Band in the middle; it creates a terrific atmosphere as they throw hundreds of thousands of sweets which are colleted by the kids and adults ( Brenda ) ! The parade goes all around the village and then comes back down Calle Mar in the opposite direction, the big question is who are playing the Three Kings, this year one was defiantly one of the councilors ! The same councilors from the picture in the morning of the council meeting !! The picture below of the parade shows you just a small sample of the action.

Cracker of the Day;

Where would you find Chili Beans ? At the North Pole !



FRIDAY 6th JANUARY 2012 “ THREE KINGS DAY ”


On Friday morning the village was very quiet, the only sound was coming from all the houses as the children opened their presents; the streets then come alive as they play out, mainly on their new bicycles watched over by their parents, it is their ‘ Christmas Day ’! It was another beautiful day down here on the Costa del Sol as you can see in the pictures below across to the mountains and down the coast. Outside the church the new information/tourist board has gone up which gives the history of the Iglesia Santa Ana back from the 16th century ! We went for a long walk with Cheta all around the village and ended up sat on the Mirador in the warm sunshine,Mano says that we should have our names on a plaque on the seat and that we look like ‘ Darby and Joan ’ !!

The other picture is of the ‘ Roscan De Reyes ’ traditional cake; it is a sweet sponge ring filled with pastry cream and decorated with Candied Fruits,as they are making it they put toy Three Kings and a dried Broad Bean in the mix, If you get the bean you have to pay for next years cake – I got it !! We will be having it with our afternoon cup of tea for the next few days.

In the afternoon Brenda was up on the roof terrace taking in the sunshine as I caught the FA Cup football from England, it was the Liverpool v Oldham match which was not shown on any of the English channels but I was able to see it on my sports channel ! Liverpool won 5-1 eventually and even Andy Carroll scored !

For supper we had Scampi Provencale with Rice before we settled down to watch some films; first it was a very compelling and moving story, partly true, about the Antarctica and dog sledges; called ‘Eight Below’ after the eight Huskies in the story, who at the beginning save the lives of two explorers but are left behind for the winter when the ice station and injured men are evacuated by helicopter, because there was no room! They have to fend for themselves for over 250 days until their handler get back to them, six survive and the final scenes where tear jerking ! One to watch. Then it was a Pierce Brosnan/Liam Neeson film “ Seraphim Falls ”about a bounty hunt after the civil war in the USA between the Union and Confederate Colonels – lots of shooting and gore as it goes on and on – watch it to see the end. Finally I watched a 1970 film with a young Sean Connery and Richard Harris in the main parts, “ The Molly Maguire’s ” based on true characters back in 1876 in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, it was filmed in the actual town, Eckley, Connery is a spy and Harris is the baddy ! Even the court house in some scenes is original and still in use today !


Cracker of the Day;

Why did the Jockey take his saddle to bed ? In case he had nightmares !

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SATURDAY 7th JANUARY 2012.

This morning after breakfast we walked down to the sports complex; at the football ground there was an all day competition on between local junior teams on two pitches but we could not get in as it was pay at the entrance and we did not have any money with us ! So we went into the sports hall where there was also an all day Basketball competition taking place on four courts, it was different aged teams of juniors and seniors consisting of three players in each team and playing into one basket ! It was timed and on a knockout basis, the atmosphere was great with loud music playing and the crowds shouting for their team ! Just a couple of pictures of the two best senior teams on the attack are above. On the way back I took the pictures of the motorcycles parked outside the Town Hall ,they had stopped along with some others for coffee.

Tonight it is Steak and Chips for dinner followed by another film ! Watch this space.


Thought for the Week;

Cheers to a New Year and another chance to get it right.


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