Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
MANILVA THURSDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2012.
THE 41ST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY OF MALCOLM AND BRENDA;
The Wedding breakfast is taking place this lunchtime over here in sunny Manilva; ' Bucks Fizz ' with scrambled Eggs and Smoked Salmon ! All welcome !!
This evening the Wedding banquet dinner is taking place in our house in Calle San Vicente 1 when no doubt copious amounts of food and drink will be consumed !!
Thought for the Day;
It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes our life worth living.
..
MANILVA THIS WEEK.
TUESDAY 27th/
WEDNESDAY 28TH / NOVEMBER 2012.
The
weather, as forecast, is sunny and clear but it is very cold by our standards
as it only reached 14degs today! During the night it is down to 8/9degs so we
have the winter duvet on and during the day the oil/electric heater in the
lounge gives off enough heat to keep us comfortable; our winter fuel allowance
arrived in the bank on Monday morning!! We went for a long walk on Tuesday
morning with the dog around the village and checked out all the work sites as
they continue to take shape. When we got back I settled into the office and
watched ‘ Saturday Morning Kitchen ’ it showed Rick Stein in Pamplona finding
out how to make it “ Rabo De Torro Estefado ” – watch out for it soon on the
menu here! In the evening we had Minute steak with Mushrooms and Chips and mine
was topped with a fried Egg.
On
Wednesday morning we went for a nice walk in the noon day sun with Cheta and
called into Bodega Augustin for a coffee and tea, Anna came along on her walk
with Derrick so we had a good old chinwag and caught up with all her news, she
had a girl friend over from Tenerife over the weekend so she and Sally Ann had
a ‘ Big Girls ’dinner/Champagne evening round at Sally Ann’s ! For supper we
raided the deep freeze and found a large container of last weeks Beef Stew (
Scouse ) so we had it with Cabbage and Beetroot – comfort food on a cold
evening.
Over the
last two days we have watched on the TV “ Patton ”from 1970 with George C Scott
in the his Oscar winning role with Karl ( The Nose ) Malden and last night
later we caught “ The Young Victoria ”from 2009 with Emily Blunt and a host of
English character actors telling the story/history of the start of her reign, I
also had spotted that on Antena3 they had ‘ Downton Abbey ’- starting to show
the current series, Mary and Matthew got married(?) So we watched it and tried
to work out the story line as we have not seen all the episodes, I have just
read it up on ‘ Wikipedia ’so I’ am catching up with the characters and story
ready for next week!
Thought for
the Day;
This gate
hangs well and hinders none. Refresh and pay and travel on. – “ The Hanging
Gate Inn” at Weaverham.
…
.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.
The sun is
out and there is no sign of rain for the next week but we are going to be
colder by our standards, down to 15degs overnight as the Atlantic front hits us;
in the morning we went around to the surgery as we both had appointments to
check out our medications and update the prescriptions - we have just come back
from a walk( Tuesday ) around the village with Cheta and we had our jackets on for the
first time – the picture below shows the work on the outside of the car park is
well on the way and this morning they have started to brick in the sides. So
today,Monday it’s going to be an at home day catching up with jobs around the house,
Brenda has the washing on as it looks like a good drying day and I ‘am settled
in the office checking out the WWW. In the mornings I catch up with all the
news via the BBC Newspage,various TV Channels including Sky, the Daily Mail and
Daily Express online pages and other news and TV Channels from around the
world, then I go to Facebook and Skype to catch up with what’s been happening
and finally I check out the E-Mails – yesterday Jane’s E-Mail was hacked into by
the same method as ours was last year – a begging e-mail asking for help sent
to all her contacts, just the same as the one that we had in every detail
except for where she was stuck !
Overnight
in North Wales the severe rain storms have hit them and in our part in the city of St,Asaph
there have been severe floods as well as in Abergele and other local villages
in the low lying area's are under threat; when I’ am on the BBC Newspage I log on to the news in
North Wales and also can go onto the live Expressway overhead cameras to check
out the weather around Old Colwyn where Tim’s house is ! It’s raining at the
moment Tim !!
Brenda has
started on the Xmas cards for Australia
Thought for
the Day;
Only a life
lived for others is worth living.
..
.
Monday, November 26, 2012
MANILVA OVER THE WEEKEND.
SATURDAY24th/SUNDAY25th
NOVEMBER 2012.
The
forecast for the weekend is OK and into next week it more of the same but there
is a cold front coming in from the Atlantic by Tuesday; we pottered about the
house on Saturday and started to read a couple of ‘Patterson’s ’for the next
week ahead. In the afternoon I watched some sport on the TV and PC – City and
Liverpool could only manage 0-0 draws and later over in Seville Real Madrid
lost at Real Betis 1-0 in ‘ La Liga’For supper we had ‘ Steak a la Plancha’ with
Mushrooms, Green Beans and Chips before settling down to watch a film; the
classic films in the John Travolta season were ‘Saturday Night Fever ’and ‘
Pulp Fiction ’- now there’s two rather different films! We decided instead to
watch a thriller that we had not seen “ Breakdown ” from 1997 with Kurt Russell,J,T,Walsh
and Kathleen Quinlan – all action at the same time.
After a
little lie in on Sunday morning we got ourselves sorted for the day; I made the
‘ Boulangere ’ potatoes for supper and Brenda caught up with house work,Cheta
came crashing in as normal in the morning and stayed for a few hours; for our
cooked breakfast which we have once a week a did a ‘ Fry Up/Brunch’ from what I
could find in the fridge – Eggs,Tomato,Sliced Green Beans and Mushroom
stalks,Corizo and a Baked Potato sliced and sautéed, with Fried Bread and Tea!
That set us up for the day ahead !! In the afternoon I watched the football
over in England before settling down to watch the Brazilian GP – it was one of
the most exciting races in years as the weather, as usual at Intalagos played
it’s part; on the very first corner Vettel was knocked down to last and on his
radio called for the team to get ready for him to come into the pits and was
told in no uncertain terms by his boss ‘ To get on with it as there is nothing
we can do ! ’Meanwhile as the rain came they all had to change tires to suit
the road conditions, Hamilton and Button fought for first place before Hamilton
was taken out, finishing his race and career with Mclaren ! Schumacher in his
last ever Grand Prix was fighting all the way, at one time he was last and
ended up 7th in the end! Alonso was at his best fighting all the way
to the finsh,passing at every chance, he was second in the World Championship
by only 3 points to Vettel and could only think about the missed chances during
the year. Vettel is now a three-time World Champion, the youngest ever! Oh and
yes Jenson Button won the race !! Later in ‘ La Liga’ Barcelona
Later for
supper we had Pan-fried Lamb Cutlets finished on the Boulangere Potatoes then
caught a good action movie, “ S.W.A.T. from 2003 with Colin Farrell,Samuel
L.Jackson and L.L.Cool
PS; The
pictures below taken on Monday morning show that they are starting to open up
and finish the car park under the Plaza Pozo Del Rey.
Thought for
the Day;
Perseverance
and audacity generally win.
…
.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY
22nd/23rd NOVEMBER 2012 .
We are just
about getting away with the weather at the moment, the sun is around and there
is no wind or rain and the temperature is staying at around the 20degs mark; on
Thursday we had an at home day and started to think about Christmas, we are
spending it with Mano and Anna, Carlos, Anna Mari and Fabio and this year Sally
Ann, Domenico and Dylan; we have three plans so far depending on when Mano and
Carlos are working so it will be a last minute decision. We have dug out the
Xmas decorations and have our first Poinsettia in the lounge all ready! I watched on the BBCIPlayer ‘ Later with
Jools’ – Sinead O’Connor was very good, she still has a ‘Helluva ’voice and the
first number she did-rocked! Jools then went on the Hammond Organ and
accompanied ‘Mud Morganfield, Muddy Waters eldest son on a real blues oldie ! I
picked up some Calf’s Liver in the
morning and we had it thinly sliced, dusted in flour and cooked ‘Pink ’in
foaming Butter with Crispy Smoked Bacon, well done English Pork Sausages, Sauté
Onions and Tomato and a Baby New Potatoes. The late film was a ‘Quirky ’classic
called “ Accidental Hero ”from 1993,Dustin Hoffman is in the main part with the
excellent Andy Garcia and Geena Davies in the supporting roles. It looks like
the next series of films is going to be from the John Travolta catalogues.
Later I caught the ‘ Spain on the Road again ’programme which this week was
around Barcelona; they ended up in the Michelin*** “ Sant Pau ” in San Pol De
Mar, the Chef is ‘ Carme Ruscalleda ’who is the highest rated female chef in
the world with five stars in total as she has two for her restaurant in Tokyo –
the food was sublime as she showed them in the kitchen how the dish’s were
cooked.
On Friday
morning we shot down to Sabinillas for the shopping and called into the English
bookshop for the papers, books and Xmas cards,( also the Wedding Anniversary
card for next week!) - watch out to see if you are on the Xmas list! It gets
smaller every year !! The flower man was back in the market in the village
after his holidays so we back to fresh flowers in the lounge. In the evening
for supper we had some large ‘ Gambas ’in the shell from the fish market which
I cooked ‘ Andalusia Style ’on Sea Salt on the plancha ( Griddle Plate ) – you
then dive in with your hands and of course you must suck the heads ! On the
side we had a rich dipping Langoustine sauce – mouth watering ! We then
watched, again ‘ Jackie Brown ’which of course was written and directed by
Quentin Tarantino.
Thoughts
for the Day;
With
average or even minimum ability, success is still possible. Everybody has
talent.
..
.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
MANILVA THIS MORNING.THE FIRST XMAS CARD ARRIVES.
THURSDAY 22nd NOVEMBER 2012.
This morning I found in our post box our first Xmas card;it had been dropped in by Anna when they where last here;every year Anna tries to find the smallest card - this year she has even beaten her last record! See the picture above.Thanks to the ' Guerrero's ' We are spending this Xmas with all of them here in sunny Manilva - no plans yet - ' Hasta Manana '
..
This morning I found in our post box our first Xmas card;it had been dropped in by Anna when they where last here;every year Anna tries to find the smallest card - this year she has even beaten her last record! See the picture above.Thanks to the ' Guerrero's ' We are spending this Xmas with all of them here in sunny Manilva - no plans yet - ' Hasta Manana '
..
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.
MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY 19th/20th/21st NOVEMBER 2012 .
This week we are back to normal after all the excitement
over the weekend; the weather has settled down and the forecast is sunny with
clouds all week – 18/19degs – so we can’t complain! Brenda is catching up with
the chores and I’ am on the WWW. I caught ‘ Saturday Morning Kitchen ’and
updated and posted the picture blog as you can see below of our day out in
Sanlucar de Barrameda on Saturday; Tim called on the Skype Video after reading
about our exploits and Brian over in Pori,Finland left us a nice message and a
picture of the ‘ James Bond ‘ Lotus car that went under water – to see if we
wanted to buy it ! Brenda fancied a change for dinner and requested ‘ Poulet
Sauté Marengo ’- so the chef created a Poached Brest of Chicken finished in a
rich Lobster and Prawn sauce topped with a Poached Egg ! The New Potatoes from
the market in Sanlucar were just right along with some finely sliced Green
Beans !! The late film was “ The Assassin -
Point of No Return ”from 1993 and starring Bridget Fonda, in the main
part and Gabriel Byrne and just at the end the ever excellent Harvey Keitel !
Tuesday was check the car day; it was sunny so we were able
to leave the windows open to help with drying, Brenda had the mats out up on
the roof terrace and did some more soaking up with towels and spraying with the
fresh air deodoriser as I checked the Oil, Coolant and Water as well as the
lights, we put air in the tyres on Friday morning – fingers crossed ! Mano and
Ana called in at lunchtime as Mano had a day off; we then told them all about the
tale on our visit to the town where Mano was born and showed them all the
pictures that we had taken, more than are on the blog – the main church is where
all Mano’s family were baptised and of course the family still go to ‘ Los
Corrales ’when they are back in the town, one of his sisters was there just a
couple of weeks ago! In the evening we had Pork Cutlets for supper with
Lyonnaise Potatoes and Cabbage with Alselgas ( From our neighbours Campo )
before we watched the football; Barcelona won and Messi scored two as they
qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, meanwhile the news
is just in that Roman Abramovich has fired Roberto Di Matteo after Chelsea lost
3-0 to Juventus, the eighth manager in eight years – they are after Pep
Guardiloa who is on a year out of the game, over in new York! Watch this
space!!
PS; Rafael Benitez has been appointed the Chelsea manager till the end of the season.
PS; Rafael Benitez has been appointed the Chelsea manager till the end of the season.
Today, Wednesday as you can see below we got the result that
we wanted when the car passed the ITV(MOT) at the first go ! There is just a
little chance of rain but we are going for a walk around the village with Cheta
later - it was so nice that we ended up sat under the Sonbrajo at Bar Rojas having a 'Celebration' drink; tonight is ‘ Curry Night ’in Manilva,out of the deep freeze and then
more football as Mourinho leads Real Madrid to Manchester City to finish off
the ‘ Euro Failures ’as he calls them ! Watch this space !!
PS; The score was 1-1 but Real totally outplayed City and so City have failed to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the second successive year !
PS; The score was 1-1 but Real totally outplayed City and so City have failed to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the second successive year !
Thoughts for the Day;
Ambition is but the evil shadow of aspiration; When you go
in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees !
…
MANILVA - ESTEPONA EARLY THIS MORNING -NEWSFLASH;
WEDNESDAY 21ST NOVEMBER 2012.
We have just got back from the ITV ( MOT ) over in Estepona as we had a very early appointment at 6-50am! The Fiesta ( Ferrari ) passed with flying colours !! It is the first time we have used the Spanish system so we were a little concerned as what to do - no problem as the the scrutineer leads you through it,you stay in the car and just respond to his shouted instructions !! Result !!
So we have just had our Crispy Smoked Bacon Butties with HP sauce back at the house - job done !!
..
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
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