Thursday, February 28, 2013
MANILVA TODAY
THURSDAY 28th/
FEBRUARY 2013.
“FELIZ DIA DE ANDALUCIA”
Today is ‘
Andalucia Day ’ which marks the anniversary of the referendum held on the 28TH/
February 1980 – making the region an autonomous community of Spain; this year
due to the threat of rain and cold weather the Council have arranged the day’s
celebrations to take place down in the Congress Centre – as it turned out we
had the rain and storms during the night and today it is our normal clear blue
skies and the sun is out,it is still cold and on the mountains they are all
topped for the first time with snow! I can’t show them as my camera does not
have a big enough zoom!! The pictures above show the start of the proceedings
with the singing of the Andalucia Anthem and the rising of the flag by the
Mayor; later there is singing and dancing and the Manilva Brass Band are giving a concert.
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MANILVA - LIVERPOOL - TODAY
THURSDAY 28th/ FEBRUARY 2013.
" GLOBAL SCOUSE DAY "
Today is ' Global Scouse Day when all true 'Scouser's celebrate their heritage ! Born,christened,confirmed in the cathedral ,went to junior infants school on Walton Vale and Collegiate Grammer in Shaw street as well as college at the top of Bold street and lived the life in the 60s I can call myself a true scouser having been taken to the 'Cop' at an early age and 'Wetted' - sorry Big Brian but I did have an aunty in Gladys Street !By 1966 I was the senior assistant manager at the ' Stork Hotel' in Queen square! Happy Days and lots of memories and story's to tell !
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" GLOBAL SCOUSE DAY "
Today is ' Global Scouse Day when all true 'Scouser's celebrate their heritage ! Born,christened,confirmed in the cathedral ,went to junior infants school on Walton Vale and Collegiate Grammer in Shaw street as well as college at the top of Bold street and lived the life in the 60s I can call myself a true scouser having been taken to the 'Cop' at an early age and 'Wetted' - sorry Big Brian but I did have an aunty in Gladys Street !By 1966 I was the senior assistant manager at the ' Stork Hotel' in Queen square! Happy Days and lots of memories and story's to tell !
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
MANILVA
MONDAY 25th/
TUESDAY 26th/ WEDNESDAY 27TH/ FEBRUARY 2013.
This week
it is getting colder each day and by Wednesday/Thursday we will be down to
12degs for the first time here in sunny Manilva; the sun is still out at the
moment but we have the back end of the cold front from Russia and on Thursday
it will be raining – this is especially sad as it is “ Dia de Andalucia ” – The
Day of Andalucia which marks the anniversary of the referendum held on February
28TH 1980 – making the region an autonomous community of Spain; the
council has arranged a day of celebrations to take place in front of the Town
Hall at the top of our street with the village brass band marching and playing
,the village choirs singing, dancing by school children and the politicians
making speeches as they raise the flag! Watch this space to see what happens
tomorrow!!
First thing on Monday morning I shot down to
the surgery to see the nurse for some blood samples for next weeks appointments
at the hospital; the only problem was she had not arrived so the relief nurse
was over 45mins behind with appointments and it got a bit loud as tempers rose
and the locals acted up in true Spanish style! I sat there and in the end the
very nice nurse appoliged and when I showed her my papers she did both blood samples,
four viles, and gave me the bottle to leave a sample there and then! ( In the
gents toilet) Result – I’ am now ready for my two appointments next week with
the Kidney Consultant and Dermatology Consultant and the following week with my
Prostrate consultant! I also called into the Cultural office and checked on the
dates for the “ Semana Santa ” religious processions at the end of the month –
22/31ST March. In the evening for supper we had cold Chicken with the
left over vegetables and potatoes. It was then time to catch up with news and
weather on TVE1.
On Tuesday morning we had arranged to pick
Gillian up from the bus station over in Marbella after her return flight from
England at lunchtime; so we headed for Estepona and I went to my barber, Manuel
for the full works including two inches off and the head and shoulders massage
! We then called into our bank to sort some things out, next it was time to go
along to the Hypermarket to get some ink cartridges for the printer and finally
we called into San Pedro for some of Brenda’s favorite night lights – we
arrived at the bus station just as Gillian walked out – that’s planning!
We are now back into reading in the afternoon
and have plenty of books to keep us going as Anna dropped some in the other
day. In the evening for supper we had Minute Steak with Chips before we settled
down to watch the big match of the night – it was the “ Clasico” Barcelona Madrid Madrid
This morning, Wednesday it was very cold, by
our standards as I went around to the butchers for some diced Beef as we are
having my famous ‘ Steal, Kidney and Mushroom Pie’ for supper –See the pictures above of before and after. Brenda has got
the Cabbage with Alselgas ready and I blanched the square chips – comfort food
for the cold weather! We are then going to watch the second semi-final of the
‘Copa del Rey’ on the PC.
Every day Cheta comes crashing in up the street
from her house and her latest thing is she is playing with an old tennis ball
that we found in the street, she does not have any toys so it fascinates her
and she is learning to fetch, catch and chase it! She goes mad and slides
around the floors on the mats !! The picture below shows the ongoing work on
the ‘ Plaza Pozo del Rey’ and also the opening of another bar in the old PP
Party bar – the 15TH in the village! They have also started down in
Sabinillas to work on ‘Calle Isaac Peral’ – ‘Bank Street
Thoughts for the Day;
It takes as much energy to wish as it does to
plan. The energy of the mind is the essence of life.
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Monday, February 25, 2013
MANILVA OVER THE WEEKEND.
SATURDAY 23rd/
SUNDAY 24th/ FEBRUARY 2013.
The
forecast for the weekend was sun and clear blue skies but rather cold; it was
right as the icy blast from Russia Norwich Barcelona
As I was
watching the England England
For supper
we had Minute Steak and Chips for supper, mine topped with a Fried Egg; the
late film was a true story about a boxer Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, played by
Denzel Washington called “ The Hurricane” from 1999 who is framed for murder
and spends over 20 years in prison – watch it ! Rod Steiger pops up near the
end in a cameo role as the judge.
On Sunday
morning after a lie in we got the roast on the go, a large Chicken from our
butcher in the village, with lots of vegetables including Brussels Sprouts with
diced Smoked Bacon sippits and Chestnut stuffing. Once again in the afternoon I
was in the office watching Scotland Ireland Manchester
City Chelsea
Thoughts
for the Day;
We need not
destroy the past. It is gone. The living moment is everything. Nothing is worth more than this day.
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Saturday, February 23, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND
THURSDAY 21st/
FRIDAY 22nd/ FEBRUARY 2013.
The severe
weather that is coming down and across Europe over the weekend is just about
missing us down here on the Costa Del Sol; it will be damp and overcast as well
as cooler but by Monday at the latest the sun is back in sunny Manilva.Thursday
was a at home day as we caught up with things about the house, Brenda got onto
her ironing and Andy called in at lunchtime and got my Google Chrome back on
line as well as fixing a few other small problems – Thanks Andy! Tim then made
contact with us on the Skype Video so we had a good catch up with all his news
over in a very cold North Wales, it sounds like him and Thea are coming over to
Spain in the middle of March with some friends to play golf and are staying in
a villa in Torremolinos so we are going to try and get together with them over
there if possible – it’s a ‘Helluva’ place/town to find somebody in ! So watch
this space and fingers crossed!!
After
supper I followed all the matches in the UEFA Europa League; sadly Liverpool
put up a ‘Helluva’ fight and won 3-1 but lost on the away goals rules to Zenit
St.Peterberg,but Chelsea, Spurs and Newcastle all had wins and go into the next
round. After supper we watched the late film “ One in the Chamber ” from 2012 –
an all action spy thriller about the Russian Mafia in Prague
This
morning, Friday we did not need to go shopping down in Sabinillas so Mano is
hopefully picking up the papers; I shot around to the butchers and picked up
some Steak a la Plancha for Saturday and a large Chicken for Sunday; later this
morning I made a ‘ Cruz Campo Batter’ for our crispy Cod with Chips and Peas
for tonight, we are also having on the
side some of my famous Tomato Salsa! The batter is originally a ‘ Gary Rhodes ’recipe
that I have adapted, I have tried a small piece this morning and it passed with
flying colors! Frying tonight !! See the pictures above; The late film was a very moving and watchable story about a fight over a house - " House of Sand and Fog " from 2003 and starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley.
PS; We had a nice call on Viber from Brian over in Pori in Finland this evening; we had a long catch up with him and got all his news from -8degs Pori ! It made our day to speak to him - thanks 'Big Brian'
PS; We had a nice call on Viber from Brian over in Pori in Finland this evening; we had a long catch up with him and got all his news from -8degs Pori ! It made our day to speak to him - thanks 'Big Brian'
Thought for
the Day;
The more
original the discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.
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Thursday, February 21, 2013
MANILVA AT THE START OF ANOTHER WEEK
MONDAY 18th/ TUESDAY 19TH/ WEDNESDAY 20th/ FEBRUARY 2013.
Well it was goodbye for now as I dropped David and Jane at the border for a short walk to Gibraltar Airport; I say I as Brenda could not come with us as Gillian had e-mailed and asked if I could drop her off at the airport on one of her regular trips home to the Isle of Wight as it turned out on the same day! Then she asked if it was at all possible that I could taker her friend Josie, who we know to the airport at the same time as she was flying out on the same day as well! So the Sexton taxi service ended up with four passengers and no room for Brenda!! Thanks to David and Jane for a “ Helluva” weekend with us over here in a not too sunny Manilva as it turned out.
Back to normal for now at home, Brenda has had the washing machine going at full blast as she catches up and we settle down to life in sunny Manilva; Mano and Anna called in at lunchtime to catch up with any news and gossip – thanks to them once again for making us all very welcome on Sunday. In the evening for supper we had Chicken Schnitzels made with fresh breadcrumbs with Sauté Potatoes and sliced Green Beans and on the side my own Tomato sauce along with plenty of Lemon Wedges – ‘mmm’ ummy! We then caught up with the news and weather on TVE1.
Tuesday morning was back to clear blue skies and the sun was out, typical so Brenda was able to get all her washing out up on the roof terrace; we then went for a very long walk around the village and took the pictures below of ‘The Roundabouts of Manilva’ as you can see, the main one at the entrance to the village by Bodega Augustin is yet to be finished, watch this space. First thing in the morning I had shot down to the surgery to see the nurse to get my stitches out, no problem. We then had a quite day at home catching up with the chores, I was in the office trying to fix my technical hitch with the ‘Google Crome’ that had gone off and stopped me from posting my blogs;Andy was not able to come to fix it until Thursday when he was off, in the meantime he suggested that I try the old system on ‘Internet Explorer’- after many tries I managed to get it to work and was able to catch up with the blogs – result as you can see! For supper on Tuesday we had ‘Albondigas in Salsa Tomate’with Spaghetti – Meatballs!
We awoke on Wednesday to more sunshine and fine weather; after our tea and toast with fresh Orange juice, our neighbor passed in a large net of the Oranges Barcelona Malaga
Thoughts for the Day;
It takes a long time to grow an old friend. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
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Wednesday, February 20, 2013
MANILVA ON SUNDAY
SUNDAY 17th/ FEBRUARY 2013.
DAVID AND JANES VISIT;
We all had a well deserved and needed lie in on Sunday morning after all the excitement on Saturday; for breakfast it was the Full/Half English – Smoked Crispy Bacon, Campo Eggs, Sausages( Farmhouse/Traditional) – sadly the English butchers did not have their usual selection of six types, Fried Bread topped with Chorizo and Tomato and lots of toast and coffee/tea !
We then freshened ourselves up and set off down to the Rastro Ground in the bottom of the valley to take in the local Flea Market – it is always busy, even the overcast weather does not put people off. It was then time for our first drink of the day, it had gone past 12-0’clock! We headed up the next valley to Casares Golf Club where we had a very nice bottle of Cava Rosado as you can see in the picture below; it was then time to pop along to the ‘ Duquesa Golf Hotel’ to give it the once over, sadly it was also closed for the winter! So we came back along the coast to the H1O Hotel in Estepona as you can see in the pictures below and had a very nice bottle of Vino Rosado as we took in the views – it is always open and busy all year and is the best **** star hotel on the coast.
It was then time to come back up to the village as Mano and Anna had asked us around to their house for the afternoon for drinks and a buffet; Mano had prepared a hot and cold Mediterranean Feast which just kept coming, the Red and White wine was flowing and the drinks kept being topped up; as the afternoon went on SallyAnn,Dominico,Dylan and later Carlos arrived- it was soon very loud and Spanish as usual – thanks to Mano and Anna for making us all welcome.
Later in the evening we ended up at Bar Rojas for supper, you guessed it – ‘Huevos,Patatas Fritas and Garlic’ x four as Lumy and Manolo made us very welcome. It was the time for strong coffee’s and Brandy to finish off the folks last day in Manilva. On Monday morning I dropped them off at the border to walk across to Gibraltar Airport
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SANLUCAR DE BARRAMEDA ON SATURDAY
SATURDAY 16th/ FEBRUARY 2014.
DAVID AND JANES VISIT;
To start the day on Saturday we had a full Spanish/Continental Breakfast with cold meats, chorizo, and fresh fruits, Yoghurt Magdelanas, toast, honey, coffee and tea and to start freshly squeezed local Orange juice – chilled ! It was time to set off for Sanlucar de Barrameda through the mountains to Jerez and then cut across; we parked the hire car in a small square under the two very tall trees as you can see – easy to find later!
We first went into the center of the town, which was already very busy as it turned out to be the Carnaval Day with the parade later in the evening; I first took the folks to the see the best Fish, Meat, Fruit and Vegetable Market in Andalucia by far! The atmosphere is electric, very loud and bustling with people, we stopped for a very good Café Espresso at the market bar as you can see in the pictures below; we even found the fresh, live Camorenes so we realized that they were in season – they are cooked, live in the batter in a dry, hot pan – served crisp. We walked down to the main square and went into Casa Balbino which is the very busy and best Tapas Bar in Sanlucar; I ordered a bottle of Vino Rosado and a plate of ‘ Tortillitas Camorones’ from the barman, you order is chalked up, by price on the Marble counter and it is self service at all the tables inside and out so you have to wait and fight for your order! Pay later! They are very tasty, crisp and warm as you can see in the pictures below, in the tray they are a mass of rigiling very, very small shrimp like creatures!
We then headed past one of the thirteen church’s in Sanlucar which were all open for the Carnaval Day; next on our port of calls was the famous ‘Tarteneros Hotel’ which is very old and rather special – sadly it was still closed as it was on our last visit! We headed down towards the Plaza Maritimo to go for our seafood lunch at what was Mano’s mum’s favourite and local restaurant; we ate there last time so we were looking forward to taking the folks – oh dear it was closed for staff holidays for six weeks! We had to turn around and head back into the center of the town through the crowds; David had spotted the ‘Restaurante Jamones de Montanera’which is located in an old grand house with lots of small rooms full with family Carnaval business. It turned our to be a meat lovers paradise! As you can see in the pictures below we gorged ourselves on an over kill of meat! I never thought that we would be eating meat in Sanlucar de Barrameda,the seafood capital of Andalucia but when in Rome
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
MANILVA MONDAY EVENING NEWSFLASH
I had hoped to have the blog from the weekend finished by now but due to technical dificulty's beyond my control it will be back online by Wednesday,fingers crossed and Andy's help!
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Monday, February 18, 2013
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