A WARM BUT NOISY SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 9^th/ MARCH 2015.

Well right on time the workmen arrived this morning at 8-00am and straight away commenced to knock down, by hand, the wall next to our bedroom! This will be the norm for at least the next coupe of weeks as all the walls adjoining our house will be getting the same treatment!! 

It started on time on my office wall behind were I sit - see today's progress in the picture below,on talking to the workmen and foreman Salvador we think that the roof terrace will not be obscured hopefully!

After our regular breakfast we sorted ourselves out ready to go out at lunchtime on our travels along the ‘Costa Del Sol’ Our first stop is at our bank in Estepona to attempt to sort out our re-fund, after all they do have more money than we do! We are then going to find the English owned computer shop to check out and get some information/prices on a new DeskTopTower, keyboard and screens, If we still have the time we will call into the Hypermarket but if not we come back to it on the way back.

At our bank we have sorted out the re-payment,fingers crossed, at the same time we picked up a bottle of 'French Cassis' from the wine shop around the corner for our 'Kir Royals'! We found the 'English Computer' shop and have got all the prices and details to look at including Towers,24 inch screens etc.

We had the time so we stopped at 'Carrefour' and picked up two nice steaks that were on offer as well as some 'Carrefour Card' discount! I have a " Wagyu Beef' Sirloin steak from the Kobe region of Japan and Brenda has a normal local Sirloin steak as she does not fancy the rich taste of the 'Wagyu'! - as it happens over the weekend we were watching on TVE 2 a documentary on 'Wagyu Beef' showing how its reared,graded, sold ,butchered and cooked!See the picture below,one cost three times as much as the other!!

We then treated our selves to a new Exercise Bicycle which was on offer in the sports department to go in the chill-out room - all I need now is a 'Exercise Bike Technician' to put it together! Help Mano and /or Andy!!

We will then shoot past Marbella to the ‘Costa Del Sol Hospital’ for Brenda’s appointment for her ‘Heart Ultra Sound Scan’ and we will then make another appointment to see her Heart Consultant ASAP back at the hospital. Brenda was in and out in no time so now all we have to do is ring the 'Heart Department' to book the appointment for Brenda to see her Consultant.

The weather forecast for today and the rest of the week is looking good, all over Spain for a change, with clear blue skies and lots of sunshine and getting a little warmer at the same time 22/24degs – the only problem up in the Northern regions of the country is severe flooding after the heavy snowfalls, as a result of the fine weather.

The picture below of the village of 'Ay' in the heart of the Champagne Region is the home of the 'House of Bollinger' along with many of the great champagne houses; we went to the village as guests many year ago and went into the 'Clos St,Jacques' a very small enclosed vine field of un-grafted root stock which was not effected by 'Phylloxera' and which on certain vintage years the Bollinger family produce a limited " Vieilles Vignes Francaises" in hand numbered bottles!

We drank one of them with our very dear friend Rodney Densem, our wine merchant, along with the 'Grande Annee' & 'RD' vintage s at a later date. We were flown by private jet for a memorable lunch with the family and treated to the very finest vintages at the time after winning a competition! The famous ' Madam Lilly Bollinger' who used to ride her bicycle around the vine fields made the famous quote;

" I drink it when I'm happy and when I'n sad, Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone,When I have company I consider it obligatory.I trifel with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty" 

For our supper this evening it could be a steak as its on offer at the Hypermarket this week, watch this space. See above! On Tuesday we are having ‘Baked Pork Chops’ which I will pick up in the morning from our local butcher, he cuts them ‘English Style’ for me. On Wednesday morning I’m going to make a ‘Chicken, Ham & Mushroom Tarragon Casserole’ as our ‘Dish of the Week’

This week in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ we have ‘Reina’ with us on Tuesday & Thursday. as normal, and ‘Scruffy’is with us on Wednesday ‘Chispa’ will be with us after we pick her up as she can’t play out in the street as the development is one of her main calling spots!

This evening after supper we will as usual catch up with all the news, sport and weather details before channel hopping to find something to watch.

Thought for the Day; See above.

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