THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 31^st / JANUARY 2017.

I was up to see ‘ Reina’ back with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ for the day, we then freshened ourselves up and had our normal light breakfast, I then went down to our local Butchers for this evenings supper, his best ‘Minced Beef’ for my classic ‘Cottage/Shepherd’s Pie’

It’s very mild this morning, the sun was out early and the sky is clear & blue, there is no breeze so it’s crisp and warm in the sunshine, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 19degs, again! Over the next few days the tail end of another ‘ Atlantic’ storm is crossing over us bringing some rain, wind and going a little cooler, over the weekend it’s due to pick up and get back to normal for the time of the year, watch this space.

I have just made the ‘ Cottage Pie ‘ – I sweat off the finely diced Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Celery & Leeks and then add a good dash of ‘ Lee & Perrins’  with Tomato Frito before adding the seasoned ‘Minced Beef’ along with a good strong Beef &Vegetable Stock, adjust the seasoning and leave to cook under the able supervision of the ‘ Second Chef ‘ – who skims it as it simmers, finally I adjusted the consistency and pour into the glass baking dish, the ‘ Vegetable Chefs’ - ‘ famous ‘ Mashed Potato ‘ then tops off the dish and will go into the oven this evening, and will be served, traditionally, with Garden Peas & Glazed Carrots on the side!

See below;

See below a picture taken at the official opening of the “ Queensway Tunnel’ Liverpool, back on the 18^th July 1934 by ‘ King George V & Queen Mary’ In the crowd of over 200,000 my Dad, Tommy Sexton, was there on his racing bike, he was the first person to ride through the 2.1 mile long tunnel under the River Mersey!

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the next two-part episode of ‘ Silent Witness’ – this week the main character flew to Mexico to attend the funeral of a young women who did work experience with her, she had been murdered, however things turned dark when she peeked into the coffin and discovered it’s not actually her friend?! Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 30^th/ JANUARY 2017.

I was up early this morning to welcome back little princess ‘ Reina’ for the day, she’s here for five days this week, Lee dropped her off on his way to work in Gibraltar as Daniela is away in the UK at her sisters for the weekend. We then had a little lie in before breakfast, ‘ Smoked Bacon Butties’ with mugs of steaming tea, Brenda is now on one of her ‘ing’ days and I’m back up in the office/studio on the ‘WWW’

It’s another very calm, crisp and sunny day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun broke through early and the sky is blue, there is no breeze, it’s more of the same over the next two days and then it’s going a little cloudy a bit cooler before the weekend, watch this space.

Today it’s Thea’s birthday so they have gone along to Benidorm to celebrate, see below the pictures taken this morning, a little different to Colwyn Bay sea front!

And later !

A very “ Happy Birthday – Feliz Cumpleaños “ Have a ‘ Helluva ‘ Day! Love Malcolm & Brenda in sunny Manilva xxxx

This evening for our supper we are having ‘Cold Roast Chicken’ with a fry-up of the leftover vegetables & potatoes, the rest of the week is yet to be decided, we have a well stocked deep freeze to choose from, watch this space.

We have another quiet week ahead with no plans, appointments etc, so far, then over the first three weeks in February we have to go across to the Hospital past Marbella for my Prostrate X-Ray and then to see the Consultant and Brenda has an appointment with the Heart Consultant. Watch this space.

Over the weekend our dear friend Joyce, from Chester, rang us for a nice long chat & gossip catch up, she had been over for Christmas at her house up in Alhaurin el Grande but was not very well and didn’t get the chance to go out, she’s back in February ‘house sitting’ for some friends in their large villa, it’s near to the late ‘Rick Parfitt’s’ ( Status Quo ) villa in the country outside the town, we are planning to meet up with her while she is over here.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the second part of the piercing drama that leaves you gnawing your fingernails “ Apple Tree Yard “ on BBC TV; ‘ Apple Tree Yard’ is in central London and is just like you see it in the story, with alleys & surveillance cameras, the ‘Greasy Spoon’ – ‘ Regency Cafe ‘ where the lovers meet, is just around the corner from Westminister and has been seen in many films, the very first scene in the broom cupboard in the ‘House of Parliament Chapel’ does exist and has the sign on the back of the door about ‘ Suffragettes ‘ – it was reconstructed in the studio for the actual filming.

This week the main character decided to keep her rape to herself, the rapist started to stalk her, send her flowers and E-Mails etc, she eventually confided in her lover, meanwhile her husband confessed to having an affair, at the end she went to the rapists house with her lover, who went in to confront/scare him off, we will have to wait until next week’s episode to find out what happened?!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A MILD & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY;

SUNDAY 29^th / JANUARY 2017.

We managed a little lie in this morning as the village was very quiet, we then had a quick cup of tea and a piece of toast, it was then time to get all the preparation on the go for this evenings roast; “ Roast Lemon Chicken “ with a savoury Mixed Herb Stuffing, I cut off the Legs & Wings as it was a large Chicken, after preparing the ‘ Trivets’ base of all of the vegetables trimmings etc I then seasoned the Chicken with Sea Salt & Lemon Juice and roasted it in a hot oven, see below after coming out of the oven!

Meanwhile the ‘ Vegetable/Second Chef’ was preparing Cauliflower Florets in a three Cheese Sauce, Baby Brussels Spouts, glazed Carrot Batons and Garden Peas, we also pre-boiled the Roast Potatoes before tossing them in the Duck Fat, ready to go in the oven this evening. Finally I made the finger licking Pan Gravy in the roasting tray, using a strong Chicken & Vegetable Stock, seasoning & Gravy Browning!

While all this has been going on we have been watching the Final of the ‘Australian Open Tennis’ over in Melbourne, it is live on Spanish TV, Roger Federer has just beaten Rafa Nadal after five sets! Just a quick update on the football results from yesterday, Liverpool sadly lost at home to Wolves 1-2 and played terrible, Manchester City won 0-3.

This morning ‘ Chispa ‘ has been with us all morning, ‘Reina’ is back next week for her regular five days, it’s very mild this morning, we have the front door open for the first time this year, the sun was out early and the sky is bright blue, there is no breeze and by lunchtime it due to reach 19degs again! Next week is starting the same but will get a little cloudy later on, watch this space.

At lunchtime we went up to ' Bar Rojas ' for a nice cool drink sat in the warm sunshine.

After supper last night we watched the next episode of ‘ Taboo ‘ on BBC TV, another gripping story line of drugs, debauchery and the main character cheating death again, the set pieces are brilliantly staged, the music score sets the tone, Tom Hardy in the main role is giving a glowing performance, four more episodes to go, watch this space.



                                                                                        " Happy Days - Happy Memories "

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A CRISP, WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 29^th / JANUARY 2017.

                                                          " Chinese New Year of the Rooster "

I was up and out first thing this morning on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, I picked up the local newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ before the main shop in ‘ Mercadona’ – I then went along to ‘ Puerto de la Duquesa’ to the  ‘English Butchers’ and came out with Homemade Pork Sausages & Smoked Bacon, Gammon Steaks, Dutch Calves Liver, Home Cured Boiled Ham, & ‘Colman’s English Mustard’ – I then came back up the hill through the vine fields, at this time of the year they trim back all the branches and burn them off, the smoke has a strong vine aroma, the very old gnarled black vines are then left exposed on the ground.

After yesterdays ‘ Atlantic’ front passed over us, it was not as bad as forecast, this morning we are back to normal for the time of the year, the sky is bright blue, there is no breeze and its crisp & sunny, by lunchtime its due to reach 19degs! Tomorrow we have more of the same and into the start of next week it’s getting a little better, the rest of the week ahead we will find out what is in store for us on Mondays main weather forecast on TVE! Watch this space.

See below the view from Sabinillas promenade this lunchtime.

At lunchtime we are going around to the new ‘ Tapas Bar’ that reopened on Wednesday ‘ La Padreta ‘ on the bottom by-pass road on the side of the village overlooking the valley & mountains, the first reports are very good and we will find out who is running it and check out the drink prices and food, watch this space.

We had a very nice ' Tapas ' lunch, the young lady running the bar, 'Laura' looked after us, meanwhile in the kitchen it was our friend ' Pilar '- who is the best cook in the village - Brenda had a toasted 'Chicken, Bacon, Egg, Tomato & Lettuce Sandwich ( thick bread) - the Spanish version of the classic ' Club Sandwich' and I had my favourite ' Pollo a la Plancha with a ' CAMPO ' Fried Egg and fresh ' Patatas Fritas ' ! ( Chicken & Chips ) !!


See below some pictures taken on the opening day;

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Fillet Steak ‘ cooked on a very hot griddle plate ‘ Med-Rare’ and then left to rest, garnished with seared Asparagus Spears, Button Mushrooms & ‘ French-Fried ‘ Onion Rings ( milk & flour) – topped with a quenelle of ‘Iberico’ Pate! Finely sliced Green Beans & twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ on the side; on Sunday we are Roasting, a large Chicken, with lots of seasonal vegetables, ‘Duck Fat’ Roast Potatoes and a rich finger licking pan Gravy.

This weekend over in England it’s the Fourth Round of the ‘FA Cup’- the early kick-off is Liverpool at home to Wolves, later Manchester City travel down to Crystal Palace; over here in ‘La Liga’ on Sunday Barcelona travel to Real Betis in Seville & Real Madrid are at home to Real Sociedad. The National Hunt Racing today is from Cheltenham & Doncaster over on ‘ITV4’

Tonight after supper we will channel hop and find a good film to watch.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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