THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A RATHER CLOUDY BUT STIIL WARM AND NOW SUNNY MANILVA AT THE START OF THE ' VENDEMIA' WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 31^st/ AUGUST 2018.

I was up early this morning and after a very quick freshen up I shot off on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, I had quick toast & tea in ‘ ItZabar’ before going along to ‘ Mercadona’ as it opened, after fighting my way through the masses, I then called into the ‘ English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers, before going along to the local market at the far end of the promenade for some fresh flowers & wall plants, finally on my way back up the hill I stopped at ‘ Super Sol’ for our English’ essentials.

As I set off this morning it was grey & overcast with lots of clouds, despite the light breeze that has come along overnight, it was still rather close & clammy, I came back like a wet rag! The forecast for the rest of the week and over the ‘ Festival ‘weekend is more of the same, with the sun breaking through later ,hovering on the 29/30 degs+ mark, still very warm & sunny at times, but very close & sticky, next week is now looking warm & sunny, partly cloudy at times, hovering in the high 20s/low 30s, watch this space.

Later this morning I will be making my famous ‘ Chicken & Mushroom Curry’ which we will have over the weekend, as a standby, with Basmati Rice. This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Pan-Seared Tail-End of Salmon’ – finished ‘ A la Meuniere’ style, with Garden Peas and Parsley New Potatoes.

PS; We have put the Salmon away for another day, as we are now going out! ( See below ) 

Today’s Stage 7 of the ‘La Vuelta 2018’ goes from Puerto Lumbreras to Pozo Alcon over 186 kms,

See below;

For the rest of the day we are taking things very easy before the ‘ Big Weekend’ – this evening it’s still rather quite in the village, as they all go to the ‘ Flamenco ‘ evening, this year down in the senior school theatre, all the local Bars will be setting up the extra bars and getting ready for the rest of the weekend, the locals will be building their Sombrajas’ along the new ‘ Calle Mar ‘  


PS; A change of plans; at lunchtime we went along to ' Bar Castillo' to check out the new awning ( see below) and stayed for a nice cool drink and some Tapas, our friend Lucy, from the 'Festivals' Department  came along and asked if we were going to the 'Flamenco Concert ' - we said sadly no, as we are pensioner's and cant' afford it, we now have two complimentary tickets for the show, it pays to have friends in high places! 

The ‘ Council’ workmen are still putting all the finishing touches to everywhere, they have earlier washed down the street, the terrace is nearly complete, all the lights are up, the two stages along the street are ready and the ‘ Rock’ stage in the main square is ready, at the main junction/roundabout, into the village, they have even re-painted all the road markings and the large parking area on the waste ground below the village has been marked out, finally outside ‘ Bar Castillo ‘the designer, Jesus, is putting up the last White awning. ( looking good, the largest Bar awning in the village !) 

Last night when we were out for our late evening walk, sat taking in the cooler night air, Mario, the Mayor, and his wife Anna, came along, so we congratulated him and the ‘Council’ for this year’s hard work to create a rather special and spectacular ‘ Vendemia’ for 2018!!  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 CLOSE AND NOW WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 30^th/AUGUST 2018.

I was up early this morning to welcome back little princess ‘Reina’ for the day, she shot upstairs onto her duvet, as usual, she’s back on Monday for a sleep-over until Tuesday evening, ‘Percy’ is arriving on Tuesday for his three week holiday, no doubt ‘ Chispa’ will be calling in to see her old & new friends, as usual, she in & out all the time.

We then all had a little lie in, after all the excitement of being out & about on the ‘ Costa Del Sol ‘ yesterday, the ‘ Duty Breakfast Chef’ then made his famous ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butties’ – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce- open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of strong ‘ PG’ Tips tea, to set us up for the day ahead, we got the shopping list ready, for tomorrow morning, when I’m out on my travels, down to Sabinillas, for the weekly shopping, once again braving the holiday hordes & traffic!

Overnight it was very hot & clammy, hovering on the 23 degs+ mark, this morning has started a little overcast and very close, the sun will break through later, it’s forecast to be a little cooler, as there is a light breeze coming along, over the weekend, keeping it warm & sunny, with patchy clouds, hovering on the 27/28 degs mark, now and for the ‘Vendemia Wine Festival ‘ weekend!  Next week is now looking the same, with the threat of the ‘ wet-stuff’ blown away, for now, watch this space.

See below this morning’s and yesterdays'  pick of the ‘Moscatel’ grapes, a great crop this year!

At lunchtime we went for a walk to check out how all the preparations are going on for the ' Festival' weekend; The 'Plaza de la Vendimia' wall has been re-painted, as well as the stone parapet along the terrace, where the new flagging is nearly completed, the main ' Rock' stage in the square is being set up,meanwhile at the entrance to the new ' Call Mar' they have erected a new illuminated arch,along the street, the bunting has gone up and they are stringing new white lights between all the lamp posts, finally the 'Sombrajo' - for the 'Council' has appeared!

We then had a cool drink and some Tapas sat outside ' Bar Castillo'


See below; It's all coming together !!

This evening for our supper, as the ‘Head Chef & Staff’ had their night off on Tuesday, we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks ‘ – topped with seared Pineapple Rings and ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs, with Garden Peas and twice-cooked ‘ Chips’ On Friday it will be a ‘ Fish Night’ – then over the ‘Festival’ weekend I’m making a large pan of my famous ‘Chicken & Mushroom Curry’

Today’s Stage 6 of the “ La Vuelta 2018 “ goes from Huercal-Overa to San Javier- Mar Menor, over 155 kms, see below;

This evening we will be channel hopping on the new ‘IPTV’ system to find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA & MARBELLA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 29^th/ AUGUST 2018.

We were up early this morning and after freshening up we shot off, along the coast road, past a sparking Mediterranean, across to the ‘La Cañanda ‘ shopping mall behind Marbella, where we had to start glasses of cool, fresh, Orange Juice & Croissants, before we hit the shops!  

Brenda headed for ‘ C & A ‘ and I hit ‘ Marks & Spencer’ Brenda found a pair of Pink Slacks and various tops/jumpers, including the ‘ Bargain of the Day’ a Black Tee-Shirt for 2 Euros! She also spotted a nice ‘Poncho’ top, she then joined me in ‘ Marks & Spencer’ where I found a pair of White Cotton slacks and Brenda spotted another nice top and a pair of White Slacks!

We then decided, on the way back, to call into the celebrity restaurant, above ‘Puerto Banus’-“ La Sala “ for a lunch, with the ‘ stars’ - it’s recently been refurbished, the cool drinks were much appreciated. Brenda chose from the two-course Lunch Menu, she had to start the ‘ Tomato & Mozzarella Crostini ‘ followed by a large plate of fried ‘Calamari ‘ – plain, not in batter, just with Lemon Juice  and I had an old favourite ‘classic ‘ a “ Club Sandwich “ – three layers of toast with Chicken, Bacon, Cheese, Egg, Tomato & Lettuce, with a dish’s of Mayonnaise & Coleslaw, not forgetting some excellent French Fries. As usual, everything was just right, the service was spot-on and I renewed my ‘Sala Rewards Card ‘!

See above/below the pictures taken with my Mobile Phone, outside was one of the Owners ‘ McLaren F2 ‘ and later another owners ‘ Ferrari ‘!!  

As we set off the sun had broken through early and the sky was bright blue, by the time we arrived in Marbella it was very hot & sunny, at lunchtime reaching 34/35 degs+ tomorrow and over the weekend it’s thankfully going a little cooler as there is a light breeze bringing in some cooler air, next week is now looking warm & sunny, with a few clouds at times, but the ‘ wet-stuff’ has disappeared, for now, watch this space.

See below, ‘Red Hot Spain Today’

This afternoon the ‘La Vuelta 2018’ goes from Granada to Roquetas de Mar, over 188 kms, through the mountains and down to a flat/sprint finish.

See below;

Last night we went up to the top of our street to meet the people coming to see us with their dog ‘Lucy’ – sadly they had not given us the dates and it was for this weekend and into next week, when we already have little princess ‘ Reina’ & Percy with us, so we had to say sorry ‘ No can do’!

As it was a nice evening we decided to have a nice cool drink at ‘ Cafeteria Nacho’ for a change ,then James & Michala came along with their two boys and joined us, James was on holiday, from his job in Gibraltar, he has just been ‘ Head-Hunted’ for a highly paid job in Dubai, which he’s considering, then to our surprise Mick & Lllone came along, they are next door neighbours, but without their children, who were back at home with the babysitter.  

So the drinks flowed ,again, in large glass’s, with large measures, and we all had something to eat of ‘Nacho’s’ new Menu, Brenda has his classic ‘ Gambas Pil Pil ‘ and I had an excellent and large ‘ Combo Platter’ of ‘ Chicken Breast a la Plancha, Huevo Frito & Patatas Fritas’ ( Chicken, Egg & Chips!)  A nice surprise ‘ Chef’s & Staff ‘ night-off!

During the evening as the street light came on, the designer of the new Canopies, told us that the coloured light system, under and along the Canopies was due to be tested, it came on and has added to an already spectacular new ‘ Calle Mar’ – watch this space for a picture.

This evening we are taking things very easy, after a rather exciting day by our standards, we will have a light supper later and catch up with the news and then find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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