A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND;

FRIDAY 6^th/ NOVEMBER 2015.

We were up early this morning and after a quick breakfast we shot out on our travels; our first stop was at the bank and then we called into the English Bookshop for the papers and the start of Xmas cards as well as Birthday cards.

The sun is out and the sky is blue, there is no breeze and its the most beautiful day down here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’ – there’s more to come over the weekend and into the start of next week.

Next we did our main shop in ‘ Mercadona’ before going along the coast road, with the Mediterrean sparkling, to Sotogrande to ‘Iceland’ were we selected all sorts of essentials/goodies to get us ready for Xmas including tasting and buying the Mince Pies! We also bought a special pack of Executive Crackers!!

On the way back we called into Castillo de la Duquesa and booked our seats on the Malaga trip in December to go to the ‘Pompidou’ Museum and later see the Xmas lights. Finally we called in the English Butchers for some Gammon Steaks before picking the fresh flowers & plants from the market on the promenade in Sabinillas including our first 'Poinsettia' for Christmas! 

The ‘Ferrari’ – Red Fiesta – just about made it back up the hill through the vine fields to sunny Manilva!

Back at the house as usual ‘Chispa’ was waiting to welcome us back; it was then time to unpack and put everything away;  we are going for a walk at lunchtime to stretch the old legs!

This evening for supper we are having fish & chips for our supper ‘ A La Iceland’ for a change, ‘Birds Eye Battered Haddock’ with fresh ‘Frits’ & Mushy Peas.!!

This afternoon I’m working, with the help of my Assistant Producer ' Brenda' - on my script/links for my debut Radio show on ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2’ on the Sunday lunchtime programme a week on Sunday; my playlist has been approved with the comment ‘ What a great selection’ from Andrew the owner/main presenter!!

After supper we will have our usual Friday night on BBC 1/2.

Thoughts for Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

Thursday 5^TH/ November 2015.

I was up first this morning to welcome back ‘Reina’ for the day; we then had our usual breakfast and got ourselves ready for the day ahead, at lunchtime we have our appointments at the surgery for our ‘ Gripe – Flu’ jabs so we have had our showers and freshened up.

The sun is out and it looks like we have a nice warm day ahead with more to come over the next few days and over the weekend, its a little colder at night but we can’t complain!

We had a nice supper last night with Andy and caught up with all his news, we then watched on ‘Putlocker’ as Andy showed me how to wait and download the films before playing them! “ Captain Phillips” from 2013 with Tom Hanks in the title role is very exciting and gripping as the true story unfolds of the hijacking of the ‘Maersk Alabama’ container ship in the Indian Ocean by Somali pirates in 2009 – watch it for the ending!!

This evening we are having for supper grilled ‘Chicken Wings’ with a Baked Potato and a Mixed Salad before channel hopping to fins something to watch

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Tomorrow morning we are out & about on our travels down here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’ for our weekly shopping expedition, the bank first, then the newspapers before ‘Mercadona’ and then on to Iceland in Sotogrande for some English essentials; on the way back we are calling into the Castillo de la Duquesa to book on a trip in December to Malaga for a visit to the ‘Pompidou Musuem’ then lunch at the Bullring la Malagueta and to see the Christmas lights later ! Josie , please note that we are bringing some culture onto our lives down here in sunny Manilva!!

PS, I’ve just E-Mailed my suggested ‘Playlist’ to Andrew at ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2’ for my first two hour long ‘live’ radio show ‘on air’ on Sunday 15^TH  November from 12-00 to 2-00 pm!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A DRY & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 4^th/ NOVEMBER 2015.

We were up early this morning as the gas bottle delivery man was due, he drops off the new one and collect the old one, the price has dropped again, its controlled by the government! At the moment the ‘Euro’ is rising steadily so this week’s two Pension transfers were up on last month, here’s hoping that it keeps going up as we have another one due next week!

After our regular breakfast we planned our day ahead; Brenda has put the washing on as the forecast is starting to look better, by tomorrow its getting warmer and there will be none of the wet stuff or wind, over the weekend is also looking a lot better.

At lunchtime we went for a nice walk with 'Chispa' in the very warm sunshine and ended up sat in the 'Plaza de la Vendimia' like Derby & Joan!

This evening Andy is joining us for supper, we are having ‘Baked Pork Chops’ that are cut especially for me by our butcher ‘English’ style, Brenda is getting ready Cabbage with Alselgas, Carrot Batons, Cauliflower Florets in a three Cheese sauce & Garden Peas, this evening I’m making my special ‘Breton Style Potatoes’ – diced boiled local potatoes tossed with Red & Green Peppers; to start with we are having ‘Ham Croquettes’ and for dessert ‘Apple Flan’ with Strawberries.

We have also invited our Swedish friend Lillemor to join us for supper on Sunday as she is due to go back to Gothenburg the following week.

See below a old picture of the 'Collegiate Grammar School' in Shaw Street at the top of London Road in Liverpool city center, I was there back in 1958 and my classroom was on the second floor on the right hand side -large window!!

Last night before our supper we watched the new series of ‘Rick Stein Venice to Istanbul’ now this was serious cooking at its best, the night before Nigella’s programme was slated in the press, rightly so, as ‘Word Porn’ with the worst non-recipe ever of ‘Avocado on Toast’?!

 It was based in Venice and he made all the classic ‘Venetian’ dishes; ‘ Gnocchi con Granseola’ – Potato Gnocchi with Crab, a classic ‘Venetian Seafood Risotto’ with the addition of seven ground spices! A delicious looking diced Liver & Onions, ‘ Spaghetti Alle Vongole' using baby Clams. He then went to the most famous bar in the world “Harry’s Bar” were he met Giuseppe Cipriani who’s father invented the ‘Bellini’ back in 1948 – the classic White Peach puree with Prosecco cocktail,at the same time he also brought to the world “ Carpaccio of Beef” with a Mustard Dressing!!

Tomorrow morning ‘Reina’ is due back with us and at lunchtime we have our appointments at the surgery for our ‘Gripe –Flu’ jabs, at the same time I’m arranging for my Blood tests ready for my appointment with my ‘Prostrate’ consultant at the hospital over in Marbella at the start of December. Fingers crossed and watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A STILL OVERCAST & WET SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY 3^RD/ NOVEMBER 2015.

No lie in this morning as the workmen were back on the site early, ‘Reina’ was dropped off first thing. The little 'Princess' now has her own Web-Page at www.duquesadoxie.com - check it out!

I then shot off on my travels along Calle Mar after breakfast, I called into the local bank to pay the electricity bill before going down to the butchers, I’ve got some very nice ‘Escalope’s of Chicken Breast’ which he fillets to order, 3 large English Pork Chops ( double-cut) for our supper with Andy later in the week and finally a pack of Chicken Wings which he cuts off the whole Chickens and then trims! That’s service!

Yesterday the storms hit us again with a very heavy rain storm in the early evening, its still a little over cast today with more of the wet stuff a little later, then over the next few days up to the weekend its dry & sunny and getting a little warmer – 22/23 degs See the picture below of the Liverpool sky line this morning! Spectacular!!

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And then this afternoon:

So today is an at home day as we catch up with all the chores around the house, I’m up in the office on the WWW checking the E-Mails, Facebook messages and reading all the news papers; Brian has just called in so we have had a good old catch up and gossip.

During the evening last night we watched for a change BBC 2, we started with ‘Eggheads’ and got two questions right, then it was the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ up-date before an excellent programme that only the BBC can make ‘ Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands’  - next it was the quiz show for the very cleaver ( Mensa & above!) ‘Only Connect’ which I managed to get one line correct! The it was ‘University Challenge’ and I again got two answer’s correct!! Honest! Finally it was time for the new series of ‘Simply Nigella’ which we are not into her style of cooking, sorry!

For our supper this evening we are having 'Escalopes of Chicken Breast' pan-fried in Lime Butter with whole Green Beans & dry-sauteed Potatoes. See below;

  

Later after supper we were going to watch a good film on ‘Putlocker’ with Tom Hanks as “ Captain Phillips” but sadly the bad weather had knocked out the channel and also affected some  of our local Spanish channels. Watch this space.

As I’m typing and posting the Blog I listen to ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2’ on the second screen, my play list is finished, yesterday lunchtime I was playing all the tracks and researching my facts; I’m waiting to hear when we can go down to visit the studio in Castillo de la Duquesa,its all getting rather intense and exciting as I prepare for my debut on live radio for two hours! Watch this space and listen out for me on the big day!!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA

A BRIGHT & CLEAR DAY IN SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY 2 /nd NOVEMBER 2015.

As its a Bank Holiday here in sunny Manilva today we managed another lie in as there are now workmen on the site, no deliveries and the village is quiet! The sun is out and the sky is blue, at the moment, yesterday evening as forecast, we had the most severe storm with lightening ,thunder and very heavy rain causing local flooding in and around the village; the ‘Costa Del Sol’ was also badly affected from La Linea De Conception by Gibraltar, along the coast and up to Malaga, and was on the main news on TVE 1. Today we are expecting some more of the wet stuff but not as bad as yesterday, the rest of week is settling down and the overall temperatures are hovering on the 20 degs mark during the day and 14 degs at night.

For breakfast this morning we treated ourselves to ‘Campo’ Poached Eggs on Toast with a mug of strong steaming tea to set us up for the week ahead, ‘Chispa’ came calling and joined us for breakfast, this week is quiet in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ with just ‘Reina’ here on Tuesday & Thursday for the day; we have also a quiet week with only our ‘Gripe – Flu’ jabs on Thursday lunchtime.

Yesterday afternoon we received a long E-Mail from our friend Gillian who used to live here and now is back in Torquay, she has some health problems and will hopefully be sorted out soon, in the meantime Gillian keep your chin up, love Malcolm& Brenda. In her E-Mail she also mentioned our mutual Swedish friend Lillemor so we made contact with her before she returned to Sweden for Xmas and she is coming around for dinner soon. Andy is also coming to supper one day this week as a ‘thank you’ for all his help with the new computer systems!

Later this morning I’m putting together my ‘Playlist’ for my radio show on ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2’ on Sunday lunchtime 15^th November between  12 – 2-00 pm! I’m already rather excited and can’t wait to broadcast live from the studio in Castillo de la Duquesa on the day! The owner/main presenter, Andrew Charles, will no doubt be on hand to help me. Watch this space and don’t forget to listen out also on the ‘Big Day’ My able ‘Assistant Producer’ ( Brenda !)  is also giving me her support as I prepare my show and when we visit the studio to get accustomed to the equipment and set up!

We are having an at home day catching up with the chores around the house, Brenda is leaving the washing/ drying for another day until the weather settles back down; for our supper this evening we are having the rest of the ‘Lancashire Hot Pot’ which I will freshen up later with some more Lamb Cutlets and a fresh layer on the top of thin sliced local Potatoes, using my very handy Mandoline, before putting the pot back in the oven to heat up and the Potatoes to go crisp!

Last evening after supper we watched on ITV 1 the next episode of “ Downton Abbey” which we are now into, this evening after supper we are going to watch a movie on ‘Put Locker’ I’ve chosen another Tom Hanks film “ Captain Phillips” from 2013 this time, its the true story of the large container ship the ‘Maersk Alabama’ being hijacked by terrorists in the Indian Ocean!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A RATHER WET SUNNY MANILVA;

A WET & OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY:

SUNDAY 1/st NOVEMBER 2015 !

We all had a nice lie in this morning as ‘Reina’ joined us during the night after starting in her duvet, during the night the wind got up and by this morning its grey & overcast with the rain just about to hit us, we are on ‘Orange Alert’ for the next 24 hours!

After breakfast of ‘Bacon Butties’ this morning I got this evenings supper on the go “ Lancashire Hotpot “ to my own recipe; I brown off the Spanish cutlets/chops and then build the layers up with sliced Onions/Shallots  & Potatoes, sliced on my small Mandoline that Josie gave me for my birthday, with the addition of sliced Carrots, Leeks, Celery, Turnips along with lots of seasoning including a Bay Leaf ( a Spanish influence !) It then goes in the oven this evening to cook when the aromas take over the house! We are having Baby Carrots & Garden Peas mixed ‘a la Flamande style’ and of course lots of local Pickled Red Beetroot!! See below;

Yesterday afternoon/ early evening we watched the final from Twickenham of the ‘Rugby Union World Cup’ as New Zealand retained the cup as they beat Australia 34-17 in style! Over in England Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-3 to put Mourinho under more pressure and Manchester City won 2-1 against Norwich, over here Barcelona beat Getafe 0-2 and Real Madrid won 3-1.

After our supper we then watched a very good historical drama/thriller on ‘Put Locker’ based on true life people and facts “ Bridge of Spies” from 2015 – directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks with Alan Alda, Mark Rylance and Amy Ryan; based back in the late 50s its a spy drama about the ‘U2’ SPY plane and the capture of Gary Powers by the Russians!

It looks like an at home day today so no Paella for lunch up at Bar Castillo; Brenda is shampooing her hair and showering then its my turn! It’s a tight fit for two!!

This evening we will settle down and channel hop to find something to watch.

                                                                                                                            " NEWSFLASH "


At lunchtime we were listening to the Sunday session on 'Castle Radio FM 89.2' with Andrew Charles so I sent in a request for the  'Blues Band ' with Paul Jones singing the classic " Flat Foot Sam " from the 1980 s!

Andrew then sent me back an E-Mail to say would I be available in two weeks time to go on air with my Sunday Lunchtime show !! I can't wait to broadcast live on the radio and I've asked if I could go down to the studio in Castillo de la Duquesa to get used to the studio and see how things work! Watch this space and on the day listen on-line !!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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