THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY,VERY, HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY;

SUNDAY 3rd / JULY 2016.

We were awoken by the ‘ Church Bells ‘ this morning calling the ‘ good & righteousness ‘ people to their prayers, we thought that we should get up and join them in ‘ thought ‘ anyway! After freshening up we had breakfast, Brenda made her famous ‘ Campo ‘ Poached Eggs on Toast ( see the picture below  ) - the eggs were dropped off yesterday afternoon ‘fresh’ from our neighbours ‘ Campo ‘ ( Family Market Garden )  in the valley below the village.

We have had a very hot night, it was still very warm as we were going to bed and it stayed hot, even getting warmer as the night went on, it makes it rather uncomfortable to say the least, at one stage it reached 28 degs! Today, as the sun was out early, its already boiling hot, there is no breeze, which does not help, so by this afternoon we are in for a ‘ hot one’ to say the least, Brenda has just been for a short walk along to the ‘ Rotiisserie’ ( see the picture below ) to order our Chicken for later and came back saying that its going to be a ‘ scorcher ‘ today! Next week we are in for a typical July period of very hot sunshine and no air, be prepared is our motto!

Yesterday I showed a picture of the iconic ‘ Cunard Building’ at the Pier Head in Liverpool, as it was celebrating its 100^th birthday, its one of the ‘ Three Graces ‘ which are a ‘ Unesco World heritage ‘ site, later in the afternoon the ‘ Cunards’ “ Queen Elizabeth “ came up the River Mersey, skippered by ‘ Cunards’ first lady Captain at the helm, were it berthed at the ‘ Landing Stage ‘ in front of the Pier Head, it stayed for all the celebration including a large Fire Works display later, see the pictures below including one of the world famous ‘ Mersey Ferry Boats’ – ‘ Snowdrop ‘by its side, Jack & Lyn went on a ferry trip the other day on it ( the Ferry Boat, not the QE !) The ‘ Snowdrop’ was painted in homage to the anti-submarine ‘ dazzle camouflage’ from the first world war, it was designed by the noted British artist ‘ Sir Peter Blake’ who was made famous for his design of the Beatles album ‘ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ‘ back in 1967.

We had a big sports day yesterday afternoon and evening and its more of the same to come today; Tennis, Grand Prix, Football and of course my favourite, the Tour De France, see the route map for Stage 2 this afternoon from ‘ Saint-Lo to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin ‘ over a ‘flat’ 183 kms with a steep uphill finish, watch this space!

With the ‘Rotisserie Chicken’ this evening we are having a nice Mixed Salad with Parsley new Potatoes, next week’s menus are not yet planned, we are taking it one day at the time, watch this space.

In ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ little Princess ‘ Reina’ is back with us for her usual five days, over the following 2/3 weeks she will be with us even more as Lee’s mother is getting married over in England and then Daniela’s sister is coming over here for her wedding the following week! ‘ Scruffy’ is also booked in for a visit, ‘Chispa’ as usual will be calling in all the time. On Monday evening we have our regular appointment with the Chiropodist and the weekly shopping will be back to Friday.

Finally a quick update on the re-launch of ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ which is due to take place on the 1^st August; the new studio complex in ‘Puerto de la Duquesa’ is well on the way, the ‘ live’ broadcasts will also be on  ‘ Web-Cams ‘so you will be able to watch and listen all at the same time! Fingers crossed that my show ‘ Sir Malcolm’s Saturday Classic Show’ gets back on ‘ air’ by then from my studio ( sorry no web-cam at the moment!) here in the heart of sunny Manilva! Watch this space!!

PS, ' NEWSFLASH '


We have just had a very big scare and then a good stroke of luck; I was sat on the settee watching the TV when I touched my ear to feel for my earring, it was not there,  " PANIC THEN FOLLOWED " We shot upstairs to the bathroom where I had a shower 3 hours ago, there was no sign of it in the shower or the sinks , as you would expect, we were looking everywhere for it, with no luck, just as we had given up Brenda shouted ' I'VE FOUND IT ' !! It was on the bathroom floor behind a stand and she then found the sleeper by the bath !!  " RESULT " Its an ' Antique Diamond ' and is very special to us as Brenda bought if for me in a Jewellers in Rhos-on -Sea, North Wales, before we left the UK.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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" MANILVA CYCLE CLUBS " ' STREET TIME TRIAL ' ON FRIDAY EVENING;

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY;

SATURDAY 2^nd / JULY 2016.

We started the day with a nice long lie in this morning, as usual the village is very quiet at this time of the year due to the heat, the sun was out early ( 6-00 am ! ) and its going to be another hot one today, tomorrow we will have more of the same and next week is also looking very hot & sunny unlike the rest of Spain which is threatened with cloud bursts and storms but still staying warm! 

See the picture below of the ‘ Playa de Sabinillas ’ before the holiday masse’s arrive and the ‘ Bay of Colwyn ‘ on a good day:

Last night we had a surprise here in the village as the local ‘Manilva Cycle Club’ took over the village ( un- announced !) for a ‘Time Trial ‘ race around and through the streets of sunny Manilva, it was for junior and senior riders of all ages, male & female, what made it rather special was the route brought them up our street and turned sharp right at our corner to finally make their way up along Calle Mar to finish line in front of the Town Hall! The village was packed, the sound system plays loud music and the commentator goes mad as they did many circuits, from 8-00 pm until after mid-night, encouraged on by all their families shouting loudly outside our house!! See the pictures above.

All this was taking place as we watched, on Spanish TV, Wales beat Belgium 3-1 – they played brilliantly and fully deserved the win, in the ‘ Semi-Final’ they meet Portugal who are not playing well and don’t deserve to be still in the championships! Watch this space next Wednesday!!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Tournedos of Fillet Steak ‘ I wrap the  ‘Fillet’ steaks in Smoked Bacon rashers and sear them on a very hot griddle plate before placing them in a very hot oven to bake ‘ Med-Rare’ – they are garnished with Asparagus Spears & turned Baby Mushrooms, whole Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Frits ‘ on the side, with lots of Dijon Mustard! See below.

At the moment I’m watching the start of the ‘ Tour de France’ from ‘ Mont Saint Michel’ on ITV 4 with its full coverage, every day, the Qualifying of the ‘Austrian Grand Prix’ is also on, later we will catch up with Wimbledon as the day goes on, then this evening later its the third Quarter Final of the ‘ UEFA European Championships’ as Italy take on Germany. Hamilton is on ' Pole' for tomorrows race.

NEWSFLASH; Novak Djokovic has been knocked out of Wimbledon by Sam Querrey ( USA )!!



See today's route of ' Stage 1 'of the ' Tour De France ' ' a ' Sprinters' day for the first ' Yellow Jersey'!

PS; Mark Cavendish won today's sprint, his 27th Stage win in the' Tour' and at the same time he's in the Yellow Jersey for the first time !!

Finally a picture below of the ‘ Cunard Building ‘ at the Pier Head in Liverpool as it celebrates its 100 th birthday !!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA;

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

FRIDAY 1^st / JULY 2016.

I saw ‘ Reina’ back with us for the last day this week, we then got ourselves ready and after breakfast we shot around to the surgery for our appointments, I had my six month check up/review and also arranged for my next round of blood tests for my yearly appointment with my ‘ ‘Prostrate Consultant’ Brenda also had her check up/ review and then some blood tests, at the same time as me, for another review back with the Doctor, watch this space.

As I was walking down to collect the car ‘ Chispa’ who had been in earlier for her breakfast followed me down to the garage and jumped into the car for the ride back to collect Brenda! She loves going in the car and stands up and looks out the windows! We dropped her off and told her to go home!

Today its even hotter, there is not a breath of air, the breeze has dropped and so by early this morning it was already hot, by lunchtime its going to be at the stage when you can’t step outside, the village goes very quiet, nobody come out until later in the evening, its the perfect weather for the vine fields, the ‘Moscatel’ Grapes are growing , as you can see in the picture below.

This evening for our supper I’m making my famous “ Seafood Risotto “ using Fillets of Hake, Cod & Salmon , Prawns & Gambas  with Mussels, Spanish Risotto Rice, Onions & Herbs, a ‘glug’ of Brenda’s ‘White Wine’ and a strong Fish & Vegetable Stock and to finish off  Parmesan Cheese.  See below;

Its a very busy weekend on the sports front; Wimbledon is catching up after all the rain, over in Austria its the  ‘ Grand Prix ‘ on Sunday, meanwhile over in France its the ‘Quarter Finals of the UEFA European Championships’ – this evening Wales play Belgium, the winners will play Portugal in the Semi-Finals, they won last night on penalties.

                                            

                                                 RESULT; WALES BEAT BELGIUM 3 -1 !!!

On Saturday the 103rd  “ Tour De France “ starts, this year there are 21 stages over 3,535 kms – the first stage is from ‘Mont-Sant-Michel’ in the Normandy Region ( see the route map below ) - in tribute to this weekend’s 100^th Anniversary Centenary Commemorations’ ( today ) of the ‘ Battle of the Somme ‘ – 141 days of horror.

When its this hot we stay at home and keep drinking lots of water, all the fans are on, we move as little as possible, Lolly Ices ( Popitos !) are on the menu, when you have to venture out we keep to the shady side of the street, our ‘Happy Hour ‘ cocktails are looked forward too!

My radio show on ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WW’ is on hold for the moment, the re-launch of the station along with the new offices & studio in Puerto de la Duquesa’ is the main priority, the broadcasting system is planned to be installed shortly in my office enabling me to go on air ‘ live’ and produce my own show, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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