MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.

MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.

MANILVA THIS WEEK.

MANILVA THIS WEEK.

MANILVA THIS WEEK.

MANILVA THIS WEEK.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY 10^th/11^th NOVEMBER 2011.

Thursday morning was the best day of the week ,so far, the sun was out early and we had clear blue skies; Brenda had arranged for Cheta to have a shampoo and tidy up at the vets in Calle Mar just around the corner from the house in the morning. The pictures are below after she came back and joined Brenda on the exercise bike ! I caught up with the WWW. and sent some messages on Facebook as later Brenda was able to go out on the roof terrace to take in the sunshine. In the evening after supper we watched a good film in English on the Divinity Channel; it shows a lot of programmes in English all the time including Sex and the City back to back episodes ! The film was a Bruce Willis one that we had not seen before “ Hostage ” which was a typically Willis all action film with a twist.

First thing on Friday morning we went for the bus to go down to Sabinillas to do the weekend shopping and as usual were given a lift by a friendly stranger; we picked up the English local papers from the English Book and Card shop and at the same time some of the Xmas Cards – watch out they will be in the post ! At the supermarket we also bought some new Xmas table decorations and napkins, this Christmas is looking to be a lot quieter than last when we had Brian and Lilli and the Guerrero clan join us on Xmas Day and Boxing Day, all the Guerrero’s are working, we think, except Anna ! and of course Brain and Lilli will be having a cold and white Christmas up in Pori in Finland !! The Armistice Day does not mean anything locally, we spent all day explaining our Poppies ! but the 11 – 11 – 11 date was on the news and in all the papers, they even had a special National Lottery for it !Our little reminder and tribute below says it all – We will remember them. When we got back, by taxi this time, as we had too much shopping to carry, we then walked Cheta down to the local market in the village by the sports complex and picked up some flowers; as we came to the Fruit and Vegetable stall we saw standing in front of it the biggest vegetable that we have ever seen, it turned out to be the mysterious vegetable that out next door neighbour Anna gave us in the middle of the week, it is called a ‘ Calabaza ’and is a member of the Pumpkin family but not as we know them, the one in the picture above stood over six feet high before it was cut into slices !! Next to the market the new Social Services office is nearing completion, they were putting the very impressive glass front up as we passed as you can see in the picture above. In the evening for supper we had something a little different; on Wednesday we picked up from the English section in Supersol Youngs frozen Haddock fillets in crispy batter and a tin of Mushy Peas, so along with fresh Chips we had ‘ Fish, Chips and Peas ’ a la chip shop, but not in paper !

Thought for the Day;

If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime.

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MANILVA 11 - 11 - 11

FRIDAY 11/ th. NOVEMBER 2011.

They shall grow not old as we are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning.

We will remember them - We will remember them.

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MANILVA 11 - 11 - 11

MANILVA 11 - 11 - 11

MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY 7^th/ 8^th/ 9^th NOVEMBER 2011.

On Monday morning after breakfast we went for a walk around the village with Cheta; the weather forecast for the week was good, the rest of Spain is wet, windy and snowy but down here on the Costa del Sol it is warm and sunny 20degs.plus! The pictures below were taken on Tuesday morning on our walk and as you can see we have blue skies and sunshine with clear views in all directions. On Facebook we had a nice chat on the live chat page with Annette over in Melbourne; she was just packing to go off to New Zealand on her own for two weeks and was feeling a little apprehensive so we and some other friends told her to go for it ! Her sister Deb and Lyn her mum, have both been at different times to New Zealand and have had a spectacular time; the south island in particular is breathtaking with the mountains, lakes, glacier’s etc. She is at the moment crossing from east to west on a train through the mountains from Christchurch to Greymouth and later in the week she is picking up a campervan – what an adventure – we can’t wait to see the pictures, have a “ Helluva ” time Annette !!

For supper we had cold Roast Pork which was delicious, we always enjoy cold meats the day after and look forward to them, that’s why we roast so often ! It also goes for most of the things that we eat, the day after they have gone better, for instance the curry !!

Tuesday morning was another glorious day as we set off on our walk to take in the sights and sounds of tranquil Manilva; Anna surfaced and called in with all her news and gossip and Mano then picked her up on his way back from work; Later I caught up with the weekend TV on the BBCIPlayer,Saturday Morning Kitchen was very good, Something for the Weekend and SCD were also good. Brenda has been taking things easy, by her standards, and is even got time to read upstairs in the afternoon sunshine. In the evening for dinner we had pan-fried flattened Breast of Chicken in Lemon butter with chips !

We went out for the bus on Wednesday morning to go down to Sabinillas for a little shopping at Supersol mainly for the English products that we use, for instance Saxa Salt, Cross and Blackwell Gravy Browning, Ginger Biscuits, Lea and Perrins,PG Tips teabags etc.We get the pensioner rate on the bus but most times we get offered lifts down by passing cars as we stand at the bus stop either by locals that know us, for instance Mario our local councilor on this occasion and at other times even strangers! We missed the bus back up, they are running at different times at the moment due to the difficulties with the service, so we waited by the garage at the bottom of the hill with our bags in anticipation of getting a lift back up, we could get a taxi but it is a bit more adventuress to hitch ,without putting your thumb out, you just look at the drivers with a pleading look ! This time it took a little time to get one back before a stranger stopped and did his good deed for the day ! I then got ready our dinner, Braised Steak ( From our Spanish butcher ) with Onions, the sauce is made with Whole Baby Mushrooms,Leeks,Celery,Carrots,Swede,Green Beans and Peppers and this time from our next door neighbor, through our kitchen windows, Orange Marrow ( We are finding out the name ) ! From the campo !! It is' Calabaza ' which is a variety of Pumpkin !! All diced and the secret ingredients used, the onions are sliced and sautéed off separately and the steak is sealed in hot pan after coating it with seasoned flour; I then put it all together and in the evening it goes in the oven for a couple of hours, meanwhile Brenda made a dish of her ‘ Famous ’ mashed potatoes by hand to go with it. “ Yummy ” is the only expression to use ! In the afternoon I watched on the BBCIPlayer another documentary about WW11,this time it was the story of the ‘ Dambusters ’ The raid on the German Dam’s with the bouncing bomb invented by Barnes Wallis, but as usual with the BBC the programme was full of interesting facts and even interviewed a pilot who took part in the raid and the two daughters of Barnes Wallis who argued over whose Marbles he used to invent the bouncing bomb ! Fascinating stuff and best was left till the end – it proved that without doubt the D-DAY landings were made a lot easier as the workers constructing the coastal defense wall had all been taken back to Germany to help rebuild the dams and factories and it was left unfinished ! Later in the evening we watched the football, Barcelona were forced to play their last -16-cup game against the third division side ‘ Hospitalet ’ their near neighbours, on their plastic pitch; they also had to field ay least five first-team players which ment that half the Spanish team for Saturday’s friendly against England at Wembley were playing – they won 1-0 but the manager Pep Guardiola did not look very happy !

PS; As I have been typing this I received a text message from Caroline over in Gaudalmina to say that Clive’s mum Joan had passed away peacefully at home last week, we have just spoken to Caroline and our condolences go out to all the family and Clive, she was 91 and had a good life.

PPS; The picture above shows Cheta this morning after she had been to the Vets for her wash and brush up doing her morning exercises with Brenda !

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Thought for the Day;

History is not merely what happened. It is what happened in the context of what might have happened .

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MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA OVER THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY 4^th/5^th/ 6^th NOVEMBER 2011.

After our regular breakfast of tea and toast on Friday it was an at home day as the weather was a little showery and cool by our standards; it is now 20 degs during the day and at night it goes down to 10 degs Over the weekend there is no rain forecast here not like the rest of Spain which is having severe rain and storms and in the Sierra around Madrid and in other parts the first snow! Later in the morning Mano called in and picked up Derrick, Anna arrived back from Tenerife late on Thursday night, her plane was over two hours late taking off; she has come back not well and has gone to bed – so no news or gossip for now! In the evening we had Scampi Provencale for supper with Basmati Rice, I made the sauce at lunchtime and have also made a small Pork and Mushroom Casserole with some of the sauce to use as a snack on another day.

In the morning on Saturday after our Poached Eggs on Toast Brenda pottered about the house and I caught up with the WWW. In the office, later I watched on the BBC IPlayer a documentary programme introduced by Paddy Ashdown about the most courageous raid of WW11 on cargo ships docked in Bordeaux, seventy miles up the river from the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic. “ The Cockleshell Heroes ” Six canoes set off with twelve commandoes, only two made it and only one crew of two made it back across France and Spain to Gibraltar to survive to tell the tale, the intrigue and heroism is mind blowing and the cock ups by the planners at the time was unbelievable; Paddy Ashdown who is ex SBS told the story with real compassion and even recalled that he met one of his heroes later in life without knowing that it was him ‘ Blondie Hasler ’who was the man who led the attack and was one of them that got away to live and had a full life afterwards ! The BBC at its best. The film of the story was good but the actual facts were far more intriguing. In the afternoon I watched the Liverpool match against Swansea, Liverpool played terrible,Andy Carroll who cost 35 million pounds is useless and it was a goalless draw ! Later the Manchester City game against QPR was a cracker, City won in the end, just 3-2 ! For dinner we had Steak and Chips with all the trimmings before we settled down to watch a film.

On Sunday we had a little lie in and then went for a long walk with Cheta as the weather is back to sunny and crisp during the day, the forecast for next week is for more of the same if not a little warmer ! 22 degs. today as I’ am typing this. We got the Sunday roast on the go, Loin of Pork with lots of Brenda’s vegetables which we had for dinner, at lunchtime we had toasted Bacon Butties for our Brunch ! Earlier in the morning I watched another documentary “ Frozen Planet ” made by David Attenborough which featured the ‘ Thieving Penguins ’amongst many other great shots of the Artic and Antarctica. In the afternoon it was the last Motorcycle Grand Prix of the season from Valencia; it was very exciting and at the same time very moving as they paid tribute to Marco Simoncelli who was killed in the Malaysian MotorGP. Casey Stoner produced a remarkable late charge to win on the finishening line and the young Spanish rider from Valencia,Nicolas Terol won the last ever 125cc championship; the class is being replaced next year with the new Motor3.Earlier team Gresni rider Piro won a emotional Motor2 race,the team of the late Simoncelli ! After our roast dinner we settled down to watch a film on the TV; we had the choice of several good films and finally watched the Steven Segal one !

Thought for the Day;

Charm is the ability to make someone else think that both of you are pretty wonderful.

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MANILVA THIS WEEK.

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY 2^nd/3^rd NOVEMBER 2011.

We were up bright and early on Wednesday morning and shot across to the Marriott Vacation Club over in Marbella as we were helping on the sales staff training programme,which we have done over the last few years. We act as customers as they try to sell us the ownership package, they don’t know that we are not for real ! After we give the sales managers an in depth debrief on how they performed and as we know what they should tell us they listen to us and appreciate our thoughts – we are paid in kind – vouchers to eat out in local restaurants.! We are doing the same on again on Thursday morning with a different trainee.

The weather at the moment is changing and has gone a little cooler,20degs and it is also forecasting rain in the next couple of days before it goes nicer over the weekend; in the evening we had Beef Stew with Cabbage for supper, it was last weeks that we had put away in deep freeze. On the TV we watched the Uefa Champions League match between Villarreal and Manchester City – City won 3-0 !

On the way back on Thursday afternoon we picked up the weekend shopping so we do not need to go out tomorrow as the forecast is not good, I can hear the thunder as I am typing this ! For supper we had Steak and chips before watching the soap on the TV.

Over the last few weeks I have been reading a rather large book,in fact three books in one, Robert Ludlum’s “ The Bourne Trilogy ” which has been on the bookshelf for quite a while ! It is very thick and heavy and is 1,400 hundred pages long !! I have started to read it in the past but because it is so heavy I never got into it, until now; I found a place to sit and read it-the kitchen table ! It is just the right height so I have read it in the morning, at lunchtime and late at night and finished it this morning after breakfast !! ‘ The Bourne Identity ’ ‘ The Bourne Supremacy ’and ‘ The Bourne Ultimatum ’ follows the spy/agent as he tracks down Carlos, known as the Jackal, the world’s deadliest and most elusive terrorist; as usual the books are far better than the films which have been made with Matt Damon playing Bourne. Robert Ludlum is the world’s number one best storyteller and the story which tales place over many years is gripping and the details are mind blowing. I’ am going to have withdrawal feelings as I have got so used to reading !!

PS; In Monday's papers was the news that llich Ramirez ( Carlos the Jackal ) who was sentenced to life in prison in 1997 in France was in court in Paris to be tried on more charges relating to attacks and killings back in the 80s. He is being defended by his besotted 58-year-old French barrister wife;Isabelle Coutant Peyre married him in jail ten years ago ! This is fact not fiction !!

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Thought for the Day;

Don’t waste time explaining; people only hear what they want to hear.

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MANILVA THIS WEEKEND/BANK HOLIDAY.

MANILVA THIS WEEKEND/BANK HOLIDAY.