MANILVA.

Tuesday 27th May.

We awoke to a hot and sunny day and after toast and tea we walked around to the local shops to buy some essential food as they are a lot cheaper here in the village;the butchers is particularly very cheap with the local pork and beef cuts being are favourites as well as the chicken which is always fresh and he cuts them as you require and then skins and bones it and chops up the bones for stock! In the evening we had a curry for dinner which each time I make it gets hotter as I find more curry powders in the shops.

Wednesday 28th May.

Today was a day for washing as there was a slight breeze so after Brenda had put the washing out on the roof terrace we went for a walk around the village and took some more pictures as you can see below! We started at the entrance to the village that comes up from Sabinillas through the vine fields.The new Local Police headquarters is now open and shortly the fire station is also going to open next to it; above it is the School of Music as they are very into their brassbands in the area with all the parades and next to it is the Radio and TV station whilst just across the road is the small Post Office,the Police station used to be the same size but now the Police chief’s office alone is bigger in the new headquarters!We then walked thru the village past the town hall in the main street by our house and went down to the local surgery which is run by one doctor who is also the deputy mayor and big time politician as well!Just past the surgery is the street down to the large Cultural centre which has all sorts of social things on all the time.Next to it is the entrance to the Manilva FC. Football stadium which is a multi-use pitch and has some sort of football on most of the time including a seven a side team as well as next to the pitch on the far side are the Paddle Tennis courts,its very popular here and a new league has just started.The very impressive Sports centre is also next to the ground and holds all sorts of sports including Basketball,Handball,Volleyball,Five a Side Football,Gymnastics and Climbing on the very good wall as you can see.There are three fully equipped gyms and outside are all weather Tennis courts and sports pitches as well as a large open air swimming pool for the local residents. As you walk into the centre of the village you pass the Infants School and the Primary School were Fabio goes to in the morning,the High School is on the other side of the village over looking the coast.The view of the church as you can see is quiet spectacular from this side of the village and the quiet cemetery is in a secluded spot next to it. As you walk up thru the village you pass the small Cultural centre and bar for the old men of the village;everythink is 85cent.and multiple’s there off!!The village is very well kept and the main streets are washed down every week and the manual and mechanical cleaners look after all the side streets.In the main street just by our house are the very cleaver rubbish bins that you drop your rubbish into and it goes down into a below ground storage unit and they are emptied by a large collection lorry during the night!

Thursday 29th May. One " Helluva " Day.

During last night as we were having supper and watching the TV. Brenda complained that she had a watery eye and as we were going to bed she said that she thought that she had bitten her lip as it was slightly swollen but we did not think any think was wrong at the time. How wrong were we to be as when she got up in the morning we found that she had lost the use of the left side of her face and looked like she had been punched by Mike Tyson! We shot to our doctors in Estepona and as soon as he saw her he confirmed what we already thought, either she had had a stroke or it could be “ Bells Palsy” She had no other symptoms and he immediately arranged for her to go to an Consultant at a clinic in Marbella for a Brain Scan!! So we shot into the city and found the clinic and Brenda who was very brave went in for the scan which takes over half an hour to complete.The result usually take 24 hrs. but we had arranged to collect the scan straight away and take it back to our very good doctor in Estepona where he was waiting to give us his opinion.He was very good and told us straight away that it was not a stroke and her brain scan was all clear!! He then showed us on the scan that it was the ear infection that Brenda has had for the last couple of weeks had got to the main nerve on the side of the face and it was “ Bells Palsy” He then gave Brenda an injection and put her on various tablets to help her straight away. We arrived home in a state of shock but after speaking to our friends here and in Wales we then got to grips with the problem and I went on the internet and soon found out all about Bells Palsy,the reason why.the symptoms and how to treat the problems which we printed out and have now become very quickly experts on!! Over the next couple of days she is having more injections and is already feeling a little better and is also looking a lot better! We have also changed all the menu’s and we are now eating soft foods to help with the digestion problem.

Friday 30th May.

We went back to the doctor and he spent some time with us and gave Brenda another injection and confimed that he could already see a small improvement to her eye and that next week after some more treatment and artificial tears to help her get some movement back to her eye lid she will start to recover over the next few weeks. We called into the hypermarket and stocked up for the weekend with Rice ! This weekend we are going to take it very easy and we have cancelled Sunday Dinner,Anna is away in Wales for a week and Fabio has a temperature so the clan is keeping a low profile!

Saturday 31st.May.

The weather is getting nicer all the time and the forecast for next week is very hot-30deg.+This morning we went for a walk and bumped into some Spanish friends and they all had heard about Brenda on the grapevine of the local family and were very nice and wished her all the best and a quick recovery.Tonight we are having Stir-Fried Beef with Ginger and Spring onions and my special vegetable fried rice.Brenda is out on the roof terrace and Tim our very dear friend from Colwyn Bay has just phoned and when we came in yesterday there was a lovely message on Facebook from his daughter Jo which we very much appreciated.