WEDNESDAY/SUNDAY 26TH/30TH MAY 2010.
After all the excitement at the start of the week we had a few days of taking things easy, reading, relaxing on the roof terrace, lunchtime drink at Bar Rojas watching the world go by and I watched the “ Giro D’Italia on the TV; Cycle racing is covered all the time on Spanish TV and is very spectacular with the helicopter pictures in the mountains particularly good; I’ve not seen the race before and the Italian Alps stages were unbelievable as they went over the Passo Di Gavia,the highest race peak, Cadel Evans from Australia was second on this stage, the leader in the tour is an Italian Ivan Basso and it finish’s today.
On Friday we had a call from Clive over in Guadalmina asking us to look after their villa and animals during November and the start of December ,for five weeks, he and Caroline are going away on holiday. We are going to call on them and make arrangements in the next few weeks. The weather is getting hotter every day and it is now warm at night, this weekend it will be over 30degs. as the breeze has dropped; Mano and Anna have been calling in to see us and meeting up in Bar Rojas as Mano is off on holiday all week, this evening we are having Roast Chicken with all the trimmings for dinner, Anna has just called in with their grandson Fabio, who is growing up, he wanted to sit down and have his dinner when he saw everything ready !
Saturday morning we went down to do the weekend shopping and when we got back I made a Beef Curry for supper; in the early evening we walked down to Santa Ana church to see the start of the procession for the “ Manilva Romeria ” This weekend Manilva celebrates its annual romeria in honour of Our Lady of Fatima, they start in the village and then walk down to the chapel of San Adolfo close to the La Hedionda Roman baths, it lasts till Sunday evening with the municipal music orchestra playing, live music from a group and today a special mass officiated by Manuel Roldan,the parish priest.
The procession this year was lead by a parade of Andalusian horses with their riders in traditional costumes,the horses are all pure breed and prance and dance as they go along Calle Mar,the whole village follows with all the children around the statue.The pictures below will give you a little taste of the evening procession.
Thought for Today; You are your Ultimate Master.
.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
MANILVA AND THE ROMAN BATHS.
MONDAY/TUESDAY 24TH/25TH MAY 2010.
Monday was a good news day; during last week we received some paperwork from the Inland Revenue to do with Pension Annuity’s that we have paid back in England into our Ac.in Colwyn Bay; we then made contact with the banking support and after various checks we arranged for them to send us all the necessary documents; they arrived on Monday morning, which is very fast, so we made contact again and asked them to make a transfer to our Spanish AC.We were then very surprised when the transfer arrived in our account on Tuesday morning as it usually takes 4/5 days at least ! I then called the Inland Revenue and sorted out the currant situation with them; as I was in this frame of mind I then contacted the International Pension’s Claims Department as I am now in the four months to commence date for my pension starting, they are sending all the paperwork to finalize the process!!
On Tuesday we met Mano and Anna up in Bar Rojas at lunchtime; Mano is on holiday for a week, so we then decided to go out for a Menu Del Dia up in Casares; on the way Mano took us down to the Roman Baths in the Hedionda valley below the village, we have not been to them as the track to get there is not good for the Smart car; “ Los Banos Romano ” date back to the 1st.century BC. when Julius Caesar regularly took the waters and cured himself of a skin complaint, during his period as Governor of Southern Spain in the middle of that century. The waters have high sulphur content and the source is a number of springs which originate in the huge limestone ridge of the Sierra Ultera which runs behind the village. The baths original Roman construction can be plainly be seen, but a modern dome has been installed as well as a basking area where you can take in the sun in between plunges! On the way along the track you pass the very old small church of “ Ermito San Adolpho ” which is used by the village for religious ceremonies at this time of the year similar to the El Rocio.
We then headed up to Casares,named after Julius Caesar, to the Venta Curro which overlooks the white village; it is always very good and when we have guests staying with us we take them there; as soon as you sit down they place a large salad on the table with local hard bread, the menu is three courses so we had Gazpacho, Macaroni in a wonderful Tomato sauce and Potaje Gallego which is a thick soup with white Kidney Beans, Cabbage and Pork to start, Brenda had pan fried Dorada,Sea Bream, Anna had pan fried Chicken Breast, Mano had a wonderful Goat Stew and I had a Entrecote steak, all served with fresh Patatas Fritas !! For a sweet there are various choices and you finish off with strong Carajillo’s. On the table we had to drink the best thing at this time of the year,Tinto de Verano made with the red house wine,Casara lemonade and lots of ice! It is a family run bar and fills up with local workers during the week. One not to be missed so I am sorry that there are no pictures to show of the Baths and the Venta as it was a spur of the moment decision to go ! The picture shows Brenda with her new best friend, she comes calling every day, this started after we came home and the rains stopped, her owner at the bottom of our street, lets her out as it goes quiet and she is just gorgeous, she always has a different coloured bow in her hair every day,just like somebody typing this now! We don’t know her name yet; she has also made friends with Anna’s very small terrier Derek!
.
Monday was a good news day; during last week we received some paperwork from the Inland Revenue to do with Pension Annuity’s that we have paid back in England into our Ac.in Colwyn Bay; we then made contact with the banking support and after various checks we arranged for them to send us all the necessary documents; they arrived on Monday morning, which is very fast, so we made contact again and asked them to make a transfer to our Spanish AC.We were then very surprised when the transfer arrived in our account on Tuesday morning as it usually takes 4/5 days at least ! I then called the Inland Revenue and sorted out the currant situation with them; as I was in this frame of mind I then contacted the International Pension’s Claims Department as I am now in the four months to commence date for my pension starting, they are sending all the paperwork to finalize the process!!
On Tuesday we met Mano and Anna up in Bar Rojas at lunchtime; Mano is on holiday for a week, so we then decided to go out for a Menu Del Dia up in Casares; on the way Mano took us down to the Roman Baths in the Hedionda valley below the village, we have not been to them as the track to get there is not good for the Smart car; “ Los Banos Romano ” date back to the 1st.century BC. when Julius Caesar regularly took the waters and cured himself of a skin complaint, during his period as Governor of Southern Spain in the middle of that century. The waters have high sulphur content and the source is a number of springs which originate in the huge limestone ridge of the Sierra Ultera which runs behind the village. The baths original Roman construction can be plainly be seen, but a modern dome has been installed as well as a basking area where you can take in the sun in between plunges! On the way along the track you pass the very old small church of “ Ermito San Adolpho ” which is used by the village for religious ceremonies at this time of the year similar to the El Rocio.
We then headed up to Casares,named after Julius Caesar, to the Venta Curro which overlooks the white village; it is always very good and when we have guests staying with us we take them there; as soon as you sit down they place a large salad on the table with local hard bread, the menu is three courses so we had Gazpacho, Macaroni in a wonderful Tomato sauce and Potaje Gallego which is a thick soup with white Kidney Beans, Cabbage and Pork to start, Brenda had pan fried Dorada,Sea Bream, Anna had pan fried Chicken Breast, Mano had a wonderful Goat Stew and I had a Entrecote steak, all served with fresh Patatas Fritas !! For a sweet there are various choices and you finish off with strong Carajillo’s. On the table we had to drink the best thing at this time of the year,Tinto de Verano made with the red house wine,Casara lemonade and lots of ice! It is a family run bar and fills up with local workers during the week. One not to be missed so I am sorry that there are no pictures to show of the Baths and the Venta as it was a spur of the moment decision to go ! The picture shows Brenda with her new best friend, she comes calling every day, this started after we came home and the rains stopped, her owner at the bottom of our street, lets her out as it goes quiet and she is just gorgeous, she always has a different coloured bow in her hair every day,just like somebody typing this now! We don’t know her name yet; she has also made friends with Anna’s very small terrier Derek!
.
Monday, May 24, 2010
EL ROCIO FESTIVAL.
MONDAY 24TH MAY 2010.
For most of the year the small hamlet of El Rocio is as deserted a place as you could wish to find, its wide sandy streets are lined with impressively large houses, but they are usually uninhabited – except at the time of the pilgrimage. The hamlet is situated in North East Spain, just below the border with Portugal, outside Huelva; it has a population of around 700 people but for the weekend of the “ Romeria Del Rocio ” it comes alive when over a million people throng the streets, the largest Catholic festival in the world !
The traditional pilgrimage can be traced back to the 15th century when the statue of the Virgin Mary, “ La Virgen El Rocio ” was discovered; it is kept in the enormous white church, the Sanctuario de Nuestra Senora de El Rocio – simply referred to as the “ Ermita ” Those impressively large houses in the village that I mentioned are in fact bases for the 95 brotherhoods,hermandades,who are the senior members of each romeria; the pilgrims “ Rocieros ” arrive with horses, wagons and elaborate flower-bedecked carriages and most of the female pilgrims are dressed in bright flamenco-style dresses, the men have short riding type jackets – traje corto – and wide brimmed boleros.
During the day the processions are chanting,clapping,beating drums,tambourines,and playing flutes and guitars; the whole thing is carried out to the accompaniment of fire crackers and shouts of “ Viva la Reina de la Marisima ” Long live the Queen of the marshland ! All this takes place with traditional singing and dancing, going on for hours, with the smell of fried peppers, prawns and sherry in the air; they also unofficially baptize the first time Rocerieros.
The climax of the whole festival comes in the early hours of Monday morning when the statue of the virgin is carried out of the church and paraded around the village; its frantic passing through the hands of the brotherhoods at times gets out of control as the crowds attempt to touch it and pass very small children above their heads at the same time; the whole experience is a strangely Spanish combination of religious fanaticism and serious partying !!
Needless to say we watched it all on the TV.
.
For most of the year the small hamlet of El Rocio is as deserted a place as you could wish to find, its wide sandy streets are lined with impressively large houses, but they are usually uninhabited – except at the time of the pilgrimage. The hamlet is situated in North East Spain, just below the border with Portugal, outside Huelva; it has a population of around 700 people but for the weekend of the “ Romeria Del Rocio ” it comes alive when over a million people throng the streets, the largest Catholic festival in the world !
The traditional pilgrimage can be traced back to the 15th century when the statue of the Virgin Mary, “ La Virgen El Rocio ” was discovered; it is kept in the enormous white church, the Sanctuario de Nuestra Senora de El Rocio – simply referred to as the “ Ermita ” Those impressively large houses in the village that I mentioned are in fact bases for the 95 brotherhoods,hermandades,who are the senior members of each romeria; the pilgrims “ Rocieros ” arrive with horses, wagons and elaborate flower-bedecked carriages and most of the female pilgrims are dressed in bright flamenco-style dresses, the men have short riding type jackets – traje corto – and wide brimmed boleros.
During the day the processions are chanting,clapping,beating drums,tambourines,and playing flutes and guitars; the whole thing is carried out to the accompaniment of fire crackers and shouts of “ Viva la Reina de la Marisima ” Long live the Queen of the marshland ! All this takes place with traditional singing and dancing, going on for hours, with the smell of fried peppers, prawns and sherry in the air; they also unofficially baptize the first time Rocerieros.
The climax of the whole festival comes in the early hours of Monday morning when the statue of the virgin is carried out of the church and paraded around the village; its frantic passing through the hands of the brotherhoods at times gets out of control as the crowds attempt to touch it and pass very small children above their heads at the same time; the whole experience is a strangely Spanish combination of religious fanaticism and serious partying !!
Needless to say we watched it all on the TV.
.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
MANILVA THIS WEEK.
Monday/Sunday 17th/23rd May 2010.
The weather this week is getting better every day; by the Sunday it is going to be 30degs. and in other parts of Andalucia it will reach 35degs! It is still the best time of the year as down here on the coast we still have a little breeze which makes it very pleasant.
On Monday morning we went off to our local post office and with Mano’s help posted the screen package back to Vancouver; there was all sorts of stipulations about how it was to be sent and boxed and the paper work had to be enclosed, we ended up down at the main post office in Sabinillas and it went off at lunchtime. I then e-mailed all the details including the tracking information as instructed and much to our surprise we received an e-mail later in the evening to say that the correct screen had been posted to us by UPS! Anna arrived home on the correct flight from Liverpool late on Monday evening but Carlos and Ann Mari had to wait till Wednesday.
We had a day catching up with all the chores and in the afternoon on Tuesday I made a Beef Stew for a change which we really enjoyed as we ate it for dinner with Cabbage and fresh Beetroot. Anna had a lazy day at her house and unpacked as Mano was painting and repairing all the walls after the rains so she came around on Wednesday morning and joined us for a Crab and Avocado salad as we listened to all her news about the wedding in Llandudno and what she and Anna Mari got up to. They went to Chester on the Friday and had lunch in the Grosvenor Brasserie, a fine bottle of Chablis and Caesar salad and in the evening they went to see The Sound of Music at the Llandudno Theatre, the wedding was at the Lodge in Tal y Bont in the Conway valley and a great time was had by all.
After our daily walk around the village on Thursday we then went out on the roof terrace and read as the sun moves around, the breeze keeps it just nice and we have our cocktail hour before we come down to the chill out room on the first floor, I play loud Blues music off the PC as we relax, on the terrace we have a small radio and listen to Spanish pop stations, downstairs in the lounge we have the Hi Fi on which we play the CDs as well as a I Pod in a docking station which has a large collection of all sorts of music and in the kitchen we have a small Hi Fi on which we play our Spanish learning CDs!! We like our music!!!
First thing on Friday we shot across to Estepona and on the way back did the weekend shopping; at lunchtime UPS delivered the screen from Vancouver, they had phoned on Thursday lunchtime to say that they would drop the parcel of between twelve and two. We also received into our bank AC the refund for the cost of returning the screen at the same time ! Andy then came round later and fitted the new correct one on which I am typing this now ! Mano and Anna called in as he had finished working on the house with a present, it is small statue of “ San Pancracio ” it is for good luck and fortune and has to be given to you a by a friend, so we had a little session along with Andy. I was given the night off cooking duties so we went up to Bar Rojas for supper and sat outside in the late evening and had an excellent Frito Pescardo,Huevos Frito and Patatas Fritas to finish of a great day.
As we went for our morning walk on Saturday morning the gang was sat outside Bar Rojas,Mano,Anna,Carlos,
Andy and Brian and as we were there the local in the picture below came past with his “ Harris Eagle ” It is a magnificent bird and he was taking it for its lunch hunting in the hills behind the village ! We then all ended up down in Sabinillas in an English bar for the full English breakfast so we then walked it off along the front, which is very pleasant at this time of the year, in the pictures below you can also see Tim and Brenda’s favourite beach bar “ Rilex ” which they will no doubt be hitting later in the year when Tim is coming over for a holiday again ! In the evening after supper of Steak and Frits we watched the European Cup Final,Inter Milan won their third trophy this year; their manager Jose Mourinho is going to be the next manager of Real Madrid !
Today we are getting ready our Sunday Roast, Leg Of Lamb,Mano dropped off a large Spanish one and they are joining us later for dinner; Cabbage with Acelgas, Cauliflower in Cheese sauce, Baby Carrots and Peas,Ratatuile with
Boulangere potatoes and a savory dish of Baked Saffron New Potatoes cooked with assorted peppers.Proper Herb gravy and a fine Rioja will help it all go down !
PS; Just as I was ladling the gravy into the sauce boat ( My Mum's favourite ) it all ended up on the floor,the walls,my trousers and best shirt, sandles and I burnt my big toe ! But there was more in the pan so another great meal was saved !!
Thought for the Day;
We’ll be friends until we are old and senile,then we’ll be new friends !!
.
The weather this week is getting better every day; by the Sunday it is going to be 30degs. and in other parts of Andalucia it will reach 35degs! It is still the best time of the year as down here on the coast we still have a little breeze which makes it very pleasant.
On Monday morning we went off to our local post office and with Mano’s help posted the screen package back to Vancouver; there was all sorts of stipulations about how it was to be sent and boxed and the paper work had to be enclosed, we ended up down at the main post office in Sabinillas and it went off at lunchtime. I then e-mailed all the details including the tracking information as instructed and much to our surprise we received an e-mail later in the evening to say that the correct screen had been posted to us by UPS! Anna arrived home on the correct flight from Liverpool late on Monday evening but Carlos and Ann Mari had to wait till Wednesday.
We had a day catching up with all the chores and in the afternoon on Tuesday I made a Beef Stew for a change which we really enjoyed as we ate it for dinner with Cabbage and fresh Beetroot. Anna had a lazy day at her house and unpacked as Mano was painting and repairing all the walls after the rains so she came around on Wednesday morning and joined us for a Crab and Avocado salad as we listened to all her news about the wedding in Llandudno and what she and Anna Mari got up to. They went to Chester on the Friday and had lunch in the Grosvenor Brasserie, a fine bottle of Chablis and Caesar salad and in the evening they went to see The Sound of Music at the Llandudno Theatre, the wedding was at the Lodge in Tal y Bont in the Conway valley and a great time was had by all.
After our daily walk around the village on Thursday we then went out on the roof terrace and read as the sun moves around, the breeze keeps it just nice and we have our cocktail hour before we come down to the chill out room on the first floor, I play loud Blues music off the PC as we relax, on the terrace we have a small radio and listen to Spanish pop stations, downstairs in the lounge we have the Hi Fi on which we play the CDs as well as a I Pod in a docking station which has a large collection of all sorts of music and in the kitchen we have a small Hi Fi on which we play our Spanish learning CDs!! We like our music!!!
First thing on Friday we shot across to Estepona and on the way back did the weekend shopping; at lunchtime UPS delivered the screen from Vancouver, they had phoned on Thursday lunchtime to say that they would drop the parcel of between twelve and two. We also received into our bank AC the refund for the cost of returning the screen at the same time ! Andy then came round later and fitted the new correct one on which I am typing this now ! Mano and Anna called in as he had finished working on the house with a present, it is small statue of “ San Pancracio ” it is for good luck and fortune and has to be given to you a by a friend, so we had a little session along with Andy. I was given the night off cooking duties so we went up to Bar Rojas for supper and sat outside in the late evening and had an excellent Frito Pescardo,Huevos Frito and Patatas Fritas to finish of a great day.
As we went for our morning walk on Saturday morning the gang was sat outside Bar Rojas,Mano,Anna,Carlos,
Andy and Brian and as we were there the local in the picture below came past with his “ Harris Eagle ” It is a magnificent bird and he was taking it for its lunch hunting in the hills behind the village ! We then all ended up down in Sabinillas in an English bar for the full English breakfast so we then walked it off along the front, which is very pleasant at this time of the year, in the pictures below you can also see Tim and Brenda’s favourite beach bar “ Rilex ” which they will no doubt be hitting later in the year when Tim is coming over for a holiday again ! In the evening after supper of Steak and Frits we watched the European Cup Final,Inter Milan won their third trophy this year; their manager Jose Mourinho is going to be the next manager of Real Madrid !
Today we are getting ready our Sunday Roast, Leg Of Lamb,Mano dropped off a large Spanish one and they are joining us later for dinner; Cabbage with Acelgas, Cauliflower in Cheese sauce, Baby Carrots and Peas,Ratatuile with
Boulangere potatoes and a savory dish of Baked Saffron New Potatoes cooked with assorted peppers.Proper Herb gravy and a fine Rioja will help it all go down !
PS; Just as I was ladling the gravy into the sauce boat ( My Mum's favourite ) it all ended up on the floor,the walls,my trousers and best shirt, sandles and I burnt my big toe ! But there was more in the pan so another great meal was saved !!
Thought for the Day;
We’ll be friends until we are old and senile,then we’ll be new friends !!
.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
MANILVA NEWS SPORTS NEWS AND SCREEN UPDATE.
MONDAY/SUNDAY 10TH/16THMAY 2010.
On Monday and Tuesday we took it easy and spent some time catching up with some jobs around the house;the weather is getting better every day and we are going for our walk around the village at lunchtime when it is very tranquil.
I made a Chicken curry for dinner on Wednesday evening and Mano and Anna came round and joined us as Anna was flying off to England on Thursday morning with Carlos and Anna Mari to go to the wedding in North Wales on Saturday;SallyAnn was also flying in on the same day.They flew to Liverpool amd SallyAnn was landing at Manchester.
Thursday was a relaxing at home day with Brenda on the roof terrace reading as I caught up with the e-mails.
We went out on Friday morning and did the shopping for the weekend; in the evening Mano came round for supper before he went into work, we had Pan Fried Salmon fillets on a bed of Spinach with Asparagus and Saffron New potatoes along with Broccoli florets.
Saturday was another glorious day so we walked down to the football stadium and watched the seven a side football with the local teams as usual playing with lots of commitment;on the way back we bumped into Mano in Bar Rojas were he had just won the jackpot on the fruit machine, he had also been in the next door Bar and had won the jackpot there as well ! He does this all the time in the various bars around the village,he plays the machine after sombody else has had no luck and spent all their money ! Needless to say we stopped and had a few celebratey drinks on him! In the evening we had Steak and frits for dinner and Mano called in on his way to work and picked up his lunch box ! ie;A toasted steak sandwich with all the trimming to keep him going during the night !! He also dropped off a litre bottle of Bacardi for the drinks cabinet.
We had planned to have Roast Leg of Lamb for dinner,which Mano had dropped off on Saturday evening,but the day and the weather took over; we had a walk and stopped at Bar Rojas,it was such a lovely day we sat outside and had a Tapas lunch and watched the Monaco Grand Prix on the large screen; at this time of the year the reception on the local TVs is not too good,Webber won but the drive of the day was by Fernando Alonso,he started at the back off the grid in 24th position but ended up 6th despite Micheal Schumacher on the last lap making a illegal move on the final corner ! Later in the afternoon we watched the tennis,Rafael Nadel beat Roger Federer in the Madrid Open and the Queen presentented the trophy. Meanwhile over in Barbados England won the cricket World Twenty20 final against the arch enemy Australia ! Sorry to all the family over there !!
In the early evening we had a snack before we went out to watch the football at Mano's on his large screen, the same problem hit us again,bad reception, so we ended up just before the sun set by going for a drink at the Casares Golf Club,Mano and his friend Juan had played a round in the morning and had a very good lunch of Goujons of Rosado,the place is in a spectacular position in the next valley but one from Manilva and the club house and restaurant are furnished in a comtemporary style,the menu is excellent and good value and we will go there in the not too distant future. We watched the end of the football in the club TV lounge;Barcelona won the La Liga League title for the second successive year when they beat Vallodolid 4 - nil. Messi scored two and this brought his goals in the league to 34 ! Barcelona lost only one game in 38 league matches and beat Real Madrid at home and away ! The other big match was at Malaga who were playing Real Madrid,the score was 1 -1 and the goalkeeper for Malaga played a blinder,it ment that Barcelona won the title by three points but at the same time Malaga were not relagated as they had got the draw and some other scores went their way ! When we got back into the village the Barcelona side of Manilva was going mad along with the Malaga supporter's and the car horns were going all night !
Now the bad news,Carlos and Anna Mari's flight was cancelled from Liverpool,Sally Ann's back to Tenerife suffered the same fate and it looks like Anna's flight on Monday from Liverpool is going the same way, all due to the Ash cloud problem ! Watch this space.
PS; It is looking like Anna's flight might get away but still no news on the others.
PPS; Anna has arrived home this evening,Carlos and Anna Mari can't get a flight untill Wednesday and it turns out that Sally Ann didn't even make it to England as her flight was cancelled at the very last minute as she arrived at the airport in Tenerife !
NEWSFLASH;
The Ash cloud that never was ; Airport chaos for 50,ooo was caused by an inaccurate Met Office forecast - they took fresh soundings and sent up a plane to check,they found there was no such Ash,their assessment was flawed !!!
The news on the screen is ongoing; I have sent e -mails and have been on the Skype phone to Vancouver over the last week and this week have received the forms and details to post the wrong screen back,it is all very complicated and it took us a few days to get everything right,this morning we went down to the main post office in Sabilillas and with Mano's help to make sure that we posted it back in the way that was detailed it has gone off to Vancouver;now we have to wait to see if this time we get the right one and that they reimburse the postage ! Watch this space.
PS; I 've just had an e - mail from Vancouver after I sent them the confimation and tracking details of the package and it looks like they are responding,they have sent me details to track the package sent by them for the replacement screen ! Today !!
.
On Monday and Tuesday we took it easy and spent some time catching up with some jobs around the house;the weather is getting better every day and we are going for our walk around the village at lunchtime when it is very tranquil.
I made a Chicken curry for dinner on Wednesday evening and Mano and Anna came round and joined us as Anna was flying off to England on Thursday morning with Carlos and Anna Mari to go to the wedding in North Wales on Saturday;SallyAnn was also flying in on the same day.They flew to Liverpool amd SallyAnn was landing at Manchester.
Thursday was a relaxing at home day with Brenda on the roof terrace reading as I caught up with the e-mails.
We went out on Friday morning and did the shopping for the weekend; in the evening Mano came round for supper before he went into work, we had Pan Fried Salmon fillets on a bed of Spinach with Asparagus and Saffron New potatoes along with Broccoli florets.
Saturday was another glorious day so we walked down to the football stadium and watched the seven a side football with the local teams as usual playing with lots of commitment;on the way back we bumped into Mano in Bar Rojas were he had just won the jackpot on the fruit machine, he had also been in the next door Bar and had won the jackpot there as well ! He does this all the time in the various bars around the village,he plays the machine after sombody else has had no luck and spent all their money ! Needless to say we stopped and had a few celebratey drinks on him! In the evening we had Steak and frits for dinner and Mano called in on his way to work and picked up his lunch box ! ie;A toasted steak sandwich with all the trimming to keep him going during the night !! He also dropped off a litre bottle of Bacardi for the drinks cabinet.
We had planned to have Roast Leg of Lamb for dinner,which Mano had dropped off on Saturday evening,but the day and the weather took over; we had a walk and stopped at Bar Rojas,it was such a lovely day we sat outside and had a Tapas lunch and watched the Monaco Grand Prix on the large screen; at this time of the year the reception on the local TVs is not too good,Webber won but the drive of the day was by Fernando Alonso,he started at the back off the grid in 24th position but ended up 6th despite Micheal Schumacher on the last lap making a illegal move on the final corner ! Later in the afternoon we watched the tennis,Rafael Nadel beat Roger Federer in the Madrid Open and the Queen presentented the trophy. Meanwhile over in Barbados England won the cricket World Twenty20 final against the arch enemy Australia ! Sorry to all the family over there !!
In the early evening we had a snack before we went out to watch the football at Mano's on his large screen, the same problem hit us again,bad reception, so we ended up just before the sun set by going for a drink at the Casares Golf Club,Mano and his friend Juan had played a round in the morning and had a very good lunch of Goujons of Rosado,the place is in a spectacular position in the next valley but one from Manilva and the club house and restaurant are furnished in a comtemporary style,the menu is excellent and good value and we will go there in the not too distant future. We watched the end of the football in the club TV lounge;Barcelona won the La Liga League title for the second successive year when they beat Vallodolid 4 - nil. Messi scored two and this brought his goals in the league to 34 ! Barcelona lost only one game in 38 league matches and beat Real Madrid at home and away ! The other big match was at Malaga who were playing Real Madrid,the score was 1 -1 and the goalkeeper for Malaga played a blinder,it ment that Barcelona won the title by three points but at the same time Malaga were not relagated as they had got the draw and some other scores went their way ! When we got back into the village the Barcelona side of Manilva was going mad along with the Malaga supporter's and the car horns were going all night !
Now the bad news,Carlos and Anna Mari's flight was cancelled from Liverpool,Sally Ann's back to Tenerife suffered the same fate and it looks like Anna's flight on Monday from Liverpool is going the same way, all due to the Ash cloud problem ! Watch this space.
PS; It is looking like Anna's flight might get away but still no news on the others.
PPS; Anna has arrived home this evening,Carlos and Anna Mari can't get a flight untill Wednesday and it turns out that Sally Ann didn't even make it to England as her flight was cancelled at the very last minute as she arrived at the airport in Tenerife !
NEWSFLASH;
The Ash cloud that never was ; Airport chaos for 50,ooo was caused by an inaccurate Met Office forecast - they took fresh soundings and sent up a plane to check,they found there was no such Ash,their assessment was flawed !!!
The news on the screen is ongoing; I have sent e -mails and have been on the Skype phone to Vancouver over the last week and this week have received the forms and details to post the wrong screen back,it is all very complicated and it took us a few days to get everything right,this morning we went down to the main post office in Sabilillas and with Mano's help to make sure that we posted it back in the way that was detailed it has gone off to Vancouver;now we have to wait to see if this time we get the right one and that they reimburse the postage ! Watch this space.
PS; I 've just had an e - mail from Vancouver after I sent them the confimation and tracking details of the package and it looks like they are responding,they have sent me details to track the package sent by them for the replacement screen ! Today !!
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Monday, May 10, 2010
MANILVA WEEKEND.
MONDAY 10TH MAY 2010.
First thing on Friday morning we went across to our bank in Estepona as we had to collect and sign a document; we then stopped in Sabinillas and did the weekend shopping,we use three supermarkets as we buy different things,the bulk buys are from Lidl,the main goods from Mercadona and some English stuff from Supersol ! At the same time we pick up all the English local papers so as we check that what we have been watching in Spanish is correct;they also give you the local news down on the coast. The weather over the weekend has been warm and sunny with a little breeze and it is very pleasant at this time of the year.
On Saturday morning we went for a walk around the village and ended up down at the football stadium watching the seven a side foootball with the local teams; then we stopped at the sports hall and watched the 8/10 year old's basketball,they play on a smaller court and with a lower basket but they are very commited and play their hearts out,they mark one another all the time and some of the shots are unbelievable including the three point ones ! They all have the full kits and their first names on the back of their shirts,the parents give them a typically loud Spanish surport and it is very enjoyable to watch. We called into Bar Rojas for a lunchtime drink and sat out side with a good friend of Mano and Anna's that we have just met on our return from Tarifa;
Brian and his wife Liili ,who is Finnish, were with a friend over from England,Pauline so we soon found common ground to talk about,Liverpool ! Brian is from the same neck of the woods and his wife even has a Liverpool accent,Pauline works at Alder Hay Childrens Hospital, They live in the village in an apartment just across the back of our house so we expect to see a lot more of them in the future
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After a lie in we had a leisurely day as we prepared Sunday dinner in the afternoon we watched the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona which is never very exciting as there is only one place to pass on the track Webber won and the only excitement was when Hamilton crashed out on the last lap with a burts tyre when he was in second position ! We then watched the English football on Spanish TVE2,it showed the Chelsea match and the Manchester United match at the same time and the coverage was very good, Chelsea beat Wigan 8 - nil and won the league championship. Meanwhile the football in Spain is building up to a very exciting climax next weekend,Barcelona are one point ahead of Real Madrid and just like the matches over in England it all goes down to the last day !Mano and Anna baught a Loin of Pork and we sat down to a very nice meal with excellent company finished off by going up to Bar Rojas. This week Anna is going over to North Wales to a wedding reception,Carlos and his wife Anna Mari are also going as he is the bestman and Sally Ann is flying in from Tenerife but Mano is staying here due to work commitments so we will be feeding him over the weekend!
.
.
First thing on Friday morning we went across to our bank in Estepona as we had to collect and sign a document; we then stopped in Sabinillas and did the weekend shopping,we use three supermarkets as we buy different things,the bulk buys are from Lidl,the main goods from Mercadona and some English stuff from Supersol ! At the same time we pick up all the English local papers so as we check that what we have been watching in Spanish is correct;they also give you the local news down on the coast. The weather over the weekend has been warm and sunny with a little breeze and it is very pleasant at this time of the year.
On Saturday morning we went for a walk around the village and ended up down at the football stadium watching the seven a side foootball with the local teams; then we stopped at the sports hall and watched the 8/10 year old's basketball,they play on a smaller court and with a lower basket but they are very commited and play their hearts out,they mark one another all the time and some of the shots are unbelievable including the three point ones ! They all have the full kits and their first names on the back of their shirts,the parents give them a typically loud Spanish surport and it is very enjoyable to watch. We called into Bar Rojas for a lunchtime drink and sat out side with a good friend of Mano and Anna's that we have just met on our return from Tarifa;
Brian and his wife Liili ,who is Finnish, were with a friend over from England,Pauline so we soon found common ground to talk about,Liverpool ! Brian is from the same neck of the woods and his wife even has a Liverpool accent,Pauline works at Alder Hay Childrens Hospital, They live in the village in an apartment just across the back of our house so we expect to see a lot more of them in the future
.
After a lie in we had a leisurely day as we prepared Sunday dinner in the afternoon we watched the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona which is never very exciting as there is only one place to pass on the track Webber won and the only excitement was when Hamilton crashed out on the last lap with a burts tyre when he was in second position ! We then watched the English football on Spanish TVE2,it showed the Chelsea match and the Manchester United match at the same time and the coverage was very good, Chelsea beat Wigan 8 - nil and won the league championship. Meanwhile the football in Spain is building up to a very exciting climax next weekend,Barcelona are one point ahead of Real Madrid and just like the matches over in England it all goes down to the last day !Mano and Anna baught a Loin of Pork and we sat down to a very nice meal with excellent company finished off by going up to Bar Rojas. This week Anna is going over to North Wales to a wedding reception,Carlos and his wife Anna Mari are also going as he is the bestman and Sally Ann is flying in from Tenerife but Mano is staying here due to work commitments so we will be feeding him over the weekend!
.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
SCREEN MADNESS.
THURSDAY 6TH MAY 2010.
The German proficiency that I spoke about last Friday when I orderd a new screen for our large Dell PC carried on up to a point; on Wedesday morning the Fedex package arrived,it had come from Vancouver in Canada ! Very impressive,except it was the wrong screen !!!
After checking all the e-mail order confirmation's and details were correct, once again, it was definitively not the right one. I then got back onto the system as shown when there was a problem; this is were things went from bad to worse,I reported all the facts along with all the order numbers,tracking information and all the details of the screen that I had orderd and also the details of the one that had been sent by mistake along with all the document details and numbers.The person at the other end must be new to the job as I am getting back e-mails asking me to confirm the details that have allready been sent and the last one from him even asked me to take a picture of the wrong screen !!
Watch this space,as I've said before as I think that this saga is going to go on for a while yet !
.
The German proficiency that I spoke about last Friday when I orderd a new screen for our large Dell PC carried on up to a point; on Wedesday morning the Fedex package arrived,it had come from Vancouver in Canada ! Very impressive,except it was the wrong screen !!!
After checking all the e-mail order confirmation's and details were correct, once again, it was definitively not the right one. I then got back onto the system as shown when there was a problem; this is were things went from bad to worse,I reported all the facts along with all the order numbers,tracking information and all the details of the screen that I had orderd and also the details of the one that had been sent by mistake along with all the document details and numbers.The person at the other end must be new to the job as I am getting back e-mails asking me to confirm the details that have allready been sent and the last one from him even asked me to take a picture of the wrong screen !!
Watch this space,as I've said before as I think that this saga is going to go on for a while yet !
.
MANILVA TODAY.
THURSDAY 6TH.MAY 2010.
As we went for our lunchtime stroll around the village on another beautiful day in Manilva at the end of Calle Mar the new water feature was running for the first time;this is the dangerous corner which over the past couple of months the council have redesigned and made the area by this end of the village much nicer,the sound of the running water makes it very tranquil and is now a good spot to sit and look out across the mountains.
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As we went for our lunchtime stroll around the village on another beautiful day in Manilva at the end of Calle Mar the new water feature was running for the first time;this is the dangerous corner which over the past couple of months the council have redesigned and made the area by this end of the village much nicer,the sound of the running water makes it very tranquil and is now a good spot to sit and look out across the mountains.
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Tuesday, May 04, 2010
MANILVA TODAY.
TUESDAY 4TH.MAY 2010.
The picture can't lie,the Manilva bus at the stop at the start of Calle Mar by our house; it's a mythical bus no longer !!
The picture can't lie,the Manilva bus at the stop at the start of Calle Mar by our house; it's a mythical bus no longer !!
Monday, May 03, 2010
MANILVA TODAY.
MONDAY 3RD.MAY 2010.
On Saturday morning we went for a walk around the village,the weather at this time of the year is just right; the sun is out all day and the skies are blue,the temperature is nearly 30degs.but there is a little breeze so it is very comfortable to be out in,we sat outside Bar Rojas for our lunchtime drink and took in the sites and sounds of the village.In the afternoon I made a Beef stew which had in it 13 different vegetables including some fresh broad beans from our neighbour's campo and of course potatoes ! Later I went up to the office and started to use the small PC after all the work that Andy had put into it,it is better than ever and will keep us online untill the large PC is fixed.The new Word 7 is a lot more complex and will take me some time to find out how to use it.When the new screen arrives Andy will fit it and then he is going to update the whole system and install Windows 7 at the same time and it costs nothing !
After dinner we settled down to watch the TV; on TVE 1 the film turned out to be one to remember; " Las Trece Rosas " the 13 rose's is the true story of 13 women at the end of the Spanish Civil war. It takes place in Madrid in August 1939 as Franco and the facist nationalist forces are entering the city, the women from different backgounds are rounded up by the secret police and are presumed to be Repubilicans,they are all brutally interrogated and put in prison under terrible conditions,they band together and rebel against the conditions.Later they are taken to a military court and sentenced to death for a crime that they had not commited as a retaliation for a political crime that they were not involved in. On August 5th 1939 they are all shot by firing squad along with 48 men who had sufferd the same persecution.The film was very compelling and we watched it and were very moved although we could only just follow it in Spanish. After it had finished the next programme was the director,writer and a actress being interviewd in the studio,it showed pictures of the letters that they wrote from prison,family pictures,photographs of the prison staff and at the end it went to the cemetary where there is a large memorial,all the family relatives still alive gatherd there with red roses and sang with clenched fists the Repubilican anthem !
This Sunday we were going to go to Mano and Anna's for our sunday roast but due to conditions beyond their control they ended up here and we roasted their Chicken ! Another memorable day ended up in Bar Rojas.
I managed to post the test message from the new Word 7 but had no luck when I tried to type and post the blog; it will take some time for me to get up to speed so meanwhile I have posted this online to the blog !
.
On Saturday morning we went for a walk around the village,the weather at this time of the year is just right; the sun is out all day and the skies are blue,the temperature is nearly 30degs.but there is a little breeze so it is very comfortable to be out in,we sat outside Bar Rojas for our lunchtime drink and took in the sites and sounds of the village.In the afternoon I made a Beef stew which had in it 13 different vegetables including some fresh broad beans from our neighbour's campo and of course potatoes ! Later I went up to the office and started to use the small PC after all the work that Andy had put into it,it is better than ever and will keep us online untill the large PC is fixed.The new Word 7 is a lot more complex and will take me some time to find out how to use it.When the new screen arrives Andy will fit it and then he is going to update the whole system and install Windows 7 at the same time and it costs nothing !
After dinner we settled down to watch the TV; on TVE 1 the film turned out to be one to remember; " Las Trece Rosas " the 13 rose's is the true story of 13 women at the end of the Spanish Civil war. It takes place in Madrid in August 1939 as Franco and the facist nationalist forces are entering the city, the women from different backgounds are rounded up by the secret police and are presumed to be Repubilicans,they are all brutally interrogated and put in prison under terrible conditions,they band together and rebel against the conditions.Later they are taken to a military court and sentenced to death for a crime that they had not commited as a retaliation for a political crime that they were not involved in. On August 5th 1939 they are all shot by firing squad along with 48 men who had sufferd the same persecution.The film was very compelling and we watched it and were very moved although we could only just follow it in Spanish. After it had finished the next programme was the director,writer and a actress being interviewd in the studio,it showed pictures of the letters that they wrote from prison,family pictures,photographs of the prison staff and at the end it went to the cemetary where there is a large memorial,all the family relatives still alive gatherd there with red roses and sang with clenched fists the Repubilican anthem !
This Sunday we were going to go to Mano and Anna's for our sunday roast but due to conditions beyond their control they ended up here and we roasted their Chicken ! Another memorable day ended up in Bar Rojas.
I managed to post the test message from the new Word 7 but had no luck when I tried to type and post the blog; it will take some time for me to get up to speed so meanwhile I have posted this online to the blog !
.
MANILVA TODAY.
MONDAY 3RD.MAY 2010.
At the start of last week we had a couple of days at home catching up with all the chores;Brenda is still in her cleaning and washing mode of everything and has just finished on the outside of the windows,no stepladders needed as she goes out on the balconies !! Meanwhile I caught up on the blog and sent some e-mails and updated our Facebook page as well as our Twitter contents.
On Wednesday we went out once again to try and catch the bus,this time at 11-ooam; success,it arrived and we went down to Sabinillas to pick up some essentials from the supermarket and then raced back across the road and caught the same bus back up the hill ! We then called into the cultural department in the old town hall in the main street of the village and a very helpfull lady called a person in the main town hall and they sent across by e-mail the new timetable which she printed out for us,success !
Thursday was a day to remember;as I went to turn on our large PC the screen did not come on,I tried many times and then realised that " Houston we have a problem " !! I called Andy our friend who is very computer literate and he came round and collected it,later he rang to say that the screen was finished and we needed a new one,everything else was ok.
On Friday morning we went to our bank in Estepona and on the way back picked up the weekend shopping; Andy came round in the early afternoon and 7 hours later was still here! He had loaded on to his memory stick all the Favorites and so he set about checking and cleaning up this PC and at the same time he installed and updated all the anti virus programmes before he then installed them,next he down loaded a system to be able to install some new programmes that were needed including Microsoft Office Word 7 for free ! Next he found the German web site that sells screens and soon found the one that we needed as I had kept all the Dell specifications when I ordered it,we then placed the order and with the usual German proficiency the order confirmation and the the Fedex tracking details arrived later in the evening by e-mail! Next he then updated all the other essential sites that I use including the Skype video and my new Life cam as well as resetting the memory for more power.
Andy you are a star and thank you for your time and attention !
.
At the start of last week we had a couple of days at home catching up with all the chores;Brenda is still in her cleaning and washing mode of everything and has just finished on the outside of the windows,no stepladders needed as she goes out on the balconies !! Meanwhile I caught up on the blog and sent some e-mails and updated our Facebook page as well as our Twitter contents.
On Wednesday we went out once again to try and catch the bus,this time at 11-ooam; success,it arrived and we went down to Sabinillas to pick up some essentials from the supermarket and then raced back across the road and caught the same bus back up the hill ! We then called into the cultural department in the old town hall in the main street of the village and a very helpfull lady called a person in the main town hall and they sent across by e-mail the new timetable which she printed out for us,success !
Thursday was a day to remember;as I went to turn on our large PC the screen did not come on,I tried many times and then realised that " Houston we have a problem " !! I called Andy our friend who is very computer literate and he came round and collected it,later he rang to say that the screen was finished and we needed a new one,everything else was ok.
On Friday morning we went to our bank in Estepona and on the way back picked up the weekend shopping; Andy came round in the early afternoon and 7 hours later was still here! He had loaded on to his memory stick all the Favorites and so he set about checking and cleaning up this PC and at the same time he installed and updated all the anti virus programmes before he then installed them,next he down loaded a system to be able to install some new programmes that were needed including Microsoft Office Word 7 for free ! Next he found the German web site that sells screens and soon found the one that we needed as I had kept all the Dell specifications when I ordered it,we then placed the order and with the usual German proficiency the order confirmation and the the Fedex tracking details arrived later in the evening by e-mail! Next he then updated all the other essential sites that I use including the Skype video and my new Life cam as well as resetting the memory for more power.
Andy you are a star and thank you for your time and attention !
.
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