Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
LA CASA DEL ABUELO THIS WEEK.
MONDAY/FRIDAY 22ND/26TH NOVEMBER 2010.
This week down here in Guadalmina the weather has stayed fine; cool at night but warm and sunny during the day. At the villa everything is fine and we have had no problems, all the animals are well and Joan is eating everything; on Tuesday we went across to the house again to check the mail and pay the bills as well as some shopping including popping in to our local butcher for some Pork Cutlets for supper on Tuesday evening- he had missed us ! On the way back we called into the card shop to start buying and sending the Christmas cards (Australia ) as when we get back it will only leave us three weeks to Christmas ! We have no definite plans at the moment but will sort out what we are going do once we are back in Manilva. On Wednesday I made a Beef Curry as there are lots of ingredients in the cupboards; last night we had Pan Fried flattened Chicken Breast and tonight we are having fish fillets again from the large Black and White fish from last weekend. This weekend we are taking off from the cooking as it is our wedding anniversary on Monday; Tomorrow we are treating ourselves to dinner at Restaurant Victor down in Guadalmina,then we are out on Sunday at Tricky Ricky’s for our regular Sunday Roast and on Monday we are going out to the Marriott Resort restaurant for dinner; this will cost nothing as we can pay with the vouchers that we earned when we did the sales training earlier in the year ! So its three days of celebration on our 39th wedding anniversary – all I can say is that watch out next year on our 40th !! I’ve just come off the Bridge Cam on the Dawn Princess as it makes it way towards Bali after stopping at Brisbane,Port Duglas,Darwin and Broome on its way around Australia with Jack and Lyn on board – what a life !
Thought for the Day ;
Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.
.
This week down here in Guadalmina the weather has stayed fine; cool at night but warm and sunny during the day. At the villa everything is fine and we have had no problems, all the animals are well and Joan is eating everything; on Tuesday we went across to the house again to check the mail and pay the bills as well as some shopping including popping in to our local butcher for some Pork Cutlets for supper on Tuesday evening- he had missed us ! On the way back we called into the card shop to start buying and sending the Christmas cards (Australia ) as when we get back it will only leave us three weeks to Christmas ! We have no definite plans at the moment but will sort out what we are going do once we are back in Manilva. On Wednesday I made a Beef Curry as there are lots of ingredients in the cupboards; last night we had Pan Fried flattened Chicken Breast and tonight we are having fish fillets again from the large Black and White fish from last weekend. This weekend we are taking off from the cooking as it is our wedding anniversary on Monday; Tomorrow we are treating ourselves to dinner at Restaurant Victor down in Guadalmina,then we are out on Sunday at Tricky Ricky’s for our regular Sunday Roast and on Monday we are going out to the Marriott Resort restaurant for dinner; this will cost nothing as we can pay with the vouchers that we earned when we did the sales training earlier in the year ! So its three days of celebration on our 39th wedding anniversary – all I can say is that watch out next year on our 40th !! I’ve just come off the Bridge Cam on the Dawn Princess as it makes it way towards Bali after stopping at Brisbane,Port Duglas,Darwin and Broome on its way around Australia with Jack and Lyn on board – what a life !
Thought for the Day ;
Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.
.
Monday, November 22, 2010
BENAHAVIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
WEDNESDAY/SUNDAY 17TH/21ST NOVEMBER 2010.
Well it’s another week over here in Guadalmina and the weather is holding; cool at night but with clear blue skies during the day and with the sun it gets warm by the early afternoon. All’s quiet at the villa and all the animals are fine, the builder has not turned up but after a little chasing (Wrong number left) it turns out that he had been taken into hospital with Appendicitis ! Also this week Joan’s home help has had to go back to England for a check up and possible operation so we had to call up the standby lady who luckily was available and came this morning; we also shot over to the house to get the post and check that everything was all right as well as pick up my tablets from the chemists. The only problem was that the shutters on the front door had blown away during a very windy night in Manilva;our neighbours have found it and it will be back up by the end of the week. Everyday we at lunchtime eat out on the terrace as it still so calm and warm and on Sunday when we were out for lunch at Tricky Ricks it were very hot on their terrace; it is rather strange eating a full English roast as the sun beats down on you ! We are eating all our usual food but we have to split ourselves between the two kitchens as the downstairs one is small; we had a pan of Scouse on one night which we had frozen and brought over, on Friday we had Fillets of Fish which were very expensive and which I’ve forgotten the name off; it was a large flat fish with Black and White markings and the flesh was firm, it was delicious. Over the weekend it was more sport, England won again in the Rugby and Liverpool also won but yesterday the match of the weekend was when Manchester City beat Fulham 4 – 1
BENAHAVIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON;
After lunch on Sunday it was so nice that we decided to go for a drive and so headed in land through the hills and went to Benahavis;we have nor been their before but had heard about from friends. It is not far from the villa and the road is rather spectacular as it winds its way through a narrow gorge to the breathtakingly beautiful Moorish mountain village. It is known as the Gastronomical capital of the Costa del Sol and we soon found out why; the small village has over thirty restaurants mainly along the high street and the narrow street that runs adjacent to it. The road slowly narrows to a car width and most of it is one way so you have to go around a couple of times to get your bearings; it was full of cars and we had to park on the end of the village and walk back in.Allthough over half of the restaurants were closed at this time of the year it was still very busy and all the restaurants were doing good business especially the “ Los Abanicos ” in the pictures below; as we came into the main part we came across the “Amanhavis Hotel and Restaurant, it is a small boutique hotel with an elegant atmosphere and has nine theme – related suits. All the restaurants are not cheap and it is definitely a celebration visit place ! As you enter the village there is even a Hotel and Restaurant school. The village is spread out over the side of the hills and down into the valley where there is a rather Grand Hotel and not far away is the golf complex where Michelle Obama stayed earlier in the year in the even grander hotel which is which is reputed to be the best in Europe ! The pictured below give you just a little taste of the village and we are sure to go back in the future when we are celebrating something; speaking of which a week today is our wedding anniversary but we have made plans for that all ready !!
Thought for the Day;
The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
.
Well it’s another week over here in Guadalmina and the weather is holding; cool at night but with clear blue skies during the day and with the sun it gets warm by the early afternoon. All’s quiet at the villa and all the animals are fine, the builder has not turned up but after a little chasing (Wrong number left) it turns out that he had been taken into hospital with Appendicitis ! Also this week Joan’s home help has had to go back to England for a check up and possible operation so we had to call up the standby lady who luckily was available and came this morning; we also shot over to the house to get the post and check that everything was all right as well as pick up my tablets from the chemists. The only problem was that the shutters on the front door had blown away during a very windy night in Manilva;our neighbours have found it and it will be back up by the end of the week. Everyday we at lunchtime eat out on the terrace as it still so calm and warm and on Sunday when we were out for lunch at Tricky Ricks it were very hot on their terrace; it is rather strange eating a full English roast as the sun beats down on you ! We are eating all our usual food but we have to split ourselves between the two kitchens as the downstairs one is small; we had a pan of Scouse on one night which we had frozen and brought over, on Friday we had Fillets of Fish which were very expensive and which I’ve forgotten the name off; it was a large flat fish with Black and White markings and the flesh was firm, it was delicious. Over the weekend it was more sport, England won again in the Rugby and Liverpool also won but yesterday the match of the weekend was when Manchester City beat Fulham 4 – 1
BENAHAVIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON;
After lunch on Sunday it was so nice that we decided to go for a drive and so headed in land through the hills and went to Benahavis;we have nor been their before but had heard about from friends. It is not far from the villa and the road is rather spectacular as it winds its way through a narrow gorge to the breathtakingly beautiful Moorish mountain village. It is known as the Gastronomical capital of the Costa del Sol and we soon found out why; the small village has over thirty restaurants mainly along the high street and the narrow street that runs adjacent to it. The road slowly narrows to a car width and most of it is one way so you have to go around a couple of times to get your bearings; it was full of cars and we had to park on the end of the village and walk back in.Allthough over half of the restaurants were closed at this time of the year it was still very busy and all the restaurants were doing good business especially the “ Los Abanicos ” in the pictures below; as we came into the main part we came across the “Amanhavis Hotel and Restaurant, it is a small boutique hotel with an elegant atmosphere and has nine theme – related suits. All the restaurants are not cheap and it is definitely a celebration visit place ! As you enter the village there is even a Hotel and Restaurant school. The village is spread out over the side of the hills and down into the valley where there is a rather Grand Hotel and not far away is the golf complex where Michelle Obama stayed earlier in the year in the even grander hotel which is which is reputed to be the best in Europe ! The pictured below give you just a little taste of the village and we are sure to go back in the future when we are celebrating something; speaking of which a week today is our wedding anniversary but we have made plans for that all ready !!
Thought for the Day;
The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
LA CASA DEL ABUELO - THIS WEEKEND.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY/MONDAY/TUESDAY 13TH/14TH/15TH/16TH/ NOVEMBER 2010.
The weather forecast over the next few days and into next week is getting a little cooler during the day and cold at night; we have put the central heating on as the main lounge area is very large as you can see in the pictures below of the settee with the dogs in front. The sun is still out during the day and it gets warm by lunchtime but it sounds like some rain is just around the corner, our first in six months! The Rugby on Saturday was very exciting; England murdered the Australains, Wales nearly beat the South Africans but Ireland were taken apart by the All Blacks; Liverpool lost, Manchester City could only draw and Manchester Utd were lucky to draw.In the evening we had Rib Eye Steaks with all the trimmings for dinner before settling down to the TV and the Neil Diamond Concert from the Electric Proms.
On Sunday morning after a lie in we got ready early to go out for lunch early to Tricky Ricky’s so as I could watch the Grand Prix;Ferrai got it all wrong in their strategy and lost Alonso the title to Vettle,even the King, Juan Carlos had gone out in anticipation of Alonso winning ! Over the last two days we have had Pork Loin steaks; we had a piece of Pork in the deep freeze so I cut it into steaks and we had it Pan-fried as usual on Monday with vegetables and yesterday I Baked them in a Provencale sauce! Today as I have been typing this I noticed that Joyce our old friend in North Wales was online on Skype so we have just had a long video chat with her and caught up with all her news, she has just come out of hospital after a nasty operation on her feet and is recuperating at home –get well soon and we will see you in the New Year when you come over to you’re house!
PS; Jack and Lyn on their cruise around Australia have just left Brisbane and are heading up the Gold Coast after visiting Sydney and Tasmania whilst Clive and Carolyn are just about arriving now in Bridgetown,Barbados !
Thought for the Day;
We all smile in the same language.
.
The weather forecast over the next few days and into next week is getting a little cooler during the day and cold at night; we have put the central heating on as the main lounge area is very large as you can see in the pictures below of the settee with the dogs in front. The sun is still out during the day and it gets warm by lunchtime but it sounds like some rain is just around the corner, our first in six months! The Rugby on Saturday was very exciting; England murdered the Australains, Wales nearly beat the South Africans but Ireland were taken apart by the All Blacks; Liverpool lost, Manchester City could only draw and Manchester Utd were lucky to draw.In the evening we had Rib Eye Steaks with all the trimmings for dinner before settling down to the TV and the Neil Diamond Concert from the Electric Proms.
On Sunday morning after a lie in we got ready early to go out for lunch early to Tricky Ricky’s so as I could watch the Grand Prix;Ferrai got it all wrong in their strategy and lost Alonso the title to Vettle,even the King, Juan Carlos had gone out in anticipation of Alonso winning ! Over the last two days we have had Pork Loin steaks; we had a piece of Pork in the deep freeze so I cut it into steaks and we had it Pan-fried as usual on Monday with vegetables and yesterday I Baked them in a Provencale sauce! Today as I have been typing this I noticed that Joyce our old friend in North Wales was online on Skype so we have just had a long video chat with her and caught up with all her news, she has just come out of hospital after a nasty operation on her feet and is recuperating at home –get well soon and we will see you in the New Year when you come over to you’re house!
PS; Jack and Lyn on their cruise around Australia have just left Brisbane and are heading up the Gold Coast after visiting Sydney and Tasmania whilst Clive and Carolyn are just about arriving now in Bridgetown,Barbados !
Thought for the Day;
We all smile in the same language.
.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
LA CASA DEL ABUELO.
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY/FRIDAY 9TH/10TH/11TH 12TH NOVEMBER 2010.
The weather all this week and over the coming weekend has been warm and sunny during the day, building up in the afternoon and then crisp at night but with no wind; we have just pottered about the villa this week, all the animals are fine and all the people that come to work,cleaner,gardener and home help have been on time, one day we went with the home help down to the other Mums apartment so as we could make contact with her and also so we knew where she was. Joan here is fine and eating well ,she is a vegetarian so Brenda has been passing on some of her famous vegetables to go with the meals that the home help prepares; we have been watching and catching up with our favoutite TV programs at the same time,QI,Grand Design,Jools Holland just to mention a few. For dinner we have had Pork Cutlets, Chicken Curry that I made at home and put in the deep freeze, Cottage Pie which I made on Thursday and yesterday we had the Baby Lemon Soles again; tonight we are having Rib Eye steaks that we picked up from the English butchers along the road and tomorrow we are going out for lunch to Tricky Ricky’s again. This weekend is a big sports agenda with three Rugby Union International's, Racing from Chelteham, Football and of course the last Grand Prix of the season when the winner will be decided.
Thought for the Day;
“ Honesty ” without compassion and understanding is not honest but subtle hostility.
.
The weather all this week and over the coming weekend has been warm and sunny during the day, building up in the afternoon and then crisp at night but with no wind; we have just pottered about the villa this week, all the animals are fine and all the people that come to work,cleaner,gardener and home help have been on time, one day we went with the home help down to the other Mums apartment so as we could make contact with her and also so we knew where she was. Joan here is fine and eating well ,she is a vegetarian so Brenda has been passing on some of her famous vegetables to go with the meals that the home help prepares; we have been watching and catching up with our favoutite TV programs at the same time,QI,Grand Design,Jools Holland just to mention a few. For dinner we have had Pork Cutlets, Chicken Curry that I made at home and put in the deep freeze, Cottage Pie which I made on Thursday and yesterday we had the Baby Lemon Soles again; tonight we are having Rib Eye steaks that we picked up from the English butchers along the road and tomorrow we are going out for lunch to Tricky Ricky’s again. This weekend is a big sports agenda with three Rugby Union International's, Racing from Chelteham, Football and of course the last Grand Prix of the season when the winner will be decided.
Thought for the Day;
“ Honesty ” without compassion and understanding is not honest but subtle hostility.
.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
LA CASA DEL ABUELO THIS WEEKEND.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY/MONDAY 6TH/7TH/8TH NOVEMBER 2010.
The weather is staying dry and sunny but it is getting a little cooler at night; On Saturday morning we settled all the animals down, in particular the three dogs,Bruno,Abbie and Vinnie who are very good and are not a problem to look after, the two house cats, Sam and Tiger just come and go as they please and they are now starting to become more friendly. Saturday was sports day on the TV; it was the qualifying for the Grand Prix in Brazil and the Motorcycling GP in Valencia;England,Wales and Ireland all lost in the Rugby Union and there was some FA cup football on as well during the day. In the evening we had Minute Steak with Baked Potatoes and salad for dinner; later we watched the Robert Plant evening on BBC2,it started with a documentary about the early days and Led Zeppelin, then a live concert from the Roundhouse in London with his current backing group the Band of Joy; who were very good, the band was made up of seasoned professional session musicians with an excellent female singer who harmonized with him, in typical Robert Plant style the whole show rocked ! Later it showed all the times that he had appeared on the Jools Holland show and the collaborations with other artists
We had a little lie in on Sunday morning and took things easy as we got ready to go out for lunch; we went down to Guadalmina to Tricky Ricky’s and had as usual an excellent lunch; Brenda had the Roast Pork and Roast Lamb and I had the Roast Beef, they come with Roast and Mashed potatoes, Crackling and Homemade stuffing all on the plate and the vegetables are served on a side dish Cabbage,Cauilflower,Broccoli and puree of Carrots and Swede together with a sauce boat of proper gravy ! I also picked up a Sunday paper as a treat to read over the next few days. The pictures below were taken just before we went out and show how good the garden is looking and also the Banana tree which this year has actually got Bananas growing on it ! When we got back the Grand Prix had just started and the Motorcycling GP was nearly finished; we then watched the Manchester City match, they won and then the high light of the day when Liverpool beat Chelsea and Torres scored two goals, the second one was out of this world !
Yesterday after the gardener and home help had settled in we shot out to stock up with some essentials; the weather forecast over the next couple of days is a little windy and some rain, it’s the tail of what is hitting England at the moment but we have been lucky as I am typing this as it has passed us by; we are then back to normal, warm and sunny ! Last night we had Pan Fried flattened Chicken Breast with Baked Potatoes and salad for supper and then watched QI,one of our favorites. During the day I caught up with the Clive and Carolyn’s cruise; after Casablanca, Morocco they have stopped at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Santa Cruz on Tenerife before six days at sea, from today to Roseau on Dominica, next Monday, they then call at Castries,St Lucia before they get to Bridgetown ,Barbados on Wednesday the 17th !
Thought for the Day;
The wise person questions himself, the fool others.
.
The weather is staying dry and sunny but it is getting a little cooler at night; On Saturday morning we settled all the animals down, in particular the three dogs,Bruno,Abbie and Vinnie who are very good and are not a problem to look after, the two house cats, Sam and Tiger just come and go as they please and they are now starting to become more friendly. Saturday was sports day on the TV; it was the qualifying for the Grand Prix in Brazil and the Motorcycling GP in Valencia;England,Wales and Ireland all lost in the Rugby Union and there was some FA cup football on as well during the day. In the evening we had Minute Steak with Baked Potatoes and salad for dinner; later we watched the Robert Plant evening on BBC2,it started with a documentary about the early days and Led Zeppelin, then a live concert from the Roundhouse in London with his current backing group the Band of Joy; who were very good, the band was made up of seasoned professional session musicians with an excellent female singer who harmonized with him, in typical Robert Plant style the whole show rocked ! Later it showed all the times that he had appeared on the Jools Holland show and the collaborations with other artists
We had a little lie in on Sunday morning and took things easy as we got ready to go out for lunch; we went down to Guadalmina to Tricky Ricky’s and had as usual an excellent lunch; Brenda had the Roast Pork and Roast Lamb and I had the Roast Beef, they come with Roast and Mashed potatoes, Crackling and Homemade stuffing all on the plate and the vegetables are served on a side dish Cabbage,Cauilflower,Broccoli and puree of Carrots and Swede together with a sauce boat of proper gravy ! I also picked up a Sunday paper as a treat to read over the next few days. The pictures below were taken just before we went out and show how good the garden is looking and also the Banana tree which this year has actually got Bananas growing on it ! When we got back the Grand Prix had just started and the Motorcycling GP was nearly finished; we then watched the Manchester City match, they won and then the high light of the day when Liverpool beat Chelsea and Torres scored two goals, the second one was out of this world !
Yesterday after the gardener and home help had settled in we shot out to stock up with some essentials; the weather forecast over the next couple of days is a little windy and some rain, it’s the tail of what is hitting England at the moment but we have been lucky as I am typing this as it has passed us by; we are then back to normal, warm and sunny ! Last night we had Pan Fried flattened Chicken Breast with Baked Potatoes and salad for supper and then watched QI,one of our favorites. During the day I caught up with the Clive and Carolyn’s cruise; after Casablanca, Morocco they have stopped at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Santa Cruz on Tenerife before six days at sea, from today to Roseau on Dominica, next Monday, they then call at Castries,St Lucia before they get to Bridgetown ,Barbados on Wednesday the 17th !
Thought for the Day;
The wise person questions himself, the fool others.
.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Friday, November 05, 2010
GUADALMINA ALTA LA CASA DEL ABUELO.
WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY/FRIDAY 3RD/4TH/5TH NOVEMBER 2010.
We came across to Guadalmina on Wednesday lunchtime to La Casa Del Abuelo to take over from Clive and Carolyn as they went on their five week holiday; they stayed on Wednesday evening at a hotel in the old part of Malaga before they joined the cruise liner on Thursday lunchtime for the two week cruise to Barbados. I tried to log on to a web cam on the " Silver Cloud " to follow then as they started off and went through the Staites of Gibraltar but sadly it does not have one !The three dogs are fine and are not a problem to look after as they have a large pound and kennel in the grounds of the very large garden’ the two house cats come and go as they please but the five/six wild cats are a pain in the neck ! The fish in the pond have grown and at feeding time the pond becomes like as if there is a shoal of Piranhas – hopefully not!! Joan, Clive’s mum. has her own flat in the old part of the villa and she has a home help in three times a week, as well as a hairdresser and chiropodist calling in so she is easy to look after. The gardener is in once a week to keep the garden, terrace and pool up to scratch and the cleaner does all the washing and ironing as well as looking after the villa on the same day. We are expecting the builders to call in next week, as arranged, to work on the outside drains and gully’s before we have any rain; the weather is beautiful at the moment with clear blue skies, hot sun and no breeze but the pool is not hot enough as we dipped our toes in it this morning! In the evening we had the last of the Scouse that we brought across for supper and then settled down to watch the large screen TV and catch up with all our old favorites.
On Thursday we were up early for the gardener and cleaner and have now settled down to a routine in the villa with the feeding of the animals. We popped out to pick up some essentials from down in Guadalmina and in the evening; we had Pan Fried Flattened Chicken Breast with Balsamic Vinegar and Sauté Potatoes with Green Beans for dinner. We then watched the football, sadly Manchester City lost in Poland but Liverpool won in Italy after a second half hat trick from Steven Gerrard!
This morning we have been down to find the Mercadona supermarket in San Pedro and stock up for the weekend, tonight we are having Pan Fried Baby Lemon Soles with New Potatoes and Garden Peas for supper and we are going out for our Sunday Lunch, for a change, to Tricky Ricky’s in Guadalmina.Tomorrow is a TV day as the International Rugby starts with Wales playing the Australians and England against the New Zealand All Blacks!!
Thought for the Day;
Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.
.
.
We came across to Guadalmina on Wednesday lunchtime to La Casa Del Abuelo to take over from Clive and Carolyn as they went on their five week holiday; they stayed on Wednesday evening at a hotel in the old part of Malaga before they joined the cruise liner on Thursday lunchtime for the two week cruise to Barbados. I tried to log on to a web cam on the " Silver Cloud " to follow then as they started off and went through the Staites of Gibraltar but sadly it does not have one !The three dogs are fine and are not a problem to look after as they have a large pound and kennel in the grounds of the very large garden’ the two house cats come and go as they please but the five/six wild cats are a pain in the neck ! The fish in the pond have grown and at feeding time the pond becomes like as if there is a shoal of Piranhas – hopefully not!! Joan, Clive’s mum. has her own flat in the old part of the villa and she has a home help in three times a week, as well as a hairdresser and chiropodist calling in so she is easy to look after. The gardener is in once a week to keep the garden, terrace and pool up to scratch and the cleaner does all the washing and ironing as well as looking after the villa on the same day. We are expecting the builders to call in next week, as arranged, to work on the outside drains and gully’s before we have any rain; the weather is beautiful at the moment with clear blue skies, hot sun and no breeze but the pool is not hot enough as we dipped our toes in it this morning! In the evening we had the last of the Scouse that we brought across for supper and then settled down to watch the large screen TV and catch up with all our old favorites.
On Thursday we were up early for the gardener and cleaner and have now settled down to a routine in the villa with the feeding of the animals. We popped out to pick up some essentials from down in Guadalmina and in the evening; we had Pan Fried Flattened Chicken Breast with Balsamic Vinegar and Sauté Potatoes with Green Beans for dinner. We then watched the football, sadly Manchester City lost in Poland but Liverpool won in Italy after a second half hat trick from Steven Gerrard!
This morning we have been down to find the Mercadona supermarket in San Pedro and stock up for the weekend, tonight we are having Pan Fried Baby Lemon Soles with New Potatoes and Garden Peas for supper and we are going out for our Sunday Lunch, for a change, to Tricky Ricky’s in Guadalmina.Tomorrow is a TV day as the International Rugby starts with Wales playing the Australians and England against the New Zealand All Blacks!!
Thought for the Day;
Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.
.
.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
MANILVA TODAY.
MONDAY/TUESDAY 1ST/2ND NOVEMBER 2010.
This weekend was a bank holiday here in Spain; it was one of the many saints day on Sunday, in fact it was “ All Saints Day “ which is a rather special because it is the weekend when family’s get together to celebrate the dead ! On Friday and Saturday all the locals were buying large and very expensive bunches of flowers which they take to the cemetery on Sunday and they decorate the family walled mausoleum’s as you can see in the picture below, the “ Cementerio “ is next to the church in the centre of the village and as you would expect it is very quiet and tranquil. The weather is still warm and sunny and today was the best day so far in November ! The sky was clear and blue, the mountains had a clear green vista and the Mediterranean was a sparkling blue and green, no breeze and by mid afternoon it had reached 25degs.unlike the rest of Spain which has rain storms, high winds and the first snow on the high Sierra above Malaga.
On Monday there was a wonderful aroma in the house and up the street ; I made a Beef Stew ! Made with Onions,Carrots,Celery,Leeks,and Baby Turnips. Green Beans, Mushrooms and Dice Potatoes together with my secret ingredients – SCOUSE !! We had it for dinner with fresh garden Peas and shredded Beetroot.
Today we had planned to pack this morning but it is so gorgeous we went and picked Cheta up and went for a long walk with her, her last for five weeks until we get back in December ! We then sat outside Bar Rojas and had our final drink with them – Manolo gave me the biggest Barcardi and Coke ever as you can see in the last picture ! Tonight we are having Pork Cutlets for supper after the packing,Brenda is at this moment on the roof terrace taking in the sun and working herself up for the task ahead ! The next Blog will be from Casa Del Abuelo in Guadalmina Alta on Wednesday.
Thought for the Day;
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.
.
.
This weekend was a bank holiday here in Spain; it was one of the many saints day on Sunday, in fact it was “ All Saints Day “ which is a rather special because it is the weekend when family’s get together to celebrate the dead ! On Friday and Saturday all the locals were buying large and very expensive bunches of flowers which they take to the cemetery on Sunday and they decorate the family walled mausoleum’s as you can see in the picture below, the “ Cementerio “ is next to the church in the centre of the village and as you would expect it is very quiet and tranquil. The weather is still warm and sunny and today was the best day so far in November ! The sky was clear and blue, the mountains had a clear green vista and the Mediterranean was a sparkling blue and green, no breeze and by mid afternoon it had reached 25degs.unlike the rest of Spain which has rain storms, high winds and the first snow on the high Sierra above Malaga.
On Monday there was a wonderful aroma in the house and up the street ; I made a Beef Stew ! Made with Onions,Carrots,Celery,Leeks,and Baby Turnips. Green Beans, Mushrooms and Dice Potatoes together with my secret ingredients – SCOUSE !! We had it for dinner with fresh garden Peas and shredded Beetroot.
Today we had planned to pack this morning but it is so gorgeous we went and picked Cheta up and went for a long walk with her, her last for five weeks until we get back in December ! We then sat outside Bar Rojas and had our final drink with them – Manolo gave me the biggest Barcardi and Coke ever as you can see in the last picture ! Tonight we are having Pork Cutlets for supper after the packing,Brenda is at this moment on the roof terrace taking in the sun and working herself up for the task ahead ! The next Blog will be from Casa Del Abuelo in Guadalmina Alta on Wednesday.
Thought for the Day;
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.
.
.
Monday, November 01, 2010
MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.
FRIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY 29TH/30TH/31ST OCTOBER 2010.
As usual on Friday morning we did the weekend shopping and stocked up for our five weeks over in Guadalmina at Clive and Carolyn’s villa from next Wednesday; Mano and Anna’s trip to Madrid has been put back for this weekend so we had to change our plans, in the evening we had supper up at Bar Rojas, Lumy looked after us and we had a lovely meal, Brenda had the John Dory fried in a light batter with a crisp side salad and I had Egg and Frits with a side order of “ Carne Machada ” It is a slow cooked meat which has lots of flavor, served cold and thinly sliced, on the pink side, sprinked with course salt, it is spectacular and we devoured it with the salad and more Patatas Fritas ! Just before we went out I made our usual call to Tim in Old Colwyn;during the day I go on the North Wales BBC news page and catch up with what is going on,I can even check out the weather on the motorway live camera’s ! The pictures below show the village as walked around and the new wall that had just been finished, it is on the road out of the village to the Autopiste and Casares; they have used Manilva stone and the small wall placks as you can see show the process of making Manilva wine, Brenda is training Cheta to walk on the lead.
WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY – RHEILFORDD ERYRI – OPENING 2011.
Whilst I was on the news page I read the story about the special run taking place on Saturday along the new Welsh Highland Railway line; it starts from the side of the awe – inspiring Caernarfon Castle and snakes around bends and hard gradients in the foothills of Snowdonia past Waunfawr to arrive at Rhyd Dhu,it then passes Lyn y Gader and climbs to the summit at Pitts Head before it zig- zags down the steep hillside to Beddgelert.They have built a new station just by Gelerts Grave on the edge of the village; the railway then heads to the Aberglasyn Pass running high above the fast flowing Afon Glaslyn river before plunging dramatically into a tunnel through the hillside and emerging past Nantmor village on its way around Pont Croesor behind Tremadoc and finishing along the main street of Portmadoc,crossing over the Britannia Bridge which has now got flashing lights and audible warnings as it turns onto the Cobb and joins up with world famous Ffestinog Railway to Blaenu;they have even constructed the only level crossing in the UK for trains just before Portmadoc so as the narrow 2’gauge can cross the main standard gauge line of the Cambrian Coast Railway ! The journey takes place behind the most powerful steam locomotives in the world on a 23 mile ride, offering onwards travel on the Ffestinog line which will make it a staggering 40 miles – truly a “ Great Railway Journey ”
The WHR will be operated by mainly a set of four Beyer-Garatt NGG16 ( 2-6-2 + 2-6-2T ) locomotives formerly from South Africa, they are probably the most powerful 2 foot gauge engines in the world and can cope with the 1 in 40 gradients along the line and pulling up to 12 coaches at close to 25mph when the line is fully bedded in ! They are painted in Black or Green or Blue and Red livery and are very different as they have tanks in front and at the back and a very unusual wheel set up; they have also built the UKs newest steam locomotive named “ Lyd ” at the oldest operational railway workshop in the world at Boston Lodge Works ! She is capable of working on both the WHR and the FR lines and will be able to pull five carriages on the steeper WHR and ten on the FR and will be painted in Southern Railways green livery. They also have two working Diesel engines built in Sooth Africa by CH Funkey and Co of Johannesburg to work in the diamond mines in Namibia, powered by a turbocharged 335 horsepower engines they are now on the WHR and FR. The carriages are special also, there are three third class saloons, three semi-open coaches, a first class Pullman and a panoramic Pullman Observation carriage as well as a Heritage coach and various Bike Wagons and Brake Vans – all finished in there original Red and Cream livery ! Sorry that I have got a bit taken away but trains have always been my thing and nearly now after forty years ago when we worked in Beddgelert when this project was spoken as a pipe dream it is great to see it come into fruition at last after nearly fifty years !! The picture below shows one of the locomotives that I have talked about.
On Sunday after an extra hour in bed as the clocks had gone back we decided to have a late brunch,Mano and Anna joined us as we sat down to Fried Eggs,Smoked English Back Bacon,Spanish Smoked Crispy Streakey Bacon and Chorizo,English Homemade Pork Sausages,Tomato,Mushrooms,Min- Steak and Onions,Baked Beans and Saute Potatoes !! Toast and Tea !! Then we all sat down and relaxed and put the world to rights !
Thought for the Day;
You can't make someone's else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.
.
As usual on Friday morning we did the weekend shopping and stocked up for our five weeks over in Guadalmina at Clive and Carolyn’s villa from next Wednesday; Mano and Anna’s trip to Madrid has been put back for this weekend so we had to change our plans, in the evening we had supper up at Bar Rojas, Lumy looked after us and we had a lovely meal, Brenda had the John Dory fried in a light batter with a crisp side salad and I had Egg and Frits with a side order of “ Carne Machada ” It is a slow cooked meat which has lots of flavor, served cold and thinly sliced, on the pink side, sprinked with course salt, it is spectacular and we devoured it with the salad and more Patatas Fritas ! Just before we went out I made our usual call to Tim in Old Colwyn;during the day I go on the North Wales BBC news page and catch up with what is going on,I can even check out the weather on the motorway live camera’s ! The pictures below show the village as walked around and the new wall that had just been finished, it is on the road out of the village to the Autopiste and Casares; they have used Manilva stone and the small wall placks as you can see show the process of making Manilva wine, Brenda is training Cheta to walk on the lead.
WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY – RHEILFORDD ERYRI – OPENING 2011.
Whilst I was on the news page I read the story about the special run taking place on Saturday along the new Welsh Highland Railway line; it starts from the side of the awe – inspiring Caernarfon Castle and snakes around bends and hard gradients in the foothills of Snowdonia past Waunfawr to arrive at Rhyd Dhu,it then passes Lyn y Gader and climbs to the summit at Pitts Head before it zig- zags down the steep hillside to Beddgelert.They have built a new station just by Gelerts Grave on the edge of the village; the railway then heads to the Aberglasyn Pass running high above the fast flowing Afon Glaslyn river before plunging dramatically into a tunnel through the hillside and emerging past Nantmor village on its way around Pont Croesor behind Tremadoc and finishing along the main street of Portmadoc,crossing over the Britannia Bridge which has now got flashing lights and audible warnings as it turns onto the Cobb and joins up with world famous Ffestinog Railway to Blaenu;they have even constructed the only level crossing in the UK for trains just before Portmadoc so as the narrow 2’gauge can cross the main standard gauge line of the Cambrian Coast Railway ! The journey takes place behind the most powerful steam locomotives in the world on a 23 mile ride, offering onwards travel on the Ffestinog line which will make it a staggering 40 miles – truly a “ Great Railway Journey ”
The WHR will be operated by mainly a set of four Beyer-Garatt NGG16 ( 2-6-2 + 2-6-2T ) locomotives formerly from South Africa, they are probably the most powerful 2 foot gauge engines in the world and can cope with the 1 in 40 gradients along the line and pulling up to 12 coaches at close to 25mph when the line is fully bedded in ! They are painted in Black or Green or Blue and Red livery and are very different as they have tanks in front and at the back and a very unusual wheel set up; they have also built the UKs newest steam locomotive named “ Lyd ” at the oldest operational railway workshop in the world at Boston Lodge Works ! She is capable of working on both the WHR and the FR lines and will be able to pull five carriages on the steeper WHR and ten on the FR and will be painted in Southern Railways green livery. They also have two working Diesel engines built in Sooth Africa by CH Funkey and Co of Johannesburg to work in the diamond mines in Namibia, powered by a turbocharged 335 horsepower engines they are now on the WHR and FR. The carriages are special also, there are three third class saloons, three semi-open coaches, a first class Pullman and a panoramic Pullman Observation carriage as well as a Heritage coach and various Bike Wagons and Brake Vans – all finished in there original Red and Cream livery ! Sorry that I have got a bit taken away but trains have always been my thing and nearly now after forty years ago when we worked in Beddgelert when this project was spoken as a pipe dream it is great to see it come into fruition at last after nearly fifty years !! The picture below shows one of the locomotives that I have talked about.
On Sunday after an extra hour in bed as the clocks had gone back we decided to have a late brunch,Mano and Anna joined us as we sat down to Fried Eggs,Smoked English Back Bacon,Spanish Smoked Crispy Streakey Bacon and Chorizo,English Homemade Pork Sausages,Tomato,Mushrooms,Min- Steak and Onions,Baked Beans and Saute Potatoes !! Toast and Tea !! Then we all sat down and relaxed and put the world to rights !
Thought for the Day;
You can't make someone's else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.
.
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