MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

TUESDAY 29^th NOVEMBER 2011.

AM;

We treated ourselves to a lie in, just as we did forty years ago! For breakfast we had Scrambled Eggs with local Smoked Salmon to set us up for the day ahead; the weather here is glorious at the moment with blue skies and warm sunshine 21 degs.We then went for our morning walk with Cheta around the village, the council have now put up the new tourist signs and plaques, some of them are even in Braille – pictures to follow on another day. We ended up sat outside Bar Rojas and had a celebration drink and took in the sites and sounds of sunny Manilva – Carlos came along and joined us for one and Barbara passed on her way to pick up the kids from school; we then had a light lunch back at ‘ Mi Casa ’ of a Minute Steak smeared in Mustard and cooked ‘ Blue’ with a local Tomato salad, Brenda then retired to the roof terrace to take in the afternoon sunshine and I caught up with the Facebook messages; we had a great response to the picture from all over the world from all the family and friends – thank you ! We then had a little siesta before getting ready to go out for dinner with Mano and Anna.The pictures above show us on our way out to the restaurant.

PM;

Mano and Anna joined us in the evening and we started off with ‘ Kir Royal’s ’ made with a excellent ‘ Cordorniu Blanc de Blanc Brut Cava ’which we had bought a couple of months ago at a fine wine supplier’s shop over in Sotogrande which we use for special occasions. We used our special and very expensive French Champagne flutes that we treated our selves to back on our travels on our 35^TH wedding anniversary ! We also had some Tapas of Local Chorizo,Pata Negra Ham,Manchega Cheese and Local Smoked Salmon before we set off down to the coast.Mano had booked a table at a restaurant that we have wanted to go to for quite a while ‘ Restaurante San Rafael ’which is on the coast road going out of Sabinillas on the way to Sotogrande; he has been sending his clients there from the villa this year and he and Anna have used it for many years, it is an old established Spanish restaurant that specializes in ‘ Cordero Asdo,Cochnillo y Pescado a la Sal ’ Young Lamb, Baby Suckling Pig and fish cooked in salt ! We had a warm welcome and soon where having our aperitif drinks at the bar; the pictures below show the bar and restaurant and the food which I’ am just about going to write about; after checking out the menu Brenda and Mano decided on the Baby Suckling Pig and I chose to have the ‘ Chateaubriand ’of the house, which Anna joined with me readily. I’ve been fancying one for ages ! The head chef came out to see us and confirmed that we would have a ‘ Béarnaise sauce to remember and also some vegetables and the house special potatoes;

As we sat down at a nice large table the House Bread came along that had just come out of the oven, it has small holes in the top so as you can inject the House Garlic Olive Oil into the centre – mouth watering. We were then presented with a complementary taste starter of the day, an Oyster in a Savory Tomato sauce which had then been bread crumbed in the shell and deep fried – it was delicious, you could eat a lot more of them ! Brenda had a half bottle of Marques de Caceres,Crianza Rioja whilst Anna went on the house dry local white and Mano and I carried on with our drinks; The Suckling Pig arrived from the oven and then was broken up with a fork and presented, the Chateaubriand had been roasted wrapped in Smoked Bacon and was then carved and presented, medium rare as ordered ! The Suckling Pig was very tasty, mouth watering and the crackling was just unbelievable, it tasted wonderful and again just melts in the mouth ! The Chateaubriand was one of the best that I’ve ever had, it had been cooked perfectly and melted like butter in the mouth, the Head Chef was right about his Béarnaise sauce, it was spot on in taste and consistency and had been made with local fresh Tarragon ! It all came with a Macedoine of local vegetables including local baby Sprouts and the house Boulangere Potatoes straight from the oven ! Heaven !!

No sweets were ordered as they came along with the house chilled liquors,Herb,Apple and Berry in small bottles – with chilled shot glasses – on the house. A complimentary round of drinks arrived as Brenda and Mano went on the flaming Carajillo’s ! Whoh ! What a night to remember !!

PS; We ended up back at bar Rojas for a nightcap sat outside where we had started twelve hours ago !

Thought for the Day;

Those truly linked don’t need correspondence, when they meet again after many years apart.Their friendship is as true as ever.

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MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS. CELEBRATIONS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS.

MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS.

TUESDAY 29^th NOVEMBER 2011.

On Monday the 29^TH November 1971 we were married in Christ Church, Port Sunlight; it is our ‘Ruby Wedding Anniversary’ today! The picture above shows a very young and different looking couple to today. It was a fine, crisp, sunny day for November and the church was looking at its best as we entered to the sound of ‘ Handel’s ‘ wedding march; Brenda’s mum and her dad, who gave her away, along with my mum were there and our dear friend Carol’s husband Fred was my Best man, Christ Church is twenty yards away from the ‘ Bridge Inn ’ where I met Brenda when she came to work as a part time barmaid in the cocktail bar, I was the live in Assistant Manager and our dear friend over in Chester Jane’s father Bert was the manager ! Fred and Carol also met in the bar and later sadly Fred was buried there when he died tragically so young, one of his daughters was married there and Carol was also buried there when she also died too young.

It was a “ Helluva ” day as our family and friends joined us at our hastily arranged wedding; we had to make the arrangements in four weeks after we found our first job together as Managers, I was contracted to be single and we had only been engaged for a short while when we found a job and went for the interview at the ‘ Chester Grosvenor Hotel ’ It turned out to be the famous mountaineers hotel at the foot of Snowdon, the ‘ Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel ’ where Hillary and Tensing trained for the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 ! We were married on a Monday so as we could have the reception at the Bridge Inn in the Bolton Room as it was booked on the Saturday for a wedding ! We had a guard of honor up the steps formed by the waitress’s holding wooden spoons above our heads !After the reception we headed off on our honeymoon in Berts,wife Nan’s new Mini which she lent us as a wedding present ! God bless you Nan, she still lives just up the road in Bebington. On the way to our honeymoon destination hotel, the ‘ White Lion Royal’ in Bala for five days, it was the first hotel that I worked in as a student and the manager at the time, Ron Astle, gave me a full time job when I left college in Liverpool. On the way we stopped off at the ‘ Owain Glyndwr Hotel ’in Corwen for dinner; it had a very good restaurant and was run by a Mrs Tinniswood who used to be Ted Roberts right hand lady at his famous restaurant in Liverpool,half way up Bold Street, ‘ The Rembrandt Club ’ We arrived at the White Lion Royal rather late and very happy, the manager and his wife, Stuart Reed, who later went on to be the Chairman of De Vere Hotels for Greenall Whitley, was sat up waiting for us and we ended up going to bed at 6-30 in the morning after a very hospitable champagne night ! I can remember getting into bed with a Deerstalker hat on, with the flaps down, and nothing else !! We moved into Pen-y Gwryd at the end of the week with the help of Fred and his van and that’s where it all started for us; Brenda was dropped in at the deep end for her first Xmas away from her home and family as we learnt the hard way, the beer was taken from the barrel into jugs and then poured into the glass ! On Xmas day after breakfast all the residents, by tradition, went out and climbed the ‘ Chimney ’at the foot of Snowdon,dinner was announced by ringing a large gong at the foot of the stairs at 8-00pm prompt, I was shown how to do it by the then owner Chris Briggs ! His family still run it. The tradition was also for the meal to be Roast Goose – an acquired taste ! Just after Xmas we became snowed in for 3/4 days and so a very famous climber at that time Joe Brown took us out to climb Snowdon,when we got to the top it was the only mountain above the clouds on a fine blue sky day ! We always remember as we set off to go down Brenda was first over the edge, roped up, I followed and Joe Brown was last !!

Six months later we were approached by the son of one of the owners of ‘ The Royal Goat Hotel ’ in Beddgelert to go and work for them; it was owned by a group of Midlands business men who also at the time owned West Bromwich Albion Football Club ! And so the saga begins ! Watch out for the book !!

Thought for the Day;

A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.

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MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.

MANILVA TODAY.

MONDAY 28^TH NOVEMBER 2011.

As we got up this morning the sun was out, the sky was blue and the forecast, especially for tomorrow, is looking good and more of the same later in the week, at this time of the year it is so nice to be able to go for our walks with Cheta, as you can see in the picture above, taken on Saturday, down at the sports ground the sky is just totally blue, we even took off our jumpers as it was so hot! Earlier today Mano and Anna called in to update us on their latest news; Mano has finished work for the next four months as the hotel is closing this winter, for the first time, and will not reopen until April when the first guests of the new year arrive; it means that we can now hopefully go out tomorrow for dinner with them on our ‘Ruby Wedding Anniversary’ we could not make any arrangements before until he found out his day off! We were married on a crisp sunny Monday-in November forty years ago.

We are pottering about the house today as tomorrow we are having the day off and are going to play-a little! Tonight we are having cold Chicken for supper with vegetables and Roast Potatoes and an early night to prepare for tomorrow’s celebrations. Brenda has just tried on her outfit for tomorrow evening, mine’s ready.She has also had the Foot-Spa on the go and is now painting her toe nails,I stopped typing this and had a go also,it is very relaxing as we sit in the chill out room with the doors and windows open taking in the sights,smells and sounds of Manilva !

I have just watched on the BBC IPlayer this weekend’s edition of ‘Saturday Morning Kitchen ’This weeks guest chefs were Rick Stein and the DJ Chris Evans? Rick Stein made Prawn Fritters with fried Spanish green Peppers and Aioli whilst Chris Evans had been to the best Italian chef in the country and he had shown him how to make Deep Fried sweet Ravioli! Both wines chosen were Spanish with the pudding wine, from the ‘Torres ’vineyard was an Orange flavored Muscatel!

Lastly the very sad news of the untimely death of Garry Speed, the Wales football manager, at the age of 42 was announced on Sunday morning; tributes are pouring in from across the sporting world, the flags are flying at half-mast at the Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff and supporters are leaving flowers, shirts and scarves outside the ground where he used to play; sadly he leaves behind his wife and two young sons, our thoughts go out to them and all his family at this time.

Thought for the Day;

Least we shall forget;

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WALES NEWS.

MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY 24^th/ 27^TH NOVEMBER 2011.

On Thursday morning after breakfast we sent a message on Facebook to Lilli in Pori in Finland; it was her 30^TH Birthday and the reports that followed suggested that she had a “ Helluva “ birthday that lasted a few days ! ‘ Onnea ’Lilli !! The weather forecast is good and getting even better over the weekend and next week is also looking warm and sunny, especially for Tuesday, more later ! In the afternoon I watched on the BBC IPlayer Tuesday’s live Jools Holland show, it featured the ‘ Red Hot Chili Peppers ’ They were very good in fact Jools and Noel Gallagher, who was also on the programme,stood watching them with their mouths open ! They rocked !! The new young lead guitarist played out of his skin and really fitted in with the group, the maniacal bass player, who had three huge bass amplifiers, set down a “ Helluva ” beat and they thumped out three rock numbers that played loud on my speakers brought the house down ! In the evening after supper we watched the game from the San Siro stadium in Milan between AC.Milan and Barcelona, a great match ,Barcelona won 3-2 but at the weekend Barcelona lost to, surprisingly to Getafe 1 -0 and are now six points behind Real Madrid in La Liga .

Friday morning we went down to Sabinillas to do the weekend shopping and got a lift down straight away, we came back in a taxi as we ended up loaded up with shopping including some more Xmas goods. We had a fish and chip supper with Mushy Peas and then as the TV system had gone off we read and listened to some music for a change.

After our Saturday morning Poached Eggs on Toast I rung Jack and Lyn over in Melbourne and set up a Skype Video call; they were both fine and we caught up with all their news,she told us that Jeff was calling in on Sunday to see them on his way from Shanghi to Kuala Lumpur so they had arranged for the two sisters, Annette Rose and Debs to be there, the pictures below show Lyn with her three children all looking very well, Annette has just posted her New Zealand pictures on Facebook also and I will do a separate blog of them,when I get a chance later in the week, watch out for them as they are spectacular ! Later we went for a long walk with Cheta and ended up sat outside Bar Rojas in the warm sunshine just as Anna came along with Derrick, she joined us for a Tapas lunch, diced Liver in a rich sauce served with the local bread and a side of Patatas Fritas ! In the evening we had Steak a la Plancha with all the trimmings and chips for dinner before we settled down to watch the TV which had been fixed by our local friendly engineer,Miguel,as promised first thing on Saturday morning.

After a lie in on Sunday we got the roast on the way, Chicken with all the trimmings including Chestnut stuffing as the local Chestnuts are now in season; The final Grand Prix of the season from Brazil was on Spanish TV, Webber won for a change and I set up on the large PC upstairs in the office the Liverpool v Manchester City game, it was a draw,1-1 but City where kept in the game by their goalkeeper Joe Hart in the last ten minutes as Liverpool went for the win ! We had no guests for dinner so it means that it will be cold Chicken for supper on Monday ! We then watched a terrific film on the TV that we had watched the other night in Spanish, this time we caught it on the English Channel and were able to confirm how much we had understood about it ! It starred Bruce Willis and was called ‘ 16 Blocks ’ It is on the list of the Ten Best Crime Thrillers, he plays a New York cop who’s at the end of his rope and drinking, he is assigned to transport a prisoner, played by Mos Def, sixteen blocks to from his jail cell to a court hearing about his case; However, a group of corrupt cops, including his partner of twenty years, want him dead and will stop at nothing to get it done before reaching the courthouse ! Watch it !!

Thought for the Day;

True friendship is a rare harmony.

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MELBOURNE SUNDAY LUNCH

MELBOURNE SUNDAY LUNCH

MELBOURNE SUNDAY LUNCH

MANILVA START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY 21^st/22^nd/23^RD NOVEMBER 2011.

After a little lie in we went for a walk around the village with Cheta; we bumped into Carlos by Bodega Augustine as he was walking his new Boxer puppy ‘ Alf ’who is growing very quickly,Mano and Anna came along at the same time so we sat and had a chat over Coffee and put the world to rights. The weather forecast for the next few days is sunny but with some clouds but the temperature is still around the 20degs mark in the sun. At this time of the year the village is even quieter than normal as people save for the holiday period not in particular for Xmas as they don’t celebrate it as much as we do but their big day comes on the 6^TH January – ‘ Three Kings ’ day. In the evening we had Pork Cutlets with Boulangere Potatoes from Sunday, they taste even better the next day and I always make a large dish to keep us going.

On Tuesday it was a catch up day around the house so I went in the office and caught up on the WWW. ! Brenda is into another book but at the moment I’ am all read out after my monster three book in one read – for the moment anyway ! For supper we had one of our favourite meals of Flattened Chicken Breast pan fried in Lemon Butter with thinly sliced Green Beans and square crispy chips; the Champions League football, Real Madrid won 6-2 against Diaamo Zagreb which was on TVE1 and I watched the Napoli v Manchester City game on the PC;they have only a 30% chance of Qualifying for the knock-out stages as Napoli beat them 2-1, later we watched the TV news as they discussed who is going to be in the new Government.

This morning,Wednesday,Brenda had a small dental problem so she shot around to our local dentist in the next street, our regular dentist is in Estepona,he was very accommodating and saw her straight away and she was fixed and back to normal within the hour-and at no great expense ! Now that is service !! Anna called in with Derrick as she was out walking him,Mano went back to work today, so Brenda went for her walk with Cheta at the same time; I was in the kitchen making a large pan of ‘ Scouse ’for dinner tonight, I managed to use 13 different vegetables along with the potatoes, the smell is wafting through the house and up the street ! The picture below was taken this morning by Brenda on her walk; the sign first appeared yesterday outside the Police Station and at the same time on a Manilva Facebook page ! They have not been paid, a lot of the Council workers also have not received their October pay ! Watch this space for an update – the Mayor, Antonia is we hope working on the problem as I ‘am typing this.

Thought for the Day;

Politicians are the same all over, they promise to build a bridge even when there is no river.

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MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY 19^th/20^th NOVEMBER 2011.

As forecast the Atlantic storm hit us during the night with heavy rain but not as bad as the rest of Spain which further up the coast had severe floods; so we had an at home day on Saturday just pottering about the house after our breakfast of boiled egg for Brenda and fried egg buttie for me ! I watched the Friday night Jools Holland show which this week was a highlights edition; all my favorites from this series were on, The Civil Wars, Miles Keane, Aloe Black and all the lady singers with the great voices and attitude,Jessi J,Adele,Janelle Monae,Lana Del Ray,Emeli Sande,Lianne La Havas,Anna Calvi and Florence and the Machine – just to name a few !

In the afternoon I watched on my very good live sports channel the match between Manchester City and Newcastle – City won 3-1 and played brilliantly, meanwhile Barcelona won 4-0 with even this week Pique and Puyol scoring for a change and Real Madrid won 3-2 but Valencia should have had a penalty right at the very end ! In the evening we had steak a la plancha with chips for dinner and then settled down to watch a film on the TV.

On Sunday morning we had a local plumber coming to fix out new shower; we found him during the week when he came to fix a new tap to our repaired kitchen sink unit, he said that he could come around at 10-30 on Sunday morning and arrived spot on ! We had bought the new shower a few months ago after dropping the sisters off in Gibraltar for their flight home, we stopped on the way back at the large industrial park. The picture is below of the biggest one in Manilva ! One “ Helluva “ shower !! Brenda is now looking for a 'Wet Room ' to go with it ! Sunday was the General Election Day in Spain, the Conservative centre right PP Party won, as forecast, with an resounding overall lead in the lower house of Parliament and gave the Socialist PSOE who have been in power or eight years their worst defeat since the return of democracy in 1975.The turnout of 71% of the electorate was very high considering the bad weather over all of Spain. The result was announced very quickly on all the TV stations before mid-night which was bit of a surprise as it is still a paper vote ? But the new government will not be sworn in by the King Juan Carlos until 22^ND December which under the Spanish Constitution is the system !

During the afternoon I watched the Chelsea v Liverpool game, Liverpool totally out played a very poor Chelsea team 2-1with a late goal scored by Glen Johnson meanwhile over in the USA David Beckham helped LA Galaxy to a 1-0 win over Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final.Mano and Anna called in the early evening as the rain had stopped and they had come out for a breath of fresh air, so we caught up with all the news,Mano has had a few days off work.

In the evening as we watched the election results we had Roast Lamb Cutlets on a large dish of Boulangere Potatoes for supper with Brenda’s selection of vegetables; later we watched a good old cowboy film, they don’t make them these days, ‘ The Professionals ’with Lee Marvin,Burt Lancaster,Robert Ryan,Jack Palance and Claudia Cardinale !

Thought for the Day;

You have to travel far before you discover your own country.

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MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA TODAY.

MANILVA THIS WEEK.

MONDAY/FRIDAY 14^th/18^th NOVEMBER 2011.

The forecast for the week was good with sun and no wind so it was going to be warm all day but at the weekend rain and storms are forecast as an Atlantic weather front hits us; Monday morning after our tea and toast we decided to have a at home day catching up with the jobs around the house, I retired to the office and caught up on the WWW. and also the weekend TV programmes on the BBCIPlayer.

On Tuesday morning we went for a walk around the village with Cheta and when we got back Anna arrived for a chat and gossip; later Brenda went up on the roof terrace and read for a while in the afternoon sunshine. In the evening we had local Pork Cutlets with local Carrots and Cabbage and of course Lyonnaise Potatoes which were also made with local spuds that we bought off the back of a van at the top of our street along with the Onions and a bag of Garlic !

Wednesday was when I got the bug and did the blog and pictures about the Ark Royal after reading about the talk to be given on Friday; I went on Google and Wikipedia and researched all about the story and as I was looking at some pictures Brenda passed and commented about her experience with her dad which I had not heard before and of course that is what made the story so personal.The picture’s on the blog are taken from the screen of the large PC with our Sony Cyber-Shot 7.2 pixel camera held very still ! The German U-boat pictures were taken from a German propaganda news film which I freeze-framed!! Already Lyn over in Australia has sent a message on Facebook saying how moved she was when she read the postscript to the story about her dad.

We had another at home day on Thursday taking things easy and pottering about the house, Brenda is changing her wardrobe to her winter clothes ready for when it finally changes, the forecast for next few months over Christmas and into the new year is quite mild but as I am typing this we have thunder and lightening and the heavy rain storm has just hit us ! When I was in the butchers on Tuesday morning he was making a batch of his famous Albondigas, meatballs, Pork and Chicken, so I picked up some and on Thursday evening we had them for supper, I made a rich Tomato,Red Pepper and Garlic sauce and finished them off in it as the Spaghetti was cooking.

Yesterday, Friday morning, we went down to Sabinllas to do the shopping, as we waited at the bus stop we got a lift down from Lumy from Bar Rojas who was on her way to do her weekend shopping; we had a few messages to do so when we came out of the supermarket with full and heavy bags we walked just a few paces to the bus stop and caught the bus on its way down the coast road on its route around and then back up to Manilva which takes a little longer but you see a lot more of the views which you don’t see from the car and it is still only 60cents as we are pensioners ! In the evening we went down again to Sabinillas,this time we had two offers of a lift including one gentleman who was on his way up and said that he would come back and collect us, he gave us a lift up the other day and a Senorita who was most insistent and dropped us down straight away ! We went to the talk about the Ark Royal which was in the Council Multi-Cultural centre,which was packed and was given by Damien Gonzalez,in Spanish, who is an experienced diver and had over the years researched and filmed the wreck, he has a vast collection of pictures and news film including the BBC TV programme in 2002 that found the wreck by chance, he showed how he pinpointed on Google Earth the ship from the details given in the film and from the pictures with the coast in the background where you cam plainly see the V in the mountains behind Manilva ! He is sending me some more pictures about the launch after I gave a brief talk with the help of a friendly interpreter about the personal part of our story, he even had a film in colour of the launch of the next Ark Royal in 1950 when Brenda was there !! When we got back we had Egg and chips for supper and then watched a Clint Eastwood film.

Thought for the Day;

It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.

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MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

WEDNESDAY 16^th NOVEMBER 2011.

Well this story has come about because I read on the council web site that there is a talk being given this Friday down in Sabinillas about the sinking of the Aircraft Carrier ‘ Ark Royal ’ back in 1941 off shore from Manilva ! I Googled and went on Wikipedia and soon found out that there is more to the story and there is also a postscript that brings things a lot nearer to home !

The Aircraft Carrier ‘ Ark Royal ’was at the time the third naval ship to carry the name; she was built at Cammel Laird and Company Ltd. Shipyard in Birkenhead on the Mersey. She was laid down on the 16^TH September 1935,launched on the 13^TH April 1937 when it took four bottles of champagne before one cracked and was commissioned on the 16^TH December 1938. Her design differed from previous carriers as she was the first ship on which the hangers and flight deck were an integral part of the hull, she could carry on over two flight decks a large number of aircraft and was fast ! The pictures below at the bottom of the blog show the ship on the slipway at Cammel Lairds on the day of the launch and later in the Mersey as she was maneuvered into the fitting out basin at the shipyard; she had a displacement of 22,000 tons and was 800 ft long and was powered by 3xParsons geared turbines which gave her a top speed of 31 knots ( 37 mph ) The complement was 1,580 officers and crew and she carried Fairy Swordfish and Blackburn Skuas bombers as you can see below. Straight away she was involved in WWII in the Atlantic in 1939 in various naval operations, she was responsible for the first British aerial kill of the war when a Blackburn Skuas shot down a Luftwaffe Dornier Do 18 seaplane that was attacking her and during this action, later three more Dorniers were driven away by anti aircraft fire but the fourth launched a 2,200 lb bomb at the carrier, Ark Royal turned hard to starboard, heeling over, avoiding the bomb but was covered in a spout of water, the German pilot thought that he had hit the ship and the Germans later claimed to have sunk her ! This was the start of her reputation as a ‘ Lucky Ship ’as she many more scrapes later in the war; in October 1939 she was redeployed to Freetown to hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee and was at Montevido when Hand Langsdoff scuttled the Graf Spee in the harbour.In 1940 she was sent to Norway and came under attack from Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 bombers as she supported various operations.

Next she was deployed to Gibraltar and took part in the Mediterranean from July 1940 on many search and destroy missions before she returned to Liverpool for a refit in November; she then headed out the Atlantic to hunt for the ‘ Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ’ but after several near misses due to fog, radio malfunctions and damage to the ship from depth charges had to return to Gibraltar, she then went on convoy duty towards Alexandria where she was attacked by the Italians and German, on one day 12 of Ark Royals Fairy Fulmars drove off over 50 aircraft, later she to took part in the support of Malta. On May 18^TH 1941 she set off to hunt for the ‘ Bismarck ’ and it was her Swordfish that found her and delivered their torpedoes that slowed her down off Saint-Nazaire where she was later sank by other British battleships on the 27^TH May ! It was then time to deliver aircraft and supplies to Malta on several runs;

Final Voyage and sinking.

As the Ark Royal was returning from Malta on the 13^TH November she came under a surprise attack from a German U-boat ‘ U81 ’ She was hit amidships by a torpedo between the fuel bunkers and bomb store and directly below the bridge island ! The ship took a big hit as the torpedo hit the bilge keel and made the ship loose all power,all communications and flooding and it also took the life of Able Seaman Mitchell which turned out to be the only fatality! It soon developed a list to starboard and the Captain,Maund gave the order to abandon ship, the ships complement of 1,487 officers and crew were taken off by the Destroyer ‘ HMS Legion ’The pictures below show the Ark Royal after she had been hit and also earlier in the war as she took part in the naval battles,the latest pictures above show the Ark Royal on station and after the attack.

Despite several attempts to save her she capsized and sank at 06-19 on the 14^TH November 1941 !! The wreck was only discovered in 2002 when a BBC film crew working on a documentary found her off-shore of Manilva !

PS; I have just found on U-Tube a film of the U81 returning to its home port with the victorious crew and commander – honest ! the Captain of the U81 was Friedrich Guttenberger who had a crew of three officers and 31 ratings; it carried twelve torpedoes and was a Type V11c boat of the German Knegsmarine built by Bremer Vulkan at Bremer-Vegesack; she was only commissioned on the 26th April 1941. ( she was later sunk by US bombers at Pola on the 9th January 1944 with the loss of just two of her crew ) See the pictures above.

Postscript to the story of the Ark Royal;

This is when the story becomes a lot more personal; Brenda’s dad, Walter Fitch worked at Cammel Lairds all his life from a boy to retirement, he was a gentle giant of a man, every morning before setting off on his bike across Birkenhead to the shipyard he used to take the four sisters a cup of tea in bed-to wake them! He helped build the Ark Royal and over the years many more great naval ships and cruise liners; the fourth Ark Royal was ordered in mid-1942, laid down in May 1943 and launched in May 1950 when a certain young girl of seven was taken by her father to see the launch by Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI – the ‘Queen Mother’!!

Walter had again helped build another Ark Royal and Brenda was that girl!! It is one of her first memories as she grew up, the very first being when her mom,Gwladys came home from the hospital with baby Jenny !!!

I told you it was one “ Helluva “ story.

Thought for the Day;

For those that serve.

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MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA ARK ROYAL STORY.

MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY 12^th/13^th NOVEMBER 2011.

After breakfast on Saturday we went for a long walk around the village and ended up down at he sports complex; on the football pitch I watched the seven a side football between local cub teams which is always very competitive even though they are friends off the pitch ! In the sports hall it was the junior basketball between local villages, the teams are mixed, boys and girls, and in our team in red one of our friend’s daughter was playing – the pictures are below. On the way back we called into Bar Rojas for a lunchtime snifter as the weather was so good, warm and sunny with blue skies. As we were having a snack lunch back at the house Mano and Anna called in, he had finished work early so we went back up to Bar Rojas for another one! Later we watched the England v Spain friendly match from Wembley,Spain outplayed England and had total possession for most of the game, hitting the post twice, David Villa played out of his skin – England’s only attempt on goal resulted in Lampard scoring – 1 – 0 to England ! In the evening we had Entrecote Steak with crushed black peppercorns quickly grilled a la plancha with whole Baby Mushrooms, thinly sliced Green Beans and chips.

On Sunday morning I tried to watch the Remembrance Day parade past the Cenotaph in London but could not get it to connect on the IPlayer until later; it was a glorious day in London and it is very moving as the bands play music to match the old soldiers marching with their different regiments and association’s. It was another sunny day so we went up to Bar Rojas for a tapas lunch after we had got the Sunday roast on the go, Chicken with all the trimmings as Mano and Anna were joining us in the evening for dinner, Chicken is Anna’s favourite. At Bar Rojas we had diced liver in a rich salsa with Patatas Fritas! When we got back we watched the end of the Grand Prix from Abu Dhabi when a superb Hamilton won; After dinner we watched the late film on RTVE/1 which was “ 300 ” starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas leading the Spartans at the battle of the Pass at Thermopylae against the invading Persian hordes ! One “ Helena ” battle ! I was reminded back to my school days when we had ‘ Houses ’ – Romans-Red, Greeks-Blue, Trojans-Yellow ( Mine ) and Spartans-Green !!

Over the weekend I have been reading a copy of ‘ The Times ’which Anna brought back from Tenerife; it is the first time in many years that I have seen a copy and especially in the tabloid format, it is printed in Madrid and as always it is a good read with lots of interesting articles on politics,book,films,music and of course the readers letters one of which was headed ‘ Ladle of Scouse ’ It started by saying that it is properly called ‘ Lobscouse ’and is known in other parts of Lancashire as ‘ lobby ’It then went on to describe the origins of the dish as I was told by my mum ! There is a dish in Norway called ‘ Lapskaus ’and was introduced into Liverpool by the sailors on the docks, the nutritious stew then fed generations of poor Liverpudlians ! She also used to tell me the story of a young pupil in a school where a friend was teaching who when asked how his mother coped with the arrival of the ninth new baby in the family replied “ Aw,miss,she just puts another cup of water and an extra carrot in the Scouse” !!

PS; As I’ am typing this the heavens have opened as forecast for today.

Thought for the Day;

“ People will forget what you said; People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made

them feel ”

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MANILVA THIS WEEKEND.