MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

.

Thought for the Day;

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

..

.