MANILVA THIS WEEK.

MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY 16th/17th/18th/19th JANUARY 2012.

The forecast for the week and over the weekend is blue skies and sun; Monday started just like this, it is still a little sharp but in the sun it is warm and when there is no breeze it is hot! We went for a walk with Cheta and then when we came back it was a Brenda catch up day with the washing the top priority, I retired to the office and caught up with WWW. I read the newspapers on line, the ‘Mail ’is the best and the quickest at updating the news as it happens, then I check out a Spanish newspaper ‘ El Pais ’- ‘ The Country ’which has a very good English translation and means that I can confirm what we have seen on the news the day before ! I then go to the BBC News and catch up with what is happening in the world, the sports page is excellent and also the current market movements with the Euro! I also have ITN,Channel 4,Sky and CNN to check out the video’s of the day as well as the excellent ‘ Al Jazeera ’station which broadcasts in English from the gulf and does very good in depth reports on the middle and far east. I also have on-line the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post and the North Wales Weekly News as well as a very good blog-page based in Llandudno! Then I watch at different times of the day on the BBCIPlayer the programmes that we follow; ‘ Saturday Morning Kitchen ’ ‘ Something for the Weekend ’’ Sicily Unpacked ’ and ‘ New Tricks ’ and other shows as I spot them, Brenda meanwhile catches things as she is passing through the office or when I call her !At the moment I’ am learning with the help of our friend Andy how to download films and lots of other stuff to the Hard Drive and then transfer it to the Memory stick which we then can watch on the new TV downstairs, at our pleasure ! Watch this space.

On Tuesday after our trip to the vets with Cheta we took her for a walk in the afternoon for a change and I took the pictures below of the ‘ Plaza Pozo Del Rey ’ – the ‘ Kings Well ’square before the development starts in the next few weeks; basically then are going to make it bigger and better ! The work on the new Social Services Office is starting to show results and will be open soon, they are also at the moment working again on the new square next to the Wine Centre building the retaining walls, they must have found some money in the ‘ Coffers ’ Each time we are out more of the new Tourist Information Signs are appearing, the latest is just around the corner in the next street from ours and gives you the story of the ‘ Torres House ’ When we came back Brenda took Cheta home to help give her the tablets, she is a clever little madam and does everything possible not to take them and it took three of them to get them down ! In the evening we had Pork Cutlets with Lyonnaise Potatoes the for dinner and then watched on TVE1 regular programme about Spanish people living and working abroad; it is in a different county and city each week and this weeks was from Liverpool ! Lots of memories came back as they showed the new Cavern, the Pier Head, Saint Georges Hall, the oldest pub in the city-the ‘ Poste House ’ and the grandest pub in the country the ‘ Philharmonic Dining Rooms ’ which was built in 1898 is known as ‘ The Phil ’It is a Grade 2 listed building and they even showed the famous gents urinals which feature the stalls which are constructed of a particular attractive Roseate Marble; it is said that to be a true ‘Scouse Lady ’you have to go into them to take in the sights and smells ! Brenda did the last time we were there !! The pictures are above of the Phil but sadly not the urinals ! Later the programme went to Anfield,sorry Brian no Goodison ! and then Sefton Park and the ‘ Palm House ’before it ended up in ‘ Port Sunlight ’ at the ‘ Bridge Inn ’ ‘ Christ Church ’ and the ‘ Lady Lever Art Gallery ’ More pictures above with lots of memories, mostly happy with some sad !

We were up bright and early on Wednesday morning and after tea and toast and a freshen up, our new giant super shower is brilliant, we set off to the Hospital on the far side of Marbella; Andy very kindly picked us up and drove over along the coast road on a warm sunny day. The appointment with the consultant to check and update my Prostate went very well, he said that everything looks fine for a man of my age ! I have to go back in six months for a further check up with more blood and urine tests and an x-ray of the Kidney just to be sure. When we got home Brian called us on the Skype video and we caught up with all the news and gossip here and in Pori over Christmas. In the evening Andy joined us for supper, we had pulled out the Turkey Curry and we topped it up with some fresh Pineapple and Mushrooms and had it with Basmati Rice and Chips. Next week Andy is going over to England for a week with the new lady in his life Maria to see his mom in Derby but first they have to go down to Brighton to a funeral of a good friend so we are taking them to the new airport in Gibraltar in his car and picking them up when they return to Malaga airport the following week, we are also looking after his other ‘ Bird ’ – Charlie – the African Grey Parrot ! Watch this space for the pictures !!

Today is yet another glorious day in sunny Manilva; Brenda has just taken Cheta to the vets for a check as she is not eating or drinking very much and it is proving very differcult to give her the tablets, we will go for a walk with her later and hopefully she will start to get better although she is still her normal lively self but is not quite back to normal yet. The vet has just said to let her eat and drink as she will soon get her appetite back and if she has no sickness and to stop the tablets but she is still not very well.
Over in Old Colwyn our very dear friend Tim has been training since Xmas as he is running in a charity 10kms. road race between the two piers from Llandudno to Colwyn Bay tomorrow; it is flat all the way as they run along the promenade and front to Colwyn Bay with only one problem in the way – the Little Orme ! Come on Tim we know that you can do it, next it will be the London Marathon before you know it and then New York !! This afternoon Andy came around to do some work on the PCs; just as he started the internet went off,it was our new provider taking over the system so he was on hand to change the boxes and register the system on line, all working great and a lot more faster !Tonight we are having Flattened Chicken Breast pan fried in foaming Lemon Butter with Baby New Potatoes so Andy stayed and joined us for dinner,again !! and after we will watch the Spanish soap that we follow.

PS; While I have been posting the pictures we had a nice surprise Skype Video call from Jeff and Annette over in Kuala Lumpur from their new condo; they have the latest TV with Skype and so they had us on full screen in the lounge and gave us the tour of the apartment including the view of the " Petronas Towers" They have just come back from Christmas with their daughter Kate over in Edmonton Canada !

Thought for the Day;

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. For Tim !

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