MANILVA AND FRANCE OVER THE WEEKEND.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY 14th/15th JULY 2012.


The forecast for the weekend is hot and into next week it is getting hotter; we are in to the ‘ Sticky ’stage when everything is sticky,walls,floors,work- tops,hand rails,sheets,cushions and of course us ! On Saturday we kept a low profile with the shutters down and just pottered about, Cheta came running in but she is a little bit off colour, she has a nasty little cough/wrench and is not eating much, not like her at all! We kept her quiet and relaxed and gave her some water – we will take her to the vets on Monday and keep an eye on her over the weekend. We are both into our Stieg Larsson books and Brenda is shooting ahead with hers ! In the afternoon I watched the Tour – Stage 13 – a largely flat stage with a sting in the tail as there was a small steep climb 20kms from the finish then down to the coast in the holiday resort of ‘ Le Cap ‘Agde ’ on “ Bastille Day ” – the crowds were immense ! The leaders played cat and mouse as the sprinters set up for the finish but some of them got caught out on the climb including Cavendish so for the first time in the history of the race Wiggins in the Yellow jersey lead out his other sprinter to the line, he was going like a train as he trailed off to let Boasson Hagan go for the line but as you can see in the pictures below the stronger sprinters piped him to the result ! Greipel again !!

In the evening for supper we had two lovely Entrecote steaks from our butcher in the village ; the fat was to die for and I accompanied them with Crisp Chips, Sautéed Button Mushrooms and sliced Green Beans along with for a change the classic ‘ Béarnaise ’ sauce – yummy ! A bit of TV ‘Hopping ’ much to Brenda’s displeasure followed !

On Sunday Cheta was no different so we will chase her round to the vets on Monday morning ; she is all right in her self and she ate a little York Ham and then some of her favorite Ice Cream for her throat ! Stage 14 of the Tour was a classic, for all the wrong reasons; it was hit by saboteurs who threw tacks onto the road near he top of the final climb and left 30 riders suffering punctures ! Cadel Evans was the worst effected and Wiggins also – Race leader Wiggins was praised by the organizers for ‘ Fair Play ’ after halting competitive racing to allow Evans to return to the group, Tour etiquette dictates that rivals do not take advantage of another’s misfortunes – Wiggins acted as soon as the team were told on their headphone’s ! Meanwhile the six riders in the lead who went over the top before the nails were thrown raced to the finish and near the end the Spanish rider Luis Leon Sanchez jumped ahead and won the stage; No change at the top as Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to wear the Yellow jersey for seventh time breaking the record of Chris Boardman, another one of my cycling heroes ! Monday’s stage 15 goes from Samatan to Pau ( 64th time ) over 159kms. – see the graph above - then it’s a rest day before two big stages in the Pyrenees !!

We had a late supper of flattened Breast of Turkey pan fried in foaming Lemon Butter before we settled down to catch up with news and then watch the late film – a sci-fi which we are not into !


Though for the Day;



Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.


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