Wednesday, October 31, 2012
MANILVA START OF THE WEEK
MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/
29th/31st OCTOBER 2012 .
Monday
morning was grey and overcast and the forecast for the rest of the week is not
good with more rain on Tuesday and Wednesday (It’s still 20degs! ) So it was an
at home day as we get ready to welcome Jane on Friday; her room is ready and we
have the weekend planned to take into account that the forecast, sadly is not
good – wet! We spoke to Tim in the morning on the Skype Video and caught up
with his news, he had seen Jo and Ben on Sunday over in Liverpool – he was just
about to go out for a game of golf at Old Colwyn Golf Club which if a remember
correctly is a nine-hole course over the hillside meadowland with wonderful
views of the Irish Sea and Colwyn Bay ! The par three seventh at just 162 yards
is signature hole – come on Tim what was your score ?! On the BBCIPlayer I
caught up with Saturday Morning Kitchen and a very good Top Gear Special on the
Bond Film cars ! In the evening we had Pan Fried Fillets of Chicken with all
the left-over vegetables and Potatoes from Sunday !
On Tuesday
it was no better so we had another day in and caught up with our reading,
Brenda is on book three and I’ am on Book two in the 50 Shades trilogy; the
pictures below of Hurricane Sandy hitting New York just show a few of news
pictures and the damage caused – it is like something out of a disaster movie –
unbelievable ! For supper we had Pan Fried Liver, sliced thin and dusted with
flour and seared ‘ Pink ’with Crispy Smoked Bacon, well cooked English Pork
Sausage, Sauté Onions and Tomato and a Jus-Roti made from Sunday’s gravy –
Brenda did a little selection of vegetables and Baby New Potatoes – comfort
food for the gods !
Today,
Wednesday it has stopped raining and the sun is trying to get out; the dog came
crashing in as she has not been able to get out during the last two day’s rain
storms ! I have just made a large pan of Chicken Curry for dinner tonight. The
picture below of the council with the Mayor Antonia shows them overlooking the
Plaza Pozo Del Rey development as they
are laying the top layer of cement/concrete over the car park, in between the
rain – the picture is from the council web-page as I’ am not able to gain
access to the site! Brenda has just gone down to the surgery for her blood pressure
test but the nurse has not shown up so she is carrying on down on the bus from
outside the surgery, as planned, to go down to Sabinillas for her appointment
at the hairdressers for the full works !
We are well
into the Bond season of films on the Paramount Film Channel; so far this week
it has been “ The Man with the Golden Gun from 1974 with Roger Moore,
Christopher Lee and a young Brit Exland,now there’s name from the past ! Then “
The Living Day Lights ”from 1987 with Timothy Dalton and a large cast of actors
from the time and finally “ Tomorrow Never Dies ”from 1997 with Piers Brosnan!
PS;
Tomorrow is a National Bank Holiday – “ All Saints Day ” One of the main things
that take place is that everybody visit’s the family plots in the graveyards,
which are unusually full of flowers.
Thought for
the Day;
To one who
has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is
possible.
…
.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
MANILVA OVER THE WEEKEND.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY
27th/28th OCTOBER 2012 .
Well no
rain as forecast on Saturday morning as we shot out to the shops down in
Sabinillas; at the English bookshop we picked up the papers, we are now
collecting three sets as Anna has asked us to pick up a set for Sally Ann as
well, we also managed to get a copy of the third in the trilogy ‘ 50 Shades
Freed ’for nothing ! The owner had a second hand copy for 3 euros and we had 3
euros in credit on returned books – result !! We went for a walk with the dog
and watched a little Basketball in the sports hall. In the afternoon I caught
the English football on the large PC; Manchester City Swansea Cuba Cadiz
On Sunday
morning it was just about fine as we got the roast on the go; Chicken with all
the usual favorites along with Chestnut stuffing as they have just come into
season, the hot Chestnut man is out in Calle Mar in the evenings. We went up to
Bar Rojas and were able to sit outside for our lunch, Brenda had some Baby
Cockles in a tasty broth. In the afternoon it was time for the English football
after watching the Grand Prix from India, Alonso is still in with a chance and
in Australia the Motor GP was rather exciting as Jorge Lorenzo won the title
again and in Moto 2 Marc Marquez won the tile for the first time, he is the
rising star and is joining the Repsol team next year ! It was the ‘ Derby Liverpool played a lot better, 2-2 was the result but it should read 2-3 for Liverpool as they had a goal disallowed in
the 94th minutes for offside when it was clearly not ! All the
pundits and even Moyes the Everton manager said that it was a good goal ! Meanwhile
over at Chelsea Manchester Utd. won 2-3 but the game was marred by two
sending’s off including Torres and a big controversy is brewing about the
referee Mark Clattenburg to do with
alleged racial language he used !In the evening Andy and Marie joined us for
dinner as you can see in the picture below, we had a very nice time and later
we watched a very good film with them; “ Public Enemies ”from 2009 with the
excellent Jonny Depp in the role of John Dilinger the bank robber in Chicago
back in the 1930s – it was based on
historical facts and shot at the places where it took place; the FBI ‘G’ man is
played by Christian Bale and Dilinger’s moll is played by Marion Cotillard –
watch it, it is very good and has a very moving ending ! We have also over the weekend
watched on the classic movie channel two great films; First it was “ Pulp
Fiction ”from 1994 with a ‘ Helluva ’ cast – John Travolta,Samual L Jackson,
Harvey Keitel,Tim Roth, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken and Uma Thurman to
name just a few and then one of my favorite’s “ Jackie Brown ” from 1997,
written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Pam Grier in the title roll
with Robert Foster,Samual L Jackson ( Again! ) Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton
and Robert De Niro – the film has a memorable soundtrack of the music of the
time including classic tracks from the ‘ Delfonics,Bobby Womack, Slash’s
Snakepit,The Meters and The Guess Who !
PS; The
bread picture has just come in showing this mornings cracking bake at
Williamsons of Castle in Northwich by Jane’s son Olly !
Thought for
the Day;
Imagination
and fiction make up more than three-quarters of our real life.
…
.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
MANILVA AND MARRAKECH MOROCCO THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY/FRIDAY
24th/25th/26th
OCTOBER 2012 .
Wednesday
morning was overcast as forecast with the severe rain storms to come over
night; the cold weather front is coming in from the Atlantic and the tail is
hitting us over Thursday and Friday and at the same time it is going to be a
lot cooler, by our standards, down to 19 degs! So it was an at home day for us,
Brenda had an appointment at the surgery to check her blood pressure, at lunchtime,
with the nurse and it was up a little so our doctor came and checked things and
adjusted her tablets and arranged another check up next Wednesday. In the
afternoon we both finished our books so I’ am now into ‘50 Shades Darker ’and
Brenda has started on the latest ‘Patterson’ In the evening after supper we watched
the football, Real Madrid lost to Borussia Dortmund 2-1but the result of the
night was Malaga beating A.C.Milan 1-0 in their Champions League game while
sadly Manchester City played terrible against Ajax and lost 3-1 and have no
chance of qualifying for the knockout stages!
Overnight
the rain storms hit us and as usual when it rains in Spain England Europe it was ‘Europa League ’ football – Liverpool won 1-0 when they beat the Russian
side Anxhi Makkachkala ! Later we watched “ Speed ” from 1994 with Keanu
Reeves, Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper as the baddie.
This
morning, Friday, we where going to go down for our shopping as usual but as we
woke up the rain storm was still hitting us ,as forecast, so we turned over and
decided to go tomorrow when the forecast is no rain !The dog is stuck here
again as she shot up in-between the last downpour. So it is another at home day
pottering about the house catching up with chores; on Facebook our friend Izzy
who is on holiday in Marrakech with her mum has just posted some pictures of
their visit to the ‘Souks’and the ‘ Medina ’ which I have put on above just to
bring a little colour into our lives ! Tonight we are having another fish
platter extravaganza – we have just raided the deep freeze and found some
Gambas,Langustines,Crab and a seafood cocktail of Octopus and Squid along with
some homemade Potato Croquettes !Over the last two evenings we have watched " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ! - it is the one with Sean Connery as his father! " Desparado " from 1995 with Antonio Banderas ,Salma Hayek and Quentin Tarantino - lots of shooting! Finally late last night a strange film called " Hard Eight,Sidney" from 1996 starring Philip Baker Hall,Samuel L.Jackson and a young Gwneth Paltrow- rather slow going.
PS; One week today Jane is arriving for the weekend ! We can't wait !!
PS; One week today Jane is arriving for the weekend ! We can't wait !!
Thoughts
for the Day;
You have to
have a dream so you can get up in the morning, if you dream it, you can do it.
….
.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK.
MONDAY/TUESDAY
22nd/23rd OCTOBER 2012 .
The weather
at the moment is staying warm and sunny but we are in for some of the wet stuff
by Thursday when we are out for the council presentation down on the sea front
in Sabinillas! After our tea and toast on Monday morning Brenda got the washing
on the go and I retired to the office to catch up with the weekend E-mails,
Facebook messages and then update the security systems. Anna met Brenda when
she was out with Cheta for a walk so they joined up and ended their walk at
Victor’s, the Dentist, Bodega which he has still not opened yet, he always says
‘ Next Week ’- but has been saying this for the last few months! In the early
evening we went up on the roof terrace for our cocktail hour, Brenda had been
on the terrace all afternoon getting her tan topped up, in her bikini! She has
nearly finished ’50 Shades Darker ’and I have just finished the latest ‘James
Patterson ’so I’ am waiting to read it next. For supper we had Grilled Gammon Steaks,
which we picked up from the English butchers last week, topped with a fried Egg
and square chips and garden Peas they were a pleasant change. The film on
Antenna3 was “ The Recruit ”from 2003 with Colin Farrell in the main role and
Al Pacino being Al Pacino in a spy thriller with Bridget Moynahan as the female
interest – lots of twists as the story unfolds – you have to listen and pay
attention all the time – don’t walk away until the adverts ! ( Six minutes long
) here !!
On the ‘ Discovery
Max ’ channel later there was a very good documentary presented by James
Cracknell; he told the story along with film that they took of the feat that
Chris Martin and Mick Dawson undertook in 2009 to row across the North Pacific
Ocean from Chosi in Japan, on the 8th May 2009 to San Francisco in
their boat “ Bojangles ” – it took them 189 Days,10 Hours and 55 minutes to row
over 7000 miles and they were given a ‘ Guinness World Record ’ for the first
team to do so as they crossed the line under the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday
13th November 2009! Of course they ran into all sorts of
difficulties on the way, large container
ships,
sharks, hurricains, whales and near the end they ran out of food and required a
helicopter resupply! The physical strain of rowing two hours on and two hours
off 24/7 was immense and the mental toll showed. See the pictures above;
This
morning, Tuesday, we had to get up early as we had our appointment at the
surgery with the nurse for our ‘Gripe ’- ‘Flu ’- jabs; it turned out that we
were also due for our one off ‘ Pneumonia ’jabs at the same time ! We feel like
‘Superman and Superwoman’ – we have lift off!! The sun is out and it went
warmer as the morning went on; we have just come back from a walk with the dog
– we ended up sat on our ‘Pensioners’ seat down on the Mirador overlooking the
mountains and down to the Mediterranean . Tonight we are having a good old fashioned ‘ Mixed Grill ’ We have
raided the deep freeze and have found more Gammon Steak, Lamb Chop,Steak and
Sausage’s along with Tomato, Eggs and Streaky Smoked Bacon ! That will keep us going!! It was one ' Helluva' Grill and brought back happy memories of the famous Mixed Grill that we used to serve at the Hotel Seventy Degrees - it also had Kidney,Black Pudding,Liver,Saute Potatoes and Baked Beans !! Later on TVE1 it is the UEFA Champions League game between Barcelona
Thought for
the Day;
Ability may
get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
…
.
Monday, October 22, 2012
MANILVA OVER THE WEEKEND.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY
20th/21st/OCTOBER 2012.
Well we
have just about got away with the weather over the weekend; it has a bit cooler
but on Sunday morning we were able to go for a long walk with the dog down to
the sports complex, no football as all the games were away but in the main
sports hall there was a game of junior basketball that was very good, a friends
son, Mario the local councilor, was playing and the Manilva team were murdering
the visitors! Anna called in on Saturday lunchtime to pick up her newpapers; we
always collect a set for her at the same time as ours. In the afternoon I
watched some football from England on the large PC in the office; Liverpool won,
just, against Reading, City had a very good away win v West Brom when
substitute Dzeko came on and scored two late goals, one in the 92 minute to win
1-2 but the match of the day which I watched was Tottenham v Chelsea which
Chelsea won 2-4 with Mata scoring two goals, Chelsea played very well and
looked good for the forthcoming European games this week! Meanwhile over here
in Spain in the ‘ La Liga ’Real Madrid won and Barcelona beat Deportivo 4-5
with Messi scoring another hat-trick in a very exciting game ! In the evening
we had our Rib-Eye steaks for supper with Sauté Mushrooms, fine sliced Green
beans and crisp chips which were rather nice.
On Sunday
after our walk we ended up at Bar Rojas say under the Sonbrajo for our
Tapas,Brenda had some fresh ‘Boquerones ’ Fillets of Anchovies marinated in
Virgen Olive Oil with the diced Pork cooked in a rich Tomato sauce while I had
small plate of the Paella. Later in the afternoon after watching the rain
affected Motor GP from Malaysia I caught on the BBC IPlayer the episode from ‘
Saturday Morning Kitchen ’which has started again with a new set, over this
weekend David has been up in Glasgow filming and demonstrating at the BBC Food
Show with the ‘Hairy Bikers ’and on Sunday with James Martin ! See the pictures
above. In the evening for supper we had for a change pan-fried Escalope of
Turkey with Basmati Rice and a rich Mushroom sauce before settling down to
watch a film. Over the weekend we have caught the ‘ Heist ’ from 2001 with Gene
Hackman,Danny DeVito and Rebecca Pidgeon in a Gold Robbery/crime caper with yet
another twist right at the end ! ‘ The Devil’s Advocate ’from 1997 with Al
Pacino and Keanu Reeves which is actually a horror film and the ‘ Law Abiding
Citizen ’ from 2009 starring Gerard Butler, Jamie Fox and Colm Meaney in a
story about a man, Butler, driven to commit multiple murders while targeting
not only his family’s killer but the corrupt criminal justice system mostly
while he is incarcerated in a maximum security jail ?!
Thought for
the Day;
We, whoever
we are, must have a daily goal in our lives, no matter how small or great, to
make that day mean something.
…
.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
MANILVA START OF THE WEEKEND.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY
18th/19th/ OCTOBER 2012.
Thursday
morning started overcast and cloudy but the sun came out later and it went
warm, a perfect day for doing the washing and putting it out to dry; Anna
called in for a chat and a cuppa and we also spoke to Tim on the Skype Video
and caught up with all his news, sadly still no sign of him popping over to see
us at the moment. I caught up with Tuesday’s Later Live with Jools – ‘Madness
’were very good! The weather in the rest of Spain is not good, especially in
Northern Spain – rain, winds and floods but our little costal stretch down here
on the Costa Del Sol is just about getting away with it and the forecast is
more of the same over the weekend – it’s cooler but we can’t complain as it is
still around 23/24 degs. In the evening after supper we watched the news and
then channel hopped as Thursday is not a good film night!
We went
down to Sabinillas first thing in the morning and called at our bank and then
did the shopping at Mercadona, we then went along to Castillo Duquesa to pick
up the tickets for the council presentation on Thursday afternoon, on the way
back called into the English butchers in Puerto Duquesa and picked up two
lovely Rib-Eye steaks for Saturday, we then collected the newspapers and shot back
up to the village. After we had unpacked we walked down to the local market and
bought some flowers, we bumped into Sally Ann and Dominico and had a chat with them,
on the way back we stopped at Bar Rojas to pass on a small plant for Lumy’s
mother, we ended up going in to see her, she looks very well and is getting
better slowly. Sadly it is not the same news for our friend Antonio who is
still in hospital, he has had the operation but he has now got Pneumonia, so is
not very well – he is no spring chicken so we hope that he is better soon. In
the early evening on TVE2 they are showing back to back episodes of “ Frazier ”
which we usually watch before supper;tonights was when Niles Arizona Flagstaff Grand Canyon ! We then went across the Hoover Dam
into Nevada Las Vegas Los Angeles
For supper
we had Grilled Baby Plaice, it is the first time that we have seen them in the
fish market, they were sweet and tasty just like Plaice should be and we had
then with Chips ! The late film was a
remake of “Assault on Precinct 13”from back in 1976, the new was even more
exciting than the original, it stars Ethan Hawke,Laurance Fishburne,Brian
Dennehy,Gabriel Byrne and Drew De Matteo – watch out for the ending – there is
a big surprise! Also on another channel they are showing the ‘ Indiana Jones ’ films,
sadly, at the same time, last night it was the ‘ Temple of Doom
Thought for
the Day;
The only
source of knowledge is experience.
…
.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
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