THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY;

SUNDAY 31^st/ MAY 2015

‘Charlie’ this morning  gave Brenda the ‘nudge’ so she took him out for his first walk of the day before sunrise and left me & ‘Reina’ in the land of dreams!  ‘Reina’ slept on the bed with us without her duvet and ‘Charlie’ was on the Marble floor and also his dad’s jumper! ‘Reina’ is with us again tonight and is being picked up later tomorrow meanwhile ‘Scruffy’ is back with us tomorrow for the day! ‘Chispa’ as usual comes calling all the time and plays with all her friends.

He’s being picked up later today, we will miss him terribly as he’s such good company and is not a problem to look after, he eats regular, tells you when he wants to go out and goes to bed like the good boy he is! He is real ‘character’ and we are all ready looking forward to having him back for his ‘Xmas’ holidays for two weeks if not before!

Last night was another ‘hot one’ so we had the fan on all night, even the locals are saying that it’s hot, so it must be! Yesterday afternoon and evening it was very hot, it’s a different sought of heat to the July/August high temperatures which we are used too. It looks like the week ahead is going to be more of the same, if not warmer. We ended up on the roof terrace in the early evening for our ‘Happy Hour’ cocktails as there was just a little breeze to make it comfortable.

Back to this morning and after our breakfast of “Smoked Back Bacon” ‘Butties’ – toasted not soft – we sorted our self’s out for the day ahead and next week; Brenda is shampooing her hair and after posting the Blog I’m down in the kitchen making more of my famous ‘Ensaladilla Rusa- Russian Salad’ which Brenda has prepared all the ingredients for.

Then I’m getting ready my ‘Breton’ style garnish for his evenings potato dish – diced Onions, Red, Green & Yellow Peppers, all sweated off with Mixed Herbs ready to add to the cooked diced potatoes this evening. We are having ‘Medallions of Pork Fillet’ with a ‘Charcutiere’ Sauce which I’m also going to make later this morning!

After my shave & shower we will go for a walk with ‘Reina’ and ‘Chispa’ and no doubt call into Bar Rojas for a cool drink on the way back; next week we are going out on Wednesday lunchtime for a ‘Tapas’ lunch at the ‘KE’ Bar in Sotogrande and we are doing the shopping on Saturday morning next week – both these days because we are doggy ‘free’ in ‘Doggy World Heaven’!

June is staring to sort its self out; I’ve booked a table for Sunday Lunch on the 21^st at ‘Cocomo’ for Brenda’s birthday as on Monday 22^{nd -}  a lot of the good restaurants are closed on Monday’s! We are also due to pick Josie up from the bus station over in Marbella on the Monday evening, very late, as she is arriving for her usual 3 month summer holiday, Den is arriving later the same week when we are picking him up also!

Yesterday in the football Arsenal beat Aston Villa in the ‘FA Cup Final’ at Wembley 4-0 and over here we watched later as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in the Final of the  ‘Copa Del Rey’played at the ‘Camp Nou’ in Barcelona, Messi scoring two of the goals, the first one a ‘wonder’ goal when he beat 4 defenders!

Over in the ‘Giro d’Italia’ Alberto Contador is still in the leaders ‘Pink’ jersey going into today’s final stage into Milan after a grueling stage yesterday as they battled their way up the ‘Colle delle Finestre’ – a ‘dirt/gravel’ track up the side of the mountain – Contador had a ‘bad day at the office’ in his own words and came in 2 mins behind the second placed rider in the overall standings ‘Aru’ - who also won the stage!

After supper this evening we will channel hop and find something to watch, last night before the football we watched the Jamie Oliver programme when he was in Greece, not our ‘sort’ of food – a ‘Greek Salad’?! and ‘Pink Tuna’?!

Thought for the Day; See above.

..

                                                                                                                                                                    ‘                                                 

" CALLE SAN VICENTE " FRIDAY AFTERNOON;

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY;

SATURDAY 3Oth/ MAY 2015.

We were all up before the crack of dawn this morning ‘Brenda Charlie Scruffy & Reina’ as we had to go for the first walk of the day because I was taking Lillemor over to the bus station in Marbella to catch her flight home from Malaga Airport to Sweden; just as we were walking back the sun came up over the mountains behind Marbella in a spectacular burst of color. See the picture below of Lillemor outside the bus station.

All three dogs slept very well and were no problem, they exchanged beds during the night and all ended up on the Marble floor, at some time, as we as had the hottest night so far this year, the fan was on all night! The sun is out, the sky is Blue and there is just a little very pleasant breeze to make it a near perfect day here in sunny Manilva. The forecast is looking good for the weekend and next week is starting to also look fine with it getting warmer as the week goes on.

The drive over along the coast road to Marbella was spectacular, the ‘Mediterranean’ was sparkling and the mountains behind Estepona & Marbella had a particular blue/green clear and crisp look;

When I retuned Brenda made my favorite breakfast of ‘Campo Poached Eggs on Toast’ with a mug of steaming tea, See below!

Yesterday evening we went up in the roof terrace for our ‘Happy Hour’ cocktails, the workmen (8) on the site had a busy afternoon as the large concrete floor beams arrived and were dropped off in Calle Mar, as the lorry could not get down our street, so they had to carry them down to the site with four men straining to carry them, at the same time the large brick honeycomb floor inserts were also carried down, the result as you can see has got the ground floor well on the way. See the pictures above.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Entrecote Steak’ cooked on a very hot griddle plate ‘Med-Rare’ with on the side sautéed Baby Mushrooms & Shallots, finely sliced Green Beans and some more twice-cooked ‘Frits’ and of course no forgetting the ‘Béarnaise’ sauce.

In ‘Doggy World Heaven’ this morning ‘Scruffy’ was picked up so we have ‘Reina’ with us until Monday evening and ‘Charlie’ is with us for an extra day as Jan phoned from Liverpool yesterday to check that it was OK as they were coming back on later flight on Sunday instead of today

Over in Italy this weekend it’s the ‘Italian Motor GP’ from Mugello and the final two stages of the ‘Giro d’Italia’finishing in Milan on Sunday. Over here this evening it’s the final of the ‘Cope Del Rey’ taking place in Madrid at Atl.Madrid’s ground as Real Madrid’s ground is being refurbished; Barcelona are going for the treble as they take on Athetico Bilbao and then next Saturday in the ‘Champions League Final’ against Juventue in Germany. Meanwhile at Wembley it’s the ‘FA Cup Final’ between Arsenal & Aston Villa.

This week it’s also the ‘Isle of Man TT’ Motorcycle racing over the famous 37 mile circuit on the narrow roads around the island, over the mountains and through the villages on the fastest and most dangerous motor racing circuit in the World. It takes a very special rider with courage to take on the demanding ‘Time Trail’ race - against the clock! See below;

After supper we will catch up with the sports news before settling down to watch a film, last night we watched “State of Play” from 2009 – a political thriller with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Jeff Daniels, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn & Helen Mirren. Watch it to the end as there is a twist!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND;

FRIDAY 29^th/ MAY 2015.

We were both up this morning, not too early, as both the dogs had a good sleep and were no problem, they go to bed when you tell them, both sleeping on the cool marble floor and hardly moving during the night; when we came back we had our usual breakfast and sorted ourselves out for the day ahead, it’s strange not going out on Friday morning for our shopping!

Later this morning ‘Reina’ is due to arrive for her 3 day sleep over as Lee & Daniela are away visiting relatives up in Edinburgh until Monday evening, next week as well as ‘Reina’ on her usual days ‘Scruffy’ is back with us on Monday, Friday & Saturday for the day. Another busy week in ‘Doggy World Heaven’

The forecast for today was that there was a wet front coming off the Mediterranean but at the moment it’s warm & sunny with just a little breeze, rather pleasant, then over the weekend its dry and sunny and getting hotter by the day.

The workmen arrived in force this morning and are now drilling away as they are working on the two main walls of our house that are exposed, the noise is terrible but both ‘Charlie, in particular, and ‘Scruffy’ are handling it pretty well, for now! ‘Reina’ does not like it at all!

At the moment I’m waiting for confirmation about what is happening on the local political party news after the elections; ‘sources’ have suggested to me that the ‘Compromismo’ ( 5 seats) party and the ‘IU’( 4 seats) have come to an unconfirmed arrangement which would mean that the ‘PSOE’ ( 5 seats) party, with the most votes, would not get into power as the local governing government! Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Posh Fish & Chips’ ie; “ Grilled Dover Sole & ‘Frits’ ” I will bake the Sole, dusted in a little seasoned flour, and then fillet it and finish them off under the grill until they are a little crisp, we are having crisp twice-cooked ‘Frits’ & Garden Peas – lots of Lemon wedges but no ‘Tartar’ sauce as we want to taste the fresh fish!

Over at the ‘Giro d’Italia’ today’s stage is over 236 kms with three giant climbs – yesterday Alberto Contador increased his overall lead and is in the leaders ‘Pink’ jersey with two more stages to go after today’s, to finish in Milan on Sunday.

At lunchtime we are going for our walk with 3/4 dogs as we need some cash from the local machine at the bank in Calle Mar; on the way back we will stop for a cool drink in one of the many local ‘hostelries’ no doubt! 

                                                   The 'Gang' waiting for me outside the Bank.

We are planning to get up on the rood terrace over the weekend, that’s if the workmen are not here?! – our ‘Happy Hour’ is part of our daily schedule and we look forward to our reading, listening to the local radio and of course our ‘cocktails’!

Then this evening after watching the news on ‘TVE 1’ we will find a film to watch.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

" PANORAMIC 34 RESTAURANT " 'WEST TOWER 'LIVERPOOL YESTERDAY !

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A WARM & BREEZY SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 28^th/ MAY 2015.

I was up rather sharp this morning and took ‘Charlie’ for his first walk of the day, I then grabbed a quick breakfast and shot out to pick the car up from the underground car park, on the way I posted a birthday card (who?) in our local Post Office; then down to Sabinillas for the the main shop in ‘Mercadona’ where I introduced myself to the new manager.

Before I went out ‘Reina’ arrived for the day and when I came back to the house to unload ‘Chispa’ came rushing up our street to welcome me back! All three dogs are at the moment causing a little chaos around the house, at lunchtime ‘Scruffy’ is due for a two day sleep over!! ‘Mayhem’ will no doubt follow!!

This evening for our supper we are having an ‘extravaganza’ ( three sorts) of ‘Sausages’ in a rich Red Wine ( Brenda's) Onion Gravy served on Brenda’s famous ‘Mashed Potato’ with crispy Smoked Back Bacon & Cabbage with Alselgas; tomorrow night for a treat our ‘Fish Supper’ is going to be a whole grilled ‘Dover Sole a la Meuniere’ which I  will fillet at the table, on Saturday evening its grilled ‘Entrecote Steak’ with all the trimmings and then on Sunday for a change we are having ‘Medallions of Pork Fillet’

No plans this weekend as we are busy in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ as ‘Reina’ is back with us on Friday for a 3/4 day sleep over which means that on Friday night we have three dogs ( two tonight!) sleeping with us! Watch this space, ‘Charlie’is being picked up on Saturday morning along with ‘Scruffy’ We will miss ‘Charlie’ in particular as he’s a real character and a pleasure to have with us, he is back over Christmas for his annual two week holiday!! Then next week ‘Reina’ is with us on Tuesday & Thursday as normal and of course  ‘Scruffy’ will be back no doubt sometime in the week TBC.

I have an early run to the Bus Station over in Marbella, on Saturday morning, to take our Swedish friend Lillemor as she is flying back home from the airport in Malaga, she called in yesterday lunchtime to confirm the details and so stopped for a bit of lunch.

This morning it’s still warm & sunny but a stiff breeze has come in from across the Medittarean and tomorrow its going to be a little wet as the breeze from the North East is bringing in a surprise wet front just here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’- the rest of Spain is warm & sunny?! Then it’s back to normal over the weekend and into next week.

The workmen on the site are as usual making loads of noise as they are now working on the ground floor construction, its taking shape very quickly as you can see in the pictures below,

No news on the political front at the moment, I bumped into our local Councilor, Mario this morning who is not a ‘happy chappie’ as he could be out of his job any moment now, also I spoke to the Mayor, Diego’s Father & Mother in ‘Mercadona’ with the same result; ‘Diego PSOE’ was in his vegetable shop and also confirmed that there is no news! In the Town Hall there is at present a meeting taking place – watch his space for an update from a very interested and eager reporter acting on your behalf ( Me!)

Over the weekend we will hopefully be able to get back up on the roof terrace for our ‘Happy Hour’ cocktails - weather & workmen permitting!

The pictures above are taken from the restaurant “ Panoramic 34” from the 34^th floor of the ‘West Tower’ over looking the Pier Head at night and Liverpool in the day time; on the left of the picture is the modern ‘Catholic Cathedral’ & on the far right the old Red Sandstone ‘Anglican Cathedral’ In the center is the ‘St.John’s Tower’ that over 50 years ago I arranged the ‘topping out’ ceremony for, at the request of the Mayor of Liverpool, when I was the manager of the old ‘Stork Hotel’ in Queens Square right opposite! Now not a lot of people know that – they do now!!

NEWSFLASH; " THE OLD BLIND SCHOOL" LIVERPOOL;

Yesterday afternoon the coverage on the ‘TDP’ sports channel of the ‘Giro d’Italia’ was spectacular to say the least, the helicopter pictures of the three lakes ‘Como,Maggiore & Lugano’ with the Alps in the background showed the region off at its best as the water shimmered in the hot sunshine and snow capped mountains glistened! Breathtaking!! Alberto Contador retained his leaders ‘Pink’ Jersey going into today’s stage.

We also had a nice E-Mail from our friends over in Llandudno, Douglas & Lyn, to say that the reason they could not come and see us last week, when they were staying here with friends, was that he caught a nasty food poisoning bug and in fact he’s still under the weather after getting back! We are looking forward to seeing them here again in the not to distant future.

The picture below shows the beach at ‘Harlech’ in North Wales earlier his week, in fact in North Wales at Porthmadog and on the Llyn peninsular by Nefyn, Abersoch & Aberdaron there are also some more spectacular beaches!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

..