THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 30^th / JUNE 2016.

I was up first this morning and after a quick freshen up I saw ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day and then shot off down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping; I picked the local newspapers up from the  ‘ English Bookshop’ before going along to ‘ Mercadona’ for the main shop, on the way back I called into ‘ Super Sol ‘ for some English essentials, it was then time to shoot back up the hill through the vine fields to the house, ‘ Chispa’ was waiting to welcome me back!

After unpacking we had a quick cup of tea and a piece of toast, Brenda is now shampooing/washing her hair and I’m up in the office/studio on the ‘WWW’ catching up with the E.Mails, Facebook messages as well as reading the English & Spanish newspapers, checking the BBC News etc.

Yesterday on the ' Facebook' page of old Liverpool pictures it showed the ' Bootle Fire Station ' on Strand Road, it brought back some very good memories as my Dad, Tommy Sexton, was a Fireman for many years. He was based in Liverpool during the first' Blitz' of 1940/41 and then down at 'Hampton Court Palace ' during the ' Blitz' of London in 1941. His job was the ' Ladder Man ' on the ' Turn Table Ladder ' in the picture on the left! He was given the job because he was very light & fit from his cycling! He used to take me a young boy down to the station and take me down the ' pole' in his arms!! 

We had the hottest night so far this year and this morning the sun was out early, there is no breeze so its already very hot and getting warmer by lunchtime, we are in for a hot spell over the weekend and into next week, 33/35 degs+! 

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Smoked Bacon & ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs ‘ with ‘ Chips ‘ – on Friday I’m making my famous ‘ Seafood Risotto’ then on Saturday its going to be ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks’ – Sunday is going to be a ‘ Roast Chicken ‘ from the ‘ Rotisserie’ in Calle Mar with a nice Mixed Salad & Parsley New Potatoes.

We are watching the Tennis from Wimbledon with the excellent coverage on BBC1/2 in the afternoons, in the evening we catch the news on Spanish TV before channel hopping to find something to watch later.

PS; We have just received in the lunchtime post two post cards and a short note from our dear friends and old customers, Terry & Alma, they live outside Caan, France, and have been on holiday in the ' Vendee & Charante Maritime ' Regions visiting 'L'ile d'Aix & Les Sables D' Olonne' - both of which we have visited on our travels, ( the top two on the left are also from them! ) - many thanks and keep the post cards coming! The other post card on the  bottom left is from our Swedish friend Lillimor for Brenda's birthday - see the picture below of our third post card board!!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 29^th / JUNE 2016.

I was up early to welcome ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, we then all went back to bed for a nice lie in until the gas bottle delivery man came down our street; ‘ Chispa’ called in for her breakfast and to say ‘hello’ to her girl friend, after our regular toast & tea we did the shopping list for tomorrow morning, we are having an at home day today taking things easy, Brenda is catching up with the ironing and I’m upstairs in the office/studio on the WWW.

Today its clear and sunny to start, the sky is bright blue and there is just a little breeze making it very pleasant, by lunchtime its due to reach 29/30 degs, during the night its hovering on the 22 degs mark. The rest of the week and over the weekend is forecast for more of the same and steadily getting warmer, by Saturday its going to be in the mid 30s. See the picture below of the sunrise over the Sabinillas beach this morning.

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings’ with a Mixed Salad & Baked Potato, tomorrow it will be something simple and then on Friday I’m making my famous ‘ Seafood Risotto’ – on Saturday its ‘ Steak Night’ and then on Sunday we are going to have a ‘ Roast Chicken’ from the ‘Rotisserie’ in Calle Mar.

In the afternoon and early evening we are watching the Tennis coverage from Wimbledon on BBC 1/2, the football is back tomorrow, its the ‘ Quarter Finals ‘ – come on Wales! Over in Runcorn Jack & Lyn are taking things easy staying with Norah at her house, see below a picture of the ‘ Chester’ Tour Bus taken by a friend yesterday.

We still have our ‘ Happy Hour Cocktails’ in the early evening but sadly the roof patio in the sky is not now suitable, we stay in the lounge, with the fans on, the shutters up and the door ajar, all very un-‘Spanish’ as the locals don’t come out until later!

We have started to gather all the information together for the ‘ Spanish Citizenship’ Mano, who will ‘ Sponsor ‘ us, is sorting out the paperwork & checking all the details and Daniela is also helping, she has a Spanish Passport, as her father is Spanish,  she is also going to be one of our ‘ Sponsor’s’ – she has also offered to help us with the transfers of our ‘Pensions’ by using a system over in England that arranges everything online at better rates, she is an ‘Accountant’ and works for a company in Gibraltar, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A OVERCAST START TO TUESDAY IN SUNNY MANILVA;

TUESDAY 28^th / JUNE 2016.

I was up first this morning and after seeing ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day I took ‘ Scruffy’ for his first walk; I then shot off in the car down to the surgery and made two appointments for Friday morning for our six month check up’s. I then dropped the car off at the garage and Pedro has taken it off for the ‘ ITV – MOT ‘ in Estepona, fingers crossed and watch this space.

" RESULT "

It failed on the first test for Hand Brake tension so Pedro brought it back, fixed it, then took it back and it passed! That's what you call service !!

When I came back to the house Brenda was waiting with a ‘ Sausage Butty’ and a mug of steaming tea to start the day off in the right fashion! For our supper this evening we are having  ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks ’ with Garden Peas & twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ – the Gammon topped with ‘ Campo ‘ Fried Eggs!

This morning has started grey & overcast but still warm, all over the country they are having thunder storms and heavy rain but down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol ‘ we are just about missing it, by lunchtime its due to reach 27 degs as the sun brakes through, like yesterday, tomorrow its getting hotter, 32 degs and rising!

Last night we watched the Spain v Italy match on Spanish TV, sadly it was the end of the era as Italy played very well and deserved the 2-0 win, Lee when he collected ‘ Reina’ showed me how to watch on ‘ First Row Sports’ the live football, by blocking the ‘ Addblock’ system, this meant we were able to watch the England v Iceland game, which was a pity, as they played terribly and lost 2-1, ( see above ! ) - the England manager then resigned after the game and the team walked off the pitch to boos after being humiliated! See the picture below of ' Conwy Castle' in North Wales bathed in ' Red' for a victory in Wales next game against Belgium.

We are just coming up to next round of our monthly ‘ Pension ‘ transfers, after the ‘ Britexit’ result the Euro/Pound has dropped to its lowest level in over 30 years, this means that we will be down nearly 45% on the same time last year, it could get even worse, we will have to just wait and see. The main problem for us, as well as the Pension rates, is our ‘ Spanish Health Care ‘ cover which after the two year leaving process will be no longer valid, the Spanish Government has said they  are standing by their commitments for now, over the weekend the second General Election in six months, took place here in Spain with the same result , no clear winner and another ‘ Hung ‘ Parliament’ with no coalition government possible?!

We are now actively considering applying for ‘ Spanish Citizenship/ Nationality ‘ and have started to ask the questions and seek help in the right quarters, it looks and sounds like a complicated process but after our first enquiry’s we seem to meet most of the conditions, we are now going to take the process to the next level, we need a lawyer, two ‘ Spanish Citizens ‘ to speak for us and proof of our finances and integration into the local community etc. This is to secure our future here in Spain and give us peace of mind going into old age, especially with proper health cover. if needed!  WATCH THIS SPACE.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

A VERY WARM BUT NOT SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 27^th / JUNE 2016.

We were up early this morning as I had to take the hire car back to Marbella, Mano brought me back and we called into our local garage in the village and arranged for our car to go in for its ‘ ITV-MOT’ tomorrow morning, Pedro takes it through to Estepona, for a small fee, and if it does not pass he will sort it out, fingers crossed and watch this space.

Brenda saw ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she’s here for her regular five days, this evening ‘ Scruffy’ is joining us for a sleep over, when I came back this morning ‘ Chispa’ was here to see her friends, she call in all the time. This afternoon Brenda has an appointment with the ‘ Physiotherapist’

When ‘Reina’ is collected this evening Lee is going to check my ‘Dell’ computer system that is connected to our large screen TV and see if he can sort out the problem and un-block ( Add Block ?!) the two main channels so as we can watch the football,  this evening Spain play Italy, its on ‘Tele-Cinco’ but later England play Iceland which is on BBC 1, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having the rest of the ‘Roast Lamb’ with a fry up of the leftover vegetables and ‘ Boulangere Potatoes’ – tomorrow evening its going to be ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks ’- for the rest of the week we are deciding one day at a time!

Today its still very warm but a little overcast and humid, the sky is overcast & grey but by lunchtime, no doubt, it will be back to normal, the week ahead is calm and settled with warm sunshine although in Northern Spain there are storms and rain. See below the ' Playa de Sabinillas ' early this morning !

Last night after supper we watched ‘ Glastonbury’ as ‘ Jeff Lynn’s ELO ’ took to the main stage first, he played all the old songs with the ‘grandest’ orchestra behind him, all very professional and the whole set was terrific with a great atmosphere, they finished with a very special version of ‘ Roll Over Beethoven ’ that I played on my show the other day!

The closing act was ‘ Coldplay ‘ who did a very good and moving set with great lighting and sound effects, fireworks etc, they did a tribute to the young group ‘ Vilola Beach’ who were all killed in a tragic car accident in Sweden earlier in the year, Chris Martin’s children, Apple & Moses, joined him on stage to sing a ‘Chorus’ line and Barry Gibb came on and they did a ‘ Disco’ version of ‘ Stayin’ Alive ‘ ! At the end of the show Micheal Eavis, the dairy farmer that started Glastonbury back in the 60s came on and ' sang ' a version of ' My way ' accompanied by ' Coldplay' !!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY & HOT MANILVA;