A VERY WET, BUT STILL SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY;

SATURDAY 5^th / NOVEMBER 2016.

We all had a nice lie in this morning, the village was sleepy and the church bells didn’t ring! We shot out with ‘ Pax’ for his first walk of the day, ‘ Chispa’ came running up our street and joined us again, we went around the bottom of the village, when we returned we all had our breakfasts, ‘ Pax’ had one of his treats, he starts on his main meal a little later, ‘ Chispa’ had a slice of ‘Pavo – Turkey ‘ – her favourite and we had crispy ‘Smoked Bacon & Fried Eggs’ ( still not Campo!) with toast and mugs of tea!

Overnight the rains arrived, as forecast, this morning the breeze has dropped and at the moment it’s warm & sunny, as we were out, more rain is forecast for later and tomorrow, next week is looking a little unsettled and going a lot cooler, at the moment the heavens have just opened, watch this space.


See below the pictures of the Bay of Colwyn, this morning, in the eye of a storm! 

Last night we went down to Sabinillas for our ‘ Fish Supper’ – it was a balmy evening down on the promenade as we walked along the front with ‘Pax’ there was no breeze and the ‘Mediterranean’ was calm, no waves and just the sound of the sea lapping on the shore, the new Fish & Chip shop ‘ Skipper’s’ was not busy, we ordered a small & large ‘Haddock & Chips’ with a pot of ‘Mushy Peas’ - to take-out, as it was not busy the lady suggested that we sit on the tables outside and gave us knives & forks, I ordered a glass of ‘Rose’ wine for Brenda and a ‘Fanta Orange’ for me, the ‘Haddock’ was sweet, the batter was light & crisp, the chips were good but could have done with another minutes cooking to make them more crispy, the ‘Mushy Peas’ were very tasty, just right, both the portions were large, all cooked to order, at the end we decided that ‘ Skipper’s’ in amateur and our favourite ‘ Marlow’s’ is professional!

We came back up to the village and called into ‘ Bar Castillo’ for a night cap, some friends where sat outside and a couple with them, Russel & Jackie Howe, came over to us and introduced themselves, they are getting married next year and  had been recommended by them to ask us it we could look after their dog. Watch this space.

Then our very dear friend ‘ Big Brian ‘ came along with some of his friends on a celebration ‘Tapas’ night out in the village, he has been promoted by the company he works for in Gibraltar to a more senior position  over in England in Stoke on Trent, it’s what he wanted and he’s going to live in Cheshire, we wish him all the very best, lots of happy memories, with him, and more to come in the future!

This evening for our supper we are having the classic ‘ Steak Diane’ using ‘ French’ trimmed ‘ Entrecote Steaks’ – the fat is cut-off and the steaks are shaped and flattened a little; I then season the steaks with Sea Salt & crushed Black Pepper before smearing them with ‘Dijon’ Mustard, they are seared on both sides and taken out to rest, the diced Onions & sliced Button Mushroom are sweated off in the same ‘Flambe’ pan with a dash of ‘Tabasco & Lea & Perrins’ - a good glug of Brenda’s ‘ Rioja is added along with a strong ‘Beef & Vegetable’ stock and a large spoon of Dijon Mustard, the sauce is left to cook out and thicken before adding the steals back in, finally I flame the pan with a local ‘Brandy’ before adding the ‘Double Cream’ and chopped Parsley! On the side we are having whole Green Beans and twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ See below.

On the football front over in the ‘ Premiere League’ Manchester City welcome Middlesbrough, Everton travel down to play Chelsea and tomorrow Liverpool are at home to Watford; in ‘ La Liga’ tomorrow Real Madrid are at home to lowly Leganese and Barcelona travel to Sevilla.

When we returned to the house we settled down to watch the final episode of ‘ the Level’ – the lady detective went undercover, again’ her father was beaten up, by the murderer, she found the missing drugs and the connection to a major crime was stopped, she was attacked, again’ – finally the surprise murderer was revealed and was shot dead by the police in what is called a ‘death by cop’ – he pulled out a child’s water gun knowing he would be killed! In the end there are still lots of questions unanswered, the drug baron and the person behind all the deals didn’t get caught, the corrupt cop was still around and the detectives step sister is going undercover to trap the ‘ baddies’?! Another series must be in the pipe line!!  Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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