THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY CRISP SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 30^th/ APRIL 2017.

We had a nice lie in this morning until the church bells started calling the faithful, after our tea & toast with fresh fruit we sorted ourselves out for the day ahead, we have no plans, we are just taking things very easy, it’s a ‘Bank Holiday’ weekend over here as well - ‘ Labour Day ‘ on Monday, we have a ‘ busy’ week ahead, by our standards, with appointments etc every day.

Overnight the wind blew the rain away, this morning its clear & crisp with a stiff breeze, the sky is clearing and the clouds have gone, by lunchtime it will reach the low 20s as the sun breaks through, next week its forecast to be warm & sunny, getting a little hotter as the week goes on, next weekend is also fine, watch this space.

Just a quick sports update; Barcelona won 0-3 ( sorry Mano !) Real Madrid won 2-1, so no change at the top of the ‘ La Liga’ – Murray lost & Nadal won in the ‘Barcelona Open’ Tennis semi-finals. Lewis Hamilton is only 4^th of the grid with the two Ferrari’s on a front row lock-out at the ‘ Russian Grand Prix over in Sochi. Meanwhile over at Wembley in front of a 90,000 crowd Anthony Joshua stopped Wladimir Klitschko in the 11^th round after being knocked down in the 6^th round!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Medallions of Pork Fillet ‘ cooked on the griddle plate, with a sharp/piquant ‘ Charcutiere ‘ sauce on the side, assorted vegetables and my version of ‘ Breton’ potatoes, boiled/diced potatoes tossed in butter with sautéed diced Onions, Red & Green Peppers and chopped Parsley. 

See below;

Then on Monday evening, using the rest of the ‘Fillet of Pork’ it’s going to be ‘ Escalopes of Pork Schnitzels’ –  coated with breadcrumbs from the local bakery with ‘Spaghetti Milanese ‘ – tossed in my famous Tomato sauce with strips of Smoked Ham.

This evening after supper we will settle down to watch the final episode of the very gripping ‘ Line of Duty ‘ on BBC 1, is it set to end in a shattering shootout?! Who is ‘ Balaclava Man ‘ ?! All will be revealed, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY WET SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY WET, COLD & OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 29^th / APRIL 2017.

We managed a little lie in this morning before the gas bottle delivery man called, we had a faulty one last week so he exchanged it for a new one, we then had a cup of tea and toast, Brenda is washing her hair and as you can see I’m up in the office/studio on the WWW.

‘Chispa’ came crashing in, first thing, and stopped for breakfast, she has been clipped, not scalped, they have left her with a full head of hair, she looks rather different, to say the least, watch this space for a picture when I can catch her! Next week ‘ Reina’ is back with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ for four days from Tuesday.

Next week the car is in for a check up on Tuesday, Brenda has an appointment with her hairdresser down in Sabinillas on Wednesday, I’m at the surgery on Thursday for my review/check up and then on Friday I will be out on my travels for the weekly shopping, we are planning to go out for ‘ Sunday Lunch’ to our favourite restaurant ‘ Kokomo’

Overnight the rain has stopped after the storm lasted 24 hours, it’s grey & overcast with black clouds and it looks like we are in for more rain soon, it's just started again, it’s also a lot cooler, 17/18degs, tomorrow it’s forecast to be back to normal for the time of the year, warm & sunny, next week is staying warm, dry and settled, getting hotter as the week goes on, watch this space.

See below a spectacular picture showing the ‘ Expressway’ weaving its way through Colwyn Bay.

On the sports front this weekend; over in the ‘ Premiere League’ Everton welcome Chelsea, on Sunday Manchester City travel across to Middlesbrough and then on Monday evening Liverpool go down the MI to play Watford, over here in ‘ La Liga’ Real Madrid are at home to Valencia and it’s the ‘ Derby ‘ game as Barcelona go to their near neighbours Espanyol ( Mano’s team!) It’s the ‘ Russian Grand Prix ‘ in Sochi, there is Tennis on the TV, it’s the ‘ Barcelona Open ‘ and Murray & Nadal are into the semi-finals;  this afternoon we will be watching the final days racing of the ‘ National Hunt Racing’ season  on ITV from Sandown Park & Flat Racing from Haydock Park.

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ French’ trimmed ‘ Entrecote Steaks’ grilled on a very hot griddle plate ‘ Med-Rare’ then left to rest, garnished with deep-fried Onion rings, whole Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ with ‘Bearnaise ‘ sauce on the side. On Sunday evening we have decided on ‘ Medallions of Pork Fillet ‘ and then on Monday ‘ Escalope of Pork Schnitzels’ with Spaghetti a la ‘Milanaise’

After supper we will channel hop and find something to watch, tomorrow night it’s the final episode of the very gripping ‘ Line of Duty ‘ – who is ‘ Balaclava Man ‘? Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A STORM HIT SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY WET, STORM HIT, SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 28^th/ APRIL 2017.

I was up very early this morning and after putting on the waterproofs, I set off on my travels in the middle of a rain storm, I called into the surgery and booked an appointment with our Doctor, Natalia, for next Thursday morning to update my records and have a check up, I then carried on down to Sabinillas to go to a main bank to pay our electricity bill, as the local bank yesterday, was off line, after a little problem, that was sorted by the cashier & Manager, I was able to settle the account.

I called into ‘Mercadona’ for our main shop, the underground car park was flooded, I had to park outside so I was drenched again as I came out to load the car, next I picked up some birthday cards and the local newspapers from the ‘English Bookshop’- the local market at the end of the promenade was closed as the storm was hitting the sea front, again, so it was time to come back up the hill to a very damp sunny Manilva.

I arrived back at the house like a  ‘Drowned Rat’ – I had to change out of all my clothes, I was wet to the skin! So much for the waterproofs!!  A mug of steaming tea was called for!!

The rain started yesterday evening, it was very heavy, but then stopped during the night, this morning it was back with a vengeance, the road were starting to flood down in Sabinillas, it looks like it’s in for the day and tomorrow, on Sunday the forecast is back to normal, warm & sunny, getting hotter each day next week, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Goujons of Hake Fillet ‘ with ‘ Mushy Peas’ & twice-cooked ‘ Frits ‘ – Homemade ‘Tartar’ sauce on the side, with lots of Lemon Wedges; on Saturday its’ going to be Grilled  ‘Entrecote Steaks’ garnished with deep-fried Onion rings, Sunday is still TBC.

It’s definitely a stay at home day today & tomorrow, we are ‘Battening Down the Hatches’! Brenda is catching up with the chores, we will settle down later, reading and watching some TV.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA;

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A DRY, CRISP & STILL SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 27^th/ APRIL 2017.

I was up first this morning to see ‘Reina’ back with us for the last day this week, she shot into her duvet, we then took ‘ Scruffy’ out for his first walk of the day, before breakfast, when we came back ‘ Chispa’ came crashing in and joined us all for breakfast, she was then taken off down to the local Vets to have her hair clipped, fingers crossed that they don’t ‘scalp’ her,  as usual!  ‘Scruffy’ slept on our bed and in his executive bed all night, he’s no problem and it’s a joy to have him with us here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’- he was collected at lunchtime by Adrian & Rose.

I then shot along to the local bank in ‘Calle Mar’ to pay our electricity bill, it’s down by nearly 30%  as at the same time last year, month by month, this is due to when we changed to cooking on gas! Speaking of which, we have no hot water this morning, the gas boiler is not working, it looks like the igniter batteries have gone, I put new ones in but with no luck, I’ve called the engineer as you don’t mess with gas boilers! Now fixed, a faulty Gas Bottle with low gas pressure !! 

This morning, at the moment, it’s dry, cloudy and sunny, the forecast wet stuff has not yet appeared, there is a little breeze making it crisp, by lunchtime it due to reach the heady heights of around 22 degs, over the next two days it’s going to be cooler, wet & windy, then on Sunday it’s back to normal for the time of the year, warm & sunny, getting hotter during next week, watch this space.

This means that I’m going to get a little ‘ damp’ tomorrow morning when I go down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, it’s not a ‘ Bank Holiday’ weekend over here, hopefully the market at the end of the promenade will be open, last week it was closed because of the storms.

For our supper this evening we are having one of our favourites ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings ‘ with Baked Potato and finely sliced Green Beans, Friday is ‘Fish’ night and then on Saturday we will be having a ‘ Steak ‘ extravaganza, Sunday is still TBC, watch this space.

See below a picture of a 35oz - Dry Aged, ‘ Piedmontes Tomahawk Ribeye’ – if only!!

Two results from ‘ La Liga’ mid-week games, last night, Barcelona won 7-1 & Real Madrid won 2-6 – this evening over in the ‘ Premiere League ‘ it’s the ‘ Manchester Derby ‘ as Manchester City welcome Manchester Utd, I will try and watch it via my Internet connection late this evening.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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