THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 31^st/AUGUST 2017.

I was up early this morning to welcome back little princess ‘ Reina’ for the day, she’s back tomorrow, she as usual joined us on the bed for a little lie in before going onto here duvet, Brenda grabbed a quick shower, I’m having mine later, so I shot along to the local Bank in ‘Calle Mar’ to pay the water & electricity bills, on the way back I spotted the ‘ ‘Movistar/Telefonica’ engineers working down the next street to ours, installing the Fiber Optic cables, I enquired when they were coming to ‘ Calle San Vicente’ and they said possibly tomorrow - ‘Hasta Manana ‘! Watch this space.

PS; The ' Movistar/Telefonica ' engineers have just appeared outside our house, see below!

When I returned we had our breakfast of ‘ Crispy Smoked Bacon toasted Butties’ – open on Brown for Brenda – with mugs of steaming tea, we then put the shopping list together as I’m out on my travels tomorrow morning, down to Sabinillas, for the weekly shopping.

Yesterday evening the handyman, Juan, came and started on the work in the downstairs toilet, he’s removed the window frame & door frame, taken the tiles off and re-plastered the walls, this evening he’s putting the new tiles up, re-fixing the frames, cleaning the floor, painting the ceiling etc, fingers crossed that he gets it all finished, watch this space.

The sun was out early this morning and the sky is bright blue, it’s already warm & sunny, by lunchtime it will be in the high 20s, tomorrow and over the ‘Vendimia’ weekend it’s getting hotter by the day, next week is going to be settled, hot and sunny , again in the high 20s, watch this space.

At lunchtime we went along to ' Bar Castillo ' for a cool drink & Tapas, Mano came and joined us, he's calling in later to help me apply for our ' European Health Cards ' online- it gives us a second option in the future and cover us for travels outside Spain.

Last night when Lee collected ‘ Reina’ – Daniela is away on business in London, he stopped to check the ‘ Amazon Fire TV Stick’ system, the BBC has gone off again, he had no luck so it’s back to ‘Plan B’ – try again later! I had made a bowl of the ‘Cottage Pie’ for him, his ‘takeaway supper’

For our supper this evening we are having the rest of the ‘ Cottage Pie ‘ – on Friday its ‘ Fish Night’ – over the ‘ Vendimia Wine Festival Weekend’ I’m now making a ‘Casserole of Sliced Beef Steak’ in a rich Red Wine, Mushroom & Onion sauce, which we can come back to as the weekend goes on!

See below a picture taken back in 2013 when the new 'Plaza De La Vendimia' was opened, it shows on the left, our neighbour, Mario,  who is the Mayor, on the right is Diego, the ex-Mayor and in the middle is me! This picture was used to design the Ceramic Tile Mural  which is now on the wall behind the grape crushing pit!! 

Yesterday Chris Froome increased his overall lead in the ‘ Vuelta a Espana 17’ as he climbed away from the rest of the field on the final climb to the summit, today’s Stage 12 is from Motril to Antequera over a hilly 162 kms, is in the area of the ‘Sierra Navada ‘ above Malaga, it’s the nearest the race, this year, comes to us.

See the route map below;

This evening after supper we will be back to channel hopping to find something to watch, as usual we will have our ‘Happy Hour ‘ cocktails earlier in the evening.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 30^th/ AUGUST 2017.

We had a little lie in this morning as ‘ Reina’ was not being dropped off until later, she has shot onto her duvet, ‘ Chispa’ has been in to see her and then Brenda took her for a short walk after breakfast ‘ Chispa not Reina’! Our gas-bottle delivery man called to exchange our bottle, you leave the old one outside the door and he calls in with the new one, that’s service with a smile!

I then made this evening supper, ready to go in the oven later “ Cottage Pie “ topped with Brenda’s famous ‘ Mashed Potato ‘ – with ‘ Peas a la Flamande ‘ ( Garden Peas & Baby Carrots Mixed ) & Cauliflower Florets.


See below;

Over the past two days we have been very lucky with the weather, the worst has passed us by and each day by lunchtime it’s been back to normal, warm & sunny for the rest of the day, this morning the sun was out early and the sky is bright blue, it’s going to reach 26/27 degs later, then tomorrow and over the ‘ Vendimia Wine Festival’ weekend we are in for a nice warm spell hovering on the 28/29degs mark, next week is now warm and settled, watch this space.

See the picture taken last night of the stars over sunny Manilva on a half-moon night.

On the Blog the other day I was talking about my Dad, Tommy Sexton, and his time as a Fireman during the war, he was in Liverpool during the Blitz and then moved down to London and was based at ‘ Hampton Court Palace’ - on a ‘Facebook’ page about old Liverpool yesterday it showed some pictures of the Fire Stations, including the one in Bootle, you can see the ‘Turn-Table Ladder Engine’ on which my Dad was the ‘ ladder man’ – he was the lightest in the Station and in those days the ladder was raised by hand!  


See Below;

After the war my Dad was a Insurance Agent for the ‘Royal London’ and on special occasions used to take me on our bikes or sometimes in our Green Morris Van down to the docks, we went past the ‘Gladstone Graving Dry Dock’ were the trans-Atlantic liners of the time came to be repaired/painted etc. We went to the ‘Lock Keepers’ house’s so as he could collect their ‘ Divvies ‘ – we passed on the way all the main docks and the famous ‘Mammoth ‘ crane, capable of lifting 200 tons! 


See below;

We entered at the Seaforth end, where the famous ‘Overhead Railway’ started. It was the first electric elevated railway in the World, the first to use automatic signalling with colour lights and had one of the first passenger escalators in a railway station!

See some pictures below;



Passing the dock entrance to the old 'Queensway Mersey Tunnel'

The ' Mersey Docks & Harbour Boards '  " Shunter's " below!

I went on the trams also!

Today’s ‘ Stage 11’ of the ‘Vuelta a Espana 17 ‘ goes from the historic town of Lorca to Calar Alto over 189 kms with a summit finish, as you can see in the route map below, Chris Froome is still leading the race and you can expect his rivals to attack on today’s climb, watch this space.

Yesterday evening , Juan, the handyman finished the main upstairs bathroom, it looks brand new! This evening he’s staring on the work on the downstairs toilet, it’s going to take 2/3 days, watch this space.

At lunchtime we went up to ' Bar Rojas ' for a cool drink sat under the ' Sonbajo ' which the Mayor, Mario, confirmed  is being taken down when the work on 'Calle Mar ' starts later in September, it will all be finished in time for next years 'Semana Santa' I also ordered two ' Vendimia Hats ' with him!! When we came back we had a quick call on the ' Skype' video with Sandra over in Canada before she set off to work.

We are taking things easy today & tomorrow, on Friday I will be out on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, we will then prepare ourselves for the ‘Vendimia Wine Festival ‘ main celebrations on Saturday & Sunday, watch this space.

PS, The ' Movistar ' engineers have just installed the 'Fiber Optic' junction/connection box on our wall, one step more to connect us required! - ie: The cable from 'Calle Mar' to the box and then the cable from the box to our house!!  Watch this space.



See Below; 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A NOW SUNNY MANILVA;

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A WET, WARM & NOW SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 29^th/AUGUST 2017.

We had a nice lie in this morning until the gas-bottle delivery man came down our street blowing his horn, there are two suppliers  -‘Cespa & Repsol ‘ – both  major petroleum companies in Spain, we use ‘ Repsol’ who calls tomorrow, after freshening up we had our breakfast of ‘Weetabix’ fresh fruit, toast and tea.

I then popped along to the local bank in ‘ Calle Mar ‘ for some cash from the machine, Brenda then went along to the Chemists as her prescriptions were ready, I had met Miguel, the Chemist and he told me! While I was out I saw the ‘ Movistar’ engineers working along the street, after enquiring they told me that they were installing the ‘ Fiber Optic’ cables, it mean that we are now one step nearer getting the ‘Fiber Optic’ cables down to our house, watch this space.

While I was out the Council workmen have started to erect the two main stages along ‘ Calle Mar’ and install more decorations, they are also putting up the Green Awnings across the ‘ Plaza de al Vendimia’ - the house’s along the street are also starting to build their ‘ Sonbrajo’s’ each with its own particular style, watch this space for the pictures later in the week.

Yesterday afternoon Juan, the handyman called in, he’s coming back this afternoon to finish the work in the upstairs bathroom and then he’s starting on the downstairs toilet repairs, re-tiling, re-hanging the door/frame and window, painting and cleaning etc, he’s a very good worker, who Mano recommended.

As I set off it started to rain, we are very lucky as all over Spain they have had more severe weather, with storms and floods, the airport at Malaga is closed and all the flights have been diverted! We have more to come tomorrow before it gets back to normal on Thursday in time for the ‘ Vendimia Wine Festival’ over the coming weekend,  it’s still warm, 24/25 degs, overnight down to 18/19 degs, next week is now looking more settled with warmer weather & sunshine, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Pan-Seared Calves Liver ‘ dusted in flour, with Crispy Smoked Bacon, a sauceboat of ‘ Charcutiere sauce on the side, whole Green Beans & Cauliflower Florets in a Cheese sauce and Parsley New Potatoes in their skins.

On Wednesday I’m making my famous ‘ Cottage Pie ‘ using the diced Beef/Pork from our local butchers, I make a ‘ Mirepoix ‘ of finely diced vegetables, Carrots, Celery, Leeks & Onions, cooked on a gentle heat without colour in butter, then add the ‘Mince’ and my secret ingredients, along with a good strong Beef & Vegetable stock, then left to cook on a low heat, I then check the consistency and taste before Brenda tops the dish with her famous ‘ Mashed Potato ‘ ­­- ‘Comfort Food ‘ to die for!

Todays ‘ Stage 10 ‘ of the ‘ Vuelta a Espana 17 ‘ goes from ‘ Caravaca Año Jubilar to Elpozo Alimentacion ( Murcia)  over 165 kms, the major ascent is followed by a very fast descent to the finish, tomorrow is also a very mountainous stage, watch this space.

See the route map below;

Last night after supper we watched the next episode of “ Strike: The Cuckoo’s Calling “ – the final part of the trilogy is on Sunday, the plot thickened as ‘ Strike’ hit his stride, another ‘ Murder ‘ that looks like a suicide, his showbiz connections were revealed, as he bedded another supermodel friend of the first girl to loose her life, ‘Sian Phillips ‘ first appearance as a ailing ‘ Lady’ with a past, his vaguely neurotic sister trying to sort him out, his smart ‘PA’ drooling after him, all taking place with a backdrop of a rain-soaked, visually arresting London & Soho. Finally after enjoying too many drinks at the local pub, he sat down to watch the ‘ CCTV ‘ footage, given to him by a friendly cop, of the night of the first suicide/death – he suddenly realised that he recognised the killer?!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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