A COOLER BUT STILL SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 20^th/ OCTOBER 2019.

We managed just a little lie in this morning as it was all happening in the village from early this morning, as they were setting up, along in ‘ Calle Mar’ for the  6th annual ‘Mountain Bike Race ‘ later, after freshening up we grabbed a quick breakfast, then Brenda took ‘Lolo’ out for his first walk of the day, along the terrace overlooking ‘ Calle Mar ‘- so as she could watch the start of the Race, meanwhile I was out & about taking the pictures, as you can see above, a great turnout ( over 500 riders) as they set off around the valleys and mountains behind the village, over 47 kms, they end up coming back up the steepest street in the village along to the finish outside the Town Hall, at the top of our street.

Last night, later on, we had a very severe rain storm, that only lasted 10/15 minutes, but it did wash-out part of the route, which had to be altered, as well as after the fire damage from the night before, so they have had ‘Fire, Water & now Sun’!

Meanwhile back at the house it was time to get the ‘ Sunday Roast Chicken’ on the go; I take off the Leg, Thigh & Wings, then season the local Chicken with Sea Salt and Lemon Juice, before placing the ‘Crown of Chicken & the separate pieces, in the roasting tray, on a bed of mixed ‘trivets’ ( chopped ends etc of vegetables ) to roast in the very hot oven ( it worked!) – the ‘ Second/Vegetable Chef ‘ then prepared the Potatoes for roasting, sliced in half and par-boiled, then tossed in the hot ‘ Goose Fat’ ready to go in the oven this evening.

I then made the ‘ Chestnut & Mixed Herb Stuffing’ - using the Chestnuts from the ‘ Castañas’ man (peeled & chopped) - then baked in the oven at the same time, when the ‘ Roast Chicken’ came out of the oven, see below, it was time to make my now famous ‘Finger-Licking’ Deep Pan Gravy! We are having ‘Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets’ in a three Cheese sauce, Crushed Carrots & Turnips, Roast Onion & Garden Peas.

This morning , as forecast, it’s a lot cooler, down to 21 degs+ with a stiff breeze blowing off the Mediterranean, the clouds are still around and the ‘Wet-Stuff’ is still in the air, the sun has broken through, so it’s still pleasant to be out & about, Next week is now looking like it’s staying the same, hovering in the low 20s, with a cooling breeze, patchy clouds & sunshine, and the rain occasionally hitting us, overnight down to only 13/14 degs,  hopefully on Wednesday staying dry, as we going up to ‘ Alhaurin el Grande’ to meet-up with our dear friend ‘Joyce Baby’ ! Watch this space.

Over in a rather cool & overcast Liverpool, this weekend, you can see below the ‘ Isle of Man Steam Packed Company’ “HSC Manannan ‘ – a 96 –metre, wave-piercing high-speed catamaran/sea-cat,  top speed 50+ knots, that operates between Douglas & Liverpool & Dublin and Belfast.

Just a quick update on the sports results;  Everton finally won a match 2-0 – Manchester City won 0-2, Barcelona won 0-3 and went top of ‘La Liga’ as Real Madrid lost in Mallorca 1-0 ! Over in Japan, New Zealand beat Ireland 46-14 and this morning Wales have just beaten France 20- 19 ! – Japan have just lost 3-26 to South Africa. So the ' Semi-Finals ' next weekend are 'England v New Zealand & Wales v South Africa !! 

Yesterday evening after supper we settled down to watch the next exciting episode of  the French crime drama, based in Paris, “ Spiral Season 7 “ over on BBC TV Four, with sub-titles, which is a ‘carry-on’ from the last series, catch it if you can!

While I have been typing/posting today.s Blog, I have been listening , as usual, to the 'Pete Black Retro Roadshow' on " Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW " as the ' Film Quiz' came on, my first guess was not correct, but my second attempt was, it was ' Al Pacino' - I sent the E'Mail but it didn't reach him in time! 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 10^th/ JUNE 2018.

We all had a little lie in this morning as the village is very quiet, they are  all down in the valley at the ‘ Romeria Festival ‘ – singing, dancing & eating!

We took  ‘ Paddy ‘ out for his first walk of the day, he sleeps all night on our bed, he’s eating well and is into the routine and going ‘ regular’!  He enjoys being out & about and this lunchtime he’s coming up with us to ‘Bar Rojas’ for a nice cool drink ( water only!) His Mum & Dad have arrived safely in the USA and he has just sent them a ‘ Welcome’ message!

See him below in his designer ‘ Ray-Bans ‘ – the ‘ Coolest’ little ‘ Doggy’ in sunny Manilva!

After a quick toast & tea we got today’s ‘ Roast’ on the go, the last one for a while, as it gets hotter.

This morning the sun broke through earlier and the sky has cleared and is now bright blue, by lunchtime it will be hovering around 23/24 degs+ next week starts the same and then gets warmer by next weekend, reaching 29 degs+ overnight 18 degs+  The threat of the ‘ wet-stuff’ has disappeared on all the forecasts, watch this space.


See below the beach this morning down in Sabinillas.

After getting all the ‘ Trivets’ ready in the roasting tray, including the secret ingredients, I seasoned the ‘ Loin of Spanish Pork ‘ – sadly no ‘ crackling’ – with Sea Salt, Lemon & Lime Juice, before placing it in a very hot oven to roast, the ‘Second/Vegetable Chef’ peeled the Potatoes ( sliced in half) for boiling, after shaking the pan rigorously they are tossed into the hot ‘ Goose-Fat’ ready to go in the oven this evening. I also made a savoury Mixed Herb, Sage & Onion Stuffing.

Meanwhile she has gone ‘ mad’ – Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets in a Three Cheese sauce, Cabbage with Acelgas, Glazed Whole Baby Carrots & Whole French Green Beans & Garden Peas as well as small dish of her famous ‘ Mashed Potato’! I then made my famous ‘ finger-licking’ Pan Gravy, which will be served along with a ‘ Bramley Apple ‘ sauce.




At lunchtime we went up to 'Bar Rojas' with 'Paddy ' for a nice cool drink and some Tapas, sat under the unbrella's in the warm sunshine, with a light breeze blowing, making it very pleasant, the ' Boquerones Fritos - Deep-Fried Anchovie Fillets  ' were excellent, see below.

Just a quick update on the sport; ‘Simona Halep’ won her first ‘ Grand Slam’ in Paris at the ‘ French Open’ Tennis, Lewis Hamilton could only manage 4^th on the grid for today’s ‘ Canadian Grand Prix’ – over in the ‘ Criterium Du Dauphine’ Britain’s Geraint Thomas increased his lead in the ‘ Yellow’ Jersey, we also caught some International Test ‘Rugby Union’ as Wales beat Argentina in San Juan 10-23 and over in Johannesburg, in a 10 try thriller, England lost to South Africa 42-39!

Last night after supper we settled down to watch over on ‘ BBC Four’ the new series of the dark psychological thriller “ Hidden’ filmed in North Wales, manly in Welsh (with sub-titles) – as the main Lady Detective leads the investigation into a young girls body, after it’s found in a mountain lake in Snowdonia, it turns out that she disappeared five years ago and there are signs that she had been held somewhere for all that entire time?!

We soon found out who the killer is, with an abusive mother, a young girl in their house who could be either his next victim or his daughter,  but there is student who self-harms herself, a district nurse who is being stalked, as the plot thickens, then the Lady Detective discovers another missing girl, watch this space!!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A ' CRISP ' & NOW SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 18^th/ FEBRUARY 2018.

We had a little lie in this morning before getting the day on the go, after a quick freshen up we took ‘Chico’ out for his first walk of the day, we had to wake him up this morning, he sleeps all night, we take him out again at lunchtime, in the early evening and then finally last thing at night before we go to bed. He’s due to be collected on Tuesday, we will miss him as he’s such good company, ‘ Chispa’ as usual as just been him to see him, ‘Reina’is back early tomorrow morning and then on Wednesday to Friday this week, the following week ‘Scooby’ is due back with us for a short holiday.

When we returned we had a quick mug of tea & toast before getting today’s ‘ Roast ‘ on the go “ Roast Campo Corn-Fed Chicken “ with a savoury Apple & Herb Stuffing, not forgetting my delicious finger-licking Pan Gravy!

See below the local ‘ Campo Corn-Fed Chicken ‘ before it went in the oven, then cut up/portioned and resting on a ‘Trivet’ of vegetables.

The ‘ Second/Vegetables Chef ‘ is preparing Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets in a three Cheese sauce, glazed Carrot & Turnips Batons, Baby whole ‘French’ Green Beans, Garden Peas and a small dish of her famous ‘ Mashed Potato’ - as we have changed the menu; we are now having an old favourite ‘ Fondant Potatoes’ – using the trimmings for the mash! The ‘ Fondant Potatoes ‘ hand-turned’ into Barrel shapes,are then ‘ Browned’ in Goose Fat, for colour, then placed in the dish and topped up with a strong Chicken & Vegetables stock, ready to bake in the oven this evening.

See below;

This morning the sun is still attempting to break through, it’s still a little cloudy with just a very light breeze, hovering on the 16/17degs mark by this afternoon, next week’s forecast had picked up a bit, the threat of the ‘wet stuff’ has nearly gone away, by Tuesday the sun is back and the temperature will be 19/20 degs+! – the rest of the week and over next weekend is looking, for now, dry & settled, a little warmer during the night, watch this space.

See below the old Pier in Colwyn Bay taken last night and another  spectacular ‘ Drone’ picture of the whole ‘ Bay of Colwyn ‘!

Over in Everett, Ontario Sandra & Bill have gone across to Ottawa, the capital, for the weekend, to see, Alanna, Sandra’s daughter, who lives, goes to college and works there, we are making contact with them next weekend on the ‘ Skype’ video for a good catch up.

See below a picture of Alanna in the ‘ Tapas’ Bar & Restaurant  “ Two Six ( Ate ) ! Her boyfriend, Blake, is the ‘ Chef’!!

Last night after supper we caught the next two back to back episodes of the Swedish police/crime drama series “ Modus “ – as the plot thickens, there is a mole in the Police department, they find a dead body of a presidential guard, of the missing lady President, of the USA!- played by Kim Cattrall. The ‘ FBI ‘ & Secret Service ‘ are infighting, as well as with the Swedish police, more leads emerged, its’ all getting rather gripping, interesting & exciting, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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