A STILL ' FRESH' BUT SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 22/nd  FEBRUARY 2020.

We had a nice lie in this morning as the village is even quieter than normal, we went to bed later than normal last night, as on our last walk of the day with ‘ Chico’ -  we bumped into our friend ‘Brian’ sat inside ‘ Bar Castillo’ having his first drink of the day after finishing his work/late shift in Gibraltar, we joined him for a ‘ night-cap’ and caught up with all his news, it sounds like he’s going to move to ‘La Linea de Conception’ – the border with Gibraltar, to a nice flat, with parking, meaning that he will only need to walk across the border into work each day ( Monday – Friday )

By the time we came home it was later than normal when we go to bed, I was checking the ‘WWW’ when a message came up on ‘ Facebook Messenger’ from Sandra, over in Everett, Ontario, Canada,  asking ‘ Hi Malcolm, are you there ?’ She had seen that we were online, so we have arranged a ‘ Skype’ video link–up on Sunday at 5-00 pm our time, as the folks are going to a ‘ diaper party ‘ later?! Tomorrow morning we are going to make contact with Lyn, over in Melbourne, Australia, for a nice chat, watch this space.

After freshening up Brenda took ‘ Chico’ out for his first walk of the day, when she returned, as she was on the breakfast rota, as usual, on a Saturday morning, I had her famous ‘ Campo’ Poached Eggs on Toast, Scrambled for herself, with mugs of hot/strong Tea, to start the weekend in the right direction.

See below;

Today the sun has managed to break through earlier and the sky is clear & blue, staying warm & sunny, there is still a stiff breeze, so by lunchtime it’s only due to reach 17/18 degs+ - overnight down to 11/12 degs+ - staying the same tomorrow, next week we are now in for a prolonged spell of warm, dry and settled weather, by Tuesday back up to 22 degs+ as the breeze drops, with warm sunshine, with just a few patchy clouds hanging around, hovering in the low 20s, for the rest of the week and over next weekend, watch this space.

See below a picture of the new ‘Virgin Voyages’ cruise line, built in Italy, the “ Scarlet Lady “ leaving Southampton yesterday, on her ‘maiden voyage’ -  her first port of call will be Liverpool on Tuesday, watch this space.

On the sports front this weekend; over in the ‘Premier League’ Manchester City travel down the M6 to play Leicester City, tomorrow Everton are in London to play Arsenal, then on Monday Liverpool are at home to West Ham, in the ‘La Liga’ here in Spain, Barcelona welcome Elba and Real Madrid have to travel to Levante. The ‘ National Hunt Racing’ this afternoon is from Kempton Park.

The ‘ Guinness Six Nations Rugby Union’ returns later today, as Italy welcome Scotland and Wales are at home to France, tomorrow England welcome Ireland to Twickenham.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks’ cooked on a very hot griddle-plate, ‘Med-Rare’ – the left to rest – garnished with seared Asparagus Spears, Button Mushrooms and shallow-fried ‘Beer Battered Onion Rings’ Accompanied with a classic ‘ Bearnaise’ sauce and served with whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans and of course triple-cooked ‘ Frits’

On Sunday this week are not ‘Roasting’ – as for a change we are having ‘ Braised Lamb Shanks in a Minted Gravy’ – with a selection of fresh local Vegetables and our favourite ‘ Pommes Rissolees ‘ Watch this space.

Tomorrow lunchtime Andrew Charles is back presenting the ‘Pete Black Retro Road Show’ on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW “ as Pete is on holiday, with his wife, up in a very ‘ Wintery’ Scotland, from his home down in South Wales in Carmarthen.

This evening after supper we will be channel hopping to find something to watch, as the Saturday evening programmes, at the moment, are not very interesting.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A OVERCAST AND STILL DAMP SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 21^st/ DECEMBER 2019.

We had a nice long lie in this morning, in fact we overslept, as the village was quieter than normal, after freshening up it was time for Brenda’s perfect ‘ Campo’ Poached Eggs on Toast – Boiled for her, with mugs of strong Tea, to set us up for the weekend ahead.

See below;

A little change in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ as ‘Pucci’ is now not arriving until early tomorrow morning and ‘ Chico’ is now joining us on Monday morning, ‘Pucci’ is with us until ‘New Years Day’ and sadly ‘ Chico’ is only here until Friday 27^th! Little ‘ Miss Bella’ is with on ‘Christmas Day for a few hours, we will be, of course, calling down to see how ‘ Chispa’ is getting on, over the ‘Xmas’ festivities!

On Monday morning Leah is very kindly taking me down to the ‘ English Butchers’ in the ‘Puerto de la Duquesa Marina’ to collect the fresh ‘Xmas Turkey’ – as well as some other ‘goodies’ – ‘Pigs in Blanket, a Rump Steak, Gammon Steaks’ etc, as sadly there is still no sign of our car returning from the local garage after taking the re-test at the ‘ITV –MOT’ station over in Estepona, after all the major repairs?! Watch this space.

Overnight the ‘ Storm Elsa’ has started to move on, the ‘gale-force winds have receded and at the moment it’s dry, the sky is still very cloudy, grey and overcast, with the threat of the ‘Wet-Stuff’ still hanging in the air, over the Region of ‘Andalusia’  they have had it much more severe, with some fatalities, down here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’ we have been lucky, as it was not a bad as forecast, at the moment the sun is attempting to break through, with a little blue sky just showing, there is still a stiff breeze, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 17/18 degs + - overnight down to 11/12 degs+ - tomorrow is looking the same, then next ‘ Xmas Week’ is now forecast to be dry and settled, with sunshine, with a few patch clouds at times, hovering in the mid/high ‘ teens’ at around 18 degs+ - all week, next weekend  it could all change as the next ‘Atlantic’ front comes in just in time for the ‘New Year’ Watch this space.

On the sports front the weekend; in the ‘ Premiere League’ Everton welcome Arsenal and Manchester City are at home to Leicester City, meanwhile over in Doha, Qatar, it’s the ‘Club World Cup’ as Liverpool play Flamengo! ( Brazil) – over here in ‘La Liga’ Barcelona are at home to Alaves  and Real Madrid welcome Athletic Bibao.

The ‘ National Hunt Racing’ this afternoon is from Ascot.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Sirloin Steaks’ – ‘French’ trimmed and flattened a little, then seasoned and smeared in ‘Dijon Mustard’ – then ‘ Flashed Grilled’ on a very hot griddle-plate ‘ Med-Rare’ – left to rest and garnished with seared Asparagus Spears & Button Mushrooms, served with ‘French’ Baby Whole Green Beans and triple-cooked ‘ Frits’

This evening after supper we will be, as usual, channel hopping to find something to watch, all the regular programmes have finished and it’s now all the ‘ Christmas’ shows/films!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 26^th/ APRIL 2019.

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot off down to Sabinillas, on my travels, for the weekly shopping, the sun was blinding above a sparkling & calm Mediterranean, I had my usual toast & tea in ‘ ItZabar’ before a quieter ‘ Mercadona’ opened, I then called into the local ‘ Ferrateria’s’ for a gas-lighter for the hob, then I picked up the local newspapers in the ‘ English Bookshop’ before going along to the far-end of the promenade to the local market for our fresh flowers & wall plants, I then made my way back up the hill around the three hairpin bends to unload back at the house.

The sun was first thing this morning and the sky is bright blue and cloudless, there is just a very slight breeze, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 21 degs+ - over the weekend it’s staying the same, with a few patchy clouds at times, next week is now looking dry & settled with sunshine all the time, hovering in the low 20s,  overnight 14/15 degs, by next weekend going a lot warmer, for the start of May, watch this space.

See below the sunrise over Sabinillas this morning and one of the ‘Beach Forts’ dotted along the coast, on a fine evening.

This evening we are going out for a ‘Tapas’ supper at ‘Bar Castillo’ before going down to the ‘Jazz Concert’ in the ‘ Casa de los Torres’ Cultural Centre.

On Saturday evening for our supper we are having a large  ‘Grilled Rib of Beef – on the Bone’ ( Chuleton de Buey ) – cooked on a very hot griddle-plate ‘ Med-Rare’ – then left to rest, before carving it ‘ French’ style into fingers, garnished with seared Button Mushrooms, Baby Shallots & Spears of Asparagus, served with a classic ‘ Bearnaise’ sauce, with whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans & twice-cooked ‘ Pont Neuf’ – Doorstep’ Frits! ( the granddaddy of French Fries!)

For our ‘ Roast’ on Sunday we are now having a ‘Roast Loin of Pork’ with a savoury Mixed Herb Stuffing & Glazed ‘ Fuji’ Apple slices and my famous ‘ finger-licking Pan Gravy, not forgetting the ‘Goose-Fat Roast Potatoes’ and a large selection of fresh/local Vegetables, from the ‘ Vegetable Chef’!

We have just had a booking in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ from next Wednesday, 1^st May, for a week, little ‘ Chico’ is returning, then next Friday ‘Scruffy’ is also back with us for the afternoon, as usual ‘ Chispa’ has been in & out all the time and will no doubt be calling in to see us and her friends!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A BEAUTIFUL WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 9^th/ MARCH 2019.

I was up early again this morning, for the last time this week! After my normal quick freshen up I shot off on my travels down to Sabinillas, through the bare vine fields, as the sun was coming up above the Mediterranean, I had a quick toast & tea in ‘ ItZabar’ which is now open again after his two-month break, before making my way to a quieter ‘ Mercadona’ for our main shop, I then shot back up the hill to unload back at the house.

While I was out ‘ Chico’ had been dropped off for his week’s holiday, until next Sunday, with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ - he’s settled in all ready, ‘ Chispa’ has also called in to see him & us!

The ‘ Breakfast Chef’ had prepared her famous ‘ Campo Poached Eggs on Toast ‘ – with mugs of hot/strong tea, when I returned from putting the car away in the underground car park. I then went up to the office/studio to go on the ‘ WWW’ and read all the newspapers, catch up with the ‘ E-Mails/Facebook’ messages etc, before typing/posting today’s Blog.

We have another glorious day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun was out early and the sky has cleared and it’s bright blue with not a cloud in the sky, there is a very light breeze, making it very pleasant to be out & about, later by this afternoon it’s due to reach 18/19 degs+  - tomorrow it’s going to be a little warmer, next week is now looking dry, settled and very sunny, with a slight breeze and just a few patchy clouds at times, hovering in the low 20s all week and over next ‘Carnival Weekend’ Watch this space.

A busy weekend on the spots front; over in the ‘ Premiere League’ Everton travel across to play Newcastle, Manchester City are at home to Watford & Liverpool welcome Burnley on Sunday, here in ‘La Liga’ Barcelona welcome Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid travel to Real Valladolid.

The ‘ Guinness Six Nations Rugby Union’ returns as Scotland welcome Wales and England are at home to Italy, tomorrow Ireland are at home to France.

The ‘ National Hunt Racing’ today is from Sandown Park, next week from Tuesday to Friday it’s the “ Cheltenham Festival “ – the height of the jump racing season.

At lunchtime we went for our walk with ' Chico' is the hot sunshine and ended up back at ' Bar Castillo' for a nice cool drink and some excellent ' Tapas' sat outside.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Grilled Entrecote Steaks’ – cooked on a very hot griddle-plate ‘ Med-Rare’ – the left to rest, garnished with seared Asparagus Spears & Button Mushrooms, accompanied with the classic ‘ Bearnaise’ sauce and Dijon Mustard, served with whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Frits’

After supper we will settle down to channel hop and then later catch the next two back to back episodes of the Icelandic thriller ( with sub-titles ) “ Trapped “

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A BEAUTIFUL ' FRESH' AND SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 9^th/ FEBRUARY 2019.

We had a nice long lie in this morning after a week of early starts, we then freshened up before breakfast, as it’s Saturday, Brenda was on the breakfast rota so I had her famous ‘ Campo Poached Eggs on Toast’ – one smothered in ‘ HP’ Brown sauce – while Brenda had a ‘ Campo Boiled Egg ‘ with Toast Fingers, with mugs of strong/hot ‘PG’ Tips Tea!

The sun was out early and the sky has cleared and is blue & cloudless, there is a light breeze, by lunchtime it due to reach 19 degs+ - another beautiful day here in sunny Manilva, tomorrow it’s the same, next week is staying dry & sunny with patchy clouds at times, hovering in the mid/high ‘ teens’ – but going a little cooler towards next weekend as the breeze picks up, watch this space.

See below ‘ Arty’ Black & White pictures of sunny Manilva!

On the sports front this weekend; sadly there is no ‘ National Hunt Racing’ for a week in the UK, at least, due to an outbreak of ‘ Equine Flu’ – so on ‘ITV’ this afternoon they are showing some racing from Ireland.

In the ‘ Premier League’ Liverpool welcome AFC Bournemouth, Everton travels down the M1 to play Watford and tomorrow Manchester City are at home to Chelsea, over here in ‘ La Liga’  it’s the local ‘ Derby’ match as Atletico Madrid welcome to their new stadium Real Madrid, meanwhile  Barcelona travel across to play Athletic Bilbao! 

In the ‘ Guinness Six Nations Rugby Union ‘ Scotland welcome Ireland, Wales travel to play Italy and England welcome France.

This evening for our supper we are having my version of the old classic ‘ Tournedos Rossini ‘ – ‘Fillet Steak’ wrapped in Smoked Bacon, seared on a very hot griddle-plate, for colour then quickly cooked in a very hot oven – ‘Med Rare’ – no blood!  Left to rest and then served on a toasted ‘ Crute’ – topped with a ‘ Quenelle ‘ of ‘ Iberian Pate’ -  surrounded with a pool of a rich ‘Red Wine’ Demi-Glaze, accompanied with Whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans and twice-cooked, hand-cut by Brenda - ‘ Stringfellows’ Frits!

On Sunday we are now not ‘ Roasting’ – instead we are having marinated( Olive Oil & Tarragon) -  Grilled ‘ Spanish Lamb Chops/Cutlets ‘ resting on a bed of ‘ Boulangere’ Potatoes.

This afternoon we will be watching all the sport and then later after supper we will channel hop to find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day,  See above.

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