A VERY ' FRESH' AND NOW CLEARING SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 21^st/ FEBRUARY 2020.

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot off on my travels down to Sabinillas,  for our weekly shopping, as the sun was just coming up above a choppy Mediterranean, through the bare vine fields, after they have burnt-off all the old branches/leaves.

I was first into ‘ Mercadona’ - which at this time of the year is still very quiet,  ( half-term next week) I picked up the local newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ before going along to the far-end of the promenade to the local market for some fresh flowers & wall plants, after shooting back up the hill to unload back at the house I then put the car away in the underground garage.

Meanwhile Brenda, after a little lie in, had taken ‘ Chico’ out for his first walk of the day, we go out at lunchtime, then in the early evening and finally last thing at night, he’s such a gentle and friendly boy, has a very good appetite and goes to his regular ‘ spots’- yesterday evening Leah and her son Deemy called in after that had been out for a ‘Curry’ – little ‘ Miss Bella’ has been trimmed and is looking at her best, they stayed for a drink & chat, next week ‘Miss Bella’ is not with us as it’s the school holidays, she will be back the following Monday/Tuesday. A week today 28^th February it’s the ‘ Dia de Andalucia’ – when Lolo is due to arrive for his two-week holiday.

This morning the wind has changed direction, yesterday it was a ‘Levante’ coming up/off the Mediterranean, today it’s a ‘Poniente’ – blowing down from the mountains behind the village, it’s still a little grey & overcast, with a cloudy sky, the breeze has picked up, so by lunchtime it’s only due to reach 16/17 degs+ - overnight down to 11/12 degs,  over the weekend staying the same, as the rain has been blown away, next week is now looking dry & settled, with a few patchy clouds, but mainly warm & sunny, going back up to 20/21 degs+ by next Tuesday as the wind drops, the rest of the week and over next weekend is going to be dry and settled, with sunshine, hovering in the high ‘ teens’ – watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having “ Goujons of Hake Fillet in a Tempura ‘Cruzcampo’ Beer Batter “ – strips of the Hake Fillet – coated in the batter and shallow-fried in Vegetable Oil, until crisp & golden, served with lots of Lemon Wedges and a homemade ‘ Tartar sauce ( Brenda) The ‘ Batter’ is made with a bottle of chilled ‘Cruzcampo,’ flour, Baking Powder, a pinch of salt & a drop of Olive Oil, with a small sprinkling of ‘ Saffron ‘ powder to give it a ‘ Chip-Shop’ colour! Served with Mushy Peas – back on the menu ( Iceland!) and triple-cooked ‘ Chips’!   We are ‘ Frying Tonight ‘ !!

This afternoon we will be relaxing and taking things very easy, catching up with all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow, later watching the regular Friday night programmes and channel hopping later.

At the moment ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW ‘ is back on air, but with no Andrew Charles – but ‘Pete Blacks Retro Roadshow’ is still ‘ live’ on air on a Sunday lunchtime – from South Wales! Still the best music station with the best music library/tracks and presenters!  

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A NOW BRIGHT & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 28^th/ DECEMBER 2019.

We had a nice long lie in this morning, as the village is very quiet, after freshening up Brenda was on the breakfast rota, as usual, on a Saturday morning, so I had her famous ‘ Campo’ Poached Eggs on Toast, Boiled for her, with brown toast fingers, with mugs of hot tea.

Overnight ‘ Pucci’ stayed with us upstairs, he needed to go out during the night, even though he had been out for his four walks during the day, the last one before we go to bed, he’s got his usual ‘ spots’ around the bottom of the village.

Tomorrow morning, starting outside the Town Hall, it’s the annual ‘Xmas Charity Run’ – just 1.3 kms around the village, with donations of non-perishable goods for all the local charities, when all the village, young & old take part. There will be Bouncy Castles in the ‘Plaza de la Vendemia’ – later a Band on the stages along ‘ Calle Mar’ – as well as other ‘Xmas’ happenings!

PS, On ‘Boxing Day’ - down on the beach in Sabinillas, there was a charity ‘Dip in the Mediterranean’ for a major Charity, which takes place each year, our friend Daniela, is the secretary of the ‘ St Georges Charity’   

PPS; Last night in the ‘Wine Museum Theatre’ there was a children’s ‘Disney Land Style Pantomime ‘ performed by the local Theatre School.

This morning has started a little grey & overcast, there is a stiff breeze, so by lunchtime it’s due to clear, with a few patchy clouds hanging around, only reaching 16/17 degs+ - tomorrow is looking the same, next week as we enter 2020, is now looking a little unsettled, with sunshine at times, going a little cooler as the breeze stiffens, hovering in the mid ‘ teens’ 14/15 degs – overnight back down to 9/10 degs at times, with the chance of the ‘ Wet-Stuff’ hitting us! Watch this space.

On our lunchtime walk along ' Calle Mar' we ended up back sat outside ' Bar Rojas - Sol Vida Pizzeria ' for a change, in the hot sunshine, with a nice cool drink, sat next to us also taking advantage of the hot sun was ' Chris, Sarah & Rosemary' from Estepona, we had a nice chat with them, before they headed off back home to Estepona.

Today on the sports front; Everton are going across on the M62, to play Newcastle Utd, then on Sunday Liverpool are at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, on Sunday, also, Manchester City are at home to Sheffield Utd, last night Manchester City lost 3-2 at Wolverhampton Wanderers after having a 0-2 lead, and are now 14 points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand! The fixtures over the ‘ Xmas/New Year’ in the ‘Premiere League’ are ‘mad’!

This afternoon the ‘ National Hunt Racing’ comes from Newbury and two other courses.

For our supper this evening we are, for a change, not having our usual ‘ Steak Night’ – instead we are keeping very simple, as we are having cold sliced ‘Roast Turkey Breast’ served with Broccoli Florets and thinly sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans, with Parsley New Potatoes, on the side Cranberry sauce and Mayonnaise!

On Sunday evening it’s going to ‘Grilled Rump Steaks’ – flattened and cooked ‘ A La Minute’ – with seared Baby Mushrooms & Asparagus Spears, and triple-cooked ‘ Frits’!  

We are having an ‘at home day’ - taking things very easy, relaxing and basically doing nothing, because we can! We will watch the racing this afternoon and then channel hop to find something to watch, if possible, not ‘Xmas’ based!! 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY ' SHARPE & FRESH' SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 8^th/ NOVEMBER 2019.

We were both up very early this morning and after a quick freshen up we shot off on our travels down to Sabinillas as the sun was coming up above the Mediterranean, our first port of call was the main ‘ Medical Centre’ to make appointments with our Doctor, Natalia, sadly after her holidays she has been moved to San Pedro, we have been with her for nearly five years and are going to miss her terribly, we will find out at lunchtime today who are new Doctor is?! 

NB; The new Doctor is another Natalia, this time Spanish, who dosn't speak a word of English, Brenda went first and showed her the ' Dermatology' report, she gave Brenda a further prescription for her cream, then it was the ' Kidney' report/sign-off, which she noted and checked her latest Blood tests results,finally Brenda gave her the ' Heart Consultants' report/update, and she noted the appointments next April, as well as issuing a new prescription for her new main tablet - ' Result '

I then took my turn and showed her my 'Insulin' injection charts, which she said was fine, I showed her my next appointment with the 'Prostate Consultant' at the start of December,and she issued a 'Blood' test document, which I have arranged for next Wednesday morning! Another 'Result ' 

At the same time I made our appointments for our ‘ Gripe- Anti-Flu ‘ injections next Wednesday evening. Watch this space.

We then shot along the coast road to the ‘ newsish’  “Mercadona “ for our weekly shopping, Brenda’s first visit to the store, it was then time to come back to Sabinillas and drop down to the local market, at the far-end of the promenade, for our fresh flowers & wall plants, including our first ‘ Poinsettia’! Next I dropped Brenda off at the ‘ English Booshop’ for the local newspapers and to give her a chance to find the family ‘Christmas Cards’ etc  – in her own time! Meanwhile I carried on to ‘ Super Sol’ for our English essentials, before picking Brenda up outside the Bookshop, we then shot back up the hill to unload back at the house.

This morning it’s very ‘ crisp & fresh’ as there is a stiff breeze blowing up from the Mediterranean, the sky is blue with high white clouds, by lunchtime it’s forecast to only reach 16 degs+ - down to 9/10 degs during the night, over the weekend it’s staying the same, dry & sunny, going just a little warmer by Sunday, next week is now looking cool and sunny to start then going wet and cooler from Wednesday onwards, hovering on the 17/18 degs mark, as the breeze stiffens, with patchy clouds, next weekend we could be in for some sunshine, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Goujons of Hake Fillet’ in a ‘ Cruzcampo Beer Batter’ – shallow-fried in Vegetable Oil until crisp & golden, served with Homemade ‘Tartar’ sauce and lots of Lemon Wedges, accompanies with Garden Peas and triple-cooked ‘ Chips’

On Saturday evening it’s going to be a large ‘ Chuelton – Rib of Beef ‘ – grilled on the bone, the left to rest and carved into Finger ‘slices ‘ French’ style, with all the usual trimmings, for our Sunday supper we are going to have ‘ Medallions of Pork Fillet’ with a ‘ Green Peppercorn’ salsa.

After supper we will channel hop to find something to watch, this weekend at we have no guests in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ we are taking things very easy, staying relaxed and staying inside, unless the stiff/cold breeze drops, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A NOW 'COOLER' SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 12th / OCTOBER 2019.  “ FIESTA NACIONAL DE ESPAÑA “

We had a nice lie in this morning in a very sleepy & quiet sunny Manilva, it’s a ‘ Bank Holiday’ weekend here in Spain, as today is the celebration of when Christopher Columbus discovered the ‘ Americas’ back in 1492!

Up in Madrid, in front of King Philippe & Queen Latizia and the two Princess’s, at the moment, there is a grand military parade, which starts with a Skydiver/Parachutist landing in front of the podium, with a very large ‘Spanish’ flag flying from his feet, which is then raised on the tall flag-pole, with due pomp & ceremony, sadly he crashed into a tall street lamppost and got hung up! He cut the flag free but had to be brought down on a cherry-picker!!

After freshening up, Brenda is washing/shampooing her hair later, she took ‘ Winnie’ out for her first walk of the day, when she returned I had her very famous ‘ Campo’ Poached Eggs on Toast, Scrambled for her on brown toast, with mugs of tea, to set us up for the weekend ahead.

This morning has started a little grey & overcast, with a light cooling breeze, the sun is now breaking through and by lunchtime it’s due to reach 24 degs+ - just about right for the time of the year, tomorrow is going to be the same, with a few patchy clouds hanging around, next week, after Monday, when we could be in for some moderate to heavy rain, it’s now looking dry, settled and sunny, with patchy clouds,  along with a light breeze, keeping it in the low 20s, overnight down to 15/16 degs, watch this space.

On the sports this weekend; it’s the  “European Championship Qualifying”  as ‘England & Spain’ attempt to go to the finals, so there is no ‘Premiere League or La Liga ‘ football this weekend, over in Japan, ‘ Typhoon Hagibis’ has affected the ‘Grand Prix’  Qualifying and caused the cancellation, sadly, of games at the ‘World Cup Rugby Union ‘ over the weekend also!

Meanwhile in Vienna Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge has just become the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours, “ 1 HR 59 MINS 40 SECONDS “ ! – using ‘Laser’ guidance, 41 pace-makers and revolutionary running shoes!!  

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks ‘ – cooked on a very hot griddle-plate ‘ Med-Rare’ – then left to rest, garnished with seared Asparagus Spears, Button Mushrooms & Shallots, accompanied with the classic ‘ Bearnaise’ sauce. Served with whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans and triple-cooked ‘ Frits’

On, Sunday, Brenda is having her one of her favourite dishes  ‘ A Confit of Duck Leg’ while I will find something else, as a treat!

This afternoon/evening we are taking things very easy, relaxing and enjoying the cooler weather, during the day and especially at night, ‘ Siesta’ time is back, we will watch the TV later, as the ‘IPTV’ system is working again, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A STILL VERY ' CRISP' & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 16^th/ DECEMBER 2018.

We had another nice lie in this morning as the village was quieter than normal, after freshening up we had our regular light breakfast of fresh fruit( Bananas ) - toast & tea, it was then nearly time to walk down to the ‘ Iglesia Santa Ana Church’ for the “ Christmas Carol Concert “ – yesterday afternoon we stayed at home and listened to the ‘ Flamenco Concert’ from the comfort of our settee, as the music/singing was blown across from the “ Casa De Los Torres “ ‘ Cultural Centre’- which is in the open air, in the next street, on a very ‘ cold & crisp’ day in sunny Manilva!

Speaking of a very cold & crispy day, here, down on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ this morning there is a stiff breeze blowing, the sky is blue and the clouds have cleared, the breeze has also blown away the threatening ‘ wet-stuff’ for now, so by lunchtime it due to reach 19 degs+ -next week is now looking, on all the forecasts, bar one, settled, dry & sunny with patchy clouds, hovering in the high ‘teens’ – leading up to the long  ‘ Christmas Weekend’ – both ‘ Christmas Day & Boxing Day ‘ are going to be ‘ SUNNY’! Watch this space.

While I’ve been typing/posting today’s Blog I have been listening to ‘Pete Black Retro Road Show’ on ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ as he played this week’s ‘ Film Quiz’ track – I got it straight away – “ A Space Odyssey “ with Douglas Rain as ‘ HAL 9000 ‘ – so I’m in the draw, again for the ‘ Mug’!

Just a quick update of the football results; Manchester City won 3-1 & Real Madrid had a ‘ lucky ‘ win 1-0!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Pan-Seared Medallions of Pork Fillet’ accompanied with a creamy ‘Green Peppercorn’ sauce, with a small selection of fresh, local Vegetables & ‘ Pommes Risolees’ – par-boiled Baby new Potatoes, in their skins, then tossed in foaming Parsley Butter until crisp & brown all over. Next week’s Menu’s are still TBC, watch this space.

Last night before supper we watched the Final of ‘ Strictly Come Dancing’ – then channel hopped, this evening it’s the “ BBC Sports Personality of the Year “

PS; We have arranged to call Sandra & Bill over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, on the ‘ Skype’ video later this afternoon, for a catch-up with all their news.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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