A NOW VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 2Oth/ AUGUST 2019.

I was up very early to welcome back little ‘ Miss Bella’ for the day, ‘ Chico’ as usual slept all night on the marble floor under the bed and ‘ Pucci’ joined us by the side of the bed and also slept all night, he’s settled in very well, he’s getting on with ‘ Chico & Bella’ – we take them all out together, he’s eating his special meal ( twice a day) and has already found his ‘ spots’ – ‘ Bella’ will be collected later this evening,  ‘Chico’ is due to be picked up on Thursday morning and then ‘Pucci’ on Friday morning, ‘Sunny’ then arrives back later in the afternoon for his short weekend break, next Monday/Tuesday, as usual  ‘ Bella’ is back with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’!

We then freshened up before going out for our first walk of the day with all the dogs (3) – when we returned we had our light breakfast of fresh fruit, ‘ Weetabix’ – brown toast for Brenda and the dogs, with mugs of strong hot tea.

Yesterday evening we walked down to the local surgery for our appointment with Carmen, the Council ‘Chiropodist’ – sadly she was not there, it turns out that she is off work, we think with a wrist injury, but we had not received a message/call to cancel the appointment?! Watch this space.

The sun is just breaking through after a misty/cloudy start to the day, there is a slight breeze, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 31 degs+ - then over the next two days it’s going cooler, down to 26/27 degs+ with the threat of patchy rain possible, as it says on the main forecast!  Over the weekend it’s hovering in the high 20s- back to warm & sunny, just in time for the ‘ Feria de Sabinillas’ - next week is now looking settled, warm & sunny, back up to the low 30s, ready for the main “ Vendemia Wine Festival “ over the coming weekend, watch this space.

While we have been out & about with all the dogs, over the weekend, we have bumped into some friends that have been here in sunny Manilva before, they have an apartment, down below the village, Billy & Julie with their family, Saffron, Emmit & Byron, from Dover, it was nice to meet up with them again, at the same time we see various other friends passing, who join us for chat/drink, as we sit with all the various dogs, taking in the sights and sounds of sunny Manilva!

At lunchtime we went for a short walk with the dogs, keeping to the shady side of the street, which happens to be also were ' Bar Castillo' is! We sat outside and had a nice cool drink, we take a ' doggy-bowl' - for the dogs to have a cool drink of water, as they sit under the table, ' Bella' on Brenda's lap, we then a few light 'Tapas' before heading back to the house.

This evening for our supper we are having sliced/local ‘Smoked Ham’ (cold) with ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs, garnished a with a little salad, with for a treat, triple-cooked ‘ Frits’! Tomorrow’s Menu is still TBC, then on Thursday, we have given, as usual, the ‘ staff’ the night off, so no doubt they will be out on the town (village) – weather permitting – for a light ‘ Tapas’ supper and drinks! Watch this space.

After supper we settle down to watch the next gripping episode of “ Keeping Faith “ as the South Wales lawyer battle business and family problems, watch this space.

Thought for the Day;  See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY 23^rd/ OCTOBER 2017.

We managed a little lie in this morning, the last for the next week, or more, as we are very busy in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ from this evening, when ‘Lolo’ arrives for his weeks holiday, tomorrow morning ‘ Reina’ is back with us for the next two days and then on Thursday evening ‘ Charlie’ is with us for a long weekend stop-over, until next Tuesday also! ‘Chispa’ is still on ‘ lock-down’ for the moment!!

After a quick freshen up we had our normal breakfast before shooting down to Sabinillas to go to our Bank to sign some more paperwork, we then called into the large Chemists for a particular prescription tablet that I needed, our local Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ was out of stock.

This morning the Contract workmen have closed off all the streets leading into ‘Calle Mar’ –  to all cars, except for us local residents, who can still walk along the street – they are installing temporary water pipes along the walls on both sides of the street, any moment now they will start digging up the pavements, kerbs and street, watch this space.



See below;

This evening we have our appointments down at the surgery with our regular Chiropodist, Carmen, who is back in work after breaking her arm, we will shoot down in the car, before the new dog ‘Lolo’ is dropped off.

The sun broke through earlier this morning and the sky has cleared, there is a little breeze keeping the temperature down in the mid 20s for now, the rest of the week and over the weekend is now looking warm & sunny hovering in the mid/high 20s,watch this space.

Last night we had a nice chat/catch up with Sandra & Bill over in Everett, Ontario, Canada on the ‘Skype’ video, they had a busy weekend babysitting some friends young children, Bill’s son, Dylan, joined them, he lives and works in Mississauga, a large city outside Toronto, on Lake Ontario, on the way to Niagara Falls.

It’s the ‘ Fall – Autumn ‘ over in Canada, so they have the spectacular change in the scenery as the trees change colour/shed their leaves, see the picture above. On Thursday it’s Sandra’s birthday, sadly she’s working so they are planning to go out to celebrate over the weekend.

This evening after we come back from the local surgery we are having for our supper ‘ Cold Roast Loin of Pork’ with a fry-up of all the leftover vegetables & potatoes, the menu’s for the rest of the week and over the weekend are yet to be agreed, watch this space.

Later we will channel hop (over 500+!) to choose from on our new updated system.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A LITTLE WARMER & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY 24^th/ APRIL 2017.

I was up first this morning to welcome back little princess ‘ Reina’ for the day, as usual she shot into her duvet, she’s with us for only three days this week, we are at the hospital on Wednesday morning for my ‘ Prostrate’ results ( finger crossed!) and on Friday it’s a works holiday for Lee & Daniela, ‘Chispa’ has been in & out over the weekend, no doubt she will be calling in, ‘Scruffy’ is coming for a sleep over on Wednesday evening.

This afternoon we are down at the family solicitors to re-negotiate the contract on the house, the ‘ Spanish’ system is every 11 months, watch this space.

After our normal breakfast I shot along to the Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ for my prescriptions tablets, I then went down to our Butchers for this evening’s supper.

This morning has started a little grey & overcast, it was mild over night, the sun is breaking through and it’s due to reach 18/19degs, the rest of the week, up to Friday, is getting warmer, sunny & cloudy, then it’s forecasting some of the wet stuff before picking up again on Sunday, watch this space.

See below an unusual picture showing the lighthouse in Estepona overlooking the Marina.

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For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Escalopes of Chicken Breast’ – pan-seared in foaming Lime Butter with a fry-up of the leftover vegetables & potatoes, tomorrow evening it’s going to be something simple as we are out at the surgery for our appointment with the ‘ Chiropodist’

A quick update on the football results; Manchester City lost 2-1, Liverpool lost 1-2 & played terribly, meanwhile over here Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-3 when Messi scored in the final seconds, his 500^th goal for ‘ Barca ‘!

Over in Melbourne it’s Jack’s 89^th birthday, he spent the day with his family including his great grandchildren, see the picture of him below, looking 89 years, young! “ Happy Birthday ‘ Pappy Jack ‘  – Feliz Cumpleaños “

This morning ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & online of the WWW’ came back on air, Andrew Charles was presenting the Breakfast Show, in his own inimitable style, from the studio in ‘Castillo de la Duquesa’- I sent in a request to play ‘ Beth Hart’ – which he did, he then announced that I will be back on air ,as soon as possible, with my live show ‘ Sir Malcolm’s Classic Saturday Session’ Watch this space and listen out for me!!

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the pen-ultimate episode of the excellent “ Line of Duty “ – an amputation, a new body, and the return of the main Detective. ‘Thandie Newton’ as the Detective trying to cover up her murder of a colleague, is still planting and hiding evidence, the arm infection turned nasty and she ended up in hospital having to have her hand amputated! The main Detective from AC-12 returned to work in a wheel chair after the injuries from his attack, it looks like he is not going to walk again! The young lad charged with the ‘Balaclava ‘ killing is innocent; the lady Detective who is giving away all the secrets of AC-12 to the ‘ACC’ who is involved in the overall criminal cover up, also framed a young cop to cover herself. ‘ AC-12 ‘ is under investigation from all sides, it sounds like there is a corruption conspiracy going back to the first series.

Finally at the end Thandie Newton arranged to have her husband arrested for the murder after planting more evidence to incriminate him! Its’ going to be a fascinating, nerve-frying finale, seven days seems like a long time to wait, watch this space next Monday for the post-mortem!!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A CALM & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 18^th / APRIL 2016.

I was up first this morning to welcome back little princess ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she’s with us everyday this week, up to Friday, tomorrow night ‘ Scruffy’ is here for a sleep over and then with us for the day on Wednesday, on Tuesday evening we are going around to the surgery, in the car, we have our appointments with the Chiropodist for our monthly check up.

My appointment with Andrew at ‘Castle Radio’ this morning has been moved forward to tomorrow at 11-15am, on his breakfast show this morning he announced my show would be ‘live’ on air this coming Saturday, this means that I have a very busy week ahead sorting out the play lists etc, also they new studio has to be set up and the play/ broadcast systems installed ( Lee & Daniela!) Fingers crossed that I get my act together in time!! He then played a record for Brenda “ Tiger Feet “ by Mud ( 1974 ) to help to get her back on her feet, dancing & singing, its happens to be the first record that I played on my pre-show to get the ‘ Horizontal’ dancing going!! Watch this space.

Today the sun is out but its going a little cloudy later, staying dry, this means that I will be putting out the washing to dry up on the roof patio, then on Tuesday & Wednesday we are in for a bit of the wet stuff hitting us as the tail end of an Atlantic storm passes over the area, its then going to pick up again, back to normal for this time of the year, its still mild with the temperatures hovering on the 21/22degs mark! See Liverpool this morning as the ' Boys are Back in Town'!

For our supper this evening we are having the rest of the Pork Fillet, ‘Escalopes of Pork Fillet - Schnitzel Style’ served with ‘ Spaghetti Milanese’ using my famous Tomato salsa, the ‘Escalopes’ are coated with local breadcrumbs then pan-fried in foaming ‘Lemon Butter’ The ‘ Spaghetti’ also has some chopped ‘York Ham’ added, I then top the ‘Escalopes’ with a fried ‘ Campo’ Egg & Capers and Anchovy Fillets! Lots of Lemon wedges on the side! The rest of this weeks menu’s have yet to be selected.

Our ‘Pensions’ cycle have started arriving in our Spanish Bank Account this morning, it was down again on last months despite a rise in the basic monthly rate set by the UK Government; this means that we are now down over 150 Euros per month from six months ago! Watch this space.

Just a quick sports update; over in the ‘ Premiere League’ Liverpool won 1-2 down in Bournemouth, over here in ‘ La Liga’ it was the same score, but this time not good, as Barcelona lost at home 1-2 to Valencia, their 3^rd defeat in a row, this means that Atletico Madrid are level on points & Real Madrid one point behind them in ‘ La Liga’ – watch this space.

Last night after supper we watched the next episode of ‘ Undercover’ on BBC 1 – it was very gripping with all sorts of twists & flashbacks, you have to concentrate all the time, the ‘ Nasty’ undercover Police squad were up to all sorts of tricks as they attempted to cover up the true facts, they even set up a ‘ Murder’ of the main witness and right at the end the main character had a very realistic ‘ Fit’ as she found out that her husband had been seen by her best friend ‘ Kissing’ the witness, in fact he was just about to tell her about his undercover spying past?! Are you following? Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY 23^rd/ NOVEMBER 2015.

Just a little lie in this morning, the sun was out early and the sky is blue and there is no breeze, just one problem, we have lost 10 degs over the weekend; at the start on Saturday it was 27 degs during the day and 17 degs at night, now its 17 degs during the day and 7 degs at night!! The Artic cold front has brought snow to all over Northern Spain and the tail  end of the front has caught us down here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’ Please note Mr.Ian Duncan Smith who has cancelled our ‘Winter Fuel Allowance’ this year!

The bank transfers of our two accounts arrived in our new bank this morning so we are back in business, after breakfast we shot down to Sabinillas for some cash from the bank, the new cards worked! We then did the rest of out shopping at Mercadona and called in the Council Offices in Castillo de la Duquesa to pay for our trip to Malaga on Thursday the 10^th December to go to the ‘Museo Pompidou’ and later see the Xmas lights. Next we popped into the English Butchers for some bits & pieces. On the way back we called into our local garage, the new radio is being delivered this afternoon so I’m calling back to get it fitted later.

It’s the most beautiful day despite the cold, the Mediterrnean  is sparkling and the mountains are clear, in the distance the ‘Sierra Navada’ is snow capped; we will find out the forecast later on the afternoon news for the rest of the week.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Escalope of Chicken Breast’ pan-fried in foaming Lemon Butter with fine Green Beans and dry-sauteed thick-cut slices of Baked Potato; tomorrow its ‘Gammon Steak’ ( Butchers) with ‘Chips’ - then on Wednesday a ‘Liver, Sausage & Bacon Casserole’ on Thursday its ‘Grilled Chicken Wings’ and then on Friday my famous ‘Seafood Risotto’

Last night we channel hopped over on English TV and found a very good, two part, documentary programme on Ireland, very interesting especially about the history and the still on-going catholic/ protestant divides ie, the schools and housing area’s!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 27th/ AUGUST 2015.

We just got up on our own time this morning, the workmen arrived early as usual and then the gas bottle delivery man followed by the site lorry unloading the scaffolding/boards to do the outside plastering of the walls followed by the painting in White?! Fingers crossed"

The sun is out and by lunchtime it will be officially hot, we have more of the same over the weekend as the latest heat wave from across Africa takes effect; after our breakfast we planned our weekend and also next weeks agenda.

Josie is joining us for her 'last supper' on Sunday evening as she flies to Ireland early on Wednesday morning to see her daughter and grandchildren, I'm dropping here at the bus station in Marbella,before she finally heads back 'up north' to Skelton into the arms of Den a week later! ( hope he has enough Fish paste to keep him going!)


                                 NEWSFLASH; BACK ONLINE ON THE SKYPE VIDEO!


Josie has just called in and has helped me get the 'Skype' video back online; my new username is -malcolm.sexton70 - so please make contact with your Skype usernames ASAP to help me get back in touch with all our family & friends around the world!! Watch out for a call from us !!

Ar the same time just a little reminder to everybody to keep the postcards coming as you are out and about on holiday, visiting interesting places etc. I'm just about to to start the third pin board in the office; you also receive back a postcard from sunny Manilva down on the Costa Del Sol!

'Reina' is with us tomorrow morning and then next week on Tuesday & Thursday as well as possibly over the 'Vendimia Festival' weekend of the 5/6th September when Freddie & Bentley are here for a two day sleep over, 'Scruffy' is coming this Saturday for a sleep over,not forgetting 'Chispa' who of course is in and out all dat,everyday!

There is still no sign of my will documents arriving in the post,Brenda's arrived two weeks ago, so I rang this morning to get them to send another set ASAP to get all the paperwork sorted for both of us to finalize the change od power of executor to the new company, Watch this space

Today's Stage 6 of the " Vuelta d'Espana15".starts in Cordoba and goes over 200 kms to Sierra de Cazorla.

This evening we are having for our supper grilled ' Chicken Wings' with a Mixed salad and a Baked Potato before settling down to watch the news, sport, and weather updates.



Thoughts for the Day; See above.


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SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 13^th/ OCTOBER 2014.

This morning the village is dead, it’s a National Bank holiday for yesterdays ‘National Day’ when Spain celebrates the discovery by Columbus of America in 1492! In Madrid yesterday morning it was the Military Parade past the new King, it’s always very impressive as the various units of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Guardia Civil have elaborate dress uniforms.

So no lie in as we had a good sleep after last night’s supper with Lee & Daniela, we had a very nice evening getting to know them and really enjoyed their company, supper was delicious even if I do say so myself! One thing to point out is the Leg of ‘Spanish’ Lamb in yesterday’s picture, as you can see it’s a little different to ‘Welsh Lamb (Tim!) - lots of bone and very difficult to carve even with my carving skills and the best French ‘Sabatier’ Knife! I had another Leg ready and needed to use it!! We have tried the local ‘Halal’ Lamb with some success but we can’t afford the English Lamb from the English butchers in Duquesa!

Anyway we still had a lovely meal and everything went, even double crepes for Lee & Daniela; to finish Lee and I had large ‘ Caipirinho’s’ made with last of the Brazilian ‘Cachaca’ that Jane brought us on one of her visits?!

Today its dry at the moment and the sun is out but its a little cooler 25/26degs only! We will check out the weeks forecast this afternoon on the main news on TVE 1.

This week is a busy time here in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ as ‘Reina’ and ‘Scruffy’ are with us tomorrow ‘ Reina’ is back on Thursday and then ‘Scruffy’ is here on Friday for a sleep over until next Monday; also ‘Chispa’ is now back out and is calling in during the morning and evenings, she now’s the time when we are eating!

Just a quick round up on the sports front; Hamilton won the inaugural ‘Russian Grand Prix’ ( Boring!)!) Marc Marquez was second in the ‘Japanese Motor GP’ but it meant that he retained the ‘World Championship’ for the second year on the run! England won 0-1 but were not impressive and Spain won 0-4 and were!!

Tonight we are having Cold Lamb with a fry-up of the leftover vegetables and of course some ‘Boulangere’ potatoes for supper. We have started our new books and are getting into them, the ‘Lincoln Rhyme’ character who is a quadriplegic detective was played by Denzel Washington in the movies.

Thought for the Day; See above.

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A WARM AND SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY;

SATURDAY 11 th/ OCOBER 2014.

Well we are at the moment missing the wet stuff again, its moved on to tomorrow but then we are back to normal at the start of the week; we managed to take ‘Scruffy’ out for his walks during the evening, he’s great company and a real character and a joy to have here in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ we will miss him when he goes home later but he’s back sometime next week! Rose has just picked him up, he’s coming next Tuesday for the day and then on a three day sleep-over on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Newsflash; She is back ! 'Chispa' has just come calling - see the picture below'

So I’m already up in the office after a breakfast of ‘Campo’ Poached Eggs on Toast typing the Blog and at the same time watching BBC TV ‘Breakfast News’ before ‘Saturday Morning Live’ starts; I first catch up with all the news on the WWW by reading the newspapers (still the Daily Mail!) even thought the ‘Queen ‘of Skelton does not approve! I also check out the various news channels, check up on any E-Mails and Facebook comments/  messages, to set me up for the day ahead.

Brenda is now shampooing her hair, its now due for a trip to the hairdressers down in Sabinillas, the big news is that she is considering keeping it longer for the first time since she was a young ‘Girl’ many years ago! Watch this space. Later we will get ready tonight’s supper ‘Entrecote Steak’ cooked on the griddle ‘Med- Rare’ and garnished with Sautéed Baby Mushrooms, we have some of the very nice and fresh Baby Whole French Green Beans with of course twice-cooked ‘Frits’See the picture below,I French-Cut' the Sirloin and then cut it into two steaks!! Honest !!

Now for some sports news; no Football in ‘La Liga and the ‘Premiere League’ this weekend as it’s the ‘European Championship’ qualifying rounds with both Spain and England playing their second matches over the weekend. Over in Sochi it’s the first ever ‘Russian Grand Prix’ on a sparkling new street circuit; meanwhile at Motegi it’s the Japanese Motor GP.

Last nights film on TVE 1, so no commercials was a rather different and moving film starring Will Smith “Seven Pounds” from 2008 with Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson – you need the handkerchiefs, I won’t give the plot away – watch it to find out!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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