A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA AT THE START OF ANOTHER WEEK, DOWN HERE ON THE ' COSTA DEL SOL'

MONDAY 5^th/ AUGUST 2019.

I was up very early this morning to welcome back little ‘ Miss Bella’ for the day, she’s back tomorrow morning also, ‘Chico’ as usual spent the night fast a sleep under our bed on the marble floor, Brenda took him out for his first walk of the day, he’s now into his routine and eating very well, this afternoon ‘Scruffy’ is back with us for a few hours, and then tomorrow for the last time, for the moment, as Adrian will have finished his radiotherapy treatment over in Malaga – ‘Fingers Crossed’! As usual ‘ Chispa’ in & out all the time to see all her friends and us, in ‘Doggy World Heaven’

After freshening up, as I was on the breakfast rota I prepared our breakfast of ‘Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butties’ – open on brown for Brenda and the two dogs – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce, with mugs of strong tea, to set us up for the week ahead.

Speaking of the week ahead, we are in for a ‘ SCORCHER ‘ to say the least, the sun was out early after another very hot night, there is a very light breeze and the sky is clear & blue, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 34+ degs, the rest of the week is looking the same, hovering in the low 30s, going up to 35/36 degs by the weekend, the hottest week so far, this year, at times a few patchy clouds will hang around and on Wednesday it could be a little overcast, the overnight temperatures are only down to 21/22 degs, the following week is looking a little cooler, watch this space.

The ‘ Council’ have just announced/published the details of the ‘ Summer Programme’ of activities, in August, leading up to the “ Vendemia Festival “ weekend at the end of the month, they will all take place down in Sabinillas/Puerto de la Duquesa mainly, with the final ‘Flamenco’ Show here in the village, in the courtyard of the school on the Friday before the ‘Vendemia Weekend’!

On the sports front over the weekend; Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling ‘ Hungarian Grand Prix’ as he overtook Vestappen, who had led for all the race, on the 3^rd lap from the finish! The ‘Ashes Test Match’ at Edgbaston is England’s to loose, today, the ‘Woman’s British Open Golf ‘ at Woburn Golf Club was won by the Japanese lady Hinako Shibuno, on the last hole, with a ‘ Birdie Put’! Sadly Liverpool lost in the ‘Penalty Shoot Out’ 5-4 after a 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

Early the evening we have arranged a ‘ Skype’ video link-up with Sandra & Bill, over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, to catch up with all their news, as the ‘ Countdown’ gets nearer to the family’s visit at the end of September, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having, again, the ‘Poached Chicken Breast’ – cold and sliced, with Mixed Salads and Parsley New Potatoes, the rest of the week is as usual at this time of the year, taken one day at the time, watch this space.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the next gripping episode of “ Poldark’ as he sorted out most of the problems down in Cornwall, next week he’s back in London, as the MP, fighting all the nasty politicians, he must watch his back!

 

We are now also looking forward to the return of “ Peaky Blinders “  later in the year!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY,VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 30^th/ JULY 2019.

We were both up early this morning and after a quick freshen up we grabbed a fresh fruit, toast and tea before, little ‘ Miss Bella & Nacho’ arrived for the day, at the same time, with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ ‘Chispa’ has just called in to see her new friends, so we have had a ‘mad’ house! This afternoon ‘ Scruffy’ is back with us for a few hours, this coming Friday/Saturday little princess ‘Reina’ us also here, for a sleep-over, on Thursday evening ‘ Chico’ arrives for his nearly three week holiday!

Watch this space.

Yesterday the ‘IPTV’ system would not connect, I tried all the tricks to re-load, with no luck, so this evening Lee is calling in to help re-set the system, hopefully!

Last night we ended up back on the ‘Spanish’ TV system, I found on ‘TVE2’ a very good film, in English, with a little Spanish commentary, “ Maigret Sets a Trap “ with Rowan Atkinson in the title role( Surprise!) - he really gets into the skin of Maigret, with a recreation of Paris back in the 50s, as the famous fictional detective is tracking and setting a ‘trap’ for the serial killer of several women, with no relationship between them except the color of their hair. With an excellent support cast of, Lee Staar, Shaun Digwell, Colin Mace and including Fiona Shaw ( the third woman in Killing Eve) as a possessive mother, along with a possessive wife of the deranged killer( Rebecca Night)  Maigret’s wife is played by the excellent Lucy Cohu. Catch it if you can!

This morning the breeze is very light, the sun was out early and the sky is nearly clear, with just a few patchy clouds, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 32 degs+! Over the next few days back down to the high 20s, then from Saturday back up to 33 degs+ as well on Sunday, next week is also looking very hot & sunny, mainly in the low 30s! Watch this space.

This afternoon I have to go down to the main ‘ Medical Centre’ in Sabinillas for my emergency appointment with our Doctor, Natalia, for a review/check up with my ‘Blood/Glucose & Insulin’ readings/injections, the main problem will be the ‘heat’ and finding somewhere to park, at this time of the year!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Escalope’s of Chicken Breast’ – seasoned and ‘flash’ cooked on a very hot griddle-plate, with a squeeze of Lemon Juice, then finished with a knob of Butter and a dash of Balsamic Vinegar, with seared & diced Button Mushrooms, French Green Beans and more Baby New Potatoes in their skins, with a sauceboat of Tomato sauce on the side. Wednesday menu is still TBC, then on Thursday we have given the staff the night off, no doubt they will be hitting the town (village) for a nice cold drink and a light ‘ Tapas’ supper! Watch this space.

Later this evening we will hopefully be back on the ‘IPTV’ system catching up with the programmes that we have missed!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A' FRESH' WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 7^th/ MAY 2019.

We had a little lie in this morning, after freshening up Brenda took ‘ Chico’ out for his first walk of the day, around the bottom of the village, he slept all night on the marble floor, by our bed, he’s due to be collected later this morning, as usual, we will miss him terribly, as he’s such a character and great company, he also gets on with the other dogs, ‘ Chispa’ will miss him, as she crashes in & out all the time.

  

Yesterday lunchtime we bumped into Adrian & Rose sat outside ‘ Bar Castillo’ with ‘ Scruffy’ and their family, their son & daughter, with partners, are here for week, ‘Scruffy’ always makes a fuss of us and gets on with ‘ Chico’ very well.

When they returned, as I was on the breakfast rota, I had prepared a ‘ Breakfast Special’ for a change, “ ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs with Crispy Smoked Bacon & sliced Button Mushrooms ( in the Bacon Fat) “ –  Brenda with her favourite Scrambled Eggs – lots of buttered toast, brown for Brenda, and mugs of steaming tea, not forgetting the ‘ HP’ Brown sauce!

Early this evening we are going down to the local surgery for our appointments with the ‘ Council Chiropodist’ – Carmen, who looks after our feet, every 8 weeks.

Tomorrow morning I’m back out on my travels, I have my second appointment at the ‘ Physiotherapy Department at the ‘Estepona Hospital’- then again on Thursday, as usual on Friday morning I will be down in Sabinillas for our weekly shopping.

This morning the sun was out first thing, the clouds had cleared, as there was a light ‘ Lavente’ breeze blowing of the Mediterranean, the sky is blue and it’s another beautiful, fresh and warm day, here in sunny Manilva, down on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ By lunchtime its due to reach 26/27 degs+ - it's now very hot, tomorrow a little cooler, then going up to 30 degs+ by Friday, in time for the weekend, next week is looking settled, with lots of sunshine, a few patchy clouds at times, hovering in the mid 20s, as the breeze stiffens, watch this space.

We will be catching up with all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow, this afternoon/early evening – ‘ Countdown, The Tipping Point, The Chase, Pointless & Eggheads ‘ – at the moment, then later we will watch the second-leg of the semi-final of the ‘ UEFA Champions League’ as Liverpool welcome Barcelona to Anfield,  as they try to overthrow a 3-0 lead by Barcelona, from the first leg! Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are now having ‘ Chicken Schnitzels ‘ – made with ‘Escalope’s of flattened Chicken Breast’ – coated in local breadcrumbs, from the Bakery, shallow fried in Vegetable Oil, until crisp & golden, topped ‘Holstein’ style, with a ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs, Anchovy Fillets & Capers, resting on a pool of Tomato salsa, with lots of Lemon wedges on the side, served with finely sliced ‘French’ Green Beans and ‘ Triple’ cooked ‘Frits’!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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

FRIDAY 20^th/ JULY 2018.

We were both up again this morning, I saw little princess ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she shot onto her duvet, ‘Prince Paddy & Comeboy’ spent the night on the marble floor, ’Paddy’ under the bed and ‘Comeboy’ in front of the fan, they both joined us on the bed this morning, ‘ Paddy’ for his cuddles and ‘ Comeboy’ for a ‘ love’ – they both waited as we got ready, we then took them down the shady side of the street for their first walk of the day.

I carried on to the underground car park and shot down to Sabinillas, on my travels, for our weekly shopping, I was first in the queue outside ‘ Mercadona’ – which was packed and very busy with holidaymakers, I then collected the newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ before going along to the far end of the promenade to the local market for our fresh flowers & walls plants, on the way back I stopped at ‘Super Sol’ for the ‘English’ essentials, at this time of the year their ‘ Fish Counter’ is open, I spotted a large, fresh ‘Rodaballo –Turbot ‘ – so I asked the ‘ Fish Lady’ to fillet it into 4 pieces, she then ‘ murdered’ the poor fish,( 4 ‘chunks’)  as I was off shopping, I could have done a much better job myself, I told the Manager that she needs training! I then unloaded back at the house and put the car away, when I returned to the house I was ready for a quick toast & tea, as I didn’t have time to call into ‘ itZabar’ for my usual ‘pit-stop’!

After another very hot & clammy night it was still the same this morning, very close & warm, with just a slight breeze, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 34 degs+ - more like it for the time of the year, over the weekend it’s staying the same, next week we are in for more of the same, even getting warmer at times, in the high 30s,  over next week’s/weekend ( 4 days) of ‘Festivals’ is going to be a ‘ Hot-One’ -  watch this space.

See below pictures of the  “ Celebrity Eclipse “ berthed at the Pier Head in a rather sunnier day, yesterday, in Liverpool.

On the sports front today; the first practise session is underway at the ‘German Grand Prix’ at Hockenheim, today’s ‘Stage 13 ‘ of the “ Tour De France “ is from Bourg D’Oisans to Valence over 170 kms, with a sprint finish, Geraint Thomas won a dramatic five-man sprint finish to secure back-to-back stage wins, and extend his lead in the ‘Yellow’ jersey, the first Briton to win on the fabled ‘ Alpe D’Huez’ !

See the route map below;

As you will have guessed this evening for our supper we are having “ Pan-Fried ‘ Fillets’ of Rodaballo- Turbot “ cooked in foaming Lime Butter, with Broccoli Florets & Garden Peas & ‘ Parsley New Potatoes, on Saturday it’s going to be ‘Grilled Fillet Steaks’ with all the trimmings and then on Sunday we are having a small ‘Roast Chicken’ – cold, with a selection of Salads.




As it started before it was 'Butchered ' !

This afternoon/evening after catching the ‘ Tour De France’ we will catch up with all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow, before later, after supper, channel hopping to find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A EVEN HOTTER & SUNNY MANILVA ON ' FERIA ' SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 29^th/ JULY 2017.  “ FERIA DE SANTA ANA “

We had a nice, long, lie in this morning after a ‘ Helluva’ night! ‘Chico’ also enjoyed his sleep over, he’s very good as he was out & about with us all the night, in the crowds and loud music, we took him for his first walk of the day around the bottom of the village, the Council street cleaners and the water wagon were out early and everywhere is clean and tidy.

When we returned we had breakfast of ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs, Scrambled for Brenda, with crispy Smoked Bacon and buttered toast, Brown for Brenda, with mugs of steaming tea.

‘Chispa’ came and joined her friend. ’Chico’ is a lovely dog, he’s no problem, he settles in very well with us, he eats everything we give him and is great company, we will miss him when he’s collected tomorrow evening. He’s back with us in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ in September and is now booked in for Xmas as well! Also in September our favourite ‘ Charlie’ the Water Dog is with us for two weeks, he will also be with us over Xmas as usual.

After typing and posting the Blog I’m going to make my famous ‘Ensaladilla Rusa – Russian Salad ‘ –at the moment the ‘ Second Chef ‘ is preparing all the ingredients, for our supper this evening in between going out to the ‘ Feria Queens Parade ‘ we are having it with Cold Smoked Ham etc, tomorrow evening we will be out & about again so for our supper it’s going to be the rest of the ‘ Scouse’ with pickled Beetroot.

By the time we were out this morning it was already very hot & sunny, it’s going to be another ‘ hot one’ today, there is no breeze making it very close and clammy, the evening’s stay the same, after the sun has gone down, typically all the Spanish ladies have their best fans in use! On Sunday when all the action takes place during the daytime it’s going to be even more hot & sunny, next week we are in for a ‘ Helluva’ week of even hotter sunshine, watch this space.

See the pictures below of the " Caribbean Princess " berthed at the Pier Head in Liverpool this weekend.

Last night after supper we went out to watch the opening ceremony of the ‘ Feria De Santa Ana’ on the top stage in front of a packed audience of all the village, it was then time for the first Band to take to the second stage in front of the Town Hall at the top of our street, it was a very professional six-piece combo with five singers “ Las Marea “ with a ‘ Helluva’ light and sound system, then back on the top stage the main act of the night,’ Las Carlotas’ – the two lady Flamenco singers from Sevilla performed to a even more packed seated and standing crowd.

See all the picture above.

Later another Band took to the top stage and then the Band on the Town Hall stage finished the night off ( 4-00 am!) They are back today, on the top stage there is a ‘ Flamenco Dance ‘ Show followed by another Band, this morning there has been children’s games along ‘Calle Mar’- all this takes place before the ‘ Feria Queens Parade’ at 8-00 pm when we are going up to ‘ Bar Rojas’ to take in the sights and sounds, watch this space.

One more day to go, will we make it through Sunday to the  “ Firework “ display later tomorrow evening, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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