A VERY ' CLOSE' & 'CLAMMY' SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 14^th/ AUGUST 2019.

We managed a little lie in this morning before taking ‘ Chico & Sunny’ for their first walk of the day,  ‘Sunny’ is being collected later tomorrow morning, when we came back we freshened up before our breakfast,of ‘Weetabix’ with sliced Banana and cold milk for me, brown toast for Brenda and the dogs!

As we were getting ready I was listening to the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show’ on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW” as the ‘ Music Quiz’ came on, it was ‘ flash’ under a second intro, I got it straight away, it was ‘ Cyndi Lauper ‘ with ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun ‘ – I’m in the draw on Friday morning, again!

I then shot along to the local Bank to pay the electricity bill, it comes in the post and Brenda checks it off against her figures! On the way back I picked up a bag of Ice as we are using a lot at the moment. We are taking things very easy today after another very hot and uncomfortable night, taking little ‘siesta’s’ when we can.

This morning the breeze, coming off the Mediterranean has dropped a little, the sun is out but there a few clouds still about, by lunchtime only up to 26 degs+ - still hovering in the low 20s during the night, down in Gibraltar the – sea-mist has stopped all the flights, a friend has just been ‘ bussed’ to Malaga!  Tomorrow it’s staying the same, as well on Friday, then over the weekend it’s back up to 33 degs+ - next week is starting very hot & sunny, before dropping back down to the mid/high 20s going up to next weekend, watch this space.

Two pictures from Liverpool below; The ‘ Royal Liver Building’ last night and one from the past, the “ Empress of Canada “ at the landing stage by the Pier Head, back in 1969!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Omelettes of Choice ‘ – Cheese ( Mild Cheddar/ Parmesan) for Brenda and my favourite ‘ Paysanne’ ( diced/fried Potatoes, Onions, Ham etc)  for me! – with a little salad. Tomorrow is still TBC.

Speaking of Thursday, at lunchtime our friends from the Isle of Man, Vic & Sue with their son Ben, together with some of their friends are coming across to sunny Manilva to join us for a ‘Tapas’ lunch, along at ‘ Bar Castillo’ The last time they were here was back in 2017.

See below.

Tomorrow is a ‘ Bank Holiday ‘ here in Spain, it’s a major religious festival across the country, “ Assumption of Mary Day “ 

Meanwhile down in Sabinillas on Thursday evening it’s the ‘Tourist Day’ Festival’ on the beach, with rides, games, sports with music & dancing.

See below.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the next gripping episode of “ Keeping Faith “ as she had lots of family/work problems, her eldest daughter was a victim in an attempted ‘ Hit & Run’-her husband arrived home from prison, the nasty lady gangster it still after her, blackmailing her, her best friend, a lady lawyer in the same practise, is up to no good, her male live-in child minder told her he loves her, her secret lover also made another move, which she liked, the police are still after her for money laundering, there was the funeral of the murdered farmer, his young son started to bury the coffin with soil but not with love, all this takes place in South Wales on one day in her life!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

PS; Tomorrows Blog will be late as we have a ‘ Helluva’ Day!

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A VERY HOT AND NOW 'CLAMMY' SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 31^st/ JULY 2019.

We managed a nice lie in this morning after another very hot night, after freshening up as I was on the breakfast rota I had my now famous ‘Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty’ – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce, open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of strong ‘ PG’ Tips tea, to set us up for the day ahead.

‘Chispa’ called in early, ‘Scruffy’ is back with us this afternoon, Adrian’s radiotherapy treatments finish after next Tuesday, ‘ fingers-crossed’ – ‘Chico’ is due to arrive for his extended holiday on Thursday evening, then on Friday morning little princess ‘Reina’ is with us for a sleep-over until Saturday evening.

  

Yesterday evening Lee called and re-set the ‘IPTV’ system, we also arranged to pay the account, later in the month, as well as a couple of other technical problems, watch this space.

Brenda then popped along to our ‘ Chemists’ in ‘Calle Mar’ for some of our prescription tablets etc, we missed the gas-bottle man, so we will try on another day.

The sun was out early, again, this morning, overnight the breeze got up, so it’s a little cooler to start, with patchy clouds, but still a blue sky, by lunchtime up to 28 degs+ - tomorrow the same, by then from Friday and over the ‘Festival’ weekend it’s going back up to 32/33 degs+ - at the start of next week up to 34 degs+ and by Tuesday 36 degs+! – the rest of the week and over next weekend hovering in the low 30s, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are now having ‘ Steak Sandwiches’ – made with slices of ‘Entrecote of Beef’- seasoned and smeared with ‘Dijon Mustard’- then ‘ flash’ seared on a very hot griddle-plate, left to rest for a minute, then placed in-between toasted/buttered white bread, cut into triangles and garnished with a little salad! Tomorrow evening the staff have been given the night off! 

Yesterday evening after supper we settled down and watched the second episode of “ Keeping Faith” – which is season two, we missed season one! ‘Faith’ played by Eve Myles, is a small-town family solicitor in a local practise, who ends up defending a local lady prosecuted for murder of her husband, there are lots of sub-plots, her family problems, with three children, with a live-in male carer, her husband in prison, after he vanished, he was a solicitor in the same practise, who got mixed up in drugs etc, a local ‘ Female Gang Boss’ blackmailing her, her fellow lady solicitor up to no good, a ‘Hot-Shot’ London Detective chasing the truth, at the end a surprise, as two door are opened, but the people outside are at the wrong houses, or are they, as well as them opening the doors! All this takes place in South Wales and around Carmarthen!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK. " COMMONWEALTH DAY "

MONDAY 11^th/ MARCH 2019.

We had a little lie in this morning, ‘ Chico’ spent the night on his rug at the foot of the bed, he then waits while we get ourselves ready, we took him for his first walk of the day around the bottom of the village, when we returned since I was on the breakfast rota we had  ‘ Toasted Smoked Bacon Butties’ – smothered in ‘ HP’ Brown sauce- as usual, open on brown for Brenda , with mugs of hot tea to start the week in the right direction!

By the time we set off it was already very hot & sunny, the sun was out first thing and there are no clouds, the sky is bright blue and there is no breeze, it’s at the moment 23 degs! - now 24 degs and rising! Tomorrow it will be a little cooler, down to just 20 degs, as the breeze comes back, the rest of the week and over the ‘ Carnival Weekend ‘ it’s looking dry and settled, with a few patchy clouds at times but mainly warm & sunny, hovering in the low 20s+ - overnight down to 11/12 degs, more like it for the time of the year, the following week is looking the same, if a little cooler as the breeze strengthens, watch this space.  

See blow ' Calle Mar' this morning! 

As we were getting ready we were listening to the ‘Andrew Charles’ Breakfast Show on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW “ – the ‘Music Quiz’ came on, it was 7 second backwards track, with no clues, let’s just say that I’m working on it! Yesterday lunchtime on the “ Pete Black Retro Roadshow “ the ‘ Film Quiz’ was rather easy, I have entered ‘Lady’ Brenda into the draw for the special Mug, it was ‘ Morgan Freeman’ in “ The Shawshank Redemption “ Watch this space.

At lunchtime I’m going across to the Hospital in Estepona for my appointment with the ‘ Physiotherapy Consultant’ for a review/check up on my problem left-hand, watch this space.

NB;  I found a spot to park straight away, so I had time to have a nice fresh Orange Juice in ' Tikitapi ' - my appointment was on time, the 'Consultant' was impressed with my improvement and she has referred me back to the 'Physiotherapy Department' for another 4 weeks of treatment, five days a week! She also congratulated me on my ' Spanish' ! I then have to return to see her for another review/check up.

Just a quick update on the sports results; Ireland won 26-14 with Jonny Sexton scoring a try! 

Liverpool won 4-2, Barcelona won 3-1 & Real Madrid won 1-4.

At lunchtime we went along to ' Bar Castillo' and sat outside in the very hot sunshine for a nice cool drink and some ' Tapas' Brenda had earlier taken ' Chico' for good long walk around the village.

This evening for our supper we are having our favourite ‘ Escalope’s of Pork Fillet Schnitzels ‘ – using breadcrumbs from the local Bakery, they are shallow-fried in Vegetable Oil & foaming Butter, until crisp & golden all over, served ‘Holstein’ style – topped with a ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs, Anchovy Fillets & Capers, accompanied with lots of Lemon Wedges. On the side a dish of ‘ Spaghetti Milanese’ ( tossed in a rich Tomato Sauce with chopped Smoked Ham) and finely sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans. The Menu’s for the rest of the week are still TBC, watch this space.

Yesterday evening we watched the Final of ‘ Crufts’ and then later after supper we caught the next very gripping & exciting episode of “ Baptiste “ as the French Detective working and living in Amsterdam, found the missing money, first finding the grandfather of a sick child, who found it in his Tulip farm when his dog dug it up! He then lost it as he car was robbed by the local Dentist, who went on a bender with ‘Call Girls/Lap Dancers’ – after first ‘Baptiste’ catching a local perv-video watcher, who had filmed it all happening back in the village.

Then ‘ Baptiste’ was hoodwinked by a obvious trick , by the mystery Uncle’ and his girl-friend as they stole the money back! Meanwhile the ‘Euro Cop’ Detective, was exposed as a lying woman with history, she’s the mistress of a man in a wheel chair,  the ‘ Amsterdam Chief of Detectives’- who’s son in also Baptiste’s son was uncovered as a ‘ Vodka ‘ secret drinker, who is on three month’s notice because of her alcohol problem. Meanwhile the transgender cafe owner ‘came out’ to her boyfriend, she was also in her previous life the crime boss of the ‘Romanian Mafia’ gang, who then mercilessly killed her, by masked moped riders slitting her throat!! Are you following all this ?!  It’s only episode 4 !  Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY, VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 21^st/ JULY 2018.

We all had a nice lie in this morning after the hottest night so far, ‘Prince Paddy’ was under the bed on the marble floor, on my side of the bed, catching the breeze from the fan, ‘Comeboy’ was in the same spot, all night also, this morning ‘Paddy’ came on the bed for his cuddles, Comeboy’ followed me into the bathroom for his, they then both wait while we get ourselves freshened up and then go for their first walk of the day, keeping to the shady side of the street, ‘Comeboy’ is due to be collected on Sunday evening, we are going to miss him as he’s a lovely gentle dog and great company, ‘Paddy’ is with us until the end of the month, we have completely fallen in love with him, he’s a real little character and we are going to miss him terribly, little princess ‘Reina’ is back on Monday morning as usual.

PS; It’s bath/shower time for ‘Paddy’ one day next week! ( he dosn’t know yet!)

‘Chispa’ has been in & out all the time to see all her friends, when I’m typing/posting the Blog ‘Paddy’ goes under the secretary’s chair & ‘Comeboy’ is across my feet, under the computer table!  All the ‘Lads’ keeping together !!

We are in for another ‘ hot-one’ today, there is just a very slight breeze so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 33 degs+ - tomorrow even hotter, next week is going to be very warm & sunny, getting hotter each day, by the 4 day‘ Feria Festival’ weekend into the high 30s, ( 39 degs+!) Watch this space.

This evening down in Sabinillas;

At the moment Brenda is washing/shampooing her hair, next week she has an appointment down at the Hairdressers in Sabinillas with Annie, on Tuesday morning, for the ‘ full-works’ – we have no other appointments, so far, on Friday I will be out on my travels, first thing, back down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping. 

On the sports front today; it’s the Qualifying for the ‘German Grand Prix’ at the Hockenheimring, in the rain!  It’s the “ Open Golf’ up at Carnoustie, day three, meanwhile over at the “ Tour De France “ today’s ‘Stage 14’ goes into & up the ‘ Massif Central’ from Saint-Paul-Trosi-Chateaux to Mende, over 188 kms.

See below the route map;

At lunchtime on our walk with the dogs, as it happens, the shady side of the street takes us past 'Bar Castillo' so like yesterday, we stopped for a nice cool drink! Juan and his wife Paqui are excellent hosts, as are their staff, they have doubled the size of their 'Tapas' display, so the selection of freshly homemade ones is mouthwatering, so say the least! Also at this time of the day they are a lot quieter, with no holidaymakers or locals ( all on the beach!) We just had a drink today but on Friday we had a delicious selection, including Seared Salmon & Prawns, Crab Salad, Tortillltas de Camarones, Sausage & Bacon Pellets & deep-fried Filo Pastry Prawn Sacks!! 

For our supper this evening 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, with whole ‘French’ Green Beans & twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ – accompanied with Dijon Mustard & ‘ Bearnasie’ sauce.

On Sunday evening it’s going to be a simple ‘ Cold Roast Chicken ‘ with a selection of Salads, as later in the evening it’s the ‘Flamenco Fashion Show ‘ in front of the Town Hall.

After supper we will be settling down to watch the final episode of the thrilling ‘Welsh’ police drama, with sub-titles, “ Hidden “ over on ‘BBC Four’

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A EVEN HOTTER & VERY SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 27^th/ JUNE 2018.

I was up early this morning to welcome back little princess ‘Reina’ for the day, she shot upstairs and went on her duvet, outside the office/studio door, she’s back tomorrow, ‘Paddy’ spent the night, another hot one, on the floor and then joined us this morning on our bed for his ‘ cuddles’ and a little lie in, for all of us, we then freshened up and went out for our first walk of the day, with him, keeping to the shady side of the street, as we went down to the local sub-post office to post a birthday card, watch out it could be you!

‘Chispa’ is calling in all the time to see us all, as usual.



'Paddy & Chispa ' - just !

This evening we have arranged a ‘Facebook Messenger’ video link up with ‘Paddy’s’ mum Eileen, over in Seattle, Washington State, where she is staying with her family, he’ loves being involved, and dosn’t miss anything, he joins us on our ‘ Skype’ video calls to Australia & Canada,  he sits on my knee when Brenda is ‘ proof-reading’ the Blog, which she does every day!

When we returned we had ‘ Toasted English Pork Sausage Butties’ as usual, open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of tea, we are keeping a low profile today, at home, with all the fans on, in the lounge, where ‘Paddy’ sits on the arm of the main settee, in front of the fan, with his hair blowing in the wind! The kitchen fan is on all day and then upstairs in the office/studio I have a small stack/rotating one behind my chair, in front of the computer system, the bedroom tall-stack/rotating fan goes on as we are going to bed!

All this is for the expected very hot & sunny day ahead her on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – by lunchtime it’s going to be 34 degs+ - with just a very light breeze, keeping the shade a little cooler, overnight it could be 22/23 degs, the rest of the week and over the weekend is thankfully going a little cooler, gradually dropping back down to the high 20s, next week is going to be a ‘ hot-one’ in the mid to high 30s, hovering on 35 degs+ at times, watch this space.

NB; Over on the ‘UK’ all the folks are experiencing a very hot spell as well, hovering on the 30s degs mark, especially on the West of the country, so the Wirral and North Wales are the ‘ hot-spots’ – when we were speaking to Jenny, on Sunday, she said that it was the hottest day ever, meanwhile in Colwyn Bay our dear friend Tim was out in the back garden when we called, he’s already back to his normal ‘ brown body’ even before they return in September, to sunny Spain & Mojacar!

See below the smaller cruise liner the ‘Nautica’ berthed at the Pier Head in Liverpool yesterday.

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks ‘ topped with seared Pineapple Rings & ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs! Served with finely sliced ‘French’ Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Chips ‘

On Thursday evening we are going out for a ‘ Tapas’ supper up in ‘Calle Mar’ – as we have given the ‘ Head Chef & his Staff ‘ the day off, it’s going to be a regular ‘ Day-Off’ each week, as at this time of the year the ‘ kitchen workers’ get a little hot, to say the least!

Back to normal on Friday when its’ going to be a ‘Fish Night’ – with ‘ Pan-Seared Tail-End Fillet of Salmon, on Saturday we will be having our usual ‘ Steak Night’ and then on Sunday it’s still “TBC” -  watch this space.

This afternoon/evening we will be watching the ‘Tennis’ from Eastbourne and of course the ‘ World Cup Football ‘ from Russia ( 4 games today!) as well as catching up with all the news etc.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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