A NOW ' CRISP' & SUNNY MANILVA ON ' THIRSTY' THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 2^nd/JANUARY 2020.

We had a nice long lie in this morning, in fact we overslept, as for the first time in a long while we have no guests staying with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ – ‘Pucci’ went home yesterday evening.

After freshening up I made Brenda stay in bed for the morning as she has a painful knee joint, I gave her fresh fruit(sliced Banana) with brown toast and a mug of tea, meanwhile I made myself a ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty’ – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce, with a mug of strong/hot tea.

On the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show’ on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW”  the ‘Music Quiz’ came on, it was a long 19 second, in reverse track, which with one of the cryptic clues I got straight away, it was ‘ Aled Jones’ with “ Walking in The Air “ I’m in the draw, again, tomorrow morning, watch this space.

Tomorrow morning I’m going down on the bus to Sabinillas, as we need a few more items from ‘ Mercadona’ – I will first pick up the newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ – then catch a taxi and go along to the local market at the far-end of the promenade to pick up some fresh wall plants, before coming back up to the village in the taxi.

This morning it’s still very grey & overcast, with a slight breeze, so the clouds will be slow clearing, by lunchtime only reaching 15 degs+ overnight down to 9 degs, the coldest day so far this year! ( Hic!) Tomorrow and over the first weekend of 2020, it’s staying the same, dry & settled, with sunshine and patchy clouds, hovering on the 15/16 degs mark.

Next week is now looking a little more settled and dry to start, with warm sunshine, as the next ‘ Atlantic’ front is now not due to hit us until next weekend, so we are in for more of the same, as now, during the week, before it goes colder and wet, with the wind getting up to gale-force by next Saturday, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings’ with finally sliced ‘French’ Green Beans and Baked Potatoes, on Friday it’s going to be a ‘ Fish n ‘Chip Supper’ - then on Saturday Brenda is going to have her favourite ‘ Confit of Duck Leg’ and I’m having a ‘ Grilled Rib-Eye Angus Steak’ – for a change on Sunday we are having a late ‘ Brunch’ – with the ‘ full-works’ – watch this space.

At the moment we are checking with the Council, when is the ‘Three Kings Parade’ as in the programme of ‘Xmas’ events it shows it on Saturday at 7-00 pm, but I have just be told it’s on Sunday?! Watch this space.

We have ordered the traditional ‘Rosca de Reyes’ cake from the local Bakery, see below.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the three-part police/drama series, over the next few nights ‘ Bankcroft ‘ with two grisly murders to start, the only problem is that you need to have seen the previous story line in the last series, to follow the latest ongoing story line, as it unfolds, watch this space.

We have the glasses but sadly not the bottle ! 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...

A ' FRESH ' & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 10^th/ DECEMBER 2019.

I was up first this morning to see little ‘Miss Bella’ back with us for the day, she shot upstairs and joined ‘ Chico’’ for a mad ‘ Romp’ running around until they were both tired out, she’s back tomorrow morning, ’Chico’ slept all night on his made-up bed, he’s due to be picked up on Thursday morning, then on Saturday ‘Nacho’ is with us for the day in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ Watch this space.

We then both got ourselves refreshed and dressed, before taking both the dogs out for their walks, on the way back Brenda called into the local ‘ Sub-Post’ office to post all the family & friends ‘ Xmas’ cards, she then waited for the local bus to come along, to go down to Sabinillas, as she has an appointment with Annie, her Hairdresser, for the ‘ full- works’  I then came back to the house with the dogs and had a quick toast & tea, they are both now ‘ chilling-out’ as I’m in the office/studio on the ‘ WWW’ – reading all the news pages etc, before typing/posting today’s Blog.

I also caught this week’s ‘ Music Quiz’ on the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show’ on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW” which he played for the first time this morning, it was a 7 second ‘intro-track’ – which I got straight away, it was ‘Slade’ with Noddy Holder, with the classic ‘ Merry Christmas Everybody “ from 1973!

As we reached the bottom of the village on our walk the sun was blinding, above the sparkling Mediterranean, there is a light/cooling breeze blowing up from the coast, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 18/19degs+ - staying warm & sunny with a clear blue sky, with just a few patchy clouds hanging around, the rest of the week and over the weekend is staying the same, going a little cooler, as the breeze pick up, hovering in the mid/high ‘ teens’ – overnight dropping to 9/10 degs+ - about normal for the time of the year, next week on all the forecasts it’s showing that it’s going to be a little cooler, as the next colder and wet ‘ Atlantic’ front come in, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Grilled Gammon Steaks’ garnished with seared Button Mushrooms & Pineapple Rings and topped with ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs, accompanied with Broccoli Florets & Garden Peas and of course ‘ triple-cooked ‘ Chips’ Tomorrow evening it’s going to ‘Lamb Cutlets’ – for a change, say a 'Lancashire Hotpot' - then on Thursday we are out for supper in Malaga, on Friday it will be our usual ‘ Fish Supper’ – Saturday & Sunday are still ‘TBC’ – Watch this space.

Yesterday evening after catching up with all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow, after supper we watched, over on ‘ Channel 5’ a very good documentary ‘ Extreme Railway Journeys’ with Chris Tarrant, this week in Turkey, starting in Istanbul, he heads East, into Asia, via Ankara, the capital, over 1,500 Kms, through the mountains to the end of the line in ‘Kars’ – near the border with Armenia!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...

A VERY HOT AND SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 8^th/ AUGUST 2019.

We all had a nice, long, lie in this morning after another very hot night, with not much sleep, except for ‘ Chico’ who never moves from under the bed, after freshening up Brenda took him for his first walk of the day, he’s into his ‘ routine’ and has settled in very well, as usual.

We had just toast & tea for breakfast before getting the day on the go, I shot up to the office/studio and went on the ‘ WWW’ before typing/posting today’s Blog, meanwhile Brenda is catching up with the chores, including the ironing, which is the heat is a real ‘ Chore’!

This morning the sun broke through earlier and the sky is clear & blue, with just a few patchy clouds on the horizon, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 35 degs+ - then tomorrow up to 36 degs+ - over the weekend as the breeze gets up going a little cooler, next week is now also looking cooler , as well, hovering in the high 20s, before picking up by next weekend, watch this space.

See below the local ‘Muscatel Grapes’ ( ground grapes ) - just about ready for picking, in time for the ‘ Vendemia Wine Festival’ at the end of the month.

See below a special panoramic picture of the Liverpool water front and the Pier Head, looking at their best!

We have just had a surprise ‘ Facebook’ message from some old friends, Vic and his wife Sue and their son Ben, originally from the Wirral and now living in the Isle of Man, Vic is the son of our very old friends Vic & Val, who we have known for over 50 years+ - they came to see us a couple of years ago, when they were last down here, they are coming over next Thursday to the village, with some friends, to join us for a ‘ Tapas’ lunch.

This evening, as the ‘ Staff’’ have been, as usual, on a Thursday, the night-off, we are going out ‘ on the town ‘ - along to ‘ Bar Castillo’  in Calle Mar, for a nice cool drink, sat outside in the fresher evening air, and having later a light ‘ Tapas’ supper, watch this space.

We are still in our ‘ Hot-Mode’ – relaxing, drinking lots of cold water, with all the fans on, staying in the shade when out, as much as possible, taking little ‘ Siestas’ – wearing minimal clothing, cooking and eating far less, keeping it as simple as possible, all with positive thing at all times!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

....

A STILL WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 6th/ DECEMBER 2018.   “ DIA DE LA CONSTITUCION “

We had a little lie in this morning as the village is even quieter than normal as it’s a ‘ Bank Holiday’ here in Spain for the 40^th Anniversary of the ‘ Constitution’ – after showering Brenda took ‘Scoobie’ out for his first walk of the day, he slept all night on the duvet and then this morning he managed to jump on our bed for his cuddles, yesterday was the first time he succeeded, as our bed is double divan and quite high! On Friday lunchtime little prince ‘ Paddy ‘ is being dropped off for his long weekend holiday, ‘Chispa’ as usual is in & out all the time.

I was on the breakfast rota so we had my famous ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butties’ – smothered in ‘ HP’ Brown sauce – open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of strong tea. We then put together the shopping list for tomorrow morning, when I’m out on my travels down to Sabinillas for our weekly shopping etc.

We then called our Bank ( HSBC) over in North Wales via the ( international Banking Service) to arrange a regular transfer into our ‘Spanish’ Bank account, of some ‘Annulaties’ – sadly the rate of exchange is down, due to all the ‘Brexit’ problems etc, so we are only just getting ‘ parity’!

We have yet another glorious day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’- it was the same yesterday, the sun broke though earlier and the sky is blue, there is just a very light breeze so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 24 degs+ - the rest of the week and over the weekend is looking the same, getting a little cooler as the breeze pick up, next week is starting dry & sunny but slowly going cooler with the ‘ wet-stuff’ is due back with us by next Thursday, when we are going across to Malaga to see the ‘ Christmas Lights’ – watch this space.

See below a picture of the Border Town of " La Linea De La Consepcion " looking across to Gibraltar and in the distance Africa! 

Down in the ‘Plaza de la Vendimia’ the Council workmen have erected the large Marquee, with all the stalls, a stage and seating, for the “ Gastronomic Food & Wine Festival “ over three days this weekend, over the past couple of weeks the ‘Xmas Parranda Bands’ have been practising during the nights.

See below;

One slight technical problem, that we are working on, is that Brenda’s Mobile will not send ‘Text Messages’ at the moment, it’s receiving them fine,( keep them coming!) Jenny & Norah use it all the time, they keep us up to date with all their news, this morning their ‘ Xmas Cards’ arrived, very quickly, as they were only posted( 1st class!) last Friday!


NB; On the main ' UK' news at lunchtime they reported that it's a major technical problem with the ' 
02' network, that provides services to the 'Lycamobile' system, amongst many others, that Brenda uses! 

We had another nice long catch-up news message on the ‘ Facebook Messenger’ from Sandra & Bill over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, this weekend they have their best friends 50^th Birthday celebrations/party and have a house full of guests! They are already getting very excited about their trip next year, in October. The folks follow the “ Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ice Hockey Team, they won on Wednesday 3-4 against the ‘ Buffalo Sabres’ – I think!! We have also arranged a ‘ Skype’ video call next Sunday 16^th and on ‘ Christmas Day ‘

For our super this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings - Alitas ‘ with finely sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans and Baked Potatoes. Tomorrow it will be a ‘ Fish n’Chip Supper’ – then on Saturday it’s ‘ Steak Night’ – Sunday is still TBC, watch this space.

After supper we will settle down to watch “ I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here “  - which we are following for the first time, it finishes on Sunday, at the same time we are catching ‘ MasterChef: The Professionals ' 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

....

A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 21^st/AUGUST 2018.

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot down to the main ‘ Medical centre’ in Sabinillas to make an appointment with the Nurse for my 4 weekly course of ‘ V12’ injections, I’m going back tomorrow afternoon, it could have been later this morning, but we have the miniature ‘ Pinscher’ – ‘Percy’ – coming to see us, about his possible holiday with us in September, here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’

PS; Little ‘ Percy’ is going to be with us for nearly three weeks at the start of September!

PPS; Paul & Sam are his parents, Sam used to work with Brian in Gibraltar and still works for the same company, Paul is an ‘IT’ expert and is going to send me some details of a new highly recommended ‘English TV’ system, see below about our problems!!

We are still waiting to hear when little princess ‘ Reina’ is back with us, one piece of great news is that ‘ Charlie’ is with us for a one night sleep-over this coming Friday, as the folks are going to a wedding, no doubt ‘ Chispa’ will be calling in, as usual, to see her old friends! Watch this space.

As I was out this morning all the ‘ Council’ workmen were also out and very busy, digging up the flagging on the terrace, putting up more of the coloured canopies, meanwhile down in the ‘Plaza de la Vendemia’ they have started to erect all the poles, for the covers ( the old green ones!) - over the square, for the ‘ Vendemia Wine Festival’ at the start of September, yesterday morning the Mayor, Mario, performed the official opening of the new ‘Mosaic Mural’ on the wall next to the Grape crushing pit, there are 714 tiles depicting life in sunny Manilva in times past!

See below;

See below some pictures taken this evening, sorry about the bike! 

When I returned we had our usual light breakfast of ‘ Weetabix’ fresh fruit, toast & tea, as we planned the menu’s for the week, we have no other appointments, so far, I will be back out on my travels early on Friday morning, down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, we are not going down to the ‘ Feria’ this year.

This morning as I set off the sun was just coming up above the Mediterranean, the sky had cleared, as there was a slight breeze, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 29 degs+ - going a little hotter, as the week goes on, reaching 34 degs by Friday, the threat of the ‘ wet-stuff’ is still in the air, along with patchy clouds over the weekend, next week, leading up to the ‘Vendimai Wine Festival ‘ weekend, it’s looking a little cooler and unsettled, with patchy clouds and even ‘ RAIN’ at times, what is happening?! Watch this space.

See below the sunrise over the “ Royal Liver Building “ down at the Pier Head in Liverpool, this morning.

  

Yesterday we had a major technical problem with the ‘English’ TV system, it would not load and come online, I tried re-setting and then unplugging it, all with no response, I then called my ‘ IT ‘ Consultant, Lee, who came online later in the evening onto my computer system, it’s a major problem, the ‘ Hosts’  invoicing/billing system is not working, so it’s not possible to renew the subscription, which is usually very simple, they are not ‘ sure’ when it will be back up?! So we are going to have to wait to see if it’s fixed soon, or alternatively look for another provide, with Lee’s help! – Which may also take some time to research. Watch this space.( see above!)

This evening for our supper we are having flattened, seasoned ‘ Chicken Fillets’ – pan-seared on a very hot griddle-plate, finished in a Lemon & Balsamic Vinegar Salsa, garnished with ‘ turned’ Button Mushrooms, with finely sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans, together with a Baked Potato, I’m also making at lunchtime a large bowl of my famous ‘Ensaladilla Rusa – Russian Salad ‘ – which the ‘ Second Chef’ is at the moment preparing all the ingredients, ready for me to make later!

Just a very quick football result update, Liverpool won 0-2!

So for now we are back on the ‘Spanish TV’ programmes over 14 channels, with some films in English, as well as documentaries, news & sports channels, I do still have the old system, using our old ‘PC’ connected to the large screen TV, but ‘ fingers-crossed’ we will be back in business shortly, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...