A DRY AND VERY CRISP SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY 20^TH JANUARY 2015.

I was up early this morning as Daniela was dropping ‘Reina’ off, she immediately shot upstairs and got into her duvet as its rather cold, that's 'Reina' not Daniela!! -  by our standards the min.tempreatures at night are dropping to 3/4degs but we are still managing to reach the heady heights of 14/15degs during the day. The threatened rain today has so far not arrived, and then tomorrow it’s getting back to normal with blue skies and the sun out for the rest of the week.

Which is good news as we are planning to take Josie across to San Pedro De Alcantara to show her the new ‘Boulevard’ and then have another Tapas lunch out!

At the moment ‘Chispa’ has just arrived and has got the wind in her tail as she is running around going mad from room to room, skidding on the marble floors and rugs! Meanwhile little princess ‘Reina’ is hiding under my feet watching the ‘mad’ dog!

After our breakfast we sorted our plans out for the rest of the week, on Thursday ‘Reina’ is back and then on Friday ‘Scruffy’ is with us for a two day sleep over, in the morning on Friday I have my re-appointment at the surgery before we go down to Sabinillas for our regular weekly shop; Saturday is normal and then on Sunday we are going to have a special roast in honor of the ‘Queens’ visit to sunny Manilva,she is joining us for a ‘Roast Leg of  Lamb’ with ‘Boulangere Potatoes’ and all the trimmings!

This morning I’ve made up some of the ‘Minestrone’ soup, from the deep freeze, which we will have at lunchtime as it’s just right for the ‘crisp’ weather - by adding some of my famous ‘Tomato’ salsa and the left-over vegetables and Spaghetti. This evening for our supper we are having a ‘quick’ baked Beef & Potato Pie with mixed Garden Peas & Carrots and some Baby New Potatoes in their skins.

So today we are taking things easy and will go for a short walk with the dogs at lunchtime to stretch the old legs, if the rain is does not arrive by then!

This evening after supper we will try and find something to watch after checking out all the news,sport and weather reports.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A CLOUDY AND OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 27^th/ JANUARY 2014.

Overnight the wind got up and the weather has changed suddenly, last nights forecast hinted that it was coming but not as bad, it’s the tail end again of the weather front hitting the UK; what it means is that we are now overcast and cloudy with the sun trying to brake through but the main effect is in the temperature that has gone come down from a lovely 26 degs yesterday to 16 degs today!! Oh dear or words to that affect!!

Just a little lie in this morning as the street cleaning machine woke us up; after our tea and toast we have sorted our week out, later I’ am going down to put some petrol in the car ready for the trips out on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the way back on Wednesday from the hospital we are calling into to pick some night lights from ‘Habitat’ in Marbella and then picking up our English shopping from ‘Super Sol’ The main shop will be as usual on Friday morning from Sabinillas.

The menu’s for the week are now starting to take shape; tonight we are having ‘Medallions of Pork Fillet’ pan-seared on the griddle in foaming Lemon Butter with diamond-cut Green Beans and Carrots mixed with Garden Peas(a la Flamande!) and savory ‘Breton-style’ Potatoes( cooked Potatoes tossed with Diced Red Peppers,Celery,Leek and Onions)   I’ve just made a very sharp piquant ‘Charcutiere’ sauce to go with the Medallions.

Tomorrow night it’s the rest of the Pork fillet flattened and bread crumbed into ‘Schnitzels’ garnished with a fried Campo Egg and Capers and Anchovy Fillets with Spaghetti Milanaise( My rich Tomato salsa!) on the side. On Wednesday we are having for a change a classic from the past with my version of “ Beef Bourguigonne” with Baby Shallots, Button Mushrooms and lardons of Smoked Bacon!  Thursday is left-over day and Friday is going to ‘Fishy!’

Last night after the news, sport and weather reports, Barcelona beat Malaga 3-0 and are back on top of the’La Liga’ on goal difference from Atl.Madrid, we found a rather interesting true story film to watch called “ Charlie Wilson’s War” from 2007 with Tom Hanks in the tile role playing a USA Congressman who is a bit of a ‘Lad about town’ who takes up the course of the war in Afghanistan on his own, watch it to find out what happens! Philip Seymour  Hoffman is excellent as a CIA officer and Julie Roberts is miss-cast as a rich American know it all! - Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are also in the cast.

Thought for the Day; See above.

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SUNNY AND CRISP MANILVA ON MONDAY;

MONDAY 25^th/ NOVEMBER 2013.

This morning we had a nice lie in as I had no ‘Chauffeur’ duties to get the ‘King’ to his early ‘Tee-off’ times!

We are missing you already Tim and can’t wait for your next visit sometime next year – thanks! The weather today happens to be perfect for golfing – clear blue skies, sunshine and crisp with just a little breeze! We also rang Lyn over in Melbourne to arrange a Skype video call on Tuesday morning to catch up with all their news.

After our tea & toast I made a batch of ‘Ensaldilla Rusa’ with Brenda’s help, Chispa came knocking at the front door and was a little put out to find Derrick here, all is now carm and they both have been fed, separately, we have just got back from our walk around the village as you can see in the pictures above of the church and Calle Loboto; at the butchers I picked up some lovely fresh Calf’s Liver for tomorrows night supper, we will make up Mano’s take-away box also as he is back in work on Tuesday evening.

This week we have no plans or arrangements, so far, but it’s our 42^nd wedding anniversary on Friday so I will have to get my thinking cap on!

So this evening we are having for supper Cold Chicken with a fry-up of the left-over vegetables and potatoes from last night; we will then catch up with the news reports and weather for this week, it sound like we could be in for some of the wet stuff by Thursday – we can’t complain as we have had no rain in over five months! Last nights film was a re-make of the classic John Wayne movie “True Grit” It is written, produced.edited and directed by the ‘Coen Brothers’and stars Jeff Bridges,Mailee Syenfeld,Matt Damon and Josh Brolin – it keeps to the original story but has a different ending – watch it to find out!

Thought for the Day; See above.

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SUNNY MANILVA.

SUNDAY/MONDAY 8^th/9^th  MAY 2011.

We were up bright and early and popped the Chicken in the oven for our Sunday roast; we then after getting the vegetables and everything ready got ourselves ready ! The weather this weekend and into next week is getting hotter and hotter so we went up to Bar Rojas for an aperitif before we walked down to the party; it was for Lara on her first communion, she is the granddaughter of Manolo and Antonia the Spanish side of the family, Ana Mari, Carlos’s wife is their daughter, and Lara is the daughter of their eldest son and his wife Nancy; The communion in Santa Ana church was earlier in the day when several children from the village took part, the girls are dressed in White long dresses and the boys in sailors uniforms ( Pictures to follow ) The party was in the very large garage under the house which is used for lots of family parties in the village, also the next two similar garages had the bouncy castle and the kitchen; over a hundred and fifty locals were sat down to the running Tapas lunch with the Paella the star of the day. Antonia was in a wheel chair as she has broken her foot a couple of weeks ago, Lara had changed into her party frock and the party got louder as the afternoon went on, the very large cake was decorated with sweets for all the children as you can see in the pictures below which give you just a taste of the day. We then retired up to Bar Rojas for a late afternoon drink before a siesta,Mano and Anna joined us later for dinner after we had built up the vegetables and potatoes ! The Manchester Utd v Chelsea match was on my PC – Utd won and have sealed the Champioship,meanwhile Real Madrid won 6 – 2 against Sevilla and Barcelona also won, Ronaldo has now scored 34 goals this season and is just ahead of Messi ! Over in Finland Big Brian went mad ( very easy ) as Everton beat Manchester City !!

This morning after our tea and toast we went across to the hospital in Estepona as Brenda had an appointment for an x-ray on her toe; it was for 12-39 and she went in at 12-38 and came out at 12-40 with the x-ray ! On the way back we called into the surgery and made an appointment with our doctor to check things out tomorrow morning; we have just come back from walking Cheta,we stopped in Bodega Augustine and had some Tapas,it is now 27degs and rising so Brenda is retiring to the roof terrace and I’m reading a book, What a gorgeous day in Sunny Manilva,we are sat in the chill out room having our early evening drinks listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival - LOUD ! The sky is bright blue,the sun is hot and there is a little warm breeze coming across from Africa and we have our feet in the foot spar,as well as dancing along to " Proud Mary " !! It's a hard life down here in Sunny Manilva !!! Tonight we are having Cold Chicken and Salad for supper and will then watch a film on TV.

Thought for the Day;

We are always the same age inside.

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MANILVA THIS WEEK.

Monday/Sunday 17th/23rd May 2010.

The weather this week is getting better every day; by the Sunday it is going to be 30degs. and in other parts of Andalucia it will reach 35degs! It is still the best time of the year as down here on the coast we still have a little breeze which makes it very pleasant.

On Monday morning we went off to our local post office and with Mano’s help posted the screen package back to Vancouver; there was all sorts of stipulations about how it was to be sent and boxed and the paper work had to be enclosed, we ended up down at the main post office in Sabinillas and it went off at lunchtime. I then e-mailed all the details including the tracking information as instructed and much to our surprise we received an e-mail later in the evening to say that the correct screen had been posted to us by UPS! Anna arrived home on the correct flight from Liverpool late on Monday evening but Carlos and Ann Mari had to wait till Wednesday.

We had a day catching up with all the chores and in the afternoon on Tuesday I made a Beef Stew for a change which we really enjoyed as we ate it for dinner with Cabbage and fresh Beetroot. Anna had a lazy day at her house and unpacked as Mano was painting and repairing all the walls after the rains so she came around on Wednesday morning and joined us for a Crab and Avocado salad as we listened to all her news about the wedding in Llandudno and what she and Anna Mari got up to. They went to Chester on the Friday and had lunch in the Grosvenor Brasserie, a fine bottle of Chablis and Caesar salad and in the evening they went to see The Sound of Music at the Llandudno Theatre, the wedding was at the Lodge in Tal y Bont in the Conway valley and a great time was had by all.

After our daily walk around the village on Thursday we then went out on the roof terrace and read as the sun moves around, the breeze keeps it just nice and we have our cocktail hour before we come down to the chill out room on the first floor, I play loud Blues music off the PC as we relax, on the terrace we have a small radio and listen to Spanish pop stations, downstairs in the lounge we have the Hi Fi on which we play the CDs as well as a I Pod in a docking station which has a large collection of all sorts of music and in the kitchen we have a small Hi Fi on which we play our Spanish learning CDs!! We like our music!!!

First thing on Friday we shot across to Estepona and on the way back did the weekend shopping; at lunchtime UPS delivered the screen from Vancouver, they had phoned on Thursday lunchtime to say that they would drop the parcel of between twelve and two. We also received into our bank AC the refund for the cost of returning the screen at the same time ! Andy then came round later and fitted the new correct one on which I am typing this now ! Mano and Anna called in as he had finished working on the house with a present, it is small statue of “ San Pancracio ” it is for good luck and fortune and has to be given to you a by a friend, so we had a little session along with Andy. I was given the night off cooking duties so we went up to Bar Rojas for supper and sat outside in the late evening and had an excellent Frito Pescardo,Huevos Frito and Patatas Fritas to finish of a great day.

As we went for our morning walk on Saturday morning the gang was sat outside Bar Rojas,Mano,Anna,Carlos,
Andy and Brian and as we were there the local in the picture below came past with his “ Harris Eagle ” It is a magnificent bird and he was taking it for its lunch hunting in the hills behind the village ! We then all ended up down in Sabinillas in an English bar for the full English breakfast so we then walked it off along the front, which is very pleasant at this time of the year, in the pictures below you can also see Tim and Brenda’s favourite beach bar “ Rilex ” which they will no doubt be hitting later in the year when Tim is coming over for a holiday again ! In the evening after supper of Steak and Frits we watched the European Cup Final,Inter Milan won their third trophy this year; their manager Jose Mourinho is going to be the next manager of Real Madrid !

Today we are getting ready our Sunday Roast, Leg Of Lamb,Mano dropped off a large Spanish one and they are joining us later for dinner; Cabbage with Acelgas, Cauliflower in Cheese sauce, Baby Carrots and Peas,Ratatuile with
Boulangere potatoes and a savory dish of Baked Saffron New Potatoes cooked with assorted peppers.Proper Herb gravy and a fine Rioja will help it all go down !


PS; Just as I was ladling the gravy into the sauce boat ( My Mum's favourite ) it all ended up on the floor,the walls,my trousers and best shirt, sandles and I burnt my big toe ! But there was more in the pan so another great meal was saved !!

Thought for the Day;

We’ll be friends until we are old and senile,then we’ll be new friends !!

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CASA ABUELA.

Saturday/Tuesday 18th/21st April.

Saturday 18th.

After Tony very kindly ran Brenda down to the chemists I spent the rest of the day in bed and Brenda found a short cut around to the villa and went round several times to check on all the animals,Clive and Carolyn have put a fence around their very large garden so they can now be left out into the garden to run and play and the builders do not work on Saturday and Sunday.The dogs settled into a routine and the cats come and go as they please,the fish in the pond along with the frogs are no problem; the rest of the day I took it easy and Brenda nursed me in her usual fashion!

Sunday 19th

In the morning I was feeling a bit better so we got ready and went around to villa and spent the day there with the dogs and other animals;the mother wild cat had to be tempted into the boiler house as her babies are in a box,out of the way, Brenda did a great job in getting them together! We went down to Guadalmina and found a English restaurant where we had an excellent Roast Sunday lunch;Brenda had Lamb and Pork and I had Beef with on both plates,Mashed Potatoes,Yorkshire Pudding,Apple Sauce and Stuffing and on the side Cauliflower Mornay,Cabbage,Peas,Mashed Carrots and Swede and Roast Potatoes,all with a large Gravy Boat!In the afternoon the front door bell went and when I opened it there was two very fit looking men standing there,obviously out running! It turned out that they were both long serving Para’s and had seen my sticker in the Smart car window! We had a long talk about the good old times ,it turned out that they were not born when I was in the Parachute Regiment! They now lived just around the corner and had left the regiment after the normal 22yrs.Well done MalcolmYoung and Ian Clarke!!

Monday 20th April.

As we got up Brenda was eating her toast when she felt a tooth in the top of her mouth crack! We shot across to Estepona to our dentists and they looked after her within ten minutes! She had to go back in the evening at 7-00pm to finish the work and is now back to normal. We spent the rest of the day at the villa with at one time seven workmen on site, they are working very well and lock up when the finish for the day. They are working on the re-wiring and putting the new doors in the old part of the villa at the moment. In the evening Miguel,the gardener, mother called in with some fresh eggs which we had for supper!

Tuesday 21st.

First thing in the morning we packed and then moved out of the apartment around to the villa as we had to pick up Clive and Carolyn from the airport at 4-00pm.Everything was fine at the villa,all the animals were happy and the builders had a very large lorry outside clearing away all the rubbish.Carolyn has booked us for another date in May and Chris has been on the phone to see if we can help in the next two weeks back in Tarifa! Watch this space !

TANGIERS and the COSTA DEL SOL

Friday 19th October
Friday morning was a “Free” time for us all to catch up,we serviced the Winnebago and went for a swim before packing for our weekend stay with Carol and Chris and our trip to Tangiers on Saturday,whilst they spent some time around the pool at the Aparthotel sunbathing.In the evening we went to our favourite restaurant down in Sabinillas and then went around to the marina at Porta Duquesa as Vidal was playing at a bar on the front- a lively night was had by all!!
Saturday 20 th October.
We caught the coach in Sabinillas at 7-30 am which took us to Tarifa to catch the fast ferry to Tangiers. The first two pictures show us shooting across the Straights of Gibralta to Tangiers which is two hours behind us in Spain.We were met off the ferry and onto the coach which took us on a tour of Tangiers,old and new before taking us through the pine forest's and over the hills to the Atlantic coast .The picture of the point where the Atlantic and Meditterrean”Embrace” is also the spot were 202 years ago the battle of Trafalgar took place-we won!! If you look at the picture really hard you can see the grey Atlantic and the blue Meditterrean.We then went into the Caves of Hercules to see the view out to the sea,the next picture shows it-when you can look at this in reverse it is a map of Africa! The guide in the picture followed us around all day as we went from place to place!Our Moroccan lunch which included live music,belly dancing and dancers, finished with Mint Tea.We then went on the coach down to the old part of Tangiers- The Medina and got off the coach and were led through the labyrinth of the Souk to see the Gold shops and the fruit,meat and vegetable markets.We then went into the carpet shops and down into the herbalist were we bought some cures for all our problems! We also got a Kaftan for Brenda and a Jahalaba with hood for me!After running the gauntlet of the street sellers from the age of 4 to 94 we climbed onto the coach and made our way back to the ferry,The last picture of the start of the Souk in the Medina does't give you the full atmosphere,the sound and the smells are something to be had once at least in a lifetime!We are going back in the new year -the ferry ride is worth the money alone! On our return to Manilva we then went out for a late meal on the beach at Sabinillas as the waves crashed in ,we found a Argentina restaurant!El Estribo” and had huge chunks of meat cooked on the open flames amd washed down with an Argentine Malbec,we kept popping out to the English bar along the front to watch the Rugby Final-we lost!!
Sunday 21st October.
The weather has been hot and sunny for most of the week,just a little cloud on one day so as we had a lie in we then went down to the beach for a paddle and then picked up from the local “Polo Pronto” some excellent spit roasted chicken with various salads,fresh bread,and fries and sat on the balcony of the Aparthotel and watched the Grand Prix on Spanish tv-he lost!! In the evening we went into the marina at Estepons and had dinner before finishing off with coffee and Soberano brandy at the music bar-our last night with Carol and Chris -,one “Helluva” week.They are planning to return for the new year celebrations!! Next week we have planned to go back to Portugal for another look with Vidal and Gisela, watch this this space for the pictures that we did not get last time!

CAMPING PARQUE TROPICAL - GIBRALTAR

Mon25th/Fri29th June.
Well this has been one "Helluva" week in all sorts of way. Over last weekend I was
able to lay on the bed for the first time and sleep.so this has helped with the legs-
the physiotherapist has been giving me the treatment on Mon/Wed/Fri and I am
now back to normal but the ribs ars still sore and will take a few more weeks to
get right.On Tuesday we had a surprise when Mano and Anna called in at lunch
time with Sally Ann and her two children who had come over on holiday from
Tenerife.We had last seen them in Wales just as we left on our travels so we
caught up with all the news and after a dip in the pool we had a nice lunch which
Brenda had prepared.In the evening we had just started to get dinner ready when
Vidal ans Gisela called in with a large salmon fillet that they had just bought so we
put every thing together and had a "Helluva" late supper and caught up with all the
news of their weekend gigs including Saturday nights" St Juan" beach party which
is one of the special Saint days that is held here every year and goes on all night
long and has fireworks and very loud music! On Thursday we had planned to go
to Gibraltar with Vidal and Gisela as on the last occasion that we planned to go
we had the accident on the scooter the day before! We shot down to Gibraltar
and showed them the sites as they had not been before and it was also a good
chance to check on the legs as it calls for a lot of walking! We went down to the
marina to our favourite restaurant and had a very nice lunch in the hot sun then
we decided to go up to the top of the Rock on the cable car. It gives you spectaclur
views over Gibraltar,The Straits.Spain.Africa and the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Also the famous "Apes" one of which took the bag of sweet cakes that Vidal had
just picked up and proceeded to eat -see the first picture! The other pictures shows
The Point.Airport and the gang at the top.We then after some shopping for spirits
and other goods set off back but we then called in for a "pit stop"one of many on
a very hot and sunny day at Sotogrande Marina which we had not seen before.
We then set off up into the hills to show Vidal and Gisela the village of Casares
but as we passed through Manilva we phoned Mano and found him and Carlos.
so we joined them for a few drinks in the main street in one of our favourite bars.
Later in the evening we moved on to a tapas bar with spectacular views over the
valley and sea and had tapas and a meal of Steak.peppers.chorizo.fried eggs
and frits!! We followed Mano back to his house and joined Anna and Sally Ann
for a few more drinks and to discuss life and the world! The legs where ok but
the ribs are a bir sore.Friday was a day to make the arrangments for the trip
next week and Vidal is going to help us with the move and un-hooking on Tuesday.
We have also some messages to pass on to various people;
Nigelnews-we will call to see you.
Al/Jan-we need a phone number so we can call and see you.
Penny-we have the tapas dishes and Hazelnut Liqueur.
All our familay and friends-watch out.we are coming!
also to Tony and Kay Turner.Michael and Annie Vankleef,who contacted us on our
new E-mail address-Thanks! and John Nicholls from Alicante who called us on
the Skype phone !
Watch out for the travel reports as we cross Spain to Bilbao for the ferry on Monday
9th July.