A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 10^th/ MARCH 2020.

I was up early this morning to welcome back little ‘ Miss Bella’ for the day, she’s also with us tomorrow and on Thursday, she shot upstairs onto our bed and had a little lie with Brenda before making friends with ‘Lolo’ who was still a-sleep when she arrived! On Thursday evening ‘ Scruffy’ is back with us for a sleep-over and all day on Friday, ‘Lolo’ is due to be collected next Monday.

After freshening up we took them both out for their first walk of the day, when we returned we had a quick toast & tea before sorting out the ‘ Menus’ ( see below) for the week, I then popped down to our Butchers in ‘Calle Iglasie’- which is closed to traffic today, as the ‘ Council’ are cleaning all the houses along the street, after the end of all the refurbishment work. I picked up two boned & skinned Chicken Thighs/Legs ( Muslos de Pollo)  for tomorrows ‘ Chicken Curry’!

We have another glorious day here in a very sunny Manilva, down on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun was out early and the sky bright blue & cloudless, there is just a very slight breeze, so by lunchtime it’s forecast to reach 21/22 degs + - overnight down to 12/13 degs, the rest of the week is looking the same, with lots of sunshine, hovering in the low 20s, on Saturday now that the wet & windy Atlantic’ front is blowing in a little earlier than forecast, so sadly we could now have some of the ‘Wet-Stuff’ over the weekend, next week is looking unsettled for now with, going cooler as the breeze picks up, but still with sunny patches, watch this space.

See below the ‘ Super Moon ‘ ( Worm Moon ) - yesterday evening over the Mediterranean and along the coast.  

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks’ garnished with seared Pineapple Rings and topped with a ‘ Campo ‘ Fried Egg! Served with Broccoli Florets & sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans and triple-cooked ‘ Chips’

Tomorrow evening it’s going to be my famous ‘ Chicken & Mushroom Curry ‘ ( fruity med-hot) accompanied with Chutneys, sliced Banana and ‘Nan’ Bread, served on a bed of Brenda’s equally famous ‘ Basmati ‘ Rice, along with Garden Peas, our good friends Andy & Brian are joining us for supper, as Andy is off work for a couple of days and Brian is on early-shifts this week, to start we will have a small selection of light ‘Tapas and for the dessert either/both ‘ Apple Tort or Chocolate Eclairs!

PS; Lots of chilled  ‘ Choice Beers ‘ to drink!

Thursday will be a ‘ leftovers day ‘ and on Friday our usual ‘ Fish Supper ‘ ( Salmon for a change?) – Saturday is ‘ Steak Night ‘ and then on Sunday we are having ‘ Marinated Grilled Lamb Cutlets’ served with a selection of fresh/local Vegetables and Potatoes!

This afternoon we will settle down to watch the excellent coverage, on ITV, of the first day of the ‘Cheltenham Festival ‘ – the climax of the ‘ National Hunt Racing’ season, with the greatest horses & jockeys.

After supper it’s the pen-ultimate episode of “ The Split “ as the Divorce Lawyers fight to save their own marital problems as well as their celebrity clients.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY HOT SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 26^th/ MAY 2019.

We had another nice lie in this morning as the village is very quiet, after freshening up as I was in the breakfast rota I had a ‘Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty’ – smothered in ‘ HP ‘ Brown sauce – open on brown toast, as usual, for Brenda, with mugs of hot/strong Tea.

We then went down to the ‘ Pabillion – Multi-Purpose Centre’ next to the sports complex, to vote, no ‘X’ to mark here, after registering you just post the ‘Election Ballot Paper’ ( in a plain envelope!) of the party you are voting for, which either arrives in the post or is delivered by hand, here in Spain it’s ‘ Proportional Representation’ – so the number of votes determines how many seats the party gets on the Council. Watch this space.

This morning the sun was out first thing and the sky was cloudless and bright blue, we are in for a ‘ hot-one’ today – by lunchtime it’s due to reach 25 degs+ with just a very light breeze, in the shade, next week is looking warm & sunny, going a little cooler as the breeze pick up in the middle of the week, still hovering in the mid to high ‘ teens’ – overnight down to the 17 degs mark, then on Tuesday up to 29 degs+ - next weekend there will be a few patchy clouds, with hot sunshine, watch this space.

On the sports front this weekend;  sadly yesterday in the ‘Copa Del Rey – the Spanish Cup Final’ Barcelona lost to Valencia 1- 2, meanwhile Lewis Hamilton took the pole position for today’s ‘Grand Prix of Monaco’

Later today it’s ‘ Stage 15’ of the ‘ Giro d’Italia’ is one of the longest on the Giro, over 232 kms, with a 160 flat section before the race swings into a series of short but challenging climbs, from Ivrea to Como.

At lunchtime we went along to ' Bar Castillo' for a nice cool drink a few light Tapas, Big Brian & Andy came along and joined us, so we had a catch-up with Brian as he's been out & about in all his old haunts! 


See ' Bar Castillo' this lunchtime, it was very busy, the Paella sold out in ten minutes, you can just make us all out at the far end, front right!

For our supper this evening we are having our ‘ Steak Night’ – as we had a light supper yesterday, after our lunch out with the folks! ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks’ – cooked on a very hot griddle-plate ‘Med-Rare’ – Pink no Blood, garnished with seared Asparagus Spears & Button Mushrooms, with whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans and of course ‘ triple –cooked ‘ Frits’ – a classic ‘ Bearnaise’ sauce on the side.

After supper we settled down to watch the final two-part, back to back, episodes of the Canadian crime drama “ Cardinal’ as the Detective and his lady partner finally caught up the ‘Family’ of baddies, lots of shootings, including policeman, as only one of the ‘Family’ survived! Watch it if you can!!

NB; As I have been typing/posting today's Blog, as usual, I have been listening to the 'Pete Black Retro Roadshow' on ' Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW' - as the ' Movie Quiz' came on, it was 'George Clooney & Brad Pitt'  in " Ocean's11 " - so 'Lady' Brenda has gone into this months draw for the 'Mug' - again! Watch this space.

NB; Sadly she didn't win it, again! 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A ' FRESH' AND VERY SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 4^th/ APRIL 2019.

I was up early again this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot across to the ‘Estepona Hospital ‘ for the last time this week, for my appointment at the ‘ Physiotherapy Department’ I found a spot to park straight away and had my usual tostado & tea in ‘ Tikitapi’ before going to the Hospital.

As I come into Estepona off the motorway I pass the new ‘ Athletics Stadium ‘ that is due to open shortly, it’s next to the ‘Estepona Football Ground’ and the ‘Feria ‘ area which is also a multi-use training track/facility. Just across the main large roundabout, with seven exits, is the new ‘Theatre  Felipe V1‘ ( 600 seats) and also the start of lots of new apartments/ supermarkets etc, that are part of the main ‘ Avenida Juan Carlos’ Hotels/development. At the moment they are working on all the finishing touches, planting Palm Trees, designer planting, roadways etc, all this and new ‘Estepona Hospital’ is nearing, later this year, completion/opening! 

See above some pictures of the new ‘Stadium’ as it has taken shape.

We have another beautiful day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun was out early and the sky had cleared and was bright blue, there is a light breeze, making it ‘ Fresh’ - so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 20 degs, yesterday it went up to 25 degs! Sadly on all the three forecast that I follow, as well as on the main ‘TVE’ Weather report, we are in for a prolonged wet-spell, for the rest of the week and over the weekend and all most of next week?! A new ‘ Atlantic’ front is hitting all of Spain, bringing with it stiffer winds, patchy clouds and moderate to heavy ‘ RAIN’ – overall the temperatures are dropping down to 13/14 degs and then hovering in the high ‘ teens’ – overnight back down to 8/9 degs at times. Watch this space.

See below a drone picture taken this morning showing sunny Manilva!

The following week it’s “ Semana Santa ‘ week, starting on ‘Palm’ Sunday and leading up to ‘Easter’ Sunday, the height of all the Religious Festivals/Parades. Sadly at the moment the forecast are not looking too good, as usual, for this time of the year!  Watch this space.

This evening ‘ Scruffy is back with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ for a sleep-over, he’s then back next Monday for another, ‘Chispa’ is still coming in & out, all the time, to see us and all her friends.

At lunchtime went out along to ' Bar Castillo' for a nice cool drink, sat on the sunny side of the street, as the world passed us by, the ' Tapas' were  'Perfecto ' - we had for only 5 Euors, Russian Salad, Meatballs in a rich Tomato & Pepper salsa, a skewer of curry marinated Chicken, two large fresh 'Tiger Prawns' &  a small ' Darne' of Hake, deep-fried in a crispy Tempura Batter!

For our supper this evening it’s a ‘Left-Over’s’ night, with yesterday evenings ‘ Casserole of Braised Beef’ in a rich Red Wine, Mushroom, Onion & Shallot Salsa, on Friday we are having a ‘ Fish n’Chip ‘ supper with Mushy Peas, as usual on Saturday it’s ‘ Steak Night’ and then for our ‘Sunday Roast’ I’m going to by a ‘Halal’ Leg of Lamb from the ‘Morrocan’ Butchers, when I’m out on my travels tomorrow morning, down in Sabinillas, for the weekly shopping, watch this space.

This afternoon we will be glued to the TV as the excellent coverage on ‘ITV’ starts, showing the ‘Grand National Festival’ the highlight of the ‘ National Hunt Jump Racing’ season, over the next three days, leading up to the ‘ Grand National’ on Saturday.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY ' BRISK' & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 29^th/ JANUARY 2019.

I was up early this morning, after a quick freshen up I shot down to our car in the underground car park to collect all our documents, that I keep in the car in case we are stopped by the ‘Guardia Civil’ – I then called into the ‘ Town Hall’ to have them all checked & updated, as by the end of the month they need to be in order, in time for the local elections later in the year, and for the ‘ Brexit’ problems etc.

Nest week there is a Seminar, on Wednesday afternoon, arranged by the Council, with various Politian’s etc taking part, speaking and answering questions!

See below.

At the entrance to the new ‘ Calle Mar’ the contactors were installing three automatic bollards to control the traffic passing through the street, when needed, at the moment the local Police put up light fences, which are moved aside by the locals!  Pictures to follow when they are working!!

I also popped into the local ‘ Sub-Post Office’ to thank the post lady for the very quick delivery of the Norah’s birthday card to the UK, as I was coming back Monica, from ‘ Bar Rojas’ stopped in her car to tell me that she is closing, due to financial problems and opening a new business in ‘ Calle Iglesia’  - near to our local Butchers (see below)  – we wish her ‘ Good Luck’ – she has always looked after us and her food was also very good, watch this space.

When I returned, as I was on the breakfast rota, so we had my now famous ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butties’ – smothered in ‘ HP’ Brown sauce - open on brown for Brenda, with mugs of hot/strong ‘PG’ Tips Tea, to start the day in the right direction!  

While I was getting ready earlier I was, as usual, listening to the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show’ on “ Castle Radio FN 89.2 & Online on the WWW’  as this week’s ‘ Music Quiz’ came on, it was a classic ‘8’ second track of “Supertramp “ from 1974 with ‘ Dreamer ‘ – I’m in the draw, again, on Friday morning! Watch this space.

This morning the sun broke through earlier and the sky is cloudless & blue, there is a stiff breeze blowing, so by lunchtime it will only reach 15/16 degs, with sunshine, but still very ‘fresh in the shade, tomorrow and the next couple of days it’s now showing that the ‘ wet-stuff’ is going to hit us, for the first time this year, as the breeze stiffens, by the weekend its going be very windy and colder, but dry and sunny, next week is looking more settled, dry and sunny with patchy clouds, hovering in the mid/high ‘ teens’ – watch this space.

See below sunny Manilva – looking ‘ Mucho Frio ‘!

Brenda has just been along to the local Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ for some of our prescription tablets, she checked out ‘Calle Iglesia’ and the premises by the Butchers is being smartened up, it’s owned by friends, Juan & Amelia, it looks like it could be a ‘Fruit & Vegetables Shop’ that Monica is opening( see above) Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks’ -topped with seared Pineapple Rings and ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs, with Garden Peas and for a change ‘ Beef Dripping’ Roast Potato slices! Tomorrow morning I’m making a ‘Casserole of Sliced Beef ‘ in a rich Mushroom & Onion Salsa, with a dish of Brenda’s famous ‘ Mashed Potato! On Thursday it’s going to be ‘ Omelette’s of Choice’ with Baked Potatoes.

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the first part of ‘Silent Witness – the second and final part is this evening – it started with a very graphic car bomb exploding, it’s all to do with old, retired ‘IRA’ terrorists settling old scores!

Before we caught the next episode of ‘ Great Canadian Railway Journeys’ with Michael Portillo, as he explored Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, this evening he strikes west into the province of ‘ Saskatchewan ‘ across the ‘Great Plains’- on Thursday he reaches ‘ Alberta’s’ second city Edmonton, where Jeff & Annette, from Brisbane,  daughter Kate and her partner, live & work, finally on Friday he’s back in the ‘Rocky Mountains’ in the glacier at Athabasca, as his journey reaches a dramatic scenic conclusion!  

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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

FRIDAY 18^th/ JANUARY 2019.

We were both up early this morning and after a quick freshen up before an even quicker toast & tea we shot off on our travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, I went into ‘Mercadona ‘ for our main shop and Brenda went along to the ‘ English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers and some birthday cards, we then met up back in ‘ Mercadona’ – next we went along to the far end of the promenade to the local market for the fresh flowers & wall plants, finally on the way back up the hill, we stopped at ‘ Super Sol’ for the ‘English’ essentials.

It’s a another beautiful morning down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – the sun was out early and the sky was bright blue as we shot down through the vine fields, the ‘Mediterranean’ was sparking, the breeze has dropped and its ‘ crisp’ and sunny, by lunchtime it’s going to reach 16/17 degs+ - sadly tomorrow we could be in for some of the ‘ wet-stuff’ as it goes a little colder, then from Sunday and all of next week it’s now looking more settled,  staying dry with patchy clouds and sunshine at times, still hovering on the 14 degs mark, down to 5/6 degs at night time, by our standards , still very cold for the time of the year, watch this space.

See below a ‘Estepona’ weather forecast for the coming week, always a little warmer despite being only 12 kms away! 

Yesterday lunchtime on our walk along ‘ Calle Mar’ we bumped into our old friend Josie , who we have not seen for a long while, she’s over staying at  her ‘Penthouse’ apartment below us in ‘Calle Utopia ‘ for a few weeks, sadly 2018 was not a good year for her and her family, she lost her husband, Den, just before Xmas, to a very nasty form of ‘Tongue Cancer’ – earlier in the year their son, who we knew, died from a ‘Heart Attack’ as he was our riding his mountain bike, he was only in his late 30s, married with children! She is not in the best of health also so our thoughts go out to her, we had heard all this news from her dear friend Helen, just before Xmas, who lives in the same complex, on the ground floor, for most of the year.

Last week on “ A Place in The Sun “ it  was back in sunny Manilva again, they showed the new ‘ Calle Mar’ at its best and down our street to our house,  see below, the couple were shown a first floor apartment in the same  complex in ‘Calle Utopia’ - opposite the main square, which they didn’t like, the local ‘ Sage’ this time was not me, it was the President of the ‘Sub-Aqua Club’ – as they were interested in diving! ( something I don’t do!!)

There was also some excitement the week before in the same Complex in ‘ Calle Utopia’ as a major terrorist was arrested in a dawn raid by a combined ‘ Guardia Civil, Policia Nacional & the local Policia’ operation!!  ‘ It’s all happening in sunny Manilva !!

For our supper this evening we are having for a change ‘Pan-Seared Fillets of Pink Sea Trout’ – accompanied with a sauceboat of classic ‘ Hollandaise’ sauce, with Broccoli Florets & Garden Peas and Parsley Baby New Potatoes in their Skins, tomorrow evening it’s ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks’ with ‘Stringfellow ‘ Frits. The ‘ Roast’ on Sunday is ‘ Leg of Spanish Lamb’ resting on a bed of ‘ Boulangere ‘ Potatoes with a selection of local, fresh Vegetables.

All the week we have been watching “ Great Canadian Railway Journeys “ with Michael Portillo, along the track of the ‘Ocean Line’ from the Atlantic port of Halifax to Quebec City, ‘Nova Scotia ‘ is spectacular, he then took the ferry across to ‘ Prince Edward Island’- then back to ‘New Brunswick’ to see the famous ‘ Hopewell Rocks’ – where the ‘World’s’ biggest/highest tide come in ( 70 feet!) – then re-joining the night-sleeper to Quebec City, on the banks of the mighty ‘St Lawrence River’ – taking in the world famous ‘ Chateau Frontenac Hotel’ were he had breakfast of ‘Eggs Benedict’ – served on fresh Lobster!

See the Hotel below;

At lunchtime we will go for a short walk along ‘ Calle Mar’ and sit and take in the sunshine, as it goes a little warmer, this afternoon we will be watching all the ‘ Quiz Shows’ that we follow, yesterday on ‘Countdown’ one of the returning ‘Champion’ contestants got three 9 point answers correct and scored 150 points, the highest ever score!

See below the ‘’Manilva River in full-flow by the  “ Roman Baths “ in the valley below the village, the mud-banks are rubbed all over the body!!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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