A VERY WARM AND NOW SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 27^th/ AUGUST 2017.

Well we had a good lie in this morning, Brenda was up first as I got up very early this morning to catch the Floyd Mayweather v Connor McGregor ‘ Fight ‘ over in Las Vegas, as Mayweather sealed victory in Round 10 of an enthralling fight by a ‘TKO’ ?! I managed to watch it on a ‘ Facebook’ live download/BBC Sports Blog.

Last night just before 11-00 pm we had another series of power cuts that went on through the night, they have started again this morning, meaning that I’m struggling to type/post the Blog, as we were getting up we had a light rain shower, that’s freshened up the streets & area. Then a rolling thunder storm passed over the village with another heavy shower, finally the water has gone off, all we need now is fire & pestilence and we will be back in the old times!!  Watch this space.

By this afternoon all is back to normal, fingers crossed, the sun is out, the sky has cleared, no wind, rain or thunder and it’s reaching 27/28 degs, the electricity is back on and the water also, next week is going to be unsettled, cloudy, with showers and a little wind, then on Friday just in time for the ‘ Vendimia Wine Festival weekend we are back to normal with warm sunshine and hovering in the low 30s, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Baked English Pork Chops ‘ with my special ‘ Charcutiere ‘ sauce on the side, the chops are seared on a very hot griddle plate then baked in the over, the sauce is made with White Wine & Malt Vinegar, sliced Onions, Shallots & Gherkins, Dijon & English Mustard, Beef & Vegetable stock, all cooked off, seasoned to taste and the consistency adjusted, a sharp piquant sauce!

The ‘ Vegetable Chef ‘ has gone to town and produced Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets in a Cheese sauce, Glazed Carrot Batons in Ginger & Whole Green Beans, Garden Peas and par-boiled Baby New Potatoes in their skins that I will toss in Butter with Parsley this evening until crisp & golden brown ‘ Rissole’ Potatoes!

Just a quick sports update; Lewis Hamilton is on the pole position for today’s  ‘ Belgium Gran Prix ‘- he equalled Schumacher’s all-time pole position record, he has just won!! At the ‘ Vuelta a Espana 17 ‘ Chris Froome increased his lead over his nearest rivals, Today’s ‘ Stage 9’ is from Hellin to Cumbre de Sol over 176 kms with a summit finish, tomorrow is a rest day! Barcelona won 0-2 with Messi scoring both goals and missing a penalty! Manchester City won in the 97 minute of extra time, 1-2!!

Mano & Anna called in yesterday evening for a catch up and to print their boarding passes for their flight to Manchester on the 6^th September, Mano is back later in the month for some appointments.

He’s just called to say that the handyman, Jesus, is coming back tomorrow afternoon to finish the grouting in the upstairs bathroom and then sort out the problems in the downstairs toilet, watch this space.

We are channel hopping this evening and later will watch the first episode of ‘Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling ‘ a crime drama written by JK Rowling.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A DRY, CRISP & STILL SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 27^th/ APRIL 2017.

I was up first this morning to see ‘Reina’ back with us for the last day this week, she shot into her duvet, we then took ‘ Scruffy’ out for his first walk of the day, before breakfast, when we came back ‘ Chispa’ came crashing in and joined us all for breakfast, she was then taken off down to the local Vets to have her hair clipped, fingers crossed that they don’t ‘scalp’ her,  as usual!  ‘Scruffy’ slept on our bed and in his executive bed all night, he’s no problem and it’s a joy to have him with us here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’- he was collected at lunchtime by Adrian & Rose.

I then shot along to the local bank in ‘Calle Mar’ to pay our electricity bill, it’s down by nearly 30%  as at the same time last year, month by month, this is due to when we changed to cooking on gas! Speaking of which, we have no hot water this morning, the gas boiler is not working, it looks like the igniter batteries have gone, I put new ones in but with no luck, I’ve called the engineer as you don’t mess with gas boilers! Now fixed, a faulty Gas Bottle with low gas pressure !! 

This morning, at the moment, it’s dry, cloudy and sunny, the forecast wet stuff has not yet appeared, there is a little breeze making it crisp, by lunchtime it due to reach the heady heights of around 22 degs, over the next two days it’s going to be cooler, wet & windy, then on Sunday it’s back to normal for the time of the year, warm & sunny, getting hotter during next week, watch this space.

This means that I’m going to get a little ‘ damp’ tomorrow morning when I go down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, it’s not a ‘ Bank Holiday’ weekend over here, hopefully the market at the end of the promenade will be open, last week it was closed because of the storms.

For our supper this evening we are having one of our favourites ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings ‘ with Baked Potato and finely sliced Green Beans, Friday is ‘Fish’ night and then on Saturday we will be having a ‘ Steak ‘ extravaganza, Sunday is still TBC, watch this space.

See below a picture of a 35oz - Dry Aged, ‘ Piedmontes Tomahawk Ribeye’ – if only!!

Two results from ‘ La Liga’ mid-week games, last night, Barcelona won 7-1 & Real Madrid won 2-6 – this evening over in the ‘ Premiere League ‘ it’s the ‘ Manchester Derby ‘ as Manchester City welcome Manchester Utd, I will try and watch it via my Internet connection late this evening.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY;

SATURDAY 10^th/ DECEMBER 2016.

We all had a nice long lie in this morning, ‘Scruffy’ sleeps all night, he starts on our bed, then moves into his executive bed before joining us again in the morning, he’s now eating everything we give him especially his favourite doggy food, he is no bother and it’s a joy to have him with us, he follows me everywhere and at meal times he puts his paw on Brenda’s knee to remind her!

For breakfast this morning Brenda had Scrambled Eggs on brown toast and I had Smoked Bacon & Fried Eggs with buttered white toast with mugs of steaming ‘PG Tips! This evening we are having ‘ Grilled Entrecote Steak’ cooked on a very hot griddle plate ‘ Med-Rare’ and then left to ‘rest’ – then sliced into ‘ fingers’ – ‘French’ style. A classic  ‘Bearnaise ‘ sauce on the side and garnished with seared Asparagus Spears & Button Mushrooms, whole Baby Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ Tomorrow evening we are having a ‘ Roast Chicken’ from the ‘ Rotisserie’ with a seasonal Mixed Salad & Parsley New Potatoes.

This morning started grey & overcast but it has now picked up, the sun was breaking through as we took ‘ Scruffy’ for his first walk of the day, it’s now warming up and by this afternoon it’s due to reach the ‘heady heights’ of 19 degs, tomorrow it’s more of the same and on Monday at the start of the week it’s going to be warm & sunny, hopefully the week ahead will be the same, watch this space.

See below a picture of the Xmas Lights in ‘ Calle Larios’ in the centre of Malaga last night, this year it’s also a light & music show!

On the sports front this weekend; here in ‘ La Liga’ Real Madrid welcome Deportivo La Coruña and Barcelona travel at lunchtime to Osasuna, meanwhile over in the ‘ Premiere League’ the early kick off is Watford v Everton and then later Manchester City travel to Leicester City, tomorrow Liverpool welcome West Ham.

This afternoon we will watch the Jump Racing on ‘Channel 4’ from Cheltenham?! We are not sure as this week’s ‘ Spanish TV Times’  which shows all the English channels, with our times ( one hour behind!) was not published due to the floods! Watch this space.

Last night we channel hopped and watched ‘ Mastermind, Coastal Path, Rick Stein in Thessaloniki, QI & Graham Norton ‘

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A MILD, DRY & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY 25^th / OCTOBER 2016.

I was up again this morning to see ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, we all then went back to bed for a little sleep in, ‘ Reina’ in her duvet, ‘ Pax’ on his bed and me under the covers with Brenda! After freshening up we had our regular breakfast before getting the day ahead sorted, I went out on my travels, around sunny Manilva.

I called into the Town Hall to book our next appointments with the chiropodist, Tuesday 29^th November, our 45^th wedding anniversary! I then stopped at the local cash machine at the bank before calling into the chemists for my prescription tablets, finally I went down to the butchers for the ‘ Escalope’s of Chicken Breast’ for this evenings supper and the diced Beef for tomorrow night’s curry.

This evening I’m making ‘ Chicken Schnitzels a la Holstein with Spaghetti Milanese’ – I use local fresh breadcrumbs from the bakery, the Spaghetti is cooked and then tossed in my Tomato Salsa with a julienne of Ham, the Schnitzels are garnished with fillets of Anchovy & Capers then topped with a fried Egg! Finely sliced Green Beans on the side, for colour and Lemon wedges to taste. See below.

This morning has started dry, yesterday the forecasted rain yesterday didn’t appear, in fact it was mild & sunny during the day and last night it was still very mild, today should be the same and then tomorrow its getting warmer over the next few days, 25/27 degs & rising! The weekend is looking, at the moment, fine and settled.

Just a quick football update; it’s the 4^th round of the ‘ EFL League Cup’ matches, this evening over in England, as Liverpool welcome Tottenham and tomorrow its’ Manchester Utd v Manchester City! Watch this space.

After supper last night we watched the final episode of the new series of ‘ Cold Feet’ –it’s coming back in 2017. No prison sentence, as the case was dropped, and his current wife gave him a good divorce settlement, for one of the characters, his previous ex-wife turned down two marriage proposals, one from a multi-millionaire, got her new business on the go, and their son ‘ came out’ Another couple finally got their ‘love life’ back on the go in a bathroom at a party! Two of the characters were caught up in an armed robbery at the local off-licence and finally the main character managed to find true love, again, with his landlady!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY CLOSE & STICKY SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY 22^nd / AUGUST 2016.

I was up first to see ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she’s here everyday up to and including Friday, ‘ Chispa’ called in to see what is happening here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ -  we then got ourselves slowly into gear, Brenda is sleeping on the sofa in the main lounge, the crutches have made a big difference as she’s now able to get about under her own ‘ steam’ under supervision, later she’s going to shampoo her hair in the sink in the small bathroom past the kitchen, after a quick breakfast I shot along to the  ‘Chemists’ in Call Mar for my prescription tablets.

Overnight it was very hot & sticky and trying to get some sleep was very difficult, this morning it’s a little grey & overcast but still very warm & close, by lunchtime its due to clear and we will be back to warm & sunny, normal for this time of the year, the rest of the week it’s going to be more of the same but by Friday there is a possible change with it going a little cooler over the weekend as the weather fronts change. Watch this space.

We have decided that we are not planning the menus in advance, for now, we will just snack when we feel like something, it’s the first time that we have been put off eating, due to the hot weather! It must be hot!!

This evening we have our regular appointment with the ‘ Chiropodist ‘ down at the surgery, I will collect Brenda in the car and shoot around and drop her off outside so as she can use the crutches, tomorrow morning we will do the same as Brenda has her appointment with our Doctor, watch this space.

The UK ‘BBC TV  etc is back to normal after all the ‘Olympic’ coverage so we will settle back into out routine watching, there are also some new series stating that we have not see before, also I will be following the “ Vuelta d’España “ on the ‘TDP’ sports channel, its Stage 3 today, they are up in North West Spain on the Atlantic coast at the moment, Chris Froome and the Sky team are in the race along with Alberto Contador and lots of the ‘Tour de France’ stars; see the route map below, yesterday in ‘La Liga’ Gareth Bales scored two goals as Real Madrid won 0-3.

“ NEWSFLASH “

Watch out and listen as ‘ Sir Malcolm’s Classic Show ‘ is coming back in the not too distant future on Saturday morning between 11.00am to 1.00pm on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW “  It was announced on Andrew’s ‘Breakfast Show’ this morning after he played a request for us, it’s his last week on the breakfast show as the new programme schedules are starting next week, he’s moving to the afternoon slot and his new Station Manager  ‘Sid Olivera ‘ takes over the early morning show, watch this space and LISTEN!! I will be broadcasting live from 'Studio 4' here in the heart of sunny Manilva where the show will be produced with the help of ' Lady' Brenda! 

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A STILL VERY WARM BUT SLIGHTLY OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 12th/ AUGUST 2015.


" NEWSFLASH"


Well as you can see I'm back online after being off line for two days with a technical problem with all my "Google' connections; I've been trying since Monday afternoon to sort the problem out, with no luck,then this morning it suddenly came back online with out my help?!

Just a quick update from the last two days; on Monday we went across to Estepona with Den & Josie as I was going to my Barber's 'Manuel' to have two inches off! We started with coffee & toastado and then went our seperate ways for some shopping and retail therapy; Brenda found a new top in 'Mango' and some nice sandal's next door, as well as some essential cosmetics.

See the picture below of part of the large fishing fleet that operates out of the harbour in Estepona which happened to be in port on Monday morning'

We met up with Den & Josie and had a cool drink before trying a restaurant on the main street behind the promenade where we had a nice meal, Brenda has the marinated Pork Brochettes,Josie had the deep fried Chiparones - Baby Squid,Den had a large 'slab' of the house three Cheese Pizza and I had my usual Chicken a la Plancha with chips! Thanks Josie for the nice comments about the day out and also the cold 'Risotto' for your supper! See below ,the pictures of our meal.

On Tuesday 'Reina' was with us for the day; its very' muggy' at the moment and going a little cooler before picking up again over the weekend,when I sat 'cooler' its down to 33 degs! The workmen on the site are still arriving on the early shift,the 'Brickee's' are shooting up the walls, as you can see in the pictures above - our roof 'Box' is now a 'Compond' - its gone twice as high!!

This morning after breakfast Brenda shot off to catch the bus down to Sabinillas as she had an appointment at her hairdresser's for wash,blow and cut,she's coming back up on the bus later; meanwhile I'm now up in the office catching up on the WWW. after being out of action for two days!

Over the weekend over in the UK in the 'Premier League' Liverpool beat Stoke 0-1 & Manchester City beat West Brom 0-3 and last night Barcelona won the 'UEFA Super Cup' for the fifth time beating Sevilla 5-4 in a very exciting match.

Yesterday afternoon our Swedish friend Lillemor called in for a chat and Josie came around with her grand daughter 'Masie' who is over for ten days with her Mother and little sister staying with them.

I popped up to 'Bar Rojas' to celebrate with Kieno and bumped into a couple sat out side that said 'Hello Malcolm' - it turned out to be Jan's ( Charlie) daughter Joanna and her partner Tom,we had a nice long chat and catch up as we had only met her briefly once before!

On the Menu front last night we had flattened Chicken Breast with 'Breton' Style Potatoes & Diamond cut Green Beans and this evening we are having a 'Spanish'Fry-Up - 'Salteado' using anything that I can find!

This evening we will catch up with all the latest news,sport and weather up-dates before finding something to watch.

 PS; Jenny & Norah's postcards have just arrived from Brixham - thanks !!



Thoughts for the Day; See above.


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A VERY HOT AND SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY;

SUNDAY 3^rd/ AUGUST 2014.

We have all had a good nights sleep,’Reina’ went onto her bed/cushion and did not move until we got up this morning, she’s been very good, has ate well and left some messages when we have been out with her! Yesterday evening we went for a slightly longer walk down to the bottom of the village with her, we then sat on our ‘Derby & Joan’ seat by the ‘Mirador’to take in the warm sunshine, the breeze had dropped.

As we set off back up towards Calle Mar we were passing ‘Bar Las Vinas’ and got called in for a drink by Adrian and Rose with ‘Scruffy’- they were sat with Brian & Jan ‘Charlie’s’ mum and dad, he was not with them as he was back at home on some new medication that seems to be helping him – good news! ‘Scruffy’ made a big fuss of us – we ended up having another drink with the folks and then set off slowly back up to our house for our steak supper feeling no pain!

So we are having a nice relaxing day today doing nothing, because we can! At lunchtime we will go up to ‘Bar Rojas’ for a late Paella lunch, see the picture above,sat outside under the Sonbrajo as its going to get rather hot as there is no breeze; little princess ‘Reina’ is being collected later this morning and will be going on honeymoon with Daniela & Lee locally with the family for the week! So “Doggy World Heaven” will be a little quieter next week that is at the moment until some more bookings come calling in!

PS; They have not arrived yet (4-00pm!) - then Lee collected 'Riena' and gave us an update on the two-day wedding 'Bash' 'Reina' is provisionaly booked in for Wednesday and Thursday next week!

For supper this evening we are having ‘Turkey Escalopes’cooked on the griddle and served with savory Basmati Rice with a large sauceboat of a rich and creamy Mushroom sauce on the side. We will then find a film to watch.

Last night we watched the Manchester Utd v Real Madrid game – as Utd won in front off a record USA crowd of 109,318 fans in Michigan 3-1! Later I caught the Liverpool v AC Milan game as the ‘Reds’ won 2-0!! This means that they meet in the final on Monday. Which ‘Reds’ will win?!

Next week at the moment it’s looking rather quiet on the social front and the doggy sitting front also, no doubt it will pick up later; tomorrow morning we are out first thing to go to the surgery to make an appotment with our doctor for Brenda to have a good check up and perhaps an earlier appointment over at the hospital as we don’t think she is improving as quickly as possible and she has some other side effects that are no making her life as easy, she is not a happy bunny at the moment – watch this space.

Then on Tuesday morning we are meeting Claus & Doreen to go over to Estepona – perhaps a little retail therapy will help!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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HOT AND SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND;

FRIDAY 6^th/ JUNE 2014.

After yesterdays adventure today is a bit of an ant-climax to say the least, after our tea and toast I went and collected the car from the underground car park and then picked Brenda up on the way to the local market for our fresh flowers; the weather is warm and sunny at the moment and getting hotter as the day goes on – even more hot over the weekend.

We did our regular shopping in the supermarket and also picked up the papers from the English bookshop as well as exchanging our books for two more ‘Lee Childs’ before shooting back up the hill to un-load at the house, I then with Brenda’s help checked the oil & water in the little ‘Red Limousine’ – it need tender care and attention all the time after its exhaustions yesterday, a bit like a certain ‘Lady in my Life’ only she has wine & water!!

The menus for the weekend are now finalized, so tonight we are having ‘Goujons of Hake Fillet’ made with fresh local Breadcrumbs, I made the Tartar sauce earlier this morning, we are having Mushy Peas and Square-cut twice-cooked Chips and lots of Lemon Wedges on the side, then on Saturday its ‘Steak a la Plancha’ with all the trimmings, we picked it up this morning from the butchers on our walk with the dog, a little treat on Sunday as yesterday at our last port of call in ‘Alhaurin el Grande’ at the ‘Frog & Toad’ the boss is also a butcher so we bought some very nice looking Gammon Steak for a change, we are going to cook it on the griddle then top it with fresh Pineapple and ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs – this morning we bought some different New Potatoes so we will have then with freshly chopped Parsley( by the Parsley Queen!) Garden Peas and of course a bottle of ‘HP Sauce’ on the side!

After supper this evening we will catch up with all the news, sport and weather reports before finding a good film to watch, lately we have not been very lucky! Some strange films out there!!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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MANILVA MID WEEK

WEDNESDAY 24^th/ APRIL 2013

After a good nights sleep I was up and about after a lie in; the back is getting better, the tablets must be working and the nurse’s attention to applying the ointment in the right places helps! We sent a Facebook message early on to Jack over in Melbourne as it’s his birthday today –‘Good-on-ya Jack’!

Brenda went to our butchers and picked up some Pork Chops ( English Style) for tonight’s supper; she then took the dog for a walk around the bottom of the village,tomorror I will hopefully be able to go out with them and at the same time catch up with all the work projects going on. Pictures to follow.

I have finally caught up on the blog as you can see and at the same time checked out the WWW web,E-mails etc.The weather is staying fine, sun with a little cloud around but the temperature will be up to 23degs by Friday. As it is National Book week here in Spain we are back into reading in the afternoon;

Tonight we will watch if we can find it on one of the terrestrial channels the Real Madrid game from Germany, usually on a Wednesday it is only on the Pay-Channels ! If not I can always watch it on-line on the large PC in the office; then we will catch a film later. The late film after the football was a classic drama called"The Statement" from 2003 with Michael Caine playing the part of a French-Nazi collaborator who is helped by the Catholic church and other old French Vichy to hide over 40 years,based on the true story about Paul Touvier;Tilda Swinton and Jeremy Northam are hunting him,Charlotte Rampling is his wife and Allan Bates is mixed up in the cover up! Watch it - it is very good.

PS; Well I ended up in the office after dinner watching the game on the large PC with the Sky Sports Live coverage; Borussia Dortmund 4-1 - the German team have totally outplayed Real Madrid and the Polish striker Peter Lewandowski scored all four with the last one a penalty a master class in how to strike a penalty!!

GERMANY 8 SPAIN 1 OH DEAR!!

Thoughts for the Day;

Health and intellect are two blessings of life. Walking is the best possible exercise.  Health, the greatest of all blessings. It is exercise alone that supports the spirit, and keeps the mind in vigour.

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MANILVA TODAY.

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY 5TH/6TH/7TH OCTOBER 2010.

Well after a “ Helluva “ weekend down here in sunny Manilva it is now very quiet around the house and village; the weather is at this time of the year still hot and sunny but with cooler nights and a little breeze during the day, we spend a lot of our time on the roof terrace and can now go for walks again around the village, Brenda is at this moment on the terrace doing the ironing in her bikini ! On Tuesday we caught up with the chores around the house,washing,mopping.changing beds etc. meanwhile I brought the blog up to date !! Mano and Anna called in to catch up with any news,Mano fixed the TV while he was here, which had gone off and diagnosed that we need a new toilet seat upstairs!! For dinner we had a hot Chicken Curry with Basmati Rice and then settled down to watch the TV.

Yesterday morning, Wednesday I had to go across to Estepona on some business, when I got back the details and tax forms for my pension had arrived in the post; they have been filled in and will go in the post on Friday, we then picked up some Pork Cutlets for dinner which I pan fried in a Lemon Butter sauce, we had with them Llyonaise Potatoes,Galzed Carrots and Spring Greens. On checking the calendar we realized that it is only four weeks until we go across the Guadalmina to look after Clive and Carolyn’s villa for five weeks, from the 3rd of November to the 7th December !We spoke to them last week and are arranging to go across to finalize the details some time in the next couple of weeks.

Today we are having a easy/lazy day at home as the sun is out; tonight we are having Albondigas (Meatballs ) in a Provencale sauce, which I made yesterday, the Pork meatballs are from our local butcher. The picture’s
below show our current flower display outside the front door which all our neighbours always comment on.


Thought for the Day;

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.


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MANILVA.

WEDNESDAY/FRIDAY 8TH./10TH. SEPTEMBER 2010.

After the weekends excitement we have been taking things easy this week; the weather is hot and sunny with a little breeze, “ The Levante ”comes across from Africa and at this time of the year it makes conditions just right. This morning as I am typing this the temperature on the roof terrace is 35degs. – we know this because we have a painter giving the terrace a touch up with white sealant paint, all the local houses at the moment are being painted before the end of the sunny season just in case of another wet winter!

During the week we have caught up with Mano and Anna after all their excitement of having the family with them over the last two weeks; Mano has just fixed a new mirror on the wall in the second guest bedroom,ready for the sisters when they arrive next Wednesday. Brenda is on one of her cleaning mission’s all over the house so I am keeping out of the way !

We have also just started to eat full meals again with vegetables ( Salads are going off the Menu ! ) and Potatoes, this Sunday we are having Roast Chicken with all the trimmings ! Next week as the sisters are here all the old favorites will be on the menu; Chicken Curry, Braised Steak and Onions, Sausages and Mash, Beef and Vegetable Stew ( Scouse ) Pork Cutlets and Llyonaise potatoes and of course Sunday Roasts – Chicken, Pork and Beef and Lamb when we can afford them! All this with Brenda’s large selection of vegetables,Carrots,Green Beans,Cabbage,Cauiflower,Broccoli,Braised Onions, Roast Peppers and anything else she can find, my contribution will be all our old favorite Potato dishes;Boulangere and Chips come into the mind, first !

On Friday morning we went out to do the shopping and stock up for the visit of the Norah and Jenny; over the weekend we are going out on Saturday to a friends BBQ,Brian and his Finnish wife Lilli,live in a large apartment block on the edge of the village, she has a girl friend over from Finland and Brian is great friends with Carlos so it will be a bit of a party especially if Everton beat Manchester Utd. as Brian is a very big Blues supporter, even his dog is named Duncan. after Duncan Ferguson his Everton hero !

Of course I will be watching the Tour of Spain, the coverage is excellent from TV1/2 It’s the first time I have seen it and as it goes to places that you know it makes it more interesting, also our English rider ( A Manx Man from Liverpool ! ) Mark Cavendish is up for a hatrick of sprint wins today! Watch this space, also I will post a picture of Brenda this evening as she has had more blond color on her hair after we went across to Vidal and Gissy on Wednesday.

Thought for the Day;

Inside every old person is a young person wondering what the heck happened.


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MANILVA TODAY.

MONDAY 3RD.MAY 2010.

At the start of last week we had a couple of days at home catching up with all the chores;Brenda is still in her cleaning and washing mode of everything and has just finished on the outside of the windows,no stepladders needed as she goes out on the balconies !! Meanwhile I caught up on the blog and sent some e-mails and updated our Facebook page as well as our Twitter contents.

On Wednesday we went out once again to try and catch the bus,this time at 11-ooam; success,it arrived and we went down to Sabinillas to pick up some essentials from the supermarket and then raced back across the road and caught the same bus back up the hill ! We then called into the cultural department in the old town hall in the main street of the village and a very helpfull lady called a person in the main town hall and they sent across by e-mail the new timetable which she printed out for us,success !


Thursday was a day to remember;as I went to turn on our large PC the screen did not come on,I tried many times and then realised that " Houston we have a problem " !! I called Andy our friend who is very computer literate and he came round and collected it,later he rang to say that the screen was finished and we needed a new one,everything else was ok.

On Friday morning we went to our bank in Estepona and on the way back picked up the weekend shopping; Andy came round in the early afternoon and 7 hours later was still here! He had loaded on to his memory stick all the Favorites and so he set about checking and cleaning up this PC and at the same time he installed and updated all the anti virus programmes before he then installed them,next he down loaded a system to be able to install some new programmes that were needed including Microsoft Office Word 7 for free ! Next he found the German web site that sells screens and soon found the one that we needed as I had kept all the Dell specifications when I ordered it,we then placed the order and with the usual German proficiency the order confirmation and the the Fedex tracking details arrived later in the evening by e-mail! Next he then updated all the other essential sites that I use including the Skype video and my new Life cam as well as resetting the memory for more power.
Andy you are a star and thank you for your time and attention !

.

CASA OLIMPIA.

Tuesday/Wednesday 25th/26th.August 2009.

Tuesday 25th.

After the excitement of yesterday we had a little lie in and then went down to Tarifa to stock up the store cupboard; Joan is looking a little better and the dogs and cats have settled back into a routine. The excitement of having the family here has got to Joan but she has now got her appetite back and at the same time is taking thing a little easier. The weather at the moment here in Tarifa is warm with a steady breeze but as soon as you go back along the coast towards Manilva the temperature goes up by 4/5degs.Mano and Juan called in and finished clearing all the waste and rubbish and at the same time did the work on the snag list. The pool is starting to work and the chemicals are taking effect so we are planning to use it every evening as the sun moves around. In the evening we had Omelette for supper and Joan had some Chicken casserole, it had just come out of the oven and is the dog’s favourite food, which I make especially for them,we told Joan that she is not to tell the family that we are feeding her dog food!

Wednesday 26th.

We spent the day at the villa sorting out the washing and ironing ( Brenda ) and I used the newly found jet wash to clean the drive, cars and the steps down to the pool; For lunch we had fresh Gambas and in the evening Lamb chops Boulangere.We are also now able to watch the TV again and catch up with the live sports and the programmes that we like to follow; Brenda has spoken to her younger sister Jenny,who lost her husband a couple of months ago,as we are trying to arrange for her to come over in October for a holiday and at the end of September Ben and his partner Andrea, who is our dear friend Carol son,we can’t believe it is nearly a year since she died, is coming over with his new baby daughter Freya and is staying on a complex just past Marbella. We also spoke to Tim in Colwyn Bay and caught up with all his news, Jo his daughter got her A level results at the end of last week and along with the four attained and her eight GSC,s she is taking a gap year out before going to university in London-well done Jo!

MANILVA.

Monday/Thursday 13th/16th April.

Monday 13th.

After the night before we had a little lie in and then got to work on settling back into life in Manilva,Brenda set the washing machine off on its now sixth wash! and I caught up with all the news on the blog after the power cut.In the evening Mano and Anna joined us for dinner as we caught up with more gossip from around the village and we had a lovely Roast Rib of Beef with lots of vegetable and Roast Potatoes all washed down with a fine Rioja.

Tuesday 14th.

In the morning we shot across to Estepona to the bank then called in and arranged our advert in the paper before we called into see Carolyn and Clive to arrange to look after their villa with the two dogs and two cats as well as the fish later in the week,we are staying in an apartment a few minutes away as the builders have now moved in to update the villa.
The weather at the moment is changeable with sun,wind and clouds which is good drying weather but not good for taking pictures,as you can see below;the local town councillors are watching a new cleaning machine washing the crossing at the top of our street,later we went for a walk around the village and took the pictures of the new plaza and fountains by the church. For supper we had Pork Cutlets and Chips and then watched the local Manilva TV station to catch up with the local news.

Wednesday 15th.

In the morning I shot down to the Hypermarket to top up with some essentials and ended up buying some fresh fish at the same time so we decided to make a fish pie for dinner and asked the whole Guerrero family to join us; Mano,Anna,Carlos,Ana Mari and Fabio ! The pie was made with Salmon,Cod,Halibut,Swordfish,Monkfish, Crab and Smoked Salmon together with Diced Carrots,Onions,Celery,Leeks and Mushrooms cooked in White Wine and coated with a Fish Béchamel and topped with Brenda’s famous mashed potatoes and served with Garden Peas,Broccoli and Cauliflower.Later we had a game of hide and seek with Fabio who ended up hiding in our Washing Basket!

Thursday 16th.

Today we went across to see Vidal and Gissy on the other side of Estepona in the beach side apartment that they have moved in to and Gissy cut and styled Brenda’s hair and mine out on the balcony overlooking the sea as you just about make out in the cloudy haze! Tonight we are packing as we have to be across in Guadalmina Alta early in the morning to take Carolyn to the airport.

GUADALMINA ALTA UPDATE.

Monday 2nd February.

After the night before we got up early to sort out the house; I went outside and rechecked all the drains and the boiler house to make sure that it was ok,the house was warm and also the water for a shower later.When Merly,the cleaner, arrived she helped us to clean up as I had checked all the fuses and we were now back to full power and light! We then discovered that the downstairs flat under the patio had also flooded so with Merly and the old gardener,Barthelemo, who had arrived on the scene we cleaned up the flood.Then we attacked the garage which had been flooded again during the night;Barthelemo has cleared a trench along the front of the doors hopefully to take anymore rain away and Francesca,Miguel the gardeners mother,appeared and also helped us to brush away the water,we found out from them that Miguel is not well with Kidney stones.This is the family that originally owned the old Casa Abuelo so they know their way around! During all this time the two dogs have been running round in circles in the large grounds having a great time chasing cats and empty plastic bottles!We are now waiting for the gas tanker to arrive to top up the gas tank in the garden which Carolyn had organized before she went away.More rain is also forecast but no snow!
PS; The fish have just come out in the pond from under the fountain so I was able to feed them.