A VERY PLEASANT WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 16^th/ OCTOBER 2019.

Just a little lie in this morning despite not having any dogs with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ As we were freshening up, sadly with no water, it had gone off over night ( now back on!) – we were listening to the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show’ on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW “ as the weekly ‘ Music Quiz’ came on again, a seven second ‘opening-riff’  - this time with cryptic clues, I got it correct this time, it was ‘America’ with  “ A Horse With No Name “ – so I’m back in the Friday draw, again! Watch this space.

We then had our regular light breakfast of ‘ Weetabix’ with sliced Banana, in cold milk for me, brown toast for Brenda, with mugs of tea, as we were expecting ‘Lolo’ to arrive earlier, the folks made contact last night, and asked if they could drop him off at 10 -00 am, he’s with us until Monday evening, he’s settled in and is at my feet as I’m typing/posting today’s Blog.   

Yesterday when we were at ‘ Bar Castillo ‘ I asked Juan if he could chase up ‘ Juan Diaz’ the electrician, he rang him and he came along straight away, so this morning he arrived, as arranged, on time, at 10-00 am also!

He has checked out all the fuses/wiring on the main board, with the ‘ tester’ - then removed the oven from it’s mountings and checked the wiring/connections behind, it is now working, again – ‘ Fingers Crossed ‘   “ RESULT “  Watch this space.

This morning the sun was out early and the sky is already bright blue and cloudless, there is a very slight breeze, so it’s very pleasant and warm, down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol ‘ – by this afternoon, again, it’s due to reach 23 degs+ - the rest of the week is staying the same, reaching 26 degs+ by Friday, over the weekend dropping back down to 22 degs, overnight it’s now down to 14/15 degs - so the first  top sheet has gone on the bed, next week is now looking dry & settled, with a few patchy clouds hanging around, at times, hovering in the low 20s – a little cooler than this week, as the breeze picks back up, watch this space.

PS; The picture was taken by ' Big Brian' this morning from his bedroom window at the ' Manilva Green Aparthotel ' ! 

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Pan-Seared’ Lambs Liver’ – lightly dusted in second flour, then ‘Flash Cooked’ on a very hot griddle-plate, accompanied with ‘ Grilled English Pork Sausages ‘ – which the ‘ Second Chef’ is cooking at the moment, along with crispy Smoked English Back Bacon & seared local Tomato, served with glazed Carrot Batons & whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans along with Parsley New Potatoes and a sauceboat of a rich ‘Red Wine Onion Salsa’!

Yesterday evening as we were preparing our supper little ‘ Miss Bella’ sat on Brenda’s chair, waiting patiently for hers ! As you can see below!!

Tomorrow evening it’s now going to be ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings ‘ with Baked Potatoes, as usual on Friday a ‘ Fish n’ Chip Supper’ – Saturday will be the ‘ Steak Night ‘ and then on Sunday our first ‘ Roast of the Day ‘ ( TBC)  hopefully! Watch this space.

After supper we watched the second episode of “ Dublin Murders “ as the story started to unfold, I won’t give it away, watch it to find out Whodunnitt’ ?! This afternoon/evening we will be  catching up with all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow, that is if the ‘IPTV’ system is working, as at the moment its off again?!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...

A NOW WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 13^th/ OCTOBER 2019.

We had a nice lie in this morning as the village is even quieter than normal on a Sunday, as it’s a ‘ Bank Holiday ‘ weekend here in Spain, after freshening up we had our breakfast, as I was on the breakfast rota I had my favourite ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty’ – smothered in ‘ HP’ Brown sauce, open on brown for Brenda, with some sliced Button Mushrooms, sautéed in the bacon juices with a little knob of butter, some of which ended up in my butty! Not forgetting the mugs of strong/hot ‘PG’ Tips Tea!!

‘Winnie’ slept all night on our bed, Brenda then took her out for her first walk of the day, after our breakfast, she is due to be picked up tomorrow lunchtime – then it’s ‘Au Revoir’ – as she flies to Dubai, via the UK, to her new home with her family, she is real character and great company, everybody that meets her, loves her!  First thing on Monday morning, little ‘ Miss Bella’ is due to arrive, as well as on Tuesday morning, then on Wednesday evening ‘ Lola’ is back with us for a week’s holiday, a busy week here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ Watch this space.

Yesterday evening we had a nice surprise visitor, our dear friend ‘ Big Brian’ called in, he’s off work( Gibraltar) over the weekend, he’s at the moment staying at the ‘ Manilva Green Aparthote’ until he finds somewhere more permanent to stay, he stayed for a nice drink and soon made friends with ‘Winnie’ – we asked him to stay for supper, so I found another ‘Steak’ and we had a nice ‘Steak & Frits’ supper with all the trimmings, as we caught up with all his news.

At lunchtime we went for a walk with ' Winnie' and bumped into Brian and his good friend Steve, sat outside ' Bar Castillo' having a Tapas' lunch, we have know Steve since we first arrived down here, so we joined them for a nice cool drink and a good old catch up, in the fresh, warm sunshine, then our friend Josie came along, so she joined us at the same table, we all had some light ' Tapas' and more drinks, as we sorted the ' World' out!  'Thanks' Steve for the lunch !! 


See below;

Next week, on Tuesday lunchtime we are going along to ‘ Bar Castillo’ as we have been invited, by Josie, our old friend, to a ‘Wake’ in remembrance of her late husband Dennis, who died a year ago, to the date. On Friday morning I will be out on my travels, along to the new ‘ Mercadona’ just before Estepona, for our weekly shopping, before coming back to Sabinillas. Watch this space.

Today has started a little grey & overcast, like yesterday, there is a very light breeze and the sun is attempting to break through, there are few clouds in the sky, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 24 degs+ - next week is now looking, except on Monday, when we could have light showers of ‘ Rain’! – dry, settled, with sunshine and patchy clouds, at times, with just a light breeze, hovering in the low 20s ( 22 degs+)  - overnight back down to 15/16 degs, about normal for the time of the year, watch this space.

Over in Liverpool this weekend, there were two cruise liners visiting the City, the ‘Black Watch’ on a return visit, seen from ‘ A Ferry Across the Mersey’ and then heading off up the River Mersey to Gibraltar! Then on a misty dusk, the ‘ Magellan’ arriving to berth at the Pier Head!

See below;

This evening for our supper Brenda is having one of her favourite dishes, ‘ A Confit of Duck Leg ‘ while I’m having an aged ‘ Sirloin Steak’( sweet fat)  with all the trimmings, served with Broccoli Florets & whole Baby ‘ French’ Green Beans and for a change, par-boiled Baby New Potatoes, tossed in foaming ‘Parley Butter’ - until crisp & brown all over “ Pommes de Terre Rissolees “  

This afternoon/evening we will be catching up with all the sport, especially over in Japan, which has been hit by the worst typhoon in many years, at the ‘Rugby World Cup & Grand Prix’ – as well as all the other sports results, then later setting down after supper to find something to watch.

PS; I have just got this week's ' Movie Quiz ' correct, it was " Gone With the Wind " with ' Rand Brooks ' !  I'm in the monthly draw, again for a mug, a t-shirt or baseball cap!! 

Thoughts for the Day; See above:

...

A ' CRISP' & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY..

TUESDAY 19^th/ FEBRUARY 2019.

We had a nice lie in this morning as the village, as usual, was very quiet, no deliveries, no traffic down our street and no children, the local neighbours were also very quiet! After freshening up we had our regular toast & tea before getting another day on the go.

Brenda is pottering about and I shot down to Sabinillas to our Bank to finalize a banking arrangement, on the way back up the far hill, past the Senior School, I stopped at Pedro’s (Tony’s) Garage to pick up some car documents, pay the bill and arrange for another day/week, the final work on the car, which is needed.  This afternoon I’m back down to Sabinillas to go to the main ‘ Medical Centre’ for my appointment with the ‘Practise Nurse’ for my monthly ‘ V12’ injection.

Then first thing tomorrow morning I’m out again to go to the ‘Office’  in Sabinillas, to re-new my ‘ Spanish Driving Licence’  On Thursday morning Brenda has just booked an appointment with her Hairdresser, Anna, for the ‘ full-works’ -  she’s going to catch the bus down, finally on Friday morning I will be back out on my travels for the weekly shopping, youv’e guessed, back down in Sabinillas! Watch this space.

PS; At lunchtime I had a phone call from the ' Estepona Hospital ' giving me an appointment for tomorrow morning at 10-00 am at the ' Physiotherapy ' Department - for my problem left-hand! I'm going to try this evening to put back my 'Driving Licence' appointment, watch this space.

We have another beautiful day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol ‘ – the sky is clearing, the sun broke through earlier and there is just a slight breeze, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 16 degs+ - overnight it’s hovering on the 11 degs mark, the rest of the week and over the coming weekend is now looking more settled, with more sunshine, patchy clouds at times but the threat of the ‘ wet-stuff’ is going away, the breeze is also staying moderate to slight, by Sunday it’s going to back to 20 degs+ - next week is now looking similar, staying dry & sunny with patchy clouds, hovering in the mid/high ‘ teens’ Watch this space.

We had a nice update/new message from Sandra & Bill over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, on the ‘ Facebook Messenger’  - it was a ‘ Family Day’ – a ‘ Bank Holiday’ over there, it’s still ‘ chilly’ – but spring/summer is just around the corner, the folks are going to ‘Big RV’ show in Toronto next weekend, on April 1^st they have booked a little overnight getaway to the ‘ Niagara on the Lake Resort’ as it’s their anniversary of their first ‘ Dinner Date’! We have also arranged our next ‘ Skype’ video link up, for the second Sunday in March, at the usual time, Watch this space.

At lunchtime we went for a short walk and ended up at ' Bar 'Castillo' sat outside in the warm sunshine, for a nice cool drink and some of Juan's excellent 'Tapas' 

On the Menu front we are taking things one day at the time, this evening it’s going to be ‘ Pan Seared Lambs Liver’ with ‘ Crispy Smoked Bacon’ – garnished with seared Button Mushrooms, with a ‘Salsa’ of a rich Onion Gravy, with finely sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans and Parsley New Potatoes.

We have been watching the new James Martin programme “ Great British Adventure’ – in the early afternoon, as he travels around the UK, he reached Lancashire yesterday and made his version of the classic “ Lancashire Hotpot “ – using diced Shoulder of Lamb & Kidneys, not browned-off, with just sautéed Onions and lots of Worcestershire Sauce, the layer of sliced Potato topped off, after the stew was cooked, to brown off! Today he’s in North Wales and calls in to the grand  ‘ Pale Hall’ outside Bala, one of our old stopping grounds, for ‘Welsh Lamb ‘!

Last night we watched the last episode of the current series of Cold Feet’ as it closed with all the same characters coming together, two of them ‘Literally’ This evening we will channel hop to find a good film to watch after catching the second episode of ' Shetland' 

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...

A ' CRISP' & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 10^th/ FEBRUARY 2018.

We all had a little lie in this morning, both the dogs, ‘Scruffy & Chico’ slept all night in their beds, after playing ‘ musical-chairs’ as they were going to bed, going from one bed to the others, no freshen up this morning as there is no water and the electricity is off in parts of the village, then water substation had a problem, as the pumping equipment blew  and has taken out the electricity substation, they are working to fix things at the moment, watch this space.

PS; Both back on, at mid-day!!

We then took both of the dogs for their first walk of the day around the bottom of the village, when we returned Brenda did our breakfast, ‘ Campo Poached Eggs on Toast ‘ ( see below!) with a ‘Campo Boiled Egg’ with Brown Toast fingers for herself, with mugs of strong, hot tea!

The sun is out already this morning and the sky is clearing and going bright blue, there is a slight breeze and it’s not as cold as yesterday, in fact in the sunshine it’s warm, by lunchtime it will be hovering on the 16/17 degs+ Tomorrow we are in for more of the same and then next week things are getting back to normal, for the time of the year, no rain on the forecast with clear skies and sunshine, going up to 18 degs+ later in the week, the overnight temperatures are also picking up, a little, hovering on the 8/9 degs mark, watch this space.

See below some pictures of the historic buildings of Liverpool, taken last night, having ‘gone red’ in time for the “ Chinese New Year “ celebrations next Friday 16^th January – the ‘Year of the Dog ‘!

At lunchtime, after our walk with the dogs, we ended up.again back at  'Bar Rojas ' sat in the very hot sunshine, for a nice cool drink and some of the good 'Tapas'

A busy weekend of sport with all the coverage of the ‘Winter Olympics ‘ from Pyeongchang, on the main UK Channels; meanwhile in the ‘ Premier League’ Everton welcome Crystal Palace and Manchester City welcome Leicester City, on Sunday Liverpool have the long journey down to play Southampton, over here in ‘ La Liga’ Real Madrid are at home to Real Sociedad & Barcelona welcome lowly Getafe.

This afternoon we will be watching the ‘ Six Nations Rugby Union ‘ as Ireland welcome Italy and then England welcome Wales in the ‘Game of the Day ‘ – earlier in the afternoon we will follow the ‘ National Hunt Racing ‘ from Newbury.

For our supper this evening we are having two very large ‘ Rib-Eye Steaks’ from the ‘ English Butchers’ in Puerto de la Duquesa, grilled on a very hot griddle-plate, after seasoning them with Sea Salt & Crushed Black Peppercorns, until they are ‘ Med-Rare’ ( see below !) – then left to rest, before topping them with ‘Rondles’ of the classic, chilled  “ Maitre d’Hotel Butter “ ( Chopped Parsley & Lemon Juice mixed in unsalted Butter) – garnished with seared Asparagus Spears, Button Mushrooms and deep-fried Onion Rings ( Flour & Milk) with Whole French Green Beans, not forgetting the ‘ Dijon Mustard & the classic ‘ Bearnaise Sauce ‘!

After supper we will channel hop and later catch over on ‘BBC Four’ the new series of the Swedish crime drama “ Modus “ – that we have not seen before.

Back

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...