A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY BEFORE THE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND;

THURSDAY 5^th / JANUARY 2017.

I was up early and shot out on my travels down to Sabinillas through the vine fields as the ‘Red Sun’ was coming up over the Mediterranean, just a quick top-up shop this week, ‘Mercadona ‘ first, then the ‘English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers ( not all arrived!) and finally into ‘ Super Sol’ for the English essentials. No local market this week due to the ‘Bank Holiday’ tomorrow, so no fresh flowers. After unpacking back at the house I went along to the ‘ Tabacs’ to top up my mobile phone.

Meanwhile back at the house Brenda saw ‘Reina’ back with us for the day, I had taken ‘ Charlie ‘ for his first walk of the day before I left, ‘Chispa’ has been in & out all the time, ‘Reina’ is back with us tomorrow, it’s also ‘ Charlie’s’ last day, he’s being picked up during the day, we are going to miss him terribly, he’s so good company, a real character to have around, no problem to look after and gets on with all the other dogs. On Saturday morning we have a new dog coming along to ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ for a couple of hours to see how he settles in, a older ‘ Jack Russell’ – watch this space.

We have another glorious day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol ‘ – the sun was out early, the sky is bright blue, there is no breeze and by lunchtime it will be warm & sunny, more of the same over the weekend and next week is starting to look dry & settled, watch this space.

At lunchtime we met Mano up a 'Bar Castillo' and he went through all the paperwork on the missing 'Green Health Card' - the ' Junta d' Andalucia ' has issued the new one and it's in the post, I had called into our local sub-post office this morning and let them know that we are expecting it, the postman knows us and will watch out for it, meanwhile if Brenda needs one of her prescriptions we have arranged with Miguel, the Chemist, a way to obtain them, watch this space!

This evening it’s the “ Three Kings Parade “ along Calle Mar, Michelle and the ‘gang’ are coming up to join in the celebrations, yesterday they went into Gibraltar for the day, tomorrow evening we are planning to go out with them to a restaurant for supper before they fly back on Sunday evening, their hire car is being collected on Saturday morning from the apartment.

They are on the way!

This evening we will have a pan of ‘ Lob Scouse’ on the stove with Cabbage with Acelgas & Pickled Red Beetroot, ready for supper, after the festivities, then on Friday we are out with the folks ( Fish Supper?) and Saturday is still TBC, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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MANILVA/ CASTILLO DE LA DUQUESA.

MANILVA THIS WEEK.

SUNDAY/THURSDAY 25^th/29^th SEPTEMBER 2011.

We had a lie in on Sunday morning after a great day on Saturday; the weather forecast for the week ahead is good, warm and sunny with a light breeze. We popped a Chicken in the oven to roast and Brenda got all the usual vegetables ready for supper, the rest of the Chicken was for a light supper on Monday and sandwiches on Tuesday lunchtime! The rest of the day we had a nice leisurely time taking it easy, reading a little and on the roof terrace in the early evening before our dinner and then watched a film on the TV.

On Monday Brenda finished off getting ready for the girls arrival on Tuesday morning; the car rental people rang and said that they would drop off the car later in the afternoon, for free, so we went out for a drive round and ended up in Sotogrande Marina as you can see on the pictures below. Before we went out I made the filling for a Beef and Mushroom Pie for Tuesday evening’s dinner to welcome Norah and Jenny.

We shot over to Gibraltar to pick up the girls on Tuesday morning and on the way back called into the ‘ Roman Oasis ’ for a glass of chilled Champagne and Smoked Salmon canapés to start their holiday in the right fashion ! The pictures below shows them as then came across the border and in the ‘Roman Oasis’ we then came back to the house and had Chicken/Mayo sandwiches before a little siesta. In the evening I finished the Beef and Mushroom Pie with short pastry top and Brenda made some of her famous mashed potato and Cabbage with Alselgas before Brenda and the girls settled down to have a good chinwag!

Wednesday morning after a light tea, toast and fresh Orange juice breakfast we set off to Estepona; they had a good look around the shops and went for a walk along the front and dipped their toes in the sea as I sat and read an English paper. We had a light salad snack lunch; well I had Albondigas with a fried egg and frits, in a café next to the square and then had a nice drive home in the warm sunshine. In the evening we had Pork Cutlets pan fried in Lemon butter with Lyonnaise Potatoes and Baby Carrots and Green Beans before we settled down to watch a film.

The sisters were up bright and breezy on Thursday morning and after breakfast caught the bus down to Sabinillas and came back later in the morning to change and freshen up before we went out for lunch; it gave us a chance to catch up with things around the house and get ourselves ready at the same time. We then went up to ‘ Venta Garcia ’for my birthday treat lunch ! We had the best table in the restaurant over looking the valley back down to the coast, we soon had a nice bottle of Sparkling Pinot Noir Cava opened as we ordered from the three course ‘ Del Dia ’menu, Brenda had a Smoked Salmon salad and Norah had a Cream of vegetable soup followed by Confit of Duck and grilled Sole, Jenny and I ordered the Roast Lamb from the A la Carte menu which was out of this world, it was a whole Leg of Baby Lamb for each of us that had been cooked to order and fell off the bone and came with fresh baby Vegetables and Boulangere Potatoes and lots of Mint Sauce ! Everything was up to their usual standard and they looked after us very well as the restaurant was very busy, for dessert the girls had sorbets and I had the Sticky Toffee Pudding of the Del Dian menu ! I round of complementary drinks then came from the management for my birthday to finish off another memorable meal at the Venta – the pictures below show the sisters before and after the meal.

Thought for the Day;

If you can spend a perfectly useless aftertnoon,in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned to live.

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MANILVA NEWSFLASH.

MONDAY/TUESDAY 18^TH/19^TH APRIL 2011.

Well after the weekend we had a little lie in on Monday morning; we then had an at home day catching up with the chores around the house, meanwhile I caught up with the WWW. ! We had Cheta up in the house as she can’t run around outside as she is attracting all the boy dogs at the moment! In the evening we had Steak and Chips for dinner, we missed them on Saturday as we were out playing! We then settled down to watch a film on TV. The weather forecast for this week is not too good; this is typical of Semana Santa week – it always rains! and I’m sorry to say that it has just started, also whenever it’s nice over in the UK we get the tail end off the nasty stuff.

This morning after a tea and toast we went out with Cheta for walk around the village, there are starting to be some glum faces as they can’t hold the parades if it is raining, yesterday in Savilla the main parade was cancelled at the last moment and they were all in tears ! Late this afternoon I had a call from Clive over in Guadalmina asking us if we could go over and look after the villa for a week as they have an emergency in their family, Caroline is already over in England and he wants to go for a week; so we have had to suddenly get Tim and Thea’s room ready and tidy up around the house as we won’t have much time when we get back next Wednesday, they arrive on the Friday of the Royal Wedding for their “ State Visit ” Tonight we are having a Chicken Fricassee with rice for supper and then we starting to pack.

Thought for the Day;

Show me what a man envies the most in others and I will show you what he has got the most of himself.

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MANILVA THIS WEEK - SO FAR.

MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY 25TH/26TH/27TH 28TH OCTOBER 2010.


All this week the weather has been beautiful so we have been walking Cheta in the morning around the village; on Monday we had a quiet day at home catching up with things and taking it easy, in the evening we had cold Pork with then leftovers for supper.

On Tuesday as we came back from our walk Mano and Anna were outside Bar Rojas so we joined them for a quick one, then Carlos came along and shortly after Brian so it developed into a little session including plates of Lumy’s famous Patatas Fritas !In the afternoon the Blood Donation coach was outside the Town Hall and I tried again to give blood, but with no joy once again – it’s a technical thing to do with how many years you have been resident in Spain so next year I should be OK! See the picture below. While we were out we picked up a Chicken breast for dinner which I flattened and pan fried in foaming Balsamic butter with a baked potato on the side.

Wednesday was another glorious day down her on the Coasta Del Sol not like the rest of Spain which has high winds ,rain and snow ! Mano and Anna called in but there is still no definite news about them going away this weekend – Hasta Manana! In the evening for dinner we had Pork Cutlets in a Lemon butter sauce with Cabbage and Llyonaisse potatoes and then settled down to watch the TV after I had taken the rubbish up to the bins in Calle Mar; Brian and Liili where sat outside having supper and all ready on their third bottle of White wine as they celebrated getting engaged seven years ago – any excuse ! So we ended up having a couple of night caps with them,we then came back to the house and for the final one we made “ Caipirinha’s ”with a rather special bottle of high proof Cachaca, this time I used sugar !! They went off down the street feeling no pain, this morning they are both complaining; Brian has just called in to collect a bag of very large Mango’s that he left behind last night and Lilli has misplaced her purse and has not found it yet. PS; She has just rung to say that she has found it !!

This morning I’ve made a Chicken Curry for supper tonight, just as I finished Mano and Anna called in to update us on their news – which is still the same – they don’t know! Whilst he was here he fixed the new toilet seat upstairs. Tonight we are having a night in and watching the TV – promise !!

Thought for the Day;

It’s a great ability to be able to conceal one’s ability.


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MANILVA LIFE IN THE SUMMER.

WEDNESDAY 21ST JULY 2010.

This week we are now in our full summer mode; fresh Orange juice and toast for breakfast, light salad at lunchtime and in the evening this week we have had so far, Pan Fried Chicken Breast in Balsalmic,Minute steak smeared with Mustard, Pork Cutlets in foaming lemon butter and tomorrow Pork and Chicken burgers that we have just picked up from our local butcher, as he was making them, with sauté Onions; Brenda makes a salad selection which we put together with all sorts of different dressing’s and Baked potatoes. During the day we stick to our routine and now in the evening after supper we go for a walk around the village, stopping by the fountain in the square by the church and by the new water feature at the top of Calle Mar before we drop in Bar Rojas,last evening we sat talking to Lumy under the new Sonbrajo which is now fully lit with lanterns; On Thursday evening there is another free concert on the terrace, this time we think that it is classical music and on Friday it is the Brass Band contest in the centre of the village, both start at about 10-30pm as the cooler night air takes effect.

On Monday it is holiday in the village for the “ Verbena Santa Ana de Manilva ” This is one of the main procession days when accompanied by the town Brass Band they parade around the village streets with the tableau which are decorated with flowers, this happens during the morning and in the evening and is a very happy and colour full time. Watch out for the reports and pictures over the weekend and on Monday.

Thought for the Day;

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a Mosquito.

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MANILVA NEWS SPORTS NEWS AND SCREEN UPDATE.

MONDAY/SUNDAY 10TH/16THMAY 2010.

On Monday and Tuesday we took it easy and spent some time catching up with some jobs around the house;the weather is getting better every day and we are going for our walk around the village at lunchtime when it is very tranquil.
I made a Chicken curry for dinner on Wednesday evening and Mano and Anna came round and joined us as Anna was flying off to England on Thursday morning with Carlos and Anna Mari to go to the wedding in North Wales on Saturday;SallyAnn was also flying in on the same day.They flew to Liverpool amd SallyAnn was landing at Manchester.
Thursday was a relaxing at home day with Brenda on the roof terrace reading as I caught up with the e-mails.

We went out on Friday morning and did the shopping for the weekend; in the evening Mano came round for supper before he went into work, we had Pan Fried Salmon fillets on a bed of Spinach with Asparagus and Saffron New potatoes along with Broccoli florets.
Saturday was another glorious day so we walked down to the football stadium and watched the seven a side football with the local teams as usual playing with lots of commitment;on the way back we bumped into Mano in Bar Rojas were he had just won the jackpot on the fruit machine, he had also been in the next door Bar and had won the jackpot there as well ! He does this all the time in the various bars around the village,he plays the machine after sombody else has had no luck and spent all their money ! Needless to say we stopped and had a few celebratey drinks on him! In the evening we had Steak and frits for dinner and Mano called in on his way to work and picked up his lunch box ! ie;A toasted steak sandwich with all the trimming to keep him going during the night !! He also dropped off a litre bottle of Bacardi for the drinks cabinet.

We had planned to have Roast Leg of Lamb for dinner,which Mano had dropped off on Saturday evening,but the day and the weather took over; we had a walk and stopped at Bar Rojas,it was such a lovely day we sat outside and had a Tapas lunch and watched the Monaco Grand Prix on the large screen; at this time of the year the reception on the local TVs is not too good,Webber won but the drive of the day was by Fernando Alonso,he started at the back off the grid in 24th position but ended up 6th despite Micheal Schumacher on the last lap making a illegal move on the final corner ! Later in the afternoon we watched the tennis,Rafael Nadel beat Roger Federer in the Madrid Open and the Queen presentented the trophy. Meanwhile over in Barbados England won the cricket World Twenty20 final against the arch enemy Australia ! Sorry to all the family over there !!
In the early evening we had a snack before we went out to watch the football at Mano's on his large screen, the same problem hit us again,bad reception, so we ended up just before the sun set by going for a drink at the Casares Golf Club,Mano and his friend Juan had played a round in the morning and had a very good lunch of Goujons of Rosado,the place is in a spectacular position in the next valley but one from Manilva and the club house and restaurant are furnished in a comtemporary style,the menu is excellent and good value and we will go there in the not too distant future. We watched the end of the football in the club TV lounge;Barcelona won the La Liga League title for the second successive year when they beat Vallodolid 4 - nil. Messi scored two and this brought his goals in the league to 34 ! Barcelona lost only one game in 38 league matches and beat Real Madrid at home and away ! The other big match was at Malaga who were playing Real Madrid,the score was 1 -1 and the goalkeeper for Malaga played a blinder,it ment that Barcelona won the title by three points but at the same time Malaga were not relagated as they had got the draw and some other scores went their way ! When we got back into the village the Barcelona side of Manilva was going mad along with the Malaga supporter's and the car horns were going all night !

Now the bad news,Carlos and Anna Mari's flight was cancelled from Liverpool,Sally Ann's back to Tenerife suffered the same fate and it looks like Anna's flight on Monday from Liverpool is going the same way, all due to the Ash cloud problem ! Watch this space.

PS; It is looking like Anna's flight might get away but still no news on the others.
PPS; Anna has arrived home this evening,Carlos and Anna Mari can't get a flight untill Wednesday and it turns out that Sally Ann didn't even make it to England as her flight was cancelled at the very last minute as she arrived at the airport in Tenerife !

NEWSFLASH;
The Ash cloud that never was ; Airport chaos for 50,ooo was caused by an inaccurate Met Office forecast - they took fresh soundings and sent up a plane to check,they found there was no such Ash,their assessment was flawed !!!

The news on the screen is ongoing; I have sent e -mails and have been on the Skype phone to Vancouver over the last week and this week have received the forms and details to post the wrong screen back,it is all very complicated and it took us a few days to get everything right,this morning we went down to the main post office in Sabilillas and with Mano's help to make sure that we posted it back in the way that was detailed it has gone off to Vancouver;now we have to wait to see if this time we get the right one and that they reimburse the postage ! Watch this space.

PS; I 've just had an e - mail from Vancouver after I sent them the confimation and tracking details of the package and it looks like they are responding,they have sent me details to track the package sent by them for the replacement screen ! Today !!

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SPORTS NEWS FLASH .DERBY MATCH RESULT.

Sunday 1st March.

I’ve just received a phone call from our local sports reporter in Manilva,Manuel Guerrero Ruiz giving me the details and result of the Derby match,played this afternoon between Manilva and Casares;Manilva scored in the 4th minute of extra time to record a historic 1-0 win over their local opponents with our number 14,Seba scoring the winning goal! A full report of the match together with list of players on both teams will be posted later next week.Both teams where with out some of their star players ,due to sickness so some of the Cadet players stepped in at the last moment as replacements.

MANILVA.

Monday 25th. August.

We had a quiet day at home and caught up with the chore’s around the house in the morning as it is very hot and humid during the day.At lunchtime we walked to the butchers and picked up some Pork cutlets for supper as we now shop daily in the village using all the local ingredients; we have just been given a large box of Manilva grapes freshly picked this morning,they are very sweet as the local wine is made from the grapes as they dry out and look like Raisins,the “ Noble Rot” makes the wine more like a cross between Sherry and Maderia and comes in three varieties,Dry,Medium and Sweet.During the next three weekends there is something happening in the village,this Friday it is the Brass Band Competition in the main street,then the following weekend it’s the Grape Festival outside the Town Hall at the top of our street and then the next weekend there is a Cultural Festival with music,singing,dancing and drinking! Watch out for the reports and pictures as it happens from your correspondent in Manilva- Me!