A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 9^th / JUNE 2016.

We were up early again this morning as ‘ Scruffy’ stayed with us for a sleep over, he’s such a lovely dog to have with us here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ He’s no problem to look after, very good company and such a gentle character, we love him, after ‘Reina’ arrived for the day we took him for his first walk of the day, he was then collected by Rose, both the dogs get on very well and ‘ Chispa’ is also very friendly with them, she came calling a little later!

The forecast for the weekend has changed a little, its still warm & sunny but a little cooler as there is now a large Atlantic front coming in across Northern Spain, today in places down here in Andalucia its going to be 40 degs! – so we can’t complain when it goes a little cooler!!

At lunchtime we are going up to ‘ Bar Castillo’ for a light Tapas lunch and a cool drink sat under the umbrellas watching the world go by, tomorrow there is a new ‘ Ice Cream Parlour’ opening in front of the Town Hall ( ex Hairdressers! )  - its been set up by Juan’s daughter from Bar Castillo, Anna, so no doubt we will give it a try over the weekend, this afternoon Brenda has her appointment at the ‘Physiotherapist’ for more treatment on her legs and then Mario Jnr. is with us in the early evening for his last ‘English’ conversation class before his Exam in Malaga on Friday! Watch this space.

We have just done our shopping lists for tomorrow morning, we are going to ‘Mercadona’ ( Brenda’s first trip out shopping!) and then on to ‘ Iceland’ in Sotogrande for the first time this year! On the way back we are calling into ‘ Super Sol ‘ – we have a large list as we are getting a ‘ Welcome Pack’ together to put in the folks apartment at the ‘Manilva Green Aparthotel’ on Monday ready for their arrival. I have just booked at table for us this coming Sunday at ‘ Taste by Dirk’ after speaking to him, its in the valley below the village and the reports of the place have been very good, there is live entertainment and the ‘Roast’s’ have had excellent reports, watch this space as we could be back the following Sunday with the ‘ Gang’!

We have also made up an ‘Itinerary/Schedule’’ with suggestions for the ten days when the folks are here including  Sabinillas, Duquesa Marina, Estepona, San Pedro, Sotogrande and Malaga’ – local ‘ Tapas’ in sunny Manilva – various Bars & Restaurants on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – a little ‘culture’ thrown in – pool time at the hotel and of course supper’s at ‘ Casa Sexton’ when the ‘ Chef De Cuisine’ and his very able ‘ Assistant’ have planned some culinary delights! Watch this space.

Last night we watched the second episode of “ Versailles’ with afterwards a very strange update on the actual facts/history of what happened with a University Professor and a very strange ‘ Lady/Man’?! Then afterwards  a very funny episode of “ QI “ with Stephen Fry and the letter ‘M’ Tonight its the final episode of ‘Peaky Blinders’ on BBC 2 – typically the BBC have scheduled over on BBC 1 the start of a new series ‘New Blood’ – at the same time?!

Thoughts for the Day;

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 2^nd / JUNE 2016.

I was up early this morning as there was deliveries coming down the street, ‘Reina’ arrived as usual and is here for the day,’ Chispa’ is in and out everyday, as usual, on Saturday ‘Reina’ & ‘ Scruffy’ are here for a sleep over, Brenda then got up and had a quick shower before breakfast, we got the shopping list ready for tomorrow morning, I’m going down and Brenda is staying in the house as the new electric oven is being delivered and installed sometime during the day.

Its yet another glorious day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ and the forecast for the rest of the week and over the weekend into next week is looking very good with more hot sunshine and getting hotter, see the pictures below of the sunrise over Manilva this morning and the sunset at the entrance to ‘ Puerto de la Duquesa’ last night.

This weekends show on ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ – ‘Sir Malcolm’s Saturday Classic Session’ will still be coming to you ‘ live’ from Studio 1 in ‘ Castillo de la Duquesa’ when I will be broadcasting on my own for the first time, no engineering assistance from Andrew as he’s out in Sabinillas preparing for a live show with his band, this means that I will be at the ‘Mixing Deck’ co-producing, engineering, sound checking,  monitoring broadcasting levels, weather forecasting  etc!  The new studio in ‘ Puerto de la Duquesa’ will be ready in 3/4 weeks time as well as a recording studio and offices, the re-sighted mast is now fully working and has increased the reception area along the coast. My studio will also be ‘Online’ by then. Watch this space.

Later this afternoon Brenda has another appointment with the ‘ Physiotherapist’ for another session on her feet/legs down in Sabinillas.

This evening for supper we are having a ‘ Soft Mixed Grill’ with Burgers, Sausages, Smoked Bacon, Mushrooms & Tomato, sautéed Onions, a ‘Campo’ Fried Egg and ‘Saute Potatoes’ Friday is going to be ‘Hake Fillets’ – Saturday is ‘ Steak Night’ and Sunday is TBC!

Lee yesterday evening as he was collecting ‘ Reina’ stayed and did some work on the main ‘IT System’ updating some of the programmes and showing me new ways to improve my ‘IT’ skills! Watch this space.

Later after supper we watched the first episode on ‘BBC TV 2’ of the new ten-part series ‘ Versailles’ made by French TV in English, its a saucy period drama about ‘King Louis XIV’ played by George Blagden?! Its been panned this morning by all the critics for poor writing & acting and the seven sex scenes! Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 4^th / MAY 2016.

I was up early again this morning to see little princess ‘ Reina’ ( Miss Junior Estepona!) back with us here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ for the day; ‘Chispa’ arrived early, also, and joined us for breakfast, she’s been clipped all over ready for the hot weather that is just around the corner?!

The gas bottle delivery man called and we exchanged bottles, the new one is plastic so its a lot lighter, the price remains the same as its controlled by the Government; speaking of which, there is going to be a new election here in Spain at the end of June as the two main parties ‘ PP & PSOE ‘ have been unable to form a coalition with the two new parties ’ Podemos & Cuidadanos’’ after the elections back in December. Watch this space!

Its started, as forecast, a little grey & overcast with a low cloud base, by lunchtime its due to pick up and the overall temperatures are remaining high , 29/30 degs in some places down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’- 22/23 degs for us! Over the next few days and into the weekend the ‘Atlantic’ storm is due to hit us, most unseasonal, its bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds, then hopefully we will get back to normal at the start of next week. See the pictures below off the sunrise over Liverpool this morning ,Gibraltar yesterday evening and North Wales yesterday afternoon!

Before typing and posting the Blog I made this evenings supper ‘ Chicken Curry’ – the aromas are now wafting upstairs and in our street, one neighbour asked what was I cooking?! We are having it with ‘Basmati Rice’ & Garden Peas and some sliced Bananas; tomorrow evening is still TBC, on Friday its my special ‘ Seafood Risotto’ when our Swedish friend Lillimor is joining us, on Saturday its ‘Steak Night’ and on Sunday we are going to have Lamb, watch this space!

Last night after supper we watched the ‘ UEFA Champions League ‘ Semi-Final, Second Leg, as Bayern Munich welcomed Atl.Madrid; it was very exciting with two missed penalties, lots of hard tackling, and that that was just the two managers! Trailing 1-0 Bayern levelled, then Madrid scored an equaliser with an away goal, then Bayer scored again to make it 2-2 on aggregate, but that meant the Atl. Madrid won the match on the way goal rule!! Bayern Munich have now lost in the last three semi-Finals to all three of the main Spanish teams, ‘Pep Guardiola’ was not a very happy ‘Chappy’ Next season he’s the new Manager of Manchester City!  Its Atl.Madrid’s third time in the final, they have lost to Barcelona & Real Madrid, this evening Real Madrid welcome Manchester City in the Second Leg Semi-Final – 0-0 after the first leg, watch this space!!

This evening we will be watching the finals of ‘Master Chef’ on BBC1 – the last episode is on Friday, this afternoon on Channel 4 its the ‘Flat Horse Racing’ from Chester,  the “ Roodee “ is the oldest racecourse still in use in England, dating back to the sixteenth century!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 25^th / APRIL 2016.

I was up early this morning and shot out in the new car to pick Mano up from the garage in the village, after speaking to Pedro, he’s going to check out/repair the radio and air-con and also look at the front exhaust system tomorrow, we then carried on down to the local petrol station in Sabinillas to check the tyre pressure, Oil & Coolant etc. At lunchtime I’m taking the ‘ Red Ferrari – Fiesta ‘ down to ‘ Castillo de la Duquesa’ to sell it to a friend of Andrews!  This afternoon/tomorrow morning with Mano’s help we are changing the car insurance and sending off all the transfer documents; Watch this space, ‘ RESULT ‘

When I got back to the house we made contact on the ‘Skype’ video with Jack & Lyn over in Melbourne, as Norah & Jenny have booked their flights to Gibraltar, they are coming for ten days from the 13th June until the 24th June, so they will be here for Brenda’s birthday, Jack & Lyn are now booking the same flights, fingers crossed, so they will all arrive together! I have just arranged the same six seater car from our regular car hire man, Roberto, in Marbella, Mano is also getting us a good rate from the owner of ‘ Manilva Green Aparthotel’ for the same two-bed-roomed apartment that the folks had the last time.Watch this space.

Both Norah & Jenny managed, with some difficulty, to tune in to listen to my show, on Saturday, on ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.’ Via the WWW Online connection and this week over in Melbourne Jack & Lyn are going to do the same, as usual over in Australia, they will be throwing a ‘BBQ’!  - which they do all the time at the ‘drop of a hat’ and for any reason!!

We have yet another glorious day down here on the Costa ‘Del Sol’ Its very warm & sunny and the week ahead is looking settled with more of the same to come, we will check out the forecast on the afternoon news later

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Here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ this week ‘ Reina’ is with us on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday as Daneila’s parents are over for a short stay and then next week she’s back for four days from Tuesday as its a Bank Holiday in Gibraltar on Monday. ‘ Chispa’ is now out and about again and comes crashing in as she’s out!

For our supper this evening we are having my famous “ Smoked Chicken & Three Green Bean Risotto “ - that we were going to have last night, the rest of the menu’s for the week ahead have yet to be planned, watch this space. See below;

Last night we took things easy after all the excitement over the weekend, we settled down later to watch the next episode of  “ Undercover “ on BBC1 – lots more intrigue, lies and cover ups as the plot thickens, there are two more episodes to go, this week on Thursday its the final episode of ‘ Line of Duty ‘ – we can’t wait to see the outcome in this very gripping and exciting programme.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

Thursday 5^TH/ November 2015.

I was up first this morning to welcome back ‘Reina’ for the day; we then had our usual breakfast and got ourselves ready for the day ahead, at lunchtime we have our appointments at the surgery for our ‘ Gripe – Flu’ jabs so we have had our showers and freshened up.

The sun is out and it looks like we have a nice warm day ahead with more to come over the next few days and over the weekend, its a little colder at night but we can’t complain!

We had a nice supper last night with Andy and caught up with all his news, we then watched on ‘Putlocker’ as Andy showed me how to wait and download the films before playing them! “ Captain Phillips” from 2013 with Tom Hanks in the title role is very exciting and gripping as the true story unfolds of the hijacking of the ‘Maersk Alabama’ container ship in the Indian Ocean by Somali pirates in 2009 – watch it for the ending!!

This evening we are having for supper grilled ‘Chicken Wings’ with a Baked Potato and a Mixed Salad before channel hopping to fins something to watch

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Tomorrow morning we are out & about on our travels down here on the ‘Costa Del Sol’ for our weekly shopping expedition, the bank first, then the newspapers before ‘Mercadona’ and then on to Iceland in Sotogrande for some English essentials; on the way back we are calling into the Castillo de la Duquesa to book on a trip in December to Malaga for a visit to the ‘Pompidou Musuem’ then lunch at the Bullring la Malagueta and to see the Christmas lights later ! Josie , please note that we are bringing some culture onto our lives down here in sunny Manilva!!

PS, I’ve just E-Mailed my suggested ‘Playlist’ to Andrew at ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2’ for my first two hour long ‘live’ radio show ‘on air’ on Sunday 15^TH  November from 12-00 to 2-00 pm!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF ANOTHER ' HELLUVA ' WEEK !

MONDAY 26^th/ JANUARY 2015.  “AUSTRALIA DAY 2015”

No lie in this morning as there was just a little sorting out to do after last night’s ‘State Banquet’ which judging by the comments by the ‘Queen of Skelton’ she enjoyed, she was especially impressed by the ‘House Trifle’ – her comment being “ A ‘Trifle’ to Far! ” See the picture below produced by the ‘Skelton Photographic Company’

After a quick breakfast the ‘staff’ got going on the washing up/drying of all the crockery and glass and with the help of her very able assistant packed it all away for another day! Today is an at home day so we are taking things easy as the rest of the week we are rather busy in here in sunny Manilva; ‘Reina’ & ‘Scruffy’ are with us tomorrow then ‘Scruffy’ is back on Wednesday and ‘Reina’ on Friday

We have just come back from a nice walk with 'Chispa' around the village as you can see in the picture above,the fresh fish were on the back of a scooter! It's a glorious day,again, the village at its best, the council have just washed down Calle Mar.and the side streets,Brenda called into the chemists for all her prescriptions/tablets, which don't cost a lot as we have the pensioner's discount! See the picture below taken by Brenda with her camera !

On Thursday morning we are going across to the ‘Costa Del Sol’ Hospital’ past Marbella as Brenda has her overdue appointment with her Heart Consultant, then at lunchtime we are going down to Sabinillas to go to the ‘Sabores Restaurant & Tapas Bar’ with Josie for her ‘fare well’ lunch as on Friday I’m taking her across to the bus station in Marbella to catch her flight home to Newcastle this time. So the shopping will have to wait until Saturday morning.

The weather forecast is still looking good for the week; so far, with clear blur skies and the sun out early with the temperature reaching 17/18degs, also the night time temperatures are creeping up a little. This morning the first of our pensions arrived in our Spanish bank account and it was up enough to pay for Brenda haircut next week! A ‘good news day’!!

Over in Melbourne, no doubt, Jack & Lyn will be celebrating with the rest of their extended family “Australia Day” – Have a very happy ‘Straya’ day!  See below.

Yesterday in the village at the Library the Council and the Mayor Diego unveiled a plaque in remembrance of Francisco Benitez Barragan ‘Pichorron’ a local village ‘character’ who died a couple of year ago, see the picture below.

So this evening guess what we are having for supper? ‘Cold Roast Lamb’ with a fry-up of the leftover vegetables and of course a dish of ‘Boulangere’ potatoes! We will then catch up with all the news, sport and weather reports before settling down to channel hop and find something to watch.

PS; We have just had a nice surprise, six postcards in the post from Andy & Maria,one from Nottingham showing the " Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem" - the oldest inn in England and five from Maria's family in Sevilla!! I now need a new postcard pin board - watch this space!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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SUNNY MANILVA THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY 14^th JULY 2013.

We had a nice lie in this morning before our fresh Orange juice, tea and toast to start the day off; we are now having our early showers before it gets too hot although over night a light breeze has made it a lot more comfortable this morning.

Over the weekend down in Sabinillas there have been all sorts of events taking place for the tourist season; on Friday our Brass band gave a concert in the square,then on Saturday there was an open-air Basketball competition and in the evening again in the square a ‘Flamenco Fashion Show’ – see the pictures above thanks to Gary from the resident newspaper and others for posting the pictures on Facebook!

No roasting today, we are having for supper tonight flattened Breast of Turkey cooked on the griddle with Savory Basmati Rice and a creamy Mushroom sauce on the side, one of our favorite simple meals.

At lunchtime we are going to stretch our legs and call into Bar Rojas afterwards for a cool drink and some Paella before watching the ‘Tour de France’ this afternoon; it is ‘Bastille Day’ or more correctly ‘French National Day’ – today’s stage 15 is from Givors to the top of the legendry ‘Mont Ventoux’over 243kms – the longest stage in this years tour! The brutal and beautiful climb reaches to an altitude of 1,912 meters in the region of Provence; the good news is that tomorrow is a rest day!

CHRIS FROOME WON TODAY'S STAGE TO THE TOP OF MONT VENTOUX; In spectacular fashion he left the field in his wake with 7kms to go - nobody could keep up with him, his team helped put him into the position to attack,he is now over 4mins and 25 seconds ahead of Contador in the general classification for the yellow jersey!!See the pictures above,

On the way to the top Froome passed the Memorial to Tom Simpson,1km from the summit,where in July 1967 he died on the very same stage - he was the first ever Englishman to wear the Yellow jersey and was my Dad's hero at the time!

Before all he excitement of the today’s tour we will catch the Motor GP from the ‘Sachsenring’ in Germany – they are both on Spanish TV with the excellent coverage by helicopters of the tour being the highlight!

In the absence of Lorenzo and Pedrosa the 'Honda' rookie Marc Marquez won the GP race and also took over the lead in the championship.

Yesterday early evening we watched a very British TV movie “ If I Had You ” from 2006 with Sarah Parish, Poppy Miller and Paul McCann – Parish stars as the police detective who moves from a big city back to her small hometown and investigates a murder; very watchable and well acted with lots of twists to the story right up to the end!

Tonight's film that we have just finished watching was " High Crimes" from 2002 with Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman,one of my favourite actors,its his voice,in a thriller about the Army and 'Black' operations - very gripping right up to the end!

PS; England beat the Australians in the first test match,just!

Thought for the Day; See above.

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MANILVA THIS WEEK.

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY/FRIDAY 25th/26th/27th APRIL 2012.

Yet another hot and sunny day as we set off after our breakfast to walk the dogs; we ended up at Bar Rojas and sat outside under the Sonbrajo to take in the sights,sounds and cooking smells of Manilva as we had an lunchtime snifter ! In the afternoon Brenda was out on the roof terrace reading and I caught up with the WWW.For supper we had Pan Fried flattened Turkey Breast in a foaming Citrus Butter with Basmati Rice and Green Beans accompanied with our rich Tomato sauce before we watched the Real Madrid game – enough said about that the better! The late film was a classic cowboy – “ The Last Hard Men ” from 1976 – with James Coburn, Charlton Heston and Barbara Hershey in the main roles, it’s a goodie – there are more cowboy films to come as it is a season of them on one particular channel !

On Thursday we took things easy around the house and caught up with the chores; meanwhile I was watching on the BBC IPlayer “ Later with Jools Holland ” In the evening just as I was to start cooking dinner Mano phoned and asked us up to Bar Rojas or a few drinks and to watch the football – we were up in a shot and soon got into the spirit of things as we watched the Athletic Bilbao v Sporting ( Portugal ) game in the second leg of the semi-final of the Europa Cup; at half time I had a Lumy ‘ Special Hamburger ’ which is homemade and comes with Tomato,Cos Lettuce, Onions, Crispy Bacon and topped with a fried Egg ! Oh yes of course a plate of Patatas Fritas as well ! The picture below was taken with my new Samsung phone and is my first downloaded picture to appear on the Blog – watch this space! The game was very exciting and the Basque team played very well, Fernando Llorente created two goals and scored the final one in their 3-1 win,4-3 on aggregate ! They will meet Atletico Madrid in the final in Bucharest who easily beat Valencia in the other semi-final with a 5-2 aggregate score. This means that Bilbao are now in two finals as they are also in the ‘ Copa de Rey ’ against Barcelona; the big news over here in Spain which has just broke is that Pep Guardiola is leaving Barcelona at the end of the season and they have just announced at a press conference this morning that the assistant coach Tito Vilanova will be the new boss !! More to follow! The move to name his replacement so swiftly was a surprise. The late film was Sam Peckinpath’s 1969 film “ The Wild Bunch ” with a “ Helluva ” cast of Wiliam Holden,Ernest Borgnine,Robert Ryan,Ben Johnson and Warren Oates – just to mention a few !

This morning, Friday, we have been down in Sabinillas doing the shopping and a couple of messages; after calling into the bank we stopped at an agents to get a price to transfer the car ownership into our names, as in Spain nothing is that simple to do with paperwork and bureaucracy but the price is unbelievable high, so its back to Plan B do it yourself ( With help ) from a friend and go over to Malaga to the traffic office ! We called into the council office to update one of our residency documents, it will be ready on Monday morning – that’s good ! We also spotted in the agent’s office on the wall a document with the details of how to apply on the internet for the Spanish Blue Health card, the ‘ Tarjeta Sanitaria Europea ( TSE ) ‘ so we are going to play it safe and get them anyway ! We did speak to the British Embassy in Madrid yesterday and they confirmed that the cards we have are OK and in the papers this morning is states that the cards will be stopped on the 31st August but only to illegal immigrants that do not have the right paperwork !! Keep your fingers crossed that we are up to date and legal !! We then checked out our local ‘Lidl ’which re-opened yesterday and picked up a very cheap Hand Blender which comes with all the attachments and then checked out the new Butchers and Fishmongers counters – very good. We stopped at the small Fruit and Vegetable market and bought a large bag of local potatoes and I spotted on the shelf the large bottle of Manilva Honey that we have been looking for – two birds with one stone ! Tonight we are having last nights dinner that I did not get round to cooking – Pork Cutlets with Lyonnaise Potatoes with Cabbage and Carrots.


Thought for the Day;


Reputiation is what other people know about you. Honour is what you know about yourself.


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MANILVA YESTERDAY.

WEDNESDAY 18th APRIL 2012.

Wednesday was cloudy and over cast but picked up later; the forecast is more of the same for the next couple of days then warm and sunny over the weekend. It was an at home day so Brenda caught up with the washing and ironing as it excellent for drying, meanwhile I caught up with the blog and the WWW and then went on the BBC IPlayer to watch Saturday Morning Kitchen and the new Matt Lucas show and then the start of 40th series of Later with Jools Holland. On Tuesday evening Mano called to say that he was up in Bar Rojas as he had finished work early so we went up and watched the second half of the Real match – Manuel the owner who is a big Real fan was gutted when the Spanish player Gomez who plays for Bayern scored the very late winning goal. In the morning I made the Steak, Kidney and Mushroom Pie which I finish with pastry in the evening before putting it in the oven as you can see in the before and after pictures below ! We then watched the Chelsea v Barcelona game from Stamford Bridge on TVE1, Barcelona had 73% possession bur failed to convert it to goals whilst Drogba spent more time on rolling on the ground and with Chelsea’s only shot on goal scored the winner ! Next week it is the second legs of both games here in Spain – as it happens the final is being played at the Allianz Stadium in Munich in May – so watch out Real Madrid !! – it’s Bayern’s home ground !!!
The late film was an old classic , “ Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid ” from back in 1969. Paul Newman and Robert Redford playing the lead roles of the two characters loosely based on true facts,nice to see the whole film right from the start. During the day on one particular film channel it is the John Wayne season so all the great ‘ Wayne ’ films are on – too many to mention ( ie. True Grit )


Thought for the Day;


If you believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.


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MANILVA AM WEATHER FLASH.

SATURDAY 22 nd OCTOBER 2011.

This morning at 8-30am it finally arrived - RAIN !! It was forecast for today but not as severe as what is now happening ! It is the most heavy rainstorm that we have ever seen since we have been here;along with extreme thunder and lightening it has lasted for an hour,it is the first rain in over five months and it is if it has all come at once ! Yesterday up the coast near Benidorm an elderly British couple were swept to their deaths, they had the same weather with a mini tornado as well-the outside temperature is still 25degs! We will survive !!

PS. Pictures have just appeared on the Manilva Ws page on Facebook of the flash flooding in properties in the area ! The pictures are above,

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SAN JUAN 2010.

WEDNESDAY 23RD.JUNE 2010.


Wednesday turned into a “ Helluva ” day in all sorts of ways; In the morning we had a call from Caroline over in Guadalmina asking us to look after their villa and the animals next week, it just fits in with our plans as Jeff and Annette go back on Tuesday lunchtime and they want us for six days from Wednesday ! During the morning Mano’s next door neighbour,Tony the fish fryer, sent me the “ Spotify ”online music system, it is very easy to use and you do not need to download; you just type in the song,artist,album etc. and off you go, on Tuesday morning I woke Brenda up on her birthday we some different versions of “ Happy Birthday ”and our favourite version by Stevie Wonder !

At lunchtime I went down to Mano’s to watch the England v Slovenia match, Brenda took things easy back in the house, Anna was still not well and stayed in bed so Mano and I had the TV to ourselves; England played very well and totally outclassed Slovenia, we won 1 – 0 and ended up playing Germany in the next round on Sunday afternoon. On the way back we stopped for a few drinks to celebrate, Brenda said that she knew I was back in the village when she heard the whistle ! After getting back to the house I had a very quick siesta as we were due to go out at 9-oopm.

We went across to the Fish and Chip shop just down the coast and had a lovely meal of Haddock, Chips and Mushy Peas, cooked by Tony the fish fryer and served by a waitress from Liverpool ! We then came back to Sabinillas to take in the sights and sounds of “ San Juan ”2010. The main square in the town," Plaza Vicente Espinel ” has been totally refurbished, they have used Blue and Cream tiles and the new water feature is different, some new bars have opened and it looked very good as it was opened by our mayor, they then had the Flamenco Dance School giving a show.

We went for a walk along the sea front which is very pleasant and stopped at a beach bar to wait for the nights show to start; all along the beach by the side of the low wall are very old wooden winding hoist’s that hall the fishing boats in from the sea on long ropes with two or three fishermen doing all the hard work, watch out for the picture on another day when I catch them doing it ! As the time drew near we walked back along to the tableau and got ourselves in the middle of the crowd; at midnight it starts to burn as they let off some small fireworks and then all of a sudden it goes up in flames and burns down, the crowd all applaud and the grand firework display starts ! Jumping across the flames is only for the young, athletic and mad so we gave it a miss and getting down to water is also a challenge as the mass of people all have the same idea ! We then watched the live music on the stage next to the front, ‘Arco Iris’ are very loud and soon get the crowd singing and dancing. The pictures give you just a small idea of the atmosphere including a visit from the local drag queen,Lola,who has a club in the centre of Sabinillas.

Thought for the Day;

When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.

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MANILVA,DAY FIVE.

Tuesday 9th June 2009.

Just toast, jam (Diet ) and tea at the start of a long day out; the weather was glorious as we set off with clear blue skies, very warm sun and a little breeze blowing from the sea.We headed over the hills to our nearest neighbour’s,the famous white village of Casares and as we took the picture one of the large Eagles which nest in the trees surrounding the village was soaring above us. Next on the route was another mountain top village,Gaucin which is reached by going down to the floor of the next valley and then strait up the other side! Over the Spring bank holiday they run the bulls through the very narrow main street and every year there are accidents! On the way to Ronda from Gaucin the road again climbs higher and it reaches the Mirador Del Ganal were there are spectacular views over the high mountains and down to the tiny village of Algatocin where we stopped for our morning coffee and rest brake! The road enters Ronda past the town walls and up into the old part of the historic town and across the bridge before going by the oldest bull ring in the world;after parking the car in an underground car park we walked back along the cliffs and headed for our lunch stop,The Hotel and Restaurant Don Miguel which is perched on the 300ft cliffs over looking the bridge. Jack and I had the Roast Leg of Baby Lamb, with our secret ingredient,Mint Sauce which I had brought with us!The girls had fish, Brenda chose the Turbot and Lyn had the Brochette of Monkfish and Prawns,washed down with an excellent Casares Rosado.As the afternoon went on it was getting hotter all the time,we found out later that it had reached 32degs! but in the narrow streets of the old town it was sheltered as we took the folks on the grand tour; The picture below shows you the old 13th church which is built over and around a mosque from when the Moslem’s invaded Spain. We called into the bull fighters hotel and then came back along the street which has all the boutique hotels over looking the gorge and the bridge. After picking up the car we headed back down to the coast on the A397,which is one of the ten best drives in Europe, as I set off we overtook, at the only spot on the road that you can, a large lorry and then for the first time since we have been using the road we had a clear run down to San Pedro.We called into Casa del Abuelo to make contact with Clive and Carolyn as we are back there in the middle of July; the work on the villa is progressing and they hope to move back into the old part in the next two weeks, when it is finished it is going to be very spectacular and they are planning a party in the middle of August on Clive birthday, we have offered our services !! After arriving home we sat out on the roof terrace with our drinks before we had a light supper of cold cuts and salad.

PS; The news as promised is that we are going back to Casa Olimpia on Thursday !!! Jack and Lyn are coming with us, a holiday within a holiday. We had phoned Joan on Monday to arrange to take her out with us at the end of the week with Jack and Lyn; we sensed that there was a technical problem and after checking with Chris,who is back in England, we have made arrangements to go over on Thursday morning in the Smart car after the hire car people pick up the Fiat early and leave it there and then come back over in the VW and all of us will then go back.there is plenty of room and the two large bedrooms overlooking the Strait are very nice.We think that we will be there for four weeks until our next job with Clive and Carolyn on about the 15th July!More details to follow shortly!