ANOTHER HOT AND SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 8^th/ MARCH 2017   “ INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY “

I was up very early this morning to see ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she’s being collected later this evening as Lee & Daniela are busy in work, she shot into her duvet and we all had a little lie in, ‘Charlie’ slept on the mats by the side of our bed and had a reasonable good night, this morning he’s full of the joys of spring and ended up jumping on the bed to tell us it was time to go out for his walk, sadly he’s being collected later this evening, we are going to miss him as he’s such a character and very good company.

After the first walk of the day we caught the gas bottle delivery man in our street, we had our normal breakfast, I then got the evenings supper on the go ‘ Chicken Curry ‘ – a large pan with some for another day, we are having Garden Peas & sliced Banana with Brenda’s special ‘Basmati’ Rice.

The sun was out early this morning and the sky is bright blue, there is no breeze and it’s due to reach the heady heights of nearly 24/25degs later, as the week goes on it’s getting a little warmer each day, over the weekend it’s more of the same, watch this space.

Tomorrow morning Brenda has an appointment down at the surgery, first thing, for some tests, on Friday morning I will be out on my travels for the weekly shopping down in Sabinillas and in the afternoon we are going across to the hospital, past Marbella, for my appointment with the ‘ Anestesia Consultant ‘ On Saturday afternoon it’s the ‘ Carnival Parade’ along Call Mar, watch this space.

Yesterday evening after supper we watched on BBC TV the second episode of “ The Replacement “ – we missed the first episode, the conclusion airs next week, the title part is played by Vicky McClure, she is the most evil maternity cover ‘EVER’ – in the first episode there was a death of a female boss in suspicious circumstances, the lady who was replaced gave birth, she thinks that the main character has something to hide in her past, she is set up and reported to the social services for child neglect, humiliating her in public, at the same time. Vicky McClure’s smile sends shivers of dread and danger down your spine! It’s a cliffhanger- all will be revealed next week!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY;

SUNDAY 14^th / AUGUST 2016.

We had another nice lie in this morning until the church bells started calling the ‘ good & faithful ‘ to mass, there won’t be many as the ‘Feria’ doesn’t finish until 6-00 am! We then had our normal breakfast of fresh fruit, toast & tea, we are taking things easy today doing nothing special, because we can, relaxing, keeping cool and drinking lots of cold water.

Its going to be a hot one today, the sun was out early and the sky is clear, the ' Levante' breeze has dropped, yesterday evening it picked up, making it comfortable as we were out, next week we are in for a very hot & sunny period as the new hot front from across Africa is over us all the time. The night time temperatures are also keeping high as they only drop a few degrees making is rather uncomfortable.

This evening for our supper we are having a very large ‘ Grilled Entrecote Steak’ cooked on a very hot griddle plate ‘ Med-Rare’ – then left to rest before slicing it into ‘ fingers’ – ‘ French ‘ style, we will have the rest of it tomorrow lunchtime as a snack ‘cold’ With it we are having Fine Green Beans, sautéed diced Mushrooms & seared Asparagus Spears, twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ and lots of ‘ Bearnaise’ sauce on the side!

Next week ‘ Reina’ is with us for seven days with two sleep over’s on Friday & Saturday, ‘ Scruffy’ is also joining us for a sleep over on Friday and of course ‘ Chispa’ is back from her holidays and will no doubt be calling in everyday to see us and her friends!

Tomorrow is a ‘ Bank Holiday’ here in Spain, it’s one of the many religious festivals ‘ Dia de Asuncion - Assumption Day ‘ which just works our fine for the ‘Feria’ celebrations which finish later this evening/early tomorrow morning!

Yesterday evening we went up to ‘Bar Castillo’ for a light ‘ Tapas’ supper before the ‘ Feria Queen’s’ parade came along Calle Mar, late as usual, the new Council had updated the parade by using a professional troop of performers and musicians instead of the locals, it was very good with at the front the very impressive ‘ Streamer Machines’ causing a right ‘mess’ – the ‘Samba/Rumba’ Band was also very good and the children’s characters were different, for a change, all the floats, more than normal, were also well decorated and had lots of the village children on them, finally the very large inflatable ‘ Whale’ was the big hit especially with the children, see all the pictures above including an impromptu performance at the top of our street, later, by the band!

As I’m typing and posting the Blog ‘I’m listening to ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ – its the ‘ Pete Black ‘ Retro Request Show which he broadcasts from his apartment above ‘Duquesa Marina ‘ – ‘Studio 2 ‘ Fingers still crossed that I will be able to broadcast soon  ‘live’ from my own ‘Studio 4 ‘ here in the heart of sunny Manilva, I will then be able to produce my show ‘ Sir Malcolm’s Classic Session’ on a Saturday lunchtime, watch this space!

After we came back from all the festivities last night we watched the  ‘Track Cycling’ from the Velodrome in Rio; Laura Trott became the first British woman to win three Olympic Gold Medal as the ‘ Great Britain ‘ women, with Joanna Rowsell, Elinor Barker & Katie Archibald, set a new world record to retain their ‘Team Pursuit’ title beating the USA World Champions, then Britain’s Becky James bounced back from a serious knee injury and a cancer scare to take the Silver Medal with a late surge in the Olympic women’s ‘ Kerin’ – the 8 lap sprint race which is led by a ‘ Derny/Electric bike for the first 6 laps before peeling off when they reach 50 kms per hour, it was invented in Japan back in the late 1940s for gambling purposes!

Then is a very exciting series of races, Jason Kerry, Laura Trott’s fiancé, won through to the final later this evening of the ‘ Men’s Sprint’ when he will go for Gold again against his team mate,  Callum Skinner – they both won Gold in the Men’s Pursuit the other evening!

On the football front Everton could only draw with Tottenham and Manchester City were lucky to win 2-1 against Sunderland, this afternoon its Arsenal v Liverpool.


RESULT; ARSENAL 3 - LIVERPOOL 4 !!!!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 30^th / JUNE 2016.

I was up first this morning and after a quick freshen up I saw ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day and then shot off down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping; I picked the local newspapers up from the  ‘ English Bookshop’ before going along to ‘ Mercadona’ for the main shop, on the way back I called into ‘ Super Sol ‘ for some English essentials, it was then time to shoot back up the hill through the vine fields to the house, ‘ Chispa’ was waiting to welcome me back!

After unpacking we had a quick cup of tea and a piece of toast, Brenda is now shampooing/washing her hair and I’m up in the office/studio on the ‘WWW’ catching up with the E.Mails, Facebook messages as well as reading the English & Spanish newspapers, checking the BBC News etc.

Yesterday on the ' Facebook' page of old Liverpool pictures it showed the ' Bootle Fire Station ' on Strand Road, it brought back some very good memories as my Dad, Tommy Sexton, was a Fireman for many years. He was based in Liverpool during the first' Blitz' of 1940/41 and then down at 'Hampton Court Palace ' during the ' Blitz' of London in 1941. His job was the ' Ladder Man ' on the ' Turn Table Ladder ' in the picture on the left! He was given the job because he was very light & fit from his cycling! He used to take me a young boy down to the station and take me down the ' pole' in his arms!! 

We had the hottest night so far this year and this morning the sun was out early, there is no breeze so its already very hot and getting warmer by lunchtime, we are in for a hot spell over the weekend and into next week, 33/35 degs+! 

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Smoked Bacon & ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs ‘ with ‘ Chips ‘ – on Friday I’m making my famous ‘ Seafood Risotto’ then on Saturday its going to be ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks’ – Sunday is going to be a ‘ Roast Chicken ‘ from the ‘ Rotisserie’ in Calle Mar with a nice Mixed Salad & Parsley New Potatoes.

We are watching the Tennis from Wimbledon with the excellent coverage on BBC1/2 in the afternoons, in the evening we catch the news on Spanish TV before channel hopping to find something to watch later.

PS; We have just received in the lunchtime post two post cards and a short note from our dear friends and old customers, Terry & Alma, they live outside Caan, France, and have been on holiday in the ' Vendee & Charante Maritime ' Regions visiting 'L'ile d'Aix & Les Sables D' Olonne' - both of which we have visited on our travels, ( the top two on the left are also from them! ) - many thanks and keep the post cards coming! The other post card on the  bottom left is from our Swedish friend Lillimor for Brenda's birthday - see the picture below of our third post card board!!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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

MONDAY 2^nd / MAY 2016.

We managed another nice lie in this morning as the village is very quiet, its a ‘Bank Holiday’ here in Spain as well, it was not marked on our local calendar! After freshening ourselves up we had a treat of toasted ‘ Smoked Bacon Butties’ smeared with ‘HP’ sauce and mugs of steaming ‘English Tea’ ( PG Tips!) with fresh Milk; we then had our weekly Menu planning meeting, this evening we are having ‘ Burgers’ – just plain grilled and served with sauté Onions etc ( no buns!) On Tuesday its going to be ‘ Entrecote Steak’ cut ‘French ‘ style and on Wednesday I’m making my now famous ‘ Chicken Curry’ Thursday is TBC and on Friday its my famous ‘ Seafood Risotto ‘ as we are going to ask our Swedish friend Lillimore to join us.

Its another beautiful day here in sunny Manilva, the sun was out early and the sky is bright blue, there is a little breeze making it very pleasant, by lunchtime it will be getting hot, its perfect for a washing/drying day so the machine has just gone on and later I will be up on the roof patio in the sky putting it all out to dry! I like to colour co-ordinate the pegs!! See below a picture of Sabinillas beach this morning.

No ‘ Reina’ today, she’s back with us from Tuesday to Friday, each day, at the moment ‘ Chispa’ is crashing in and out, she needs a wash & groom as she looks like a little street urchin, watch this space.

Just a quick sports results round up; Liverpool lost 3-1, Manchester City lost 4-2 and Hamilton finished second at the ‘Russian Grand Prix’ after some spectacular racing.

We had a news update E-Mail from Tim & Thea, they are moving closer, day by day, they are in Aguilas and going onto Torrox for a week or so, they posted some pictures as they passed Benidorm, they use their bicycles to get out and about in the villages and down to the coast by the sparkling Mediterrnean, enjoy and relax, see you soon?! 

PS; They missed their request on my radio show last Saturday as they were on the road so this week they have requested ' On the Road Again' by Canned Heat - it just turns out that its the first track on this weeks playlist at 11-00 am - RESULT!! 

Last night after supper we watched a new series on ‘Channel 4’ “ Paul Merton’s Secret Stations “ He travels on trains around the country to visit Britain’s ‘request stops’ ( over 150 ) still in use; They are marked on the railway time tables by a ‘X’ and show the time that the train is due to pass, if you want it to stop you have to inform the ticket/conductor/guard so as he can inform the driver to stop, when you are on the station you hold your hand up to stop the train – honest!

It brought bake the memory of the time back in 1965 when I was in Austria to see a girl friend and on my way home I went to the local station to catch a train, it turned out that you had to stop the train by waving a white stick with a red disk! As it slowed down the famous ‘ ‘Wagons Lits’ sleeping carriages passed ( see below ) - it was the original “ Orient Express “ on its way from Constantinople ( Istanbul) to the ‘ Gare De L’est in Paris !! Happy memories of my time in Paris, but that’s another story/tale!!

At one such station on the ‘ Cumbrian Coast Line’ at Drigg, he got off the train to see that the station and the surrounding area was controlled with high barb wired fences and armed ‘MOD’ guards, its the main nuclear waste repository for the UK, all the low level waste is taken there in concrete lined containers, on guarded special trains, its vast and very scary, the containers are stacked four high and are then covered with special sheeting and soil, it will be there for thousands of years to come! It reminded me of  well over 50 year ago in North Wales when the ‘Transfyndd Nuclear Power Station ‘ opened and they built a special railway line for the construction, if fact it was for when the plant was decommissioned in 1991 so as they were able to take the low level(?) waste away safely!!

We then watched the next to last episode of ‘ Undercover’ on BBC 1 with the excellent ( Shakesperean ) actors Sophie Okonedo & Adrian Lester in the main roles, the plot is starting to unfold, there was more killings and the ‘CIA’ are now implicated & involved along with the secret British intelligence group! Its building up to a very gripping and exciting climax next week when all will be revealed?!


PS; Don't forget to keep your postcards coming in when you are out and about , we have ours ready to send back to you!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY CRISP & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY. " DIA DE ANDALUCIA "

SUNDAY 28^th / FEBRUARY 2016   “ DIA DE ANDALUCIA “

 Well ‘ Charlie’ didn’t wake us too early this morning, he slept all night downstairs on the settee next to Brenda, I then took him for his first walk of the day, when we got back we all had our breakfast’s before settling down, I then dived in to the kitchen, after freshing up, to get this evenings vegetables ready ‘Cabbage with Alsegas & Baby Carrot Batons to go with the ‘Scouse’ that is already made; its “ Global Scouse Day “ as well as the “ Dia de Andalucia “ !!

The rain that was forecast has not arrived so we have a beautiful very crisp & sunny day here in sunny Manilva, the sky is blue and there is stiff breeze but its dry so all the festivities are taking place up on the main stage outside the Town Hall as you can see in the pictures above. From Monday onwards its getting warmer with more sunshine so the week ahead is looking a lot better. This afternoon I’m putting the washing out to dry ‘Bed Sheets’ etc. as its such a good drying day, so I’m told!

The village is full with all the locals out in their finest and the two stages are set up ready for the live bands later, all the bars are open and busy, it will get more loud as the night goes on with all the singing, dancing and drinking – sadly this year we are only listening to it all as it happens and will raise a glass later to ‘Andaluica’!

See the pictures below of the " Manilva Combo Band " with Isobel and the leader of the 'Manilva Brass Band' - Fernando - on the bass guitar, they dedicated a number to Brenda to 'get well soon' and played it loud so as she could hear it!!

Yesterday we watched the Horse Racing from Kempton Park & Newcastle with a very exciting long distance ‘Chase’ over 25 fences, then it was time to catch the end of the Italy v Scotland game as the ‘ Scots’ won 20-36 in the ‘Six Nations Rugby’ – England then beat Ireland 20-10 and face Wales in two weeks time at Twickenham.

Real Madrid lost at home to Atl Madrid 0-1 and Ronaldo said that his team mates are not as good as him!!

Next week ‘Reina’ is back with us for four days as on Wednesday we are going across to the hospital for Brenda’s X-Ray and then to see the ‘Trauma’ Consultant , that’s if the ambulance arrives to pick us up?! Watch this space. ‘Charlie’ is with us on his holiday until next Sunday evening and ‘ Chispa’ keeps calling in everyday to see us and her friends.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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