A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 2^nd / JUNE 2018.

We had a nice lie in this morning, as we are ‘ Doggy-Free ‘ this weekend, only ‘ Chispa’ calling in at different times of the day to see us, as usual, the village is very quiet, Brenda was on ‘ Campo Poached Egg ‘ on toast, with mugs of strong tea ‘duty’ to set us up for the day ahead, basically we are doing nothing, because we can!

The sun broke through first thing and the clouds have cleared, the sky is bright blue and there is a slight breeze, making it very pleasant, by lunchtime it’s forecast to reach 22 degs+ - tomorrow on ‘Corpus Christi Sunday ‘ we are in for a hot one, very warm & sunny raising to 26/27 degs+ by the time of the procession along ‘ Calle Mar ‘ at mid-day.  

See the sunrise this morning over the ‘ Mediterranean’ and the coast below the village

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Next week is now looking very warm & sunny, with a few clouds at times, hovering in the mid 20s, just right for the time of the year, not too hot with a little breeze, and not a lot of holiday makers, especially as we have Jason & Donna visiting us on Thursday, by next weekend it’s due to go up to 28/29 degs+ - overnight 16/17 degs. Watch this space.

This evening for our supper we are having a ‘ Grilled Rib of Beef ‘ on the bone, cooked on a very hot griddle-plate ‘ Med-Rare’ and then left to rest, before taking it off the bone and carving it into fingers ‘ French’ style, garnished with Seared Asparagus Spears, Button Mushrooms & Shallots, served with Whole French Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ – accompanied with Dijon Mustard & the classic ‘Bearnaise’ sauce!

On Sunday it’s going to be ‘ Pan-Seared Medallions of Pork Fillet’ with all the trimmings and then on Monday ‘ Escalope’s of Pork Schnitzels’ – using the rest of the Pork Fillet, served with ‘Spaghetti Milanese’

This weekend on the sports front it’s a little different; the ‘Premier League & La Liga’ have finished and this weekend and next week we have ‘ International Friendlies ‘ as the National teams warm up before the ‘ World Cup ‘ in Russia starting in the middle of the month.

Today at/on Epsom Downs it’s the 239^th running of the ‘ Epsom Derby ‘ – over the classic course of one mile, four furlongs and 6 yards! See below:

Then from the ‘Sublime to the Ridiculous’ we will be watching the “ TT “ Motorbike Racing from the Isle of Man, over the gruelling and most dangerous 37.73 miles clockwise course around the Island, see below.

Last night after supper we caught up with the next episode of the Swedish/Danish police drama (with excellent sub-titles) “ The Bridge “ as the story got even more gruesome, a former prime suspect opted to take his own life, by shooting himself in the head, a dad was cruelly tricked into murdering his daughter, with a lethal injection, the main Lady Detective ‘Saga ‘ – who is pregnant, by her co-detective, as the plot thickened, she realised that the three killings, so far, are echoing methods of state executions, ( stoning, electrocution & poisoning ) – which means that there will be at least four more! Watch this space.




This evening we will be after supper channel hopping again to find something to watch, next week and over next weekend lots of series/dramas are returning including ‘ Poldark ‘

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 26^th/ MAY 2018.

We had a nice long lie in this morning as the village, as usual, is very quiet, the church bells don’t start until later! Brenda was on duty in the kitchen so I had her famous ‘Campo Poached Eggs on Toast ‘ – boiled with toast fingers for her – with mugs of strong tea.

The sun has broken through earlier this morning and the sky is already bright blue, with not a cloud on the horizon, there is no breeze so by lunchtime it will be 24/25 degs+ - tomorrow we are in for more of the same, next week is now looking settled, warm & sunny, getting hotter as the week goes on, by next weekend we will be in the high 20s! Watch this space.

See below the first sign of the ‘Grapes’ on the green vine bushes.

At lunchtime we went up to ' Bar Rojas ' and sat outside on their new White chairs & table under the White umbrella on  'Calle Mar' for the first time this year, we had a nice cool drink and Tapas.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Entrecote Steaks’ – seasoned and then cooked on a very hot griddle-plate ‘ Med-Rare ‘ and left to rest, garnished with seared Asparagus Spears, Button Mushrooms & deep-fried Onion Rings, with Whole French Green Beans and not forgetting the twice-cooked ‘Chips’

On Sunday we are having ‘Pan-Seared Marinated Lamb Steaks ‘ – overnight left to marinate in Sea Salt, Black Peppercorns, Rosemary & Virgin Olive Oil, cooked ‘ Pink’ and then placed on top of the dish of my now famous ‘ Boulangere’ Potatoes, with a selection of fresh, local Vegetables.

This weekend is a ‘ Helluva’ sports extravaganza; Up in Kiev it’s the ‘ UEFA Champions League Final ‘ as Real Madrid, who have won it the past two seasons, play Liverpool, as Jurgen Klopp & the ‘ Reds’ go for their sixth win as champions of Europe!

                                                                                              “ COME-ON THE REDS “

Meanwhile it’s the ‘ Grand Prix of Monaco ‘ – the highlight of the season as Lewis Hamilton looks to extend his lead at the top of the Championship.

This afternoon over in the ‘ Giro d’Italia’ it’s the next to last stage, over 214 kms from Susa to Cervinia, with three mountain climbs to the finish!

See below;

Yesterday Chris Froome produced an astonishing lone attack on a gravel road, in the snow, set up by his team,  up one of the mountains, the  daunting ‘ Colle delle Finestre’ - with 80 kms still to the top of the next mountain finish, to roar into the overall lead, with a show of power that will go down in cycling folklore! He now leads by 40 seconds over the defending champion Tom Dumoulin, going into today’s Stage 20, Simon Yates ‘ cracked’ and came in 35 minutes behind the lead riders, it’s the first time that Froome has worn the race leaders ‘ Pink Jersey’ – it means that when/if he wins , he will hold the French, Spanish and Italian titles in the same year! 

“ Come on Chris “

Last night after supper we settled down to watch the next gripping episode of the Swedish/Danish crime drama “ The Bridge’ as the main character, who was attacked as she left prison, ‘Saga’ pulled on her leather trousers, put on her big coat and burned rubber in her old Porsche, as she returned to the investigation of the two gruesome murders, the plot thickened with more twists & turns, catch it to find out what happens next!

                                                                                                   " Over in the UK !! "

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 19^th/ MAY 2018.  

We had a nice little lie in this morning as the village is even more quieter than normal, after freshening up Brenda was in charge of the breakfast of her now famous ‘ Campo Poached Eggs on Toast ‘ with mugs of strong tea to set us up for the day ahead.

I’m up in the office/studio on the ‘ WWW ‘ before typing/posting today’s ‘Blog’ – we have just put out the old gas bottle to be exchanged later, the price, which is controlled by the government has dropped a few cents! Brenda is then popping along to the local Chemists in ‘ Calle Mar’ ( for our prescription tablets ) - which is looking more ready by everyday, it’s made the street area a lot ‘grander’ – when it’s finished it will be spectacular, watch this space.

This morning started a little cloudy but it’s now clearing as there is a light breeze, the sun is braking through and the sky is blue, by lunchtime it will be 21/22 degs+ - all over Spain, this weekend, there are storms forecast at times, even down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’- carrying on in places into next week, although the overall temperatures are hovering in the mid/high 20s! Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having my version/recipe of the old classic “ Steak Diane “  using ‘French’ trimmed ‘Entrecote’ Steaks, seasoned and smeared in ‘Dijon’ Mustard, they are seared in the Flambé pan, then removed and rested, I then make the sauce with Chopped Onions & Shallots, Sliced Button Mushrooms, a dash of Lea & Perrins and Tabasco, with a glug of Brenda’s Red Wine and a large spoon of ‘Dijon’ Mustard, the sauce is reduced and then the steaks are placed back in the pan followed by a small glass of Brandy ( flamed) before adding the double Cream & chopped Parsley! Served with whole French Green Beans and twice-cooked ‘ Stringfellows’ served in the basket.

On the sports front this weekend; over here in ‘La Liga’ Barcelona ( the double champions) are at home to Real Sociedad and Real Madrid travel to Villarreal, over in the UK it’s the ‘ FA Cup Final’ at Wembley as Chelsea play Manchester Utd ( see below)

This afternoon it’s Stage 14 of the ‘ Giro d’Italia’ over 186 kms up to the top of the very steep ‘ Monte Zoncolan’ – meanwhile ‘Liverpool FC’ are down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ staying at the Football Academy in Marbella for their ‘summer camp’ before the go to Kiev later in the month for the ‘ Champions League’ Final against Real Madrid!

We are now watching the Royal Wedding ( BBC TV ) of Prince Harry & Megan Markle, the new ‘Duke & Duchess of Sussex’ - live from  ‘St Georges Chapel’ at Windsor Castle.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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