A GLORIOUS ' FRESH' & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK.

MONDAY 9^th/ DECEMBER 2019.  

We managed a little lie this morning, as the village is very quiet, as it’s a National ‘Bank Holiday’ – so no school children, no office workers at the ‘Town Hall’ and the villagers/neighbours are taking it easy after the 3-day weekend ‘ Festival’!

After freshening up we took ‘ Sunny & Chico’ for their first walk of the day, around the bottom of the village, as usual ‘ Sunny’ slept downstairs on the settees and ‘ Chico’ slept on some rugs/blankets at the foot of our bed, he usually stays on the marble floor under the bed, they get on very well and are very good friends! ‘Sunny’ is being collected at Mid-Day, ‘Chico’ is with us until Thursday morning, tomorrow morning little ‘ Miss Bella’ is back with us, as well as on Wednesday, then on Saturday we have ‘ Nacho’ joining us for the day, he’s a Brown ‘Waterdog’ – he was a small pup when we last had him with us in ‘Doggy World Heaven’ – he’s now a very lively ‘ Big Boy’! Watch this space.

Yesterday evening on our walk with the dogs, as the sun was going down, behind the mountains, along the coast towards Gibraltar, I took some pictures of ‘ Calle Mar’ outside ‘ Bar Rojas – Sol Vida Pizzeria ‘  - by the time we reached the ‘Plaza de la Vendemia’ it was already dark, in the main ‘Festival’ marquee, one of the three village ‘ Xmas Parranda Bands’ was on stage, playing in the competition, it was the local one that the Mayor, Mario, and his wife Ana, are members off ! There was also three other bands from villages in the area taking part.

See below;

When we returned, as I was on the breakfast rota, I had a ‘ Toasted Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty’ – smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce – open on brown for Brenda, with sliced Baby Mushrooms, sautéed in the Bacon juices with a knob of Butter, with mugs of strong& hot tea, to start the week is the right direction!

We have another beautiful start to the week, the sun has broken through and the sky is clearing, with just a few patchy clouds hanging around, by lunchtime it’s going to be up to 20 degs+ - warm & sunny, with a light breeze, the rest of week is staying dry & settled, hovering in the mid/high ‘teens’ – overnight down to 10/11 degs, - with warm sunshine, a few patchy clouds and still a very light breeze, staying like this over next weekend, the following week is now forecast to be a lot cooler and damp! Watch this space.

Tomorrow morning Brenda is going down on the local bus to Sabinillas as she has an appointment with Annie, her hairdresser, for the ‘ Full-Works’ – on the way she is calling into the local ‘Sub-Post’ office to send off all the main family & friends Xmas cards!

On Thursday afternoon we going on the annual ‘Pensioners’ Coach trip ( only 8 Euros PP)  to Malaga, to see this year’s new ‘ Xmas Lights & Music Extravaganza’ along ‘ Calle Larios’ in the centre of the city. We will then have a few glasses of chilled ‘ Cava’ at various ‘ Bars/Cafes’ – as well as a little window shopping, before going for ‘ Cocktails’ on the 15^th floor of the ‘Marriot Hotel’  to the pool-side, open-air Bar – next to the Cathedral, with spectacular night views over the harbour and the city, before going to a nice restaurant for supper!

I will, as usual, on Friday morning be out on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping.

This evening for our supper we are having ‘Escalopes of Chicken Breast ‘ – Holstein’ style – flattened breasts of Chicken, coated in breadcrumbs from the local Bakery – shallow fried in Vegetable Oil, until crisp & golden, accompanied with lots of Lemon Wedges and topped with Anchovy Fillets, Capers and a ‘ Campo’ Fried Egg! Served with a selection of local, fresh, Vegetables and the rest of last night’s ‘ Goose-Fat’ Roast Potatoes, as well as a sauceboat of Tomato 

salsa.

This afternoon/evening we will be catching up with all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow ‘ Countdown, Tipping Point, Cash Trapped ( new) Pointless, Only Connect & University Challenge’ – later after supper channel hopping to find something to watch, as all the series that we follow have finished! Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WARM AND NEARLY SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF ' CANADA WEEK'!

MONDAY 30^TH / SEPTEMBER 2019.   “ CANADA WEEK “

We had a nice lie in this morning after a very exciting day yesterday as the ‘ Canadian ‘ family arrived down on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’ – to meet, for the first time, Alanna & Blake, Neil & Nicole & Dylan & Kritika, not forgetting Sandra & Bill, for their third visit!

We met them outside the ‘Repsol’ Garage in Sabinillas, with the flags flying ( Union Jack & Welsh Standard ) just before 1-00 pm, we then went down along the promenade to the far-end, to the ‘Chiringuito Ramos’- where we had booked a nice table on the front sun terrace, overlooking the sparkling Mediterranean, with the mountains to the left and Africa & Gibraltar to the right,’ honest’ – despite the sea haze!

I ordered two bottle of a very nice ‘Cava Rosado’ to start the ‘ Welcome Toasts’! We then chose from the extensive menu, a selection of various Salads, to start, then   “ Grilled Tuna, Prawns Pil Pil, Deep Fried Sea Urchins, Mussels in a Broth, a Seafood Paella (2) and a BBQ Sea Bass “ (2) as well as a large 300gram ‘ Sirloin Steak with crisp ‘ Frits’ ( you guessed for me!)  

A very enjoyable lunch with the ‘Canadian Family’ – making new life-long friends, thanks to Sandra & Bill for bringing them over!

It was then time to come back along the coast past Sabinillas to the ‘Manilva Beach’ complex, to pick up the keys from the lady owner, of the grand four bed-roomed Villa on the beach front, which is rather special, inside & out, to let the ‘ Clan’ catch up with their sleep, after their  24 hour trip getting here, down to sunny Manilva & Sabinillas!

After freshening up this morning 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 sliced Mushrooms sautéed in the bacon fat- for her, some of which made it into my butty! Mugs of hot/strong ‘PG’ Tips Tea helped to set us up for the week ahead!! 

At lunchtime Sandra; Bill, Alanna & Blake came along and joined us in our house, bearing ' gifts' - we then had two bottles of a nice chilled 'Cava' with a few light ' Tapas' as we had a nice,long ' catch-up with them! 



See below the three ' Ladies ' out in the sun! 

As yesterday, this morning has started a little overcast and hazy, the sun it attempting to break through and the sky is clearing slowly as there is a very light breeze, by lunchtime it’s forecast to reach 29 degs+ - still hot for the time of the year, tomorrow is going to be the same, then for the rest of the week and over the weekend it’s going a little cooler, back down to 25/26 degs+  on one forecast staying hotter, - overnight dropping to 17/18 degs, just about right for the time of the year, watch this space.

See below the ' Costa del Mersey ' last weekend!

The possible ‘Itineary’  for ‘ Canada Week ‘ See below;

Monday;

Starts with a ‘ free’ day, this evening we are meeting Sandra & Bill, down in the Puerto de la Duquesa Marina’ for a late birthday supper at our favourite  ‘ Kinnaree Thai Restaurante’

Tuesday;

We are going up to Ronda, for the day, now on the train, from San Roque, as the car drive through the mountains in the packed cars will be a little too much, I’m at the moment researching the train time tables and hopefully booking the tickets at lunchtime!

Wednesday;

 The Estepona street market is on the agenda for the morning, as well as a look around the old town centre etc.

Thursday;

We are heading across to Tarifa, for the morning and then a little further on down to the famous beach at Bolonia.

Friday;

We have booked a private room, or on the terrace, a table for ten, for lunch at ‘ Restaurante Sarmiento Brasa Andaluza ‘ – Sandra’s favourite place, overlooking the white mountain top village of Casares, behind and above sunny Manilva! 

Saturday;

Still ‘TBC’ – the folks final day down here in sunny Manilva, on the Costa Del Sol, as on Sunday morning, very early, they are heading back to the airport at Malaga to catch their flight home to Montreal and homewards bound to Ottawa, Toronto & Everett, Ontario, Canada.

More pictures and updates will appear as soon as possible on the ‘Blog’ - in between all the excitement, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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

MONDAY 23rd/ SEPTEMBER 2019.

I was up very early this morning and after a quick freshen up I saw little ‘ Miss Bella’ back with us for the day, she’s also with us tomorrow, Chico’ woke up and they started playing together, like they had been friends forever, ‘Chico’ is due to be collected on Wednesday, Brenda took then both our for their first walk of the day, around the bottom of the village, they both found their ‘spots’ – they are very good and great company, our last dogs in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ for over 8/9 days, no doubt ‘ Chispa’ will be calling in all the time, as usual, watch this space.

I then shot off down to Sabinillas to go to the main ‘ Medical Centre’ for my appointment with our Doctor, Natalia, for a review/check up, she has adjusted my ‘Insulin’ dose a little, as my reading are improving, otherwise all’s well, for now, she’s going on holiday during October. I also made an appointment for my now 3 monthly ‘V12’ injection, which the practise nurse fitted in at lunchtime today!

When I returned I had my usual ‘ Weetabix’ with fresh fruit, the last of the Nectarines, while Brenda her usual brown toast, with mugs of tea, we then made contact with Jack & Lyn over in Melbourne on the ‘ Skype’ video, as we have not been in touch for a little while, Jack is a little under the weather and having to take things very easy, but he still is his usual happy self, Lyn is Lyn, full of joy and smiling all the time, they have had lots of visitors from both sides of their large family, this weekend they are watching the final of the ‘ Australian Rules Football ‘ as Jack’s team, the ‘ Richmond Tigers’ are playing!

As I set off the sun was blinding above the Mediterranean, as I passed through the vine fields, the sky was bright blue and there was a light, pleasant breeze, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 28 degs+ going a little warmer by Wednesday, up to 30 degs+ -still overnight hovering on the 18/19 degs mark, the rest of the week and over the coming weekend is staying the same, by Sunday just a little cooler, down to 24/25 degs+ just in time for the arrival of the folks from Canada, the week they are here is now looking dry warm & sunny, with a few patchy clouds at times, hovering in the mid 20s – about right for the time of the year, watch this space.

“ Countdown 7 Days “

Over the weekend in Liverpool the cruise liner the “ Norwegian Spirit ‘ was berthed at the Pier Head, sadly no pictures, just one as it left the River Mersey! See below.

Just a quick update on the sports results from the weekend; Everton lost at home to the newly promoted Sheffield Utd 0-2 – the two ‘ Brian’s ‘ will not be happy ‘ Blues’ today! Manchester City won 8-0!! Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-2 to maintain their 5 point lead at the top of the ‘Premiere League’ Real Madrid had another ‘ lucky win 0-1 but sadly Barcelona lost 0-2 to newly promoted Granada!!

‘Vettel’ won the ‘Singapore Grand Prix’ after the ‘Ferrari’ team did the ‘ dirty’ on Leclerc, meanwhile over in Japan, at the ‘Rugby Union World Cup’ – Japan, New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy, Ireland, Wales and England all won their opening games!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Posh Chicken n‘ Chips’- ‘ Escalope’s of Chicken Breast’ – pan-seared in foaming Lemon Butter, finished with a dash of Balsamic Vinegar, served with whole Baby green Beans and of course triple-cook Chips! On Tuesday, for my birthday, we are going to have ‘ Medallions of Pork Fillet ‘ with a savoury Green Peppercorn Sauce, with ‘Lyonnaise’ Potatoes and a selection of Vegetables,  then on Wednesday I’m going make my now famous ‘ Beef & Mushroom Curry’ - with Brenda’s equally famous Basmati Rice!

This evening after supper we will settled down to watch the next gripping episode of ‘ A Confession ’ – a true story.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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

MONDAY 20^th/ MAY 2019.

I was up early this morning, not for the last time this week, after a quick freshen up I shot off across to the  ‘Estepona Hospital ‘ for my first, of three, appointments this week at the ‘ Physiotherapy Department ‘ for more treatment on my left-hand. I found a spot to park, opposite the Hospital and called into ‘ Tikitapi’ for my usual tostado & tea, before crossing over to the Hospital.

On the way back I went up to the large ‘ Poligono’ in Estepona to the ‘ Car Supermarket’ for Coolant & Oil, I then shot back along the coast road, past a calm & sparkling Mediterranean, on a beautiful morning, down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’

I’m going back to Estepona this afternoon to the ‘ Bus Station’ to pick Brian up, as his plans have changed, again, he’s not now collecting a hire car from Malaga Airport, I’ve’ just checked the ‘ Flight Arrivals’ as yesterday there was a major problem at ‘Manchester Airport’- with over a hundred flights cancelled, due to a ‘Power Problem’ with the refueling systems?! His flight has taken off and at the moment is on time, he then catches the bus from Malaga Airport to Estepona.

Today the sun broke through early and the sky is cloudless & blue, there is just a very slight breeze, making it a beautiful sunny day, perfect for the time of the year, by lunchtime it will be 27 degs+ - going a little warmer each day, by the weekend up to now 31 degs+ - overnight hovering at 17/18 degs+- next week is looking the same, staying in the mid to high ‘ teens’ – watch this space.

For our supper this evening the ‘ Head Chef & Second Chef’ have prepared a ‘ State Banquet ‘ to welcome the ‘King of Liverpool – The Blue Side’  - to start there is a small selection of his favourite ‘Tapas’ – for the main course it’s ‘Pan-Seared Medallions of Pork Fillet’ – garnished with Button Mushrooms, accompanied with  a ‘ Green Peppercorn Salsa’ – served with Glazed Carrot Batons, Broccoli Nature & Whole Baby ‘ French’ green Beans, with a large dish of ‘ Breton’ style Potatoes, diced boiled Potatoes, tossed in Vegetable Oil with diced Onions& Shallots and Red, Green & Yellow Peppers. For the ‘ Pudding’ we are offering ‘ Apple Tort’ with Strawberries & Vanilla Ice Cream. A selection of wines will be on offer as well as chilled beers to start, a special ‘ Cocktail’ to finish!

Yesterday evening we went across to the ‘Plaza Pozo Del Rey ‘ in the centre of the village for the election party, for the Mayor, Mario, party “ Compromiso “  - the bar was free ( beer/soft drinks) – the large ‘BBQ’ offered a large selection of meats etc, it started with a local ‘ Flamenco Group’ – then ‘Political’ speeches – followed by a local Band. The ‘ Plaza’ was full, on the way home we called into ‘ Bar Castillo’ for a nice cool drink and some light ‘Tapas’

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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