A ' FRESH' AND SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF A ' HELLUVA' WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 29^th/ NOVEMBER 2019.   “ 48th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY “

I was up very early this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot off on my travels down to Sabinillas for our weekly shopping, I called into ‘ItsZabar’ for my usual toast and tea before I went along the coast road, towards Estepona, as the bright full red sun was coming up above a sparking/still Mediterranean.

The newish ‘ Mercadona’ was already very busy as I did our main shop,  the staff are very helpful when you are looking for something, I then came back to Sabinillas and dropped down to the far-end of the promenade to the local market for our fresh flowers and wall plants.

I called into the local ‘Repsol’ garage to top up the petrol before stopping at the ‘English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers etc, after unloading back at the house we took ‘ Scruffy’ out for his first walk of the day, he slept all night in his new bed, a large furry doughnut! He’s no problem and is such a loving dog, he follows me everywhere and is at my feet, as I’m typing/posting today Blog, he’s due to be picked up later this afternoon.

We have yet another beautiful day down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol ‘- this morning, the sun was out early and the sky is clear and bright blue, there is just a slight breeze, so by lunchtime it’s due to reach 20 degs+ - tomorrow is staying the same, sadly on Sunday, when we are going out for our ‘Sunday Roast Lunch’ we might need our umbrellas! The next ‘ Atlantic’ front is bringing with it some of the ‘ Wet-Stuff’ – next week is starting a lot cooler and damp, before it settles down, by Wednesday, back to warm sunshine, with a few patchy clouds, hovering in the high ‘ teens’ –  back down to 9/10 degs at night time, watch this space.

“ MALCOLM & BRENDA’S 48th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY “ 

We were married at ‘ Christ Church’ in Port Sunlight, on the Wirral, on a beautiful ‘ crisp’ November Monday! The Church is next to the famous ‘ Bridge Inn ‘ where I was the resident live-in Assistant Manager, we had our reception at the hotel, the waiting staff formed a ‘ Guard of Honour ‘up the steps, with large wooden spoons!

We went off for a short honeymoon, in the evening, first stopping for dinner at the ‘ Owain Glyndwr Hotel’ –   in Corwen, which at the time  had a rather special restaurant, we arrived very late at the ‘ White Lion Royal Hotel’ in Bala, North Wales,  were the Manager & his wife greeted us, with a nice bottle of Champagne, and didn’t get to bed until 5-00 am in the morning! ‘ Happy Memories & Times' !!  

One week later we started at the world famous mountaineers ‘ Pen Y Gwryd Hotel’ in the heart of ‘ 

Snowdonia’ as the Resident Managers, the rest is history !

We would like to thank all our family & friends, ex-staff etc, as well as all the locals here in Sunny Manilva, for all the Cards, E-Mails, Text messages, ‘Facebook’ comments & ‘ Likes’ – we are going out for nice drink at lunchtime, sat in the warm sunshine outside ‘Bar Castillo’ – this evening we will be having a nice chilled bottle of ‘Cava’ – followed by, as a starter  ‘ Sushi & small Pacific Scallops – Vieras ‘ – followed by ‘ Grilled Tail-End of Salmon Fillets’ – on Sunday we are celebrating with a special ‘ Sunday Roast Lunch’ at the highly recommended “ La Finca Thai Fusion “  Watch out for the pictures.

NB; I bought Brenda a new ‘ Ironing Board’ this morning from the local 'Feraterias’ in Sabinillas, as her old one broke/collapsed the other day, when she was catching up with all the Ironing!!  I ‘think’ she appreciated the ‘ thought’ !! Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA AT THE START OF A ' HELLUVA' WEEKEND!

FRIDAY 27^th/ SEPTEMBER 2019.

We were both up early this morning and after a very quick freshen up we set off on our travels down to Sabinillas, it was still overcast & very cloudy as the sun was attempting to break up/through, over the calm & grey Mediterranean.

We called into ‘ ItZabar’ for our toast & tea before going along to ‘ Mercadona’ for our weekly main shop, Brenda popped along to the ‘ English Bookshop’ for the weekly newspapers and a special birthday card! She then joined me to finish the shopping, we then went along to the far end of the promenade to the local market for our fresh flowers & wall plants, finally we stopped at ‘ Super Sol’ for our ‘English’ essentials, before shooting back up the hill to unload back at the house.

As usual as I’m typing/ posting today’s Blog I’m listening to ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’  - I’m this week’s winner, again, of the weekly ‘ Music Quiz’!

See below a picture of the " Orchidarium " over in Estepona, taken last night! Prehaps the folks can fit in a visit on Wednesday when they are in Estepona, visiting the street market!

The sun will be out later and by lunchtime, like yesterday, the sky will be bright blue & cloudless, reaching 28 degs+ - tomorrow and Sunday are going to be the same, as our Canadian family flies in from Montreal, to Malaga, next week is now officially going to be a ‘ Scorcher’ – from Monday onwards up to 30 degs+ by Thursday 32 degs+ - with a light breeze and a few patchy clouds hanging around, still overnight only dropping to 20 degs+! Very hot & sunny for the time of the year, the ‘Sun Gods’ are watching over us!! Watch this space.

“ Countdown 3 Days & Counting “ !!!

The great news in from Sandra, over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, is that on “ National Daughters Day’ Alanna  completed her ‘ Masters in English Literature ’  “ Felicidades – Congratulations “

For our supper this evening we are having a simple dish of large, fresh ‘ Red Gambas ‘ – cooked on  a bed of  ‘Sea Salt’ – with a savoury, classic  ‘ Marie Rose Dip’ – on Saturday evening it’s going to be ‘ Grilled Fillet Steaks’ with all the trimmings!  The ‘ Staff’ are then holiday for a week!! Watch this space.

After supper we will hopefully be fully back online with the ‘IPTV’ system, as it came back on yesterday evening ‘Fingers Crossed’ it settles back down, so as we can ‘ channel hop’ again, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A NOW WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON ' VENDEMIA' ' SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 31^st/ AUGUST 2019.  “ VENDEMIA WINE FESTIVAL “

We had a nice lie in this morning before getting ourselves ready for the weekend ahead, after freshening up, as Brenda was on the breakfast rota I had her famous ‘Campo Poached Eggs on Toast’ – she had her’s ‘Scrambled’ on Brown Toast, with mugs of strong tea, as ‘Chispa’ joined us for her breakfast also!

I then, with the ‘ Second Chef’s’ help prepared and made my famous “ Beef & Vegetable Stew - Lob Scouse “ – diced Onions, Shallots, Garlic, Bay Leaves, Carrots, Leeks, Celery, Turnips, Green Beans & Potatoes, all sweated off, with a dash of ‘Lea & Perrins and Tabasco’ – then a good/strong ‘Beef & Vegetable’ stock is added, meanwhile I fry-off the diced Stewing Beef after, dusting it in seasoned flour, before adding it to the pot, to simmer and cook-off under the very able eye of the ‘Second Chef’ - who also has boiled some more diced potatoes to go in the stew tomorrow to turn it into ‘Lob-Scouse’!

This morning has started a little grey & overcast, there is a light breeze so by lunchtime it will clear and reach a warm & sunny 28 degs+ tomorrow a little warmer, just right for the ‘ Vendemia Wine Festival ‘ weekend! Next week is looking dry, warm & settled, with a few patchy clouds at times, hovering on the 26/27 degs mark, overnight only down to 19/20 degs+ Watch this space.

Yesterday evening (dusk) over in Liverpool, the ‘Colombian Navy’s’ three-masted barque sail training ship entered the River Mersey on an official visit, it has 15,000 sq feet of sail and one ‘ Helluva’ flag! 

See below.

When we came last night after a very nice ‘ Tapas Fish’ supper, along at ‘ Bar Castillo’ –  ‘ Rosada Frito ‘ with Frits and local Mayonnaise, the diced ‘ Dogfish’ is coated in a light ‘Tempura’ style batter, then shallow fried in Vegetable Oil, I had arranged a ‘ Surprise ‘ Skype’ video call with Sandra & Bill over in Everett, Ontario, Canada, earlier in the day, for Brenda, who was concerned and worried about Sandra, after the fall off her bicycle last weekend.

She has a ‘Panda’ black eye on the side of her face, that hit the gravel ground, on the side of her head, knocking her out, she was not wearing a crash hat, for the short ride in the camping site, she has cuts and bruises on the side that hit the ground and two fractured ribs at the top of her chest! Her Doctor had given her a good check up and told her to rest & relax, taking things very easy for the next week or two. Watch this space.

“ Countdown 30 Days “

Today we have a full days sport ahead; down in Cardiff Wales welcome Ireland in a warm-up ‘ World Cup Rugby’ game, over at Spa in Belgium it’s the ‘Grand Prix’ – meanwhile in the ‘Premiere League’ in the UK, Manchester City are at home to Brighton, Liverpool travel up the M6  to play Burnley & Everton are at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers tomorrow, over here in ‘ La Liga’ Barcelona travel to Osasuna & Real Madrid go to play Villarreal tomorrow.

Here in Spain, also, later today it’s Stage 8 of the “ Vuelta d’España 19 ‘ over 167 kms from Valls to Igualada, a flat stage before it reaches Andorra tomorrow!

This morning before breakfast I popped out and took some pictures of ‘Calle Mar’  showing all the family ‘ Sonbrajos’ being built as well as the main ‘Bars’ getting ready, see above.

This evening we are going to watch the Religious parade of the Tableau, led the ‘Manilva Brass Band’ with all the village ladies in their ‘Wine’ costumes, carrying bunches of the local grapes to be weighed later! See the picture above posted later.

Then it all – ‘kicks-off’ with two bands on the stages playing into the wee small hours!!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA AT THE START OF THE ' VENDEMIA' WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 30^th/ AUGUST 2019.

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot off on my travels, down to Sabinillas, for our weekly shopping, I called into ‘ ItZabar’ for a quick toast & tea before ‘ Mercadona’ opened, it was not as busy this morning, also all the roads were a lot quieter as the ‘ Holiday’ crowds depart!

I then picked up the local newspapers from the ‘ English Bookshop’ before going along to the far end of the promenade to the local market, for some fresh flowers and wall plants, before shooting back up the hill to unload back at the house.

We then took ‘ Scruffy’ out for his first walk of the day, he slept all night on the marble floor under our bed, he’ follows me everywhere and is sitting at my feet as I’m typing/posting today’s Blog, he’s going to be with us, now, until the early evening as Rose has just called from the ‘Costa Del Sol Hospital’ to say that Adrian has been put on a ‘six-hour-drip’! 

Meanwhile Brenda is washing/shampooing her hair. I then went down to our local Butchers, in the still unfinished ‘Calle Iglesia‘ ?! - for some of his excellent ‘Diced Stewing Beef’ for the ‘ Beef & Vegetable Stew/Lob Scouse’ that I’m making tomorrow morning.

See below ' Calle Mar' all ' dressed-up ' ready for the weekend ahead!

Speaking of Hospitals, yesterday we had a nice long catch-up from Sandra & Bill, which was a bit overdue, because last weekend Sandra was out on her bike with Bill and she had a nasty accident, she knocked herself out, scared Bill to death and was rushed to Hospital by the ambulance, with the lights and sirens going!( Bill enjoyed this a little!) She is bruised and sore, with cuts and a couple of fractured ribs, as well as a black eye! She is back at home, in Everett, Ontario, Canada, taking things easy, after being given the ‘ once-over’ by her own Doctor, later today!  “ Take care, relax, and get well soon, Lots of Love, Brenda & Malcolm “  xxxx

PS; The ‘ countdown ‘ to your arrival with all the family is 31 days and counting !!

Overnight it was a little cooler so we managed a little more sleep, this morning the sun broke through, above the Mediterranean, as I was going down through the green vine fields, there is a light breeze and the sky is clearing and blue, by lunchtime it’s due to reach 28 degs+ staying the same over the ‘ Vendemia Wine Festival weekend, on one forecast it’s still showing some of the ‘wet-stuff’ in the air, next week is starting warmer and sunny as the breeze drops, then the rest of the week is looking a little cooler, normal for the time of the year, hovering on the 26/27 degs mark, still overnight around 20/21 degs+ - with the threat of some  of the much needed ‘Rain’ at times, watch this space.

See below two pictures, bringing back many happy memories of Liverpool, the old ‘ North Western Hotel ‘ on Lime Street, in front to the station and opposite the ‘St Georges Hall’- which for many years has been owned by the ‘John Moore’s University’ for student accommodation, which is now going to be restored/developed at a ‘Grand Hotel’ again!

The famous “ Empire Theatre “ – located on Lime Street and the corner of London Road, next to the old ‘North Western Hotel ‘ - the theatre is the  largest two-tier auditorium in the UK, seating 2.348 people! I/we have been there many times to see, ‘Dusty Springfield, Ben E. King & the Drifters, The New Seekers, Abba’ and many more, as well as my school friends ‘ The Dennisons’ who emerged from the ‘Mersey Beat’ scene back in the 1960s, and were the opening ‘ act’ on two occasions at the theatre! “ Happy Days – Happy Memories “

PS; Down at the Pier Head yesterday the cruise liner the “ Megellan’ was berthed for the day, see below.

We are, as usual’ taking things easy for the rest of the day, this evening we were going to ask Brian & Andrea to join us for supper, down at the ‘Kinaree Thai Resturante’ in the ‘Puerto de la Duquesa Marina’ – which as it happens Brian first introduced us to it back in 2007! Sadly the folks went there last night, so we are on ‘ Hold’ for tonight , watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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