A RATHER WINDY SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 5^th/ MARCH 2020.

We all had another little lie in this morning after a good night’s sleep, ‘Chico & Lolo’ then waited patiently while we freshened up and took them out for their first walk of the day around a rather ‘ windy’ bottom of the village, when we returned 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 mugs of steaming hot ‘ PG’ Tips Tea.   

As I said above the breeze has picked up over night and is now it’s rather windy, to say the least, the sky is cloudless & blue and by lunchtime it’s  still due to reach 18/19 degs+ - overnight down to 10 degs, tomorrow and over the weekend it’s going a little cooler as the wind picks up, staying dry & sunny, hovering in the mid ‘ teens’ – next week is now looking dry & settled, with sunshine and a few patchy clouds, from Monday back up to 21/22 degs+ - the rest of the week and over next weekend also staying the same, with warm sunshine and a lighter breeze, so a clear & cloudless sky, watch this space.

This evening for our supper we are having the rest of the ‘ Chicken & Mushroom Tarragon Pie’ with Broccoli Florets & Garden Peas and triple-cooked ‘ Chips’! Tomorrow I’m making an old favourite, of my version of a ‘ Fish Pie’ – using Hake, Salmon, Prawns & Mussels etc, topped with Brenda’s famous ‘ Mashed Potato’ – on Saturday it’s ‘ Steak Night’ and then on Sunday we are roasting again – at Brenda’s suggestion “ Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding “ Watch this space.

We are having one of our ‘ taking things easy days’ – relaxing and basically doing nothing, because we can! We will take both the dogs out, as usual, at lunchtime, this evening and last thing at night, this afternoon catching all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow and then after supper we will channel hop to find something to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY ' FRESH' AND SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 4^th/ MARCH 2020.

We managed another little lie in this morning as the village was quieter than normal, no deliveries down the street etc, after freshening up we took ‘ Chico’ & Lolo’ out for their first walk of the day around the bottom of the village, ‘ Chico’ is due to be picked up on Friday, ‘Lolo’ is with us until the middle of the month, they both slept all night, as usual, when we returned we had our regular toast & tea before getting the day on the go.

I first prepared all the ingredients for this evening supper, in celebration of ‘ National Pie Week’ – as we are having for our supper this evening my famous “ Chicken & Mushroom ‘ Tarragon’ Pie “ – the diced ‘Chicken Breast’ is dusted in seasoned flour and lightly cooked off, in Vegetable Oil, at the same time I make the sauce, by sweating-off diced, Onion, Shallots & Garlic, with a dash of ‘ Lea & Perrins & Tabasco’ and lots of ‘Tarragon ‘  – then adding the diced Carrots, Turnips, Leeks, Celery, Green Beans, Orange Pepper and Mushrooms as well as a tin of Baby Mushrooms, finally adding the Smoked Bacon Sippets, along with a good glug of White Wine ( thanks Brenda !) – and not forgetting a hand-full of Chopped Parsley, before adding the diced Chicken, at the same time as a rich ‘ Chicken & Vegetable’ stock –  adjusting the seasoning and consistency,  then left to cook-off under the ‘eye’ of the ‘ Second Chef’

See my ' Pie' below; 

It’s then poured into the buttered glass pie dish and left to cool off, ready to have the ‘Shortcrust’ Pastry lid ( decorated) placed on this evening, brushed with ‘Egg-Wash’ -  before going in a med-hot oven to finish cooking. Served with Glazed Baby Carrots & Garden Peas and the classic ‘ Pommes de Terre Rissolees ‘ – Baby New Potatoes, boiled in their skins and then tossed in foaming Parsley Butter until crisp & golden all over!

See the 'Rissolees' Potatoes below; 

We have a glorious morning, down here on the ‘ Costa del Sol’ in sunny Manilva, the sun was out first thing and the sky is bright blue & cloudless, with a light/fresh breeze, so by lunchtime it’s forecast to reach 22 degs+ - overnight 11/12 degs, staying warm & sunny, tomorrow and for the rest of the week and over the weekend it’s going a little cooler as the breeze picks up, hovering in the mid ‘teens’ – 16/17 degs+  - dry & sunny, next week as the next ‘ Atlantic’ front comes in, it’s staying the same, with just the chance of the ‘Wet-Stuff’ at the start of the week, then going a little warmer, watch this space.

The ‘ Council’ have just announced the details of this year’s ‘ Carnaval 2020 ‘ celebrations on/over weekend of the 14/15^th March, it looks like it’s all happening down in Sabinillas this year, at the moment the parade times and where are still to be confirmed, watch this space!

Over in Liverpool on Friday afternoon it’s the departure of the ‘ HMS Prince of Wales ‘ from it’s berth on the Pier Head, after the week’s visit, see below a picture taken yesterday evening from the ‘ Seacombe ‘ Ferry!   

Yesterday lunchtime on our walk with the dogs we ended up, sat outside, in the very hot sunshine, on the sunny side of the street in front of ‘ Bar Castillo’ – for a nice cool drink, our dear friend ‘ Brian’ came along and joined us, as he was due in work later on the late-shift over in Gibraltar, so we caught up with all his news, we had a nice selection of Juan’s excellent ‘ Tapas’ including the ‘Rosada Frito ‘ – shallow-fried   ‘Pink Dogfish’ – (which is actually White)  ‘ Chunks’ of flaky ‘ Cod Like ‘ fish, coated in a light ‘ Tempura Batter’ – a typical ‘ Dish of Malaga’ - served with very crisp ‘ Frits’!

See below;

" Big Brian " 

Yesterday evening after supper we watched the 5^th Round of the ‘FA Cup’ as Liverpool visited Chelsea, sadly their latest loss, 2-0 with another lethargic performance, their third loss in four games! This evening it’s Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY CALM & WARM SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 30^th/ OCTOBER 2019.

Just a little lie in this morning, as we were freshening up we were listening to the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show’ on “ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW “ as the ‘ Music Quiz’ came back on, it was a six second opening ‘ Riff’ which ‘ Lady’ Brenda got straight away before, he gave the cryptic clues,  it was ‘The Beatles ‘ with ‘ I Feel Fine’ – so she is in the draw, again, on Friday morning!

I will not be out on my travels on Friday morning, as usual as it’s a ‘National Bank Holiday’ – for “ Dia de Todos los Santos – All Saints’ Day “ I’m going tomorrow morning instead, for our weekly shopping.

Brenda then took ‘ Sunny out for her first walk of the day, around the bottom of the village, she’s settled in very well and is into our routine, she has a good appetite and is very friendly & loving, she is sleeping all night downstairs on the settees, she then lets us know when it’s time to go out! We are going to miss her on Sunday, when she is due to be picked up by Simone, she is back with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ at the start of December for a short holiday.

We then had our normal light breakfast of ‘ Weetabix’ with sliced banana, for me, brown toast & sliced banana for Brenda, with mugs of strong tea.

I then got this evenings supper on the go, with the help of the ‘ Second Chef’ – a “ Chicken & Mushroom ‘ Tarragon’ Pie “ – the diced breast, leg & thigh are dusted in seasoned flour( Salt & Pepper & Tarragon)  and lightly browned-off, I, at the same time, sweat-off the finely diced Onions, Shallots & Garlic, with lots of Tarragon Herbs, in a good ‘ slug’ of White Wine, adding a dash of ‘ Lea & Perrins & Tabasco’ and ‘Tomato Frito’ – before adding the finely diced Carrots, Leeks & Celery, along with Baby Mushrooms( tinned) with Garden Peas & chopped Parsley, the Chicken is then added with a rich ‘ Chicken & Vegetable’ stock, the seasoning and consistency is adjusted, then it’s left to cook-off under the eye of the ‘ Second Chef’ – before pouring it into a large Casserole Dish, with a upturned ‘Egg Cup’ in the middle, this evening I will roll-out the ‘Puff Pastry ‘ ( Ready-Made) and decorate the top, before brushing with Egg wash, to go in the oven to bake and finish cooking. Served with Glazed Carrot Batons & whole ‘ French’ Green Beans and ‘ Pommes de Terre Rissolees ‘ – Baby New Potatoes, in their skins, tossed in foaming Parsley Butter, until crisp & golden!

The sun was out first thing this morning, there is a light breeze, clearing the patchy clouds away, so by lunchtime it will reach 26 degs+ going up to 27 degs+ by Friday, staying overnight up at 17/18 degs, then on Saturday, as the cold & windy ‘ Atlantic’ front comes in, it’s going to drop back down to 20 degs, by Sunday, with the ‘Wet-Stuff’ in the air, next week is now looking mainly wet, with patchy to moderate rain, staying  cold and unsettled, with lots of clouds hanging around, hovering on the 17/18 degs mark, overnight down to 11/12 degs – very unseasonal, the following week is forecast to be dry but colder, watch this space.

We are taking things very easy today, relaxing and basically doing nothing, because we can!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A OVERCAST AND SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 2nd/ MAY 2019.

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I shot off across to the ‘ Estepona Hospital’ for my final appointment this week at the Physiotherapy Department’ for more extensive treatment on my left hand, I’m back next week for three days as on Tuesday it’s a ‘ Training Day’ I found a spot to park at the first attempt and then had my usual tostado & tea in ‘ Tikitapi’ before crossing to the Hospital.

‘Chico’ has settled in very well and slept all night in his bed, this morning Brenda took him out for his first walk of the day, around the bottom of the village, ‘Chispa’ will be calling later to see him & us! ‘Scruffy’ is with us for a few hours tomorrow afternoon and then on Saturday morning little ‘ Winnie’ is back for a two-night sleep-over.

On Friday morning I will be out first thing on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping.

This morning has started a little grey & overcast with patchy clouds, there is a light breeze coming up off the Mediterranean, keeping it a little cooler, hovering on the 21 degs mark, overnight down to 14/15 degs, later the sun is due to break through, tomorrow is looking the same, then over the weekend it’s going warmer, up to 24/25 degs+ -next week is now forecast to be even hotter, reaching 28 degs by next Wednesday, staying warm & sunny all the time, hovering in the mid 20s, perfect for the time of the year, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Pie, Chips & Peas ‘!  - the rest of the ‘ Chicken & Mushroom Tarragon Pie’ with Garden Peas and of course twice-cooked, actually ‘Triple-Cooked’ as they go in the fridge to chill! ( as per Heston Blumenthal!) On Friday it’s a ‘ Fish n’ Chip Supper’ – on Saturday it will be a ‘ Steak Night’ and Sunday is still TBC, watch this space.

See below the local Potatoes being picked in the valley below the village this morning.

Sadly last night in the first leg of the semi-final of the ‘ UEFA Champions League ‘ Liverpool lost 3-0 as Barcelona took control, despite playing very well, at times, as ‘ Messi’ was a force too powerful, the second leg is next Tuesday back at Anfield!

This afternoon/evening we will as usual be watching all the ‘Quiz Show s’ that we follow; ‘ Countdown, The Tipping Point, The Chase, Pointless & Eggheads, Only Connect & University Challenge ‘ ( both finals this week!) – then later after supper we will channel hop to find a good film to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY.

WEDNESDAY 24^th/ MAY 2017.

As usual I was up early this morning to see ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, we then managed a little lie before getting the day on the go, after our fresh fruit, toast & tea it was time to get this evenings supper on the go, ‘Chispa’ also came crashing in to see us.

This morning started a little grey & overcast, but it’s now picking up, the sun is breaking through and the clouds are clearing, it’s still warm & sunny, all the time, and by the middle of the afternoon its gets hot, over the next few days into the weekend we are in for a hot spell, next week is now looking very warm & sunny, watch this space.

For our supper this evening I’ve just made my famous “ Chicken & Mushroom ‘ Tarragon’ Pie “ I dice the ‘Chicken Breast’ and dust it in seasoned flour, before tossing in the frying pan to color, I meanwhile make the sauce, I sweat-off in White Wine ( thanks Brenda !) the finally diced Onions & Garlic, Leeks, Celery, Carrots & Red Peppers, Smoked Bacon Sippits & Baby Button Mushrooms, add a rich Chicken & Vegetable stock, adjust the seasoning with lots of Tarragon before adding the diced Chicken, adjusting the consistency and leave to cook-out under the supervision of the ‘ Second Chef’

Its then put in the large Pie dish, with a ‘Pie Bird’ in the centre, I will top it off with the rolled Puff Pastry, this evening, and decorate, brush with ‘Egg Wash’ and place in the oven to bake; the ‘ Vegetable Chef’ has prepared Baby Whole Green Beans, Broccoli Florets & Parsley New Potatoes to accompany the dish!


See below as it came out of the oven!

We have just come off the’ Skype’ video after talking to Jack & Lyn over in Melbourne, their ‘ Winter’ is starting to hit them, they are both off-color with colds & coughs, we had a long catch up with them and all the extended family news, they have been making new friends on ‘ Facebook’ - as all the family uses it, especially the ‘ Free Messenger’ site, unfortunately Norah & Jenny are not on Facebook, at the moment, Lots of Love, Health, Wealth & Happiness to all, xxxx


See below Lyn with Debbie, Annette & Jeff.

Art lunchtime we went up to ' Bar Rojas' for a cool drink, sat in the hot sunshine, we had a light ' Tapas' lunch of the ' House Croquettes '  and the ' BBQ Chuletas -Lamb Cutlets ' 

This evening we are going to watch the Final of the ‘Europa League’ -taking place in Stockholm this evening, as Manchester Utd take on Ajax, the winners also get a place in next year’s ‘ Champions League’

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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SUNNY AND WARM BREEZY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY 18^th/ SEPTEMBER 2013.

This morning after breakfast I made the ‘Chicken Tarragon Mushroom & Vegetable Pie’ – with diced Carrots, Onions.Leeks, Celery, assorted Peppers, Green Beans and Baby Mushrooms, all sweated off in White wine and a Chicken and vegetable stock with Tarragon herbs; the diced Breast of Chicken is dusted in seasoned flour and tossed in foaming butter before being added to the pan, then I add a rich Chicken Veloute sauce,Garden peas and season with some secret ingredients! Tonight I will cover the dish with Puff Pastry and bake in the oven.See the pictures above of the before and after!

We then freshened up and walked down to the garage to check on the car; we are picking it up in the morning, it was the Fuel pump, so Pedro has fitted a second hand reconditioned one, fixed a new wing mirror and re-fixed the drivers side interior trim and given it a quick check over ready for the ‘ITV – MOT’ A new radio will wait for another day! We are going to park it in the under ground car park under the police station from now which is just a short walk past the new park!

On the way back we bumped into Mano and Anna in Bodega Augustin so stopped for a cool drink and chat; the weather today is sunny and hot with a welcome breeze from the tail-end of the passing Hurricane! So we will be able to do the shopping on Friday morning and in the evening we have been invited by the ‘Foreign Residents Department’ of the council ( Valentina!) to a presentation about the autumn activities/calendar of events down in the ‘Castillo de la Duquesa’ 

Now for a small sports news update as Brenda banned me from talking yesterday about sport for once! The ‘ Tour of Britain’ cycle race is on at the moment but I can’t get live coverage of it on ITV4 so have to read the text news on my BBC News page; it started in Scotland and then came down through the Lake District and is in the ‘GOLD’ jersey after the Time Trial and Mark Cavendish has not won a stage yet!

Finally success at last ! I 've gone back to one of my older sports live coverage contacts 'Wiziwig' and are watching the race on 'Euro Sport Live' with English commentators ! They are currently passing through Betws-y Coed and up to Capel Curig and then up to our first hotel the famous 'Pen-Y-Gwryd' over 42 years ago!!The pictures show Snowdon in the clouds before a quick glimpse of the hotel on the left before they went over the Pen-y Pass down to Llanberis where in a terrific sprint finish Mark Cavendish won the stage !! It brings back many happy memories of our time there,I know the roads like the back of my hand!See the pictures above;

Last night it was the ‘UEFA Championship League’ games all over Europe; I watched on the large PC the ‘Plzen( Chech) v  Manchester City match,0-3 to City with an excellent goal from Toure, meanwhile downstairs Brenda followed the ‘Galatasary v Real Madrid game from Madrid on TVE1 on the big screen TV and shouted out the goals as they happened, 1-6 to Real with a Ronaldo hat-trick,his 21st at the club! Over in England  Manchester Utd beat B. Leverkuson 4-2 with two goals from Rooney – Tonight Barcelona play Ajax.Barcelona won 4-0 with yet another hat-trick from Messi!

At the same time on the small PC I was watching the latest episode of ‘New Tricks’ on BBC TV 1 as it was the one in which the excellent Amanda Redman decides to leave and move on. Tonight after supper we will catch the Barcelona game and then the late news and weather.

Thought for the Day; See above.

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