MANILVA ON A SPANISH SPORTS SUNDAY

SUNDAY 12^th/ MAY 2013.

As we got up it was a little overcast and grey but as the day went on it picked up and in the afternoon the sun was out; the forecast for next week is fine with no rain at the moment as the rest of Spain is getting hit by storms as an icy blast comes in off the Atlantic – by Wednesday the temperature will be down by 10/12degs to 17/18degs!!

We spent the morning in the kitchen getting our dinner ready, Mano and Anna were joining us; in the middle of the morning Tim called us on the Skype video and as you can see below we had a nice chat with Simon.

For dinner, for a change we are having ‘English Style Pork Chops’- seared on the griddle and then baked in the oven along with a savory Herb stuffing and glazed Apple slices; Brenda’s vegetables were, Cauliflower and Broccoli florets in our three Cheese sauce, sugar Glazed Carrots and finely sliced Green Beans along with Broad Beans tossed in Garlic, Smoked Bacon and chopped Onions (Mano’s recipe and his favorite) I made ‘Bretonne style’ potatoes – cooked potatoes cut into rough cubes and then tossed with sautéed Onions and Red and Green Peppers – baked in the oven. On the side I served a sharp, piquant ‘Charcutiere’sauce made with diced Onions, White Wine, Beef and Vegetable stock then reduced and a Julienne of Gherkins and a mixed hot Mustard paste added along with my secret ingredients!

We then went for a walk with dog around the village and when we got back I retired to the office for a ‘Sporty’ afternoon!  First it was the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona “Ole Alonso” on the TV (Spanish) and on the PC (English) – then I followed the Premier League football, Everton and Liverpool both won, which I watched on the small PC and on the large PC the ‘Giro d’Italia’ stage 9 from Sansepolcro to Firenze (Florence) over 170kms in the Tuscany countryside and over 4 mountain climbs – all in the heavy rain! The runaway winner was the Russian rider Maxim Bekkov but the bad news was that Wiggins struggled all day going up the hills and especially descending them! It seems that he has lost his nerve after his crash on Friday, it was only his team mates that saved him in the end so there was no change in the general classification – Monday is a rest day! He needs it!! Meanwhile over here Barcelona won the ‘La Liga’- actually the became champions on Saturday when Real Madrid drew with Mano’s team Espanyol 1-1 but they confirmed it with an excellent win at Atl.Madrid on Sunday 1-2! “Campeones, Campeones, Oh le Oh le ! ” In the ‘Madrid Open Tennis’ Nadel won it again but in the ‘Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball’ final at the 02 arena in London ‘Olympiacos Pireus’ retained the cup over Real Madrid with a comprehensive win 100-88 - so no 4^th Spanish win on the day.

After Mano and Anna had gone home after a very ‘Tasty’ dinner, even if I do say so myself, and they did! We then watched for a change a bit of culture on TVE2 – it was from the new opera and ballet house next to the famous 19^th century ‘Marinsky Theatre’ in Saint Petersburg with a fascinating sliding stage; the Spanish tenor Placido Domingo sang ‘Wagner’ and conducted the huge orchestra and the supreme Russian ballerina of modern times,Ulyana Lopatkina performed to ‘Tchaikovsky’ As they say you can never get enough culture !!

Thought for the Day;

Perfection is attained by slow degrees it requires the hand of time.

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SUNDAY 11TH JULY SPAINS DAY OF DESTINY.

SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN SPAIN.

Tonight Spain play Holland in the World Cup Final at the Soccer City stadium in Johannasburg in front of 94,000 fans and the world!

Watch out for my blog and pictures from Manilva about the celebrations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thought for the Day;

What Happens to us is not as important as how we Respond.

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MANILVA NEWSLETTER

SETTLING IN-SPANISH STYLE
The house is fully furnished in the Spanish style and also has a very modern heating/air conditioning system,Over the next few days we moved in.it took over twenty trips in the Smart car and with the help of Mano and Anna at the house and Vidal and Gissy back on the site we have settled in and stamped our personality on our new homeOn the first night,Mano,Anna,Carlos ,Anna and Fabio came round and we cracked open our first bottle of champagne At the weekend Vidal and Gissy.came over with the last load so we opened another bottle of champagne,then Mano and Anna called in and we ended up back at theirs for eggs,chips and peppers at 1-00 clock in the morning.On the street where we live just ten yards down is a very nice tapas bar “Bodega Andaluz”-our local! And also opposite it is a small supermarket and just around the corner,a bread shop,chemists,doctors
two butchers,a fruit and vegetableshop,a fish market and over twenty tapas bars to choose from!!After the weekend we then went back to the site and started cleaning the Winnebago,Gissy joined Brenda and Vidal plumbed in the new tap,fixed all the things on the Winnebago that needed fixing and painted all the iron parts underneath,then went on the roof and opened the storage box's to finish the move,We then washed down the Winnebago in between the showers and did all the chores to finish off getting it ready.Vidal had also called into the German car show rooms next to the site,the owner knows Vidal and he agreed to put the Winnebago on the forecourt and we have done a deal with him to sell it,it is also in the papers for five weeks,we have also got a Spanish man interested in it,he had seen the for- sale sign on it and called us.The Winnebago looks very lonely as we passed it the other day but it is creating a lot of interest and it is safe and secure on the forecourt and it is floodlight at night-in the end if it does not sell here then we can arrange for Dudleys to pick it up and take it back to Oxford,but we are very confidant that we will get a sale as our German friend will also take a car in part exchange as part of our deal!Last Saturday as we where unpacking at the house the phone went,we now have a Telefonica land line and wireless internet which was installed within 24 hous with Mano's help!The call was from a very nice English man who had seen our advert in the” Sur “ for housesitting which has been in the paper for a few weeks,we shot across to see him on the far side of Marbella and we are now in his villa for five days looking after his sons fish,hampster and a puppy Jack Russell called Jack!We also dropped him off at Malaga airport in his Range Rover sports and are picking him and his son up on Sunday eveningThe villa is on a private estate on the Santa Clara golf course overlooking the 13th tee!It is our first paid job and we think that we will now pick up more work from him in the future.So our new life begins,next week we are signing the papers at the town hall to become resident as we have now received from England the necessary documents in our new letterbox, which we put up yesterday.Watch out for the pictures in the next few days!Below is our new address and telephone ;
CALLE SAN VINCENTE 1
29261 MANILVA
MALAGA
SPAIN
952890548