A VERY OVERCAST, CRISP & DAMP SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 25^th/ NOVEMBER 2018.

We had another nice lie in this morning after a rather ‘ cold’ night, tucked up in bed with all the duvets on! After a quick freshen up we had our regular breakfast, at this time of the year, of toast & tea, it had also rained during the night and this morning has started grey & overcast, unlike yesterday lunchtime when the sun was out and we were able to sit outside ‘ Bar Rojas’ for a nice drink and a ‘Tapas’ - on the house, of Monica’s very tasty ‘Paella’

At the moment it’s very ‘Crisp’ with a light breeze, bringing in the black clouds, with the threat of the ‘ wet-stuff’ still in the air, as I’m typing the ‘Blog’ I have no Internet connection so I can’t check the weather forecasts for the rest of the weekend and into next week, watch this space.

See below a spectacular sun rise this morning over the Mediterranean.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘Pan-Seared Medallions of Pork Fillet’ garnished with Button Mushrooms and accompanied with a creamy Green Peppercorn sauce, served with Baked Stuffed Assorted Peppers (savoury Rice) - glazed Carrot Batons with Ginger & Garden Peas, with the old classic ‘Pommes Lyonnaise ‘ – sautéed boiled/sliced Potatoes tossed with sliced Onions, until crisp & brown!

Just a quick update on the sports results; Everton won 1-0, Liverpool won 0-3 and Manchester City won 0-4, over here Barcelona drew 1-1 and Real Madrid were beaten 3-0 by lowly Eibra! Meanwhile at the ‘Rugby Union Internationals’ Wales,England, Scotland & Ireland all won!

For now I’m closing the Blog and attempting to post it as soon as possible, watch this space.

PS; Back to normal tomorrow !

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A CRISP START, ON MONDAY, TO THE WEEK IN SUNNY MANILVA.

MONDAY 6^th/ NOVEMBER 2017.

I was up early this morning to see little princess ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she shot upstairs and ended up on our bed, we then all had a nice, long, lie in, after freshening up we had our regular breakfast of ‘ Weetabix’ toast & tea, before sorting the week ahead out. ‘Chispa’ called in just as we were finishing breakfast.

We are taking things easy today, tomorrow morning we are going down to Sabinillas, Brenda is going to the ‘English Bookshop’ for all the main Xmas cards and I’m calling into the ‘Council’ offices to start the paperwork to transfer to our Doctor, Natalia, who is now in the main Medical Centre, at the same time I’m collecting a document with the details about the new charges to use the ‘Council’ Chiropodist, which have always been ‘ free’ for pensioners, up to now! Watch this space.

We are waiting to hear when ‘ Scruffy’ is with us, Thursday or Friday, as we had planned to go across to Estepona on Thursday morning as I need to call into my Barber, Manuel, for the full-works and Brenda needs some essential cosmetics etc. If we can’t go on Thursday it will have to be next week. On Friday I will be out on my travels back down in Sabinillas, as usual, for the weekly shopping.

This morning has started clear with a bright blue sky, there is slight cold breeze, as forecast, the sun is breaking through and by lunchtime it’s due to reach 19/20degs, overnight 11/12 degs, the rest of the week is staying the same, a little cooler than normal, for the time of the year, due to the ‘Arctic’ front of cold weather that is coming down across Europe, watch this space.

See below a spectacular picture taken over the weekend from the top of the ‘Little Orme’ at the far end of Llandudno showing Penrhyn Bay, Rhos on Sea, Colwyn Bay and then onwards past Penmaenhead!

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Cold Roast Leg of Lamb’ after I have performed a ‘miracle’ carving the very slim ‘Leg’ with my special ‘ Sabatier’ French carving knife! Back in the 50s my other Uncle was a ‘Head Carver’ – a profession at that time, on all the grand ‘Liners’ going out of Liverpool, including the famous “ RMS Mauretania “  I still have his ‘Pearl’ handled Carving Knife & Fork’ – I was shown how to carve by an old ‘French’ Chef, and over the years have ‘ Honed’ the skill.

I once had to carve a whole ‘Baby Suckling Pig’ for the ‘ Crown Prince of Japan ‘ at the Hotel Seventy Degrees, we had a special hand made ‘Copper’ domed Carving Wagon, for the ‘Sunday Roasts’ – Sirloin of Beef, Leg of Pork & Leg of Lamb, we also used to carve our own ‘Home Smoked Salmon’  on a board, in the restaurant, Whole ‘Roast Turkeys & Ribs of Beef’ on the bone were also a specialty as well as ‘Roast Pheasants’ in season, one of our ' classic' dish's was a large Rib of Beef ' on the bone, then taken off the bone ans sliced ' Escalope' style and served on a large Yorkshire Pudding,  as they say the ‘ First-Cut’ is the most important and the outside cut is for the Carver/Chef!

The menus for the rest of the week are still to be arranged, watch this space.

“ NEWSFLASH “

Some exciting news to be announced later this week about ‘ Castle Radio FM’ – Watch this space!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY & WARM MANILVA;

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A WARM WITH LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS SUNDAY IN SUNNY MANILVA .

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A DRY & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 7^th/ DECEMBER 2016.

Just a little lie in this morning as ‘ Reina’ was not being dropped off early, as usual, yesterday evening we had a phone call from Rose asking us if we could take care of ‘ Scruffy’ as Adrian was not very well and she needed to take him to the hospital in Estepona for a check up, it’s like a old fashioned cottage hospital, she didn’t want to drive across to Marbella at night, it turned out that he had liquid on his lungs and then had a ‘Heart Attack’ while at the hospital, he was then rushed by ambulance to the ‘ Costa De Sol Hospital’ and is now in the ‘ ICU’ – Rose has just rang to say that she is on her way back to the hospital, Adrian is comfortable, we will hear later how he is.

‘Scruffy’ has settled in and slept all night in his bed, on our bed or under the bed, as usual, this morning we took him for his first walk of the day after ‘ Reina’ was dropped off, he’s a real character and a joy to have around, he’s sat across my feet as I’m typing & posting the Blog, as we got back to the house the gas bottle delivery man was dropping off our new gas bottle, we then had our breakfast of ‘ Smoked Bacon Butties’ – open for Brenda, later Brenda is going to walk, ‘slowly’ down to the surgery for her appointment with the nurse for her ‘ECG’ – she is then passing it in to our Doctor for her check it, she’s then back on Friday morning , first thing, for another check up, watch this space.

"HEALTH UPDATE "

Brenda has just returned, our Doctor, Natalia, called her in and re-checked the latest 'ECG' - she is still not happy with the results, we have to continue to monitor/check her blood pressure/frequency tests daily, she doesn't want to see her on Friday but has made another appointment for next Wednesday lunchtime as well as more blood/urine tests as the start of January, She also reviewed all her prescriptions and has prescribed a new one, she is being very thorough and giving Brenda the utmost time & consideration, its like having your own private Doctor! 

This morning started with a blue sky and the sun out, at the moment it’s gone a little overcast, the forecast is looking dry & settled up to Sunday, it’s gone very mild at the same time and is due to get a little warmer later, watch this space.

This evening we are having ‘ Cold Roast Loin of Pork’ with a fry-up of the leftover vegetables & potatoes, tomorrow night it’s going to be ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings’ and then on Friday I’m making my now famous ‘ Fish Pie’ for a change, Saturday will be ‘ Steak Night’ and on Sunday  we are going to have a ‘ Roast Chicken’ from the ‘Rotisserie’ in Calle Mar.

Brenda is planning to start writing the Xmas Cards later and then tomorrow morning we are going out to cut some Pine Tree branches ready for the ‘Xmas’ decorations going up sometime over the weekend, watch his space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A DRY & VERY CRISP SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 23^rd/ NOVEMBER 2016.

We were up early this morning, Lee dropped ‘ Reina’ off, he’s back with us this evening for supper, we then had ‘ Smoked Bacon Butties’ for breakfast with a warming mugs of tea; Brenda then got herself ready to walk down to the local surgery for her appointment with our Doctor to update her with all the results from the blood tests etc, X-Rays & the ‘Kidney Consultants’ report; she is very happy with all the results & treatments, she was able to look at Brenda’s ‘Ecogram’ from yesterday and said that her Kidneys were clear, the reason for the second visit was that there was a technical problem with the first set!

Brenda is going back on Friday lunchtime for another ‘ ECG’ as she is complaining that she is out of breath when she is walking, our Doctor, Natalia, is suggesting that some of the prescription tablets could affect the heart rate a little, she has made another appointment next Wednesday to give her a check over after giving the new tablets a chance to work, watch this space.

Overnight it went a lot cooler, down to single figurers for the first time, there was no rain and as forecast today its dry & clear but crisp & colder, tomorrow and over the next few days into the weekend the rain is due back, the new Oil heater will be is use along with the old one!

While Brenda was out I made this evenings supper “ Braised Steak & Onions “ – the sauce is my usual with diced Carrots, Leeks, Celery, Baby Mushrooms, Turnips & Green Beans, I sauté off the sliced Onions and place them on the bottom of the casserole dish and then over the top of the ‘browned off’ braising steak, it goes in the oven this evening to finish cooking, Brenda is making a dish of her famous ‘ Mashed Potato’ to go in the over at the same time, she is also getting ready Savoy Cabbage & Peas a la Flamande’( with Baby Carrots & sugar!)

The Council this morning have confirmed that they are planning a pedestrian & cycle path alongside the road up to the village from Sabinillas, the main problem is working out how to get around the four hair-pin bends, watch this space! It’s good news as it’s a very dangerous road, at the best of times, hopefully they will also address the same problem with the road down to the school past the ‘Manilva Green Aparthotel’ They are also working on revised plans for the new pedestrianization of ‘Calle Mar’ –  Our new Mayor, Mario, our neighbour, is listening and acting quickly! Watch this space.

This evening after supper we will watch the per-ultimate episode of  ‘The Missing’ – the complex, dramatic drama/thriller taking place in two countries and at several times.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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" PRESENTATION " OF THE NEW " CALLE MAR " MANILVA 2016.

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A BREEZY, WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY 11^th / OCTOBER 2016.

I was up first this morning to see little princess ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she’s here for the next four days, ‘ Pax’ slept all night on his bed by the side of our bed, he’s no trouble and has settled in very well, we then took him for his first walk of the day, he then has his breakfast, he’s eating everything we give him and drinks lots of water. We then had our breakfast ‘Smoked Bacon Butties’ with mugs of steaming ‘PG Tips’!

I then went down to the butchers for the diced Beef for Wednesday’s supper, I also bought some  ‘ Chicken Wings’ for another day. On the way back I called into our local Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ as I needed some eye drops as I have a little infection in my left eye.

The butchers partner is a local Councillor so I asked him about the project to make ‘Calle Mar’ pedestrian only, he confirmed that its happening and will be very spectacular, all the streets off Calle Mar’ will also be traffic free except for the delivery vans and the emergency services!  On the way back I just missed the Mayor ‘ Diego’ as he was going into the Town Hall for a meeting, I was going to ask him about the promised consultation meetings?! Watch this space.

Overnight the breeze has changed to a wind, the shutters were rattling, this morning its now fine & sunny, still warm but with a stiff breeze, later this evening the wind is bringing down from Northern Spain, for the first time in nearly 8 months, some of the wet stuff! On Wednesday/Thursday we are in for heavy rain & storms which could carry on over the weekend, we are getting the waterproofs out and the large bath towels ready to dry off ‘ Pax’ ( a Water Dog!) after his walks, no doubt he will love it!! 

See below pictures of ' Pax' on the new mat in the office/studio this morning as I was typing/posting the Blog.

See the picture below of the ‘Bay of Colwyn’ taken this morning with the tide out, Old Colwyn in the right background, also we have had a sighting of Tim in the ‘Rioja’ Vine Fields outside Haro – ‘ Heaven ‘ for the ‘ Moffatts!!

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks’ garnished with Button Mushrooms & topped with a ‘ Campo Fried Egg’ with Garden Peas & twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ On Wednesday at Brenda’s request, I’m now going to make my famous ‘ Beef, Mushroom & Vegetable Casserole’ which we will have with her famous Mashed Potato.

Yesterday on ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ Andrew Charles was back on air after his short holiday/sick leave, his show is now on between 2-00 pm to 4-00 pm, I sent him an E-Mail to welcome him back and he gave me a very good mention to say that my show  ‘ Sir Malcolm’s Classic Show’ will soon be back on air ‘live’ on Saturday’s between 11-00 am to 1-00 pm as soon as he’s installed the broadcasting system onto my Internet system her in my office/studio in sunny Manilva!   The station has also joined up with radio station in France ' Exparadio' ' increasing the 'WWW' coverage. Watch this space.

Yesterday afternoon/evening we watched all the Quiz Shows before after supper settling down to watch the next episode of ‘ Cold Feet’ it seemed like the final episode as at the end lots of the story lines came together but in fact there are two more episodes to come?! Depression reached a poignant, if slightly deceptive, climax, relationships brake ups, some ‘ Jiggy’ moments with a new business partner, a new, but predictable love interest/romance, family splits sorted and prison time worked out and finally a large get together with music & dancing, all in a day!

See below a black & white picture of the ' Anglican Cathedral ' in Liverpool looking spectacular in the morning light.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A STILL VERY WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 8^th / SEPTEMBER 2016.

I saw ‘ Reina’ back with us for the day, she’s now also staying with us on Saturday afternoon, we then sorted ourselves out for the day ahead, after freshening up we had our usual breakfast, we then got the shopping list ready for tomorrow morning.

Today has started very pleasant, there is a little breeze making it very comfortable, by lunchtime into the mid 30s, the forecast is that it’s going to get warmer over the weekend, during the night it’s still hot & clammy making it difficult to sleep.

This evening it’s the ‘ Chef’s & Staff ‘ night off so we are going along to Bat Castillo for our supper, I've just come back from the local bank and noticed that Bar Castillo is closed for a week, Juan did tell us the other night that he and the family were going across to Tenerife to see their son who works there, Cafe Nacho is closed on a Thursday & Cafe Plaza' is also closed for a week for decoration etc - Bar Rojas is not on our list at the moment as the new lady is charging us 'Tourist' prices not ' Local?! -   so we will go along to Bar Ocana for a change!  

Tomorrow evening we are having ‘ Goujons of Hake Fillet’ then on Saturday its going to be ‘ Entrecote Steak’ – on Sunday we are fancying some  ‘Lamb’- watch this space.

Today’s Stage 18 of the ‘ Vuelta d’Espana’ has an easy finish, not like yesterdays steep climb up to the finish, see the route maps below, tomorrow it’s the ‘ Time Trial ‘ which could decide who wins the race leaders ‘Red Jersey’ - watch this space.

Yesterday evening after supper we watched the next round of “ The Great British Bake Off “ and later the next episode of ‘ DCI Banks’  The late film was a ‘ Steven Seagal ‘ all action movie which we started to watch but we could not understand a word he was saying?! Is it us or is this normal?!

Today’s reminder to tune in & listen to  ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ with all the new presenters ( and ‘ Sir’ Malcolm back possibly !)

PS;  Don’t forget to keep the ‘ Postcards ‘ coming in, we really enjoy receiving them and of course we send you one back from sunny Manilva!  See below an old one from ‘ Old Colwyn ‘ !!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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