A WET & CLOUDY SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY.

TUESDAY 20^th/ NOVEMBER 2018.

We managed another lie in this morning as the village is very quiet, as usual, especially as the rain is still hitting us, from time to time, after freshening up we had our regular light breakfast of fresh fruit (Banana) toast & tea.

As we were getting ready we listen to ‘ Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ – the ‘Breakfast Show’ with Andre Charles, from 8-00 – 10-00 am, this morning’s ‘Music Quiz’ was  15 seconds long and I guessed it straight away, with Brenda’s confirmation, it was the “ Village People “ with ‘ YMCA ‘ – so we got a mention and go into the draw on Friday!

After breakfast I shot along to the local Bank in ‘Calle Mar’ in-between the showers, for some cash, Brenda then went out to the ‘Chemists’ for her prescription tablets and on the way back called into the local shop at the bottom of our street, for a light bulb etc.

The forecast for today is showing more rain but with mainly patchy clouds and sunshine, at times, hovering on the 16/17 degs mark, over the next couple of days it’s more of the same, before on Friday when the ‘ wet-stuff’ returns, the weekend is looking mixed, as the breeze increases, next week we will be hopefully back to normal, for the time of the year, staying dry with patchy clouds and lots of sunshine, raising to 21 degs+ - overnight staying on the 13/14 degs mark, still no need for the Oil Heaters, watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Gammon Steaks’ – garnished with seared Button Mushrooms, topped with seared Pineapple Rings & ‘ Campo’ Fried Eggs! Garden Peas and twice-cooked ‘ Chips’ on the side, not forgetting lots of ‘HP’ Brown sauce. Tomorrow morning I’m making my famous “ Chicken & Mushroom Curry “

This afternoon/evening we will be catching all the ‘Quiz Shows’ that we follow; ‘ Countdown, Fifteen to One, Tipping Point, The Chase, Pointless, Eggheads, Only Connect & University Challenge ‘ – later channel hopping to find a film to watch.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WET & WINDY SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 21^st/ OCTOBER 2018.

We had a nice lie in this morning after a ‘ Helluva’ night out last night! Light rain hit us during the night and it’s now raining heavy, with cloud bursts, Estepona is now flooded, it looks like it’s in for the day! We grabbed a quick toast & tea before getting the “ State Banquet “ prepared.

The forecast is not looking good, for next week, with more of the ‘ wet-stuff’ to start, hovering in the low 20s, overnight down to 17/18 degs, by Wednesday the sun is due to return and on Thursday also, then, sadly it’s back to more of the ‘ wet-stuff on Friday ( Sandra’s birthday!) Watch this space.

Last night we picked up the folks from their apartment and carried on down to the street, behind the promenade, and were very lucky to find somewhere to park. Sandra & Bill had booked the main window table, overlooking the Mediterranean, at “ Restaurante El Estribo “

See below;

I ordered a bottle of the ‘ Rueda Verdejo ‘ to start and asked them to open a bottle of an excellent ‘ Argentinean Malbec ‘ for later with our main course, we had a very good ‘ Bread Basket ‘ with a selection of warm Brenda, the girls didn’t want a starter, Bill had the sizzling hot Prawns and I had the ‘ Argentinean Beef Empanadas’

See below; ( The flash didn’t work!)

For our main course Sandra & Brenda had the ‘ Fillet’ Steaks( Med & Med-Rare) with the special House Roasted Vegetables ( Courgette, Aubergine, Corn Slices, etc) – Bill & I ordered the “ Argentinean Beef Steaks “  – ‘ Med-Rare’ with Sautéed Onions & Mushrooms, Baked Potato for Bill and the excellent ‘Frits’ ( Skin-On) for me, with the creamy ‘Green Pepper Corn’ sauce & ‘Bearnasie’ sauce on the side.

See below;

It was the best meal out, that we have had down here on the ‘ Costa Del Sol’- the food & service was excellent, the ‘ Steaks’ were cooked and seasoned to perfection by the ‘ Grill Chef’ on the open ‘Wood Fired BBQ’ We had ‘ Carajillo’s’ and special Coffees, with on the house a chilled shot of Manilva ‘Sweet’ Wine ( Sherry!) Thanks to Sandra & Bill, for a memorable night out.

When we came outside, as the Mediterranean cashed on the beach, it was mild and calm, a beautiful moon lit evening. We decided to carry on the evening, so we shot along to ‘Puerto de la Duquesa Marina’ and had a ‘ Night-Cap’ in “ The Place ‘ – the live-music ‘Bar’ to be seen in! Sadly it was a ‘Thump DJ’ – we missed the ‘Motown ‘ night on Friday!

We have prepared this evening ‘ State Banquet’ – Sandra & Bill are using the local Taxi’s, to join us. To start we are having a selection of local ‘Tapas’ with a chilled bottle of ‘ Torres Vina Sol’ – with the main course we are opening a nice bottle of ‘ Marques de Caseres Reserva Rioja’ to have with the ‘ Roast Leg of Spanish Lamb’ – studded with Garlic Cloves & Rosemary, finished on a bed on my now famous ‘ Boulangere’ Potatoes and garnished with a ‘ Hasselback’ Potatoes, not forgetting the ‘ finger-licking Pan Gravy and ‘ Mint Jelly ‘ for Bill!  

The ‘ Vegetable Chef’ has kept in simple, by her usual standards, with Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets in a Three Cheese sauce, Glazed Carrot Batons with Ginger & Whole ‘ French’ Green Bean & Garden Peas, to leave room for the ‘ House Crepes’ to choice, accompanied with a special bottle of ‘ Vidal Icewine’ from the ‘Lakeview Cellars’ on the Niagara Peninsula’!!

Our plans/agenda for next week are weather permitting, on Tuesday morning we are making contact with Jack & Lyn, over in Melbourne, on the ‘ Skype’ video ( 8-00 pm over there!) We will head off to Cadiz on Wednesday and then on Thursday catch the train up to Benaojan, to go to ‘El Molino Del Santos’ for lunch, Friday is still TBC, watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A GREY, OVERCAST & WET SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY, AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 23^rd/ MARCH 2018.

I was up early this morning and shot out on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, I managed to beat the rain, which is forecast for later, I called into ‘ Itzabar’ for my toast & tea, where I was welcomed by  ‘ Good Morning, it’s Steven Seagal ‘!  - I said that I prefer ‘ Antonio Banderas’!! – it means that I’m now a regular in the bar.

I then shot along to ‘ Mercadona’ for our main shop, then I walked along to the ‘ English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers and a birthday card, next on my travels was the local market, at the far end of the promenade, for fresh flowers and a couple of wall plants, finally on my way back up the hill I called into ‘ Super Sol’ for the English essentials, before coming back through the vine fields and the three hair-pin bends to unload back at the house, which I reach through the back streets, including a very steep 1/6 short-cut!

This morning it’s back to a grey & overcast sky, the is a stiff/cold breeze blowing off the Mediterranean, the rain clouds are on the horizon, which we no doubt will hit us later, it’s the same tomorrow and on ‘ Palm Sunday’ - sadly, the temperatures are down to 8/9 degs overnight  and rising to 15 degs during the day, next week, from Monday the sun returns and it’s also keeping dry, then from Thursday onwards it’s back, again, to grey & overcast with patchy rain every day, including over the ‘Easter Weekend’ at the end of the ‘ Semana Santa’ week of religious celebrations, the following week, from ‘Easter Monday’ is not looking much better, watch this space.

See below the storm clouds gathering over the beach down in Sabinillas this morning and in another picture the ‘Rock of Gibraltar ‘ in the distance.

We have a quiet weekend in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ with only little ‘ Chispa’ calling in to see us, in between the showers, next week ‘ Reina’ is only with us on Tuesday/Wednesday, we now have a booking for the lovely ‘ Bo’ – the gentle giant ‘German Shepherd Cross’ – that has stayed with us in the past, he’s coming for a short ‘ Easter Weekend Break’ from next Thursday to Sunday afternoon.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Pan-Seared Tail-End of Fillet of Salmon ‘ finished with foaming Lemon Butter, with Garden Peas, Broccoli Florets & ‘ Parsley New Potatoes’ – accompanied with a sauceboat of the classic ‘ Hollandaise’ sauce.

On Saturday it’s another large ‘ Rib of Beef’ – on the bone, grilled and then left to rest, before slicing it ‘ French’ style into fingers, with all the trimmings, for our ‘ Sunday Roast’ we are having a ‘Leg of Spanish Lamb ‘ studded with Garlic & Rosemary, resting on a bed of my famous ‘ Boulangere’ Potatoes, with a large selection of fresh vegetables.

After supper this evening we will channel-hop and find something to watch, last night we found a good film to follow, from 1997  “ The Jackal “ with Brice Willis in the title role, Richard Gere, with a terrible Irish accent, and Sidney Poitier as the ‘FBI’ boss, a loose remake of the ‘ classic 1973 movie!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WET, GREY & OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 8^th/ MARCH 2018.    “ INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY “

I was up early this morning and after a quick freshen up I popped up to the Town Hall as I had an appointment to update some documents, in yesterday’s post we received a very official looking letter, that I could not quite understand, I shot up to the Town Hall and spoke to a friend in the Cultural Dept, she phoned the relevant department and arranged this morning’s appointment, it was just a routine update of details etc, sadly the Council’s computer system had crashed, so it’s going to be ‘ Hasta Manana ‘ ! Watch this space.

When I returned I had, for a change, ‘Campo’ Fried Eggs on toast, with a mug of strong tea, Brenda had her usual fresh fruit, brown toast & tea, we then sorted out the shopping list as I’m out on my travels down to Sabinillas on Friday morning, I then wrapped up in the waterproofs and went and collected ‘ Scruffy’ for the day, he could be staying with us, over night, as Rose is going to the hospital today for a check up and Adrian has his operation tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning, also, little princess ‘ Reina’ is back with us for the day, watch this space.

Yesterday evening the rain returned with a vengeance, and it has not stopped since, it’s very wet and the local hilly streets are very dangerous, I have to go the long way around, keeping to the flat as much as possible, when I’m out picking up ‘ Scruffy’ I then come back up the streets to the house!

As I’ve said before  ‘ When it RAINS IN SPAIN it rains’! After yesterday when it was such a beautiful, warm & sunny day her in sunny Manilva, the change in the weather is unbelievable, to say the least! It looks like we are in for another prolonged spell of the ‘ wet stuff’ over the next few days and weekend, next week is not looking much better, for now, with grey & overcast skies, a little breeze and heavy rain at times, the temperatures are still hovering on the 17/18 degs+ - overnight down to 11/13 degs, watch this space.

See below a picture taken this morning of ‘ St George’s Plateau ‘ in front of ‘ St George’s Hall ‘ in Liverpool.

For our supper this evening we are having the rest of the ‘ Chicken & Mushroom Tarragon Pie’ with a selection of vegetables and Parsley New Potatoes, on Friday evening I making, for a change, my famous ‘ Fish Pie’ using Hake, Cod, Salmon, Prawns, Mussels etc, in a savoury White Wine cream sauce and topped with of course Brenda’s famous Mashed Potato! Saturday is as usual ‘ Steak Night’ and then on ‘ Mother’s Day’ on Sunday it’s going to be a roast, possibly Beef, watch this space.

The work on the new  ‘ Estepona Hospital ‘ is coming along in spectacular fashion, as you can see in the latest pictures below, it’s on the coast road, on our side of Estepona and when it is open will cut down the journey, back & forth, to hospital by nearly 90 kms! Watch this space.

Yesterday evening after supper we channel hopped and watch nothing in particular!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

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A VERY WET, COLD & OVERCAST SUNNY MANILVA ON SATURDAY.

SATURDAY 29^th / APRIL 2017.

We managed a little lie in this morning before the gas bottle delivery man called, we had a faulty one last week so he exchanged it for a new one, we then had a cup of tea and toast, Brenda is washing her hair and as you can see I’m up in the office/studio on the WWW.

‘Chispa’ came crashing in, first thing, and stopped for breakfast, she has been clipped, not scalped, they have left her with a full head of hair, she looks rather different, to say the least, watch this space for a picture when I can catch her! Next week ‘ Reina’ is back with us in ‘ Doggy World Heaven’ for four days from Tuesday.

Next week the car is in for a check up on Tuesday, Brenda has an appointment with her hairdresser down in Sabinillas on Wednesday, I’m at the surgery on Thursday for my review/check up and then on Friday I will be out on my travels for the weekly shopping, we are planning to go out for ‘ Sunday Lunch’ to our favourite restaurant ‘ Kokomo’

Overnight the rain has stopped after the storm lasted 24 hours, it’s grey & overcast with black clouds and it looks like we are in for more rain soon, it's just started again, it’s also a lot cooler, 17/18degs, tomorrow it’s forecast to be back to normal for the time of the year, warm & sunny, next week is staying warm, dry and settled, getting hotter as the week goes on, watch this space.

See below a spectacular picture showing the ‘ Expressway’ weaving its way through Colwyn Bay.

On the sports front this weekend; over in the ‘ Premiere League’ Everton welcome Chelsea, on Sunday Manchester City travel across to Middlesbrough and then on Monday evening Liverpool go down the MI to play Watford, over here in ‘ La Liga’ Real Madrid are at home to Valencia and it’s the ‘ Derby ‘ game as Barcelona go to their near neighbours Espanyol ( Mano’s team!) It’s the ‘ Russian Grand Prix ‘ in Sochi, there is Tennis on the TV, it’s the ‘ Barcelona Open ‘ and Murray & Nadal are into the semi-finals;  this afternoon we will be watching the final days racing of the ‘ National Hunt Racing’ season  on ITV from Sandown Park & Flat Racing from Haydock Park.

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ French’ trimmed ‘ Entrecote Steaks’ grilled on a very hot griddle plate ‘ Med-Rare’ then left to rest, garnished with deep-fried Onion rings, whole Green Beans and of course twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ with ‘Bearnaise ‘ sauce on the side. On Sunday evening we have decided on ‘ Medallions of Pork Fillet ‘ and then on Monday ‘ Escalope of Pork Schnitzels’ with Spaghetti a la ‘Milanaise’

After supper we will channel hop and find something to watch, tomorrow night it’s the final episode of the very gripping ‘ Line of Duty ‘ – who is ‘ Balaclava Man ‘? Watch this space.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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A STILL VERY WET & WINDY SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 5^th/ DECEMBER 2016.

                                                                   “ CATASTROPHIC NATURAL DISASTER “

It has just been declared by the Council & the ‘Junta De Andalucia’ for the whole area of the ‘ Costa Del Sol’  after the death yesterday of two people caught in the floods; overnight the heavy rain has not stopped, this morning and for the rest of the day we are in for more of the same, fingers crossed that there are no cloud bursts! I was up early this morning leaving Brenda in bed for a little lie in, I put my waterproofs on and set off down to the surgery for my appointment for more blood/urine tests for my return appointment with my ‘ Prostrate’ Consultant later in the month.

At lunchtime Brenda has her appointment with our Doctor for her five-day check up, I’m getting the car out of the car park to take her down to the surgery. All her results/check ups were improved, she is going back on Wednesday lunchtime for another ' ECG' and then our Doctor, Natalia, has fitted her in first thing on Friday morning, before she sees all her other patients, for another check up, 'RESULT '!

‘Reina’ is not now joining us this morning but will be back tomorrow for the rest of the week, then next week she is with us for her normal five days as well as a sleep over on the Saturday, we then had breakfast, ‘ Smoked Bacon Butties’ – ‘open’ for Brenda, were called for to start the week in the right direction, over here in Spain this week we have two ‘Bank Holidays’ – on Tuesday it’s ‘ Constitution Day and then on Thursday ‘ Immaculate Conception ‘ On Friday I will be out on my travels for the weekly shopping.

Tomorrow we have a new ‘Atlantic’ weather front coming in & crossing over the region; from Tuesday it’s dry & sunny and getting a little warmer as the week goes on, the weekend is also looking settled, back to normal for the time of the year! Watch this space.

                                      PS; The rain has just stopped for the first time in over 3 days!!!

This evening for our supper we are now having a ‘ Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pie’ ( Iceland!) with Garden Peas & ‘ Chips’ – we are finally going to have the ‘ Roast Loin of Pork’ tomorrow with all the trimmings including ‘Duck Fat Roast Potatoes’ & finger-licking pan Gravy!

Last night after supper we watched the next episode of ‘ My Mother and Other Strangers’ – a drama set in 1943 following the ‘ Coyne’ family in a small Irish village in Tyrone after a ‘ US Army Air Force’ base is set up; a wistful, romantic, costume drama starring Hattie Morahan, Owen McDonnell, Aaron Staton, Eileen O’Higgins, catch it!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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