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

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A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND;

FRIDAY 5th / AUGUST 2016.

I was up first this morning and shot out on my travels down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, meanwhile Brenda freshened herself up and sorted the day ahead out, I went to ‘Mercadona’ first, to beat the crowds, I then called into the ‘English Bookshop’ for the local weekly newspapers, they had missed me as I usually go to them first as they open! I then went along the promenade to the local market for some fresh flowers & plants but could not find anywhere to park, after three attempts I gave up and carried on to ‘ Super Sol’ for the ‘English’ essential before shooting back up the hill thought the vine fields to the house.

‘Reina’ arrived a little later so we had a nice catch up with Daniela as she’s working from home today, last night we met her sister Mariapaz & her new husband, Danny, for the first time, ( the wedding was on Monday!)  as they were walking through the village with some friends, later her son , Lucas, came along with a mate and we met him, he was very pleasant & polite and talked to us, we where sat outside ‘Bar Castillo’ having a very pleasant late ‘Tapas’ supper in the still warm night air, we had been joined by some friends, Mick & Lllona, from Dublin, with their two young & very well behaved children, they have lived down here for many years and now have a house at the top of the village.

Last night was the hottest so far this year, in the late afternoon it reached 39 degs in the shade, in the evening, when we were out, the breeze that come along was very hot and took your breath away when you went outside, yesterday afternoon there was a very severe & sudden long blast of wind, Daniel’s dad was blown over in his garden patio and crashed into a glass table, cutting his hand, Mick & Lllona with the kids were on the beach in Estepona and it caused havoc as all the sun umbrellas etc were blown away, the beach was packed at the time?! More very hot sunshine is forecast for the weekend and into next week, watch this space.

For supper this evening we are having ‘ Grilled Hake Fillets a la Meuniere’ – I dust them lightly in seasoned flour and them cook them quickly, until crisp, in foaming Lemon & Parsley Butter, we are having Garden Peas, Broccoli Florets and some Baby New Potatoes in their Skins ( see below ) that I picked up from the local wholesale market in Sabinillas, at the same time I found some fresh Ginger, for Brenda, she’s into a hot Ginger ‘type’ tea that she has been recommended too by her Hairdresser, Annie! Tomorrow night we are having a ‘ Grilled Entrecote Steak’ sliced ‘ French’ style with all the trimmings and then on Sunday its going to be a Roast Chicken from the local ‘ Rotisserie’ with a Mixed Salad.

This week we have been following a series on ‘BBC TV 2’ in the early evening “ Blitz Cities “ Each day its been a different city & presenter, On Monday it was London with Shane Richie, on Tuesday Liverpool with Ricky Tomlinson, Wednesday was Myleene Klass in Norwich and last night John Humphry’s in Cardiff; they all go up in a light aircraft and fly over their cities on the same route as the German bombers back in the early 1940s, following picture maps with the marking in Red showing the docks ( classed as 45! ) The maps & pictures were taken before the war?!

Ricky Tomlinson met some old ladies that had survived the Blitz, one had lost her very young baby, in her arms, from a blast but she survived, the war time spirit was unbelievable, he talked to a Docker that had also survived when the “ SS Malakand “ a Ammunition ship was blown up on May 3^rd 1941 and caused the biggest explosion in the city, my Dad, Tommy Sexton, attended the fire that followed as it exploded and told me about it when I was young. I recently talked about my Dad’s time in the Blitz in Liverpool & London as a Fireman, Ricky then met Stan Boardman, the Comedian, who told him about being in an air raid shelter with his family, that was hit, they were all knocked unconscious and his older Brother was killed and the rest of the family survived.

John Humphry’s, the BBC Broadcaster, turns out to be a local Welsh boy from Splott in Cardiff and only survived a bomb that killed over 30 people sheltering in the cellar of the local shop because he stayed at home in the ‘ Anderson’ Shelter for a change! He also talked about the bombing of the docks in Swansea, which they missed,  and all the damage was done over a 40 acre city centre site that destroyed everything!

It brought back memories of our first house back in 1950 in Trevor Road in Orrell Park, it had a ‘ Anderson Shelter ‘ in the back yard covered in soil & grass, I used to play in it before my Dad knocked it down and made a garage!

Thoughts for Day; See above.

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

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A VERY, VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY;

THURSDAY 4^th / AUGUST 2016.

No lie in for the wicked this morning as ‘ Reina’ was due back with us here in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ for the day, we then freshened ourselves up and had our breakfast, a small ‘Bacon Butty’ for me and plain Brown Toast with fresh fruits for Brenda, tea, no sugar, for Brenda & just a small spoon of sugar for me!

We then got the shopping list ready for tomorrow morning when I’m going down to Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, no other plans, so far, this week, next Tuesday morning we are going across to Estepona as I need a trim & cut etc, at the same time we will check on our ‘Carriage Clock’ in the Jewellers next door, then it will no doubt be time for some window shopping.

Today its already very hot and sunny and by this afternoon its due to reach 38/39 degs in the shade, there is no breeze, the rest of week is looking like more of the same, just a little cooler tomorrow, but then getting hotter over the weekend and into next week. Watch this space

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This evening its the ‘ Chef’s & Staff ‘ night off so we are going along to ‘ Bar Castillo ‘ for a late Tapas supper after the sun has gone down, no concert this week, we will just sit and take in the sights, sounds & aromas of sunny Manilva, in the slightly cooler night air.

This morning we were listening to ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ as we were getting ready for the day ahead, its now broadcasting ‘ live’ from the new studio/office complex in ‘Puerto Duquesa’ Fingers crossed that I can get back live ‘on air’ broadcasting from my studio/office up here in the heart of sunny Manilva when the new programme/schedule is launched in the next few weeks, I’m just waiting for the ‘online’ broadcasting systems to be installed onto my new computer system, it will mean that I will be able to produce and then broadcast my show, ‘Sir’ Malcolm’s Saturday Classic Session’ Watch this space and listen!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY CLOSE & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 3rd / AUGUST 2016.

We were both up early this morning and after freshening up we had a quick cup of tea & toast, ‘Reina’ then arrived for the day and Brenda shot off the catch the bus down to Sabinillas to go to her ‘Hairdressers’ for the full works.

I then got this evenings supper on the go “ Beef & Mushroom Curry “ using the Diced Beef, dusted in seasoned/curry flavoured flour & fried off, the base of the sauce is made with diced Onions & Garlic, diced Apple & Pineapple, Button Mushrooms, five different Curry Powders and five assorted Pastes/Chutney, lots of secrete ingredients including Lime Juice & Desiccated coconut, a strong Beef & Vegetable Stock, then left to ‘ cook out’ – served with Basmati Rice, Garden Peas & sliced Banana! The ‘ Aromas’ have reached the top of our street to welcome Brenda back!!

Its a little cooler today, only in the mid 30s, its the off-shore breeze along the ‘ Costa Del Sol ’ that are making it more bearable, inland its still hitting the 40 degs mark in Sevilla,Cordoba, Granada and even in Madrid & Toledo, the rest of the week is more of the same before at the weekend its due to get warmer.  See below the first bunch of the ' Moscatel Grapes ' from sunny Manilva.

Last night after supper we watched the Final of ‘Child Genius’ – Five children, including a brother and his younger sister, were left in the first round of specialist questions on subjects that they have chosen,” Margaret Thatcher, Florence Nightingale, Russian Ballet, Victorian Sanitation & Spiders that Mimic Insects “ ! – 20 questions over 4 minutes with the top two scores going into the final section of General Knowledge, Maths & Spelling, one very pushy mother who had put her career on hold, as a Consultant Obstetrician, intervened & successfully objected to a question that her daughter had got wrong, it was given as correct and she at the same time avoided a tie-break to get into the final with another young girl, which in the end she won!! Rhea !!

Here are some of the Questions;

The conflict between Spain & Britain which began in 1739 was the so-called ‘ War of Jenkins _ ? ( answer Ear ! )

What was the name of the artist who painted ‘ Harmony in Red ‘ ( answer Henri Matisse !)

Spell; Polydactylous ( many digits ) Thelytokous ( only female production ) Eleemosynary ( charitable )

Calculate; 22 x 4, subtract 23, x 6, and divide by 3 ( 130 ! )

PS;  I managed to answer one question, ‘ Which nationality was the composer Gustav Holst, answer English !!  ( One girl go it wrong and the other got it right! )

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY HOT & CLAMMY SUNNY MANILVA ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY 2^nd / AUGUST 2016.

We had a little lie in this morning as ‘ Reina’ was with us last night for a sleep over, she’s been very good and has slept very well and is eating everything on her diet, she’s due to be collected this evening and then is back with us as usual up to Friday; no sign of ‘ Chispa’ as she’s away on her holiday down at the family ‘ Campo ‘ in the valley below the village.

After breakfast I shot along to the Chemists in ‘Calle Mar’ for our prescription tablets and then carried on down to the Butchers for some of his excellent ‘Diced Beef’- he cuts everything to order after you tell him what you want and what it’s for!

This evening for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Minute Steaks ‘ – trimmed & flattened ‘Entrecote’ Steak, smeared with Dijon Mustard, then seared on a very hot griddle plate ‘ Rare’ and garnished with Button Mushrooms, finely sliced Green Beans & some twice-cooked ‘ Frits’ on the side. Tomorrow morning, while Brenda is down in Sabinillas at the Hairdressers, I’m making a ‘ Beef Curry’

Today has started a little overcast & very close, there is not a breath of air, its very ‘clammy & sticky’ – later the sun is due to break through and we will be back to normal, the week ahead is looking hotter and over the weekend its going to be the hottest so far this year, overnight it was very hot & sticky and we did not have much sleep. Watch this space.

Yesterday afternoon & evening we had our ‘ Quiz ‘ extravaganza; 15 to 1, Countdown, Pointless, Egg Heads, University Challenge and finally Connect! I even got one answer correct on Connect!! Later after supper we caught the late films, the ‘ Oscar’ winning ‘ Million Dollar Baby ‘ and ‘ Nighthawks ‘ from 1981.

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY FROM A VERY SUNNY MANILVA;

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A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON MONDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEK;

MONDAY 1^st / AUGUST 2016.

We managed a nice lie in this morning as ‘ Reina’ had a sleep over with us, she’s stayed up to watch the TV last night so slept all night on her duvet and then came on the bed this morning, she’s here with us tonight as well and then as usual everyday up to Friday Brenda shot down to our local Post Office to post a Birthday Card, watch out its could be you?! ( Colwyn Bay?)  See the picture below of the ' Great Orme' above Llandudno this morning.

After our regular breakfast of fresh fruit, toast & tea we sorted our week ahead out; on Wednesday morning Brenda is going down to Sabinillas on the bus as she has an appointment at the hairdressers for the ‘ full works’ – next week its my turn for my visit to the ‘Barbers’ over in Estepona, at the same time we will call into the ‘Jewellers’ to see how our Carriage Clock second-repair is coming along, no doubt with a little window shopping at the same time! This Friday I will be out down in Sabinillas for the weekly shopping, trying to beat the ‘ Hordes’ before it gets busy, no other happenings in the village ,so far, so its back to normal for now.

This morning its already very hot & sunny with no breeze, we are in for the hottest week, so far this year, well it’s the 1^st August today! At night its also staying very warm & ‘ sticky’ making it rather uncomfortable to say the least, the longer range forecast is still saying that its going to be the hottest on record, watch this space.

Tonight for our supper we are having ‘ Grilled Chicken Wings’ with a Mixed Salad and a Baked Potato, the rest of the week is yet to be decided, we are taking things as they come, keeping it a simple as possible.

Yesterday afternoon was a ‘ sports day ‘ – we watched a little of the  ‘Ladies Open Golf’ from Woburn but it was not very exciting as the leader was four shots ahead all the time, over in the ‘ German Grand Prix’ at Hockenheim Lewis Hamilton made another excellent start, off the grid, and led from start to finish to go ahead in the Drivers Championship, then we tried to watch over on BBC TV the coverage of the ‘Ride London’ Cycle Race around London with Chris Froome and the ‘ Sky Team’ taking part before shooting off the Rio De Janeiro  later today for the ‘ Olympic Road Race’ next Sunday, sadly the BBC coverage went ‘off air’ in the final 10 kms, so the exciting part of the race into the ‘Mall’ in London was not on air, at the finish the camera’s were in the wrong position and missed the sprint finish, as they did not cover the left hand-side of the road! Un-believable !!

After supper we settled down to watch ‘ the James Bond movie ‘ “ Skyfall’ on ITV, its rather ‘dark’ and not a typical, all action, as usual, with a surprise ending.

A little update on the new studio down in ‘ Puerto Duquesa’ of the  ‘Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW’ – its due to come ‘online’ in the next two weeks, the new programmes and day time presenters ( training at the moment ) are currently in the studio, see the picture below, hopefully I’m still going to be broadcasting ‘ on air’ live from my studio here in the heart of sunny Manilva, I’m just waiting for Andrew to come and install all the producing/broadcasting systems onto my system, watch this space!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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