Hannah Murray is a radio presenter on Talk Radio Europe. She hosts the Breakfast Show every weekday from 8-10am, and the Book Show every Wednesday at 7pm, repeated on Saturday at 8pm.
PJ Lopez is a digital marketing expert and runs his own business as well as being the lead digital marketing consultant for Manifesto Design. Together Hannah, PJ and Manifesto founded the popular ‘Guide to San Pedro’, which has become the number one resource for San Pedro de Alcantara; and are now pleased to bring their local knowledge and experiences to Let’s Eat Marbella.
It has been another busy couple of weeks for us, much of which involved food, but we are certainly not complaining! We have had a roller-coaster of a time, broken records, seen a wizard, scared a few people, and been verbally abused at lunch (which was hilarious).
Life is a roller coaster: You could tell it was feria time in San Pedro because it rained. Like clockwork, it rains every year during the feria, but we did not let this ‘dampen’ our enthusiasm. We decided to go on the Friday night and headed for the stalls where Hannah could not maintain her 100% record of winning a cuddly toy. It was left to me this year to bring home the prize, which was a football, as I managed to score three penalties passed the rotating goalkeeper.
We enjoyed many of the rides including the rollercoaster, but the highlight was definitely Hannah and our friend Jan on the bull ride. What a sight to behold we must have all been with 30 somethings, 50 somethings, 60 somethings and even 70 somethings (sshh), screaming our way around the fairground rides putting the youngsters to shame.
We went off to see the Wizard!: The Salon Varietes Theatre in Fuengirola put on some really great shows, from comedy plays (like ‘Allo’ Allo’ and ‘Are you Being Served’ that we took part in a few years ago) to full-blown musicals like Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Oliver! and Jesus Christ Superstar.
We saw that they were doing The Wizard of Oz, so we had to check it out.
We were blown away at the talent, with superb singers, and actors – it really was well cast. Another thing to note about the Salon are all the people working hard to put these shows together. As well as the actors and the director, there are some really talented people making costumes, sourcing props, designing and building sets, as well as taking care of all the lighting and sound.
If you haven’t been to see a show there yet – it’s a must!
Record Breakers: We are now officially Guinness World Record Breakers. We took part in the world record attempt for the most simultaneous players of the game Beetle Drive. It was organised by the Marbella-Guadalmina Rotary Club and was held at the Palacios de Congressos in Marbella. Having arrived in plenty of time it was looking touch and go for a while as to whether we would do it, but in true Marbella fashion, lots of people arrived at the last minute – just in time to play! There were just over 300 people playing and when counted up, there was enough to break the existing record. Well done all!
We are in a Healthy Place: On the 19th October we were invited to a good friend’s son’s birthday which also happened to be at the re-launch of a lovely eatery called Healthy Place, located in the commercial centre opposite La Sala in Puerto Banus.
It has a great menu with some amazing dishes, some of which we were treated to during the course of the evening. Hannah went back for lunch a few days later and was impressed with the food. She enjoyed a vegan chili Buddha bowl, which was beautifully presented and had a real ‘kick’.
We will definitely be heading back there for some more healthy bites to eat!
60 is the new 40: Next up it was the 60th birthday party of a friend and former DJ held at Bar Six in Aloha, Nueva Andalucia. It was a great turn out and we were treated to some wonderful live music. As we arrived Joe West was belting out some classic SKA tunes by the Specials and Madness. Then former Heatwave member Frankie B performed some soul classics which got everyone up on the floor. The birthday boy’s youngest son DJ Cesar took over and had us all dancing into the early hours. He is following in his father’s footsteps and even though he is just a young teenager, he has already built up a huge following and now plays in some of the best venues in and around Marbella.
A Coven of…quizzers?: Hannah’s monthly Urban Chai quiz started on Halloween two years ago, so this was the third anniversary. It was great to see so many adults make an effort and get their best horror outfits on (most of whom wouldn’t have dressed up for Halloween if it wasn’t for Hannah’s quiz). Not sure what people thought of us as we walked through San Pedro to get there, with me dressed as an evil nun (in an outfit we made from old clothes!). After the quiz we headed to the Hogan Stand and burst through the doors expecting to see a pub full of people also dressed in Halloween outfits. To our surprise (and many of the customers), we were the only ones dressed up, so we sat outside so as not to frighten too many people!
Cooking Up a Storm: A change in plans for Friday night gave us the opportunity to invite Hannah’s parents over for dinner. Once they accepted we decided to try out a vegan tasting menu comprising of eight different courses. What fun we had creating tasty things to eat using vegetables, rice, pulses and non-dairy products.
We started with a ‘welcome cocktail’ that Hannah made called ‘Cuddle on the Beach’ (it was a ‘virgin cocktail’, hence the name change!) It was orange and mango juice with a layer of cranberry juice on top. The first dish was tomato ceviche, followed by a thick carrot and coriander soup. Then came my baked beans with home made tomato sauce, followed by wild garlic mushrooms with parsley and truffle oil. I decided to attempt to make vegan pasta, so out came the pasta machine! I made wholemeal ravioli filled with roasted pumpkin and topped with a pumpkin sauce. Next was a coconut and basil risotto and then my sweet potato mini burgers (with slice of yellow courgette and green courgette for the bun), accompanied by sweet potato fries and a mint pea puree. Finally, Hannah made a fresh fruit platter with soya yoghurt. It went down very well, and Hannah’s parents very much enjoyed their first tasting menu experience.
Chili Pepes: Saturday night was a Manifesto night out to the craft beer brewery and live music venue, La Catarina in Nueva Campana. It was our first time there and we were really impressed with the set-up. The night had been arranged because a tribute band was playing called the ‘Chili Pepes’, singing hits by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They were really good and had the place rocking. It was a terrific atmosphere and we look forward to seeing more live music there in the future.
Don’t mention the war!: On Sunday, we headed into Gibraltar for lunch in La Sala, on board the Sunborn floating hotel. I have to say that the staff were both rude and insulting. In fact, it was a complete shambles. Don’t worry, THAT WAS THE POINT! We attended the Fawlty Towers Dining Experience and it was an afternoon of fun and laughter. The three people playing the characters of Basil and Cybil Fawlty, along with Manuel, were spot on with their voices, mannerisms and looks. Earlier in the week Hannah had interviewed Oliver Harrison, who played the part of Manuel brilliantly. We were seated with other press people including TRE’s Giles Brown, photographer Johnny Gates, and Iain and Andrea from Essential Magazine. It was lovely to catch up and manage to avoid talking ‘shop’ (OK, until the very end, at least!)
