Nigel & Lu Visits Posh Sandbanks

Their next port of call of Sandbanks Beach in Poole fulfilled another long felt holiday want for Nigel and Lu ……….

……. and again lived up to their expectations, especially as due to the time of year they more or less had the beach to themselves ………

……. and in Nigel’s eyes there is almost nothing more wonderfully romantic than having a beach, other than the odd seagull or two and of course Lucy, to himself …….

…….. with only the waves and whistling wind as company, he was quickly adrift in his thoughts.

The beautifully clean, golden sands (as would be expected of a beach in one of the countries most exclusive and posh areas) was not really conducive for finding a holey stone for Darrell ……….

…… however Nigel did find a pencil, always a very useful thing to find, especially as it was sharpened.  He happily availed himself of it as a spare writing tool for putting, as he likes to call it, his  aide-mémoire together while he and Lu are away.

Unfortunately, the beach refreshment facilities, again due to the time of the year were closed, but their classy and opulent profferings weren’t lost on Nigel, coconut water, scampi and fish goujons all sounded sooooooooooooooooooo unbelievably sophisticated  and classy, Darrell would have adored it.

Fortunately, Lu had packed a flask to warm their cockles …………

………… but both vowed (a bit like their Yorkshire Pudding wrap experience of yesterday) that after leaving their footprints in the sand ……

…….. they would, like The Terminator, be back ……………

Darrell Finds …… In Nigel’s Absence

With Nigel away enjoying the autumnal pleasures of Bournemouth and surrounding area, his beloved school run is in the very capable hands of Darrell, who he is beginning to see why Nigel loves it so much, not only spending quality fun time with Iris and Bertie ………

……. but also “finding” things.

Yesterday he “found” two very charming and enticing chairs going free.

He was particularly taken with the intricate carvings on the back. Ohhhhh, how he could have transformed with them with a lick of “skimmed milk white” Farrow and Ball chalk paint, a complimentary charity shop fabric remnant and his trusty staple gun, but alas, we have more than enough chairs at The Towers as Bertie sagely reminded him, so with great reluctance Darrell sadly left them where they had found them.

And, in an effort to lift their disappointed Uncle Darrell’s spirits, Iris and Bertie decided to introduce him to “their sacred bumstone” another school run tradition ……. which, after listening to Nigel’s magical tales, they are desperate to turn/rub gold for Christmas ………

…….. so another pair of feet to help rub it along can never really be a bad thing can it? What are they like?

A Lot Felt Need Met ……….

One of Nigel and Lucy’s first ports of call during their stay in Bournemouth/Poole was to visit Hortons, to fulfil a long felt gastronomic want dating back to the last time they’d been in Poole……….

……. when it seems they’d spotted that said establishment purveyed a range of gourmet Yorkshire Pudding Wraps……..

I understand that at the time there had been much deep sighing and disappointment as they’d already availed themselves of a hearty ploughman’s lunch in a pub on the nearby quay and to put it politely they were stuffed to the gunnels, however, they’d vowed that whence they should return, they would save themselves, forgoing all other temptations, for this delicacy.

Hortons did not disappoint ……….

…… with both opting for the full roast beef with all the trimmings option including gravy.

The silence as they ate, according to Nigel, was testament that the anticipation of the year long wait was worth every single second.  Hortons indeed delivered.

Nigel is now wondering if he dare suggest to Darrell that he could possibly consider doing something similar for our 2021 Christmas dinner.  I have advised Nigel against such an idea, Darrell is very precious about how his festive bird is presented …….. and it certainly wouldn’t be in a Yorkshire Pudding Wrap, no matter how wonderful ……. but perhaps on an ordinary Sunday, who knows?

https://www.hortonsofpoole.co.uk/

The Pull Of The Sea ……..

Now, Nigel is very precious abut his days on the school run rota, but when Lucy proffered a couple of days away in Poole and Bournemouth, the pull of the sea got the better of him ……..

So, with Darrell agreeing to take on Nigel’s duties for a couple of days  plus a whole note book full of instructions, his suitcase was packed and he was off …….. besides, as he said, it would have looked unbelievably rude if he hadn’t accepted such a kind offer.

I feel that I ought to point out that although we didn’t notice at the time, Nigel sustained a little bruising to his face during our Halloween Midnight Walk, Bertie had bumped in to him in amongst the mayhem of total darkness and although Nigel dismissed it, the next day the bruising started to come out. 

So jokingly he says he’s using his time away to “convalesce” and he’ll be consulting his solicitor on his return!  What is he like?

New Caravan Site Signage

On his constitutional yesterday afternoon Darrell noticed that some new signs have appeared for the small caravan site just down the road from us ……….

…….. this, I have to say, is a very welcome development, because so many people in the past have managed to miss the turning for the site and simply followed the road down to The Towers ……. only to find themselves at a very tight dead end situation.  Many’s the time the whole estate has come out to help a hapless driver with attached caravan try and turn round inch by inch. Sorry no photos, that would not, during a time of tense and precarious manoeuvring, have helped the situation any ……  though we’ve been sorely tempted!

Now with said new signs, visiting happy campers can be afforded safe passage down the gently sloping hill to their small riverside vacational spot …….

Happy, if boring (for us) days!

Domino’s Gearing Up For Christmas With a A New Gastronomic Delight.

I can’t say we are that overly keen on an After Eight Mint. There was a time when Darrell used to insist we had a box for said mints over the festive season after he found a retro, silver plated After Eight Mint holder in a charity shop for 10p, however I think it may have since been donated back as I can’t remember seeing since Christmas 2019.

However, as you are well familiar, nothing goes past Nigel on his visits into town …… and according to his superior knowledge Domino’s have introduced a new special edition sticky After Eight Cookie as a highlight to their festive season …………..

Let’s just say that even Nigel isn’t that sure about this innovative delicacy, perhaps it’s a cookie filling too far? In some people’s eyes it may indeed be a gastropolitan treat, but I think it’s doubtful that we will be adding this extra, should we be ordering pizza over the holiday.

This Month We Are Mostly Eating ….. Candyfloss Grapes

With the autumn now well upon us and winter approaching according to Darrell, who's been zooming with his best friend and mentor Hugh, doyen of all things a la mode and of a healthy living type nature, it's very easy to feel a little lethargic due to a lack of sunlight ..........  

…… so to supplement and add new flavour to our already robust and rigorous 5 a day regime we've all agreed to add the candyfloss grape…....

………. veering, with gay abandon and adventuresome spirit from our usual grape of choice, the red seedless.

What are we like? Sometimes you just have to live it large!

Feeling Human Again ………

I am glad to say that we have all made a pretty good recovery following the rigours of a very successful (I hope) Halloween Sleepover  ……….

The Hotel Transylvania 3 board game Nigel found in his favourite charity shop, complete and in pristine condition for £1 was a great success and played with a steely determination by all participants, but it has to be said, in particular Iris.

The creepy crawly hunt in the garden also went down very well ………

…… the competition was incredibly fierce, so as Judge, Chief Adjudicator and Bottle Washer, I thought it would be wise to declare it a draw and just prayed that we’d managed to collect all the various skelebobs and fluorescent bugs back in, as I don’t fancy having to explain any mysterious clogging to the mowers and/or strimmers when the gardener next visits.

Darrell was very sparing with the profferings on his “Delicacy Tree”, another wonderous gift from his best friend and mentor of all things state of the art as far as entertaining is concerned. Treats were already in wild abundance, but Darrell was anxious to set it up just to see what it looked like and mull over its infinite catering possibilities  ………

…….. and according to a very chuffed Darrell, at Christmas it’s going to be a very different kettle of fish!

Our “Midnight Walk” (at six o’clock) was another triumph. We went down to the park which was in total darkness, leaving a trail of glowsticks behind us, so that we could find our way back to The Towers afterwards.

Goodness only knows what the people living in the houses nearby thought was happening with all the squeals, laugher and eerily lights moving across the field. I think we scared a couple of dog walkers away, but according to Young Master Bertie it was the best midnight walk EVER, EVER, EVER!

A spooky bath time followed as a warming up exercise,  with three cans of foam discharged with great gusto in the bath and all over the surrounding tiles, with a fizzing bath bomb, more glowsticks and an underwater disco light ……….

Nigel volunteered to clean up the aftermath, since he was the one offering the most encouragement to go wild in the aisles …….let’s just say …….. it took him ages before it passed Darrell’s exacting muster,  poor Nigel!

The excitement was gently bought down with a Netflix viewing of Hotel Transylvania 2 with popcorn accompaniment ……. before wending our weary way to bed. It was a day we’ll always remember, with so many memories  made ………. and …….. we get to do it all over again on New Years Eve for our traditional Iris and Bertie New Years Sleepover ……. we must be crazeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Halloween Sleepover 2021

To put it in a simple, if slightly risque manner after our traditional annual Halloween sleepover ……. we are totally and probably irreparably kn*****ed, perhaps a bit of a mahooosive exaggeration, as they do say time heals, but as I try and post this Darrell is lying prone and severely castrated in his darkened boudoir, alongside Nigel who says he is only able to accept, and I quote, “nil by mouth in small doses”!  What is are they both like?  I am just in need of lots of hot sweet tea, bought every half hour by Kata our wonderful friend and neighbour across the hallway.

As with all parties there were countless last minute things to be done, lanterns to hang and one bed to be re-made after the last minute arrival of a Sugar Skull/Day of The Dead bedspread from Hugh, Darrell’s best friend and mentor of all things avant-garde and saveloy faire! To be honest, there was no time for our usual emotion …..

……. because there was also a hairdressing salon to be set up (????) because all little spooks need to be, according to Darrell, neatly coiffed not to mention a gruesome and haunting doorbell for Nigel to stick up.

There was some debate as to whether the welcoming plaque on our front door was still appropriate or not, after there being something on the news about the word “spooky” having connotations, however we decided to throw caution to the wind for this year at least and rely on miserable gentleman upstairs to point out any seasonal misdemeanour…..

… especially as there was still Nigel’s “E No. extravaganza of a  cocktail bar to be prepped ……..

Never let it be said that we didn’t put our hearts and souls into the event ….. I did tell Darrell that the pumpkin he had bought was perhaps a trifle on the ambitious large size ………

…….. but he insisted it was perfect and was determined to hollow and carve it out, single handed, as a matter of pride, no matter how long it took ……..

…… so, despite intermittent and at times alarming bouts of cramp, spasm and digital numbness …… three hours and twenty six and a half  minutes later, to be precise, it was done, just in time for Iris and Bertie’s “buoyant” arrival!

If it’s OK, I’ll leave it there for today …….. despite my wry humour it was all perfect ……… so many wonderful memories were made, with so much laughter ……… I just need to join Darrell and Nigel for an hour or two!