Planks Akimbo

From what I can gather Lucy is taking no prisoners back in the homeland, in getting as much import as she possibly can as to what is de rigeuer and en-trend or just plain common or naff as far as wooden flooring her mansion is concerned from Darrell, as the Kelly Hoppen the Queen of Interior Design was unavailable …….. and too expensive!

Darrell says he is a touch weary, but he is determined not to be found wanting in the click and lock, engineered oak department.

……. And so, after six and a half hours of intense errring, ahhhhing and ummmming, and not a little comparing and contrasting he, Lucy and Nigel finally emerged, from his flooring emporium of choice, blinking into the daylight and clutching the chosen three samples to be hopefully whittled down to “the one”!

Poor Nigel said that he had almost developed a squint with all the effort,  adding, but not wishing to upset Darrell, that  to him, they all looked exactly the same!

Darrell in full artistic flight replied that it maybe so to the uninitiated such as Nigel, but to the sensitive, expert eye the differences between each one were immeasurable. He had his preferences, but at the end of the day the final choice would have to be Lucy’s, he could only be her flooring guide (as opposed to Sam, Derek Acorah’s spirit guide!)

In the end Lucy decided that the one in the middle was “the one that shalt be laid throughout”  ……… and then, it was time for pizza, potato wedges and coleslaw all round to celebrate, followed by Lucy adding that tomorrow …… they would be going to look at stair carpet!!!! 

Getting The Confirmation That We Long Suspected

We have long suspected that the fishing pegs below The Towers were the prime spots for fishing along our stretch of the river, as they always seem to have someone fishing there, come rain or shine.

And, as there was a match on yesterday I thought I would meander down to see who was catching and who was not, and I stuck up a conversation with someone who was definitely not …..

…… and when I asked where was the place was that he would like to be fishing, he said, without hesitation “9 and 10” …… as it always produced, especially skimmers. I nodded sagely, as if I knew what skimmers were, but I felt very proud.

…… And judging from the weigh-in later in the afternoon, there were ample keep nets of fish to weigh in ……. Andy and his Dad would have been in their element down there, I expect when everyone has gone, that’s where they are, doing what they loved so much together, while keeping a watchful eye on us……….. we done good!

Darrell And Nigel Get A Better Offer

Sadly, we never made it to Spirit Fest yesterday, for all our hype and excitement Darrell got a better offer! Lu text him and said that if she picked him up, would he like to go looking at wooden flooring with her, he had done such a good job at The Towers, she wanted to do the same at hers and would very much welcome his import, followed by a trip to Ikea (and the obligatory hotdog at the end) plus a sleepover with a cheeky cocktail or two back in The Homeland ……… well, what’s a boy to do, except ask if Nigel go come with him!

I understand that they are having a brilliant time, Evesham has a very nice Costa, but is a stranger to a Starbucks, and it has to be said Darrell and Nigel are very partial to a said Starbucks …… so have already, I understand, found time to avail themselves of the new Salted Toffee Academia Latte with extra cream despite their rigorous schedule!

I know I could have gone to Spirit Fest on my own, but it wouldn’t have been the same without those pair ……. and I am sure there will be something of a spooky nature coming up again soon, so in the meanwhile I think I just enjoy the peace and quiet that has fallen on The Towers.

One Of Our Barges Is Missing ……

Poor Nigel is in a bit of a state, the barge that is always parked directly opposite us wasn’t there when he opened the blinds this morning …….

…… it’s the barge where the swans like to peck on the windows asking for something to eat.

They are going to be as upset as Nigel, who likes to watch the lady in the galley making tea and wondering what romantic water bound feasts she is busy preparing.

Nigel was sure it was there last night ……. but now it’s gone ………

Barges are not things you take out lightly, so Nigel is just hoping that the boat people are just testing out its engine, main brace, oars, life jackets and other stuff ready for the regatta season …… and nothing sinister has happened, like the cats, who he also likes to watch with great interest on the other side of the river, gnawing through the tow rope, leaving the barge to float  away from its moorings, unfettered, towards the weir!

Charity Shop Find Of The Week …… And A New Piece of Domestic Equipment Due At The Towers

As you know Marmite is our very favourite savoury spread of choice, so you can imagine my delight when I found this cookbook for just 60p in one of the charity shops in town.

However, I have to confess, I have been a bit of a stranger to the oven at The Towers, we inherited it with the flat, but ever since we’ve been here it has been incredibly noisy, often drowning out our teatime Judge Rinder viewing,  you can’t read the temperature on the dials so it’s all guess work  and, to be honest I wouldn’t trust a Victoria sponge or tray of Brownies to it, as everything we have put in it so far, of a needing to be baked type nature, has come out with one burnt side and the other side remaining pale and pasty!!!

I reckon it owes us nothing, so I have finally got round to ordering a new one from AO, due in a weeks time ……

…… and then ….. it will be red onion marmalade and goats cheese tartlets and spinach, marmite and mozzarella muffins akimbo, nom, nom, nom!

Betting Is A Mugs Game!

What we love about Evesham is that it’s a lot like us, it likes to work with a theme!  Admittedly, we are pretty much strangers to the turf, but this week you can’t miss that it’s The Cheltenham Festival where it’s all novice chases, handicap hurdles and ladies in posh hats akimbo! 

A lot of the shop windows in town are reflecting the event in their windows displays.

…… and with the potential of a few extra visitors staying in town, (Cheltenham is only about 17 miles away), several cafes and bars are offering special celebratory breakfasts to line the stomachs of eager race goers or for those who prefer to watch the action from the comfort of the establishments that are screening it live.

Amber Cafe are giving a free tip with every breakfast ……..

However, we are grateful that Nigel wasn’t tempted to have a little flutter because although todays tip for the 3.30 Dusty Carpet, may never have never been beaten before today…….because according to Darrell's post race research, he certainly has now!

A Letter From Castle Greysquirrel

We have stayed in touch with the Cheryl and Andrew, the couple who now live at Castle Greysquirrel and exchange little notes and cards now and again.

It’s always lovely to hear all their news and how happy they are there …
…….. and how they love everything about our village that we did …..
…… but we can’t help getting a little emotional, especially Nigel …….
……. when there is news of the fish …….

……… perhaps next time we return to The Homeland we should take them up on their kind invitation and pop in and see them …..

Another Scary Quandary For Nigel

There is a skeleton in the window of a house we pass when we go into town on not the so scenic route ……..

……. and it is giving Nigel some very sleepless nights wondering if it is a model, which he can cope with ……..

……. or if it’s a real skeleton of something truly awful and scary, the stuff of nightmares? ……. And if it is, what else goes on behind those starry curtains.  He says until he finds out he would prefer to cross the road instead of walking directly past it!  What is he like?

A Reminder Of The Past

Nigel and Darrell popped into Amber Café in town for a quick coffee after Music, Rhythm and Rhyme at the library as The Bear, where they usually go, was full ………

It turned out to be an emotional occasion for Nigel as the selection of sauces and condiments they had on the tables bought memories flooding back of his days working in Sauce Rotation in the Kitchen at The Girls School.

He couldn’t help rearranging them a little and sighing as he did so, wondering if Cook Lady ever thought about him, and remembered him fondly.

Darrell thought that they had best not linger too long as a maudlin Nigel was not the best prospect for the rest of the afternoon, and as they did so he noticed a sign on the door ……

…….and suggested to Nigel that instead of feeling sad for happy days with memories that will last forever, they should instead leave some money behind the counter for someone less fortunate than either of them could ever dream of …….

……… as we have always been very blessed in a Hello Magazine type way, but should never take it for granted ……

Tweet Of The Day

Because The Towers is on a small estate, at the end of a road to nowhere, it is a very, very quiet place to live, the main sounds we hear come from the birds…………. however, as strangers to bird song, Nigel has taken to catching up on and listening to Tweet of the Day in an effort to learn what species are making all the racket!

Naturally, the chances of it being an ostrich are very small …….
….. so for the moment he is just concentrating on our native British birds ….

…… and now, down to his due diligence, he can confidently recognise a blackbird, a seagull and  a herd of Canada Geese, who are particularly vocal at 8, 9 and sometimes 10 o’clock at night, even though it’s dark.  He is also hoping to learn a robin and a thrush, but he says, it takes time as all the other birds get in the way …… what is he like?

A Date For Our Diary

Nigel spotted a poster for an event of great interest to us all while he was out mooching in town ……..

……. Evesham’s spiritual event of the year …….Spirit Fest 2017!

……. well, it would be rude not to attend, and visit all its “all manner of stalls”, especially as it’s free (I wonder if there will be refreshments too?) ……..

…… And, as there will be readers there, Nigel is already thinking about what books he should take for them to read!  What is he like?  Anyway that’s a date in our Evesham diary duly noted and underlined in red!

German Confectionary Review No. 5 Assorted Mini Ritter Sports

Because we are already familiar with Ritter Sports Chocolate we knew we were in for a treat, and thought we would be less formal in our considerations and adjourn to the sofa to conduct our review.

The packaging gave us a clue as to the delights ahead, even if some of the names in German didn’t sound as enticing.  Vom Gluck might sound like something from a Bush Tucker Trial but really means, according to Darrell’s Google translator  “Here is a piece of luck”.

Sttat Blumchen means “instead of flowers” and not white chocolate as we thought, Lass es Kracken – Lets Party Hard and finally Die Schaffst Du Und Alles Andere Auch - You Can And Everything else and not strawberry!  All very romantic and intriguing!

Nigel who is very partial to a piece of white chocolate liked the Statt Blumchen best, it ticked all his boxes, especially creaminess.

Darrell’s favourite was the long winded and hard to type Die Schaffst Du Und Alles Andere Auch, which indeed had a line of strawberry through it, he was surprised that there was a crunch to it, but that added to his confectionary enjoyment, as well as the strawberries being one of his ten a day!

And I preferred the milk Vom Gluck, despite it’s dubious name, it was very creamy and satisfying. 

None of us were that keen on the Lass Es Kracken, though not dark chocolate or coffee as we thought (neither of which we really like), it didn’t really do anything for us, but again the slight crunch in the middle filling took us by surprise.

It has to be said that this was a very enjoyable review, but it’s always a sad moment when everything has been tried and all you are left with is a plate of empty wrappers ……

But, it was very kind of Ze Monkeys for the opportunity to explore Teutonic Chocolate which we may have never done without them.

And our score on our almost world famous Richter Scale of Noms? It has to be an indisputable 4 chains, 9 furlongs and 3 pecks in ancient measurements.  What more can we say but nom, nom, nom!