Nigel And The Pleasures Of Dawlish (Again).

When a cheeky couple of days in Dawlish with his beloved niece and nephew is proffered ………

…….. what’s a young monkey to do?

Well, it’s a bit of an annual invitation, so it would only look rude not to accept.

So this morning we find Nigel firmly ensconced in caravan No. 236 at Welcome Family Holiday Park in Dawlish Warren for the third year running! (the site, not the caravan)

He says, as always, going on holiday with Iris and Bertie is a very different affair to when he’s with Darrell and my good self ……

……… especially as Darrell is sooooooo organised, automatically takes over the kitchen and soon whips everyone into a routine,  but he’s sure they’ll muddle through, even though every single bed already seems to contain at least three soft toys and they’ve already lost a flip flop, a tube of toothpaste and all the lunch boxes meant for their beach picnics ………

……. because just being with Iris and Bertie unfettered by the rigours of the school run is always just too wonderful for words and although the weather is forecast to be pretty dire ……… let the adventures begin!

Failure Of A Serious Portal Nature ………

Oh dear …….. we had our official Door Safety Inspection this morning ……….

……. and, no reflection on our tenure whatsoever (it’s hereditary from well before we move in), but we and one other flat failed completely, which means we need the whole new door, which in turn means some great expense! So, zut alors, as they say en français, but what price peace of mind and our safety?

It’s also unlikely that we would be able to get a panelled door the same as the original as they have to come from Ireland usually with a 16 week wait and quelle surprise, at exorbitant cost ……….

So, Darrell has decided that if we are going to have to look different from the rest, at our expense, we might as well do it with a gay abandon, so when the colour chart comes …….. it’s going to be either fuchsia pink, aqua or purple (but not aubergine).  What is he like?  Naturally when said colour chart arrives, you, of course, will be the first to know! 

Heaven Help Us ……..

It might be “self protection” on my part, knowing Nigel’s obsession for all things of a festive type nature, but it does seem that Christmas has arrived even earlier than usual “up town” …… but then perhaps it’s me, hoping to cling on to a peaceful life for just that little bit longer.

Darrell had called in to Bargains wanting some of his favourite Jane Asher fondant icing and sprinkles when he was hit by a doubly whammy in the seasonal aisle ……..

On one side was Halloween (only six weeks away I suppose) in all its gruesome and ghoulish glory ………

……. and on the other, the shelves were heaving with all the wonderousness of Christmas …….

……. and there’s no way we can hide this from the little fella, unless we keep him under virtual house arrest until December! Heaven help us! Then, when Darrell wandered round town a little more, he found it wasn’t just Home Bargains, it had also crept in to the Card Factory and The Works, even our favourite charity shop of choice now has a small section of bits and pieces from other peoples Christmas’s past!

As sure as eggs is eggs (but not Easter ones for least for another three months ….. I hope), Darrell knows that Nigel will be desperate to add a ghost and mummy planter to his spook themed collection, as he had a couple of the pumpkin ones last year ………

………. and will then move on to pore over the festive stickers, trying to find the perfect ones for his beloved readers to stick on their ties or put in their reading records when Advent eventually hits! Let’s just say we are totally scuppered!

And Darrell is really just as bad, secreting an aforementioned ghost planter in his basket just in case they should sell out before Nigel saw them ….. and then quickly added a mummy one too for me to give the little fella for good measure! What is he like?

Polishing The Family Silver

It’s that time of year, as the nights slowly draw in to tackle those once a year type jobs ………

….. to wit, the polishing of the family silver, the cutlery we inherited from Granny Shelia that she loved so much and which came out for all our special family occasions and always, always at Christmas. Many a sprout has been triumphantly hoisted aloft on those fork prongs

Needless to say Darrell takes the custodyhood-ship of it all very, very seriously, as said traditions have, in turn, followed us to The Towers.

When he feels the time is right, he puts on a podcast and cracks on with a bottle of  Barkeepers Friend, his favourite polish of choice.

A complete tray of lovingly polished silver is indeed a  joy to behold …….

……. but knowing that there is the “other tray” waiting your attention in the top drawer of the cabinet does slightly take the shine off things. Time for another podcast, with a nice cup of tea and Hob Nob waiting at the end of it all, as a small reward for a job well done!

Following On …..

Following on from Fridays post and the grassy steps ………

…… Nigel put his own idea into action, using the artificial grass Darrell had squirrelled away from Easter, when he was going to have a seasonally decorated, grassy table runner for our festive lunch, but then decided against it.

I have to say, I am not convinced and thankfully neither are Nigel or Darrell. Nigel says it just needs a bit of an iron after being folded up for so long ……

….. but Darrell says it’s almost certain to contravene the Door Mat Act of goodness knows when and even if it didn’t, you know who upstairs would certainly have something to say.

However, we’ve all agreed that no questions will need to be asked in Parliament on this occassion ……..

….. so, it is with very regrettable regret, that Nigel’s thoughtful and very inventive idea to have a grassy knoll just outside The Towers is a no goer.

The Grass Is Always …….

Nigel has noticed, what could be a new growing decorative phenomena outside a couple of shops along the school run ……

….. to wit a artificial grassy type entrance and step. Adam’s our new corner shop has had one since they opened ………

….. but now Diamond Scissors, Young Master Bertie’s barber of choice appears to have followed suit.

It looks, I have to admit ……. like a homely and welcoming splash of colour on an otherwise rather dull pavement, but how long it will last with the autumn and winter looming, who knows.

However, it also jogged Nigel’s mind of something Darrell had bought for Easter for our festive décor, but decided not to use in the end, that the little fella had recently stumbled upon at the bottom of the cupboard, he says ……… he has …….. an idea!  Heaven help us!

An Emotional Reminder of The Homeland

Darrell did a huge double take when he spotted this picture on his last visit to “The Vale”, our very favourite, if everso slightly odd Evesham charity shop of choice ……….

He said memories of half of the family disappearing on Boxing Day afternoon for “the match” came flooding back, as well as passing the Molineux every day on the bus to get to and from work at the Girls High School, going to a Rod Stewart concert there and Andy’s wardrobe stuffed full of Wolves sweatshirts, t-shirts and jackets and other paraphernalia.

Tempting as it was, at just £2.50, Darrell said he decided to leave it there for someone else to enjoy, besides, it really wouldn’t have fit in anywhere in his carefully curated interior design scheme ……..

…… but he did admit to giving it a tender stroke as he walked away…….. along with a heartfelt sigh for memories of a, seemingly now distant, past life!

Sounds Like Home …..

Nigel is well and truly back on the school run trail now and as always is on the look out for things to “find”, make him  smile or get him in a pondering or whimsical frame of mind ……

….. and yesterday,  although he has passed this house every Wednesday and Thursday for at least the past year ……..

……. but he’d never noticed it’s name before.

With a silent L, Nigel says it made him think of the homeland where, “W’em u gooing?” - “W’im gooing up home” is oft heard in polite conversation on his beloved number 5 West Midlands bus to and from Wolverhampton!

What’s he like?

What Are Some People Like ……..?

We all joke about Nigel’s love and skill for “finding things”, but this sort of thing, left on our road, just isn’t funny,  ……..

……. poor Darrell was beside himself …….  it must have taken some effort to move this large, abandoned sofa in the first place, so why not go the whole hog and take it to a proper tip?

However, rather than just tut and sigh, then ignore said blatant fly tipping, to leave it for some other soul to sort out, our Darrell, bless him, did his civic duty and reported it to the appropriate channel (with  attached pictures) as soon as he got back home.

It didn’t take him too long and shortly after he received an e-mail thanking him and saying that the matter was now in hand ……

…… as indeed it was, as the next time Darrell went up the road, the offending article gone.

Darrell did his bit ……. but really, what are some people like?

The Most Wonderous “Tea Set” In The Whole Wide World …….

Yesterday while out mooching Nigel spotted the most beguiling tea set he had ever seen in prime position in the window of the Salvation Army shop.

It was simply just too beautiful for words ………

… every single piece was sumptuously gilded and embossed in gold …

…… and then encrusted with rubies!  How unbelievably would your bedtime Horlicks taste when sipped from these cups and saucers?

Nigel knew that he would probably never see it’s like of it again and was sorely tempted to go in and with devil may care ask them to box it up forthwith. It would have made a glorious present for Darrell, who he knew would also have been as overwhelmed by its beauty, as would indeed his best friend and mentor of all that glitters, Hugh.

However at £50, it was a little out of his price range, especially considering that Nigel’s average spend in any charity shop is generally around the £3 mark.

So with regret, Nigel knew said slurping of Horlicks was a bit of a pipe dream, and that he had to steel himself, regretfully, away. It was emotional, especially knowing that it wasn’t something he could easily put on his bucket list if ever we got rich …… this was a one off for Evesham.

Post Scriptum Stuff

Nigel did his homework when he got home, finding out that £50 was the bargain of the century for this 1950’s Rieber Mitterteich Bavaria porcelain and 22ct gold coffee set and that similar have sold for around £369 to well over £400 in the past! Needless to say, he scrapped every single penny he had together, borrowing £10 from me, but when he got back to the shop, it had gone!  Obviously it got very emotional with the little fella vowing that the very next time he sees something of beauty, that makes his heart race until it almost bursts in his chest ……… he WILL trust his instincts! He is devastated!