Finding Nemo

I love looking at the aquariums in pet shops .......

…and my very favourite fish of choice have to be Nemos …

….. just how cute are they?  Even though we’ve watched the film a million times, and we know it ends happily ever after, Darrell, Nigel and I still sit sniffing with a box of tissues willing Nemo to be found by his dad.  What are we like?

Confectionary Review – White Rabbit Chinese Sweets

We pride ourselves on our adventurous tastes of a confectionary type nature and are always looking for something new to try.

So when we were in the continental section of Tesco and saw these White Rabbit sweets curiosity got the better of us.

 

We liked the packet very much but the only hint as to what they might be like were the words “creamy candy”, from this Darrell surmised, correctly, that they may belong to the chewy genre of sweet.

They were indeed white, milky and chewy, but had a very strange edible rice paper wrap around them which we were all unanimous in finding very odd, it dissolved quickly on the tongue but to be honest spoilt our enjoyment of the confectionary and we intend to do some research on the interweb to see if the paper has any significance, that we may have missed.

So though we liked the creamy, milky chew the rice paper spoilt the overall enjoyment so we feel we can only award White Rabbit sweets 4 noms out of 10 each!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_Creamy_Candy – Hmmmmmm ….. interesting!

I’ve Been Done …… Via The Magic of Biometrics!

Having a light morning snack or mid-day meal will never be the same again when I go into school to help Sandra the Resources Lady with a rush job of  photocopying as  I now belong to the cashless catering society.

I was a little nervous as I approached the table to be biometrically registered, there were computers and instruments of a technical nature everywhere, all laid out flashing and beeping ….

…… but it was quick, quite painless and no blood was involved, all they needed were my fingerprints. I asked and was assured that my details would not be sold or be used for nefarious purposes on the internet.

To make sure, I insisted on looking at the screen and seeing what mysteries my fingerprints had given up.

Anyway, what all this simply means is that once I have put some money into my account, when I go to the cafeteria for a bite to eat, all I have to do is press a button with my finger of choice,  I should then be instantly recognised, my account debited and hopefully my hunger satisfied.

So while I was in the vicinity and the kitchen was open  I decided to check out the new menu to make sure all this technology was worth it.  They appeared to have sufficient peas for my needs ….

….. and I was impressed that there was a good choice of coffees, cafe latte being my favourite.

….. and cookies galore……

…… plus a freezer full of Rockets and Cornettos for when I get hot and sticky….

So all in all it seems an OK sort of set up, however I am a bit concerned that my muffin consumption may cause the machines to beep wildly if I overly indulge!

Hoodwinked By A Cunning Jape

You know the rhyme “See a penny, pick it up and all day long you'll have good luck” – well yesterday I was caught out good and proper!

I saw this 2p glistening in the rain on the pavement, outside a house, on my walk up to the post office …..

Well, I couldn’t resist and thought good fortune must be smiling down upon me ….

But, when I bent down to pick it up, thinking about all the luck it might bring me,  I found that it had been glued to the pavement!  Hoodwinked.  I bet there is a CCTV camera attached to the house zoomed into the spot and the people who live there play it back at the end of the day for their own amusement to see all the people, like my own good self, who have also fallen for their cunning jape, with the intention of sending the best ones to You’ve been Framed!

Pizza Hut Happy Hour ….

A pizza hut, a pizza hut, Kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut,  …… guess where Darrell has been?

The ladies what lunch asked Darrell if he would like to join them in an Apres Birthday Pizza Hut Happy Hour of a treat type nature.  I think they have a soft spot for him and they very much appreciate the company of a man who likes his food ……..

….. and as Darrell said, it would have been churlish to refuse such a tempting offer … so he said yes ….

….. and first helped himself to the bar of unlimited salad …

…… thus ensuring that he got his five a day (several times over me thinks!)

…… and then plumped for the pepperoni pizza, Italian style, nom, nom, nom

Darrell could not fail to be impressed by the size of waiters huge grinder, but had to ask for some assistance to use it.

And as for a pudding?  It was very hard to choose,  so rather than upset the aforementioned waiter, with the huge grinder, with his indecision Darrell chose both types of cheesecake!  Nom, nom, nom …..

I think Darrell is becoming quite the raconteur, he certainly kept the ladies enthralled with tales of his Rome trip and the amusing incidents that happen when he is helping Sandra, the Reprographics Lady at school to get a rush job of  photocopying done.  What is he like?

Cause For Concern

Mon Dieu!

We are little very extremely concerned …..

Look what we have found at the bottom of our pond! We think our harmless looking goldfish maybe masquerading piranhas! We are in a quandary as to what we should do.  Probably the first step would be to stop Nigel playing in his inflatable dinghy.

We don’t want a Amity Island, Jaws type situation on our hands!

Yoghurt Review

Nom, Nom, Nom

Nom …..

Nom …..

Nom …… nuff said!

No Darrell, No!

Darrell saw this huge hand seat at the local garden centre and was very taken with it.  I told him, in no uncertain terms, that it yielded no place in our garden!

… Imagine the nightmares that would follow for Nigel (and Darrell, for that matter) ….. Darrell and Nigel looking out of their bedroom window ….in the dead of night, the garden illuminated only by the moon, strange shadows dancing on the lawn,  AND then they see a giant hand emerging from the flower beds …… I think not!

A Day Out In Bridgnorth

What with all the excitment over my chance meeting with Matt, star of The Restaurant Inspector and Darrell's birthday yesterday I have omitted to tell you about the rest of my morning in Bridgnorth on Saturday .....

I’d gone to “source locally produced fruit and vegetables” (that’s what they say on these Restaurant/Hotel  Inspector and Three in a Bed type programmes) for our meals in the coming  week, but I found all the lovely old buildings a little distracting, like the Town Hall ….

…. and the Tea Rooms……

….. and ancient hostelries and winding, romantic, steep pathways leading to mysterious places.

….. as well as abundant market stalls ….
….. and bakeries ….

Darrell was most impressed when I got home, “We shall feast greatly this week,” he said “Two huge freshly baked bloomers, several punnets of the most succulent strawberries, fresh from the fields of Shropshire and a humungous box of bashed giant mushrooms …. manna from Heaven” he sighed.

I had to explain that the giant mushrooms (which I intend to stuff), were not bashed when I bought them, the box was a trifle cumbersome and on my journey back to the car I buckled under their weight and dropped them, thus damaging a few.

 
What a brilliant morning! http://www.visitbridgnorth.co.uk/

Happy Birthday Darrell

Darrell has been crossing off the days until his birthday on his calendar diligently since the beginning of the month and although he had his main birthday present when he went to see Take That, he was still spoiled rotten.

He had so many cards and presents it took him ages to open them all.  I bought him the checked shirt he’s been looking at for ages, Nigel got him some chocolate and some millions sweets and Aunty Jan found him 3 carabiners, which she said are very useful for attaching things to. He also had a mini tool kit, a wash bag and a pencil set ….. and lots, lots more, so he will be very busy writing his thank you letters in the next day or so. “I feel truly blessed in a Hello magazine type way” he sighed.

 

On our birthdays we can choose our special birthday tea, Darrell asked for egg, chips and spaghetti hoops with bread and butter followed by strawberries (which he said are seasonal, one of our five a day and can be locally sourced) with squirty cream for pudding.  He didn’t want a fancy birthday cake but asked instead for a battenberg with a candle on as it is all our very favourite celebratory cake of choice and he wanted us all to have something special on his birthday as well.

When Nigel saw it he gave Darrell such a huge squeeze!

xxx Happy Birthday Darrell, we love you so much xxx

Bambers, Bridgnorth - The Restaurant Inspector – Meeting One of the Stars!

Darrell and I very much enjoyed watching Channel 5’s The Restaurant Inspector this week, but never did I once imagine that I would ever  meet Matt the star of this weeks episode!  But fate a funny thing ….

I had a bit of shopping to do on Saturday and decided to pop over to Bridgenorth and get our fruit and vegetables from the market there for a change. I saw Bambers, the restaurant that had been featured in the programme and thought I’d have my picture taken outside to show Darrell….

When out came Matt, the star of the show, he was so lovely and friendly and he thought he recognised me as one of his twitter followers …. I said I didn’t have a twitter account (yet), but I would send him a link to this blog so he would know who I was.

I felt a little guilty that I didn’t pop inside and sample some of his delicious looking cakes and a coffee, but I’d had a full English for breakfast and so was rather full.  But I will definitely go in next time, and ask for Matt’s autograph as well,  I admit I was a little star struck at our meeting and forgot to ask him!  What an EXCITING encounter! 

http://www.bambersfood.com/
65 St Mary's St, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV164DR Telephone (01746) 767364