Dinosaurs Roaming Torquay?

Nigel couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw this dinosaur outside Dinosaur World in Torquay, it was like all his Jurassic dreams come true!

It was also a very opportune opportunity for Darrell to take some completely natural shots for our scrapbook and possibly a calendar for next year.

And Nigel duly obliged by running through the whole gamut of his best facial expressions ……

…. nonchalant ….

…..blessed in a Hello Magazine type way …..

….. stolid….

…. devil may care …

With all possible poses exhausted Darrell and Nigel called it a day on their Britain's Next Top Model type photo session, which is when Nigel spied this poster outside the chip shop …..

…. And though both curious and slightly tempted …. Darrell and Nigel decided that on this occasion dining on Dinosaur and Chips was almost  tantamount to cannibalism …… what are they like?

Eyes Down …. Look In

The clubhouse on Darrell and Nigel’s holiday park is small and friendly and so Darrell decided that it would look very rude not to partake in a little bingo in the evening, whilst also enjoying his and Nigel’s usual Vimto and Monster Munch night cap ……

But as he hadn’t got a proper bingo dabber and was only a novice, Darrell opted to play with just one book, much as he admired those players who can mark several books at once, Darrell knew his limits and with his concentration and Nigel excitedly “helping him”  one card at a time was certainly enough ……

Needless to say Darrell didn’t get a full house, he was sweating on 22 (two little ducks ….. quack, quack)

But on their way back to their chalet, Darrell and Nigel in buoyant mood, made up their own bingo calls, resulting in much robust merriment …… 35 – car’s in the drive, 42 I need a p***, 84 wet bathroom floor, 53- stung by a bee ….. what are they like?

Darrell Helps Nigel To Learn Stuff …..

Darrell, as promised, phones me after tea each evening to tell me what he and Nigel have been getting up to during there they’re their Sun £9.50 holiday in Dawlish Warren …. and it seems that the beach huts are helping Nigel to learn his colours …….

….. Darrell runs up and down and then stops outside a hut and Nigel has to guess what colour it is, the game is also providing Darrell with a robust exercise regime to counter act all the candy floss and ice cream!

Anyway, Nigel now knows his reds and yellows, but still has problems with his blues and greens.

Darrell has also tried to use this poster to explain the correct use of   “their”, “there” and “they’re” to Nigel, but thus far he has only drawn  a quizzical blank expression ……. small steps! Nigel was more interested in the three man dingy, as he calls them!

A New Addition To Nigel’s Rigorous 5 A Day Regime ….

Before Darrell and Nigel departed for their Sun £9.50 holiday to Dawlish Warren someone ……. without any thought and due consideration informed Nigel that you can eat seaweed!

I just hope that if Nigel becomes mahoosively bunged up or the reverse,  that aforementioned person feels a strong sense of responsibility and guilt ……

It seems that after robustly consuming ALL les fruites de la mer that the beach at Dawlish Warren has to offer Nigel’s seaweed of edible choice is bladderwrack, which he says in it’s raw state has a very palatable salty fishy flavour ……………. yewwwwie ……no nom nom!!

However, Darrell informs me that there have been certain noticeable consequences to this new addition to Nigel’s rigorous 5 a Day regime ….. to put it as delicately as possible …… Nigel has been bottom burping popping off at a phenomenal rate of knots ……

Good grief ….. I fear the worst!

Come Dine With Me at Chalet No.109

Darrell’s and Nigel’s chalet is OK but it has to be said, not as nice as others we have stayed in on past Sun £9.50 holidays, however on the other hand the grounds certainly make up any disappointment in the chalet decor …..

…. as directly in front of the chalet is a lake with fishing allowed and geese, lots of them!

And so when Darrell and Nigel come in from their days out they both like to sit on the chalet step and wait for the geese to waddle over to them …..

….. much to Nigel’s great excitement.

…. And it is due of this aforementioned excitement that toast has not been on the chalet breakfast menu all week …..

….. because as fast as Darrell has purchased their Warburtons seeded batch, Nigel has fed it to the geese …..

…. so hot buttered toast and marmite have been replaced by Rice Krispies or Bran Flakes (both of which were rejected by the geese) …. but Darrell mused that seeing Nigel’s little face light up with his love for all creatures great and small more than makes up for a slightly grumbly tummy in the morning!

All The Fun Of The Fair At Dawlish Warren

It didn’t take Darrell long to hit the 2p machines at the beach amusements….. he had been robustly saving all his 2p’s in his piggy bank as soon as we started collecting Sun £9.50 holiday tokens especially with his first slot machine “fix” of 2012 in mind!  What is he like?

Fortunately, Darrell’s secret vice pleasure hasn’t rubbed off on Nigel who is more interested in all the rides……

…… though at first he wasn’t too sure about the carousel, adventurous as Nigel is, when you are that small those horses look rather big …

…… but Darrell showed him the way …….

….. and then it was only the lure of the candy floss that could get him off …… and the promise of hearing what “the Mouth of Truth” had to tell him ………

…… Darrell pretended to put in a coin and then put on a creepy yet wise type voice …… saying “Wooo hooo hooo  Nigel …. wooooooo …. my powerful physic senses tell me that you are feeling wearisome from all your fairground activity, me thinks tis time for your bedddddddddddddd and slumber!!”

….. and Nigel swallowed went along with it ….. such was the power of the Voice of Truth!

The Mouth of Truth might also have added that the 2p pot that Darrell had secreted about his person as a souvenir was actually stealing ……and thus very, very, wrong and we shall be posting it back upon their return!

Building Sandcastles On The Beach At Dawlish Warren And A Little Disappointment

Naturally the first thing Nigel wanted to do as soon as he and Darrell touched terra firma in Dawlish Warren was to go to the beach and use his bucket that Dianne in Florida sent him for Easter to make make his first sandcastles of the year.

Nothing fancy ….. Nigel doesn’t really have an artistic bent ……

……. just proper honest sandcastles plonked any which way, and Nigel is a happy boy.

Darrell had to admit to being a little disappointed in the beach, though the sand displayed excellent properties conducive to the making the aforementioned sandcastles it did not, despite several forays over the week, yield an abundance of holey stones ……

…… in fact it yielded only one, which, though a little let down, Darrell mused must make this holey stone extra specially special!

A Spooky Holiday Booking Coincidence!

How spooky, in a Derek Acorah type way, that Lucy, our new temporary boss, just happens to be staying at Dawlish Sands directly across the road from Hazelwood where Darrell and Nigel are staying ….. at exactly the same time ….

All three are slightly unsure of the protocol involved when/if bumping into your boss/colleagues in a holiday type situation, so it has been decided best that they all keep their heads down and wear disguises if necessary …..!! However, as Lucy is more likely to frequent the watering holes of Exeter during the evenings thus rendering her incapable of spending many daylight hours on the beach due to her need for recovery, it was felt that any chance meeting would be minimal!

Dawlish Warren Bound

As I was on call for any emergency rush photocopying at school during the Easter holidays, it was decided that Darrell and Nigel should go on our first Sun £9.50 holiday of 2012 and head robustly in the direction of Dawlish Warren…..

….. and one of the first things to be packed was Nigel’s bucket from Dianne …

There was NO way he was leaving it behind.

I made sure that they were belted and safe in the back of the car, where Andy had put Darrell in charge of navigation …….!!!

As I waved them off I imagined the mayhem adventures that lay ahead of them (and the peace, calm and tranquillity that lay ahead of me…..!) and hoped that Nigel’s travel sickness wouldn’t present too many problems of a frequent stopping type nature on their journey!

Tight Lines?

We are very fortunate as the grounds of the school where we work doing rush photocopying and laminating are very beautiful and Darrell and Nigel are oft to be found there wandering and musing during their breaks now the weather is improving …..

Recently I have heard them discussing the possibility of there being any fish in the lake pond…

…… and if there are, whether Andy would lend them a couple of his rods and reels for a bit of rod dangling after work ….

But there are defiantly a couple of ducks living there (with a tennis ball, probably from a rogue and robust shot from the tennis courts) ….

….. so Nigel is planning on saving the crusts from his sandwiches and taking them down to feed the aforementioned ducks next time he is on photocopying duty.

We’ve Got A Nest!

Darrell spotted it first ….. he said that he “thought” he had seen a tiny brown bird going in and out of our old fashion fishing basket we have hanging in the back garden …….

…. but wasn’t sure…..

So he made a makeshift bird hide on the porch and sat for several hours  with a flask of tea and …… watching ….

….. and his patience was indeed rewarded and we do indeed have a pair of yet undiagnosed unidentified birds living in our aforementioned fishing basket!  How totes birdtastic of a nesting nature is that?

Naturally, Darrell is now very protective of “his” fledgling family…….

….. and has told a very excited Nigel in no uncertain terms that poking is totally unacceptable, but, if he is good, he can be in charge of putting the bird seed out each day…

….. a task he has embraced, and now endeavours to tip toe and whisper within the nests vicinity, bless him.

Spring is a very wonderful time, and we are honoured that the birds have come to nest with us. They have chosen a very safe spot to have their babies ….. no nasty cats will ever find them there!