Happy, Happy, Happy New Year

Who needs a million and a half pound firework display under the gaze of Big Ben, when you can have a mahoooosive giant blue glowstick for a pound from Poundland ……in a garden, in Wolverhampton ….. and still feel the party vibe!  The “party vibe” was Darrell’s phraseology, I hasten to add mine, not mine …!!!

A Bit More Of New Years Eve

Well, we arrived safely home at around midday amidst glorious sunshine and blue skies, it was all quite romantic in a last afternoon of the year type way.

Everything Chez Castle Greysquirrel was just as we had left it, inside and out  …….. except for a several very large boxes in the porch …… we may have been away, but Darrell have used his time, when he wasn’t gazing lovingly at Baby Iris to most excellent purpose …….

……. taking full advantage of not only Black Friday, but Pink Saturday, Purple Sunday, Panic Monday, Not So Panicky Tuesday, Burnt Sienna Wednesday and Off White Thursday …… to purchase some considered electrical items, to wit a new TV and various accompaniments …… which to be honest have been long overdue in the obtaining of! Now, we will be able to watch our televisual highlight of the year, The Eurovision Song Contest in near 3D quality ……. as well as our many other programmes of choice ….. it will be almost as if we are actually on the bus when we watch Coach Trip and as for Come Dine With Me ….. I think we might be able to even smell the food.

However, with all this technology comes a lot of remote controls, and I am the first to admit that I am a stranger to gizmotology, so Darrell has promised (in writing) that he will label each one as to its purpose!

Tonight, we are going for a New Years Eve meal as family tradition dictates, and Nigel is already planning his ten poppadum pile!!! But, before we go we are planning to leave a mahooooosive blue glowstick in our garden lantern ……..

…… a change from our usual candle, but it’s a significant  memory of Andy that he would very much appreciate and be smiling very broadly about! 

We might post late again tomorrow ….. New Years Day ….. it all depends on what time we get to bed and then out of it!!!!!!

New Years Eve

You’ll have to forgive us, we have fooled you ever so slightly  ……. because, most fortuitously as it happens, we had a few extra Christmas posts in the can, as it were, to keep us going over the past few days ……. for, in real life, we have secretly been back to Evesham …..

…because we are all totally and absolutely besotted with Baby Iris ….. and are finding that being Relative Uncles is just too wonderful …….

…… we just can’t take our eyes of her ……

….. and as we are not due back at work for a few more days, well, it would have been rude to just stay at home ……..

….. we are properly back home, Chez Chateau Greysquirrel, later today, as we are pledged and promised to a meal at Codsall Spice, so we will be around, before we go out, to wish you all a Happy New Year before we see in a possibly heavy duty 2015 ………

Poignant Tastings Of A Real American Gingerbread Man Type Nature

With Darrell and Nigel’s Rocky Road House still sacrosanct and needless to say robustly off any nom limits ….. we are still only permitted look at it and then oooooo, ahhhhh and sigh respectfully!!!

So I thought that we should instead nom on the lovely gingerbread man cookies Dianne and Christopher sent us from sunny Florida ……..

…….. it was the first time that we had had real proper American food since we were in Last Vegas ….. so we all knew it was going to be a very poignant tasting for us …… to think, just a week or so these cookies were REALLY and ACTUALLY in America …. of which we have soooooooo many happy and romantic memories!.

We didn’t stand on ceremony, we just lunged tucked straight in ….. Nigel went for an arm first and then straight up the right leg ……

I went for the head, all in one go …….

…… and Darrell nibbled delicately all the way round, with a daft look on his face. what is he like???

Lets just say, we made very light work of our festive American comestible treat, to be honest I don’t think our gingerbread men even touched the sides, but were every bit as romantic and heart warming as we had anticipated, they were proper comfort nibblage,  for which we can award nothing less than 101% on our world famous Richter Scale of Noms!  Thank you so much Christopher and Dianne ….. they certainly hit the spot!

Darrell And Nigel Attempt to Construct An Asda Rocky Road House

The PE Lady gave us an Asda Rocky Road House kit for Christmas, and it would have looked most rude if we did not “construct” it before the festive season was nigh……

…… and the honour to perform the task fell upon the shoulders of Darrell ably assisted by Nigel.

There was a lot of melting involved and so Darrell was able to combine the said melting with a full facial sauna!

Nigel’s first task was to coat some cones (faux Christmas trees) with some of the melted chocolate ….

…… for which he showed quite an aptitude …… however, after that things went a little awry.  Using the mould supplied to make the roof and walls of the house, then putting it all in the fridge to set  was no problem …. but the putting of the house together using the filled icing bag supplied was!!!!!!  Hence, several hours of tears, tantrums and several long showers to clean themselves up to start again, hence NO PHOTOS  (well, it would have been cruel to photograph them wouldn’t it amidst their culinary frustrations!) ……. It seemed that four hands helping to put the walls and roof together just wasn’t enough and the icing failed to cooperate, blobbing stiffly, rather than flowing romantically to produce cascades of realistic faux snow.

However, I have to give them it, Darrell and Nigel are capable of a great deal of tenacity and team work at times, especially when the end product involves food.

And, ok, so their house doesn’t look exactly like the house on the box ……

……. but from certain angles it is a very close call.

And despite a very, very sticky kitchen and a mountain of washing up …..

“The Boyz” done good …….

…… with only the keenest of eyes being to spot the dangerous crack and subsidence going on in the picture above!!!!

I am not sure when this wondrous creation will appear on our festive menu ……

….. I think I need to let them admire their handiwork a little while longer before suggesting that we finally tuck in …… but for now,  I don’t think Mary Berry has anything to worry about!!!

Darrell Takes On The Look Out ……

Darrell had been talking to his friend Jo, who works in the Reception at school before the end of term about real ale and a micro pub she oft frequents, and that got Darrell pondering …..

….. as Hugh, his best friend and mentor, who lives the showbiz life in Notting Hill had potentially promised to get his apprentice PA Pablo to clear a few days in his already burgeoning diary for another possible incognito state visit to Wolverhampton in the New Year …….

…… and as such Darrell wondered if Hail To The Ale might be a suitable location to take Hugh …..

…… especially as it is only ten minutes away from Castle Greysquirrel and the Banga bus stops right outside.

The only small fly in Darrell’s ointment plan was possibly Hugh’s taste for the fine champagne and vegetarian foie gras ……..as this was a flavoured scratchings, crusty cob, hand raised pies and specialist speciality cheese type establishment, however, since Hugh had embraced the local (vegetarian) faggots and peas with great gusto on his last visit, it really wasn’t worth giving it a second thought.

The true test was obviously to sample a smidgen of real ale, well, it would have looked rude not too  ……. accompanied by a very large, chilli infused pickled onion ………

It all slipped down very nicely indeed ……. oh yes, this would be a most excellent place to bring Hugh ….. most excellent indeed.

http://www.hailtothealemicropub.co.uk/

The Best Christmas Ever …..

What can we say, Christmas in Evesham was just too wonderful for words, and even more special than we could ever have dreamt ……..

Everything looked sooo Christmassy ……

…. and sooooo romantic in a festive type way  ….

We were made to feel so welcome and   everyone remarked on how resplendent we all looked in our new, a la mode, designer wear of the latest USA style and how different we all looked out of our usual gay Christmas apparel.  And I have to admit even I am still very robustly taken with Darrell’s comfy, yet tres chic cardigan, if not a little style envious!!!!

Tom and The lovely Laura were both very genial and attentive hosts, with Mojitos and Cuba Libres served at eight on the dot each evening (pm time) for which we changed back into our Christmas clothes.

Our cocktails never failed to go down very smoothly, in fact Darrell remarked, most appreciatively, that his went down sooooo smoothly it hardly touched the sides!

And, our “cocktail hours” were accompanied by the aforementioned Lovely Laura playing the piano, which has to be the most  romantic thing that anyone has ever done for us at any Christmas time.

And there were presents for us all, in the morning from the Equally Lovely Denise …….

……. a bird house for Nigel to help him with his ornithology ……..

….. which made him go very quiet for quite a long time……

…… the gift of small screwdrivers for Darrell ……..

…for any project may that require the screwing of small things …….

…… and for me ……..

….. a hand crocheted key ring in the guise of a monkey, who bore a striking resemblance to Nigel.

We felt so blessed, but not in any Hello Magazine type way.  We had food that was continually off our Richter Scale of Christmassy comestible noms, we had unexpected presents and the company of all our relative family, BUT best of all was Baby Iris who held us all under her spell in wondrous captivity ……. whatever she did we could not help but cooooo, oooooooooo, ahhhhhhhh and sigh unashamedly  …… even her little burps (emanating from her top or bottom) and poos never failed a bring  a round of rapturous applause and admiration, and we, as you no doubt know, don’t generally applaud poos!!! 

We hope that your Christmas days were as special as ours …… and that you have special memories that will last a lifetime, just like us.