Nigel, Supporting Our Charity Of Choice

There is a large RNLI shop on the beach down the road from Beth’s House and seeing as the RNLI is our charity of choice Nigel thought it would be rude not to pay it a visit and purchase a little thing or two.

After a very loooooooooong mooch and considered peruse Nigel finally decided to purchase a couple of badges to go with his large collection of badges.

He was well chuffed ………
……. and decided to put one on there and then.

He then decided to check out the Lifeguard board to see if the conditions were conducive to a cheeky paddle. The air and water temperature were, to be honest,  a touch chilly, especially as he had only bought his trunks with him to Bude, and sadly does not possess a fancy rubber suit, the wind direction and tide times seemed OK ……..

….. but the note that added that the sea was “FLAT” that morning “BUT the swell is coming”  sounded a little ominous ……..

…….. so he decided it best to give it a miss, just in case, as waves of Cornish strength and proportions are not a thing we have ever encountered during our more recent holidays in Greece!

Nigel Is Not Too Sure …….

Although Beth’s house has very much a seaside type flavour  …..

However, on the landing, outside Nigel’s room, there is a painting of a nun …….

…….. Nigel is not too sure about it, as he is a bit of a stranger to nuns, not having many, if any in our village ……. coming across one is not really a common event for us!

He has a quite few questions he’d like to ask Beth, but isn’t too sure whether he should ask them or not, as he has never had occasion to discuss the subject of nuns before, with anyone  …..   What is he like? I’ve told him, perhaps, under the circumstances, it would be best to ask me when he comes home!

Almost A Local ………..

Nigel is certainly embracing and fitting in to the Cornish way of life!  ….. Last night he was very excited having been invited to make up a pub quiz team over at the Kings Arms, in the next village “Well…..” he said it would look rude and churlish not to partake!” …….. especially as he had also invited for a meal beforehand …… food for thought no doubt!!!

Being by the sea, Nigel’s tea of choice was a no brainer …… it had to be fish and chips, but instead of his usual curry or tomato sauce, Nigel instead choose tartare sauce, to show that he can be a little bit sophisticated when the need arises, and when out with locals, it’s best to do as the locals do, and they all seemed to be opting for tartar sauce too!!!

Nigel’s team was called “Four Play”, because, he explained, when he called us later, there were four people playing, although he had thought they’d spelt it a bit funny, but didn’t like to point it out at the time!

He added that he wished the questions had been as simple as his team’s name …… because they were very, very, hard, the questions were mystery enough to him, let alone the answers  and made his head ache, so in the end, he volunteered to just write the answers, when they eventually came up with one!

In the end Four Play (spelt wrong) came 24th out of a field of 27, however Nigel hadn’t been that averse to coming last because the booby prize for the loosing team had been a packet of Maltesers each, and as you know Nigel is extremely partial to the odd Malteser or two!!!!

Nigel Becomes A Guest Of Bude’s Ladies Society!

Yesterday morning Beth wondered if Nigel would like to accompany her to her Probus meeting, where they were due to have a talk on “Clean Beaches In Bude”, but, if he didn’t want to go it would be perfectly alright, but hastening to add that tea and biscuits would also be served. The invitation then turned into a no brainer for Nigel, well, it would look rude not to go, wouldn’t it?

However, he was a little apprehensive when they arrived, especially as at the beginning of the meeting, he was introduced to all the assembled ladies as “…..Nigel, on holiday from Wolverhampton”, by the Chair Person. He was worried that he might have to stand up and repeat that ….he was Nigel ….. and he was on holiday from Wolverhampton…. and then have to elucidate further on his life, loves, ambitions, etc., but thankfully found that after a little polite welcoming applause, and a knowing look here and there, taking a small bow, was sufficient!Nigel was then felt able to relax, sip his tea, nibble on his chocolate digestive, and concentrate on the slightly indelicate content of the guest speakers talk, which largely focused on the unsavoury problem of sewage pollution on Bude’s Beaches!!!!! Let’s just say that Nigel is now familiar with the consequences of when cows decide to wade in streams that run through farm fields, that muscles are bottom feeders …..  and when not to go surfing after a heavy rainfall!The occasion was certainly an enlightening and unusual “first” holiday experience for Nigel …… and I think, at that,  we should leave it there!

A Little Bedside Reading ….

Nigel’s friend Beth has thought of everything to make Nigel’s stay a real home from home holiday, including a little night reading.Nigel said that he’d had a little browse, but soon gave up as there were too many words for him and not enough pictures  ……

…… adding that colour trends and home decor were much more Darrell’s sort of thing, and to be honest, once you’ve seen one shade of grey, you’ve seen them all …….let alone reading about each one!  Anyway, his colour of choice was orange, much, much more cheerful than grey!

However, he is very much enjoying reading the copies of Cornwall Life that Beth has also left him.  He said he liked reading what real live Cornish people read, and that it was a bit like our Wolverhampton Chronicle but glossier! What is he like?

And So …. Down To The Beach

Nigel can see the sea from his bedroom window …….

…….. and just outside Beth’s house is a sign for the beach ……..

……. but what Nigel hadn’t realised was just how close the beach actually was to where he was staying.

So yesterday he went to explore …..OMG, it was only a 5 minute walk down the road, just like going to the shops in Evesham, thought Nigel,

……. and that was at a very gentle pace, as there were lots of things to see. This was all too wonderful and romantic for words for the little fella!

And ….. it was a “proper” Cornish beach, with golden sands, pebbles, rock pools, big crashing waves, surfers, boats …………….

………. and romantic, candy coloured  beach huts, just like the ones on his bedroom wallpaper!

In Nigel’s eyes it was all perfect  and soooooooo different from our last beach in Nidri ………

……..  you just couldn’t compare anything, it was so different, which made it even more special.

Nigel thought that if he lived in Bude, for real like Beth,  he would go down to the beach every single day …………….. even on Christmas Day and  it was blowing a blizzard.

Nigel said, when he called Darrell and I after tea, that he thought he was beginning to fall a little bit in love with Bude and really wished we were there with him to embrace it all too. For Nigel, going down to the beach had far surpassed any of the  pleasures of the “several” “many”  pasties he had consumed so far ………. and that’s really saying something!!!!!!

Always With Us ……

Nigel decided to go for a stroll yesterday morning …….

…….. along Bude Canal, to mooch around the craft shops and partake in a cup of tea or two, accompanied by several slices of Bude’s finest cake.

It was all so very romantic ……
……. enhanced by the extremely clement weather …..

….. and feeling extremely chillaxed and full of Cornwall’s  freshest air,  Nigel thought it would look most rude if he did not feed some of Bude’s large duck population.

Having a natural affinity with ducks, it wasn’t long before the ducks found Nigel and his duck food.

And then, Nigel happened to turn round and notice the name of the boat he had been standing next to ……

“Iris” …… he said just reading it made his heart go all of a flutter ……

What a beautiful, beautiful name for a boat and how spooky in a Cornish Derek Acorah type way, that of all the boats, on all of the canal, he should choose to stand by this one!  And, he could not help but give a little sigh and think of our own lovely Iris …… who has turned our world upside down with happiness!!

Welcome Nigel ……. One And All

Beth is really making Nigel feel special …… she’s put little welcome messages all round the house………

……. and in the lounge, waiting for him on the coffee table was a “little” welcome pack ……..

……. filled with all of Nigel’s favourite comestible treats of a confectionary type nature …..

…….. to nom on while he and Beth catch up with and gossip about their joint  guilty pleasure, heaven help me, Celebrity Big Brother!!!!

I just hope Beth doesn’t spoil him tooooooooooo much and he becomes too accustomed to Cornish Ways, because there is no way on God’s green earth that he’s going to get this sort of treatment when he returns home!

An Autumnal Village Affair …..

With Nigel away embracing the pleasures of Sunny Bude, and peace and tranquillity ensuing,  I thought I might as well take myself off to the village Autumn Fair, a new venture for the church across the road ……

…….. and well, it would be rude not to go!

I have to admit, it was rather quiet, and I know it’s probably not quite in the right spirit, but I rather hoped that it boded well for my finding a few bargains before anyone else noticed there was something going on.

And perhaps the chances of my winning the odd prize or two would be a little more stacked in my favour, though I very much appreciate the excitement of a bottle tombola, I have yet to win more than a bottle of tomato ketchup!

But, as per usual, the tickets I picked were yet again strangers to the thrill of a prize!

So I decided that I might do better on the “Prize Every Ticket” stall instead, after all, I was guaranteed a win!!!

I drew out No.22, and was handed a small, interesting  parcel which I decided to open when I got home to prolong the anticipation!!!!

I felt that my luck was now on a roll, and also partook in the raffle to win a very ample chocolate hamper, the contents of which would certainly not go unappreciated Chez Castle Greysquirrel, and will await the phone call to say I have won!!!

And finally,  I thought I would take a scone or two home for tea for Darrell and I, served with, perhaps, some strawberry jam and squirty cream, a far cry from the Cornish clotted cream Nigel is no doubt enjoying, but an autumnal treat nevertheless. I think the real winner on the day however  was our beloved little Iris, as I was able to find a huge pile of new books and jigsaws for her, something new to take down to Evesham for her this week. I am particularly looking forward to hearing how Darrell tackles reading Iris “Madame Prudente” particularly as it is written in French.

Oh…..  and my “Prize Every Ticket” prize ?……. Erm, it was a Union J charm bracelet. To be honest it isn’t “quite” me, and I am not sure it is “quite” Darrell either, perhaps I’ll just keep it and pop it in a cracker at Christmas!!!!