Presents From Foreign Climes

We know it’s daft, but going away, just wouldn’t be going away without taking back just a little bit of local tut!

However, as The Towers is bijoux there has to be a limit to the amount of tut we can now accommodate, so a handy “Rule of Tut” is that it should generally be something we can eat, drink or use in the bath or shower …….. Darrell’s obligatory stick of seaside rock fitting the remit perfectly.

But I know that Darrell had set his heart on a kitsch seagull ornament for his bedroom, as he had already mooted a considered purchase before he even got to Bude ……….which brings in another Towers rule ….. one thing in, one thing out, so when he gets home Darrell will need to find something for the charity shop!

Nigel, in his great wisdom, in order to save any bother and controversy when he got home decided that he might as well have his “eat” type tut there and then …….. in the form of a double scoop of candy floss and bubble gum ice cream ……. what is he like?

A Cornish Coffee Break In An Exotic Clime …..

Darrell and Nigel decided to avail themselves of a coffee while out and about in Bude, in what, an excited Nigel declared was “….. a Gin Palace!”, however, I think he may have got his lines a bit crossed because, according to Darrell, it was actually The North Coast Wine Bar ……..

…… but you know Nigel, he does “occasionally” get a little carried away with his enthusiasm!

It was a place, knowing Darrell’s propensity for keeping his beloved Cocktail Cabinet well stocked up, where he could have very easily got carried away …… but fortunately, a bit like yesterday, his natural exuberance was again reined in, not this time by a lack of stock ……..

…….. but a lack in funds, the prices of all the very tempting and exotic tinctures were a little prohibitive, and so well out of Darrell’s price range, and perhaps this was no bad thing as a fine fifty year old blended whiskey or brandy might not be allowed to exactly “bloom” in one of Darrell’s Vieux Carre or Rusty Nails, most splendid as they are!!!

So instead Darrell and Nigel simply enjoyed the pleasures of an artisan roasted latte ….. which appeared to go down just as easily!

A Tot Cornish Lust Anyone…….?

Darrell spotted some very interesting liqueurs of a Cornish type origin while he and Nigel were out mooching in Bude …….

……. which, he said, would make a very  “interesting” and conversational addition to our Towers cocktail cabinet.   

Who, he asked, would fail to be tempted if offered a little bit of Cornish Lust of an evening? What on earth is he like?  Perhaps I am not as adventurous as Darrell, but when he told me that the smaller bottle he had wanted as a “tester” was out of stock, I admit I did heave a sigh of relief!!!

Holiday Reading …..

Auntie Beth is a wonderful hostess, and knowing that Darrell likes to keep a a breast on all that is “luxe”, (the term en-trend now being a little passé), in the world of interior design ……….

…she has made sure that he has a most ample sufficiency of all the latest home style magazines in his room for little light bedtime reading …….

  …… adding that if he found anything of an interesting type nature, he was to feel free to tear them out for reference if he wished, I fear he could return home with a whole scrapbook if she isn’t careful!

 

Auntie Beth has also thrown in a few celebrity magazines for good measure, again, something Darrell is always keen to catch up on just in case Hugh has been featured or asked for his insightful opinion ……. and naturally Peter Andre’s constant “joy” in almost everything, including the contents of his laundry basket and the price of Hob Nobs these days, is always reassuring, especially now he has found even more “joy” with Emily his wife!!!!

Nigel isn’t as into interiors as Darrell ……..

…… but he does quite like Auntie Beth’s choice of scatter cushions in his room ………

……. and ………..her bedside nibbles!!!!!!  What is she like?

Bude At War ………

Bude, it seems, has been at war, but nothing, I hasten to add, to do with Darrell and Nigel descending upon it ……..

……. it’s all to do with  re-enactment weekend celebrating the involvement of the American troops who trained for D-Day in 1944 on Crooklets Beach in the town.

Darrell and Nigel said that there has been a lot going on and to see ….

…… on the beach ……

……fundraising among the beach huts …….

…….and exhibitions on the surrounding fields ……. 

……. where Nigel, needless to say, disappeared for hours…… 

…….. drinking in all the history.

There was even a very evocative fly over ………

I don’t think Darrell and Nigel’s visit could have been more perfectly timed and no doubt will come home full of it!

A Bude Dream Come True ……..

Darrell and Nigel are absolutely beside themselves in Bude ……….
……. as they have availed themselves of a beach hut! ……..

……. something we have all always, always, always dreamed of having whenever we have seen one  …….

……… and it has to said that the one they have hired has not disappointed, it’s every bit as romantically romantic, as we had always imagined.  It’s very basic, but they succeeded in making it “home”.

I am just sorry I cannot be there with them to share in all of its pleasures.

They say that the weather is being exceedingly clement, no hint of rain, so they have been sitting outside on their deckchairs, taking in the wonderful sea views, people watching …….

……. and then taking it in turn to pop inside to make a cup of tea or prepare the odd seaside comestible or two.  Happy Happy Days!

Proffering Gifts

Darrell and Nigel have arrived safe and sound in Bude and are already embracing the salty Cornish sea air, with resultant hearty appetites which Auntie Beth, their host, is trying her very best to accommodate ……. with, among other things, an ample sufficiency of Cornish sprouts. Darrell said that Nigel thought he has died and gone to heaven, sprouts being his number one vegetable of choice!

And in turn, Darrell and Nigel have proffered their gifts, including a very large large bag of hand cooked Gin and Tonic crisps (found in Aldi before they left).

 

They were very well received, although not the most appealing sounding of crisps they were a huge success and a most excellent ice breaker.

Darrell said that the gin and tonic element was barely discernable, but extra lime flavour was very palatable indeed.

So much so that he has made a note on his phone to get a packet or two for us to put away for “occasions”  plus an extra one for Hugh, who is very partial to a nibble with his Bombay Sapphire and Fever Tree in his dressing room after a show and would also greatly appreciate the novelty aspect of such an unusual delicacy!  What is he like?

A Piece Of Autumnal Peace …….

Peace has descended upon The Towers, a brief respite for me as Darrell and Nigel accepted a very kind invitation to stay in Bude for a few days. The invitation was the most fortuitous timing  as Nigel had been muttering something about feeling the call of the sea one last time before we had to hunker down for the cold months ahead…….

There was a little to-ing and fro-ing from them, feeling guilty about leaving me on all my own, so I took the opportunity to pack their bags and have them standing in the hall ready when they nipped out on one of their mooches!!!!!

As I saw them wave goodbye as they rounded the corner of our flats, said packed bags in hand, I think you could have heard my sigh in John O’Groats

……. let alone in Bude!