Darrell ........ You Can Answer This One ........

As you know Nigel notices an awful lot of things when he is going back and forth on the nursery and school run, which, very often capture his curiosity  .........

....... and yesterday was no exception when he spotted something in the chemist's window that he thought he'd heard something about, somewhere, regarding "staying power" .................

.......... wondering, as said school and nursery run days can get a bit tiring when you're not really in the mood (we've calculated  all told, we can walk 5.5 miles on a good day) ..... if these tablets might just help enhance his performance on days when he feels he might be flagging a little .......... 

I am saying nothing!!!!! On this occasion I am putting the ball firmly in Darrell's court to explain!

Nigel Does Peppa Pig

Much as I "adore" Peppa Pig and her many assorted animal friends, it was rigged decided that Nigel should draw the short straw  accompany Iris and Bertie to see Peppa and said friends live over at the theatre in Coventry. 

At times, while watching the cartoons, it seemed as if Nigel almost appreciated Peppa and Co's antics even more than Iris and Bertie and definitely more than Darrell and I  ........  as I pointed out during our debate as to who should go, no one sings "jumping up and down in muddy puddles" with quite as much gusto and feeling as Nigel!

And I have to say, Nigel was more than happy to go ..........

In fact from what I hear, he was even more impatient than Iris and Bertie combined for the curtain to go up!

Knowing all about pester power and how expensive the merchandise at such events can be, Darrell and I played our part in the trip by sourcing new Peppa Pig t-shirts for the little ones to wear .........

........ and whirling, twirling, light up novelties for them to hold aloft and wave during relevenat points in the show 

......... which Nigel said had sent him a little boss eyed, ...... but a wonderful time was had by all .......

....... with Nigel insisting, several times, on regaling us, in the minutest detail, of the show plot, the actions they had to do and all the new Peppa related songs he'd learned....... in the end it almost felt as if Darrell and I had actually been there ourselves!  What is he like? Happy Days 

Posh Pork Scratchings

Our apologies to all vegetarians and/or vegans for what we are about to post.

Lucy was at a loose end so invited Nigel to go for a mooch round Webbs Garden Centre near Droitwich. Now, Lucy was very taken by their range of hardy perennials, plant pots and one or two other bits of garden paraphernalia, however it was something of a very different type nature that took Nigel's interest. Needless to say it was nothing to do with any horticultural pursuit, instead being something a little closer to his love for his tummy ......... 

........ to wit, posh pork scratchings in the very extensive food hall. I have to admit that we have all missed a good honest scratching since moving from the Black Country where they are a renowned delicacy and the scourge of the dentist!  However, these were not the usual rough and ready scratchings of our past ........ these were posh ........ and ....... they came in flavours, maple, salt and vinegar, mustard, BBQ and Habanero (no, we'd never heard of that one either).

Needless to say, several considered purchases were made, but none actually made it as far as The Towers, as they were all were eaten on the way back home  ........  however Nigel did say that he had given them all 10 out of 10 in his own, personal car bound scratchings review.  What is he like?

Not Quite No Comment .......

Hmmmm, now as you know we don't usually tend to comment on matters of a current affairs type nature, we just don't like to court controversy, to roughly quote Sir Lord Ronan Keating "......we say it best, when we say nothing at all" ...... which pretty much sums our feelings up ........

.......but ........we have lost a prince!  Our poor beloved Queen, we pine for Iris and Bertie if we don't see them for just a day or two, so how must she be feeling, with Harry, since early yesterday morning, being so far away. 

However, with all this news we feel compelled to share something with you, but it is ALL we are willing to say and will never be mentioned again  ........ and that is, although we all got very, very, very excited and totally embraced the royal wedding back in 2018 ........

.......... we had a very spooky, late Derak Acorah type feeling, in the pits of our stomachs, but we really didn't want to voice said feelings at the time for fear of being labelled party poppers or mongers of doom  ....... and because, at the time it was just a feeling.

It's all so sad, but yesterday morning, after an awful lot of soul searching, Darrell, the most ardent royalista of us all, took our Tesco commemorative H & M wedding mugs down to the charity shop at the corner of our road, it was just too painful to have them in the flat .......

....... it was raw and emotional ..... and, if we dare divulge any more of our spooky feelings (we think perhaps Derek may be trying to channel thorough us) we'll just say, we'll give it another two years ...... perhaps even less ...... before we might make comment again!

Living My Best What?

My humblest, humblest apologies, but I am sadly afraid my grumpiness about certain things I come across from day to day continues ...... this time it's a phrase that I have noticed slowly creeping in and being used more and more in/on the media ..........

...... and that's people who declare that they are " .... living their best life", a poignant moment usually captured through the lens of their phone, from an odd angle and accompanied with what I believe is called a trout pout.  Living their best life?????? What on earth does that mean ...... and how far will people take it? 

I'm living my best tea?  I'm living my best nights sleep? Aghhhhhhhhh! Beam me up Scottie!  I am living my worst moan! 

Nigel Finds ...... A Half Eaten Box Of Choc Eclairs

Nigel has had some strange finds over the years ..........

....... but yesterday's must number among one of the strangest ........

....... when he happened upon a box of half eaten chocolate eclairs, casually left on a wall outside a house, as if to say "Help yourself!"  However, Nigel felt it best to decline such an offer as he follows quite strict, self impossed health and safety rules as far as what goes in his body of an unexpected type nature ....... and he has heard, read and told the story of Snow White often enough to be very wary of unsolicited, proffered food type substances.......

....... our carefully organised nursery/school run can't afford any untimely slumbering, especially now, with Prince Harry no longer in service, there is a real shortage of princes able to awaken him with a kiss!!!  What is he like?

What May Lurk Beneath ........

It has to be said that we do love a good debate, especially when there is nothing much on the tele.

Last night, ot was all doom, gloom, Brexit, murder and reality TV, so Darrell mooted the following question ......... would we, if we had to, rather walk through a cemetery in the middle of the night or go for a midnight swim in the sea?

To be honest, this was a really simple one, so the debate was neither heated nor that long. After a little thought we all agreed that we would all be reasonably happy to walk through a cemetery as we could almost run, as Darrell hadn't stipulated any speed limits to the task. We also reasoned that as spiritual entities generally haunt somewhere that is familiar to them, it was unlikely that a ghost would have any affinity with a graveyard so the chances of one being haunted were, in our expert opinion, minimal ...... and we've watched a lot of Most Haunted.

On the other hand the thought of taking a dip in the sea, at midnight sent cold shivers down all our spines, in fact Nigel was so alarmed by Darrell's reaction that he fetched a brown paper bag for him to breath into ........ and he was the one who put forward the question!  

It has to be said that none of us would even as much as dip a toe in any sort of water, in the dark ........  we've seen Jaws ....... and what could be lurking beneath the waves  ...... in said dark .......

.......... is just too awful to contemplate.

Debate very quickly over, we thought it best to lighten the mood ........ and  so decided to watch some of the greatest moments in Eurovision history on YouTube!  What are we like?

Nigel's First Window Of A Seasonally Topical Type Nature

With around a month to go Nigel, with his keen eye for such things, has spotted his first Valentines Day display in the window of The Cotswold Trichology Centre.

Nigel says that the display has been very subtly put together, it has the obligatory red roses, in full and petal form which, whether intended or not, matches perfectly with the lipstick of the featured mannequin with her downcast eyes ...........

........ finding herself surrounded by some rather, without wishing to sound too judgemental, blobby looking cherubs with the same somewhat far away (I, myself would say blank) expression.

Nigel adds that in his "humble" opinion the window is more of an homage to the wistful and hopeful nature of love, as signified by the cherubs hands held as if  in prayer  ....... rather than the more usual brash and sometimes crude commercial approach to Valentines Day

 I'm not sure what he had for breakfast this morning, but it can never be said that Nigel doesn't take the window dressing of Evesham very seriously indeed! 

Spring Is Spung?????

Yesterday Nigel returned from the Nursery/School run even more full of his usual hope and joy, if that's possible ....... 

......... he'd spotted his first, and may I say truly magnificent, snowdrops, there were masses of them, all standing proud and perky!

However, he has now announced that he's all for casting off his winter vest and wincyette sheets from his bed, as he is totally convinced that spring has sprung.  

I am loathe to pour oil on his wonderful effervescent spirit but no matter what nature appears to be telling him, there is no way his said winter vest will be cast in gay abandon nor his wincyette sheets for that matter, there is an awful long way to go before winter is out ........ a great deal of caution needs to be applied before unfettered clout casting of any sort of nature is permitted at The Towers, Nigel with an attack of the shivers or sniffles is not a good experience!

Hugh's Festive Hampers

As I said just after Christmas, we have always held a long felt want for a festive hamper but never dreamt we'd ever receive one in real life, let alone two, but this year Hugh (Darrell's best friend and mentor of all things what are de rigueur and a la mode) made those dreams come true ............

What can I say?  Everything in them was just too wonderful for words.  One or two of the savoury items have already been much enjoyed, but the rest have been safely put in the cupboard for exotic supper times, as have the wines for when we are entertaining and Darrell is cooking up one of his legendary roasts with all the trimmings!

Nothing says luxury more than when it has been tied up in black ribbon and everything in our said hampers was so adorned, Darrell was in seventh heaven. The first thing that we were tempted to chow into was the box of chocolates (during Celebrity Mastermind).  They didn't come with a menu, unless we lost it in all the unwrapping excitement, but they did not disappoint ....... no chocolate was caste back into the box because the centre was not to our taste, they were as Nigel announced "Truly the food of the Gods" ...... or at least us!

The boxes of luxurious and creamy Cornish sea salt and rich and velvety chocolate fine fudge also did not disappoint and were our reward, with a small glass of sherry, after a particularly gruelling tidy up session when we got back from The Homeland.

We are rationing our truffles to keep the tangible and palpable feeling of true opulence lasting for as long as we can .......

 ...... savouring each and every chocolaty morsel of the evocative and romantic sounding French truffles "Fantaisie" .......

...... and the other equally wonderful other bag of assorted white, milk and dark truffles for which we seem to have lost the bag. Darrell has popped one in Nigel's pocket each day when he has been out on the school/nursery run this week to keep his pecker up especially on the boring bits of his outward journey!

We are keeping the white and milk chocolate raisins for when Young Master Bertie comes over as they are a particular favourite of his. Tom the Scientist always treats him to a few grams of these delicacies if he has "been good" during a visit to the hairdressers.  It will be nice for him to enjoy a few more without getting a cold head first!

This leaves us with a bar of milk chocolate to share with Iris while watching an episode of My Little Pony or Whisker Haven, which is a true, devoted uncle type joy (?????)!!!!!!!

And the hampers themselves? Well, the wicker one has already been purloined by Darrell for ornamental/decorative purposes and the cardboard one with it's magnetic fastening will be used to hold our Christmas lights, so every year when we get it out memories of it's long eaten contents will come flooding back!  Happy, happy days .......... oh, and did I mention ....... that the white chocolate coated strawberries were also, to quote Darrell, "tres tres formidable"??/!!!! What are we like?

A Little Festive Sadness and Pure Pleasure ........ ........

Our festive trip back to The Homeland was very lovely, but Nigel had a bit of a blip when we went past Motor World as it was very apparent that his beloved knitted nativity was no more ........

...... the window where he had spent so much time in awe and wonder was filled by great big yellow  things of a car type nature, that we couldn't identify, and huge posters. It was a sad moment but Nigel  was brave, quickly averting his longing eyes and sighing deeply, an era was finally over.

However, on a lighter note, we also drove past Castle Greysquirrell which looked most resplendently festive and very loved, which made our hearts sing, and then when we got back to The Towers, how spooky, there was a letter waiting for us from Andrew and Cheryl the people who moved into Castle Greysquirrell after us.

Let's just say it was emotional! The glass shop next door was, they said, looking much better, which we had already seen, the beeping blue thing (a huge container) outside,  that was such an eye sore for so many years (in fact Darrell painted huge flowers on it once to make it look a little better) was no more and with it's second floor extension finally built, the metal shutters removed and a lick of sage green paint it almost looked posh.

As for our much beloved pond, even though they didn't even realise that they had a fish pond until after they had moved in as they never looked in the garden, it is in very safe hands with new fish added, which all made us all beam.

Andy never really had time to enjoy it after all his hard work but would be so happy to know just how loved it is.  Life's too short to spend too much time in the past, unless of course it's with happy memories.  We have exchanged cards/letters every year since we made our move to Evesham and each year always look forward to these few lines to let us know all is still well.

Catching Up On Our New Years Iris and Bertie Sleepover

Christmas and New Year seem sooooooooooo far away now, although we still seem to be slowly clearing up because, as Darrell says there is no more perfect time for a petite "spring" clean than the start of a new year .......... but what of our New Years Sleepover I hear you ask.......

Let's just say it was pretty wonderful, we started off with a Open all Hours cocktail bar for Iris and Bertie complete with all manner of cocktail paraphernalia, maraschino cherries, lemon slices and ice cubes plus every flavour of Fruit Shoot drink known to man ......

....... with the little ones free to help themselves whenever they fancied so long as they made us the occasional one too now and again.  There was also our now must have pick 'n' mix sweetie table with all of our most favourite sugary type comestibles.

There were also presents, kept back from Christmas Day so they could be enjoyed and played without a little of that impossible excitement ....... to wit one mini arcade pirate coin push machine .......

 ...... and a Play Doh Dentist set .......

....... from which a little too much enthusiastic drilling and mahoooosive fillings ensued for my own personal sensitivities, ........

........ a much considered present from Nigel, as if you need to be ask!

On the last day of 2019 we decided to walk into town to get some much needed fresh air and lunch out ......

......... it was posh fish fingers, chips and peas and sherbet lemonades all round at Evesham's Orto Lounge, followed by a very competitive game of 3D Snakes and Ladders on our return to The Towers.

As soon as it got dark we once more donned our warm coats and boots to go out again for what Iris and Bertie (..... and Nigel) love best, our traditional Midnight walk along the river to the meadow playground, armed with a whole arsenal of torches to look for creatures of a nocturnal type nature ........

........ and a most ample flask of hot chocolate and box of chocolate malted milk biscuits for a "midnight feast" on one of the benches.

It was just toooooooooo magical ........ with one or two fireworks going off in the background to add to the excitement.

....... though I think that any nocturnal creatures that may have been out and about were well shot of said meadow as soon as they caught wind of our approaching presence and shenanigans, what are they like?

We returned to The Towers full of fresh air and not a tiny bit weary to change into PJ's for an evening of Harry Potter and popcorn ......

...... while Darrell laid the table and prepped for our celebratory family New Years Day meal ....... happy, happy days!!!!