Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 39 - The Pot That Just Keeps Giving

You may remember the flurry of excitement we had chez La Towers when we had a slight accident of a plant pot type nature last week, well, it seems that it’s a plant pot mishap that just keeps on giving ……..

It all came about yesterday morning  as Darrell was taking a brief  break from giving the lounge, what he likes to call,  a good bottoming ……..

…….. when he spied something under his beloved cocktail cabinet that he didn’t think ought to be there ………

…… which he discovered, after asking Nigel to crawl under said cabinet to retrieve it, was yet another part of the pot that got smashed. Here, I hang my head in shame, as I have to admit that, on this occasion, our cleaning up skills have been found to be very wanting!

However, wishing to turn a negative into a positive it was agreed that where Nigel was celebrated as The Finder of the Furthest Flung Fragment ………

……… Darrell would be awarded the title of The Finder of the Completely Missed and Allusive Pot Fragment ….. what are we like?

And the plant itself? It’s now in Nigel and Darrell’s bedroom in a new pot (the one that we used to put all our washing up paraphernalia in, under the sink). It’s condition is questionable, some of the leaves still need culling, but I really don’t want to encourage any more plant pot catastrophes for the time being.

Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 38 –Shhhhhhhhhhhh ……..

Despite our being in meltdown …….. we have some wonderful news to impart ………. wait for it …….

…….. we have a real, live deer living behind the fence that runs along the railway embankment, can you believe it? We have decided to call him D’Pfeffel, well, Bambi would just be too obvious, wouldn’t it?  We are unbelievably proud and obviously feel very protective of him ………

Our lovely Transylvanian friend Kata spotted him first by the bin area, shortly followed by our top floor neighbour Natalie, who managed to get these pictures looking down on him from her lofty abode.

We, sadly, have yet to spot him, but we are trying to be exceptionally quiet whenever we go to said bin area so that we don’t frighten him away.

I have to say living La Vida Lockdown is the meltdown that just keeps on giving as far as we are concerned ……. ……… in some ways it will be very hard to return to the real world when it’s all over.

Living In Lockdown - Day 37 A Good Morning Meltdown Conundrum

We are trying to avoid as much day time TV as possible, finding other things to keep us occupied rather go into a vegetative meltdown type of state.

However, now and again we sometimes indulge ourselves in a bit of Phil and Holly while we partake of our routine, mid morning coffee and  Hob Nob break……..

…… but there’s something on the set that has raised some very  serious questions in Nigel’s eyes…………

……. to wit, the fruit bowl, is the fruit actually real in real life?  If so, do the hot studio lights affect its longevity, how often to do they change it and if/when they do, do they share it out among the crew so it doesn’t go to waste?   Has any one ever taken a great big bite out of one of those incredibly shiny red apples? Nigel says that if he were anywhere near it he doesn’t think he’d be able to resist and wouldn't be at all surprised if said Phil and Holly haven’t been tempted to the odd cheeky nibble once in a while, especially Phil!

And the final question, no bananas, a staple in The Towers fruit bowl. Darrell, with his designer eye reckons just a couple of small bunches would add a little height to the rather flat looking bounty!  What are they both like?  I never dreamed that one day a simple fruit bowl would stimulate quite so much debate ....... however, as we are constantly being told, these are unprecedented times I suppose!

Living La Vida Lockdown–Day 36 More Than Ready To Serve Their Country

Ever since they caught wind of it Darrell and Nigel have been checking our mail box every morning with much robust palpable and tangible anticipation ………

…….. to see if we’re got THE letter telling us that we are one of the 20,000 households in the country to be selected to take part in the ONS COVID-19 Study.

Thus far they have only been met by disappointment, so I am afraid have had to come to the terms that this time round we are not among the chosen ones, despite being more than willing to step up to the plate to do our duty for our country.

It has to be said that Darrell, in the past, would have much preferred to be a stranger to anyone wielding a  nose or throat swab in his general direction, let alone being asked to proffer his arm to give blood sample, however, his says there will be no need for me to hand him a paper bag, because, as he must say at least 100 times a day, “……these are unprecedented times” and if his antibodies can be of use, Boris can have as many as he likes.

Nigel is of the same mind, he’s already practising swabbing his orifices of an nationally important nature with the cotton buds we keep in the bathroom, but I’ve had to tell him that practising to tap any one one of his many abundant veins may be a little premature.  What is he like?

XXX STAY HOME – STAY SAFE XXX

Living In Lockdown –Day 35 – A Message From Darrell

XXX STAY HOME – STAY SAFE XXX

XXX STAY HOME – STAY SAFE XXX

Living In Lockdown–Day 34–Bittersweet Moments

Our most favourite part of our meltdown days is when Little Miss Iris and Young Master Bertie, our beloved niece and nephew video call us.

We miss them sooooooooooooooooo much, I can’t tell you how much it hurts, especially knowing that with every day they are growing and changing so much and we are not able to be part of it.

It’s always an emotionally charged time, but we hang steadfastly on to all our feelings until after the call has ended and then we each go off to compose ourselves and have a good nose blow

What we would do for just one cuddle or one sniff of their little heads.  Sometimes, we’ll admit, the nursery/school run was a little tiring, but each and every journey was a precious moment that this retched, retched virus has robbed us of .......  for goodness knows when. 

The good thing is that Iris and Bertie are just taking it all in their stride, but when we are all released, those babies are going to be squeezed so hard that they won’t be able to breath ……. and they can have whatever they want ………. just this once

Nigel has plans for a bouncy castle and a popcorn machine in the garden, and perhaps even sleeping outside in a tent  ……  that may be a bit OTT, but I am certainly not going to burst his bubble.  The main thing is we are all home and all safe ……….. better days will surely come round again.

XXX STAY HOME – STAY SAFE XXX

Living In Lockdown –Day 33 - A Flurry Of Meltdown Activity

It’s weird how the oddest of things can help break the monotony of being in meltdown and bring an unexpected flurry of activity and frisson of excitement to The Towers.

Take for example yesterday, I just don’t know how it happened, but somehow I managed to drop our one and only proper houseplant (apart from Nigel’s cactuses) while I was attempting to dead head it. It just seemed to slip from my hands.

Well, after the initial calamitous crash you could have heard a pin drop …… and then The Towers “Mean Dream Team of Clean” sprang into action to get it all sorted out, but not before Darrell performed a quick Health and Safety Inspection, followed by a Risk Assessment to heighten the tension.

It  all seemed so exciting, but incredibly sad at the same time, but in these unprecedented meltdown times you’ve just got to take your thrills and, pardon the pun, spills, wherever you can.

Everything was soon swept away and back, so we thought to its hum drum normal ……

…….. until, that is, later in the afternoon when Nigel spied a rogue piece of ceramic pot that had somehow managed to evade our keen tidy up skills after being flung across the room, as far as the sofa.

Needless to say Nigel was duly awarded the “Finder of Far Flung Fragment Award” and then given the honour of putting it in the receptacle for such things, to wit the bin under the cupboard sink, to much cheering and clapping from Darrell and myself.

We feel we need to apologise for really scrapping the barrel as far as our daily meltdown posts are concerned, but as I said before, in such times, …….. needs must!!  What are we like?

Yes, Mr D, the plant survived, minus a couple of leaves or two!

XXX STAY HOME - STAY SAFE XXX

Living In Lockdown–Day 32 – Going Everso Slightly Quackers

With another three weeks in meltdown we are still very much in buoyant and robust form, if going everso slightly crackers looking for Quackers …….

......... since we'd seen several posts on Spotted In Evesham on Facebook saying that there had been a lone mandarin duck spotted quite frequently at the Marina.  Well, it goes without saying that were were desperate to see him for ourselves in real life too .......

So we mounted operation duck surveillance from the lounge window.

In the end our patience paid off with Darrell taking the honours in spying Quackers, as we have affectionately called him, after we'd been scanning the river for around two and a half days off and on.

He did not disappoint, even from a distance we could see just how beautiful he was. We would really like to “meet” him now in person, somewhere along the river, but, at the moment, due to meltdown, the path that runs along the bottom of our garden has suddenly become a magnet for joggers, walkers (with and without dogs) and cyclists and as such we really don’t want our rigorous social distancing regime being compromised, so our encounter of an exotic duck type nature may have to wait until safer days.

Living In Lockdown – Day 31 - Gazing Towards The Heavens.

Oh my goodness me ……….

You might not be able to see us, but believe me, we are all very much in this picture as is Venus, young master Bertie’s favourite star/planet.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/spacex-satellite-ufo-internet-elon-musk-starlink-a9473896.html

For the past two nights we’ve been looking out for Elong Mollusc’s Starlink satellites. 

On the first night we spotted individual satellites, but last night we saw the whole “train” one after another, as we stood slipper footed, hot chocolate in hand, with the lovely Kata and Natalie, our top floor neighbour.

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/13594082.last-nights-meteor-shower-did-not-disappoint-worcestershire-stargazers/

But there’s even more …….. the annual Lyriad Meteor Shower should also be visible in Worcestershire over the next night or two, with a possible 10 to 20 meteors visible every hours. 

Despite us all being in meltdown how brilliant is that?

It’s all tooooooooo interplanetaryily romantic for words …….. it’s the meltdown that just keeps on giving ……. including even bats!!

Living In Lockdown - Day 30 - Time For All Those Jobs

With so much more time now on Darrell's deft hands while in meltdown ..........

........ I have to say that our kitchen cupboards ..........

........ have never been cleaner or so well ordered.

Yes, I could very easily offer to help him, but I know what he is like, I just wouldn't get it right and it would probably end in him flouncing and tutting and then doing it all again ........ bless his little 1% lycra cotton mix socks!

Living In Lockdown - Day 29 - A Daily Routine.

Over three weeks into meltdown and I think we have just about established a pretty nice daily routine ......... 

........ with our favourite part, meeting up with our lovely neighbour Kata and anyone else who fancies a natter, usually from their windows, for a mid morning coffee break.

Naturally, we adhere rigorously to the inch of the prescribed 6 feet of social distancing, with bacterial sprays, wipes and hand sanitizer being de rigueur, as of yet, no face masks are worn .......

........ but dress code is casual ..........

We discuss anything and everything, but tend to steer clear of religion, especially Cliff Richard and politics, except for how our honorary beloved Boris is doing recuperation wise.

Our most common topic of conversation is usually what we are planning to have for our evening meal, what we plan to do first apres meltdown and our very favourite subject is when Kata regales us with tales of Hungary/Romania with Nigel always hanging on every single word, especially as she originally comes from Transylvania, OMG! Who would have ever thought that one day we would become best friends with a real life Transylvanian? For a start off Halloween will never be the same again ......... and then there are their various festive traditions .......

...... with Nigel now declaring that on 6th December this year, along with Kata's baby Kristzian, he will to put his pristinely polished shoes on the window sill so that they can be filled with small presents by Mikulas and his helpers, making a slight detour to Evesham in order to deliver them! I know it's really a bit early to be thinking of Christmas ..... but if it gives Nigel a dream during meltdown, who am I to burst his little, ever buoyant and hopeful bubble?