Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 69 – Nigel Saves Our Bacon

We’ve been having a bit of an on going situation Chez Towers over the past day or so ……

Darrell had been fretting, saying that he didn’t think that our freezer was working properly, it didn’t feel quite right when he opened it, he said, everything felt dull rather than crisp when he got something out and it didn’t seem to hum as much as it usually does.

This was followed by him putting little tubs of water in each of the drawers to see how long it took them to freeze, let’s just say, it was not as quickly as he felt they should have and even then, it wasn't in a truly satisfyingly, all together solid sort of form.

At the end of the second day Darrell couldn't take the uncertainty of it all any longer and worried, especially in the current meltdown situation, he decided that it wasn’t right, something was wrong, and repairs, out of guarantee, were bound to cost more than a new freezer, so he got online and ordered a new one.

But Nigel could see that Darrell was still fretting, despite our lovely neighbour Kata taking two whole drawers of our contents into the safe and welcoming custody of her own freezer, until our new one arrived.

Now, Nigel doesn’t know a lot about appliances of a kitchen type nature, but he has spent hours with Young Master Bertie pouring over Bertie's very favourite and treasured “How Things Work” book, always paying particular attention to those "things" that tend to contain the most coils and pipes, so Nigel, buoyed up by the idea of saving the day, dared wonder if he might be able to solve the problem, instead of us having to spend our hard earned cash on a new one.

So remembering all Bertie's and his many riveting conversations on how things work, Nigel started by gingerly cleaning the condenser coils, to remove any dust that might be inhibiting them from working properly and since it hadn’t been done since the day we bought it, they were indeed mucky!

He then cleaned out the water pan, which was when he said his heart began to pound, adding that all was rather “turgid” and unsavoury ....... but bless him, he continued.

Finally, he checked the hose and found that it wasn’t secured in what he thought was it’s proper position. At that he felt as if he'd been put through the wringer and could do no more, it was now a waiting game to see if the freezer would right itself ……. his was to have an uneasy sleep that night.

However, in the morning, he found that the bowls that he had again put in each drawer were frozen solid, the freezer was humming like nobody’s business and there was a really cold nip when the door was opened.  When he yelled for Darrell to come and see, it was emotional!  They repeated the tubs of water test yet again, to more magical results within a short time, and at that Darrell decided to cancel his order amidst of tears of relief and joy …….

Nigel had saved the day and indeed our bacon, Bird’s Eye waffles, fish fingers and petit pois ……. he was a hero!  Naturally, we need to keep an eye on things, but fish fingers crossed all will be well  ……. and from here on in it’s now Nigel’s job to go behind the freezer every six months or so to give, as Darrell likes to call it, a right good bottoming!  Happy Days and God bless Nigel.

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Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 68 –In The Absence of Jigsaws

In the absence of jigsaws, but amidst much meltdown boredom ………

……. I told Darrell and Nigel that if they really had nothing better to do, they might as well sort out Iris and Bertie’s Aquabeads into colours, ready for when our beloved niece and nephew can come over again without social distancing.

It was bliss …….. one of my best meltdown suggestions by far.

……. there wasn’t a peep out of either of them all afternoon, so rapt and absorbed were they.

…….. and, if I’m lucky, there’s at least another afternoon’s worth left to do. Happy Days all round!

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Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 67 –We’re Emotional

Yesterday tea time was almost too much to bear when Lord Boris finally announced that meltdown was to be eased just a little and that we can at last meet up with six members of our family, strictly outdoors, while still being alert and adhering to social distance. We are not ashamed to say that the tissue box was quickly found so that eyes could be wiped and noses noisily blown .

However, composure  had to be momentarily recovered when within minutes of the announcement we received a WhatsApp from The Lovely Laura and Tom the Scientist inviting us to a socially distanced BBQ next Wednesday, I could see Darrell desperately trying to stifle his sobs, but mention of us perhaps taking pudding managed to focus him into promising a pavlova like no other pavlova! 

We are going to see our beloved Young Master Bertie and Little Miss Iris after being apart for so many weeks, weeks we know we can never get back, but we’ve kept them safe. We know we can’t hug them but the love shining from our eyes will say it all ……… 

Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 66 – If Only There Was Smellie-Vision

As you know Darrell fancies himself as a bit of a cook, with many speciality dishes ……….

….. many of them of a Chinese type persuasion, so when Gok Wan rocked up on This Morning with his sweet and sour chicken, Darrell was almost beside himself, as Gok’s cookbooks really are his culinary bibles.

The recipe was so simple, even Phil and Holly managed it, and as Darrell already had all the ingredients, it was a no brainer as to what Darrell was going to do for our tea yesterday and who were Nigel and I to disagree.

Needless to say Darrell was then in the kitchen for most of the afternoon, even though Gok, Holly and Phil put theirs together in around ten minutes. He was away with the fairies, delicately battering chicken, chopping up veg like there was no tomorrow and lining all the other ingredients, including the tomato ketchup, neatly in a row, in the order he was going to need to use them.

Almost immediately wonderful aromas began to assault our senses, it was almost too exquisitely painful to breath in …….

…….. how do you stop your mouth watering uncontrollably every time you get a whiff?

Finally, when Nigel and I could almost take no more, Darrell was ready to serve up.

What can I say? We were not disappointed, the boy “dun gud”, if only we had smellie-vision. Darrell’s sweet and sour chicken was totally off our Richter scale of noms.  It was stupendous, Darrell had even out done our Chinese Takeaway of choice, Foo Lam, back in the Homeland.

There was only one thing for Nigel and I to say …… “Please Sir, may I have some more” or “Xiānshēng, wǒ kěyǐ zài qǐng yīxiē ma”  What are we like?
https://www.itv.com/thismorning/food/sweet-and-sour-chicken-gok-wan-recipe

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Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 65 - Aggggh

We’ve been watching quite a lot of YouTube during our incarceration the meltdown ………

…….. but there’s one thing that has me instantly reaching for the zapper …….

….. and that’s vloggers, who within two seconds of them starting their video tell us they are “super excited” to tell us or show us something …… and then keep on repeating it, aghhhhhhhhh.

NO!!!!  Just no!!! 

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Living La Vida Lockdown –Day 64 - Urgent Attention Needed

It has to be said that during meltdown ……..

……. our bushes have been sorely neglected, completely out of control ……

…… and in urgent need of a robust and rigorous trimming.

So you can imagine how pleased we were when Vance, our man what does, appeared yesterday armed with a whole plethora of manly tools to give said bushes a real good sorting out.

……. and ….. he did not disappoint …….. we were well and truly pruned to an inch of our lives.

No one wants to see an unruly bush, least of all ours, before Vance arrived ours were found wanting, overgrown and unkempt, but now they are positively resplendent and we don’t mind now who sees them ……… The Boy dun us proud!

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Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 63 – Hello From The Other Side

I think you’re all pretty familiar with our side of the railway bridge these days  ……

……. but too our shame, in the four years we’ve been Chez Towers, we have remained virtual strangers to the pleasures that lie beyond its sturdy girders

It’s always been a bit of a safety thing, we just don’t like putting ourselves in a vulnerable  position, and well, it’s always been pretty deserted up there, but since meltdown, there’s  been a non stop stream of walkers, families, dog walkers, joggers and cyclists etc. going up there,  which in turn has made Darrell and Nigel feel more secure about venturing into its unknown territory ……

It has to be said that there was instant regret for not doing so earlier the moment they had passed under said bridge into a whole new world.

It was a bewitching ……… not to mention, emotional, moment.

Within seconds they had found the entrance into an enchanted wood ……….

……. which although a little nettle-y at the moment, would be the most magical place to take Little Miss Iris and Young Master Bertie, perhaps in the autumn, when hopefully, we are free from the shackles of meltdown to go on wonderful adventures again, with no social distancing whatsoever ……..

…….. we so miss our little kisses, cuddles, snuggles and smelling of heads, but I digress ……..

As Darrell and Nigel followed the path all was silent except for their footsteps on the path and the loud and proud  throng of birdsong, it was as Darrell told me me later “Totally and utterly beguiling!” and was a sin  that we had never done it before.  Meltdown had given us something.

Nigel said he felt at one with the world, even if it was largely infected with “the virus” at the moment.

For half an hour or so they could almost forget that we have all been largely incarcerated within the walls of The Tower for the past seven weeks or so.

……. and now with a signpost pointing in all directions we have no excuse not to roam unfettered any more.

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Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 62 –Taking One For The Team

Sometimes, even in meltdown, you just have to do the jobs you’d prefer not to tackle ………

……. and yesterday it befell Nigel and I to give the communal meter cupboard a right Mrs. Hinch-ing!

Goodness only knows when it was last done and Darrell, having a spooky late, great Derek Acorah (RIP) premonition type feeling, flatly refused to help out, despite his admiration of Mrs Hinch, fearing even the tiniest physical contact with any of it’s spiders, their accompanying sticky webs, even the husks of long deceased woodlice and other such creatures, claiming the 2 metres social distancing rule!!  What is he like?

So, rather deal with one of Darrell’s attacks of the vapours we agreed that he should stay cocooned in The Towers, preparing an extra special spag bol with extra garlic bread for tea to make up for his absence.

On the other hand, Nigel was completely mesmerised by all such creatures, getting, to be honest, under my feet as he stood watching they, prodding them (gently) in an effort to ascertain whether they were dead or alive. “The dearly departed”, he said, “could be sucked up in vacuum cleaner but the living had to be saved!”, by himself, with the aid of a tumbler and piece of card, before being put back outside where freedom loomed and hence why a small job took far longer than it should have done.

And the aforementioned spag bol with extra garlic bread accompaniment?  Absolutely delicious, Darrell dun gud, he was of much better use than if ever he’d been in the cupboard with Nigel and I.  Happy Days!

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Living La Vida Lockdown – Day 61 – Dreams Of When All This Is Over …..

Darrell found out the wrestling poster he’d availed himself of shortly before meltdown …….

……. some of the characters recognisable from the many Nigel has mused over in the past.

Shortly before said meltdown Darrell had overheard Tom the Scientist say he was going to take Little Miss Iris as a father/daughter bonding experience, as she’d loved the wrestling last year on holiday at Ladrum Bay (Young Master Bertie was not so keen).  Tom the Scientist  was quite a wrestling aficionado in his time, having once travelled all the way to Dallas, Texas for some World Wrestling Event or other.

Darrell had asked Tom the Scientist if Nigel might join them, as he’s been sooooooooooo desperate to go for absolute ages, but had no one to go with, wrestling not really being Darrell’s or my sort of thing.

However, meltdown put paid to those plans …… but as soon as “this” is all over and the posters start popping up around town again, Darrell has promised Nigel that he shall, finally, go to the ball!

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