Darrell says ………..
……. he finds it reassuring and very comforting to know that if/when Nigel has an attack of the noxious whiffs ……….. after, for arguments sake, one of Darrell’s delicious, yet extremely potent Brussel Sprout Masala’s
……… there’s a number we can call for assistance! What is he like? ………. Poor Nigel!
Darrell is a very affable, laid back sort of fellow, to be honest very little gets on his wick …….. except perhaps for one thing.
Now, look yonder at the white car (or blob) in the distance, to the right of Darrell’s gaze, it’s miles away, yes? Well, by said car there happened to be a lady who was having, how shall I put it politely, an overly audible conversation on her phone ……. of which Darrell could hear every single word, as if she was standing right next to him!
……… EVERY ….. SINGLE ……… WORD!!!!!!!
Darrell, is, it has to be said, a monkey of very few words when he’s irked …… however his prolonged and heartfelt “…… aghhhhhhhh” just about sums up his irk! “Even is space, where no one can hear you scream, everyone, alien or human, couldn’t help but pick up every single flipping word and nuance!” sighed Darrell. What is he like?
Yesterday, Nigel and Lu decided to have a day out, taking in a couple of local garden centres and a slice or two of coffee and walnut cake with their afternoon tea, when they happened upon a car boot sale, well, as Nigel said, it would have been rude not to avail themselves of just a tiny mooch.
However, it was quite late and within a few minutes of them excitedly getting out of the car it soon became apparent that the stallholders had started to pack away. Nigel said at that point his heart sank as he and Lu love a thronging car boot sale, never knowing what they are going to happen up, but things were far from thronging.
It all sounded like very slim pickings with Nigel only spending, thirty of his well considered pence …….
……. however, he returned to The Towers with treasures abounding, as it seems that by that stage said stallholders were giving stuff away, rather than having to cart it all back home again.
Nigel’s well considered 30p went of a real life Royal Worcester dish featuring a bunch of asparagus, bought with Darrell in mind to serve our posh vegetable of choice, which is currently very much in season at the moment.
The dish had been reduced from 50 to 30p, so it was a no brainer for the little fella, admittedly the romantic gold edging was almost gone from round the edges, but it was still soooooo meant to be …….
……. of a spooky, late, great Derek Acorah type way, even the design was called Evesham.
Needless to say, Darrell was thrilled.
And the free stuff? ……. Well, Nigel said that by that stage he wasn’t too proud to accept a “free gift” or rummage through, one or two of the boxes scattered around the field if there was something interesting lying on the top ……. so there was a kitsch George at Asda decorative wall plate, produced in 2018, so almost an antique, that he thought Hugh, Darrell’s best friend and mentor of all things a la mode and de rigueur might appreciate for his select Worcester retreat.
Then there was a really ancient and cracked tureen type thing but exactly the sort of thing that Darrell had been looking for to replant his cactuses in, the lid was surplus, but Darrell said, for free, it was perfect.
And finally the definitive piece of resistance ……….
A Sainsbury’s biscuit tin in the guise of a peacock patterned Christmas tree, the perfect colours for either of our bedrooms when Darrell is putting together all the frou frou for his festive décor ……… let’s just say it was emotional and Nigel “dun gud” on just 30p!
As our fifth anniversary in Evesham passes, we can’t but help reminisce on our first tentative forays in Evesham café society and how Moo Moos, with it’s friendly ambience was the very first place we felt welcome and at home.
http://mumsmonkey.blogspot.com/2015/07/discovering-pleasures-of-eveshammoo.html
Sadly, Moo Moo’s is no more, their wonderful physic nights a dim and distant memory now. It went a while ago, an ice cream parlour/bar also came and went, failing to take off …… and then meltdown happened. Nigel still passes the old building on the school run, but it’s quite different now.
I have to be honest, it may be still be very lovely inside, but the outside just doesn’t have the homely draw that once beckoned us in times of yore.
It no longer looks like the sort of place that would rustle Iris up a scrambled egg at the drop of a hat just because that’s what she wanted.
……. so for now we remain strangers to it’s hospitably, thus avoiding any possible “outlaw” desperado type action ……….. no matter how romantic the attention!
You know what Darrell’s looking at, don’t you?
Money …………
…….. for old rope!
What are we like?
Another school run for Nigel, but with a complete reversal of the arrangements. From now on (or until further notice) he has to pick Iris up first, at bang on 3 o’clock, he then has to do an abrupt about turn, retrace his steps and collect Bertie from his part of the school, down the road, as fast as his and Iris’s legs can carry them.
Sadly, there is now not enough time to pick up a Mr Whippy, with sprinkles and sauce from the Ice Cream Man on the way down, until now a Wednesday after school treat if said Ice Cream Man was parked outside the school gates.
Nigel needs to get as near to the front of the queue as possible and then it’s rush, rush, rush until Bertie is gotten, so Nigel is getting pretty fit, not wanting Bertie’s teachers to have to wait too long after their time to watch the little fella.
“There is however”, says Nigel, “one saving grace with this new routine, the school drive is soooooooooo long that it’s impossible to see if your friend is already in the queue” and so the queue jumping or podging of last term, the bane of Nigel’s (school run) life has thus been eradicated, happy days!
The other day Darrell found himself doing a double take after spotting a sticker in a car window in one of the car parks up town ……..
……… that left him crying with laughter and in turn desperately trying to catch his breath ………
I present you with ……….
It really tickled his funny bone, bless him.
Haven’t we all been there? Oh ……. the car journeys with our beloved Iris and Bertie, asking if they can just hold on for another five minutes until we can stop …….. LOL happy days!
How on earth did it get to be now? We’re very close to being half way through the year (well, 2nd July to be exact), and yet I don’t even feel as if we’ve even started 2021 properly. Where has the time gone?
To help explain my rather “morose” mood, today is 21st June when we “celebrate” the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, where we have a whole 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight to embrace, the sun rising at 4.52am and setting at 9.26pm ………..
…… which means that from tomorrow the nights will very slowly start to draw in, it’s soooooooooooo not right, it’s wrong!
And, on top of that, despite Darrell, Nigel and I being fully and comprehensively double jabbed, we’re still in a weird twilight zone of lockdown with another 3 more weeks to go, unless Boris, once again, decides otherwise and prolongs it even further!
I just feel as if some of my natural effervescence has been compromised, everso slightly by something as silly as the date. What am I like?
Having a little meander round our estate, look what Nigel stumbled upon, round at “the other block” of flats, up the road ………
……. only an outside living room ………
……… complete with, according to Darrell, the must have, tres en trend, shower curtain to add to the all important illusionary and romantic scenic background, just behind the bins.
Needless to say, Nigel came home with stars in his eyes and dreams of our own block having a similar alfresco facility ………
Unfortunately, it fell to me to burst the little fella’s bubble. The Towers is quite a different set up to “the other block”, where we can’t as much as dry our washing outside, even on the hottest of days, without infringing some sort of terrifying leasehold breach or bye-law, so this would be an absolute no no, with, no doubt, questions, being asked in Parliament as to how it was allowed to happen ……. Sorry Nigel, it’s a dream too far. He’ll just have to take the deckchair he had for Christmas and try to make friends with someone up there to enjoy the pleasures of outdoor living!
It was Darrell’s turn to go mooching yesterday after seeing and hearing Nigel holding Hugh and his man “what does” spellbound with his tales of our new Poundstretcher’s amazing wall of confectionary.
Let’s just say the aforementioned Poundstretcher did not disappoint Darrell either, but wasn’t it’s comestible treat aisle that had him in its thrall ……….
……. it was the whole shop length, on both sides, of cleaning products that had Darrell almost hypnotised and in raptures……..
…….. where to start? Darrell was in scourer and rubber glove heaven.
“A product,” he sighed ecstatically “for all occasions, encompassing every stain, spillage, build up, whiff, waft and household mishap you could ever imagine, with a equally satisfying array of cloths, sponges wipes and all manner of mops and brushes to cope with and compliment said products!”
Plus, he went on, there was a even a cute little bag that pretty much summed up his mood to carry it about in!
Darrell had found, he said, his “spiritual retail nirvana!” What is he like? Well, if I can’t find him from now on, I think I can have a pretty good guess as to where he’ll be, I think I will just need to keep a tight rein on our household cleaning budget until the novelty wears off!
