German Confectionary Review No. 5 Assorted Mini Ritter Sports

Because we are already familiar with Ritter Sports Chocolate we knew we were in for a treat, and thought we would be less formal in our considerations and adjourn to the sofa to conduct our review.

The packaging gave us a clue as to the delights ahead, even if some of the names in German didn’t sound as enticing.  Vom Gluck might sound like something from a Bush Tucker Trial but really means, according to Darrell’s Google translator  “Here is a piece of luck”.

Sttat Blumchen means “instead of flowers” and not white chocolate as we thought, Lass es Kracken – Lets Party Hard and finally Die Schaffst Du Und Alles Andere Auch - You Can And Everything else and not strawberry!  All very romantic and intriguing!

Nigel who is very partial to a piece of white chocolate liked the Statt Blumchen best, it ticked all his boxes, especially creaminess.

Darrell’s favourite was the long winded and hard to type Die Schaffst Du Und Alles Andere Auch, which indeed had a line of strawberry through it, he was surprised that there was a crunch to it, but that added to his confectionary enjoyment, as well as the strawberries being one of his ten a day!

And I preferred the milk Vom Gluck, despite it’s dubious name, it was very creamy and satisfying. 

None of us were that keen on the Lass Es Kracken, though not dark chocolate or coffee as we thought (neither of which we really like), it didn’t really do anything for us, but again the slight crunch in the middle filling took us by surprise.

It has to be said that this was a very enjoyable review, but it’s always a sad moment when everything has been tried and all you are left with is a plate of empty wrappers ……

But, it was very kind of Ze Monkeys for the opportunity to explore Teutonic Chocolate which we may have never done without them.

And our score on our almost world famous Richter Scale of Noms? It has to be an indisputable 4 chains, 9 furlongs and 3 pecks in ancient measurements.  What more can we say but nom, nom, nom!

A Very Confused Nigel

There are a couple of posters up the road that is causing poor Nigel much puzzlement and head hurting ponderment.

In his experience trying to tip a fly over is nigh on impossible as they never seem to be still, even when you approach one very slowly and very quietly on tiptoes, they always spot you and fly off.  It’s only possible if you find a dead one, but then you can’t really claim you tipped it as it’s usually flat on its back already!How tipping a fly can be such a heinous crime, with such severe penalties is beyond him ……

……. if he ever managed it, he would see it as a great achievement of a natural world type nature, worthy of at least one David Attenborough documentary …… but seeing this poster, he’s decided to not even attempt it.  What is he like?

A Possible New Life Choice For Darrell?

Darrell is always open to new “life choices”, as you know, he is no stranger to vegetarianism because of Hugh. Hugh is a staunch observer, but has never rammed it down our throats when we have stayed with him or vice versa……

But veganism is still a bit of a mystery, so when Darrell saw that there was a Vegan Fair at the Town Hall, well, it would be rude not to have a mooch.

And, as none of us has ever been inside the Town Hall, but were Town Hall curious, Darrell was a bit of a trailblazer in that respect …………. and once inside Darrell noted the impressive portraits, the romantic sweeping staircase, and the imposing vaulted ceilings!

There weren’t as many free samples as Darrell had hoped and those on offer were so tiny weeny it was hard to judge …….except for some vegan cheese, which made Darrell’s toes curl, described as …..”not his cup of tea of a cheese type nature”, or less politely as “yewwwwwyyyyyy!”.

However, the vegan coconut fudge did hit the spot, but at £1.20  for a small square, not a bag, Darrell was a stranger to his purse.

…… As it was when he decided to make a considered purchase of a peanut butter and much seeded flapjack, though he waited patiently for a while and returned twice, there appeared to be no one to serve him ……. so his money was yet again safe.  Darrell concluded that perhaps being a vegan wasn’t right for him just yet, he wasn’t ready to give up bacon and wearing leather belt to keep his trousers up ….. and the t-shirts weren’t very bright colours.

But, still wanting to bring something home for tea, Darrell decided he would go a bit vegetarian on this occasion and bought home a Stilton and Broccoli quiche from a lovely gentleman on the market from whom we have previously bought some very delicious Runner Bean Chutney …….

……... served with baby new potatoes, salad and a generous dollop of said chutney,  thank you Darrell, nom,nom,nom.

Poetry Sells ……..

Darrell has noticed a new and growing phenomena on TV over the past few weeks …….

……. the trend of using poetry in commercials! Someone looking all earnest, sometimes filmed in black and white, often wearing a scarf and standing in a casual hands in pockets or on hips type fashion, talking in rhyme in order to persuade ………

……. and now he has mentioned it ……. I am listening and waiting for it every flipping time the commercials come on! Aghhhhhhhh! 

However, I should be grateful for small mercies in that he and Nigel don’t appear to be wanting to follow such a trend …….. those two speaking in rhyme……. now that would really drive me round the bend, BIG TIME!

Random Objects ……. In Random Places ……..

Sometimes, you can see random sort of things that make you think, how did that get there ………..Yesterday Darrell found a tiny lone soldier on a fence down by Evesham Lock which got him all wondering and stuff.

You often read about artistes leaving “things” hidden in public places for people to find ……… perhaps this is a significant and meaningful finding ….. if you knew what it was all about. …….. Or perhaps someone just found it and put it there for the owner to find? Poor Darrell, his brain was buzzing trying to work it all out by the time he got home yesterday.

Tiffin Spot Of The Week – Herbies Coffee House

Yesterday  I thought I might treat myself and try out Herbies Coffee House in Evesham’s Market Place.

I have often passed by but this was the first time I had ventured in.

Inside was cosy and comfortable with sofas and armchairs, as well as table and chairs, and a front window made for people watching. The menu board of drinks was impressive …….. any establishment that makes a Malteser Milkshake has to be up there……

……. but on this occasion I thought I would keep things simple and have a cappuccino with a slice of Chocolate Tiffin.

Let’s just say, it did not disappoint, the Tiffin ticked all my exacting boxes and  was not found wanting!

Sometimes eating out alone can feel a little awkward, but there were plenty of magazines and newspapers to keep me occupied, as well as aforesaid people watching and ear wigging some of the conversations going on around me …… for example, the gentlemen to my right were farmers talking about sheep and the group to my left were planning on going to pick up  this months programme for the Regal Cinema when they left!

I shall return, and soon, as I am sure Darrell and Nigel would very much appreciate trying one of Herbie’s Chocolate Brownie Sundaes (Rocky Road and Millionaire Sundaes also available), I wouldn’t dare order one without them ……I could also be tempted to a Panini, but probably not at the same time. Anyway, another happy find …… nom, nom, nom!

https://www.facebook.com/herbiescoffeehouse/?rf=205601356137197

Evesham Lock

It’s only early, but there seems to be a tiny weeny nip of spring in the air, the river is a little murky, but Evesham Lock, about 10 minutes from us if your dawdling, is looking very romantic in a no leaves type way.

…… And Nigel’s beloved swans still recognise us, wherever we/they are on the river …..

…….. proudly bringing their baby, christened Cyril by Nigel, over to see us and to see if we have any food for them.  However, we are wary of giving them bread, as we have heard it’s not that good for them.  We have tried offering peas but they turned their noses up at them. We are hoping our biggest fan, Jan the Fan, our resident wild life expert, might be able to advise us.

German Cocktails Akimbo - Review No. 4 – Brause-Pulver

Cocktail Hour at The Towers may NEVER be quite the same again! Yesterday Nigel chose the mysterious packet of assorted drink sachets from our box of confectionary pleasures sent to us by our German friends Ze Monkeys  for our considered opinion..

The Ze Monkeys had put a very useful note on said packet saying “Fizzy Drink Powder … also fun and tasty if you just pop it into your mouth”. We were intrigued, but to be honest we were a little sceptical, thinking that though the sachets did indeed seem to promise much froth, we thought that in real life we might be a little let down as regards to fizz factor.Darrell got  us organised, translating the instructions on Google to make absolutely sure that there were no hideous mistakes made in the preparation, and then instructed Nigel to get out our finest cocktail glasses.

It has to be said, despite our initial misgivings Brause–Pulver delivered, exceeding all expectations of promised effervescence!

 

In fact, we were so taken aback, we repeated the exercise again just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke!The drinks were exceptionally fizzy, and very flavourful, and we couldn’t help wondering how the powder would react if mixed with alcohol …… perhaps, a very small vodka, but at 10.30 in the morning, we didn’t think it would be appropriate, but have put a couple of sachets aside for when Lucy comes to stay next, so we can surprise her with our Teutonic tastes and sophistication.

And what happened if you “just” popped the powder in your mouth in its raw state? Let’s just say, putting a whole sachet in your mouth in one go, as Nigel did ….. isn’t advisable, seeing him froth at the mouth was a little alarming ……

…… but he just took it in his stride proclaiming “Es ist sicherlich ausgeliefert!”  What is he like?

A cocktail glass of Brause-Pulver is more than an ample sufficienty, we don’t really think we could knock it back in pints, but that would be common anyway!

After much debate (none heated), our considered scores, using our almost world famous Richter scale of Teutonic noms were? Well, it has to be 99.9993% doesn’t it, just for proving us wrong on frothability! We did keep .0007% back as there was a very slight aftertaste,  but that’s nit picking really.

Our favourite German word in our steep learning curve of the language so far has to be “trinkwasser” …….. we shall be using it often and with confidence at every relevant opportunity!

Crunch Free Televisual Viewing!

Darrell’s new eating regime continues apace, he’s looking really good, but it has to be said that his chomping carrots and celery sticks can be a little distracting while we are watching television in the evening, more than once, we have missed what was being said at a dramatic and poignant part of a programmes plot because of a crescendo of loud crunching!

So in the end Nigel set himself the task of finding Darrell a less distracting, but relatively syn free “something” to enjoy during such times.  It didn’t take him long ……

The answer was in the window of our confectionary emporium of choice Mr Chills ……. in the guise of sugar free sweets, and there was so much choice …… you name it, they appear to have it, including national sweets of the region!

There were also free samples, which Nigel naturally availed himself of  as it would have looked rude not too! After much perusing and ummmming and ahhhing Nigel finally decided that Darrell might quite like a quarter of Pershore (just one stop down from us on the train) Plum and Custard to suck rather than crunch during the likes of First Dates, Room 101 and This Time Next Year.

He also made sure he got his loyalty card stamped. It might take a while, but, if he can collect 12 stamps over the next few months he would get a 1/4(lb) for free!  He’s already compiled a short list, with chocolate nibs currently in number one spot ………as you get an awful lot in a 1/4!  What is he like …… if not very kind and thoughtful?

Communal Perks ….. But With A Lurking Danger

When we moved to Evesham we discovered that there was one unexpected benefit to bijoux apartment living ……..

…… to wit, communal bins! Back at The Castle there was always a debate (though never heated) about which bin should go out on a Thursday night, ready for Friday morning, was it the black or the green one? Bank Holidays and Christmas were logistical nightmares as sometimes there was a longer than usual gap between collections  and then at other times we had to put both out on the same day.

So complicated was it that we had a glossy manual which we were oft to be found huddled over for the definitive answer, but in that the bin colours were substituted for round and square symbols!!!!  But despite the confusion, it has to be said that we were only found wanting on a couple of occasions.

These days ….. I couldn’t even tell you when bin day is, a simple pleasure, if that’s not too sad, as is never having to worry about how much rubbish we’ve got. Back at The Castle we would worry about how  much rubbish we sometimes had, if we had a clean out, and now and again we could be found robustly pushing what we had down with the broom so the lid shut, otherwise the bin men wouldn’t take it.  These days it just doesn’t matter ……

However, within days of moving into The Towers we realised that in no circumstances could Nigel EVER be allowed to the bin area  alone or EVER put any rubbish in the bins.  though seemingly harmless to ordinary man, to Nigel the bins are an abyss …………

…… and should he lose his balance, well it’s too unbearable to contemplate, so we’ll leave it there……. just the thought has given me the willies!