More Exciting Developments of a Bridge Type Nature.

Yesterday there seemed to be an awful lot of noise coming the other side of our bridge ………. we couldn’t actually see anything but as the afternoon went on it seemed to be getting closer and closer …….

…… so, it goes without saying that Nigel felt compelled to investigate a little further.

He says it now looks like they have put swimming lanes down there.  However after chatting to the supervisor, as is he want, he found out that they are there to prevent any possible oil seepage getting into the river and the wood was there to soak it up in any such eventuality.  Nigel was almost beside himself at being given such privileged insider information, which he will, no doubt, now dine out on for weeks to come!

And the ominous approaching din………?

Well, no wonder it sounded flipping close, we only had a digger excavating right under the bridge ……. within yards of The Towers …..

……. and as we speak, the old footpath under said bridge is no more, the water now comes right up against the bridge, on our side ……..

…… so any young men we’ve witnessed blithely ignoring the signs and leaping like unabandoned gazelles over the fence could be in for quite a rude awakening according to Nigel.

However, Nigel didn’t quite catch as to what the old footpath will be replaced with, he thinks the gentleman said something about a foot bridge, but in all his excitement Nigel says he temporarily lost concentration.  What is he like?

Bounty Secret Creams–None The Wiser.

You may remember that after our Bounty Secret Creams Review,  we were really none the wiser as to exactly what the secret of Bounty Creams was ………. http://mumsmonkey.blogspot.com/2020/09/bounty-secret-cream-biscuits.html

…… well, you know Darrell, sometimes he can be ruthlessly dogged when he wants an answer …….

…… so absolutely determined to get to the bottom of the “secret” he contacted Mars via their customer service page to ask them straight ……..

…… what is the said Bounty Cream Secret? Sorry, we were sadly a little remiss in not saving a copy of his most excellent probing and in depth enquiry, of which, Jeremy Paxman would have undoubtedly been proud.

It took a couple of days to get an answer ………

…….. but as you can see from their reply, we are still totally none the wiser ………

……and so for Hendrix’s uninformative ……. neigh, totally lame reply …

….. we feel totally justified in downgrading our score of pretty hefty  89g per hundredweight on our world famous Richter Scale of Noms to a meagre 32 degrees Celsius! What are we like?

Farewell Dorset – A Ritual To Perform

These few days with Lu dans Dorset have done me the world of good …

…….. good company, most excellent food, a little bit of mooching ….

……. and of course, being by the sea and feeling, after soooooo long, the sand between my toes ……

…… but all good things must come to an end and I just have one last ritual to perform before Lu and and I head home otherwise Darrell and Nigel would never forgive me.

I admired all the painted stones left at the top of the beach in thanks of the NHS for all their continuing working during this flipping virus and then ……..

……. I’ll be honest ……..

… my stone found me, just as Darrell’s found him in Teignmouth …….

We are truly being watched over, for some it’s a white feather, for others a robin ………. but for us it’s always a holey stone ……… I feel blessed.

A Nautical Bargain

Well, who doesn’t enjoy the odd nautical bargain or two ……..

… and as Lu and I were soaking up the pleasures of Poole Harbour …

… it would have looked rude not to head into the quayside gift shop to see what they had to proffer …

I mooched, but to be honest I didn’t think a lobster pot, a rustic hand painted lighthouse or a seagull sitting haughtily aloft a piece of polished stone emblazoned with "A present from Poole" would sit too well among Darrell’s other carefully put together décor ……

……. so, predictably, it was sticks of rock all round, which I knew would receive a rapturous welcome from both Darrell and Nigel.  Lu however was a little more adventurous, making the considered purchase of a small, turquoise LED lit fishing float in net for her bathroom, of which I am sure Darrell would have approved.

And then, well, all that shopping can give you quite an appetite, so off we went to find  a light mid morning snack of a muffin based nature, for which I awarded, in my opinion, a generous eight noms out of ten. It would possibly have been more, except I asked twice for a sachet or two of ketchup to go with it, but unfortunately none was forthcoming!

None Can Compare To Bournemouth Pier

It’s a sad fact to say that this week we should all have been embracing the pleasures of a Greek Odyssey in Halkidki, however due to this flipping, flipping, flipping virus we had to rescheduled it, fingers crossed, to next year.

So, at times like these, it’s important to look at the positive side of life rather than the negative ………..

……. and there’s one pleasure that holidays in the UK have in great abundance that a Greek one just doesn’t ………

…….  the amusement arcade on the pier, which Greece, to the best of my knowledge, has neither of.

I’ll admit it, I squandered my £2’s worth of 2p coins, especially set aside for the occassion with robust gay abandon, dreaming of the millionaire life style we would all very much like to become accustomed to ………

…… but sadly the largest and loudest chink of coins I heard was when I put my pound coins in the change machine …….. oh well ………

…… perhaps another day. In the meantime Lu treated me a raspberry Slush Puppy to help lift my spirits, where we both shared a particularly painful bout of brain freeze and then laughed until we were helpless when we showed each other our resulting blue tongues, what are we like?

Mudeford Quay Revisited.

Last night Lu and I visited Mudeford Quay where we shared very fond memories of £9.50 Sun Holidays of the past. 

LuIt’s hard to think that a youthful Darrell was here in in 2010 It’s hard to think that a youthful Darrell was here in in 2010 It’s hard to think that a youthful Darrell was here in in 2010

It’s hard to believe that a very youthful Darrell was here 2010, staying at the site just off the beach where he, Lu and Andy found themselves in the enormous Penthouse Suite when they were expecting  to be put in a caravan ………and then again in 2011, when he was accompanied by Nigel, where has the time gone?

And, with the passing of time, things change  and it soon became obvious to Lu and I that Mudeford had got a little bit posher ……..

…….  a place, where I doubt Sun Tokens are now accepted currency………

…… and the chalets/caravans of old just don’t compare …….

…….. painted in a la mode and en trend grey, with their outside spiral staircases leading to a roof top terrace from which to enjoy a spectacular view across the bay and, dare I say raise the odd convivial cocktail or two. ……..

……. to think, we would be in raptures if we got a toaster and microwave, as I said, times have changed!

But as the sun began to set, Lu and I just stood gazing in companionable silence, it was every bit as romantic………

…… until, we broke out in hysterical laughter as we both spotted this (pic above) on the quay and spontaneously declared, at exactly the same time, …….”Hmmmm that’s a big buoy!!!!” What are we like?

Then, what better way to end a perfect evening, full of sea air, but with a fish and chip and humungous burger supper ………  happy days!

A Last Hurrah In Bournemouth?

Perhaps a bit of a surprise, but you find me, this morning, in beautiful Bournemouth ……..

Lucy text to see if I fancied a little sea air before the autumn set in or we went into another complete meltdown, and well, it would have looked rude to say no wouldn’t it? So here I am.

I am trusting Darrell and Nigel not to get into too much trouble for just a couple of days while I embrace all the pleasures of said town and beach have to offer ……..

It feels soooooooooo good to have soft sand between my toes and the sound of the crashing waves in my ears, accompanied by the warnings of the lifeguard avoid swimming anywhere near the pier.

…… and as for the pasty Lucy treated me to for lunch, well, put it this way, it went down so well I don’t think it even touched the sides, it was pasty perfection.

Happy days!

A Seasonal Let Down

After all the seasonal anticipation back in the spring when Nigel was keeping a beady eye on the emerging blackberry blossom, followed slowly by the appearance of clusters of tiny green fruit buds, it is sad to announce that Darrell’s epic blackberry and apple crumbles will not be found gracing (with custard) any of our Sunday lunch tables in the coming weeks …….. without, I am afraid, the intervention of a shop bought nature!

This years crop promised much and earlier than we expected, although a little on the sour side, which, according to our resident blackberry expert, just needed a really good dose of hot summer sun to reach their full juicy potential and then it would be old ice cream containers at dawn to collect them.

However, at the all important time, we got two weekends of battering storms and torrential rain instead, which Nigel now puts down to the withered and dried offerings on the brambles that once showed so much said promise

There are a few to pick, but they are not as plump and juicy as Darrell would have liked and of course, the plumpest ones that managed to survive the inclement weather and embrace the sun, when it eventually reappeared, are all now at the top, where Nigel can’t reach!

Something, for once, I don’t suppose, we can blame the flipping virus for, but disappointing for our tums and our bragging rights when we have guests, when Darrell’s brings out his crumble with a flourish. to announce that most of the contents were hand picked from the abounding bushes of Evesham!  Oh well, perhaps 2021 will promise more!

How Can This Be?

Oh my goodness, this morning reality hit us like a big, fat, red, lead balloon, how on earth did it get to be October 1st 2020 already?  Where has the year gone?  There was much pinching of selves and each other, but the calendar cannot lie.  We’ve been robbed by all this self medicated, self insulated isolated meltdown. This flipping virus has an awful lot to answer for, leaving us with so little to look back on …..

However, despite Boris’s new Six Pack, Table of Six, Six Horse Race, Rule of Six,  we won’t be beaten, we just need to try and pack more into the last three months of the year than the past few covid months……..

………. and for that we just need to take full advantage of our, much under used,  primatological, which means, Mr D, in any party of six you might like to throw at/for us, we don’t actually count! Obviously, we will still very much abide by all the other rules, Hands, Face, Space being our new mantra ………

……. but should The Towers be raided by a covert police hit squad following reports of an unruly sleepover type nature, all we need do is sit very still and not move  (as in any of the above pictures) and no one will be any the wiser and apologies graciously accepted.   What are we like?