Late Tales Of Duneden, A Non Considered Purchase.

 A none considered purchase .......

...... that caused Eric and Alice perhaps a titter or two, but just the thought of such an action is just too abhorrent for words ...... Eric, as indeed we all do, always, very robustly, adheres to every single rule of the pool, where ever in the world we are! 

We Try Frickles

Our apologies, our posts and timeline are all over the shop this month, due mainly to having too many holiday adventures and memories to fit in, while still trying to get back to normal after the Christmas break, what are we like? 

However, we couldn't let this one slip through .......

...... because while we were away in Christchurch over said Christmas .......

...... we availed ourselves of a plate of "frickles", to wit deep fried pickles, in this instance the humble gherkin! 

Let's just say they did not disappoint, especially for Eric.  He found them a little hard to describe as you can well imagine, but a unique, warm, vinegary, battered delight with an unmistakable bite nonetheless.

Darrell, Alice and my own good self are perhaps sitting a little on the fence with them, but never let it be said that we are not willing to give the more exotic "side dish" a go, as and when they appear on our menu!

Late Tales From Dunedin - The Most Perfect Fairytale House....

On one of their evening strolls down to the sea to watch the glorious Dunedin sunset .........

....... Eric and the ever fragrant one veered slightly off piste, walking down one of Dunedin's most exclusive areas, where all the houses have their own, private seafront vistas, complete with boat lifts, jetties and all manner of romantic seating arrangements.  

It was a strictly no trespassing dans said areas, so Eric and Alice made robust efforts to ensure that no rogue toe veered off the beaten track.

And it was here that Alice feel totally and unequivocally in love with a house she deemed sooooooooo beautiful it didn't look real ........

...... it was like something out of a real life fairy-tale!

It even had a mail box that was an exact replica of the outside.  It was very emotional, very, very emotional ......

If Alice ever won the lottery, she declared, this is where she would be drawn to establish a holiday home for all the family. She said it was an intense yearning that she's never experienced with such a depth of feeling before and it had totally overwhelmed her, taking her completely unaware.

Even Eric remarked that he had never seen Alice quite so glassy eyed before.

And that wasn't the only one ....... the aforesaid fairy tale homes continued all along the road, appearing to get more and more beautiful the further they roamed, in her wildest dreams, she pondered, how on earth could she ever choose one.

As I said, it was emotional ......... Eric sensed Alice was imagining herself in some sort of gay and unabandoned Scarlett O'Hara scenario .....

..... deciding that it might be best to leave Alice alone with her thoughts for a while until they got back to more normal climes ........

..... and lovely though it was all was, perhaps not tread this path again, for fear of Alice refusing to return to The Towers ........ in search of the American Dream!

A Morning Of Spuming Potions .... And Memories Made

You may remember from our Christmas morning post that among our frantically opened presents, we received, not one but two, intriguing boxes of Santa's Potions from our best beloved, No. 1 Fan, Jan the Fan .........

...... so, when Iris and Bertie popped round over the holiday, what more perfect activity of a mixology type nature to proffer them .......

 ......well, it would have been rude not to ........

...... but under the extremely strict proviso, as per the instructions ........

..... that, no matter how intriguing the names on the packets .......

....... enticing the aromas ..........

 ......... and spectacular the chemical reactions ..........

....... it was unequivocally, with no exceptions, nil by mouth .......

...... not even the teeniest, tiniest lick of a finger, no matter how tempting.  

Having carefully checked the ingredients with a fine tooth comb, we were already pretty certain that there was nothing vaguely harmful in any of the packets, but you just never know when the odd, until now, unbeknownst allergy is going to come and bite you on the bum!  However, if Santa had been in any way remiss, a hitherto unblemished career would have been up the swannie, with all manner of lawsuits pending ....... and then what on earth would happen to Christmas?  A scenario it doesn't even bear thinking about!

The tension and expectation at times was intensely palpable and tangible, no squeaky pop Mr D, over in romantic Mexico, but we did have the most spectacular spume, which would reach a certain level, then collapse, only to start spuming all over again, at least six or seven times in all, if not more.

We think it may have been due to the bicarbonate of soda not being mixed in properly and so kept on releasing itself as it made contact with any of the liquid??? Mr D?

So, what can we say except a huge "Thank you" to the aforementioned, Jan the Fan, we had a whole morning full of very profound concentration, mixed in with lots of  ooooooo's and ahhhhhhs, some pertinent observation and, above all, so much laughter and fun.  You helped us once more create memories that our precious little ones will remember, hopefully forever, the thought of which, in turn, also made it  emotional for us doting oldies, at least.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Thank You For The Thank Yous

Yesterday, we had a totally unexpected package delivered addressed to The Monkeys at Riverside Towers........

.....the sort of package that instantly ignites a frisson of excitement, gathering you all round the table, as you just know it contains something very special ........

...... especially when it says "Please Do Not Bend" on the back!

It was from our beloved friend, Pharmacy Michelle in romantic Southport, well Ainsdale to be exact, as per our Ainsdale in Bloom calendar for 2026.

We opened the large envelope first, which featured, what else but a very cute hedgehog amidst little pink flowers. Inside Michelle thanked us for the Advent Box we sent her on 1st December, which contained a whole plethora of choice bits and pieces to use throughout the festive period and, hopefully, some beyond.

And then, in a small box, obviously not meant to be bent, there were four envelopes, each with our name on, the tension, as you might expect was mounting.

...... and inside each envelope was a card featuring both hedgehogs and owls, there was obviously a very pertinent theme going on .....

..... again thanking each of us personally for our gifts and wishing us a Happy New Year, needless to say it became emotional. 

However, once we'd pulled ourselves together, Alice arranged the cards on our shelves, it was so lovely to have something to replace all the Christmas ones we'd just put away, they really cheered the place up.

This year we had no concrete plans to visit Southport or surrounding climes, but we're thinking about it now. Darrell did have a cheeky little perusal on his Trainline app (four changes, so a proper adventure!!!) and Booking.com  ......... perhaps, when the weather gets better, the sun is shining and we are all in buoyant mood in May (?????) we might just climb on board ...... and let Seaside Karen know as well!

The Streets Of Evesham ..... Eric's First Finds of 2026

It hasn't taken long for young Eric to stumble across his first finds of 2026.

The streets of Evesham may not exactly be paved with gold .........

..... but for Eric, the occasional useful, curious or lost thing, are oft in their ample sufficiency. 

In this instance and after some serious consultation with Darrell, though with obvious practical charms and uses, The Towers simply just doesn't need an extra set of shelves, no matter how tempting and forceful the argument put forward by the little fella was.

However, on the not so good or useful side, Eric also stumbled upon a discarded Tesco trolley a little further up the road.  Why? Just why?  It must have taken a great of time and effort to get said trolley to where it was found, with Tesco being a good twenty minute walk away from the point of wanton abandonment, which may possibly have included the steep and haphazard footpath that can be followed from Tesco if you're in the know.

There is no rhyme or reason for such behaviour, just the need of yet another alert on Darrell's Tesco TrolleyWise app to enable thus said trolley's repatriation.  What are some people like, if not totally reckless. unthinking and quite frankly, plain stupid!

Christchurch Ducking Stool

While we were away in Christchurch over Christmas, we found ourselves absolutely steeped and immersed in histoire ......

....... so it would have looked most rude of us not to explore some of the hidden gems that we haven't availed ourselves of on previous visits. 

Now, Evesham may have a goodly set of ye ancient stocks .........

...... but, for a town built around a river, we don't have an actual, real life, replica, ducking stool ........

...... or, for that matter, a walk named after one, which could be seen as a little remiss.

However, in this case, although it was all very interesting of an historical type nature ....... 

...... it might not be that appropriate to describe it as romantic .......

....... because who knows what awful scenes may have played out there, in the days of bygone yore and perceived witchcraft .......

...... even Eric was respectful .......

..... bless his little cotton socks.  

The Chilling History Behind Christchurch’s Ducking Stool