Sir Tom Jones - Alice's Unbridled Passion.

It has to be said that underneath her incredibly demure demeanour, it would seem that the ever fragrant Alice has, unbelievably, the heart of a raging cougar ........

....... as unbeknownst to us .........

....... she's some how kept her unrequited ardour for the octogenarian Mr Sir My Lord Tom Jones under wraps......... 

....... until now .....

.... and wow, who knew what overpowering and all consuming passion she held within her tiny, beating heart for him!!

Sooooooo, when she found out that said Mr Jones was appearing at Gloucester Rugby Stadium, not that far from us, she went all weak knee-ed and while I managed to catch her, Darrell had to rush over to give her a quick blast of his smelling salts.

However, once sufficiently composed, she begged a totally bemused Eric to  accompany her to the concert if she could get tickets. 

Now, not being a great aficionado of the esteemed gentleman or his genre, but hopelessly devoted to our beloved Alice, how could he refuse those fluttering eyelashes, beseeching eyes and feminine wiles, he was like a deer/rabbit caught in the proverbial headlights!

Oh Alice, after you promised!

Yes, of course, he would be delighted to escort her, BUT, after Darrell and I filled him in a little re: as to the certain allure Mr Jones has for the ladies, there was one VERY strict proviso, there was to be no waving or unabandoned and unfettered chucking any of those lady garments that he personally preferred to remain strangers to!!!!!

Well, the big day came over the weekend and despite their seats being beyond disappointing, despite the cost (questions are presently being asked in Parliament, trust us!), the experience was still totally embraced, even Eric surprised himself with his own gusto! As he so succinctly put it, Mr Jones has a most excellent set of pipes, even if he doesn't move around that much.

Eric said that poor Alice was soooooooo beside herself, she even turned down his very generous offer of a no expense spared, helping of expensive pick n mix, which, trust us, is unheard of, but she explained that she was so excited she could hardly swallow a thing, other than a few sips of cold water and that was hard enough.

In the end, like everyone else in their block, they did move onto the pitch to get a closer look (shame on whoever organised and sold the seats without checking the view first and/or could have mentioned restricted viewing on the website).

However, nothing could diminish Alice's love for the man himself ....... she's as infatuated as ever, he did not leave her wanting (musically)!

She might not have been able to give him a real "kiss" in the flesh, as it were, but let's just say she had a cheeky little peck of his poster on their way out.  What on earth is she like? Happy, happy days, except for perhaps the much mentioned awful view! 

The End OF An Era - Last School Run On This Particular Route

Today's one of those days, where we know we need to give the little fella a lot of extra space. It's not the last school run by any means, it's just the end of the school run as he/we know it, but perhaps the most challenging emotionally .........

..... knowing that young master Bertie is moving onto pastures new, that entails the wearing of a blazer and carrying a geometry set in a tin. Eric has been through it before with Iris (who is moving up to senior school in September too) two years ago. Goodness only knows where the time has gone ...... and, bless her black school socks, she has certainly blazed a trail for her brother.   

So, it's going to be a journey of goodbyes, going on to the new. Perhaps Bertie won't want such an all encompassing hug from his beloved uncle when he comes out the gate from September, embracing a more discrete ruffle of his hair instead, but meaning just as much.  

There'll be no more nipping in, on route, to the only corner shop in Evesham ........

....... for a cheeky Slush Pup or Calippo on hot days as they never have enough time to join the queue for at the ice cream van outside school.

And as for Bertie selecting a cake for Iris's after school nibble from Lidl (on more normal temperatured days) on their way to her meeting point .......

.......  well, Bert's has certainly become the master of the self check out .........

....... and the proud swipe of Eric's bank card, but from September ......... Eric will have to do it on his own.

I can't tell you how much Eric is going to miss those "man to man" talks they shared on the way to meet Iris. It was their very special time, again where has that time gone? All those chats about electric and hybrid cars, computers and more recently airplanes, particulaly the Airbus A380 ......... 

........ realising, that during those two years, Bertie slipping his hand into Eric's just because, have become fewer and far between, ........ 

But on, as I said to the new ........ 

...... because I'm filling up myself right now, we'll park this here for the next little while, because in front of us now lies a glorious summer holiday, with so many adventures ahead, the thought of new beginnings, perhaps should be relegated to the dim and distant future .......

No Sooner The Word ...... BUT A Note Of Caution Too!!

What did I say the other day about the clement weather embracing Eric's predilection for finding stuff for free when he's out and about?

Well, today did not disappoint .........

 ..... with free rockery stones .........

..... a whole plethora of gift bags for all occasions and other useful bric a brac, but as Darrell already has a designated drawer set aside solely for the presentation of presents, Eric thought we'd probably got all our bases covered as to such things, so admired what was proffered but then left said bags for others. 

However, he says he now thinks he may need to be a little more alert to some things left outside peoples houses, because he also found a tray with a particularly lovely Emma Bridgewater mug on, that despite his current Swedish Death Cleaning phrase, Darrell would still be probably quite interested in.   

It was only when he looked around that it clicked, the tray had most probably been left by a kindly householder who had bought out tea/coffee and biscuits (because there was also a plate) for the gentlemen who are currently laying new gas pipes in the road, which is also something our lovely neighbour Kata would do.  If Eric had taken the mug, it would have been too embarrassing for words, with questions undoubtedly asked in Parliament. So if the is any question mark over any of the things stumbles across, unless it's obvious, he perhaps should ask first!!! 

Eric's Last Sports Day

We're going to have to cut Eric some serious amount of slack this week. It's going to be a roller coaster of raw emotion, as there's going to be quite a few "last times" for him to negotiate, as young Bertie dons his Leavers Hoodie to mark his moving up to big school (middle) in September ...... sigh! How on earth did that happen?

Today was Eric and Bertie's very last Sports Day .......

I knew it was going to be hard on both little fella's ........

...... next years Sports Day will be a much more serious affair, set out of the gaze of family, where egg and spoon and chucking a bean bag into a hoop will make way for the more serious sporting pursuits of the javelin and shotput and sack races forlornly relegated to distant childhood memories ........

..... along with the "well done" stickers thrust onto all competitors t-shirts at the finishing line.

Young Eric, I believe, coped admirably under the pressure, he was certainly not found, in any way, shape or form, wanting in his loud and proud enthusiastic cheering and bellowing shouts of encouragement from the side line  .......

....... covering up his innermost sadness bravely when he thought no one was looking ....... rights of passage are not always easy, bless his little cotton socks!

Swedish Death Cleaning Hinders Eric's Propensity To Find!

It's been a long time coming, but when the weather gets a little more reliable, people are more inclined to leave their unwanted items outside their houses for passers-by, if they are so inclined, to help themselves for free, which is also when the school run gets more interesting for young Eric, never knowing what "useful" bits and pieces he might happen upon and in turn pique his interest.

Today, there was a fine selection of plant pots of a ceramic type nature on offer.

However, since we don't really go in for potted plants, apart from the ever fragrant Alice's 50p Yucca, Angela, Eric decided to leave them for someone else's delight and/or pleasure .......

.... especially as Darrell is currently going through a bit of a Swedish Death Cleaning phase. If something has been in a drawer, cupboard or wardrobe for more than a year and we haven't used/worn it etc. ........ let's just say, it's almost certainly a gonna!!!  What is he like? 

Home Sweet Home

Our 2026 Greek oddity is sadly over, but we're safely back home to the open arms and rapturous welcome of the ever fragrant Alice and Eric, eager to hear of all our adventures .......

..... and marvel at all the treasures we've bought back.

First of all there was the heart shaped stone Darrell found on the beach for Alice .......

 ...... she absolutely loved it, it was, it has to be said, an emotional presentation. She said that she'd half expected a holey stone, but never in her wildest dreams such a beautiful heart.  

Then, there was the wonderous, supermarket, loukoumades mix. I can't tell you how much we're all praying that Goggle will be able to translate the instructions so that Darrell can recreate puddings from oddities past for our delectation  ...... trust us, we await with baited breath and a groaning hope in our tummies!

For our beloved niece and nephew there was an assortment of exotic biscuits, I mean, who wouldn't just die for a Papadopoulos Jaffa Cake and/or banana sandwich!

And for everyone else there was soap, nougat, nuts, Turkish delight, olive oil and spicy olive paste to fight over ........

...... however, the goat milk soap was strictly Darrell's and mine, as a funny reminder of our unique Kefaloinan alarm clock.

Happy, happy, happy days, with the weird musing that, in all probability, you'll find us doing the exact same thing around about this time next year ........ Greek gods willing!!!

Time To Bid A Fond And Emotional Adieu

Our very last evening on the wonderfully romantic and beautiful island Kefalonia, for tomorrow we must away, back to the waiting bosom of our family, to wit Eric and the ever fragrant one.

It's been quite an experience, Hotel El Paradiso, being the most obvious reason we'll reminisce and chuckle over it for many, many years to come!!

However, we have no regrets over any of our choices, well, except for perhaps not finding and then buying several more tubs of the magnificent, glow in the dark, bright yellow, banoffee cookies Darrell discovered this morning in our local supermarket.

Goodness only knows what all the additives and colourings could do to your system, but, oh my goodness, they are to die for!

Soooooooo, as holiday tradition holds, before we went for our last evening meal of the holiday, with us both set on having the kleftico, we opened a small bottle of Prosecco to toast all our adventures past, present and future .......

..... still smiling over how we'd finally stumbled upon and then fought over our forever Greek spiritual name of choice  (Attorney of Law) ....... Stavros. D. Travlos!

What are we like?

We'll be taking all our euro coins back for Eric and Alice, plus a book we swopped from the extensive Hotel El Paradiso library ........

...... which we think they may appreciate as an amuse-bouche and segue into their own BIG adventure later on in the year ........ 

It's been all rather wonderful .......

..... where we wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else but here ......  it's been emotional in more ways than one, and yes, we have submitted a full bodied review of our hotel on Tripadvisor! But for now ..........