Alice Goes All Viral With Nivea Sun Eau De Toilette - "Sunshine In A Bottle"

There are two start dates for the summer, the astrological one and the meteorological one, but as we are impatient and can't wait until the aforementioned astrological one on 20th June, our summer is starting, in real life, today, meteorologically speaking on the 1st.

And, so to embrace, what we hope will be long and balmy days, filled with clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine and the odd summer breeze to help cool us down ......

......... the ever fragrant Alice has decided to change up her perfume to reflect the season, in the guise of Nivea Sun.

Now, it's neigh on impossible to think that Alice could ever be more fragrant .........

.......... her signature aroma being Lush Snow Fairy, but the name doesn't really reflect this glorious time of year, so she's swapped notes of cotton candy, cherry, pear and vanilla for, and I quote, "fresh citrus and subtle florals, anchored by a warm, woody base and concludes with a soft, airy freshness that lingers like a day spent basking in the sun" ............

It all sounds very heady and romantic, however, I'll admit I'm not too sure, as I think I also picked up notes of furniture polish of the more expensive (not own brand) persuasion, not that I would ever utter a word to Alice. 

However Darrell has castigated me good and proper, calling me me a Philistine, because, accordioning to him, whenever Alice whaffs by, she exudes summer personified, transporting him to every Greek beach we've ever laid on a sunbed, plus a few in the UK, including Dawlish and Bournemouth.  What is he like?

Having a lady amidst a household of pretty much confirmed bachelors has really changed our perspective on things, but we wouldn't be without her!

No More Special Assemblies In Church

A mixed bag of emotions this morning ...... 

..... as it would seems that there will be no more special school assemblies in church for quite a while, as their venue, St Peter's Church, is now something of a danger zone, as it undergoes vital renovation.

However, when this said renovation includes the dismantling of the spire, I think you can imagine the unbridled joy that brings to Eric's heart and soul of a hi viz vest, safety helmet and scaffolding type nature!

The safety signs alone are more than capable of holding the little fella in thrall for more hours than I care to count, but it also means that if we can't find him during day light hours, I think it will be a safe bet as to where he'll be.  

Never has the school run been quite such an exhilarating prospect as he watches the work happen in real time, with the spire gradually coming down and then back up again when sufficient funds are raised. He's already given himself an extra fifteen minutes each way in order to properly survey the work done each day, heaven help us all .......I know he'll be hanging round, hankering to be invited up to the lumberjacks "crows nest" to take in the view ...... Note to self; deny all knowledge as to where aforementioned hi viz vest and safety helmet have disappeared to and not to encourage any considered purchase of karabiners and climbing rope! 

More Distractions Of A Feathered Persuassion On Eric's School Run

Alice is wondering that if, perhaps, she shouldn't accompany Eric on the school run until the end of the school year at least, as there have been quite a few developments along his route that might prove a tad distracting for the little fella .......

..... especially when yesterday she spotted that Vogue Gents Barbers, which he has to pass, has put two, occupied bird cages on display in their window. 

In one, she "thinks" is a cockatiel .......

..... and, in the other, two budgies in very beautiful shades of blue, a delicate turquoise and a lovely, soft powdery tone.

She knows that Eric just won't be able to resist a cheeky five minutes watching their feathery antics and though he is very good and often adds extra time to his run to account for such distractions, a couple of minutes can very easily turn into a bit longer if there's a lot going on. 

However, I've assured her that the thought of a beloved and bewildered nephew, stood standing alone, outside the school gates wondering where on earth his Uncle Eric could be, would be more than enough for him to get an almighty wiggle on, but there again, if she wanted to tag along with him for a while and share in such fluttery, avian delights until the novelty has worn off a little ......... well, it wouldn't do any harm!!!

We've "Officially" Part Of The National Travel Survey

Following our post from last week about taking part in the National Travel Survey, we've now had our "official" interview with Mr Pete, the inquisitor.  It was all very interesting, especially as we only generally travel on foot, so great swathes of questions were not relevant to our circumstances, so it didn't take as long as said inquisitor anticipated, however, we think we gave a good account of ourselves, although a little taken aback at being asked if we felt lonely on the (private) online questionnaire ??????.........

That being said, we were then asked if, for another £5 shopping voucher, we'd be up for filling in a record of one weeks worth of journeys, either in a printed booklet or online.

Well, you know us, we like to do our civic and civil duty to King and Crown, so it was a no brainer, we were honoured to be asked and participate.

Each day we have to fill in where we travel to and from, what time we start and finish, each stage of our journey, method of transport, distance and the reason for the journey.

Recording the distance might be a bit tricky, most regular journeys we can do in our sleep and have never really given much thought how far anything is, but Darrell says it should be pretty easy to work out on Google maps.

We are worried we may be a little on the boring and unadventurous side for the survey. It would be nice to be able to add a whole plethora of other exciting travel methods such as motorcycles, vans, lorries, ferries and trams, so we've had to tell Eric that he can't simply get a bicycle, e-bike or e-scooter just for a week to help zhuzh things up a bit, we need to be as au naturelle as possible to reflect our "simple" lives. Meanwhile, the jury is out as to whether a skateboard or skates constitute as transport.  

Anyway, the recording all kicks off tomorrow .......

Eric's hoping that his duel school run suitably impresses, with him planning to make a few subtle changes to his route(s) to add a few more valuable yards to his overall distance!  What on earth is he like? 

The Knitted Bible Exhibition Arrives In Evesham

 Let's just say, on it's opening day .........

..... Eric was up at the very crack of dawn .........

....... scrubbed and polished to an inch of his life, then breakfasted ......

 ...... to be down at Evesham Methodist Church to pick up his programme for what he, as a bona fide knitted nativity owner, with many, many thanks to our beloved Seaside Karen ..........

........ has been waiting to see, in actual real life, for more years than we care to remember .......

...... to wit, fanfare of celestial trumpets, The Knitted Bible Exhibition as created, by St George's URC in Hartlepool in 2008, originally just as the Last Supper, but then things grew and grew until thirty six scenes were depicted in wool .........

........ and then when proclaimed a rapturous success, offered on loan to tour in churches all around the country ever since.

It was emotional, very emotional ........ very, very emotional indeed .....

....... with Eric asking would we mind letting him go alone for this inaugural visit .......

...... so he could be alone with his thoughts .......

....... and then, after that, it would be biblical scenes in the guise of yarn akimbo, as the exhibition is open until 5th June, allowing us to visit as many times as we like for free .......

........ or with a voluntary donation to Christian Aid.

Eric's favourite scene? Well, it was almost impossible for the little fella to choose ........

..... apart from the obvious nativity, perhaps it was Jonah and the whale ......

....... the raising of Lazarus .........

....... and The Lost Sheep ........

....... but who knows, the next time he goes it could all change as the Last Supper, Wedding at Cana and Loaves and Fishes also had a profound affect on him!

He said it was all too wonderful and almost impossible to drag himself away .....

....... but not before entering in a prize draw ......

...... and signing the visitors book, after much thought!

Anyway, if we can't find Eric in the next two/three weeks I think his whereabouts will be a forgone conclusion, if quite a way to shout to tell him his tea is ready!  Happy, happy days........... 

Oh and did I mention, he's now desperate to learn to knit, with dreams of knitting a tableau of his very own, biblical story as yet to be decided, although ...... I think I may have heard mench of The Ten Plaques of Egypt???????  Heaven help us all! 

The Knitted Bible – St. George's URC, Hartlepool

Knitted Bible Gallery – St. George's URC, Hartlepool

AND they now have a knitted Harvest ...........

The Knitted Harvest – St. George's URC, Hartlepool

More Local Developments

Oh my goodness, there seems to be an awful lot happening in Evesham of late of a planning and new emporium type nature, it's hard for us to keep up .........

...... and with that, it seems that Eric is going to have to add quite a bit of extra time to get up to school as there's no way he's going to be able to walk past this new development ......

....... it's only an aquatics shop, and you know Eric's always had an affinity for all things piscatorial, so knowing that there are real life fish of every exotic persuasion, not to mention shrimps, corals and invertebrates just up the road, there really will be no doing with him.

As far as he can see through the door windows, the shelves are going up to hold the tanks. He's already thinking that this could also be a most excellent "free entertainment" spot for when we have our beloved niece and nephew in the holidays, with perhaps a cheeky milkshake in one of the cafes for afters!!!  Oh good grief, heaven help us all. All I can say is thank goodness the bijoux Towers doesn't have a single space for a fish tank, let alone a bowl!!

Our Opinion REALLY Counts!

When Rob, our lovely postman, hands you a letter that says "On His Majesty's Service" on the envelope, you just know that it's going to be a communication of great import and, most probably, an honour to receive.

So, imagine the unfettered and rife excitement thronging The Towers when Darrell bought such a letter to the table. Let's just say his hands were shaking in anticipation as he opened said letter ......

..... to reveal that we've only been chosen to take part in a "National Travel Survey"! As you can imagine, it got emotional!  We felt sooooooooo proud that our opinion has been deemed to be trusted and valued.

We're to expect a phone call to arrange a suitable time for our interview, which will be carried out in the comfort of our own home. Trust us the interviewers photo ID will be scrutinised to the ninth degree before they cross our portal, no matter how excited we are!

Thankfully, we don't need any specialist knowledge of national transport or training to take part, just our real life experience and thoughts ....... which, since we all walk everywhere, 98% of the time, should be quite interesting. Although, that being said, we do have a whole slurry of train journeys booked over the next two/three months.  Eric's already decided he's going to suggest more Hedgehog buses though!

And for our trouble?  Well, we've already received a £10 Love To Shop card for just opening the letter ....... then for everyone in the household who completes the survey, they will be rewarded with further £5 voucher!  It's almost too exciting for words! 

Perhaps our constant calls for questions to be asked in Parliament has finally paid off!!!!!!