The Wrestling's Back In Town ......

It's been a while, but it seems that the wrestling posters, heaven help us, are popping up all over Evesham again...........

...... most of the faces look familar ........

...... although Nigel isn't too sure about Cyborg!

Nigel also noted, that since the last lot of posters went up, it looks as if the wrestlers have had a cheeky mooch round their families wardrobes in order to .... erm ...... "update" some of their stage costumes ...... 

........ but poor old "Hatter" seems to have got the rum deal with his mums old, houndstooth, bomber jacket!

After all this time, the wrestling is still an Evesham pleasure that Nigel still has yet to experience, as it's totally not Darrell or me. Some things, we have told him, are best remaining a mystery! I think he's building himself up to ask Alice ........however I am really not hopeful that she'll say yes either, poor old Nigel!

Maltesers Aint Getting Any Cheaper ............

Oh good grief, I can't believe the price of Maltesers at the moment and there's not a single offer to be had anywhere to help ease the pain!

With a sleepover and Eurovision (our televisual highlight of the year) coming up, among other things, I thought I might as well go out and buy in bulk, but on hitting the shops, I soon discovered that there were no share bags to be found anywhere and the £1 boxes (of old) seem to have also disappeared, along with the larger £3 ones ........ and instead, all I could find was a hi-bred version of the two, bigger than the £1 size, but smaller than the £3 one ........

....... coming in at £2.75 per box!  I was not impressed, but as Maltesers are our confectionary of choice for all our special occasions, what could I do?   We need a family meeting to see if we can come up with an acceptable chocolatey alternative that suits us all and in the meantime, questions need to be asked in Parliament, this ain't right! We need to save our Maltesers! 

A First For Alice .......

Poor Alice felt a little less of her usual fragrant self when she popped in yesterday morning asking for our help.

She'd been witness to her very first fly tipping on the way back from town and was not best impressed!

Moving such a mahooosive piece of furniture would have been no mean task of a purposeful, no doubt planned, wanton act of abandonment, requiring a large vehicle plus manpower in order to shift and brazenly discard it .......

..... something we just don't need to sully our doorstep, thank you very much!

So, pictures were taken ........

....... and then Darrell's assistance duly required as to how to get it removed, because sadly, in the past, we've not been strangers to the reporting of illicit fly-tipping on our travels.

Darrell and Alice worked well as a team with civic duties and pride quickly and suitably sorted and restored  .......

..... before Alice left to take a very long, hot bath and shower, with more Lush products than even Darrell could put a name to ........

 

...... to restore her customary fragrantness after such an unsavoury and unedifying encounter!  What is she like ........ if not very, very lovely and always perfectly perfumed?!!!!

Of Late ........ A Monthly Disappointment

As you know, each month I look forward to our free copy of The Vale magazine ........

...... however, I have to say, since the new year it's been rather disappointing, well, very disappointing, and this months issue has been really no different. 

When I saw the cover line  "Who's Got Rob's Goat?" I was initially hooked, I mean, who wouldn't be intrigued by an every day country tale of a missing, (potentially kidnapped) much loved, family goat? 

...... only to find that said title was very misleading, as it turned out to be an article on who were possibly the greatest sportsmen and women of all time and the goat reference was an acronym for GOAT - "greatest of all time"!  So, absolutely  nothing to do with gruffs, nannies, billies, kids, and not a single whiff of cheese or curry!  I feel I have been seriously hoodwinked in my reading and potential intellectual development ....... to wit, it really "got my goat"! 

And I'll be honest, much as I appreciate Darrell's culinary skills in regards to the feted, locally grown asparagus, more commonly known as "gras" in these them there parts, the illustrated article was interesting and more than enough, without the twenty verse (four line) poem to back it up - 

Some say that gras is good for us, 

The kidneys it will purge, 

Others say it's an aphrodisiac,

But it's never given me the urge!  

Oh well, perhaps, hopefully, things will pick up in The Vale as the year goes on!

Our beloved, fragrant Alice came round yesterday afternoon bursting with an infectious, full bodied, palpable and tangible excitement .........

...... she'd been out charity shop shopping in town ........ 

...... when she just happened across the perfect present in Sue Ryder for Iris and our next I & B sleepover, with it's traditional and obligatory jelly bean challenge game ........

....... for a price she simply couldn't refuse.

Then, well, it would have just looked plain rude not to pop to another shop where she knew they would have the jelly beans to match, making us totally prepared (well in advance) for when Iris and Bertie come over.

Alice is just so sweet and too wonderful for words, beautiful, funny, kind and thoughtful, we were truly blessed in a Hello Magazine type way, the day young Nigel locked eyes with her on that fateful day, a day that possibly changed all our lives for the better, forever! She is in my eyes jellybeantastic! 

Chocolate Heaven

Well, there's no prizes for guessing where Nigel is today with his beloved niece and nephew............

....... the closest thing to chocolate heaven they will ever wish to find, with Nigel  swearing that he was sure the air even had a discrete whiff of cocoa about it! 

And who was there to greet them upon entering the illustrious portals  .............?

Only, Mr Cadbury's Parrot!  Nigel said they almost burst with excitement, even though their adventure hadn't even begun, after all, it's not every day you get to meet a huge celebrity parrot in person and get to pose with him!

As they showed their tickets and moved forward, the first thing they were greeted by was two very lovely gentleman who proceeded to present them with huge pile of chocolate bars ......... can you imagine?  Nigel thinks there were twelve, it could have been more, but it would have looked incredibly rude to stand there and count them after such generosity.

They moved through several rooms full of visual information, life size models and a myriad of buttons to press, each one increasingly more and more exciting, they were even shaken like roasting cocoa beans at one point, amid much laughter!

 They then moved upstairs ..........

...... where they were treated to a pot of warm and very delicious melted chocolate into which they could add another two ingredients, Nigel choose fudge pieces and chocolate buttons, it was, he said ...... " Absolutely glorious, too glorious for words!"

And, while they were enjoying this chocolatey pleasure, they were held in thrall by a very talented lady decorating high heeled chocolate shoes and teapots with melted white chocolate ...........

....... and a gentleman remove life size chocolate footballs from their moulds as they passed him on a conveyor belt!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, as they left this area they were given yet another four bars of chocolate for their bag ........... 

........with the stairs then leading down to the shop where Nigel found himself inextricably drawn to the factory area, to find boxes of 60 Freddo Frogs, a popular staple in his school run tuck bag for silly money .........

...... but somehow he resisted, worrying that having so many chocolate frogs all of a sudden might take the shine off them being so much of a treat ....... ???

I think, to be honest, he was a little overwhelmed by it all, however, he did manage to secure a couple of bags of Mishapes as requested by Darrell, while Iris opted for the biggest bar of chocolate she's ever seen (850g) and Bertie, three "fingers of fudge" (Grandy-Andy's always chocolate of choice) plus a Cadbury rubber shaped like a book. 

There was a then time to catch their breath, with Uncle Nigel saying that yes, they could have a cheeky go in the Crunchie jeep, followed by at least a good half hour in the mirrored room, where he almost had to drag them away from their very expressive "interpretive dance" ..........

...... as there was the Have A Go Zone up next ............

....... where they could practise, perfect and hone their own piping skills ..........

....... with strict instructions not, tempting though it was, to taste any of the melted chocolate ...........

......as it was constantly being regurgitated after it had been scraped from the tables .......

....... to be melted again.

It was quite the day out ...........

.... with the little ones declaring it had been even better than even their wildest of dreams .....

....... and I sense that a return visit is already in the "pleading" stage, as they proclaimed it the best "after Christmas present" ever! 

https://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/explore/attractions/

Nigel Rides Again ..........

No sooner is the little fella back from one adventure, he's off on another ....... this time fulfilling his Christmas present promises to his beloved niece and nephew of a  Birmingham chocolate and transport related type nature....... to wit a ride upstairs on a real life, double decker bus and a trip to Cadbury World (of that more tomorrow) with a stay in a hotel in between!

Let's just say the bus ride was emotional, though second nature to Nigel after years of travelling to work on the bus to the Girls School, as well as memories of the unforgettable Banga Bus ..........

........ Nigel saw it all again through the fresh eyes of excited little ones, who until then, had been total strangers to such untold delights, where even the slightest bump or brake bought squeals of happy laughter ........ 

....... and when getting up (and down) the stairs and trying to stand upright while the bus was moving was an adventure on it's own to rival any fairground ride!

All this for the princely price of an all day family return ticket (forty minutes of unbridled joy each way) from their hotel to Birmingham city centre, with just a cheeky visit to use the facilities at Burger King, before doing it all over again but in reverse!  

Simple pleasures, but with priceless memories laid down, that will last a lifetime and Uncle Nigel fervently promising that in the summer holidays he will take them to Stratford Upon Avon (and all it's historical, theatrical and Christmas shop delectations) on the 28 bus from Evesham ........ happy and occassionally bumpy days!