A Bit Of A Failed Southport Mission .......

Last night we had planned to feast greatly on fish and chips at the acclaimed Swan Fish and Chips restaurant, washed down with lashings of dandelion and burdock pop, as enthusiastically recommended by Pharmacy Michelle ........

 ..... however, in our last ditch effort to catch a twilight glimpse of the Southport sea .......

 ...... we found ourselves very hopelessly lost ...... 

...... despite Darrell having early boasted of having earned the prestigious compass badge when he was in Scouts!

When we eventually found the beach, let's just say the sea was miles away, just about visible on the horizon  ........

..... far to far to walk for Eric's intended cheeky paddle, so after taking a few wistful photos, sharing a few memories, the plan was supper at the aforesaid Swan .....

..... but we got lost yet again! We took all the wrong turnings, backtracked goodness knows how many times and most probably even walked right past the shop, until in the end we had to admit defeat, calling at another establishment, which was just closing its restaurant, so haddock and chips had to be duly purchased to be eaten back at our hotel ......

...... by which time the batter had gone very soggy, although the fish itself was really meaty and delicious!

And, did you get an ice-cream I hear you ask, Southport being the seaside town of a million and one exotic flavours?

Well, unbelievable as it may seem, no ....... time was running away with us and not one of us could actually decide from the huge range proffered for fear of making the wrong choice and having instant buyers regret or envy of others.  To be honest I think we were all incredibly tired and overawed by the excitement of our meeting with Seaside Karen and Pharmacy Michelle and subsequent sad goodbyes, coupled with all the travelling. We were tired and emotional, no wonder we got lost and not able to choose between a simple Snickers, Bounty, Irun Bru or mango to name just a few ........ but still very incredible, very happy days.  At the back of our minds we knew we needed to hold a little something back for tomorrow, when we travel back home catching five different trains ...........

Embracing The Pleasures Of Funland Southport

Coming down from the humungous high of meeting Seaside Karen and Pharmacy Michelle in real life for the very first time was just too emotional and wonderful for words, after we'd said our tearful, hankie soaked farewells, waved our last wave, we all fell back down to earth with an almighty bump. 

However, as we still had some spare time in the evening, we knew we all needed to get out to buoy our flagging spirits, after all this wasn't going to be our first or last meeting!

So, it would have just looked plain rude for us not to embrace one or two extra of Southport's finest pleasures, to wit Funland, on the cusp of Southport's currently not in use pier. 

Alice was very enamoured by the galloping horse carousel, hoping for a romantic and picturesque Mary Poppins type moment, however, being quite early on in the summer season sadly it wasn't actually running.

Darrell was drawn to the free Hall of Mirrors .......

.... although I'm not sure what he made of it all, especially the almighty gust of air and loud siren that went off just as he was about to turn the corner ......

.... the shock of which made him almost jump out of his skin and I'm sure his hair stand on end!

To help the ever fragrant one get over her carousel disappointment Eric treated Alice to a ride in Cinderella's carriage, the phrase "to the manor born" springs to mind, it really suited her!

In the meantime Darrell and I took a spin in a rather snazzy sports car, at which point I think we all started to all our spirits soar "up where they belong" and, it has to be said, it was nice to roam the arcade while it was so quiet.

It goes without saying that several tubs of 2p's were deliciously squandered .......

I'm not sure if Alice's pre-trip YouTube research trying to hone her skills and knowledge of winning big time in the art of the falling 2p ......

..... but she certainly kept Eric busy collecting all the won dropped coins, to be put safely in a bank coin bag ........

....... ready for our skirmishes in the arcades of Dawlish with our beloved niece and nephew later in the "proper" summer.

Eric tried his best to perfect his claw grabbing skills but to no avail.  How proud young Bertie would be if Uncle Eric could actually grab and keep hold of a much yearned for, but incarcerated Squishem in said claw and then swing it confidently to the open hatch to be released into the awaiting arms of a deliriously happy nephew!

I think, for the moment, such an event is still well within the realms of fantasy, but you know Eric, he's not one to give up without a fight, while limiting himself to two tries per session at £1 a pop, otherwise if he went all gung ho with his coins, he could probably buy the same toy from the shop next door for half the money he'd put in the machine!

Still, a very happy day, with many, many happy days to come and a million memories to make!

A Truly Joyous And Emotional Meet-Up ....... And A World First"

First of all we need to cut to the chase immediately and address the elephant in the room, when we say that "someone" decided to put an old SD card in our camera and as a result we sadly lost quite a few pictures from this momentous occasion! heads haven't quite rolled yet, but it's come close!  Let's just say that the mood round our laptop as the format of such pictures was found to be "unrecognised" was sombre .........  however, the really, really important ones were, thankfully, still there and those we simply can't recover, well, as Eric so succulently put it, at least no one can erase those from our minds!! 

So, here we are at last, after months of planning, all dressed up in our finest, finally sat sitting with Seaside Karen (on the left) and Pharmacy Michelle (on the right) for the very first time. I cant tell you how nervous we all were .........

.... but within seconds we were all taking ten to the dozen, like we'd known each other forever .......

..... well, I suppose we have, after many, many years of comments and via email and the post, we couldn't even remember how long, but never actually in real life, up close and personal.

To say it was emotional is putting it mildly, but we all managed to hold it together, which was something of a miracle in itself!  

A multitude of presents were exchanged, but we decided to keep ours for when we got back to The Towers, knowing that we'd all be on a proper deep downer as soon as our suitcase hit the floor in the hall......

....... so opening wonderful, mysterious, tissue wrapped packages would be a most excellent way to lift our spirits back up where they belong!

Our afternoon tea as per Darrell's rigid instructions (no egg mayo or tuna) was to die for too, a little bit of everything, although with all the nattering, it took quite a while for us to nom through. 

 And our world first?

Well, we only went and did our very first colab confectionary review together, to wit  Aero Pistachio, as found by Darrell in Manchester the other week!

Would we all agree ........

 ....... or would there be the need for robust and vigorous heated debate?

Fortunately we all agreed ......

The gentle aroma of pistachio was subtle and enticing ........

...... with the texture of the bubbly centre adding a certain je n'sais quoi .......

...... however, we all agreed that the chocolate surrounding the bubbles was just far too sweet .........

....... overpowering the pistachio flavour completely.

We concluded that if we could have just the naked, unadulterated bubbly centre as a bar in it's own right, without the chocolate, it would be perfect.

Therefore, in the end we scored Aero Pistachio pretty low, between 4.50 and 5.00 on our world famous Richter Scale of Noms (4.75 then????), which was disappointing, but what wonderful experience, as we've never shared a review before.

And then, when it seemed we'd only just got started, it was time for Seaside Karen and Pharmacy Michelle to sadly wend their way back home, making us realise there were so many questions we still needed to ask and explore (but not in Parliament) following some very interesting snippets of conversation, we're just plain nosy I suppose.  

However, in a very dramatic, but in the end quite fortuitous error when originally buying our first set of rail tickets, we mistakenly entered the wrong date in August, which can't now be exchanged or refunded, so rather than be let them go to waste, well, it would be rude for us not make a return visit and do it all over again?????  A very, very happy day, none of us will ever forget, cementing our friendship even further.  

Next meet up?  Seaside Karen, Pharmacy Michelle and Jan the Fan all meeting up with Mr D when he next returns to these shores???????? 

Southport Bound

By the time you read this (except for Mr D in Mexico, who is well ahead of us time wise), we'll be on the train heading for sunny Southport to finally meet up with our much beloved friends Seaside Karen and Pharmacy Michelle. We're sooooooooo excited, we might burst, but first we need to get in plenty of shut eye, as we've got a challenging (for us at least) four changes to make during our journey!  Needless to say, we've put Darrell in charge of sorting out all the platforms we need to be on, as he's meticulous in such things!

We think we should arrive in Southport by 2.30pm, so once we've dropped our bags off at our hotel Dukes Folly, if we've still got the strength, we're going to see if we can catch a glimpse the sea, chance a few pounds worth of 2p's in the arcade and then go in search of proper seaside fish and chips for tea, before retiring to said hotel for perhaps a cheeky cocktail or two before bed to dream of the excitement ahead.

We're all be gathering at the hotel mid morning, as it seems pretty central and if we're lucky, fingers crossed, the weather will be warm enough for us to sit outside and bathe in the glow of the glorious Southport sunshine. 

Darrell, where would we be without him, has, once our nerves have settled, organised an early afternoon tea along with a few surprise gifts as mementos of this monumental occasion and then let things play out, with friendships forged even deeper than they were before.

Soooooooooo, all we need do now is check our bags (for the umpteenth time), tickets, bookings and wallets  for what seems to be the hundredth time ...... see you on the other side!

Honing Very Important And Pertinent Southport Skills .......

Almost on the cusp of our much awaited trip to Southport to finally meet, in person, in actual real life, our beloved followers and friends Pharmacy Michelle and Seaside Karen .......

....... it has to be said that some of Eric's preparation has left even the ever fragrant Alice with a raised eyebrow and a slight shake of her head in erm ...... disbelief,  .....

..... as it seems the little fella, not wishing for his 2p dropping and pushing skills to be found wanting or for that matter called into question in Funland, the amusement arcade at the Grand Entrance to Southport pier (sadly, still closed, but set for restoration, to start sometime this year)......   

....... has taken to seriously studying the videos of "Coin Pusher" on YouTube, with full intent of honing his own pusher skills!  Heaven only help us all when he finally gets to grip with his own plastic cup full of 2p's when we get there ........ however, I doubt very much that we'll be calling for a bucket(s) to collect the deluge of coins he's imagining or bringing any gold ingots home! What is he like?