Leone Rose Cone Ice Creams

Oh my, oh my, we have been soooooooo unbelievably remiss, it's been a month since Valentines Day and we've still not bought you a review of our Lidl, valentine, ice cream, roses, we hang our heads in communal shame! What on earth are we like, except for a little busy???? 

Anyway, while sorting out the freezer, Darrell came upon the box in the middle drawer and held them aloft for the ever fragrant one and Eric, saying that perhaps they ought to give them a crack, even though they've still got another fifteen months on the use by date, so technically, we could have saved them for Valentines Day 2027, with still time to spare!

On delving in the innermost sanctum of said package, they were very pleasantly surprised to find that the ice creams were exceedingly well packaged, with a shell on the top to protect the delicate petals of the rose, so even though they'd been squashed betwixt the fishcakes and cauliflower cheese, they were still perfectly preserved and intact. 

When unwrapped, the cone was green, which we had been a little dubious about, but again the presentation was above and beyond what we had expected, especially as sometimes, we've found that the illustrations on a box can bear little resemblance to the actual product once revealed!

BUT, how did they taste?  Absolutely, blooming marvellous and tres on point according to the dynamic duo!  The strawberries and cream ice cream with a hint of refreshing mint (in the cone?), they said, was exquisite, rich and creamy, soft and unbelievably smooth,  The cone crispy and the hint of chocolate along the edge,  just enough, in fact perfection.

They were gorgeous, a triumph, a wonderous fusion of delicate, frozen delight, wishing that we'd bought more, perhaps even in the other flavours they had in the same range. They were a true delight, best eaten meaningfully (??), slowly, in the glow of  candlelight, in complete silence, save for the odd, gentle mew! 

Giving them a score on our world famous, Richter Scale of Noms would have been an insult to such flawless excellence and sublimity they sighed. 

Goodness me, high praise indeed! I guess they like them!!!!!  

Eric Has Plans

With spring in the air, Eric has a renewed vigour about him and as such, has made a considered online purchase that he's been absolutely desperate to arrive .....

..... our poor postman Rob has been pounced upon almost every morning since said purchase was secured, but finally, today was the day! 

Yes, you've seen right, he's gone and bought himself a small, one man tent .........

...... which he then insisted on erecting without a single iota of help because, he reasoned, if he were on a truly solo adventure, he wouldn't be able to rely on anyone else being around to help him, so goodness only knows where he's planning to go!

Anyway, with only two flexible poles, how hard could it be? To be honest it didn't take him that long to get it up, "But practice," he said "would make perfect" ......

....... so he's had it up and down at least six times this morning already.

I have to say it seems quite snug, but Eric insists that all he needs room for is a sleeping bag, a blow up pillow, a torch, his back pack and "provisions"......

..... then he'll be as snug as a bug in a rug ...... 

...... and wherever he lays his head, that's his, all be it temporary, canvas "home",  heaven help us all!  He says he's going to start small and close to home with a night in our communal garden .........  

...... but first, he needs saving up for a cocoon like, all weather sleeping bag, as I said ......... heaven help us all!

Alice Gets All Artistic

Our lovely neighbour Kata's little boy Krisztian has been very busy learning about London, including The Great Fire Of London, in school and as such, had been given a crafty assignment to complete at home, for which there was a certificate and points at stake.

Well, it was a no brainer that the ever fragrant Alice offer to help the little man while, in turn, giving the forever busy Kata a chance to catch her breath.  

It has to be said that Alice, at times, is apt to hide her light under a bushel as far being creative is concerned, but trust me, she really is the Queen of the PVA bottle and all manner of other crafty materials, being particularly adept, I would say, in the art of scrunched up tissue paper ..........

...... a skill just perfect for making a facsimile bonfire, using a tealight under a clear, plastic cup, covered with said paper, to give the illusion of flickering flames, along with a string of tiny, battery operated lights in amongst the logs to represent sparks spitting from the fire and gold tinsel for extra effect.

It was a absolute triumph and dare I say an emotional one to boot, worthy of A*++++, a PhD. and maximum pointage for the little fella and trust me I'm in no way biased!!!!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, they moved onto the most magnificent and most anatomically correct Union Flag, ever to be created on blue card with red crepe paper and strips of white A4, again, there wasn't a dry eye in the house, when they'd finished!

Young Krisztian and Alice dun gud, bring on the next school project as Alice's is ready, willing and able .......... !!!!

A Most Unexpected Treat

Eric and Alice popped into Costa yesterday afternoon after a spot of mooching, using the gift card they'd been given for Christmas (yes, they are really trying to make the joy last!) ........

 ...... enjoying a pot of tea for one and a small cappuccino.

Then, after they had finished and while the ever fragrant one had gone to powder her nose, the gentleman, who they thought was the manager, came round to each of the tables proffering a rather large mug of individually wrapped chocolate orange segments (probably left over from some sort of promotion or something) asking if anyone would like one.

Well, for the little fella, as you might imagine, it was an absolute no brainer, who doesn't not look a gift horse (or, in this case, manager bearing gifts) in the face mouth he said afterwards, especially when you are rather partial to said chocolate treat ......

...... and, as ever thinking of Alice, proceeded to ask, very politely, if he could possibly take another one for his companion who was currently absent from the table polishing her nose, it was a done deal. It's not every day you get something so totally unexpected for free when your out for a coffee, so as you can imagine, it was emotional!!!!!  What on earth are they like? 

Eins Zwie Drie - UK Eurovision Entry 2026, Dix or Null Points???

Oh dear, we're not convinced, Mr. Look Mum No Computer seems like a very lovely young man ..... and yes, we'll fly the flag, it would be rude not to ....... 

.... but whether this year the UK will manage to move from the lowly depths of the right hand side of the Eurovision scoreboard to a more positive and uplifting left hand side, we're not so sure.  

To be honest, one listening was more than enough to form our opinion, to quote Mary Poppins, "Enough is as good as a feast", and so, without much debate whatsoever, for 2026 at least,  we've elected to wait until the "Big Night" before we listen to it properly again, without prejudice and through almost (if you'll pardon the expression) virgin ears ......... 

...... then, what will, be will be .......... but we're no holding our breath!

Twittervision

Oh my goodness, all of a sudden our small part of the world seems to have burst forth with life, where once we had naked bare branches, now, in almost a blink of an eye, we're surrounded by a bombardment of delicate pink blossom and we're pretty certain we've seen our first bee.

Let's just say, it seems as if it's been a long, dull winter, but now look where we are, all memory of SAD lamps and vitamin D supplements are well and truly in the past .......

......the sun, blue skies, flowers in bloom and a new, rarified air has boosted our spirits beyond recognition ......

...... with Darrell even flinging the windows of The Towers wide open to let it all in .......

........ nothing (except perhaps the rain) is going to rain on our springtime parade, even if it's not officially here until 20th March.

It's a shame we haven't got full on twittervision, but hopefully you can hear the glorious cacophony of birdsong that is currently all around us .

 It's truly, truly joyous, if not totally uplifting, bring it on ..........

Understated, Simple And Very Mr Berts ...... World Book Day 2026

This is probably our beloved nephews very last World Book Day, which, as you can imagine, we are finding pretty emotional ........

...... it therefore goes without saying that it was only natural that we all wanted to get involved in his "costume", not an easy task, as young Master Bertie doesn't like too much attention on him on such occasions, therefore our brief was strictly as understated and simple as possible.

Soooooooooo, following some debate, none heated, old Berts said he'd be perfectly happy to go as George from Roald Dhal's George Marvellous Medicine, a most excellent choice and one of our very most favourite books too.  

The ever fragrant Alice and Eric were then put in charge of his t-shirt, George's is a very simple red one, but they decided to take a quote from the story and get it printed on a suitable shirt, to, how shall I say, spell it out! 

Darrell was put in charge of the all important props, to wit a large spoon from the cutlery drawer and George's medicine bottle.

I have to say the bottle was truly disgusting from both the front and the back. I could almost smell the ponk it would have had, let alone imagine just how foul it's contents would have tasted.

Anyways up, I think we all "dun gud" (I polished the spoon!), I don't think our efforts will win any prizes, but then, that's the last thing our bashful nephew would want, but in our eyes ....... he's a winner!