Sorry Aldi, But No Nom Nom

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, our first ever Good Friday with Alice ..... and our traditional Hot Cross Bun Elevenses turned out to be nothing but a no nom nom fiasco!

It was a morning that promised much, with Darrell securing a packet of Aldi Banoffee Hot Cross buns for our festive delectation ........

....... however, it has to be said that said buns, despite the tangible and palpable build up we gave them, completely failed to deliver.  They were, to put it bluntly "flipping awful"  .........

...... with absolutely nothing of a rich and indulgent nature to sing the praises of.

Said buns did have a hint of banoffee, but they were devoid of any moist. As for being packed full of fudge pieces, well, let's just say any fudge was conspicuous in its absence, as we didn't find a single piece.

But it gets worse, because the "holy cross" on each bun was the thing of nightmares, as they were, honestly, like chewing on one of those pigs ears that you see on pet stalls on a market! 

They were truly awful and as such, there was only one place for them, apart from the bin, (which would have been wasteful) .......

...... to wit, straight out of the window, to be enjoyed by our not quite so discerning bird life, minus the holy crosses, as we didn't want to be found guilty of any nefarious feeding by the NSPCB, should any unfortunate bird meet their end by choking upon one.

What poor Alice must have made of our appalling hospitality glitch goodness only knows, but thankfully, we were still able to offer her a few seasonal Mr Kipling delicacies instead, to hopefully make up for our unintentional, seasonal faux pas!

Questions may need to be asked in Parliament after the Easter Break, especially as we felt totally unable to give any score (plus or minus) on our world famous Richter Scale of Noms ........ which is an unheard of.  Aldi, on this occassion, has failed us abysmally! 

A Very Different Way Of Mooching ......

Well, Nigel has very quickly found that going mooching with Alice is quite a different affair from what he's used to .......

...... no wonder she is so wonderfully fragrant when she wafts in to see us .........

...... as she really does love a beauty product and girlie bits and pieces  .......

........ so no shelf, according to Nigel, goes unscoured.

However, it can get a little boring for the little fella, but, as they really get on well and love going out together, it works best if they both peruse their own thing ......

..... and then sort of happen upon each other in the aisles, where they can catch up on what they've seen that the other might like, as well as show and tell what's in their baskets.

It goes without saying that Darrell, being very much of the metrosexual type ilk, appreciating a full and varied range of grooming products, as well as perusing a good home decor section, Nigel knows he really ought to give Darrell and Alice the chance to mooch together too, but, for the moment, he can't help being protective of his and Alice's special sojourns, so, for now, he's hanging on for a little while longer!  What is he like? 

A Charity Shop Holy Grail!

Yesterday, Nigel found one of the Holy Grails of his (and Darrell's) charity shop shopping .........

....... something, he says, he will hid away until the "perfect occassion" to give to Darrell, who very much appreciates a figure of a religious type nature .......

......... which, the little fella squealed, still had some holy water left inside! Nigel was absolutely beside himself, as he knew that Darrell would also be even more beside himself when presented with it!

Hmmmmmmmm, each to his own I suppose .......... ????  I'll just leave it there.

Coffee No.1 Peanut Butter Cup

It's a tradition that when Darrell is in town on a Tuesday morning and fancies a little treat, his No.1 go to is always a Coffee No. 1 Spiced Chai .........

..... however yesterday, in a totally out of character move, he veered, neigh swerved from his normal norm, after he spotted the board outside his No. 1 of choice, displaying their new Peanut Butter Cup ............... well, it would have been rude not too, especially as Darrell (as we all are) is very partial indeed to peanut butter anything, of the crunchy, smooth or chocolate covered variety.

Let's just say it turned out to be quite an impressive and moreish change of indulgence! He loved it, he loved it a lot! He says he's not sure if it's just a seasonal promotion or a permanent fixture on the No.1 menu, but he's now very torn ...... so thinks he may have to partake in a spiced chai and peanut butter cup on alternate weeks for the next little while!  What is he like?

This Crane …….. Is NOT for Sale

Oh dear ……..

Nigel came home yesterday, his eyes wide with wild excitement because, he announced  ........…… 

Evesham’s famous crane, visible for miles in every direction, possibly even back in The Homeland ………

Sadly (or perhaps not), it wasn’t said crane that was for sale, it was the retirement flats and houses being built beneath it!  Nigel took the news pretty stoically, he was crestfallen of course …… 

....... but he could also see that someone close to us might not be that enamoured should a crane be erected in such close proximity to our dwelling for the sole purpose of getting Nigel to school and back! So, it’s back to the drawing board, with Nigel now considering trying to persuade the lovely people at the marina to set up a water taxi service for him (and perhaps other interested parties) instead!  Good grief, What is he like?

Darrell's Top Cheltenham Shop of Choice, Søstrene Grene

Before they finally bid a fond farewell to Cheltenham, Darrell just had to have a leisurely mooch round his very favourite emporium of choice dans Cheltenham, Søstrene Grene  ....... 

......... while Nigel decided to "do" Poundland across the road! 

It's a store, according to Darrell, that is almost too romantically set out for words, with lots of little nooks and crannies, so you don't know what's going to meet you round the corner, all displaying some very beautiful items, that he says just make him want to stroke them all longing and lovingly ........

.... from the craft shelves, to the all beguilling, select home decor bits and pieces.

He likes to gather up his ideas and then make a few small, much considered purchases, to either, he says, "Help enhance the magic of The Towers" or put towards a few creative projects he has in mind, because, how on earth can he resist the rows and rows of rainbow coloured acrylic paint, that never fail to call to his heart whenever he goes in. 

As for Nigel, over in the aforementioned Poundland ....... well, he emerged just as happy as Larry Darrell, although he considered purchases of spare batteries, sticky foam pads and some new highlighter pens might not seem to be quite as exotic!  What on earth are they both like? 

Just A Tad Disappointing ......

Well, it has to be said that Darrell and Nigel have been just a tad disappointed in the charity shops of Cheltenham, thinking that as a town with a reputation for being a "bit posh", said shops might promise and yield much ........

....... and although they very much enjoyed the unknowing element of what they might find as they entered each shop ........

 ....... they found that their money on this occassion was safe ..........

...... in fact, after searching high and low for a copy of Sense and Sensibility in every Charity shop they visited, Darrell eventually found it for £1 in CEX (rather than the 20p he'd normally expect to  pay in a CS) ........

....... but, nevertheless, he was still chuffed, as he wanted something to put aside as a quiet indulgence on a Sunday afternoon, should Alice come over, to just chill with a good film and perhaps, if she was lucky (and perhaps lured by the delicious aroma), a few of Darrell's traditional Sunday Bakes!  What are she and he like?

Cheltenham Envy

Now, Evesham may have a lovely river, an abbey, and a chiming bell tower, as well as an ample sufficiency of charity shops, among many other pleasures..........

........ but while out and about in Cheltenham, Nigel couldn't help coming over with a severe bout of tourist attraction envy .........

 ...... because Cheltenham, along with its romantic Regency buildings and races also has a very, very impressive big wheel .........

........ and that, according to Nigel's expert opinion, is something that Evesham needs as a permanent feature, rather than the transient, yearly visit of an assortment of tall rides at the traditional Mop in October!  Hmmmm, I'm not so sure, as for one, we'd never actually get him off it!

The Pleasures of The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham and Ross Noble

Let's just say that after such an excruciatingly long wait for Darrell and Nigel to finally see one of their most favourite comedians of choice again, it was very well worth it.

Obviously the taking of photos was strictly prohibited, so on this occassion, just a quick, sneaky shot of the empty but weird stage setting is all we can bring you, but the show was silly, surreal and the flow seemingly unconnected, as you would expect. At times they had to really concentrate to keep up with the eccentric, rambling pace but then, that's Ross Noble! They said they ached from laughing when they came out, which did them both the power of good, although, as per usual, neither could remember a single "joke"! 

They had also never been to the Everyman Theatre before .........

....... but they had to agree that it has to be one of the most romantic theatres they have ever visited .......

...... with its bespoke carpets and wallpaper, fine art paintings, gold paintwork embellishing everything to an inch of its life, not to mention all the cherubs perched absolutely everywhere and with Darrell's huge penchant for a quality, crystal chandelier, Nigel swears he saw the big, old, softy wipe away a tear or two, such was the emotion of seeing such a wonderful display of sparking glass droplets, surrounded by even more gold, blue skies and birds in flight ........  

What on earth is he like?

Enjoying The Nearby Pleasures Of Cheltenham

Darrell and Nigel are currently enjoying the pleasures of nearby Cheltenham, catching up on one of their favourite comedians Ross Noble, who they were due to see before the dreaded Covid hit and then missed out again on his following tour because none of the dates or venue's fit in with our plans, so, it's been an adventure that's been a long time in the making .......

..... which is why they decided to make an real occassion of it by staying in a "posh" Cheltenham hotel.

All boded well, their payment was taken and they were checked in online before they had even left The Towers ...... but, when they finally arrived, they were told that there had been a terrible mix up (on the hotels side) and instead of Darrell and Nigel's requested and "non-negotiable" twin room, they'd instead been allocated a double, needless to say there were profuse apologies all round, however ...... would Darrell and Nigel accept two separate rooms, close together, with no further charge to themselves, there was only one problem, one of the rooms was rather large!  Well, after such a kind offer, it would have been rude to quibble, wouldn't it? After all, how large can a rather large room be? 

So, with that said, offer accepted, sight unseen Darrell and Nigel, picked a key each from the two they were handed. Nigel's pick, Room No. 22, was generous, more than ample for either of them.

However, moving on and drawing gasps as they opened the door to Room No. 21  Darrell's pick could only be described as absolutely MAHOOOOOOOSIVE, almost palatial in it's proportions! Darrell, they reasoned, must be in the Presidential Suite, our first ever, ever, real life upgrade!

It's not often that Nigel is at a loss for words, but this time he was very nearly silenced! 

It was emotional, very emotional, with Darrell offering, on seeing Nigel's reaction, to swap rooms, seeing as he'd only got it via a very fortuitous but totally unconscious  choice........

...... but Nigel said no, he was perfectly happy with his, by these standards, tres bijoux room, slightly fearful that he'd be lost and unfound in the gigantic, super king size bed!

He knew that Darrell would actually know how to use the Nespresso machine without having to call down to reception asking for someone to come up for a demonstration ........

...... and would also truly appreciate all the ample and varied, wonderfully fragrant products in the humungous bathroom.

And, talking about bathrooms, Darrell only had two sinks, which Nigel suggested that one was probably for washing his face and the other for his hands!

There was a shower big enough to wash a full size hippo in! It was so big, it didn't even need a door, as the water just wouldn't be able to reach the end, no matter how you angled the shower head, plus there was even more lovely sudsy products ........

.... and enough fluffy towels to dry all your bits individually!

Darrell, in turn, was quite enamoured with the designer bucket between the two sinks, in such salubrious surroundings it looked chic and tres de rigueur, but back at The Towers, he knew it would simply look like a bucket, used because the pedal on your bathroom pedal bin was broken!

It was all quite overwhelming, even for Darrell, but he was determined to embrace this unexpected pleasure for all it was worth but suggested that Nigel might like to share it with him, during their waking hours, as it was soooooo big, it was sort of lonely on his own!  What are they both like?