It's A Fine Time To Be Haunting ....... (Lucille)

Early for an appointment, Darrell thought he'd bide his time in the quiet sanctuary of a nearby cemetery garden, remembering our halcyon days in Oxford, with Jan the Fan, who also very much appreciates a good graveyard, especially of the very old persuasion, from a time when headstones were so much more romantic and occasionally flamboyant !

Then, as he was wandering and wondering about the people and their lives whose  memorials are there, something suddenly caught the corner of his eye ........

....... something that has been "haunting" dear old Eric for quite sometime now .....

........ and appears to be trying to latch on to all of us lately in the "spiritual" guise of none other than an ethereal looking  hedgehog.  

Did the late Doreen Rose Vale (RIP) have such an affection for the prickly, little creatures that it led to a loved one placing said spiney mammal on their stone, to watch over her or was it a spooky subliminal message from the other side, channelling Darrell himself as to a foreboding or omen of promise and happy days ahead for us, especially in this, the most mystical month of the year?

Or, quite simply was it just Darrell's over active imagination running riot after too much cheese with his lunch..........?

It did however, give Darrell reason to ponder as to what he might like on his grave in remembrance, to reflect his life and loves, as well as bring comfort to those who might visit him ....... perhaps not a gnome in a deckchair, though offering those who placed it there solace and comfort no doubt .......

Photo from and acknowledged from sietske-in-beiroet.blogspot.com 2012

In the end he decided, it would have to be a large holey stone or a whole string of them, signifying his passage from one realm to another (????), because a share bag of Maltesers or even Revels might disappear with undo haste ....... good grief, what on earth is he like? 

Robust Health And Safety Precautions On The School Run

It seems that young Eric is going to have to make a very slight detour on the school run along our road for the foreseeable future .......

...... in the guise crossing said road and then walking along the pavement for approximately odd twenty feet, before crossing to our side again ......

...... because the wall (on our side) appears to be leaning quite precariously towards said side, quite possibly under the increasing weightage and invisible rootal invasion of ivy upon and beneath it and no doubt betwixt its cracks. 

One day something is going to have to give and Eric definitely doesn't want to be under it, becoming a victim of what might be called an accident waiting to happen or some sort of "divine intervention", being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  when it does.

I've also borne witness to the bulging and very distinct lean, perhaps not quite of pizzarean proportions, but still very definite off kilter lilt and so obviously will be following Eric's wise council (as too Darrell and the ever fragrant Alice) .......

...... unfortunately squished when it finally goes timber and there she blows would not be a good look or demise!

It's Looking A Lot Like Halloween

Very much an admirer of the seasonal décor of others, Darrell was full of admiration of the portal offerings proffered up at Snake Mountain when he popped round yesterday with one of his magnificent Victoria sponges .......

...... seeing that this Halloween the Lovely Laura was favouring more of a Mexican Day of The Dead vibe, rather than usual ghosts, ghouls and skellie bobs .......

..... thinking that she could let it stay up for just a little while longer to also encompass the aforesaid D of the D celebrations over in the romantic and exotic, not to mention warmer climes of our beloved Mr D?

Well, as Hugo, Darrell's best friend and mentor of all things flamboyant and festively timed and themed would say, "If you've put in all the effort, then why not flaunt it to the max, for as long as you possibly can and certainly don't allow yourself be confined to the usual seasonal norms darlink, get your monies worth!"  What on earth is he like? 

When Alice Smiles .......

No considered purchase made on this charity shop tealight holder  .......

....... but it didn't stop Eric taking time out to embrace the sentiment, musing that although the ever fragrant Alice looks absolutely stunning in whatever she wears, we've always said she could even make an old potato sack look chic and elegant ......

....... however, it has to be said that the prettiest thing she can ever wear is her beautiful smile.....

...... with which she can light up a room in an instant.  What is he like, if not totally, and absolutely besotted! 

5 out of 10, Could Do Better?

As you know, we all take great interest in the posters we stumble across on our meanderings around Evesham ......

...... but yesterday, on spying this banner, Darrell was of the opinion that if it had been advertising his organ and soprano recital he might not be the best pleased ......

...... because the images used don't exactly inspire or draw in the potential attendee.

The sopranoist Sheilagh's picture evokes more of a librarian or little house on the prairie type flavour, who is none too happy with her lot, than a joyful, high note hitting warbler ........

........ and as for poor, old Gus Orchard and I imagine his most resplendent organ, well, he appears to be held capture in a mist of blurriness. As I said, it's hardly the stuff to drag you in off the street in rampant anticipation, despite the promise of Handel, Head and Charpentier (Mr D?), and it being free (with optional donation).

On their behalf, I feel, if it's a slow day in the chambers, a couple of apposite questions need to be asked in Parliament, but for now, it's a no from us! 

Eric's Night Walk Ammunition

Well, with the clocks going forward tonight, it has to be said that Eric isn't the happiest of bunnies, because what lays before him now, until March at least, is coming home from the school run in the dark, not a prospect he exactly relishes.

So, he has built himself quite an arsenal of torches and night lights to help safely wend his way, with an additional LED head lamp on order.

His prize buy, he tells us, is a super bright, 270 lumens work light, which, to be honest, will illuminate the whole of any road he has to travel, it's erm ..... very powerful, he won't be missed or anyone else along the same route for that matter!

He's also equipped himself with an ordinary hand held torch of 70 lumens with three modes, high and low beam and flash. I'm not sure if he will be using both at the same time, along with the aforesaid headlamp strapped to his head ........

........ but for good measure, should batteries run low, he also has his bargain, in full working order, 10p charity shop torch as back up!  I might also mention that he still has his fluorescent orange waistcoat from our time working at the Girls High School!  What is he like, if not exceptionally cautious?

He's A Feeling In His Water .........

It's a little bit spooky and unsettling how, this year, autumn seemed to kick off with undue haste. No sooner had the schools returned after the summer break with Eric back at school run helm ......

...... than we were hit by sudden, heavy showers of rain, usually accompanied by blustery winds, thus rendering any umbrella usage neigh on impossible, not to mention a whole plethora of fallen branches from trees already shedding their leaves and dull, grey skies with the sun barely able to peep through.

And did I mention that our Canada geese have been honking something awful and getting restless, as, we think, they prepare for their long journey to warmer, foreign climes?

Anyway, looking at the lack or abundance of berries on the holly, the falling of sycamore seeds and conkers and the dropping of smaller than usual apples, not to mention his weather predicting, donkey barometer's tail looking a bit sticky outy ......

Mystic Daz is predicting, as of today, 24th October 2025, that we're in for a long, hard (but not cruel) winter....... mark my words, you heard it first here folks!

Abandoned Sur Our Estate

Eric's not sure how on earth he missed it, especially being red and partly on the pavement, but it appears we have an abandoned car on our estate ....... 

.... it could only have been there for a day or so, but someone on the estate must have been on the right on the button and reported it almost straight after its abandonment  .........

..... something Darrell has done in the past , but to no affect, as the car in question was deemed to be on "private" land, so it took at least another year after his report, before was eventually removed! 

Anyway, Eric is keeping beady eye on it and his hard hat handy, hoping against hope that he'll be around if/when the truck comes to pick it up, always a rufty tufty and manly observational occasion to those inclined, heaven help us!

A Marmite Double Whammy

Two random shops and two chance happens upon a couple of Marmite products, one of a limited edition type nature and the other, a whole new product to us, so, a non purchase of either would have only looked rude, so we indeed indulged.

The Elton John, I'm Still Standing, Marmite from Iceland was an obvious must, as our current supply was running short (three jars) and is supporting Elton's AIDS Foundation, the last jar in a series of four limited editions.  Somehow, we'd missed the first three, but thanks to the aforesaid Iceland, we secured this edition for £2.99, quite a bargain, if you'd care to look at the prices on eBay and Amazon, although, sadly, via resellers this doesn't actually benefit the charity!

Anyway, with "Elt" being part of Hugh's, Darrell's mentor of all things Marmite and charitable causes, circle of friends in his younger, naughtier days, it was a no brainer, but on this occasion we didn't feel a review of the jar's contents necessary.

Our next discovery was in M&S where we immediately spotted their Cheesy Clouds with Marmite ......

It was a risky purchase as the bag was small and the price high (in our humble opinion) at £1.40 a pop!  Just by feeling the bag we knew there were very few clouds within.......

....... made all the more obvious when we decanted them into one of our best Royal Doulton demitasse saucers.

We reckon we paid at least 11p per ball cloud, a mahooooosive commitment considering Darrell's stringent budget.

But, were they worth it? Well they were certainly Marmitey and the cheese was sufficiently strong enough to compliment and not be overpowered by the former, so that was good.  We wouldn't describe the balls as clouds though, as we found the "shell" a little tough with little within and not at all fluffy and cloudlike as we'd imagined.

Our thoughts? For taste, they delivered, the texture failed, as did the price, miserably, at £1.40. To be honest, we'd expect something akin to a family share bag, so perhaps 100 balls for our buck? Will we be buying them again, definitely not, we may be fans of Marmite, but we have our financial limits!  Therefore we feel we can only award M&S Cheesy Clouds with Marmite a paltry 1.5 altocumulus out of clear blue sky ...... disappointing!, very, very disappointing! 

The Fourth and Final Elton John Marmite jar | Elton John AIDS Foundation

Elton John x Marmite | Marmite UK

A Haunted Portrait If Ever There Was One.

Oh my, heavens to Betsy, mark Darrell's words, especially in this most poignant and bewitching month of October, when he says, he has a gift for sniffing out the unearthly .......

...... but if ever there was a haunted portrait of a very creepy gentleman, it's the one he spotted in an Evesham charity shop (Tracey Sollis) yesterday afternoon for the princely sum of £250, way out of our budget, so needless to say, no considered purchase was made.

And, to be honest, I've never been soooooooo glad, as said creepy, velvet wrapped, gentleman has those "knowing" sort of eyes that follow you round a room. I certainly couldn't live under such a gaze. This portrait and gentleman "have seen things" ...... unspeakable things!  

You also don't have to be a late, great, beloved Derek Acorah (RIP) to recognise that his horrible, bony fingers (ET-esque?) just have to be a coded sign or message from the unspoken past, for something dreadful of a nefarious type nature, they are truly unsettling.  I think the spirit of the month has really got to us this year because what are we like?

We Try Home Bargains Dubai Style Cookies

Well, here we are again, trying Dubai type comestibles, at budget allowing, the more affordable end of this viral chocolate type market ......

..... may we present Bergen Dubai Style Cookies from Home Bargains .....

...... costing the princely sum of £1.25 for a pack of 6, a little more than you'd expect perhaps for such a small number .....

...... however, coming straight to the point ......

..... we have to say ......

....... we absolutely loved them and would without question, buy them again as an indulgent treat!

.. and this at the very beginning of our review, which is pretty much unheard of! 

The chocolate was generous, rich and milky, the biscuit very, very pleasant, as was the pistachio cream filling, a little more would have been nice, but we're not grumbling.

They were truly morish and we were sad when we'd finished the very last one.

So, as you've probably already gathered, said cookies scored exceptionally high on our world famous Richter Scale of Noms ...... to wit 163 floors of the Burj Khalifa out of 163, with, as we said, not a single crumb left for Alice and Nigel, so Darrell's just nipped up to Home Bargains again, for a pack for them to for try themselves, PLUS a spare for laters!!!!  What are we like?