Our Mallorcan Home From Home

Last night, with our late, night time arrival, it was hard to take everything in .....

......  but in the full heat of a glorious, new Mallorcan morning .....

...... we can truly embrace our "new home" for the next little while .......

..... and I think we're so excited ........ we just cant hide it!

It's absolutely brilliant!

We've got a balcony, with full view of one of the swimming pools........

..... and Darrell is already fascinated by the early morning towel manoeuvres, with loungers "bags-ied" by at least seven o'clock, which, to be honest, we've never really understood. Why stay around a pool all day, when you can have a real life, actual beach, with sand and sea, just a few yards away, but each to his own I suppose.

If Eric was with us, no doubt he'd have already come up with some sort of zip line confection to get him into the pool to beat the lot of them, without any hinderance from stairs or lifts, bless him.

Darrell did request a sea view and we've got one of sorts .........

.... if you look beyond the trees at the top end of the pool ........

....... but we'll be sitting with the best view in front of us, on the beach, every day and when we do sit on the balcony, it'll most likely be dark anyway .......

........ so we're really quite happy with our Balearic lot, thank you very much, happy, happy, eviva Espana days me thinks!

Let The Show Begin - Eviva Espana

Oh my goodness me , Darrell and I have finally set foot in foreign climes, all be it rather late and in the dark, so, for the moment, everything outside our Room 539 is pretty much a mystery, .......except for a little balcony entertainment ..... 

..... with a disco in full swing at the hotel across the way. Well, it would have been rude for Darrell not to partake in  a few choice signature moves or two! However, as I was quite tired, on the cusp of possible jet lag, I was rather hoping, despite Darrell's enthusiasm, that the music wouldn't actually go on ".....all night long"!  

On The Very Cusp Of Our Eviva Espana Experience

Budgie smugglers - check, passports, euros, travel insurance, pool noodle - check, sunglasses, suntan lotion, holiday reading - check  .......

...... Darrell and I in excited mood, check!

This time tomorrow, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, Darrell and I will finally be feeling Spanish sand between our toes with a glass of sangria in our hand and an ample pile of churros ready to be dipped by our side, our Eviva Espana Experience having just begun! We are soooooooo excited we might burst.

We know it will feel incredibly strange without Eric and Alice, however, we can now reveal that they will not be found wanting in any way, shape or form in the holiday stakes, as we can now reveal (drum roll please ......) that they will be heading to Clearwater in Florida later on in the year, i.e. November for a Goodwill (to wit, charity shop shopping) and seaside experience like no other! Let's just say we are going to need this holiday in order to mentally prepare ourselves for the level of unbridled excitement we're going to have to cope with from Eric (and more fragrantly, hopefully, from Alice) in the coming months!  Happy days!

Richard Rides Again ......... ???????

With Darrell fretting over Richard (his amaryllis) not having a proper pot to grow in, having been beheaded and divested of his stem and waxy bulb protection, you wouldn't believe his change of mood when the ever fragrant Alice returned home from the hairdressers (and yes, they did a booooooooutiful job), proudly holding a bulb vase aloft, after nipping into the charity shop next door on the off chance. 

Let's just say it was emotional ....... very emotional, with several manly tears shed.

Once duly decanted/transplanted into said vessel, there were more gasps of unbridled and unfettered astonishment and no small modicum of unabashed joy, as it would seem that while being kept in the literal dark, for reasons best known only to Darrell, Richard having another flush of growth!  

Again, it got emotional, more on Darrell's part than Alice's perhaps, but yes, Richard it seems has a new proud head. Whether it will reach it's previous full potential is uncertain and only time will tell ........

However, with Darrell and my Eviva Espana Experience on the cusp, he's just going to have to trust Alice and Eric to Richard's tender, loving care.

I've also told him, in no uncertain terms, that he is not going to be texting every five minutes from his sunlounger and an ample granizado, wanting progress reports with photographic evidence from them, unless Richard bursts forth completely!   I can tell Darrell's not very happy about this, but once his two best pairs of budgie smugglers are carefully placed in his case, I think he should be OK ........

Alas Poor Richard .......

Richard, Darrell's horticultural companion of the last month or so has finally and very sadly reached the end of his magnificent bloomage .......

...... after bringing so much expectation and joy to The Towers and the aforementioned Darrell.

It was the day we all knew would come, but poor Darrell not even daring to contemplate after all the loving care he'd given Richard, but this morning, finding all blooms wilted and Richard's stem drooping sadly, Darrell knew he'd have to do the obvious and put Richard, he hoped and prayed, temporarily out of his misery. 

So, with that, Richard was gently lifted from his pot and lain on the table ......

..... where Darrell lovingly laid a paper towel over his face, to avoid Richard any further distress ......

 

.......... before cutting his stem right to the bottom of his shooting, embryonic leaves and then removing the wax cover that had kept him balanced and nutritionalised whilst in Darrell's tender care.

It was emotional!  What comes next is now in the lap of the botanical gods.  Darrell has tasked all of us to look out for a bulb vase dans les charity shops of Evesham to help Richard establish some new healthy and robust roots and after that, if successful, he will be re-potted in appropriate soil to wishfully ride/rise again ........ therefore the crossing of fingers, toes and anything else that can be crossed is required during the coming weeks and possibly months ........ let us pray!

We Try Kunafa Dubai Chocolate With Pistachio

You find Darrell and I trying out another Dubai chocolate, but obviously, once again, one at the lower end of the market, because availing ourselves of the absolute "real thing" would be way way out of our stringent budget! 

So, today we have Kunafa, which cost us £5.90 for 100g bar from Amazon.

To be honest we weren't really sure what to expect, perhaps a tad more lux in the presentation department, with a more ample fillage than the first bar of Dubai chocolate we tried the other week?

Certainly, the inner gold wrapper was suitably impressive, but there again, we're not really going to eat that are we?

And, the all important filling of a viral sensation type nature? 

Well, it looked as if there was more, with a softer, creamier texture.

 BUT, how did it taste?

Well, the chocolate itself, although pretty thick, was nothing special, in fact it tasted on the cheap side, if we're brutally honest.

And the all important filling?  Nah, it didn't do anything for us, as it was hard to pick out any discernible pistachio taste.  It had crunch, but then there was far too much kataifi in it for our liking, which left a strange aftertaste, like a breakfast cereal we just can't quite put our fingers on, Weetabix perhaps, anyway, it spoilt it.

Now, would we buy it again? No.  Would we recommend it to family, friends or strangers? No.  We know we can do better, so upwards and onwards, to the next bar please .........

Too Many To Make A Considered Choice.

As you know we really appreciate it when a charity shop puts it's spare wares out to display on a table outside the shop, as we know there is usually treasure and a potential bargain to be had .....

...... and yesterday, was one of those such occasions when Eric (formally known as Nigel) was greeted by box after box of the most wonderful array of cookery books he'd ever seen, all going for just 50p each or even betterer four for £1, so 25p each.

Needless to say Eric had a robust peruse, thinking of Darrell, but in the end the sheer number of titles left his little head spinning, he just couldn't decide or be sure whether Darrell had any of them in his carefully curated library of the culinary arts .......

So he decided he'd best leave them, but tell Darrell all about them when he got home, trying to remember the names of a few.

There were so many books, an awful lot of them would surely still be there in a day or twos time when he and Darrell could go up and if the spirit of the late, great Fanny Craddock took him, Darrell might go on to choose one, two, three, four or even a whole plethora of books, at that price, or not, depending on how his comestible whim takes him.

Smells Like A Angel

We've had an awful lot of queries asking what the ever fragrant Alice actually smells like as she wafts demurely and meaningfully in and out of The Towers ......

Well, after taking some time to persuade her to divulge all, she's shyly admitted to loving and using the aroma of Lush "Snow Fairy" in all its various variations.

To quote from the aforementioned company's bumf "sweet Snow Fairy scents fill the air with values of courage, kindness and confidence wherever you wander". It's all shimmering pink skies and soft candy floss fragranced clouds, which just about sums up our Alice perfectly! 

And, on the domestic front, well, it just has to be Fabulosa "Winter Angel", with its vibrant notes of bubble gum, banana, pear drops, musk, vanilla with candy floss, so there's never a whiff of aromatic discord or confusion of a perfume type nature surrounding her.   

So, there you have it, Alice in a bottle, and if you're still not sure, you can just nip into your nearest Lush or Home Bargains (for the Fabulosa) for a cheeky sniff or two to be absolutely sure!

What A Jacket

The beauty of charity shop mooching and shopping is that when you walk through the door you never know what you're going to find or want before you come upon it.

So yesterday I found an absolute doozy, to wit a black and gold embossed jacket, something that perhaps Hugh, Darrell's best friend and mentor of things of an over the top type nature might donate. It was truly stunning, with strong Liberace vibes and all for the princely sum of £3.50.

Trust me, I was sorely tempted, but in the end, though greatly considered, no purchase was made on this occasion, I did think perhaps Darrell and I could share it, but to be honest, where would we wear it? It's not a jacket for the odd school run when Eric is otherwise engaged or shopping in Lldl.  I know I might live to regret it should an appropriate special time come to bite me on the bum, but in the end I left it for someone else, with the confidence and not a little panache, to rock it!

Well..... It Would Be Rude Not To!

When you're Eric, having a bit of a toddle round the estate to help work off a rather large lunch, simply minding your own business .......

...... and you just happen upon a large plastic box on the side of the pavement ......

...... well, it would be rude not to take a closer look ........

....... especially if some of the contents look quite interesting! 

However, at first, he was a little reluctant to actually take the lid off and have a cheeky delve inside, but after looking around, he quickly worked out that it was nothing of a nefarious type nature, just our neighbours having a chuck out and leaving it for passers by to rootle and help themselves (he hoped) thus saving all the bother of hauling it up to the nearest charity shop.  

Let's just say, that for the little fella there was indeed treasure within and he returned to The Towers brandishing a few choice items, to wit a very nice quality, unused baking tray for Darrell, who's motto is, spookily, "one can never have too many baking trays in one's kitchen cupboards" ...... 

..... a bee brooch for Alice, but unfortunately the pin broke off before he could even proffer it to the ever fragrant Alice ......

..... and finally, two, iridescent, skull glasses (leaving behind a saucepan, pumpkin carving set, a couple of plates and a pink water bottle). Darrell looked a little askance when he first saw them, however with Eric's irrefutable gift of persecution persuasion .......

...... he convinced Darrell, somehow, that they could be something quite artistic to add to our usual Halloween decor, especially if we could find some suitably unusual and creepy plants to trail from them, like, I kid you not, curio rowleyanus!  Where on earth did we get him from, but there again, where would we be without him? Curio rowleyanus, I ask you!