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!

We Try Dubai Chocolate

As you know, Darrell is always eager to keep up with all the latest comestible trends, so when Lulu found some Dubai chocolate at a reasonable price back in the homeland of Wolverhampton ......... 

....... and subsequently treated him to a couple of small bars, it was emotional, very emotional, very, very, very emotional indeed, as it had been on his chocolate bucket list for ages, ever since he first heard about it and especially when pistachio is one of his all time flavours of choice, especially ice cream.

It would have been soooooooo easy for Darrell to simply lay back on the sofa and indulge himself slowly, but it wouldn't have been right not to share, so he asked if I'd like to try it with him.  

To say I was honoured and surprised, knowing how much Darrell had dreamed of this moment having just one bar of his own bar, let alone two. I'll admit I got a little emotional too, what are we like? 

That being said, each bar was respectfully disrobed ........ 

....... cut in two and very carefully inspected.  The chocolate looked generous, but the kadayif and pistachio filling was not as oozy and generous as Darrell had expected .......

........ however, he wasn't disappointed. The chocolate was wonderfully rich (like Cadburys chocolate used to be) and filling, though not as creamy in texture when  first cut into, became softer as it warmed in the room, It had an everso slight crunch and though hard to describe, was every bit as good as Darrell had imagined.  It was very moreish, but we both knew we had to be restrained, this was a chocolate not meant for the chowing on down with gay and unbridled abandon.

We appreciate that the bars we tried are at the lower end of the Dubai Chocolate price range, however Darrell thought that having sampled this variety, we could possibly cast a little caution to the wind and move up a step or two and try a few other bars, within our budget .......

 ....... in the interest of erm ........ science?

As and when we obtain our next bar(s), trust us, you'll be the very first to know .......... hopefully it won't be that long, as we already have another affordable brand in our eager sights!  Happy, happy days!

Not Such A Bargain .........

This morning Eric failed to make a considered purchase when he was mooching and perusing in "The Vale" as we call it, our charity shop of choice dans Evesham......

....... when he suddenly realised that we already had two versions of a vase that had initially caught his eye as being quite useful, except that this one was pink whereas our two we have at home are clear, bought from this years Mother's Day range in Home Bargains for just princely sum of £1.29, which Darrell had said at the time, was an absolute steal.  

Eric then thought it would be rather nice to make up a tres chic trio if/when flowers Chez Towers were in abundance, however when he caught sight of the price tag, to wit two full kings pounds, he held back.  It might not still be available in HB so potentially more collectable now, but that's quite a steep rise on its original price in just a couple of months.  

Questions, he mused might need to be asked in Parliament about the rate inflation of Home Bargains Mothers Day vases ........ but only if it's a slow matters arising sort of a day.   What is he like? 

Eric Finds .......

Eric (formally known as Nigel) found something a little strange in one of the bushes that lead down to the river  

..... nothing super unusual, just something he'd never come across before, something he decided to call a "puff ball fairy".

However, he left it exactly where it was, because, in the past, we've found small items hung the same area that, we found out later, were traditional charms/talismans(?) to welcome in the season (in that case the spring) ......

Darrell and are not so convinced, we think it's more likely that someone simply found said puff ball fairy and hung it somewhere safe to be seen/found, but you know Eric, he's never one to dare tempt fate as far as tradition, folklore, customs, and superstitions  etc. are concerned.

...... "Fate" he says, "is best not tempted or even slightly provoked", especially when we are on the very cusp of the summer solstice (tomorrow), I quote, "We don't want the earth to accidently shift even everso slightly from its axis or something of that ilk!" What on earth is he like? 

Eric Makes A Considered Purchase

It has to be said that Eric absolutely adores a cherry tomato, often eating a box as if it were a bunch of grapes, but he's sometimes remarked that some of the supermarket ones can be a touch on the tasteless side .......

So, when he and Bertie passed by a house, on the first leg of the school run, that was selling tomato plants for just £1.50 each in aid of charity, it was a no brainer ......

..... a healthy plant with potential was duly selected by young master Bertie and paid for by Eric and then carefully transported for the rest of their journey, on the way to pick up Iris. 

Said plant (christened Conrad???) has now been left in the green fingered, lovely Laura's tender care up at Snake Mountain, in the hope that she'll be able, in time, to bring forth a luscious harvest of proper, home grown tomatoes, enough for everyone to benefit, not just Eric.

 With Eric's comestible impatience, it's in the best place ......

...... although I know he'll checking up on it and asking for progress reports every time he's up there, making sure his Tupperware box is ready and waiting for the first hopeful crop to be picked.  What is he like?  

Compare The Buttons Dot Com (In Other Words A Slow News Day)!

The other day Eric (formally known as Nigel) quickly picked up a share bag of Cadbury chocolate buttons without giving it much thought, other than them being chocolate! However, when he got back to The Towers he noticed, from the packaging, that he'd actually bought "mega buttons" ...... as in extra large, he pondered? 

After that, curiosity got the better of him and the ever fragrant Alice, deeming that they really ought to compare sizes for, as they put it "future reference". Now, we didn't have a bag of "normal buttons" in the cupboard, but then Nigel remembered the mini bags of buttons he had in his school run swag bag.

Upon opening, let's just say they were impressed, even beside the perhaps smaller than average buttons from the mini bag  ........

....... the mega buttons were mahoooosively impressive, very, very impressive indeed, with Alice and Nigel both agreeing that they were a most generous, ample and satisfying mouthful .......

..... then proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon finishing off both packets while chilling, watching The 1% Club on ITV X ......

...... reasoning that said buttons would have been at grave risk of going stale once they had been exposed to the air, had they not! What on earth are they like?

Eric's No Considered Purchase Made Continues

Hedgehogs continue to "haunt" Eric (formally known as Nigel) almost every time he enters a charity shop. He says he's now at peace with it all and it's the not stumbling across one that has him pondering these days.  

However, yesterday was no not one of those such days because what was one of the first things he saw on the bric a brac shelves of Vale Wildlife (a most pertinent cause), but this erm ...... prime (????) specimen .......

......... which did not, in any way, enamour the little fella, who said that there was something, although the hedgehog itself couldn't help it, about it's face that didn't endear himself to Eric. Perhaps, he pondered, it was possibly something to do with its open mouth or its slightly faded/dusty appearance that made it look a tad past it's ornamental display by date. 

Eric wasn't sure, so in this case it proved to be a very easy no purchase considered type occasion.

What Fresh Hell Is This?

Oh good grief, sometimes simply browsing tin'terent of a dull and lack lustre afternoon .........

....... can send you down some very bizarre and sometimes disturbing rabbit holes ........

...... and yesterday, while Darrell was attempting to replenish our somewhat dwindling first aid box, he stumbled upon something completely out of his comfort zone and realm of thought, down one such hole! 

What fresh hell, on god's green earth are these ..... conjuring up more questions in Darrell's poor, traumatised mind than probable answers, which on reflection I don't think I really want the answers to.

BUT, if I must ........in real life they are waterproof protection for the treatment of some sort of infection of a nail type nature, but for Darrell (well, all of us to be honest), they were the stuff of nightmares. Fancy having to go shopping with these on, as you wheel your trolley round Sainsbury's trying to delicately pick through the carrots or squeeze test a mango for optimum ripeness.

However, in the interests of understanding human psychology, I think Eric (formally known as Nigel) is trying to persuade Darrell to make a small, yet considered purchase ........

....... with the idea of filling one, two or even three with fresh water and then putting tiny, plastic fish in them just to see peoples faces in said supermarket (though other supermarkets are available).

Heaven help me, what are they like? And why do I sense a potential new series of weird and wonderful reviews coming on?