An Artifact Conundrum?

We've been trying to have a bit of a no spend January, so we've all been avoid as much consumable temptation as possible, even that of a sustainable type nature ......

...... but yesterday, being twenty one days in, Eric thought he would just have a mooch, saying that he felt he was "safe" as his resolve was strong and fully committed .....

...... and yes, those pesky hedgehogs were out, loud and proud, beckoning him! he reckoned he must have found at least one choice item in every charity shop he availed himself of.

....... but true to his conviction, no considered purchase was made!

He said he saw nothing that he wouldn't have been happy to leave behind, so well done that young man. He did say he spotted something that made him sort of think of our beloved follower Mr D in romantic Mexico, as it was obviously from exotic foreign climes, if not quite the aforementioned Mexico.

When Darrell identified it later, as, in fact, Ecuadorian .......

..... undeterred, Eric said that as Mr D was very widely travelled and knowledgeable, he'd probably visited or knew something interesting and intellectual about the country of origin from whence the plate came, so he was therefore justified in his initial associative reaction to it.  What on earth is he like??????  

A New Side To Alice.

Our sincere apologies yet again, as we still continue to be all over the shop on our timeline of posts, a case of too many breaks in a very short time, of which we are and continue to be, truly blessed in a Hello Magazine Special Holiday Edition type way .......

.....soooooooooo, while we were away in Christchurch, enjoying the pleasure of The Captains Club of a late afternoon for a cheeky cocktail, two or three .......

..... the ever fragrant Alice had the need to "powder her nose", well, let's be honest anyone's nose wouldn't need "powdering" after three, very ample, tall Archers and lemonade on the rocks!!!

It has to be said that she wended her fair way to the Powder Room following a very peculiar path .........

....... including three times round the Christmas tree, but who are we to judge!

And, when she eventually returned, she told us, through a persistent but very cute bout of hiccoughs, that she'd been very taken and amused by the rolls of toilet paper they had in said room and wondered where we could get some for The Towers .........

...... then proceeded to have a terrible fit of the giggles, on top of the hiccoughs,  egged on by Eric. Darrell sensibly suggested a coffee might be a very acceptable way to end the evening, before we made our "winding" way back to our hotel. 

We definitely saw a new side of our beloved Alice that night and as ever, as our holiday motto always goes "What happens in Christchurch (at Christmas) stays in Christchurch" .......... Happy days, with wonderful memories made.  What are we all like?

The First Bunch Of The Year .......

With the new year but only eighteen days old, it seems impossible but bunches of daffodils are now in the shops, to be honest, a much more welcome sight than Easter eggs and all manner of egg hunt and bonnet paraphernalia as far as pester power is concerned at The Towers.

And, as such, Eric made the considered purchase of two said bunches for the ever fragrant one.  

The price, he said hadn't even gone up since last year, which was an extra bonus!

Needless to say, it was emotional, as Alice absolutely adores flowers of every single type and hue, but when presented with an Eric type bouquet, fresh from Lidl it was all the more touching and gratefully received.

He's also promised her that he'll keep her in daffs until they go out of season and with that there were tears ...... but not accompanied by an unseemly dripping nose, Alice is far too much of a lady like to allow that to happen, thank goodness!  

Late Tales Of Duneden, A Non Considered Purchase.

 A none considered purchase .......

...... that caused Eric and Alice perhaps a titter or two, but just the thought of such an action is just too abhorrent for words ...... Eric, as indeed we all do, always, very robustly, adheres to every single rule of the pool, where ever in the world we are! 

We Try Frickles

Our apologies, our posts and timeline are all over the shop this month, due mainly to having too many holiday adventures and memories to fit in, while still trying to get back to normal after the Christmas break, what are we like? 

However, we couldn't let this one slip through .......

...... because while we were away in Christchurch over said Christmas .......

...... we availed ourselves of a plate of "frickles", to wit deep fried pickles, in this instance the humble gherkin! 

Let's just say they did not disappoint, especially for Eric.  He found them a little hard to describe as you can well imagine, but a unique, warm, vinegary, battered delight with an unmistakable bite nonetheless.

Darrell, Alice and my own good self are perhaps sitting a little on the fence with them, but never let it be said that we are not willing to give the more exotic "side dish" a go, as and when they appear on our menu!

Late Tales From Dunedin - The Most Perfect Fairytale House....

On one of their evening strolls down to the sea to watch the glorious Dunedin sunset .........

....... Eric and the ever fragrant one veered slightly off piste, walking down one of Dunedin's most exclusive areas, where all the houses have their own, private seafront vistas, complete with boat lifts, jetties and all manner of romantic seating arrangements.  

It was a strictly no trespassing dans said areas, so Eric and Alice made robust efforts to ensure that no rogue toe veered off the beaten track.

And it was here that Alice feel totally and unequivocally in love with a house she deemed sooooooooo beautiful it didn't look real ........

...... it was like something out of a real life fairy-tale!

It even had a mail box that was an exact replica of the outside.  It was very emotional, very, very emotional ......

If Alice ever won the lottery, she declared, this is where she would be drawn to establish a holiday home for all the family. She said it was an intense yearning that she's never experienced with such a depth of feeling before and it had totally overwhelmed her, taking her completely unaware.

Even Eric remarked that he had never seen Alice quite so glassy eyed before.

And that wasn't the only one ....... the aforesaid fairy tale homes continued all along the road, appearing to get more and more beautiful the further they roamed, in her wildest dreams, she pondered, how on earth could she ever choose one.

As I said, it was emotional ......... Eric sensed Alice was imagining herself in some sort of gay and unabandoned Scarlett O'Hara scenario .....

..... deciding that it might be best to leave Alice alone with her thoughts for a while until they got back to more normal climes ........

..... and lovely though it was all was, perhaps not tread this path again, for fear of Alice refusing to return to The Towers ........ in search of the American Dream!

A Morning Of Spuming Potions .... And Memories Made

You may remember from our Christmas morning post that among our frantically opened presents, we received, not one but two, intriguing boxes of Santa's Potions from our best beloved, No. 1 Fan, Jan the Fan .........

...... so, when Iris and Bertie popped round over the holiday, what more perfect activity of a mixology type nature to proffer them .......

 ......well, it would have been rude not to ........

...... but under the extremely strict proviso, as per the instructions ........

..... that, no matter how intriguing the names on the packets .......

....... enticing the aromas ..........

 ......... and spectacular the chemical reactions ..........

....... it was unequivocally, with no exceptions, nil by mouth .......

...... not even the teeniest, tiniest lick of a finger, no matter how tempting.  

Having carefully checked the ingredients with a fine tooth comb, we were already pretty certain that there was nothing vaguely harmful in any of the packets, but you just never know when the odd, until now, unbeknownst allergy is going to come and bite you on the bum!  However, if Santa had been in any way remiss, a hitherto unblemished career would have been up the swannie, with all manner of lawsuits pending ....... and then what on earth would happen to Christmas?  A scenario it doesn't even bear thinking about!

The tension and expectation at times was intensely palpable and tangible, no squeaky pop Mr D, over in romantic Mexico, but we did have the most spectacular spume, which would reach a certain level, then collapse, only to start spuming all over again, at least six or seven times in all, if not more.

We think it may have been due to the bicarbonate of soda not being mixed in properly and so kept on releasing itself as it made contact with any of the liquid??? Mr D?

So, what can we say except a huge "Thank you" to the aforementioned, Jan the Fan, we had a whole morning full of very profound concentration, mixed in with lots of  ooooooo's and ahhhhhhs, some pertinent observation and, above all, so much laughter and fun.  You helped us once more create memories that our precious little ones will remember, hopefully forever, the thought of which, in turn, also made it  emotional for us doting oldies, at least.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Thank You For The Thank Yous

Yesterday, we had a totally unexpected package delivered addressed to The Monkeys at Riverside Towers........

.....the sort of package that instantly ignites a frisson of excitement, gathering you all round the table, as you just know it contains something very special ........

...... especially when it says "Please Do Not Bend" on the back!

It was from our beloved friend, Pharmacy Michelle in romantic Southport, well Ainsdale to be exact, as per our Ainsdale in Bloom calendar for 2026.

We opened the large envelope first, which featured, what else but a very cute hedgehog amidst little pink flowers. Inside Michelle thanked us for the Advent Box we sent her on 1st December, which contained a whole plethora of choice bits and pieces to use throughout the festive period and, hopefully, some beyond.

And then, in a small box, obviously not meant to be bent, there were four envelopes, each with our name on, the tension, as you might expect was mounting.

...... and inside each envelope was a card featuring both hedgehogs and owls, there was obviously a very pertinent theme going on .....

..... again thanking each of us personally for our gifts and wishing us a Happy New Year, needless to say it became emotional. 

However, once we'd pulled ourselves together, Alice arranged the cards on our shelves, it was so lovely to have something to replace all the Christmas ones we'd just put away, they really cheered the place up.

This year we had no concrete plans to visit Southport or surrounding climes, but we're thinking about it now. Darrell did have a cheeky little perusal on his Trainline app (four changes, so a proper adventure!!!) and Booking.com  ......... perhaps, when the weather gets better, the sun is shining and we are all in buoyant mood in May (?????) we might just climb on board ...... and let Seaside Karen know as well!