The Flipping Price Of Lamb!

With the summer holidays now seeming like a life time away, Darrell thought he might revive a few Greek memories by preparing a traditional lamb kleftiko to warm our hearts and fill our bellies for this weeks Sunday lunch .......

....... however, after a bit of a giddy swoon on seeing the price of two, small lamb shanks, he decided that perhaps he ought to find a less expensive cut of meat other than lamb for our delectation that he could possibly adapt.

He was, it has to be said, genuinely crestfallen upon his return ....... even if he had been looking in Waitrose!

He's also made a very serious note, in red ink and circled, on our calendar, to remind him that there's a "plant based market" next weekend, in town, that he now fully intends to explore, trying a few samples, should they be proffered, if only to research our gastronomic options in the future .......

........seriously contemplating the idea of a full and varied nut rissole combo replacing our beloved Sunday roast before the year is out!  What is he like?

A Flavoured Candle Too Far

This has to be a joke yes?  Even for Eric with all his avant-garde tastes and ever open mind, this was one candle whiff/flavour too far ....... although, he did say, after a very robust inhale, it didn't really smell all that ketchupy! 

Needless to say, however, on this occasion, no considered purchase was made by Eric in B & M today.

Now, if they bought out a Marmite candle we might be talking, if only as a conversation piece!

We've Scored Again ......

Soooooo, we've scored again of a charity shop "perfect buy" type nature ...... let's just say there were squeals when our eyes alighted upon it .......

....... only a totally unused, festive memorial candle, perfect for our Christmas Eve tradition of remembering all our loved who are no longer with us to share our most favourite time of the year .....

..... for the princely sum of just £1!  Well, it had to be done!

We might still hang a lantern on a tree, but this will almost certainly stand resplendent on our window sill over the holiday.

However, we still have one Christmas quarry, Eric and Alice swear they saw them in Dollar Tree when they were over in Florida last year and that's a Dolly candle, to go with all the other Dolly stuff they bought back with them for our seasonal celebrations.  

Who could have known that our beloved Dolly wouldn't be with us this year. I dare say Darrell and Alice will share at least one, extra long squirt of the ever fragrant ones favourite Dolly perfume to remember her by this Christmas morning, what are they like?

Putting On A Brave Seasonal Face!

Following yesterdays post and Eric and Derek's natural exuberance and excitement, it being Derek's first actual, real life October with us ...........

....... The Towers just wouldn't be the The Towers without just the merest soupcon of Darrell's usual seasonal elevation.

Our beloved niece and nephew might not be spending their traditional sleepover with us this year ..........

........ but it would look churlish not to do a little something .........

...... if only to help lift Eric and Derek's disappointed spirits!!! 

Well that's our story and Darrell, Alice and I are sticking to it, what are we like? 

A Different Sort Of Halloween This Year?

Sooooooo, I don't know how its happened, but we're already five days into October, the celebrated month of ghosts, ghoulies and all things of a spooky type nature and I have to admit, a perfect excuse for us all to don some seasonal, gay apparel!  

It's also the season of robust and almost constant pester power when it comes to visiting some of our local shops up town, especially with Derek now on board, it's comes in duplicate!

However, I've told them that they might need to repress their effervescent, exuberance just a tad because, this year, our usual Halloween Sleepover is not to be, as our beloved niece and nephew will be celebrating the holiday dans foreign climes, to wit, en Francais!

Naturally, they were a little downcast at first, but with what's now beginning to appear in the aisles of various emporiums ......... 

.......I fear think they are still planning a few bits and bobs of their own ..........

........ heaven (or hell) help us all!!!!!

On this outing, however, the only considered purchase made was of a rather lovely and fragrant Spooky Vanilla candle for Darrell. Not wishing to cast any nasturtiums, I've still gently warned him to be on his guard, as goodness only knows what they plan to roped him in to!  

Ho Ho Home For A Hedgehog ........

Why am I not surprised that even in Malvern, for Eric .........

....... there's a hedgehog connection, on this occasion a festive show based on the a young hedgehog's quest to find the perfect home to settle down in for Christmas, and adventure fraught with trials and tribulations but hopefully a happy ending. Let's just say Eric is still currently deciding whether or not it's a show for him!!!!!!

Gilbert O'Sullivan In Malvern ......... And Welcome Back Arnold!

And why, as per yesterdays post, were Derek and Eric in Malvern you may ask? 

Well, always up for a full bodied, robust and rousing chorus, they thought they were there to see a celebration of Gilbert and Sullivan at the Festival Theatre ........

...... however, it was only when they double checked their tickets and flyer when they got there, that they saw that they had actually booked for Gilbert O'Sullivan's autumn tour, celebrating sixty years of music!  

But, not ones to ever look a gift horse in the mouth, they embraced Mr O'Sullivan with all the love they would have poured upon Messer's Gilbert and Sullivan. It was, they said, also an unexpected, emotional experience, hearing songs that they hadn't heard for a while, unleashing memories that came tumbling over each other with almost every song he sang, despite neither of them "actually" being around when the likes of Alone Again Naturally were first released. ..........

What are they like, if not always ready, willing and able to fully immerse themselves even when things go a little awry!

Great Malvern Railway Station

Out and about ....... 

...... according to Derek and Eric Great Malvern railway station has to be the most romantic station they have ever arrived and departed from.

It is, they say, truly beautiful ........

......and in their expert opinion, the most perfect setting for emotional fond farewells and passionate reunions of a GWR locomotive type nature!

They said they felt as if they had been captured in a spooky time and film warp, somewhere between The Railway Children, Harry Potter and Brief Encounter, with a splash of the Orient Express 

What on earth are they like?

Malvern's Lost Railway: Great Malvern Station

It's A No From Darrell, But Thank You For The Thought!

It has to be said that Darrell has recently been contemplating the possible considered purchase of a new vacuum cleaner ........ 

...... saying that while he absolutely LOVES our faithful old Henry, he's not getting any younger and has thus been wondering whether getting a lighter, slim line, upright cleaner might be easier to store, handle and use especially with regards to any possible future planning.

However, when the little fella stumbled upon an Electrolux, going entirely for free, Darrell's current conundrum immediately sprang to Eric's mind, perhaps it could be kept as a spare or act as an experimental test model which Darrell cogitated some more. 

It was a very sweet, considerate thought, but on this occasion it was, to quote Sir Lord Alan Sugar, "with regret", a no when he phoned home to see if he should bring it home. "Best....." Darrell told him, ".....leave it for someone else who might be in greater need than us and not so vacuumly undecided" 

A Mutually Shared Hobby

Derek and Eric decided the other day that they would like to partake in a mutually shared hobby, something they could do at home or while they are out and about ..........

...... and it was a trip to Flying Tiger that sealed the deal, in the guise of two sketch books, a pack of coloured pencils and a pencil sharpener amidst great excitement.

To be honest, Darrell, Alice and I are just relieved that they'd chosen something relatively quiet (due to the concentration levels required) and it being quite a self contained sort of activity, rather than them taking up medieval battle re-enactment, high diving or bee keeping! 

They started off with portraiture, then swiftly moved on to "where the spirit and artistic temprement took them"!!!!!

Naturally, we shall be encouraging them as much as we can, but perhaps it's little too premature to start thinking about entering them in BBC's Artist of the Year........

....... despite all the ambition and pestering that's already started!!!  heaven help us, what are they like? 

Darrell Defines His Look With His New Firmoo Glasses

It seems that just recently our Facebook feed has been filled with really cheap glasses, which had Darrell wondering if they were any good ......

..... soooooooo, when a particularly lovely rainbow frame caught his eye .......

........ he decided to take the plunge, well, it would have been rude not to, especially when they had nothing even vaguely as fabulous to these beauties at Specsavers!  

He sent off his prescription and measurements and then pressed the pay now button with tightly crossed fingers and toes that this wouldn't a just a flight of fancy that would end in tears and regret.

Said glasses arrived about ten days later, the colours a little paler than Darrell would have liked, but he was still rather pleased.  He could see perfectly, they didn't slip off his nose or press painfully on the nerve behind his ears.

They also won Eric's seal of approval, so they are definite keepers!

Would he buy from Firmoo again? Most definitely, especially as spare holiday glasses, because at £21 a pair (less special offers), he could have a whole wardrobe of visual enhancement a la Sir Lord Elton John and it wouldn't be the end of the world if he lost or sat on them, as has happened in the past. So, happy days!

 Unisex Glasses Medium LKFS4126R | Rainbow Tr Square Frame | Firmoo UK

Doing Our Civic Duty Once Again

Yesterday, the little fella found something that shouldn't have been where it was, betwixt the footpath and the entrance to the scrap yard and bridleway ........

 ....... to wit an old, grubby sofa, without cushions. 

Needless to say, Eric was not best pleased, not best pleased at all!  He likes to "find" things, but certainly not this sort of thing, recklessly, abandoned, without and due care or consideration.  It would have taken a large vehicle get it there, so why not just go a few more miles down the road and dispose of it properly and above all legally sur la council tip and NOT on the cusp of our doorstep for others to fret or fall over!

However, Eric drew closer, he noticed something yellow secreted in its undercarriage, it was a school exercise book with quite a distinctive, double barrelled name written on the front ........ a clue as to who might have a penchant for fly tipping?

Needless to say, when Eric came home he got Darrell to help him report this unfortunate and unwelcome "deposit" to the correct authorities, adding an extra picture of said potential evidence to the mix and then Darrell and Eric did their own sleuthing, finding the village where the young lady was born and what church she were baptised in (with dates), plus the fact that she is quite probably a twin! 

After that they decided to leave any further identification of any probable parentage  to a higher council.  

What are they like?