A Potential Rival For Bake Off Chez Towers

Oh my goodness, with a hall cupboard crammed with foam soap cans, leftover from numerous sleepover bath times, our beloved niece and nephew pleaded with us to let them play their own version of "Bake Off", and well, as we didn't have anything really concrete planned, it seemed rude not too, so move over Nigella!

However, admittedly, at first, Darrell did go a whiter shade of pale at the thought of his freshly steam cleaned floor being compromised .........

..... but in the end he managed to persuade himself that should any rouge foam miss the table and hit the floor, said foam soap might perhaps help to intensify (??) the professional, polished sheen he prides himself on. Life is too short, he reasoned not to indulge the little ones now and again, just for the sake of an extra bit of mopping.

Needless to say, total chaos and mayhem ensued, however Alice, bless her, kept a watchful eye on the proceedings, but she didn't even have to show the slightest hint of one of her "special looks", which trust us, despite her ever fragrant, demure demeanour, could easily turn the strongest man into a pillow pillar of salt!  

What followed was a joyous afternoon, where The Towers was filled with so much unbridled and unfettered foamy fun and too many uncontrolled fits of the giggles to count.

As for Darrell's floor .........

....... well, it absolutely shone afterwards, following a quick flick with a multi purpose wipe, so it was win, win all round, in fact, from now on, Darrell's going to positively encourage such activities!  What is he like? 

The School Run Just Got More Interesting (And Trecherous)!!!!

Oh my giddy aunt, it would seem, much to Eric's humungous excitement, that one of the roads he has to regularly traverse in order to get his beloved niece and nephew home is undergoing a substantial reworking, of a gas pipeline type nature .......  

..... and currently resembles something of an obstacle course, with a whole line of large, yellow hurdles disappearing right into the distance. 

However, said hurdles, should you be so stupid to accept the challenge, are not quite as innocent as they would first appear ......

..... as they hide deep, pipe worked holes ......

All very foolhardy and obviously an extremely ill advised folly to even contemplate.

It also goes without saying, that, as always, in such situations, Eric now says he's feeling the irresistible beckoning to don his faithful old hard hat and hi-viz vest for this stage of his journey .....

..... however, I've advised him that despite the immense allure, he might be best keeping away from all the as yet unfilled holes, for fear of an unexpected gust of wind toppling him into oblivion .......

..... and perhaps turn his mind to trying to decipher all the colourful, weird and wonderful, but meaningful chalk patterns on the pavement instead.

The ever fragrant Alice, bless her, to help quell my fears as to Eric's possible distraction, has kindly offered to accompany Eric on the school run, under the premise of wanting to "get a few extra steps in", until the work is completed, just as a precaution .........  what is he like? 

It's Been A While .........

It's been quite a while since any of us have experienced any sort of hedgehog encounter of the charity shop kind, in fact, it's been so long that we'd begun to wonder if Eric's and on occasion our, stalking by such creatures, in any shape or form had finally ceased .......

...... but no, it seems it continues, because yesterday when the ever fragrant one was out and about mooching, low and behold  .........

....... not one, or technically two perhaps .........

...... but three!!!  However, on this occasion, as none were deemed to be that appealing, enchanting or special enough, no considered purchase was made. Alice says she's holding out for the complete no brainer before she gets her money out! !!!!!! What is she like? 

OMG, There's A Real Life Hedgehog Bus!!

OMG, there was Eric minding his own business, in a world of his own, mooching up town, when all of a sudden he was drawn to an abrupt stop, stunned, completely mesmerized, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief, positive that he HAD to be hallucinating ........ 

..... as a beautiful turquoise bus sidled up to one of the stops at the bus terminus ......

 ..... but it wasn't any sort of bus .......

..... this was a real life, actual Hedgehog Bus!  "It was," he said "love at first sight". It was as if his whole life as he knew it had been " .....turned upside down and uncontrollably shaken in a totally unmeasured fashion!"  What is he like? 

At that moment he knew that he wouldn't be able to rest until he could take a ride on said bus.  He needed to find the timetable and the route(s) tout suite and then climb on board as soon as humanly possible!

However, this might not be as easy as he'd first hoped, because it would seem that the bus is a community, volunteer run service to get the good people of Chipping Campden, Mickleton and surrounding villages to Stratford Upon Avon, Evesham and/or Moreton in Marsh.  The bus to Evesham runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but, if Eric wanted to go all the way to Chipping Campden on a Tuesday, he'd have to wait until Thursday to get back home!!!!

As you can imagine, the little fella is just a tad on the disappointed side at the moment, but where there's a will, as far as Eric is concerned, there's always a way. The only obvious option at the moment would be to catch the bus (on a Tuesday or Thursday) at 10.18am in Evesham and then get off at the next stop, to wit the 24 hour Tesco, a trip, sadly, of only five minutes. He'd then have time for an hours shopping or avail himself of an in store Costa, before catching the 11.30am back to town  ......... hmmmmmm 

As and when Eric comes to a decision you, as always, will be the very first to know! 

Hedgehog Community Bus Service, North Cotswolds

The Ever Fragrant One To The Rescue

The ever fragrant one has such a mahooooosive kind heart, when she spotted a sad, little yucca plant outside the local florist being offered for just 50p ........ 

........ because it was in need of tender loving care and a home where it could flourish, she said she shed a tear ........

...... as she knew exactly how it felt ........

...... to be left on a crowded shelf, in a charity shop, scared witless, crying out to be loved ......... until, of course, we came to rescue her. 

Needless to say, 50p was duly proffered and "Angela" came home to the safe, protective, open portals of the Towers .......

............. where she was delicately unwrapped and carefully inspected.

There was nothing wrong with her that peace and quiet, gentle watering and talking to, an open window and sunshine, according to Darrell, wouldn't put right.

And, after only five minutes chez nous, Alice absolutely swore (but not in a blasphemy type way) that she saw Angela's previously limp leaves noticeably perk up.

Alice has put her yucca in the window, on a pedestal, so that she knows she is special and we all await, with baited breath, the first, small signs to show that Angela has truly settled and feels at home with us!  What on earth are we like?  

Lacasa Mi Memento - Edicion Limitada - Estilo Dubai

You may remember after we came back from our Southport meet up with Pharmacy Michelle and Seaside Karen, Seaside Karen had given us a bag of chocolates purchased during her half way round the world cruise stop off at The Azores, knowing of our love for all things of a foreign confectionary type nature ........

...... and yesterday Alice and Eric , at a bit of a loose end, decided to give the Lacasa Mi Memento Pistachio Edicion Limitada a go, well, it would have been rude not to! 

Let's just say, after getting Google translate to help them out, they were very, very impressed!

What wasn't there to like? A pistachio nut covered in pistachio cream and kataifi then another layer of milk chocolate.

According to a not easily swayed Alice, "They were absolutely to die for", some of her very favourite confectionary ingredients put together to create " .... little oval of sweet perfection"

Eric was equally as bowled over, claiming "The crunch of the kataifi and the smoothness of the cream, all covered in milk chocolate was a marriage made in heaven" ....... or The Azores.

Fortunately, they managed to steel themselves away to leave a few for Darrell and I to try later, and I have to say we agree, they are very, very lovely, very lovely indeed ........

So, if our beloved Seaside Karen (or anyone else for that matter) finds themselves in The Azores again, well, we weren't be averse to erm, perhaps, sampling them again!!!  What are we like?

www.dulcesyaperitivos.com/chocolates-y-cacao/asi-es-mi-momento-dubai-de-lacasa-el-nuevo-capricho-que-mezcla-oriente-y-chocolate-MD19926479

A Mug For Old Berts?

Finding items of a personalised type nature for our beloved niece and nephew isn't the easiest of tasks. For Iris we've only ever found a hairband in Dawlish and a necklace in Liverpool and for poor old Bert's, generally only things in the doggy section of a shop, how very, very rude!

So imagine the ever fragrant ones abject joy when she stumbled upon a mug bearing the illustrious name of Bertie in the 10p corner of our local Tracey Sollis charity shop!  She said her heart fair skipped a beat when she saw it.

However, on closer inspection the mug was adorned with quite a grown up sort of motif, a bit Anglo Saxony which, although Berts has only just studied the subject at school, apart from the name, it didn't exactly exude the usual spirit or interests of a ten year old boy.  It was also obvious that who ever the original Bertie was, the mug was very much loved and well used, as there was a little wear to the lettering.

Alice admits to hivvering and hovvering for quite some time over the considered outlay of 10p, but in the end left it, knowing that if she was suddenly overcome by non purchasers regret, with it being emblazoned with a bit of a rare name, it would almost certainly still be there if she had a change of heart.  For 10p I'd be inclined to get it, to put the young masters toothbrush in for sleepovers, if only to see his little reaction!  Alice says she's going to sleep on it!

Our Diligent Participation And Completion Of The National Travel Survey Is Rewarded!

HEADS WILL ROLL ...... WHAT, NO PICTURES? 

QUESTIONS WILL BE ASKED ON PARLIMENT AND SOMEONE WILL BE SACKED. IN ALL OUR YEARS OF BLOGGING, WE'VE NEVER GONE LIVE WITH NO PICTURES!!  TOO LATE NOW, BUT TRUST US A FULL ROBUST AND VIGOUROUS INVESTIGATION IS BEING HELD AT THIS VERY SECOND!   

Where does a week go?  After a seven days of being honoured to participate in the National Travel Survey, it's now all over, leaving us feeling that we'd only just got into our stride. 

Darrell would complete our form at the end of each day online and then poof, it was time for our "inquisitor", the very efficient Mr Pete to return, to sign us off and deliver our extra £5 Love to Shop voucher for completing the above.  

He said he didn't know how well we'd scored, but he's sure we'd have been a most excellent representation of those without a car, who rely almost solely on their feet to get them from A to B, all the way up to Y and Z.  

We felt sooooooooo proud and told him that if he was ever involved in any other National type Survey, he was to call us first!

As for "spending" our total of £15 of vouchers for our valuable weeks work, let's just say £15 worth of Slush Puppie Squeezees from Iceland should, just about, get us through the summer!!!  What are we like? 

Astonish Toilet Bowl Fresh And Fizz

Darrell always says we were some of the first, blogging, real life, influencers before there was even such a thing. We've done it all in the past from Marmite, Wayfair, Innocent drinks, The Natural Confectionary Co. Jelly Snakes to Lucozade energy drinks, to name just a few, as far back as 2011. Not to mention In 2012 we were contacted by Emin, the support act at the Eurovision Song Contest to "champion" his latest album! Heady, heady days ......

But alas, we never got invested in vlogging, remaining strangers to the ring light, microphone and selfie stick tripod and that genre of influencing, so we, tragically, got left behind ........ although, we are still very much open to the cheeky odd offer or two!!

So these days, if we endorse anything, it's solely because we actually like and  use the product, which is why today Darrell wanted to sing the praises Astonish Toilet Bowl Fizz and Fresh in Pink Peony flavour.  In a household with three very masculine males of the species and an ever fragrant one, the absence of limescale, calcium and rust in the loo has to absolutely paramount .........

...... and according to Darrell, who as you know is exceptionally particular about such things, after only dropping one foaming tablet, our u-bend has never been so resplendent and on point - £1.49 for a box of 8 from Home Bargains. Twenty minutes and no scrubbing, well, it would be rude not to. What on earth is he like? 

Alice Goes All Viral With Nivea Sun Eau De Toilette - "Sunshine In A Bottle"

There are two start dates for the summer, the astrological one and the meteorological one, but as we are impatient and can't wait until the aforementioned astrological one on 20th June, our summer is starting, in real life, today, meteorologically speaking on the 1st.

And, so to embrace, what we hope will be long and balmy days, filled with clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine and the odd summer breeze to help cool us down ......

......... the ever fragrant Alice has decided to change up her perfume to reflect the season, in the guise of Nivea Sun.

Now, it's neigh on impossible to think that Alice could ever be more fragrant .........

.......... her signature aroma being Lush Snow Fairy, but the name doesn't really reflect this glorious time of year, so she's swapped notes of cotton candy, cherry, pear and vanilla for, and I quote, "fresh citrus and subtle florals, anchored by a warm, woody base and concludes with a soft, airy freshness that lingers like a day spent basking in the sun" ............

It all sounds very heady and romantic, however, I'll admit I'm not too sure, as I think I also picked up notes of furniture polish of the more expensive (not own brand) persuasion, not that I would ever utter a word to Alice. 

However Darrell has castigated me good and proper, calling me me a Philistine, because, accordioning to him, whenever Alice whaffs by, she exudes summer personified, transporting him to every Greek beach we've ever laid on a sunbed, plus a few in the UK, including Dawlish and Bournemouth.  What is he like?

Having a lady amidst a household of pretty much confirmed bachelors has really changed our perspective on things, but we wouldn't be without her!

No More Special Assemblies In Church

A mixed bag of emotions this morning ...... 

..... as it would seems that there will be no more special school assemblies in church for quite a while, as their venue, St Peter's Church, is now something of a danger zone, as it undergoes vital renovation.

However, when this said renovation includes the dismantling of the spire, I think you can imagine the unbridled joy that brings to Eric's heart and soul of a hi viz vest, safety helmet and scaffolding type nature!

The safety signs alone are more than capable of holding the little fella in thrall for more hours than I care to count, but it also means that if we can't find him during day light hours, I think it will be a safe bet as to where he'll be.  

Never has the school run been quite such an exhilarating prospect as he watches the work happen in real time, with the spire gradually coming down and then back up again when sufficient funds are raised. He's already given himself an extra fifteen minutes each way in order to properly survey the work done each day, heaven help us all .......I know he'll be hanging round, hankering to be invited up to the lumberjacks "crows nest" to take in the view ...... Note to self; deny all knowledge as to where aforementioned hi viz vest and safety helmet have disappeared to and not to encourage any considered purchase of karabiners and climbing rope!