Alice Plays The Jelly Bean Game

Our beautiful and very fragrant Alice has truly embraced in our little traditional armadillos peccadillos when our beloved niece and nephew come round.

While Bertie likes to run a tight bar, keeping us well quaffed in the soft drink cocktail department, with all their accompanying accoutrements ........

....... Iris likes to play the jelly bean game, seeing if she can identify the flavours of said beans, without the help of the "menu" on the back of the packets/tubes/boxes we find and collect on our various travels, specifically for such occasions  ............

Then Iris also likes to create, name and mark new flavours by chewing two or three beans, sometimes even four together.

All I can say is that I'm just glad Alice likes a jelly bean, even when asked to sample multiples at the same time, although she does admit to avoiding the cinnamon ones like the plague, as they taste, in her expert opinion, like cheap and unpleasant mouthwash, yuk! 

She's also proved to be a genius when coming up with some very evocative, funny and sometimes romantic names for all the various combinations she and Iris come up with.

To be honest, let's face it, she's just as soft and daft as we are, as far as Iris and old Berts are concerned, so happy and wonderful sleepover days!

It's been a long, long while ..........

.......but our much beloved pheasant, or perhaps next generation pheasant has returned to The Towers lawn, proudly strutting his/her/she/he/we/them/their/its stuff once again, to our great pleasure.

Our lovely neighbours, on the top floor, who used to keep all the bird feeders well topped up throughout the year have now moved on to pastures new  .........

...... so I guess it's now up to us to take on that illustrious baton ....... 

 

 ........ even though there have been complaints in the past re: an increase in the volume of bird song (thus becoming too loud) due to said feeding, among one, two or three other avian related comestible issues when, I believe tempers, erm..... may have flared slightly!  Hey ho, it's a hard knock life, but not hopefully for our rebounded pheasant .......... 

Well, It Would Be Rude Not To!

When your upstairs neighbour (no, not that one) messages you to say there's cake on the landing ..........

...... it would be rude not to avail oneself, but being mindful of leaving it a couple of minutes before you rush up the stairs, eagerly clutching your empty plate.......

....... so as not to look too greedy, but still hoping you'll beat all the other neighbours in the rush, not forgetting to stomp loudly just to annoy you know who .........

....... as everyone knows in our block that Rebecca ........

 

.........just like Mr Kipling, does make exceedingly good cakes! 

Happy, neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours days ....... nom, nom nom!

The Leaning Floor of Malvern

Nigel has enjoyed the pleasures of The Foley Arms before, so he knew exactly what was on the tin.

He didn't have quite as large and commanding room with panoramic views and  chaise lounge  as last time .........

....... but the floor, according to the little fella, was just too wonderful for words, because although it doesn't show too well in the pictures, it sloped at quite an incredible and very pleasing level, from the bedroom into the bathroom .......

...... and if he had had a ball/balls or few marbles on him, Nigel said he could have kept himself amused for ages, having races running down said slope.

 The mahoosive and tres extravagant mirror caught his fancy too .........

....... if it had just spun round, Nigel mused, it would have afforded his room its very own Ferris wheel! 

It was all very cosy ...........

....... with a most spectacular view, especially from the patios at the back, with Nigel speculating where exactly Hugh's country bolt hole was situated in the scheme of things, as Le Chicken Coup boasts the opposite view, looking towards the Malvern Hills right in front of it.

As for the Foley door mat (?) of Darrell's dreams ......... well, it's certainly impressive!

So, it goes without saying that if there's any more shows of interest in Malvern, the Foley Arms would be our hostilely of choice, especially as it's run by Wetherspoons where the food may generally be pinged rather than actually created in any great detail, but it doesn't break the bank, especially with it's unlimited mugs of coffee, of which, Nigel tells us, he took full advantage of  ....... happy days Malvern days! 

Nigel Does Malvern

Nigel is currently embracing the pleasures of Malvern .........

..... having booked to see Count Arthur Strong, another one of his coterie of favourite comedians almost a years ago now. 

He said the show was brilliant, however he's now quite conscious of the fact that these days he too can to slip into Count Arthur mode all to easily, when his words come out all wrong .......

.......... even though he knows exactly what he means to say. He's worst with names, calling me Darrell and Darrell me and even Alice gets roped, in getting called Iris or Lulu or even ....... Mum!

He says the air in Malvern is exceedingly rarefied, with some very serious looking walkers heading up for "them there hills" ..........

...... clad in very impressive looking, "proper" walking books and rucksacks, no doubt crammed full of Kendal Mint Cake for sustenance.

It's all very romantic in a Sound of Music type way, however, it has to be said that the little fella didn't hit the heights himself, tempting though it was, as the rigours of the school run are more than enough for him at the moment and, he reasoned, his ordinary footwear was probably not up to par for the rigours of challenge anyway..........

...... so instead he checked out the local charity shops and partook in the odd latte, iced bun and slice of exceptional carrot cake ........ admiring said hills from the their lower reaches .....

....... before heading up the steep incline to his hotel, the Foley Arms, of which more tomorrow.

Since leaving The Homeland of Wolverhampton, we have oft pined for an Asian supermarket for Darrell's culinary spices in sold in huge bags, poppadums that we had to fry ourselves,  savoury snack type items like Bombay mix, not to mention the odd samosa and ........ don't get us started on all the traditional sweets, of which we still dream, to mention just a few delights.

So, imagine our humongous excitement when we saw this new development pop up in town!

Now, we are very much strangers to an Arabic comestible, but we are up for the adventure.

We're not sure when they open, hopefully it won't be long .........

....... but you can guarantee we'll be among the first in the queue for our roasted vermicelli, bhajii, gulab jamun and with luck, a proper fresh naan or two ...... wooooooo hooooooooo, (potentially) happy, happy days!  

It's Spring Cleaning Time Again ........

 And so, Darrell's annual deep and intensive spring clean has begun .........

....... as you find us today in a Towers full of weird and wonderful machines .......

...... noise (that'll be sure to please you know who!!!!)  .......

....... and warm, steamy air .........

......... while our beloved sofa and pouffe have a full, intensive and very robust cleaning, with, at one stage, the lovely gentleman looking more like ghostbusters with their spray/suction packs on their backs! 

I have to say you can see a huge difference, we'll admit to being mucky pups! It all looks very lovely and fresh, but I am gilding my lions, as Darrell informs me said gentlemen will be back presently, as he's booked them to do all our floors as well, as he says his knees are getting a little too creaky and stiff to get down and do them himself. He's also got them on a day when Nigel is out reading, as there would be absolutely no doing with him in a flat full of rotating scrubbers, polishers, fluffers and buffers!!! What are we like, if not very clean at the moment?