Not the Gardens of Château DeVice

 Much as I'd love to submit these photos to The Very Mistress for her annual Garden Photos Event, sadly they are not from Château DeVice's extensive tiny grounds.  
 Yesterday saw a trip to Norwich to drop Indescribable off for some course she's undertaking (she couldn't drive herself as her car was being M.O.T.ed), so I had a few hours to kill while waiting for her to finish.  And what better venue could I have chosen to obliterate those hours (not to mention my bank balance) than at the Urban Jungle?!   

A beautiful Datura

Datura something-or-other, Canary Island Foxglove (Digitalis canariensis), and something that I didn't get the name of

I love this broken pot planted with ferns - I'm not going to chuck out broken or frost damaged pots anymore.

What Would You Name Yours?

  What would you name your beach hut, that is?

  The following are some beach huts of note from Overstrand promenade.  They're not all named, but either the name or the design of each of these caught my eye. 

One for Mistress Maddie (as teased in the last post)

A Taste of Things to Come...

... or "How to ensnare a Mistress Maddie".

I'll publish the actual post once I've sorted out the photos.  Probably at the weekend.  Probably...

Grasping at straws...

... or, pencil crayons, even.

Ooh! Shiny!  Just call me "Magpie"

  One might suspect that as I've been absent from the blog for a week, I would have been very busy doing very busy and important things?  Oh, the important busyness I could have been doing!

  Sadly, I haven't been importantly busy, or even busily important. No, I've been tasked with the taking-to and collecting-from school of The Little Witch all week.  And then keeping her entertained for a couple of hours until Indescribable comes to collect her after work.  This is what happens when I make it known that I have a couple of weeks off work.  You'd think I'd've learned by now...

  In between the taking-to and collecting-from school, I have been doing load after load of their washing (as well as all my own chores, and those of The Parents', too).  In fact, having done a couple of loads yesterday, I had thought that I'd have today to myself as Indescribable (and her spawn) couldn't possibly have generated another machine-load of washing so soon.  How wrong I was.  I made myself a cup of coffee and took a piece of cake from the tin (half of which was devoured by Indescribable and The Little Witch yesterday), then sat down in front of the Demon Box and opened up the blog.  And guess who turned up on the doorstep?

Overcast in Overstrand

 Another long photo post, but this one doesn't have music!  Oh, how I spoil you.

 The first six photos are from a brief perambulation along the promenade on 10th September - an overcast, yet calm day that had me thinking my first thoughts about how Autumnal the end of Summer is getting.

Where The Moon Hides Her Tears

  I seem to remember threatening you all with the view from Chateau DeVice's smallest room not too long ago?  Well, here for your delectation (or horror) is the view from the 5th August:

I can't believe it was that long ago? Where has the month gone?

That's not a mountain range swathed in clouds in the background - just clouds!
Although, there is a very small hill behind and to the right of the tree on the right...

::

  So. Where does the Moon hide her tears, you may be asking?  Well, inspired by the immortal words of Erasure from their 1994 album I Say, I Say I Say: "On until sunrise, where the Moon hides her tears" (from the song "All Through The Years"), here:

Strictly: You're My Favourite

  Strictly Come Dancing is back!

  Now starting its fifteenth series, the Strictly Come Dancing launch show aired yesterday evening, kicking off a glittering & sequinned Autumn full of Latin and Ballroom dancing that will see us through until Christmas.  Good job I don't have a social life as it's Saturday nights in front of the telly from here on in!

No change there then...

  Fifteen celebrities of varying levels of fame and recognition, and from a range of backgrounds, have been paired up with professional dancers to compete for the Glitterball Trophy.  I'd only heard of about half of the celebs (much like with previous series), but it doesn't really matter much to me as I'd happily watch Strictly even if "civilians" were competing rather than celebs.  However, three celebs caught my eye during the launch show: Simon Rimmer (chef), who I enjoyed watching on Something for the Weekend; Gemma Atkinson (actress/model), who I was vaguely aware of but now love because she said her mum describes her as a "baby elephant" when she comes downstairs; and Davood Ghadami (actor), who I'd never heard of (he's in EastEnders, which I absolutely do not watch - too miserable and depressing) is ridiculously handsome, and also has a killer bod!

   

Davood auditioning for my Hallowe'en Spectacular!

  As the dearly departed Sir Bruce Forsyth was fond of saying "You're my favourite."

::

  In other televisual news, The Expanse is also back on Netflix.  The second season is primed and ready to go when I've finished re-watching Being Human.  Then I'm going to re-watch Jessica Jones (having recently binge-watched Marvel's Defenders) hopefully before Star Trek: Discovery airs near the end of September.

  What have you all been watching, and is there anything coming up that you're really looking forward to (something new, or a returning show)?

::

  I started constructing this post early this morning, but Chateau DeVice was invaded by both siblings and their families - one after the other - which prevented me from finishing it until now! 

    

Triumphant Tin Foil Hat 2017

The winning hat waiting to be unveiled
[via]

 It's time!

 Time for the unveiling of the "Tin Four, Rubber Duck" 2017 Triumphant Tin Foil Hat!

 All the votes are in - both the public gallery votes and the private email votes - and I'm pleased to announce that I didn't have to use my own vote as a Head Judge's Decider as there is a clear winner (just).

 But, before we get to the winner, we'd better take a look at the runners up. Yes, runners up plural. With three Tin Foil Hats gaining the same amount of votes each - just two less than the winner - this year's compo sees three runners up!
 And they are:

Charmaine's Ms Scarlet's Tin Foil Hat Competition with rubber duck by Andy Warhol

Mago's Darling - I set my head on fire for You !

and Dinahmow's Fantabulous Titfer

 And so, I am pleased to present the 2017 Triumphant Tin Foil Hat:

The 2017 Tin Foil Hat Gallery!

Haven't we been here before?

 Hello and welcome to the 2017 Tin Foil Hat Gallery, the fourth such exhibit seen over the years in this little corner of Blogland. This being the fourth collection of international chapeaux de tin foil, it seemed fitting that the theme also be "four". How you, the designers, interpreted the theme was entirely at your own discretion, and I'm very pleased with the diversity and alternative takes that made it into the collection.
 An added extra to the theme, that of the rubber duck, came about via one of the SubConsciouses. I can't remember which one...

Hey! It was me!

 Oh, yes. The Host's SubC. I might have known you'd be responsible for such an act of triviality!

Actually, it wasn't trivial. The rubber duck, in thought and form,
has been a part of this competition since the very first one back in 2010
(scroll down to the text below LẌ's [then known as xl] masterpiece for the reference).

 I'd hardly call that a rubber duck of any substance!

And then, in the second collection in 2014, Tin Hat and Tales: Flights of Fancy,
Mago wowed us all with his creation: The Duck!

 Fine! So the rubber duck theme didn't come out of nowhere, then. Hmmph...

(Thank gods Witchface gave up then, as I couldn't find a reference to rubber ducks
in 2015's 10th Anniversary Tin Foil Top Hats and Tiaras collection...)

 What was that?!

[silence]

 Hmmmm... Right, then. We'd better open the doors to the gallery and let you all peruse the 2017 Tin Foil Hat Collection: Tin-Four, Rubber Duck!

Holes with stones around them...

... and other seaside somethings.

  From my various perambulations along the beach here, I bring you a selection of seaside flotsam and jetsam that I deigned fascinating enough to bring home.
  The thing is, all these pocket-fulls of stones and fossils and glass and shells are building up so that the interior of Chateau DeVice is slowly transforming into a beach... 

Foiled Again?!

[image via]

 No pressure, but we've received the first entry for this year's Tin Foil Hat Competition!  

 No, it's not "Sea Urchin" as constructed and modelled by Sir David Attenborough on the right here:
 (We had to disqualify his submission as he had "help" from NASA)

 You now have five days to submit your tin foil hats for entry into this illustrious competition (six, if you include the rest of today and a little leeway for the early hours of Friday morning to allow for time-travel nincompoopery).

Closing date for entries is midnight on Thursday 24th August. 

Fourwarned is Fourarmed (or fourhatted...)

Yves Saint Laurent adds the four-
millionth (and final) layer of
tin foil to the fourth hummingbird
gallstone decoration that will adorn
my own Tin Foil Hat masterpiece
(I may have to widen the brim somewhat...)
[image via]

 You lucky, lucky people can breathe a sigh of relief: I've extended the Tin Foil Hat submission deadline by four working days (or thereabouts) to midnight on Thursday 24th August!  Mainly because I haven't had time to construct my own shiny chapeau yet, due to unexpected/unannounced/unnecessary visitations from Indescribable, the Little Witch and Grumplestiltskin; plus the eventual birth of Inexcuseable's first spawn on Monday morning: Spider-Monkey (because that's what he looks like at the moment). But also because some of you have resorted to time-travel to try and eke out a few more days of construction time...

 This means that the Gallery of Hats will open on Saturday 26th August for a week of viewing and voting, with the winner being announced on Saturday 2nd September. 

 In case you're new here, or you've had a sudden attack of amnesia, the theme for this year's Tin Foil Hat Competition is "Four" (with or without a rubber duck). How you interpret this theme is up to you: You may wish to make four hats (sounds like too much hard work to me); take four different photos of one hat (that's a bit better); fashion your hat into the number four; adorn it with four items of decoration (or four rubber ducks); or go for something more subtle (or downright obscure), such as the four stages of metamorphism of the superorder Endopterygota (good gods!).

 Remember: to enter, you must fashion a tin foil hat (with or without rubber duck/s), take a photo of yourself wearing said chapeau (or, if you are camera-shy, put it on a melon or other head-sized object) and send me the photo (email address is in our profile) along with a short technical description of the hat's functions (and what, if any, purpose the rubber ducks serve - if you included any), and/or a tale of fancy to go with it.
 The winner will be whomsoever garners the most votes from you, the voting proletariat masses select, and displayed on this here blog. There will also be a (yet to be determined, but you can guarantee it'll be cheap) prize, or prizes.

 Right. We'd all better get on with our hats then, hadn't we?!