sending Spiros special sauce

hello there

well, something of a busy day today so far really. it's one of them "day off" things that is really only "off" in theory. away from regular verk i am, look you see, but it is not like i don't have plenty to be doing, look you see.

what have i been doing? looking after the boys as a number one. beyond that, the mundane and the routine, i suppose, things around the house. and, of course, sending some special sauce to my good friend Spiros.

right, then, here we go. posting sauce is a bit of a tricky business, as you will, or perhaps may, observe.

yes, that is quite a lot of supplementary items one requires to post something, is it not? i thought it best to pack it as safely and securely as i could, lest Royal Mail be displeased with it breaking. i have my suspicions, you see, that the Royal Mail would not take at all kindly to "Goth Bomb" Chilli Sauce (or Paste) being distributed freely across their premises or other items of mail.

if you are wondering what this is all about, by the way, regular readers might recall this post in which i mentioned that i got this stuff for Spiros, very much at the request of Spiros. he likes it hot and spicy, you see. no, i am not going to clarify what.

here, in a rather poor quality and very much out of focus picture (thanks, BlackBerry), is the warning on the "Goth Bomb" bottle. basically it says something about "do not eat on your own". I think that means it could be quite hot, and cause you some medical damage. or maybe the chap who makes the sauce just wants his product to be enjoyed in social settings.

not that Spiros often eats on his own. there are many, many like-minded men who enjoy a good nosh with Spiros, i believe. it is somewhat unlikely that either his mate from Montpelier or a taxi driver will be eating with him, but you never know.

do i particularly care if this sauce does some sort of physical, medical damage to Spiros? not really. he asked for the stuff, so if something happens, well, that's what he invited in to his life. i suppose if it's some mild discomfort that it causes him i will find it very funny; if it is something that requires a professional or amateur medical practitioner i may feel a bit bad for him too. for a bit, i suppose. might even say "get well soon" or something. mostly, though, i think he will be OK. as several people have commented, indeed pointed out, Spiros has basically spent most of his teenage and adult life punishing his arse, so this should be not too much of a challenge for him.

there will, i should imagine, be plenty of time to discuss and learn of what damage Spiros manages to do to his arse when he gets it, so to speak. in the mean time, back to wrapping and, indeed, posting.

i wrapped the bottles (well, bottle and jar, pedantic types) in some cling film and bubble wrap, placing them in a nice lunch box thing. they were rather loose, so i used some old padded envelopes to, well, pad the box a bit. the one you can see there, i think, is the one that my iPod came back from the mender in. there you go, kids, recycling in action.

yes, it is a purple lidded storage box type of thing i got to put this thing in. Spiros likes things that are a colour which express his sexuality and his preference in TeleTubby.

my (considerably) better half did indeed kick off about the idea of me buying something that was purple to give away, which is why i bought two of them. she has one too, then, but is still quite cross that i have sent one off on a voyage. whoops, sorry about that.

as an extra precaution i thought it prudent to wrap the box itself in some of that bubble wrap stuff. if for some reason you wanted to see a box with a purple lid wrapped in bubble wrap, here you go.

and then i also thought it would be a very wise idea to wrap the bubble wrapped box in something else before applying the packaging paper.

the only thing that came to hand which would do the job was some very shiny, rather 70s style in design wrapping paper, so that was what i used.

is it his birthday or something? no. i just thought the bubble wrap directly on the packaging paper would be rather annoying for the postal staff and that, so wanted to add extra protection. hopefully it works.

i seem to recall some TV show for kids in Australia that showed you how layers of newspaper worked better as insulation than a blanket. they illustrated this by showing how you should not give tramps a blanket, but a newspaper. go figure.

finally - in, at least, respect of packaging - it was time to apply the brown paper, or if you like paper of brown, to the whole package thing.

splendid looking, i am sure you will agree.

after this i, of course, applied the most appropriate of the several addresses that Spiros has. i used one one where, thanks to the services of First Class mail, he will receive it tomorrow. quite smart, the mail is, in this respect. why does Spiros have so many addresses? because he fancies himself to be part of the landed gentry, for some reason.

i couldn't really get a picture of me posting it, as they are not at all keen on photos being taken in official places here. i can, however, freely take an image of that "proof of postage" thing for you, which i did, and indeed you can see it here.

i am hoping that the price is too blurry to make out. this is, kind of, a gift, after all, and besides i would rather it looked like i spent more money than i did on him.

so, the sauce is now out of my hands. very happily, i must say so. i don't mind the odd hot meal now and then, but i do not actively seek out "the hottest thing" one can find. Spiros does, though.

as per the earlier comments, this should, with the excellent ways in which Royal Mail operates, reach him tomorrow. excellent if it does, as this means he can spend most of the weekend eating it, no doubt washing it down with the rather cheap cider he seems to have taken a shine to of late. he has promised, should he be medically capable of doing so, to tell me how eating this goth bomb chilli sauce goes, and i shall certainly relay any comments he makes here for your entertainment and indeed information.

will the sauce arrive? will Spiros endure it? quite a cliffhanger, this.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!