Order

 

The Welsh are chewing their lambs ear treats with gusto and the sun is out. Bun and weaver are sunbathing by the front door, but scuttle back into the living room when anyone passes . 

The neighbours have caught Weaver trying to kill birds on their bird table and asked permission to use their water pistol .

It’s springlike and the village feels busy.

Last night affable despots Jason and Claire met me in the Crown, where we won the TCA  quiz.

I was tired after nights so I was pleased to get home just before nine. 

Nice to see the pub busy 

Village Leader Ian was there with Lorraine and The Wilson’s from the TCA , he lives down the lane from me and now has a new electric car which I’ve already nicknamed Creeping Jesus ( electric cars and country lanes don’t go together as you can’t hear them coming! ) 

Today I’ve started to spring clean the cottage. 

I haven’t done much, but it’s satisfying removing Roger’s bum itching marks from the corner, of the kitchen cabinets ( once seen never unseen) and now I have a deep drawer allocated to paperwork, filing and the like. 

I’ve even taken out a policy with The cheapo cremationo Company and all that paperwork is in a file in the drawer. I spoke to the German on video, he was impressed by my organisational skills

“ Brits are usually rather slap dash are vey not ?” he observed in slightly broken English 

Things in order and Everything in its place I told him 

I’m sort of nesting. But I’m not ….does that make any sense ? 

Olive arrives on Monday

I’ve never owned a one eyed bulldog before

The Night I Heard Caruso Sing

 The visuals from the Middle East are sobering and chilling

Truly.

Strange as it would seem, I am reminded of my favourite band, and a song from their early days in the late 1980s when war was a long way away and I was surrounded by young high spirited psychiatric nurses like Tracey Birkin who looked and acted like a young Sophia Loren with open mouthed smiles and the energy of a herd of sweet ponies.

When you are young life is immortal and fear is only a thing seen in the movies. 

Everything but the Girl , sang The Night I Heard Caruso Sing beautifully. 

The beauty hides the message and screaming dread of war, and we find ourself hurtling towards a faceless video game of war with drones and missiles and screams in the night.

I feel so sad today, listening to that beautiful song

St David’s Day- Patron Saint Of Wales

St David, apart from being the Patron Saint of Wales is an ancient historical figure associated with the phenomenon of corpse candles. Now Corpse candles or light is historically associated with the prediction of a death. The light is often blue and travels along the ground from the Churchyard to the dying person’s home then back again. It has many names JackO Lantern, Jenny Burntail and Spunkie.

I’ve read that corpse fire is also a mistaken view of a natural phenomenon of glowing fungus ( foxfire)suffice to say I’ve lived next to the sChurch of St Michael’s for 22 years and have seen nothing whatsoever lol

Spring?

There feels that there is a big sky over the village today.

The daffodils that Trendy Carol and I planted on the field wall opposite my cottage nearly twenty years ago now are flowering late this year and the sun was out this morning which remains a novelty for this time of year.

It’s St David’s day tomorrow, and the TCA has organised a St David’s Day tea in the Hall. 

There is a bowls night and Casino nite organised too as well as chair yoga….I may go to that if my tendency for flatulence has abated enough.  

I’m working tonight and tomorrow night, then have two weeks on holiday, what fun….

 

Nasty

 Sometimes you can’t help but overhear a conversation between people in the supermarket . Two sixty something couples, one man proudly saying that they had just been to a charity fundraiser for the local lifeboat. As I passed the other woman, who was facing him said something I didn’t catch then loudly added, “well I wouldn’t support them as all they seem to do is to save illegal immigrants.”

I stopped my trolley as the original guy said something else and I caught something like “well you can’t let anyone drown” before the racist woman added “ well I would “ then conceeded with  “ I would save the children though” 

I saw red

It wasn’t my conversation 

It wasn’t my business.  

But I butted in anyway and hissed at the woman “ shame, shame on you!”

All four looked shocked but I carried on,

The floodgates opened

“ Racist Scum” I called her

I wasn’t pretty

Cheap Shoes was all too gentle an insult

I’m still shaking 

The Audience

The delightful Richard McCabe

Bluebell went in for her MOT today. I pick her up tomorrow alongside a big bill no doubt. My hope is that she will last one more year , just enough time to save up for Bluebell 2

Tonight Chic Eleanor and I went out for supper followed by a re run of the NT ‘s The Audience. I saw it thirteen years ago but was more than happy to revisit it…..and I didn’t regret it . 

This is my 2013 review lol


“Finally we got to see the NT production of The Audience
It was the cinematic re run in a small Art Deco refurbished cinema in Colwyn Bay...and I must admit, I loved the much lauded production featuring Dame Helen Mirren .
Once you get passed a slight left wing bias from playwright Peter Morgan, The Audience is a wry and witty "look" at the Queen's weekly "audiences" with a selection of her Prime Ministers over a 60 year period.
As you may expect from the writer of The Queen, Helen Mirren's monarch is a sympathetic, multilayered and gloriously difficult character, who is always a match for her PMs who all come to her with a host of circular and recurrent problems of self doubt, failure and political shenanigans.

The Ministers with the possible exception of a " Royal acting" Thatcher ( a wonderful Hayden Gwynne) are given an interesting and original slant . Gordon Brown ( Nathaniel Parker) is vulnerable and obviously depressed. John Major ( Paul Ritter) tearful and out of his depth and Harold Wilson ( Richard McCabe) is more Huddersfield than "ecky thump" it is his Northern Straight talking chauvinistic character that gives the play its heart, as we find out in the last few moments that out of her leaders, it is his old fashioned chutzpah that the Queen favours most above all of the others.

I enjoyed the play. Mirren's Queen is just how most of us would like to envisage her. Dedicated, steely, naturally funny and able to kick ass when the need arises.

8/10”

More later

 

Rhino

 No breakfast on my jumper and with Chic Eleanor’s jaunty scarf giving the illusion that I am indeed a counsellor, I’m almost set for a day counselling.  I’m tired today after nights, so have topped up with McDonald.’s Coffee, but the eye bags are very evident and I know that I resemble a Disney cartoon of an old African rhino who has seen better days.