Local Characters and turkey lurve......

Trelawnyd from the North West

Strimming the field and clearing the vegetable beds has been the order of the day. Huge lumps of pig manure have been schlopped up from the midden to start the back breaking job of fertilizing the allotment beds and by midday I was hot sweaty and fairly knackered.

The red faced welsh farmer called round with several large sacks of sawdust and stopped for a chat. When I first met him, I found his loud brusque manner rather off putting but now I find him a genuinely interesting, forthright and decent character who will call a spade a f*cking spade and who will go out of his way to do you a favour. In his seventies, he has an interesting story about every local event and piece of history, and gives his take on things with a zest and irreverence which is wonderfully refreshing. I know it sounds a little weak but I am made up he now refers to me by my christian name..

I took the dogs over to the Marian for a walk (The marian is a collection of houses a mile or so out of the village) and took the opportunity to catch up with friend Eirlys and her two baby turkeys. Eirlys, is another straight talking and genuine farmer's wife who is as goggled eyed about her poults as I am about mine, so we now make a rather sad fan club of two. If my babies survive, I think we will do a bit of swapping so that both parties end up with a viable breeding "group".....I knew she couldn't resist the thought of my chicks, and I wasn't surprised that she called in later that day to coo coo over them....

Both of us will be a little nervous as Christmas is looming on the horizon....turkeys and Christmas don't mix, especially as our area always seems to have a few unprincipled poachers lurking around....at least Boris is a little too OLD and tough to be eaten with relish!!!