Keep Calm And Do Nothing


 Long term readers of Going Gently may well remember " The Ghost Hens" .
I found myself thinking about them this morning, as bleary eyed! I sipped my coffee amid the maelstrom of political upheavals in the capital and the up and down stress of a husband coping with a particularly stressful week at work

Now, for those that don't know, the Ghost Hens were five genetically fucked up broiler hens that arrived at the Ukrainian Village as brainwashed , psychologically damaged little pullets. Designed to eat themselves fat in a matter of weeks, these sad little hens had been brought up in a massive barn of a building under artificial lights with thousands of other little fuck ups .
They had never seen the sun, never ate a blade of grass and had never had the room to scratch their own arse without getting battered by another google eyed clone.

Faced with their very own warm hen house and a miniature run, these sad little characters continued to eat themselves fat in silent desperation, but they did eventually react to their brave new world, and calmly and very slowly they started to turn their faces into the sun to live a little.
Surrounded by animal drama and chaos, The Ghost Hens always looked unflappable but their inactivity was just a useful way of coping. They were too big and too comical to run around in silly chicken circles.
They just couldn't do it.

This week as the Prof hurried from one mindset and thought and plan to another , I took a leaf out  of the Ghost Hen's book and provided an anchor of calm.
I quietly made lamb kofkas from scratch, polished shoes without moaning and listened to tales of academic intrigue with an understanding stance.
There is something useful in not reacting, especially when your other half is pushed to the limit.

Anyhow,
I remember taking the above photo very well.
It was approaching dusk on a summer's evening and the rest of the field was in constant motion.
The other hens were mooching homewards to roost, the geese were bickering over a patch of grass like they do and the hysterical runner ducks were being , well, just hysterical.
Only the Ghost hens remained still. Sitting in the evening sun until their white plumage tinged pink..........
with their fat bottoms planted into the grass like old ladies arses on comfy armchairs.

Their faces were held very high as they enjoyed the last bit of sunshine of the day.



33 comments:

  1. From June 25th - at a cinema near you...
    THE GHOST HENS
    directed by Winifred Bulldog

    "In the evening shadows they are waiting for vengeance..."

    "I liked it - it was good" - The Rhyl Journal

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    1. Funny.........lets see the reviews of Yorkshire puddings' novelty bananas!"
      Comming soon x

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  2. The philosophy of chickens sounds as good as anything else on offer right now.

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  3. I wondered what your take on the BRexit vote would be. Watching the value of my retirement accounts plummet today, I plan to do what I always do in situations of great turmoil. Do nothing until you know what you want to do. If I can scrounge up a couple of bucks, I may buy some stock at a bargain. That's what turmoil is you know, it's the opportunity to buy things on sale, like stocks. If only I had a couple bucks. Between my son studying for his PhD in Physical Therapy and overdrawing his checking account and our house and my penchant for antiques, there aren't a lot of bucks floating around unattached.

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  4. A life lesson for us all :)

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  5. A little much-needed positivity on this otherwise melancholic day (I speak politically).

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  6. Can of worms just opened!. Scotland will now leave UK to stay in EU.
    Who knew, gulp!.
    Oh help!.

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    1. Can,t sit like your hens sadly, need to become pro active and independant and stay in EU. Sob!.

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  7. You can guess I have had a difficult week. Your little Ghost Hens and the story made me weep :)
    Maybe that is what I need, not so much Stuff and a little more sweet little creatures. The cats are good but I might need more.

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  8. My son's ex girlfriend , some years ago, was a professor of whatever, and at that time she was doing a 2 year study about whether chickens had friends ! It seemed like an enormous waste of time until she explained it, and it did actually make sense. Don't ask me now what that sense was but it seemed OK at the time!! Lovely post by the way. x

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  9. It's a sad day, I'd sit looking up to the sky like a Ghost Chicken but I'd get bloody drenched.

    Time to keep our heads down and continue on our way to self sufficiency I think. I would pull up the drawbridge if I had one and declare us a separate state!!

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  10. My drawbridge has been pulled up too ! of course, it is only keeping them out of my home, once you go through that door, you are on your own.

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  11. I remember when you acquired the Ghost Hens. I also remember as they tried to come out of their shells. An then, I remember how they gradually met their ends, so sad.

    I don't fully understand this split thing so I can't say much. I'm not so sure this would be a good thing ...

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    1. They taught me a lot those hens sharon....that was SIX years ago too

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  12. Lucky hens and lucky husband too. Husband! I missed that bit, congratulations. I will find it in your archives. How lovely x

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    1. married march 6, 2015. go back and his posts were just full of wonderful wedding talk!

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    2. Nice to see you bugerlugs its been an age!

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  13. I have adopted somewhat the same attitude myself...which is very different for me. But really we are all so spoiled compared to what so many people have to endure...life threatening literally ...that I decided not to complain.

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  14. A useful philosophy to borrow.

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  15. This was so beautifully written...*tears*

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  16. Making me well up here John.

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  17. I was thinking of the ghost hens earlier this week, and that got me to thinking of many of the other animals that have crossed your path which you've told us about here in Blogland.

    I don't know how it'll all play out, the UK going back to being the UK and disentangling itself a bit from the EU. I find in Great Moments like these, where everything feels very uncertain, I'm grateful for the daily tasks that need doing no matter what else goes on. The cats need to be fed. Litter boxes scooped. And on we go.

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  18. Just don't sell anything!

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  19. I love the line, "fat bottoms planted into the grass like old ladies arses on comfy armchairs," keep them planted.

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  20. Bless 'em, I love hens. They truly encompass all that matters about the small life contentedly lived, in the present and in nature. It makes me happy just to have them scratching about the place.

    It's good timely advice for me today as an organisation I volunteer for is having rather a meltdown after its AGM. Being a ghost hen sounds a like a bloody good idea right now.

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