Chelsea Eat Your Heart Out!

Mr Butłer and Trendy Carol 

Today, my time will be split somewhat unevenly between a Elvis lovng professional vegetable judge and Winnie's new " babysitter"
Not many people can say that.
Today is the day that Mr Butler will adjudicate the entries in the best garden classes of the show.
Now Mr Butler is a national judge of some reputation and standing. He has over forty years experience in the field and is so passionate in his work, he has even  had his own particular medal manufactured so that any exhibit that particulary catches his eye, he can award them " The Mr Butler Medal of merit" , a prize much sought after in Flower Show circles.
This year I shall be accompanying Mr Butler with his judging. The job is usually undertaken by village matriarch Irene , but she is away today. Trendy Carol was going to be asked to act as chaperone, as Mr Butler has a noticable soft spot for her, but she is unfortunately working. She will, however, accompany him at the show itself, ( no doubt wearing something reassuringly expensive! )

I shall post some photos of the garden entries here on this blog entry later!

I mentioned Winnie's new babysitter did I not? Well that is a kind of thumbs up for facebook I must admit. - in a short time The Prof and I are off to see his family in Kent. As usual the Olympian event which is the organisation of animal care had to be faced, and as usual , it never ran smoothly.
The Welsh terriers are off to kennels together, George has been booked in for his usual pampering by my sister and her dogs and Winnie was earmarked to go to the very comfortable home  of a bulldog fanatic and friend. ( bulldogs cannot with the slightly utilitarian nature of professional dog kennels)
Unfortunately my friend sort of let me down at the last minute so I resorted to facebook for some ideas.
Within 5 minutes of posting a plea for ideas, an ex colleague, and dog lover had messaged me with the offer of a week's  bulldog pampering ( subject to interview) so Winnie and I will be visiting her new babysitter to see if her pet dog gets on with the old gal.
" I can't off her four walks a day, but I can offer her a whole lotta loving"  the facebook reply said
The effective and positive side of facebook me thinks!

I'll post you some photos of that meeting later too!
Hey ho

The Queen's Speech

Going Gently has been somewhat downbeat recently.
and again the news today has been somewhat distressing.
It feels as though damaged, mentally fragile people around the world have been pushed into acts of violence by the atmosphere of fear and publicity of hate.
We all need some good news.
A bit of lightness.

Now, I feel it's time for another novelty vegetable photograph but I think I have received most of the entries I am ever going to. We have almost fifty of them so far which is a wonderful achievement! So if there is any outstanding can you send them in asap! Closing date for entries is Monday 1st August.
Here is one I have been sent but cannot enter because it was not the work of the person involved.....sweet eh?

Anyhow, like I said it's time for good news.
I hope this will set a few smiles back on a few faces.

As the secretary ( and  the Chairman) of the Flower Show it is my responsibility to find an opener for the day. The job of the opener is pretty easy. You come to the show, sit on your own dainty table with tea and cakes and give a speech extolling the virtues of showing your best knitted cardi or prize winning marrow.
The Prof gave a stirring address last year and before that the vicar did his bit, and over the years we have had the Chair of the community council, leader of the conservation group and local double barrelled county council representative to do the honours, but the one person who really deserved to open the show has always eluded us.

Auntie Glad, the committee member who has been with the show 44 years, would never want to make a speech in front of the village she has spent her whole life serving. She is , quite simply , not the sort, but over the past few months, as Gladys has faded and become more frail, I have spent a little time talking to her around her kitchen table, making notes about what she would say if it ever was to happen .

Of course Gladys would never make that speech herself. Her natural modesty, her deafness and now her blindness would never allow her to take such a role on.
" The job should go to someone important in the village" she said at last year's committee meeting
The irony of such a remark lost on her

A few days ago, I spoke to Gladys' daughter, who has the incredibly hard job of trying to support a frail old lady who possesses the fiercest streak of independence since Boadicea rode her chariot. I accepted that we understood that Gladys may not be well enough to attend the Show but I wanted her daughter to know that Gladys ( or more specifically her words) will indeed open the show she has helped run for going on half a century.

I will read out Gladys' opening speech this year., and I shall be incredibly proud to be doing so

It will be her memories that will will be shared.
It will be her thanks that will be given
And for once, in public, it will her that will be given the limelight, in what we perhaps expect will be her last show.

Open Range

Last night I watched the superior western Open Range ...it featured my favourite actress Annette Benning ....
If I was straight .....she would be the type I'd go for!
Natural, spunky and rather windswept

Who would  you go for if you were on the opposite bus?
Do tell.....

A Friendship Ended

As usual, it is the comments on Going Gently that have proved to be much more interesting and poingnt than the post itself. Such is the power of blogging and bloggers.
There is always someone out there with a more interesting story than yours.
If you get a chance read my previous blog's comments.
The story " Doc" left was, I thought a terribly sad one.
Two sets of best friends sit down at a boardgame evening. Over a minor disagreement over the rules one guy blows up, says some unforgivable things and storms out with his wife.
A long term relationship broken over sudden and unaccountable anger.
Now I understand why family members sometimes fall out, (The ties between relatives are not chosen links as they are between friends) but the break down of a friendship seems somehow much more sad to me .
Years ago, when I lived in York. I had a close friend I was very fond of. We played badminton together, sank pints in our local The Hole In The Wall together  and shared a love of cinema like geeky men do in their twenties .
He was a friend I felt I knew very well , so much so , that I was often welcomed into his parents home for meals and family parties.
Now, I know York looks rather scenic and quaint but like any city, it had it's darker side and I remember one night leaving the psychiatric hospital I worked at at the same time the nearby football team kicked out at Bootham Terrace.
I cannot remember what team was playing York, but I do remember the electric energy in the air as running skirmishes erupted between rival supporters in the terraced streets.
On the corner of one road, I could see three men scuffling with two others who were  in the doorway of a shop and I was flabbergasted to see my friend as one of the protagonists .
Our friendship ended there and then.
It was ended by my shock of the excitement and obvious enjoyment my friend showed in the violence  he was involved for it was like watching the face of a fox hound homing in on a running fox.
I was looking at someone I didn't know and didn't like .

He never saw me that evening, and I never explained why I dropped him as a friend soon after, which is something I still regret.
I just disappeared from his radar .
A friendship destroyed by a moment of madness.

Saying The Wrong Thing

YI'm tired.........and was not going to blog tonight........

I had an intriguing conversation with a colleague at work today.
She was talking about an arguement with a family member
And said that in a row, " there can be certain things that are said that never can be unsaid"
It's never happened to me
But it's an interesting premise
Has it ever happened to you?
What has been said that never can be unheard?

Weekend in work

Working all day today and tomorrow x

The Power Of The Dog

I took William to the vets today for his boosters and as we sat waiting we watched a man bringing in his dog to be euthanized. 

It was a dreadful scene to witness, and was as upsetting as anything I have witnessed on intensive care. 

The owner, who was presumably with his grown up son, refused to accompany the dog ( an elderly Labrador ) into the examination room and said his goodbyes in front of the half filled waiting room , with all of us sitting there with our pets trying not to notice.

" my girl......my poor poor girl" the man sobbed over and over again , 

His face pressed tightly into his dog's neck 

The younger man was equally upset and looked incredibly at a loss at what to do until the receptionist

thankfully ushered owners and dog into what looked like an office, to continue their goodbyes in private.

We could still hear the man's  sobs, with the door shut and one woman customer , almost in tears herself , quickly got up and walked outside. 

I almost followed her.

William sat quietly on my knee  watching the situation like All Welsh terriers do

And as I kissed the top of his head, grateful for his continued good health

This Kipling poem going around in my head as the waiting room customers and our animals sat in an icy silence

THERE is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find - it's your own affair, -
But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.
When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!),
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone - wherever it goes - for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear! 

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent,
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve;
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long -
So why in - Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear? 

************************************************************

A Quick note of thanks to end with 

 I must thank three friends who have sent a load of home made crafts, knitting and sewing to sell at the flower Show. Anne Marie, Kathryn Mc Glynn and June Taylor, all wonderful stuff...thank you all!

Jools' bean squid! 

And witche's chick! 

More Entries! Way to go!

 

Jacqs kissing tomatoes

Fish in the sea by Jacqueline

Joyce's cabbage man

gill's creation! 

Reality

Sometimes, just sometimes I would love to wake up in the morning feeling like 

Like this!

This morning after two days of no sleep due to the heat, one night shift ofertime last night

And a morning of housework 

I actually look like this

Who else feels as though they look like a bulldog chewing a wasp?

Notes to My 24 Year Old Self

I found this page from an old diary of sorts when I was sorting through a pile of photographs the other day.
It was a list, albeit a brief one , from a somewhat perfunctory interview preparation note to self.
The note was written on a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1986, when I was travelling up to York
The interview was in the first slot on the Monday morning at Bootham Park Hospital, which is still a beautiful Georgian , albeit empty, building just outside the city walls.
I didn't have much to say did I?
I had experience of nursing drug and alcohol patients.
I had a sense of humour!
I was calm.......
And I was arrrhhhhhhhh about everything.
And that was it!
How I would have loved to have sat alongside my 24 yar old self on that train
I would have loved to have told that young man a few truths and pointers.
This is what I would have said

1) Don't sweat the small stuff.
2) Buy a house as soon as you can afford to do so. ( Buying a small terrace house in York would set you up very nicely indeed for the rest of your life!)
3) Take on board that being gay will be  more accepted after the aids hysteria has died away, so much so that in only a half generation or so, gay people will be able to marry in the eyes of the law and with the acceptance of the majority of the population! ...how wonderful is that?
4) Travel more , experience more.......the world will soon become a very small place where everyone will have a phone that can give you immediate access to everything and everyone!
5) try to sort out your family shit , you are on borrowed time with loved ones and not so loved ones
6) dont waste time worrying about things you cannot change
7) When you are angry at something or someone say something
8) Buy a dog....don't leave it until you are 40
9) be loyal to friends , loyalty rebounds .
10) Have confidence and hold your head up.

Big Titted Tomatoes & Other Stories

32 degrees here in Wales ! 

Early this afternoon I went over to the Ukrainian village with extra water feeders. As I filled  the lurid purple paddling pool for the geese, I was suddenly confronted by three small white bantams who tip-toed out of the long grass from the direction of the graveyard, to drink

All three are very young. Well cared for and tiny and it was with some difficulty that I managed to corral them in Rooster Cogburn's old run. 

I have no idea where all three have come from. 

Irene and Sylvia are feeling the heat today and Have spent most of their time lying in the shade. I managed to grab Irene after offering her a tomato ( she goes wild over a juicy tomato! ) and I managed to relieve her of some wool by hand stripping her front quarters. Unfortunately Soay sheep are terribly temperamental and wild so I only managed a few handfuls before she was off like shit off a shovel.

Irene and Sylvia

And finally , thanks to Joyce for her big titted creation
( we need ten more please to beat last year's entries)

Oiling The Cogs

Islwyn the village elder is a bit of an odd job man of some note, and so it's not unusual for people to ring him up regularly in order to get something done about their house. Sailor John was an electrician before he retired and is, I am sure, well used to people asking for advice about wiring problems and the like and Animal helper Pat, an excellent seamstress, has been asked many a time to run up the hem on old Trevor's curtains
It's not as though people want things for nothing.
But brains and skills  are there to be picked sometimes.

Over the past few weeks , my nursing qualification has proved to be useful.
I have been asked to give my opinion on a patch of healing  skin. I have been requested to check if I thought someone had suffered a stroke ( they hadn't but I was correct in my diagnosis of an urinary tract infection) and only yesterday I was asked to call up to see the visitor of one of the Flower Show exhibitors who had cut her leg on the Gop, to see if she needed a stitch or two.
She did.

All simple stuff to be  sure but small favours do  " oil the cogs" in a community I always think.
The wife of the chap with the skin problems thanked me the other day for my advice...I laughed and told her she would be providing the blooms for the tea tables at the Flower show from her garden.
Seeing the girl with the grazed knee cemented good relations with her hosts and doing a few observations on the chap with a bad bladder led to a small bunch of summer flowers being left by the back door.

Oiling the cogs.........makes life a whole lot easier.

Update

Two international novelty " strawberries" from Claire

Meme

I've only just learned what a meme is .
On facebook you are often bombarded with these little snippets of nothing .
They seem to be always sent by people who don't generally write down their own thoughts.
I'm always writing down my own thoughts.
Too much too often some people say.
I saw this meme last night and over morning coffee I mused over who I would pick.

My beloved grandparents? My father , my mother ?
Someone famous from cinema or the arts ? Someone fantastic person from history?
A life saving scientist perhaps
Every person I mused about, I found a reason not to choose.

Then I had it. Who would I want to sit on a bench with. For one hour?
An hour of companionship .
An hour of peace.....
An hour of no explainations, no catch up sharing, no complications caused by the passing of time
I knew exactly who I would pick

I would pick my first dog Finlay

Hannah

The youngest member of the The Trelawnyd Flower Show Committee is now living in Spain with her family .
How wonderful she and son Milo have sent this entry in the International Novelty Veg class.
Our 2nd Spanish entry!
Thank you Hannah x

When WereYou last Badly Behaved ?

Have I got that right? I never know if it is When were you badly behaved last or when were you last badly behaved'? 
Anyhow I think you get the gist of my question.
Today's blog was sparked in part by the terrible Absolutely Fabulous  and in part by my best friend Nuala who blacked her eye recetly  falling off a pair of high heels after a somewhat lively night out with her family.
Badly behaved Edina and Patsy from Adfab are said to be inbetween 60 and 70.
My friend Nu is galm 50.
So the  question remains when were you badly behaved last?

It's around a decade since I was truly naughty.
I had quoffed too many white wines in All Bar One with my chic friend Bel Ami. He ended up flirting with the psychopath barman and swishing around the tables in a floaty zara outfit.
I fell down two flights of stairs like a sack of custard, and was only stopped from breaking my neck by the intervention of  a sturdy fire door.
Happy days.

I don't drink much now, but I was always a happy/ sleepy drunk when out on the lash. This was all a bit out of odds with my parents' behaviour for my mother always started a cambative arguement after too many gins whereas my father became somewhat amorous with any passing matron after a whisky or three
I'm happy I am always sleepily benign when pissed

I love watching silly and good humoured bad behaviour , and am reminded of a time when the Prof and I with some friends went to a classical concert in the grounds of Chatsworth House.
Everyone had bought picnics and wine and champagne, and in front of us were a rather refined group of 50 year old ladies all a little worse for wear.
Suddenly the orchestra started to play Mozart's A Musical Joke (  the fourth movement )  which to those,  not from the UK will not know, is the music used to front Showjumping programmes on tv!
Suddenly several of these very well dressed matrons got up and started to pretend to be " riding" horses , just like little girls do when they are six or seven. For the duration of entire piece they cantered around the circles of concert goers, their massive bosoms bouncing around beneath strings of pearls , and their faces puce with the exertion.
It was a lovely moment of pure idiocy

So dear readers, I know reactions will be many and varied
But when was your last alcohol fuelled naughty moment?
I can't wait to read them.....

What Fresh Hell Is This?

Well that was an hour and a half that I won't get back!
On a whim of nostalgic loyalty the Prof and I went to see Absolutely Fabulous -The Movie this evening. I didn't expect that much; film versions of half hour sit coms never come out very well.
But this effort, which is more reminiscent of the 1970's Holiday on the Buses, is truly, truly awful.
Whether it is the limp script or tired actors but the famous Sanders and Lumley chemistry is just not present and I spent 90minutes feeling rather sad for the desperation of it all.
2/10

Flirty..Flirty!

I saw the affable despot Jason this morning. He is off to the South of France soon and takes a pragmatic view on recent events. " Don't read the papers and don't watch 24 news on tv" he told me
" They whip up paranoia"
I agreed with him, for anecdotally,  I have noticed at Samaritans, an increase in calls from the mentally ill recently.
Personally I put this down to unrest and change as reported by the media. Terrorism , political upheaval, civil unrest.....it all takes it's toll on the fragile of mind.
Around the corner from Jason and his floppy hair, I met the postman who was discussing the Nice and Turkey events with Mrs J, Mrs P and Vera ( I don't know her surname initial)
Stout hearted characters all, but all worn down just a little by the news blasting it's fear into their homes every lunchtime.
" We need some good news" one of them chirped up and I agreed when I remembered last night's flirty and vivacious Ann Atkinson who is the new Musical director of The Trelawnyd Male Voice Choir. Her bon viveur certainly has brought a spring in the step of the testosterone filled ranks of the choir, as she oozes her sexy cougar charm in every direction.
This may be a salient lesson for us all.
Doom and gloom feeds on itself, what we all need now is some flirty good humour.

So who is your Ann Atkinson? Who would you like to harmlessly flirt with over a grand piano?
Who ( apart from spouses of course) could lift your spirits in this glum world
Answers on a postcard please!

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/woman-makes-history-trelawnyd-male-8608915

MVC

The Trelawnyd male voice choir  in the village hall this evening

They are in their summer t shirts!