Treats,chicks and " Happy Birthday Mike"

Well it is long overdue for me to see Nuala in London, so today I managed to finally sit down and try and book myself a cheapo train ticket to the capital. Fat Chance............no cheap deals and an extended delay on the way home (rail works don't you know) would make a visit rather lacklustre, so I was delighted that Chris came up trumps and booked me a BA return flight from Manchester to the new terminal 5
The whole visit will now be a total treat! (except for the inbred train journey from Wales to the airport)- with a glass of wine in departures, a quick flight down, big chats with Nu, a theatre trip, a mooch around a museum, then a quick flight home.....bloody hell, all very cosmopolitan

Apologies for the quickly snatched pic of the first of Stanley's chicks, but I had to be quick so that the humidity in the incubator was not lost too much. You may be able to tell that at least three of the other white eggs are pipping away and almost free of their chicks, so we may have 6 or so out of the 8 eggs in there.The "nursery" is already set up in the shed with the heat lamp all switched on, so Boris and Grace who are still banged up in the big dog crate, will have a bit of company.

Finally I Just wanted to mention a quick "happy Birthday" to friend Mike.who is 41 today. We both must be growing up a bit, as for his birthday pressie (I always get him some sort of action big boys film on dvd...aka Spiderman or Hellboy ) He has asked for the adult Jonathan Creek box set...........

Have a good birthday matey.

An Emotional Romp

I have always enjoyed the opening ceremony of the Olympics; to be honest I love the self congratulatory, preening the host country always indulges in, in an effort to show themselves in the biggest and best light. It is always a showy, spectacular emotionally charged romp, and every year I always seem to have a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye.
In recent years I have two favourites game openings: Barcelona in 1992- with an opening breathtaking in a classy, arty and totally up market way (I loved the archer firing a flaming arrow to ignite the Olympic torch almost as much as Montserrat Caballé banging out "Barcelona" with the tiny Freddie Mercury hading behind her fifty foot dress)
My other favourite games had to be the 2000 romp fest that was Sydney. Two hundred drag queens dancing in front of Kylie (who was singing on top of a sixty foot flip flop) lent a certain warmness and self depreciating humour to the whole affair, which I always think was a kind of a first for the games.

You would have thought that the US with all its money and showmanship, would have produced some fantastic set pieces, but Atlanta and Lost Angeles, for me were the most disappointing games for all their excesses. China's opening today, was on the other hand, quite stunning; In fact the whole thing ticked most of my Olympic boxes. It was beautiful to look at, innovative ( The flame bearer "running" in mid air around the Bird's Nest stadium roof was a touch of genius) and not too cheesy.Oh yes we did have little snippets of pure emotion.......the 6 year old school boy hero of the recent earthquake walking hand in hand with the Chinese flag bearer left not a dry eye in the house, but generally the whole thing was wonderfully over-the-top. Best bit of the games for me.

Another mixed bag

I have picked the first of my garlic this morning and after a bit of fiddling have made a somewhat ropey looking garlic line. The kitchen which usually has the whiff of dog, now smells wonderfully of Italy.
Frank, from the Prestatyn horticultural society called in briefly to drop off some photos from the allotment open I must admit that the whole field has never looked better, even though it was the wettest day of the year

The eggs in the incubator (Stanley and the white hens are the parents) have started to pip in their shells. These will be the last chicks this year and the new females will be taking over egg production from the older poor laying hybrids.

Sad news today as Uncle Bert has been taken into Glan Clwyd Hospital after suffering a stroke. Things are looking rather bleak ( according to the family tom-toms) so what can you do? I called down and dropped in a card and some sweet peas from the allotment. A very small act of family solidarity.

Tim's 60th

Apologies for the crappy photo. We met up at Ann and Tim's for supper to celebrate Tim's big 60th. We have been debating what to wear at the fancy dress party on the 16th, and Chris and I have to start from scratch, in the search for new costumes as we received two of the most badly designed crappy "storm" trooper uniforms through the post today
Ann, Tim, Andrew and Jayne are all being rather secretive about their efforts so I had better get my finger out and get an alternative costume sorted.......
Had a few more late donations towards the open so final total is £ 271.00 ...........even the Parish Council Treasurer was impressed...but that's another story

Allotment open

From left to right Brother in law Tim,Sister Janet,Hazel,Mel and her mum,Polly (seated),Carole,Me,Chris, sister Ann,Arfon,Christine and Helen,Terry,Ann,John,Della and Mandy
Today I have been very touched by the kindness of people in general. Despite the torrential rain (which started exactly at 6pm, the second that the allotment opened!!!!!!!!) we had around seventy to eighty people turn up in drips and drabs to support our open evening.
Through the drizzle and dead on time, I was very moved to see the old ladies of the village slowly weave their way down the lane towards the field in slow ambling support of the evening.I said to Ann that the whole scene could have been taken directly from the film Whisky Galore! (1949). Auntie Glad ( below) at ninety braved the wet with a "spirit that won the war" mentality, and those that couldn't make it like Sylvia from the flower Show and old Mrs Jones sent a huge variety of cakes to sell and dish out.

Carole and Geoff made a ton of cakes too (William stole one half of a lemon cake from Carole's dining room table earlier this afternoon) and Geoff came into his own with constructing a gazebo and a make shift tarpaulin shelter as the rain really belted down.

Most of the visitors seemed to enjoy the experience. I had written brief histories of each set of birds from each enclosure and had placed them up on the fencing for people to read, and Janet and Chris manfully dolled out copious cups of tea and cake the large set of slightly damp and steaming villagers,horticultural society members, friends and family.

We sold out of eggs very quickly, and the veg I had dug up this morning seemed very popular

Polly (Hazel's daughter- second from left) took an active interest in selling raffle tickets and Frank from the Prestatyn horticultural society (right) as usual took a variety of candid shot of the event. Brother in law Tim is holding up Geoff's make shift shelter (I love this picture as Frank looks incredibly youthful and full of mischief

Beryl from the Village, another friendly face

The members of Ann's allotment group turned up in support too, Though I suspect that the England's ( above) veg knowledge is far superior to my own.

Michaela and Chris, nurses from ITU, called in which was lovely

Neighbours Terry and Ann and Mrs Jones' Son Arfon with girlfriend Della, caught in the best of the weather

Chris and Sisters Ann and Janet worked very hard, making the whole thing run very well and we are all delighted to have raised Over £232.00 for the Church funds. That's one in the eye for one of the more homophobic and un-Christian members of the village community that actively boycotted the whole event.Hummm you know who you are......

I had a lovely evening

52 Providence Road

Your First house is NEVER the house that you love the best. Well that's what I always think anyhow. Your second house, the home you perhaps plan for in a more considered and financially robust way, is often the one you have more affection for, even though you may move on to bigger and better things. In my case this is true. My tiny first home on Providence Road was an impulse buy in 1988, it got me on the housing ladder in the "credit crunch", it led me to the lovely terrace house in Wynyard Road in Hillsborough before Chris and I finally bought out first home together here in Wales When we called in to see Mike and Bev on Sunday, they gave me a clipping from the Sheffield Star, detailing the sale of my first home.http://www.thinkproperty.com/property/14656024 I hadn't thought about Providence Road in a long time, so today when I was slogging away in the allotment (tidying the beds for tomorrow's open day) my thoughts got to wandering into the direction of no 52. I bought the house when I was still a student nurse, twenty years ago and I remember that I was on placement on South 6 at Lodge Moor Hospital, which was a paediatric ward at the time the sale want through. The house cost 29,000 pounds and was originally on sale for 26,000!!!!!! Typically of Sheffield, I remember that a small bidding "war" ensured me clinching the deal. That little house witnessed a very happy time in my life.For the very first time I felt totally independent. I had a full and varied social life, many friends and an exciting job,I also had my own front door behind which I could feel safe and secure. Joan and Betty turned up in the garden to be adopted, Girlfriend Jane designed and helped make the garden (which sparked my interest in gardening) and for the first time I trolled the antique and junk shops of Walkley, in search of my own eclectic design style. It was a time of firsts. Providence Road, saw me coming out as gay, it was the constant in my career move into Spinal Injuries and provided me with the backdrop for the re bonding of a somewhat difficult relationship with my father a year before he died.I guess I am lucky to have nothing but positive memories of a simple two up, two down in Walkley.

The weather looks a bit ropey for the allotment open tomorrow, but I guess that even if there is torrential rainfall and no one turns up, at least I will have a score of cakes and a tidy field to show for it all. Mrs Jones sent over a fruit cake this afternoon in way of an apology for not coming tomorrow ( she had minor eye surgery done today) and Flower show secretary Slyvia is sending me one of her coffee bakes later, so there will be plenty of food available. The only small fly in the ointment is that Chris is serving the cakes, so I suspect it will be a"one for you and two for me" sort of thing going on.

Sad news flying around the village is that the missing man has been found dead on the Gop...such a shame.

The Search

The gop has been the scene of much activity today, as a villager suffering from depression has gone missing after leaving a suicide note. The police helicopter has circled the area constantly, and spent many minutes shadowing me and the dogs on our afternoon walk amid the trees which was an oddly weird experience.
This evening the mountain rescue volunteers have scoured the churchyard and allotment (even checking inside the duck house) and even later a dog search team has weaved its way down the lane checking the fields and woods west of Trelawnyd.
The noise and activity has unsettled the sheep and horses in nearby paddocks, and the sound of their bleating and whinnies has been rather spooky and this of course has been somewhat exaggerated bu the fact I have had not sleep and am feeling as usual rather jittery. Awful night shift last night, a multiple trauma RTA admitted.......I can't believe that Chris and friends like Geoff actually enjoy riding death traps that are motorbikes........

Catch up

Just had time this morning to catch up with Mike and Bev and Maisie for pancakes and muffins, before driving home to sort out the dogs and animals before another night shift....nice weekend!