On the phone to Nu this morning.
Bucket of coffee
Extra shift this afternoon
Being watched by the troops
News
Yesterday’s post didn’t need adding too.
I found the whole thing incredibly moving.
I’m at a study day in Bangor today which is at least an hour’s drive for me here in Trelawnyd.
It will be a long day as after the study day, I’m in college which is least on the way home. I won’t be back to the village until after 9 pm. Thank goodness for Trendy Carol and her hubby who will be dog sitting.
Yesterday was a self care sort of day.
I jet washed Bluebell and spring cleaned her interior, which pleased me greatly.I made a sort of Thai noodle thing with half fat coconut milk for today’s lunch and a spiced butternut squash soup for my tea.
I washed and repaired my broken gargoyle and placed him in the inglenook and banked another 400 pounds in sponsorships for the memorial hall windows .
And my friend Colin texted with pictures of our shabby chic hotel in Venice which has been all booked and paid for ……what fun…Venice,
To be fair most people go on holiday for 2 weeks , I’m having three , three day city breaks instead …( as well as three London visits , one with my sister Janet to re visit Les Miserables and one to the Royal Opera House to see La Traviata with Nu for her birthday ! ( Shussshh don’t tell her )
Anyhow last night Roger climbed into bed in the wee small hours after something had frightened him in the kitchen around 2 am . He always chooses to sleep there in order to protect the cottage but sometimes his nerves fail him and a strange noise will have him scurrying upstairs in order to ask for a cuddle
Last night I think it was an owl in the churchyard
It’s been calling for days.
He then slept curled up , under my chin, after he patted me awake.
He slept
With his eyes tightly shut as children do when they cuddle up after a fright.
Rob’s Back
The Archers has been all a bit flat recently . Jennifer Aldridge’s sudden death was shocking enough, Ben ‘s mental breakdown is almost forgotten and Chelsea’s bounced back rather quickly after her abortion so I wasn’t surprised that we are being prodded by Easter eggs premonitions that psychopath Rob Titchener maybe lurking back in Ambridge to haunt poor boring Helen and her dreadful boyfriend Lee
The “Rob” arc in The Archers was seven years ago now, and it was , to be fair, a rather gripping storyline for a radio soap opera.
My predictions for the drama is that Rob will return and that Lee will turn out his victim
Mark my words
Emergency
Well come the zombie apocalypse I’m fucked
The Government warning obviously didn’t reach Trelawnyd even though the village does have an emergency plan, where the Memorial hall ( with its own generator organised by the TCA ) will provide the village with a powered emergency shelter and mini hospital.
No alert on my phone at 3 pm
Not an effin sausage
The Pond
It was rather fine at lunchtime so helping to weed the pond wasn’t arduous or unpleasant
There was something rather nice working away alongside old friends and the space looked lovely when we had finished
Village leader Ian even saw a frog and As Nick brought the coffee , Bridget sorted out her “own” bara brith
I was so sore after the exertion …..shows my age lol
A Thong For Europe, Pond, News and Flis
I am lucky, living in Wales near the border as it’s only 29 minutes ! by car to Chester and only an hour or so from Liverpool.
Last night I bought tickets for A Thong For Europe at The Royal Court , now I knew what I was getting into ( the title somewhat gives away a degree of dumbing down) and I was right.
Think of a Liverpudlian pantomime on steroids set against the backdrop of the City’s venture into Eurovision stardom and you may get the gist.
Writer Jonathon Harvey loves his grotesque, matriarchal characters and Lulu ( Lindi Germain) is not a stones throw from Linda Ha Hughes ( His Kathy Burke Character in Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie) she opens the show with a bang, when she gives a hilarious and foul mouthed eulogy for his mother in church , a mother who loved Eurovision and whose ghost will haunt her is she cannot scatter her ashes on the Eurovision stage.
I think you are aware of the the level the musical is heading for from its opening moments and despite its silliness , the foul mouthed, Liverpudlian humour hits you between the eyes from the get go and it is what it is. An affectionate look at Eurovision from the eyes of a dysfunctional family of stereotypes.
Harvey throws everything at it , with a selection of iconic Eurovision entries to get the crowd clapping, a bizarre and rather amusing appearance of a Sonia lookalike ( Sonia is a one trick UK Eurovision entry from Liverpool in 1993) and more scouse humour than could be seen at a Ken Dodd convention .
The mostly female audience , several of them almost collapsing drunk, were out for a good time , and boy did they have it, ( a fact that reminded me of my recent post of bad behaviour in theatres)
But the whole musical was frothy, happy rubbish , so nobody cared too much .
I was home just before midnight, which wasn’t bad timing, even on the occasional school night. Liverpool has a good selection of theatres too, which perhaps I’ve underused over the years. …time for a change me thinks.
Anyway I’ve had a nice, busy and enjoyable week off so far.
I’m about to go and join a few more volunteers and will weed the pond borders shortly.
That will be about it for today.
And I will post some photos shortly.
I also note that blog commentator Flis has been absent for a while. I understand that one troll has taken a dislike of her comments and often says so, which is rude, nasty and bullying behaviour. Flis has gone quiet and I want her to know that she is always welcomed here.
End of.
Now I’ll end today on a light note. And a happy one.
Facebook has a memory app thing that shows you posts from years ago.
These photos were sent to me the other day .
They are from a sunny afternoon when I babysat the Randa girls one day and I decided to show them how to blow and decorate goose eggs
A precious memory now the girls are grown up now.
Little Women indeed.
Spring Cleaned
The front room has been spring cleaned and Chic Eleanor , the queen of style
Gave me a massive compliment when we were out for coffee this afternoon
She told me I had a talent for the attention to detail
Coming from her, that’s praise indeed
Local News Strong Women
As I am one of the TCA trustees I was asked by the secretary of the village Friendship Group if I would write them a letter of support for their forthcoming applications for community grants.
I jumped to attention and completed the letter as quickly as I could as it was requested by respected village elder. Now The Secretary has always frightened me just a little. She is an assertive soul, a lady who has been big in the village church for years and I suspect a lot has been achieved because of her professional and cool approach to problems and needs.
In a war She would have been a bloody godsend .
I love the Friendship Group, to me they have always thought laterally and for a group for older people , they still have a membership of over 65 people which I think is fantastic.
Only a few years ago , they had a belly dancer show on one of their meetings in the hall , which I remember well as I listened to the belly dancing music from outside as I took the dogs for a walk and wondered just what the fuck was going on inside…..the applause and cheering was deafening lol .
Just to add to some local colour Irene Murray who has helped run the Friendship Group for 40 years , helped me run the Flower Show for years ( and with Sylvia Evans before me ) and my headstrong and sorted soay ewe was named after her with good reason
Irene
And Irene.
Yesterday I dropped in some flowers to another neighbour who I have just heard has been rather unwell. Flowers are not a panacea to all ills but they are pretty and they underline your best wishes well .I’m a firm believer in flowers as gifts, they say more than words often can .
The sponsorship of the memorial Hall windows , continues to be a success , one lady rang me yesterday to see if I could change which window she was allocated in memory of her parents and of course I said yes.
She asked me to allocate her a window which overlooked her mother’s former house because It meant so much to her. These things do so much don’t they ?
Today I’m spring cleaning the living room and as a treat afterwards I’m meeting up with another of Trelawnyd’s women Chic Eleanor for coffee.
The front room rug has already been washed and is drying in the sun on the front lawn
I’ve not heard the calves this morning as yet, which is strange as the living room windows are open wide and a cool breeze is flowing through the cottage like an avalanche
Swimming the Channel
Bluebell broke down again today which was more my fault than hers. The same easily mended issue with the gear stick which I promised myself I’d sort two months ago. The RAC man should have bollocked me but he didn’t and I was on my way within an hour.
I’d broken down next to the pond in the next village, So the hour turned to be incredibly relaxing.
I rearranged the inside of the car, moved lunch with my friend to Friday and arranged a visit to see old Trefor at his nursing home in Rhyl later today.
I found some general purpose wipes and washed my face and in a fit of self care rooted into the glove box and found a container of face moisturiser accidentally left in the car by work colleague.
Without really thinking I took a huge scoop and lathered my face as though I was about to swim the channel then looked up through the windscreen.
What was I thinking?
Walking towards me, not ten yards away from Bluebell were three hikers.
I rubbed my face and the bloody stuff didn’t disappear as I expected it to, so when the hikers came to pass me they saw this face looking back at them
I shouldn’t be let out I really !
This afternoon I fared better. I bought a selection of newspapers and visited Trefor at his residential home. He looked and sounded well and looked immaculate at nearly 99 in a clean shirt and dressing gown
My hoodie had great globs of moisturiser down the front of it
Cries for mom
Opposite the cottage is the Church Field.
It was gifted to the Church as an overspill of the graveyard, but as the Church is closed and the county no longer extends graveyards, I am sure at some stage the land will be sold.
Presently an old school friend has ponies grazing there.
Beyond the field are the livery stable fields.
The stables are grazing a gaggle of young cows at the moment, all of whom have recently left their mothers.
The noise of their calls for their mothers is almost chilling at times, especially in the middle of the night.
They started a few days ago, around 1 am in the morning.
One caller bellowing in the dark followed by another and another.
Roger woke from downstairs and raced first to me and then to the window seat, scanning for where the noise was coming from. He was joined by Albert and before long we were all awake listening.
There is something incredibly sad when the young call for their mothers, especially at night when the cries are lost in the dark and the wind
They are still calling this morning.
Anyway today, I’ve decided will be a productive day. I’ve bought some printer ink and will be printing out the first of the TCA certificates to send out to the villagers who have sponsored windows in the hall.
Each person will have a thank you letter, a certificate naming their sponsored love one and a map detailing which pane of glass is theirs. I have also purchased some large rigid enveloped so that the certificates aren't bent.
The kitchen looks like a mini production line.
It’s college later tonight too, we are being filmed using our counselling skills !
Note to self , find a clean T shirt. And remember the camera puts on ten pounds.
It’s weigh day today and I’ve lost nothing more this week , which was to be expected as I’ve had dinner and tea out twice last week. I’m not disheartened at all, I will catch up next week.
The printer is clattering out certificates like a good un
And above the noise and activity in the kitchen,
I can still hear the bellows of the calves from beyond the pony field.
Explain
Today’s mood stemmed from a text I received from my friend Faisal who left for South Africa this morning
It was polite as Faisal always is and the message thanked me for my “friendship” and “ guidance” and “patience”.
I’m not known for my patience, that comment surprised me.
Faisal is gay, but apart from turning up at our gay book club a few months ago ,never really admitted he was to my face, having said that he spent much of our conversations talking about and asking questions of my gayness. Something I let him do because it was obvious easier for him to do so.
We only met four times
He has now left the uk for an asexual if not “straight” lifestyle in rural South Africa with his parents and siblings .
He is expecting an “ organised “ marriage too at some stage, and. made a point of telling me that marriages were more organised than arranged in his family
I missed the difference.
He’s in his forties, and his family have reeled him back home again
And as I hugged him goodbye I kissed him on the cheek and felt incredibly , incredibly sad I didn’t have him here for longer
Still Life/ Busy Life?
A still life , if ever I saw one
I’m waiting in my second favourite cafe in colwyn bay waiting to meet a friend
They are running late,
I’m drinking coffee listening to my phone songs, and have left the dogs exhausted on the reading chair after their morning walk
I’m on holiday this week, though I have a study session to go to at work this afternoon and it’s college tomorrow. ( I passed my second assignment btw which is nice)
In between I’m meeting an old school friend for lunch, there’s Gay book club too and a Liverpool trip to see the oddly named A Thong For Europe with Colin, a comedy play about Eurovision.
I’m catching up with old Trevor too at his new nursing home, going to the TCA ‘s sub committee meeting, sending out the window certificates and going to see a Spanish horror film Pearl which has a very limited run over here.
But it is what it is
If my mood was musical this is what it would be
I’ve ordered more coffee and I can just now see my friend ambling along towards the cafe without a care in the world.
Heyho
The Night Of The 12th
I went to Chester this afternoon after exhausting the dogs on another long walk in Bishop’s Wood
I got there around 6pm and treated myself to pad Thai noodles at the Chester Market before cinema at the Storyhouse with friend Faisal , a day before he leaves for South Africa .
We went to see The Night Of The 12th an intelligent and unnerving version of a true crime case set in France where a country teenage girl Clara was burnt to death by an unknown attacker.
The case is taken over by new police chief Yohan (Bastien Bouillion ) who is an odd, intense character who finds verbal support somewhat of a challenge . His second in command Marceau ( Bouli Lanners) is a burnt out, about to be divorced, cop in so need of counselling support from his boss so things are not looking good as many suspects are unearthed but no progress is made with arrests .
The film is a fascinating journey looking at an in-depth , forensic but intimately unsuccessful investigation and it explores the terrible toll a murder investigation actually has on its human participants , namely the police team involved, especially as no result is actually found.
Bouillan and Lanners
It’s a long story but I gave Faisal a chased kiss on the cheek goodbye
at the end of the evening
So sad
Mindful
I was never one for houseplants.
True, I have an aspidistra who is at least 40 years old and a flowering cactus almost that age , but these two are surviving more from luck than from design.
Since lockdown I have collected houseplants and the best bit of advice I have had looking after them came from the postman, who one day complemented me on my collection.
When there’s a warmish rainstorm , put all of your plants outside for a long shower
It’s labour intensive , but it doesn’t half clean and nurture them
So that’s what I have done this morning. Set the plants in the rain and then returned them one by one when they were wet and really green again.
I know repetitive and somehow quite mindful.
This respective, mindless behaviour is a useful mechanism to employ when stress is in your life. I’ve always used it at work when things got too much to handle. I’ve gone to the drugs room to clean the drugs trays or move the laundry around or clean the dressing trolleys.
Washing dishes is a mindful chore too
It’s done with the above view of plants and flying gull and of pretty crockery and moving the plates and the knives from hot water to cold rinse let’s your mind unwind and slow down.
My grandmother hated ironing clothes, she said that it “ slowed down the brain”
Now it’s therapy
The Kindness Of Strangers
The film lecture and discussion was animated and informative. It was also fun and three hours flew by like a swift in summer. I was put into three break out groups , the last of which was dominated by a very chirpy lesbian from London who stopped us in our tracks by inviting us all to an on line meeting directly after the class was over. Her reasoning was to celebrate the birthday of one of our “classmates” a chap called Paul whose 68th birthday it was today.
He’s on his own and if you you are free for a bit , grab what drink is in your fridge and pop along she yelled excitedly
And that’s exactly what 35 of us did, much to Paul’s tearful surprise.
Various hastily opened bottles of wine, gins, a few coffees, and one very indulgent bottle of bubbly from a rather exuberant chap from Buxton were decanted and I found a tin of espresso martini in the fridge which I emptied into one of my antique champagne glasses before we logged in to meet again.
Even the lecturer joined in and it was the silliest and sweetest thing I have done in a long time.
At one point Paul, ( who was a retired charity worker from Wimbledon ) made an impromptu speech sharing how depressed he had become over the winter and how cinema in particular had kept him going in the bleakest of moments and he asked us to raise our glasses when he quoted Jean luc Goddard and said“ Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world”
And from all over the UK came the chink of glasses.
Film Nite
This morning I took the first collection of money collected from the Memorial Windows to the clerk of the TCA at the Saturday coffee morning .
As usual all the tables were full, and I could see as well as cake , there were homemade sausage rolls on the menu.
Mrs Trellis put one in her handbag.
I said hello to a few people and collected another two sponsorships before coming home, I have an on line film course starting at 1pm.
The next event for the TCA Is a film night, which was the brainwave of Bridget who has secured a projector and a screen. Unfortunately I’m working night shift on the 29th but I will try and change it.
(It’s still cool but there is a bright blue sky over the village.
One of the ponies neighed at me when I got home .
Cuddle Time
Most evenings the trendy blue sofa is full of dogs, cat and me.
It’s the nice part of animal ownership , where the pack quietly comes together for a bonding sleep, usually at the very end of the day when bellies are full and everyone is in need of a physical and psychological cuddle.
Dogs remember their litter feelings , as much as we miss being cuddled as children
Last night , I spent the evening FaceTiming friends as the pack dozed.
I thank covid for this “new” phenomenon
Chatting when you can see the person you are talking to
Is a great bonus when you live alone
They are in the room with you!
Always!
On Saturday I’m taking part in an interactive zoom discussion / lecture on gay cinema. We had to share what films we would like to discuss and my suggestion of The Object of my affection has been accepted.
I’ve always loved the novel as well as the movie and how they views love
This quote from the novel, I’ve always remembered and been touched by
"Often, what's most attractive about a person is that part they're trying hardest to conceal, that part they think is least likable. You find out about it and it becomes a secret bond between you, something you never talk about but hold close to your heart and are continually touched by"
My trip to Barcelona Is booked and sorted. I’m going with an old girlfriend which I know will be easy and fun and I hope I can book a cooking lesson on a Spanish cooking day I found through another friend.
Like the dog’s cuddles, the break will be total therapy and will be totally embraced.
I FaceTimed my friend and we giggled like schoolgirls about the holiday today.
It’s doing me good ….already
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice *sort Of was a bit of a romp last night.
A comedy version of Austin’s novel played from the perspective of five maids who Reinact the the lives of the Bennett family and their romantic connections with Wickham, Bingley and Darcy.
It’s clever and incredibly well acted and has comic timing to die for as the five leads play four of the Bennett sisters, and all the other main characters sans Mr Bennett who we only “see” silently sitting behind his newspaper.
The maid thing, is a loose connection as the novel is deftly covered from start to finish without much input from them. Mrs Bennett (Dannie Harris) is now detected as a potty mouthed, drunk with an east end accent where as Lizzie( Emmy Stonelake) is a buxom Welsh Nessa with hefty calves and who bursts into Carly Simons’ You’re so Vain when she meets Darcy for the first time.
So you get the idea
It’s all very silly, and well done.
But as the audience clapped away at the cast belting out Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero, I couldn’t help thinking it was the froth that many audiences want right at this moment and although I laughed , I’d seen enough by the end of the first half.
So what today?
A bit of shopping, booking flights to Barcelona too…..it’s cold so I’m making soup too.
Hey ho
Family
I took it today to send to their granddaughter after lunch was done
It’s been a nice day
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