Dog & Cat Snot Removal

 

I’m tired this morning

Very……

But it’s a nice feeling to know I’m not back until well after Christmas.

Today is the only day I’m nothing planned except sleep and clean cottage.

It will be no small challenge as the two Nazi kittens will be making Roger’s life a challenge as tail will be boxed and nose will be twatted as he follows them to every room in the cottage , ears pricked and natural nanny feelings invoked.

I am meeting Nigel in Liverpool tomorrow and the supper party is on Sunday, so operation animal snot removal is today

But only after a deep, wonderfully warm and long sleep

Christmas Past

 This was a blog from sixteen years ago

“ The cold crisp weather has lifted my spirits and galvanised my Christmasjuices. I received some pressies from Nia in Australia and from Nu this morning and the first "plop" of Christmas cards on the mat has meant that I can now start to hang the cards on their strings in the living room.

The fairy lights have been set up (much to the surprise of George) and Nigewould be proud of my now re decorated pile of gifts (in the Laura Ashley style) sat carefully next to the fire.
The scene is set!

I am very lucky, as I have only experienced one awful Christmas in my 47 years on the planet.
That was many years ago and I was working just before and just after Christmas day in Sheffield. I had just split up from a former and rather abusive boyfriend and had to face Christmas day on my own with a Marks & Spencer dinner for one and a great deal of self pity!
The day was more tragic than anything Anton Chekov could pen!
The other Christmas days have been lovely, and I recall that I have paid tribute to my mother on his blog before, for all the great times we experienced as children.
my mother pushed the boat out from December the 20th onwards. Tirelessly, she slaved over home made cakes and sweets, organised gifts, cards (with an almost computer precise special Christmas card "book") and of course over cooked the dinner for the entire family within an inch of its life. (The table was set out in the dining room the DAY before Christmas Eve)
She loved the season and it showed in the care and preparation she gave things, and that legacy has been handed down to me and I am sure to both of my sisters who prepare their houses like photo shoots from Home & Antiques!
Christmas time for some families can be a traumatic and unhappy time. My experiences have only been positive and warm.....”

And I stand by that notion I think, even though 2018 Chrustmas was a bust

I have been lucky when Christmases have been concerned

Have you???

Scene Of A Crime

 

At first thought I wondered if Mary had lost patience with one of the kittens.

Black fur covered the living room floor.

The place looked trashed.

Minutes later I realised that the twins had disembowelled a black Christmas decoration with all of the gusto of a Take That groopie shagging Robbie Williams.

Only a pair of googlie eyes were left

Al least no one got hurt

Jackson’s ( the plant nursery and shop, located just outside the village) left their annual gift of some flowering bulbs, which was sweet. They deliver them too, to every household in Trelawnyd which is a generous thought.

Pissed

 In college all day then met my family for a pre Christmas supper at The Crown. The meal was organised as my sister in law Jayne won’t be with us on Christmas Day, and the meal was rather good. 

Being on home turf, I drank five large Cruzcampo beers and felt quite pissed on the way home.

Christmas has started

A Handbag!

 A woman in a polished BMW drove into my parking space at Tesco’s in Llandudno Junction at lunchtime. I was waiting patiently for the spot after a dreaded 3 hour fire lecture at work 

And was hoping for a quick get in /get out scenario. 

She was wearing sun glasses too, 

On an overcast day! 

My dander was up

She waved gayly, shrieking insincerity 

That was until I yelled 

“Cheap Outfit !!! ( I couldn’t see her shoes ) 

And as she spun around to argue , I batted in my next insult of “ Goes with yer handbag !” With  gay abandon

Okok I was on thin ice as I was dressed in my useful and terribly over used blue Christmas Jumper, but I thought I’d take the chance

The handbag shot was an aside…but I could tell that it had hit home

as she scrabbled to see which one she had picked up

I will leave you with the adorable lisping choir

Santa is Knackered

 This is Dave Smith at the Trelawnyd Christmas Fair yesterday, he’s a good egg and always up to play Santa every year . It was obviously hard work as he dropped off halfway through the festivities, one I missed again by being on nights.

Lunch on nights

Night staff, we had out own Christmas Lunch and bloody lovely it was too 
 

The Holy Frijoles

On nights tonight, and as three staff are covering all of the others on the ward Christmas do we are having a shared Christmas meal Takaway in our break.

My Holy Frijoles nativity arrived yesterday which is useless but great fun.

There are nine figures, the same as my own family of stone people I made in pottery

I will leave you with this festive piece of Wicked

 

Gifts

 I’ve taken the day off from acting as counsellor today to regroup, recharge and re boot my Christmas December Jobs. 

The kitchen tops are filled with village gifts, wrapping paper and the like. Novelty tinned biscuits for Sailor John and Many ,a put together hamper for Trendy Carol and her hubby, a small something for Animal helper Pat, Christmas Decorations for the Randa girls ( Randa almost women!) bulb flowers for the velvet voiced Linda .

It’s nice to have ticked the box

Ive posted my Christmas cards too ! ( Bloody thirty pounds of postage! ….I swore in the post office) 

The kittens are in the living room watching reruns of The Walking Dead

The zombies seem to fascinate them

Soon I will be hanging the cards that came today. 

Counselling Day

 My personal counsellor is an eighty year old Irish Woman. She dresses in mountains of shawls, all pinned together at her shoulder by a large Scottish broach. She has dyed black hair which suits her and she uses her direct, compassionate stare to lethal effect when she needs to.

We meet regularly in a little market town in rural North Wales

For weeks she has walked beside me as I’ve analysed patterns of behaviour and emotion and has sat there all accepting  and empathetic when I’ve shared things no one else will ever know, or ever know on this earth.

To me she is a kind of Yoda crossed by Guinan and Ordinary People’s Dr Berger 

A quiet soul who has seen it all.

This was our last consultation until January and darkness had already fallen as we sat there .

After we ended today she held out a thin arm and we shook hands, her grip surprisingly strong

“ Happy Christmas” she said with feeling 

Her spectacles shining in the lights of her period Christmas tree, 

Which Sat cheerfully in the corner of her consulting room .

Angélique kidjo Jerusalema Notre Dame de Paris

This broke my heart just a little 

Ponies

 The ponies from the riding stables had broken out into Rhodfa Arthur just after dark tonight and an array of residents and riders blocked their escape onto the main road  by marshalling drivers to park their cars over the T junction .

The three ponies were spooked and unpredictable but eventually were herded rather spookily down the lane , past my cottage to their field past Trendy Carol’s house.

Good humour and relief was much evident in the air.

I love moments like these where people join together without thinking 

We need more of them 

Pineapple Chunks

 Ive finished the last of my Christmas cards this afternoon, and my mind wandered over a coffee at the kitchen table. 

I noted that I’d not sent my ex mother in law a Christmas card since my separation. I had not wanted to. Within a day she had cut me from her life without even a text and that had stung, and wounded me greatly.

But that was five years ago now and I was led by Going Gently to happier times

My memories wandered to a conversation on Broadstairs beach  

Sometime almost two decades ago

    “ The Prof's family have a beach hut on Broadstairs beach. They have had one for a couple of generations. Apparently you " stake" your beach area with judicial usage of chairs, wind breaks and an assortment of plastic furniture so that no member of the general public ventures within a gnat's crotchet of your encampment.....Think the settlement of Alexandria in The Walking Dead and you will get my gist......
The Prof made himself comfortable as Sorrel and I had a chat about nothing....these "nothing"conversations drive him to distraction.......which makes them even more entertaining.
Sorrel " I love slices mango and melon"
John: " Do you?........I am a bit partial to pineapple chunks myself"
Sorrel: " Really?"
The Prof " harrumphs" at this point.
John " yes......especially tinned pineapples"
Sorrel" thats strange, I would have thought you'd go for fresh

Brief silence

Sorrel: " Do you like raspberries John?"
John " I've gone off them a bit "
Sorrel " hum"
John:" they are a bit bland, the ones from the supermarket"

Sorrel " What about strawberries?"
The Prof then sighs very loudly and shifts in his deck chair
John" Oh I love stawberries ! ........"
Sorrel " I love them too"
Prof ( under his breath ) " oh For fuck's sake"

Long silence

Sorrel " John......what Are your thoughts on passion fruit?"
The Prof screaming into the wind " OH MY GOD........I WAS ADOPTED!!!!!!"

I smiled at the memory 

And on impulse wrote her a Christmas Card 

Pride

 I am always proud of Roger,  several times now he has been used to socialise overactive puppies. 

Through good humour and mirroring ( and a gentle telling off) he has calmed many young dog down 

This is him with Rory my sister’s new pup. Good natured and friendly

It’s Sunday and we all need some lisping choir to blow Darragh away;their children’s version of Carmina Burana is quite delightful.

Darragh

 Darragh woke me around 3am. 

I’ve lost one slate from the roof so far.

South of the village , at Mia Hall several large trees had been felled, almost closing the main road.

I cooked sausages for lunch, giving Mary and Roger one each as a treat 

And before going to bed ( I’m on split nights this week which is a bugger) I lifted my Christmas Wreath from the wall and brought it in. 

My sister made it and if you look closely you can see two black kittens plating in the foliage 

Storm Darragh

 Leaving work, there was an ominous red sky in the morning view across the bay towards Trelawnyd ( far in the distance ) 

I replaced Bluebell’s windscreen wipers ( served by a snide workman from Halfords ) then drove to meet and old friend for brunch at Chester’s Grosvenor Garden centre which was a bit of a nightmare at times as it felt packed with focused grey hairs fighting for table space. We held our ground at a small table and had a lovely talk and an average fish and chip brunch.

Tonight I’m writing Christmas Cards 

Storm Darragh approaches

Going Gently Christmas Card

The first one is an AI wish

The second is an I remember 

 Going Gently

Namely John, Mary, Roger, Weaver and bouncy Bun 

Sends blogland 

Our Christmas Greetings 

For 2024

Thank you for cards received 

I’m hanging them in an effort to surround the living room as per!

Conclave

 If you want to see an intelligent, tense and enjoyable thriller go and see Edward Berger’s Vatican based drama Conclave.

It’s a great ride.

Conclave is the claustrophobic Sistine Chapel based event where some 160 cardinals vote in the next Pope, often over a much protracted period of time .Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Lawrence a loyal and principled manager of the Conclave. Although eligible to be Pope himself , he oversees the run for promotion with diligence and fairness only questioning all of the top delegates when troubling information alights some of it from the dead Pope himself. 

This “ whodunnit” features some cracking scene stealing characters. The African Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) confident in his continent’s support, the fiercely ambitious liberal Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), the flamboyantly traditional Italian Cardinal Tedesco ( Sergio Castellitto ) who steals one scene by puffing on a vape! and the obsequious American Cardinal Trembray ( John Lithgow) all want the Papal position but each are thwarted by the twists and turns of a plot which is satisfyingly advocated and superbly played by Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence. 

It’s a wonderful performance , one of Fiennes’ very best in fact and the whole film is beautifully choreographed and shot by Stéphane Fontaine , who makes the most of the Papal uniforms and wonderful Vatican City backdrop.

I loved it. 

Bunlove

 

Last night Bun did the cottage proud 

As I was watching I’m a celebrity .Mary slowly walked in front of fire to warm her old bones 

And Bun walked with her, her paw swatting Mary’s tail as it dragged on the floor.

Mary drew her teeth, for a moment then Bun let go conceding defeat 

And the sisters sat together for a while, side by side

Quietly and gently 

Assisted Dying

 I’ve been asked several times now about my thoughts of the assisted dying bill which was debated so eloquently in the commons recently 

I am clear in my response to it

I am against it

And I will tell you for why

Dying is a normal progress, but it can illicit difficult symptoms which can be a challenge to live with. 

Good and proper palliative care can rectify most if not all of these symptoms, but this care is at best patchy and at worst non existent so it a lottery for many that they receive prudent end of life care.

The government needs to fund hospice care properly for this to start to happen.

Everyone should have access to the hospices’ ability to control pain, and breathlessness, delirium and agitation and fear and anxiety 

And that has to be done before we enter into the minefield of giving end of life patients medication they have to take themselves

The paralysed, the Motor neurone, the CVA patients , who it could be argued all need this bill passing more than anyone else , will at the moment never “ benefit” from it so let’s bench mark care to a good standard universally before we set a standard for those who’ve had enough