Whimsy

What a frock 

Ok there are going to be spoilers!

Downton Abbey - The Grand Finale is a fitting denouement to a well loved whimsical franchise. 

It’s rubbish of course, padded and edited to an inch of its life, but after only two hours we have a happy and neat ending for over twenty characters, almost two dozen people we have got to love ( and hate) over fifteen years

Anna, ( Joanne Froggett, the nicest character on film ever)

Set in 1930, we delight in the fashionable deco age, with Lady Mary looking glorious in red and the family stunning in Ascot fashions. Edith Head would be suitably impressed here, she really would, for the visuals are stunning. Writer Julian Fellows takes the drama into an essay of change. 

Lady Mary is about to take over Downton after divorce , much to the horror of her father. Carson and Mrs Patmore are retiring, lady Merton is running the local agricultural show, Cora’s brother has lost his sister’s inheritance, and Guy Dexter returns with lover Barrow , and Noel Coward in tow…

What fun

You can just see where every arc will go, save for the delightful Lady Edith , who, in the absence of Maggie Smith is suddenly transformed into a wonderfully arch and straight talking foil for the baddie of the piece , she and Penelope Wilton have been gifted all the best lines and it’s a joy to watch both of them .

Get your tissues ready
You will cry real tears for the characters you have come to know so very well over the years…Edith and Mary’s sister scenes, Mrs Patmore with Mini me Daisy ,Anna’s goodbye to Mary oh lord it’s a sob fest)

A Scotch Egg On The Wall

It’s cold and rainy today 

And by just pure luck I spied a plastic bag on the kitchen wall

It it was a single, homemade scotch egg

The God’s are smiling on me today

Be still my beating heart.

I shared some of it with old Mary as Roger remained asleep

And jolly good it was too

A Sunday treat on an inhospitable Sunday

I’ve talked to friends this morning via teams and am due a catch up with Nige at three pm. 

At five I’m meeting my sister for the finale of Downton Abbey….is it fifteen years ago since the series started? How time flies.

I wonder who left me the egg? 

It was bloody lovely

Good News

This Too Shall Pass

I should listen to the Going Gently readers who have repeated this mantra time and time again, for I now  feel that my recent run of prolonged bad luck is now coming to an end. Today I received my certificate of acceptance to the NCPS  The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society. This means I can now officially take my own clients whether they be for the charity I freelance with or my own private practice

. 

 

Counselling Pal and Weaver the nasty

 I needed to go out for lunch 

I’ve worked 60 hours in the past six days

I met my old counselling student friend Donna at the Pen-y-Bryn in Colwyn Bay and her Scottish chutzpah and wisecracking energy was just what I needed today. 

She gave me lots of ideas for my counselling path as she is living her dream of going self employed and I loved the boost she gave me. 

We’ve been fellow “counsellors”for over three years now 

Tonight, it’s Bake Off and Sewing Bee, I’m relaxing with Bun, Roger and Mary on the couch with a gin

Weaver has just walked in after over 24 hours away to God knows where

She frowned when she saw us collectively and spat out a flat field mouse with considerable contempt before she stalked very slowly through the living room and walked upstairs to bed like Joan Crawford on acid 

She’s a fucking monster

Weaver Pat would be amused at her namesake’s antisocial bent 

This too Shall Pass

 Hello my friends, 

Phew, it’s been a difficult year so far. 

The recent threat of redundancy, has compounded worries of financial difficulties and complications in 2025, which has left me somewhat vague and distant and distracted at times. 

At 63, no one should experience such worries

No one 

I know several blog readers have reached out to me, sensing my worries and I’m grateful to them and to friends that have shown their offers of support and help without quite knowing what was going on in the usual whimsy world of Trelawnyd, Flintshire.

The gentle face full of sincerity from Mr Pozńan comes to mind

He and others have literally kept me going.

One foot in front of another

Bra straps pulled up to their straining limit.

Today, I’ve heard some news that financially I’m now more stable.

I won’t go into details but suffice to say it’s a relief

And relief is an understatement .

This time it’s not just serendipity that had seen me through,

It’s all my own doing,

But it’s a salient lesson of accepting the old saying 

This too shall pass

I’m working my fifth night in six tonight, and instead of feeling tired, I’m invigorated.

Trendy Carol’s hubby brought the dogs back after caring for them all day as I slept and affable despot Jason has called requesting further news about the village Show. 

My sister left a message too about going to see Downton Abbey 

And Chic Eleanor’s Darling I want you to come with me to…….voicemail has made me smile , rather broadly as I sit at the kitchen table with my bucket of coffee.

 The old John is back now. The one that isn’t frightened of what could be. 

The one that’s always pretending not to notice 

And I will leave you with this thought. As I  get ready for work ,I spy a large and rather foul smelling cat turd in the middle of my duvet .

Weaver stalked past shooting me her usual and you can FUCK  off expression 

And I am reminded that these animals will be the glorious death of me.

Lu

I lived in the picturesque city of York for three years in the 1980s. and remember my salad days at Bootham Park , the flag ship psychiatric Hospital , with much affection. Not only did I gain invaluable experience working on an acute admission ward and "mother and baby" unit; I had the fantastic opportunity of working  on a placement with the city's community alcohol and drug dependency specialist nurse.

Her name was Lu and she was one of those impressively quiet professional nurses that spoke little, but said a great deal (if you see what I mean?) A small , almost frail woman, she possessed a steely strength which allowed her to deal with a phenomenal case load of patients from a city which was renowned for it's158 pubs!

York is a tiny city, so wherever we went, we would always bump into previous patients who had fallen off the wagon, so to speak....and I never forgot just how dignified Lu was, when she had to deal with these inebriated and often emotional characters.

An overly guilty drunk can be difficult to handle, running away can illicit some embarrassing shouting in the street, while stopping to indulge, is patently a terrible waste of time for a trained counsellor to embark on.....

Lu, as I remember, always kept her voice low, firm and calm at these times. She would often use a touch of the arm to capture the blurred gaze, or to hush a garrulous mouth then she would always say the same thing
"Call me when you are sober, I will be waiting for your call" 

If she was pushed into a confrontation, she would always smile a non patronising smile at the former patient and would say with conviction
"Forgive me, I always make it a rule, NEVER to discuss work with someone who has  had a drink" Her words, strangely enough, were seldom disregarded

She taught me a great deal about respect......respecting people that have often lost respect in themselves


.....and she taught me never to argue with a drunk

Daydreaming

 Welsh terriers sit and think and watch.

It’s what they do

As I type this, Roger sits in the doorway. 

He’s been like this for three quarters of an hour now.

Listening to the workmen refashioning Trevor’s old bungalow, and the sparrows fighting together in the hazel hedge that separates my cottage from John & Mandy’s

I wonder if he’s thinking of anything in particular

The scaffolding is going up around the village hall and the roof and window repairs will be started soon, and even where we live, we can hear the metallic clinking of the metal poles as they are unloaded in High Street. 

I found myself daydreaming too, ages spent looking out into the garden, with the village noises, wind and birds one for company. 

I’ve decided that the best Disney song ever is this one 

Funny where your mind wanders to when you let it

Monday

 The lisping choir doing the BeeGeeS a tad surreal but welcome on a misty Monday morning. Autumn is here, and it’s remaining murky and darkish at 7 am.

Going Gently will be quiet over the next few days , very much it has on the last two nights . 

I can’t magic news, and no news is good news, like they say.

Let’s hope so…..

I’m up now after a sleep, tomorrow I’m on three nights, so it’s jet lag city

I’ve made meatballs from scratch .

I find a good tomato sauce is made better with a good tablespoon of blackcurrant jelly

gives it body.

Emergency

 I’m working nights and it’s busy

At three pm my phone made an odd, urgent buzzing noise

And although half asleep, the hairs on my neck stood up,

Mary didn’t stir

But Roger raised his head sleepily. 

Bun who was sat on my hip, opened just one eye and

Weaver as usual was out killing something large.

Thank God it’s not the Zombie apocalypse

Nothing much happened in Bwthyn y Llan 

Break A Leg

 My village website post from yesterday 

Calling all Welsh thespians !

We are putting on a talent based season review ( provisional date Friday 12th of December)

The review will be divided into roughly 5 minute slots and we would like a variety of performers ranging from singers, dancers, magic and comedy acts to renditions , music …the works.

We are inviting locals and those friends beyond Trelawnyd to join in and will be holding an open night at The Crown on MONDAY 22nd at 6 pm for any interested parties.

Not only are we looking for performers but we are asking for people with expertise of putting on such an event to lend their skills as well as anyone with lighting and sound experience.

Volunteers to work behind the scenes are welcome too.

This event is planned to be a bit of fun, if successful we aim to organise a village themed panto for 2026 in order to utilise our amazing hall to its fullest potential

we hope that village groups such as The Friendship Group, School, Youthclub, TCA , Green Group, and Jackson’s will participate also

Message me , or call 07845135466 for further information or see Linda in Well Street

Ps the Duchess of Kent died yesterday

Not only was she famous for her warmth and humanity

I loved the fact, that later in life , she was a music teacher in a elementary school , and worked incognito

How wonderful

A Thought

 I’ve heard death explained in many ways.

Some fearful, many hopeful

But I’ve never quite heard it explained thus

I hope death feels like…….

Being picked up from the back seat

And carried to my bed half asleep,

Where tucked in, and eyes closed,

I can hear those who love me, 

Talking through a cracked door

Isn’t that quite beautiful ?

A Kind and Timely Photo

 I’m in a strange, unsettled period of my life at the moment, most of which I can’t discuss here.

Im a fixer a sorter, a rescuer by nature. 

I’m also a people pleaser

And so when I’m feeling depleted, my go to position is not always a healthy choice for me.

For it depletes me further.

I’m not explaining this for anyone else but myself, I’m just reminding myself to regroup and to take stock

today, 

My friend Polly is on a conference in Barcelona and she has just sent me one photograph 

No words, no comments , just this photo

And viewing it, has nurtured every sadness, today has brought with it

The Fat Pencil Case

 My best male friend Mike is a Yorkshireman through and through. He’s not one for keeping in touch, a trait that used to upset me. 

It no longer does, as we are always the same when we meet.

His daughter is off to university this week

A wrench which, no doubt will hurt.

I bought her a pencil case today, and filled it with pens, blu tack, plasters, chocolate , haribos and other goodies. 

I hope it makes her smile just a little

And thank goodness…The Bake off is back 

More cultural, sexual and social differences you can shake your stick at but as usual the contestants have one thing in common, they seem a nice bunch

There’s no business like Show Business

 

A dozen or so villagers turned up for the Trelawnyd Show brainstorming session at the pub tonight.

Another seven gave their apologies.

After much discussion we agreed on the following 

A review Show will be planned for Christmas- a sort of mismatch of local talent 

The youth club, The Friendship Group, The Pub, Jackson’s Nurseries, The School, all will be asked to perform with acts and the gaps will be infilled by locals led by the likes of Affable Despot Jason 

Me and the Velvet Voiced Linda have found ourselves in charge and a further meeting will be held in the Hall on September 22nd at 6 pm

We are Robert and Linda Snell

Autumn

 Autumn is here, right on time. It’s rained on and off for most of the day and the grass of my lawn and the pasture in the pony field has gratefully devoured the moisture, like the cats do after too much dry food. The dry summer has crisped the leaves of the Churchyard trees, and already many are falling, blowing in the strong westerly winds whisking over the hills beyond the Felin. 

Trelawnyd is bracing itself for Autumn, and then winter, I think. 

I know I am 

I’m looking forward to the colder days, jumpers with holes in, comfort food and Bake Off.

I will be going to Spanish for Beginners night class and am thinking of organising a book club

The twins have never seen snow

Black cats surrounded by white look like cartoon animals I always think.

Dirty paw prints everywhere

Everything moves on

Time

The latest from the lisping choir

I think it’s their most beautiful piece and that note at the end,sublime 

Affable Despot Jason has volunteered to join in with the village theatrical review. He loves the thespian lifestyle me thinks.
His eldest is going to University soon
How does the time go? I feels only yesterday that I would babysit them after school
Two preteen girls who loved to cook zombie cookies, back comb William and brush Winnie’s teeth with my toothbrush
This post reminds me so much of those days
“Children notice everything”

We had just bathed and towel dried Mary and placed her back into her crate when Eve noticed a big blob of curry sauce on the oven glove which was looped over the oven door handle .
" Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh! " she called out rather theatrically " Wot's that?"
I made a show of sniffing the brown lump and told both girls that I thought it " smelt of poo"
Suddenly I had both girl's rapt attention
I poked the lump with my finger and lifted it to my nose
" yes it's poo!" I announced and as the girls looked on with surprised frowns
I popped my finger into my mouth
Screaming filled the kitchen.

Late in life , I have learnt the lesson that children love and need silliness.
And the " smuttier" and " dirtier" the silly activity...the happier they become.
Unfortunately I don' t recall my parents ever being silly.
When I picked the girls up from school yesterday afternoon, Eve asked if we could " smash the apples again" ....as " it was fun" We had picked apples from the orchard and had jumped on the soft apples with our shoes so that the geese could feed on the bits the last time they came around after school.

Last night , when affable despot Jason arrived to pick his girls up , he was faced with suddenly dipped curried digits and shouts of "Dad! I have poo on my finger" , and like all experienced parents he smiled a patient smile .
I covered the fingerholes before I replaced the curry in the oven.

MarisAna: an answer

 

The curtains in the hall have been replaced and are now functional 

Indeed they look splendid 

MarisAna asked about Michael Antonio Ralli, the man behind the construction of the Memorial Hall which took place nearly 120 years ago

And here he is ( the information below is from a post in 2012) 

Last night I went to the Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor Community Council meeting and in passing had chance to read a photocopy of the Prestatyn Weekly Newspaper dated the 23rd of October 1909.
In it was an article discussing an initiative by Mr Michael Antonio Ralli,who was the Greek Consul in Liverpool, to build our village Hall as a way of giving jobs and motivation to the local unemployed.
Ralli was a somewhat colourful character to be found in a predominantly Welsh village. He was a Greek from Odessa who made a small fortune importing cotton from Russia when American could not export it's own during the American Civil War and I find it fascinating that after a period living in London and Liverpool
he and his wife Polynmia, would end up dominating an insular and quiet backwater village.
A Ukrainian Greek as Lord of the Manor
How Exotic!

Trelawnyd ( or Newmarket as it was formally known) was Ralli's dream, he clearly wanted it to develop in status when he gifted the Memorial Hall to the village
The newspaper cutting eluded to that fact when it stated that Ralli's wish was to make Newmarket a "Garden City", a rather grand dream for a village of 600 simple souls, but a rather sweet one nevertheless.
 I wonder what Ralli would have made of the fact the Newmarket title was renamed Trelawnyd in 1954...
The "new" name was in keeping , I suppose, for it has a name that Ralli might of liked
.....Trelawnyd  literally  means " a town full of wheat"

Curtains

 The Village Hall is a big space to upkeep. The stage itself would compliment an average secondary  school, so today I helped the TCA Volunteers clear the stage in readiness for the new stage curtains which will be erected tomorrow. 

The Hall’s future has been secured by the Trelawnyd Community Association which has recently raised funds for repairs to be done on the roof and double glazing to be installed.

A great achievement. 

Now the velvet voiced Linda ( far left) has suggested a Christmas review featuring musical and dramatic talent from the village( after a gin and tonic of course!) 

We already have a dozen people interested in helping out 

What fun

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

 

The Storyhouse Production of TheAdventures of Sherlock Holmes is a triumph of comic timing, local gags and good acting. My sister and I had a blast tonight. 

Set in the outdoor Grovensor Park theatre, a modern day Sherlock ( Ethan Reid ) is a camp energetic and incredibly funny hero. Aided by a female Watson he faces a local murder at the Duke of Westminster’s Eaton Hall, a mystery which takes him to a Liverpudlian Irish pub brawl, the crypt of Paddy ‘s Wigwam and finally to a finale battle  full of nasty nun’s and a wonderfully evil Moriarty ( Eddy Westbury) 

A class act and great fun

Ethan Reid as Sherlock

The Thursday Murder Club

 

Cross The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with a bog standard Midsummer Murders and bingo you will have The Thursday Murder Club 

The film is bland, but fun, predictable and amusing and it’s a lovely afternoon film to enjoy with a friend . 

The plot is no more convoluted than a teatime Agatha Christie ,but we are introduced to four unlikely residents of an upmarket stately home sized retirement complex who have banded together to form a club which solves old cold cases “stolen” from the Met. 

Leader Elizabeth ( Helen Mirren) is a former director of MI5, Ron ( Pierce Brosnan) an unlikely cockney trade unionist.Joyce ( Celia Imrie) a retired nurse and Ibramin ( Ben Kingsley) a psychiatrist , all look like they have great fun solving the crimes with all of the gusto of the kids from Scooby do

Mirren, especially looks like she’s have a ball as she parodies not only her Prime Suspect tv days but her role in The Queen. She’s very good in this, as is Kingsley, and Imrie, and her scenes with her husband ( jonathon Pryce) who is suffering from dementia, has a sweetness to them which is incredibly moving .

Thin, escapist movie making certainly 

But it’s a fun and somewhat charming tv movie.

Well worth a visit