Is she or isnt she?

Well took Meg to the vets to find out if she is pregnant and the verdict is........( long, long pause as in the style of Strictly come dancing) , is that she may be! The elderly vet in Caerwys Mr Sargent had a good "feel" and said yes then ultrsounded her and said "hummmmmmmmm perhaps not". Anyhow the upshot is that she will be re scanned in 2 weeks. It was a pleasure to find such an old fashioned practice; no computers, no appointments only,no cheque card required....a real bast from the past- all very James Herriot!.


Lovely afternoon. Chris took me to Chester from a bit of Christmas shopping! Had a lovely meal at Duttons (pic) , and a couple bottles of vino blanc. and home by 7.30. Working over the weekend so no blogs till monday....watch this space...

James Bond and a very weird experience

Bond is back - back to the beginning, with a new adaptation of Ian Fleming's first novel. Bond, now hard-edged and slightly less sophisticated in the capable hands of grim-jawed, azure-eyed Daniel Craig , only wins his spurs as a double-0 agent with his first two kills at the start of the movie (although its events are now set in 2006). Casino Royale (2006) pays homage to a Bond we have never seen before, a "realistic" and "damaged" individual, who doesn't always has a silly quip or gaget to get him out of trouble. We now have a talented "physical", more vital professional killer, who dominates the screen in a very different and exciting way than Moore, Dalton and the more campy Brosnan ever did. Craig ( Born in nearby Chester by the way). captures the right mixture of charm,toughness and ego, and I was quite bowled over by him! Chris was less impressed, giving the whole film 5/10, while Janet gave him and the film a definite thumbs up. Judi Dench, was excellent also as M, but the bond girls , Eva Green ( as the wonderful sounding Vesper Lynd) and Caterina Murino ( as Solange) were so-so! I gave the whole thing 9/10!

Yesterday had a dream about leaving my footprints in wet cement then being aware of a murder that actually did occur at Prestatyn's duck pond in 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1944329.stm
I gave the dream no thought until I walked the dogs down the beach.
We walked in an area of the Promenade that I have never gone, and suddenly there in the cement of a recently repaired part of the defenses were large men's footprints! Weird eh? anyhow the view broke my dream, and my surprise was increased later in the day when I bought the Daily Post and the story of the "Duckpond murderer" escaping his hostel in Wrexham was splashed over the front page! isnt that weird?
hummmm.........

What's all this blogging all about?

Had a good think about blogging this morning during the dawn walk, why do so many people feel negative about it all? Some of the comments and questions put to me are:-

Q: How can you put all that personal information on the net?
A: I don't put very personal thoughts down, just the ones I choose to. My blog is personal to me , to be
enjoyed by me. If you don't agree with it then don't read it.
Q: How do you have the time to do it?
A: It usually takes around 15 minutes a day, the same time to have a cuppa or watch the news.
Q: It always seems a bit saccarine (sp?) don't you think?
A: Blogs often are areas in which to vent your speen as it were and I think that is a constructive thing to do!
for me, I prefer generally to share the nicer things in my life or the ordinary things I see and experience,
again if you don't like it, dont read it.

off to dry stone wall at 9 am.....

Non day

Well, it has pissed down all day today! awful! You could hardly see your hand in front of your face at times.Nothing really done today except the odd job! Judy came for tea which was nice and watched an odd programme about "How fat is your dog?", or something rather like it...which was strangely sad.

I do like the latest Marks & Spencer Christmas TV advert, with that old strumpet , and diva Shirley Bassey, blasting out one of her hits in a red dress which seems rather too big for her. Very James Bond!!!

Walked the dogs as usual at 10pm, and love looking through the cottage window at night, the place looks lovely& cosy.

By the way Meg does look fatter & happy Birthday Johnney H x

Mixed bag, Aunts and a lost phone

Busy day today, went down to Prestatyn, to pick up a load of logs from Judy's garden. My aunt has very recently lost her mother and is having a difficult time. ( This seems an universal problem at the moment!) so was glad to chat, she is coming up for tea tomorrow and does so, often on Sundays. My Uncle Tom, who was a diminutive affable and benign character has been dead 13 years, and Judy has been alone since then-a relatively young woman. Glad to hear that she has booked a luxury cruise ! the Liner looks like a dead ringer for the ship in the film Poseidon, I am very envious.

Planted a load of bulbs in the dry stone wall opposite the cottage , and will be shown how to lay such a wall by the elderly bloke that is repairing it, later in the week , which I am looking forward to. Found some pink pansies at the market garden and planted them in the
garden and then stacked the woodpile behind the cottage , which almost buggered up my back again!

Lost my phone last week! AGAIN!!! can't believe it as I was sure I had it in my car before I caught the train to Sheffield. I wish I was more careful and organised as I have never made a copy of all my friends' telephone numbers. Amazing that ten years ago I never had a phone and swore that I would never get one! now I miss its loss dreadfully!!!! sign of the times eh?......

Sex and the city, (albeit Sheffield)

Caught up with "The Girls" in Sheffield and was glad to do so for Kim's sake as friends are just what she needs at this moment in time. So like Carrie Bradshaw, Kim is talented, sexy and cute. Sarah like Miranda is smart and sassy and like Charlotte, Joy is optamistic and warm. That makes me like Samantha.?......I DON'T think so. We did support in kilos, drank wine and laughed alot, and I hoped it helped. It is amazing, but people do pull together so well when things are bad in a friend's life, it is nice to be able to "be there" when needed.

Went shopping with Nige this morning, did coffee, more chats and enjoyed seeing the changes in Sheffield City centre especially Midland station with its gracefull fountains and waterways. I am always envious of Nige as I think he has a 1950's novel inside him, and writes eloquently and with feeling.

Got home to Strictly Come Dancing and Chris back from Boston. Lovely to have him home. Boston sounded lovely and he socialised with several bigwigs from American healthcare. He was a bit upset as Pippa had suffered a huge fall from her field fencing and had winded and injured herself thankfully she is ok now. By 9 pm he is asleep, and still jet lagged...........still nice to be home!

Alma de Cuba & Butler tom-toms

After a shitty journey on ARREVA trains managed to meet with Nu in Liverpool at teatime. Lovely to see her, as things with Nancy have been pretty dire at times, and I was glad to "touch base" and have a chat. Nu's nieces Siobhan and Sara suggested we go to a Tapas bar near the Cathedral for something to eat, and it was great to be able to talk to Siobhan briefly on the phone when we got there. Nuala's family is a family of matriarchs and all the "Butler" girls have genererously welcomed me in to their homes and lives at one time and another. The younger members of the sisterhood, I have know since they were pre teens, and they now have blossomed into funny ,professional,cleavage bouncing, young women!

The Tapas bar was called ALMA DE CUBA, and was amazing, as it was situated in a 200 year old Polish Church on Seel street. Covering two open plan floors the dimly lit bar and restaurant mingled new with old, and classy leather booths were hidden away in front of frescos and the magnificent altar! Hundreds of candles made me feel as though we were on the set of Phantom of the Opera. It was lovely. We had a great meal, big chats and I was home by 10.30pm!

Awfull weather this morning so after a 6 am walk with the dogs, I am now curled up in bed ( electric blanket on!!) reading Patricia Cornwell. Off to Sheffield later and back tomorrow and looking forward to Chris being back home from Boston.

ps. when I was refering to tom toms, I was talking about the "Butler family's ability to chat and gossip" !!!

I have a confession.......An unfinished life.....and Daniel Craig

I have a confession..........I have started to wear Chris's cowboy hat when out walking with the dogs!! Do I look cool in it?......Obviously NOT, does it suit me?....Obviously NOT....but does it keep my glasses clear of the rain?...yep it sure does!!

Went to Theatr Clwyd to see An Unfinished Life (2005),the Lasse Hallstrom film was awful,dispite a top notch cast of Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman and Josh Lucas, I was bored senseless by this modern western....the plot ( by IMDb) states :- In order to escape from the abusive boy-friend, Gary Winston (Damian Lewis), Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez) moves with her young daughter Griff Gilkyson (Becca Gardner) without previous notice to the ranch of her father-in-law Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) in Wyoming. Jean and Einar are disaffected, since he blames her for the death of his beloved son in a car accident. Einar is taking care of his friend Mitch Bradley (Morgan Freeman), who was attacked and seriously wounded by a bear, and he does not know that he has a grand-daughter. While Mitch heals his wounds and forgives the bear, Einar also changes his feelings regarding Jean, finally understanding that accidents happen and accepting her and loving his grand-daughter....... god it was awful...even the pretty Lucas couldn't save it




Lookingforwardd to see Daniel Craig in Casino Royale , at the weekend when Chris is back. The previews look great and I suspect that Daniel has captured a totally different side to a younger Bond. Suffice to say, the Camera loves him and I predict a big hit!