White van driver and doing the right thing

The snow is getting worse. This morning it was do-able, as everything remained wet and slushy, but tonight the snow is thick and the lane is icy! Excellent! NOT!!!


Finished jobs today, paperwork,shopping for the family meal tomorrow, paying bills and cleaning out the polo! As I took a cheque up to Lloc to pay for the coal delivery, the snow really came down and was almost a white out. Ahead of me on the main road I saw a white van swerve slightly and hit a large black and white border collie which somersaulted into the snow on the verge. The van stopped and the driver, a builder type got out briefly and without checking if the dog was ok, got back into his van and sped off. I put on my hazard lights and got out. The dog was barely conscious and shaking in shock. All I could think is to get to Caerwys ( about 3 miles away) and get the dog to the vets quickly but before I could lift it up I was joined by a woman of about 65, who had stopped behind me in a 4 by 4. Despite the snow she already had taken off her coat and in a no nonsense type of way wrapped it around the dog. I picked the animal up and she told me to put it in her car as she lived in Caerwys and would take it to the vets. As she got into her van she shouted cheerfully "Thank you for stopping!!!", and drove away, leaving me all a bit shaken by the experience.


I rang Sergent Vets later when I got home and unfortunately the farm dog had to be put down, but I was struck by the kindness of the Lady and the uncaring behaviour of ignorant white van driver.

Why do some people "do the right thing" ? when others move on by? .....It is perhaps an age old question.


To me, It would be natural to lend a hand to someone or some animal in distress, it is just the decent thing to do . why then did I and this lady automatically stop? and the builder didn't? How could he justify his behaviour to himself? This "selfishness" is, I guess, a part of being human, just as the woman's kindness is and I should not have been so surprised. I just wish that this man would have seen the old woman remove her coat in the middle of a snow storm like she did, perhaps it would have shamed him...then again...I somehow doubt it.

George's first snow,Hannibal , The silence of the snow

Well there goes my primulas!, the snow that has been warned for much of mid and South Wales has hit Trelawnyd. At 6am this morning it was so bloody freezing I lit the fire and set the hens up with warm mash. They did the right thing as it is 9.30 am now and still they have not ventured out yet. At least George enjoyed himself

PS
The problem with filming a novel is that there is just too much to cram into the narrative ( or more importantly too much to cut out of it) , and cutting the novel to pieces is exactly what has occurred in Hannibal Rising (2007). I am surprised as Thomas Harris ( who wrote the trilogy of Lecter books) is responsible for the movie screenplay. I enjoyed the book, and I think its strength lay in the subtle interplay between Lecter and his Japanese step mother which mirrored the electric banter between Clarice Starling and the aged Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. The film has opted for the more familiar horror route rather than dwelling on relationship interplay and it is much the poorer for it. The choice of Gaspard Ulliel was also a mistake as he has no depth in his performance as the severely abused Lecter. I suspect even at twenty Anthony Hopkins would have been electric as he was in the original, but Ulliel just does not cut the mustard. Li Gong would have had something to get her teeth into if the director adhered to the novel, but as it is, she just stands around looking beautiful. Sheffield's Dominic West seems to come out best as the troubled Inspector Popil.

Have arranged to pick up the "spazmobile" on Saturday which give me tomorrow to clean out the polo (a big job and no mistake) I think the window workmen are comming then to measure up to replace the cottage bathroom and back bedroom windows. Hope the snow goes before then! mind you I love the stillness snow brings to an area, especially at night! when I was walking last night several owls flew in circles around the cottage and it was so silent because of the snow you could actually hear their wings beating! class

Cold snap & a good read!

The "girls" look a bit excited, they have just guzzled a large plate of weetabix and hot milk! as temperatures have plummeted below zero again and tonight we are expecting several centimeters of snow! I suspect Chris will get stuck in Sheffield tomorrow as British Rail never does very well when "normal" winter weather approaches.


Sorted out (finally) a mattress that fits the new bedstead, so we will have less of the overnight Olympics that is finding enough space to sleep ! Thank god for Marks and Spencer on line.


Recieved this attachment from Siobhan Malcolm who was intrigued by my Big Brother blogs. Very funny!

Reading an excellent book at the moment The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfield. Set in 1909's New York it is a thriller centred about a serial killer and Sigmund Freud's first visit to America
http://www.interpretationofmurder.com/

As Chris is away I have indulged in my pet pasion for tea FISH FINGER sandwiches! Humm, several miles away from Hillbark Hotel !

Iced Primulas & Being productive

The frost has totally iced up all my primulas and they resemble tiny ice sculptures all over the garden! which is so sad as I spent hours dotting them all over. The field opposite has totally frosted over and the weather this morning is bright and cold, just as I like it.

We have decieded to buy the
Citroën Berlingo ! had a good look at it yeasterday and it's huge inside even though it looks like a van which should have a wheelchair parked in the back of it! Chris would love a small jeep, but the cheap running berlingo ( which sounds like a 1970 black porn character), has won the day.We will be investing in a dog gate also so car journeys will be safer but certainly less friendly!

Had to laugh! the berlingo's last owner WAS in a wheelchair! Just returned from part x ing the Polo! Oh the shame, as the garage owner was walking around our car with lips pursed! Finlay and Meg were busily ripping the back off the driver's seat!

I have arranged to Pick up Belingo (as the car is being named) on Friday (Janet calles it the spazmobile which is a little uncharitable) , so spent a productive few hours on line organising insurance and the like. Then after a glorious walk on the beach went to Halfords in Colwyn Bay to get the dog grill for the new car! (no more bitten seats)! When I was there popped into a junk/antique shop that Janet had recommended, and saw a lovely if not slightly worn arts and crafts desk. It was tiny and just right for the cottage so I was amazed when the shop owner said it was 85£! I pushed the fact the lock does not close properly and got it for 65£

A bargin!

Registered with a dental practice in Prestatyn and could not believe the practice still has vacancies! I suspect the reason is that all the dentists in the practice are Polish and new to the country which is all very Welsh. Called in to see Janet to arrange what she is bringing for dinner on Saturday, she and Ned are providing the starters, Andrew and Jayne the pudding and Ann and Tim the drinks. This "sharing" of the food makes socializing so much easier and stress free! Anyhow as she was talking to me ( I was in the car with the dogs) Finlay became hysterical, as he wanted her undivided attention and as she poked her finger in the window, desperately he grabbed on to it like a drowning man would do to a lifebelt!. Hopefully she wont need a tetanus and the scars will fade eventually! whoops!

Pegasus

Sculpture at Hillbark Hotel

"Swings and Roundabouts"

I use this phrase a lot and when on the phone to a friend tonight I used it again to underline how things will get better in his life! He asked me to look at where the phrase actually comes from, and I came up with the following:-

The full saying is usually given nowadays as: "What you lose on the roundabouts you gain on the swings" or vice versa. This was a reference, in an old poem, to a showground-owner's claim. In other words, on some days the kids would pay to pile onto the swings and provide his income, though the roundabouts were neglected. Obviously, it would be vice versa on other days. Today, of course, it applies to any such 50/50 or up/down situation. The poem ‘Roundabouts and Swings' is by Patrick Chalmers and here are the appropriate lines, after the poet asks the fairground-man what his work is like: "Said he 'the job's the very spit of what it always were, 'It's bread and bacon mostly when the dog don't catch a hare, 'But looking at it broad, and while it ain't no merchant kings, 'What's lost upon the roundabouts, we pulls up on the swings."

Talking to old acquaintances and friends from years ago at Nu's wedding, I realised how my life over the past few years would resemble "swings and roundabouts". A few, that knew me when I was a driven ward Manager, have found the fact that I now am a part time d grade living in a tiny Welsh village " intriguing","surprising", "worrying" and in one case downright "amazing! " Their reactions , especially some of the shocked ones amused me, and the fact that I was amused rather than worried about it speaks volumes.

To me swings and roundabouts, mean just simply that the negatives of life always pass! ie This too will pass, phrase already discussed in a previous blog http://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/2006_10_03_archive.html

The wedding

Weddings can go one way or another in so much as enjoyment is concerned, sometimes the pressure to have a perfect day just does not work, and you are left with a fixed smile and an empty feeling. Nuala and Jim's wedding everyone knew would be different, it was just a joyous occasion, and we had a lovely time being a part of it all. The setting was amazing! (Hilbark Hotel on the wirral), the venue was personal to Nu (Luxurious, scarlet decoration all very sumptuous) and the guests urbane, friendly and sociable! The wedding planner had the whole thing working like clockwork and the guests were all seated in the great hall when she briefed me as I waited for Nu to arrive. Typically Nu made an entrance! Her outfit was stunning! Long fishtail skirt in a deep red, black feathered top (AND I mean feathered) and a red and black feathered head piece! She looked magnificent! and I was proud as punch as I walked her down the aisle! Nancy (Nu's mum) was well enough for me to hand her over to her for the last few feet, and there was many teary eyes when she gave her away! When they were making their vows ( and loving every minute of it ! no nerves on show only smiles!) Nancy and I held hands! ( it was a little emotional!) Nu's friend Jen ( she of the Miss Jean Brodie accent) and Jim's affable friend Richard read out prepared poems and after signing the registers the happy

couple did a lap of honour around the guests to cheering and applause!

The wedding photos, which are sometimes such a trial, were just fun as both Nu and Jim seemed to love the attention and spectacle, I must admit it was rather like watching a HELLO photo shoot!

( Left Jen, me and Richard laughing at Nu and Jim who were being photographed )

Dinner and speeches were excellent. Chris was a little upset that we were seperated for the dinner ( I was on the top table talking turkeys with Jim's farmer dad), but he soon teamed up with Shiv -dog owner and horse rider! Pearce ( Nu's brother) made a moving speech celebrating how Nuala brightens up every room in which she walks, and the best man Mush (I havent asked why everyone calls him that) was spot on with his comedy turn.

Nuala and Jim are well loved, both by family and friends.... and it showed. A happy day!

I have never looked so smart!! (honest I left my slip on wellies at home)

Wedding part 2

The food was amazing! and again it was typically Nu in design! Loved the Wedding cake(s) the tower of which remained intact for most of the evening! At 10pm out came the best bacon butties and cups of chips I have tasted in a long time!

The afternoon "do", moved effortlessly into the evening "do", and managed to catch up with some familiar faces from other tables. Lovely to catch up with three former Sheffield Physios Gráinne, Dybnah and Hillary are powerhouses of energy, and they exhaust you in a totally over-the-top Irish way! (see pic!)

Mike and Bev came over from Sheffield and Maisie was beautifully behaved, ans as you can see she actually got Chris to be animated when his picture was taken!

The Irish contingent (Brian and Hils) and the Nu's Liverpool mates (Dave and Liz) true to form were totally friendly and welcoming. We recieved several invites

forIreland's west coast seaside trips and fishing trips off the

Southport coast! by the end of the evening and you just knew that is wasn't just gin talk ! Exhaused we got to bed at midnight leaving the crack still going on full blast.

A nice day!

We left early this moring after eggs benedict (We relived our New York Holidays as we had that most mornings at Pershing square outside Grand Central Station !

( http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/pershing_square01/)