David Attenborough eat your heart out

I have spent the day in the field today, and have enjoyed strimming the weeds and nettles down with Andrew's industrial sized strimmer. The allotment looks neat and tidy, and I was surprised to notice that two water butts have appeared by my compost bins. Which I thought was a nice gesture and I am very grateful for. The work was hot and messy, so I spent lunch time in the chicken coop watching the girls and their behaviour, which might sound a little geeky but is in fact quite fascinating.

Raquel Welsh (above) is perhaps the prettiest of the hens and like an attractive teenager, she is picked on by her less attractive peers. She is also one of the bravest of the birds and actually took a little bit of apple from my hand.

Whoopie Goldberg is the unhappiest looking hen, and looks rather bad tempered all of the time. As I lay on the grass she started the "let's jump of the chicken coop game", which I have noticed occurs on a daily basis. What happens is that one bird gets all excited and flighty and starts flapping her wings. She then half flaps and half jumps onto the coop roof where she looks down upon the twelve others triumphantly. The others then crowd around in circle, jumping up and down with glee and envy! one after another the girls then try to take over from the roof perching hen, often bouncing her off roughly, like a scene from It's a knockout!

Robina is still the top chicken and is quite ruthless in her domination of the others. Her second in command varies but two of the white comets (The Andrews sisters) seem to be in the running. I have found it all rather interesting.

Good Morning Miss Dove and Infamous

Good Morning Miss Dove (On TCM this afternoon) was an unexpected treat. Watching it, I overdosed on more sentimentality than you could shake a stick at.! The film tells the emotional story of a beloved schoolteacher who reflects back on her life and former students when she is hospitalized; the bit where where ex pupils come to the hospital to give blood to save their teacher makes you want to jam your head in a metal bucket! But.... Jennifer Jones, a somewhat aloof character actress anyhow, seemed just right for the role and I especially enjoyed the finale where the townsfolk hold a vigil outside the county hospital........very Norman Rockwell!

Infamous (2006) .... (at Theatre Clwyd tonight) was a disappointment, as it was just too like the other more successful biopic ; last year's Capote (2005) . The latter was a more dramatic portrayal of the waspish writer during his "In Cold Blood" period, whereas this version is played more for laughs at the expense of the brittle Capote. In Capote , Philip Seymour Hoffman made the character more real in so much we believed his destructive tendencies with friends and lovers whereas Toby Jones' portrayal, although clever, is weighted heavily at humour. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere between the two?

The glittery supporting cast detracted the audience from the drama also and bugger knows why Gwyneth Paltrow turned up as nightclub singer Kitty, a right waste of time.

Sandra Bullock makes for a quieter and more reflective and somewhat tortured Harper Lee and English actress Juliet Stevenson has the best line in the film when she describes Capote as "sounding like a Brussels sprout ,if a Brussels sprout could talk". I need to think about this film a little more I think at times like these I miss discussing films with Nige and John.

Cosmos, Iris and more produce

The Iris I planted an age ago are now flowering and look beautiful and so do the cosmos (below). My planting in the back garden is now looking somewhat crowded and in need of a thinning but I am generally pleased with the results. It has been terribly rainy today and I have gotten soaked three times but it has been worth it as I have planted my beetroot and leek seedlings as well as a mass of lettuce.

Picked up the strimmer from Andrew today too but the weather has stopped me playing. Chris is in London today presenting a paper to some conference.
So the rest of the day has been pretty quiet

Caught up with Nu finally, no news! she sounds so tired! Her family seems to be baring up well though given the circumstances.

Watching the Eurovision Song Contest at the moment
bit like watching Cher (vacant and noisy) Bring back Katie Boyle, and Boom bang-a-bang thats what I say!

"Out with anger.in with love"

It has been an angry sort of day today, you know the sort, one pissy thing leads to another pissy thing and you find yourself wanting to rip the head off a small child. First there was a nicotine fuelled argument with Chris ( well lack of nicotine if you see my drift), followed by the pillow faced farmer retrieving the water butts he delivered earlier in the week. It is a long story, but in a nut shell he delivered the butts thinking they were for the Churchyard rather than for me and when he found out he wanted the bloody things back. I hate bullies and his attitude was forceful and overbearing in the extreme, which angered me more. The fact that I had already bought 20 quid sheets of plastic to cover them with pissed me off also, but as I had not actually paid him for the butts I had not a leg to stand on! and gave them back. At least all parties involved with this Childish behaviour know exactly how I feel about it all, and boy was I graphic of how EXACTLY I felt! Anyhow two power walks and two long dog walks actually helped to calm my nerves somewhat until ( yes there is always an until) after an hour of filling my new compost bins, a neighbour came to me to ask if I could move them all behind a hedge as they were ugly! I almost smacked her ! as she cannot actually SEE the field from her bungalow! let alone see the bins! anyhow as sweetly as I could I said I wouldn't move them as I had spent all afternoon filling them but I would screen them from the road as a concession. The neighbour started to get thin lipped and polite, but I was having none of it and marched off to watch Mildred Pierce trying manfully to climb the chicken coop roof.

The good news today was from fat fighters as I have now lost 30 lbs! ( a miracle as we went out for four meals last week) only 6 lbs to go! to target weight.) and from my friend Nige who has almost found a new house to live in in Manchester! Nu, however is still having a bloody awful time in Liverpool. Wish I could be more helpful.

Grbavica (2006)

Grbavica (2006) (English title Esma's Secret), showing tonight at Theatre Clwyd, is a tough, sad film set in modern day Sarajevo. The story seems fairly simple:- A single mother's story about her dead husband, a supposed former war hero, starts to be questioned by her twelve-year old daughter, with devastating consequences. The 1990s Balkan War haunts Esma's Secret like a depressing spectre, and it doesn't take long to realise that Esma (the mother in question) is one of the hundreds of rape survivors, whilst her daughter is the product of her assault. Not a fun film but a sensitive and moving one. The Balkin states always remind me of the poor areas of somewhere like Rhyl ( or is that visa versa?), all very industrial and grey! and very sad!

Wanted to catch up with Nu today as her mother is really poorly and the whole family is meeting in Liverpool, awful,awful time,

The Allotment grows

Ok, Ok I am a veg bore, but I am so excited that the mud of the allotment is turning into a sea of green new growth. Today we have had that irritating drizzle that soaks you to the skin in ten minutes, but I have stuck with it until 5pm! and have put in more broad beans,sweet peppers,runner beans ! I have also cleaned my large blue water butts and moved them to disguise some very odd graffiti splattered all over them (Jewish Cu*ts!!!)- who would write that sort of rubbish here?

I have recycled one old compost bin and blagged one off Janet's neighbour who was throwing it away (below)

The hens are starting to show their "personalities" now they have settled in. Mildred Pierce (pic) is beginning to be my favourite as she seems friendlier than the others. She has spent much of the morning watching my efforts on the plot with quiet interest from the warmth of the second hen house. The Nolans are the shyest of the girls, they spend much of their time sitting in the gloom of the coop, eating and by the look of the floor , shitting buckets!

Chris has been in London working today, wonder how stopping smoking has gone?

Bodnant Gardens, meeting Ruth and Sorrel leaves

The famous laburnum arch at Bodnant Gardens should have looked like this picture as the time of year is just right, but we were slightly disappointed as the flowers had not quite draped themselves as low and as colourful as we expected. The colours from the masses of Rhododendrons and Japanese deciduous Azaleas are wonderful and even Chris (who is left a little cold by vegetation) was impressed. Sorrel enjoyed our day out and this morning she has caught the train back to Broadstairs after another nice visit.

Sorrel is one of those people that has made a sucess out of her life despite not always having huge confidence in herself. She has a professional job, a mass of friends and a busy social lifestyle, and I am always envious of her self discipline and abilities to always do something new. It was good to see her. It was also good to catch up with old friend Ruth and her family yesterday. They were having a break at Pontins over this weekend and stopped for a coffee,chat and play with the chickens on their way home.

Ruth, I always think is a true survivor also and the stereotypical northern wife, mother and friend in the Coronation Street-type tradition. With a heart as big as a house and a natural Les Dawson persona she provides the necessary old fashioned nursing skills , so absent from the hospital care of today and I do miss her self depreciating humour and sharp banter. We don't do children very well, but her kids were well behaved and rather sweet, even Chris spent his time playing with them on his moped, but I guess we will always keep with the dogs rather than ever contemplate gay adoption! (too many antiques and my obsession with tidiness would never allow!).

Tramps and thieves

A few years ago Bev Kilner and I went to see Cher on her "farewell tour" at the Sheffield Arena, and I am not sure if it was the fact that I had split from a previous partner (who loved Cher) or the fact that the performance and venue was slightly aseptic and insincere, but I was so disappointed by the whole affair. Tonight admittedly after a Chardonnay and a very busy day, I surprised myself by watching the whole of the concert ( how many farewell tours HAS Cher actually had?) and found myself enjoying every shallow,crass,and slightly wooden minute of it!