Happy Birthday to ME

I don't feel 45! Shall we get that fact straight from the start! I think I feel 28 to 30 so that's all right. Snatching a couple of minutes to myself as Chris and Uncle,aunt and niece (Duncan,Izzy and Linzi) have taken the dogs up the Gop for a walk. The cottage is mighty small for three guests but it has gone ok so far, as all are very easy going. I can relax a little today as I do not have to cook anything, but they has a big slap up lunch yesterday, big dinner and a cooked breakfast this morning so I feel we have shown them a bit of Welsh hospitality.

The weather is lovely ( not so yesterday when we all went to Conway (pic; don't you love Maddie peeping in the corner?), and I have received lots of cards, and birthday texts ( that seems to be a "new" urban tradition nowadays) which is lovely! ME,ME,ME!ME ME ME ME!

Lucky too with gifts, had some great clogs off Sorrell,a strimmer off Chris, wine and a climbing hydrangea off Carole, a great Book on animal ailments and a dvd off Nige (brill) and a lovely picture off Nia in Oz! AND IT'S ONLY 10 AM!!! bring em on!

The Brownings are off riding this afternoon so I can go and wish Janet happy birthday, then we are all off to Llandudno for dinner in Osborn House.... Bugger weightwatchers!

Being Moved and the egg production line

At 8 am this morning when I was knee deep in fluff and dirt, cleaning under the bed to prepare for Duncan and Izzy's visit tomorrow there was a knock on the door. A delivery man with a huge lemon tree was standing there and I was so touched when I read the a note attached to it.
"Happy Birthday, thank you for always being there . Nuala and Jim".
Nu had only buried her mum yesterday, had experienced one of the most stressful and agonising few weeks of her life in Liverpool and still she remembered to send me a birthday gift. That's class!



Twelve eggs this morning! I have done the neighbourly thing and given a load away to people down the lane, now I can think of putting up a small sign and selling them!

The Ghosts on Crosby beach

The problem with growing older is that it always seems that you have to attend more funerals as the years go by. Chris and I went over to Liverpool this morning for Nancy's, and as they go, it was a real celebration of a remarkable woman's life. The family priest, told her life story with candor and affection and the small choir sang quite beautifully, so all in all it was not a sorrowful service, but quite an uplifting and moving one. Before we met Nu and her family after they attended the crematorium, Chris and I went to Crosby beach to look at Antony Gormley's 'Iron Men' . The sculptures are quite stunning and rather frightening, and perhaps not the most apt things to be looking at on the day of a funeral, but the stillness and sunshine of the beach was relaxing and it seemed the just the right place to go.

Zodiac

Zodiac (2007), an "alternative" serial killer film was a real treat at Llandudno multiplex this evening. Director David Fincher has produced a mature, painstakingly detailed and well crafted film which, disregards cheap jolts and commits itself fully to the investigative process of the three leading men. Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal and an entertaining and slightly ironic turn by Robert Downey Jr. are standouts as cop and newspaper men who get obsessed by the hunt but it was many of the cinematic visuals that linger in the mind. A camera tracking a yellow cab through the 1970 streets of San Fransisco, a brief towering shot gazing down upon the traffic of the Golden Gate Bridge and some moody dark shots of a lone woman trapped in her car, all were quite breathtaking.

Land of the Giants season 1 opening

This is a cracking u tube video. I used to absolutely adore this programme every Friday afternoon at my grandparents house (It always followed Peyton Place)
Looking back on it I think I had a crush on Gary Conway!But also kinda associated with Deanna Lund!

Cottage Garden

The "new" garden is really coming into its own and even if I do say so myself it looks lovely. The yellow iris are from Wynyard Road.

William

I am surprisingly chilled about the prospect of loosing the allotment and/or the chicken run. Obviously I will be gutted if things run to the letter especially after 4 months work, but I am aware that I cannot do anything about it at the moment. I am however trying to find out if another field could be rented in the village but have been unable to locate the relevant parties. Allotments can always be moved, all that takes is a great deal of hard work, and that I am used to. I do worry about the chickens however, as I really do not want to get rid of them all. Best not to think about it all at the moment and hope that the agents for the land are sympathetic.

Chris has a friend visiting later today, which is a rarity for him, so I am just about to get my hostess head on! Had a reply from Susan our dog breeder (Our dog breeder?) she has a male 2 year old welsh with a good nature and a 5 month old male puppy, either one we could have. I am going over to see them very soon with a view of returning with the male that can take over as leader. Perhaps that's why I seem more chilled at the moment? The new dog I would like to name William, as it was my aunt's suggestion when she came to tea the other night and I kind of liked the feel of the name. Maddie,Meg,George and William; it sounds rather good. Strange but I really do miss Finlay today....Hey ho.

Tempests

The Tempest at The Royal Exchange in Manchester was a awfully dreary affair. Pete Postlethwaite as Pospero was good enough but the rest of the cast and the general production was rather irritating and self indulgent. Hazel and her dynamic sister Kate ( with quiet partner Rob) decided to leave at half time, but a couple of white wines and good conversation helped to pass the evening by and we all had an enjoyable evening.

Got back to Trelawnyd late but very tired as I had no sleep last night worrying about the allotment. I have written a letter to the Parish Council explaining my position and apologising for any misunderstanding (in many ways it is one or two of them that should be apologising) and hope that it will quieten things down a little so I and the vegetables can duck under their radar.