Shaping things up and Theatre Clwyd

These are the last of my second early potatoes, and I can tell you that there will be a score of disappointed housewives waiting for their orders to be filled! The sweetcorn you can see is doing very well, as is my spinach, so I may be able to appease them very soon with alternative veg! (oh er missus)


I have started work on veg plot number two, and Hazel's idea of seasonal organic veg boxes for sale, seems like a definite possibility for next year! and I am not joking! Today I planned chicken run number two, and spent a little time with the "girls" having my lunch. Robina looks a little listless and quiet and I am worried she is heading for the big hen house in the sky, as Sarah her sister had done earlier this year! I hope not she is the grand dame of the coop.


Went to the cinema this evening with Hazel to see something similar to the awful Love Actually. Fauteuils d'orchestre (2006) is a low burner of a film. Initially uneven with a rather bland heroine, it doesn't half grow on you. A blurb from the Internet describes the synopsis as follows :-

Four people, unconnected, meet in a cafe in Paris. Jessica, has just arrived in Paris and is longing to become someone, she takes a job as a waitress in a cafe next door to a theatre until she hits the big time. Catherine is a successful soap opera actress but longs for big screen fame, while Jean-François is a piano prodigy whose fame is more than he ever wished for and he craves to be left alone. Jacques has spent most of his time and money collecting art but has decided to sell it all. The four meet in the cafe where Jessica works and talk over their issues...

The art deco setting, happy ending and French twist, makes this comedy rather pleasing rather than hilarious, and at times the performances of Albert Dupontel as a disillusioned pianist, and singer Dani as the retiring concert hall's "dresser" are wonderfully moving.

The dogs get out

It has been a beautiful day today, and like most of the local farmers who are desperate to get the haylage cut, I have been all day in the allotment. The dogs had been walked on the beach early, so after leaving them in a sandy pile in the sun near the back door I went to set up the strimmer and collect the days eggs. Now I know I shut both gates of the back garden, so felt ok at leaving them for a while, but it was only a few minutes later that I caught sight of the familiar figure of George running up the up the lane with William in tow! obviously frightened by the passing farm lorries. Now none of the dogs bar Maddie have much road sense and the silage traffic had almost killed Joan earlier ( she still has a tendency to lie in the road) I vaulted the field gate like a madman and scooped both dogs up before they could wag half a tail but that sick knot in the pit of your stomach is a bloody awful feeling, especially as Meg and Maddie were no where to be seen. I felt like a new mother who had been seperated from her child for the first time! Dumping the boys in the car, I ran up to the main road ( not easy in wellies) and there was Meg watching the streaming traffic! only inches from the main road. With my heart in my mouth, I bellowed "Come here!" in my biggest commanding voice and for the first time in her life, she turned and trotted obediently up to me! I could have kissed her. (see pic)
Maddie was still no where to be seen on the main road,so I galloped down to the car (thank god for weightwatchers) to look for her. After a frantic few minutes I had to laugh (hysteria not far away I feel), as there she was sat on the path waiting patiently for me to return! Out of the four of them Maddie is the conscience of the pack almost like "Jiminy Chricket" from Pinocchio! she knows she is not allowed out by herself, so sat primly in the garden waiting for me to say it was ok! for her to join the others!

I still don't know who left the gates open!

cat flap trauma!

Got home after a night shift to find William stuck in Joan's cat flap,head and one paw on the patio side and three legs and a body on the other. I almost laughed but as he was quite distressed by the whole thing and had to come to bed with me for a while to recover. (Funny how they sulk if they are upset or injured!)

Entered my entries for the Prestatyn Flower show today so I am entering:

3 beetroots (with 3 ins of foliage)
dish of 5 potatoes
5 varieties of veg in a trug (very homes and gardens)
3-6 veg and a vase of flowers (novice gardener class)
vase 0f 3 roses
vase of cut flowers
and a Victoria sponge
eat your heart out Alan Titmarsh

Good news

I am now at liberty to say that Chris was successful last week in his interview for Senior Research Fellow ( dunno what it actually means, so don't ask!) at Bangor University. He starts the new position in September and the new job will mean more money (nice) but more importantly it will mean that his commute to Preston four days a week will be a thing of the past! It will take only 40 minutes to get to work for him, he can go out after work for a wine at the one and only wine bar in Bangor (believe me) and can ride Pippa in the evenings rather than overdo it all weekend! So the move is a quality of life thing as well as promotion! which you can't argue with, can you?

we celebrated with Janet last week at the Bistro! , but Chris was rather deflated after all the adrenaline rush of the interview itself and Janet was rather fed up generally , so the champers sat rather untouched in the cooler! (well not for long!................. I wasn't wasting it!)

Lost all my profit from spud selling this week ( 14 kilos sold) as William ate the blockbuster dvd cases from the video shop!

wonders of the world

The 7 wonders of the Modern World have just been announced http://www.new7wonders.com/

and I was interested to see the winners (Not that I have seen any of them in person) Sorry not to see San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge or the Chrysler Building in the final but I guess the seven chosen are the best choices. My favourite must be Brazil's Statue of Christ the Redeemer.

Snickers Super Bowl Ad - v funny

v v funny!!

A mixed bag, scum,crops,and a the rude lady in the coffee shop!

Up early with the dogs for their beach walk, so missed the fact that the village Church was broken into by some trailer trash low life. Apparantly nothing was stolen (I suspect sonething must have been though), but the vestry window was smashed and damage obviously done! This sort of crime is sickening as it shows no respect for anything. Sad, sad,sad!

The weather again has been shitty, so went to Llandudno to get some family and friends birthday cards and presents. I have had to break my habit of troughing a huge Kentucky fried Chicken when I go shopping there, so as a healthy treat I went into Waterstones the bookstore's coffee house for soup and coffee (remarkable self control don't you think?)


Anyhow I was lucky to find a table and parked myself with my coffee, newspaper, huge bowl of minestrone, all arranged just how I like it! Now I know the place was busy and I admittedly was sat at a table alone ( one of those small tables for three!) but I felt justified sitting there ! Hummm!....well an old woman (obviously with money and well used to get her own way), thought differently! As I was puckering for my first mouthful of soup she actually rapped (yes indeedy) rapped the chair next to be with her stick and stated in a loud voice

"Say, could you move to that stool over there? so me and my friends could sit down at a table" She gestured to a tiny space and stool at a pillar across the cafe, which only had enough room sit to place one coffee cup. For a moment I was slightly stunned and she added (in way of appeasement) "I hope you don't mind me asking?", I noticed as she was fumbling with her handbag whilst pointing for her two cronies to come forward.

"Cheeky old cow!" I thought but I was pleased to turn to her and said calmly, " No..I don't mind you asking, but I am not moving , I am eating my lunch" Her expression almost made me laugh, as obviously she didn't actually think I was going to refuse her! and she just stood there fuming for a moment before hobbling off to the counter to complain. I could feel myself blushing but I pretended to read my paper, and I could have kissed the teenage girl at the counter who I think told her to wait her turn like everyone else! a victory for single diners everywhere!!!!!!


Chris still having a nice time in Broadstairs (have been impressed how the town looks in the E-on advert for the biggest wind farm in Britain), so I have written a few letters this evening, picked everlasting spinach and broccoli from the allotment (left) and written e mails! ( Nia you will always have a base here when you want to visit Prestatyn!!!XXX)

Sex and the movie?

In 1998 I was never a fan of Sex and the City. Sure I liked the New York backdrop and witty repartee, but the first series was all a bit, well, amoral and hard for my liking. I was reminded of how I felt about the programme last night when I watched one of the first episodes on sky and I found it interesting how the writers and I guess the actors changed the series to one of a fluffier and generally more whimsical morality fairy tale.
The singletons narrator Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), the voice and face of wannabe professional girls from all over the world changed the least, as she was always disappointed in love and remained steadfastly hopeful in her work and personal life.
Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), the two dimensional tart with a heart evolved from sexual predator to settled monogamy, albeit with a man half her age. Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), a Park Lane princess married an ugly but humorous Jewish lawyer, whilst cynical pushy Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) finally settled down with husband, a son,senile mother-in-law and doting housekeeper.

The series DID amuse me when it left the cynicism of the 1990s behind; I suspect 9/11 had a lot to do with the change- but I also think that the audience (predominately women and gay men) led the writers to ensure a happy ending was on the cards . I think in some ways that betrayed the original message the original series tried to hammer home, ie. powerful women do not need a man to have a great,successful life, but at least it made for uncomplicated,funny and essentially entertaining tv with characters that the audience actually cared about! I also think that we all need a bit of fluffy fantasy in our lives too!from time to time.

A film is planned to be made sometime this year, which I think is perhaps a bad idea;like the grittier but equally entertaining This Life, the producers need to leave well alone.