Independence Day

I have just watched the director's cut of Independence Day (1996) which has always been one of my favourite disaster films ! It is ten years since I enjoyed it at the cinema for the first time, and although it is hokum of the purest kind, the whole film still holds up pretty well against other more showier films that imitated and followed it.

The sequence that holds up the best is the initial destruction of the cities of New York (of course), Los Angeles and Washington. C.G.I combined with the more old fashioned physical special effects (aka Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno) are used in increasingly iimpressive set pieces to crank up the tension to unbearable levels. Director Roland Emmerich, obviously seemed to enjoy himself and gives great homage to all those disaster flicks of the 1970s as well as epics like the War of the Worlds. The piece de resistance scene where stripper Vivica A. Fox saves her son (and dog) in an L.A. road tunnel which is exploding in flames has to be seen to be believed.

all bollocks but great fun

More Crops

The potatoes are ugly as hell, but have been selling like hot cakes, and the first of my runner beans are ready, so in between digging the new vegetable patch, I have been delivering sold veg to "customers" in Bodelwyddan,Dyserth and Prestatyn. 18 Eggs today too so I think I will bring a few samples to Sheffield on Wednesday for Jane, Mike, Micky and hopefully Jonney.

I have been hand feeding the "Hookers" with worms from the new patch digging, and over a period of around two hours all six seemed to get over their strutting fearfulness, and they lined up greedily at the wire for their titbits

A nothing day, and good ebay service yadder.yadder.yadder

We are having a "nothing" type of day today after having a nice meal, too much wine last night at The Ivory in Prestatyn. We also had a good day dream of what we are going to do when we visit New York in November which was fun.

Working this evening so have just caught up with chicken jobs and with the risk of Nigel photographing a cornflakes packet, I am delighted to receive my new galvanised chicken feeder which I bought for a snip on ebay! Not VERY interesting I grant you, but I was impressed with the service I received from the company I bought it from.

1. The company was the cheapest

2 The postage was the cheapest

3. The delivery was prompt and the feeder was well wrapped

4. Correspondence was polite and clear

and this was from a business in PORTUGAL! yeap better in every way than an British equivalent!

The Black Hookers are still stalking around their compound with attitude and burst into noisy cackling from time to time! Which can be a little off putting to passers by I have put the new feeder in for their attention but at the moment they have pointedly ignored it.

Caught up with the news today on-line. The visuals from the US bridge disaster were more graphic and and exciting than any 1970s disaster film and I couldn't believe only 4 people sadly lost their lives. The school bus story (44 tiny children saved by a heroic passer by) is the stuff of Hollywood script writers and the ordinary bloke I am sure would have been played by Charlton Heston in his best corduroy jacket! (You can make out the bus on the right of the picture).

Worrying about Foot and Mouth today also, on a micro level, It may mean that the goats are on hold for a little while!

A dream

Now I usually write my blog on an evening, as it is my way of relaxing after a days pottering. Today I am writing this in the morning sunshine with a cup of coffee. The reason for this is that I have just got up after the most vivid and moving dream I have experienced in a long long time. I know we all dream, but remembering ones that I have experienced is a rarity for me, and this morning I dreamt of my Grandmother who was walking with Finlay!

In the dream I was walking with Chris in the Peace Gardens in Sheffield. It was raining slightly but very warm and there was crowds of people walking around. (strangely they were all Afro/Caribbean) By Bar HaHa I could see my Grandmother who was reading the menu (go figure that out?) She was wearing a cream knee length coat with large cream buttons, a queen mother hat and carried a large white leather handbag in the crook of her left arm. Finlay was sitting next to her but turned and saw us and barked and I remember my Grandmother turning and waving. Now in those Hitchcockian (sp?) dream sequences my Grandmother should have been screened by the passing crowds and would have disappeared with me searching frantically for her, but that didn't happen. She looked both ways on the pavement and with that formal old lady sort of walk, she came over to us and greeted us warmly with Finlay jumping up and down madly. The emotion of meeting them again seemed very real and raw yet I don't remember how the dream ended . I woke with the smell of both of them in my head and with a huge knot in my throat.
Why did I dream this dream this morning? And why was it so vivid? who knows....it just stuck in my mind

Holiday!!!

Very excited as we have just booked our flights to New York in November. Staying at the New York Helmsley on 42nd st, which is lovely as we have stayed there many times before. Enjoying New York so much sometimes feels a little "out of vogue", but I don't care, it is one of my most favourite places to go

Wild flower borders and the hookers settle in

Thank god for the sunshine this week. In a sudden burst of activity my runner beans,French beans, sweetcorn,salad potatoes and parsnips have blossomed. Not only that, but the wildflower border I planted in the spring to screen the allotment from the road is showing its colours.

The black "hookers" have settled in remarkably quickly and have laid three beautiful chocolate brown eggs in the ebay hen house this morning. They are still striking a ghetto-ish attitude compared with the gentler and shyer original girls

New girls arrive,The Flower Show Meeting and George Bush

The second run is up and running!. I found another hen breeder near Corwen and went over to buy a few Buffs. The hens he had looked a bit knackered so I decided not to buy them and bought six healthy, older black hens with a lot of attitude instead. After I had clipped their wings, they stalked around pen number 2 like angry hookers looking for punters. Me thinks they are going to be a bit of a handful.


Hopefully in a few weeks the breeder will have reared some runner ducks, and has agreed to save me four, who will go in with the new girls.

We had the final flower show committee meeting (pre actual show) tonight at Auntie Glads. Carol will be steward for the Cakes and Jams, where I will be the steward for the veg! I have also been volunteered to man the door and raffle tickets, and I need to be there to set up on the previous Thursday AND Friday AND I am helping to make cakes for the day, so it looks as though I will be fairly busy !

Committee meeting are usually fairly uneven affairs as Gladys is very deaf and tends to shout over all other speakers on the "floor". At times John (from next door) was reduced to fits of giggles as the whole thing resembles A league of Gentlemen.

I was reading Nick Robinson's political blog with amusement today:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/

He recalled an interaction with George Bush at a recent news conference. Robinson had famously fallen foul of the President over his "denial of Iraq" comment, and Bush obviously remembering him quipped "You still hanging around?" Later during the questioning Bush turned to Robinson who was sweating and stated that he should cover up his bald head. Robinson replied by saying "I didn't know you cared!" and the President resorted by saying waspishly "I don't!!!"

Now I was amused by the informality of all this and although I really hate Bush and his politics, I rather admired the informality of his conversation. Would a British Prime Minister be quite so "ordinary?" I very much doubt it.

ps Looking forward to see you soon Nia! xx

Very Funny

I know , it is another bloody you tube item, but it IS funny!!