Never again

..........suffice to say, she won't be wearing it again!

Man flu

Chris is full of cold today and has lost most of his voice. Feeling crappy he has spent the day on the couch wrapped in my scarf and the 1940s eiderdown, and looked close to death when I got home from work. I walked the dogs on the beach ( they were a bit stir crazy) did the weekly shop,cleaned and fed the chickens and cleaned the house of the rubbish of the flower show then checked on the patient! Weak ,fed up and ill, I got him to drink a lem sip, and eat a large tin of macaroni cheese! In fact the old saying of "feed a cold,starve a fever", came to mind, as he forced himself to consume, two cups of tea,one large glass of orange juice, a fruit yogurt , a medium sized walnut and date fruit cake! (all of it) and a plate of fishfingers. I think he will live.....

Chasing cars

Had a odd Finlay moment yesterday too. Running around in Prestatyn to get last minute Flower Show items, Heard Finlay's Chasing Cars song by Snow Patrol

It was sung rather well by a busker of all people next to Boots!

I know it's silly but I dropped a pound in his collection tin.

The Trelawnyd Flower Show 2007

There are several reasons why I have really enjoyed the flower show even though it has been a long,hard day. I have learnt a great deal from the the professional vegetable and flower judges, won first prize and a commendation for my rose and two seconds for my boiled egg and French beans, and been a part of the most successful flower show to date, but I must admit that the main reason for having a good day is the fact I have met a lot of very friendly locals and felt very much a part of the community, which only happens with this sort of thing. After setting up a load of entries from us and many of the Prestatyn entrants, I shadowed the old Welsh teddy boy and colourful character who was judging the veg! Obviously many of my veg was not quite up to scratch, so I was quick NOT to tell him which was mine ! even though he slagged some of them off terribly ( my herbs had been "thrown" into a trug!!) I was pleased that he praised my beetroots but did comment they were rather small! He was obviouly passionate about judging and about village shows and I enjoyed learning the "show tricks" from him.

Carol shadowed the arts and food judge,Glenys over saw the flower judge, as Auntie Gladys (centre in pic) got on the the raffle and Irene (left) organised the teas with a small army of helpers, so although we were short of stewards, everything was done and done properly!.

A delightful guy called Alan who was originally German, had lived in the Midlands for most of his life ( and had been retired in Trelawnyd for 7 years), helped me on the door, and he introduced me to scores of locals. I found it remarkable that he can now speak Welsh fluently, and did just that, to almost everyone! Characters like Mrs Jones, ( the elderly lady I wave to daily from the farm way down the lane) came to introduce themselves for the first time, and at times it was a little overwhelming but very, very sweet!

The doors opened at two thirty and in an hour over two hundred people had crammed themselves into the village hall. Our door was up on the day, the number of entries was over a hundred more than usual, and the judges stated that the quality of the produce was the best ever, so we felt pretty happy at the whole damm thing! My mother's tablecloths and the sweet peas that decorated each of the tea tables, went down very well with the predominently elderly audience, and many said the hall had never looked so pretty! which was nice too.

Ann and her affable group of despots from her allotment, came up trumps and joined in with the show and all got good prizes. (Ann won the cup for best floral art) Many others turned up after entering the Prestatyn Show last month and they in turn won also, so the winners were not all from the village which everyone seemed to appreciate.

we finished at 5pm, knackered but rather smug with the day. Chris enjoyed cake eating and bought Meg (yes Meg) a woolly Brown dog jumper from Gladys' stall!, and I got home just in time for a large chardonnay infront of the fire!

working tomorrow, and Monday night, and back to allotment work on Tuesday!

small world

I have just read Nigel's blog, the idle ramblings of a relaxing holiday maker- written from a sunny internet cafe in Sitges, Spain, and it is strange to think that nowadays the world aften feels so small. The internet, email,this new networking facebook thingy and texting makes instant communication possible, if not obligitory and I hardly remember my childhhood phonecalls home from spain in the 1970's, with fistfulls of coins, a faint line and a sense of awe at the possibilities of calling home from another country. Now it all is SO easy!

Enough already.........................

ok ok It has been flower show ALL day! The kitchen looks like an explosion in a vegetable factory!

Table shifting

The preparation for the flower show continues and after a particularly busy night shift looking after a chap with meningitis and two hours sleep, I went to the village hall to help hump all the tables around ready for the exhibitors on Saturday morning. Sylvia and Irene and I organised the tables and chairs and covered the whole of the tabletops with lining paper which was a real chore. Tomorrow morning we will put the primary school childrens' work on the walls, which will lighten the austere "look" of the hall a little. Usually the tea tables are left as you see them, so I suggested we cover them with a load of hand embroidered table cloths my mother made in the 1970s. They have never been put to good use and I think donating them to the show would be a nice gesture!. I also suggested we use all the sweat peas from my allotment to decorate each table , so hopefully the place will look a little more "decorative" Yes all very "gay"


we finished around 5pm, and I was glad to hear that the judge for the "best garden " category was very impressed with the cottage garden ( I wont officially hear the results until Saturday though!) I suspect I have not won, but having a commendation would be great.

Chris ha s been to the Flint and Denbigh show today with Janet and the Scotties, who came home covered head to tail with mud and totally exhausted from the stimulation of an animal show.

Rainy day jobs!

There is only one good thing about torrential rain, and that is that it allows you to catch up with those jobs that you often put to one side. After getting a dreadful soaking on the beach,delivering eggs and potatoes, collecting more applications for the flower show (we will be up around 100 % on last years applications!), organising Chris and Janet's picnic for tomorrow's Flint and Denbigh Show and cleaning and feeding the chickens (under an umbrella!) ; I have lit the fire, cleaned up the house and completed those hidden away jobs!

So I have completed the bookings for the kennels for our New York holiday and Christmas; written 2 letters and 6 e-mails to friends; brushed the dogs; tidied up the bureau in the living room; chucked out a load of paperwork and worked out my annual leave for work, which is useful as I am working nights tonight.

I am also very excited as I have booked a table for the famous Rainbow Room in the Rockerfeller Centre! for the Saturday night, when we are in New York! Its on the 65th floor and overlooks the city! I hope we are not sat next to the toilets!