Elizabeth The Golden Age

The trailer for the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) looks stunning! and has a cast to die for! Cate Blanchett,Clive Owen,Geoffrey Rush and a striking Samantha Morton as Mary Queen of Scots. The scene where Blanchett stands up to Philip of Spain ( a very sexy Jordi Mollà) looks quite spectacular!

A Blair Witch moment & Atonement

The mystery of the wooden structures in Gop wood has been solved. For months now, the dogs and I have come across a whole selection of rough teepee like wooden houses, constructed in the woods on the Eastern slope of the Gop. The one that George is exploring (right pic) is quite professionally made, and I always thought they were too tidy for kids "dens". Apparantly the woodland houses are a project organised by Trelawnyd school, to increase the childrens' knowlegde of county pursuits.

Happier (and busier) day today. Up early to shampoo the carpets to rid the cottage of George's hormonal scent marking, did some cooking and had taken the dogs up the Gop all before 10 am. After I had disinfected the coops and changed the ducks swimming water it was nice to sit in the coop and watch the birds. Some animals just enjoy the physical contact with people, and I am always moved when for one reason or another they seek you out.

Meg always climbs into bed after her early morning walk with Chris, and seems to "need" that closeness every day. George and Maddie just need to be in close proximity, perhaps with a muzzle just touching a leg or shoe! Out of all the hens Mildred is the only one that will initiate a physical contact and actively seeks me out to sit on a knee or to collect the odd stroke and I am convinced that it is the contact she enjoys rather than an opportunity to collect the odd titbit. I must have looked a bit wierd lying in the field with a chicken on my chest!

Strimmed the rest of the field, and started to clear some of the overgrown hedges which is a grotty job. I have also chased up the estate agents acting on behalf of the Church about the documentation for the field and I should (finally) sign for it on Friday. I also (how middle aged is this?) spoke to a nice chap from Flintshire Council road planning dept asking for help with the increased farm traffic and damage to the cottage wall. He is comming out to surey the problem personally on Friday! which I thought was an excellent level of service.

Atonement (2007) at Llandudno tonight is one of the best films I have seen in 2007. I just loved it. Complicated,wonderfully underplayed and beautifully shot by Seamus McGarvey, I could sit through it all again. James McAvoy and Keira Knightley as usual are perfect but the film is stolen from them just a little by 13 year old Saoirse Ronan as the lovelorn Birony and old trouper Vanessa Redgrave as her 7o year old alter ego. A cracking film!

Out of sorts

I feel a bit out of sorts today, which is a rarity for me! Nothing seems to have gone smoothly, and every job has seemed to have dragged on way too long. By tea time I could have bitten one of the chicken's heads off I was so irritated and fed up !It has not helped getting a letter from a guy in Prestatyn whose car I knocked into near Janet's house in May. I had immediately told him It was my fault and gave him my details but didn't think too much of it as the faint mark was only on the wing mirror and not even half a centimeter long! Anyhow His letter quoted 187 quid to get it fixed! (100 quid in labour alone).....we will see.



This evening Hazel and I went to see Au-delà de la haine (2005) at Theatre Clwyd:- a bloody irritating documentary which should have en extremely moving story of how a French family coped with dignity and pain through the homophobic killing of their son by a trio of skin heads. The family and legal team seemed so articulate and the narrative at one stage seemed so "directed" both Hazel and I were convinced that all the characters were in fact actors and the piece itself just a fictional story........we eventually walked out 15 minutes before it finished. A perfect end to a shitty day! Thank god I don't have many days like this!

Hormonal George,Mice,a gypsy site,Farm traffic problems and Chris' first day

Up early this morning as I gave Chris a lift to the station for his first day at Bangor University. I did suggest he take several small mementos (pics of me, dogs and postcards etc) to decorate his office, but I think he is perfectly happy in working in a somewhat sterile environment! Took the dogs to the beach early and it was evident that George's testosterone levels are on the up and up, much to the disgust of Meg who he seems besotted with at the moment.
Got home at 10 am, and had the fairly nasty job of cleaning out the outhouse , which was the first important job of the day as I saw two mice somersaulting around the shelves with gay abandon when I went to collect the hen food earlier. Thinking I could flush out the dirty little buggers with a broom I stationed Maddie (pic) and George on the patio and went in with Joan under my arm as extra firepower! Hormonal George was a dead loss as he spent most of his time dealing with his erection but killer Maddie came up trumps and literally hurled herself into the outhouse and without giving the mouse time to squeak, munched it to death with great relish. I left the door open throughout the day and Joan got there in the end by stalking the other rodent for what seemed like hours and finally catching him at 6pm! Job well done !!!

The ducks are settling down nicely, but I was worried that they still do not know where to go at night. (The last two nights Chris and I had to physically catch each one and place them into the duck house) So in a fit of physical exertion I re arranged the hen houses into a sort of corral and connected each one with chicken wire and stakes! (so that I could gently herd the ducks into a smaller area which would then lead to their duckhouse (little ark in the left hand corner)........now the whole thing does not look too pretty, in fact it does look rather like a somewhat scruffy gypsy camp! or the set of I'm a celebrity, get me out of here! but it worked like a dream this evening, and in seconds they were tucked up safe and warm and chuntering happily to themselves.
Got the Belingo sideswiped by a bloody combine when I took the dogs up to the Gop for their evening walk. I actually saw it trying to negotiate the lane and by the time I got to the car it had gone! leaving a nice panel dent in the front driver's side. Living in the country does have its individual problems you know! it's not all sweet locals and village fetes!....hey ho!

aaaarrrrrhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LBC reported today that pregnant women in England will be entitled to a £200 lump sum to spend on healthy food, in government plans to be announced on Wednesday.
From April 2009, expectant mums could have the benefit paid in the 29th week of their pregnancy.
The grant is intended to reduce infant mortality and close the health inequality gap between richer and poorer families.
Women must have a health and welfare session with a professional( who????) to claim the money - but they don't have to prove the money is actually spent on nutritious food.

I am so angry!!Yet again we ( childless singles and childless couples) have to pay for other people's beer and cig money! in the name of supporting baby makers! Perhaps the millions needed to support this vote spinning scheme would be better used educating people about when to have (or more importantly NOT have) children.

We bought dogs as pets because we COULD AFFORD TO DO SO! If we could not afford to do so, we wouldn't have done it.

Children are obviously a bigger, more important and all consuming life long commitment, but I am serious about thinking the same rule should apply! If you cannot afford to raise a child well simply... DON'T HAVE ONE!!

I know, I know circumstances can and do change with people and genuine hardships should always be supported, but to be honest how many people have a child without the depth of thought needed to prepare and deal with one? Bloody loads!!!!!!!!! I think my preparation for the runner ducks was more in depth than many prospective parents!....................


I know I am a grumpy old git

Harold & Maude and Pumpkins

Been reading tons of duck information on the Internet last night and most of the literature state that ducks are better off and happier in a larger group than just one pair! So this morning I rang Mrs Baxter and bagged her last two ducks! I was amused that their names are Harold and Maude and the reference to the cult 1971 film Harold and Maude (1971) was not lost on me at all. Walter and Nell immediately settled down when their numbers doubled this morning.

I watched the ducks settle down this morning as I was clearing the vegetable patch. My pumpkins are doing very well and I may have a good specimen ready for Halloween.

sky watching

I think I am strange in the way that puppies have little effect on me. I much prefer the personalities of older dogs rather than the bouncy,juvenile idiocy that a young dog can exhibit. All our dogs took a long time to grow on me, and William will be no different. However, on the beach today, he did something that endeared me to him quite noticeably. A small plane went passed, following the coast from East to West. It was noisy but high in the sky, and for the longest time William stopped his play and watched the plane as it went past. This "watching" nature is typical of terriers, and never fails to move me, when I witness it

Walter and Nell

There is something very benign about ducks. I think they are very similar to dolphins and beavers in that respect as they always seem to be cheerful and smiley.
I drove up to a charming house in the back and beyond behind Abergele and met a nice couple from the South East who had "retired" in the middle of nowhere. Mrs Baxter had no previous experience at poultry keeping before they came and had, like myself, learnt on the "hoof" as it were. As soon as I saw her runner ducks for sale I knew I wanted to keep them all!as they seem to be natural comics and show offs.
She was full of enthusiasm for the breeding of her own ducks and hens I got quite caught up in the excitement of it all, so bought a breeding pair of ducks instead of two females.
So Walter and Nell are now the latest additions to the menagerie. They tottered around their new compound as if on tip toe, much to the shock of the chickens who having never seen a duck before, legged it to the farthest corner of the enclosure and stayed there in a tight ball of nervous feathers. Drakes do not quack (something new I have learnt today), but they do "murmur" to themselves constantly. Nell on the other hand has never stopped quacking, albeit very quietly!! They are very cute,! I can see myself buying and breeding quite a few more.