10 canoes and little Lord Fauntleroy

Ten Canoes (2006) at Theatre clwyd tonight was a meandering, sporadically interesting folk tale set in the ancient outback of Australia. It told how the lesson of patience and "be careful of what you wish for", but by the end I couldn't really care what the message was. I hate to say it but Apocalypto (2006) did it all a bit better.

Now I wasn't looking quit my best at 8.15 this morning! In fact I looked rather......shall we say......trailer trashy! I had Chris' tracksuit bottoms on (Back to front), my woolly long socks, crocks and a dirty Sainsbury's T shirt (also back to front)....but as I was feeding the chickens and ducks, it didn't really matter. So who turns up at the field? yep the blue blooded land agency man ! FINALLY!! After weeks of complaining he finally turned up to assess the field and to discuss the small print of me renting. I almost had a fit of the giggles, as he walked over from his pristine land rover. all wax jacket,moleskin trousers, expensive leather shoes, cut glass accent and smelling of something very expensive. As we chatted about the field I also realised with a a touch of shame that I had toothpaste all round my mouth! ......anyhow he said that the agreement WILL incorporate a proviso for an allotment, so my plans for a poly tunnel may be still on

Chris is in Liverpool tonight having his leaving do from Preston, we are off to Osborn house for a meal tomorrow night!

Heaton Chapel, Wrong Rooms and Bevs Birthday blog

an "atmospheric shot of Chapel Heaton" this morning

Went over toHeaton Chapel to see Nigel's new house last night; it was important to him that I visit and important to me to do so. His house is lovely, 1930's, cosy ,comfortable (With a garden!) and as always it was good to catch up with a meal and a few bottles of wine. Heaton Chapel is very suburban which is a change for Nige as he has always lived in more Bohemian/student type areas but typically of him he has already researched the area thoroughly with bus,rail,supermarkets, local amenities and local history information all down to a tee.

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I am reading an extraordinary moving book at the moment called Wrong Rooms by Mark Sanderson. It is the memoir of the love affair between Sanderson and his partner Drew, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Yep not a bag of laughs at times but very honest,very insightful and incredibly moving. I actually found myself in tears several times during the read, which is a rarity for me! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2027067.stm

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Got home at 11am this morning a took the dogs up the gop for a long walk along the old farm road. It feels like autumn today, a little cold and bright, and the leaves are starting to fall, softening the road nicely. I missed Finlay today, as he always had a habit of kicking fallen leaves like a little boy when out walking. Non of the present quartet have acquired this habit.

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Happy Birthday to friend Bev! Hope you have a great day

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ps. Flintshire County council sent out a couple of blokes this afternoon to review the corner and damage to the cottage wall. I think both guys enjoyed their afternoon as both smelt of lager! but they were helpful and threw up a couple of ideas to stop the damage! both laughed at my homemade sign!

Grumpy old signs and Dear Frankie

Homemade and clunky, the sign may help protect the wall, albeit for the shortest of times!. Got a few funny looks putting it up but I don't care.

Sometimes you can come across a little gem of a film in the most unexpected places. When I was on nights on Sunday night ( another bloody awful shift by the way) I caught a film on S4C when on my break. Dear Frankie (2004) is the gentle little story of single mum Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) who pretends to her deaf son Frankie (Jack McElhone) that his father is a seaman and works consistently away from home. Contact between the boy and his non-existant father is maintained by letters, with Lizzie secretly penning the replies. Frankie finds out that his "father's" ship is about to dock and the hunt is on for Lizzie to find a man to play her husband for a day so that the boy is not let down. The whole mess is complicated when Frankie's real father ( an abusive drunk who caused his son's deafness) tries to get back in touch. Set and filmed in and around Greenock, this film by Shona Auerbach has a nice underplayed touch and is genuinely warm and moving. I loved the performances from Mortimer,and McElhone, and also enjoyed Mary Riggans ( a scottish Brenda Vacarro!) as Frankie's Gran and Nuala - look-a-like Sharon Small as best friend Marie; mind you, the best performance was a subtle turn from hunk Gerard Butler as the stand in dad, who suddenly falls for the boy! A cracking little film.

Off to see Nigel this afternoon in Manchester!

quick note

Slept all day today as I am on nights again tonight . Another particularly busy shift which was capped off with an a cardiac arrest which despite everything we got back after a long resus. Enjoyed most of Strictly Come Dancing yesterday. Kelly Brook looked wonderful and was legs ahead of everyone else. I do hope Stephanie Beecham gets through as the old diva seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. Letitia Dean, funny and likable still looked like a pig in a dress.!

Laura Linney and a mixed week ahead

A friend e mailed me the other day to ask why I liked actress Laura Linney , and I had to think carefully about why I am such a fan. She has only appeared in 20 or so movies since the early 1990s and many of her roles have been in eclectic non mainstream-type films rather than big budget productions. I first remember her in the mini-series Tales of the City, as a gauche secretary experiencing gay 1970s San Francisco, and I always liked how "warm" she seemed to be. Mind you one of her best roles was a small appearance in The House of Mirth where she excelled as the evil Bertha Dorset, and I suspect she enjoys playing difficult , complex, and slightly neurotic characters rather than straightforward heroines. Her notable performances for me, have been the psychologically damaged older sister in You Can Count on Me (2000) ,an unsatisfied wife and mother in The Squid and the Whale (2005) and of course her recent turn in Jindabyne (2006) (see previous blog). I also liked her in Kinsey (2004),The Mothman Prophecies (2002) and the tv series "Frasier, in which she had smaller but vital roles in.

Working the whole weekend! but got lots organised for next week, which is nice. Tuesday I am off to see Nige in his new house in Manchester, Thursday off to the pics with Hazel, Friday is Osborn house in Llandudno for a meal with Chris and Saturday Judy is coming for tea. In between time I would like to go and see Pixar's Ratatouille (2007) which is out this week and has rave reviews (I KNOW it is an animation!!!) Am trying to buy a polytunnel too.....................! AND I must plant my winter veg! Pity it has been raining today!

Winter garb

Rainy and wet overnight, so summer crocs have been put away and wellies have been dug out of the outhouse. Ann gave me these knee-length woollen socks a few Christmas' ago, and I had forgotten just how warm and comforting they are. Not had them off for 4 days! which does sounds a tad lax.

I have manured (not personally!) and composted the allotment today. George Clooney has been on hold this week as both of us are reluctant to leave the cottage and fire when the nights have drawn in.

Facebook and old friends

Facebook is an odd phenomenon ! I cannot quite understand all the many parts of this social networking lark and it seems on the surface to be a teenage fad rather than the "professional" communication highway that it is often referred to. I was requested to join into the system by an old friend and through a whole series of convoluted connections I am now in contact with several people I have not heard from in ages. I guess that is nice in someways, as it is always great to hear (albeit briefly) from people who you have liked and who you have once knew: and I suppose on that one level, Facebook has been useful to me.
However, I know I am pretty good at keeping in touch with friends, and those people I want to keep up with, I do cherish and make the effort with. for those friends Facebook is an irrelevance, and is just a bit of a time waster really. Strangely enough I was thinking of one old friend that I would like to be in contact again. I was musing about her today after a conversation with friend Kathryn, who was worried about a friendship of hers which had changed recently, but I guess some friendships just die away, and should be left where they lay
To those thousands of other people who live their lives on Facebook, all I can say is good luck to you......I think I'll stay writing on my blog and pottering in my allotment.

Leeks and hard work

It has been a glorious day, warm and bright and not at all like a day in October. It has also been a day that a great deal has been done. I have cleared most of the weeds and summer veg from the allotment, picked the sprouts and have pulled the first of my leeks, which are on the short size, but taste absolutely lovely. I have also lugged tons of compost around and the chicken shit has made it rich,wonderfully strong but rather smelly!


George has spent the day keeping me company, (and chewing a discarded pumpkin) he has also sat for ages just watching the chickens with an unhealthy interest.