Sheffield catch ups & gale disasters

Sheffield didn't suffer the gale force winds that hit Trelawnyd last night, but it was a blustery night to go out in with Mike,John and Jane.
Mike's mum is poorly in hospital,so it was good to catch up with him,offer expensive beer and sympathy, and have a bit of a well needed laugh but laugh is something I always do with the three of them every time we meet up.
John as usual was on great form and regaled us with stories of a recent trip to Kathmandu.When on full flow his is more like Bette Bavis than Bette Davis actually was, and can "hold court" wonderfully for hours.
All Bar One as per.......service has gone off slightly which is a pity.


Came back to Wales early, and stopped at Ladybower at 8am to photograph the view which was dull but still incredibly pretty.and got back to Trelawnyd at 10am . The allotment had been "trashed" by the winds last night, and I was pissed off to see that my new feed shed had been ripped literally apart and scattered all over the graveyard with my feed buckets and smashed cloche's for company.Much of the electric fencing had been pulled around and several of the hens had escaped only to be rounded up by an irate Chris this morning.Even my warning sign up on the telephone pole had been ripped away!
The whole disaster was very upsetting! but the damage was nothing compared to the wood On Gop Hill, where several large trees had been uprooted and flung around like matchwood.
I took the dogs through the woods and it was lovely to lie down out of the wind and enjoy cloud watching, (even though Maddie insisted in sitting on my chest)

Rhythm of Life

Off to Sheffield this afternoon for my "city" fix, which will be lovely. When I was letting the birds out at 7.30 am I got to thinking of rhythms in you life( hence the great song from Sweet Charity)- I am very lucky as my life away from work has in fact a "work-like" routine and rhythm to it. Get up early,hens,ducks,coffee,housework,dogs,walk on beach,shop,(Daily post)hens,allotment,dog walk,cook,bake,walk,blog and bed.........yeap lovely but Sheffield DOES look quite exciting on occassion.........

Northern Ballet,garlic and shallots

Venue Cymru in Llandudno, generally caters for an older rather blue collar audience, so I was excited to see that the Leeds based Northern Ballet is coming to town in June with their new production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Chris is hopefully getting me tickets for my birthday , and we hope to get a whole family group together to enjoy what I hope will be a cracking production.
I became a fan of Northern Ballet when we lived in Sheffield, and friend John and I saw some stunning ballets at the Lyceum. I loved Dracula ( with a first act that had to be seen to be believed) and the very,very sexy (and sexually ambiguous) Car Man ( with Alan Vincent- he of the hairy chest in Mathew Bourne's Nutcracker pic below) Even some of the productions that didn't really work that well ( like A streetcar named desire) were well worth going to see, as certain parts were visually stunning to watch.
The reviews seem very good for Nights Dream....I do hope he can get tickets!

The weather has been quite bright and warm today so I gave up trying to have a sleep after nights and got out into the allotment to plant my shallots and garlic.

ps. he just bought the tickets!

pps. just had an email re Carman:-apparantly
"Car Man wasn't Northern Ballet Theatre, it was a company that was then called Adventures in Motion Pictures, the Matthew Bourne Company that for legal reasons is now called New Adventures".

At Last

I am working tonight so have been pottering around at home all day. Chancing fate, I have planted the first of this years crops, Early broad beans! Some tender plants under the closhes and the hardy varieties in the first vegetable patch.

My potatos will be next, but I will wait until March has just arrived before doing so, just in case of frosts.

Shallots and onions will be next and the thought of starting to grow the veg again is wonderfull.

New Series 4 Doctor Who cinema Trailer

Now I am not a Doctor Who fan, but I thought that this cinema trailer was pretty impressive. Catherine Tate is a most unlikely leading lady, but is kind of impressive in a frumpy/teacherish sort of way

William grows up

William has turned the corner from puppy to dog, and is turning out to be a lovely natured and bright animal. I have said it before that I never really enjoy puppies. Sure they are pretty and attractive but I do find them rather bland and shallow. I have found with all five dogs we have owned, that only when that stupid, clumsy sledgehammer puppy mentality has been out grown have I grown close to the "real" personalities that each animal possesses. Maddie is loyal,routine led and moody, Meg,needy,nervous and edgy whereas George is always hopeful and comic. William is bright, gentle and just a little pompous.which is endearing in itself.

Neighbours.......cymdogion

Even though they had an early morning run on the beach the dogs were full of beans today, and were literally bouncing off the walls when I got in at midday after a couple of hours finishing off the last of the vegetable patches. The weather is bright but ever so cold, so I took them for a walk down the lane where I thought we would be protected from the blustery wind and freezing temperatures.
Working on the land so much gives me the opportunity to meet and come in contact with my neighbours on a daily basis.Passing faces become more friendly the more you see them, and smiles evolve into conversations, even though you often don't know the person's name you have been chatting to for months and months.
My favourite neighbour is widow Mrs Jones who lives in the old farmhouse Pen-y-cefn isa, just on the other side of the shallow valley.

Her old farmhouse has seen slightly better days but is a charming old place, and I always have the fantasy of wanting to live there every time I amble pass. Mrs Jones drives down the lane daily and I always get a beaming smile and wave off her as she crawls past the field bend. At night, I always think that the lights from Pen-y-cefn isa ( which translates literally as Head -of- the -back- lower ) are incredibly reassuring amid the black fields.
The view of Trelawnyd from the south (left) is rather quaint and I took the dogs down Gypsy lane (below) to flush out pheasants to chase.
We couldn't find any but did watch a group of Buzzards whirl and cry above a "kill" somewhere in the fields. Off to the cinema later to see Juno.

Juno

I am sure that the inspiration for the film Juno (2007) was the wisecracking older- than -her -years teenager Darleen from tv's Roseanne;but on reflection I think everyone in Jason Reitman's sweet natured comedy about the trials and tribulations surrounding a teenage pregnancy is smart mouthed and insightful.Of course this gives the film a slightly unreal quality in a similar vein and feel the 1980's sitcom possessed, but the whole production; the writing and the performances, are filled with so much clever charm,the audience forgives its slim connection with the real world.
Juno turns the angst teenage pregnancy story on its head with intelligent comments on relationships,the difficulties of being an adult and parenthood, but it does this with sharpness and clarity that isn't over shadowed by gloom and cynicism. Ellen Page brings a luminescence to the heroine Juno and the rest of the cast have their moments to shine in key,often very moving scenes. Most notable of these is Michael Cera as Juno's loyal, nerdy boyfriend and a wonderfully underplayed turn by Jennifer Garner, as an uptight adoptive mother.
I gave the film a good 9/10