I spoke too soon

I have never known the weather so windy. Last night both of us were wide awake at 3am listening to the wind shriek around the cottage walls. I was convinced that the slates would be whipped away in the storm and kept getting up to check on the village of hen houses in the field. The boulders I had placed on each coop seemed to have worked wall as when I went out at 7am, everything seemed intact., The cottage is over three hundred years old,, so I had to remind myself that it has probably survived alot worse

Once

The trouble with musicals is that they live or die on the quality of their musical numbers. The naturistically shot modern musical Once is a case in point, it has just won an academy award for best song ("Falling Slowly"), and has had rave reviews for its musical score, but for me personally, I just didn't enjoy the style of songs sung, and that I guess is pretty important when you are trying so very hard to enjoy a musical.
The film itself reminds me of a sweet version of Lost in Translation (2003) Heart Broken Busker Glen Hansard meets a young Czech big issue seller Markéta Irglová in a Dublin street. The two of them write,rehearse and record several songs together before returning to their original partners but not before they embark on a gentle and platonic love affair.
The leads are likable, the narrative quirky and innovative but the music, for me was not the icing on the cake.
A nice 7/10

Raspberries,gooseberries,roadrunners and a funeral

My routine has been thrown around somewhat today, for I went to Deganwy near Llandudno to attend a patient's funeral. I am always early for any appointment, so It was a little strange to find myself sitting in the cold and rather austere Seaside church listening to (of all people) Neil Diamond.
Anyhow, this "quiet" time, got me to thinking about all the funerals I have sat through in my 45 years.
All funerals are by nature sad, but I do remember just one being a rather happy sort of affair!
A colleague, Janet, from Sheffield had planned her humanist funeral down to the last detail, and the reader that led the service did so with humour,talent and with an actor's flair for the spotlight. The congregation clapped and smiled along with the stories he told, and the much bandied around word of celebration fitted the occasion perfectly.
I spoke at my mother's funeral, and gained great solace in doing so. The very act of performing an eulogy gave me something to focus on which was separate from the occasion itself, and that diversion helped me through a difficult day. My grandfather's funeral on the other hand, was made into a comical farce by the fact that our car was side swiped by a lorry (no one was hurt!) on the way to the church, and Ann, Janet and I had to leg it quick sticks up the aisle seconds before the coffin arrived.Conversely,the same funeral was later made almost unbearable by my grandmother's crys of "my boy, my poor boy" as she followed my grandfather's coffin from the Church.
I have been in congregations of a handful and have been squashed on pews amongst crowds of people. Some hymns could hardly be heard when sung, where as in the case of Nia's Father Charles, a hundred or so Welsh voices lifted the roof with quality and passion.
I have stifled a giggle when nerves got the best of me and have become angry at a vicar's insensitive handling of the facts, but it is strange that during the dozens of funerals I have attended I have never cried in any of them.
That, to me is a private thing. Something you do when safely alone. In actual fact the last death I cried at was Fin's nearly a year ago, and that too, was done alone, in the car, with his little wrapped body on the passenger seat next to me.

I was happy that I had made the effort to go today. The eulogies performed by my patient's sons were moving and heartfelt,the minister (with her thick Brummie accent) was warm and appropriate with her words, and the family I had

got to know so well over nearly three months, seemed to have received some comfort with me being there to share something so personal.

I got home later than I had hoped and after dog duties I made the most of the weak sun and planted a row of raspberry canes (bottom pic) I even had time to put in one gooseberry bush ( for Chris) before packing up for the day.


The new girls are quite interesting characters. They differ quite a lot from the bog standard chickens of the main coop, and look a little like tv roadrunner when banging around the run.(above is Scarlett making a dash for the hen house)

I also have enrolled again in the local Bee keepers course at the University of Bangor's agricultural research station near Abergwyngregyn. I put Chris' name down too, should be fun seeing him in a bee keepers outfit.

Off to the pics later to see Once (2006)

Best supporting actress

I watched Jane Darwell's last performance, in a non speaking role as the bird lady in Mary Poppins (1964), last night on Youtube, and found myself incredibly moved by a certain something in her all too brief scene. John Ford captured a similar character trait" in her portrayal of Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940); a world weariness underpinned by a dignity, strength and integrity only a woman that has seen and experienced true hardship would possess. Darwell seemed never to mind being filmed in every unflattering type way. Under lit, huge shadows exaggerating her sagging face and piggy tired eyes, she always retained a certain deep humour and maternal power and thus became everyones' favourite mother,grandmother and aunt.
Alongside Fernanda Montenegro (Central do Brasil (1998) ,Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent (2003) and Thelma Ritter (in anything) she is one of my favourite character actors.

What disaster?

The media has been shrieking all day about "The storm of the year", as if it is Hurricane Katrina! in actual fact the whole thing (well in North Wales anyhow) has proved to be a bit of a damp squib, as we have had plenty of winter rain and very little else. The chickens have not had to tie themselves down like extras from the Poseidon Adventure, and I certainly was not in danger of being swept away when I took the dogs to the beach. (High tide was terribly high but not dangerously so) To be safe, I walked the dogs up Bishop's Wood (pic) where they spent ages trying to get into a badger sett.We then picked up Jess for some day care.
She is such a sweet and sociable little dog, I wanted her to "bond" with our four, and so far it seems to be going just fine ( although you can't quite work out where one dog stops and another starts) I think she is set to join us on our daily walks on the beach.

The argument for being a bit of an anorak

The conversation over dinner on Saturday covered many topics but we did have one debate on the importance of being "passionate" about something.in your life. Having a passionate hobby is often thought to be synonymous with being a bit of an anorak , but as the wine flowed, we all were in general agreement that this was not a bad thing to be. Ann and Janet have always had an arty streak in them, and Ann's talents have been recently directed into building up a Victorian dolls house. Her group of like minded make over fans is exhibiting small versions of their skills and we had a glimpse of Ann's production.
I must admit, on paper all this would leave me rather cold, but I was quite enchanted with the skill,imagination and thought put into Ann's conservatory. The dog (based on Finlay), had half buried his bone amongst the carrot bed, and scattered "dirt" had been carefully placed on his paws and even on the window ledges of the greenhouse.
Inside, she had even placed vine tomatoes (all ripe), next to casually dropped wellington boots, and plant pots and flowers set on shelves looked like something from Homes & Gardens.
I actually think I may go to the exhibition!
another first for me

prepare for the worst

The weather has not closed in as yet, but we are promised an arrival of "THE STORM" ,( as the BBC is calling it) overnight. I have been working all day, so Chris has weighted down the coops and removed all light weight equipment from the allotment.

We went to Ann & Tim's last night and had a great Jamie Oliver meal, Janet was getting nicely squiffy when we had to go home to sort the dogs out so we were sorry to leave! A nice night.

Southern Belles

Rushed blog as I have not had a minute to complete anything today, well anything "on line"
Osborne House was lovely last night, ( I had the liver), and today I have constructed the new hen house (below) and went to Flint to buy a couple of handsome Excelsior Leghorns for 20 quid EACH!
Caught Stanley and chucked him in with the newly named Scarlett and Melanie ( anyone seen Gone with the Wind????) Off to Ann and Tims for dinner then off to watch Andrew in the reforming of his 1970's band The Resistance
Not enough hours in the day and working all day tomorrow