Petula Clark - Downtown

I was 2 years old when Pet Clark was belting out this classic........

The "Bug"

Hazel (left) and Marie have been bitten by the hen keeping bug after seeing my girls running riot in Trelawnyd. Hazel has 5 hybrids and will soon have one of my Buff Chicks, and Marie as you can see has three girls.Both have been growing their own vegetables and Hazel is actively looking for an allotment to rent, so we feel as though we are members of an exclusive club.
I have not managed to do much in the allotment today as it has literally pissed it down all day. Unfortunately the ducklings still have to be shut in as their feathers are not quite formed, so cleaning the hut out was a particularly fraught and dirty job this afternoon.The rest of the day has been filled with jobs indoors. At least Chris' Canadian cowboy hat has come in handy, as it may look ridiculous but it sure keeps you dry in the rain.
Last night I went to a friend's house for a supportive chat,( Chris terms it an emotional romp) Ended up drinking a large glug of her Bombay Sapphire......hey ho

Friends

If I can fit it in with Chris and the animals I hope to slip over to Sheffield next week for a quick friend fix. Out of everything we left in Sheffield ( three years ago now) it is the friendships I made over the 16 years there, that I miss the most. Having said that, I have always had the discipline to keep in touch with friends:- Nuala in London is a case in point ( and to be honest I am long overdue for a visit down there too), so "popping" the hundred or so miles over to Yorkshire, to me feels perfectly normal.

I was talking about my planned visit with a colleague at work today, and I was surprised somewhat by a question she asked me. She asked if I was lonely?

I thought about this on the drive home, and I can honestly say that I am not lonely here, but I DO miss having a fairly large set of like minded and interesting friends "on tap" as it were.

Historically Chris has always worked incredibly hard during the week, in Sheffield he commuted long distances and therefore didn't get home until late; here he gets home earlier but tends to go to bed at a reasonable hour as he has an early start every morning. In Sheffield that time to myself was filled with friends, here in Wales it is filled with family and animals, and although that is wonderful I do miss the spoilt indulgence that close friendships give you.

I guess that sounds a little shallow and just a tad needy, perhaps it is just a little, who knows.

pic) Elizabeth Spriggs is number 5 hen to get the broody bug.........

The Mist Trailer

Now forgive me, if this blog is repeated, having some problems with youtube.
Readers may know that I am a disaster film fanatic, so you all won't be surprised that I am looking forward excitedly to the release of THE MIST....I know it is not the typical disaster film, but it does have all the required ingredients: cardboard characters thrown together in the face of disaster,old lady character (my fav Francis Sternhagan---from Outland, ER and Sex and the city)--she's bound to get the chop and lots of tension....

can't wait

Temper

I hate loosing my temper, and I am lucky it does not happen that often, but when upset I can give "as good as I get", when the need arises.

Today and one day last week are two cases in point. I had been working with a terribly negative senior nurse, who expends great effort being negative with every member of junior staff that works in her team. As a former manager of a fairly happy and successful ward team,I found this type of negativity is at best tiring and at worst totally demoralizing to junior staff, and I just knew she was going to try and pick me up on something or other. I won't go into details but the criticism came just at the end of a busy shift and on the shop floor, and I was having non of it. Loudly ( a little too loudly but I must say effectively) I disagreed with the criticism offered and turned the whole comment around assertively and with an irritating touch of patronising edge.It was her fault that the whole thing was overheard and enjoyed by several other junior staff . A small but satisfying victory .

Today I "had words" with the guy working on my field boundary. It was a product of both our frustrations. His at trying to complete a job single handed and mine at having large farm machinery thundering back and forth next to the nervous ducklings. I would not have lost my temper save for the fact that he talked over my argument, and like an old queen I did have a small dickey fit in order to get my own point of view listened to.

Anyhow, finally we both backed off a little and offered each other an olive. branch like real adults.........he went back to his fence and I stalked back to my ducklings

pic is of the single blackbird chick sat on his nest by the front door

Heinz Deli Mayo 'Mum'

AM I really missing something? 200 complaints stated that this advert is in bad taste, and Heinz, terrified at not upsetting anyone has pulled it from its tv slots............

how sad.........

What ever happened to Baby Jane?

An application for planning permission has gone in again on the old garden of our cottage. The land is owned by the previous owners and planning has been denied a couple of times for the construction of a bungalow due to access problems. This time I suspect a revised access plan has been submitted, so planning could well be granted,and although the building of a bungalow would be inconvenient and would take away a lovely old orchard and our washing line, we would not be overlooked. What would upset me the most with loosing the old garden, would be the destruction of another "piece of green". and I know that we as well as two of the three adjoining neighbours will be submitting a complaint. Lets hope that the application will be rejected again.

The wild flower border has started to bloom again on the borders of the vegetable patch, and bright patches of colour have lifted the deep greens of the vegetables. The seeds were 99p from diskos.

The weather has been lovely today so I have caught up with all those jobs I have neglected when Nige was over. I have strimmed all around the enclosures and cleaned out all the coops ( no sign of red mite) The ducklings are now big enough to be let loose in the big yellow run, so their little chicken wire enclosure has been moved to surround Colleen Nolan still sat firm on her 7 eggs in the rabbit hutch.

When I opened up the hen houses this morning I was stunned to see Baby Jane running around the enclosure with a large and very dead mole in her beak. I have never seen this behaviour before, sure the hens have eaten small baby frogs and insects found when scavenging, but a mole? The rodent was fought over by several of the hens and eventually most of it was dispatched by the flock...........the hens looked more like dinosaurs from Jurassic Park....weird.and just a touch unsettling

Round Robin

I loved having Nige over as we could yak on about films all day long if allowed. Strange that I was talking about round robin e mails with him last night and hey presto I recieved one such e mail from another friend tonight.
Had a relaxing few minutes filling it all in:-

1Q:Do you ever go to the cinema on your own?
A. Yes, actually I prefer to watch a film alone if I can, but usually only for afternoon showings. I love being in a cinema totally alone

2Q: what was the first film do you remember going to see in the cinema?
A: “The sound of Music” in the scala, Prestatyn. With Janet (twin) and mother. I think my Aunt Greta was there too. I was bored but liked the nuns (how gay was that even then?>>>)

3Q: Have you ever “made out” with a girl on the back row?
A: strange as this may seem, I have………tee hee…….It was a long long time ago and I must have hated the film in question (It was The Cassandra Crossing). No I don’t remember her name.

4Q: Tub of ice cream or popcorn?
A: oh Ice cream every time

5Q: What is the film that MOST disappointed you?
A: As a teenager it was Airport 79-The Concord and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure….(truly awful disaster films) Recently Elizabeth- the golden age was a major let down.

6Q: Subtitles? Can you do them and what foreign films do you rate?
A: I love world cinema…….too many films to mention really but lets see: A very long Engagement, Amelie, Central Station, La vie en Rose, The Orphanage, The Chorus, Ne la,dis a personne, talk to her, All About My Mother, Pans labyrinth,

7Q: What film did you last cry at?
A: I had a sniff at the end of The Savages, when Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman ( as brother and sister) fall asleep together after the death of their father…..( a beautiful and subtle scene)

8Q: Have you ever walked out of a film?
A: Many many times………I just won’t put up with a terrible movie. The last film I walked out of was with Hazel….I don’t remember the title of it…it was that bad!

9Q: What 1940’s films have you loved?
A……another easy question, , Mrs Miniver, Key Largo, I remember Mama, Went the day well, Mildred Pierce, to name but a few

10Q: Have you seen a porn film in a cinema?
A: no fraid not………..I get dreadfully embarrassed if there is a graphic sex scene in a general film. Having said this I did see a dvd called “Banged up-Male prisoners on the loose” once……no Oscars for excellent acting there……nuff said

11Q: Which film star/ film character do you find sexy?
A: hummmm……..Russell Crowe in Gladiator would be number one (of course), Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain would be a close second ( I know he’s too young for me); runner ups would be Peter Sarsgaard in Kinsey, Damien Lewis ( even if he is a ginger) in Band of Brothers and Robert Mitchum in anything …

12.Q: Which star surprised you by being sexy on screen?
A; What a strange question? Erm probably Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent.

13.Q Who is your favourite child actor?
A: Easy…..Joseph Mazzello in Shadowlands…….I cried buckets at his scenes with the sobbing Anthony Hopkins

14.Q: How often would you like to go to the movies
A: Every day………