Australia

I know that the reviews for the movie Australia (2008) have been somewhat lacklustre, so it was with a slightly heavy heart that we went to see Baz Luhrmann's homage to the film epic this evening.
Ok it was an hour too long.......ok it was full of Luhrmann's visual artificiality, and it was a complete amalgamation of perhaps 20 other films I have seen and loved, but I must admit, I really enjoyed 95 % of this three hour marathon.
Part western (think of John Wayne's Stagecoach) Part love story (Gone with the Wind/Out of Africa) and part war adventure (A Town called Alice) Australia is crammed with scenes that you feel you have seen before, Luhrmann has also added to the mix, a score of mixed race orphans,a truly nasty moustache twirling baddie (David Wenham) a heroic drunk (an obese Jack Thompson), the stampede scene from The Lion King and all the sad bits from Lassie Come Home and The Yearling.He has also obviously based his leads Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman on Paddy and Ida Carmody (Robert Mitchum and Derborah Kerr's characters from the delightful The Sundowners) and despite all these mixed ingredients the final film does work like a old fashioned charm.

Jackman oozes masculinity as the eponymous hero!, Kidman is perfectly fine as Lady Ashley and new child star aborigine actor Brandon Walters is a revelation as the mixed race Nullah.
The whole thing is simply an enjoyable romp that does not tax the brain too much, but having said that, some scenes remain terribly powerful to watch. I loved the stunning overhead shot of the death of Nullah's mother in the ranch water tower as the staff race forward to help her, and the sight of Jackman galloping past the willowy Kidman amid a herd of Australia brumbies truly takes the breath away.Take a box of chocs and a drink to the cinema, make yourself comfortable and enjoy this 1940's romp...........it's great fun!

Albert

Albert has started to flex his claws and has entered the vast world which is the field. The chickens hold a deep fascination for him, and all of them except the runt Bunny are far too big and aggressive to be effectively hunted and killed. Rather slowly he has stalked the little hen for an hour this morning but as long as she remains inside her enclosure, Rogo the cockerel will maintain her safety at all times. Unable to reach her, he had to be satisfied with catching and partially eating a hapless field mouse!

....you know you're middle aged when......

..you fall asleep on the couch at 7pm with a dog on your knee

..you get excited over a homemade sherry trifle

..you prefer sitting by the fire instead of going out in the cold to the pictures.

..you leave your woolly hat on in the house cos it keeps your head warm.

..you enjoy watching the 1968 film Oliver! rather than the latest celebrity Big Brother

...the doctor who ,you actually remember the most is Jon Pertwee

Sorrel and Chris have spent another day shopping (this time in Chester) I knew they would be too tired to go to the cinema this evening so we will go and see Australia tomorrow night. Nuala went to see it yesterday in an effort to divert herself from her sad mood.......she gave it an 8 out of 10! She also saw the much lauded The Reader (which she gave 9/10)....I hope to see that next week.

So this evening we have had a somewhat relaxed time. Oliver on the tv, Chris on his computer and the dogs on Sorrel.......yeap middle aged we definitely are.....

How clean is your cottage?

Now I usually drag the rows of Christmas cards and tastefully placed sprigs of holly down on Boxing day, as for me Christmas is totally over by then.Seeing that Sorrel was visiting us late I have had to leave the decs up, which is an extremely stressful thing to do when you are a border line compulsive obsessive as I am. Chris and Sorrel have spent the day shopping, so I have enjoyed a few hours cleaning and bagging up all the tinsel!
I know it is not terribly interesting but for me a good clean is a terribly therapeutic pastime. It's a good job too, with William's disguesting bowel habits still reeking havoc on the cottage shagpile! and Albert's constant need to tap dance in his cat litter. Sometimes it is like living in a large,large petri dish!

Siberia

The cold snap here in Wales continues! and everyone is saying that the sub zero temperature seem to be the lowest in recent memory! Sorrel and Chris have set up camp next to the fire this morning and are curled up with a dvd of Mamma Mia. I have just taken the dogs up the Gop, which is stiff,icy and quite beautiful in the thick, thick frost.The birds cope with the frost well, but I have had to break the ice on their water feeders twice this morning already!

William was getting rather impatient with me on our walk as I paused to send my New Year texts to friends!, the network seems to be down at the moment, so "Happy New Year" to Jane,Geoff,Nige,Hazel,Jonney H,Mike & Bev,Nia,Nu and Jim etc etc etc

Nigella lives

Ann did her hostess with the mostess performance last night, as we all got together for a a New Year's Eve dinner.Below she was giving it the old "Nigella lips" whist slicing the Cheesecake.
Below Chris and I in "evening wear" How camp do I look? Well I was dressed as Craig Revel Horwood

Janet (looking very glam) Ned (in full kilt dress suit) and Sorrel

Carol (Tim's sister) Brother Andrew and Jayne

We finished a lovely meal just before Midnight, and went outside to call in the New Year as the fireworks exploded over Prestatyn.

Happy New Year

2008 has been a rather mixed bag. For Chris it has meant success at work and the development of oodles of research projects and contacts over the country, and for me it has meant the development of the 6 allotments, a doubling of my own breeding hen and duck numbers and the initiation of a fairly unhealthy love affair with a rather ugly male turkey!
The allotment "open" has cemented our standing and relationships within the village community and the arrival of 14 little ducklings and a score of chicks has proved somewhat magical.
We lost old Joan and gained the over confident Albert. We almost lost William too, but generally the animal population has gone from strength to strength.
Several Old friends have suffered terrible life challenges and have needed our support while we have celebrated marriages and births with others.who have returned to us after long absences.Old colleagues and mentors have sadly died and new members of the family have been welcomed into the fold,but as always my Sheffield friends,as well as Nu and Nia have always been there, always constants and always supportive
The year has flown by,....at our age they always seem to do so.......but we have been lucky.Lets hope we all have a good, healthy and happy 2009

Catch up

Today has been a bit of a "non" day. Sorrel is arriving later from Kent, I am working on night shift, and the weather remains icy cold but bright. The sun has that slightly milky, weak look and everything is bathed in an almost "sunset" type hue. George came over with me to feed the birds this afternoon and spent most of the time squaring up to Rogo.
I caught up with Nu this afternoon; she sounded exhausted and overwhelmed, Una's funeral will be next Wednesday over in Liverpool. It seems as though her family has lived its life at one Church service or another over the past year, at least I can make the service, for what little help that will be.
Tomorrow night we are all invited to Ann and Tim's for a "strictly come dancing" evening.....