North and South

I caught a re run of this "lavish" American mini series last night on Sky. Originally made in the early 1980s this "epic family story" set against the American civil war was a prime example of how artificial looking and plastic these mini series actually were.They always reminded me of history romps which Barbara Cartland would have written!
Having said this, I really enjoyed my trip down memory lane last night, what with Lesley Anne-Down getting her arse whipped by Southern baddie David Carradine...and the strapping James Reed being all homoerotic with best friend Patrick Swayze!(who sported a very disguesting mullet as I remembered!)
Bill Conti's lovely music deserved a feature film!!! and what a cast????

Boris and the funeral

Another day, another funeral! This morning the village Church was filled to overflowing with people paying their respects to old Mrs Lewis who died last week. Twenty or so of the congregation even had to stand outside the church , and I was slightly taken aback as I collected the eggs, when around a couple of hundred people walked to the burial spot in the graveyard when the service was over.
I suspect it was the huge collection of black overcoats that set Boris off. Perhaps they resembled a male turkey's plumage, but as the vicar led the congregation slowly through the new graveyard (to the right of the above photo) off Boris galloped, in full feathered display! As the somber crowd gathered, he "gobbled" "whistled" and "snorted" at the top of his voice so much that mourners started to turn and point to where the strange noises were coming from!
I thought I was standing at a respectful distance behind the buff hen houses, but I knew I couldn't leave him excitedly showing off literally feet from the Church fencing! Crouching low and looking somewhat like a middle aged scarecrow( dirty combats,wellies,dirty woolly hat!), I crossed the duck enclosure like a commando (with Albert bouncing along behind me) and roughly grabbed Boris who let out a massive squawk!
Nearly giving myself a hernia I carried him to the duck house and bundled him in, where he continued to "gobble" and kick the door loudly with his massive feet! At this time severel people we smiling and pointing The whole thing must have looked rather ridiculous.
I hid behind the duckhouse until most of the congregation had disappeared!

The 10 chicks have grown up nicely, but are far too delicate to be let out in this cold weather.The wyandotte bantam chicks (the grey and black and gray babies above) look rather like the black and white minstrels from 1960's tv and are incredibly cute. I would love to keep most of them, but I know I have to draw a line in the number of mouths we have to feed. Chris' colleague Jo is having three of the little ones.
The rest of the day I have been planning the spring planting for the allotment. Beryl from Rhodfa Arthur (Rhodfa is Welsh for avenue) called this afternoon to let me know that one of the ducks had escaped and was outside her house...as it turned up it was a old white female duck and wasn't one of my girls........if it still around tomorrow I told her I would try and catch her......yep another beak to feed.......

Una

You could feel waves of raw emotion and respect at Una's funeral, which was held in a very cold catholic church in Waterloo,Liverpool this afternoon. Literally hundreds of people were crammed into every corner and down both side aisles of the church, so I was glad I managed to find my way there promptly.
Chris was interviewing for staff today, so was unable to go with me, so I was lucky I caught sight of Rachel and Paula (two old friends of Nuala's) and teamed up with them.
Nuala's elder sister Una was head teacher of an inner city primary school and was obviously adored and respected by all she came into contact with both in her professional and personal life. Five priests took the long service (another sign of how important Una was to her community),and incredibly moving tributes were made by Una's husband John and the elderly family priest Father Sean.
I cannot remember the last time I actually shed a tear at a funeral, even at my own Parents and grandparents' funerals I remember being somewhat stoic emotionally, which I guess is a reflection of being safely in control. Today, the sadness of an all too premature death coupled with a beautifully measured set of tributes and an incredible choir proved too much and the tears flowed.
The family had planned a private ceremony at the crematorium following the mass, and with the animals uncared for at home I couldn't really wait until the funeral "tea" to touch base with Nu.
It took half an hour just to get out of the church, the crowd was so dense, but as fate would have it, as I walked through the doors Nuala was standing right outside,looking rather tired and drawn. Before she left with the family, I was able to give her a long,long hug of support.. It was the only thing I could do to help her.
It was such a sad, sad day

another Australia trailer

Now I am a fan of Russell Crowe, but I cannot believe he was first choice for the lead in Australia!.
I enjoyed this trailer slightly more than my previous post on the matter!

More mouths to feed

One side effect of the cold snap has proved to be an increase in numbers of the local bird population. At every feeding time, I am used to the unruly mob of around 30 house sparrows, all chattering and fighting like a large group of schoolboys descending onto the field from the hedgerows, but now we have up to six pheasants, a small flock of pied wagtails,a ubiquitous trio of robins and the usual suspects which are the crows,rooks and seagulls.

My poultry only seem to accept the game birds, and hardly batter an eye as the pheasants sail in over the graveyard like enemy bombers to grab hurried mouthfuls of corn. They actively hate the smaller thieving bastards, especially the comical sparrows, which they chase off incessantly.When the adolescent sparrows were learning to fly,I remember with a little shame that the hens often stalked and killed the baby birds before they could take off for the hedges!

I have cleaned out the coops in the freezing sunshine this afternoon, with George,Maddie and Albert keeping me company. At one stage I was on my hands and knees in the duckhouse with the two dogs,cat and the inquisitive Boris, all stood in a row watching me silently....I wish I had remembered my camera.

Tomorrow is Una's funeral over in Liverpool. I think I can just about get over to attend the service but will have to leave fairly sharpish to get back for the dogs. No funeral is a happy event, but this one will be an incredibly sad affair.I just hope I can catch up with Nuala, it is important she knows that she has someone (out of many I suspect) that is standing in her corner!

Chris went back to work today, and Sorrel is now safely back in Broadstairs, so I am back to animal caring and eggs deliveries. The new hens are laying nicely now (including the ever optimistic Bunny who bangs out a tiny brown egg a day!) These tiny eggs are not that useful to sell as they are far too small, so I popped them up to old Mrs Jones to see if she wanted them. The freezing weather can often isolate the elderly within any community, but In Trelawnyd, the pensioner bungalows have all had their icy paths cleared and gritted by supportive neighbours
Chris has started knitting again.......he is halfway through a foot wide scarf at present!

Ice cold in.....

It rained yesterday and because the temperature dropped so low last night, the lane and field resembles an ice rink. The gravediggers cannot actually get through the upper layers of soil in the Churchyard which is a little worrying as they have a funeral to prepare for Thursday.
I have been warned today that a local "character" may be interesting in nicking my buffs after he learnt that they can fetch 30 quid each! Tis a bit worrying, but I have heard rumours like this before.
Sorrel goes home tomorrow and Chris gets back to work then too (I am at work tonight), so the cottage will be quiet again during the day! Not that I am complaining, Sorrel is a delight to "look after"

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!