One day

Meg

The wind was blustery and very very cold today at the beach,it was so cold that we only lasted 40 minutes on the freezing sand.The wind was gusting so hard that Meg looked like one of those dogs that you see on cartoon chases! She is a neurotic little dog and I must admit this is the first photo I have ever taken of her, when she looks remotely carefree!
Not much news to report today, Chris is working in Swansea so won't be home until late, so I am very much alone for the day.
Gary from the Trelogan duck pond called around to give my drakes the once over. He has taken the best looking male as a mate for his lone runner female and we have agreed to swap some fertilized duck eggs in the spring. It was nice to meet him properly as he seems as much as a poultry geek as I do!

Hunger

Hunger (2008) at Theatre Clwyd was never going to be an easy ride. Any film that chronicles the last 6 weeks of IRA member Bobby Sands' life on hunger strike in the Maze prison couldn't possibly be anything but powerful, but the story- put into the hands of director Steve McQueen and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt makes for a stunning piece of cinema.
Devoid of much dialogue ( except for a 17 minute electric encounter between Sands (Michael Fassbender) and his priest (the excellent Liam Cunningham) the whole film is basically a collection of prison life scenes, all absolutely beautifully and hauntingly shot.
In actual fact, I must say that Hunger is one of the most stunning visual experiences I have had watching a film in recent years. 9/10

Customers

A woman knocked on the cottage door this morning wanting to buy some hens. I have decided to keep the little grey bantams (centre) but would be willing to sell some of the buff chicks when they are a little bit bigger. She seemed very excited at the prospect of having hens but clearly after a bit of questioning had no idea of how to look after them.
I stopped her as when she said she thought they could live in her disused coal bunker, and suggested that she research hen keeping thoroughly before purchasing any birds from me. I even offered her one of my hen keeping books, but she seemed rather put out with my attitude and made her excuses and left.....no skin off my nose.
I dropped some eggs off to Pen-y- Cefn Isa and had a good chat with Arfon. He is a grumpy old git like me, so we do enjoy putting the world to rights by complaining of all those badly behaved people we come into contact with.In actual fact he is less tolerant than I am! (if that is at all possible)
Albert had a review at the vets this afternoon too, and was seen by the loud Polish vet. His good nature and disposition has made him somewhat of a local celebrity at the practice, as all the support staff, nurses and receptionist all made a point in coming in for a stroke and cuddle!
His temperature was down (and not even a flicker when she shoved the thermometer where the sun doesn't shine!), his leg neurology intact, which was great news and in 5 weeks or so, I have strict instructions to start a course of rehabilitation "physiotherapy" with him......which should be fun.
The vet was very professional and thorough.......I found out why a bit later when the nurse told me she thought I was an Orthopaedic doctor!...I put her right and told her I was a spinal injury nurse and she laughed and said.....
"We didn't think you were a doctor at all.... it's the way you dress, we all thought you were a farmer"........
No comment

Christmas gift

For nearly two decades I have indulged in a family joke with my nephew Chris regarding the quality (and indeed absence) of his Christmas pressies given (or not) to me since the 1980s. Sometimes I received one, many times I did not and for years I have been greatly amused by the state of wrapping paper he used (often the wrapping paper he had just torn from his own Christmas gifts!) and I always got to thinking ....where did he actually get that hastily grabbed bottle of wine?
My 2008 Christmas gift has just arrived! ok, it wasn't wrapped, it didn't even have a name tag, but in twenty years it was the most welcomed and thoughtful thing he has ever bought me.
The pressie was a collection of old Sheffield postcards, and I have enjoyed a nostalgic hour or so, flicking through the city's historical scenes. Above is the old Hospital which I worked in for many years....it is now a luxury housing estate, with a very trendy apartment located within the clock tower!
Cheers Chris (and partner Rebecca!) x

Sex

The male Indian runners have started with their hormones.I have 10 female ducks and 8 drakes which is not a good ratio to have. The males will often gang rape and possibly kill females in season, so it is better to have fewer males if at all possible. So today I have visited every local village pond to see if the pond "caretakers" will take my drakes.
I eventually spoke to Gary, the Trelogan village pond owner who pointed me out to another local chap who agreed to take 5 of my more ardent boys. It was also nice to speak to another happy amateur who is developing his own contribution to village life. I have agreed to breed him some female runners to augment his flock in the spring.I will get one of the broody hens to sit on the eggs.....I couldn't face another tiny flock of ducklings in the kitchen again..cute as buttons but dirty as little pigs!
This afternoon I also arranged for the White cockerel in Bunny's enclosure to be collected and because the weather was so cold I finished cleaning out the cupboards in the kitchen.(even I can get sick of the cold!) I also caught up with Nu who was having a slightly better day than she has had of late and finally got to the barbers for a haircut......yes my life is one heady whirl of excitement!

Plague

I had a bit of a shock today. As I was collecting the eggs in a biting wind, I looked down the lane and saw a familiar limping figure hopping towards the gate. I was convinced I had locked Albert up in his cage, but obviously he had escaped in some way.
Terrified he would re injure his now slightly deformed leg,I galloped down the field, vaulted the gate and with my wellies clacking on the frosty ground I ran to where I first spied him, only to find out that what I thought was our Albert was indeed a medium size rabbit.
The poor little chap had the familiar milky stained eyes and staggering gait of rabbits I remembered seeing during the Myxomatosis outbreaks of the late 1960s and it was sad to see him blunder into the gate, obviously blinded by the conjunctivitis which is typical of the disease.
I got on with my jobs as he found some errant crusts of bread in Bunny's run and wolfed them down.After drinking from the water feeder, he then slipped unseen from view into the long grass.
It's sad to think that the field population of rabbits which I have enjoyed watching over the past couple of years will probably be totally wiped out by the arrival of this terrible disease. I hope this will not be the case, but I suspect most will perish

"With great power comes great responsibility"

My best friend Mike loves the above, semi famous Spider-Man quote. ( I prefer Stella Stevens' "Just panties what else do I need?" from The Poseidon Adventure - but that's another story). Anyhow I was reminded of this quote (the power quote and not the panties one) when I was watching Barack Obama being sworn in as America's 44th President earlier today.
By the look of things Obama fever has gripped the world and I have been interested to see that millions are pinning their hope for a better future onto the shoulders of just one man.
How do you cope with this kind of expectation?
In the eyes of nations Barack Obama is now responsible for the individual and collective healing of so many ills it's frightening, and although he has grasped the nettle with a no nonsense dignity which is invigorating, I do worry that expectations may be just too high for him to deliver what people are hoping for.
During the Presidential inauguration this afternoon, you could literally taste a sense of hope in the air.
It was an amazing thing to be able to witness.