Going Gently

The Royle Family -

Sometimes you catch a scene on mainstream tv that stands head and shoulders above anything else. The first 4 minutes of this video is a little gen of a scene. Sue Johnston and Liz Smith milk every inch of feeling out of this clever little piece.
I dare anyone to watch it without crying!

Winter Saturday and Knitting

Winter days have a tendency to be over before they have really begun.And today has been no different
After his "egg fest" yesterday George has been banished to the turkey run where he has spent a merry time shadowing Boris. I am not surprised he has been somewhat constipated

This is the view from the Northern corner of the allotment and will be the situation of "pig town"I have removed more overhanging branches from the hedge this afternoon but it remains painful work as most of the undergrowth is hawthorn!

This evening were are settling down to a normal Saturday evening.....Chris knitting madly on one sofa, me and the four dogs on another (not knitting but blogging).........bad tv....fire on.....yes all pretty relaxing.

Mind you you could hear the language when meladdo drops a stitch.............

Losing Control & losing George

As Chris would swiftly testify, I am a bit of a control freak. I also can be incredibly bossy, but I always think that is a product of an organised mind and a clear vision of what needs to be done! Anyhow I do find it hard letting others assume responsibility for my needs, so today has been a bit of a red letter day for me!.
Steve (the village spokesman) has heard of my need for fencing, so has arranged for some "slightly shopworn" fence and posts to be delivered on Monday. This morning he turned up with an organised vision and good intentions of the pre-pig arrival jobs to be done. With cheerful friend Gary in tow (with his trusty chain saw), the two of them have cleared the bottom hedge borders and debated where was the best place for the pig shed to be placed.
The fat faced elderly farmer has been roped in to help with fence building next week....and it wasn't long before I felt like a character from the barn raising scene from Witness.
Steve, who enjoys a bit of a project, has various ideas regarding gates and pig shade requirements, Gary had his own suggestions, and I suspect the fat faced farmer will throw in his two pence worth on monday...so instead of getting mad with my lack of control....I smiled to myself , made them all tea and gave each a dozen eggs.............

As the workers got on with hedge cutting and planing, I got on with coop clearing. Now Maddie and George spend most of the day with me in the field. They potter and sniff quite happily and even the bad tempered Clover leaves both of them alone.

By 2pm I had finished cleaning the duck house and looked up to check on the dogs. Maddie was sat nearby next to Boris who had been watching me all morning. George was nowhere to be seen. I checked each enclosure, the Graveyard and the road, without success and by the time I re checked each one in turn I was starting to get slightly frantic.
I galloped down the lane to check the cottage, ran around to Mandy's house then Carol's to see if he had ambled off there, then went back to re check the field with a cold dread feeling.
I don't know why I checked inside the main hen coop, but when I did,there was George, sat quite happily amid the wreckage of half a dozen eggs. The little bugger had somehow squeezed himself into the hen house, then from two nesting boxes he had stolen eggs to munch on!
Hybrids Blanche and Raquel Welch were sat rather anxiously in their own boxes ( with eyes like saucers) , so I suspect George was waiting quite patiently for them to move so he could fill his face even more.

Never a dull moment!

Déjà Vu, Pig plans and more snow

You wouldn't think that Spinal Injury and Hospice nursing have a great deal in common, but after I had my interview for bank work at the local hospice, I had the strangest feeling that I was standing in the Princess Royal Spinal Injury Unit back in Sheffield.

The new build, the sense of "quietness" and stillness, and the specialized nature of the place reminded me so much of my old unit it felt a tad uncanny.

I have not heard from the senior nurse as yet, but I do look forward in doing the odd shift over there.

Chris is excited at the prospect of pigs! To be honest I was originally a little sceptical but Chris' enthusiasm finally won me over and made me say "yes" to the delivery of the two sows.

Village Elder Steve, is a wonderfully useful person to know as his contacts has more or less got me my pig fencing,fence posts and other necessary equipment.

Next week I will conscript brother in law Ned and friend Geoff to help move the duck house to the bottom of the field.....pigs and graveyards....do not mix..............

The snow has fallen all afternoon, and the turkeys and ducks all were happy to go back into their warmer houses slightly early this afternoon. Geoff kindly picked Chris up from the station in his 4 wheel drive.

Above pic is William and George in the woods this morning

Cottage History and Albert update

It's early morning and I am writing this with trusty coffee in hand after taking Chris to the station. It's too early and dark to sort the field out and true to form the snow is back with a vengeance.

Arfon stopped me the other day to talk about our cottage's history. He remembers the place very well when he was a child as his aunt Nora lived here. The kitchen window (above) used to be the cottage door, which as you can see opened directly onto the lane. Apparently in ancient days when the cottage was an unofficial "pub", beer was sold to passers by through a small window in the door!

The original cottage was built in 1674 then remodelled in 1864. The inscription of IN VINO VERITAS above the front door refers to cottage's alcoholic history!

Arfon said he will dig some old family photographs of the place. Interestingly, where our small cottage back garden now stands was a cow byre and a pig sty.....as small as the cottage was (is) the place was in fact a small holding complete with cattle, pigs and poultry.

The animals are still coping well with the cold. Above Boris and Gloria are looking rather depressed with the whole snow thing! I will be taking the dogs out early today as I am off to the local hospice for an interview to join their nurse bank, extra shifts will be good as I need to think of organising pig fencing before Birdy and Margo's arrival!

Albert is bouncing back a litttle. Three weeks after his surgery, his leg is incredibly stiff and thin but he is putting a little more weight though it now and is more playfull and assertive with the dogs. As I am writing this he is being dragged around the living room on his back after firmly clasping Meg's beard in his claws.

Parlez-moi de la pluie

I have never been adverse to walking out of a film if it doesn't engage me . Some cinematic experiences have been so dire (I remember one painful viewing of the terrible Dogville (2003) in Sheffield's Showroom) I could have quite easily walked out, then, asked for a my money back AND then demanded compensation for sitting through three hours of pure bullshit.
Tonight's middle class French film (English title : Let's talk about the rain) was such a film. I won't bother giving it a review here, as the whole thing lacked any narrative drive, so after an hour of pure tedium I walked out.......

Pigs!!

Well, two unwanted female pot bellied pigs will be heading our way in a week or so!
The woman owner cannot look after them anymore, so with a bit of creative re arranging of ducks and hens, I am sure I can make room for them.
Friendly, intelligent and benign, Birdy and Margot look as though they will fit in........
I must be mad.....