Now I know I risk sounding like Charles Hawtrey but I do have too many cocks! The four "sexless" buff chicks have suddenly grown up alongside Clover and the rest of the band. In days they seem to have matured fully and shock horror......we now have three new testosterone filled cockerels to cope with. So in the buff enclosure we have five males and six females...not the best of ratios! ...drastic action is in order,I have put advertisements up locally asked for homes but I think several of the new boys may have to be culled, which is a fact I do not relish at all Tomorrow I will separate four of the cockerels and will put them into the duck run, at least the hens will be "cock" free as it were.I have chased up with some pre pig paperwork today (the amount of red tape before getting pigs is surprising) and have spoken to Rosemary tonight, who says she will bring them on Thursday morning. I will rename them.........their new names will reflect my liking for old fashioned names.......Nora and Gladys................
Health Minister Ann Keen said recently that some NHS bodies were not "handling complaints well enough", adding the regulation system was being changed to put more emphasis on the complaints procedure. She concluded by saying that:"Hospitals and other NHS organisations will be measured on how many complaints they receive and how they deal with them, including showing what lessons they have learned and changes implemented as a result." This year I have worked 26 years in the NHS, and I have witnessed the public's attitude towards the health care system AND its workers change drastically over the years.Ok, most of the changes I have seen are just a reflection of how society itself has changed; ie the slow erosion of respect and courtesy .Tonight I have been reflecting on this as we are quiet on intensive care, and in discussion with my colleagues, I remembered an occasion when as ward manager I found a visitor lying on a made up bed in my ward. The visitor was a woman in her 20s. She was watching tv, shoes on the bedspread not a care in the world.When I asked her to get off the bed she spat out "who the fu*k are you?" in front of other visitors,staff and patients. My reply, though not filled with expletives, was equally angry and direct......and I was happy to report that the creature slouched off the ward with a bit of a flea in her ear!That woman did not as I recall make a complaint against me, but occasional complains do surface from time to time ....I am confident that my maturity and managerial experience can field most gripes...but there remains a growing underclass in this country that feel they can expect the impossible from an increasingly desperate and over stretched health service.I still enjoy aspects of nursing. I am still good at what I do....butI find it a little sad that people like that woman on the made up bed...now feel that the system (ie us) owe them everything......and show no awareness that they in turn should give something back to their community.This underclass and their destructive and selfish behaviours makes me worry so very much for the future
I have been day dreaming today about the 2009 allotment open day. Last Year's event was a great success (even in the torrential rain), so this year I want the whole thing to be bigger, better and hopefully drier.We are going to open it up to the entire village this time and I think that we will organise an all day "open" on Sunday July 5th.....thus preventing bottlenecks of old ladies at the tea tent..Janet and Chris will be in charge of tea and cakes again, Ann and Polly (Hazel's daughter) will be on the gate and produce stall. Practical Geoff will be conscripted into a managerial position and the village ladies can be put to work providing cakes for the afternoon.I have yet to think of some activity for my brother-in laws and Hazel but leave it with me! I am starting on making the bunting next week...how gay is that?This morning I have edged the vegetable plots but the rain has put paid to more activity.Below is a photo of Mildred Pierce and one of the black hookers, both have been watching me from the Church yard wall. Chris went to Church today and Canon Robert wasn't bothered about the girls' bad behaviour.....that's one in the eye for the jobsworth brigade!Working tonight!
I was just a little giddy going to the second night of opening of the new Prestatyn Scala. The place itself is very impressive. Ok, it has that "urban" semi industrialised look which seems so popular now, but it is shiny,new, seemingly well run and most importantly 10 minutes from home!!!We had a nice (PROPER COFFEE!) in the cafe/bar and joined another 50 or so people (in one of the two 150 seat cinemas) to watch the dreadfully lacklustre Valkyrie (2008).The Scala is the only cinema in Wales with a digital screen, and you can really see the quality in the print. I am looking forward in watching something a little more interesting than a story we all know the ending to!
Speaking of Cinema...Theatre Clwyd's arthouse cinema has just brought out its spring listings. Their programme is a cracking one: Blindness,the classic Ladri de Biciclette (Bicycle thieves),the French drama Entre Les Murs, the violent Italian gang film Gomorrah, Far North, and the sellout documentary about 1960's Liverpool Of Time And The City.Can't wait!!!
There is one thing that is quite impressive about farmers and that is their natural ability to complete a job, quickly and on time. This afternoon all we had at the bottom of the field was 20 fence posts...now, a couple of hours later we have a fully tensioned pig fence, a functioning gate and the old duck house set up on sleepers 150 yards from where it was situated this morning.
Steve (far right) and the ever cheerful Gary got stuck right in with the work, as did the fat faced farmer (left) who very kindly gave me all the wire fencing for nothing as well as giving up his afternoon to teach us all how to use the fence tightener. Gentleman farmer Ralph (centre) called in again to check on the quality of the fencing and brought me some metal hinges to hang the gate. He also exhibited neighbourly kindness by offering me a water feeder for the pigs for nothing.It was a great joint effort and was rather fun in the end, which surprised me as I don't find all male company an easy thing to deal with.The pigs will be delivered sometime next week, complete with DEFRA documentation.I have decided to change their names...........I couldn't quite cope with Betsy and Daisy
The baby bantams and buff chicks have finally been dragged kicking and screaming from the garden shed, which now resembles the shambles of a teenage party (the sort you used to have when you were 17 when your parents were on holiday).....They were shy and quiet at first but soon settled down in the little ark. I have put them and their run inside Rogo's run.As the toughest cockerel, I am sure he will protect the little ones much better than the diffident Stanley.
I am sore, tired and aching, but it has been a good productive day.
Albert is now down to 7 lives! As I was washing the pots this morning, he found my laptop and deftly chewed through the power cable! I was non the wiser until there was a sharp "BANG!" followed by a black streak of Albert bolting upstairs like a ferret up a drainpipe!He seemed unhurt, just frightened by the whole affair..........I am now left without a functioning computer! Thank god Chris has one................
The uprights for the pig fencing has all been set up nicely. Overseen by Foreman Steve (left) Cheerful Gary (right) and I hand hammered 20 poles into the bottom field in record time. I felt rather proud of our work when local farmer Ralph, called down and gave the project his thumbs up! Tomorrow the wire fence arrives and hopefully we will be able to shift the duck house all the way down the field to set up before the girls arrive.
My arm and shoulders are aching a little tonight......I need a long hot bath....mind you I will have to give the tub a good scrub, both scotties have been soaking in there after a particularly dirty afternoon shadowing me in the mud
There wasn't much on offer from the Asian epic Tau ming chong (2007) (aka The Warlords) tonight at Theatre Clwyd.....The "moving" story of three blood brother soldiers during the late 19th Century Chinese rebellion reminded me of such hollow epics as Pearl Harbor and the dreadful Armageddon as it was all flash , bang,wallop and no substance...However It did have one thing going for it, and that was the very tasty actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (pic) in one of the leading roles....he , alone was worth the price of the ticket!
Now I know I risk sounding like Charles Hawtrey but I do have too many cocks! The four "sexless" buff chicks have suddenly grown up alongside Clover and the rest of the band. In days they seem to have matured fully and shock horror......we now have three new testosterone filled cockerels to cope with. So in the buff enclosure we have five males and six females...not the best of ratios! ...drastic action is in order,
