Swine

Swine flu is in Trelawnyd school!
hey ho

so sad

The British Conductor Sir Edward Thomas Downes has died at the age of 85 after travelling to the assisted suicide centre DIGNATAS with his 74 year old wife of 40 years, Joan. She had been suffering from a terminal illness and he was blind and almost deaf..they died peaceful "together" a family member reported.
This story upset me greatly, and not just for the reasons that you may think....as long as a clinical depression is NOT a factor in any decision making, I would like to think that in special cases like this, a centre in Britain could be developed to "help" individuals like the Downes seek a dignified and autonomous death.

The only thing that I do worry about dignatas, and that is I suspect it is only utilised by the more articulate and the informed. ( and perhaps the rich?)...what happens to the poor? or the less informed....humm like all health care provision....they seem to be the last ones "allowed" to access it......

anyhow.....this does not detract from the fact that this is a terribly sad story.

Graveyard Ducks, harvest time and the pleasure of sisters

I have spent the day at the hospital (mandatory training) so thank god for Carol and Ewan from down the lane, who took the dogs (with the obligatory Albert in tow) for the day. They all love galloping around her huge garden, and all act like unruly teenagers at their first drinks party
On my return, some of the birds had typically run amok and I was horrified to find all the ducks in the old graveyard. They hadn't touched any of the floral tributes, concentrating their attentions on sieving snails and slugs out of the grass, but having them anywhere near the Church is totally unacceptable as once they are comfortable , ducks tend to revisit any area which they enjoy a good feast.
I chased the nine of them back to the field and spent an hour or so in a magnificent thunder storm setting up on of my wire netting up against the existing wooden rail fencing. I am now confident that the ducks as well as a few of the more stupid hens will be now confined to my own field.

I got absolutely soaked, yet after a long hour schleping in the mud I couldn't be bothered in getting dry, so like a naughty ten year old, I got even wetter ! I checked the new hens (below) who are all comfortably settling in now, then checked on my onions (above) which are all fattening up very nicely indeed

The sweetcorn is putting on a late spurt of growth (though is not as high as an Elephant's eye as yet) and even the winter cabbage is growing into buxom little knots of green. I now have huge heads of cauliflowers overlooking broccoli florets and and even the beetroot plants that was so decimated by the gang of sparrows have flourished in the late rain.
Ann called around with the surplus strawberries from her allotment when I was in the middle of this childish water romp. I will start jam making tomorrow! She was full of her experience of Ballroom dancing at St George's Hall and it was lovely to hear her excitement and enthusiasm for the night.Both Janet and Ann have revelled in these dance nights and Janet especially has blossomed in the very "old fashioned luxury" and ritual preparation she has to go through to take part in the event.

Even though I am not a dancer, I have taken a great deal of vicarious pleasure in their new pastime and will I think get scrubbed up for the big Christmas ball late in the year, it will give me the chance to see Chris show off too -with his "Jazz hands" at the ready!!! I am so lucky to have my sisters nearby

Janet (left) Friend Janet Jones (centre) and Ann (right) in a cross between Sex and the City and The Colour Purple finale pose!

janet and chris

Not the best quality videos I have ever seen but it shows Chris and Jan in strictly Come Dance mode......

I wish I could dance better.....I was once at a family wedding and was told off by my Mother for daning badly!
"You dance like someone with learning difficulties " (I am paraphrasing here) she hissed......

Bad timing and good footwork

I was due to go to Oswestry today to attend a meeting to discuss the Provision of Spinal Injury Care to patients from our catchment area, but as it had been a busy night I fell asleep on the couch when I got home and overslept the deadline of 9.30 am!

Subsequently the whole day has been knocked somewhat "out of kilter" but at least the main jobs such as walking the dogs on the beach and egg delivering were completed on time.

It has rained heavily all afternoon, so I capitalised on the soggy conditions by amalgamating the flocks for a second time. Cold and wet, the older hens seemed less interested in fighting and more interested in sheltering, so apart from a couple of lacklustre skirmishes, all has been peace.

The hen eggs in the incubator are due to hatch on Friday or Saturday, so I have moved 6 of them under the broody Kate Winslett (the buff that kept breaking all of her eggs!) and have moved her broody box in Halleh and Blanche's old enclosure. If she is careful, I am hopeful a couple of chicks will brighten her up as the duckling did for Blanche?

Chris is working away yet again (this time in London), so tonight I will have a bath, complete some phonecalls and have an early night. I think Chris has not quite recovered from his dance feast on Saturday! by the look of the photo (above-with my sister Janet looking glam in her new dress) they all seemed to have a grand time!

rabbit fight broken up by hens

I was e mailed by a friend last night asking if cockerels actually break up hen fights...well yes they do!!!!!...they are programmed to do so naturally and this video actually supports this notion even though the fighting is actually done by rabbits!!!
working tonight! bummer!!!

Genova

Seeing that Chris is flicking heels up with the gayest of abandon with Janet in Liverpool, I managed to persuade Hazel to bunk off work early to go to Theatre Clwyd to see the movie Genova (2008). We needn't have really bothered as it was all a rather pointless study of grief and the necessity of time and space required by the bereaved to cope. I was slightly bored by it all, and found myself staring at Colin Firth's new set of teeth for much of the film!
5/10

Saloon Brawl

The new girls Maureen,Patty,Jenny,Faye and Sheila have settled down famously, so I have let them out into their bigger run with cockerel Poppy, who accepted the newcomers with a conceit of a male that knows he has 5 adoring fans.
Fired up with this success, I fed the 12 adolescent hens still enclosed in their small run inside the main enclosure and on a whim I opened up their run and let the two flocks merge for the first time!
At first there was quiet!, then the old bald bruiser Mildred Pierce, clucking loudly to herself, waded in and launched an attack on the lead hens and Suddenly a calm, feeding scene was turned into what only could be described as a old fashioned western bar room brawl as both sides got stuck in.
The smaller hens and bantams ran around in circles screaming loudly and the braver hens slashed away with beaks and feet! I am sure that if there were any wooden tables,chairs and bottles of whisky around they would have been smashed with gay abandon.
Even Stanley, who would have stopped any fracas dead, stood stock still, bemused by the riot. I must have looked a bit of an old fart as I ran around shouting "STOP IT! STOP IIIIITTTTTTTTTT!" (as if hens with brains the size of an average peanut understand English!)
Luckily I had a yard brush in my hand and after several attempts managed to sweep most of the new girls back into their run. I also gave Mildred a good clack for good measure as she ran past spitting out a mouthful of buff feathers ....message to self, leave the teenage hens a little longer in their own run


Chris has been pretty stressed in work these past few weeks, so I think he is looking forward to the Ballroom dance night he is going to tonight with Janet in Liverpool. They have been practicing for weeks now, sparkly new outfits have been purchased and a hamper of goodies will be organised for them !....