My father loved local council matters. Give him a committee meeting, a gavel and a group of like minded locals and he would as blissfully happy as a pig eating cheap white bread.
I never thought it possible, but I am beginning to share his "interest" in things called "council" Mind you my interest does lie more within the sphere of community council matters rather than at the Governmental levels, Chris and I attended another of the community council's "open " meetings this evening and we were interested to see how some local issues and concerns had been handled !!!! . I think in future I will exercise my right as a member of the public to sit in to future meetings....I have a terrier's nose and want to learn as much as possible what is said and to whom!.
Mind you I coughed and spluttered my way through this evening's meeting.....hopefully this bloody cold will be my first and last "bug" of the winter
Animal Update
Dogs can be mischievous. of this I am certain! Years ago I was always delighted in the way that Finlay, our first Welsh terrier would playfully kick at old Joan the cat as he passed her and today I witnessed William amusing himself in a similar way with a chap delivering flyers.
The dogs sit on the window seat of the upstairs bedroom in between walks, and from their advantage point can see all the activity on the lane.
As the delivery chap ambled into view, I watched William bounce off his seat and trot quickly down the stairs. He jumped onto the couch, peeped through the window, then silently went to the door with his nose pressed against the letterbox, tail wagging frantically.
Seconds later the stiff letter box opened and the flyer and a set of fingers poked through. Without a bark, William sat up and playfully grasped a digit, and through the small glass window in the door, the effect on the man was immediate and hysterical, as he literally bounced back into the air snatching his hand away from the letterbox with a muffled shriek!
Obviously happy at this violent reaction William then galloped around in a tight circle, beaming in pleasure! It was a lovely moment to watch
Anyhow, my cold is coming to a head today, and I have been literally streaming! I would have loved to have stayed in bed with a good book, but the sun has been shining so I have cleaned out 4 hen houses, delivered eggs and sweetcorn around the village, disinfected the chick cages out in the shed and weeded the entire front garden before washing windows, doing housework and clearing the paths and weeds from the lane. As snotty as I am it has been lovely to be outside
Albert watching the gardeningThe turkey chicks are now over a month old, and like William are becoming playful and full of themselves. They are simply quite delightful! For the longest time I opened their cage and waited for them to amble slowly over in their slightly depressive way to sit on my lap, and the five of them played quite happily pecking at my fingers and jumper! Seeing me fawning over these quirky little birds, made the passing postman shake his head in pity!
The guinea fowl chicks couldn't be more different from the turkey poults. Nervous and hyperactive, as soon as they sense danger they burst out of their standing positions like popcorn out of a pan! and within a fraction of a second the air is filled with tiny, fluffy bodies bouncing off the walls with scary abandon! Gawd help me when they get bigger,
Normality
Just caught up with the friend I "had words with" earlier in the week....
everythings back to normal....sigh!
everythings back to normal....sigh!
Visitors and Julie Andrews
It was past 7pm before I could soak in a chamomile bath (with the obligatory Home and Antiques magazine, where the steam and herb finally managed to break my chesty cough. I still feel rough as the proverbial bear's arse, but at least I can breath a little better through the wheeze!.
In between the usual animal jobs, it has been a day of visitors (I am not going to complain about the amount of work I have to do, especially after reading my friend Ruth's blog (Ruth lives in he wilds of Canada)--- see http://lifethroughthecracks.blogspot.com/ it is an eye opener.
My friend Geoff called around for eggs and the promise of teaching me some rudimentary carpentry skills (I need another hen house), my sister,her husband and hyperactive pattertale terrier, were next on the list. then a nice young couple from Rhyl called around to pick a couple of runner ducks for their large garden.Finally my friend Sandra from the flower show committee and her hubby popped in to wax lyrical over my baby turkeys. If I have one spare I am sure she will buy it for her own allotment on the other side of the village. Already she has a small pure breed group of hens............and is thinking carefully of my proposal to take the handsome Bill off my hands!
They will let me know how much her weaner piglets will be, we hope to get them at the same time!
I do like Sandra!, she is one of those genuinely nice people who always seems to have a skip in her step and a good word to say about everyone....conscripting her onto the flower show was a stroke of genius! even if I do say so myself
Anyhow, tonight we watched Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)...a little uneven and a tad overlong, this musical is actually great fun.....and I must admit I was just a little surprised when I realised that Julie Andrews did prove herself to be a very talented comedian as the suger sweet Millie!.
Mind you, Beatrice Lillie as the evil Mrs Meers (from the famous Big Mary's tart shop Peking)--steals the whole film with her sooooo wonderfully non PC performance as a Chinese Madam! (sad to think that in any modern day Broadway production I bet the powers that be would now insist that a Chinese actress take the role!!!)
As Beatrice Lillie would say....."OOOHHHHHH POOOK"
Off to have another lemsip
In between the usual animal jobs, it has been a day of visitors (I am not going to complain about the amount of work I have to do, especially after reading my friend Ruth's blog (Ruth lives in he wilds of Canada)--- see http://lifethroughthecracks.blogspot.com/ it is an eye opener.
My friend Geoff called around for eggs and the promise of teaching me some rudimentary carpentry skills (I need another hen house), my sister,her husband and hyperactive pattertale terrier, were next on the list. then a nice young couple from Rhyl called around to pick a couple of runner ducks for their large garden.Finally my friend Sandra from the flower show committee and her hubby popped in to wax lyrical over my baby turkeys. If I have one spare I am sure she will buy it for her own allotment on the other side of the village. Already she has a small pure breed group of hens............and is thinking carefully of my proposal to take the handsome Bill off my hands!
They will let me know how much her weaner piglets will be, we hope to get them at the same time!
I do like Sandra!, she is one of those genuinely nice people who always seems to have a skip in her step and a good word to say about everyone....conscripting her onto the flower show was a stroke of genius! even if I do say so myself
Anyhow, tonight we watched Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)...a little uneven and a tad overlong, this musical is actually great fun.....and I must admit I was just a little surprised when I realised that Julie Andrews did prove herself to be a very talented comedian as the suger sweet Millie!.
Mind you, Beatrice Lillie as the evil Mrs Meers (from the famous Big Mary's tart shop Peking)--steals the whole film with her sooooo wonderfully non PC performance as a Chinese Madam! (sad to think that in any modern day Broadway production I bet the powers that be would now insist that a Chinese actress take the role!!!)
As Beatrice Lillie would say....."OOOHHHHHH POOOK"
Off to have another lemsip
No drums across the Mohawk
Went to bed for a brief sleep before nights this afternoon, woke up with a temperature and headache. Chris bullied me in staying off work tonight and I am presently sipping lemsip watching A Bridge Too Far.
Photo has nothing to do with the day but it did make me smile
Round Robin
MOVIE ROUND ROBIN
I was discussing films with Nige the other night and he asked me to complete a "round robin" film questionnaire! Found one today...so here goes...... a relaxing few minutes before going to work later!
Q WHO IS YOUR MOST FAVOURITE MOVIE ACTOR OF THE 21ST CENTURY & WHY?
Well I have many favourites, Laura Linney,Russell Crowe,Patricia Clarkeson are perhaps my favourite mainstream actors......but I have enjoyed individual performances from single films such as Lorraine Stanley's gusty turn in the bleak London to Brighton; Maribel Verdú as Mercedes in El laberinto del fauno and Kristin Scott Thomas as a mercy killer in Il y a longtemps que je t'aime . Overall, the "best" actor of the millennium must be (of course Meryl Streep)
Q CAN YOU DETAIL AN INSPIRED PIECE OF MOVIE CASTING?
Bloody hell...that is a tough one......probably the best piece of casting must have been
Audrey Hepburn as Sister Luke in The Nun's Story (1959) oh and Bette Davis of course in All About Eve (1950)
Q WHAT SINGLE FILM SEQUENCE LINGERS IN YOUR MEMORY THE MOST?
Fernanda Montenegro smiling and crying to herself on the bus at the end of Central do Brasil (1998)-heartbreaking!
Q COMEDY MOVIES SELDOM WIN OSCARS...WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE COMEDY?
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Q WHAT MOVIE WOULD YOU WATCH WHEN YOU ARE A) SAD B) ILL C) ROMANTIC?
a) Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie) (2001)
Any line in All About Eve
Q BEST MOVIE SONG?
Bugger!.......well the worst one is The Morning After from the Poseidon Adventure......oh and let's not forget "You light up my life" from the film of the same name ("sung" by deaf children at the academy awards as I recall) and of course my favourite "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" sung by the blind piano player Tom Sullivan in Airport '77 (before he was crushed to death by his own piano!!)
Q BEST MOVIE DOCUMENTARY?
gawd knows........I remember being impressed with Shoah (1985) but that was years ago and it was very long!
Q WHAT IS THE BEST MOVIE "FIGHT" YOU HAVE EVER SEEN?
Colleen Dewhurst as the insane patient fighting with Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story (1959)
Q MOST SHOCKING PIECE OF CINEMA
Too many overtly shocking scenes can be picked out of modern cinema scenes....but I always remember being shell shocked by the first 19 minutes of Saving Private Ryan (1998)
I was discussing films with Nige the other night and he asked me to complete a "round robin" film questionnaire! Found one today...so here goes...... a relaxing few minutes before going to work later!
Q WHO IS YOUR MOST FAVOURITE MOVIE ACTOR OF THE 21ST CENTURY & WHY?
Well I have many favourites, Laura Linney,Russell Crowe,Patricia Clarkeson are perhaps my favourite mainstream actors......but I have enjoyed individual performances from single films such as Lorraine Stanley's gusty turn in the bleak London to Brighton; Maribel Verdú as Mercedes in El laberinto del fauno and Kristin Scott Thomas as a mercy killer in Il y a longtemps que je t'aime . Overall, the "best" actor of the millennium must be (of course Meryl Streep)
Q CAN YOU DETAIL AN INSPIRED PIECE OF MOVIE CASTING?
Bloody hell...that is a tough one......probably the best piece of casting must have been
Audrey Hepburn as Sister Luke in The Nun's Story (1959) oh and Bette Davis of course in All About Eve (1950)
Q WHAT SINGLE FILM SEQUENCE LINGERS IN YOUR MEMORY THE MOST?
Fernanda Montenegro smiling and crying to herself on the bus at the end of Central do Brasil (1998)-heartbreaking!
Q COMEDY MOVIES SELDOM WIN OSCARS...WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE COMEDY?
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Q WHAT MOVIE WOULD YOU WATCH WHEN YOU ARE A) SAD B) ILL C) ROMANTIC?
a) Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie) (2001)
b)Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
c)Gawd.....who knows.....anything with Russell Crowe or Jake Gyllenhaal in it!
Q FOREIGN MOVIES....DO YOU EVER MAKE THE EFFORT?
Read the above
Q BEST MOVIE QUOTE?
Any line in All About Eve
Q BEST MOVIE SONG?
Bugger!.......well the worst one is The Morning After from the Poseidon Adventure......oh and let's not forget "You light up my life" from the film of the same name ("sung" by deaf children at the academy awards as I recall) and of course my favourite "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" sung by the blind piano player Tom Sullivan in Airport '77 (before he was crushed to death by his own piano!!)
Q BEST MOVIE DOCUMENTARY?
gawd knows........I remember being impressed with Shoah (1985) but that was years ago and it was very long!
Q WHAT IS THE BEST MOVIE "FIGHT" YOU HAVE EVER SEEN?
Colleen Dewhurst as the insane patient fighting with Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story (1959)
Q MOST SHOCKING PIECE OF CINEMA
Too many overtly shocking scenes can be picked out of modern cinema scenes....but I always remember being shell shocked by the first 19 minutes of Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Bonnie Tyler feat. Only Men Aloud
Marks and Spencers in Bangor did very well providing the suits...... bless dont you just LOVE Bonnie Tyler! dressed like your best mate's mom...she gives it rocks!!
Being corny
Both Chris and I are coming down with colds.
Being tuned into possible fox activity last night didn't help, as I didn't have much sleep, so today I feel muzzy, slightly unwell and tired. My bee stung left arm is still aching somewhat too! if I was a hypochondriac I think I should be worrying about my cardiac status! But gladly I am not!
However,the weather has been nice,so this morning I have harvested sweetcorn for freezing, delivered some spare cobs to a neighbour, walked the dogs around the Marian, picked several bucketfuls of apples from the orchard behind our cottage for the pigs and made a chicken curry for dinner.
Like everything that is bathed in sunshine, the village and life in general looks better than it normally does. It has been a funny old week to be honest; the family is still worried about my brother's health and supportive phonecalls and texts seem to be flitting back and forth like the sparrows in the field hedgerows . During all this "drama" I even had time to initiate a slight falling out with a friend who I thought wasn't supporting me as well as he could have done.
On reflection ( and with the balanced intervention of another good friend -thanks Nige) my feelings of hurt were justified but were put into a pragmatic perspective and if we all could have had a group hug we would have done......thank god for phones and email.......and good friends..... I am lucky to have access to all three!
William
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)