Katyn (2007)

Katyn (2007) was a disappointment. Despite considerable critical acclaim, both Hazel and I found the narrative a little confusing and strangely devoid of an emotional punch, which is strange as the story of the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet forces in 1940 and the subsequent "fight" of blame between the Russian and German Armies couldn't be made up.

There were flashes of interest along the way ( some beautiful shots of the prisoners shut away in a local church) but not enough to stop us walking out three quarters of the way through the movie...which is a shame

Ghost?

I don't scare easily in my own environment.....The field is attached to the ancient graveyard and I can quite happily walk from one to the other in the dark without getting that teenage "horror film" prickly panic in the back of my neck that used to initiate that flight/fight reaction of running back up the stairs to bed!

Having said that certain horror films can freak me out, especially ones that incorporate suspense rather than pure horror.....The Blair Witch Project (1999),El orfanato The Orphanage (2007) and El espinazo del diablo The Devil's Backbone(2001) are prime examples of movies that have had me screaming like a girl!

Last night I experienced a repeat of a sort of a ghostly phenomenon. When I take the dogs out for their last "wee" break, we all have a wander up the lane parallel to the six foot Church wall, a couple of times now the dogs have stopped "dead" as we pass the garden of a bungalow which is situated right next to the Church gate. All four have not been frightened , they do not bark or growl ( with the exception of Maddie who always growls very quietly), but on three occasions they have paused to stare at a point in the garden which is away from any bush or tree but is around my eye level.

The moment lasts only a few long seconds, but it is unnerving in the respect that all four dogs react in the same way, and at the same spot! and William has been intrigued enough to sit and stare...which is very normal for Welsh terriers when they see something they don't understand.

Have I an answer to it? No I haven't. Always there is nothing to for me to see or hear to concern myself

Am I that bothered about it?

Not really, but I have found the repeat of this experience (albeit only three times in four years) somewhat strange........

Did I hurry back to the cottage afterwards....without a backward glance?....no I didn't....you try running down the lane with two scotties......they wont be rushed even with the devil behind them!

Still snotty today, but certainly better. I will be delivering a spare cockerel to a customer later . One of my old black "hookers" is looking a little droopy this morning and I suspect she is fading somewhat..I have treated her with some antibiotics and poultry tonic....but I guess old age is just catching up with her...

Off to the cinema at Theatre clwyd later to see the Polish film Katyn ....review later

Note

Billy Wilder once said
“You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.”
nuff said

Strong Women

In nursing you constantly see people in crisis and I have invariably found that it is the women of the family that take the lead where the delivery of strength and support is concerned.
Northern Britain has a historical and traditional stereotype of the powerhouse matriarch being vital for the family's survival and already this week I have seen examples of this time and time again.
Two neighbours have been dealing with chronic and debilitating family illnesses with some ingenuity and without complaint, and one in particular constantly manages to support not only a sick partner but every community event and village event without fail. The strength of these people under duress can be surprising to say the least.
I met my sister in law this afternoon for coffee, and again the traditional "Northern strength" of wife and mother was more than evident during our conversation.
People , I have found often underestimate their own ability to cope and their talents to forge ahead with problems..........my neighbours and especially my sister in law take note,,, you are doing a cracking job x,

My Father's son

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 gardening

The 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!

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