My Brother is on holiday in Florida and has done the indulgent thing and got himself a long awaited tattoo¬! He's looking more brave about it all than I would be They have just sent me this photo (as it happens) by phone....isn't technology great?..
.............well actually Nancy Meyers new comedy isn't complicated in any shape or form despite having a fairly "unconventional" storyline.Jane (Meryl Streep) has been amicably divorced from her husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) for ten years. During their son's graduation, the pair start a secret affair, despite Jake having a new wife and Jane starting a tentative relationship with shy architect Adam (a weirdly airbrushed Steve Martin).Hummm......,do hilarious situations abound?...well no they don't........not at all, but on the whole this film does have a few interesting things to say on the closure of long term relationships and dating in middle age, and it is mildly amusing thanks primarily to Streep and Baldwin's polished and rather winning performances.(But that is about it~)Streep acts her socks off with the very smallest of gestures, and I always find her a mesmerising actor to watch. She is also quite beautiful and physically untouched by Hollywood standards which makes her all the more attractive and appealing to an audience. You can almost feel the waves of admiration people have for Streep, as you are sat there and that is impressive!Meryl made me give this film an averagely good 7/10ps. Hazel has her fourth date wth new beau Alan tomorrow......as her GAYBEST FRIEND..I get the first look at him ! I will be on best behaviour
Now as readers of this blog will know, I will never complain about the work I choose to do on the allotment and field, but I must admit this morning has been a bit of a slog. After night duty and -11 degrees of real frost, every water container on the field was frozen solid,like cement.Each coop water feeder had to have warm water bucketed over from the cottage to fill it, and it took an absolute age to complete all the work effectively.The younger hens are not doing well in the icy weather. At roosting time, they often seem disorientated by the snow and ice, and I have had to check the churchyard and field borders, where they have been found sat forlornly in the shelter of wall and gravestone. not making the effort to walk back to their huts across the cold snow.Last night I found eight hens in this state and managed the ferry them all to a coop safely before nightfall. The buff girls are especially prone to this sort of apathy, but at least allow themselves to be caught and carried without murmur or protest.Anyhow enough of the snow and enough of hens.... Off to the cinema with Hazel later, think we are going to rough it with the new Streep film It's Complicated
Now I do not suffer from black moods and despondency.Sure I have down day like everyone else, but generally I am spared the artistic 
mood swings that Chris sometimes suffers from when he is at full stretch with his academic work.I did, however feel a bit flat today. It is the time of year that money is tight. The Berlingto is due its MOT, and its car tax; the vet's bills keep on coming; William is due his next haircut and the credit cards need paying!So, I was thrilled to receive a package from a rather irate new postman this afternoon. I should have re phrased that, the package was actually from Cassie (and not the postman!) and was filled with a selection of little Christmas gifts!Thank you Cassie and Patrick, it was such a thoughtful and kind thing to do, and I am most grateful to receive them all (especially the Geeky rooster t shirt!)
In 1974, I was totally overawed by the skyscraper technology in the Movie The Towering Inferno. Having a building that stood 138 stories from the ground, seemed totally fantastic and almost unbelievable to a 12 year old geek like me, and ever since then, I have always harboured a boyish fascination in the beauty and scale of the skyscraper.(which may sound a little odd given the fact that I am terrified of heights!)Over the years I have made secret Towering Inferno pilgrimages to the likes of The World Trade Centre, The Empire State, The Chrysler Building, The Rockefeller Centre, The Hyatt Regency in San Francisco and even the Space Needle in Seattle, and at each one, I have experienced the white knuckle, shaky anxiety-filled excitement at the sense of being literally "trapped" thousands of feet above the groundNow that the huge Burj Khalifa has been topped out at an amazing 168 stories in the city of Dubai, where do we stop in our amazing technological race for bigger and better?In 1974, I could hardly comprehend a building over 100 stories, let alone understand the modern day norms such as the Internet. Gawd, If you told me as a boy that every person on earth would have their own tiny mobile phone by the year 2000, I would have laughed until I cried..... 
Anyhow enough of this urban dreaming, am off to work tonight. The weather remains terribly cold
After a hiatus of many many months, my sister Janet is now back on line....welcome backx
A Village view taken from my friend Geoff's blog
http://onceinalifetimeinwales.blogspot.com/ (Two blogs from one Village....must be a record)
Well Hughie survived his cold night up in the bare Graveyard Elm, and this morning heralded the sun, a tree full of cold footed guinea fowl (above) and a village full of activity and gossip!Nothing unites people more than a crisis, whether it be a disaster or man made conflicts, and this morning the "Spirit that won the war" was evident all over Trelawnyd.The post office was packed when I called in to thank Jenny for her phone call of yesterday. (She had a load of out of date milk that she offered for me to feed up the pigs in the cold weather!)
The subject on everyone's lips was of course the snow, and each person had something to say about, who got stuck where, and who didn't make it up the hill to get home!In some cases, peoples' stories were indeed serious, for example my friend, Geoff's wife Christine was trapped alone in traffic for over seven hours, but most people made the hazardous journeys home in more or less one piece.Of course, as always, little acts of kindness surface amid the unusual conditions. Farmers, in their tractors ferried people up the 700 feet from the coastal plain for nothing (although one farmer was reported to have charged individuals 20£ a pop to pull their cars out of the snow drifts!). The village pub opened all day to accommodate stranded commuters, and next door neighbour Mandy, was spotted darting around the village checking upon elderly friends after she had delivered the newspapers and magazines! 
Not to be outdone, I dropped in some spare eggs to Mrs Jones and Auntie Gladys,offered to clear Trevor's paths of ice (at 80 he had sorted it all out himself!) and enjoyed the "bonne amie", from the much increased daily village population, as most people had decided to spend the entire day at home.Brits love this sort of crisis, and to be fair, I do think that it brings out our normal self effacing natures and wry senses of humour. but, having the animals, , I am beginning to hate the snow and misery it brings. Extra food and water all need to be checked upon throughout the day, but at least I don't have to worry too much about Gladys and Nora, who have been left a huge parcel of stale Christmas cake this afternoon by a kind soul. After a massive feed both girls have retired to their straw filled hut to sleep the cold away
Chris has been snowed in, and is spending the night at my sister's house down the hill in Prestatyn.I have shelved his home made meatballs in the fridge (a tasty tea, you will have to admit!) and now am settling down for a spot of Internet news reading!I love Kirsty Young. With a voice like Scottish treacle and an insightful mind and knack for the right question, she is a breath of fresh air on BBC's Desert Island discs 
Today I read with interest (thanks Nige), her thoughts on the recent trend for "pushy parents" and their constant need to develop their tots into what is being termed "baby Einsteins!"Recently Young visited a nursery . The three year olds there were being encouraged to take part in what was being termed "improvement exercises",which I suspect were basic IQ lessons. Reacting to what she saw, Kirsty wryly commented'If my child's not coming home covered in snot and poster paint, it's been a bad day at nursery.' and you know what, she's perfectly right!Why can't children be left alone to be children nowadays? Needy, high achieving parents, are competing with each other to be the best they can be and there seems to be an increasing hysteria to treat their children as aspirational objects rather than normal kids with dirty faces and silly voices.....kids, I am told, are now attending yoga classes,ballet,gym,after school lessons, extra tuition and socialization groups ! Primary school kids have what only can be termed "group therapy" sessions, to vent their feelings and concerns whist tiny kids are expected to be part of school forums policy making!Baloney!Sure develop your kids with love, support, interest and the occasional after school club! Spend time reading with them and playing sports...but for God's sake treat them like the kiddies that they are, and not potential little brain boxes in need of constant development.
My Brother is on holiday in Florida and has done the indulgent thing and got himself a long awaited tattoo¬! He's looking more brave about it all than I would be 
.............well actually Nancy Meyers new comedy isn't complicated in any shape or form despite having a fairly "unconventional" storyline.
Now as readers of this blog will know, I will never complain about the work I choose to do on the allotment and field, but I must admit this morning has been a bit of a slog. After night duty and -11 degrees of real frost, every water container on the field was frozen solid,like cement.
mood swings that Chris sometimes suffers from when he is at full stretch with his academic work.
In 1974, I was totally overawed by the skyscraper technology in the Movie The Towering Inferno. Having a building that stood 138 stories from the ground, seemed totally fantastic and almost unbelievable to a 12 year old geek like me, and ever since then, I have always harboured a boyish fascination in the beauty and scale of the skyscraper.(which may sound a little odd given the fact that I am terrified of heights!)
After a hiatus of many many months, my sister Janet is now back on line....welcome back
A Village view taken from my friend Geoff's blog
Well Hughie survived his cold night up in the bare Graveyard Elm, and this morning heralded the sun, a tree full of cold footed guinea fowl (above) and a village full of activity and gossip!
Not to be outdone, I dropped in some spare eggs to Mrs Jones and Auntie Gladys,offered to clear Trevor's paths of ice (at 80 he had sorted it all out himself!) and enjoyed the "bonne amie", from the much increased daily village population, as most people had decided to spend the entire day at home.
