Cold

It has been a bloody awful day, cold and very wet! Far too wet to be digging the veg plots and far too cold to be thinking of planting broad beans and early potatoes. Even the dogs seemed unwilling to stay out on the beach for their walk, favouring the comfort of the arms chairs in front of the fire (above)
I have braved the elements for a while, and placed a few well chosen stones on the ever growing Church wall but allowed myself to be interrupted by a visit from the fat faced welsh farmer, who gave me loads of advice about setting up the next pig enclosures, a job I want to start next week! He said he would give me a hand stringing the pig netting taut, but stated he couldn't help me sledgehammer the 4 inch posts into place (at 71 I wasn't expecting him to!)..." I get a little breathless" he explained in his usual understated way!

For part of the afternoon I was effectively rained inside the house and caught by accident a re run of the 1944 classic Jane Eyre . Now I am not really a fan of Orson Welles (Mr Rochester in the movie) and I have always favoured the sweet faced Olivia De Havilland over her feuding sister Joan Fontaine (who played the plain Jane Eyre), but I kind of enjoyed this Gothic romp on the Hollywood moors. It was the ideal antidote to a miserable afternoon!

Walkabout

The turkeys went on walkabout this morning. I had cut my dry stone walling effort short ( I had only placed four stones in the wall to be honest) to take the Welsh terriers out for their walk, and was returning home when a four by four stopped and the driver asked me if I owned " some bloody big birds", apparently, he said four "big buggers" were having an amble down our lane (Cwm Road) and were having a great old time of it all.

I ran down the lane ( not easy at my age with tight longjohns and wellies on) and caught all four junior turkeys a hundred yards beyond the field.

Now Turkeys are bright little devils! Never EVER be fooled by their depressive big brown eyes and slow gait. They know when they have done something wrong and understand only too well when they are being told off.

All it took was one sharp "get here!" and quite meekly all four scarpered back to the field gate, with heads bowed ( and muttering quietly to themselves), I shall clip their wings again quite soon but wanted to wait for my "chicken course" students to do it as part of their learning...which will be fun.

Anyhow I have now spent a few hours at my sister's house, filing out a laborious job application on line. It is amazing how much I rely on my computer on a day to day basis....a scary fact in many ways......

"Gi Oeeer"

My netbook has crashed, so I am effectively computer less (well that is until Chris gets home from work).It is a nightmare as all my notes for my chicken course are locked away behind a blank screen as well as a ton of other documents and information.
Computer Boffin Nige has kindly been on the case this evening and has offered some sound advice, but for the near future I am sans netbook!!!!!!

Anyhow work on the dry stone wall has started.
According to Steve it is important to start with some large "key stones" on the base of the wall, which you work "outwards" from. The filling of the oddshaped gaps between these larger stones remind me of a basic childs' puzzle, and as long as the stones are supported from behind, the whole job sounds easier than it is in reality.
Apparently the whole wall has to lean backwards ever so slightly (to 33 degrees) and long connecting stones should be placed in the wall (and into the bank behind the wall) to tie the whole structure into place.
I hope the Church council will be happy when we eventually finish

This afternoon I have been busy weighing out feed and mixing it with poultry wormer ( which is phenomenally expensive). As it was snowing this afternoon ( yes snowing) I worked from the back of the Berlingo to keep the feed dry and parked on the field, with the Welsh terriers tied up behind. The scotties were free on the field.
A group of hikers went past mid afternoon and as usual Maddie ran forward barking loudly at the "intruders". I shouted out my usual telling off of "Give over Maddie" and one of the men in the group cheerfully shouted out "Now there's a good Sheffield accent!"
This tickled me as I has not realised that I had used the typical Sheffield phrase of "give over" (pronounced "gi oer") which literally means "give it a rest"or "stop it"
But on reflection, I realised that I always seem to use this Yorkshire phrase time and time again, especially when dealing with the dogs, another legacy of living a decade and a half in God's own country.

Chicken school

There is something rather benign about Chicken keepers I always think. 5 of the 6 course students attended my first "teaching" session this evening and they were just like my "first" group from last year!,in so much as they were cheerful, informed, slightly obsessed with animals and attentive. (yes I know.........sort of mini-mes in the making!)
The session went well, (even though I forgot the coffee) and the course fees will pay for this month vet's bills and two sacks of pig food!

Chicken Course II

I am in the process of topping up my depleted caffeine levels, as it has been a weird kind of a day. I worked last night and have not had any sleep this morning as I have been battling the on line NHS Jobs website as well as negotiating a somewhat unhelpful HR department by phone. (I have been debating applying for another job)

This afternoon I have been dog walking and field working and at 6.30, I am due to teach the first session of my second "chicken keeping for beginners" course at the village hall, and I feel completely knackered.

hey ho, after a few cups of the lovely black stuff and a hot bath and I shall be right as rain.

Phil Archer RIP

It's the end of an era. Jill Archer spent a rare day out with Peggy Woolly and Christine Barford and came home to find her 82 year old husband dead in the living room armchair.

It has been a long time coming as actor Norman Painting, who has played the Ambridge farmer for over 58 years, passed away last October, and I must admit I wondered just how the BBC would "get rid" of one of their most loved and respected characters!

In the end, Phil was found by his wife, in a peaceful understated scene which , as it turned out , was incredibly underplayed, brief and rather moving........The BBC does it again, as when it counts, this wonderful old soap comes up trumps again

dawn in Trelawnyd

It is usual for me to go back to bed for an hour after going the "chores" on a Sunday morning....Let me paint you a picture! There is Chris, sipping coffee and.....reading a biography of the Queen Mother whilst listening to radio 4 and the Sunday service........
and there is me, covered in dogs, listening to my digital radio ( the bitchy steve Allen on london talk radio) still in my woolly hat and longjohns.......
Happy Valentine'd day!

Inglourious Basterds

I am not a lover of Quentin Tarantino movies, but I must admit I have a sort of grudging admiration for the guy after sitting through the world war II revenge movie Inglourious Basterds.

Every Zig zagging Tarantino trick is used in this movie....the audience is wrong footed time and time and time again, as characters are suddenly introduced, then seem to seesaw back and forth in their own power struggles and importance before being dispatched or dropped with an icy cold and very violent regard.

As usual the plot is convoluted and cram packed with overly "clever" dialogue (the opening 10 minute exchange between French farmer (the very attractive Denis Menochet) and Nazi Jew hunter Landa (Christoph Waltz) is a particular standout, but it is in certain tension cranking set pieces (and I am talking about the scene in a pub basement where a British agent,Michael Fassbender is unearthed as a spy) that Tarantino really flexes his muscles to the greatest cinematic effect.

I enjoyed these moments of the movie greatly but hated the gratuitous violence within other parts of the film. I also found Brad Pitt'S performance ( as the Jewish hit squad leader) rather uncomfortable and irritating to watch, but must add that Christopher Waltz was a revelation as the charming,unpredictable and psychopathic Col Landa and the two women in the film,Mélanie Laurent as a Jewish survivor and Diane Kruger as a German double agent are also particulary good

An interesting, uncomfortable,sometimes irritating and occasionally exhilarating movie 8/10

(photo Denis Menochet- sigh)