Wild Flower Border,Funeral Turkeys,Strawberry Beds,Potato digging and the Island Girls settle

It's been a busy day here on the allotment.
And I have only stopped once (above) to drink my coffee and eat my bagel alongside the turkeys

I raked and levelled the plot of land by the stream that was churned up by the gravedigger who kindly scoured the stream banks a few weeks ago, and seeded it with four bargain boxes of wild flower seeds I bought from a discount shop in Prestatyn this morning. (below) I am hopeful that the eager beaks of the chickens will not eat the majority of the seeds and that I will have a beautiful backdrop of field flowers come the early summer.

The new turkey stag is growing at a rapid rate of knots. He is taller than Boris already but still retains the gentleness of a poult. I have become quite attached to him, but have agreed for him to be picked up next week. He is off to the other side of the village to be a mate for a lone single female at another small holding.

Mind you my turkey population will be growing by another two adolescents as soon as he goes, as my friend Eirlys has asked for me to take in her two slate turkeys as she no longer has room for them.
I saw my neighbour Pat this morning. She is the lady that lost her husband a few weeks ago, and during our conversation she commented that the turkeys provided a welcomed moment of lightness during her husband's funeral, as they "gobbled and called out" as the mourners walked through the Churchyard. So much so, that one of congregation could be heard "gobbling" back at them as the procession moved forward.

Pat commented that the horses in the riding stable fields (that adjoins my field), as well as the hens, ducks and turkeys all give her some solace when she visits her husband's grave.

"With all the animals around....it somehow makes the place even more peaceful" she said kindly

The strawberry plants which were a kind gift from Sandra's allotment have been planted up in their own bed (above) but have suffered somewhat from the snow and rain, so I don't hold out for their chances.

This afternoon I have started to dig over the main potato plot (below). and plan to finish all of the allotment preparations by next week. The bad weather has put my work schedule back at least a few weeks.

I let Thelma, Laura and Audrey out of their run today to join the rest of the field population. I have never had Rhode Island Red hens before and they are quite beautiful looking birds. I think I may get a few more.

Tosh

Sometimes you just need some mindless rubbish to settle down to on an evening. For Chris it is his box set of Miss Marple (with Joan Hickson) while he lies on the couch with a blanket; for me it is a routine thriller with a bit of action and pretty leading man.
I was going to see something arty with Hazel tonight, but there was absolutely nothing on in theatre Clwyd and our local Scala, so Chris treated me to a nice bottle of white and a dvd.
As it turned out, the dvd called Whiteout, was total tosh, but it was noisy, occasionally exciting and did have a pretty leading man (Gabriel Macht), so I will forgive the holes in the plot and the dreadful acting..........

Walk where I walk

Now I know most of my neighbours think I am a tad weird (it's something to do with the multi coloured beanie) but this morning I think a couple of them had the fact confirmed big style.
Overnight we had a fair smattering of snow,so before I let the animals free of their houses, I decided to check for fox footprints!
I started at the hole in the hedge near to where the pigs are housed, it is an area that the fat faced Welsh farmer indicated that foxes were entering and leaving, and there clearly marked in the snow were a set of footprints.....
I followed the footprints with the tenacity of Danial Day Lewis from The Last of the Mohichan's, up they went to the first coop. then they circled it, then off to another and so on, until every coop had been visited. I was so engrossed in my outdoor pursuits that I hadn't seen my neighbours from down the lane who were standing by the gate. The husband called over, "have you lost something?" he said........
"No" I replied importantly "I am just tracking game!!"
He shrugged his shoulders and laughed "fair enough!"
I didn't look much like a big game hunter...not with a cup of coffee in one hand and a camera in the other.
After review of the prints (back in the lab) I think the "spoor" is in fact that of a badger rather than the dreaded fox and the whole affair reminded me of the time that I went badger watching with my brother years ago.
My brother in law Ned, used to be a game keeper, so knew his onions when it came to wildlife. He took me ( and I was a real city boy back then) to some local woods to see badgers entering and leaving their setts, and was quick to instruct me into the "ways" of animal tracking.
"Walk where I walk" he ordered quietly as we entered the near pitch black wood and stifling a fit of the giggles, I tried to follow (on tip toes like a big fairy!)
Anyhow after a few minutes blundering around in the dark, we laid down in some grass to get a "lie of the land", and in the silence I could hear all manner of rustlings and slithering in the undergrowth. Ned seemed not to notice all this activity, but to me the noises were terrifying! (I had forgotten that we were in fact in rural Wales and not in the African bush)
After a few minutes my imagination was running riot and I remember creeping up to Ned to ask him what animal was stalking us....
"It's a rabbit!" he said with mild disgust.

At least for now I couldn't see any fox prints.....
Before I went in for breakfast, I snapped this photo of Jesus (the cockerel that was abandoned with me at Christmas)
He has been courting the three new Rhode Island Red pullets in their run.

You gotta Have BIG HAIR

Last night, with the snow still falling, I settled down to watch a real "blast from the past" movie from 25 years ago. Working Girl (1988), is a sweet natured , typically American, Cinderella Rom Com that clearly underlines the boom and boom era of the mid eighties.
In it we meet Tess McGill a poor but bright secretary (Melanie Griffith) who turns the tables on her wicked boss (Sigourney Weaver) and makes a success out of herself in business and in her romantic life.
Ok the plot isn't perhaps that original and nor is the dialogue (the famous line "I have a head for Business and a bod for sin" sounds incredibly cheesy when heard in the "more sophisticated" noughties.) but the film works incredibly well as a rags to riches parable thanks primarily to some very winning performances .
Melanie Griffith is charming and likable as the whispering heroine ( though she does not look that great in a set of black bra and panties). Harrison Ford does his usual charm offensive as the wall street boyfriend but it is Sigourney Weaver's performance as bitch boss Katherine Parker that almost steals the film.
She obviously had the time of her life taking her first evil steps away from the virtuous alien ass kicker Ellen Ripley.
Joan Cusack ( with some massive hair) turns in a few nice moments as Tess' rough as a bear's bum best mate and I had great fun picking out the before- they-were-famous likes of Kevin Spacey,Alec Baldwin, Rikki Lake, Olympia Dukakis and Oliver Platt in all the minor roles.

In the cynical 80's Working Girl , recalled a little of that wisecracking banter of the romantic comedies of the 1940s and by doing so , it made a star out of Melanie Griffith

Computer returns!

My computer has been fixed! Hallelujah !!!
Nuff said!

Village Hall quietness

The Chicken course is going very well, and despite the weather , all of my "students" turned up this evening at the memorial hall.
We has a lively and rather animated evening of "chicken talk" which woke me up after last night's hospital shift
We finished the session at around 8.15, so while I waited for Pat the ever cheerful caretaker to come to lock the hall up, I had a peaceful amble around the deserted and silent village hall.

Although we have only lived in Trelawnyd for 5 years I have a great deal of affection for the village hall. (seen right at last year's Flower Show- I am standing by the table!).

Tonight I could imagine nearly a hundred years of history crammed into the very walls of the building, and although the Ghosts of the past could be imagined and recalled, I didn't feel at all ill at ease standing there alone in the dark.

Some buildings have a nice feel about them, I always think. Our cottage does to be sure, as does the Village Church, but the Memorial Hall has a certain lightness about it, which is hard to describe. I always feel comfortable and at home when I am there.
Off to bed...it's been a long day

Thank you

The UK "readership" of Going Gently has just about reached the 10.000 hit mark ( for the past 12 months or so!) which I find an absolutely amazing fact given the rubbish I sometimes churn out here...
I am grateful for the visits and would love to know who in fact reads the blog
drop us an email at jgsheffield@hotmail.com if you have time, so I can see.
Thanks again
x

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

The best thing on tv this week was the channel 4 documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding on Wednesday evening.
This was a rare look into the amalgamation of ancient wedding culture and "high fashion" of the "traveller" population of Britain, and was a brief but fascinating glimpse into a community that is mistrusted, hated and feared by the general population.
At first I thought that the programme was just a vehicle for some snobby voyeurism ( and there was an element of enjoyment in laughing at the monstrous fashion designs that are expected to be on show at these affairs),
However what I found more interesting, was the rigidity and adherence to tradition that was evident within the gypsy community and I would have liked if the documentary would have explored the dichotomy between religion (the families that were shown were terribly staunch catholics) and the well known view of gypsies being unlawful
If you didn't see it, I would recommend you give it a view