Sunday

Sundays in winter are quiet and nondescript. Chris has gone to Church this afternoon (the vicar mentioned in the service that two of my chickens had welcomed him at the vestry door!), while I pottered around in the cold and wind. The dogs had extended sleeps in front of the fire as it is freezing cold today while Albert (above) relaxed on the kitchen table
My cousin, Carol and her hubby kindly called around with an old family bible this morning to show us some family photographs (including one photo of my great grand parents, who I had never seen before!) and later in the afternoon Chris made a huge banana cake and dollops of custard for tea...which was a nice treat.
Tonight we are off to the cinema to see The Wolfman (we really want to see Chatsworth House on film)

Sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good

In response to my brother's illness, my sisters and I have been asked to participate in a genetic research project. I say this only as a backdrop to a conservation we all had last weekend, when we brainstormed the well known tv programme phrase "Who do you think [you all] are!!

From basic family hand-me-down history, we do know that our family tree (on my Mother's side) has its origins in Wales, Liverpool, Northern Lancashire and Ireland whereas my father's father heralded from central Scotland. But it is my paternal grandmother's family that provoked the most discussion. Short, dark skinned and swarthy we are now convinced that the ancestors of my Granny Gray and the likes of her brother Dyson came from perhaps Eastern Europe, and that "slightly ethic /"Mediterranean colouring has found itself working down into the features of my nephew Chris, who could easily pass an an Italian "Uomo".
I know all of us are mongrels of sorts. especially given the mobility of populations due to economic need in the last century, so perhaps we should not be at all surprised that the "Grays" are not just pure red headed Celts from the hills..............

My sister Ann is convinced that we have "gypsy blood" somewhere around somewhere......I can't see that myself.....especially as I have a healthy aversion to caravans, gold earrings and old Cher songs!

No News

There is a lot going on in the world......according to the BBC, Britain's economic growth has grown 0.3% during the past three months, the NHS Trusts in Wales is millions overspent,and another UK soldier is killed in the war in Afghanistan.....

Closer to home Chris has secured a multi figure research bid for work and a practice nurse from Rhyl wins a national good practice award!

Here in Trelawnyd, the cold weather, sleet and snow is back, the dogs have all had diarrhoea overnight and I have spent much of the day shampooing the carpets.

Be still my beating heart....the excitement is almost palpable!

Mind you I have broken the greyness of the day by looking for rosettes for the Flower Show Committee members to wear at this year's show. The Internet has opened up a hitherto unknown world of double ruffs, knife and Box pleat, ribbon tails and personalized centre logos.

And I am in two minds whether I shall plump for gold foil or satin for the best in show rosettes......

I am working tonight, so with William still looking a little wan, I will leave the exciting world of rosettes for a brief hours sleep with my sick dog........

Not every blog can be a work of art

Happy Birthday Maisie

Happy Birthday Maisie
Uncle John & Uncle Chris
xx

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