Glorious 39

Glorious 39, is a movie with one helluva cast of Brit favourites! Bill Nighy,Jenny Agutter, Julie Christie, David Tennent, Christopher Lee, Romola Garai,Hugh Bonneville, Charlie Cox and Jeremy Northern all pop up in this uneven, unbelievable and rather clunky espionage thriller set on the eve of World War 2
I can't be bothered discussing the plot, suffice to say that there were more holes in it than a block of Swiss Cheese.....and I have to say that the acting from Bill Nighy in particular has to be seen to be believed!- he actually looks as though he is reading his lines from a slow moving autocue- it's a dreadfully embarrassing performance which is not helped by an awful script and character motivations that the audience cannot quite understand!

Garai, on a plus note gives her 1930 heroine everything she's got, and Charlie Cox is sexy-as-hell as her smoothie boyfriend (above left).....but nothing else saves this poorer version of a 39 Steps-ish thriller
6/10

No news day

The weather today has been warm and springlike.
We had a jolt first thing as when we were lying in bed with a cup of tea and the usual blanket of dogs (and cat), four horses walked past the cottage, loose on the lane.
Chris and I galloped outside ( Chris in his stocking feet) and we managed to stop the horses before they ambled up to the main road. After a bit of arm waving we drove the animals into a spare field down the lane, where their owners would collect them all later.
The weather seems to have galvanised the whole village into gardening action, as everywhere mowers had been started and flower beds cleared out!
Steve (aka Islwyn) has made another new start on the Church wall, with me acting as barrow boy, and this afternoon I have cleared yet another vegetable bed....
Later we are off to Theatre Clwyd to see Glorious 39.

ME,me,me,me,me,me and me....

Am I the only person who suffers from the occasional bouts of depressive realization that I am getting older? Today I had two such flashes of reality.
The first came when I was having a cup of coffee in front of the tv. A quiz programme " Eggheads" was on and 5 contestants, all sat in a line, were introducing themselves.
The first four men on the team were good looking men in their thirties,and mentally I could almost see myself sat with them answering the questions like a good 'un! The fifth man looked a right old crock in comparison and I had the shock of my life when he stated that his name was Brian and he was 45!
Two years younger than me!!!
Gawd.....it is at times like these that I suddenly realise that I am completely "middle aged" and not the young man that I often think I am.
It is a depressing thought, and one that was compounded by a glimpse of my hands later on in the day. Now I know we all see at our hands a million times a day, but I guess that we only LOOK at our hands only very occasionally. I did, just that this evening when I was rubbing moisturiser cream into my allotment ravaged palms, and I was shocked to see a pair of hands that belonged to my father!
All wrinkled and cracked, I now am sad to admit that I have geriatric digits!

..........and let's not forget the knackered old body to go with them....................

Vegetable beds ready for planting

here's hoping it goes on the blog

Mugabe & the White African

I know a little about Zimbabwe's crash into economic and political disaster following President Mugabe's land reform initiatives. My information came first hand from some of the black Zimbabwean moderates that left the country to take up nursing jobs in Sheffield . Their move to this country was a last dash effort to escape the disintegration of democracy and poverty in a failing Zimbabwe.
What I didn't know,was that the land that was effectively stolen from the white African farmers was given, not to the poor Black Africans that had nothing, but to the friends, family, close officials and in one case a girlfriend of the country's elite.
Mugabe and The White African, is an amazing ,covertly shot documentary, about the last stand of a 75 year old mango farmer Michael Cambell , who along with his son in law, (the articulate and charismatic Ben Freeth (above pic) take on the Mugabe regime in an international court of law to win back their rights to stay on their own farm.
Cambell and Freeth as it turns out are no pushovers, despite constant intimidation, threats, a near fatal and truly horrific beating (when Cambell's elderly wife is also severely assaulted ), the two men take on all comers with a deep religious faith, good humour and a pragmatic arsenal of weapons to back themselves up.
The family farm is also supported by a large group of loyal local workers whose livelihoods depend on the successfully run business, a business that would be left to rack and ruin if the farm fell into the mobs inexperienced hands.
Scenes where a neighbouring farm is overrun is heartbreaking to watch as we witness the white farmers wife breaking down at the despair and angst suffered by her loyal black workers, who are forced to leave their own homes as she herself is evicted.
At one stage I felt that It was almost unbelievable that we were in fact watching a documentary and not just a piece of fiction.
The overtly racist abuse finally overwhelms theCambell/Freeth families as even though they win their case in an historic landslide result ( the Zimbabwe lawyers walk out the court in an astonishing display of disrespect), their farm is finally burnt to the ground.
It is testament to their strength of spirit and moral fortitude that to this day the family remain in Zimbabwe (the home they love), fighting their cause with a hope that has to be seen to be believed. 8/10

The Wynyard Cup

Now, I did post a video via YOU TUBE earlier but for some reason it has not arrived on the blog as yet!

I am absolutely knackered after digging over two vegetable patches, and even though it is only March I have caught some sun this afternoon....so much so that I now have a healthy glow after returning back to the cottage.

I found a real bargain on the wonderful EBAY the other day and it arrived today. It is an old ( around 1910) art nouveau trophy to add to the prizes that we are giving at this year's Flower Show, and will be grandly called the "Wynyard Cup".

Wynyard Road was the road where we lived in Sheffield, and I kind of liked the "mystery" in the cup's new title rather than name it after someone who is now dead!

Mind you I have already put in another cup into the show in memory of Finlay (our first Welsh Terrier)- That cup goes to the children's' entry which I though was rather apt.

Tonight I am off to see the move MUGABE & THE WHITE AFRICAN.......review later......

Bun fight

The open meeting at the village hall was an interesting bash. An official spokeswoman made a valid plea for the need of affordable housing for the village community but had to concede that the official feasibility study had yet to be commissioned and viewed.

Until then, of course nothing concrete will proceed, but I did feel sightly sorry for this woman who had to face some of the frustrations and anger from some people present.

The frustrations, of course seemed to be worries centred around three specific areas :

1. If the proposed ten houses are built then would there be enough village people to utilize them

2. In view of there being several empty houses present in Trelawnyd, why cannot the housing association purchase these properties?

3. Would the building proposal be just a start of further development? Development that the village infrastructure may not be able to sustain.

I think what was in fact needed was another open Community Council meeting so that the villagers could actually clarify some of the concerns that they have and where misconceptions and half truths relating to the whole process could be ironed out. But my suggestion that such a meeting was required was met by a less then enthusiastic agreement by some on the council.

I know affordable housing for the village young ( and there was a persuading plea for such housing from a young man I had never seen before) is needed as it is an every area, I just think that as in most initiatives there a substantive need for the community council to listen to the thoughts, worries, wishes and hopes of the community which they represent and to address these areas individually and with patience.

The presentation today, did go some way to clarify the issues.......but I must admit, there are plenty of other concerns that need addressing.

hey ho

Bullying

My first blog today was centred around the extremes of bullying behaviours that we sadly see in our human world...but bullying happens without rhyme or reason in the animal world too .
Yesterday two of the turkey poults ( females) suddenly turned on the smallest bird which is the slate grey poult. Viciously the little stag ( I am still quite not sure of his sex) was pecked and harassed by one of the females even though he constantly ran to the performing Boris in what resembled a plea for protection.
The attack was sustained and completely out of the blue, and in the end I had to intervene and remove the little guy from the enclosure to walk safely around with the hens and ducks (above)

Last night I replaced him into the turkey house with the others, in the hope that things would settle down overnight, and this morning the aggression ( although still there in bursts) is no where as pronounced as it was yesterday..
I am digging out the veg beds today, so I can keep an eye on the little fella!

Tonight there is a community council "open" meeting at the memorial hall to discuss the proposed building of houses "outside" of the village envelope in greenbelt land.....I suspect a large proportion of the village will be in attendence and the whole thing will be a bit of a bunfight!!!
I shall be there!!!