Operation Dog Snot Removal....II

No Thomas, it's not some Welsh modern art........
It's the scum left in the bath after only ONE of the dogs has had their pre visitor bath.
I have too much to do today. Nuala arrives tomorrow for a whistle stop visit and I am working night shift tonight, so as well as the animals to care for I have to work like a Trojan in order to remove the doggy smells and snot stains from 95% of the cottage.
Not the nicest of jobs...but certainly a necessary one!

I have been asked a few times about the condition of the chick that Plank adopted
The chick that survived the fox attack seems to have the lives of a cat.

Plank, the thick buff orpington, looked after the orphan for nearly four days before turning on her charge with a ferocity rare for such a placid hen.
I only realised that something was wrong was when Constance and William parked themselves outside the shed by the back door and refused to move. On closer inspection I found Plank stalking angrily around the shed while the frightened chick hid inside a wellington boot lying on its side.

I had no explanation of just why she had turned so forcefully on the chick, but turn she did, and I am sure that she would have killed it if the chick hadn't found an unexpected place of safety.
And so the chick is back on its own again
She looks alright and now has a small hand mirror for company.....well I figured that if a small mirror is good enough for a budgie it will be good enough for a lonely hen
She's eating well

Right off again to shampoo the dog smell from the carpets.......

Pants!

The good thing about being on a long and sustained heath kick is that you no longer have to squeeze your fat arse into your pants!
Cutting down on food (apart from a birthday  KFC last night----I know I know..but to me it's a big fuck off treat!),all fat and especially alcohol (hardly any in a few weeks ...would you believe it?) has started to show dividends and although by blood pressure remains a little elevated ( thanks Dad) I managed to get into a pair of combat trousers yesterday without resorting to a warm spoon and a ton of goose grease!

Ok I still have a long way to go, but at least the 12 year old practice nurse down at the doctor's surgery cannot give me that awfully patronising "lifestyle change" pep talk that they are so good at giving, after I pre-empt her spiel with news of my weight loss, liver preservation and shiny new combats.....
I hope SHE doesn't think that I now still look 49!
( If she calls me Grandad I will slap her)


Anyhow I am up at my Brother's for the day . My sister-in-law needed to be out early, and while my brother has had a lie in, I have busied myself with completing another two chapters over at http://trelawnydhistory.blogspot.com/ and sorting some health and safety signs out for my Open Allotment day which has been booked for the 17th of July.
Yes even the dreaded "risk assessment" has to be filled out for the smallest of village open days!


Oh I need to ring Boots -The Chemist too! they have lost the original slides I took in to be printed up and still they have not turned up yet..........I know it will increase my blood pressure somewhat, but I feel like a little sport........a few waspish comments to some middle managers......will give me a smile on this dull looking Thursday morning!


(ps will update everyone on the Plank and chick saga later!)

Me....Me....ME......MEEEEEE!

If Constance was excited about my birthday
she didn't show it

Having a twin sister, I have never had a birthday all of my own.
I like it that way
If all else fails
You are always guaranteed at least one birthday card!

I am at an age where I dont really want a fuss on my birthday.....today I will be finishing off  the strimming of the field, the shed needs cleaning out and I need to dredge the pond.....so in one way I will be indulging myself in the things I enjoy the most.........but having said all this I will admit that I DO enjoy receiving birthday cards ( and the modern day equivalent of them....and that is the Birthday TEXT!)!

So before I troll outside with the hoe (no jokes Tom)
Thank you for your birthday good wishes
Happy Birthday to my sister Janet
and happy birthday to my good friend Nigel

No 21

She is bright as the proverbial button.
The photo tells it like it is!

Little Boys

I am grabbing a coffee before getting stuck in with strimming the field borders. The spring grass has run riot with the recent and much welcomed rain and I need to get on top of the tidying jobs before the allotment open in only 6 weeks time!
Last night we were watching some tv when there was a loud knock on the kitchen window.
Our window faces on to the lane and  customers often knock to collect a dozen eggs or so, but it was well after 9pm so we were a little surprised at the late call.
Chris went to the back door to hear running feet and the somewhat strange call of "gay boys!" echoing down the lane....
He was very mildly irritated when he returned and as he sat down he said " I haven't heard such rubbish since the 1980s who do you think was it?!"
I knew who it was
I had "told off" the boyfriend of a local teenage girl last week for trying to climb over our wall and in doing so used some rather cutting and colourful language and I suspected that he and  his cronies had been drinking down in one of the fields before they passed our cottage and it was them who decided to remind us of our sexual preferences....
Mindless idiocy of course
But I was made up that  I was called a "boy"!! dont they know that I'm 49 tomorrow?!!!!


I'll post more pig photos later!
I just realised that it is exactly a year since Maddie died

MNDA CARS



Now we have spent an interesting afternoon manning the "ride a classic car for Motor Neurone disease" tent.

Several participants of the Prestatyn Classic Car Show offered their cars to be used by willing car enthusiasts for a ride around the town......All the passengers had to do was make a donation to The Motor Neurone Disease association...and between 12 and 3.30pm It was my job to make the bookings!

Sister Janet (One of the MND oganisers)

Now I have not a clue what exactly is the difference between a 1967 Lanciar spider and Porche Carrera...so when questioned on the finer details of the horsepower capacity of say a Masarati Grandturismo , I did resort to a somewhat perplexed chuckle and the usual statement..." I am a guy that drives a Citroen Berlingo.....I have absolutely no idea but will find out for you!"



Cars are another world to me......now if the great Welsh public asked me the  colour of Shelley Winters' dress in the Poseidon Adventure.....I would have shouted " Now we're bloody well talking talking!!" But car talk?...........I might as well be living on the moon!

Anyhow I got by...just about and we raised a fair bit for the cause... see my my sister's blog for details of the day

It was an entertaining afternoon!

Number 12 and Number 21

The second ( and third) of my early Birthday gifts have been collected today
A Gloucestershire Old Spot gilt and a Saddleback Boar are now set up in the old pig pen at the bottom of the field. I am not allowed to name them. They are meat pigs...so it's no 12 and no 21 from now on!

The gilt is quite a madam already and has escaped the enclosure once already

The death of the Village Pub

The Crown Pub Today ( the extension on the left which is now the pub kitchens used to be the village Blacksmith's)

A rare old photo of the Crown which was given to me by the powerhouse local character Audrey Jones

It is no secret that in these troubled times, the local pub is going through a bit of a crisis. The credit crunch, a change to home drinking and arrival of the smoking ban have ll take their toll , and along with thousands of other historic pubs, it is with a heavy heart that I have heard that our sister village, Llanasa will be losing their historical old Red Lion at the end of next month.
Our only Pub, The Crown is hanging on......just.........of course the village had several pubs at one time....The politically incorrect Black Boy and The Mostyn Arms have long since gone , so I personally feel that all of the village has a kind of responsibility to keep the place going.
Now I am not really a Pub goer.......I love a pint, that much  is true (althoughI must admit that my alcohol intake in recent times has been drastically cut to boost weight loss!) but I have never really been one to prop up a bar so to speak.
The Crown used to have several small room with roaring fires and a somewhat old fashioned feel to it ( I remember it well as a teen when we used to come up in my austin 1300) but alas it went through an open plan conversion in the intervening years and has lost some of the original charm it once had,
The pub does have a restaurant though, and we have recently found that the new manager has updated the somewhat 1970s menu to a standard acceptable to two  fussy old queens that were used to city eating .
This weekend and last we made the effort and popped up to the Crown for an early dinner and glass of Shiraz and I must say that it was all very acceptable indeed.
My message for today, is therefore, "Keep your local alive!" go down to your pub! Buy a meal or treat yourself to a rum and black...........perhaps we can all help these historic British traditions going just a little bit longer?
I hope so