Buffing up the pews

I am  on the Church Cleaning rota from August

Now I am not religious, it's not something "I do" but I am so looking forward to be left alone in the Church with my duster and a tin of polish..

It's not because I have an obsession with cleanliness (take a look at the fluff under our bed and you will realise that I am right on that score)

Its not because I want to have a secret go on the organ when no one is looking (this HAS happened by the way!)

No..the reason that I volunteered is the simple fact that I quite LOVE being inside the Church when it is empty.

A year or two ago, I volunteered to paint some of the Church radiators.It wasn't a big job, it actually took me an hour or so and I was happy to be of some help.......but as it tuned out, I absolutely loved the sense of peace and quiet that I experienced being inside the dark ,silent and cloistered old Church, when no one else was around to clutter up the experience.

I am not an overtly spiritual person....

I can be thoughtful.... certainly

and introspective...well..........always..........

But I am not a deep thinker or someone that needs meditation time !

And so, perhaps..... I have surprised myself that the healing quiet of an empty St Michael's is so appealing

Even with a floor mop in my hand...

A Victorian sketch of the Church, when it used to be surrounded by trees

Open Day 2011

Village Supporters fresh from Church
Dorothy,Eirlys,Daphne,Audrey,Pat,Desmond and Rowenna

Sylvia (The Flower Show Secretary) shows some cleavage when sorting out some of the 80 cakes that were donated for the day. She and Irene nearly sold every one

The day started off fairly quiet

But then the crowds started to appear, thanks to the good weather

Margaret and Carla who manned the bric-a-brac stall

Sister Ann and Heulwen working "front of House" They alone raised over £600 

We even had a couple of celebrities Sheffielder Diane Marshall ( from

http://diane-heartshaped.blogspot.com/ with her Police Interceptors tv police cop Hubby Gaz) drove 100 miles to share in our day. Their kindness and effort to attend was incredibly touching

Sister Janet, worked incredibly hard in the tea tent

Mrs Hopkins (aka Mrs Trellis from North Wales) -you can just see her behind the wheel....raised a considerable amount with her "name her car" competition

Friends Sandra and Robert (centre) wait in line for tea. Village Cannon Robert (more tea vicar?)  can just be seen on the right ( he called out the raffle)

The tea tent served around 500 teas in a couple of hours

Janet, Judy and Carole at the only quiet moemnt of the day

Cannon Robert announcing the pig name winner

Gwyneth from her wheelchair sold a considerable amount of Carol Royle's home made ice cream

Aunt Judy (buggered) by the end of the day

Pam and partner from Prestatyn presented me with a small broody box- a kind gift

I am too jaded to go into too much detail about the day, but suffice to say that it went very well indeed....
We raised a total of "£1177.66 which is a phenomenal amount given that the price of admission was only £1.50
£700.00 will be donated to the Church here in Trelawnyd and £477.66 will be given to the Motor Neurone Disease Association here in Wales . With the online donations we have received for the "Save The Pig" competition , the MND donation will be just shy of £700.00 too....which seemed fitting enough..Therefore total amount made will be £1400.00 !


Janet over at supportingandrew.blogspot.com will outline who won the online competition of "name the pig"
And I will ring all the raffle prize winners tomorrow when I am back on an even keel!


I have had a lovely day...a bit stressful... but lovely.......I never seem to have time to talk, to say hello to the many people that kindly made the effort to support the day, but I want to thank them here publicly  for doing so...whether they made cakes and provisions, provided raffle prizes or just turned up to spend money, and have a cake with a cup of tea .- You made the day feel like a traditional village fete


Special thanks must go to tea ladies Janet,Judy,Ned,Sue,Jayne,Chris, Gwyneth and Carole
Ice Cream lady Gwyneth.
Cake tent ladies Sylvia and Irene
Stall  holders Margaret and Carla
Plant seller Graham ( sorry for the hens eating your flowers)
Front of House ladies Ann and Heulwen,
Mrs Hawkings (aka Mrs Trellis) who organised the "Name the car" raffle
Gardening exhibitor Chris C
Pig Raffle man Terry,
Mike and Viv for opening up their garden down the lane to the public
Mandy, and John and all the others who helped tidy up afterwards
and young Cameron who fed and watered the animals for me.


Thank You
now off to bed

Operation Open day

The big top comes to Trelawnyd

Now it's official.......I am now boring MYSELF with news of the open day
And so in typical British style...I will blunder on about it regardless.
Yesterday I worked like a Trojan and set up most of the tents and stalls.....Most of the heavy work is now done, I just have the marathon job of pricing things up, a last minute weed of the veg beds, mucking out the pig pen and collecting the cakes.
I am working nights tonight which is unfortunate, but seeing that I cancelled last weeks day, working tonight is unavoidable.
I am going to feel like shit tomorrow!
Right need to go, my first coffee of the day is almost finished and I have cakes to bake....
Thank you all for your best wishes

Sometimes a Bitch just needs a good slap

The kitchen is full of knitted toys
Another kind donation to the craft stall.
The whole house looks like some sad hoarder has moved in.
Constance and William seem obsessed with the new influx of small fluffy animals, and the excitement they generated caused the two dogs to "bicker" over who could get closer!
Constance is 25kilos and thinks she is the boss....William is 12 kilos and KNOWS he is  ......so any altercation between the two is heavily weighted in the bulldog's favour (albeit physically)......but male testosterone does count for something and it was amusing to watch the benign William finally assert himself with the overly confident Constance, who backed down with a bruised and rather astonished expression after William's lightening like put down.
The fight was over in a second.
William, smiling broadly to himself, was left sniffing the knitted animals in peace
Constance retired to her cushion and in a flounce worthy of Scarlett O'Hara flung her head under the sofa
She is still sulking there an hour later

The Flower Show Committee Pie Fight

I have too much to do today. The backlog of jobs to be done before the open day seems to be growing, not shortening and I have been seriously been considering organising an "Open Day Committee" for next year's event....

Mind you Committee work is not an easy ride either!

We had our final Trelawnyd Flower Show Committee Meeting last night before the show itself which is on the 13th of August......

They are always lively, slightly confusing and animated affairs, where official committee protocols often go out of the window.

Everyone talks at once. Sticking to the agenda is sometimes an impossible task and after an hour or two I sometimes feel as though I have just worked a12 hour shift on intensive care. ( Goodness how the slightly deaf Auntie Gladys copes with the job of sifting information?)

Having said this....everything gets done, decisions are made and for such a small village, the large and motivated committee is a, I think, a credit to the community.

Anyhow I am grabbing a quick cuppa before:-

I collect animal feed from the wholesalers,

Buy bedding plants for the cottage hanging baskets

Collect the donated craftwork from the post office to sell on our bric-a-brac stall ( Thank you Wanda Glaze for making and sending it)

Pick up tea tables and chairs from Prestatyn

Collect 4 boxes of bric-a-brac,
locate the tea urn from the Village Friendship group

Collect 4 gazebos,

Clean out two hen houses (one has redmite starting)

Strim the lower part of the field,

Then I can walk the dogs, make dinner and deliver eggs

Yeap I think I  need a committee

Ps. forgive my lack of posting on the usual suspect blogs...when I get a minute I will catch up with you all


Just a quick postscript and message of thanks.
Today I received two large parcels from two fellow bloggers who have kindly donated items for our open day.
I couldn't quite believe the home made items that were sent by Wanda Glaze from up there in Orkney......beautifully hand crafted bags, tea cosies and stockings, all beautifully presented and wrapped for me literally overwhelmed me.Thank you so much for the time effort and kindness it took to send them to me.


The other parcel was from Craig over at http://cognacguy.blogspot.com/.
and it was filled to the brim of home made cakes .as well as a donation for the day. Again the time, effort and the thoughtful nature of the gift is very humbling. I am very grateful for his contribution

here comes the sun?

NO 21 in indignant mood

I was locking up the hens this evening, when a villager out with his dog called me over
"just saw the weather forecast for Sunday"
he boomed
" sunny intervals!"
my heart soared
here's hoping

Who IS Dave?

;;
This is Dave
Have a look on your followers bar and I am sure you will recognise his swarthy good looks.
Over the past few weeks I have noticed him turning up an nearly EVERY blog I have read.
No comments, no pithy quips......no witty banter...... just a silent face staring back at you amid photos of your friends and loved ones that follow on your every word
Have a look.... see if he's there
Just watching...........
.....and waiting

Pastures New

Hazel, my arthouse cinema buddy will leave Wales for pastures new today.
Another friend Geoff left a few months ago.........and although I am used in having and keeping friends from all over the country, the demise of local "on tap" mates is a little bit of a blow.


Now I am only feeling a little sorry for myself as I am aching like an old man! Last night I helped Hazel and partner  Alan fill their removals van, which we had to do within an hour window.in the pouring rain. It was all a bit of a rush, which was probably a good thing ......it made our goodbyes brisk and workmanlike........we will certainly keep in touch, that much is given...but our weekly cinema visits and film post mortems are now at an end.


Friendships, always ebb and flow..that is the way of the world..... I thought of this ,last night as I wearily sat down after locking up the animals and walking the dogs in a driving rain storm and as I started to feel just a little melancholic I opened up my email ....
An old friend had sent me a short note sharing the fact that he had just had a kindle book published , it made me smile as it was as incongruous as it was normal........(he's straight and the book is pure gay erotica!)
But the brief contact was just what I needed.


As I left the house this morning....I made up my mind to try and go to see the French Movie Little White Lies this week.........Hazel or no Hazel.....
and the new spring in my step was slowed just a little after a neighbour called cheerfully
"Looks like rain for the weekend!"
BUGGER!