Theatre and Lunch....A Gentleman's Day Out

Topthorn and Joey (you honestly do NOT "see" the puppeteers!)

Well how can I best describe the Stage production of War Horse?
Overall it's a little difficult to say, because from the get-go, the puppetry that depicts a tiny foal in the centre of a darkened stage is quite, quite breath taking in it's complexity and it's accuracy, a fact that literally overshadows other more basic aspects of the production.


Visually WarHorse is a stunning example of just how good observational choreography can be; and I have a deep, deep admiration for the work of Toby Sedgwick who brought a whole set of skeletal animatronic characters to life.
The horses move and act just like the giant beasts they are pretending to be, and, for me, it is the scene where the hero stallion Joey jousts with the black stallion Topthorn on the eve of the battle in No Man's Land that really takes the breath away....this scene alone is worth the price of admission.


Unfortunately the human side of the drama, left me all a bit cold ( like it did in Spielberg's movie) and I was generally rather disappointed with the script and the acting as a whole. Which was a shame.....
Don't let this put you off however, as I suspect both Chris and I were in the minority of people that gave the play  a so-so review...the rest of the audience was hooked 

Fortnum's teapots...a gay man's heaven

However, our trip to London was a real tonic. The weather was good, there was a real Olympic "BUZZ" in the air as we walked across Green Park to the Mall to see all of the preparations for the big event and we had a delightful lunch at Fortnum & Mason's where the scrambled eggs have been collected only from "rare" hens......!!!

We just had time for a brief shop , coffee with the tourists at Covent Garden, and got home just in time to feed the new ducklings and walk the dogs in a cold and, rainy and rather dull Trelawnyd
A nice day!

Long Day

It's been a long enjoyable day!For Me & Meg ( who spent the day with Aunt Judy)

Forgive the Hat

Love A Duck

Well, we have been sifting though the massive post bag which contains the "ducking naming" entries throughout the early part of our train journey. The lady opposite quite likes some of the more " fluffy bunny" names put forward so far, unlike Chris who has merely raised his Roger Moore eyebrow when I told him that Mr Fox suggested naming the ducklings Daryl and Carol from the WALKING DEAD. His précis on the whole competition has been a succinct comment of "Bloody saddos" Nuff said! So keep em coming dear readers.... Foreign winners will receive some deliciously expensive handcrafted greetings cards from our sister village of Dyserth..(Chris says they look as though they come from a special needs workshop) while...Uk winners will win some genuine Trelawnyd honey.... Right....have to go....IPad is running out of juice and I need to play with the embarrassing toilet doors on virgin trains.......

Name That Duck!

Ok. brief post today...I am off to sample the delights of a "Health & Safety" study day...Tomorrow will be more of the same as Chris is taking me to London for the day (Christmas Pressie). We are off to see the matinee stage production of War Horse, which will be a real treat, if not a bit of a busy day as we need to get back to lock the animals up for the night.

Now that good natured Sheffield despot that is Yorkshire Pudding suggested that I run a naming competition for the two ducklings that were kidnapped  collected yesterday....and so, bowing to his academic experience , age and excitable nature I am proud to announce the "name the duck" competition!
Send me your ideas for the two babies.....they can be anything but smutty (Thomas!) and by Saturday I will pick the best two names and the nominee will receive a real, home made Trelawnyd prize through the post!
( "oh be still my beating heart!")
so let's hear your ideas.......

Well Meaning Idiots

The woman with the ducks wanted me to pay for taking them off her well manicured hands and neat little flowered boarders.
She said she paid 20£  for each of  her little Aylesburys,
I told her she paid 30£ quid too much
She bought them from her window cleaner who said they would make  ideal suburban pets
That was before they had reduced part of her lawn to mud


In the end I took them for nothing, and was so angry I would have taken them anyway,
The woman had no clue of how to look after  RUBBER DUCK let alone two under age real life ducklings.


The youngsters had been given free range of the woman's garden and drive over the past two weeks or so, even though I suspect they are now only six weeks old. I explained to her that given the bad weather we have experienced over the past month I was surprised that the little chaps had not succumbed to the wet....especially as neither bird has any feathers showing through yet


The pair have survived  by pure luck, especially given the fact that their home was a converted wooden barrel and a greater amount of their feed has been slices of white bread and a bit of corn.


I had the pair caught and in the back of the Berlingo before the woman had drawn a big breath.
"I think I will buy a couple of those big fat hens for the garden" The woman mused before I drove away
"I saw a couple in Homes and Gardens , they are called Orpingtons....do you have any for sale?"
"No" I said shortly and drove off

Ten Little Indians

Halleh, the single drake, non runner and group leader

 Another of the Indian Runners didn't come home the other night.
Like Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians ( the film version and NOT the novel BTW) their numbers have been whittled down from eight to six.
I think I know what has happened and I now blame the dreadful weather we have been experiencing as the run off from the fields has meant that the small stream that has always run quite peacefully at the back of the field has overflowed. The flooding has allowed the ducks to access the riding stable paddocks beyond my field, and yesterday I even caught the group crossing the lane down at the bridlepath, over 1000 yards  from home.
When I saw them, I couldn't quite believe that I stood in the middle of the road pointing in the general direction of the cottage shouting a rather camp and surprising
 "GET HOME!!!" to the group
Strangely enough the ducks then ran off obediently in the direction of the field!


And so the two ducks have either been taken by a fox when venturing out through the more dangerous parts of the fields or are both sitting on eggs under some hedge somewhere. I am hoping that both ducks could be sitting as they are now 2 years old, the right age for going broody
Only time will tell.....


ps.........the fickle finger of fate has just wagged itself at me again this morning as before I have even finished this blog, there was a knock at the door.
Could I take two young  and very unwanted Aylesbury  ducks from a woman who thought they would make ideal pets for her previously pristine herbaceous garden!


hey ho
off to pick the little buggers up in a few ticks

One Liners

I heard a fantastic put down this morning.
I was out delivering some schedules for our flower show when a met up with Mr Jenkins ( not his real name), who was out walking to collect his newspaper 
We chatted for a while about this and that and then idly watched as a lady from the village passed in her car .
The normally polite Mr Jenkins looked at the woman with slightly slitted eyes and with a surprisingly deadpan delivery said
"That woman looks like a baboon in a babygrow!"
I have giggled about it all the way home

In Memoriam Celeste Holm

Hollywood's favourite best friend actress, Celeste Holm died today at the age of 95
I always liked her as a performer.....of course I would as she starred in my very favourite film ALL ABOUT EVE, were she played Margo Channing's gentle best mate Karen.

The scenes between her and Bette Davis, in my opinion are some of the best in the film as the actors captured perfectly the way the real friends "dovetail" together so naturalistically...
this was not mean feat as The Turner Classic website notes

" Bette gained a new enemy in Celeste Holm who found Davis' behaviour extremely rude from start to finish. On one of the first days of shooting, recalls Holm, she innocently said to Davis, "Good Morning." "Oh, shit," replied Davis, "good manners." Holm was extremely offended. Though they played best friends convincingly while the cameras were rolling, Holm made a point to never speak to Davis off the set again. The feeling was mutual."



Shame on the BBC website..... not a mention