10 km in Llandudno

Chris( centre) starting the race with 600 fellow health freaks

Chris at the half way point

We had no major mishaps.....a bit of pre run nerves and a quick wee in the back of the berlingo, and Chris was off with the best of them...As you can see the weather was not kind, but he managed the 10 km distance in a very respectable 1 hour 1 minute.

10k

Be Prepared

Chris is taking part in his first 10k run today.
I will post a few photos a bit later
However the weather is atrocious
so I am just preparing a few things

Extra Warm Jacket (tick)
Flask of warming hot coffee( tick)
Thermal gloves and scarf and blogger sent handwarmers ( check)
Lip salve for chapped lips,( check)
Energy boosting nibbles (check)
mobile phone (check)
Wet wipes (check)
Toilet paper! (Check)
Mini radio (check)

RIGHT, THAT'S ME ALL SET

Dunno what Chris is up to.

A Lonely Day?

Chris always asks me if I have heard from anyone during the day
my stock answer is " no not really..".
But the truth of the matter can be quite different.
The weather yesterday was fine but cold. and so before the expected cold front clash hits home, I spent most of my time cleaning out poultry houses. It was a case of making hay when the sun shone...and so I thought I had spent much of the day totally devoid of human contact
On reflection I couldn't be more wrong.
"D" rang and left some good news she had found her cat! ( she had asked me to have a look around the field to see if the little sod had got himself lost. ) She sounded light and rather thankful.
That was yesterday morning.
The RFWF sped past waving a pudgy hand out of his landrover and yelled something unintelligible whilst cackling like loon (I  counted that as a humorous contact- he is sounding ( and looking )more and more like an old pirate every day.
Gentleman Ralph's wife slowed her car to ask me how my cold was getting on and Mr B walked over as I had my head in the goose house for a chat and to buy some eggs.
Mrs X (the lady with memory problems) rang to thank me for the eggs I dropped off to her and repeated the same message she had left twice before. I promised to call today, she sounded brighter too.
Mrs F stopped for a chat as I interrupted my work to walk the dogs as did Mr M, who walked with me down high street with his two mutts when I was on my way home. We were stopped by "gay Gordon" ( a nickname which stems purely from his ever cheerful demeanour BTW) who always delights in making a fuss of the dogs.
Farmer Basil, Graham the sheep , Mr J and Mrs Trellis all said hello as I pass them on the way home and before the light faded on the field a chap called John popped in to ask if I could re home some warrens and a couple of silkies... He "heard through the grapevine" that I may be able to help.
We chatted for an age before I had to go and pick up Chris from the station....
As usual he asked me
" have you seen anyone today?"
And as usual I replied ..................
" no, .......not really!"

Not a soul in sight

" Get'im"

George willing the hens to run for it

We have two postmen in the village that tend to work opposite to each other. One is a round faced postie who likes his grub and another is a round faced postie that likes his dogs. Both are cheerful kinds of souls that have learnt over the years not to stick their fingers through our letter box.

They know jolly well that the dogs enjoy a brief game of tug of war with the post.It's a little constant that brightens up their day.

Yesterday, I wasn't firing on one cylinder let alone all of them, and so I forgot to shut the back door when I was catching up with some serious nose blowing and spluttering The dogs had spotted my mistake and knowing jolly well that the postie was due, they all laid in wait for him to arrive.

The first thing I really knew what was going on was when I heard the 'clink' of the garden gate. The Postman , seeing the open door had just reached out to lay the letters on the floor when the dogs woofed a collective and very excited  ' GET HIM!' Woof.

Of course it was all done in jest, but  he was not privy to the rules of the game, and as I rushed into the kitchen ,the postie was legging it down the path with the  pack of terriers  baying joyfully at his heels.

It was a round faced postman that liked dogs that was on duty....and I can honestly say that I have never seen such a big man move so fast before in my life!

He reached the second gate within three seconds and slammed it shut behind him after he shot through it like a rat up a drainpipe. He then did what all men do when they feel slightly embarrassed, he laughed , went all nonchalant like and said " I'm not frightened of them, I know they wouldn't hurt me"

The dogs were all milling around,jumping up for a head rub by that time and I tried to help in save face a bit by saying that no one should take a chance with a dog that they didn't know.

" I'll have to put this all down on my risk assessment form" the postman said cheerfully when he got his breath back

" do you know I have to make a risk assessment out about every dog at every house on my round from next week ?" He added

" you may be a busy man" I told him

' I'm not a well man'

My head is full of snot today

But still the car needs a garage visit, the dogs need walking and the geese needed seperating from Polenta, the Aylesbury drake,who they attack with alarming regularity when he aggressively shags one of the older female runners.

I promise I will try not to complain too much... There is nothing worse than a real whinger.,,we all know someone who always answers a polite question of ' How are you?' 

With a shake of the head and a list of bodily complaints.

This reminds me of the best EVER reaction someone could give to a person that was full of woes.

It happened when my best friend was working on her one psychiatric placement during her general nurse training many years ago.

Suffering a hangover from hell, she chose to take the air with a neurotic patient and both sat on a bench within the hospital grounds 'for a chat'

The patient banged on for an age about this problem and that and my friend seemed to listen to all of her troubles with patience whilst all of the time trying manfully not to throw up.

finally my friend held up her hand, silencing the patient at a particularly poignant position in the proceedings, she then walked slowly to a nearby litter bin.... Threw up a magnificent bile of stomach contents, then with some dignity slowly walked next to the patient and motioned her to continue....

Now that's class........

Winter Church View

I may not go to Church as a worshiper but I do support the institution as part of the community 'cement' so to speak...
Today, was my day for Church cleaning, so I thought I would take a short film of the Church and Graveyard...you may have to open the videos up in YouTube to see them more clearly.....
And forgive the snotty commentary, my cold is getting somewhat worse...

Bette was Right

well to paraphrase old Bette Davis in the movie THE LETTER
I am happy to shriek
"And I'm glad I tell you.....Glad....GLAD! G L A D!"

Of course I am talking about yesterday's vote by the house which finally backed, in principle, the concept of gay marriage .
Although I have no strong views on the subject per se, this 'final' stepping stone seems, well just logical to me. In a similar way that I think we should have female bishops, that single people should not be discriminated over the 'ideal norm' of couple-dom and that racism,ageism and the nanny state should be made unacceptable.
It's just the way it should be.
now do I want to don a white tux and stand by the alter of St Michaels clutching a posy of freesias while auntie Glad and the RFWF throw confetti.? No I jolly well do not! , but I support my right to be able to do it if I chose to.
(  now go back a minute.......me in white....think about it.....now that's a Larf!!)
Apart from a slight propensity for shopping at Waitrose, gay couples fuck up as much as straight  ones do,we are no different in the bumbling way we live our lives, and so, as Spock would say, it would seem logical that we should be afforded the same opportunities .
It's not rocket science.
Anyhow I was going to illustrate this blog entry by laying down some witty caption or video. now I couldn't find one on gay marriage..so I will have to be content to share this very funny and clever video with a gay theme......hope you enjoy it...I am full of cold this morning and feel like shite......
But it still made me laugh on this blustery and cold morning.....

Power Cut

Last night there was a power cut.

The electricity had been playing up somewhat all day, and amid the stiff gales of dusk, something must have snapped and the houses of our lane was plunged into darkness.

Yes it has been all rather dramatic.

At first, we did what all Brits do in a crisis, we ambled around to each others houses and grumbled a bit, but after neighbour Mike ( who had the only working land line) had complained to the authorities, we all shuffled off to our respective abodes in order to light candles and stoke up the fires.

It was all remarkably good natured.

I grabbed a flask and popped to animal helper Pat's house up on the main road, in order to use her kettle. I had a few coconut macaroons hidden away, so the prospect of coffee and biscuits by candlelight seemed all rather civilised , and after a short bout of organisation, the dogs and I settled down to a pleasant old fashioned and gadget free evening.

The book I chose to read was 'Summer Crossing' by Truman Capote, which is his 'lost novel'. I am enjoying it too, even though, last night, I ended up listening to the sounds of the wind around the gable end  rather more than i was concentrating on the antics of his heroine Grady McNeil.

It's funny what you notice when you are not listening to music, watching TV or reading some blog or other.

I heard the wind howling across the field, the strange cries of a romancing vixen down the felin and above all the steady sleepy breathing rhythm of three dogs and a cat who were all laid out in front of the fire in the candlelight.

All in all, it was an incredibly peaceful evening.

And thereby lies a lesson to us all.........