Trelawnyd In The Sun

It's been a day for being outside....
I took a few photos and a video Inbetween selling eggs and meeting fellow villagers
Had nice conversations with John F, Pat the animal helper, Stan from Bron Haul, Ralph the gentleman farmer, (who told me off for my overgrown nettles )and Islwyn who was cutting the graveyard grass.
Val and Peter promised me some bric a brac for Auntie Glad's stall in the Flower Show ....(they do a better class of bric a brac)........they were clearing out their shed when I passed!

Arfon ( from Pen Y Cefn Isa) stopped for a chat when I took the dogs out for their first walk of the day, but I was too tired to understand or remember what he was saying.. I even saw Bridget  from well street and her family when I went to Tescos to do the shop this evening

Pat found out that Trevor ( who lives behind us) is 90 on Monday
Trelawnyd-ers please note

The church has never looked so fine

Ceanothus in the garden

I sent this video  of our garden to Tom ( hippo)

I think he must be missing African green

Give Me A Soldier Any Day

Today, I noticed with some astonishment that Hippo ( http://hippo-on-the-lawn.blogspot.co.uk)
has now bluffed his poor Filipino nurses into allowing him to change his own vacuum thigh dressings. I may be astonished, but I can't say that I was surprised. I have nursed ex service men before, so I know only too well just how " gung ho", and humorously brave they can be.
If a rule does not make sense to them, it is there to be broken
Simples
Soldiers can be exasperating and they can be challenging ( the constraints of nhs protocols can drive them batty) but in general they are a dream to work with in a rehabilitation setting, as most are disciplined, focused, adaptable and in the officers cases, generally bright.
Soldiers also employ and enjoy " gallows" humour at every difficult turn and as we all know nurses love black humour
Especially in rehabilitation settings
I am reminded of one such officer / patient called Neil. He had suffered catastrophic injuries following a motorbike accident and was admitted to us for specialist treatment before he was due to be transferred to the army rehab facility at  Headley Court in Surrey.
He was confined to bed rest for over five months as I recall, and suffered set back after set back before starting to mobilise in a wheelchair for a frugal one hour, twice a day.
After so long , what did he do when he got up?
Did he wheel himself to the physiotherapy gym perhaps? Or Did he go out on the ward veranda for a ciggie and a moment in the sun? Well in the end he did both, but not before taking himself off to another ward bay to " have a chat " with a young man, who was also on bed rest.
I asked another nurse what was the brief meeting was all about
And I caught her laughing
Apparently many weeks before Neil had overheard the young man racially berating  one of the African nurses on duty and he wheeled himself up " to have a quiet word about it "so to speak.
No shouting.
No fuss
No " feeling sorry for himself" even though he was obviously in a great deal of pain after 20 weeks flat on his back
Just a word in the " shell like"
Yes, I'd nurse a soldier any day  of the week.

Sheffield's Spinal Injury Unit

Kiss

As Chris took an important video conference call in the living room this evening

Me and Winifred had a smooch 

Twatface

There is nothing more satisfying than someone turning the  tables on a bully. You just need to log on to YouTube and type in the words to see a million hit video of a Russian drunk getting bitchslapped or a fat  American schoolboy getting his own back on the class psychopath.
It has to be said that Karma is satisfying.
This morning I was going to post a photo of some donated veg. (I am planting out " Bososms" today and thanks to the "screwdriver wheeling  lesbians from Prestatyn" I now have  a plethora of seedlings to transplant)  but What I will do is share a little story of about karma.

Now for several weeks now Albert has been bullied by a scruffy feral black and white longhair Tomcat, who I have nicknamed Twatface. Twatface is based for the most part in the churchyard and surrounding fields and like Albert seems to be an expert rabbit killer. I see him daily, sitting in the long grass,giving me the evil eye. He never looks a happy chappy.

Now several times a night, Albert will come into contact with Twatface. There is no yowling, no growls no spitting ( or not much) to be heard , just the suddenly and loud clatter of a panicked Albert bouncing through the kitchen catflap with all the speed of Shelley Winters doing a bungee jump.

So far, Albert has been lucky, for Twatface has not been able to catch him on his gallop home, but the constant daily gauntlet must be wearing on the old nerves, for a black cat with a slightly deformed leg

This morning, as I was hoovering fluff from under the bed, all hell let loose in the cottage downstairs.
I hurried down to see a wide eyed Albert standing on the back of the armchair and with the dogs baying somewhere down the garden path.
Twatface had been ambushed.
Obviously he had caught Albert somewhere out in the garden. Albert had bolted for the catflap, but with the kitchen door being left open he had galloped through the silent cottage followed closely by Twatface, who thought all his Christmasses had arrived at once.
Adrenaline had perhaps clouded his mind somewhat

I would have paid 10 quid just to have seen his face when he ran into the living room, right in front of four dozing dogs on the couch.

Albert with his " smug bastard" expression, after the hysteria

Taaaa daaaaaa!

It's late and I have almost finished

Among the many MANY things I have sorted through tonight

I have found

45  assorted pens

A long forgotten box of vintage 1940s Christmas Crackers

£3.28 in change

A card of acknowledgement for a card my mother sent to the Kennedy family after the assassination  

of JFK

My grandparent's birth certificates

The bill from All Bar One from My first date with  chris!

A tiny piece of mummified toast

2 teaspoons

A photograph of me and my mother  taken a couple of weeks before she died

( it's the ONLY photo taken of me and her together since I was a baby)

My grandfather's wartime identity card

And most bizarrely 

Tucked under a load of old photographs

An old fashioned  lady's sanitary pad

Hello?

Bollocks!

My debit card has had a malfunction, so before it's replacement arrives , I had to physically go into the bank this morning in order to get some money. I used my driving licence as ID only to be told by the cashier that it was  4 years out of date!

FOUR YEARS!

FOUR FRIGGIN YEARS!

Anyhow, the DVLA were very helpful and said everything should be ok as long as I renewed my licence immediately, which I have done, but the whole debacle has reinforced just how slap dash I am with paperwork.

So! With the spirit that won us the war, I have emptied all of those paperwork boxes from every corner of the cottage into the front room.

Tonight ....I will flex my long forgotten  organisational muscles

And kick some paper ass!

Only Love Can hurt Like This

I love Paloma Faith

This belter is her best song to date
Bloody hell...dog management and popular music all in one day
How eclectic am I?
Tomorrow what will it be?
Hits from the shows and the life and times of Benny Hill?
Who knows
Enjoy

Dog Etiquette

Albert waiting for George to pass him on the garden path..he ambushes the Scottie
On the path everyday, giving him a quick smack up the arse as he passes

Nervous old Meg with George

 Yesterday I somewhat pompously educated two kids on the right way to greet a dog on a lead. I think I scared them ( and their Sunday dad who was walking with them) when I stopped their excited " run up to say hi", but it's something I am quite strict upon when out in public.
My rules are:-

• Always ask the owner if you can approach
• Stop short of the dog and offer your hand
• Wait until the dog approaches you before you pat

It's not rocket science.

My dogs are all wary of strangers. William is the friendliest, but will only approach a new person

after he is able to sniff an extended hand. After this cautious first introduction, he is likely to climb
into anyone's lap if allowed.

Meg is the most nervous dog, and will hang back from any introduction unless the visitor is in the 

house, and George will just bark a friendly but incredibly loud " arrrooooooo" at anyone he does not 

know., which sends most nervous individuals scurrying for the hills.

William. Mr nice guy

 Out in public, it is Winifred's reaction to strangers that amuses me the most., for she will actively
ignore anyone and everyone who tries to make a fuss of her. Yesterday the kids on the country path tried every trick in the book to get her attention and all she did was to dead eye the pair of them and turn her back . Like Meg, she will only greet visitors who are invited into the cottage.

Winnie showing her " dead eye"

The children who approached the dogs yesterday, may now think just a little before they gallop up to another dog in public again. It's just a mark of respect.......after all, I wouldn't run up to a perfect stranger and rub his ears, pucker up to his nose and tickle his chin without at least saying  a polite " hello" first
Well.....not unless he's Russell Crowe ..............