Waiting For The Plumber

Waiting for tradesmen to arrive can be fraught with frustration
"I'll see you at 9 am" comment often means " I'll be there the day after tomorrow"
And there is many a time I have resorted to almost tearful follow up telephone calls pleading and begging for someone to turn up.
With tradesman, the old phrase "The customer is always right" never applies
For the most part, they are a law unto themselves.
Today's tradesman ( the plumber) has given me a 2pm- 4pm arrival window, so I have lined up several indoor jobs to do whilst I wait.
The trick to reduce stress when waiting for someone like the plumber to arrive  is to remain busy.
Being busy prevents those embarrassing " where the hell are you?" Follow up telephone calls.......

It was a few minutes past 2pm , and after fabreezing the cottage, I had just got all serious with my elbows deep in a half constructed Mary Berry's bread and butter pudding when the plumber turned up.
Not only was he punctual,
He was courteous
Friendly
Helpful.
He didn't suck air between his teeth nor did he shake his head slowly
And he didn't scream when Winnie stuck an enquiring fat nose between his thighs when he got down and dirty with the toilet U bend.
For some reason bulldogs are totally fascinated by visiting workmen.it is something I noticed with both Constance and Mabel . Indeed I remember clearly the moment Constance sexually molested the meter reader in our front room like it was yesterday.

The poor boy didn't quite know where to look.

Anyhow , our plumber ( note I say that he's our plumber now) took Winifred's goo goo eyes all in his stride and actually seemed to enjoy the attention she was giving him.
" I've got a load of dogs at home" he chirped cheerfully as Winnie blew kisses into his face
" I needn't of used all of that fabreeze" I thought to myself.

The Lunch Box

Nimrat Kaur

Certain movies have the ability to charm an audience from the get go. They are as rare as hens' teeth, so when they do come along, it is important to big them up so everyone has a chance to enjoy their delights.
The Lunch Box is one of those films.
A mistake by Mumbai's notoriously efficient lunchbox delivery company, accidentally connects a young housewife , (who is making meals for her unloving husband ) with a grieving accountant on the verge of retirement. Their chaste romantic correspondence which takes place via short letters hidden in the aforementioned lunchbox, enables the unhappy pair to move on in their lives.
Yes, think Brief Encounter  crossed with Slumdog Millionaire and you may get a bit of a gist of where director Ritesh Batra is coming from. Seldom I have seen a film that captures perfectly a real sense of the culture which it wants to portray.
The leading actors are a delight to watch . Irrfan Khan and the beautiful Nimrat Kaur are incredibly moving as the sad widower and lonely housewife and although they are never really seen in the same scene together, their chemistry together is powerfully evident and surprisingly tangible

This film is the best thing I have seen all year.
It will make you cry, it will make you laugh and it will make you fall in love with a city not always known ......
for its sweet charm.
9/10

Iffran Khan with his lunchbox

We are officially a Society!

As I was " fabreezing" the cottage within a inch of its life this morning in readiness for the plumber to arrive to fix the toilet, I realised that the pile of flower show schedules are still pulled up in the kitchen.
We are nearly into June, so it is time to start to big up the Flower Show, which is only just over nine weeks away.
This week, all the schedules that require posting will be posted out. The local Garden Centre, The Crown Pub, The Scala Centre and other local shops will have their own piles to distribute and the local newspapers will be contacted in the hope that they will publicise the event. Auntie Gladys has been a member of the flower show ( and it's predecessor- the village welfare committee) for over 56 years now. So I will use this fact as a bit of a twist when I email the news desks!
I am also  about to contact a couple of younger people in the village to see if they want to join the committee because, even though we are doing well for " bodies", we only have one member ( Hannah with her amazing knitted hats collection) who is under 40!
Banking mandates have to be changed as I have now taken over as secretary and we now have a new Treasurer and a new  chair and bric a brac needs to be collected and stored ready to deck out Auntie
Glad's stall on the day ( I hope Chris has not forgotten that he is manning it!)

Like all shows like this, there are lots of things to do.

This year  The Trelawnyd Flower Show Committee has bought two replacement benches for the village green and has given the village conservation group a buxom donation towards the village flower beds.
The Show's remit has always been to support village based initiatives.

After completing the new banking paperwork, our new Treasurer cheerfully informed me that the Flower Show committee is now officially a " Society" on paper
How exciting!
Go on readers
Have a look at the schedule .......we love postal entries..eh Nana?
http://trelawnydflowershow.blogspot.co.uk

Sue Bates..ITU's " Affable Despot "

Sue Bates 

I was just off to bed (I was working nights last night and am therefore totally buggered) when I noticed that Sue Bates ( who will now be referred to as the "work affable despot"- she's a senior staff nurse on ITU...who is a delightfully sweet individual btw)  has requested eggs on a previous blog entry.
Now given the medium of communication is on Going Gently and given the fact I am not on duty for nearly 10 days (it's my birthday next Sunday btw).... Sue (WAD) can you let me know when you are on duty so I can drop you a few eggs off at work?


Don't you love the power of the internet?

Cheese Anyone?

This Norfolk woman, a witness to the twin tower disaster, has had some of her words transcribed
for a display in the 9/11 memorial museum which has just opened on the site of ground zero.
It states:

'You felt compelled to watch out of respect to them. They were ending their life without a choice and to turn away from them would have been wrong"

Powerful words indeed.....
It's a shame that the museum also sells gifts such as the 9/11 cheese board

Pyjamas in Church

One of the South facing windows..the  " sheep" window

I never got around to cleaning the Church last night. (I was too busy burning the arse off banana loaves for the classic car show's tea tent.) so it was all a bit of a rush job this morning!
I really do enjoy cleaning the church. It's a lovely, relaxing experience.
Recently I have got into the habit of playing I Vow To Thee my Country on the old IPad as I am buffing up the pews......it gets the old blood pumping.

Anyhow I hope no one saw me sneaking into the vestry door with the old dyson, I still had my pyjama bottoms on

Pyjamas & Hoover

The magnificent laburnum in the Churchyard 

Our cottage is just behind

A note of thanks x

"Of course, I am fortunate (?) not to have a zillion followers like a certain Affable Gay Welsh Raconteur I could mention (who acknowledges his commentators not so much with courtesy as a curtsy) so my burden is light compared to his, especially as he is a prolific poster."

So said  Angola Tom in his post of today

( probably written in between  flushing his own thigh wound out with neat bleach from the  hospital domestics' cupboard and chatting up the nearest pretty face not covered by a surgical mask)

Now I do apologise for not answering each comment with a witty and pithy comment of my own

But it has to be said that I do read every single one and enjoy most once they appear on Going Gently

Answering them all, is a work progress I am afraid.

It's a case of not enough hours in the day

This very moment is a case in point

I have banana loaves to make for the tea tent in Prestatyn's  Classic Car Show tomorrow

The Church needs cleaning before tomorrow's service

I haven't started supper yet

and eggs won't deliver themselves

Hey ho

Thank f*ck I don't work on ITU full time!

Xxx

Wan*ers

As I was waiting for Chris to get off the train, I listened with astonishment to a debate about racism between a blundering  representative from UKIP and an informed Eastern European liberal. This was on Radio 4 's PM......and it made for some cracking radio.
I just wish everyone in the Uk could have heard it as even the unflappable Eddie Mair sounded just a little "flapped" by it all
Loud and clear
UKIP are wankers....
Dangerous.......gift giving wankers