Mapp & Lucia

If you are at home tonight and not worried about putting on a party hat and blowing a kazoo, I would recommend you watch Steve Pemberton's adaptation of E F Benson's MAPP & LUCIA which airs it's final episode tonight on BBC1.
Set in the picturesque seaside town of Tilling during the early 1930s it centres of the " playing" between Queen Bee spinster Elizabeth Mapp ( Miranda Richardson)  and theatrical socialite Lucia Lucas ( Anna Chancellor).
It's a comedy about social snobbery, one upmanship and small town life amid a collection of wonderfully eccentric local folk ( does that sound familiar?)  but amongst the pithy one liners and back stabbing storylines  the short series is almost a miniature essay of the phenomenon of "wanting to belong." Which has a certain pathos on screen.
Chancellor and Richardson are delightful in the lead roles and Tilling ( Rye in East Syssex) looks as sweet as a chocolate box top.........
Anyhow, I thought a mini review more interesting than the normal 2014 post mortem ....
I shall be working night shift tonight.......so I shall welcome in 2015 over the hiss- swish of eight Galileo ventilators.
Happy New Year
Xx

Murder In Trelawnyd

Winnie's favourite cock!

Her christmas squeak toy

Around 4 am this morning it was plainly evident that foul play had occurred in Trelawnyd for there was silence over the West part of the village.
The cockerel that roosts in the beech trees of the graveyard had gone.

The little bastard has been crowing lustily in the dark early mornings since he was dumped on me, and every effort on my behalf to catch him had failed miserably , so after several months surviving the elements , I found it strange that when we disappeared to Kent for a few days, he was gone  on our return!
The  mystery had everything of a Miss Marple adventure to it!
Who were the culprits of this heinous crime?
Was the abduction the responsibility of marauding badgers?
(Doubtful as badgers can't climb trees)
Or was it one of the residents of the lane, pig sick of the crowing in the middle of the night that might  have paid a local hit farmer to blast the noisy bastard right off his perch ?
Could it be trendy Carol or her husband Ewan from the end house?
Or Viv and Mike from the bungalow? (They may be pensioners but I've always noticed a steely strong stare behind the spectacles )
Or could it be John and Mandy from next door? They may have grinned their way through my frequent apologies with a Crisp " no he didn't wake us us this morning!" kind of statement but I was sure they were gritting their teeth behind the polite smiles
Whoever it was , not a feather was left behind to shed light on the case!

And peace has returned to Bwthyn y llan

It's made my Christmas!

Coast To Coast

Red pin Broadstairs/ blue pin Trelawnyd

After most of the day on the road

We had a tea of crushed sprouts and ham

Without unpacking the luggage

The dogs have reunited and as one are galloping around the cottage one minute then

Climbing on Chris who is resting weakly on the couch under his laura Ashley throw the other

I have enjoyed our time in Kent

We even got out together on our own...which is a rarity 

So our New Years resolution is to have more nights out Together!

Fat chance tonight though

As Albert has just hurtled through the cat flap with a wide grin on his chops to be reunited with
best buddy Winnie!

It's like the bloody finale of Lassie Come Home
Not a dry eye in the house

Stick that Cracker Up Yer Arse xx

One breakfast out, one walk around the cliffs of Broadstairs, a family meal, a trip to the cinema ( to see the Moses epic EXODUS - don't bother) a gin and tonic with another set of relatives and a large amount of smiling, small talk and chat, and my Christmas visit to Kent is almost over.
To me Christmas is generally all over bar the shouting on Boxing Day , so this prolonged festivity is a new thing for me.
This evening , on a visit to Chris ' uncle, I thought I had literally overdosed with christmas memorabilia as in front of the fireplace, the lady of the house had constructed a complete victorian village complete with snowy pine forest, stream, village bridge and rosy faced snowballing schoolboys

I'm all fucking Christmas-t out!

Ps..the only casualty of Christmas was Sorrel's plastic light up snowman
William pulled the carrot off its face an hour ago
Hey ho

Chase

I am not too far gone to have hated the previous photo of me

So I have changed it for one of William chasing me 

in front of the chalk cliffs of Botany Bay near Broadstairs

Somewhere in Kent

Well we got here in one piece........its 23.35 and I'm having a crafty gin and tonic in the living room of Sorrel's neat little maisonette  after she, the Welsh terriers and Chris have all gone to bed.
Her pristine carpets remain pristine which was more than could be said for Chris' nephew's bedroom, which was liberally peppered with dog turds, just as I was tucking in to the tasty French vol au vents.

And so much of my evening has been spent scrubbing an 11 year old's carpet with a spare facecloth and dettol in front of 100 posters of Dr Who......
Hey Bloody Ho!
I haven't had time to catch up with blogs for a few days so please forgive me......
( I say this as I take one last swig of gin .......with my glass hand smelling somewhat of ...........
Happy Boxing Day
X
Ps

I have just been emailed this photo of turncoat George

who is staying at my sister's house

How quickly are we forgotton 

( note the xmas scarf)

In laws

Off to see the in laws

down in Kent!

1. Dr Chris has already laid out enough outfits to keep the cast of Downton Abbey

in clothing for a month

2 Weather warnings have been posted for most of England
3. I have an awful predisposition for car sickness on long journeys !

And

At 5.30 am Meg had me up and bleaching the kitchen floor after

She downloaded a particularly unpleasant and heavy bout of the shits!

Now where's Winnie's all singing fanny cloth when you need it?

I am now worried about my mother-in-law's pristine cream carpets
and marks and Spencer's best duvet set

Hey ho

Post

This Christmas Card got to us yesterday

The envelope amused the postman no end

" you get a load of these strangely addressed cards and letters" 

he quipped the other day when a Christmas card from Canada arrived with

The overly simple address of

John  Gray, 

Trelawnyd, 

WALES 

written on the envelope.

" There are a great many odd people out there" he joked

" there are a few very odd people living here" I answered.