Village News?


Mary, Dorothy and I walked up the Gop yesterday afternoon.
It was humid and showery and we three sat on the summit for a while sweating and panting in the heat.
Mary leaned against me as Welsh terrier do and watched the village
Dorothy just lolled her eyes a bit and watched me.
I have never had such a needy dog.
I stroke her to keep her still and calm

The village is changing as the lockdown changes.
It’s busier in traffic and shopping is almost back to normal so the Street wardens now have little to do and the Velvet Voiced Linda now no longer texts her weekly roll call to the 40 souls who secretly love her words of praise and encouragement .
The pub remains closed and somewhat desolate but the Community association remains stalwart and focused under its firm leadership so I am sure the future of the Memorial Hall will be safe.
It should be.
I hope it will be.

Cameron hasn’t finished photoshopping the group photos he took the other month . He’s been busy at work which is lucky as so many people seem to be worried about their jobs. Trendy Carol is busy too and looks tired when I saw her last....mind you I looked like the wreck of the Hesperus after so many night shifts .....she was just too polite to say so.

I caught Mrs Trellis out, and was surprised to find her uncharacteristically curt.
I had not upset her , I was sure if that so I chalked it up to her having a bad day.
Her bobble hat mirrored her Black mood and looked stiff and tight lipped

Meirion Jones on the other hand was his usual chatty self and it was an age and a mass of plant information later before I could get away for home.
I see that the Royle’s house on London Road has sold and the new people were moving in today...lots of toys in the van.....a family !  which is great news.

As we turned by the church I waved at the young mom and her kiddies from Bron Haul .She had been counting the pebbles in the vicar’s decorated Covid Snake 
Over 80!!!!!” She called and I gave her the thumbs up
The vicar will be pleased.

It feels like a storm is brewing





Nephew



This photo kind of broke my heart just a little
It’s a photo of my nephew
Well it’s actually a photo of my ex husbands nephew but
Him and me have always been in touch since the break up, and so I see him as my own

He sent me the photo yesterday.. a return gift after I sent him a baby photo of him and his uncle,a photo. I found sandwiched away in my bookcase in a tarnished silver frame.

It’s unlikely we shall meet, he lives in Broadstairs down in Kent, but I’m determined to be one of those Uncles who writes and texts and who talks movies in the middle of the night

I will get the photo framed
A slightly gauche teenager
With a Star Wars t shirt .....and a wide grin

Hey ho

Choir


Twenty five members of the choir met in the grounds of our rehearsal hall this evening. Twenty six if you counted Mary , who has attended each one of our Zoom virtual meetings and now has achieved a sort of status of choir mascot.
We all brought drinks and nibbles and the novelty of meeting each other in person was enhanced greatly when Jamie informed us that he had checked the rules and the government had given us the green light to sing outside.....
And sing we did.
It was difficult at first as singing when you are separated from all of your fellow bases etc by swirling air and a six feet gap is incredibly difficult but haltingly and with much self consciousness we sang And after five months apart several of the choristers cried openly at the true and raw power of that moment.

Another mini victory against Covid



Jamie reassuringly had grown his 1940s RAF moustache for the evening  


Choir Day

As you most know Tuesday’s in Trelawnyd signify Choir day
Covid has put pay to a proper choir practice for months and even though perhaps just half of my fellow choristers have managed to soldier on in a zoom format
The resulting efforts have always been somewhat disappointing
This morning my fellow village altos and I got together for coffee and cake . Heulwen  has been shielding since March and has been careful with contact with Hattie and I as we have been working in the front line.
This morning we will meet properly and it will be lovely to catch up in a relaxed way for the very first time( I will post the photos later)

Hattie refers to the three of us as the Trelawnyd Sandwich which is pleasing.
We play a family of sorts, three generations playing pragmatic mother, doting uncle and Dutiful daughter and there is something incredibly freeing having friends that cover such an age gap and differences

Tonight ( and I will post the photographs a bit later) our sandwich meets up with the choir , hopefully in its entirety . Conductor Jamie ( hopefully sporting his 1940s RAF moustache) has arranged for us to meet up outside at the village hall! Welsh government rules mean that we are still unable to sing inside , but we are all hoping that we may be able to join in together , at least once a bit later.

I have missed Choir so very much
I cannot stress just how wonderful it is to produce something that can sound so beautiful almost from nothing .......



Tiktok


I’ve been watching a lot of tiktok videos recently
They are under 20 seconds long, follow silly trends of dance steps, musical clips and slapstick and are pointless fifteen minutes of fame for the millions of mostly young people who enjoy them
They are, I concede very addictive.
The above video is a little clip of music by Lilian Hepler
It is used on Tiktok by people who what to show they understand someone else’s pain.
And the homemade videos when the supportee sings the song to the supported are incredibly moving to watch.
I think it’s the lyrics I know I know I know , that resonate
Quiet acceptance that someone actually understands ...
Take a minute and take a quick look, type in you are good enough 

Just Before Dawn


The band Everything But The Girl captured that awful middle of the night feeling that Things are not well in their gentle song We Walk The Same Line
One verse of the song  resonates with that feeling so well

And I bet you could tell me 
How slowly four follows three
And you're most forlorn
Just before dawn

I have just had a text conversation with a friend who just so happened to be up and I told him that I feel as though everyone else has been invited to a party and I haven’t .
He blamed Facebook 
You never see the mundane on Facebook he said 
I think that’s all you see generally on Facebook .

It’s natural to think that everyone else is doing better than you are, after all, most of us have been conditioned to say that everything’s rosy even when times are shitty and difficult. 
Those that bemoan their lot, to many remain whingers, but modern day sensibilities have thankfully changed just a little so allow for mental illness and psychological pain issues to be seen in a more favourable light.

The truth still remains that everything seems that little bit worse .....just before dawn.....

My friend texted again to remind me my life is centred just about sleep and work and the dying ,just at the moment .....and  I know I’m catching up with him on Saturday in Liverpool for drinks and food and laughs

Balance ......it’s all about balance 
And not letting your imagination run away with itself 

Night Shifts


Winnie woke me up around 1 pm
She was bored and was kicking the cushions from the sofa in a fit of pique
I got out of bed and texted Trendy Carol she agreed that the girls could come around
So Dorothy and Mary went to play and Winnie went to sit in the garden with a pigs ear.
I ate beans on toast and watched the 1943 propaganda movie Above Suspicion with Fred Mac Murray and Joan Crawford 
Night shifts constrict your world
I have a month of night shifts to go

Things

Surrounded by things you like and treasure can be pleasing 
Water bird and hen/


Kitchen ware

Living room pictures and the tuba cushion 

Mantle correspondence

Pottery horse, chameleon and pottery family

Gay loveheart in the window
Sooty champagne glasses

Measuring cups

Garden flowers

Office corner

Hats and scales


Mantle

Chopsticks 

Art Deco potties

Desk