Velvet Voiced Linda

 The Trelawnyd Street Wardens have been given notice of the impending lockdown by the ever gracious Velvet Voiced Linda . You can just make her out far left on the front row, her fashionable pant leg sidewards at a jaunty angle.

Even though, the initiative wasn’t only her idea, VVL made the whole thing work and she did it with diplomacy and a voice like chocolate. 

These things seldom work without good leadership and at the original meeting there was many ideas thrown about, several of them not always constructive. But Linda ran with the good ones, commanded warmth and respect and got things done.

Not an easy job I can tell you.

In any forum 

Not everyone in the village gets on. 

Of course that’s a given, what with petty jealousies, power struggles and a previous middle aged patriarchy , and to be honest there is at least one person who I know hates my guts with blind testosterone and Mucho gusto!

I don’t care, as I know I am a person who speaks his mind, 

It sometimes goes with the territory of being gobby and gay

But.....if I am being honest the feeling is bloody mutual...and is one stoked by petty behaviours witnessed when I was more at the front line of village activities....

Not quite the chocolate box village I often portray eh

But a very normal one, truth be told.

The decision making for Trelawnyd by Trelawnyd people is now much more diverse and eclectic

And that can only be a good thing. The community Council and the village association now run side by side which is healthy and with these and Linda’s wardens flexing their muscles, ready for a second wave we have good people prepared to fight the good fight

Click and See

Please click on the link below to see something magical xxx

A clue

https://m.facebook.com/#!/watch/?v=354642762533881

Handy hints

 

Wales enters another full lockdown on Friday 

It might as well be from today, as far as I am concerned as there is bugger all socially to do 

The girls have had a five mile walk this morning and I’ve already made sour dough bread and chorizo and red pepper soup.

I’ve also properly cleaned the oven hob using  a handy hint gleaned from an old village wag 

White vinegar and wood ash from the wood burner 

Brings up hobs and all glass in a flash

Yes it’s an Bloody exciting blog entry today

I’ll leave you with this delightful photo from the Nina Treadwell Collection 

It brightens the day

Handy hints anyone.?

John’s World

 

Let’s put the jogger incident to one side

I’ve lit the fire.

There is a frosty chill in the air.

The dogs and Albert have been fed and walked and all are slowly settling down for the evening.

I made a low fat turkey lasagne for supper, which Winnie finished off as a treat 

She now has tomato sauce on her forehead after cramming her head in the casserole dish 

The framed print of Wyeth’s Christina’s World arrived from America today and I’ve hung it up the stairs where I can always see it from my armchair which sits just left of the inglenook.

John’s World

Covid: The Rise Of The Karen

 

I had another Covid based run in yesterday morning.

This time with a group of seven female joggers

It was unpleasant and upsetting

And this time I was on the receiving end of their righteous indignation 

I was walking on the track or a former railway line with Mary and Dorothy when I heard them far in the distance . A set of joggers in close formation all shouting and laughing. 

Their ages ranged from 30 s to 60 s

As they neared me I put Dorothy back on the lead and moved to one side to let them pass which they did .

But then they stopped filling the track as they gasped and talked and laughed all within inches of each other . 

I called out a sharp “ Excuse me !” 

and they moved to one side to let me pass but not before one of the women, buoyed up by numbers called out in a stage whisper 

“Some People Are miserable,”

“ I’m not miserable but angry” I told them, whirling around 

“You block the trail, are not social distancing , are spluttering and shouting all over the place and putting yourselves and me at risk of Covid” I said and added

I’ve just finished a twelve hour shift as a nurse with Covid patients so I know what I am talking about!”

(Well it was just one Covid patient but I thought it unwise to be pedantic)

The women threw back several comments but I only heard one naming one of their party a “ worker in healthcare”

“ Well she should know better” I told them suddenly realising I was on a hiding to nowhere

I started to move on

As I did so one of the women shouted “ We look after ourselves , we arnt obese Like you! ,”

I stopped  and turned around

Shocked and upset at the personalisation and stupidity of the insult 

For once I was lost for words and stood there open mouthed

“Really ? ......

Really ?” I asked shaking my head 

Then I walked on 

But the insult stung as it was meant to

and it was made worse because these women were middle class types , the ones that did care for their own bodies and ate healthily after a few kilometres run.

And I was a lone, invisible man who had dared to challenge them

Peter! Peter! Peter!

 This amused me , because I can see myself walking around like this tonight, letting off excess energy

My colleagues and I all feel like this tonight, so we treated ourselves to a Chinese takeaway to have on our breaks. 

It’s funny that something so ordinary re lockdown has become a real luxury and something to be enjoyed and savoured post lockdown.

I finish my run of four nights on Sunday morning

The quiet part of the night I have a book to read, a recent gift from Waterstones 

surviving Tenko The True Story Of Margot Turner by Penny Starns.

It’s the story of a nurse Arrested by the dreaded Kempeitai during the fall of Singapore during world war 2      

Good news to end today too, my friend has been found safe....

Tiny Terrors

 Dressing animals in human clothes is not really the done thing, and is nothing I don’t really advocate

But bulldogs seem to understand that there is some levity afoot when their owners mess around at Halloween and seem to take to dress ups with alacrity 

The French bulldog in this short video had me in stitches 

It’s brightened up my second of four night shifts 

The Octopus

 

The octopus arrived in the post.

A lovely gift which doubles as a dog lead holder.

I liked the shape and form so I’ve placed him on the front of the cottage, 

Warming on the stone like some strange autumn insect

“ Oh what’s that?” asked Mrs Trellis as she passed with blue

I was standing back admiring my Crustacean, so she was instantly intrigued

“ It’s an octopus”I told her and she nodded seriously, as if it was perfectly normal to nail an octopus to the side of your cottage.

“ I like your rainbow too “ she commented , pointing to the knitted one up in my bedroom window

“ Is that a thank you to the NHS ?” She asked

“ No it’s a nod to a LGBTQ household” I told her playfully

“ And which letter are you? “ she shot back with a smile