In The Garden

 

It’s a glorious day, bright and sunny.

I haven’t done a great deal but wash my new duvet set that Dorothy thoughtfully pissed upon last night and pot up the little french half hanging basket by the front door which had dried out in the dry spell we’re having. 

Sea Pinks or drift as it is also known as, wasn’t my first choice for potting up but I think they will look nice flanked by simple white violas , against the old stone of the cottage walls.

I repaired my gargoyle , fixing him back on his plinth with some fixative and spoke to Mrs Trellis as I brushed the paths free of blown rubbish.

“ I knew you were in “ she observed “ there is washing on the field gate” 

Dorothy dozed on the lawn as I watered the planters

And as she looked so comfortable  I laid down next to her in full view of passers by and promptly fell asleep

My Coffee Is Good

 

Trelawnyd from above the Gop

Late April is perhaps the best time of the year to see Trelawnyd, especially on a sunny day. 

For those that read about this rather insignificant little village, I am sure most will have their own mental pictures of it, but I am aware that apart from some photographs I have never attempted to describe this place where some 500 souls make their home.

The village is situated some five hundred and fifty feet above sea level in the Clwydian Hills and is tucked on the South facing base of Gop Hill, which is the second hill in the range if viewed from across the bay in Llandudno.

Gop Hill and the Neolithic Burial Mound( the village lies bottom right)

Gop Hill is partially wooded , but the slope which backs onto the village is grazed and is covered in gorse bushes which glow gold in April when they start to flower. 

I am looking at the Gop as I type this green and gold against the blue sky.

On its summit lies the Neolithic burial cairn, and the black stick figures of dog walkers can just been seen standing on the top.

The village is protected from the North Winds by the hill and lies along one road ( London Road) with the church and school dominating the West flank and the Village Hall and Pub bordering the East.

The centre of the village lies nearer to the Hall with the older houses dating from the 17th and 18th Century spreading North and South just a little. 

My cottage , one of two built in the 1660s lie down a little lane which follows the boundary of the Church wall. The lane snakes down the valley to the Felin ( Water Mill) before climbing again to the South, so the village is comfortably surrounded by hills and is perched above a valley which slopes gently down to the coastal plain and the sea which is only five miles away.

The largest building in the village is the Memorial Hall which was built at the turn of the century by the Greek Consul to Liverpool Mr Michael Antonia Ralli in memory of his wife Polymnia 

The Golden Gorse covering most of the southern part of the Gop

We had a power cut this morning. The village what’s app group buzzed it’s annoyance .

I went to Mc D ‘s and got a large coffee to start the day properly. 

It’s sunny and lots of friendly faces are about.

I feel recharged today. Proper sleep has helped with that as did a good debrief with a friend about sad case at work which laid heavy on my mind

I’m off to buy a wisteria this afternoon and tonight I am catching up with Gorgeous Dave for a beer in his garden.

But for now I’m typing this at my office desk and as I look out of the window I spy a couple of villagers I know chatting in the lane. Pippa walks down, past them with Meg

And from the gardens comes the crow of the little bantam as he answers the call from the riding stable cockerel.

The sun is bright on the houses that border London Road and above their roofs I can see the golden gorse on the Gop glow a warm yellow.

My coffee is good

Slipping Through My Fingers

Still tired tonight...just recharging 

Hot bath, video call to an old friend , crisps , big cry, ABBA 

All is almost well 

Catching Up

 I slept until 6.30 am when I took the dogs for a wee , then slept on until noon.

I needed the rest. 

I walked the dogs properly

Did a large shop and bought some luxury puddings for Trendy Carol and her hubby.

Over the last 10 days I have worked 7 twelve hour shifts and every one of them trendy carol has baby sat them in the afternoons. 

When I got home it was upsetting to see one of the field ponies had been sadly euthanised . She had apparently suffered from ill health for a while and had deteriorated recently. Her body will be collected later.

There is nothing more forlorn than the site of a dead, much loved animal lying still on the ground

I’ve just written this whilst eating a small tub of coronation chicken 

A real treat for the day

And now I’m half playing at tidying the house, 

The bantam cockerel who lives in the graveyard called in early for homemade sourdough 

Tribute

 Auntie Gladys opening the Flower Show a few years ago now .she was 97

Land of Morning Calm

My last shift today, no 6 out of 9...I needed that bucket of coffee this morning

 I think, like many people I know, foreign travel will not really feature in my plans this year.

A friend has just invited me to Sitges in September which I’m seriously considering albeit for a long weekend rather than a two week break but apart from that , I think , like thousands of others I will concentrate on meeting up with friends in Blighty ...namely London, and in Yorkshire and in Liverpool and indeed in Wales.

Next year things change as I am planning to go to South Korea ! 

How’s That for a curved ball ? 

My friend and colleague Ben is moving there with his wife and daughter this year and in the spirit of adventure fellow colleague Ruth and I thought we’d throw caution to the wind, and don our explorer hats. to   “ do” the Far East Country which still remains a mystery to many westerners and meet up with him in the process. 

Note to self

Time for some overtime .....we may even visit Busan lol

Ps village news...a couple of days ago it was Auntie Glad’s birthday 

She was 102. 

She will have no recollection of me and the flower show and of tying bags of scones on the door knob of the cottage

She won’t remember the last show when she opened the proceedings with a bravura speech

And she probably not remember often sleeping in the sun outside her front door on sunny Welsh afternoons 

Interlude ....I’m at work Again

I’ve got three long shifts together 

This just about kills me , what with PPE and the fact that I’m wearing a couple of hats because yesterday I was community working and now I’m on in patients  covering sickness

Hey ho 

Enjoy the music

A Wisteria Arch

Yesterday the weather was superb, very much like the skies and temperature over Windsor.

After the funeral the dogs and I pottered around the garden. 

Dorothy shadowed my every move with sad eyes. Mary just laid by the gate , hopeful that someone would say hello to her and Albert sat under the honeysuckle and pretended to be asleep.

The ponies saw me in the garden and ambled up to watch us.

I love having them in my field,

Their presence makes the field come alive again, like it used to be. 

My sister has transformed the garden , the bluebells and pockets of aquilegia, iris and euphorbia are all springing up as is the hydrangea in the old french cooking pot I placed in the gap by the holly bush .

This year I thing I will plant a wisteria and will trail it over an arch by the front gate. 

It may bloom before I die....

I’m working in the community today, 

Nice weather for it!

My tiny hamster ears do not cope well with face masks