Family

 My nephew phoned me this afternoon 

To see if I was ok. 

His mum , my sister had told him I had been unwell

And he was concerned.

It was a nice conversation 

He’s going through a divorce and so I understand his emotions,

So we talked about them…..

…after a long time as we parted he laughed 

This was a conversation about you and all we’ve talked about me 

He said

My other nephew messaged me minutes later with an in depth review of the new Spider-Man film

He wrote a good review and I told him so 

He sent me 😁

Hey ho 

Strange Light

The light is strange this afternoon.

It’s not cold, but it is slightly misty with the promise of cold and the view from the cottage feels almost ethereal .

The village is almost circled by a curve of low hills, with the open valley end dropping away down towards the sea miles to the North West.

The hills are now topped with a mist through which the low sun is shining and the sky is glowing with a strange warmth.

Bwthyn y Llan’s limestone walls drink up the sun too and the cottage glows with a life of its own.

It faces south, so is used to the sun.

The cottage is best viewed in warm sunshine.

As I stood up in the churchyard looking west, Irene bleated a short hello from the livery stable fields beyond the green brown hawthorn hedges.

I am home

 

Nite In

Too much red wine and Gin

Irish stew and dumplings

1940s film Portrait of Jennie

Lots of serious and not so serious conversations 

Squeaky toys and welsh terriers in the garden

Happy Day

 

Rabbits in a bag

 I'm sat in a nice restaurant waiting for my breakfast guest to arrive

I've bought two rabbit Christmas Decorations for their Children and the buggers are watching me carefully

Later I'm making supper for another friend. Irish stew with dumplings...no Christmas food to be seen

And Just Like That

 

Episode three of the Sex and The City reboot…. and the whole thing has got back in its stride

I loved it 

Big has left money to his ex Natasha, Charlotte’s daughter doesn’t identify with being a girl, Miranda is drinking and maybe going bi  and Anthony had all the best lines and wants Charlotte’s daughter to use more deodorant  

Carrie is back acting like a neurotic best friend who we all identify with 

I wish I had watched the episode with a gay bestie or gay friendly significant  other x

It was an episode you needed to share and talk about and ….

I loved the Central Park Angel fountain reference

, 

My favourite place in New York 

And just like that….I walked Myself home 

Worth Repeating

 

Christmas stories are always worth repeating its one of the traditions of the season

Enjoy this one 

Christmas 1985

Christmas week 1985 I was  shadowing a community psychiatric nursing sister with her caseload in the deprived and depressing northern town of Runcorn.
Through a succession of faceless maisonettes, we sat on grubby sofas and listened to  sad stories of loneliness, mental illness and substance abuse and I watched as my mentor tried her best to keep heads above water and bums out of the local psychiatric unit.
The last visit of the day was to a woman called Jean.
Jean lived alone in the top flat of a ten story complex. She had suffered from severe mental health problems for forty years and had recently been placed in her flat from long term psychiatric care only a few months before.
I remember her flat very well. There was no carpet in the hall and the living room but there was a tiny tinsel Christmas tree standing on top of a large black and white tv.  A homemade fabric stocking was hung on the fire surround and just two Christmas cards  were perched on the mantle.
( one of those cards having been sent by my colleague) The flat was sparse but incredibly clean and it was evident that Jean had been waiting for our visit all day.
In mismatching cups we were offered coffee with powdered milk and a single mince pie served on a paper plate and I remember sharing a sad glance with the nurse when Jean presented us both with gifts hastily wrapped in cheap Christmas paper. My gift was two placemats with photos of cats on them. The nurse received a small yellow vase, and I remember Jean beaming with delight when we both thanked her effusively for her kindness. 
When we washed up our own cups, the nurse quietly checked the fridge, noting that most of the shelves were empty . There was a calender on the wall with the note " NURSE COMES TODAY" written on that day's date. Nothing else was written on it until the week of new year's eve, where the same sentence was written.
It was the very first time that I had experienced someone who was so totally isolated in a community setting and it shocked and saddened me.
I listened as the nurse talked about medication, and as  I waited patiently when she took Jean into the bedroom to administer a regular injection I noticed a carrier bag which the nurse had tucked away by the side of the arm chair shortly after we arrived. In it was a package of cold meat, and what looked like chocolates and a cake.
Before we left, we let Jean monopolize her only conversation of the week and as she retrieved our coats, I watched and grew a few years older as the nurse silently slipped a ten pound note behind one of the cards on the mantle.

On Guard

 

For such a gentle dog Mary has inherited a complete and utter hatred for everyone delivering post and parcels to Bwthyn Y Llan. This is a legacy handed down over generations of Welsh Terriers. 

From Finlay to Meg, from Meg to William and from William to Mary, they all delighted in racing down the stairs barking loudly as soon as there was a click of the letter box.

It’s bright and sunny today, so I knew there would be a few hand deliveries of Christmas cards coming.

Subsequently, Mary has been up and down the stairs like a fiddler’s elbow.

Eventually I gave sleep up as a bad job which was fortunate as I found a Christmas Bara Brith on the garden wall which was wrapped carefully by Animal Helper Pat.

I sliced the bara brith thinly as it should be , and spread the slices liberally with salted butter.

There is nothing better with a strong cup of tea.

I watched tv until the postman arrived to suitably robust Welsh Terrier hysteria. 

I am the second to last in the village to receive post, and at Christmas that’s not until three pm.

Christmas gift today too ( thank you Goldensunflower)

Once the postie left, the cottage reverted to its more peaceful state, but not before I opened an unexpected parcel . 

Now anon is going to have apoplexy here, but the parcel turned out to be a food hamper.

An unexpected but wonderful Christmas food hamper. 

I was overwhelmed and incredibly touched by the thoughtfulness of the gift 

Thank you Kim…thank you

And I’m now back off to bed.

Smiling

Tuesday

 

In a week when covid life seems to be threatening to curtail life again and where night shifts do exactly the same thing, I was grateful for the lunacy that is BBC Radio4 ‘s podcast of I’m sorry I haven’t a Clue

This week one of the games for the contestants was to share alternative television programmes titles that would be interesting to watch

Marcus Brigstocke, won hands down with his

“ On BBC’s Area programme sculptor Antony Gormley unveils his statue of the Russian leader made entirely from caramel in Antony Gormley’s Sticky Toffee Putin on BBC 2 “

I love the clever madness of this joke.

I have no other news from yesterday .I got up briefly at three pm to collect the post from its plastic box outside the front door and to walk the dogs. 

I had ten Christmas cards which I read then hung up on a string which “ circles” the living room beams.

I like the tradition of hanging the cards even if clambering on the backs of the sofa and chairs is somewhat precarious 

I then ate soup and watched episode 9 of Season 1 of Game Of Thrones covered in dogs

It’s all boobs.