Badgers

 It was around four when I heard Albert “ Chatter” 

It’s a funny sound and a rare one in this house as I can only liken it to a very small person shaking a very tiny set of maracas. 

Cats usually chatter at birds that they can’t reach or ambush and Albert is no different 

But the chatter was in the middle of the night 

And the only birds around at that time are a pair of barn owls that swoop silently across the valley from Marion Mawr.

Albert was sat in the window seat looking down into the lane with wide yellow eyes.

I got up and wrapped the quilt cover around my shoulders and joined him.

He moved over without averting his gaze.

He was watching a pair of badgers in the lane who were trotting after each other somewhat playfully.

February is the mating season for badgers.

Living in the country has its upsides and downsides. But how many people can say that they have watched badgers courting outside their windows at night? 

Not very many. 

The boar wagged his fat bottom as he trotted into the garden and stopped to listen as Roger sleepily barked once  from the kitchen. 

They pottered and played for a while like hairy pigs.

Badgers are noisy animals and grunt and snort when they explore and as I grew cold I left them too it and returned to bed where Dorothy spooned me without waking up.

I heard Albert chatter some more before everything returned to a sort of silence again

I asked my google cube what time it was 

It’s now chatting as a butch man and told me in a manly way that it was 4.22 am

I asked it to play a tropical rain shower which it did and I fell asleep almost immediately with no dreams of badgers or of Pedro Pascal or of anything of note for that matter

Day off today. 

A walk, 

Some shopping,

And theatre later with Gorgeous Dave 

We are seeing the stage version of The Shawshank Redemption 

I’ve just put out the reclycling and saw a few untidy holes in the borders of the front garden 

The badgers have removed many of my spring bulbs from beside the stone wall.

And tufts of grey hair can be seen stuck in the lower branches of the hydrangea that faces the West

You can’t complain

Not when you’ve left the gate open

Tashe

 I’m awake an hour before I need to be up

And I dreamt of snogging Pedro Pascal at a party in the village hall before I opened my eyes.

God I was disappointed to be living today’s life!

He’s a great kisser is Pedro

It’s the moustache 

Bliss

 Friday night 

After work most people have a Prosecco now.

A takeaway. 

A scented bubble bath with avocado candles 

A Netflix binge with exotic beers and parsnip crisps 

Sex in front of the fire

Korean noodles

Hot sugary tea

An Indian head massage 

What do I do ?

A lie down with no socks 

And a well trained bulldog licking every inch of my feet

Bloody lovely

Ps this blissful scene was turned on it’s head minutes before bed as when I moved all the dogs to get off the couch the resulting growls of upset caused a fight between Mary and Dorothy

Resulting in the damage of the above tv……..

Sigh

When Darkness Falls

 

When Darkness Falls is a play , that if written in the 1950s would have toured in rep around Yorkshire for most of 1957.

It wasn’t dreadful 

It was just static, slightly boring and remarkably not scary.

Ok the one big scare moment was foiled by a man on our row ,getting twenty people up to go to the toilet ,but having said this , I was bored silly. .

But it was nice to go out though. I enjoyed the event.

One of my besties was seeing the revival of  Oklahoma  in London last night  ….wish I was there lol

I’m on three 12.5 hour days shifts now ( don’t ask ) 

Blogs will be short xxx

November Ultra

Thank you all for your suggestions in yesterday’s post. They have galvanised me somewhat for next weeks sub committee meeting which was running the risk of being overwhelmed of what we can’t do instead of looking of what we can do. 

I’ve reflected long and hard over this recently . 

That’s why I’m attracted to warm “ can do” personalities 

The negative ones, walk to the beat of my mother’s “can’t do “ old drum

That’s why I’m trying to distance myself from those with negative energy

You know the sort….people that can suck the life blood from a lemon without really trying.

I just don’t want to deal with it .

Anyhow, Tonight I’m off to the theatre clwyd to see the play When Darkness Falls.which is described by the Guardian as being able , to leave you cowering in your seat! 

Ooh arhhh

I’m going on my own , which is fine.

I need to get out tonight and can’t always rely on the company of friends.

I will leave you with the above song  by November Ultra 

A song which was playing this morning on the radio, when Mary was sat on my knee bumming toast crusts.

She’s getting on now, and is slower, slightly arthritic and more cranky than her pack mates.

And for a couple of minutes we danced slowly around the kitchen together to this tune ,

Her head tucked under my chin, like a puppy

Making Money

 I am one of the trustees for the Trelawnyd Community Association which is a charity . 

It’s “official remit is as follows

The TCA was formed in 2018 by a group of friends to try and enhance social cohesion and reduce loneliness in our small rural village. The aim was to provide activities, entertainment and education as well as advocacy and help for those that needed it

 A recent subgroup of the charity has been formed to take on the running of the Memorial Hall, a building which given the recent financial crash , has proved to be an expensive place to run. I am a member of the sub committee which is in the process of marketing and fundraising for the hall.

One of my ideas is to make use of the buildings massive windows 

There are five in the hall proper  , each with 48 individual panes of glass in it.

That’s 336 panes of glass in total.

I was thinking that we could offer each of the panes out for sponsorship , in memory of a loved one and that person’s name could be memorialised on a plaque or on the window itself 

After all the Hall itself was built at the turn of the century by Michael Ralli, in memory of his wife Polynmia 

Sponsoring a pane for say 30£ Could earn the hall over 10, 000£

Any other fundraising ideas ?

Watching The World

 The choice of film wasn’t good this afternoon Women Talking was worthy and painful and an acting masterclass but boy was it grim .

So today, the lightest moment came from Roger

Two male blackbirds have been fighting in the garden with pre spring hormones and Roger, fascinated in the fisticuffs sat himself comfortably in the kitchen doorway to watch them for an absolute age

I photographed him and realised I love him even more than I thought I did 

Women Talking

 I forgot it was half term today.

So no college and no late night home journey.👏🏻

I gave the dogs an extra long walk this afternoon then came to Chester where I treated myself to a beef pitta, coffee strong enough to blow your tits off and a film. 

The film is Women Talking .

Sarah Polley’s version of Miriam Toews’ novel which tells the true story of a group of Mennonite Women in an isolated Bolivian community, is a serious watch. A grim and talky piece with a stella cast, has the women beaten, sexually abused and degraded by their men folk.

Taking what time they have together, the women young and old have to decide whether to fight the abuse from within the community, acquiesce to it, or escape to form a new life , albeit one which is excommunicated from their community . The parallels with Weinstein’s Hollywood are only too clear.

Claire Foy shines with anger as Salome as does Rooney Mara and the powerhouse Jessie Buckley and their scenes are compelling to watch but, after a while the film feels as though it’s constrained and is what it is ….a sort of filmed play