Puffin

Cro reminded me too that it is the anniversary of 9/11 

I remember that lunchtime very well.

As I was watching the news, through my lounge window I caught sight of a stranger rummaging through the skip I had hired . He ran off with a plastic human head. 

The sort you used to see in men’s wear shops advertising hats.

I’m having a quiet day today. 

Last week, I promised work I would cover sickness by working an extra shift tonight .

It will pay for my new painting which is pragmatic of me, if not very practical, for tomorrow lunchtime I’m off to Liverpool to see the City’s Philharmonic with a friend

Waltzes by Strauss, and works by Dvorák, Prokofiev, and Márquez…the full orchestra is back on stage! 

Sounds great , and lunch at Mowgli beforehand ..what a treat

Big thank you to Sue at https://paw862.blogspot.com/

Who sent me her painting of a puffin

She had underplayed it on a recent post and I told her then that I thought it was lovely

It is….

Simple and elegant 

And she sent it to me as a gift! 

Thank you.

The dogs have just had a long walk and I think I shall scrub the doggy smells from Bluebell’s interior before we all have a siesta .

But I will finish my bucket of coffee first

And listen to the tick of the kitchen clock

Sushi In Russell Square Gardens

Holiday day 5

Well.

I’ve known Alex since 2008. 

I didn’t know he fancied me until I met him two years ago, when I was newly single

Yesterday we had a lovely flirty time 

It’s a pity he lives in Poland. 

When you are in a long term relationship that has been ended unexpectedly, your self esteem takes a real bashing…

Well smashing or crushing would be the words I would personally use.

The thought that anyone else could actually fancy you never really enters your head again.

Not until it is spelt out to you

The South Bank was vibrant and buzzing again last night. 

The play was complicated but worth concentrating on. Written by Winsome Pinnock , it’s a weaved web of stories centred about the theme of slavery and black identify in Britain . From the 18th century we follow the fortunes of a Black seafaring family mixed in with the painter Turner’s famous anti slavery work The Slave Ship , as seen from Turner’s perspective and from the group of actors playing him and his contemporaries on a modern day film set. Add into the mix a contemporary  black actress, a second generation Windrush woman, and a black teacher and her pupils visiting the painting insitu and you will get the flavour of the production .

It was so refreshing picking my thoughts out with Alex after the production . 

He’s a professional film critic so post mortems come easy.

Walking back across Waterloo Bridge is a free joy at night, what with the lights of the city and the warm breeze off the Thames.

It was quite…magical.

This morning I went to the beautiful Somerset House for the massive PhotoLondon Exhibition . 

The ticket cost a few pounds more than the Banksy ticket did but you literally had two thousand more exhibits to review…an impossible task.

I concentrated my efforts on works by the vintage American photographer George Rodger and  on Robert Capa and enjoyed more contemporary works by the likes of Poulomi Basu and other documentary war photographers. 

It was like going to a huge antiques fair as it was so easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the exhibition but I didn’t want to get over faced by the amount on show so stuck to my themes 

In addition to my favourite rooms I particularly liked this work by the Norwegian photographer Simeon Johan 

Only 25,000£ of photo

And these rather moving “ portraits” by Diana Matar

I walked up from The Strand to Tobiko on Garrick Street and bought some expensive homemade sashimi takeaway before ambling through Bloomsbury to sit in the peace of Russell Square Gardens where I ate my sushi by the fountains in peace.

Russell Square Gardens 

Sunflowers in Bloomsbury’s window boxes

London is always a pleasure , the National Theatre and Somerset House and the night view from Waterloo Bridge were just icing on the cake. 

But to be found interesting and attractive by an interesting and attractive man has done me the world of good.

It really has…….

Hey ho

Rockets & Blue Lights

Met my old friend Alex….lovely day had, lovely company, great theatre at the National 

We flirt dreadfully…..always have done ……….thank goodness

Banksy was a rip off btw
 

London

 

Holiday day four

I’m on the way to London.

Bollocked the e tickets but finally managed to sort them in the end….fucking Luddite ! 

My itinerary has been sorted. 

Banksy exhibition…then check in to hotel ( Nice one in Covent Garden again) then meet my friend Alex for food, then National Theatre to see Rocket’s And Blue Lights .

Tomorrow , I’ve booked to see the London Photo Exhibition at Somerset House before coming home .

No Nu unfortunately ….she’s at the Wisley flower Show 

Curlew

Running late….meal out at The Crown tonight was lovely..just got home

Dorothy is over heated and is now lying on a blanket I put in the freezer two hours ago

I had Chicken supreme ….something I haven’t had since the 1980s

As promised a quick snap of my new curlew painting

Queer Art

 Holiday day three.

The weather remains fine.

Very warm with a nice sea breeze. 

I popped over to the Mostyn Gallery to see the Tarek Lakhrissi My Immortal exhibition 

Which was described thus

“Taking the 2003 song ‘My Immortal’ by American pop group Evanescence as its title, the exhibition reflects upon the notion of community, particularly a queer community which it considers as a complex, fragile and ephemeral entity. On the one hand it can offer possibilities of love, empowerment and protection but also nightmares and fears”

I read the exhibition notes for a long time https://www.mostyn.org/sites/www.mostyn.org/files/Exhibition%20Guide%20Tarek%20Lakhrissi%20ONLINE.pdf

But still didn’t grasp his concepts fully. 

I did like the spear mobiles though…..quite beautiful. I posted photographs on my Facebook page and my Sheffield bestie commented

“ Michael Kilner

Did you inform the gallery they have been robbed? All those mobiles stolen that were hanging from the wires. The horror!  x“

 I had a flat white in the cafe and, bought a picture of a curlew which made me feel better then went for a long walk on the Prom and out along the pier .

The breeze was gloriously warm

I bought myself an ice cream and people watched for a while

Everyone seemed to be in couples 

I’m meeting a friend for dinner later

Tomorrow I’m off to London

Holiday Day Two

Holiday day two today. 

I’m off to Mostyn Art Gallery tomorrow afternoon then I’m catching up with an old friend for dinner. I want to plan “holiday”  things after today.

Today was another “ jobs catch up day”

Mandy & Sailor John from next door gave me an old bookcase a while ago .

It was a utilitarian, ugly piece that sucked the life out of my office/ spare bedroom

Yesterday, I sanded it down and painted it a cheerful gentle  yellow with the paint leftover from the living room.

A bit rustic but certainly an improvement 

I’ve gone all DIY 

 

Stand Off

 

Ozzie

My sister brought her dog, Ozzie up to the cottage for the night.

The whole family is attending a wedding in October and for that  night Ozzie will be coming up to Trelawnyd to be babysat.

He has never been parted from my sister before.

Now I am an old hand at introducing new dogs into the household…god knows I’ve had enough experience and the secret to it has always been , stay calm, remove leads, and show everyone you are the boss.

Ozzie’s introduction to Dorothy and Mary was fine. They had all met before on the occasional walk so after the initial sniff and greet all three settled down on their respective chairs and rugs to rest as I blogged and watched tv from my place on the trendy blue sofa.

Then Albert appeared on the stairs.

Now Albert despises new dogs 

To him they are irritating stupid beings that need to be driven out of his peaceful life and home.

And his eyes flashed a cold gold behind the bannisters.

I watched the drama unfold and almost held my breath. 

Ozzie was oblivious . 

He was a bit unsettled, which was understandable and after sitting for a while he decided to explore the cottage. While he was in the kitchen, Albert walked stiffly down the stairs and sat behind the little yellow armchair in the alcove.

Ozzie walked past him twice without knowing he was there and as he was upstairs sniffing at Dorothy’s old wee stain on the office rug, Albert stalked into the kitchen after giving me a very angry look.

The inevitable meeting came  moments later.

Ozzie looked at Albert with a surprised expression on his face as the cat walked back slowly into the living room.

He jumped forward without thinking, giving a little woof as he did so.

And Albert reared up, yowled loudly and swiftly boxed Ozzie’s face with at least six smart very sharp jabs 

The drama was over and Dorothy hadn’t even opened one sleepy eye.

Ozzie hid behind the draught excluder by the front door for a while.

Albert gave himself a victory walk around the living room and then sat on the arm of the sofa next to me and licked his arse and a relaxed manner. 

As Ozzie watched silently, Albert then rubbed heads with me ( to underline his social standing) and then very slowly got up and walked up the stairs to bed.

Wash Day

 

First day of holiday.

Washing day.

I’ve cleaned the cottage and stripped the beds . 

The duvet covers  are pristine white and are drying gently on the field gate in the warm breeze we have today

Their presence signals I am home.

Monday’s were always wash days when I was a child.

The house smelled of OMO and hot water and the twin tub churned loudly in the back kitchen .

They were busy days

My grandmother was always there  

Big arms bare to the elbow and her face perspiring, she would squeeze the clothes and sheets through the mangle before filling the washing lines with laundry, wooden pegs in her mouth.

Lunch was hurried leftovers from Sunday dinner. 

Dark gravy to soften the dry meat.

The ironing came later. 

Ironing the whites with stories a plenty to entertain us with.

I used to love wash days just because of her.

I ironed the duvet today , which was a first .

I was shamed into by a gay friend who thought I was an animal for never doing so before.

I remembered my grandmother as I did so.

Wriggling the tip of the iron in the corners, like she did.

I never think of her for the longest of times now, then bam! a memory will surface like a whale breaching a calm sea and suddenly you are surrounded with thoughts and memories and smells and feelings from fifty years ago.

I miss her still

On wash days

Klute

 

I was in my 20s when I saw Klute. It was probably run late at night on channel 4 and I remember then thinking it was a class act.

I revisited it today at The Storyhouse and I was even more impressed with this new noir 1971 thriller which broke the mould by concentrating on the characterisation of its main female protagonist rather than the reveal of who was the serial killer.

Jane Fonda excels as the call girl Bree Daniels, a bright, intelligent woman who clearly understands her motivations in life. Through some revealing monologues with her pragmatic psychiatrist we see Bree take control of her call girl life where mysogyny and sexism controls her acting life. This existence is suddenly complicated by the appearance  of a strong, and passive private detective ( a doe eyed Donald Sutherland) who is investigating the disappearance of one of Bree’s supposid tricks and Bree has to confront proper and normal emotional attachment as they embark on a tentative and somewhat complicated relationship.

Director Alan J Pakula concentrates the camera on Fonda at almost every turn and she replays his trust with a nuanced and devastating intelligent performance. 

She’s a revelation, she really is and although the movie is essentially a character study of a woman in the sex industry , the film works very well as a creepy, serial killer thriller, but this objective is incidental to the main narrative .

If you haven’t seen it, please give it a go.

I’ll leave you all with this hilarious drag performance of let it go from Frozen

It has nothing to do with Klute 

But it did make me titter 

Pilgrims, Comets & Love and paracetamol

The walkers on the pilgrim walk turned up at St Michael’s around five pm. At least a dozen villagers turned up with cakes and tea and water bottles and good wishes  to greet them which was a welcomed first. Our jovial vicar David Lewis ( far left) was on hand too.

I do like him, he’s a sweet good natured soul. 

After that My friend Ruth and I went to Theatre Clwyd for an outdoor production off Catching Comets 

Which had a lot to say about the fragile nature of the male psychi in relation to love and relationships ..it was a pity there were only 20 people in the audience.

An intelligent and stimulating one man show 

I loved the venue ….when light fell on the outdoor stage…the huge brick wall of the East Wing of Theatre Clwyd stood illuminated as a back drop to the  drama….it felt like our own local Tate Modern.

 

I got home around ten pm and was stopped surprisingly by neighbour Trevor as I walked the dogs in the lane .

He’s 95 and rather breathlessly was brandishing a quality bottle of white wine, his trousers flapping.

“This Is for you .” He said, offering me the bottle 

“Whatever for ?” I asked him

Apparently I had given. him some advice a week ago about what dosages of  paracetamol to take for a painful shoulder.

“ I have my own personal doctor “ he quipped

“ And I had the best night’s sleep ever!”

And I smiled

I’m so happy to live in a place which I’m known, liked and valued

And if that sounds rather saccharine 

So be it

Life Finds A Way

 So said Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park

This delicate Welsh Poppy , I found growing valiantly by the kitchen wall this morning

I loved it’s chutzpah 

Got the pilgrims to sort out shortly then an outdoor play Chasing Comets at Theatre Clwyd 

Night shift last night

Pilgrim’s Way

Dorothy taking Mary for a walk this morning

Yesterday’s Church meeting proved to be useful

I now have a list of around eight villagers who will join in form an action group to support the Pilgrim status of the Church if the Bishop  eventually grants it. 

In the meantime we have asked interested villagers to start a letter writing campaign to the Bishop 

Tomorrow around fifteen pilgrims will stop at Trelawnyd . They are taking part in an annual pilgrimage from Basingwerk Abbey to Bardsey Island on the North Wales Pilgrim’s way and last year the way had attracted 17,000 walkers along the route, which is encouraging given our wish for St Michael’s to become a Pilgrim Church. 

I’ve got cakes and tea all ready for tomorrow’s pilgrim’s to have when they arrive.

Tonight I’m working nights to cover sickness then it’s holiday! I’ve made a rye bread loaf this morning for a patient who is desperate for that home made bread taste .

Next week I’ve got two theatre trips organised one here and one in London and have a ticket to the unofficial Banksy exhibition near Covent Garden as an aside.

I will try and book something else interesting on Friday morning before I return 

I’m also going to Choir on Tuesday and there is also the philharmonic afternoon concert in Liverpool a week on Sunday

Hey ho

The village newsletter has just been delivered

  

Follies

 

Di Botcher

The National Theatre production of Follies is a musical which I needed to see.

My friend John, has banged on about it for years, so recently I watched the live production itself to judge for myself.

Generally I loved it. 

It was overlong for sure, and I could have happily done without the last 20 minutes of it, but the sheer scale and chutzpah of the production blew me away, but not quite as you may expect .

Of course the leads Philip Quast, Janie Dee and the powerhouse Imelda Staunton were fantastic but for me it was performances from three supporting follies that moved me the most 

The fabulous Tracie Bennett

Di Botcher as the bespectacled, big haired Hattie (reminding me so much of my mother) belted out the cracking Broadway Baby with fantastic gusto. Tracie Bennett as the spunky and slightly shop worn Carlotta lived I’m Still Here and the elderly Opera singer Dame Josephine Barstow broke everyone’s hearts as the eldest of the follies during her One More Kiss duet.

These three set pieces made the production for me   

Josephine Barstow 

Y Shed

 

The new build behind the cottage has been rather noisier than usual. They are digging out the garden with a mechanical digger at the same time as hammering the roof on a kennel block.

I took the dogs to meet Chic Eleanor 

We walked down to y shed ( The Shed) and drank good Italian coffee on the terrace .

It was nice to see her. 

She hugged my arm as we walked and called me her darling John

Gin & Hats

I got home after my 12.5 hour day shift late.

I collected the dogs , fed them and Albert and just had time to sit down at 9 pm before our zoom meeting was booked.

It was Ben’s last night in the UK so Ruth had sorted out an online meet, all together 

We both poured ourselves a large gin and we wore our matching Beanie hats in solidarity 

And Ben gave his apologies as he was super stressed and tired and …..so ….didn’t turn up

We were gutted

But the meeting continued …..with the both of us laughing hysterically over the fact we were spinsters of the parish, we had just been stood up and we were wearing matching hats.

I haven’t laughed like that for months 

Dance as if no one is watching

For me Michael Gove lost what little political credibility he possessed when supporting Dominic Cummings’ ludicrous test driving story.

Now he’s been filmed dancing away in a Scottish nightclub 

And we can see the human side  of him just a little. 

Ed Balls was interviewed on radio 4 on Saturday and talked about  how people perceived him when he was a politician compared with their reactions of him as a reality tv “ personality 

They like me now, he quipped 

I blame the bland “ politician speak” 

The likes of Dennis Skinner never suffered from it

The Walking Dead -The Final Season

 

I finally caught up with the first two episodes of The Walking Dead this afternoon.

I watched it on my iPad in my office with the curtains shut…the action was set underground for the most part, so was hard to follow

The genre is gone full circle …for its back at its horror roots again with the large cast of characters ( with too many red shirts in tow) battling the undead and the nasty living in the sewers and subway of Washington DC 

It’s reinvented itself yet again

Maggie ( Lauren Cohen) is back and her character is now rather unexpectedly harder and more anti Negan  than it was in previous seasons which has made her a new fan hate figure which is interesting. Cohen has some powerfully acted scenes in the first episodes which were a revelation and a sure lesson to the writers who so often have underwritten the main characters  to the detriment to the drama.

The Walking Dead is how heavily reliant on its female characters, which is fun

Yumiko ( Eleanor Marsuura) and Princess ( Juanita Sanchez above) are two relatively new faces that are starting to take centre stage alongside Carol (Melissa McBride) which is a nice change to the old male guard of its early days 

It’s nice I’m still following after a loyal ten years 

One of my first reviews

https://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/2010/12/walking-dead-frank-darabonts-tv-remake.html

Looking After Oneself

 I met a couple new to the village last night. 

They were walking their dog up the lane and I was watering the sweet peas which had climbed nicely over the garden arch.

The wife said something that pleased me greatly

“ I always love your flowers” she said “The ones in your side window”

Ive said this before but Ive always had at least one bunch of flowers in the cottage at any one time. Ever since I bought my first home back in the 1980s flowers have always been my constant. Even when I was low on money, I would always have enough for a bunch of something bright to fill a vase or a gap on the window sill. 

Flowers make a home, homely. 

In that sense they are very much like a cat, for cats warm a house by nature of perching happily in the background. 

I’ve just heard that the ponies are returning to the field for a little while

This pleased me too, as their presence, for a few weeks, will bring a lot of happiness with it.

There is a great deal of satisfaction seeing them munching through the weeds, the Ivy and the overgrown grass.

The cottage is filled with the smell of garlic and onion

I’m making a colourful butternut squash Katsu curry

I’m coasting at work a little this week as I have a few more day shifts before my next holiday. 

I find I need a break from the hospice every two months or so….

The holiday, like a cat in the background, the ponies in the field and the flowers in the kitchen window will please and heal me 

Where My Trust Is Without Borders

This song is running around my head rent free and has been for days.

I don’t have a faith at all, but the words, I find rather moving

I left work early today after taking my time owed and spent a slightly frustrating hour on the phone with Mrs Trellis discussing her ideas for the Church meeting on Thursday as soon as I got home. 

I watched episode 2 of The Walking Dead on my IPad , then had cold homemade leftover  felafels for tea. 

Soon it’s Only Connect on tv with my diet allocation  of gin and slimline tonic

Mary has her collar of shame on as she’s got a sore bum which has been made worse by Dorothy’s licking.

Albert’s got worms , probably caught by eating rabbits.

My friend Alex who lives in Poland has messaged asking me to meet him in London next week

I think we are going to the theatre

Ps I’ve just bought this lovely tea cup

Quite beautiful