Singing Chicken

We had a lovely day out with friends recently. In a shop window in this cute little town, there were unusual chess sets. Sorry about the opposite shop's door being reflected in the photo, but I think you can see that there are different breeds of chicken lined up for a game. They all sit on different hen houses. The rooks' house is castellated; the bishop's has a cross on it.

There were big game animals, dinosaurs with baby dinos sitting in their eggshells as the pawns. There was a game with cats on one side and dogs on the other. Were the pawns mice in that one? I can't remember!


And here are two new 'pets' for next year's Easter tree. I remarked on how flattened they were but the woman at the stall assured me they were 'vintage chickens'! For 50p for the two I couldn't leave them behind. I will make them some eyes.

BTW, I returned to the Wheatear Wall and there was anote there. I was scared about what it might say, but it was sonice and friendly and basically whoever it is has promised not to do any more bukiding until October. That was really nice so I went back and put a 'thank you' note there. That sort of thing restores my faith in human nature (and I'm afraid that I have very little such faith).

I used to look at unruly toddlers in shops etc and wonder if they would somehow just learn respect and consideration later on. Of course they don't!
A group of teenagers were monopolising a local cafe yesterday, feet on empty chairs, occupying two tables either side of the door, being very loud indeed.
Teenager A: "For my eighteenth I've got to choose between a party and New York."
B: "Groan. I had that too"
A: " I don't know what to do"
C: "New York. You can always have a party."
D: "Party. You can always go to New York."

How things have changed. They seem to have it all. When I was that age, never mind New York, I'd never have been in a cafe, not without an older relative who would be paying, as a special treat. None of us had the money to do that.

I could open my Followers on Friday, so greetings to Isabel, Einstein, Steph, Javier, Paoama and Amberr. I think I have said Hello to some before, but I forget which number I had before Blogger failed to open the Follower page.
'Pao' Portuguese for 'bread'? Paoama - Bread Lover? Hmmm... I'm probably wrong.

I know Skylark's birthday is 19th May because Quasar gave birth to him right here, in 1994. I know Quasar was born in spring 1984 so I make her birthday the same day as his.
Here they are, age 27 and 17. He is in the lead; she can't keep up any more. Exmoors don't have any white, that is until their hair turns colour with age, as happens to all of us. Her white patch gets bigger every year. Little white hairs are now appearing on her back and sides.



They really have everything they need and are not into soft beds and hot water bottles so I gave them some apples and carrots.

We've just had to move them from this field because their spring almost dried out. I regualry check and smash ice in winter but I never thought I would be checking for drying up in April and May. The stream where they now drink was reduced to little pools with no continuous flow. I have never seen it like that ever. However it has rained a fair bit this week so maybe they can move back into their favourite field soon.

The tiniest person in the office has just barked at me. She's marginally tinier than me. She rules this place with a claw of iron and is in charge of all the accounts. Woe betide you if you mistakenly mix up the money.
I am SURE I told her that certain sums were for Mr. W but they appeared on Ms. C's ledger. Ms C is Mr. W's ex. To make it more complicated, Mr. W is an executor of his moth er Mrs. P. (second marriage). Mr W has a new wife, Mrs. W. So I have 2 properties and 4 people, 3 dead and one alive, 2 selling and 1 posing as a seller. It's no wonder I forget who's who. So I go to Little Iron Woman to say that whatever I may have said before about this £21, I'm sorry but it's Mr W's.





Well, talk about the Spanish Inquisiton! To me, it doesn't matter who, how or when, or whose fault, it's purely about whose money it is. She says she asked me repeatedly. I tell her that sometimes I just don't understand the questions and think I'm being asked one thing when I'm being asked another. She said it's because I don't listen. That was what really got me, because she doesn't listen to me. She's too busy laying the law down. I always listen. I do too much standing listening to her droning on all about the background of things and never getting to the point, tapping her finger on the desk, or shaking her pointing finger as she does so, as if in accusation, which REALLY gets on my nerves. And anyway, whose file is it anyway???!!! Oh, I nearly lost it.
I went back to say to her that I was sorry for getting 'all het up'. Did she apologise to me? No.

I often think about how Britain and the Brits must seem to people from away. What do they like about it and what annoys them? Meeting with two great pals from abroad on Sunday I was keen to hear. Naturally they love the cute villages. Who wouldn't? I said not everywhere was like that and mentioned night-time binge drinking but these pals were only going to cute places. There is a tendency (not least in me myself!) to think that all cities are dens of iniquity. I make an exception for those small cathedral cities we have here, but I bet even they have hoodies hanging round their ancient monuments at night.
I was a bit surprised (but pleased) to hear Helsie say that the drivers were considerate. I had just been thinking over the last few weeks that people were getting more rude and impatient. It can be different, living on lanes wide enough for only one car, but even then I do come across the ones who just want to push on regardless, or ones whom you meet day in day out and still expect you to do all the reversing even when they are near a place and you are on a bend and not near a place. Grrr.
Helsie even seems to like the cold, wet weather! She also notices things like birds and flowers. I would say most tourists completely overlook the wildlife even though they love the scenery.




Helsie loves the history. It's not just because she comes form a new country. Brits can appreciate it too. I think if I moved to somewhere 'new' I would miss all the stone steps with dips in them from the feet of centuries, the crooked and tumble-down and just the thought of the buildings - and trees- standing there for all that time, and what they've 'seen'.
In the past year I have probably driven to most corners of Britain so it's not just my local area. They are rude on the phone and in the office too.
Helsie says it's hard to tell what the speed limit is in any given place and time. Yes, it's something that is explained when you learn to drive and you are expected to remember it throughout your driving life. People from abroad are just supposed to know.
Little administrative things can be an annoyance abroad, like queueing up for ages, only to find you should first have waited in another queue first and got a little chitty. And in lots of places they aren't polite enough to queue. I have found this in Britain too, lately. People not wanting to wait their turn.
I could go on but this post is long enough already!

Helsie was the first to guess why the shed had to be finished by April, or else don't start building at all until October: because of the occupants - swallows! (Sorry. I know it's a poor picture but the shape is unmistakeable. This was the old, old camera. I haven't photographed any with my latest.) They nested in the old shed every year and we couldn't bear for them to return this spring and find no shed, or half a shed, so it was all scheduled for their return. Well how would you like to go away for the winter,to find you didn't have a house on your return?


We asked for a window in the the same place as before, and one that can be tied fully back.

I walked in last Friday morning to find a swallow circling about in there. I went off to the ponies, came back and one flew in again while I was there. They have been in the village since mid April but it's always a little later that they start to come in the shed. It's all spanking new in there and beams are in different places. We put some shelves up for them but they seem to be looking more in the place they used to go - right above the door.

u
I don't think it looks too bad. It does sort of blend in. The only person whose house overlooks it says he likes it so that's alright.

The blog has been quiet this week. Sorry. It's one of the things on my 'to do' list.

Actually Blogger has been faulty today. Have you had this or is it just me?

This is my day for working at home and it's useful because I can do any advance food prep I want to do. I was thinking as I was standing at the cooker that I had nothing to blog about. I was preparing some spinach for a pizza Fiorentina I want to make and grilling some chicken for a salad and started thinking about when to move the ponies and it occured to me that my head was full of what I had to do for later, or for other days, but not of what I was doing now. I have heaps to do but I am not doing it.

I need to get the ponies out into another field before their spring dries up. 6 inches left today.

There's the electrician to be chased about putting a shower in, but does that mean I have to tidy up? Yes. I can't even have workmen coming in and seeing mess. So add tidying up to the list.

Ineed to do loads of weeding and planting in the garden.



Must ring E because I don't understand a term in a knitting pattern. Alternatively I could google it because E is quite stern.

There are a couple of bits of baking I want to do this weekend.

I must enter that competition to win an ice cream maker.

I must start getting sponsors for this walk I am doing in June.

Sometimes it just all piles up, doesn't it?

There's only so much I can remember in a day so I have made a list.

A labour-intensive hand-made hot water bottle cover... for a cat??!!
That was Ludo's birthday present. It all started when I saw miniature hot water bottles at a local market. He doesn't have a wiinter birthday but I thought Ludo would like one anyway. Hub said he might puncture it with his claws so I got some felt and set to make him a triple thickness cover for it. I thought the chunky yellow wool stitching showing o the outside wouuld be somehow in keeping with the design. It was a bit plain though, so I sewed on the fish. Then I added the button loops and buttons, not that the bottle might fall out but I just thought it finished it off nicely. Couldn't get fish buttons so pencils had to do.
The reverse is the same, without the buttons.
I put the pencil in the pic so you can see the size of it. He loves his cat bed and I hope he will love having the bottle in it.


Here he is in his bed. His feet aren't that big; they are just near the camera.

It's certainly the most lavish birthday present he has had.

Happy Birthday, stripy boy!

Ludo spent an extra night at the cattery last weekend. Poor boy. We rang the cattery from our journey to say we would be late. Usually we do arrive after closing time but they usually agree with us that we can do that because the cattery is a long way from home. When we phoned this time, we offered to leave him another night, but she said she would probably still be in, so 'Call by anyway, in case I'm there, but on the other hand, I might just decide to get a life!' she said. I said to hub, 'I think from that remark the message is that she would prefer us just to collect him tomorrow' but hub thought she would be waiting in because she had said 'Call in anyway'.
So we detoured a long way to the cattery as it is way off our route home. We got there 15 minutes earlier than estimated and she wasn't there, but there was Ludo, calling to us from behind his bars. There was no message on the phone saying 'Sorry, I have had to go out after all'. So we had to say 'goodbye' to Ludo and drive an hour and 20 minutes home. Without that detour, we could have been home already. So I had to do another drive around after work on the Tuesday to get him, before going home. I just wish people would say 'No' when they mean no, instead of getting stroppy, saying sort of 'Yes', then letting you down after all.

It was his 7th birthday yesterday. Next week I will do a post about his present.

I am sorry I have done nothing but complain all week. People must have visions of a tiger in a cage when they think of Foody. It isn't always like this. I hate returning to work after breaks, I feel very deprived that the next 3 weeks are 5 day weeks and I have the added pressure of my Dad.

I just need to moan today.

All this blah blah blah. On and on and on and on it goes. Is there really that much to be said about AV?

And as for this 'first past the post'. Well. What post? There is no pre-defined number that they have to reach that decides whether somebody has won. Say there are two candidates and five voters. 'The post' would have to be 3 votes. Well what if only three voters vote, and the result is 2 for candidate A and 1 for candidate B. Well in that case 'the post' would be 2, which would be nonsense when there are 5 potential voters. 'The post' implies a fixed score, such as the first to get 15 in tennis, which you just couldn't do for elections. There is no 'post'.

And can I just say here that I got fed up of hearing 'Rawl' wedding. It's Royal. Two syllables. Roy-al. King-ish. Sometiimes I do wish I were one of those pedants who write to the BBC every 5 minutes. At least it would get said to the right people.

And while I'm at it, I have 'issues' again with the J cereal. All the fruit is stuck together in clumps with the sliced nuts that begin with 'a'. (Well, I don't want them finding me again, eh?)

Moan over. Goodbye!

Ah well, two bank hol weekends gone now. Three weeks of normality and then another - but only the 3 days next time. That will feel hard.

It was wall-to-wall sun the whole time but spending quite a lot of time in the car travelling to Dad's then taking him about whilst there, I didn't feel I got out in it enough.

My 'ground peckers' post published itself on the wrong day because I forgot to change the date. I have now changed it to 28th April, when it should have gone on.

Found Dad in a worse state. I feel he isn't really capable of living independently now, or at least he won't be in, say, a few months. He did really enjoy the trips to the places he used to love to go, but frequently forgot where he was, even in his own town, and if we didn't watch him like a hawk he was up and off in the wrong direction. "What day is it?" "Are we walking away from the car or back to the car?" "The paper shop is just round the corner" ('No, wrong town!')I think I need to try to get his next assessment brought forward. At the moment they think he isn't bad enough to be given compulsory care but I don't think he's well enough to make the decision he has made not to accept the help that has been offered to him. He goes away for the day with his free bus pass but there will come a time when he won't know where he is and won't go back to the bus stop to get the bus home and will wander around a strange town. The house was a tip and he was unkempt and dirty. He just repeats himself incessantly. Oh dear. It has gone beyond being funny.

Still no rain. Ponies' water supply going down. No rain forecast for this week either.

Pied flycathers and garden warbler in village. Have now seen stonechat and redstart.

Might start watching 'The Wedding' tonight.

I have a new follower since the weekend but I can't access my followers - again! - so I don't know who it is. Sorry, new follower. I didn't welcome no. 15 either, but when I can get on the page again, I will.