Out of hibernation......

Now what was it that woke me? The rusty smoker's cough of the resident cock pheasant? The duck banging the cat flap for his breakfast? I peeped over the duvet to guage the weather...Oh my goodness...blue sky...wisps of high white cloud....its here.....Spring! Within seconds I am out of bed and hanging out of the open window seeing my glorious surroundings bathed in warm sunlight. Since November I have lived in a dingy, dull world. I have left my hillside each morning as a grey dawn pokes a weak finger through the heavy mist, by the time I hit the suburbs of the town the sun may have risen ...more often it has been hidden by cloud. I spend my day in the windowless world of a Courtroom and then its back home in the dark. So between November and February I rarely see my home in daylight other than weekends and they are so frenetic I don't have time to look around me. So this morning there I was hanging out of the window gulping the clean fresh air, feeling the warmth of the sun and really enjoying the view over to the Long Mountain. A blue mist still clung to the valley below me following the line of the river, an aeroplane left a vapour trail as it headed south...and I realised what it was that had woken me .....'MuuuuuuuuuuuuuM can you come and fold these shirts for me please and do you know where my blue tie is and I'm going at half past eight!'

The instantly recognisable squawk of a middle son....in a panic...overslept and on his way to Edinburgh for the weekend with friends to meet friends and attend at some time during the proceedings a christening.

He duly departed having purloined my overnight bag seeing as how the zip broke on his trying to get too much in .....I did query how long he was going for ....eyes rolled heavenwards ...'Mother' when any of my three sons says 'Moth-er' like that I know I am probably being a pain so I just smile sweetly like a batty old lady and toddle off.......

I had a lovely time shopping in the farm shops and the market this morning and returned heavily laden with veg, meat, dog bones, a bottle of cold pressed, extra virgin rapeseed oil, a large tin of white paint and a copy of Captain Correlli's Mandolin....surprising what turns up at these farm shops isn't it?

Feeling sorry for middle son's dejected labrador, (she sulks when he goes away for more than a day...she just knows!) I thought I would get rid of my hibernated pink eyed look and take her for an invigorating walk in the gorgeous sunshine . She was very excited. She has the character of her owner ....larger than life, boisterous, happy, exuberant and can she run...........! Off we went ...no problem she has been trained well and is a pleasure to walk on a lead along the lanes.

We stopped to admire the view over the field gates......(Mountainear ...I know you are over there basking in the sunshine somewhere)..... I could see the windmill in the valley and hear the faint hum of the traffic way below me. We left the main road to return along a stony track and I let Skye off the lead, she was backwards and forwards along the edge of the wood sniffing and snorting like a black pig. I called her back to me as she made to chase something in the undergrowth....and remembered .......arrggggghhhhhh!

When she was a puppy J taught her tricks and we warned him that some may return to metaphorically bite him on the bum but he persisited. Skye is now a hefty, full grown, five year old, well trained, black lab ...that does tricks ...when you least expect them. One such trick she was taught as a puppy was to run full tilt at J and leap and he would catch her mid air and swing her round...like you would a toddler. We did warn him against this on numerous ocassions but at 17 he took a lot of no notice. She has embarrased him with this when he has least expected it and have we laughed. Cries of 'Told you so' echo in his ears!

So there I am and no sooner than I have called 'Skye' I see her hurtling towards me and I know she is going to leap and I have not got a single hope of catching her... the big thug of a dog....she hits me full in the chest and we end up full length in the muddy grass at the side of the track. Laughing hysterically and being licked enthusiastically we disentangle limbs and I struggle up wards... swearing ...just a little!

I arrive home looking as though I have been mud wrestling instead of dog walking ....but who cares... the sun is still shining although the warmth has now gone but its spring and I'm out from hibernation!

I just dont belieeeeeeeeeeve it!

Where is he? That Victor Meldrew bloke? I have heard his signature line so many times over the last few days its almost an anthem here in grey and windy Shropshire.
I'm still dancing about on the dining table ...good job its a decent size seeing as how many decided to join me ...even Wipso with her crutches ...bless.
It appears Central Government had to inform the Council that what they were attempting to do was in fact illegal. How embarassing is that? It appears a similar situation was also happening down in Herefordshire and they have been told to draw their horns in as well. What utter plonkers...heads are being kept well down now ...waiting for some battered ones to come out on plates I expect. No doubt there will be a scapegoat or two...but personally having seen some of the anger, anguish and heartache that was caused to the villagers concerned a couple of County Councillors tied to the Lord Hill monument in front of the Shirehall and horsewhipped wouldn't go amiss!
The trouble is that this Council has been murmuring 'Unitary authority' for some considerable time now...get rid of the District Councils altogether save loadsa money and just govern from the top ....then after getting dozens of staff from the District Council's working out their redundancy figures with glee...'Oh but we will need some sort of little committees in the middle of the County Council and the Parish Councils ...just to ...sort of....talk about stuff. After this little escapade I would not be alone in wondering why not just pare down the County Council and leave the District Councils alone ...at least they are there on the ground ...they know their area , the people ....surely the old saying ...'if it aint broken why mend it' should apply. But as for the clowns in that great grey and glass place ...well..... as good old Victor Meldrew said ...' I just do not beleeeeeve it!'
Its OK Cait ...we won the fight on the village loo...but sadly lost on the nearby adult education centre, the last TSB bank went last year but hanging on to the library for grim death. The swimming pool was filled in a couple of years ago and somebody has built a house on the tennis courts...............next?

Oh yes I know...the Lottery ...now lets REALLY JUMP UP and DOWN! The local village hall applied for a lottery grant to refurbish the old part of the hall that is in such poor condition it is dragging the rest down. The hall is well used by the local Brass Band, Tai Chai, dog training, the nursery group, whist drives, parties etc. The windows are hanging on by a thread, water pours through the roof and dont sit in the draught it will cut your legs off. Guess what the reply was ....it had to be demonstrated that the facility was going to be of use to ethnic minority groups, those with learning difficulties and the disabled.....oh well ... so we cant have any money then? Just push the new bucket over to catch some of the drips......

Last one out remember to turn out the light.......

Who had the soap box last? ...Chuck it over please the shepherdess is in need of a rant! Oh well while you are all searching for the missing box I'll just hitch my best black skirt up over my knees and get on the dining room table ! Right .....just cop a load of this then........

Last week it was announced that in Shropshire 22 rural primary schools were to close. In fact any school with less than 4 classes or 92 pupils had been holding its breath since Christmas. The names of the 22 schools were published and mayhem was let loose. Campaigns, demonstrations, letters, meetings, petitions. There was only one topic of converstaion around the villages. Unbelievable! Remember that not one town school was included in the 22 that faced the axe due to fall in July 2008.

Reasons put foward included ....lack of funding for rural schools, falling numbers, empty places, the movement towards living in the towns, the unsustainability of the rural communities.....

On Wednesday a special meeting was convened at the Shirehall for a representative from each school to put their case forward against closure ...there were however 'rules' to this THREE MINUTE slot ...SATS results nor OFSTED reports could be put forward to support any argument....so just tell me what is the point of them if they cant be used to support the position of a school?

Wednesday dawned and by 8:30am the protesters began arriving......coach loads of them, tractors, vans, banners, emblazoned tee shirts, school uniforms, five year olds carrying banners enjoying the fun but perhaps not quite understanding the seriousness of it. Chanting, singing and clapping ebbed and flowed in the bright sunshine. At 10;45 a local MP announced there had been a U turn in the decision and the suggested policy had been scrapped......the roar was deafening! But they would not leave that easily ...they sang and they sang..the last I heard they were singing Cum By Ya Lord........Cum By Ya.......

So what is going on here? Was it that old fashioned bit of business pschology ...let a rumour out that 250 people are to be made redundant and when the hue and cry is at its worst ...oops sorry its only 25 ...who put the nought on ...? It seems now that 16 schools will have to be amalgamated to save costs ...was this just the original plan?

But if that isn't enough... we are still fighting to keep our Post Offices, Policemen, ambulance service , fire stations, Community hospitals, shops and pubs.... every day sees somebody starting another fight for something in the country. The planning legislation is impossible to understand, recycling is driving everybody mad, the roads are dissolving before our very eyes, bus routes disappear every week, agriculture as an industy is basically on its a*se......shall I go on......?

One of the reasons that the villages are simply not allowed to have planning permission for any new development is that they are 'not sustainable'...well they wont be will they once the heart has been removed from them.....?

What on earth is going on?

Will the last one out turn the light out and lock the door................................?

Now give me a hand to get off this table.......I don't like heights!

Household hints!!!

Well thank you Crystal .....have a cyber slap ...I try to keep out of the way of mundane tasks that involve half witted machines, things that are fluffy to collect dust and other unmentionables ....I am not a housework fan at all and really appreciated all those years a lady called Beryl fitted me into her schedule every Tuesday morning...the sad fact was I always had to tidy up prior to her arrival. Just the comment 'its Beryl's day tomorrow' would be enough to send three boys running to their rooms to tidy them up as well.....Beryl would skin them alive if they left anything on the floor ...AND leave any culprit a note of disapproval....EVEN ME and I was paying her!! The downside was that we could only have ornaments, photographs and bits and bobs where Beryl liked them...at first , Tuesday evenings would find me putting everything back in the place I had chosen......only for Beryl to reposition everything the following Tuesday! Guess who gave in first......yes it was me! It took about two years though! When she eventually retired I was distraught...and have been ever since...and three boys still remember the panic of early Tuesday mornings because it was 'Beryl's day'

Anyway this tagging thingy is about useful household hints and management I think ....found a lot of interesting blogs reading back through the links....but here's mine

1 Lemons ...not just for the G and T or a drizzle cake just get a few more in ......brilliant for cleaning white baths and sinks and the smell lasts for ages...so much nicer than the stuff out of a bottle.

2 Lemons again.....whiffy fridge .....clean it out and leave a lemon cut in half in there for a day or so ....

3 And again ..lemons...put a lemon cut in half in the dishwasher now and again ......lovely shine and smell on the crocks.

4 White vinegar ...showerheads, taps , bathroom chrome, mirrors and windows...see that shine!

5. When cooking cauliflower ...avoid that after smell by putting a good thick crust of bread on top of it during cooking .....the birds, chickens, ducks, dogs love the bread ....and I love not having the smell!

There you go five things I have learnt ...goodness knows where from!

So thank you Crystal for that little chore which I now pass on to Bradan....c'mon dear you know what you have got to do...back to that blog site, ....Bodran ...I dread to think what we will end up with but it will be good for a laugh, Grouse for some common sense answers and Irish eyes because I bet you have some old Irish tips up your sleeve....dont blame me... blame Crystal!!!

I suppose its an alternative birthday....

Twelve months ago this evening I was on a hospital trolley somewhat bemused at what had happened to me in the preceding 24 hours! I was in an ante room waiting to be sent off into a drug enhanced stupor while a very nice consultant set my arm and put my elbow back so it faced the right way!

The evening before I had decided to fall flat on my face in a pot hole after visiting my middle son who had just had his appendix out....so the hospital ended up with a 'buy one-get one free' offer of two members of our household at the same time ....I even turned up on the same ward at first ...until getting transferred to gynae .......for an arm operation???? Dont ask!

I arrived in Casualty in agony with the help of two off duty nurses who found me floundering in the road like a beached whale...have you ever tried to resume vertical when horizontal by only using one hand/arm...while the other is white hot agony and just hanging about as if it belonged to somebody else?

It was to be the begining of a long and convoluted recovery that involved splints, plasters, more splints, two more weeks in hospital, X Rays, physiotherapy... lambing in a fashion and of course computers!

At one stage the consultant looked at my mishapen extremity and shook his head like the car salesman when he looks at the vehicle you are trying to trade in ...you know the look! It was not good ...my hand was at the wrong angle to my arm which was not in line with my shoulder...Oh great!

I decided to try a bit of my own physio.....I had got to be able to type to get back to work......persuaded himself to buy a laptop to get internet access to enable me to do the grot shop from Tesco...signed into CL and well ...you know the rest..........
Now 12 months on ...I have been back at work for seven months...my typing is faster than it was prior to the accident .....I wonder why???

They ...whoever 'they' are ...say everything happens for the best......well I've still got a weird looking arm ...but hell I've had some fun...met new people...been new places....so I suppose 'they' are right ...again!

Sunrise over Shifnal

Monday morning dawned early as I fell out of my nice warm quilt to hit the road running in pouring rain....its dark and cold and do I really want to spend two days in Birmingham ?...err do I want to stick pins in my eyes ? ...no not really but I have no option so lets get on with it....needlessly worrying if youngest son actually does walk down the mile and a half to catch the bus to college?..did he remember to feed the chickens and Mr Phillpott III? Cant ask him ...in rush have left phone behind...Oh great!

Once on the train I bury myself in a Katie Fforde novel but pop up and down to people watch....nearly everybody is wired for sound with muticoloured ear pieces and wires disappearing into dark coats and voluminous jackets. People of every race creed and colour sit side by side, face to face...but few actually converse...in fact I counted ...forty people sitting in a carriage and only two were having a conversation! OK I know its early in the morning but it appears the art of conversation has died and has had its funeral! Oh well back to my book ...I have chosen to re-read it in an effort to dilute the last book from the bedside table which gave me nightmares and indigestion! I dont think hollyhocks and floral dresses will have any such effect! Well I rather hope not!

The sun rises over the horizon as the train reaches Shifnal, a glowing orb bringing warmth to a grey day ..a few streaks of blue, pink and gold rush out into the grey clouds. There is a frosty sheen over the airfield at Cosford where the so, so very tiny red air ambulance stands waiting for a call. Through Wolverhampton and past the metal horses on the platforms...have always wondered at the story behind these strange cold beings. The British Oxygen Company looks like a giant lego collection all laid out neatly in rows of coloured pieces with a hint of mist hovering above them.

The canal is smooth, a ribbon of metallic silver appearing and disappearing as if by magic as we travel into the industrial Midlands. New factories of grey and stainless steel have risen up where there were once old smoke covered brick buildings housing furnaces, boilers, smoke and fumes. The landscape has changed in the years I have been doing this sporadic trip, great heaps of earth and bricks mark old landmarks, empty window frames skeletal against the early sky the large M and B of the brewery stand alone ....the walls have gone and I dont expect I shall see them again...the end of an era.

Birmingham feels cleaner somehow than it used to ...but grey. Somebody has made a concious decision to leave the leafless trees along Corporation Street dressed in their figure hugging dresses of silver stars from Christmas ...a bright eyecatching feature for a grey January day. Everybody seems dressed uniformly in black or dark clothing ...everybody is rushing...anonymously to hidden destinations, as indeed I was................

The end is nigh!

BODRAN ...click on the picture to enlarge it ...The Devil's Chair ...just for you!

Dont panic! Just Twelfth Night...IT is over for another year so lets get all those decorations shoved back in the boxes, the cards taken down and re listed then recycled.

The last 11 days have not been without their traumatic moments...but lets finish it in style!

Remember the day Bodran tore down the Welsh Border on her aquamarine scooter last October? That was the day I had a new exhaust fitted on the car! Only a matter of weeks later it sounded like I was partaking in the round Britain rally so I went back and they promised me faithfully it was sorted that time! They lied!

This morning it practically fell off!

Back at Kwik Fit they say freely admit they have made a mess of it and will have to get a specialist Subaru engineer in to sort it! What do they say about a Kwik Fit Fitter? Its not that I am bitter or anything.........

There was an advert kicking about for ages 'Tyre Prices are Down at Kwik Fit' which to me always sounded like 'typewriters are down at Kwik Fit'....I remember muttering one evening ..'.why do Kwik Fit sell typewriters?' ....needless to say I have never been allowed to forget it! But then that pales against Jamie's insistence that 'Little Chef' cafes were indeed 'Little Sheds!'

So should anybody along the Welsh Border wonder what that awful racket is speeding by ...its me...sorry and all that ...but it does sound rather ......Vvvvrrrrrrrrrooooooooooom!

So I'm out from under the duvet for another twelve months and next Christmas I really would appreciate intravenous extra strength sedative from December 1st - January 6th ...I suppose it would save on the food bill as well!

Better get on I suppose...you know what its like..places to go ..people to see ....now just how much noise can I make on a Sunday in Shropshire I wonder?