Saturday Satire : Heaven is Two Ladies

A Conversation in Heaven.

SYLVIA- "Hi Wanda."

WANDA- "Hi Sylvia. How did you die?"

SYLVIA- "I froze to death."

WANDA- "How horrible."

SYLVIA- "It wasn't so bad. After I quit shaking from the cold, I began to get warm and sleepy, and finally died a peaceful death. How about you?"

WANDA- "I died of a massive heart-attack. I suspected that my husband was cheating on me, so I came home early to catch him in the act. 

But, instead I found him all by himself in his den, watching TV."

SYLVIA- "What happened?"

WANDA- "I was so sure there was another woman there somewhere, so I started running all over the house looking. I ran up the attic and searched, and down the basement. Then I went through every closet and checked under the beds. I kept this up until I had looked everywhere, and finally I became so exhausted that I just keeled over and died."

SYLVIA- "Pity you didn't look in the freezer--- we'd both be still alive."

Birthday Bouquet

I found these when I got home

Lovely aren't they... and more cards since this pic... I am a lucky person to have such good friends xx

Penzance

This morning was misty, and cool, as I headed down to Penzance for my normal teaching session at the College. It is one of the perks of my job to travel around the County of Cornwall to see students or to run sessions, and although it is less than it used to be in some ways you really appreciate it more.

I had some very good news on Wednesday, it doesn't start until Sunday but at long last the College have made my role permanent so no more worrying about the end of June and the contract needing to be renewed, now all I have to do is to persuade them that a few more hours a week would make all the difference. But it made for a nice present in time for my birthday - sigh another 21st birthday... that would make ... well let's not go into just how many years experience I have of being 21 :-)

I love this cake, doesn't he look charmingly angry lol although I have just an ordinary sponge cake, not iced and won't have any candles in... there would just not be enough cake to support all those candles :-)

I also had a card from both my nephew and my aunt, my nephew JP has moved to Yorkshire and we managed to lose contact with each other until January this year.. facebook can be quite useful at times.

This afternoon, when I get home I will get an enthusiastic greeting from the Pondboys and we will enjoy a long walk and a game of ball if it not too hot before settling down to a good film this evening and a glass of wine.

Busy in the Sunshine

Not for me lazing around in this glorious sunshine, no... busy like a bee..

Had a check up at the Docs, blood pressure fine, Asthma Fine, Mind lost but they are busy looking for it lol. Back into Redruth town where I filled my prescription and brought a spade and fork for the garden as well as some woodstain for the windows at Tre Agan.

Then off to Asda where I brought my alter ego a birthday present of Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows Part 2... not going to wrap it up but I hope she enjoys watching it tomorrow.

Did my monthly top-up with Fuel, which should see me through the next month, if I drive carefully and fuel conscious enough... have to with prices the way they are never mind the fuel strike..

After a stop for a cold drink, I sanded down the windows with my little sanding tool, I have the urge now to sand anything and everything... I will get over it :-) and then opened the woodstain and got cracking with the sun blazing down on my back. I have completed one coat of the main doubled window from the dining room, I have the kitchen windows to do tomorrow and then the front door and living room windows over the weekend.. my problem is I have to do the upstairs ones and I am scared of ladders.. well not really scared of ladders so much as falling off them... any suggestions?

With Fuel Prices Going up...

I am having to have a rethink on transport... what do you think of this?

Memories of Balmoral

Sage had just arrived at Balmoral, September 1977.

Shown to a room, with a metal bedstead above the old garages, now dining hall for staff it was small but compact and had everything you needed, sink, bed, light, wardrobe even a desk with writing paper... reminder to sent letter to parents to tell them I had arrived as phone's were as yet not commonplace :-)

Started work that evening, introduced to everyone in the kitchen, which was very compact and my duties explained.. I would be on duty until 9pm when everything shut down until morning... that first year we did split shift, 7.30-13.00 16.00-21.00, followed by day shift 7.30-16.00  on the days including weekends with holiday leave being accrued and given when back in London..

It sounds bad, but reality was that day shift would end at 2pm unless you hadn't finished your jobs or were required to stay on and the split shift would end no later than 8pm as well.. entertainments were on every evening, whether it was quiz night in the bar, a ceiledh, disco, film night or other and drinks were cheap... I remember paying 35p for a pint of lager and lime... well I didn't really know what to drink in those days although very soon my Dad instilled in me a love of whisky.

One afternoon, my first week, I was on a day shift and had finished by 2pm and wanted to go for a walk on the hills - I was a country bred girl and being inside just didn't always suit me - despite the soft rain, I pulled on my dufflecoat, hood up and headed up the trails surrounding the Castle. There was one path that staff were not allowed to take, only when taking the ponies back to their paddock (but that's another tale for another day), and this roadway led directly to the Castle.

My walk took me up above the Castle, and I just wish I had the photo's to display but as ever then a lack of funds meant my old camera just about functioned and it wasn't high on my list to take pictures of scenery so shallow was I when I was young. As I headed back down to the river, I was going to cross this roadway (which was permitted) and I noticed a woman walking along towards me from the Castle.. I had my hands in my pockets to save them from being cold and wet, and I remember thinking, 'She'll be in trouble for using that road' when our paths inevitably were going to cross.

As we met, she lifted her umbrella and said Good Afternoon, me, I mumbled something completed incoherrant as I realised that the woman was actually HM the Queen and now would think that her newest member of staff was no more than an babbling idiot... however, I didn't have a second chance to say Good Afternoon before she swept on her way with a smile on her face... slowly I turned down the track towards the river thinking that my new employment would probably end shortly ....

I got back to my room, changed into dry things and cringed at how tongue-tied I was when facing strangers... something I haven't lost even after all these years... but I have learned to pretend.

It wasn't my only meeting with the Queen, but the others were either more formal or at staff events...

Part 3 will come soon... the Ghillie's Ball

History, Boring or Not?

There is an hotel/pub in Marble Arch, London, which used to have a gallows adjacent to it. Prisoners were taken to the gallows (after a fair trial, of course) to be hung.
The horse drawn dray, carting the prisoner, was accompanied by an armed guard, who would stop the dray outside the pub and ask the prisoner if he would like "one last drink."
If he said yes it was referred as "one for the road."
If he declined, that prisoner was "on the wagon."


They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to pee in a pot and then, once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery.
If you had to do this to survive you were "piss poor", but worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot, they "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.


The next time you are washing your hands and complain that the water is not as warm as you are used to, think about how it was years ago.
Here are some facts about the 1500s.

Most people got married in June, because they took their annual bath in May and they still smelled pretty good in June. However, since they were starting to smell a bit, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the smell of body odour.
Hence the custom today for the bride to carry a bouquet of flowers.


Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.
The man of the house had the privelege of the nice clean water, then all the sons and other men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying "don't throw the baby out with the bath water."


Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to keep warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice and bugs) lived in the roof.
When it rained the straw became slippery and sometimes the animals would fall off the roof. Hence the saying "its raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop thing falling into the house. This proved a big problem in the bedroom, where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with four posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. Thats how canopy beds came into existence.


The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy usually had slate floors that would get wet and slippery, especially in winter. So they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help and stop them slipping.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh, until, when you opened the door it started to slide outside. A piece of wood was fixed in the entrance way. Hence a "thresh hold."



In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle, that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to cool down overnight, and then start again next day. Sometimes the stew had ingredients from many days before. Hence the rhyme; "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old."


Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.
It was a sign of wealth if a man could "bring home the bacon."
They would cut off a piece and share it with guests and would all sit around talking and "chew the fat."



Those with money would have plates made from pewter. Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach into the food causing lead poisoning and even death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next few hundred years tomatoes were considered poisonous.


Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, guests got the top. Hence the "upper crust."


Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.
They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather round and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of "holding a wake."


England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and take the bones to a bone house and reuse the graves. When re-opening the coffins, one out of twenty five of the coffins would have scratch marks on the inside and the people realised that many people had been buried alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, thread it through the coffin and up to the surface and tie it to a bell. Thus someone could be "saved by the bell" or considered a "dead ringer."

Apparently that is the truth.

Saturday Satire : Swishing

A woman goes to the Doctor, with bruises on her face.

The Doctor asks: "What happened?"

The woman says: "Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my husband comes home drunk, he slaps me around."

The Doctor says: "I have an excellent good cure for that. When your husband comes home drunk, just take a glass of water and start swishing it in your mouth. Just swish and swish but don't swallow it until he goes to bed and is asleep."

Two weeks later the woman comes back to the doctor looking fresh and reborn.

The woman says: "Doctor that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband came home drunk, I swished with water. I swished and swished, and he didn't touch me!

How does the water do that?"

The Doctor says: "The water does sod all…it's keeping your mouth shut that does the trick...."

Want a Job?

Apparently the HM the Queen is advertising for a trainee Butler to work at Buckingham Palace, with a chance to work also at Windosor, Holyrood, Balmoral and Sandringham.

What you may not know, and I can't remember if I have said, is that I used to work at Buckingham Palace ... way back in my history I was but a mere youngster at 19 and very wet behind the ears.. I saw an advert for a kitchen assistant and wrote off a letter thinking nothing more of it. Mum and I went off for a weekend to Paris, and on my return I was greeted with a thick white envelope inviting me for an interview.

I travelled up to London with Mum, as much for the day out, thinking that we would have an opportunity to do some sightseeing, but I was so long in the interview that we ended up going straight home; that was the Friday morning and on Monday they telephoned and said I had the job and could I start straight away... my boots were quaking, but I gamely accepted and started the following week although most of the Monday was taken with security things like passes and being shown around which as I had to travel to Scotland (Balmoral) the following day was all but forgotten for 8 weeks until my return.

My job was officially labelled Kitchen Assistant, but really just think Ruby in Upstairs, Downstairs.. I was at the beck and call of the chefs, but did have a chance to learn from some of the best although not all of it has stuck.. I was definitely at home in the pastry section and when I could I always wangled that part of the job.

I was there for three years, very memorable years, and the only place I didn't work at was Sandringham because it was too small to accommodate all the staff and we were considered surplus to requirements which meant I could always guarantee having New Year off.

To be continued.....

Cured

Some bright orange fencing, courtesy of the constructors abandoning on site and Jaspers garden exit is blocked.. he is so disappointed tho lol.

Aesthetically it is not pleasing, but I feel more confident letting Jasper wander in and out of the house now and that has got to be better for him too.

Hopefully we are going to the beach this afternoon, but I have tons of academic work to do and a will to do it so while that is strong.. I will leave you get on with your day and hope you have a good one.

Cooking on Gas

Yesterday was a good day, a batch of granary bread for sandwiches this week. Last week's loaf was turned into breadcrumbs, wasting nothing as this can now be used as a topping for sweet or savoury dishes like tomorrow's courgette and tomato bake with sage and garlic which I will let you know how it tastes.

When you cook for yourself, it is surprising how vegetarian I become, as it is easier to cook without meat than to buy too much for one person and waste it.. excluding the dogs from the leftovers lol.. though I do like a whole chicken as the carcass can be used to make the most delicious stock or soup.

In addition to that, I made two marble cakes, one of which is now in the freezer. This was partly to use up some old eggs but I enjoy eating cake made at home rather than shop brought and it is generally much cheaper even when you add in the time and the gas used.

While these were cooking, I put together a lasagne, half of which I had for tea last night with some garlic bread and the other half I will have before college tonight.. filled with a selection of veggies, onions, garlic and tomatoes it was lovely but would have benefited from longer cooking and would have done if Jasper hadn't bolted over the wall once more in the afternoon...

This time he was caught and with stern words ringing in his here 'get back here.. NOW' and he lept over next doors fence and back round the front.  Where I thought he was leaping over, was not in fact where he was getting over, but was helped instead by the hedge stepping and he is a very athletic dog.. who now has to go out into the garden on a long line until new arrangements are made for the bottom hedge to be increased with visible deterrents for the miscreant.. he knows he has done wrong, and later in the afternoon he was treated to a lengthy game of ball until he cried mercy which meant that the entire evening he slept away as he was too tired to leave his bed..

St Patrick's Day

A special day for me, not because it is St Patrick's Day, nor because Wales could potentially win the Grand Slam but no today would have been my Dad's 81st birthday. It was always a tradition in our house that Zeltus (born 28th Feb) and Sage (born 30th Mar) would have a joint birthday party somewhere in the middle that always seemed to fall on Dad's birthday - now my Mum was damned clever, it took us years to work that one out lol.


Dad sadly died in 2002, so he won't be here to celebrate with me, instead this evening I will get the Jameson's reserve out and toast his memory. I brought him the bottle when we visited the distillery in 2000, and only after he died when I was sorting stuff out did I find it unopened and cried because he had never drunk it. Since then, christmas, birthdays, fathers day... all these occasions are when I get the bottle out.


This picture was taken in Ireland on our holiday, out on the dingle peninsula and a very windy day but we loved it and had planned to go back and visit more of it. Something I hope to do in the future and perhaps go back to the distillery for another bottle of the reserve.


May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Saturday Satire : The Insemination Man

Maggie, a blonde city girl, marries a New Zealand dairy farmer.

One morning, on his way out to check on the cows, farmer John says to Maggie, "The insemination man is coming over to impregnate one of our cows today. I drove a nail into the 2 by 4 just above the cow's stall in the barn. You show him where the cow is when he gets here, OK?"

So then the farmer leaves for the fields.

After a while, the artificial insemination man arrives and knocks on the front door.
 
Maggie takes him down to the barn. They walk along the row of cows and when she sees the nail, she tells him, "This is the one... right here."

Terribly impressed by what he seemed to think just might be another ditzy blonde, the man asks, "Tell me lady, how did you know this is the cow to be bred?"

"That's simple. By the nail over its stall", Maggie explains very confidently.
 
Then the man asks, "What' s the nail for?"

She turns and walks away, and with complete confidence, says, "I guess it's to hang your trousers on."

A Grand Slam?

I am hoping, possibly jinxing, that Wales beat France this weekend and achieve the Grand Slam..

I have followed rugby for many years, I enjoy going to games as much if not more than seeing them on the TV.. it is different from football as the fans enjoy a good game no matter who they are supporting and are friendly as well.

So this weekend, the wet weather will not deter me, I will be wearing my rugby shirt proudly and cheering Wales on to bring home the victory.

Pond Boys do Portreath

Two very kind friends, SA and J, invited the Pondboys down to Portreath yesterday afternoon for a walk and a chat. We met up at the Waterfront Inn, and together with Hamish and Fred we walked up the miners trail to Feadon Farm where we saw a couple of reindeer but they were too far away to get a picture on my phone and holding the Pondboys still would have been impossible.

We also saw a new development going up, part of a holiday home park, which was lovely and the views would be superb... only a few log cabins going up there and space between them which was nice. We were given a brochure by the salesman, and if only I had the money lol.

A slow walk down, back into Portreath and a run on the beach where the Pondboys did what they do best, having spotted water they were delighted to make use of it, rockpools, surf and even Murphy athletically clambering up one of the rocks in the bay... SA and J both took photos and I wish I had taken my camera as they were so funny, Hamish and Fred were much more reticent about the water, but still enjoyed themselves on the beach.

A lovely day, and when we had to leave the boys were quite disappointed to lose their playmates but after drying them off and having tea all I could hear was snoring during the course of the evening because they were both tired out after their running around..

Hopefully, we will get another opportunity to walk the dogs together, before the beach is closed off to them during the day but there will always be the evenings to enjoy the delights of Portreath.

Horror

Monday was a hard day, back at work - not too bad and even satisfying to be back to normal again.

Monday night, is college, so have to finish work early enough to walk and feed the dogs and that is where this story starts...

I feed the dogs at 4pm, let them out into the garden for 10 mins back door is open. I am putting a batch of bread into the machine and I notice Murphy looking up at the back hedge by the tree - lowest point in the garden.. go out into the garden, no sign of Jasper... call him, no answer... Murphy is still looking up at the hedge and my heart sank as I realised that Jasper who for 12 months had not done anything like that had now legged it into the great blue yonder...

I had to be at College by 5pm but that was not an option unless Jasper reappeared.

I grabbed a spare lead, walked around to the back lane, accessed via  main road.. my heart racing as I thought of all the potential hazards.. when I got there the lane was empty, I checked all the gardens at his leaping height and headed back home with a heavy heart.

Next step, ringing the dog warden to report him lost, no collar (note to self, Jasper will have to wear one in future with my number on it), and asked the neighbours to look out for him.. I was on the phone, in an endless queue listening to a voice saying someone will answer shortly, when I saw him reappear outside the front. A more frightened looking dog you have never seen. Hackles up, head down.. panting furiously.. bless him a big hug and a biscuit.. no point in shouting at him.

I did make college that night, but when I got home, Jasper was and has been since quiet and fairly subdued and even nervous in the garden. I can only surmise that a cat was on the hedge and he lept up after it only to find the drop the other side meant getting back was impossible.. however he would have had to make his way home along one of three fairly busy roads which makes me glad for his safe return..

A Saturday at Tre Agan

I knew I should have taken photos before and after... yet another fail...

Yesterday was the perfect day, up, walk the dogs, strip the beds and hoover the house... yep all of the house.. so glad it isn't such a big house lol. Put the washing on, head out to the garage and get the hover mower out... find the extension cable - can't find the safety plug nb note to self be extra careful ...

Plug it in, eventually, press the start button... nothing. hmmmm try holding in the handle and press the button.. hey presto.. and the front garden was done in no time at all. Mind you it was defnitely the shorter of the two pieces of grass.

The out the back, pick up the doggy doos.... start mowing the lawn... is it really only 11 degrees C, I am sweltering and the sweat sorry perspiration is running down my neck... this grass is much longer, in places 7-8 inches and slightly damp, so it is much harder going. I have to stop regularly and degunge the wet grass from under the machine, not to mention unload the grass cuttings into bags ready for the dustbin men.

Finally an hour and a half later, the job is done.. there are lots of cuttings still on the lawn, but I am hoping that they will rake up when it dries out a bit now the first cut has been done, or a later cut in the week will pick them up.. will have to wait and see.

The washing dried, almost, just a few bits left on radiators, and while watching the Welsh play rugby against the Italians I cracked on with the ironing... before taking the Pond boys out for their second walk of the day, heading up to the field with the balls to give them a good run.

Afterwards, a cup of tea for me, dinner for them and a nice long hot relaxing bath before tea of warm boiled egg salad with baby leaves...

A good day, a productive day and no doubt I am going to feel some muscles tomorrow.

Saturday Satire : The Arab and the Scotsman

An Arab Sheik was admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital for heart surgery but, prior to the surgery, the doctors needed to store his blood in case the need arose. As the gentleman had a rare type of blood, it couldn't be found locally, so the call went out to all parts of the kingdom.
 

Finally a Scot was located who had a similar blood type. The Scot willingly donated his blood for the Arab.
After the surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman as appreciation for giving his blood, a new BMW, diamonds & US dollars.
 

A couple of days later, once again, the Arab had to go through a corrective surgery. His doctor telephoned the Scotsman who was more than happy to donate his blood again.
 

After the second surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman a thank-you card & a jar of candies.
 

The Scotsman was shocked that the Arab this time did not reciprocate his kind gesture as he had anticipated.
He phoned the Arab & asked him: "I thought you would be generous again, that you would give me a BMW, diamonds & money... But you only gave me a thank-you card & a jar of candies".







To this the Arab replied: "Aye, but I now have Scottish blood in my veins".__

DIY Question

Since I moved in, which was almost two years ago now - May 2010, I haven't put anything up on the walls other than curtain rails which the ex and his Dad helped to do.

The reason why is that this is a timber framed house? whatever that means. All I know is that I am not supposed to just bang nails in, though have no idea why.

I want to put pictures up on the wall, to make it seem like a home, not just a house.

Can anyone please give me some advice please on doing this, they are not heavy pictures, though I do have a 3 x 4 foot mirrror that I want mounted in the stairwell to bounce the light around even more.

I love living here, and have plans to sand down the windows and repaint the insides white (they are currently dark brown and show all the dust).. so I have my work cut out for me as it will take a while to get around all of the rooms but I plan to start with the kitchen as that is my home from home.

The EU - A Comparison

Pythagoras' theorem - 24 words.
Lord's Prayer - 66 words.
Archimedes' Principle - 67 words.
10 Commandments - 179 words.
Gettysburg address - 286 words.
US Declaration of Independence - 1,300 words.
US Constitution with all 27 Amendments - 7,818 words.
EU regulations on the sale of cabbage - 26,911 words

St Piran's Day

Officially today is St Piran's Day, not being truly Cornish (as in not being born here or descended from Cornish stock) means that I could choose to ignore it.. but I chose to live in Cornwall, and if you can't adopt a county and its ways and not see yourself as Cornish then I don't know what would make one.

So I am declaring myself Cornish (other than on St David's Day and when Wales are playing Rugby) and therefore will be celebrating St Piran's Day today.

Saturday was Redruth's day of celebrating, which ended up with a good game of rugby and a parade en-route. The picture on the right shows the Cornish Tartan (and I wore my Cornish tartan scarf along with my rugby top for Redruth) and I was toasty warm until half way through the match when I got colder and colder.

The 32nd Regiment of Foot paraded along with a Rifleman from Sharpe's regiment 95th Rifles and not only paraded but gave a demonstration and I was lucky enough with this picture which shows the discharge. They were using Brown Bess muskets and the bangs were very loud in the stand.

♥ Lowen dydh sen Pyran ♥

Sunday Quote

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own.

No apologies or excuses.

No one to lean on, rely on, or blame.

The gift is yours.

It is an amazing journey and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.

This is the day your life really begins.”

-Bob Moawad

Saturday Satire : The Yorkshire Loan

A Leeds man walks into a High Street bank & asks for a loan.

He tells the bank officer he is going to Australia on business for two weeks & needs to borrow £5,000.

The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the Yorkshire lad hands over the keys and documents of new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. He produces the Log Book & everything checks out. 

The loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.

The bank manager then instructs an employee of the bank to drive the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage, where he parks it.The bank manager & its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the rough-looking Yorkshireman for using a £120,000 Ferrari as collateral against a £5000 loan.

Two weeks later, the man returns, repays the £5,000 & the interest of £15.41.
The bank officer says to the Yorkshireman,
 
"Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, & this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled... While you were away, we checked you out further & found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow "£5,000"?

The Yorkshireman replies: "Where else in Leeds can I park my car for two weeks for only £15.41 & expect it to be there when I return” 

Ah, the mind of a true Yorkshireman...
 
This is why they survive

The Plan

I have a plan, well sleepless nights does that to you... and I have to give my mind something to do whle the body rests..

I need to get the garden sorted this year, I have some shrubs to put in, and borders need to be properly dug. It needs a make over.

I want to get out on the bike, sadly some plans for a rally will not happen, but others are in the pipeline.

I am going to have some days out on the beach, book, dogs, picnic etc... the dunes at Gwithian are there for the asking and don't contraven the dog rules.

I want to find some crafting friends, to have an evening of wine, talk and crafts.. doesn't have to be all the same craft but just a sharing.... but first I am going to have some fun visiting various groups to see what else is on offer.

I want to decorate the bedroom, I have the liners for the new curtains which are white and purple and want to make sure that the room looks nice... but first I want to sand off the inner paint from the windows (which is dark brown) and repaint it white.. a neighbour has done it and it looks so much better.

Does this sound like the start of a plan?

St David's Day

Saint David, or Dewi Sant, as he is known in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. During his life, he was the archbishop of Wales, and he was one of many early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of western Britain. 

It is claimed that Dewi lived for over 100 years, and it is generally accepted that he died in 589. His last words to his followers were in a sermon on the previous Sunday. Rhigyfarch transcribes these as 'Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.' 'Do the little things' ('Gwnewch y pethau bychain') is today a very well-known phrase in Welsh, and has proved an inspiration to many.