Claret’s blog

Snow in Radnage

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:07:20 +0000

Hardly any here to speak of - another flutter last night but only about an inch fell in the end. Our road never gets gritted though, so the hill and paths have been treacherous since the weekend.

Phil has had a massive snowfall in Radnage though and the lane past their cottage is impassable, after they spent yesterday helping cars to get out of the snow.

Here are some lovely photos that he sent...

View across the lane from his studio window:

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Across their driveway:

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Back garden and across the valley at the back

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It's lovely and sunny here today, so I'm hoping that some of it will melt in time for Christmas.

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Snow!

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:47:17 +0000

None last night, just -3deg and very cold indeed, none when I woke up this morning either but it started at about 7.15am when I was walking the dog with our friends, and it still snowing now, will take photos later.

Phil has had loads overnight in Radnage and sent me this photo just now from his studio window

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It looked like this earlier in the year...

I'll get some pics of Banbury later

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Snow!

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:27:51 +0000

Not here, but Phil's had some in Radnage

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Still none here after yesterday's little flurry, just sleet and dark skies. It seems to be stuck dahn sarf and not coming up this way.

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Winter's here!

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:13:48 +0000

And Father Christmas has been spotted in Banbury!

Every year the local Round Table and farmers get together to take santa around Banbury, collecting for local charities, they drive down every road, with carols playing and FC waving from his sleigh. I remember when Rosie ws a baby, waking her up and taking her down all wrapped up to wave at him and donate a few quid. This year I saw them when I took Ruby down to the park for a walk... a brand new, shiny red Massey blocking the street, it has outwalkers as some of the roads are narrow like ours and fitting it between the parked cars is quite a feat. I rang Rosie and told her to get a photo on my camera. Unfortunately it wasn't in focus, but it gives an idea of the atmosphere.

Father Christmas

Always makes me feel all Christmassy.

Two of the hens have been late moulters and were running around naked a week or so back, They're feathering up nicely now, but Sadie was like a grumpy porcupine when I took this photo. Roxanne moved too fast for me to get a shot of.

Sadie is moulting

Sadie's quills

Spikey Sadie

We've had an egg since then.. I wasn't expecting any of them to start laying just yet, they don't normally start until the end of January, but I have been feeding them all manner of lovely goodies to get them back in condition before the really cold weather starts. Betty has produced a 2nd egg today so she's on a roll!

Cooker trials though; my old gas cooker (about 20 years old) has been propped up and repaired over the years - the parts are no longer available, and it's getting very slow, so I saved up to upgrade. Got the cooker at the weekend, Charlie came to install it in on Monday, but found that the leccy supply wasn't up to grade and that I need a new 6mm cable from the fuse box to the kitchen. Thing is that the sparky can't do it until next Monday, so I shan't have much time to get used to the new cooker before Christmas.
I knew that the ground floor needed a new ring main, just was hoping to do that later, not right now *sighs* Can't wait to get cooking on a properly working cooker, instead of having it adorning my dining room like a big sideboard!

Phil and I were out on Saturday night, posh frock occasion - my company bash. Rosie took these photos before we went out. Excuse the lack of focus, underlay and dog chews.... and NO! I am not pregnant, just the way I am standing in the frock *rolls eyes*

Us two 2

Us two

Break through with the cats, I found them lying on my stripped bed the other day; they were almost touching...

Biscuit and Georgie

Another winter thing, I have been trying to flog this jacket.... I got it from a friend who used to design for Nurseys, but have hardly worn it over the years, just not my style. No luck on ebay either, so I guess it's back in the wardrobe then. Might get Phil to try it on the bay again.

Jacket

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Fast as the wind

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:32:00 +0000

I was discussing the other day, the need these pointy dog have to run REALLY, REALLY fast. It's true, the sheer joy they seem to get from it, and the big grin on their faces.

Even more so with Salukis...

To me Salukis are the wind - you can't really stop the spirit of thousands of years

Here's Ruby, still for just one moment after running flat-out like mad.

Clean lurcher

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Some great music

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:15:50 +0000

Thanks to Si for the first two links - I am just blown away at this young lad's talent.

On a YouTube groove, I am really into this young lady's music at the moment...

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Fancy fowl and firm friends

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:59:17 +0000

It's been ages since I blogged, but we've been busy both at home and at work. Phil had a stinking cold when he visited last weekend and was suffering, poor thing; I am fighting it off and have had a scratchy throat and a bit of earache.

Last Saturday we went to The National... THE Poultry Club Show in the country at Stoneleigh. Met up with some good friends, did some snooping around the stalls and some fantasy shopping for next year's additions.

I took so many photos of chooks, that I forgot to take any of friends *blushes*, but we met up in the entrance hall and commandeered a few tables in the cafe so we could sit and gas before going to view the chooks. It was very crowded and hard to take photos into the pens, which were so small that if you stuck the camera lens in through the mesh, you'd only get patrrt of the bird!

Black male game

Bronze_gold sebright trio

Buff orp banties

This one reminds me of J's bird, Scrabble:

Just like scrabble

Modern game hen

Just look at this handsome man!

Serama I think

Silver sebright trio

Welsummer banties

I can't imagine this lot staying white for very long with all the rain and mud we've had lately!

White orp banties

Some really beautiful hens, and I have my wish list so far... definitely one marans hen (for the lovely dark brown eggs), an australorps hen because of the beautiful glossy black plumage. Possibly a sebright trio - the cocks are the quietest I have ever heard and I'm hopeful that I can get away with one. The only worry is that they are so small and fragile... after the Dutch and Japanese girls, I had decided to get more robust birds.

A bit of a fracas in the park this morning; dog walkign with the usual crowd, when we were joined by a man with his small staffie bitch - I've only seen him once or twice before, but both owner and dog seem nice. I was off supervising Ruby while she did what dogs do on walks, when I heard some growling behind me and just assumed that the other dogs were all playing as usual. I span round when I heard frantic shouting and saw the staffie with her jaws locked around Myffy's (Heather's small JRT) neck. Both owners were trying to get the dogs apart and Myffy was screaming. I warned Ruby away and ran over, but they'd got them apart by that time. Both owners weer distraught and checking their dogs for wounds (thankfully there weren't any). The staffie's owner was even more upset than Heather because he'd never seen his dog act like that. Let's hope we're back to peace again tomorrow!

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Just a thought....

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:17:59 +0000

...... as a friend has just lost a much-loved pet....

There is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of one small candle

When sadness might make life seem very dark and empty, other people carry the flame and pass it around. It never goes out, it's just waiting for a new place to shine.

There's always light and hope, Hon. It just doesn't always seem that way.

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Cupboards from Hell

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:27:07 +0000

Do you have cupboards like this?

Ones which you daren't open for the avalanche of things which throw themselves at you like a boobytrap?

I have two in particular... in fact, I need to empty out the whole lot and have a good cull.

I can feel a mammoth car boot sale coming on next summer... I shall see if I can persuade my good friend CP (who loves boot sales) to look out some of her stuff and join me :-)

I managed to get two such cupboards cleaned out this evening.... who on earth needs all those Tupperware containers? Why do I have THREE rolls of clingfilm?

Crouching down on the kitchen floor isn't much fun - it's too hard and cold to sit on; the dog keeps trying to help - snorting through and licking everything that I take out, so it all has to be washed again. She found the warm bit of skin at the bottom of my back as I was leaning forward into a cupboard, I jumped at her cold nose and thwacked my head on the top of the cupboard *Grrrrr*

Theer is very little room in my kitchen; it's long and narrow. Not quite a galley kitchen, but not far off. I am sat here at the PC, looking through into the kitchen and wondering how I can remodel it and make more storage space without spending too much. I could do it with wall cupboards, but they'd make the room look even narrower, but perhaps if they were half-depth it might work. *Hmmm*, I will have to sketch it out and see what I think....

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Tall fit man!

nobody@vox.com(Claret) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:57:57 +0000

Well, after the farmers' market in Stratford today, we went with Sarah and John out to a field on the outskirts of town. Lots of fields in fact and plenty of boggy water too *roll*

The lurchers raced around like loons, Ruby and Jenson in the lead with their long legs, and Willow bringing up the rear, in and out of the tall grass, round and round in the mud(!) and in and out of the water...

Dogs in long grass

Here's Jenson, S&J's first rescue lurcher, he's Ruby's boyfriend... when she's finished beating him up that is!

Jenson

The 3 dogs

On the way back, they teamed up with two yellow labs being walked by a tall, fit looking black man. Lovely dogs and gorgeous bloke too - he looked like an athlete or somesuch. The men with us said that it was Dion Dublin, footballer; I must say that he was very friendly and polite. Edit: I have since heard that he lives in Startford and his children attend the primary school there.

Dion Dublin

He had the 'phwoar factor'!

Here's Ruby, all knackered....

Long Ruby

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