A World Away

Meeting little Macey this week has made me kinda sad. She is just so sweet and reminded me so much of Moo-Moo. I immediately felt so proud to be her uncle. Yet we are so far apart. I was so pleased at the way she let me put her into the car seat and later take her out,.....and carry her into the pub avoiding the wind and the rain.and pop her down into the foyer, safe and sound.

Goldfinches

I have a pair of goldfinches. The have been in my garden for nearly two weeks now and I think and hope that they are looking for a nest site. With most birds the male is the brightly coloured, flashy chappie, while the female tends to be rather drab with much duller plumage. The opposite, you might say, of us humans. But with goldfinches both sexes are bright and colourful. I've got three black-bird nests. three house-sparrow nests, not sure how many hedge-sparrow nests (dunnocks) and at least two robin nests. I can't always locate them. I don't want to disturb them by looking too hard. But I soon see the chicks out on the grass being fed by the parents. All rogue/ferral cats I have soon discouraged by pelting them with stones and hissing at them. So no longer any problem there. First swallow arrived in from Africa on 20th April. Swooping and diving around my sheds but unimpressed by all my hard work to entice them in with specially designed entrance holes and shelves and platforms inside ready for nests. House-martins should be in from South Africa in maybe two weeks time. They are probably
negotiating the crossing to Gibralter now. Looks like this year there will be plenty of mud for their nests.
Sorry to all Blogfans who find this kinda stuff immeasurably tedious. For me it's daily delight and entertainment!!!

Blog Fans

My Blog facilitator has changed all the settings. So it might take me a while to get used to it. I've probably blogged this image before. Taken last year at Nan's 90th. We have photos taken this year but it might take some time to Blog them. Stephen, Pat's eldest has managed not only to access my blog but to post a comment (or two). Something that has eluded all you other Blog-fans. If he can do it, then so can you!!! It has been the lack of feed-back that has lead me to stop blogging on many occasions over the last few years. So here's a heart-felt plea!!!!! Please Stephen send me photos of Lucy, Maddison (if spelled correctly) you and Kristen to bristolchina@btinternet.com asap!!! So I can put them on my Blog. Hester would love to see them!!!!! So would I!!!!! And so would Patsy, Jocelynne and Dave.Then send me pics of Paul and Carlene!!!!! and Kiera-Page and Logan. We are not the closest-knit of families; which is a shame. When recently in the company of little Macey Hall I was saddened at our semi-detachment from one another. I felt ridiculously proud to be her uncle!! Yeah well...explain it to me some time.

Written in the Stars

Yeah you girls are doing it for yourselves. You go ahead. Me and Chris, and no doubt Dennis and Phillipe, were kinda hopin' for a boy. But there you go. The roll of the dice, the way things go. I never managed a male heir......not yet anyways. But hey. Go Hesty Go!!! There's loads of time. You've still got your figure. Obviously we are no longer looking for a football team here..... but who knows what the future holds.

Calorie Bore

I post this picture because I love it. It has nothing to do with today's blog. Last week I went to work for Joc and Dave. When I arrived I mentioned the state of my upstairs and all the dust and fluff under my bed and how horrified Nuch was when she went upstairs to the loo to note just how scrophulous my upstairs accomodation is. I then went about undertaking that days jobs for J and D. Collecting and putting in place a significantly heavy block of stone onto which we set a Mike Stallard sculpture. Then some architectural antique path edging to stop the cats disturbing the bark chippings and sending them all over the paving. Then on the list was to go upstairs and retrieve Dave's upstairs "walker" which needed it's brakes seeing to. It was a bit of a cuffufel but I managed to improve it quite a bit. As I left the room to return the walker upstairs Dave said "Vacuum under the bed while you're up there". So I got the Dyson and farted around with the stupid hose thing that somehow is supposed to extrude from the f*****g handle (sorry Dot) !! and immediately I started to vacuum the spotlessly clean area under Dave's bed I realised to my chagrin that I had been had. Dave didn't mean for a moment for me to vac under the bed. It was a joke about what was under my bed and I could not believe just how gullible and stupid I was that I didn't get his joke. When I came downstairs effing and blinding, Dave was on the verge of pissing himself laughing.

Butchers Dog

So this is me today wearing a suit that didn't fit me at the time of Hester's wedding. I'm now 12 stone 9 lbs and still falling. I'm fit as a butcher's dog.

It Helps to Talk about it!!

Sorry sorry sorry Blog-fans but the message stays the same and you know it helps to talk about it to keep it going. So please indulge me. I joined the gym at 87 Kg and slowly heavied to 89 Kg by Christmas. That's 14 Stone in Old Money!!! Today I am 82 Kg which is 12 Stone 9 lbs!!! I hated my paunch and still hate what's left of it. I work out most days. Get a sweat on. Push it a bit. Still think to myself that if I can do this I'm lucky. That lucky old Sun aint got nothing to do but roll around Heaven all day!!! I sweat and I toil till I'm wrinkled and grey but that lucky old Sun aint got nothing to do but roll around Heaven all day.!!!

Being a granddad

I never imagined for a moment what it would be like to be a granddad. It was not something that I ever aspired to be. But now I am a granddad and I have the most special and unique and wonderful little granddaughter imaginable.....I find myself in this strange quasi-limbo-land of semi-detached-crazy-outer-worldliness of isolation. Here I am in Leechpool, about as far as it's possible to be from anyone let alone Hester, Chris and Moo-Moo. The last thing I wish is to be in their face, cramping their style, or imposing myself on them. But often when I phone I feel that they have more important things to be doing than fielding calls from a sad old bastard in rural Monmouthshire.

Fitness Regime

Personal Training in Bristol is twice the cost here in Chepstow. My trainer here is a lovely lad, but as a weight-management expert you would think that he should know how many pounds to a stone. He doesn't. Also today he made me lift weights using my back and not my legs. Immediately I felt lower back pain and stopped. I told him straight away I'm not doing that. I can still feel the twinges. So I will go ahead...... but not trust him entirely.