chicken tree

In all the years I have kept bantams and all the years I have known my friend Janet, I had never seen the 'Chicken Tree' performed. Indeed, a week or two ago I had never even heard of it. Until this Bridget Jones moment when a local cub reporter was brave enough to broadcast live at the Boxmoor Canal Festival. I make that nine perfectly happy hens and one good sport! Janet is my old friend who manages to eke out a living sharing her animals with the unsuspecting public and apparently I had missed this party piece up until now. You never know what riches life will bring.

A lost month

A bit of a tricky act, reappearing after such a long absence, but anyway, no excuses! What am I doing? Too much work, some dogsitting, walking and on the bike again, this time fundraising. Through a series of coincidences I am taking part in a 40k, gals 'breeze ride' from Whipsnade Zoo in September - join me or sponsor me online. There are so many worthy charities out there it was hard to choose - until I read 'Cutting for Stone' by Abraham Verghese. It alerted me to the existence of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and the invaluable lifetime work of Dr Catherine Hamlin. Read the book and the facts, then tell your friends. Also enjoyed 'Let the Great World Spin' by Colum McCann.

 Spent a recent weekend walking in Constable country on the River Stour and strolling the pretty beach at Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. Nearby Snape Maltings is the setting for The Benjamin Britten festival and this perfect Barbara Hepworth piece. Maggi Hambling is represented on the shore by her piece quoting from Britten's opera Peter Grimes - not a favourite of mine I'm afraid but I love the sentiment : "I hear those voices that will not be drowned".