I went out as usual to feed the animals and found most of the barn cats waiting for me.  I felt nagged.  But I gave them and the chickens their tea and then went to feed the chicks.  Two more hens were hanging around in the vegetable garden.  Roses and I together managed to chivvy a brown bantam towards the field, but I chased the black one for several minutes until she scuttled into the greenhouse.  I gave up.  I don’t care, I’ve had about enough of chickens for now.  I’ve already got one young one living in the greenhouse, because I needed her smallish coop for the latest mother and five chicks.

Eloise was up on the greenhouse roof, looking down on the barn cats eating.  She’s been going up there for the past few days, the only trouble being that she finds it hard to get down again, because she slithers on the glass.  She was exploring the Bramley apple tree earlier, climbing seems to be her latest thing.  Anyway, I went to get changed, as I was going out to dinner, and then went to call her in.  She was still crouched on the roof and didn’t look very happy.  Zain was also on the roof and Cat was on the ground, she didn’t seem to want to move and put herself at a disadvantage.  I had to go and fetch a ladder and climb up to fetch her.

When I got home, ten minutes or so ago, I was cross to find that Boss Hogg the tabby was in the house and Eloise was more upset than ever.  He rapidly disappeared through the cat flap.  None of the outdoor cats knows how to use it, but he’s a pet, so presumably has one at home.  He’d polished off all the food I’d left for Eloise.  I’ve locked the flap so he doesn’t come back in tonight, but I’m rather at a loss.  Eloise has never worn a collar and I don’t know how she’d take to one, for a magnetic flap, but I don’t want the beastly tomcat in the house.  He’s a menace and so are his owners, not getting him neutered.

At least he’s so large that Eloise was intimidated and didn’t pick a fight – he’s aggressive to Roses’ cat Rummy, but she was unhurt and is now on the rug next to me, purring.

I went to a Nadfas lecture today on the history – and the present – of pub signs, which was really entertaining.  The lecturer was very good – and I thought of a sideline, that I didn’t raise in questions after the lecture, but would have if I’d been on the committee (no more committees for me, just now) and taken him for lunch – that is, nicknames for pubs.

Come on, darlings, signing in for comments is off, so if you have any funnies, let’s ‘av ’em.

I can start with a few.

The Lady of the Lake in Oulton Broad was always known as The Bitch in the Ditch (yes, I know.  Sorry)

The Black Swan, down the road at Homersfield, is the Mucky Duck.

I can’t remember its original name and it’s now an American-style diner, but there was a pub in Boringland (starts with a P but pfft) that was always known as Old Grumpy’s, after the landlord, so its name was changed to that.

More, please?

I used the wrong term in ‘convenience food,’ I realise – I’d meant snacks, such as the humous and so on – ready meals are usually for one or two, of course.   And I do buy them occasionally, but I find they become strangely samey after a while.

When my mother was in hospital and apparently near death, some fourteen years ago, I simply wasn’t able to cope with cooking.  There were quite a lot of us here – russell and me, Ronan and Alex, Winkie and then Charlotte and her daughter Miriam came too, from Holland.  I might have been back to cooking by then, though – because I went into the supermarket and just bought a lot of meals that could be heated in oven or microwave.  And they were perfectly nice.  I can’t remember what I bought, a whole range and then everyone chose what they wanted that night.

After about three days, they begged me for proper food.  It was all just wrong and it all tasted the same, even though it shouldn’t have.  How can lasagne taste like chicken Jalfrezi?  But there was a sameness, a lack of texture, not enough vegetables and we were all glad when I started cooking again.

I’m reading at least twenty pages or so of a book a day, but that’s nothing really.  And I’m not reading all through the newspapers as a consequence.  At least I’m listening to music more now.  I find myself quite annoying, really.

Anyway, the main news of the day is that the missing chicken turned up.  Two are still with their chicks, so there should be 16 others coming to the run every evening, including the cockerel.  One black hen tends to be late, with the result she’s often shut out – she likes spending time in the greenhouse.  There have, for the last few weeks, been either 14 or 15 and I had no reason to think a fox might be about, so I wasn’t surprised when Stevo came running in to tell me she had strutted out … with five chicks.  Ho hum.  I had to turn a single pullet out of her run, which was formerly the baby Tots’ run, to make room for them.  Come the weekend, Jamie is coming to help me with the first four cockerels and then I’ll let the remaining four females out with the adults, in the hope that they will integrate.  In a week or two, I’ll have to catch a couple of them for my friend Linda.  She’s not quite ready for them yet.  I still have all the rest of the chicks, which are of indeterminate sex as yet.  I find it really hard to tell, in most cases.

Ro and Dora went to another wedding this weekend – almost every weekend seems to have been a wedding or a stag or hen do, a lot of their friends are tying the knot at present.  Anyway, I spent last night at their house to take care of their cat.  I went over in the early evening, leaving Roses to give Eloise cat her late night supper and give all the animals their breakfasts.

I bought snacky things on the way over – humous, carrot sticks, cheese straws, bean salad, Parma ham, salami, fruit salad and cinnamon pastry.  Yes, it was rather a lot, but I brought home what I didn’t eat and there’s still meat, cheese straws and humous left.  I couldn’t eat it three meals in a row and cooked something else for dinner tonight.  Buying convenience food is more bother than cooking, I find, there’s usually too much.  But I didn’t want to have to work out how to use their stove when I was already hungry.  They were surprisingly good for supermarket convenience food, in fact, better than I’d expected.

I’ve a busier week than I expected to come.  Several things have cropped up over the weekend. Still, I mostly keep convincing myself that I’d rather be busy than bored.  The argument is starting to wear thin, though.

The day has gone very well.  A meeting – sorry, I do bang on about them rather – was constructive this morning, then I went to buy the chicken feed and a bale of hay before Ro and Dora arrived to take me out to lunch.  We went, at my suggestion, to a very good local pub and Ro nudged me when a couple arrived at a table across the way.  It was his former History teacher, also a former staff governor and, when they got up to leave, he looked across at us with a hint of uncertainty – it’s more than a decade since we last saw each other.  So I greeted him and we had a fairly long chat.  He’s a lovely man and was a superb teacher – Ro did a History degree on the strength of his teaching, not that he’s used it since (not that this means it was anything but valuable and worthwhile).

Roses came through for a drink in the evening, which turned into dinner, with the two of us pooling our food …. which sounds a bit odd.  She provided lamb steaks and leeks, I had corn on the cob, red peppers and runner beans, and an Aga to cook them on.  We have drunk wine in a quantity that may well give her a hangover in the morning.  I did suggest stopping and going on to soft drinks, but she was game to keep going.

Lovely friend Graham phoned from New Zealand this evening, which completed the day well.

I missed dearest Ann and Mike this afternoon and arrived home to find flowers and a note.  I had a meeting – I’d far rather have seen them.  I have duly stood down from one post and been elected to another, and also have taken on Safeguarding for the time being – this is quite a lot of responsibility and I and the school have to be absolutely up to the mark; for the safety of children of course, but also because it’s something that Ofsted are really hot on, so I’ll have to know my stuff.

I cooked a trout for supper, very simply en papilotte with wine, butter and dill.  I picked some runner beans, but the fish cooked quicker than I thought, so I skinned and boned the trout while the beans cooked.  I’d already given the head to Cat, to Eloise’s annoyance.  Cat didn’t join her children for tea because she’d caught a mouse, which she ate outside my door.  I’m almost out of chicken food, just enough for the chicks in the morning (I’ll give the adults some soaked bread and let them into the garden to eat greens, bugs and worms) because I’d relied on buying more after my meeting, but it overran.  I’ll get some more in the morning.  I’d like to buy it at the store just down the road, but it’s nearly £2 more for a 20k bag – £7.95 against £6.00 three miles down the road – so I’m afraid they’ve lost my custom.

Yesterday, I had an email from the Rector, who had been contacted by that same store.  A tree was dead and leaning on their fence and they wondered who owned it?  Possibly the church?  Good that he asked me if I knew, because it is either the landlord of the store or me.  I’m not sure.  There’s the churchyard wall, then a path which is mine, then a dyke and the tree is on the other side.  I trotted straight down to have a look – they’re going to try to find out, but so am I.  Either we have equal riparian ownership, or the whole thing is mine, I don’t know.  I had a letter from the solicitor today, regarding transfer of land to me, as it happens (it isn’t simple because nothing involving Russell ever was, bless and damn him – oh, how mixed up I am – but at least our wills are and it is indeed mine) so I can ask if the deeds make it clear.

I feel a bit drained tonight.  I feel as if I am coping on the surface, but am floundering underneath.  I’m not worried about this, as such, I think it’s unsurprising and normal, but I’m working to deadlines at present and only just meeting them – not for lack of time but because I stop and do nothing if I can.  I’m sailing close to the wind at present, I just need to make that effort and take command of things.

Anyway, tomorrow will start with a really tricky meeting (and I’m going to have to chair it, I’ve realised, buggerit) but improve vastly after that, because lovely Ro and Dora are going to come over and take me out to lunch.  So overall, that beats any ‘down’ feeling – in fact, it’s completely cheered me.