Throw back Thursday, the last cats and Gordy.

I am not going too far back, just enough to remember Megan who left us in December 2012 aged 23, the lost and mentally abused cat that came to live with us back in April 1994, she was never a cat to have a cuddle, always wary, but at least she knew she was safe with us and she had, I hope, a happy life.

Then remembering our Claude who left us back in September 2013 aged 22, he very nearly got longest living cat in this house but missed it by a whisker.  Arriving on our doorstep back in 1995/6 he was around 1 years old, a happy chap, an amazing killer of wildlife and he had a swagger that kept foxy loxy away.

To Gordy, who arrived here a few weeks after Claude had passed, our little man with brain damage who has become an internet star loved around the world for his funny ways and sticking out tongue - which is not apparent in this photo, one of the first I took when he came here so he was still a bit bewildered but found his paws with Iz and Defi.

 



Defi just saying hello on the first day, the tongue is now out and dribbling.

A year on, Gordy is the baby of the family, always into mischief when he is not snoring on his many beds or in his castle in the hallway, loved by millions but mostly by us and he each month he writes for Cat World Magazine...with a little help from me.

 

 

Turf Wars - one short story a day

Another short story from my walks with the dogs.  Taking something that happens once a day and turning it into a story.  Today the squirrels get their own back on Defi.

Turf Wars.

'Coo – eeeee' called Colin 'enemy in sight.'

'Right men' said Simon, strutting up and down resplendent in his camouflage suit 'on my mark...wait for my mark....Steven I said WAIT for my mark'

'I am not a man' grumbled Suzie 'just look at this fabulous tail, you don't get a fabulous tail like this being a man, oh no, all the men's tails have burrs in them and need a good wash, but this is a girls tail, just look at how all the hairs lie flat against each other, they shimm....'

'Shut up Suzie' growled Simon 'this is not the time to be a girl, its time to man up and take back the orchard.'

Suzie lowered her big beautiful brown eyes and her bottom lip trembled slightly, everyone around her hurried to their stations; there was a frenzy of activity as the small army scuttled about getting themselves ready to fire the enormous pile of acorns that were stacked against the old Oak tree. Simon held the telescope to his eye and from his vantage point in the Crow's nest he could see right across the apple orchard.

'Pay back' he muttered 'no more chasing us up the trees, no more barking in the early morning sunshine, oh yes' he chuckled to himself 'you are going to get it this time dog.'

Defi and Iz were strolling along happily, tongues lolling down to their knees, sniffing all the badger and rabbit holes and pausing occasionally to sniff the air above them.

'At the old Lime' called Colin from his perch in the midst of the bramble hedge, hidden behind the almost ripe blackberries.

'On my mark men...' whispered Simon through the branches, the leaves rustling slightly in the early morning breeze.

Defi stopped to look through he chain link fencing that surrounded the apple trees, 'NO DOGS ALLOWED' read the sign.

'Shame' thought Defi, 'wouldn't mind a bit of a sniff around all that sheep poo.'

He could just see the sheep in the distance, they were busy eating the long grass and not paying any attention to anything around them.

Iz had walked ahead, she turned and looked back.

'Come on slow coach' she grumbled 'the faster we get to the river the longer we get to swim before the swans get there and we have to get out'

'Coming' smiled Defi happily, 'Iz was always hurrying him along, still it would be nice to chase those ducks' he thought.

'ON MY MARK' came the call from above 'NOWWWWWWWWWWWWW'

Poor Defi didn't know what had hit him. The acorns pelted down on his head with the jeers from the jubilant squirrels as each acorn hit him squarely on the nose.

'Take that you beast' yelled Stephanie, 'you won't chase me again' she threw the biggest acorn in the bunch, and laughed loudly as Defi ran to hide next to Iz his big wagging tail between his legs.

'My brother lost his school bag because of you' shouted Sandy

'My mother nearly had a heart attack because of you' growled another voice from the top of the tree

'My dad wants your tail to hang above the fire place' yelled another angry squirrel

'Best run' said Iz quietly 'keep up Defi and don't stop until we reach the river'

Defi flew like the wind behind Iz, both of their tails straight and long, pointing out behind them as they dashed through the wooded walk and into the church yard before charging down the steep hill that leads to the river bank.

There was much singing in the trees behind them as the Squirrels jumped up and down in delight and Colin Pigeon coo'ed from his position in the hedge.

'..and keep your nose out of my burrow' called a small voice from beneath the old Oak, long whiskers and ears poking out from behind the muddy mound 'thank you Mr Simon.'

'My pleasure Mrs Rabbit' said Simon, strutting up and down the long branch that was the path to Mrs Crow's nest 'we taught that flea ridden hound a lesson all right'

'If you have quite finished with your petty squabbles' said Mrs Crow grumpily 'this nest doesn't keep itself you know.

Extracts from a bikers diary.

My brother sent me this piece he had written, it arrived in my email box this morning.  It really is very funny and as I giggled my way through the vision of him fighting for survival with the rain lashing at his helmet, his motor bike splashing through puddles and the tryst with the pigeon, I wondered for which charity he was riding for. So I emailed him. 

 

She was the 14 year old daughter of my brothers friend.  She had been bullied.  The charity he was riding for was the Severine Hobbs Charity. (the link takes you to the newspaper article in which Severine's mum tells her story).

 

As a parent I loathe bullies and bullying, some kids sadly fall through the net and find themselves so low they turn to taking their own lives to end the misery.  Having lived through bullying myself as a child, from a wicked step mother, and then to cope when my children were bullied; my son for his dyslexia and ADHD by the adult in charge of the Primary School,  her duty of care being only to the statistics of her school and how well that reflected on her role as Headmistress.   My daughter from the boys in her year group when she was 13/14, for her big blue eyes that now attract those self same boys now she is 18 coming up 19.  I am lucky my kids pulled through and have become wonderful adults both of whom abhor bullying in any form, reading stories like Severine's just makes me realize how lucky I am and how easy it is to lose a child.

 

If you want to read more on Severine's story this is a Twitter link to the charity page. 

Extract from a bikers diary... (11)  

It began like most days, the sun cresting over the horizon with the hollow sound of the morning wood pigeon echoing through the still morning air as I raised the garage door.

 

Coffee in hand, I went through the ritual of check-listing a bikers survival kit for short and long treks: watch - thrown in bin, duct tape - found on wife’s side of the bed, tool kit - carefully compiled over the years so  that it can strip most of a bike by the road; fits neatly into compartment the factory provides for their version - the ‘chocolate tool kit’, waterproofs and wallet.

 

Check.

 

The weather forecast was 52% chance of rain, so I made the decision to gear up for the inevitable. Bike warm, coffee gone, it was time to ride out of the garage.  Destination 8.5 miles away, the first meet point, just enough time to adjust to being awake…WHAM!

 

Guess the wood pigeon had not had his coffee!  65mph banked over plus 3lb of bird in flight - not a great combination.  Twenty three years of riding experience kicked in.  I was a passenger for the next few seconds as man, machine and beast fought to survive.

 

Only two prevailed.

 

First meet point reached.  Time to check for damage and to look up and say thank you again to who ever was looking down so early.

 

It wasn't long before it transpired that this was just the beginning of what was to be a challenging ride.  A test of skill to survive.

 

So cometh the rain delivered by Poseidon himself.

 

By the time we returned, 197 miles later, one man had fallen to the road, I had been swiped on a roundabout in rain so hard no one could see;  we had witnessed and ridden through what happens when a Corsa head-butts a camper van, add ankle deep road water and one fallen tree, found on a blind country bend while making ‘progress’.....   Words cannot describe what was lived through on this day.

 

It did not cease to rain.  It fell in sheets so thick  that the sky’s deep black hue was only being lit by the strikes of lightening that followed the deafening thunder that seemed to be directly above us. Water had penetrated every layer, every crevice, and within the first 30 minutes we all discovered that this was not going to be the charity ride we thought it to be.

 

We did not abate.  We road hard.  We road determined to move forward.  Streaming through traffic with the  single file accuracy of a bullet traveling 85mph through the tail of a hurricane.

 

If I was to choose how I die, I would want to die on a day like today having loved my family the night before, kissed my boys goodnight at bedtime and hugged my wife.

 

Time to turn about and return. One day, maybe, I will experience the balance of moving forward for longer tests of what a person can endure.

 

Stephen Glover.

 

 

 

 

 

When life throws a curve ball.

lampwork flowers on eBay

 

Summer has been with us for the last few weeks,

glorious sunshine and almost cloudless skies.

I don't have Sunflowers this year

except in glass but I do have

some gorgeous Poppies that have burst open.

 Its been a funny few months.  So much has stayed the same but so much has changed.  I am still creating my beads although the genre I create in has changed to flowers, the glass animals seem to have left me for the moment.  I am not worried about my animal muse leaving me altogether as it is still there just in a different art form.




Sunflowers and Sweetpeas



available on eBay

 I have been following my writing muse this year and attending a workshop in Brecon every Tuesday evening.  Its been brilliant.  The drive from Hereford to Brecon is about an hour but its a lovely drive through leafy country roads. 

 

I promised myself this year I would write again.  I have written on and off throughout all my life, long winded journal entries, sad and lonely effigies that have been my therapy when life isn't quite going as planned.  This year I made a quiet promise to myself to try and be more upbeat with my words, thinking the blog was the way to go, I put in more effort and started to enjoy detailing some of my more memorable sagas, like the trip to the supermarket and bra shopping with my daughter.  The workshop was a surprise.  Someone I have met through a craft fair at the Community Farm Open day who is a published writer and on FB put up a notice that she was running this workshop through Take pArt Community Arts Workshop in Brecon.  I at first said it was too far for me but Adele convinced me that it wasn't and so I went.  Anyone that can pronounce the name of the Industrial Estate its on is a better woman than I!  Ffrwdgrech Industrial Estate for any that wish to try!

 

Its a small group but we are doing great things, not least finding out about Maen Llia (pronounced Mine Clear or thereabouts).  In a small twist of fate I have managed to land myself the very important position of writing a monthly column for a magazine.  When the first one is published I will let you know.

 



Tiger Lily flowers.  SOLD.

 

As well as writing and getting out in the sunshine I have been volunteering at the Community Farm at Warham which is just across the farm yard from me.  Once a week I go and get involved with craft themes, beads and jewellery and at the moment big papier mache pig and chicken which are works in progress and they will be for Hereford in Bloom next month.

 

So life threw a curve ball.  Whereas this time last year I was here, alone with an elderly cat, Claude and two mad Golden's Iz and Defi just making beads quietly in my shed, now I am writing, looking after my sweet Gordy and mopping up dribble, charging down to the river with Iz and Defi in the sunshine, being over at the farm and looking forward to creating a fabulous column in the magazine where my animal muse is featuring heavily and creating beautiful gardens in glass.

 

How happy can one girl get?

 

Laney x

Starting in the middle.

I have started writing, again.  I have doodled and written poetry and odd lines ever since I could hold a pencil.  I am being brave and showing a few extracts on my blog, I am starting small!

....................................................................................................................................................................


She stood on the balcony, a little girl barely reaching the top of the solid wooden rails around the edge.  Wearing a full length cream dress with chocolate ribbon trim and tiny delicate peach blossoms embroidered on an over frilly bodice, small leaves of pale green, each one a tiny stitch of silken thread.  She watched over the distant field, a sea of crimson.  Waves of rich red tulips, dancing to the tune of the setting sun.

You can find my flowers on eBay

 

Just click the link.

 

Laney x