Creating a Stir!

CRAFTERNOON TEA

Sat 22nd September at 2.30pm

Southdean Village Hall

There will be tea, coffee, home baked cakes and a

luscious CHOCOLATE fountain.

You can watch

a quilter, a handknitter, a patchworker and a hand spinner

busy being creative and you can have

your delicious afternoon tea

served by MEN in KILTS

all in return for a generous donation to

Macmillan Cancer Support

as part of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning!

Yup, her ladyship has rustled up some trusty textile friends to demonstrate and her gin drinking buddy to provide the chocolate fountain, smiled very sweetly at some kind hearted Scotsmen (erm, and a Geordie) and is hoping for LOTS of support for this venture at the village hall. She thinks the world of Macmillan nurses because the whole family had such support from them when her Dad was ill and this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

Sunny Sunday

Well, I'd love to be able to post lots of pics showing the creativity of the folks but there's precious little going on that makes for elegant images. Hugh has been verrrrry busy working long hours on things which have nowt to do with painting - mainly putting up and taking down fences for the illustrious Thirlestane Horse Trials (three day palaver at Lauder, forty minutes north of here) and building aviaries for a new neighbour who keeps raptors (lovely word that, and not bad for a three year old labrador). Specifically a buzzard and a Harris hawk for those of you who know about these things. And he's been cutting grass by the acre with the wee Fergie tractor as well as with a mower. As well as all that the poor lad has been working on getting the 4x4 off road event in the forests sorted out and has more of that to come before the day itself on 9th September. Oh, and he's off doing a charity cycle ride today - my hero!

Lindsay - hmmm, bit of admin stuff, bit of painting (walls and doors - she hates painting doors) and quite a lot of destruction of built-in wardrobes. I understand that Part l of the Great Plan is for us to move next door to where the grass is greener and the sun shines longer. This entails much pondering over paint charts, endless washing of brushes, long periods spent contemplating bare walls and muttering over the amount of 'stuff' there is to contend with. When all this gets too much she takes it out on the garden.

I have to report a nasty trend developing chez nous.

Name calling.

They seem to consider that I am unusually inquisitive and a little officious in my attitude at times. In recent days I have been referred to as The Chocolate Policeman, Agent Ash of the FBI (Furry Brown Inspectorate) and even Deputy Dawg. I am plotting revenge....

Crumbs of comfort

Her ladyship remembered to take the camera with her the other morning when she took me for a walk so here are her tasteful images taken just up the road from here. We do all realise how lucky we are to live surrounded by such glorious countryside, honest we do. The reason the fields are nice and green and lush is because the blinking rain is back with us again and this makes for more flooded boggy bits in the garden and hens plodging about in mud baths.

Showtime Blues

Well, Southdean Show was a success APPARENTLY. You can read a brief summary on Lindsay's blog but AS I WAS NOT THERE it is really only a human account. I understand there were no animals allowed at all - because of some blinking cattle disease - so I cannot give you my usual full report. Perhaps normal service will be resumed next summer. Harrumph.