Life in a small town.

Notes from the lambing shed. About a 2 weeks ago.

PEN 1. Lambed last night. Both doing well, only brought in as a precaution, the lamb was smallish and it was cold.

PEN 2. Fostering on. Ewe lost its own lamb to Watery Mouth (E-coli infection) within hours of its birth, in spite of precautionary antibiotic. Foster lamb was a twin with a thin mum, who would struggle to raise two. Need another day or so inside to accept each other. The ewe is in a head yoke so she ...

Being a Granddad is great.

Suddenly a mundane life is suffused with golden moments - warm memories in the making, that will remain rich and vivid in the years to come. A simple walk in the woods with my granddaughter becomes an experience crammed with landmark moments - we find a fir cone, we crouch down to examine a slug, we pop the swollen seed pods of Himalayan Balsam, we chatter away to each other about trees and leaves and the noise the wind makes. There really is nothing ...

It is troubled times for the Church of England at the moment, what with all the hand wringing and examining of consciences over women Bishops and gay Vicars. The General Synod is beginning to resemble The Roman Forum around the Ides of March, and Rowan Williams, the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, is beginning to think that Thomas Wolsey had an easy ride. But these are mere light skirmishes compared with the ideological split over the post service Refreshments at Mrs P's Church.

Factionalism ...

I don't know how many people know that the Commonwealth Games are currently taking place in India. Until about 7.30pm local time tonight they had not been a success.

A month before they opened, reports of problems began to trickle in. The British press decide it was in their interest to do a knocking job on them, so we had a month of negative reporting :- Nothing will be ready. Unsanitary conditions. Its a disaster. Who's to blame, etcetera, etcetera ... Countries delayed ...

Over thirty years ago, on Top of the Pops, I first heard the pop group Queen. What first struck me was not the spangley over the top outfits, (believe me they were tame for the day.) No, it was the fact that they were using grown up words and references- they were assuming that we teenagers knew stuff.

She keeps her Moet et Chandon in a pretty cabinet
Let them eat cake, she said, just like Marie Antoinette.

Ok, so they were wrong- we hadn't a clue, but still ...