Hugh's Replacement

On my part time week again and really am looking forward to the time off.

Was in Salisbury by 9.15am on Friday, on the lookout for wicker baskets for Christmas hampers. Finally found them, along with a few kitchen bits. Let me put it this way, I have kept the staff at Lakeland in employment for a while!!

On the way home I noticed lots of crab apple trees, but all were on dangerous bends on very fast country lanes. I really wanted to make some crab apple and clove jelly this year, but unless I find some without risking life and limb, I will have to do without. Driving home, I was scouring the hedgerows looking for a less life threatening crop. I have recently heard the term 'wombling' - the act of scavenging. I love that term. I have been called many things in my time, but a womble is perfect!!

Now that the weather is miserable, I decided to crack on with the Christmas preparations. Spent the day weighing out fruit and soaking it in alcohol for cakes and puddings. I wanted to make smaller Christmas cakes, rather than the usual gargantuan round thing, that takes weeks to get through. As tempting as it was, I decided against the Christmas tunes on my laptop for fear of tipping Jase over the edge!

I found a smallish baking tin in Lakeland, but at 6" it is still a little big. A friend recommended using small baked bean cans. They worked a treat!



I made one large and four small cakes. One was, erm, 'sampled' by myself and Jase for quality control purposes you understand.

Also found a recipe for spiced cranberry vodka (thanks to Sarah) -
It smells really good and is turning a wonderful Christmas red.

A couple more weeks and it will be ready to strain into small bottles for hampers.

The girls are not impressed with the rain. It was tipping it down today and Pru for one was making a racket after laying her egg. I am thinking of renaming her to Trumpet Girl. She was trumpetting for an hour today. No idea what was up with her. Elsbeth hasn't laid for 9 days, but her new feathers are starting to grow through now. Her neck is threadbare and she looks a right state. I have started adding tuna to their afternoon treat to boost their protein. Winifred is also looking a tad scruffy, with lots of bald patches, but she is still laying.

I found a nice picture of the girls taken by Ilene Sterns at one of my hen parties


Taken long before the rain turned the area into a swamp! I really need to sort something out before the winter. The wellies are out again as the crocs can't cope.

Agnes and Cornelia are getting bigger by the day. They don't seem to be eating much, but both are going to be huge I think. Now that they are over their fear of fresh spinach *rolls eyes*, they are tucking in to any treats I give them and eagerly come up the door to see what is next in the treat bowl. Laverne and Pru are still pacing the perimeter of the run on a daily basis, giving chicken evils through the bars. They had better get used to it, as I think that the newbies will hold their own.

I can now mention the Tv crew that came over a couple of weeks ago. They were filming for a new series called Village Voices, focusing on local villages and the 'goings on' of the Villagers!! They thought I was quirky and interviewed me holding Winifred! She was good as gold, and the interview went well. Lots of action shots, with me collecting eggs and hand feeding them corn. I was hoping for more shots of the chickens, less of me, but I won't know until it airs in November sometime. I really don't want it on Youtube!! Should Channel 4 see it and offer me my own show, you will be the first to know.

C x x x