Not so great escape

This morning I had barely eaten my organic bacon sandwich,when a plaintive cry of"there is a chicken missing" reached my rather ornamental ears,so into the barley field i ventured intrepidly,no chicken hove into view,then "oh there you are" rang out,the offending bird had escaped to the field and returned to the garden ,this meant much bolstering of the perimeter fencing by yours truly,it is now secure.
The afternoon was spent convincing the Le Blades they should come strawberry picking on 3 bridge lane,Ian le blade said he did not like strawberries but was observed eating a quantity during the picking,we then drove back to the Le Blade mansion,and after a little bonhomie,we cadged a flagstone for our chicken run.
Arriving at the little chicken farm on the prairie we found one of the hens laying its first egg,which in view of its small size ,I suggested might be a Wren's egg,so now three of the ladies are laying.

Trumpet Voluntary

Thursday was a morning visit to the ear specialist,who had an Italian name which did not fill me with confidence,in the end he turned out to be very English with long distant Italian ancestors,very impressive he was and not averse to a little banter,eardrops are prescribed,and next visit is Tuesday,good thing is I can see him at the local health centre,2 miles each way.,hearing tests showed up poor,so he offered to fit me up with a hearing aid,when asked if it was state of the art ie.very small aid with a battery 12 inch square,he replied no,its a small battery but the hand held eartrumpet is about 2 feet long, one to him.
I knew he was not a "proper" Italian because he prefers tennis to football.
,and has never visited italy though as a boy he could have gone with his school,but he said his parents could'nt afford the cost.
Football yesterday was a victory to Spain ,who Sheila supported very vocally,I think she took against the Russians because they were crossing themselves in a religious manner,this after being brought up in an atheist state,makes you wonder about the sanity of the human race.
I remember a booze up with some Russian officers in Germany,and if it came to a boozing world cup there would only be one outcome Russia are unbeatable.
Cheers Graham

Postscipt; I think we are becoming the avian centre of Lincolnshire,two wood pigeons are now nesting in the willow tree in the front garden.

Calvados,Football,and Two Eggs

Today we had two eggs,another hen has laid it's first egg,I spoke to farmer joe this morning,on his return from holiday,and he had read on the blog about Audrey the first hen to lay,we have had good advice from Mrs farmer joe too.
Football last night,Holland were outplayed by the Russki's,and tonight will be the game where I will be rooting for Italy,whereas all previous games I have enjoyed from a neutral standpoint,I have not phoned Le Blade,because I am allowing Madame Le Blade time to get over the defeat of Holland,she has some Dutch ancestry so is probably a little upset.
Montana is now ensconced in his Whitefish retreat,after a two day journey,so we shall be getting reports of his activities,he will probably be out tonight at Caseys Bar,a rather genteel establishment,according to the Whitefish Police Report!
I have tried the Calvados(french apple brandy)which Monseur Le Boffin kindly brought me back from his trip to Normandy,it is very good sprinkled on French apple tart,which I first tasted in Boulogne,and Sheila made it on a few occasions,so if she can remember the recipe I will supply the calvados,this tart is made with dessert apples not cookers.
Ciao ,"Il Tifoso" Graham

Eggstra good news from Campo Dei Polli

Today Sheila was made a very happy lady,the first egg has been laid,I think a fanfare of trumpets is appropriate,the squawking that went on this morning was rather loud,with strange noises coming from the "palace" we went out to Louth and on our return,an egg was born,I thought it was a cock pheasant on the front garden making the noise but no,it was Audrey,the large dark hen,so now the others are under surveillance.
I may have helped with the egg laying as I shot a rat during the laying process so maybe I induced the egg! not made the eggs for sale sign just yet though.
"Uova" to you , Graham

Hen of a weekend

The visit of Gina and Andrew has just ended,they are traversing the pennines back to Lancashire,we left them alone for an hour on Saturday to attend the coffee morning,and luckily they had no disasters looking after the hens.
They are a little amused and there has been some mickey taking about the pampered life of the hens, and their haught cuisine diet,around 11pm last night we had a phone call from the le blades,it seems they were caretaking neighbours hens and asking Sheila for advice on how to entice them into the hut to bed,madame le blade was a little perturbed but Frango Sheila gave her good advice and ,we called at their palatial spread around midday to check if all was ok,the hens had finally gone to bed without any help so ended well.
I have some spice(another word for MS) which Gina brought and a card with Tommy Cooper on the front saying he was on a whisky diet,and had already lost 3 days.
Football is now down to one game per day,I notice on the poms blog Sandra is not attending matches how will Sam the pom know what formation to play ,and who will explain the offside rule to him,I like the coat Sandra,but from the back it looks as if you have sprouted wings.

Nbosto or Boston to give it its English name

Wednesday we went to Boston(a polish town) in Lincolnshire,met up with Alan Towers and Vicki,we had a scrounge round the shops,a labour of love for the two blokes,then to a little cafe for a roast beef dinner,and treacle sponge,these pensioners know how to live.
They left their country residence today ,to oversee bathroom work on their Yorkshire residence Alantowers,I have been out for a paper,and the weather has reverted to normal English summer,showers and sunny spells,it all makes for a green and pleasant land.
Chickens are" chucked out" of their palace for the cleaning lady to fettle the place out,by heck thats a good yorkshire word"fettle" I don't know how I remember them.
Called at the Le Blade residence on the way back from Boston to check on his extension ,but he was out,though I did have a cursory glimpse of the footings,quite a large project I feel.
The fireplace at the Montana's is changeable as the English weather,and in response to MS's request I suggest a nice Cabernet Red,or a Beak Yellow as in my painted cockerel photo,though North Sea Brown will probably be the final colour.
As I write the avian ladies are expelled from their palace by their "mam" who is shovelling certain residues from the floor,and replacing it with some nice clean sawdust,as yet no rewards for all the expense and labour,I am informed at this very moment that the ladies have clamoured to be let in out of the rain,but to no avail,such chicken capers must be a joy to read about.
Nice to see that Sonia is providing sustenance for Michael during the exhausting viewing of the football,its a penance we all share with him this event,I suggest a little Glenmorangie at half time as a pick me up,and a few nuts or other nibbles should you really want to please the lad.
I am told that Rotherham Utd. are to play in Sheffield at the Don Valley Stadium,but it could just be a malicious rumour emanating from Sheffield,more believable information would be welcome.
Ciao Graham

Dutchmen and a Terracotta Chicken.

This is a present from the Le blades for Sheila,it came as plain terracotta,which I painted up ,me and le blade went for a nice bike ride whilst the 8 girls stayed at the chicken house confabbing,so we now have seven hens,football is going on apace,we reached a point on the coast where a group of dutchmen were disembarking from a sand dredger,so comments were exchanged re the offside goal,a bit of friendly banter ensued all in good humour,now must leave off to watch the Greece Sweden game, Graham

Early bird

This morning I was up and about ,so I let the chickens out at 6.30,the secret is to open the door slightly and stand to one side before opening fully ,as they fly out like freed prisoners.
Cycled into Mablethorpe for a paper,in my sartorialy splendiferous fluorescent jacket, not many people about at that hour.
Thats about all ,not much happening today. Graham

The "Roy Cropper" Look

Here is my version of the well dressed cyclist,complete with "Roy Cropper" of Coronation Street ,all purpose shopping bag, note the well worn paint spattered trainers,scruffy jeans,and t'shirt advertising coaching seminars in America,the outstanding feature is the £1,dayglo vest purchased at the Todos(everything) £1.outlet inChapel St leonards,this affords the local maniac drivers an easier target to aim at,there are no drink bottles,or helmets as these are fripperies not really necessary,mileages and speed are not a consideration,the important thing is saving money on diesel fuel.
On a serious note our neighbour Sir George is home from hospital,and looks a little careworn ,we called at the Manor House to ask as to his welfare and were pleasantly surprised to be told he was home,and receiving visitors,nice to see him battling on,he offered chicken husbandry advice to Sheila ,and observed that the eggs will probably have cost around £45 each with the luxury foods they are fed,this is him getting back to normal and counting the coppers.