It’s not been a week anyone would want be in the public eye. I wonder how those that walk in the corridors of power not only sleep at night but manage to get about with two slipped discs. Poor Mr Darling had to ‘fess up in front of the nation the blunder at HMRC of which he oversees. This being coupled with the fiasco at Northern Rock – not the kind of rock you would want to build your house on! I suppose he should go for a hat trick and take the blame for England’s defeat on Wednesday. It was announced on the news that the police had completed the search of the HMRC premises. The question I would ask is, did they have a woman to do the searching? In my experience, women are much better at this and I would volunteer D for the task! D took some of the grandchildren to see a pantomime in Worthen this afternoon and whilst I couldn’t go as I was milking, I thought that someone should rewrite one of the classic pantomimes with the regard to the recent events. It would be called ‘Alistair in Blunderland’! I’m sure there would many suggestions for public figures to take the roles of the characters.
On the farming front the Hereford incalf heifers were getting short of grass and I didn’t want to feed them outside, as the ground will cut up easily. They are now in their winter quarters. It’s been in good summer on them, like Alice shown here. They don’t drive easily so a ‘carrot’ is necessary in the form of small bucket of nuts. They follow with eagerness into the shed and scoff heartily in their trough not realising the prison door closing behind them. Their diet until they calve is just hay; perhaps someone should start Bovine Weight Watchers!
To round off a busy day, it’s off to Kerry, some ten miles away in Wales for the ‘rock gig’ in the evening. We didn’t quite know what to expect as we were told that the band was a little rusty but had been practising regularly. It was a sell out and as the audience waited eagerly for Blindeye to appear we were ‘entertained’ by the ‘Clun Cowboy’. When they took the stage they were greeted with cheers, whistles and clapping. I’m sure there was a lot of nervousness but once the first chord was struck the nerves disappeared. It was as loud as I imagined, and was reminiscent of dances when I was at college. My philosophy is – ‘if it’s too loud you’re too old’. Blindeye were fantastic, bodies jigged and jostled on the dance floor, which include D and myself. Songs by Quo, Credence Clearwater Revival and Free were in the first ‘set’. Unfortunately I was milking the next morning so didn’t stay for the second half. Late nights and early mornings are getting more difficult to mix. Somehow the radio in the parlour won’t be loud enough!