Hi,

Okay, please…No. More. Rain!

It feels like a long time now since summer and even though its nearly April, the fields are completely soaked, like its still the middle of winter. I’m trying to remember my blessings…the sound of the Spring birdsong, the lighter evenings, all the leaves starting to unfurl on the hedgerows, the flowers blooming. It would be far easier to do this if it wasn’t so muddy and slippy. We did have a little bit of snow thrown at us today too. As you all know, I do like a bit of snow. At the end of March, though, I am not quite as keen. It just seems to add to the grottiness of the land, doesn’t turn everything a lovely crisp white, just adds to the mud.

With all this rain and mud outside, I have been doing quite a bit of reading in front of the fire, cuddled up with the dogs and cats. I have been reading a book called ‘The First Rasta’ about Leonard Howell and the setting up of the Pinnacle community. I’m not far into the book yet, but its already clear what a fascinating man Leonard Howell was. The researcher, Helene Lee, met with lots of people who knew him and were firsthand witnesses to who Leonard Howell was and his character, the setting up of Pinnacle but also the prejudice and hatred that the community was subjected to. There have been times when reading has been quite difficult, thanks to help from a Mali spaniel. Not only does she snore really loudly but oh my! the smell of her is so bad and she wants to cuddle up to my face and sleep right under my nose! I think that once she’s had dinner tonight I will be giving her a long scrub in the bath with a nice-smelling doggy bubble bath.

Thinking of the subject of dogs, I didn’t realise what a lover of animals H.I.M. Haile Selassie I was. he had the most amazing collection of animals, including trained lions, but he was particularly fond of dogs. He had a Great Dane who was a particular favourite and a great companion, and also 2 chihuahuas…

“A well-known animal lover, Haile Selassie was often seen in photographs in the presence of cheetas and lions,  and as a dog lover, it’s not surprising that he would gravitate to the Great Dane as a companion canine, including one named, “Bull.” A bit more surprising is that in his later years, ‘the conquering lion of the tribe of Judah’ became very fond of Chihuahuas. There was “Cheecheebee,” but a particular favourite was “Lulu.”

Still on the subject of dogs, Anya, my husband’s Hungarian Nutcase..I…mean…Vizsla has finished her man-trailing course and now has a bronze certificate in something a bit more useful than eating table-legs and general wombatry….she passed her snoofing certificate! My husband was very proud of her because the only award she has ever been threatened with is the one for being a prize pest. She seems to have found her niche in life. She is going to go back and do the same certificate again though because my eldest daughter is going to take Mali to try some snoofing too, so Anya and Pete are going to show them how its done. My eldest daughter has Parkinson’s as part of her health conditions and she has dementia with it, so we are hoping that learning a new skill will keep her brain from deteriorating. She has been doing loads of training with her in preparation. Mali can sit, stay, heel, back-up, give her paw, ring a bell by pressing a button, guess-which-hand-the-treat-is-in, she is learning how to crawl, do twirls and spin on the spot which is really useful when she comes in from the yard with muddy paws and we get her to twirl on the doormat. It saves my kitchen floor from some of the worst gruesomeness.

We have my husband’s parents coming to stay with us this weekend and I have been trying out some new recipes. I have been watching the YouTube channel of a chef that lives in Jamaica and cooks Ital food, Oh my goodness, some of the food looks amazing. There is a gorgeous stew that uses peppers, chillis, beans, coconut milk, thyme, all sorts of spices. He cooks it on a fire made on an old car hub cab and the woodsmoke probably makes it taste the best, but I think that might be a step too far for my husband’s parents, and maybe my husband too!

When my son was little, the headmistress of his school used to despair of me as a parent because if he had a birthday or Christmas I always seemed to have Really Good Ideas for presents that involved danger. The Christmas when he was 7 I got him a penknife. It was UK legal & had 3 rules along with it….1) it mustn’t leave our garden. 2) if he had a friend over, he could only use the knife if he had permission from me and his friend’s parents. 3) he always had to use it away from himself. I actually got him a penknife and a box of plasters. He had to hold up all his fingers and thumbs and promise me he would have the same number next Christmas. He only ever used 1 of the plasters and we never had any knife incidents. However, he had gone into school and when asked in assembly what he had for Christmas and told them he had a penknife, the headmistress was on the warpath and I was marched into her office to explain myself….

So next birthday it was ‘game on’! He had a succession of dangerous presents. The next one was an axe to chop logs, ready for the next present which was a fire pit. Then a quad to use on the farm…etc etc.

The fire pit was probably the best present we got him I think. We got him a tripod and a big cast iron stew pot to go with it and, using his penknife to cut up all the vegetables, he makes the most amazing stews. They probably would be condemned if health and safety ever met his stews. They are probably why he has such a good immune system but from the spare contents of the fridge, the leftover half of a cabbage, a couple of potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, celery, the ends of this jar and that tin, and the herb garden, he creates such good food. So maybe my son and I will try the Ital cookery over his fire pit in the summer and for now I will play it safe for Pete’s mum and dad and make the stew with no delicious smoke flavour but also no bugs, bits of lawn and no dose of added bacterias.

I’m going to have to stop writing now and go to do something really important! I need to go bath the stinky Mali before our guests arrive. She really is grim!

Blessings, Elizabeth