I am sorry to say that after a lengthy battle with ill health Mrs Hen has gone to join her mates in chookie heaven. She was a feisty old bird surviving her first dog attack when she was nursed back to her feet in a cat basket, getting trapped in a pyracantha bush and having to be cut out, a second dog ambush, and then battled with a mystery lump in her throat for several weeks, before collapsing and becoming trapped under her perch. Thanks to swift action from a very helpful neighbor, she was put out of her misery quite quickly, and now resides in the vegetable patch, buried with some of her friends. She was our only girl who layed blue eggs, which made her extra special. I have called my chicken man at Withy Poultry, and asked if he has any more like her. Thanks to a feature on Countryfile recently, promoting chickens who lay blue eggs, there is now a shortage of such birds, so I am on a waiting list pending a phone call, possibly not till late June now, when Nugget, Kentucky and Nando will be available for collection. We still have 3 girls left in the flock, so eggs will be on ration for the time being!
Life always throws up awkward moments when you least expect them, and I managed to create two myself in the last 48 hours! At my age, I should have probably learnt from the first one. We have been having an internet kerfuffle for the past few weeks, so I was on the phone to BT speaking to a charming lady in an Indian call centre. I always think of Slumdog Millionaire when I am diverted to a call centre, so when she said her name was Latika, I couldn’t help myself and asked her if she had seen the movie as the co-star was called Latika! There was an awkward silence, and I had images of a beautiful girl in a yellow scarf and sari looking embarrassed and uncomfortable at the end of her headset!; she didn’t directly respond to my question (possibly not trained by BT to expect customers to be so direct?) so I tried to steer us back onto my internet problem, which I have to say was super efficiently sorted out , and within 48 hours not only had my new home hub arrived, but our monthly bills have been reduced by £30 as they modified out existing contract. Definitely worth a call to BT if you are on a contract that hasn’t been reviewed for a couple of years, as there are savings to be had. Then this morning I had an Ocado delivery, and was greeted by a friendly driver, who had an uncanny resemblance to Matt Lucas, only a bit less chubby, and slightly better looking. I should have just kept my observations to myself, however, found myself saying “gosh, you really look like Matt Lucas!” Judging by his reaction, he didn’t take this as a compliment so I diverted him by chatting about the weather and the cost of groceries! Note to self: Think before you open your mouth!
For those rhubarb lovers, and I don’t think there are that many, the season is booming and I have started harvesting my crop. I had a little experiment this morning, and made some Rhubarb, Cinnamon and Almond Muffins based on a recipe from the BBC Food website …. I got a couple of people to sample them and they have received the thumbs up! Could be rustling up a little crumble over the weekend, however Roast Chicken will certainly not be on the menu for any more of you jokers on Facebook!
