Haiku of today

Sausage Dog cuddles,
Ice Cream lunch in winter coat,
Sore nose, back and throat.

It rhymes a little. Controversial. I don't think they will come after me.

Ola from the Owlery

Hoot! My first blog. Well I suppose I had better post a photo or something. I just fished this one out from last June when both Auntie Jen and the Bristol crew were here. It makes me smile that in the whole of picturesque Hornton, we selected the back of a van as our photo backdrop. Classic. It is a week and 1 day until the May Day Bank Holiday, where this Green will be transformed into a hive of blossom and activity, with cake stalls; raffles; tombolas; the traditional and far too challenging hybrid of tenpin/lawn bowling; the bring and buy area which always seems three-deep in hardcore rummagers, and of course the controversial fairground rides. Last year I helped mum man the childrens' tombola. Which seemed to be a good way to introduce children to a full-on gambling addiction. This year the chapel are doing a craft show, which I have decided to enter. I'm a bit disappointed at the vague and old-womany categories, and don't know which to enter. I mean, listen to some of these:

• "Apple Tart or pie on a plate" - Katie thought about entering a meat pie for this, it wasn't until later when we pondered the significance of the apple that we twigged that it had to be apple pie.



• "Tea for Two" - what exactly is one expected to provide here? Teacups are a given, but considering that this is expected to stand in the chapel over three days, should we do away with the curly sandwich option and just do cakes? And what about the tea? Will leaf tea get more points? Will the judges be able to tell Twinings from Typhoo?



• "Birthday Basket" - ??? The only thing I would want in a basket for my birthday would be puppies. Little mewing furry angels with scrunched up eyes and waggy talloos. Oh wait... the clue is in the category here, it is in the flowers section. Wow, that could have been embarassing.



• "Scotch Egg" - I don't know a soul that makes their own scotch eggs. Who decided that wrapping an egg in sausage meat and breadcrumbs before deep frying it was a good idea?? The Scots will have to be blamed I suppose, but I forgive you because of Scotch pies.

I think I will enter either the Birthday Cake category, or "4 Fancy Cakes". But again, this last one could be a challenge as I can see myself disecting the word fancy until it has lost all meaning and I would just cover the darn things in chocolate and put them on a doily.