Our Garden is Ruined

We have had the chickens for just under a year and they have destroyed our garden.  After Christmas our friend Ian will be building an enclosure for them at the bottom of the garden so we can try and reclaimed our lawn.

R.I.P. Brian

Today Ben discovered that Brian, one of his Giant African landsnails had passed away .................

So Sophie is now all alone in her tank.

Happy 100th Birthday

Girlguiding is 100 years old this weekend - the parties have started for our year long celebrations.

For more information please visit this website :-

http://www.girlguiding100years.org.uk/default.aspx

I Must Find Some Time To Update My Blog ..

I have taken loads of photos - I just never seem to have the time to get it done.

Watch this space......

I.CAN.DO London

Today we set off at 6am to London with 37 Guides & 7 Leaders. We were on our way to Girlguiding UK headquarters on Buckingham Palace Road. We arrived just before 9.45am. We had a quick drink and then left our lunch in a safe place and set off on a walk round London following clues and counting objects, discussing what we saw and getting vital photos of the Guides at certain points - ie. in front of Buckingham palace with a unicorn in the photo, with Nelson's Column & the London Eye in the same photo and at the Ritz.

The weather was hot, the girls were tired after an early start so the enthusiasm started to wane half way round - it would have instantly revived if we said they could just go shopping !! A quick stop at a tourist shop on the Haymarket and we set off again via Whitehall back to the ICANDO centre.

There we had lunch and then the girls continued with some more activities at the centre before we let them loose in the Girlguiding shop and the souvenir shop next door.

We all had a great day.

Grandad Came To Visit....

.... and we went to Bramerton to feed the ducks and geese.

We're Off To Wembley

Ben & I went down to Wembley Stadium today with 12,210 other people to watch Glossop North End play Whitley Bay in the FA Vase.

I know most people reading this will never have heard of Glossop North End - but they are the football team from my home town who play in the NWCFL Premier Division, and they have had a fantastic season in FA Vase competition. They had a nail biting semi final 2nd leg where they finally won 6-5 on penalties !!

A fantastic day even though Glossop lost 2-0 - never mind - there is always next year - VIVA GNE !!!

St George's Day Parade

This is always a juggle because Ben & Sam attend different Scout groups that are also in different Divisions. So they meet up in different places before the parade, and then afterwards they go to different churches for the service. The rain that was forecast held off and as usual it was a good turnout.

The Big Bike Challenge - NANSA

WE DID IT AND RAISED OVER £250

Thanks to everybody who sponsored our team.

How do you make your bed ?

To make a nice cosy bed - eat all the tulips in the flower pot, then dig out the bulbs and empty half the soil over the garden path - then settle down for a restful kip.

Double Yolkers !

Our first two double yolkers which Ben had on toast for tea.

How Many Eggs ????????

Our chickens have been laying for 2 weeks now and as of today we have been presented with

44 EGGS !!!

On Friday last week as we were going away for the weekend we decided to eat up some of the eggs, so we all had 4 poached eggs on toast each - I know this sounds greedy, but the eggs were quite small, and we only had 2 slices of toast each !

Ben & I also used 2 eggs to make 2 chocolate puddings in mugs - absolutely delicious. We used Chris Evans radioshow recipe

Add 4 tbs / 45 gms self raising flour, 4 tbs / 55gms caster sugar, 2 tbs / 17gms cocoa powder and 1 egg in to a large mug :-

then mix thoroughly to a creamy consistency as below :-



Now add 3 tbs / 43 mls milk and 3 tbs / 25 mls sunflower oil (you could use a syringe for absolute accuracy !)


Mix well and add a small dash of vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) but we thought essential !
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes (in a 1000 watt microwave).
The cake will rise above the top of the mug, but don't worry it’s supposed to!



Allow to cool a little, tip out onto a plate.
EAT and enjoy - this can serve two - it’s a huge portion for one! - I can vouch for that !
Serve with fresh double cream, crème fraiche or custard.

So if you have got any good recipes for using huge quantities of eggs please let me know - Thanks

A Sunny Day At Kew Gardens.

We decided to visit Kew Gardens today before we drove back to Norwich. It was a lovely warm day and we arrived just as the gates opened - it got warmer during the day and it was very busy in the afternoon.

Ben planned our route :-

I spied the first squirrel of the day :-

I enjoyed the water lily house :-

And I loved these greens :-

And finally - Father & Son enjoying a day out :-

EDF Energy Cup Final - Twickenham

I bought 3 tickets for the EDF Energy Cup final months ago on the spur of the moment. I had never been to a rugby match but enjoy watching in on telly. Ben has been playing rugby at school so I thought he would enjoy the day out too.

The match was really good with Cardiff Blues beating Gloucester 50-12.

This is Ben enjoying himself !

The Big Bike Challenge - NANSA

My guide unit (2nd Taverham Guides) have entered a team to take part in the Big Bike Challenge on April 25th in Chapel Field Gardens, Norwich. We will be raising funds for NANSA - the Norfolk & Norwich Scope Association.

The bikes have 16 seats each, so I was hoping we would get enough volunteers to fill the seats, but there is a minimum height of 5'2" and quite a few of my guides are shorter than this. So we have myself, Margaret & Claire (leaders) and Daisy, Samantha, Molly & Alice. We will probably be teamed up with another smaller group - but I am sure we will have loads of fun. There will be live music, stalls, street entertainment and special guests.

If you would like to sponsor us please click on the link below - Thanks.

Two More Eggs

Today I collected 2 more eggs from the chickens. One was the same pale colour as yesterdays and the other was darker with brown speckles. Marmite definitely laid one of these eggs because she was in the coop for ages this afternoon and seemed very pleased with herself when she came out.



So for a starter for tonight's tea we had fried egg on buttered toast. The eggs were quite small but they were delicious.

The First Egg Has Been Laid !

The chickens have been with us for 45 days,

they have eaten nearly 20kg of pellet and 2kg of corn,

they have scrapped up most of the garden,

they have produced two bin bags full of poo,

but today we have finally been treated to an egg !

This is the most expensive egg I have ever bought.

We don't know who laid it, but we are very proud of it.

I Forgot To Take A Photo

Take 3 balls of this wool,

follow the pattern carefully,

sew together,

add 3 of these pretty buttons

(I bought 4 because I couldn't remember how many buttons I needed !)

And you end up with a colourful shawl cardigan for your neice's 1st birthday,

albeit almost 2 months late - Sorry Molly.

I was so keen to post it off to her I forgot to take a photo of it.

It's the pale pink one in the middle.

Our Chickens Have Arrived !

I went over to Cambridge Poultry to collect our chickens today. They were very quiet on the way back in their cardboard boxes. When I got home I put the boxes in the run but the hens didn't want to come out of the boxes, I had to almost tip them upside down, you would have thought they were holding on to something in the box.

Anyway they were very quiet and nervous all afternoon and didn't really move around the run very much. Let's hope they settle in quickly and start laying eggs.

Mavis is a Babcock (Julian's)

Misty is a Blubelle (Mine)

Maiden is a Black Sussex (Ben's)

Marmite is a Gold Nera (Sam's)

Sore Feet

Sam keeps getting sores on his heels and ankles. He has stopped wearing his AFO's because the orthotic bod said they were not doing any good any more - his feet are too far gone now :(

We are now awaiting an appointment with the surgeon to see if there is anything he can do.

He had an awful infection in his left ankle just after Christmas - this cleared up eventually after a couse of AB's, but he spent weeks not wearing any shoes, which probably caused more damage to his feet.

He then got a pressure sore on the bottom of his heel on the left foot - this cleared up after a few weeks, but it reappeared on his right heel, and he needed another course of AB's to clear this one and some dressings from the nurse.

I wish I knew how to prevent these - we take his shoes off at home, place cushions & sheepskins on his bed so his feet are protected ....

But he is still a happy chappy :-

A Sleepover Without Any Sleep !

Ben had a friend round for a sleepover this weekend. They had it all planned out what they wanted to do, and it didn't involve any sleeping - just playing on the xbox.

They made a list of all the games they wanted to play and they ticked them off as they achieved their goals !

We had KFC for tea, as A had never had it before - not my favourite, but they were happy :)

We went off to bed at about 11pm and they moved the xbox into the front room because the telly is abit bigger in there.

In the morning when I got up they were still playing games, albeit a little quieter than the evening before and they still had school uniform on !

But by 11am - sleep hit Ben, A got bored so I ran him home.


Ben slept in the armchair till about 2pm - then got up, asked where A was, and disappeared off to bed, till I woke him for his tea at 8.30.


It's a great idea - they stay up all night while you sleep, and then they sleep during the day - I think I might survive his teenage days if this could continue !

Updating my blog

I will be attempting to fill in the gaps in my blog since I haven't updated it since 31st Oct - I have taken quite a few photos so hopefully they will jog my memory as to what has happened in our life.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

We have finally found a way to get Ben to eat beetroot.

Not entirely sure it is that healthy though !

But it is yummy !!!

Here is the recipe we use.

KERRANG !

Ben has just been to a concert at the UEA (University of East Anglia) - he went on his own as either his friends weren't yet 14 or they weren't into that type of music (don't ask me what type of music it is !!)

He really enjoyed himself - so I guess it wont be the last concert he goes to.

A Wintery Walk At Blickling Hall

Today was a beautiful crisp wintery day - so we drove to Blickling Hall (claimed birthplace of Anne Boleyn) and had a walk around the lake and finished off in the coffee shop for drinks and cake !

There are some amazingly large trees in the grounds.

This is Ben standing next to a tree !

It had been so cold that a large part of the lake surface was frozen - so Julian & Ben spent ages throwing stones over the top to see how far they would skim and how big a hole they could make - BOYS !

When we got back to the car, a robin came and sat on the wing mirror waiting to have it's photo taken.

Our Christmas Present

We have decided that we are going to keep some chickens in our garden for egg laying. So just after Christmas we went onto eBay and bought a chicken house & run.

Julian has spent a few hours today putting it all together in our dining room - all the time I kept asking if it would fit through the back door - THANK GOODNESS IT DID !!

We have also chosen which chickens we would like but they are out of stock at the moment - so figures crossed it wont be too long before they arrive.

Here is their new house :-