Jan Woods' blog

A green Man

Much to Skip’s disgust,  I sold our caravan last year,  as we had only used it once in  the last two. The empty space looked lonely,  so I decided to be my usual,  unusual self, and market it as a single private pitch , complete with electric hook up and it’s own little garden . It has proved quite popular with those souls who relish the idea of having no children racing around or kicking footballs in the vicinity and want a peaceful,  adult break , in which to explore the area.

We have had the good fortune to have some delightful guests, who have stayed , without the facilities of a much larger site, such as clubhouses, shower blocks, playgrounds, shops etc and accepted our fairly basic amenities with good grace. One such lovely couple informed  us that they had been refused a pitch on a commercial campsite because their campervan was too old! We thought it was vintage and had a beauty all of it’s own, a bit like us!

We have enjoyed some good old fashioned gatherings around a campfire with a tipple or two. ( alcoholic or otherwise).

We’ve taken our campervanning compadres to fetes and festivals  for the day and made some new friends into the bargain. Our fresh produce from the garden and delicious eggs always go down well as a welcome gift . Many visitors have brought their pets with them and have been very responsible owners. A big thankyou for restoring my confidence in dog owners.

One couple even stayed with their pet ferret who was taken for walks 3 times daily , on a lead!!!

Our Zen chalet has been well booked this year and we already have bookings for 2012. Our guests  love the garden and the lovely lady, who is staying until New Year 2012 is happy to look after the Koi and bird table. She has informed us that we have a killer robin, who attacks all the other visitors to the feeders. I am glad that she has imparted this info to me as I was wondering just what was happening to the bird  population recently. I saw the perpetrator today and he is indeed a vicious little so and so. Even the tits who are renowned for their pluckiness and verve are avoiding the feeders when he is trilling his warning! The last robin we had , who could be identified by a white streak on his red breast, was a friendly little soul,  who joined us when gardening,  at every opportunity,  to devour any juicy worms we uncovered. I have no idea what happened to him,  I have to surmise that he was ousted by the “Killer”, which is quite sad, as we became very fond of “Spotty” over the last five years.

Our next venture into the holiday market is to convert our annexe into a self catering unit for the single traveller. We are currently busy transforming the room into a pleasant ,  self contained studio room, complete with all facilities.

A big thankyou to all our guests who booked with us this year. You have all been a delight to meet. We hope to see you again in the not too distant future.

I am busy with my market stall and hand crafted items at the moment , so we wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Properous New Year.

Jan and Skip

Roses are blooming in Picardy!

A lively palette

Thought that I’d upload a few photos of the garden here at Hafod. It’s a bit windswept and suffering from draught , but colourful, nevertheless.

The overnight pitch.

Bearded irises and poppies

Percy the peacock moves home.

For the last 15 or so years, Percy the Peacock has roosted in our neighbour’s large ash tree. He has spent most of those fifteen years searching vainly for a mate. In April he begins to call and wanders  around the neighbourhood presenting his beautiful tailfeathers in a fan and shaking them to all and sundry.

Unfortunately for old Percy, Llyncly does not provide him with a plethora of any peahens and he remains a batchelor! Until recently he spent his days wandering backwards and forwards across the road, much to the surprise and amusement of many unsuspecting motorists. As his favoured crossing place is on a bend , just after a defunct railway bridge we are all very surprised that he is still in one piece.

He arrived out of the blue, from, noone knows where and belongs to noone. We have a soft spot for him,  but not so much when he eats the vegetables,flattens the flowers and wakes us at 4.30 in the morning with his love songs!

However, it seems that poor old Percy is getting on a bit in peacock years and is currently unable to get up into his tree these days. Hence the photo, as he has taken to wandering around our old chicken coop and staying there the night. There are 8 welsh cobs in the field and I wonder what they are thinking of their newest resident parading his finery to impress them. Poor old Percy, he’s very confused.

I’m in a dillemma as to whether to feed him or not as we used to have to chase him out of our garden due to the immense damage he used to cause.

However I cant see him starve so I guess that’s another mouth to feed!

Pretty as a picture at Hafod

Well, we are half way through May and since my hip replacement my feet havent touched the ground! It’s great to be able to walk, bend, sit, stand, garden, shop and even dress myself without any pain. During my convalescence I took to digging out my craft artifacts, dusting 20 years of dust off them and began creating. I had so much fun making Xmas pressies for friends and family that I decided to start selling them at Oswestry market and on Folksy online. I also have a little shop at Hafod as visitors sometimes like to take a local momento home with them.

The Zen has had a makeover and a kitchen/diner added for self catering guests. Possibly due to the economy and to this being a new idea, bookings are slow but those who have stayed , have given great feedback. The Japanese garden is in full bloom now and everything is at least 3 weeks earlier than normal. We lost a few shrubs and perennials due to the nasty winter weather but the Welsh poppies have seeded themselves everywhere, as have the Love in a mist , Acanthus and aquilegias so I’m not worrying, the spaces will soon be filled. Otter spraint has once again been found under the pagoda as well as wild mink burying under my garden shed. The carp are busy spawning and the young fish from last year are getting their adult colours. The tadpoles have hidden themselves away so well that I haven’t spotted any for ages and the pond is not looking it’s best due to the draught , but , hey ho, that’s nature.

Our new overnight pitch is becoming more popular with motorhomers and caravanners. It really is word of mouth and a bit of help from www.campsite.co.uk!  We have been so lucky that all our visitors have been lovely and often keep in touch, returning when in the area.

We now allow small, well behaved dogs , as we have realised that the majority of owners are responsible adults, unlike a couple who stayed 3 years ago and allowed their beloved pet to eat buttered toast off the carpet and use my doormat as a litter tray!

Well , that’s my latest update. All the best to you all!

Well, it’s all over folks and I am on my way to running marathons, scaling Snowdon and getting down and dirty in the garden again.

Had my op 2 weeks ago and got thrown out on the 3rd day. Quite missed my two octogenarian companions . One who had a similar sense of humour to me and we giggled the long nights away, swapping stories, passing observations regarding one of the nurses who had been thrown out of the Gestapo for cruelty and munching on  peanut M and Ms. I have kept in touch as she was such a delightful companion and a long way from home. Therefore visitors  were like hens teeth and as she was in for a long haul I thought she might appreciate some company or a chat on the phone. We still have a laugh about  the time Fraulien Krappenhosen ( as we named her) came and unplugged me from all my equipment in order that I could go for a pee in the middle of the night, pulled all my bedclothes off and left them in a bundle on the bed, then dissappeared for the next 4 hours. I finished up wrapping the sheet and blanket around me, in mummification mode and slept on the plastic mattress until morning! The staff nurse that discovered me  had quite a turn and said she thought I was heading for the morgue!

I have to say that the staff were fantastic and tried their utmost to make you comfortable. Cleanliness was a priority and kindness was abundant. After all the horror stories printed in the media I was very pleasantly suprised.

However the last couple of weeks have been harder going. My leg decided to explode and I ended up with chipolata toes and a severe case of elephantiasis. Lifting this lump of lead got harder and harder as the day progressed and Skip had to rig up a block and tackle to get it into bed at night. It is reducing in size daily and I am hoping to have a normal shaped leg by 2013!

Had an argument with my crutches on day 6. I was rushing forwards and my crutches decided they were stuck to the carpet behind me. GOD IT HURT! Therefore I am walking very gingerly these days.

Had a lot of lovely get well messagesand cards from family, friends and even guests which I am very touched with.

I shall do my best and hope to be up and running again in the not too distant future.

Skip has been an absolute star and amazed me with his personality transplant from gruff, rough HGV driver to Florence Nightingale. His Brownie points are off the Richter scale at this moment in time but I am sure that will change in the not too distant future as I become more independant again.

I must remenber to take down the plaque that one of our guests sent us which says

“A LOVELY LADY AND A GRUMPY OLD MAN LIVE HERE!”

I think they were joking!!!

Well, three years after starting to run our little B&B  with people with a disability in mind, I am the one who is becoming disabled!  Due to a couple of rear shunt car accidents  in the past and arthritis coupled with bursitis I am reduced to a hobble and a pronounced limp on a bad day.  I am now awaiting scans and X rays as , at last, I have persuaded our GP that I am unable to lead a normal life at the grand old age of 55.

When I first complained of hip joint pain 6 years ago I was sent for physio( which made it 10 times worse) and basically told to go away because I was to young. I still feel quite young in my head, 18, I think, but unfortunately my hip thinks it is 81!

My beloved garden is being neglected as it no longer has an eager and devoted worker, capable of the care it deserves. The wight has piled on due to same appetite, less excercise. John has been relegated to the spare bedroom and I am still unable to sleep due to constant, nagging pain. I did find a great cure which involved copious amounts of alcohol. The only drawback being that the pain crept upwards during the night and ended up in my head in the morning, like some kind of jack hammer pounding in my brain! My grown up children always tell me that I am far too houseproud. Little do they know that these days anything that requires getting down and dirty or up on a ladder for, just gets left. I suspect that in a few months time some unsuspecting guest will be killed by a fall of dust. Seriously folks, I have a bit of help from a friend who LOVES housework and does all the stuff I can no longer manage.

I wish I could get down on the floor and play with small children, but the cost of a crane to lift me up again is prohibitive.

I even went on an archaelogical exploration with one of our guests last week and tripped and fell into a bramble thicket. How do you get up out of a bramble thicket with only one good leg? Luckily my medical training came to the rescue. ” Could you find me a chair”, I inquired of my slightly bemused companion. ” I can push myself up then”.       Chairs not being too copious in bluebell woods and bramble thickets , however, we made do with her doing a Walter Raleigh, throwing her coat down on the ground , kneeling on it, and me, pushing myself up, using her as a lever. I also had a fit of the giggles, which didnt help, even though it hurt like hell!!!

A week later and my right knee resembles a rainbow coloured balloon, whilst my left hip is reminding me that I really need to be much more sensible about my activities these days.

So I have decided that the B&B will have to close its doors until further notice. Our Zen suite however is having a makeover and will be a self catering unit by the end of June this year. We will also have a touring caravan hook up area with private garden by then too.

A big thankyou to all the guests who have stayed at Hafod in the past few years. It would be nice to see you again but times change and we have to change too…….

Sorry folks but Agnes and Mavis have decided that it is still far too cold for them to be standing outside in the garden. Their Easter bonnets are still under wraps. The frost has badly affected their faces and legs and they need a bit of TLC before braving the outside world again! They hope to be enjoying life at Hafod again in the near future.

Typical Bank Holiday Weekend. This year on the Welsh borders we are about a month behind normal. The daffs, tulips , muscari and camellias are braving the frost and cold and are bent over in the gale force wind we are experiencing this Bank Holiday Monday. It is bitterly cold but they seem to be withstanding it.

We have had a busy weekend in more ways than one. Not only did we play host to some lovely judges and entrants to the Oswestry Japanese Bantam Rare Breeds Show but we played host to their exhibits as well! As we have an Oriental style garden at the back of the bungalow I was quite tempted to purchase one of their Yokohamas. For those of you who have no idea (like me) what a Yokohama is, it is a colourful fowl from Japan ,bred especially for their lengthy tail feathers. In Japan they are kept on a very tall perch, on a pole, in order to keep their tails looking at their best. Some have been recorded to be as long as ten feet!!!  John and I were mesmerised by some of the weird and wonderful birds they had with them and enjoyed the sight of them being taken out of their crates and placed on our yard for “refreshments”. A big thanks to Don and his friends for lending me an incubator and giving me some rare breed prize eggs. I hope to be in touch in three weeks with news that I am a Mama again. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the show as I had to get the rooms ready for the next guests. Perhaps it is just as well as prize birds go for hundreds of pounds apiece!

In the meantime, I benefited from someone else’s misery this weekend.  The doorbell rang and I thought our disabled guest had arrived extra early. However , it was a family that had had their house repossessed, and had been given 3 hours to get out. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. They were desperately trying to find good homes for 4 Bhrama hens,  2 cockatiels, 2 rabbits, pygmy goats and 3 ducks.  Someone had suggested me!

The upshot was that I ended up with the chickens and ducks and one rabbit but managed to find good homes for the rest. Our guests fell in love with the runner ducks and I am hoping they are taking them back up to Yorkshire tonight!How lucky that his dad owns a smallholding ….

Anyone out there want a delightful black and white , affectionate rabbit plus hutch? The other rabbit is crossed with a donkey I think. It is a giant Dutch and is enormous . Any takers?

After all the reorganising of hutches and pens I thought I had better feed the hens and found that my Cream Legbar had hatched 4 little chicks. What an Easter Suprise. It is her first brood and she is being such a good mummy that I have a scar to prove it!( I was trying to put clean straw in the nestbox)

Two days down the line and I realise that one of the new “hens”, is, in fact,. a cockerel .Bit of bickering going on but I will keep an eye out for serious fighting. He is such a beautiful bird and I am told that he will grow to about 4 foot in height, I would now hate to part with him. I promised that poor family that I will look after them to the best of my ability and that they can visit when they like. I hope to keep to my word. I wish them a speedy turn of events and hope that they will survive this terrible time  and become a stronger family unit as a result.

Having been down a similar path in the 1980s recession I feel that I can empathise with them.

The air around Llynclys today has been thick with exhaust fumes and the sound of powerful car engines.!

It must be the Bulldog Bash.

Our neighbour has been “tuning ” his engine, all afternoon, for all he is is worth and I have gone deaf!

However, it is nice to see familiar faces, staying with us, from all over the country. Have a great day guys!

Being a female , the only thing I remember about cars is their colour!!!!!

However, such excitement in a small border, market town means that everywhere is booked up. So when the doorbell rang at 9.45 and I opened the door to a gentleman from  Egypt, looking for a room for the night , I knew I was going to find it difficult to help him. Luckily , he spoke excellent English and he was very patient, whilst I found colleagues’ phone numbers and tried to find him a bed for the night. The alternative was to spend the night in our caravan which, although centrally heated, was probably not too ideal for someone used to warmer climes.

Fortunately for him, a B&B 5 minutes away had been let down by a group of Irishmen who hadn’t showed up, so she very kindly, volunteered to accomodate our  Middle Eastern guest. Thanks M!

I would like to think that when foreigners come to visit they are treated with our true British hospitality and warmth.

Even though we are going through difficult times, I like to think that we can still rise to the occasion and help one another.   I wish Gordon and Sarah Brown would turn up ……………………………………!!!!!!!!           !!!!!!!!

The Castle Lodge, LudlowJohn and I decided to have a trip to Histric Ludlow on Sunday. It was a sunny but brisk day and we looked forward to our lunch at “The Feathers” pub and an amble around this ancient town and castle.  Lunch was dissappointing. The meat was tough enough to sole shoes, the veg weren’t fresh and the gravy was like coloured water! To cap it all they even tried to overcharge us. The saving grace were the friendly staff and fabulous olde worlde ambience of Tudor architecture. We chatted to the couple sitting next to us who obvioudly were well known by the staff and landlord, so luckily we kept our council. Just as well because it turned out that he was the butcher that supplied their meat!!!!! He did ask us what we thought of the meat but we were saved by the bill!

We then had a wander around the stunning castle walls and took in the views. I would love to have been able to time travel and see life as it was all those years ago in the 13th Century .

The Sunday market was still in full swing so we tried and tested some of the best Marmalade I have ever tasted. The lemon and ginger really had some fire to set your taste buds tingling and the seville orange and whisky just sang on your tongue. Having purchased several jars and taken the ladys’ phone no. for future reference I noticed a sign on the street.

The sign said, Castle Lodge, Private house, Admission £3. Now, much as I love to visit our National Trust properties I would much prefer to nose around someones’ home, so I rang the bell. After about 5 minutes an elderly gentleman answered the door , took our sponduliks, gave us a sheet of A4 paper with a brief history printed on it and dissapeared into a side room after telling us to go where we liked.   What a fascinating experience. The rooms were very dark due to the Tudor oak wood panelling and intricate carvings. The cornicing was very ornate, even in the servants quarters although the giant fireplaces did recede in size as we climbed further up the stairs. The oak floorboards were the widest I have ever seen and appeared to be in very good condition if a little wonky. However at the top of the house where the servants quarters were, the lathe and plaster had seen better days and was work in progress. What amused me was that the owners had placed a modernish three piece leather suite in a lot of the rooms, on top of a contemporary Iranian rug! Noone else was in the house apart from us and the owners, and as I stood looking out of the mullioned windows onto the marketplace I spoke to John, who was standing just behind me, to one side. EXCEPT he wasn’t! When he didnt reply, I turned around and there was no-one there! Just a slight cool breeze on the back of my neck which made me shiver.      John, as it happens, was checking out the plumbing in the old Victorian bathroom, another floor down!

Putting the event down to my vivid imagination I joined him in admiring the size of the bathtub and ornate tiling. THEN I heard a soft singing floating up the stairs. The sound of a womans voice lilting by really gave me the creeps! However curiosity got the better of me and I decided to follow the source of the melody. We crept down the wide and sweeping staircase. I cant say we did this quietly as every plank creaked at our footfall. I went first and John, whoo poo poos the very idea of spirits and ghosts followed bravely behind, grabbing onto my jacket! The song got louder and louder, her voice tremulous in the ether……………………………………………….. and then I saw HER!

A tiny, glamorous old lady with a walker full of odds and ends was sitting on the chaise longue in the main hall singing her heart out. “Good grief”, I said, “I thought you were a ghost!”    “You’ll have to shout , ‘cos I’m as deaf as a bloody post,” this lovely creature replied.       Turns out she was the owner and we spent the best part of an hour listening to her fascinating life story as a ballerina at the Folies Berguerres, her adulthood, purchase of the lodge and fight to keep it as it drained away all their money . Apart from that there was the extraordinary tale of the ghost of Catherine Parr( one of HenryVIII wives) standing in the window of the upper room that faces onto the market…………………