Confessions of a serial mower - another ode

Its mighty confusing now we all have real names.
Now Sally is Sally, and Jane is a Jane,
But Blossom's not Blossom, am I going insane.

We all live in purpleland and my real name's
that colour.
And up at the big house, there also another!
Some folks are mice, and thats really nice.
Some girls are flowers and they hold the power.
We have men in our midst, all strong and forgiving
Whoever we are, we promote country living!

Confessions of a serial mower - ode to a comp

Promoting a comp
is not very nice
If you are small, sad and grey,
and your friends are all mice.

My poems are all witty
and filled with much ditty
Its all ended in tears
CL are just shi**y.

Confessions of a serial mower - CSI Suffolk

Well folks - what a morning - two posts from little mousie.The announcement about the ASA findings (Advertising standards agency www.asa.org.uk) will be coming from mousie towers and not purple towers - the ablutions are taking longer than expected. I think the purple stains so!HERE IT IS...................I have received a letter from the ASA and their findings to date are, after communication with the Executive Group Publishing Director, .. the competition was not exactly a "competition" in the strictest sense of the word and was not presented as such in the magazine. What was it then.....it was a promotion!! It appears it was not a formal competition at all and therefore was not subject to the normal terms and conditions.I do not wish, as this juncture, to publish the entire letter on this site for obvious reasons. If anyone would like a copy of this I can fax or scan (hopefully) a copy to them. Let me know. You may also wish to take up your own complaint with the asa - the more that do, the more chance we have of being heard. You will of course all recall that we were asked to state that we were entering the competition in our competition blog!!You couldnt make it up could you. But then we are not used to writing fiction are we folks!!

Confessions of a serial mower - back to normal

Well kiddies, here he is, GOH and No 1 son in the red MGA sports car - the one that may have run you off the roads on Sunday if you were in the Snape area! The grey haired one is hubby in case you thought I got really lucky! Bless him he rebuilt this little beauty from scratch as it were. It was a grubby white colour and, of course,

we all wanted a red one! So it has now been resprayed, rechromed and reupholstered. It is still slightly unreliable and I have spent many a "happy" hour in lay-bys around Suffolk, as he tinkered and tweeked the engine. We have met several helpful people during these happy occasions, the world and his wife seem to enjoy tinkering with other peoples breakdowns. The joy when a car stops to offer help. The embarrassment when it is someone you know; even more so when they offer to tow you home!!

Today was pick up and learn how to use contact lenses day for GOH. All went went until this evening when they had to be removed. Not as easy as first appears and I have just extracted them, weird little suckers arent they. Never had them myself, but it seems I am now the owner by stealth! I am in charge of all the paraphernalia that goes with them. I cannot see this working - he cannot see!! We will persevere and who knows what tomorrow holds.

Confessions of a serial mower - still quite competitive

The CL Competition, the comp that keeps on giving. In the nicest possible way that is. I first started entering competitions in earnest whilst mum was ill. I would sit for hours by her bedside in hospital and at home, willing her to live and whiling away the hours reading magazines and entering quizzes. The ones that took the longest were the ones that required a slogan and thereby
my witty little ditties arose. These were the ones I would win – not many people bother if they have to write a slogan, so obviously the chances are better. I nearly won a car once. I entered a motor oil one, I got through to the finals which was a driving at a proper racetrack. We were required to drive all sorts of cars, including a Catterham 7, the £25,000.00 first prize. I even had to take an advanced driving test just outside Winchester.. I did very well, in the heats.
I failed to win as, naively; I had not done my homework. The final round was a test of knowledge on this special little car. I knew nothing – zero, zilch!! The man who won – yes it had to be a man didn’t it, knew every ruddy detailed little thing about them. Congratulations Mr Swot, you win First Prize. I learnt a lot that day.
Until the CL comp, I thought I had the whole thing sussed. Rules, agenda, small print. It seems I still have much to learn.
I was quite successful in a “not winning the car” sort of way. I have won flights to Spain, a weekend in Ireland, a week at Ragdale Hall, garden furniture and games, a huge telly which sits in the snug staring and blinking at the electronic photo frame that was the birthday present for GOH from the boys. I have various books, and cosmetics and gismos. But, in over ten years, this is the first time I ever won friends, which I seem to have done, by not winning a comp!
Of course, a few “real life” friends who have seen my little successes have all jumped on the band wagon. One won a car, one a cruise worth thousands, another a Chanel watch. Makes you want to spit doesn’t it. No slogans involved I might add and no premium rate phone calls to GMTV to my knowledge. Another competition con. There is a lot of it about it would seem. But, as they say “you’ve got to be in it to win it”! Or, maybe not!!!
I might add that I haven’t entered a single one since CL. Kinda put me off; funny that!!

Another day, another lawn. I have five this size.

Confessions of a serial mower - out and about

Whilst I was at Snape Maltings on Sunday we happened to pop into an antique shop/collectors fair and who should be in there but more of my mouse family, sitting forlornly on a shelf and I just had to bring them home. GOH felt sure the Tailor of Gloucester was reading a copy of CL but I had to remind him that this was not so, hardly anyone was these days. It was the Purplecoo Blogger. They are now nicely settled and love their abode.

Snape is situated near the coast on the river Alde in the heart of vegetable growing country on very sandy light soil. I am afraid Darkhorse came to mind as we drove past mile upon mile of plastic sheeting covering the valuable potato crops. It doesn’t look very pretty and in fact looks at first glance like acres of water. The potatoes are well advanced because of it and thus we are able to compete with the foreign imports because of it. Jersey Royals are in the shops now and shortly the Suffolk equivalent will be. The “crane fly” looking irrigators were out in force, watering the very thirsty carrot crops. We dodged them successfully in GOH little sports car as they watered the road as well as the soil. The roads hereabouts are covered with sand; when the wind blows, the soil erosion is very severe, and the soil ends up in the highway. Once heath land, now reclaimed agricultural land, forever trying to get back to its own roots. We moan about our heavy clay soil here inland, but on the coastal belt farmers are fighting another battle with mother nature. Nature nearly always wins. It’s simply in the scheme of things.' Nature will out' is a favourite saying of dad.
It was the most wonderful day, cloudless sky and a light wind; it felt more like June than April. The “Sunday drivers” were out in force, of course we were one of them, but this fact was lost of GOH who just likes to get from A to B without too much hanging around if you get my drift. GOH, another force of nature!

Confessions of a serial mower - an earth moving experience!

Just a short blog to show you mousie in CSI Suffolk mode on her "suzy white sofa" to prove she can compete on that level and the duck family, who are now getting rather too tame and mousie wonders how she will keep her white sofa clean, should they all start paddling around the house!

Saturday man is here of course and as I am still under apprenticeship, I have to go out with him today. He wants to cut back some overgrown hedges and will re-edge some of the borders. We are trying to make the garden less labour intensive and more pleasureable (more earth moving then!!). GOH has gone to the office this morning so I have first call on said Mellors, before he comes home with his little "just do" list.

The pheasants, which come to my house to feed, are of course paying me back by pecking of the emerging seedlings so we going to make little wire netting cloches to protect what we can. They have been eyeing up the tiny asparagus spears - you know, the "do not pick for three years" little babies! Country living, a constant battle!

oheas