Another new update, this new discipline seems to be working. How long will it last?
So from the excitement of Nanny Fran’s birthday and a stop over in West Bromwich life has settled back to the norm. This means that work is hectic for me and on my days off Lucinda is working, so unfortunately we are not seeing a lot of each other. Éowyn though is seeing both of us on our days off, just not at the same time!
Work has been busy for me for two reasons: a) that we were gearing up for the end of the EPL season (and other end of seasons for ESPN) and b) we are in the middle of a huge recruitment drive that has seen over 1800 c.v.s pass through our (electronic) door. After eliminating 90% via their c.v. (and apparently you are not allowed to use the David Brent philosophy of avoiding employing unlucky people by throwing half the c.v.’s in the bin without reading them – shame) we then get the lucky ones into the office to interview. This is obviously necessary but is quite a strain on the usual workload but nevertheless it is comforting to be part of a company that is expanding especially in the economic uncertainty that pervades western society. Now, nepotism is rife in the TV industry (as much as in many others) but unfortunately there are laws against child labour else I am sure that Éowyn would be a strong candidate for a number of the roles.:
VT/MCR: she is very good at pressing buttons; can put many electronic devices into modes that are not mentioned in the manual only for her to hand it back to daddy saying (O-oh!) so that he can fix it, and more importantly, can ensure that the correct feed is on her monitor (Cbeebies on the telly).
Sound Assistant: excellent at checking microphones by blabbling into them and can count to 2.
The big news of the fortnight though is that the ‘bird has flown’. After a month of feeding our expectant mother duck, she began to hiss at us on Friday. This we took that the eggs were beginning to hatch so we respected her privacy and did not encroach in her space. Then Sunday morning she waddled across the lawn, tapped on the back door to show her 13 (yes 13!) ducklings. We put a tray of water and another of duck feed that we have done for the last few weeks and she ate eagerly. I assume that while the duckling were hatching she did not stray from the nest and so must have been starving. The ducklings moved as one mass following their mother but (and quite rightly) keeping their distance from us.
Then Monday morning we woke to find mother duck and her 13 ducklings (yes, all of them are still alive) were in next door’s garden, obviously heading for the stream. So in a co-ordinated effort, next door opened their garden gate and neighbours positioned themselves either end of the service road behind our houses to warn any motorists of the precious convoy. Down the family waddled to the stream and off they swam. Now they are in the big wide world but I think we will still keep half an eye our for them.
Now we can actually get into our garden and mow the lawn and trim the weeds. It was a good excuse for the last month, and as you can see from the photos below it is amazing how quickly the garden can look a mess if it is neglected, but now there is no excuse. So this afternoon we will get the lawn looking respectable.
I will use that cue to bid you adieu and leave you with some new photos including some of our adopted family.
Peace and love
Baggie
