Inside the chicken coop: July 2009

Saturday, 18 July 2009

Inside a different chicken coop

I recently made a visit to the Wernlas Collection in Onibury,Nr Ludlow, Shropshire. It is a unique and beautiful collection , showing off some of the many rare and stunning breeds of poultry. I was amazed to see so many different varieties on display. Some were beautiful, others not quite so. They ranged in size from something similar to a pigeon to a small dog. But they all had a fascinating history dating back for centuries and spanning many countries. It really is a fantastic place to go if you are into something a bit different.

The place is run by Sue and Shaun Hammon who have been running the collection for over 24 years. I will be going back soon to take more photographs for some articles I am working on at present, but I could not resist taking these snaps, despite the torrential rain. The chickens certainly looked more presentable than I did once I had finished!

It is well worth a visit if you are in the area as it truly is an interesting place to go, just try and choose decent weather as I found a lot of them hiding in their coops and most reluctant to come and say hello when it was raining so hard.

Silkie

Dorking - A very old English breed

The tiny and very cute, Gold Seabright

The White Jersey Giant
The name speaks for itself, they were massive!

The Black Jersey Giant

The Appenzeller Spitzhauben
I wonder what they were saying, certainly curious looking little creatures.

All details for the Wernlas Collection can be found on their website on www.wernlas.com.

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Summer Holidays

'Wow! Look at the size of those worms'

'I'm going to take a closer look'

'Whoa! Where did you come from?'

'I'm on holiday, I live at the seaside'

'It's great fun, people swim in the sea and make sandcastles. You just take a bucket and spade and fill it with sand, then pack down firmly'.

'Tip it out'

'And there you go - I'm king of the Castle'

'I want to be queen'

'No chance, this castle is mine. I shall defend it to the last'

'Just a minute, you are only visiting. I could have you put in a paella before you can say 'Lobster Thermodore'. I rule the roost around here and don't you forget it'

'OK, wow, you are one feisty chick, I don't get this much bother from the seagulls. Mind if I take a dip in your pool before I leave, I feel half cooked in this heat!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Inside (and out) of the chicken coop

Hello and welcome to my blog. I hope you have fun viewing some of the photos and stories, a lot of them are aimed at the younger generation, but hope will appeal to anyone who loves keeping chickens as pets. I have been keeping chickens for several years now, they really inspire my writing as they are very comical. My original hens inspired me to write my book 'One Hundred Ways For A Chicken To Train Its Human' which was published by Hodder and Stoughton in March 2007. Now this little clan keep me blogging about them.

Apart from my hens, I do write other stuff too, I am trying to get my Novel - Red Kite, Published but it's so difficult without an agent, and trying to find an agent is equally as hard. However I shall not give up - that's the one thing I am certain of. In the meantime I am writing freelance magazine articles and children's stories.

Gentlemen of the River - Phyllis Blakemore

I am very proud to announce that my Mother has just had her book published. ' Gentlemen of the River - The last Coracle men of the Severn Gorge' is a lovely book about the lives of the coracle men who spent most of their lives around the River Severn in Ironbridge. It spans the generations of the Rogers family who had a long history of coracle making. My Mom knew Eusty very well as she grew up in Ironbridge. He was the very last of the coracle men of that time. I lived there for some time too and he was a wonderful character. It was very sad when he died on January 31 2003 as a lot of skill and a huge amount of memories went with him.

The photographs show a glimpse of what life was like in Ironbridge before it was a major tourist attraction and helps to tell the story of an ancient craft which is still going strong with the modern day coracle makers of today.

It is published by Stenlake Publishing Ltd and priced at a very reasonable £7.99.

Barmouth 2009

We recently took my Mom to Barmouth for a weekend break and had hours of fun on the beach by drawing animals in the sand. We had limited time to create our sand art, as the sea was fast on our heels. My Mom really surprised me when she drew a perfect Micky Mouse, which I feel was good enough for any comic of today. Our chickens were not so good, and they were soon to be washed away by the tide, but the memories of that time on a deserted beach as three adults being children again will remain as a lovely end to the summer of 2009.