It's the man with the trophies.

Tuesday 1st November 2011
  It's been a beautiful, sunny, calm day today but since Sunday, when the clocks went back, we are on our way to winter with darker nights or even dark late afternoons up here.

 We had to catch some chickens and fetch them in today to get them ready for showing.
  I had thought that the only shows for poultry, or anything else come to that, were during the one "show week" in August. Last friday however we went to the "Harvest Home" in "The Hope" where the trophies were presented for the show last August.

Now we have a handsome shield, a cup and a little trophy to put in the display cabinet.

I also got to have a few beers, so it was a good night.
 You may notice that my hair and beard are much shorter and tidier than normal and that I am all dressed up. This is due to a massive deception played on me by Pam and her friend Helen. (Helen's son is the chairman of the agricultural society). They told me that I had to get all tidied and dressed up as everyone else there would be made presentable for the photos in the paper and that it would be frowned on if I let the side down. When I got there half the people were in jeans and pullovers but at least it gave Pam and Helen a good laugh.

Partly as I haven't had a photo of Pam up on the blog for a long time but mainly because she really, really hates having her photo taken, never mind published, I thought that I would add a photo of her also at the harvest home supper.
So here she is in all her dressed up glory.

When we were there we were told that we "must" enter some poultry in the Orkney cage bird society show later this month.
I was not even aware of the existence of the Orkney cage bird society, let alone their show, and anyway I would not expect poultry to be in a cage bird show.

Just to keep everybody happy, and because, as good incomers, we support local events, we decided to enter some chickens.

 Almost all our chickens are moulting so that all we can muster that are even half decent to send to the show are youngsters, some of them very young. The Dorking hen is quite well grown but everything else is very much on the small side. Still it shows willing.

  On Monday Gareth rang to ask if I could help him with his application for the tenancy of a county council farm. Having his own farm has always been his dream so how could I refuse. Surely giving a little help with a bit of paperwork can not be that difficult or time consuming can it?