A level results, Student Finance rant and thank goodness for a holiday

A great result! Following on from our previous post, we are incredibly relieved to be able to say that our middle son achieved 3 As in his A levels. We got the news the day of my 50th birthday and were sitting in a cafe in Gloucester nervously awaiting a telephone call. When he rang to say what he had got, I have to admit I burst into tears- it was the most enormous relief. Interestingly the boys at his school seem to have done particularly well this year and nearly all of them achieved the results, and therefore the places, that they really wanted.

On the subject of university- we have been experiencing the unique joy that is Student Finance- our eldest son is already at Newcastle University and about to start his second year. Forms were filled in especially early (June) and we thought no more of it. Being a diligent sort of young man he rang to check up last week, only to find that a vital bit of info was missing and nothing had been progressed. I know this sounds like a rant, but how is the "customer" supposed to know there is a problem? It must be reaching the advanced age of 50 but I find myself getting easily infuriated and long for the "good old days" when customer service really did mean exactly that. Anyway, the long and short of it is that Sebastian is now part of the backlog and back at the bottom of the queue... aargh!!!

All in all, a holiday is a very welcome proposition and we are leaving tomorrow for a week together in Cornwall but whether three teenage boys will have got themselves ready in time remains to be seen!

Student Specials, Lanolin Gift Box and Family Holidays and most important, A Level Results

With less than 24 hours to go, there is a fair degree of worry in the household as we wait for middle son's A level results... like thousands of other worried parents and students up and down the land, we have been reading lots of newspaper articles describing the 50% cut in places available through clearing, some students probably not getting secured places despite getting the grades needed and the fact that 1991/1992 was a boom baby year. This time tomorrow it will all be done and dusted and at least we will know how to move forward, but at the moment it is a horrible waiting game.

We decided now would be a good opportunity to devise a special Student Offer, so we have come up with a 20% discount on Single Duvets (Autumn, Winter or All Seasons) and also a 20% discount on Merino Underblankets. Purchased together, we will add in a lambswool pillow free of charge. This is something some friends suggested last year and we decided to put a good idea into practise! It is going to have a mention in Bargain Hunter in the Daily Telegraph on August 28th, so if it is something that tempts you, we suggest acting soon and letting us know ...

Our Lanolin Skincare range has had a bit of an update; we have consolidated the gift idea to one Presentation Box, everything all snuggled inside some lambswool, wrapped with ribbon and looking gorgeous- great value for money at £29.50 as it includes something of everything and also postage.

A precious family holiday is almost on the horizon, with three teenage sons it is quite something that they are all still happy to accompany us, so we will be heading off to North Cornwall, the menfolk will all go cycling and I am heading for a beach that I have been told has tropical shells washed ashore- perfect!

White currant icecream and Steve McCurry Photography Exhibition

Having had a complete glut of white currants this year, we had divine inspiration and asked a local maker of ice cream if she could turn them into bespoke ice cream for us. She runs Hillbrook Farm in Kempley, selling the most delicious and creamiest of ice creams. It entailed Susan corresponding with the Dutch manufacturers of her ice cream maker because, as she says "they can come up with a recipe for anything" and, lo and behold, yesterday we picked up our first tub of home made ice cream! About 5 lbs fruit has been magically transformed into 11 litres of ice cream and 1 litre of sorbet. A great success; home grown fruit usefully transformed into perenially popular ice cream! I'm thinking next year we might have a go with the gooseberries ...

Last Friday we took our youngest son to Birmingham Art Gallery to see a most fabulous retrospective exhibition for the American photographer Steve McCurry. In 1992 he took an iconic photograph of a young girl in a refugee camp in Afghanistan. It appeared on the front cover of National Geographic to great acclaim and most people instantly recognise it. This stunning exhibition in Birmingham covers his work in war torn countries, ranging from Laos, Cambodia, Pakistan, Afghanistan to Sierra Leone and every single photo has beautiful composition and a story to tell. Accompanying the exhibition is a tv documentary recounting the steps it took to re-find the Afghan school girl and the amount of time it has taken- a five star out of five star show- try and make every effort to see it before it finishes in October. Highly recommended!

What a relief- our little orphan chick has been completely accepted by the neurotic stepmother- she endlessly clucks and fusses but to give her her dues, she has raised a nice little clutch of chicks that are beginning to develop their distinctive Appenzeller top knots and here's hoping we can continue to keep them safe from patrolling foxes.

R.I.P Little Friesan Hen (and her chicks)

Well, little Friesan hen and her chicks are no more- a fox got into her run last night and killed her and took 3 out of 4 of the chicks. We went outside this morning to find the door of the run on the ground, a few feathers, but not many, and one little chick who had had a miraculous escape. How it had avoided being caught I have no idea and there it was cheeping frantically outside pen number two. Fortunately nasty Appenzeller hen has adopted it as if it was her own, and for that I am relieved. Nasty Appenzeller's temperament was even more feisty than normal this morning and I suspect she had also endured night time trauma as some of her feathers were also on the ground.
Foxes are supreme killers and they will return again and again once they know there is easy prey to be had. Little Friesan hen had been with us for about 4 years- ever since we bought her at Usk Country Show and she was the sole survivor of a particularly devastating fox attack 2 years ago. Such is the cycle of life ...

Blog for Dogs (and other pets of course)

Saturday was spent preparing and cutting up more dog bed fleeces- this gargantuan effort usually gets put off as long as possible because we all know how long it takes and what a mess it causes! Step 1- heave and push an enormous 35m roll of wool fleece down from the top store room having rounded up some unwilling helpers- Step 2- move the enormous hall table to outside - Step 3- manoeuvre the 35m roll somewhere near the table so that it can be unrolled and cut. Step 4- do the whole thing again in reverse, but at least there is less of the roll to manhandle! We spent about two and half hours cutting and measuring before we all got fed up and decided enough was enough... Mind you, the dogs thought it was marvellous and even Olly got into the spirit of it all. The woolly fluff goes absolutely everywhere and the big advantage of cutting outside means it gets picked up and used for nesting material ....

Speaking of nesting, one little bantam chick somehow managed to achieve finding its way out of his cage last night and first thing this morning I found it cheeping furiously - how it survived the clutches of a passing buzzard I just don't know. Thank goodness I found it before the dogs did! Bertie is particularly enthusiastic about chicks, all that lovely squeaking and cheeping seems to bring out his worst murderous instincts! Anyway, mother hen kindly rewarded my efforts with a quick peck which did seem a little unfair!