Today is the last day of the pheasant shooting season. Which is why the people wanted to come and stay. I am fairly ambivalent about game shooting. I don't want to do it and I never go and I secretly encourage any birds that wander up from the wood to stay safely near my house. But compared to chickens they do have a nice life and a quick death. In the wood below our house there is a very professional pheasant shoot and as they use our fields they give my husband so many days a season, free. It seems incredible but if he had to pay it would cost several thousand pounds a year.

When I was going through the fit earlier in the week I prayed meanly to any Higher Being that if I was forced to have guests for the weekend then could the weather be as crap as possible so that the shooting would be miserable. Last night the people turned up oozing with niceness and charm and bringing me lots of PRESENTS. My husband must have said something to them - they really aren't normally like this. The wife was especially wonderful although usually not a 'woman's woman' at all. She brought me a large pot of miniature daffodils; a gift wrapped collection of scented candles; a hardback biography; a box of miniature quiches as a first course for dinner; a huge bag of assorted croissants so that I wouldn't have to 'bother' about breakfast' and a bottle of wine. WTF?. And then was cooing and complimentary about the house, the cats, my clothes, my food ..........

Unfortunately I had forgotten to cancel the request to the Higher Being and rose this morning to quite ludicrous weather. Not only was it misty, fatal for shooting high flying pheasants, but raining like you have never seen. It was almost solid. As they waded out to their cars with set smiles I felt really, really sorry for what I had done.

I don't know what to make of this - if I hadn't had an over the top fit and been rude and screamy then everyone would have been much less nice to me and would have taken all the cooking and cleaning effort for granted. I hate women who are irrational and hysterical and make scenes about nothing and have always gone for the reasonable, objective approach. But the other thing seems to give me a better time and more 'respect'.

I am going to London for a few days to buy Skiing clothes. Another thing I didn't think I would ever say.

Minnie never comments here any more. I tried to lure her out with the recipe for cheese sauce but failed.
- posted by Iris @ 1/31/2004 12:37:00 PM comment