The Rains Return

Back Are Those Dark Skies And The Sound Of Rain


   Again we wake to the sound of heavy rain this morning and those dark skies are rushing over us towards the coast, the one good thing about mornings like these are the amazing sounds of bird song that hit your ears as soon as you leave the house, it's like every bird in the area is full of cheer, the sight of doves sheltering on what seems like every branch of the conifers and bird feeders dripping with rain is one that only appears on mornings such as these, mornings when the countryside seems so rich, the green of young leaf and this springs shrub growth making every hedgerow bright like those of a doctored photograph, every detail standing out above those around it.
   As I write the heavy sheets of rain beat down and the garden begins to look like some water soden marsh, with every blackbird waiting their turn to worm hunt, nature is no fool, she finds a reason for all weathers and I guess there is a very important reason for mornings such as these.
   My planned day in the clay room is now going to happen tomorrow as I need to get some order beads made and a few more focals, I have yet more beads to clean and at last I'm going to list those beads on ebay this evening, so tomorrow is going to be a slower more relaxing day, one with clay between my fingers and pots formed on my wheel, a day I'm really looking forward to.
   Well, another morning when I'm feeling good, the gluten free diet seems to be working and at last I feel confident that we may have found the problem, fingers crossed. I must say a few things on the subject of gluten free diets, last evening we called into our local supermarket to pick up a few bits and after checking out the gluten free products I was amazed at the prices, it was unbelieveable how these shops can take advantage of those who need a special diet like this, yes we all know and expect special diet foods such as sugar free or gluten free to cost a little more but in come cases three times the amount, well to me that is wrong, really wrong.
   Over the last week I've been searching online for gluten free products and have found a lot, butchers who make gluten free sausages and bakers who make bread, most of which are the same price as their other normal products, so why on earth do the big supermarkets need to make so much profit on these goods ? I know we all need to use these large market places and unless your very well off you can't afford not to, but there are times when I wish we were lucky enough to go back to the days when our villages and towns were full of small shops run by people who took pride in the service they gave, shop keepers who were happy to make a living and were there in the shop meeting and serving the customers every day, not these huge store that grace our towns now, stores run by the fat cats who sit in their offices, who take two hour lunch meetings most days and who live on foods and drink that the rest of us only dream of, those who get massive wages to work out ways of making more and more profit from their so called valued customers, what a joke that is !
   Oh well that's my rant over for the day and cuppa finished so back to work for me, I hope you all enjoy this wonderful summer weather and get all done that you have planned.