Introducing our correspondent
I'm Denise Smith and I grew up in Plymouth, training as a nurse before joining the pharmaceutical industry as sales representative, then training manager.
We moved to a Grade II listed building set in two acres of rural South Gloucestershire when Colin left the Royal Navy. This home I share with Colin, my husband of many years who balances being a full-time engineer and a beekeeper, my son Austen, daughter Bryony and two Springer Spaniels - Nutmeg (six), who we have had from a puppy and Paddi,(five), who we rescued when he was three.
Being a ‘housewife’ involves juggling a single shift as a staff nurse with maintaining the home and garden, running the on-site holiday let and caring for the dogs and flock of approximately 50 chickens. To relax I attend one lesson of tap dancing and as a student of Taekwondo manage to fit in at least two hours of training a week. Denise Smith 2012
Denise writes:
Paddi is most definitely now a ‘party animal’.
Generally enjoying the festivities and basking in the adoration of guests flowing in and out of the house. He schmoozed around wagging his tail and looking up with those big brown eyes it was quite obvious that those who had not met him before found it hard to believe the tales of his early days with us.
Nutmeg, having duly greeted everyone, eyed her companion from the comfort of the mat by the AGA - clearly she knew he couldn’t be trusted. Time and again I have failed to pick up on warnings that Nutmeg has been trying to give me!
All was well until we began seeing guests out and Paddi was unattended for a few moments. One scream, a short bark, followed by a clatter of crockery found us all charging back in to the kitchen to find Paddi sat contentedly munching an assortment of spring rolls and samosas! Clearly the temptation to steal food again had been too great.
So operation ‘food watch’ had to recommence to ensure that this was only a lapse. Mind you, it feels like my faithful companions have been glued to my feet during the cooking of various joints of meat in the hope that I may drop some. Their strategy has nearly paid off as I have come perilously close to tripping over the dogs whilst carrying the heavy roasting tins.
The second food snatching episode occurred whilst I was clearing up and accidently left some dog treats on a sideboard. To be fair they had come out of the dogs’ Christmas stocking so it was harder to be as cross! However the vigil remains, coin tin ready to hand to fend off any repeated food pilfering.
Nutmeg meanwhile has been scouring the countryside trying to imitate a Womble by recovering all manner of detritus from the surrounding fields. The most amusing acquisition was a bag of stale bread that she dutifully carried for most of our walk before finally eating the contents just before we reached home.
The snack obviously provided the right kind of energy boost as she then decided to engage in some racing about with Paddi. Not sure who won the game but both dogs came home and crashed out in front of the log burner in the lounge.
I now understand why there is only one beeswax refining company left in the UK as I melt and strain lumps of the stuff over the stove. However there is a slightly tranquil quality to process that inspires me to continue. Having chopped the wicks I now need to find a pair of needle nosed pliers to secure it before tipping some of the pale gold wax in to a mould. Let’s hope I get it right and don’t end up burning the house down!
- Alan and Mary Smith - 18/01/2012
So glad it was a good Christmas and the dogs enjoyed tearing open their little parcels! Also that they didn't get to est the goodies prepared for the adults. Hope the Beeswax enterprise goes well.