The intention had been to spend the weekend mostly in the garden and on the allotment.  There is, after all, lots to do, the forecast was set fair, and the flower garden in particular desperately needs rescuing.

Somehow it didn't happen that way.

I seemed to spend quite a lot of time covered in flour. 

The Builder built the chicken run.

I spent Saturday afternoon watching the soccer (which is emphatically not something I habitually do!!)  I watched the Australia match with: The Builder in Tupton with me, Austin in Nagoya and Simon in Melbourne - all down to the magic that is SKYPE.  Was rather a nice way to watch sport :-)  Can't say that I was mightily impressed with the quality of the soccer this weekend, though.  England hardly seemed to be trying in their match and certainly didn't seem to care.  Australia was trying and did care but couldn't quite pull it off, having been reduced to ten players when one was sent off - a bit unluckily, I thought.  And Japan went down in a valiant game against the Netherlands.  But Japan remains the only one of "my" teams to have won a match.  I might have to adorn the house with Japanese flags!!  (Many of the houses in Tupton are adorned to some degree or another with St George's flags.  There's one house up by the school which is absolutely swathed in flags and has lots of red and white garden windmills (the  little plastic ones you dot about your garden beds to deter birds) about the place.  And when England is playing, they have a twice life-sized inflatable England football player in the front garden.  It looks amazing!!)

We have found a whole new pet supply and garden centre tucked away just beyond the Brimington roundabout.  We bought supplies for the forthcoming chickens, admired the snakes, gawped at the koi carp, boggled at the parrots and ambled around the plants and trees and landscaping materials. It was amazing!  And we had had no idea that it was there.  A useful find.

I researched the availability of chickens in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.  Found a couple of likely suppliers.  Emailed one and got an almost immediate reply saying that they had black rock and lohman chickens available at point of lay.  I ordered two of each.  We're hoping to get them tomorrow after  I finish work.  I wonder if they will all fit in the cat travel box.  I wonder what the cat will think about his travel box being converted into a chook travel box.  Come to that  I wonder how he will take to the advent of four chooks into his orchard?!?!?!?

I wasn't expecting anything to report from this morning's trip to work.  There is so seldom anything much to say about coming to work.  This morning we were passing through Chesterfield in a line of traffic.  There was a bicycle in front of us, a car in front of the bike.  Proceeding along, we were, when all of a sudden the bicycle abruptly flew to the right and the rider flew to the left and collided with the wheel of a car parked alongside.  We came to an abrupt halt so as not to run him or the bike over.  It seemed that his chain had snapped and got tangled with the front wheel.  He assured us he was all right, although he thought he had hurt his neck a bit.  His helmet was smashed to pieces!  Just as well he was wearing it.  You should always, always, but ALWAYS wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.  You just never know when your steed will chuck you off and you will connect with a stationary object with your head.  But I hope the rider gets his head and neck checked out.  He gave the car a mighty whack.  The bike, I think, will need replacing.  The helmet certainly will.