12.12.38

Posted on 12 December by orwelldiaries

Heavy rain all last night. Cold & overcast, much like November weather in England. E. has neuralgia, probably owing to going out in the rain yesterday.

Raining most of the day.

Two eggs (53 since 26.10.38, 23 since 1.12.38. One hen is now broody.)

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14 Responses to 12.12.38

  1. Anil says:
    12 December at 7:17 am

    That settles it! The eggs, obviously, came first.

  2. David says:
    12 December at 8:37 am

    What does he mean by BROODY?

  3. Robert says:
    12 December at 9:21 am

    I think he’s getting suspicious. The hen possibly hides the daily third egg from him which is odd.

  4. The Ridger says:
    12 December at 10:29 am

    “Broody” means the hen is trying to set on the eggs, wanting to raise chicks. She’s probably actively resisting his attempt to collect the eggs. I can’t remember, has he a rooster?

  5. JamesonLewis3rd says:
    12 December at 12:08 pm

    Thanks for keeping a running tally for me, George, as I had, unfortunately, lost track back around one egg.

    What!?! No neuritis to go with that neuralgia?

    In today’s PC environment, I suspect the word “broody” would be on the Offensive Unutterable Adjective list.

  6. gwilym williams says:
    12 December at 2:23 pm

    Could he try giving the broody hen something to sit on, perhaps a stone that looks like an egg? Would that solve the problem?

  7. JamesonLewis3rd says:
    12 December at 2:28 pm

    Flash!

    George Orwell Spawns Resurgence of Animal Husbandry Mania

  8. dave says:
    12 December at 2:30 pm

    in 1938 every ache and pain was “neuralgia”…

    Funny he abbreviates his wifes name but has time to (carefully) record his daily egg count.

    Reminds me of the story of the narcissist who,on seeing his wife fall past a window says,”nice watch”…..

  9. JamesonLewis3rd says:
    12 December at 3:42 pm

    It was a brief waft of memory from my childhood which prompted my reference to “neuritis to go with that neuralgia” :

    Early Anacin radio commercials can still be found in public domain Old Time Radio shows and dramas of the 50s. These commercials claim Anacin was being actively prescribed by doctors and dentists at the time, treats “headaches, neuritis and neuralgia”, and that it contained “a combination of medically proven ingredients, like a doctor’s prescription” but didn’t specify those ingredients.

    My memories are not of the radio, however, but are of the television ads which made Anacin out to be a Silver Bullet for Everything which, of course, I refused to believe but I pondered the meanings of the nebulous words “neuritis and neuralgia” nevertheless. Another ponderous trio of horrible things was “seborrhea, psoriasis and eczema.”

  10. Steve says:
    12 December at 3:44 pm

    As far as we know, he doesn’t have a rooster, but hens don’t need roosters in order to get broody, just like they don’t need roosters to lay eggs. One might have to reach under a broody hen to get the egg, and she might complain a bit.

    Some breeds of chicken spend more time being broody, and some breeds are almost never broody — interesting that it’s something that can be bred into or out of them. We don’t know what kind of chickens he has, either, except that they’re typical for the area.

  11. JamesonLewis3rd says:
    12 December at 3:46 pm

    I forgot to link the above quote.
    :shock:

  12. Ed Webb says:
    12 December at 3:48 pm

    The rain brings E pain,
    And the hens grow restless:
    No rural idyll

  13. Zamboge says:
    12 December at 9:09 pm

    Perhaps it is E. whom Eric sends out to collect the eggs (in all weather!) to bring to him. Does Erik notice the other human beings that surround him?

  14. The Ridger says:
    13 December at 1:50 pm

    I know the rooster isn’t needy for broodiness, I just was wondering if he might let one hen raise chicks. No point in leaving her her eggs if no rooster.

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