If you want to know the way, ask a policeman.

Nic told me last week that I need to keep up… with my blog that is. The reason I’m lagging is that I’ve been tied up with children, cooking and a couple of Thai student’s - more on that later.

Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon was a bit weird. We were strolling along the canal path, when a trio of ducks, rose from the water like an airplane on a flight path. We stood stock still as the v -shaped formation soared towards us. And yes, you’ve guessed it...we had to duck! As they flew over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Charlie shook his head exclaiming, ‘I’ve never seen that before!’ Neither had I, but I now know how ducks got their name.’

Later that afternoon, I was in the kitchen when a police car pulled up outside our house. When Charlie called out ‘there’s a policeman ambling down our path,’ my imagination went into overdrive. For when a constable knocks on your door it’s usually because a crime has been committed or they’re bearer of bad news. I darted to the front door and before he could utter a word, ‘what’s happened?’ I gasped.

‘Sorry to bother you,’ he smiled, ‘but do you know where Emmanuel Grove is?’

Trying to calm a painfully galloping chest, ‘is it on Trevor Estate?’ I stammered.

‘That makes sense, he said. ‘I’ve been trying to figure out where it is on the map.’

It was only when he drove away that I remembered that there’s an Emmanuel Grove’s in Cefn Mawr (2 miles from here).

‘I’ve never before heard of a Policeman asking for directions before,’ Charlie remarked. Neither had I. Very bizarre, don’t you think?

The Tarot Fool

Charlie thought the long tailed rat, crawling all over the BBC Breakfast couch- was probably an April fool’s joke. You can’t trust anything you hear on TV or read in the papers on April 1st.

Many moons ago, when “That's Life” presenter Esther Rantzen pronounced, “Rhino poo is good for your face and makes you younger. ” People would have given their back teeth for a handful of the stuff.

In Tarot however, the free spirited Fool is probably the most misinterpreted card in the pack. His title conjures up someone easily deceived or a person that’s five eggs short of a box. Historically though, the fool was the daring court jester who amuses his betters with tomfoolery, satire and razor-sharp wit. Clowns who brought laughter to the royal courts were often dwarfs, simpletons or freaks. Yet the Medieval fool although physically handicapped was very rarely mentally hindered.

It’s claimed that Henry VIII’s favourite jester pulled a fast one on Cardinal Wolsey by tricking him out of £10 (£4000 at today's prices). Wily Will Sommers then gave the minister’s money to the poor people gathering outside the Palace gates. Sommers is portrayed in a family painting that hangs at Hampton Court

Another clever jester who capered in the same motley garb is humpbacked comedian, musician and ballad writer Richard Tarleton. Tarleton a performer with the William Shakespeare's company is said to have been the model for court jester Yorick in Hamlet. Another bell on his cockscomb is that he was the Queen Elizabeth I favourite jester and the only person allowed to point out her faults

Naturally, the Tarot Fool has much in common with his medieval counterpart … with his childlike, carefree qualities; he refuses to adhere to the usual rules. This gentle archetype is a dreamer who sets out on a journey with the belief that you only have to wish to make something happen. With his backpack of worldly goods he tramps life’s highways and byways- before stumbling over a precipice into the unknown.

Fortunately for the free flying spirit the route was paved with wise and wonderful people that helped him gain knowledge and experience. And the right tools brought exceptional returns. Eventually the fool becomes a creator, explorer, inventor, scientist, pioneer, and entrepreneur. He discovers medicine, builds railroads, canals, aqueducts and bridges…The list is endless. Without him there’d be no glowing gas fire or burning light bulb. And we wouldn't have jetted all over the world, or walked on the moon… if someone … along the Tardis of time didn't have courage to take chances.