Final tribute to our Martha and the Vandellas

HAPPY DAYS: Martha and her backing group 

FENMAN can reveal that Martha and the Vandellas are officially no more. Ruby, the last remaining member and probably the noisest of the trio of old hens, joined that great coop in the sky very early today after a short illness.

She was suffering from sour crop, an illness quite common in poultry. She suddenly became quiet and slowly went off her food. Not a good sign in her case.

I won't go into all the details, but suffice to say my wife and I battled for more than a week to keep her alive. Tonic in water, glucose and layers mash in organic yoghurt administered with syringes, extra bedding, lots of tlc, etc. We even tried krill oil, recommended by many people, but all to no avail. She seemed to rally at the weekend when we thought her crop had finally emptied but despite an afternoon in the warm sunshine yesterday, she passed away in the night. She will be fondly remembered, especially for those summer days when she would jump up to join us as we sat on one of the garden benches.

Martha and the Vandellas have a great back catalogue of photos and we will always remember that it was Martha who helped kickstart this menagerie of ours when she walked into our kitchen. See post We'll miss Martha - and so will the Vandellas (23/03/13).

RIP Martha, Mrs Pepperpot and Ruby who are buried outside the duck compound. Dancing in the Street they are not. Perhaps Nowhere to Run is now more apt. Brilliant song, check it out on YouTube.

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