General Chat

Evening all

Wasn’t that what Dixon of Dock Green used to say? Now I’m showing my age.

Thank you all for your concern. I still have the headache but it is just that - a bad headache so I am functioning OK. It’s the full blown migraine that can knock me for six for a couple of weeks.

This morning we met friends in town for coffee and this afternoon I’ve just pottered about so an easy day for me. We had sea bass for dinner and Bob is just clearing the dishes.

Mel I am sure your ‘girls’ will love their new home once they have got used to it. I wish I could love the chickens too. I’m a bit of a wuss with all birds though I feed them and love watching them on the feeders and in the bird bath.

Frank, I wouldn’t trust Bob to hang anything in the right place. I’d have to mark exactly where I wanted baskets to hang and then keep an eye on him. Some of the ladies on here know from the gardening thread the trials and tribulations I have with Bob in the garden. In our old house we had a very big garden and cutting the grass and the hedges, doing the heavy digging, looking after the two compost heaps etc kept him busy. Now we only have a very small garden and no grass he’s turned his attention to the plants and we don’t always see eye to eye about them.

Anne and Annx, I like the look of your houses. My childhood home from the age of about 3 till I got married was quite a dark, gloomy sort of place. It was the best my mum could find at the end of the war and was a rented ground floor flat. When I was 12 or so the upstairs flat became vacant and the landlord decided to sell up so my Dad managed to buy the whole house and made a lot of improvements but it was always dark.

Jane I would love to see a picture of Thomas as I have heard so much about him. I think you can get my email address from Mel’s email with her hen house pictures but I will pm you with it anyway.

I am now going to phone a friend who is in New Zealand for 6 months. We use WhatsApp so it doesn’t cost us anything but we have to get our timing right. If I ring now it will be about 9.30 am where she is.

You will be sorry you welcomed me to the thread as I can ramble on forever. Have a good night everyone.

I remember watching Dixon of Dock Green Vera and that little bob he did as he said it! I can well understand you and your Bob in the garden. Ours is a much smaller garden than my old house had and we have no lawn now. Hubby's favourite garden occupation used to be bonfires!! Once he nearly set fire to the conifers at the bottom of the garden so the hose was always kept handy after that.There's not really room for bonfires here but I know he misses having them! I lived in 7 different houses through my childhood, first at my mother's parent's, then a prefab, then a detached bungalow dad modernised, then a flat when we changed counties, then a double bayed semi, then a rented terraced house with no garden, but a large workshop for dad's business, then a detached house in the country with 1/3 of an acre. I used to wonder if it was worth making friends. :-S You are very savvy using whatsapp. I think I am becoming a dinosaur with technology so need to 'get with it' I think!

Jane, Thomas must enjoy the taste of pigeon poo he certainly is a big boy. I noticed the other day that our two are beginning to moult, they are ten at the end of the month.

Ann I like the photo of your home the two houses do look similar don't they,I would love to live in Watersland of course it has been modernised now but still looks the same from the outside as it's grade 2 listed. My great Uncle bought it for £600 pounds when he retired from the police force. About 10 years ago it was up for sale for £625,00 pounds so I was able to see from the photos how it looked after restoration. Every time we visit Sussex we take a trip to Tenterden, Kent so I can have a look. It's named after the Waters family.

Thanks for the pictures Jane. I think the Warthog is great. I wouldn’t have known where to start with it.

Thomas definitely looks the lovable rogue that I know he is yet I hadn’t imagined him looking like that. Funny how we visualise people or animals and then we see a picture and find we were completely wrong.

Sent it to Ann and Vera.

We don't mind you rambling on Vera we enjoy it. Its nice to have some posts to read when we all pop in.

I got quite a good pic of one of the Long Tailed Tits just flying off the feeder the other day and I keep meaning to send it so I may jsut do that.

Morning all

Feeling a bit uneasy today, we're just waiting for the police to come as there was a fire next door last night. It looks like someone had a key and let themselves in then set fire to a pile of cardboard in the kitchen. Luckily the neighbour the other side heard the smoke alarm and contacted the boss who then contacted the owners. We heard a bang and when I looked out of the window there were two fire engines in the street. We went out to see what was going on and the neighbour from the other side was there and told us he saw flames through the patio doors at the back but couldn't get in to do anything. The owners turned up then and poor Lynn was in bits crying and shaking. We've got the new owners number now just in case anything else happens. They were still there at 1am this morning waiting for the police to arrive, but left shortly after, so we think the police will want to speak to everyone sometime today. It was definitely lit on purpose and from someone who had a key as there was no signs of a break in. The kitchen had only just been finished yesterday and now it's ruined so will need to be replaced along with the floor. They are so lucky the whole bungalow didn't catch fire and that the neighbour spotted it when he did. They thanked him and us for our help and we all said if there's anything we can do to help to ask. The fire investigation fella was there so how long it'll be before anymore work can be done we don't know. They were told they would in able to move in in three weeks but I can't see that happening now.

They also have to have both the bathrooms taken out to as the floorboards need replacing, apparently they are falling to bits, so they're really not having much luck with their purchase. Both the other neighbour and us think the place is jinxed. I'm just glad who ever did it didn't set light to the skip as it's full of cardboard and very close to our car. We're in shock this morning now we've had time to think about it, if the neighbour hadn't spotted it almost straight away the whole place could of gone up and there is gas connected now so it could of been a lot worse for us all. The police told them to leave all the security lights on last night so poor Sandra had to sleep with a bright light shinning in her window all night, they did say it was only for one night so it's not to bad for her. She was shook up with it all too.

We suggested to them to have their locks changed as they don't know who has keys. OH thinks the boss has upset someone, maybe not paid them so it might be one of the workmen, but then he did shout at someone who was going through the skip and the new neighbours said they saw the same person walking past when they came to the bungalow around 5.30pm, but how he could of got in who knows. I hope they work out who it was and change the locks like we mentioned. I do feel sorry for them as they've had no end of problems, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to give up on the place and sell it. Unfortunately the security camera hasn't been connected yet so they'll be no clues there either, if it was a workman they would of known the camera wasn't working. It's all a mess and I really hope the new neighbours have some good luck soon, my heart goes out to them with all the bad luck they've had lately.

Good morning Gill. Oh how worrying and sad for the new neighbours. Lucky it was found before it did more damage and what a pity nobody has CCTV in the area to see who was around. No use thinking about the 'what ifs' Gill. Nothing else happened and you are all safe so don't dwell on that. Has Sandra got curtains at her window? We have curtains that shut out the light (black out linings) pity she hasn't got those but I hope she was able to sleep with the light. And what a nuisance about the bathroom flooring etc. Is it a new bathroom put in by the builders? The new owners need to ask their surveyor why the state of the floor was not picked up in the survey as well. It all sounds a real mess for them.
Anyway, I hope they can catch whoever did it. Hopefully the police will be looking at anyone who has a grudge against the builder now. sounds a bit stupid to let themselves in with a key and very nasty to spoil the new kitchen, no thought for other people not involved if it was a grudge thing.

Good Mornng all,

O Gill you r poor neighbours. I am so sorry for them it is just one thing after another. I do hope they can find out who did it and they get put away. It was so near completion too and now to find the floor in the bathroom needs replacing is just another worry for them. I hope they had the place insured and its covered. Its just as well the fire alarm went off too or the other neighbour may not have noticed anything but it must also be a comfort to know that neighbours are looking out for any trouble that may occur too.

On a lighter note we have sunshine today and the sky is blue with only a few clouds to the south. Oh let the chickens out this morning and said there was one egg in the nest box so thye can get in there ok and know where they are. I was worried about it as its all round a different way to the old house.

I have to change their water this morning as I am worming them and have to do it again tomorrow so I am a bit cross he let them out.

The new neighbours turned up about an hour ago so we went round to see if there was anything we could do to help and to see how they both were. Lynn was a lot calmer today, but the place smells and needs a good clean and re-paint and of course the floor will need doing again, the kitchen is okay it just needs a good clean. Luckily it's just superficial damage, but Kevin was talking with OH and saying his old house is back on the market so OH got the impression they were thinking of buying it back, so I should imagine once everything is finished next door will be back on the market again. They are having the locks changed today but have the boss organising it for them, which we think is silly as it could of been the boss who started the fire for all anyone knows, trying to get more work out of them. The police aren't doing anything about it because all the evidence was washed away by the firemen, so they have just issued a crime number. Kevin and Lynn are going to get in touch with their insurance but don't think they'll pay out with there being no signs of a break in. So at the moment we're not sure what's going to happen to the place, or if they are even going to move in now.

OH has gone to buy a new bulb for our front security light in the hope it puts people off and the new neighbours said they are going to put camera's all around the property as they only have one by the front door and they are being connected next week. I can understand why they want to do that but we're not to happy about it if they can see over the fences onto our property as we'll loose all our privacy then. The outside lights they had on last night were very bright and lit up the whole of our back garden and also shone right into our kitchen, Sandra's bedroom and our bathroom.

I was thinking the same as you AnnG about buying some blackout curtains for Sandra's room as the ones she has now are quite thin and a cream colour so don't block any light out. She said she slept okay but it took her a while to drop off to sleep with her room being so bright. I'm still a bit concerned about the skip being messed about with and hope who every started the fire doesn't think to start one in the skip, but I suppose it's only natural to think "what if's" and I'm sure all those type of thoughts will soon go. My main concern is Sandra, she's very nervous at the moment so I'm trying to reassure her that nothing else is going to happen. It's not that long ago there was a break in over the road and that shook her up, it took quite a while for her to get over that, so I hope she can sleep okay now and doesn't have worries like last time again.

Yes, AnnG the two bathrooms have been put in by the builders I don't think much of the builders, well the way the boss is asking them to do the work, each time a job is done they seem to have to take it apart and do it again, it's like one step forward and two back with this project. I'm sure at some point it'll be finished and then if they decided to sell someone else will move in and it'll all be over. If they do decide to stay I hope they will be happy there, but by the looks on their faces today it looks like they have given up and just want to get rid of the place. Time will tell I suppose.

Morning all,

Gill it sounds like 'A RIGHT CASIES COURT NEXT DOOR". Surely the owners or the builder knows who had a key to the property. I am sure the police will eventually speak to all who have had access to the property. I hope they find the culprit and prosecute him to HIGH HILLS. He deserves a prison sentence for arson. Thank goodness the fire was confined to the kitchen. Is it a detached bungalow or Semi.?? Had it been a semi, a fire could soon race through to next door. This happened to me when we first bought the Post Office. The next door was let to a woman, and she fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand. It set light to the bedclothes.. She was able to get out with her Dog. But the fire brigade seemed to take ages to get there, and the fire had burnt through her wall into our staircase. The Firmen soon had that under control, but next door was virtually gutted. It seemed that half the village turned up to see the Blaze.

What a beautiful looking morning, I haven't been out yet, but Ros is in the garden again planting things in the front borders.

Maureen a neighbour across the road came over this morning with a bottle of "HOB GOBLIN BEER" it had been purchased for her partner together with a variety of beers. The HOB he tried, he didn't like, so she bought the other one over to me. With the promise that if he doesn't like the others, I will get those also. GREAT. ;-) ;-) ;-)

I am being called by Ros. so will pop back later.BYE

Afternoon Everyone
What a lovely day it is here today. Wall to wall sunshine :-D :-D

OMG Gill. Your poor 'new neighbours'. It does sound as though it may well have been an inside job as they say. If there was no break in it has to be someone with access.Unless of course a door was left unlocked. What a good job the neighbour the other side heard the alarm .How frightening for you all. This place seems doomed doesn't it. Nothing has ever gone smoothly and the Boss seems a really unpleasant person .I think if I was the new owners I would not be wanting to live there now.I feel so bad for them as they sound really nice people.

Ramble away Vera :-D We all do sometimes :-D.

AnnX. I tried to send you 2 emails last night but both bounced back !!! :-S :-S.. It said Server too busy. I will try again and see what happens this time.

I have been over to Rushden Lakes this morning to M&S .Just for food,but ended up with 2 pairs of trousers and a top as well. The trousers are 'short' so fingers crossed will be the right length for me.I do find the short lengths often in short supply so have to buy when I find them. I could well end up taking one pair back as they are not my usual type but I shall see. I am hoping they will be fine as I really like them.

Hannah has just gone ot meet up with her girlfriends for lunch ,James has gone to see his friend and then this afternoon when Hannah goes back to London James will be going too. He will stay with her and Gareth until Wednesday. I think it will be good for him to get away from us for a few days .He can still look for jobs there on his laptop.Just a different change of scenery will be nice and I am sure he will take himself off places during the days when H&G are at work. He may even cook a nice meal for them :-D I might suggest that :-D

We have been watching 3 Red Kites overhead just now :-D

Frank, I think we have had Hob Goblin Beers here. I am sure you will enjoy yours .You mentioned Speckeld Hen Beer the other day. Now I am not a beer drinker but I do like Speckeld Hen :-D. We always get a variety of Beers in for when Gareth is here :-D

Just seeing this lovely weather today makes me really want to be on the coast somewhere . I really miss living by the sea :-(.. We are so far away from it here.But it wont be too long before we go to Yorkshire and I will get my fix then when we go to Whitby and other coastal places.A boat trip is high on my list of things to do(even if Chris doesnt fancy one. When we went to Northumberland I did a boat trip out to the Farne Islands and it was just amazing to see so many Seals and the Bird Life.Chris stayed on dry land then. He missed something special.I think it was the small boat and slightly choppy sea that put him off :-D The one thing though that was not nice was to see a Seal with a load of fishing net caught around its neck :-( :-(

Just going to try on these clothes I bought this morning.

Afternoon all,

Beautiful sunshine here just a few little white clouds in a blue sky .

Oh my goodness Gill your poor neighbours, just when it seemed the bungalow was just about ready for them to move into too ,hopefully it will just be smoke damage and easily sorted out for them .
I carnt see that anyone with a key would go in and start it as they would be the first ones the police would talk to if there was no sign of a break in .

So you have one happy girl who has laid an egg then Mel :-D i'm sure the others will soon follow suit .

Oh Jane what a good job Janice has made of the Wart Hog costume it's brilliant she should be so proud of herself ,i carn't see any thing wrong with the legs if the child wears tights the same colour they will look great .

Yes Ann we have been buying the eggs for the childrens egg hunt ,they have two more weeks at school before they break up for Easter .

The family came this morning and the little ones played outside it was so nice .
We're just having a lazy sunday ,the beef joint is in the oven and smelling good and apart from doing the veg that will be it for today , we get lots of jobs done in the week so having a lazy day at the week end doesn't hurt .

Mandy I think Janice has done a great job too.I think she will be glad to see the back of it next week LOL .
Roast Beef :-D.. I can just smell it.My tummy is rumbling just at the thought :-D :-D
I am doing a cheat roast tonight just for me and Chris. Rotisserie Chicken Breast with a sticky marinade, ready to roast potatoes, same with Parsips,Yorkshires and a big bag of veg that will go in the microwave :-D :-D I just need to do the Gravy. Bisto :-D
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I sometimes feel a bit sad we have no family near enough just to drop in. It is just us here. I do think sometime in the future (I don't know how far in the future ) that we may well move down nearer Janice and Gareths parents.That is where H&G are planning to move.( I think I might have said this the other day !! ) Sorry for repeating myself.

The sun is still shining and there now seems to be a little breeze.

An Egg Mel :-D :-D :-D That is a good sign . May there be many more soon :-D

Hi all from a very sunny Northants. I have been very lazy today. Last night while Ros watched something on T.V. I did the veg for dinner today. This morning I got the beef out of the fridge, and made the Yorkshire Pudding. No cheese sauce today as we aren't having Cauliflower. We are having Roast potatoes and Parsnips, Runners, peas and carrots and sweetheart cabbage.

Ros is still in the garden, I have offered to make COT but she won't have one while she is bending down all the time.

I have ordered her a load of Begonia's this morning from Jersey Plants. I am also trying to order 72 Perennial Plants, advertised for £9.99. BUT when you go on line the price is £19.99. So I have sent an email complaining. (TYPICAL ME) !!! Now the wait for a favourable reply, I hope. !!!

Vara, we are all as guilty as anyone else, for rambling on, but that's what our group do, so don't worry yourself please. !!!

You are having an easy day Jane, everything pre-prepared, and ready for the oven/microwave. Don't blame you. if you can get away with it. ;-) ;-) ;-) Thats nice that James and Hannah are spending time with each other. I don't ever remember doing that with any of my family, when I was younger. I did spend time with TED later in life, and we did have two Foreign holidays together with the four of us. But of course now I only have Mary me sister who is in very poor health, who I can't see us having a holiday together.

Mandy, I think you are a very lucky Grandma, having your children and grand children round as often as you do. I know from what you say, they do enjoy coming to see you, and of course that's very important. I can honestly say I only ever had Grandma Baker, my mums Mum, who lived in Canning Town, and as a family very rarely visited her. I think this is the reason I would be interested in knowing where my daughters THREE BOYS are, and what family I might have. I haven't had any reply to my enquires yet. I might be tempted to ask Simon if he can find out, even though I know he no longer has anything to do with his Sister and Mother. (WHAT A FAMILY)

I have read the paper from end to end, not that there is much n the way of interest to me. BREXIT seems to be dragging on and onnnnnn :-\ :-\ :-\ :-\ I will be glad when it's all done and dusted. !!!

I think the costume's great Jane and would love to see a pic of the child wearing it if thats at all possible.

Had another egg before lunch so there must be two that can get in the nest box.

Suns still out and oh is watching the back of his eyelids so when I have washed up I shll go out in the garden and do a bit of tying up of the rose over the fence as its sprawling all over the place at the moment. I shall probably come in covered in scratches but it will be worth it. It only flowers once a yer but it is so lovely. Its Albetine and has been there for a very long time. Then there's the other rose further down the back garden which is a real beast. That only flowers once but the scent is to die for. I think its a rambler, well if not it certainly rambles along our fence into places I don't want it.

It woud be nice if they could find who did all that damage to next doors new build bit. Perhaps the builder needs more money to pay for his expensive holidays he's been having. I don't suppose it could have been a fault in the under floor heating which set fire to the cardboard packaging laying on top. There again did whoever fitted the kitchen leave any cardboard inside or was it all put in the skip which means it must have been taken out of the skip and put in the house. I do hope they get it all sorted soon and decide to stay as you seem to get on ok with them Gill.

Jane I don’t know why your sister is disappointed with the warthog. It’s a cracker. Wish I was as talented.

Gill, your poor new neighbours. They must be at their wit’s end. I hope they have good insurance. It’s quite frightening to think how bad it could have been but it wasn’t too bad so don’t dwell on the what ifs. I wondered if the door could have “accidentally” been left open but you’d think the culprit would at least have made it look like a break in. You’d think the police would look a bit further into it, even if much of the evidence was washed away by the fireman. It’s depressing to think whoever did it can just walk away scot free.

Mandy, you are lucky to see your family so much. Make the most of the young ones - they grow up so fast. I feel so sad for those of you who don’t have contact with your children and grandchildren. I don’t see a lot of my grandchildren now as they are fairly grown up and not close geographically but we are close in spirit.

Mel, I am sure you’ll soon be getting plenty of eggs. Do you know the old song “Chick, chick, chick, chick chicken, lay a little egg for me”? You’ll have to sing it to them :-D

Enjoy your beer Frank. Bob went for a lunchtime pint with a neighbour today and instead of going to the local they went to the bar at Nethergate Brewery which is only 3 or 4 miles away. I doubt if Nethergate is known outside Suffolk. He got back about 2 pm and we had our dinner then. Roast lamb with roast potatoes and lots of different veg, followed by clotted cream ice cream with a big dollop of rhubarb compote, made by my daughter from her home grown rhubarb.

Now I am sitting in the conservatory with the door open, enjoying a cup of tea. It’s been a beautiful day but the wind is getting up again now. Think I’ll now move into the living room and read the newspaper.

t's me again. I forgot tp mention, CONRAD has a little DOG. It's been hanging around for a few days and looked totally unkept. So he took it in, took it to the vets to have it checked over. She is fine, just needed a lot of love and feeding. He has bought a bed for her and lots of food from the vets. He has spoken with members of staff, who have said they will look after her when he comes back to the U.K. He is so proud of himself committing to having the responsibility for a little HEINZ 57. She seems to have settled in with him. I think he takes her to work with him also, as he works in a port a cabin for an office on site. So he is able to walk her when she needs to.

I expect I will be walking her when we go to Spain in May/June.

I have part boiled the Spuds and Parsnip, now waiting for Ros to come in, then I will start dinner. We never eat till late on Sunday's. So I won't want any supper later. !!!

O thats lovely news Frank. It will give him some company whilst at work to. Something to talk to instead of staff or clients. Can't wait to see a pick of her if he would end you one you could forward it to us, please? Is she long or short haired and has she been spayed? How old do they think she is? What colour is she? Whats he going to call her?

Frank I hope Ros has room to plant all these plants you are ordering for her !!!!
Clotted Ice Cream is sooo good Vera. Nice and rich :-D
My Sister is a perfectionist and never thinks the things she makes are good enough.It is just lack of confidence .She is amazing with the craft work she has done over the years.I always say she could set herself up in a little business and get a good income .
Mel I hope Janice does manage to get a pc of the little boy in the costume . It has cost her over £15-20 to make it so far :-0

I now have the song Chick Chick Chick Chick Chicken in my head Vera :-S :-S :-S

Never heard of Nethergate Brewery Vera,I suspect it is just local to Suffolk. Chris sampled a few local beers when we stayed in Suffolk so may well have has a pint :-D