General Chat

Love all the photo's Ann, I like the sculptures to. I thought the ones of the men were actually real men, I had to look twice to realise they weren't. Not sure about the horse's head though, I think I would of preferred the whole horse.

I love your garden Jane, I'd love a big garden like that, I think ours is probably the size of the bit from your arch to your house. OH wasn't long when he went for his pre op assessment, so hopefully you won't be either.

So the children can't wait to go into your pool now Mandy, lets hope the weather is nice for them. At least Chelsea and Katie have their trips to look forward to while they wait.

I could'nt wear a cozzie even if I wanted to as I hav'nt got one.

Lovely pics again Ann I like the horse and the blue white and pink border. Those sculptures are really lifelike.

Good luck tomorrow with the pre op Jane and I hope you don't have to hang around too long waiting to be seen.

Morning all,

Sunny and cloudy if you know what I mean. The suns out with blue sky and big white clouds but in the distance there are grey clouds lurking and comine over now and again.

Good luck for Jane today with her pre op. We are all thinking of you and hoping you don't have to sit there all day waiting to see the surgeon. When has Fitzy got his pre op?

Not sure if its today or tomorrow there's supposed to be someone coming about the water leak as I did'nt write it on the calender, silly me. I thought it was the 4th but oh said it was the 3rd. So we will have to wait and see who is right.

Good morning all,

All alone for my Anniversary. The girls went off around 9.30 (our time) Conrad at 10.00 So here I sit, the pups are fast asleep two in the big box, and one in a smaller bed. Lola is crashed out on the floor in the cool.

As I said earlier Ann, those photo's are just amazing, yours too Jane. I didn't see how big your garden was, when we came over to pick up the Hostess Trolly. How big is it ?? We had about half acre at Gayton, and that was plenty for me.

Yesterday we went out to lunch to a real Sea front Restaurant. Jan and Conrad had Paella, Ros had a hugh Lamb Shank, with veg and I had a Sea Bream, all opened up and grilled. To start I had a fish soup, while the others had Olives and salad, Conrad had to help Ros out with the Lamb. He also fancied a bit of my bream, which he said was so flavoursome, and said he might have that another time.

As Jan and Ros needed transport for the spa day, today. Conrad and Jan went to collect it from the new airport at Murcia. about 40 minutes drive. The next thing we knew Jan came thought the door, she needed her PASSPORT for identification. So they had to go all that way back. By the time they arrived home, I was in bed reading. I left Ros watching BGT. I forgot to ask her who won.?? I did pop my head round the bedroom door, to say goodnight, before I settled down. As usual I was fast asleep before Ros came in, I didn't hear or feel her.

She loved the DIAMOND BRACELET I got for her for our Anniversary. She has bought me TWO Ralph Loran (sp) shirts, which of course she left at home.

I don't know what the arrangements are for tonight. In with the SPA DAY comes a three course meal, which they will have around 3.00 pm So I can't see them wanting to go out eating tonight. I will just go along with whatever Conrad has. I know SALAD will be on the menu. HE JUST LOVES IT. !!!

A pleasant morning here, but as yet, not to hot or sunny. But clear Blue sky's

I hope your pre-med went according to plan Jane. I would imagine the surgeons do so many in their working week, they think nothing of it. But of course, we poor humans, naturally, get a little up tight with the procedures. Just relax and it will be over before you know it.

Still no gate then Gill. ?? You will have your hands full, trying to keep an eye on them, as well all the other things you do. GOOD LUCK xxx.

I am going to make a coffee, and sit out in the sunshine. If and when it gets too hot, I will come in and read again. WHAT A HARD LIFE, I Have !!!! See you soon xxxx

Happy Anniversary Frank and Ros. <3 <3 <3 <3

Afternoon all

<3 <3 <3 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FRANK AND ROS <3 <3 <3

Sorry to hear you're on your own on your Anniversary Frank, at least you have us for company. I hope you do something special this evening, after all it's your Anniversary to. Have the pups woken up yet, you can have a play with them and Lola, I know how much you love them. :-) Yes, I'll just have to keep an eye out for the people coming to do next doors gate and hope they don't start the work when we're not here.

Hope all went well for Jane and she wasn't hanging around to long.

OH got another appointment through today for his pre op tests it's the 18th a week before his op, at least this appointment is in the middle of the day, the last one he had was after 6pm. We were having a laugh when reading the do's and don't's for the day of his op and one was no make up or false nails, I just said no lippy for you that day LOL :-D :-D :-D He'll have his own room as it's a private hospital so that'll be nice for him as last time he needed to go into hospital he was sick with the anesthetic which would be embarrassing if he was on a ward with lots of people around, hopefully he'll be better this time around though. I think it was because he tried to move around to quickly and he had a cigarette. He's not allowed to smoke anywhere in the hospital or their grounds so he should be okay and not sick this time.

Good luck with the water leak Mel. You just need to wait to see who's right on what day they come to you.

I've been out in the garden again, it's lovely and sunny and quite warm with a gentle breeze, just the right type of weather for gardening. I've moved some more pots around, swapping the next lot to flower with some of the ones that have gone over. There's a few more to do but OH wanted to water the garden so they'll be done tomorrow if it's not raining. Our garden has changed so much this year, I think I planned it just right for the first half of the year so we had colour for each month. I might have to buy a few more plants to fill the gaps as the year progresses though, I'm not sure if I've got enough flowers to do the whole year. Everything seemed to flower early this year so it didn't quite go to plan as I thought some of the flowers would last a bit longer than they did. Never mind it's looked lovely so far so I can't complain. It's just nice not to have to do lots of hard landscaping, we've been doing that for the last 2 years, so now it's just pottering around, which is a welcome change and pleasant to do.

The squirrel got on the bird feeder the other day and chewed right through one of the plastic containers with the seeds in, so I'll have to buy a new one now. I put more Vaseline on the feeder yesterday and so far the squirrel hasn't been on it. They must have very sharp teeth as it chewed all the way through the hard plastic stand attached to it, that the birds stand on.

Thanks Mel,

I had an Email from Simon this morning wishing us all the best as well. Which was nice, I didn't think he knew the date.

It has been absolutely silent here. The pubs have slept all morning, and Lola is now stretched out on her blanket on the sofa. I have just been outside for ten minutes. the sun is now getting quite warm, so I won't go out there for long at any one time. I do love the sun, but to much will make me have a headache. Thank goodness I had left a straw hat out here, from last year. I put it on as soon as I go out, as the sun seems to burn my scalp so quickly, it could be that I haven't much "THATCH" on top. lol lol

I see that there are TWO STEAKS on the side thawing out. So I expect we will be having steak and salad for our lunch.

Hows the weather over there. ? I know 41 years ago it was a real summers day. (the sun shines on the righteous). After our wedding in Wellingborough, we went to Billing Aquadrome for the reception, and were able to sit out all afternoon, by the lake. Ros and I then drove to Hastings for our Honeymoon, as I had A SEA FISHING COMPETITION the following weekend, A few of the lads from the Club came down with their wives, so the girls had a day sunbathing, while we were at sea. In the evening on the Saturday they had a reception party, for all the competitors, and presentations for the various winners. ME NOT INCLUDED. !!!

I expect Jane is home now, from the hospital. I hope everything went off O.K. Did Fitz have his pre-op today as well.??

I hope you are behaving yourselves,while I am away.!!! It does seem strange being sat here on my own, the first time this holiday. PEACE AND QUIET. lol lol

Frank Charles Thackery won BGT the Chelsea pensioner. I was so pleased.

Afternoon All,

<3 <3 <3 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FRANK <3 <3 <3

Lucky Ros getting a diamond bracelet and great that she loved it!! I can see your brownie points whizzing up!! At least you are not alone if you have lovely Lola and her pups to share a nap with you! ;-) ;-) I wonder if you will be eating out with the ladies having a 3 course meal? I'm like Conrad and always eating salad or my weight would soon balloon.

I hope your pre op assessment has gone well Jane. Thanks for the pics and your garden looks really lovely just now and Chris's veg have grown really well. It is so nice to look out on a lovely green space like yours. Frank your old garden was massive......you could have kept a Shetland pony on it! I thought mum and dad's was massive and that was only, I say only, a quarter of an acre. Mum wasn't keen on gardening either so muggins did a lot of weeding, mowing and hedge clipping. They got a gardener in once I got married and moved out.

Gill, a whole horse would have been good! lol It would have been HUGE though with a matching price ticket I expect! We didn't stay very long as OH needed the loo and they had just one available with a huge queue waiting for it!

Mel, the hot tub seems to be a hit and will help both of you relax after a hot day on the garden. I think I would skinny dip if I couldn't be seen, or slip an old t shirt on. I have a cozzie that hasn't been worn for decades. It's navy blue with a border of flowers at the bottom.

Happy anniversary Frank, glad Ros liked her bracelet. It doesn't seem right you on your own and Ros off out with Jan on your anniversary"

Hope Jane is soon home from the pre Op. It does take a while though. Just been down the garden helping OH sort out which pots the new plants went in. He did go to golf but disn't stop for coffee so was home earlier than I expected. I was in the middle of making a card for Grandson's 6th birthday.

Afternoon all,

<3 Happy Anniversary to you both Frank and i hope Ros and Jan enjoy the spa .

Not a bad day here a little sun and a little cloud and a good breeze to get the washing dry .
Colin has been painting the little side fence and i've pottered ,this afternoon we have to take Max to the vets for his yearly check up , vaccination and kennel cough ,i also need more flea tablets and wormer tablets .

Hope all went ok with the pre op appointment Jane and you weren't hanging about to long .

What a little monkey the Squirrel was chewing through the plastic container ,he must have really wanted the seed LOL
I had to smile about your OH's do's and dont's list when he goes into hospital ,maybe they could give him some thing for the sickness if he tells them he was sick last time .

It was nice to see the Chelsea pensioner win BGT last night ,i liked all the little ones from the school singing their hearts out too.

The homeserve boys are here and have turned our water off.

Mandy I think the two final ones on BGT were both good, but I'm glad the pensioner won. He really wanted to sing to the Queen.....bless him. He was a good singer for 89 years old. I think the hospital do give out anti-sickness drugs, so hopefully if OH doesn't get up to quickly, he should be okay.

I should imagine a whole horse would be very expensive Ann, but wonderful to look at. I normally get stuck with the weeding, if I ask OH he sometimes refuses when he see how many there are. We've both been weeding this year so there isn't many left to do. I've just been back outside moving yet more pots just incase the good weather doesn't last, but it's getting hot now so I had to come in after half an hour. The rest can wait for another day. It's looking much tidier now though, I think an hour to two each day makes all the difference over time and you don't get to tired as well.

It sounds like most of us are in our gardens doing one thing and another. I wonder if it'll be really hot and dry like last year, I hope not as it was to hot for me and the plants weren't to keen either. Our water bill increased with all the watering we had to do, so I can't afford for that to go up again, especially after our gas and electric just going up to almost double what it was.

Pleased to see Ros loved her Diamond Bracelet Frank, pity she left your present at home though. Did she forget to pack it?

I wonder how Jane got on this morning, I hope she wasn't hanging around to long and is more relaxed now it's all over.

I hope your water isn't off for to long Mel and they manage to sort the problem out for you.

They have just gone and are sending down two blokes on the 11th now so we still have the leak but these two don't know where it is. What a nightmare.

Afternoon All

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FRANK AND ROS <3 <3 <3 <3 <3. I see you have had a quiet day so far but are probably out having a good fill of some lovely food :-D :-D

Glad Ros loved her bracelet and I am sure when you get home you will look dapper in your new Ralph Lauren shirts :-D :-D

Ann, those pics from Neville Holt are stunning. What a place. I have passed it many times. Once when it was still the school.

So my pre op thing went fine.It onlt took about an hour. I onlysaw a nurse. No Drs/Surgeons. My BP as usual was through the roof.I did warn her it would be and that when we took it last night it was ok. She took it again after a while and it had started to go down so she seemed ok with that. If it had stayed really high I would have been sent for an ECG. Bloods taken , Urine Sample done.I always find that so awkard .Men can do theirs so easily ! I signed lots of forms, brought home quetionaires to fill in and take to the Joint School on the 11th. Apparenty I am down for a General not a Spinal but it sounds like it is an open thing until the actaul day of the op when the Anaesthetist will decide which is the best way to go.
Fitz had his pre op assesment some weeks ago and has had his appointment at 'joint school'.Mine is on the 11th.

My friends husband is back home which is a relief . They now have to work out what the issues are and see if they can work through everything.I am sure she will sleep well tonight after 2 nights of barely any sleep at all .

I heard a cat fight earlier out the front. :-S. I think it must have been Thomas seeing off that other black cat that uses are driveway as a route .What a horrible noise it is.
No damage though as Thomas is in at the moment and having a sleep .

I have been having a sweep of cobwebs on the lounge ceiling. My goodness some went from one side of the room to the other !!!!!!!!. You cant really see them until they start being swept. But they ae sticky cobwebs and half the blooming things get left stuck on the papered ceiling :-S :-S . When I get up in the night to let you know who out I often find myself walking through a web. These spiders are fast workers and so annoying.

Frank,I think it must have been late afternoon maybe Autumn or Winter when you came here to collect the Hostess Trolley which is why you would not have seen the garden. I think it is maybe just over a 100ft long. . Far to big for us now but a lot smaller than most of the neighbours gardens. Chris just loves it and I know if we ever do move he will miss it.The garden itself is manageable but it is the hedges and big trees that are a problem . We think we are going to get people in again at some point to sort out some of it.

It is a funny old day here with the weather. Big clouds ,no sun ,but no rain,and still really warm.

I see Trump tweeted some nasty message about the Mayor of London just before his plane landed. Silly Arse.I somehow cant see the Queen enjoying this visit . She will be grinning and bearing it I reckon. He is a rude and arrogant man and I would not want to spend a minute in his company . Is that me getting political?? :-D

Good afternoon folks

Happy anniversary Frank and Ros <3. Ros is a lucky lady to get a diamond bracelet from you. I am glad she was pleased with it.

No gardening for me today, too busy with other things. Your garden looks lovely Jane. Like Frank we had half an acre in our last house. We loved our garden and had spent the 26 years we were there getting it looking really good but it was hard work and we were getting older so we decided to downsize a bit and move nearer town. Even the little garden here seems to keep us busy. In 5 years it has gone from nothing at all to being somewhat overgrown. I need to tidy it up without losing the natural look that I like. A project for next spring perhaps.

I loved your photos Ann. The sculptures are amazing. I rather liked the horse’s head and what a view from there.

I can’t believe they are still faffing about finding that leak Mel. What a pain for you and what a waste of water. I know leaks can be difficult to find but couldn’t they just come back each day till they do find it.

I hope the pre-op went OK Jane and you didn’t have to hang around for too long.

This morning we had sunny spells and quite a stiff breeze. Now the breeze has dropped and it’s grey and very muggy. I feel as though the sky is pressing down on the top of my head. OH is doing dinner tonight - not too taxing as it’s only cold chicken and bubble and squeak- so I think I’ll go and sit by a cool fan.

EDIT. You posted while I was typing Jane. I’m glad the pre-op was OK

I downsized both house and garden to move here Vera. I lived on my own at my last house for the last 9 years and a biggish garden was way too much while working full time. I worried a bit at first about the idea of having a much smaller garden but decided that to have a garden I could keep on top of and spend more time sitting and enjoying would be much better. A lot of our neighbours in the close seem to be re-vamping their front gardens. Mrs O opposite had theirs done last year and now, in the last week, 4 more have started!! It looks like 2 are widening their drives as well.

That's good your pre op went well Jane. I have never heard of joint school, but no doubt will find out in the future. You are so right about giving urine samples. If men were designed like women they would never put up with those silly little bottles! I have never found a good way yet! lol. I bet your friend has been so worried about her hubby and will be twitchy for a while in case he takes off again. Hopefully that won't happen now though.

It's good your hubby has his date for his pre op too Gill. Hopefully he will be fine. I think the operation isn't usually a long one so there isn't as much anaesthetic in your system. OH was fine after his and even came in Asda's with me on the way home after his was done! That was before the painkiller they had given him had worn off though, as he was sore the next day once it had.

I hope they get cracking finding the leak Mel as you are paying for the leaking water till they do which isn't very fair.

AnnG .. Did you get my last message re,Boathouse?

Ooh Jane so sorry I got sidetracked. Stopped to email he who is organising things and tell him what you said. Then it was dinner, Corrie, eastenders and I forgot to acknowledge the message. Thanks for finding those details.