General Chat

Afternoon all,

Hello to Pippyn and Uzzi :-D nice to see you joining us for a chat .

Lovely day here a few black clouds about and quite windy ,i stripped the bed this morning and got all the washing dry.

I keep thinking this is Saturday i don't know why .

Jane ,when does James finish work ? i do feel for him i hope he can soon find another job one where he will be happy .
Oh that's sad Janice having to have her dog put to sleep ,is Jorge still chewing things ?
Max is fast asleep on the sofa he always gets on the same end of the sofa when he's really tired ,he must be chasing the children in his sleep as his paws are racing away.

We've had a few flies in and a few Wasps too Mel , it sounds as if your getting plenty of wind your way ,good idea having the sack barrow to hold your beans down .
We've had one picking of runners so far ,boy did they taste good .

Gill you'll have to really give your body a good rest i think your doing to much ,a sore foot and now a sore arm ,that was a lot of screws to put in so no wonder your poor arm is sore .

Better get the kettle now on for a nice cuppa .

Jane it was my sacroiliac that I put out when young and the doc said have another baby as thats the only time the pelvis moves.

You lot asked about the hedgehog skull. I wanted it for the boys to show them their teeth. Perhaps they could have taken it to school for the nature table. I once gave them a snake skin I found in the tunnel for the table. I already have a crows skull and a magpie and a deer.

We've had rain and then sun and a high wind and then it all starts again.

A stormy day here! Windy, rain and sunshine!! We did a big shop at Tesco this morning so we won't need to go shopping again for a while. We made a really early start to get there and back before the expected bad weather! The afternoon OH is planning to finish tidying up what we call the old garage and sort out any remaining rubbish that needs to go to the tip! This has been a bit on going, so I'll believe it when I see it!! He is notoriously untidy both inside and outside which can be 'tiresome', but does make great efforts now and again to improve!! He is however, pretty easy to live with and helps where he can so long as I ask!!!!!
Oh dear Jane, how very sad for your daughter and all of you.. Our daughter lost her first baby, many years ago now, but I well remember how upset we all were, and how she and her OH found it difficult to accept their loss. She now has two teenage girls who have brought her (and us) a lot of joy, but she's never forgotten that first little one. Our son has one small boy who is a smashing little chap! Unfortunately he and his wife were unable to have any more children, but that's the way it is, they have the one and seem happy enough with what they've been allocated!! Hope your son is feeling less deflated. These things are never easy that's for sure! Sorry to hear about the poor dog too. What a week you're having! It can only get better!!
We're not going abroad, we did think about going to the south of France where we've been on and off over the years, but we've also wanted to go back to Cumbria again, and maybe on into Scotland, so that's what we've decided on! we plan to pack up and see where we end up! We know the weather will probably be awful, but a change will do us good and the scenery is guaranteed!!!
I always put veg into my Shepherds Pie Frank as well as mince. I leave it all in the slow cooker, then put cooked potatoes on top and put it under the grill to brown. It's easy and not much clearing up!!
Oh dear, OH wants me to look at his tidying!!!!!!
:-S :-S

Pippyn Lol!! Why is it they like to tell us what they have done and show us. (usually hoping for praise. My OH will come into my craft room and regale me with what he has just done in the house and/or garden :-D

Jane when is your holiday? Is it soon? You will enjoy the break and change of scenery. James's problems seem to have almost started at the same time as Hannah lost the baby, maybe it is all tied up in his mind. He does really need something good to happen.

Oh dear Frank, you will never learn that you are not 40 any more will you? Hope the aches go soon.

Mel, I bet the boys get lots of Kudos from their classmates for the things you give them to take in to school.

Vera, it sounds as if the clinic got your granddaughter's Dyspraxia confused with Dyslexia. Our second Grandson was diagnosed while at sixth form colled with Dys (something) Can;t remember exactly what it is, but it means he had/has some minor co-ordination problems relating to spacial things, I am not sure what it is really but he was given a free laptop and extra time for exams and help when it was needed. He went to uni and got a degree but has not used it at all and now has just bought (with a loan from Mum) a sandwich/take away shop and seems to be settling into it comfortable.

Mandy, sounds as if our weather has not reached you then.


We had a good morning at Nature in art, a couple of good exhibitions, one by Norman Thelwell who used to draw for punch but who was also an excellent artist, he also used to paint the cards with fat little ponies and cartoon girls, who ended up living near Romsey in the Test Valley. Lots of other things to see including porcelain, glass, gold threadwork, beautiful wooden sculptures od birds etc and there was also an artist in residence (Philip Snow) who paints wild life beautifully. His paintings are very expensive but I loved his red squirrel paintings. I had a wander around the grounds (I know them quite well from when we used to have our Glos Lifestyle meetings there) and took some photos of the outside sculptures (No photography inside). then we had lunch which was very good, OH had tuna baguette and I had jacket with prawns; Loads of prawns as well. Then there was a cloudburst so we had another cup of coffee. We were down to four by then as two had left. Anyway we had a good chat, it stopped raining and we came home.

Afternoon all,

The phone has been busy, Harvey keeping us posted about Lewis's progress. What a little Bu@@er Lewis is, he has let his phone run out of charge, so unable to keep us posted, only via Harvey. BUT the best of it is. He can only remember his Mum's telephone number. So goes to a pay phone to ring her. She then rings Harvey, and he then rings us. He is flying from Bezier (sp). He has been told he will get compensation to the value of 125 euros. So we will make sure he claims it.

We now know he should arrive at Luton around 4.00 pm, So Ros will drive down to collect him. I am rather cross with Harvey, as he packs up work on Fridays at 4.00 pm, so why he can't leave off a bit earlier and go and collect Lewis I just don't know. After all he is his own BOSS. It now means Ros has to travel down the M1 will all the afternoon traffic, and worse still driving back with all the London traffic coming back up the M 1, remembering it's Friday afternoon, and is always very busy. She will also have the wind and rain to contendl with.

I can understand now Mel, why you would like the Hogs skull. I found a disused Wasps nest in a loft of a house that we looked at years ago, and gave that to the local junior school. I think they displayed it under a glass dome, as they feared it might not be healthy for the children to touch it.

Pippin, like you, I cook veg in my shepherds pie, But I cook the mince onions etc in a WOK. then transfer to the dish and put the mash on, with a topping of grated cheese.

You mentioning Hannah Jane, has just bought back a memory of my sister Mary, who's baby turned BLUE, and died on the way to hospital. She came banging on our front door at 4.00 am screaming like a banshee. I was first to the door and had a real job trying to control her. I think her husband was at home taking care of the two boys.

Ros's bracelet arrived this morning. It is going back as it's not as described and far to short, that it hardly goes round her wrist. I sent an Email to the seller explaining the reason why I was returning it. AND said " I hope you do the refund as soon as you get it" I made a typing error and instead of typing I hope you do. I typed I hope you die. she replied, and said, I hope it was a typing error, as she is a very sick woman. You can imagine how I felt when I received that. I sent back my apologies straight away. In future I must read what I type before I send it. :-( :-( :-(

The wind is still blowing like mad here. I was going down the garden to see how many apples have been blown off the tree, but it has come on to rain as well.

I have a nice COD ROE for my tea tonight, whereas Ros is having Steak, mushrooms, onions chips and peas.

Off for a cuppa now. See you later. xxx

It is blowing a hoolie here. Big gusts. But so far still no rain.
I see there are major power cuts over lots of parts of the country . We have just got torches and candles out just in case. I shall be doing fish and chips in a minute so the oven had better not go off !.
Hopefully Lewis has landed safely now Frank as some airports are affected. It is a pity Ros has had to drive to pick Lewis up .I would have thought Harvey would not have wanted his Mum driving in these windy and rainy conditions.

So Pippyn your Daughter lost her first Baby too.It is a dreadful time isn't it. :-( and your Sister too Frank :-( One of Hannahs friends gave birth on Tuesday .Shr had a little girl .It must be so hard for Hannah ahd Gareth right now as I know they were all excited to having their Babies just a couple of months apart. Enough of sad things now.

We have never just packed up and gone on holiday . I do think it is a nice idea though as you never know quite where you will end up :-D . It will all add to the excitement .
Cumbria and Scotland sounds good to me. We had a couple of holidays in Northumberland and loved it. Lindisfarne and a trip in a boat to see the Seals in the Farne Islands were the highlights for me.

We go on the 6th for a week.

Oh Frank I am just listening to the news and it is saying about Luton aiproprt and all the rain coming through into the terminal!!!!!!. Please let us know when Ros gets home as she must have had to drive in some really terrible rain.

Mandy, Jorge has become best friends with Jilly now and they sleep together and play all day. As for whether Jorge is still chewing things I am not sure. Janice hasnt said anything so nothing major will have been damaged.I think he stilll likes to collect shoes :-D

Mel I hope all is battened down well.It sounds like you have done what is needed . Hope all the Chucks are all safe and havent got blown away.
I think the boys would have been interested in seeing the Hogs skull and teeth.Children seem to love these kind of things. I remember when my Nephew Matthew was at school I gave him a Mole that I found at the park thinking he could take in in for Nature Study. But the school said no . Maybe because it was a fresh Mole . I suppose it would have started to smell :-S

We won't be going completely blind Jane! We went to the North on three or four occasions years ago and will be following where we went then. There will be a 'plan of action', however sketchy!!!!
Hope your wife and Grandson got back safely Frank, and everyone else stay safe over the weekend.

What a shame the bracelet you bought Frank is no good and has to go back. I did have a good laugh at your typing error though :-D :-D. That poor lady must have thought you were a really awful person LOL .I am sure she understood though when you explained :-D

Ann you asked about my hip pain. I don't have any.It just all went as soon as I had had the replacement hip. It is amazing. Even my op site is not painful .It is just the muscles/tendons that were cut through feel a bit sore sometimes.No more stiffness in the hip either.So I am really glad I went ahead with it. Hopefully you will do as well when you get your knee done.I am sure you won't be like my Sister. She was one of the unlucky 2%

Just had a very sharp but short downpour. No idea where Thomas is .Out collecting more sticky burrs in his fur no doubt. You should see my lounge carpet.It is covered in the burrs :-S. He licks and licks and then spits them out :-S They look like teeny weeny ballbearings or capers :-S

Evening All,

I was watching the wind rocking the bean poles a while ago but it's dropped now so hopefully the beans are safe for now.

We had a sharp shower about an hour ago, but I think the garden needs more.

Your hip op (I keep wanting to say hip hop!) was a good success if the hip pain has all gone Jane and the stiffness too. I must admit I was wondering about the stiffness in my knees and whether that would still be there after but maybe not!

Frank I don't know why people travel on Friday afternoons as OH used to find his trip home from Luton when he worked there was always horrendous on the M1 with the commuters. What a shame about the bracelet and what a clanger you dropped there! I learned fast at work to always check what you type. :-)

I was still doing the same bracelet at beading today. I've changed my mind twice about the colours and started again, but it's going well now! I came home laden with apples and round courgettes from my friend's garden so it looks like we'll be having more traybakes! I shall cook and freeze some of the apples. She has a huge garden and even has sweetcorn growing. Damsons, several apples, pear and 2 kinds of cherries as well as lots of veg.

He's calling me so I will have to catch up tomorrow now.

Winds really got up here now ,plenty of black clouds but not much in the way of rain and now the suns out again .

Hope Ros has got home ok it's not nice driving in the wind and rain with all that traffic ,did you end up going with her Frank ?

Annx way back you were talking about hierarchy with chairs at work. Working with the military there was a lot of hierarchy but I don’t remember there being any different with chairs. Maybe when HEOs and Wing commanders got their own office they may have had chairs with arms but mostly we had typists swivel and wheels chairs. The teams in the open plan office used to have an order of seating with EOs nearest the window and AAs at the end of the row of desks. That was in my last position and was high grade too heavy as it was a main office (HR). We spent all our time fighting for recognition for our grades to be accepted with equivalent ranks.

We had a power cut this afternoon and oh came out and asked me what I had done to knock the leccy out. I said I hav'nt done anything and had'nt realized it had got off. It was out for quite while too. Then you have to wait for the internet to kick back in. Not even the phone worked.

O Frank what an awful mistake you made putting I hope you die!! Its a chame the braclet was too small for Ros so now you will have to keep looking. Did Ros get back safely from picking Lewis up? Its a bit naughty of Harvey to let his mum pick Lewis up as you say he is his own boss and it would'nt have hurt him to collect Lewis. Its years since I had proper cod roe. I did see it in Morrisons once but it was so expensive I did'nt get it.

Holiday sounds good to me Pippyn I hope you have good weather and a lovely time.

We've had a lot of really heavy showers today and the wind is still blowing. The beans have been safe though and we have had one picking this week too Mandy, on Wednesday with our lamb chops.

Morning all,

Very windy here last night and this morning and there's loads of leaves all over the lawns. They say we have this wind till about six o'clock tonight. Rained loads last night but I still had two hogs come to eat at the bowl of food I put out.

I shall be staying in as much as possible today but have toget my paper from the hop and I will have a dozen eggs for Em.

Slept well even though oh had all the covers. I had to get the extra throw to cover myself in the night.

Morning all

Cloudy with a tiny bit of fine rain. OH is just about to finish the painting down the side of the bungalow. It's peppledash so it should hold the paint if it rain harder. He's only got a little bit left to do. We don't have the peppledash around the back, so that bit of painting can wait until the weather is brighter.

It looks like we've been lucky and had better weather than you all, we've had quite a bit of sun these past few days and it's not been windy, although it's a bit breezy today.

You were lucky the woman understood what you meant in your email once you explained it to her Frank, what a shock it must of been to read it though. Sorry to hear the bracelet didn't fit Ros. Have you found another one yet? Hope Lewis made it home okay and the weather wasn't to bad for Ros to drive in.

I heard on the news last night there were power cuts in Cheshire, which isn't that far from us Mel, luckily our electric stayed on. Hope the weather has calmed down a bit by you and you haven't had anything blowing around.

Pleased to see your hip isn't hurting now Jane. How long will it be before you can drive again?

I did really well on OH's tree yesterday and hoping to have another good day today. I have everything I need to finish off the screening but think another few days rest should sort my arm and foot out, they are slowly starting to improve, so i don't want to make them bad again by doing to much to soon. Besides with OH painting in the same area, I'd only get in his way.

Sounds like you have been lucky with your weather Gill not like us its been raining here on and off for days now and some really heavy downpours too.

The doors to the lounge are rattleing today so I better go and close the bedroom window.

It must be quite windy Mel if the doors to the lounge are rattling, good idea to close the bedroom window to stop the draft.

Yes, we've been very lucky with the weather, especially with OH painting the outside of the bungalow. I must admit his painting is looking good and makes the property look nice and clean, after all the dust from the work going on next door. OH's friend said it looks posh and should he bow when he see us now lol :-D :-D

Morning to you all,

We have had the STRONG WINDS all night, and this morning. I was in bed by 7.20 pm last night. I ached all over and felt I just needed to lie flat. I propped my book up so I could read for a while, not really comfortable, so gave that up. The Radio was complete rubbish with all this THUMPING MUSIC (thats what the youngsters call Music) They can keep it.!!! Got up again around 11.00 pm not been able to sleep. So I read my book until 1.30 am and went back to bed. Got some sleep, but by no means a good night.

Ros said it took over an hour to get to Luton Airport. On the road from the Mi to the airport, the banks on the side of the road collapsed and TWO FEET of Earth and water flooded the road. Lewis was standing out in the rain when she got there. He was soaked through. She phoned when she was leaving Harvey's so I cold get dinner started.

Yes, what a BLOOMER I made in my reply to the lady about the bracelet. We have been in touch a few times now, and she accepts that it was not meant as an insult, and have parted, without any animosity. So I will get the bracelet packed and posted next week.

Goodness knows how, (f the Festival goes off today.) they will cope with this weather. I don't think I will be venturing out to see anything. West Ham hosts Manchester City today at 12.30 pm kick off on BT SPORT. So I will be glued to the T.V. As the pub doesn't have SKY and the football club won't be open. And anyway, I don't think I fancy walking anywhere, in this wind.

Jane is was over 60 years ago when my sister lost her baby, might even have been 65 years ago. How is James coping with all his upsets. ?? Give him my regards.

Conrad and Jan rang last night. The wind has blown off their big METAL door that they have on the patio area, where they park the car. Good job no one was around it at the time. They hope to pop us sometime next week to see us. I will book a table somewhere when I know. I hope it's not next weekend, as it's SALLY'S 50th Birthday Party at a venue in Daventry. I haven't meet any of her family, and I son't know if any of my side of the family have been invited. Will wait and see, when we get there.

Ros is out shopping with Carolyn, as Martine and Brian are down at th caravan. I hope it stays upright, in all this wind. I would have thought, it was the last place you would want to be, in this weather.

I have to go down the garden to dig some carrots for tomorrows dinner. I will take a couple of carrier bags, and pick up any windfalls from the apple tree, whichh I expect will be a lot.

Shower still working this morning.

Stay safe, in all this weather. xxxx

good morning all. Been raining here since yesterday lunch time. Very windy too although the rain is more heavy drizzle and does have occasional rests. We drove to the local Tesco for the paper and bought a pizza for tonight's meal, feeling lazy today.

Would you believe there was a woman we saw going in to Tesco (in the rain) who was wearing PJs, dressing gown and slippers. where is the sense in that, I suppose she will get indoors and keep them on and they will be very damp. Ugh!
Frank poor Ros, what a horrible journey. I think I would have preferred to give him money for the taxi if his father couldn't collect him.

we were going to go to the local horticultural society annual show this afternoon (indoors) but not sure we will go if it keeps raining.

It sounds like you have terrible weather Frank and AnnG. I'm half expecting it to reach us up here later by the sounds of the strength of the wind. We have lots of cloud and a slight breeze but no rain now, the sun made a brief appearance a few minutes ago, but it's not very warm out there. I think we may of had strong wind in the night as I've just noticed one of my pot plants had blown over, it's now been moved to a more sheltered spot.

OH is getting on well with the painting and is thankful it's not to hot so he can work quicker. He's painting the gate and fence now and will do the other gate and fence after he's finished that one. The wall is finished down the side, but whether he'll do around the back of the bungalow today I'm not sure. It's such a big job he might want to leave that bit for another day. Time will tell.

What a journey Ros had Frank, I bet she was glad to be home. Enjoy your football later, hope you get the result you want.

Fancy that woman going shopping in her PJ's and dressing gown AnnG, it's not the norm for sunny weather, let alone pouring rain. I bet she got quite a few funny looks. Good idea to stay in doors if it's raining that badly. Enjoy your pizza later.

Afternoon All,

We had rattling doors all night Mel, even with the bedroom window only open an inch or so. It woke me a few times but I was able to drop off quickly again so that was good. OH said the beanpoles were ok this morning so I'll go and pick some soon as there should be more after last week's first pickings. OH is off to a match so I will make me a sort of ratatouille to have on it's own. I have a load of courgettes from my friend yesterday and can cook them in chopped tomatoes with onion, butternut squash few runners and peppers, basil and garlic. I might do enough to try freezing a portion as well.

Mandy the parcel has arrived!! Thank you again and I am so chuffed with the variety of colours and can't wait to start my next project. :-D :-D

When I joined in the 70s AnnG, we were in an old shoe factory with painted brick walls and concrete floors. We didn't get the swivel chairs till much later. The old plastic covered chairs we had then began to crack and you would snag your tights on the sharp edges behind your knees. Instead of us having new chairs we were issued with the most awful psychedelic patterned stretch covers for them (that never fit properly!) in combinations of pink/orange, purple and turquoise. I saw a woman in our Sainsbury's in black fluffy mule slippers the other day and wondered if she had corns or something, but haven't seen anyone in PJs yet! I've read of mothers doing the school run in PJs though. I would feel too self conscious and my hair is a mess till it's washed or at least wetted through.

Gill, it sounds like you have RSI in your shoulder from putting all those screws in! The small drills with screwdriver bits you can fit are good when you have a lot to do like that, but aren't really worth it unless you do a lot of jobs needing them. We had another downpour last night but it is sunny and dry again now but still windy. Good luck with doing more of your OH's tree. The more you do, the more you find and need to do! :-D

Frank what a horrid journey for Ros and Lewis must have been perished standing in the rain. Good your shower is holding out though. Fancy Conrad's metal gate blowing down, but lucky no-one was hurt or their cars damaged.

A beading friend gave me an entry form yesterday for their village show as she knows I have entered things in my own village show before and this one is good in accepting entries from any of the surrounding villages. I might enter one or two things, although there are far less classes at this one.

Going to venture up the garden now to the greenhouse.