General Chat

So looking at the 1939 register Mel Queenie was housekeeper for John Saunders and his wife who was down as incapacitated ,but why was the Cowling name crossed out and Saunders added
She married John 8 years later in 1947

Hi everyone

It's freezing here today, they reckon we're in for snow next week, I'm not looking forward to that.

We've sold our place so Sandra can buy herself a flat as the social can't give her one in the area she wants as she hasn't lived in the area for six months out of the last 12 months or has any immediate family living in the area. So we moved a couple of weeks ago. Sandra is still waiting for her flat to go through, hopefully it won't be to much longer, she living in temporary accommodation at the moment.

The place we've got has no gas metre so we have no central heating or hot water and because we cook by gas I've no way of cooking. We're having the gas pipe tested on Friday to see if it's live or not. If it's live we can get our energy supplier to install a metre, then we can have a boiler put in. If it's dead we'll have to have new pipework put to the property from the road which isn't cheap. There's no carpets here either, which doesn't help.

This place had dodgy electrics so we've had to have the place re-wired then we bought electric heaters to warm the place up a bit. All we've got in the kitchen is a sink and a few wall cupboards. There's a chimney in the kitchen with an old coal fire, which we need to have removed and there's a hole in the floor near the back door which needs repairing and we need to change the wooden back door for a double glazed one.

All the lower bricks around the property are crumbled so they they need replacing as well. OH's been trying to dig out two very large pampas grass in the front garden, he thinks it's going to take weeks to get rid of them. Both front and back gardens need sorting. There is a massive hedge right down the middle of the back garden which needs taking out. Our property backs on to fields which we can't see at the moment with the back garden being so over grown.

There's a cavity wall in this property which needs insulation putting in and we need some loft insulation too. So plenty to do before it can be called a home.

At least Sandra is getting the flat she wants now she's taken her share out of the old place. It's a good job she invested in the old place or she would of had to private rent which she may not of been able to afford. This way she'll own her flat outright, so she'll have no mortgage or rent to pay and she'll have some money over to buy furniture.

Sandra's on the phone, so I'd better go.

Wow Gill you kept that quiet. How long have you known you were moving? I can't believe you haven't said anything. I am assuming that you have bought a property to do up? is it in the same area and are you going to let us have your new address. Well I suppose it was always on the cards that Sandra would want her money to buy her own place. will she still have the support of social services if she is in her own flat or will she be completely on her own. The garden sounds a bit of a nightmare but better to get the house sorted first. Is there any help these days with cavity wall insulation? and is there any help with boilers. I know there have been several schemes over the past years but not sure if they are still going.

Mandy more expense then as Frank would say!!!

I have just ordered a cordless lawn mower. Nothing wrong with the mower I have got but it is a bit awkward to get around the centre bit of the garden it will be much easier with a cordless one.

It's not often I'm left speechless but I am after reading your post Gill. That was a surprise! How much support will Sandra need and will she be able to get support. Owning your own place is quite a responsibility; will she be able to deal with everything that entails? I hope she will feel happy and more settled now. It sounds as though you and OH have taken on a "project". At least you'll be starting from scratch and able to get things just as you would like them. Be prepared for it to take longer and cost more than you expect - projects always do. I assume you have stayed somewhere near OH's work. I wish you luck and hope that you will be very happy in your new home.

It sounds as though several of us have had a bad night. I fell asleep soon after 11 pm and woke a couple of hours later to OH's snoring. I kept nudging him to turn over but he just got louder and louder. I swear I could hear the roof tiles rattling. Eventually I got up, went to the spare room and read for a while but I couldn't seem to settle to sleep after that.

Sounds as though you had an expensive morning Mandy but your son will be glad of your help. Being without a washing machine when you've got a large family must be a nightmare. What a pity your beef was so tough. Beef can be funny - one time it'll melt in the mouth and next time you could sole your shoes with it. If I only want a small joint now I usually buy brisket and then either do it in the slow cooker or pot roast it in the oven. We had roast chicken today and it was really tasty, but we'll be eating it for at least 2 more days.

A cordless mower is a good idea AnnG. I know the electric ones have safety cut-outs but you still have to be so careful not to go over the lead. Cordless sounds a little bit safer.

We haven't had our census letter either. You can go online and request your access code which can be texted to you but I thought I'd give it a few more days before I do that.

We had our roast dinner about 2 pm and we are both full up so I have just made a cup of tea and we'll have a snack around 8 pm. I fancy cheese and biscuits tonight as we haven't had them for a while.

Fingers crossed for a better night tonight for all of us. I tried to end with a smile but my emoticons don't seem to be working.


















































:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Well you did end with several smiles Vera but way way down the page. I have got a Tesco ready to cook lamb shank, it is for one but I usually find it lasts me two days. It has been a lovely day today but it looks like as the new mower arrives and is ready to go the weather will change. I bought the Gtdch because daughter has one and she saw an advert with a £200 discount with a code, it worked so 299,99 instead of £499.99. I guess it is last seasons stock but that doesn’t bother me.

Crikey Gill you must have worked hard to get moved so quick! At least you would have escaped the stamp duty cost that will be back I think at the end of this month. I couldn't help but think about your 400+ pots!! Are you still in the same area? The house obviously needs some work, much like my last house did, but you aren't afraid of that and fields at the back will be like me and nice to look out on. Is it a house or a bungalow? I suppose once Sandra moved out, she was bound to want her stake in your place eventually, but I would have thought she would have got help with rent etc with her benefits? I do think she would have been better staying somewhere near you though as some of her 'friends' where she is seemed to be taking advantage of her and it's too far for you to keep an eye on her. Unless you have moved nearer to where she is of course. Fingers crossed she will settle now and not want to be upping sticks again soon.

I seem to have spent a lot of the afternoon getting 'blue' to print properly on the printer, then somehow the printer disconnected, told me it was offline, but not how to get it back online!! In the end I did what OH said to try, and removed the printer and then put it back on and it worked! What a lot of time we waste on these things.

I must get on with some HW. The sun was showing how mucky the insides of the windows are this afternoon and some webs have returned too. OH has checked my front tyre and says the pressure is still ok, so I must take it for a short run this week to see if the warning light goes out. If not, the light must be faulty. :-S

I keep meaning to contact Fitz to see how he is and how Jane's family are. I wonder if H & G will be going back to London or nearer his parents like they originally planned.

It looks like you have a puzzle there with Queenie's name Mandy! An expensive call then, but with all their washing to be done they couldn't manage without!

Ha ha Vera, It looks like you were intending to write much more! :-D

Oops How did that happen then? You know me, Ann, I can always fill a page or two but I don't usually leave a ready space.

I've just been doing a bit more on my Russian holiday write-up. I am on page 18 already and I've only done about a quarter of it. I have put in quite a few pictures so it's not all my boring ramblings.

We decided to sell our old place not long after Sandra arrived last September and sold to the first person who looked at it and for the asking price which was over £40k more than an offer we had a few years ago when we pulled out of the sale, plus we wanted to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

We all hoped Sandra would of got an assisted living flat but she didn't qualify for one in the area she wanted, so her only option was for us to sell the old place to enable her to buy herself a flat. It was our idea, although at first she thought it wasn't fair on us to sell our home, but now both girls have moved out we didn't need such a large property and have now moved to a smaller bungalow, not far from where we were before.

Because of Covid it took around six months for us to move. We had hoped we could of all moved on the same day but there was a massive hold up with Sandra's flat and the solicitor has only just received the management pack. Now she has that she'll make a report for Sandra to sign then hopefully it won't be to much longer before she can move in. There's lots of furniture and bits and pieces which the vendor has said she's leaving so Sandra won't have much to buy so long as the vendor doesn't change her mind. The gas cooker is faulty so she'll need to buy herself a new one and she'll need a sofa, but apart from that there isn't much left to buy apart from maybe some ornaments and pictures as the vendor is leaving all the dishes and pots and pans, even the mugs, microwave and washing machine.

She's getting really fed up of waiting now so I'm going to ring the solicitor again tomorrow as the report should of been here by now. Sandra wants us to help her buy her flat as she's not sure what she's doing, so her social worker has now been informed of what's going on and I will update her with the process. Her social worker is ringing me again tomorrow for an update so I'm hoping the solicitor has done the report then OH can go and pick it up to save some time. OH will then take the form to Sandra for her to sign.

Sandra's social worker is going to help her with her finances with her bills as she's in contact with her everyday and we thought she'd be the best person to help incase we can't get to Sandra straight away with OH working nights. Sandra can cope on her own otherwise, it's just bills that she'll need help with. She's living on her own now and loves it, but can't wait until she's in her flat so she can unpack properly and get herself settled.

OH's seen her flat but I haven't so it'll be nice to see it once I've had my vaccination. OH's had both his jabs now but I still haven't had my first one yet so I'm at risk if I mix with to many people or go to another area. I did get a letter off the doctor asking if I was still a carer so I could have my vaccination but I'm no longer Sandra's carer so I'm not sure how much longer I'll need to wait.

As for our property it was sold as a renovation project and it needs quite a lot doing to it, so that'll keep us out of mischief for a while. ;-) I'm looking forward to sorting the gardens out and decorating inside but for now I'm looking for builders to get the structural work done first. We want to extend the bathroom out into the hallway as it's set back about 5 foot, that way we can have a walk in shower installed instead of the cheap one we've had put in over the bath which isn't very good. At least it's hot water which is the only hot water we have in the property at the moment as the tank was leaking in the loft so had to be taken out.

We got a key undertaking to have the tank removed and the re-wire done. A key undertaking is a legal way of us doing work on the house in between exchange of contracts and completion, so at least we had safe electrics when we moved in and weren't living in the place while the walls were being chased out. OH had two weeks off work just before we moved and when the key undertaking was being done so he painted everywhere white until we can decorate properly. Unfortunately it snowed and some of the paint in the back two rooms never dried and dripped onto the floor so he had to wipe it off. That needs painting again when he's not so busy.

I've not been able to unpack most of our things as we need to have two coal fires removed and a chimney breast taken out in the kitchen so they'll be dust everywhere. I thought everything would be a lot cleaner if I left it all packed, so at the moment we're living in our bedroom as there's packing boxes everywhere else. This place has two rooms less and boy do we miss them, but once all the work has been done and we can finally buy carpets and unpack it shouldn't be to packed with boxes.

I had Sky round a few days after we moved in but they said they couldn't put Sky in as it meant drilling from inside the property and because of Covid and the lockdown it was Sky's policy not to do any in door work, so it's been booked in for the first week in April. I'm using a freeview box at the moment with an aerial on top of our wardrobe as there wasn't an aerial when we moved in and the freeview box keeps going off so I'm watching quite a lot of programmes on my laptop at the moment.

We've got the gas people coming here on Friday to do a test to see if the pipes are live or dead. Apparently the previous owner didn't like gas so she had the gas metre taken out and the pipe capped. If it's live then we can't extend the bathroom as much as we'd like. There are two cupboards outside the bathroom and the gas pipe is in the cupboard furthest away from the bathroom, but at least we'll be able to extend it enough to move the sink to the bottom of the bath instead of to the side of it which will enable us to have a shower screen fitted without it hitting the sink when it's open. Because we'll only be able to extend the bathroom around two and half foot instead of five foot if the metre has to stay in the cupboard we won't have the room to have a walk in shower, so at the moment we're not sure how big the bathroom is going to be so can't have a new bathroom put in or tile yet.

So that's where we're up to at the moment. Total chaos, but hopefully things will be better in a few months.

Oh forgot to say, it took us two days to move as all the pots (over 500 of them) were moved the day before we moved in. I still had some packing to do so never slept the night before we moved, neither did OH, so as soon as everything was in, I made the bed and we went to sleep.

Wow Gill you are having an adventure, you obviously have the vision to see how you want it to be and you are young so have the time to do it. I bet you were tired after moving all those pots. Did you hire a van to do it?

Let us hope the gas is Uncomplicated so you can move forward With it.

So all this was going on for six months and you managed not to say anything.

Yes, AnnG we've had a busy six months, although with Covid there were a few delays and Sandra's flat is only just starting to move in the right direction after almost seven months. We think it's our solicitor who's taking her time.

I had so much going on with Sandra and my mum as both of them caught Covid and mum has been in hospital a few times with her heart, she might have to have a stent put in but has to see a specialist first. Then there was Sandra saying she was at her friends when in fact she was living on the streets with her boyfriend in the snow. The police were involved so we had to deal with them. Then when she was found she's been moving around a lot and had to go to a flat in Chester because she had Covid, that is where she is now even though she's tested negative on her last test. She's staying there now until her flat she's buying completes.

I've been very ill with anxiety and depression for a year and had to have counseling and now I'm on a lot of meds. I came close to a nervous breakdown and thought about suicide a few times. I've finally got my meds sorted now so feel a little better. Then I had all the packing to do with OH working nights all the time.

The day the plants went OH and I helped to load them onto the van, we had a removal firm and I ended up with a bad back so couldn't really do anything for the first week of being here, except make phone calls and now I need to chase Sandra's flat on her behalf to make sure the solicitor doesn't take to much longer sorting it out for her. I'm also speaking with her social worker tomorrow and our solicitor.

Yes I'm hoping the gas is uncomplicated, but at least we have a shower for hot water and a few electric heaters to heat the place. The warmer weather should be here soon and we're getting used to it being a bit cold now. OH said it was warmer outside the other day than in here lol.

I've just had a lovely shower. I can't seem to sleep very well when OH's at work with being in a place I don't know yet, so I'm busying myself unpacking boxes to give me something to do and needed a wash as they are a bit dusty. I've just done a load of washing so that's in the dryer and I'm now going to dry my hair and watch Dancing on Ice on catch up. OH's working almost everyday this week so being asleep during the day when he's asleep is normal for me now, although I do get up before him with going to sleep earlier than him.

Well, I'd better go and dry my hair. I hope you all have better night sleeps than me. I suppose it'll take time for me to get used to being here. I'm not used to it being so dark and quiet with our property backing onto fields and our bedroom being in the back. It feels strange not having a street light glowing through the curtains and hearing cars going down the road all the time. We're in a cul-de-sac now with only 8 properties in it, so very small and quiet. The neighbours are lovely and the woman next door gave OH some hedgehog food as he came across some hedgehogs in our front garden when he was cutting the pampas grass down, so that was nice of her.

Everyone we've met so far, which is half the close, have been very friendly, which is nice. The neighbour on the other side of us to the woman who bought the hedgehog food told OH his wife cheered when he took the pampas grass down, apparently she hated it. He told OH it had been there for almost 50 years. I didn't realise how big our front garden was until it was cut down, they are massive so will take OH a few weeks to get rid of completely, but then he can extend the drive as it's quite narrow which makes parking the car a bit tricky. The other half of the garden I'll be putting some plants in. I did notice today there is a lovely large patch of snowdrops, so I'm going to split them and put them around the edge of the garden as it's right in the middle at the moment.

I'll try and come on here more now I have a bit more time, then I can catch up with the posts. There's not much I can do until all the structural work has been done. It's still a bit to cold for me to start on the garden and the big hedge needs taking out first, so we can see how big the garden is. I'm looking forward to planning the gardens and making them pretty. I'd like to have lights put in to highlight some of the plants if I can and maybe a summerhouse.

I hope you are all keeping safe and well. Going to dry my hair now as it's getting late.

Good morning all, looks fairly bright and dry out there so far and is a bit warmer at 0 degree. My new mower is arriving between 11.16 and 1216 I am not looking forward to that as it will be in a box so difficult for me to move when they leave it on the doorstep. I will probably drag the box into the garage.

Gill with all the problems with Sandra and your Mum, selling and buying property was the last straw for you. probably one of the most stressful things to cope with after bereavement. Hopefully now you have moved in and have met some of the neighbours, you have time to draw breath. coming on here will help you to relax which is what you need to do before starting on your part in the renovation.
Pampas grass is vicious. I hope your OH is wearing gloves as it is so sharp. we had to get rid of some when we moved here, it can look pretty with all the white fronds but is such a thug. and whatever you do, be careful if you decide to burn it, it is extremely flammable and will flare up. I am sure that, once it is cleared, you can spend time on the front garden which will be relaxing for you. meanwhile you can be planning it. draw it out and roughly sketch what you would like to see where, allowing for the drive widening. Is there a lawn, if so will you keep it. It is a good time to move snowdrops, when the flowers have died but the plants are still green.

I am sure we are all excited for you and would like to be kept in touch with what your are planning and doing. Good luck with it but try and get into a good sleeping pattern.

Morning Anng and all including our Gill,

Sunny here today after another hard frost and we have blue sky with lines of white cloud. I hope it dos'nt cloud over again like it did yesterday. Not been out yet but the temp is reading 13 degrees and 16 inside.

You'l have lots to do Gill sorting through your boxes and doing the garden in the months to come. Does it not say how big the garden is on your deeds? We would all love to see some picture of your garden before and after. You need to buy yourself a camera to record all your work.

As to your hedge down the garden thats where the hogs will be and in the fields out the back so be careful once you start to take the hedge out as this is the month they start looking for mates after waking up.

Going to try and get something done in the garden today. Don't know what yet but I think it will be sweeping up moss and leaves.

\Meant to say good luck with the mower box. I'd open it outside and bring the mower through out of the box.

Good morning all,

Gill from what I see, you are having a great deal to deal with.I do hope you and OH manage to get through it all without too many problems, There is no was we will be moving again, we seem to be settled here, and it's a nice quiet close,with very nice people, who are aways available should you need any help.

We have had a nice woman move in opposite in a Bungalow that was owned by a very nice lady JEAN, she has passed away and a very nice polite lady has moved in. I spoke to her the other day, and I don't think there is a partner, I would put her in her mid forties. I said if there was anything she needed help with, to give us a call. If I can't help I can always get Jonathan round. He is such a willing chap and will do anything to help people.

Harvey's wife Julia, has a very bad shin disorder. She is on a very strict diet, and can't drink anything other than water. Harvey will have his hands full with the diet bit., as he cooks all the meals.So he will have to cook for him and Lewis and separately for Julia.

Very still morning out there today, hardly a bit of movement of any bushes. Not sure what to expect weather wise. Just a case of wait and see.

I hope you are all well, I couldn't make out what visitor Mel had. Was it a deer. ??

Catch up later. Stay safe. xxxx

Mandy if you look at that 1939 reg again you will see further up the page they have done it again with another lady who is housekeeper. Put her down as Jury and then crossed it out and written Stanleick. probably been asked how many in the household and they said how many so the enumerator wrote three Cowling names but when it came to Queenie he crossed it out and put Saunders.

Morning all, I hope you are well

Just posting this before I read through,

Mandy, surnames of women who married after 1939 were added to civil reg much later. I find it really useful.
I vaguely recall the NHS involved and these amendments were made up until 1975 - don't quote me on that :-)
I hope that makes sense.

I'd go along with Island's view, Mandy.

My aunt, who married in 1951, has had her maiden name crossed through and her married name inserted.

It can be quite useful, especially if the birth name is fairly common and you don't know which was the person who later married.


On Queenie's entry, there is a Hannah Cowling further up the page.
She has birthdate of 20 January 1879, is single and shown as ' Acc'tant, Bookeeper Retd. '

Is she connected?

Yes I noticed that Hannah Gwyn. I did'nt know about them changing names though. Not heard that one before.