General Chat

Afternoon All,

I was surprised and sad to see Prince Phillip has passed away aged 99. Pity he didn't make his 100 years, although OH says he was never sure when he was born and his actual birth date. What a loss for the Queen after all those years.

Slept well and have had my jab now. There were only 4 jab stations open this time (there were over 20 last time) and no queue so they let me in as soon as I arrived. OH decided to drive me there after all despite his sciatica, although I was quite happy to go on my own and drive myself. I noticed there was a sign saying the AstraZenica people were not to drive for at least 10 minutes this time and there were several signs saying 'no photography!!!' What is the world coming to when (mostly) younger people think it's necessary to photograph every event in life!

:-D can’t imagine wanting to look back on the day a needle was stuck in my arm. I hope nobody was looking forward to watching any TV the rest of today as it is special news programmes on both channels right through. Sad as I am at PrincePhilip dying, it was not unexpected st his age. I am very sad for the queen and know how she must feel. But one thing that keeps me going is watching TV in the evenings. I will not be watching films going back over the years for hours on end.

It’s so sad about Prince Philip though not unexpected. I think the television and radio authorities are in a difficult situation. If they show their normal programmes they will be accused of a lack of respect and I suppose people who have been at work all day will want to see the programmes about the Duke in the evening. Have you got anything recorded that you could watch AnnG?

Hallo Bram, nice to see another name on the thread. Like Mel, I remember the milkman’s name, Harry, but can’t remember what the horse was called. We had United Dairies too. The baker had a horse and cart as well and came to the door with his big basket of bread and buns. I think that was 2 or 3 times a week. The rag and bone man and his horse came every so often. He only ever seemed to have thick white china but Mum was always pleased to get a couple of cups and saucers.

I hope you have no after effects from your jab Ann. People seem to photograph everything these days. I suppose we were more discerning because we only had 8 or 12 frames on a roll of film and had to pay for both the film and the developing. There’s another memory from the past.

I went to pick up my meds today and the pharmacy had again ordered everything on my prescription even though I had made it clear the two previous times that I only wanted 2 items. I never had a problem when it was Lloyds but they sold the shop at the end of last year to a small family firm and I haven’t had the right things since. I have made it clear that if it’s wrong again next month I’ll be going elsewhere.

It’s a bit worrying that we haven’t heard from Frank. I do hope he isn’t in trouble again.

I’ve got a big stew that will do 2 days but I’d better get some spuds done. I might just get myself a little drinkie-poo to sip while I’m cooking.

No neither can I AnnG, but there were even 'No Photography' signs on the way to the building! OH is glued to the telly now and will be watching all the programmes. Any royal or political event, ceremony and he can't get enough, but I soon get fed up of seeing everything repeated over and over. I see you've got some more tidying and other jobs done!

Mandy I keep meaning to contact Fitz, but forgetting! I will do over the weekend as I keep wondering how the family are doing as well as him. I will let you know, but I'm not sure he checks his e-mails too often. I hope your son's tooth hasn't given any more trouble and it is always a concern with a weekend coming up and the dentist shut! We were saying we need to get back to some clearing out, but more comes to take it's place like you say. As soon as OH heard the news about Prince Philip, in he waltzed with a book.......The Young Philip! I swear he seems to have a book on most subjects......a Royal one in this case.

I've just covered my seeds in the greenhouse with bubblewrap. The lettuce seeds are poking through as well now but that's all.

Bram I would have been there at the stables too with a few titbits for the horses! Well into the 60s there was a local milkman's horse and the coal was delivered by horse and dray. The milkman's horse knew exactly when to walk on and stop at each house he was so used to it. When I was smaller, the rag and bone man would come by with his strange cry and I would take things for him and once got a goldfish in a polythene bag. Goldie was my first pet. :-) People complain about horse manure now, but then it rarely stayed around for long before a keen gardener would sweep it up.

I hope your tum is a bit better now Gill. So Sandra was with this boy a long time ago, so how did she meet him then as I had the impression she didn't go out on her own very much till she went to Michelle's and why has Michelle stopped speaking to you? As for Michael saying he will throw Sandra's things away..........if she was still with them her things would be there so why not for a short while longer till she gets her place. I hope you aren't letting it stress you too much as it does seem that Sandra has to learn the hard way! It does sound like the boyfriend is still keen on his ex. If so I hope he decides soon before he takes too much advantage of Sandra.

Mel I must clean my fridge before the food drop on Sunday. It's easier when it isn't crammed with food!

I've started to feel quite tired now and my shoulder feels bruised so I think it will be an early night for me.

Now where is Frank I wonder as he knows we worry about him if we don't hear from him??

Oooo a nice stew Vera, I could eat one of those right now, I'm really missing home cooking. Ready meals in a microwave aren't exactly nice. At least we have our gas metre now so that's a step closer to having the boiler put in and my gas cooker. All we need to do first is have the chimney taking out of the kitchen. The fella for that and the roof came today and is going to email me a quote, he said he can only take the chimney stack away and make good the roof, but I managed to persuade him to take the chimney out down to just below the kitchen ceiling that way OH and I can take the rest of the chimney out ourselves. The fella said he'll put a board over the hole where the chimney comes through the ceiling so there's no draught coming from the loft.

When the fella came to put the gas metre in he said because we have floorboards we qualify for a new boiler but he couldn't remember the name of the firm that did a boiler for his friend. He text his friend and said he'll text me with the company's name if his friend gets back to him as apparently he's not good at getting back to people. I tired to Google free boilers but it just covered grants with no mention of having floorboards or not, so it looks like we might have to pay for the boiler and central heating, which won't be cheap.

I think channel 4 and 5 are showing normal programmes tonight AnnG. If not try looking on catch up, I did that with a programme I follow on channel 5 earlier and today's programme was on there even though they didn't air it on TV. I'm going to try for Emmerdale soon as well. It might be worth a try.

I don't remember any horses for milk and bread etc... I do remember the milk floats though and hearing the milk bottles early in the morning. I'd of liked to have seen the horses though, but I guess I was born to late :-( :-(

Yes I understand why they have to have all the programmes he deserves to have his story told, Inalways liked him but I don”t understand why BBC 1 and 2, maybe don’t have anything noisy or comedy on but they are repeating things. I have watched some of it but have plenty of recordings to watch.mtgevworst is the final of Masterchef they could perhaps have put that on
BB.c 2 .

Anyway I am watching Miss Marple :-)

I was looking forward to Gardeners World tonight. I don't know why BBC had to have the same programs on both channels at the same time. I hate it when they start showing the same things time and again on channels.

Bring back BBC 3 and let them have these unscheduled programs.

Gill you are getting there slowly and I would look into having a grant for a boiler and loft insulation if you hav'nt got that up in the loft. Lots of places have grants onthem that people don't know about.

Yes Master chef and record gardeners worls or vice versa. Should have stuck to BBC1 and ITV.

I missed Masterchef the final not being on so will need to keep an eye out for when they do show it. The same with Gardener's World. I did manage to watch the final of The Circle as channel's 4 and 5 seem to be showing some of their normal programmes, but I missed not watching Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

Yes, we're getting there slowly Mel, once the chimney is out of the way along with all the mess and dust we'll look into having the boiler put in. I've had a quick look at grants but I don't think we qualify with not being on any benefits and OH earning slightly more than they say he can earn to qualify for the grant. it's a shame we can't get grants as we need loft insulation and cavity wall insulation as well. Although I've heard bad things about the cavity wall insulation not being done properly and leading to damp inside the property so we'd have to think hard about having that done. The loft insulation would be better done after the central heating and boiler go in incase the pipes need to go in the loft. Although we don't have a water tank up there now so maybe the pipes won't need to go up there. I'll have to ask the workmen when they come here to give us a quote.

OH and I are watching Dragon's Den at the moment I recorded it as OH was at work, we missed the first one but we can watch that on catch up another day.

good morning all 2 degrees out there which is not bad as it is early.

I wonder if the TV programmes will be altered again today. I bet the sports programmes are not altered. Gill yes I missed all the ones you did. I am wondering when the Masterchef final will be on now as well. I watched a recording of Morse and then a recording of Matt Baker helping his family (parents) make their farm easier to manage as they have got older. It was recorded on More4 but he had mentioned it on Countryfile I think. It was lovely to see him sorting things out and to see his whole family - wife and children - in the film too, all very natural. I also watched the fairwell programme for Johnny Briggs

Gill we have had no problems in this house since having cavity wall insulation quite a few years ago (probably ten years. It made a tremendous difference to keeping the house warm, we have not had any damp. I think it is houses built in the 30s that have a problem, maybe it is houses with solid walls.

this looks a good link
https://www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/blog/why-cavity-wall-insulation-causes-damp-and-mould/

Morning AnnG, morning all,

Dull here this morning ,last night when we went to bed I could see the road was wet so we must have had a shower of rain .

Oh I hope the tele is back to normal today I think it was a bit too much when the same thing is repeated over and over and I missed watching Gardeners world .

Gill it's odd the chap won't take your whole chimney down ,if he just takes the chimney down and makes good the roof you won't be able to take the fireplace out as you will have all the chimney above it in the loft ,if you take the fireplace out it will leave the rest hanging and the weight will bring it down ,sounds to me like the chap doesn't know what he's doing .

Morning all,

Bright and sunny morning here with lovely blue sky and hardly a cloud in it.

Did'nt Gill say the man was going to take down the chimney to just under the kitchen ceiling and board it up and make the roof good? so they could take the rest down themselves??? Thats what I was thinking was going to go on.

No egg delivery today as I hav'nt got enough but still have to do the shop.

I ended up watching some things on Iplayer last night as I could'nt go through all the things about the Duke.

I do hope we hear from Frank today.

Yes that is what Gill said Mel.

I wonder how many people actually watched it all, maybe some older people not able to record things had no choice. My Mum would never have understood how to record.

Good morning to you all, SORRY I haven't been around for a few days, I haven't been feeling too good.

Ros has been poorly too. She has a very bad ulcerated tongue which is very sore. She has an appointment at the hospital next Friday at 9.00 am. Lets hope it's not something nasty.

As everywhere is so dry. I decided to water the front garden this morning. I had just started, when it started to spot of rain. I carried on, in case the rain wasn't much.

Sad news about PHILIP. Just two months from his 100th birthday.He will be sadly missed by the Queen.RIP.

Not been anywhere or done anything, so no newsroom this end. Stay safe everyone xxxx

good morning Frank.
good to see you pop in, Oh poor Ros, you said her tongue was red when you last posted. has she got anything to take for the soreness. You can get pastilles for mouth ulcers which might help. But yes she needs to get medical advise.

Afternoon All,

I slept like a log last night except for once when I turned over onto my jabbed arm. Ouch! It seems more bruised feeling than the first one was and more pain in the shoulder joint when I lift my arm. I've also had an itchy forefinger the same side with red blotches on it, but that may be where I burnt my hand using the oven the other day.

It started sunny and nice here and we ate lunch in the conservatory but boy hasn't it got cold since the sun went in!!

Sorry you haven't been too good Frank, but it's always nice to hear from you. Ros is sensible getting her tongue checked out and it must be very painful. Hopefully it won't be serious.

AnnG I think OH watched most of the programmes yesterday but is watching footie now. I watched some of the tribute in bed and it did seem odd as it must have been recorded while he was still alive. I hadn't realised he did so much besides the DOE Awards so it was quite interesting as I had always thought of him before as a shadowy figure supporting the Queen and without much of a role, but I was very wrong. He wasn't one to be showy about the things he did. I wonder what the reaction by the public will be when Harry with or without Megan/Archie comes for the funeral?

Gill, most houses without cavity walls were built prior to WW1. My last house had cavity walls and we had them foam insulated and had no trouble or dampness in the 23 years I lived there. There are some cowboys as you say though so be careful. Pick one that gives a warranty and isn't likely to go bust!. As AnnG says, we also noticed a drop in our energy bills after it was done. It's a shame you don't qualify for the grants. The ECO grant didn't need benefits in payment to get it but ended at the end of March so you are just too late. Look on the Martin Lewis site for advice on getting the work done including boilers, loft insulation and for estimates of the cost.

Well, despite saying we would get a phone call quarter of an hour before they switched our broadband over, they did it without yesterday morning and it seems quite a lot quicker now so that mean I can get onto SKY next week to see if they can get everything working again including the main TV. It will have to fit in between my courses though.

Better get the Asda order finished next. OH keeps adding things to it.

Annx I thought that your courses had finished.
Yes it will be interesting to see what happens when Harry comes back for the funeral. I bet we don't see much of him.

I did know Prince Philip did a lot of things behind the scenes and was aware of how much he helped the queen, I think I must have read something about him in the past. All those programmes were filmed and put together under a name to be immediately put on TV at his death, must be spooky to know that has been done, no doubt it has also been done for the Queen. I feel for her, she must be feeling lost and wondering how long she has to go before she can join him as it is intended they will eventually be buried together.

I see that none of the sport has been cancelled.

Brrr, it’s cold out there. I spent a little while in the unheated conservatory, a little while in the garage and about 15 minutes in the garden and, even with a coat, I got really cold.

Gill, we had cavity wall insulation put in our old house and had no problem with damp or mould but I’d suggest you get some advice before you have it done.

Good to see you post Frank. Poor Ros, her mouth must be really painful. I’ve just got over one ulcer on my tongue and that was bad enough so I can imagine how bad she feels. I’m glad she hasn’t got to wait ages for a hospital appointment.

I hope your arm isn’t too sore and you don’t have any other after effects from your jab Ann. The effects seem to vary from person to person. OH and I got away very lightly but a friend who also had the Pfizer jab was really poorly for a few days, as though he had ‘flu.

I’ve had a really lazy day. I had a disturbed night again so I am a bit heavy headed and don’t feel like doing anything much. I decided on a bath this morning instead of my usual shower but standing up to get out my foot went from under me and I plopped back into the bath. The water was running out but there was still a lot in the bath to cushion my bottom as I slipped back so no damage done.....except to my dignity. It’s a big corner bath and quite deep and I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to use it as it is definitely becoming harder to get out of it.

After my bath I had a nice FaceTime call with my son who is now building himself a micro brewery in his cellar and making me laugh at what he’s been up to. He always cheers me up, he’s such a glass half full person with a real “can do” attitude.

Last night’s stew was very tasty and we’ll have the rest of it tonight. I might throw some dumplings in when it’s reheating. We won’t have that till about 7 pm so time for a cuppa now. It’s always cup of tea time in our house :-)

So no sport cancelled but BBC have got Prince Philip on again instead of pointless celebrities.

Catchphrase is on ITV if you like that AnnG. Thanks for the link, it looks like cavity wall insulation fails because the outer layer of bricks aren't waterproof so it lets the rain in which makes the insulation wet and ends up travelling through to the inner wall. Our place need re-pointing so until that's been done we can't have the insulation put in.

I see it's Prince Phillip's funeral next Saturday. Prince Charles said some lovely words about his dad on the news earlier. Nice to see the press didn't ask him any questions after he'd spoken and let him go back inside in peace.

Yes, we have asked the roofer to take the chimney down to just below the kitchen ceiling and board the gap in the loft so we can take the rest of it down ourselves to save us some money.

OH's still plodding on with the rubbish taking it down the tip. I suggested he cut it into smaller pieces and bag it then he might get more in the boot as it's starting to cost quite a bit on petrol. Our neighbour said our garden is like Arrowe Park it's that big. I think she's a bit envious of our back garden as her's is quite small and she loves gardening. I must admit it's looking quite big and from the aerial photo's Mel sent me it looks the biggest garden in the Close. I'm going to start looking at garden ideas online soon to see if there's anything we can do in our garden once it's all cleared. I'd like to have different parts like little rooms if I can, I think it'll help with the draft the wind makes coming off the fields around us.

Sorry to hear about Ros Frank, I hope it's nothing serious and something can be done to help her.

Pleased to see you didn't hurt yourself when you slipped in the bath Vera. Maybe it might be safer to have a shower instead. Mind you they can be slippy to. We had to buy some shower mats to put in the bath as I slipped the first time I used our shower.

Does anyone know when Celebrity Masterchef final is on, I've had a look at both BBC1 and 2 for the next week but couldn't see it and wondered if I'd missed it on the list? For anyone who's interested The Great British Sewing Bee is back on next Wednesday on BBC 1 at 9pm. I like that programme so will be watching it while OH's at work.