General Chat

Isn’t it odd how we all have nice new clothes, but prefer our old things which in my case are usually past their best. :-)

OH as set off for a two hour drive to take the double doors and frame back which were the wrong size. The joiner was most apologetic and has offered to go halves with us on the money we have lost. I was telling my sister about it and she said that he should pay the whole lot as he told us to order the wrong thing in the first place. I suppose she is right, but he could just walk away from the problem, so getting half the money back is better than nothing. We have ordered some more doors from a different firm, so are just waiting to find out when they are coming.

Yesterday we stayed at my daughters to watch the football, so it was dark when we got home. When we came in, we realised that the lounge, dining room and kitchen lights wouldn’t work, but the other downstairs lights all came on. We assumed that it was something the kitchen fitter had done as he had been rewiring the kitchen, but he was perplexed. He had to spend a good hour checking all the light fittings before he discovered that there was a loose connection in the ceiling light in the utility room. Why that had come loose goodness knows, perhaps just vibration from us walking in the bathroom above it, but thankfully all is well now. He was just about to ring his electrician who checks off the work which he has done. That would have landed us with another bill, so thankfully that has been avoided.

Strange I had never heard of them. Maybe they were mainly 'up North'.
In the 60s I used to buy a lot from catalogues such as Gratton, Littlewoods etc and pay monthly for items. My Mother didn't believe in this, she wouldn't touch Hire Purchase ever. she said, when I bought a pair of gloves like that, 'those gloves will be worn out before you have paid for them!'

Yes it is hard for her, although it is 10 years since he died now and she is remarried. Also all three boys are married/divorced and have their own children. She was in her 50s when he died. It must be really hard for young people widowed when their children are young. Having not only their own grief to deal with but that of their children as well.

that sounds like a nice walk Linda, not that I could cope with it now but even five years ago I could have done it.

Lands End is still online in the UK.
Items have to be returned, at purchaser's expense, within 90 days of purchase.

I remember that when they started in the 1960s they did advertise a lifetime guarantee and no-quibble returns for clothing items.
I expect they found it too expensive to maintain.

I still have a couple of pairs of fleece trousers which I bought from them many (30 ?) years ago, and which are still going strong, although I only wear them around the house these days, as they are now a bit baggy in the knees.
They're so cosy. I live in fleece trousers in winter - and often much of the rest of the year too! I have several newer pairs from other makers, but still like the old Lands End ones.

Lands End started in 1963 Ann. I think they used to have their own shops, but then seemed to change to be concessions in other stores. They have a factory outlet site in Rutland, but are mainly on line now I have bought quite a lot from them over the years, but not recently because I like to try things on.
Father’s Day must be difficult for your daughter Ann. At our age, we don’t expect to have our fathers around but being widowed young must be especially difficult.

We went out for lunch with the family, we then went for a long walk in a local nature reserve which is a gorge with a river in the bottom. I was very pleased that I was able to do all the very steep uphill sections with no bother. I hate going down steep slopes though , I feel very unsteady, so hold OH’s hand. The back of my left knee is really aching this morning, but my right knee which is the one where I tore the Anterior Cruciate Ligament is fine Esme has a very large all terrain buggy which was provided by a charity, it cost over 2K. Stupid price, but as soon as you are talking about disability aids, the prices rocket. She normally uses her wheelchair but the buggy is excellent for rough outdoor spaces and is easy to push.

Land’s End was around some years ago. I think they had shops.
I never bought from them as friends had, let’s say, problems with their bank accounts after on line shopping.

Good morning all, Seems I was on my own yesterday, hope that doesn't mean problems for others. Fathers day is another hard one, Not particularly for me, although I do miss my Dad, but for my children and grandsons. Daughter especially with losing her Dad, and also widowed from the father of her boys.
Despite my leg still playing up I did manage to get out in the garden for a couple of short spells weeding and cutting back the ever growing honeysuckle and ivy. The former does smell lovely this year, it must like all the rain.

Sylvia, I think that must be either an American or Canadian firm, I have not heard of it. Sounds good for children's clothes, especially trousers.

Yes, June has not been good so far, some winter clothes are still being worn. and coats as well for the rain.
However, thankfully no wild fires, at least in this area. Is it early for those with you?

I buy a lot of my clothes online from Lands' End. they last well and usually fit me. They do have some designs that I don't like, but I have several skirts, many tops, and winter jackets from them

My daughter laughingly calls us a Lands End family .................. they also buy a lot from there, and have found them really good for children's clothes. One really good thing about them is that you can return clothes that have not worn well even if you have had them for several years, and they will replace the item for free. You can even return items that you bought, didn't fit or you didn't like but just kept them years after you bought them, and they refund your credit card.

They make pants for kids with "Iron Knees", ie an inner patch that is supposed never to wear out. Her son was really hard on them as he loved sliding along on his knees, especially in the school gym, so the knees would wear out in less than a year. LE replaced them 2 years after she had bought them, no questions asked.

We're having quite a miserable June, though not as bad as you seem to be having in the UK. I think we have had close to the normal average rain already. But we also have wild fires in some areas.

good morning all. florence I am pleased that you have got some clothes that you like from Klass. As I said before, I have liked their clothes for a long time, especially their Anna rose brand. So far this year I have not actually liked the designs I have seen. No problem as last year I bought one of their Tee shirts in several different colours and they are still looking good this year. I recently tried on a dress and jacket that I bought for a Grandson's wedding in 2012. It is still in fashion, fits and srill looks good.

I am pleased that you managed to get some clothes you like Florence. It is so annoying when they don’t fit. Even within the same shop you can need different sizes. I just bought a new dress from Seasalt and had to get one size bigger than all the other Seasalt dresses which I have and fit perfectly. Everything is made in the far east these days.

Evening all
Linda, I got my new clothes from Klass today and 3 out of 4 I am keeping. The dress is just a tad tight round the bust, so going to get a bigger size and send this one back but overall different and I am so pleased.

Next year they are supposed to be switching off analogue phones up here but there is much discussion surrounding that idea as when the electric goes, quite often we lose mobile signal too so would really be very isolated then! Not sure what's going to happen yet so its a wait & see.

I was on an important call last week and my mobile cut off 3 times so went onto landline and was fine!

Well it was sunny, then overcast then the midges grr so had to go indoors. Now we have wind again and its very misty/foggy so a real mix here hence I didnt get any gardening done today!

Dark blue on rooms like a bedroom would make it really small feeling.so lighter colours for me wins everytime.

After all the hassle we had getting our broadband sorted out and getting the master socket moved and the phone working, I had a letter today. They are going to change us over to full fibre at no extra cost. That means they will put something in the outside box near the front door, then drill through the wall and put a small box inside which will need to be plugged into a socket . They needn’t think they are going to put that in the hallway as it would mean having cables all over the place which is why we had it altered in the first place :-|
They blithely say in the letter that we will not have a landline, but will make calls over the internet. Of course they fail to mention that it would mean buying a new phone to make VOIP calls and our old phones won’t work. It won’t matter to us because since we came here, we have only been using our mobiles. They did eventually get the land line working, but I haven’t given the number to anyone and I don’t know what it is because I never use it. It will be difficult for people who don’t use a mobile and rely on the landline

It has been a horrible day here, with lots of rain.
We watched trooping the colour this morning as well as we couldn’t get out.
OH has painted the walls of the second bedroom this afternoon. Two walls were a very dark blue and the others a lighter blue. When the decorator was here he painted all the bedroom ceilings, so we got him to put a coat of white on the walls as well. They were obviously very patchy, but even so it looked better than the dark blue. OH has given them another coat of white this afternoon as that is cheaper pint than the colour which will be going on. He might do another white coat before the two coloured layers,he will decide once it is dry tomorrow
It is Father’s Day tomorrow so we are going out for lunch then for a walk, so he won’t be painting tomorrow.

Morning all.

batter day and the sun is gently shining with a breeze, Not stepped outside yet but will so later on.

I have bought 2 new bags of traditional compost not peat free and will empty my planters and refill with the new compost and hopefully my flowers will recover.. Im off to town for the day on Tuesday so will pop to the garden centre and buy a few more plants to replace those that have died.

Trooping of the colour is on and we saw Princess of Wales in the carriage with her children, welcome sight :-D

My new Dyson arrived, well the 2nd one as the first one never arrived??/
Its quieter than my old one and the suction is fab. No more hairs clogging the rollers with this model.

So I washed the filter from the old one and when its properly dry, it can go back into the machine and I can then put it up for sale. Last one sold for £60, this time its£50. Was snapped up in no time before.

Just waiting on my narrow chest which should be here next week and then a major declutter of craft things which will clear a space.

Right quick coffee and then off out the garden and see whats what.

Have a good day everyone looking in

Florence in the hebrides

Hi all,
Well football is over for tonight .

Not much happening here as not been able to get out in the garden much between the showers also has been quite cold at times.

Went to Drs last week for usual blood and BP tests.. Didn't go well for either as when she did my BP the machine didn't work properly and kept giving error results . I had taken my own as I wanted to see if the results were the same so she tried mine but after trying with hers 3 times my BP was higher than ever. So I was given a sheet to fill in for a week and then return for the Dr to see it.. After that I think my veins went into hiding as she tried 3 times to get blood but failed so I had to go back again and the actual nurse did it first time. :-) Just got to wait now for the results.

Have a nice weekend everyone and try to dodge the showers.
:-)

Agh predictive text strikes again :-(

Depends if it was galvanized or plastic AG. :-D :-D :-D

I don't suppose biting a bucket is any worse than biting a bullet!

It is a good school Ann, it has an outstanding Ofsted rating. There are still problems of course such as the boy who is besotted with her and dropped the bowling ball on her head, but that has been dealt with. They are having a football themed day today to mark the start of the Euros, they are all in their football kits and are doing football activities all day.

I have just bitten the bucket and ordered curtains for all of the bedrooms. They are the same as the downstairs ones, but have blackout linings. A tad on the expensive side, but I really like them and they are very well made .It would be much cheaper to get ready made ones, but non of the windows are the correct size for standard length curtains. The ready made type would all be hanging down over the radiators, so would block the heat or would have to be tucked in. The current curtains are all floor length,so when you close them, the radiators are covered over which is crackers

That school of Esmes does sound so good Linda. How nice to be able to go there for coffee and scone. And lovely for the pupils too to get training in 'life skills'.

Well another early start because the kitchen fitter was coming, but not quite as early as it should have been. The radio normally comes on at seven and we listen to the Today programme on radio 4 until we get up. I was dozing and wondering when the radio would come on, when OH suddenly got up saying that it was eight o’clock. We had forgotten that because the power was turned off several times yesterday that the alarm would need resetting. Luckily the kitchen fitter didn’t turn up until half past, so we weren’t caught out.

I will go to “ The Bakery” in Esme’s school this morning. The sixth form run various enterprises which includes a weekly bakery, or cafe in the school hall. The cook makes scones, cakes etc. and the more able of the pupils take orders and serve. It is quite well supported by the families, lots of grandparents turn up. It is only £2 for a scone and coffee, so good value The various classes in the senior school all come and eat the goodies as well. It gives them practice in ordering for themselves. Esme and her friend are allowed to come and sit with me when I go, which she likes. They don’t have to hand over cash as that is beyond them, but their food is paid for out of the class fund. Every term the parents are asked for a voluntary contribution to the class fund which is used to pay for such treats. They do take the children out into the community a lot and buy things when they are out. Morrisons cafe is a favourite, while they are there, they buy lots of healthy snacks for the classroom, so the children can have them whenever they want. They have fridge and a toaster, so Esme often has toast with lashings of butter. That might sound odd, but they are all children with severe special needs, so most of them need to eat regularly throughout the day, not just lunch. A bit like me when I come to think of it :-D