General Chat

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.

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.

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.

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 ?

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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 .

I thought it was only us who had dead flies on the windowsills Frank. I thought it was because of the ponds and the chickens we get so many.

Sorry your arm is so sore this morning but you did expect it with not doing that sort of work for a long time.

Mended a necklace this morning and done the chickens , put three begonias in my shed out of the wind and took the fleece off the blueberry bushes. There's only a few left on the two bushes so the birds can have those. I just did'nt want the fleece blowing away.

Oh has put the sack barrow with a few building blocks on it down by my beans and I have tied the wire to it so they don't blow over.

Now what am I going to get for lunch??????????? Forgot to buy myself some ham this week so I may just have a naughty bacon sarnie.

Afternoon Everyone

400 screws Gill !!!!!! no wonder your arm is hurting !!.I know how hard you find it to just sit and not do anything but a good rest for your arm and foot sounds just what you need to do today.

A rest day for you too Frank :-D. Poor Lewis having to be delayed for so long. What airport is he coming home from? It doesn't sound like he is going to be home anytime soon if they are getting engineers out from the UK. I am sure though that he should get compensation .Hope fully the airline has given all the passengers vouchers to buy food and drink while they wait.

Mel why did the Doctor say to have another Baby? Did he think it would help your back /hips? As you said you did it once and never again LOL

We have been to the Vets this morning to get worm and flea treatment and then to the P.O to get an engagement card for Gareth's Sister and her fiancee Rhodri.They are holidaying in Italy at the moment and got engaged at the weekend :-D

Pippyn are you going on holiday abroad or somewhere in this country? I think I am getting withdrawal symptoms from our yearly holiday in France or Italy. It is just Suffolk for us this year,but I'm so looking forward to it.Just to get away . It has been a sad year one way or the other . My Daughter lost her first Baby back in May :-( and now all this business with James . Hopefully next year will be different .

AnnG, I am sure your biscuits will be enjoyed just as much as you enjoyed the scones :-D :-D. Do you buy fancy bickies when your friends all come to you?

I noticed a loose tile on the roof when we backed out the drive this morning. I think it is the same on that slipped once before . Gareth popped it back in place then .There is no way I will let Chris get up a ladder today in this wind.

Yes i wonder what Ann is making at Beading today. She was trying to finish off something the other week at home I think. But for the life of me can I remember what ! :-S :-S

I think the lovely sunshine is disappearing fast here and the storm clouds look to be looming. No chance of getting towels dried this afternoon .They still have an hour to go in the washing machine.

Chris need to sort my laptop out again now as nothing is being backed up. I keep getting a sign flash up saying no back up for 12 days now. He said he will do it now :-D

Good morning all,

Mel, I don't know where to put my arms this morning, I had to use both hands yesterday to remove the cement. Being left handed, my right arm really aches today, not being use to doing anything. So no work today. Just resting and reading, me thinks. !!!

Ros was up and out before I woke this morning. She remembered she needed petrol to go a pick Lewis up, so.shot off to Tesco at 7.00 am. Poor Lewis, he rang from France to say the plane was delayed. He rang an hour later to say the PLANE HAD BROKEN DOWN. They were having to wait for a Engineer to be flown out from the UK to do the repair, so Gawd knows when he will be getting home. In the meantime they are trying to locate another plane, to bring them home. COMPENSATION comes to mind. ;-) ;-) ;-)

The rain we had has all dried up now, and the wind is getting up. So I can see the canal festival being wrecked by the weather. The poor organisers have put so much work into this, and it could all be for nothing. We can just hope the weather holds off, sometime over the weekend.

Our dining room table is full of wrapped Presents. There are so many Birthdays in August and September. Ros has the all ready to go, as the dates arrive for the birthday. On the sideboard are all the Birthday Cards, written and addressed where needed. Talk about being Organised. !!!!

Ros is having a good old clean of the front window sills. It's like a cemetery with all the dead flies. Where on earth do they all come from. She also has TWO big candles sitting there. They have melted in the sun, so will have to be throw away. She has also got a collection of CRANBERRY GLASS displayed on there. which is all being washed and polished.

I hope you all feel fitter than me today. xxxx

Morning Gill and all,

Its rain rain and more rain today and we are expecting gales by 12 noon. Well at least I know oh won't be mowing anywhere today. He has hurt his arm doing one of the decks on the mower. He keeps complaining about being an old man fit for nothing.

I bet Janice is going to miss old Oscar. Its like losing one of the family when an old fellow goes. Thats one reason we don't have a dog anymore. I just can't take the upset now I'm older.

I have a nice lot of ironing to do today so I think thats what I shall do and then perhaps have another go at my lastest project. It took me all afternoon to make one piece yesterday and I am not really satisfied with it.

Poor you Gill its not nice when you have all these pains in your arm or your foot but I hope they get better soon. You sound like you're getting on well with oh's tree now.

Had a good nights sleep last night even though I still went to bed late.

Hope Frank dos'nt ache too much from his step work yesterday.

Thought I had posted this yesterday. we had a lovely afternoon with our gardening interest group. We met at one of the members house and had a good chat with 12 of us sitting in her lovely garden. She even made scones for us so it will be a bit of a come down when we are back to meeting at ours when we just have biscuits.

About 10.45 last night there was a strike on the next estate to ours. No earlier lightening or thunder so a complete shock when it hit. It was a tremendous bang and flash both together. Apparently it hit a house. Nobody hurt I don't think but apparently 3 fire engines.

Morning all

Nice to see two newbies,, hello to Pippyn and Uzzi.

It looks like it's been raining in the night but thankfully it's sunny at the moment so OH is doing a bit more painting, the gate needs another coat and he said he might start the painting around the side of the bungalow if it doesn't rain. He nipped out this morning and said when he came back he noticed our bungalow looks so bright compared to the others, at least it doesn't look mucky anymore next to the new rendering on next doors bungalow.

I hope things are improving for James Jane, it must be hard for him right now. So hopefully you'll be driving again soon, I bet you can't wait. I don't know what I've done to my arm, it was okay until I pushed myself up in bed, then I got a shooting pain under my arm pit. The only thing I can think of that may of caused the muscle to hurt is the 400 screws I put into the framework and plastic the other day, it's very painful, but all I can do at the moment is rest it, along with my foot, which thankfully is starting to feel much better. I'm not used to sitting around doing nothing so it's giving me the opportunity to do more on OH's tree which is coming along nicely. Sorry to hear about Janice's dog, it's always upsetting when you lose a pet, no matter what age they are. Our eldest cat made it to 18 years old, I still miss her, she was such a character.

I had a problem with my laptop yesterday, it switched itself off, the screen went blank and it took ages to come back on, so if I'm not on here for a while you know it's given up the ghost, so don't worry.

That was a lot of walking you did the other day Vera, at least the weather was dry, be it a little hot. Pleased to hear your OH is improving now, he needs to be careful he doesn't do to much to soon though.

What are you making at beading today Ann. You are so clever with all your makes.

It sounds like you've been in the wars throughout your life Mel with one thing and another. I liked your comment about not having another baby lol.

So you've made a start on your step yourself then Frank. Be careful, you don't want an accident.

Going to take another look at OH's tree now and catch up with a few programmes I've recorded, while OH is painting and Sandra's still asleep. Sandra's still enjoying her light up flamingos and has them on every night......bless her.

So do I but I expect I shall.

See you in the morning. Night night.