General Chat

Afternoon Everyone
What a lovely day it is here today. Wall to wall sunshine :-D :-D

OMG Gill. Your poor 'new neighbours'. It does sound as though it may well have been an inside job as they say. If there was no break in it has to be someone with access.Unless of course a door was left unlocked. What a good job the neighbour the other side heard the alarm .How frightening for you all. This place seems doomed doesn't it. Nothing has ever gone smoothly and the Boss seems a really unpleasant person .I think if I was the new owners I would not be wanting to live there now.I feel so bad for them as they sound really nice people.

Ramble away Vera :-D We all do sometimes :-D.

AnnX. I tried to send you 2 emails last night but both bounced back !!! :-S :-S.. It said Server too busy. I will try again and see what happens this time.

I have been over to Rushden Lakes this morning to M&S .Just for food,but ended up with 2 pairs of trousers and a top as well. The trousers are 'short' so fingers crossed will be the right length for me.I do find the short lengths often in short supply so have to buy when I find them. I could well end up taking one pair back as they are not my usual type but I shall see. I am hoping they will be fine as I really like them.

Hannah has just gone ot meet up with her girlfriends for lunch ,James has gone to see his friend and then this afternoon when Hannah goes back to London James will be going too. He will stay with her and Gareth until Wednesday. I think it will be good for him to get away from us for a few days .He can still look for jobs there on his laptop.Just a different change of scenery will be nice and I am sure he will take himself off places during the days when H&G are at work. He may even cook a nice meal for them :-D I might suggest that :-D

We have been watching 3 Red Kites overhead just now :-D

Morning all,

Gill it sounds like 'A RIGHT CASIES COURT NEXT DOOR". Surely the owners or the builder knows who had a key to the property. I am sure the police will eventually speak to all who have had access to the property. I hope they find the culprit and prosecute him to HIGH HILLS. He deserves a prison sentence for arson. Thank goodness the fire was confined to the kitchen. Is it a detached bungalow or Semi.?? Had it been a semi, a fire could soon race through to next door. This happened to me when we first bought the Post Office. The next door was let to a woman, and she fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand. It set light to the bedclothes.. She was able to get out with her Dog. But the fire brigade seemed to take ages to get there, and the fire had burnt through her wall into our staircase. The Firmen soon had that under control, but next door was virtually gutted. It seemed that half the village turned up to see the Blaze.

What a beautiful looking morning, I haven't been out yet, but Ros is in the garden again planting things in the front borders.

Maureen a neighbour across the road came over this morning with a bottle of "HOB GOBLIN BEER" it had been purchased for her partner together with a variety of beers. The HOB he tried, he didn't like, so she bought the other one over to me. With the promise that if he doesn't like the others, I will get those also. GREAT. ;-) ;-) ;-)

I am being called by Ros. so will pop back later.BYE

The new neighbours turned up about an hour ago so we went round to see if there was anything we could do to help and to see how they both were. Lynn was a lot calmer today, but the place smells and needs a good clean and re-paint and of course the floor will need doing again, the kitchen is okay it just needs a good clean. Luckily it's just superficial damage, but Kevin was talking with OH and saying his old house is back on the market so OH got the impression they were thinking of buying it back, so I should imagine once everything is finished next door will be back on the market again. They are having the locks changed today but have the boss organising it for them, which we think is silly as it could of been the boss who started the fire for all anyone knows, trying to get more work out of them. The police aren't doing anything about it because all the evidence was washed away by the firemen, so they have just issued a crime number. Kevin and Lynn are going to get in touch with their insurance but don't think they'll pay out with there being no signs of a break in. So at the moment we're not sure what's going to happen to the place, or if they are even going to move in now.

OH has gone to buy a new bulb for our front security light in the hope it puts people off and the new neighbours said they are going to put camera's all around the property as they only have one by the front door and they are being connected next week. I can understand why they want to do that but we're not to happy about it if they can see over the fences onto our property as we'll loose all our privacy then. The outside lights they had on last night were very bright and lit up the whole of our back garden and also shone right into our kitchen, Sandra's bedroom and our bathroom.

I was thinking the same as you AnnG about buying some blackout curtains for Sandra's room as the ones she has now are quite thin and a cream colour so don't block any light out. She said she slept okay but it took her a while to drop off to sleep with her room being so bright. I'm still a bit concerned about the skip being messed about with and hope who every started the fire doesn't think to start one in the skip, but I suppose it's only natural to think "what if's" and I'm sure all those type of thoughts will soon go. My main concern is Sandra, she's very nervous at the moment so I'm trying to reassure her that nothing else is going to happen. It's not that long ago there was a break in over the road and that shook her up, it took quite a while for her to get over that, so I hope she can sleep okay now and doesn't have worries like last time again.

Yes, AnnG the two bathrooms have been put in by the builders I don't think much of the builders, well the way the boss is asking them to do the work, each time a job is done they seem to have to take it apart and do it again, it's like one step forward and two back with this project. I'm sure at some point it'll be finished and then if they decided to sell someone else will move in and it'll all be over. If they do decide to stay I hope they will be happy there, but by the looks on their faces today it looks like they have given up and just want to get rid of the place. Time will tell I suppose.

Good Mornng all,

O Gill you r poor neighbours. I am so sorry for them it is just one thing after another. I do hope they can find out who did it and they get put away. It was so near completion too and now to find the floor in the bathroom needs replacing is just another worry for them. I hope they had the place insured and its covered. Its just as well the fire alarm went off too or the other neighbour may not have noticed anything but it must also be a comfort to know that neighbours are looking out for any trouble that may occur too.

On a lighter note we have sunshine today and the sky is blue with only a few clouds to the south. Oh let the chickens out this morning and said there was one egg in the nest box so thye can get in there ok and know where they are. I was worried about it as its all round a different way to the old house.

I have to change their water this morning as I am worming them and have to do it again tomorrow so I am a bit cross he let them out.

Good morning Gill. Oh how worrying and sad for the new neighbours. Lucky it was found before it did more damage and what a pity nobody has CCTV in the area to see who was around. No use thinking about the 'what ifs' Gill. Nothing else happened and you are all safe so don't dwell on that. Has Sandra got curtains at her window? We have curtains that shut out the light (black out linings) pity she hasn't got those but I hope she was able to sleep with the light. And what a nuisance about the bathroom flooring etc. Is it a new bathroom put in by the builders? The new owners need to ask their surveyor why the state of the floor was not picked up in the survey as well. It all sounds a real mess for them.
Anyway, I hope they can catch whoever did it. Hopefully the police will be looking at anyone who has a grudge against the builder now. sounds a bit stupid to let themselves in with a key and very nasty to spoil the new kitchen, no thought for other people not involved if it was a grudge thing.

Morning all

Feeling a bit uneasy today, we're just waiting for the police to come as there was a fire next door last night. It looks like someone had a key and let themselves in then set fire to a pile of cardboard in the kitchen. Luckily the neighbour the other side heard the smoke alarm and contacted the boss who then contacted the owners. We heard a bang and when I looked out of the window there were two fire engines in the street. We went out to see what was going on and the neighbour from the other side was there and told us he saw flames through the patio doors at the back but couldn't get in to do anything. The owners turned up then and poor Lynn was in bits crying and shaking. We've got the new owners number now just in case anything else happens. They were still there at 1am this morning waiting for the police to arrive, but left shortly after, so we think the police will want to speak to everyone sometime today. It was definitely lit on purpose and from someone who had a key as there was no signs of a break in. The kitchen had only just been finished yesterday and now it's ruined so will need to be replaced along with the floor. They are so lucky the whole bungalow didn't catch fire and that the neighbour spotted it when he did. They thanked him and us for our help and we all said if there's anything we can do to help to ask. The fire investigation fella was there so how long it'll be before anymore work can be done we don't know. They were told they would in able to move in in three weeks but I can't see that happening now.

They also have to have both the bathrooms taken out to as the floorboards need replacing, apparently they are falling to bits, so they're really not having much luck with their purchase. Both the other neighbour and us think the place is jinxed. I'm just glad who ever did it didn't set light to the skip as it's full of cardboard and very close to our car. We're in shock this morning now we've had time to think about it, if the neighbour hadn't spotted it almost straight away the whole place could of gone up and there is gas connected now so it could of been a lot worse for us all. The police told them to leave all the security lights on last night so poor Sandra had to sleep with a bright light shinning in her window all night, they did say it was only for one night so it's not to bad for her. She was shook up with it all too.

We suggested to them to have their locks changed as they don't know who has keys. OH thinks the boss has upset someone, maybe not paid them so it might be one of the workmen, but then he did shout at someone who was going through the skip and the new neighbours said they saw the same person walking past when they came to the bungalow around 5.30pm, but how he could of got in who knows. I hope they work out who it was and change the locks like we mentioned. I do feel sorry for them as they've had no end of problems, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to give up on the place and sell it. Unfortunately the security camera hasn't been connected yet so they'll be no clues there either, if it was a workman they would of known the camera wasn't working. It's all a mess and I really hope the new neighbours have some good luck soon, my heart goes out to them with all the bad luck they've had lately.

Sent it to Ann and Vera.

We don't mind you rambling on Vera we enjoy it. Its nice to have some posts to read when we all pop in.

I got quite a good pic of one of the Long Tailed Tits just flying off the feeder the other day and I keep meaning to send it so I may jsut do that.

Thanks for the pictures Jane. I think the Warthog is great. I wouldn’t have known where to start with it.

Thomas definitely looks the lovable rogue that I know he is yet I hadn’t imagined him looking like that. Funny how we visualise people or animals and then we see a picture and find we were completely wrong.

Jane, Thomas must enjoy the taste of pigeon poo he certainly is a big boy. I noticed the other day that our two are beginning to moult, they are ten at the end of the month.

Ann I like the photo of your home the two houses do look similar don't they,I would love to live in Watersland of course it has been modernised now but still looks the same from the outside as it's grade 2 listed. My great Uncle bought it for £600 pounds when he retired from the police force. About 10 years ago it was up for sale for £625,00 pounds so I was able to see from the photos how it looked after restoration. Every time we visit Sussex we take a trip to Tenterden, Kent so I can have a look. It's named after the Waters family.

I remember watching Dixon of Dock Green Vera and that little bob he did as he said it! I can well understand you and your Bob in the garden. Ours is a much smaller garden than my old house had and we have no lawn now. Hubby's favourite garden occupation used to be bonfires!! Once he nearly set fire to the conifers at the bottom of the garden so the hose was always kept handy after that.There's not really room for bonfires here but I know he misses having them! I lived in 7 different houses through my childhood, first at my mother's parent's, then a prefab, then a detached bungalow dad modernised, then a flat when we changed counties, then a double bayed semi, then a rented terraced house with no garden, but a large workshop for dad's business, then a detached house in the country with 1/3 of an acre. I used to wonder if it was worth making friends. :-S You are very savvy using whatsapp. I think I am becoming a dinosaur with technology so need to 'get with it' I think!

Evening all

Wasn’t that what Dixon of Dock Green used to say? Now I’m showing my age.

Thank you all for your concern. I still have the headache but it is just that - a bad headache so I am functioning OK. It’s the full blown migraine that can knock me for six for a couple of weeks.

This morning we met friends in town for coffee and this afternoon I’ve just pottered about so an easy day for me. We had sea bass for dinner and Bob is just clearing the dishes.

Mel I am sure your ‘girls’ will love their new home once they have got used to it. I wish I could love the chickens too. I’m a bit of a wuss with all birds though I feed them and love watching them on the feeders and in the bird bath.

Frank, I wouldn’t trust Bob to hang anything in the right place. I’d have to mark exactly where I wanted baskets to hang and then keep an eye on him. Some of the ladies on here know from the gardening thread the trials and tribulations I have with Bob in the garden. In our old house we had a very big garden and cutting the grass and the hedges, doing the heavy digging, looking after the two compost heaps etc kept him busy. Now we only have a very small garden and no grass he’s turned his attention to the plants and we don’t always see eye to eye about them.

Anne and Annx, I like the look of your houses. My childhood home from the age of about 3 till I got married was quite a dark, gloomy sort of place. It was the best my mum could find at the end of the war and was a rented ground floor flat. When I was 12 or so the upstairs flat became vacant and the landlord decided to sell up so my Dad managed to buy the whole house and made a lot of improvements but it was always dark.

Jane I would love to see a picture of Thomas as I have heard so much about him. I think you can get my email address from Mel’s email with her hen house pictures but I will pm you with it anyway.

I am now going to phone a friend who is in New Zealand for 6 months. We use WhatsApp so it doesn’t cost us anything but we have to get our timing right. If I ring now it will be about 9.30 am where she is.

You will be sorry you welcomed me to the thread as I can ramble on forever. Have a good night everyone.

No Thomas pic to look at.

There are main streets closed at 2 of the villages on the way to Ullesthorpe Court carvery we go to but the signs say 'access only' so people who live there can get to their homes as can the binmen and emergency services. Not sure if there is access at the other ends of the roads though, in which case it could be very inconvenient for those living there! The shops there must be tearing their hair out with losing sales. One of the roads has been closed over 3 weeks now and the other for 2 weeks. It started with 3 way traffic lights at the centre of one village and they appeared to be putting cables in. The through road in the middle of our village was closed a few weeks ago over the weekend and now there is a sign up to say it will be closed next weekend where it leaves the village for a few miles to the main road junction. Some of our closures have been for them to fill potholes and tarmac patches over them. It is near the end of the financial year for councils so they will be using up the rest of their budgets.

Anne I did a double take when I saw your avatar of your childhood home as it was very similar to the house I lived in before I moved here. Mine was only 2 storey as opposed to your 3 storey home but it did have 4 bedrooms. My avatar pic is before we had really started renovating it!

Must have a look at Jane's pic of Thomas.

He has his winter coat still on Mel :-D Beginning to look a bit scruffy so I reckon a moult will be on the way soon.
We aren't going ot be cut of totally Mel. Just from us to the main road at the top of our road. We will have a major detour back down the other way.I think I said it is going to be about a 5 mile or so each way to town and back . Unfortunately it is something we are going to have to put up with for at least 4 months :-S I bet though the work will not finish on time.

Glad all the girls are tucked up safely Mel :-D

Evening All,

I must be clumsy tonight because I have touched something that has wiped my 2 attempts at posting up to now. I shall have to be more 'light fingered!' :-0

I have missed so many posts so forgive me if I seem to have missed anyone. Mel your OH has done a great job with the hen house, even if he should have gone to Specsavers before measuring the nest boxes. ;-) It looks really professional and well made and will be cosy and warm for the hens. I was wondering if you could get a refund on the bowls?

I hope your headache has gone now Vera. They can leave you very tired for a while after though.

Mandy it sounds like both of you and Max will need a rest after the children have visited. I expect they will be getting excited about your Easter Bunny trail next! :-D

Gill it sounds as if Sandra has picked up on your fear of the dentist. As Jane suggested though it would be a good idea to gently persuade her to accompany you to get used to the place and the dentist. I often see families come together and the little ones come too, just to sit in the chair at first. I think it would be such a shame to move now and not enjoy all the work you have done on your bungalow and garden for a while longer.

Frank I'm afraid I would be the same as Ros if OH wanted to put baskets on the fence! He would be bound to put them at the wrong height so I couldn't reach to water or dead head or something like that, so I would want to mark where they went.

Oh went to another funeral yesterday. It was one of his old footie pals from the club he used to follow. He said over 300 were there and that he'd died of Mesothelioma, same as my ex. They think he would have got it from being in the Navy years ago, when they used asbestos in the ships.

I made OH chuckle this morning when we were reading the papers. I saw an article mentioned a child being called 'Parker' and said to OH that I hoped the surname wasn't 'Carr'. :-)

Nice picture of Thomas Jane. You'll have to keep it nice and clean if he is going to drink out of it. He is a big boy now is'nt he.

They must leve you some kind of access through to your houses Jane. They can't just shut the whole road off or how are people going to get to work and the shops.

I have been in the garden all afternoon sorting out my strawberry plants and cutting them back. I hav'nt got through them all yet but I had masses of baby ones I have potted up. I hav'nt much compost so I put them all in cells so I can clean all the old ones out that arn't any good and they babies can go in where they come out.

Anne we hav'nt had a power cut like that for years. I used to like having to get the candles out.

Usual steak for us tonight so thats quite quick to do and a nice bottle of wine in the fridge to go with it.

I thought I may have trouble getting the chickens in tonight but I went round there and just one was out. They must have heard me as nearly all of them came out then so I had to wait till they had had another drink and some more food and then they went in all but one who I thought I may have had trouble with as she kept looking at the old house. I waited and then peeped round the corner and she had gone in so I dropped the pop hole down and they are all tucked up for the night in their new house. Now I wonder if they will find the nest boxes? I only had the one egg today.

What a lovely house Anne. I bet you have some lovely memories .
Oh dear a Frog and a Mouse :-S.... One of my Sisters cats used ot catch so many frogs. I remember her saying how the body of the frog would be in the cat's mouth but all the legs would be sticking out the sides !! :-S Do you know why you had a big power cut last night? We dont get many but always now where the battery lanterns and candles are just in case.

AnnG did I say I have seen your new pics on your blog. Hidcote looks really nice and you have some great pics from your trip to the coast.
I don't have an email address for you Vera to send pics to

Afternoon All
Hannah and James have just gone for a walk.Not sure James was too enthusiastic though. He is probably thinking Hannah will be wanting a Sister and Brother chat !!.
I have got dinner ready.It is my tasty Chicken Pie. I have just put the filo pastry on top so its all ready to pop in the oven .

AnnG ,I think youdid well only to spend just £60 today. There must have been so many things to tempt you into spending more
:-D

Frank, Chris will often stop me from doing something in the garden .It might just be something really simple but he will just want to do it himself :-S.I often go off in a huff :-D

Last night in the early hours he whacked me right across the face !!!!!. Obviously he was fast asleep ,but my automatic reaction being woken like that was to whack him back LOL .I'm surprised I dont have a black eye.It was just like he was swatting a fly :-D :-D. He was quite restless all night and I think it was because his painful shoulder was playing up. I said tonight before he goes to bed he must take some Paracetamol and Ibuprofen .

How are you feeling now Vera? I hope much better.That sounded a really horrible headache :-(

So a houseful of grandchildren Mandy :-D.You will be putting your feet up now and maybe having an early night tonight :-D.

Mel I think you are right about the WartHogs tusks, but I think the little ones Janice made look fine and they won't be sticking out the side .I had a look on google at Wart hogs. Ugly little beasts aren't they !!!
So the Girls are in but no bowls for the nesting boxes. What a pity the ones you ordered were no the right size.I'm sure though you will find some use for them though.
I hope the girls will settle nicely and start giving you some wonderful eggs
:-D OH has done a brilliant job hasn't he :-D

Frank,I hope you will soon get some lovely pics of all Ros's flowers and plants.The Flowering Cherry will look beautiful in your front Border.

One of you asked how long the stretch of road is that will be worked on. I think it is probably about 500yards. The very top of our road will be open just for the access to the Primary School housng deveopment and the works.It is then shut off from the school down as far as the BridleWay(which is the lane down to Fitz) Just a few yards from us.
It was made clear that no protests or complaints would make any difference now. The work will go ahead and with no access.I just hope that the emergency services are aware and will not attempt to try and come down this way.They will have to ZOOM along the A14 down to the Cranford junction and come up through Cranford Village.

I am just looking out the window and can see my washing on the whirly line all nice and straight and upright.I have a drunken line for years and it has gradually been tilting futher and further. Chris finally cemented the pole in properly again :-D.It's not quite straight but 99 times better than before :-D :-D
Enjoy your F&Cs tonight Frank. We had that last night.

Good afternoon All

Couldn't get on here yesterday evening as we had a power cut knocking out a lot of Bracknell for nearly an hour when it did come back on the internet had gone down, Richard was out at a quiz night so had to wait for him to fix it. Ruby wasn't too keen on candlelight and took a while to settle.

The wart hog looks great Jane.

Mel the girls' house looks very smart. They will soon settle down and start laying again I'm sure. Your OH has made a very good job of it.

You had a good shop then AnnG at the Malvern show ground , my eldest SIL lives in Leominster and they usually go to the Pantomime every year in Malvern. It's in a lovely area.

Frank your garden will look a picture once all the flowers are out.Hope you both enjoy your take aways F&C would be my choice as well.

Mandy your grandchildren are keeping you busy but it is proof that they love their grandma to bits.

I do hope you are feeling better today Vera and your headache is better.

We had two dead bodies yesterday a frog on the patio and a mouse brought in through the cat flap both were still in tact so must have died of fright poor things.

I have changed my Avatar to a photo of my childhood home which was the home of my great aunt Kate who we stayed with through out of WW2. Reading about the chickens reminded me of her as Watersland was a small holding. Mum and I had the bedroom right at the top.