General Chat

Jane I forgot your question sorry. Hidcote is National Trust, a garden no house and is near Chipping Camden.

Ann your work on those items is superb and I love the stripey camelia.

Gosh that is a big trench. It must be the sewer pipes for all the drainage from the houses they are building.

Mandy that will be good if you can have the dishwasher for nithing for looking after the place for 18 months. I think you really need mor ethan that though for all that time.

Going to watch Shetland now.

Jane you still watching Baptist? Its got really good now has'nt it? Last one next week.

Jane those holes are huge they must be huge pipes to go in them. Horrible what is happening to all our countryside. But people need somewhere to live and 35 years ago where we are was all orchards so people must have hated these houses too.

That's a heck of a hole isn't it Jane!! :-0 :-0 They are certainly getting on with it at a pace now. It's looking like the development with 4,250 houses they are building on the edge of our village. In our case its huge mounds of soil we can see. Today's paper said the Primary school they are building there will be open in September. I remember that nice little lane up to Fitz's where I saw the Red Kites when I was with you. What a shame so much countryside is being lost. Once it's gone we never get it back. A shame about the recipe, but you have to try them all to find the good ones. I liked the pole thing this window cleaner was using as it had a motorised brush on the end that he was scrubbing the frames and sills with.

Frank how many years have we been telling you to do something about that step! It's a wonder you haven't knocked your brains out, the times you have fallen. Put a rail up like someone said, or even a post to hold onto if it is one step. A gentle slope might be best, but I think you said once that you couldn't do that.

I thought with the long train journey that poor Conrad was soon winging his way back too!

It will be good when the bungalow changes hands Mandy. It's quite a responsiblity keeping an eye on a place and checking everything's ok, especially when there are frosts.Good idea to make use of the dishwasher if it's in good condition

Yes, I hope Gill has managed to see a dentist if her tooth didn't settle down. Toothache is horrid.

We saw the DogWash van in the drive next door so it looks like Fleur has been pampered in the dog parlour!! It comes the other side of us too for the little Shih Tzu.

I think it will be an early night for me tonight as I was up at 7.00am this morning. I can hear it raining heavily now. :-S

Mandy I hope your friends family appreciate all the time you have taken in keeping an eye on and sorting the things in the bungalow . 18 months is a long time to have this responsibility .I bet you cant wait now to be relieved of it. Go for the Dishwasher.I assume it will be free!

That trench has gone right through Badgers Setts
:-S I had a good look whilst down the lane and could see what looks like still fresh tracks from Badgers.So I just wonder if they are still there but just having to make new setts across the lane and into the field the other side of the lane. I just don't know .I know Badgers are hated by many people but I would like to think they are still safe.
The Horses seem quite unaffected by all the going on Mandy.

Evening all,

It's been a lovely sunny day here ,we've had quite a busy day ,,we went to the bungalow that's up for sale where my friend lived ( it should all be signed up by the end of the month ) i emptied a few drawers and i'm going again on wednesday to pack a few more bits ready for thursday when her gardening chap will hire a van and move more of the furniture down to her daughters ,i'll be glad when it's sold as i've been going each week to keep an eye on the place and it's been about eighteen months i've been going there now.
There is a Miele washing machine a tumble dryer and a Miele dishwasher that has to go and the daughter doesn't want them ,i think i might have the dishwasher as it's like new .

After doing that we went off to Makro to stock up , we always buy for son and DIL so we dropped their bits and pieces off and then came home .

Frank carn't you have some thing done to those steps or have a rail put up to help you down the steps ,you always seem to be tripping there ,i hope you haven't caught your ribs again .

Oh dear Jane it's a shame about the recipe i thought it sounded quite tasty
Goodness what a trench they are digging for all those pipes it's a wonder the poor horses don't get spooked .

Jane if they were in a bad way when she got them and did'nt have many feathers thats probably why they did'nt lay. Also the days are now getting longer and usually chickens only lay when there are 11 hours of daylight I think. Its nice she has her first eggs though and I bet she's thrilled to bits.

Poor Conrad all that trveling time makes you wonder if it was worth it. He must be shattered. Now what have we told you about minding that step Frank? :-| you silly boy but I am pleased you did'nt hurt yourself. You got a nice lot of work done today so lets hope you get a good nights sleep tonight.

I am making a Sheep Sh*t pie for tonight as I just fancied one. Not put it together yet but its not far away.

I have been cleaning the kitchen room divider thing this afternoon. You should have seen the dust! It all wanted washing and I hav'nt done the top shelf yet. The plate rack is the next thing to do as I hav'nt had that lot off since Christmas.

Its now getting dark so I will go and shut the girls in and then I don't have to go out there anymore.

Afternoon Everyone
I have just sent you some pics of the big work going on across he road.

Frank is it that same step you always trip down when you carry the wash basket? Good job you didn't hurt your ribs. You have been a busy boy wit hall the laundry today :-D. I havent had any to do today(just for a change). I bet the basket will be full though by the morning.

Ann,it would be funny if the new people got locked in if the new gate fails :-D. It would be just being behind bars LOL Well our windows cleaners turned up this morning just as I was about to have a shower.Luckily Chris shouted up they were here as he was leaving for one of his long walks. Our cleaners use one of these long pole things now for some of the windows that are difficult to get a ladder to. So we are done now for the next 2 months. They do always do a good job and do all the sills and frames too.Well they do the downstairs ones. I am not sure about the top ones if they just use the pole thing.

AnnG where is Hidcote? I have heard of it but just can't think where it is. We are NT members .But I think our county probably has the least NT properties in the country :-S.. We will be visiting a couple of NT places though when we go to Yorkshire in May. Crumbs,poor OH having to carry his golf bag .It must be quite a weight. Are golf buggies allowed when the ground is wet and muddy? I hope his ankle held out.

Nothing yet from Gill today? I hope her tooth is ok and that she hadn't had the dreaded visit to the Dentist.
I have my Dental check up in the morning at 10.Then on Wednesday it is my eye test at Specsavers.

Frank it the tree top walk open again at Salcey Forest. It was closed because of safety or something a year or so back.I bet Lewis had lots of fun there when he was a young boy :-D Conrad had quite a journey then !!! and is going back already. He hasn't had long at home.

DEboned Chicken ,tonight. Mandy that recipe I did last night was rubbish :-S :-S.. It was bland so I won't be doing it again.

Mel my friend who has 4 rescued battery hens says they have finally laid her 3 eggs
:-D.They must be feeling settled and are getting good food and a good life now ,and all their feathers have grown back. She has had them for 4 months.

Hi all,

As I said Ros is out, so I am in charge of the washing on the line including the Sheets and pillowcases. I didn't know she had changed the bed.When the towels were finished in the W,M. I went to take them out and put them in the Tumble Dryer. Do you think I could get the W M door open, NO WAY. So I put it on again on the SPIN Cycle. Low and behold it opened when it was finished. I kept an eye on the weather, and thought I felt a spot of rain. So out I went, with the Basket and TRIPPED down the Bl@@dy step. No damage done thank goodness. !!!! Anyway I got all the washing in, folded it up ready for ironing. I also emptied the T.D. and folded the towels and put them away.

Have carved the cold pork, and done the chips. So nothing to do until Tea Time.

It is nice to go back to places you like. We have SALCEY FOREST quite close to us, where we took Lewis very often when he was young. There was/is a Forest TOP walk way, which he loved to climb. We haven't been back there for years. But it is a place very close to my heart. <3 <3 <3

Some really BIG BLACK CLOUDS all around here. So it might mean we will get something later.

Surprise phone cail at Lunchtime. CONRAD. There are no flights from Manchester to Alicante or to Exeter on Saturday evening. So he took the train from Manchester to Paignton FIVE AND A HALF HOURS. He is catching a flight back to Spain early tomorrow morning. So will ring his Mum later tonight.

I see the ANY OLD IRON MAN has been visiting the SKIP outside Lynn's. He has had a field day, Washing machine, Fridge, BBQ old bikes and bike racks. No end of stuff. His lorry was full to overflowing.I hope he roped it all down safely, or he will be in trouble. :-| :-| :-| :-|

The SUN is trying to make an appearance, through all these clouds. !!!!

There's always something going wrong is'nt there?

I don't seem to be able to get going this morning I am all behind like a ducks bottom.

Annx Mel is right, trolleys banned because the wheel supposedly dig up the wet ground.

We love Hidcote and go at least twice a year, sometimes more. We like the Spring and Autumn but my favourite is if we go in June or July and get good weather as it is a nice place to picnic as well. Their summer garden is lovely as well but the whole place just feels nice. It is not too big to walk round but we like to go right out to the far end which if wet underfoot is not easy going.

He is home now and about to pull out the washing machine to see how it is fixed in. We think we may be looking for a new one soon as it sounds as though the bearings have gone in our current one. I have turned it down to a slower spin (was on 1200) to see if it is quieter but had to wait until OH was home in case it goes wrong.

Good morning all,

Ros has done a load of coloured wash. That's on the line, and blowing in a gentle breeze. She is taking Carollyn to the Hospital at 12.15 for an appointment about her foot. (You remember she broke it in two places.) They will go on to Tesco,
for odds and ends afterwards.

John is having an extension added to his "OFFICE" The Council planning dept. are meeting with the builders to sort out the planning consent as his house in a Grade ONE property. This is taking place tomorrow, so no shopping for the girls.

Cold Pork, chips and salad/beans for tonight. Tomorrow Ros is out for a meal at the village hall to celebrate FIFTY Years of the Mothers Club. There will be a couple of the original members, as guest of honour. Should be an enjoyable evening.

It seems you girls are doing various stitching/arty work. Ros is busy making one of her scarves, from the wool she bought at the NEC. I am still busy reading my Amazon books. Once Ros goes out the TV will go off and I will sit and read in peace and quiet.

Talking of which, how is the noise from the house building Jane, and the alterations next door to you Gill. ??

There has been a lot of helicopter traffic around this morning. Not sure if it's the police. They are often seen flying up and down the M 1., I assume looking for certain cars related to crimes. They use the Motorway to get away from robberies etc. in London.

I get Police Notices, of all crimes taking place in Northampton Area. I can't believe the number of WHITE VANS that get broken into, and their tools stolen. The POLICE are forever SAYING."REMOVE ALL TOOLS FROM VANS AT NIGHT" but still it gets ignored. So if they are to LAZY to remove them, it's down to them. The villages around here seem to get targeted most weeks. I always make sure my gate is locked as is my Garage and sheds. The back ,and front door. is permanently locked even if we are at home.

Keep safe dear friends. P.C. Frank is keeping his eyes open. lol lol

I should think trolleys are banned because of the wet ground. Am I right AnninG?

Its rained here a couple of times so far this morning. Oh is trying to work outside on the chicken house and has just come in for a fresh battery for his drill.

I am going to attempt to put the washing on the line but it will be under cover and there's no wind to speak of today but its still very cold.

Hidcote will be lovely this time of year AnninG. All the fresh new growth and lovely tree bark and bulbs to see. Oh has been but I never have. Take some nice pics to show us please?

Morning All.

I was up with the lark this morning so I could get a few things done and a shower before the window cleaner arrived. He's so unreliable and hasn't turned up yet. We often have a few days of expecting him until he eventually comes. I see the new people over the road have changed to someone else who uses a motorised pole with attachments and washes all the frames and doors as well. It might be time for us to change as well.

Weak sunshine here and no wind which is a nice change. OH has meetings later this afternoon, but we might pop to the jeweller where I got my last rings from to see what is in their sale after lunch.

The workmen are back with radio blaring to get the new electric gate working. I think the fun will start once it's closed!

Hidcote is lovely AnnG. I don't remember it being too huge to walk around, but my memory may be wrong as it is a long time since I visited.I was wondering why trolleys are banned on the golf course?

Good morning all. It was sunny but has clouded over. It is not very warm. OH has decided he had to go to golf, he has not been going because he hurt his ankle and finds carrying his clubs (trolleys are banned at the moment) heavy work. I only hope he doesn't wear himself out as we are supposed to be going to Hidcote (NT) tomorrow with the U3A garden visits group.

Morning you lot,

Not as sunny today as it was yesterday in fact its cloudy and miserable and it looks very cold out there. I hav'nt been out yet so don't know for sure.

Washings in so that can go out on the line when its done and thats one job for today out of the way.

Hope Gill gets something done about her tooth today and dos'nt leave it like I did without a dentist. I too had a bad experiance with a dentists so was a bit frightened to go but I got in with oh's dentist after they realized he was my partner and they are very good now, nothing like when I went years ago. Gill please go and get it seen to.

That is strange. I wrote a post but it is not there. I said apologies Mel, I must have misread your post I didn't see where you said 'and I see that' I thought you said 'and that'

I did see you went on the ferry AnninG. I wrote it in my post:-

AnninG will be coming home today. I hope they had a lovely few days away and I see they were ablel to do the ferry trip and it was'nt choppy.

Good you are back and had a lovely time with the grandchildren and gt grandchildren and little Chewi. He sounds great.

Little Chewi :-D did he get the name because he is a chewer AnnG glad you got home safe and sound .

It's odd how these crazes start Ann ,i know some of the things have been Disney related but i don't think uni corns are any thing Disney
I think this lot of Sewing Bee has been a good one so far ,they have used lots of odd things like the Tents !!!!