General Chat

Well the promised sun has been very hazy here today but it is 20 degrees (we were promised 23) so they got that wrong. No clear blue sky just losts of light cloud cover and patches of pale blue sky. Pleasant for walking around though
Odda's chapel is small but interesting and difficult to imagine that it was built in the11th century, Anglo Saxon and dedicate by Odda to his brother Aelfric who died in 1053. The chapel was dedicated in 1056.
n the 16th century the chapel ceased to be used for worship and by the 17th century it was part of a farmhouse

Five minutes down the road is St Mary's Priory church. Much of the church is Anglo-Saxon. It was built in the 8th century, when Deerhurst was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia
From the Anglo-Saxon era until the Dissolution of the Monasteries St Mary's was the church of a Benedictine priory. It was restored and altered in the 10th century after the Viking invasion of England. It was enlarged early in the 13th century and altered in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The inside is impressive, not that big and not ornate. Just two stained glass windows the remainder are plain but either side of the interior are two aisles and al.each aisle are three impressive arches. Might be easier to imagine if my photos come out OK.
The font is 9th century Anglo Saxon and one of the oldest in England.There are two war graves in the large cemetery,

We had a short wall from the church, past Odda's chapel and along a footpath which ended up at the River Severn. near the river is a huge, very old oak tree with a hollowed out trunk which I am sure will have encouraged many children to play in it.

Afternoon All,

An early start this morning and OH dropped me off to get my covid jab before he went to Melton Mowbray for a short meeting. A new nurse did it and there was not even a spot of blood after but it feels a little bruised now. I went beck to the garden centre in the sticks after popping to the shop and got another tray of the same Violas. With the remaining plant from the tray I did the wall pots with, there are enough to complete the pot for the other side of the arbour. I checked at the surgery and do need to book my HB1AC blood test in the next couple of weeks, but will do it by phone as I didn't have my diary with me.

Ah I see what you mean about your meds being automated Vera. Our prescriptions only go to the pharmacy once we book what we want online and seems to have a few days leeway. My word that should keep you busy looking at the Florida photos! There are lots of places in the world I'd like to see, but the journey to get there puts me off. I keep meaning to ask how your daughter is now and did decide to do the work the charity would like her to do? It's satisying getting rid of rubbish at the tip so I hope with your appointment system it isn't busy.

I saw that about Aldi too Gwyn, but had forgotten again. What a bargain with such good savings.

Not much of the fence left to do now then Mandy. Here's me thinking of downsizing my greenhouse and you are expanding! lol. I was looking at the tomato plants for sale again this morning and was tempted, but I might be between greenhouses in a few months so ought to hang on.

Stu's daughter's art sounds really good Mel and very detailed which is what I like. It was a good idea to give her your mum's paintbox as she will make good use of it.

That sounds an interesting trip AnnG. Pianist friend Terry is always looking for churches with pianos or organs to make videos, so if you noticed any let me know! It'sa lovely day weatherwise for you.

OH is back from the physio now so I'd better see how he got on.

Thank you for that Gwyn it's a nice little saving on the veg .

Vera I've watered my pots and the troughs as they were very dry ,I always think my toms look a bit leggy in the pots but when I plant them, I always plant them well down in the compost so part of the stalk goes well down in the compost and makes more roots from the stalk ,I read that somewhere and have done that the last few years and it seems to work well.
My sungold seeds came this morning so I planted them up and the runner bean seed came too but its a little early to plant those for a couple of weeks .

We put the little greenhouse together but the cover had had it ,it was really brittle and I put my hand through it so thats gone in the bin ,I'll just use ths frame of it as spare shelves in the bigger greenhouse I think .
It was really warm out ,I think it must be our warmest day .

So another nice meal Mel , sounds as if Stuart daughter had some lovely drawings .
You must have needed the sleep to sleep through till gone ten.

Morning all,

Overslept this morning thinkj it may have been the jab. I woke in the night when it was still dark and went to the loo and back to bed. Must have dropped off again right away and woke again at 10.15am !!!!Lost all my morning ow and I'm cross. It was very nice when I woke but the sun seems to be making as appearance now so hopefully its going to be another nice day.

Stu did another chilli last night but it was a bit different it was'nt hot but he had put chocolate in it and something else but it tasted ok and he did wedges with it in the airfryer. Could'nt eat ll the wedges so James finished those off. Stu is off today with his sort of girl friend and they are going to Exeter to see the tunnels there. I did'nt even know there were tunnels under Exeter and neither did Stu so they are staying in a hotel there and having a nice weekend.

I found out last night that Stu's daughter Abbi likes to draw old buildings and bits. She showed me her work folders and files last night and I am trying to get her to put some of her paintings nd drawing in the show.One I perticulary like was a big black border of a keyhole and the pencil drawing was done insaide that. So detailed you would'nt believe. She has done oils and pen drawings and used Acrylics. Lots of peoples faces and famous people and there was a whole page of eyes some coloured some in pencil. They looked just like reall eyes the coloured bit with all the little details and lines. I think it was her school work as it was all in big drawing books with hard covers.I wish I had taken pics of them but I was so shocked at what I saw I forgot to ask if I cold take pics. I will though at a later date. I told her she could have mums painting box if she wanted it and she said that would be lovely.

My arm was hurting a bit last night when I went to bed Anng and still a bit this morning but only when I touch it.

Thank you Gwyn. We do have an Aldi in town but seldom use it as the parking facilities are so poor and we have to go all round the one way system to get to it.

It’s a beautiful day again. OH is talking about getting the hose out as everywhere is so dry and everything is drooping. My tomato seeds germinated quickly but don’t seem to want to develop any true leaves yet. I’m concerned they might get a bit leggy.

AnnG, that sounds like a nice trip out. You seem to have a good little group of friends there.

It’s funny that Mandy said about garden centres being designed so that you have to walk past lots of products to get from one bit to another. I had just been reading about escalators and how they are positioned in large shops as a marketing ploy to get you to look at more products.

We will be off shortly to go to the tip for our 12.15 appointment. I always book that one as the men take a break then and shut the gates until 1 pm so no-one tries to hurry you along. You get 15 minutes anyway which is time enough if you have pre-sorted your rubbish but at least there is no-one waiting to come in.

Have a nice afternoon and enjoy the sunshine.

For those who live near an Aldi store............

Several veg. items are on special offer for Easter

In stores from 15th–19th April and until 20th April in Scotland.

Aldi’s Easter Super Six:

Nature’s Pick White Potatoes (15p, 2kg) – was £1.35, savings 89%
Nature’s Pick Carrots (15p, 1kg each) – was 69p, saving 78%
Nature’s Pick Broccoli (15p, 360g each) – was 79p, saving 81%
Nature’s Pick Spring Onions (15p, 100g) – was 69p, saving 78%
Nature’s Pick Loose Garlic (15p, each) – was 37p, saving 59%
Nature’s Pick Cucumber (59p, each) – was 89p, saving 34%

Morning all,
Nice bright morning suns up and shining away .

Ann they do these garden centres like that so you have to walk past the things hoping that you'll buy extras on ths way round ,our one in Taverham has a door one end where you go in but you come out another door way down so you have to tramp right across the car park to the car so it's a choice of which end shall we park .

Anng enjoy your trip today sounds as if it might be very interesting .
We hope to do the bigger greenhouse ourselves if we get in a muddle son will soon sort it for us I'm sure .

Vera thats a lot of photos to look through that will keep you occupied for a while.

Mel was your meal nice last night ,what did you have .

Right better get sorted and get outside .

Good morning all. 9 degrees here, dry but the sun is not quite up yet, can see the sky going orange/red in the East though. Hopefully it will stay dry as five of us are doing a fairly local trip to Deerhurst where there is supposed to be an interesting church.

(St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst, is the Church of England parish church of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, England. Much of the church is Anglo-Saxon. It was built in the 8th century, when Deerhurst was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. )

We then are going out for lunch to a pub called The Farmers boy that I have never been to.

Arm was a bit stiff when I went to bed and I can still feel it this morning but not too bad.

Ann, although the garen centre has reverted to past owners does it now come under the British Garden Centres? The reason I ask is that our Dobbies have been taken over by them and, although I have not yet visited, I believe it has been re-fashioned like you describe making it difficult to find a way out.

Vera, hope the cottage pie was nice anyway so at least you had something to show for yesterday.
Good that you now have tablets.

Mandy, That will be a nice feeling that the fence is finished. good luck with the greenhouse this weekend. Will son be helping with that?

It's clearly the week for Covid jabs. I hope none of you have achy arms and you have a gentle nurse or doctor tomorrow Annx. Our jabs are next Wednesday.

I wonder what Stu is cooking for you tonight Mel.

I have only seen a couple of butterflies so far this year, a large white and a peacock. The peacock was spreading its wings out in the sun so I wondered if it was newly hatched. I used to see a lot of red admirals but rarely see them now I seem to remember that red admirals like to lay their eggs on nettles but we all keep our gardens too tidy now.

I think I will cut all my tablets up Mandy and put them in a little pot. I don't want to go on to automatic pilot and take a whole one without thinking, though I don't suppose it would do me much harm. Good luck with getting your greenhouses up.

Annx, that doesn't sound like a very enjoyable visit to the garden centre today. I wouldn't be wanting to be eating in a cafe with the doors open at the moment as there is still quite a chill in the wind. You suggested that I order my meds a bit earlier. There's a slight problem there - I don't order them. All I have to do is collect them every 28 days from my nominated pharmacy. Meds that I have to take every day are on an automatic system. The only one I have to request are my pain killers as I only take them when I really need them and I am given 100 at a time of those. As it happens I do have a small stash of most of my pills to tide me over any gap in getting a fresh supply but, unfortunately, I only have a couple of days leeway on the ones I couldn't get this time.

I don't seem to have got anything much done this afternoon. All I can remember doing between 2 and 4.30 is preparing a cottage pie for tonight and a small one for the freezer. I must have just been pottering at this and that. Around 4.30 our son rang and we talked for a good hour or more. He was telling me all about the great time they all had in Florida and all the things he is planning to do to his house. He also said that some of the family group that had gone to Florida had been sharing their photos on WhatsApp and he would send me a few. He did - 113 of them!

Eyes are sore now so I am going to go and put some drops in and then go and check out the kitchen. OH said he would clear up after our meal but I haven't heard much movement. I suspect he's watching snooker or something and has forgotten all about it.

Evening all,

Lovely day here again ,I got a lot of jobs done put some more seeds in pots ,my toms are coming through and the cucumbers , Colin carried on with the fence so all the outside along the path are now done just the inside bits to do so we're getting there .

That's good you have your tablets Vera but be careful you don't forget to half them and take a whole one which would be easily done if you were distracted by OH talking to you , I think if it was me I would half the lot of them to be sure .

Anng I see you've had your covid jab and Mel too ,so one didn't feel it and one did ,just shows it's who's doing it ,some nurses must be more gentle than others ,some we've had just seem to jab it in and it's a bit of a pinch.

Mel enjoy your meal tonight ,I wonder what you'll have to eat tonight .

Tomorrow I want to get the little greenhouse up ,its only a small one that I put my seed trays in and then a couple of tomato plants when I take the seed trays out ,bit early and cold at night to put seed trays out but it will be up ready for when I can get them out , then over the weekend I hope we can get the bigger greenhouse up ,no doubt that will be fun and games as we haven't done this one before .

Afternoon All,

Lovely and sunny again but it was chilly this morning. We went to a garden centre the other side of the city that has returned to it's previous ownership since years ago and we haven't been there since before the pandemic. Well, we won't be in a hurry to go again!! It's been refurbished and looks smart, but it is like a maze worse than Ikea with high walls everywhere so you can't see across to where you want to get to and is twice as far for my knees to walk than it was before. We have two other local garden centres similarly arranged, but not so far to walk and you can at least take short cuts to where you want to go to. We had scrambled eggs on toast in the cafe but it was freezing in there as they had doors wide open with cold breeze coming in. The meal wasn't half as nice as lovely poached eggs on toast we had at Morrisons recently and were twice the price. We wanted to see the Bentley's maintenance free sheds that have moved there and thought we could go in at the side of the front of the building, but no, big gates are there now that are kept shut except for deliveries. I couldn't face walking through the maze again to find the way to the outside so we left it. OH collected his remaining meds on the way back and they were all there thank goodness. When we got home he set off and posted a letter and then carried on with a walk and took a photo of frogspawn in the pond in the field to show me. I went in the garden, weeded a couple of pots ready to plant, then dug some weeds out elsewhere that are flowering and topped up the garden bin with them.

I'm glad you have some meds at last Vera. The £1 psrking cost adds up when you have to keep going back. It's a worry when you can't get them isn't it. Perhaps you could order them sooner next time so you don't run out for a few more days. I have read that pharmacists are having to spend time ringing around to source medications now.

Mel you are lucky to be able to ask for the same make of your meds. I had three different makes of one of my meds in the last prescription and the tablets were three different shapes as well.

We all seem to be having our covid jabs this week. Mine is in the morning.

The Peacock butterflies are beautiful aren't they AnnG. I've decided it was a Comma butterfly we saw on one of the shrubs as it was smaller than the tortoiseshell ones.

I've just in time managed to get refunds from Asda on the milk and Kefir that came on my order last Sunday. The dates are up on the milk today and on the Kefir the day after the delivery! I didn't check till today and there's never been a problem with milk before. They refunded straightaway which is good, but I need to buy more milk tomorrow.......it would be something heavy to carry!

It's an early night for me tonight as I hardly slept last night.

I have noticed a sudden influx of peacock butterflies in the garden the past two days. I think they are newly hatched as they spend a lot of time sitting with their wings out in the sun. Lovely to see.

O meant to say glad you got your pills Vera. I also picked up my missing one from the surgery today. They sent me dispersable asprin instead of gasstro resistant one which I like better.

Just had lunch when Briget came with the news letter. Her mum is our reader at the church and has been in and out of hospital for over a year now. I wondered why I had'nt seen her driving around lately she's in Hospital with Sepsis again. She had been having chemo and her immune system was down. I think this happened once before poor lady. She is nearly 5 years older than me. It knocked me back a bit but Bridget gzve me a hug and she's going to see her tonight so I dropped a card in to her house.

When she had gone I looked at the time and I was late for my covid jab so rang the docs and they said its ok and to come down and they would do it. After that (ad it did hurt a bit today) I went to the desk and asked to book a blood test as the doc said I was to have another one after my January one as my sugars were a bit high and the Cholestrole so Kate (Stu's X wife) said they could probably do it now and asked the nurse for me. Kate said she would make her a cuppa. In I went and she took my bloods too. Just a red one and a purple one. So came home jabbed in my left arm twice and great amounts of blood taken. I had had toast for lunch with strawberry jam!!!!!! hope it did'ntmake much difference to my test as I had a nice lotof butter but the jam I had was low suger.

Popped the card down to Sheila's house but I think Bridget must have gone by then so I went to the shop for a card to have in my box to replce the one I gave to Sheila.
While in the shop my phone went and it ws Stu telling me wht time to come for dinner tonight. Just as I was leaving the shop it started to rain and is still raining a bit now. I must get round and do the girls and then I will be ready for the off.

I have tablets :-D Put out the flags and give 3 cheers. I have my normal pills but at double strength so I have to take just half a pill. I take these as soon as I wake in the morning so I'll start tomorrow morning. I can't understand why, if this strength was available all along, one of the pharmacy team didn't suggest it from the start. In this instance, AnnG, I don't think it was anything to do with cost. It's lack of supply from the pharmaceutical companies. One of the pharmacists at our surgery was telling me that they now have to source medicines where they can find them and she regularly gets stuff in from Italy and Dubai. She said this has only been happening since the current government was elected. Our doctors only issue 28 days at a time so I have only been given 14 tablets to make 28 halves. I hope I don't have to go through all this procedure again in 4 weeks.

OH has just yelled up the stairs that lunch is ready so I'll post this and come back later.

Walked back from the jab. I was down ther early so went and had a coffee and read the book I had taken with me. Friens came to see me in the cafe and said to go on in they were not bothering about times so I went in 20 minutes early. Straight in, no queue. Walked home with a U3a friend two thirds of the way, got home at 12 o'clock just about when the bus would have been at the bus stop. It is very sunny with no wind and 16 degrees. Pleasant out, a nice day for a walk. About a mile and a half I think. I didn't even feel the jab at all this time.

O Vera what a todo with your tablets. I had the same trouble with my heart pill they kept saying they cold'nt get it. When I spoke to the doctor when I broke my foot she said she could make sure I get hte right one and issue two months at a time. Which they have done so far.

I too love dark chocolate nad not so much the milk and I hate milk choclate biscuits. Terry's used to do a bitter dark chocolate which I loved. I now have on special occasions the green and blacks 80% dark chocolate which I find much like the old Terry's.

Morning all,

Bright and sunny and 10 degrees and pc says mostly sunny.

Not read the last few post yet but must get on as I too have my covid jab today and the postmans coming for the parcel at last. mHave toget in the shower before he comes.

BIL came yesterday which was a surpise as he had had a flare up on his ankle so came home from work on Monday. He scarified all the lawns and then mowed it up. BBL.

good morning all only 7am here so up (not dressed) early as I had a good nights sleep so no need to go back to sleep then. 5 degrees and clear sky no frost.
Covid booster this morning. Cynth is going away for a few days, has to get to Cardiff by 12 but will drop me off first. It saves me getting the bus down to the surgery but I will be an hour early. Hopefully the cafe in the community centre will be open so I can get a coffee and wait in there. Then I will probably walk back home afterwards unless I am at the bus stop around 12 o'clock. That bus is hourly.

Vera hope your head is completely clear this morning and that you can find answers re your medication. I presume all these problems with pills is a cost cutting exercise somewhere. I have heard of others with problems elsewhere. Surely before cutting a medicine there should already be a replacement in place.

It’s been another beautiful day with cloudless blue skies and sunshine but that cold wind is still making it feel quite chilly at times. I haven’t bought any plants yet as it still seems too cold at night. I am putting the ones overwintering in the conservatory outside for a few hours each day but bringing them back in late afternoon. I was getting on well with doing a little in the garden each day but that’s gone by the board the last couple of days. I’ve had too many other things to do, particularly with the tablet chasing, and I seem to be low on energy as well at the moment.

How’s the fence painting going Mandy? I hope you haven’t got chilled if you have been doing any today. Talking of chills, I hope your sore throat and sneezing haven’t developed into a cold Mel and you are feeling OK.

I’m not surprised your OH has perked up since getting the good news about his health. It must be a load off his mind. The more he can relax, the easier it will be for him to cope with the problems and pain he still has. OH and I have been lucky in that, as far as we are aware, neither of us have had problems with sugar levels. Neither of us has a very sweet tooth though I do like a cake or biscuit. Am I the only one who prefers dark chocolate? Many moons ago, before I had children, I used to buy a very dark chocolate which was actually called bitter chocolate. I think it was made by Fullers and I loved it but it disappeared from the shops donkey’s years ago.

I got some sleep last night but still had a painful head this morning. I’m pretty “with it” now but still feel as though someone has punched me in the eye and walked over my skull in hobnail boots, but I can look at the screen without feeling sick now. I drove myself to the chiropodist mid-morning and now have another toe with a dressing on it and instructions not to get it wet for at least 2 days. Good job I showered before I went so I can get by with a good wash for a couple of days. I came back via the Farm Foods shop and stocked up on a few things we use that were good offers. It struck me then that without a car we couldn’t take advantage of these offers as there is no bus we could catch. I guess in a year or two when we have to give up driving we’ll be in that position.

Well, the tablet saga goes on. I haven’t told you all the ins and outs of the story as it’s quite long and complicated and I don’t want to bore you too much. I think I left it that the pharmacy team at our surgery were finding me an alternative tablet and I had to ring them this morning. I rang spot on 9.30 am, their opening time, and was already no.6 in the queue but it moved quickly and I only held on for a few minutes. They have come up with a wonderful solution (not). A prescription was being electronically sent to the chemist I use for a higher strength version of my normal tablet and instead of taking a whole one I am to take half a tablet. They seemed amazed when I asked, if there was a difficulty with the production of this tablet anyway, were the chemists likely to be able to get it in any strength, and what do I do if they say they can’t supply the higher strength either? Apparently I must ask the pharmacist to ring the surgery and tell them what they do have in stock and the team at the surgery will sort me out the best one. So another visit to the pharmacy tomorrow. Each time I go I have to pay a parking charge. It’s not expensive - £1 for up to 2 hours but when you are sometimes only parked for 15 minutes and tomorrow will be my 5th visit in 8 days, it gets expensive. At the moment I feel as though I am going round in ever decreasing circles. Well, I shall see what tomorrow brings but I am not optimistic.

On that cheerful note I’ll wish you all goodnight. Sleep well everyone.