General Chat

Rita, I hope Mike's opetarion goes ok.
Linda, you knit. I sued to do a lot of knitting til I overdid it and ended up with pains in my fingers. I read instead now.
Dermot, very good. I look foward to reading about the good,bad and ugly birds. I have strains of Enrico Morricone going through my brain.
These birds lived well!

Dermot.

I think you are a bird Fancier on the quiet.....LOL

Very good.......but you haven't described yourself in detail YET !!

Part 2:-

Many houses built in the countryside usually had a belt of trees partially surrounding them. This, I think, was mainly to provide some shelter from the prevailing winds. However, there was another (maybe unintended) side effect in that most of these trees had bird nests of all shapes & sizes.

The house I grew up in had a few sycamore trees around the back & side, two evergreens to the front as well as a few apple trees in the side garden. This basically meant that there was never any need for an alarm clock in the morning. The chorus of birdsong would waken the heaviest sleeper - of whom I was one. In the summertime, the birds would start tuning up anytime from 6am. There were no union working-time directives for them to obey.

In addition, some of us decided to keep a few songbirds inside the house as well. The younger readers of this missive, and there must be one or two, might find it hard to believe but these ‘wanted’ birds were easy enough to catch. A trap, which we called a ‘bird cradle’ was one way or we simply went out at night & caught them up in the trees.

Now, you should ignore the ‘old wives’ tale of shaking a pinch of salt on their tails to relax the birds. Rubbish. A dark windy evening in wintertime, when there was plenty of background noise caused by the rustling branches, was ideal for the task.

With the tree branches swaying back & forth in the breeze, we dazzled the little creatures with a torch. They seemed paralysed & unable to move in the light. You only had to reach out behind the beam to catch them, You could feel their hearts pounding.

Oh, did I mention anything about ‘health & safety’ guidelines concerning youngsters scrambling up tall trees during a stormy winter’s night in the middle of the countryside? No - that’s ok because there were none. Bumps & scratches were commonly accepted as a way of our young lives.
Life is always awesome to the young.

The birds were well looked after - lashings of food & drink plus the warmth of the house. They seemed to have lived long & enjoyable lives in the spacious two-storey cage built by my dad. Naturally, their cage had to be kept well away from the pesky slobbering cat who spent much of his time observing the intruder from a distance. Mice were fine but a tasty bird now & then would be lovely - thought the cat no doubt. At night, we threw a towel or some such over the cage to block out the artificial light & give the little occupants a chance to rest & sleep.
--------------------------
Tune in again another time if you would like to read a bit about the good, the bad & the ugly birds.

Marilyn
Mikes operation is due next week Thursday 27th at Charingcross Hospital.. they brought it forward a month. needless to say we are all on edge. his son is still in Oman he is due back with the Royal Engineers next month so I am wondering if they will let him home a week earlier.
?
Linda when my husband died I had all his files in the attic except that years, and I had a loft ladder I had to climb up that and gets boxes and boxes of papers down all on my own, I found I had 10 years of papers including Tax and Insurance even the last three houses we had lived in.it was a night mare I removed all the ones I needed Insuranace and Tax were very improtant. (and then burned 3 years of old papers..)

I had to produce these to the tax man and council. My son took them back to the attic when he came up to me I was still in Norfolk then. when I moved 8 years afterwards I burnt most of them just kept three years.
I keep them in a metal filing cabinet in my wardrobe. I have papers going back to when I was married in 1951 in that furniture receipts and food bills.along with my will and insurances,
I thought of putting them on my conputer but if I do that they wont be the orignals.

Rita

Well well well, no wonder it's been so quiet, our poor Stephen has been locked out. G.R don't know what a diservice they are doing to us members. WE WANT STEPHEN BACK NOW.

Linda,they made a film called "The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe" and that sprang to mind, when you said you were going to tackle the wardrobe.
I bet you found things in there you lost years ago. I know I did,when I sorted through for the breast cancer charity bag last week.
What a nuisance having to save all that paper work,ie the accident book for so long.

I can't wait to hear the next episode of Dermots life story. He's late today,and us readers are getting restless.

I am on baby sitting service tonight, for my daughter, who's husband left her before christmas.
At long last, we have convinced her, that her life has to go on.
She is going out with friends tonight, and having a sleepover at one of their houses. Oh god that sounds like she's a teenager again doesn't it.
I am going to be even more greyer by the morning, her three girls are lovely, but can be a handful.
Wish me luck. Speak to you all tomorrow.

Well I've got out of the wardrobe !!!
It is a built in type and stuffed with too many papers, the christmas bits and books(sure they breed) and my art and craft stuff too. Not many clothes just my posh outfits............. from the wedding etc.
I dare hubby to open the doors as if he does I'm guessing that it will all fall out.
I hope to shred so much paper work when I finally give up the childminding. I will have to keep tax papers for 6 years and I have an accident record book that has to be kept until the child(who had the accident) is nearly 22 years old. Isn't it mad. Wonder what happens if I move and leave no forwarding address???? It is incase the child wishes to sue up to the age of an adult, and that is more than 21 !!!

Going to relax with some knitting til hubby gets home

Linda :o) XxX

PS Hi Stephen hope you are allowed back very soon

Hi Everyone,
Back from the Options etc. I've chose 2 pairs of glasses!
Hi to Stephen. Sorry you can't get on here. Presumably this is a common problem if you have a new card.
Fluffy Paws could be getting up to all sorts of nonsense and we wouldn't know.
I look forward to Dermot's story part 2!

Hi Rita,

I will be thinking about your son Mike what day is he having his op ?...Bless him. I'm sure all the others will be too....


Going to the shops now got no fresh veg or fruit.

Hello Stephen sorry you cannot add to the thread at the moment but you know we are all here for you, we can get intouch with GR and tell them off if you want ?

I just had a conversation with MIke my eldest son he is having the operatrion next week on 27th he said they did all his pre-med tests they are Ok he is getting nervous now as they went into graphic detail of what will happen and what tubes to expect, he said he would rather they didnt. it takes about 3-4 hours, so please think of him next week.

It is very cold here, and right miserable a real grey day. when are the nicer days going to appear.

I suppose all our friends on here are out shopping spending all that money on food. it has jumped since the increase in fuel and tax.


well I must get back to my History Society programe I need to do a lot more work on it.for their magazine,
bye for now

Rita

Hi Jean,

Now you be careful with them horses, with your 5ft nothing !! ...they must be pleased to have you ride them .

Linda I do buy the Saturday Mail as it has the TV guide with it. and Pete has just gone to the village to get it.

Stephen.......HI ..!!

Hi again, am off in 30 minutes to see to my horses, and hopefully give them all some exercise.
Rita, here is a nice brown boiled egg and some soldiers for you,
Linda, I hope you manage to get all your Christmas things put away, did mine the easy way this time, threw most of them out. Yes, I have to go back every month for 3 months for x-rays and blood tests, the doctor told me years ago that once it is in your system it stays there, and can recur at any time, specially if your general health is low, my GP thinks this last time could have been brought on because the cancer treatment had made me so run down and tired.
Just looked back over yesterdays posts, I was for years and years 5'3'' but am now 5' + 1/2 '', due I think to Osteoperosis. Could do with loosing a bit of weight.

Am going now, out into the cold, but will enjoy it.
Stay warm everyone.
Jean xx

Hi Marilyn
Loving the options for Stephen to confirm or deny.

The papers are for hubby he is at work, but they will keep him quiet, as it takes him all week to get through it. He likes the Telegraph, so I pick what I like but don't read it all.
I usually get my news off the TV!!!

Just found a possible new contact on Ancestry. Will be good if they get back and they are connected as it is my Davies family line. Not an easy one as you can imagine.

Haven'y gone to sort the wardrobe yet, got diverted.

Linda :o) XxX

Morning All,

Gosh Dermot have you swallowed your dictionary ....never have I seen you post soooooo many words ...
But I am intrigued about the 2nd half though...I'll send you another dictionary for that !!

Poor Stephen, he said we can talk about him but he'll be looking, so what can we say about him.....is he fat and hairy, or bald and stumpy , or skinny & Geek !! any advance on that ?

Well he could LOVELY & CUTE & a gentleman .....am I getting near Stephen ?

Linda . Why don't you read the papers on line ? saves you getting cold out there .

Ours were put in the loft last week but I was told if I wanted them out next year I could (swear words) put them back myself.

Hi Linda,
good luck with the wardrobe!! Our decorations are still sitting on the landing waiting for OH to climb into loft with them. They will probably be there for some time yet.

Cath xx

Linda, you missed my post about Stephen, he's locked out.

Dermot, that story was really good, you've been hiding your talent from us.

*Sits waiting for the next part*

Hi Rita Cath and Pat
Sorry I missed you Maddie, we must have been posting at the same time.
Well back from the paper buying. It is damp, overcast and humid out there. I didn't want to do anymore than rush down there and back for a cuppa. Doesn't look too promising.
Think I must sort a wardrobe out today to get the Christmas things back into it. Why is there always mor ethan I took out? If I don't get back later send out a search party please.
Found a couple of baptisms on Ancestry last night. So have saved them. Still a missing son who on one census is shown as a twin, though he wasn't baptised with his sister? Very strange.

Be back later.

Where is STEPHEN??????


Linda :o) XxX

PS Morning Pauline and thanks for telling us that Stephen is absent cos of GR or should that be grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Morning all, I've heard from Stephen, GR won't let him in.

There's a problem renewing his membership because he's got a new card number.

Hope they sort it out soon, can't have our Stephen not being able to talk to us.

He can still read the thread but can't add to it.



Edit: Stephen I'll sneak round to the back door and take the bolt out. You might be able to creep in while GR aren't looking.

Morning Rita,
I am also twice the woman I was.
5ft 7inches but think I,ve shrunk a little.
I could definitely lose a stone or two but for the most part I'm happy with the way I am. I always think if someone looks at me and doesn't like what they see thats their problem not mine. OH still loves me.

Hope we find Stephen soon. He might just be cuddled up with Fluffy Paws.

Cath xx