General Chat

I was just thinking about Linda. Do you know how long the flight is?

S x

I think it's about four hours Sue - so not long.

Hello Sue and Tec .

It's taken me a good half hour to back read though the thread .

Happy birthday to Caroles daughter : )

I've caught little bits on the news about the Earthquake , I hope the devastation gets cleared away soon and that people can get their lives back in some sort of order .

We had a lovely day at the Country Fair today , there was Terrier racing , various old fashioned engines ( for dike pumping etc ) and variety of old cars , model planes etc etc ..........the Grandchildren enjoyed watching the magician and such like .....all in all , a fine day was had by all .

I took some photos of the day , even some of the tractors , just because they are old and so obviously much loved ....lol

Hello Amanda,

Sounds like you had a great day at the Country Fair with so much to see.
I love those type of shows. I like the County Shows when the farmers bring their prize animals out - and all the craft stands and various things.
We usually go to the Merioneth County Show, but haven't been for the last couple of years - glad the children had a good day.

Tec.

Hello Amanda - sounds like a great day. Did they have food and craft stalls? I think our local Spring Fair will be cancelled because of the bad winds.

I'm really annoyed now because I've had another look around and one of my orchids has lost it's two buds. They were just about to open:-( I'll have to wait now till next year.

S x

Hello Tec .....it's a shame you haven't made it to your local Country fair for a couple of years , having said that I realised that I hadn't been to this one for five years ! Time certainly flys . There wasn't any live stock but there where stalls with crafts products . OH was pleased as he managed to buy a certain sort of hammer ( he does a bit of blacksmith work in the garden ) , he was also interested in watching a person doing blacksmith stuff as a demonstration .

Oh Sue, that is so annoying about the orchid - I think you should rush off to the garden centre and buy OH another one for Fathers Day :))

Tec.

Hello Sue ..... sorry to hear you have lost your Orchid buds ( it's poo when that sort of thing happens ) : ((

Yes , there where lots of food stalls and tombolas in aid of local charities and also ones in far flung lands . It was just a lovely atmosphere in and around the place , England at its best I think : ))

My OH would take absolute delight looking at tractors - I have sat outside car and tractor museums all over Victoria and South Australia (though I did find a little art gallery in one place that was interesting) whilst he has been having a lovely time. We went down to Invercargill to our friend's wedding anniversary a few years back and he booked himself into visiting Bill Richardson's Truck Museum - has an absolutely amazing collection - of course we also have the book on it.

Sue - re your terracotta pot - are you able to sort of put some of that "Selleys" compound that comes in various colours including Terra Cotta on it - Bunnings have it - or something along that line and if it doesn't exactly blend in but works you could paint the rim. Just a crafty thought.

Yes Tec you guys certainly had the worst winter in decades and I too am sorry that it played havoc with your pots.

I too can't speak German - I used to just nod politely when shop assistants chatted to me - they could have been saying anything - I would not know.

Persey xx

Amanda - I would also be interested in the blacksmiths demonstration. My OHs ancestors were village blacksmiths and wheelwrights for generations, all the sons took it up.

Tec.

Now there's a thought Tec:-))

This orchid was one I bought at the gardening expo last year. I bought it bare rooted and only had a photo to show what the flower would be like. They are a deep burgundy with a lighter spotted area inside the flower. They would've opened within the next couple of days. Grrrrrr.

Amanda - my OH loves watching various demonstrations. Especially those using unusual tools.

S x

That's another thing my dad would do Tec - shoe the horses - he quite liked it when he helped the blacksmith out.

We have a couple of agricultural fairs a year here - one at a place called Mystery Creek near Hamilton - they have a full weekend of it and the traffic jam is something else.

They closed our busiest motorway viaduct yesterday evening (Sat) and it won't be open until 5am Monday when the new piece is in place. People have to find alternative routes and it is Father's Day today - plus there is a big rugby match on at Eden Park just along the road from me. There is always congestion down that end of the street when one of them is on. I think there are going to be a lot of frayed temperaments out there today.

Persey

Hello Persey .... the Tractors looked quaint to me ( and much loved ) there was also a number of working engines , I guess they are the same sort of concept as modern generators ( ?) , they where all pumping and thumping away , the smell was strangely pleasant , oil and petrol fumes ( but my Dad was a mechanic so I guess those smells are ingrained in me .....lol ) , I'm not really interested in engines but I do admire them .

I've found no Blacksmiths in my OHs tree ( there are some in mine ) , he just has a great feel for metal as he is a welder by profession , he has built a Forge in our back garden and has been teaching his self the Blacksmith craft for a few years now , he has created some amazing stuff over the years .

Sue .....all men like tools ....lol

My OH - wanted me to go to welding classes Amanda. (^ _^ )

I keep out of it all Persey , I like having an Anvil in the back garden as it doubles up as a place to perch some times.....lol

Why did your OH want you to take welding lessons ?

I think at that stage of our lives when we had little money - he used to fix our old cars and I would have come in handy as the welder. I did assist in changing one of our cars from a column change to a floor change. He used to work late at night after work on one or other of our two vehicles we had a 1958 Vauxhall Wyvern at one stage he was working on (we replaced the engine) and I was asleep he came and woke me at about 2am to tow him so he could get the thing started so here was me in my nightie driving around the streets in the middle of the night - but the gearbox change was on an old Singer Gazelle.

The very adaptable Persey

So - it was you I saw driving around Aukland in a nightie Perse :)) I've often wondered who that was :)) and I'd only had 3 pints.

Wasn't it good when you could mess about with old cars and cannaballise sp them. Great fun.

Amanda there is a man in North Wales been on tv who makes all kinds of decorative things in steel for peoples gardens etc. He had an exhibition somewhere and makes quite a lucrative living at it.

Perse, I should stay home today if I were you. Happy Fathers Day to Mr Perse - I hope you spoil him today :))

Tec.

He is not my dad though Tec -

We are meeting our family after they have been to church.... they do the father's day routine.

Our girls do not look alike at all - OH always says to people - different milkmen.

P xx

Right Persey...now I understand ....lol
Our last vehicle was a Ford transit van ( when we had all four kids as kids and various dogs ) we needed a big mode of transport and we didn't have much money , the van was a bright orange colour ( easy to find in a car park ) but as it's bodywork started to break down , and it happens with some alarm in England on the coast , OH patched it up with metal plates that he painted with black bitchumen paint , it really did look like a poor old thing when we finally sold it on to a youngster in an up an coming rock and roll band........but we heard that it was still going several years later .

They do a lot with corrugated iron here - make chickens and elephants and cows etc. In Tirau the tourist bureau buildings are corrugated iron - one is like a sheep and the other a dog and now someone has made a corrugated shepherd to stand outside.

I collect owls and a friend has given me an iron one for the garden.

P xx

Where's Diane? I have done the dishes and am now making coffee.