General Chat

Gill, I must say I'm not very surprised you have decided to stay put, if you are happy where you are an extension seems the thing to do. It does sound you were wrongly advised by the agent. I had this problem when selling my Mum's bungalow in Hastings, the agent advised us on the price we should ask for and we spoke to Mum's neighbours they were shocked at the advice we had been given not coming from the area we had no idea and we did want a quick sale anyway we went to another agent and got a fair price.

I spoke to one my many SIL's and Emma one of my nieces is in hospital in Eastbourne quite ill with Quinsy [not sure what the plural is]

Richard has just come in so must start on dinner

Afternoon All,

Another lovely sunny day here, but the breeze is quite chilly now! I went to the farm shop this morning, then for a walk around by the ice house and got a nice pic of the ducks flying! There were lots of dogs enjoying the sunshine and racing about. One staffy decided to make friends with someone having a picnic at one of the tables scattered round the edge and had his head in their cool bag as fast as you could snap your fingers!! It was good to see a couple of young people in wheelchairs enjoying the place too. Then I went to collect my free chicken from M&S, but when the lady scanned my voucher it came up as already having been scanned!! She soon got the manager to come over and the upshot was they will sort it and I went off with my free chicken! :-D They also had a big sale on and I got a nice, loose coral patterned top with £8 off. :-)

While I was out OH tried ringing FIL's doctor to get the paperwork to register the death. After he eventually got through they told him it would be done after morning surgery and they would ring him as soon as it was done. They didn't as when he rang this afternoon it was ready but no-one had thought to ring him. :-S So tomorrow we have a fun filled day starting at the solicitors, then the registrar and then the funeral place and possibly the wake venue to make arrangements. :-S Then OH has a meeting in the evening. He's gone to fetch the paperwork from the surgery now and is also popping in the Home which is nearby to take thankyou cards to the carers.

Gill, now you know why I have always found a place I want to buy before I have put a house up for sale! If you are fussy like me it can take ages to find a suitable place. It's risky however you do it though as you may not sell your own place then! I agree with the others that you need to make your mind up fast so you incur less costs. I imagine there could be estate agent cost too if you pull out now as they have effectively sold your house for you.........you'd have to check with them.

Frank, that was a nice friendly gesture praising Harvey and thanking him for the meal. :-) I bet you are chuffed to get your emails again.....I must have a look at the ones you have sent next. :-)

I'm going to a talk tonight in the village. It is about the Asylum the other side of the village that was closed some years ago, the railway and the old brickworks. The grounds to what was the Asylum were beautiful when I was a teenager. All round the road boundaries were tall Rhododendrons in mauves and pinks which were a real picture in the spring. Santander have their head office there now and opposite is the leisure centre where my hairdresser has a salon. There is also a golf course on the land, other big offices and a lake so you can imagine what huge, peaceful gardens they were. I keep meaning to stop my car to have a closer look at the lake when I have a hair appointment as I have never actually walked across to it. Some of the inmates who died there are said to be buried at the nearby church.

There is a wood not far from us Frank, but I think the squirrels around here are local, so to speak and live in the neighbours big tree.

OH and I sat at the bottom of the garden earlier as it's warmer down there, it was lovely and a butterfly kept sitting on OH's jeans, it was nice to see.

Pleased to hear Cass is all sorted now Liz, does she sleep after her jabs? Our cats used to sleep as soon as they came home from the vets, it was only for a day or two then they'd be back to their bouncy ways again.

The young cockerel will be pleased now he's settled with a couple of hens Mel. I love scones with jam and butter but prefer tea to coffee.

I agree with everyone, about our bungalow, so we have stopped the sale and took the property off the market, we both feel relieved now and very tired. I don't think we realised how stressed we both were. I've rang our solicitor so I'll probably get a bill for the work he's done so far, which is fair enough, but at least it's not going to cost us tens of thousands of pounds like it would of done if we'd have bought somewhere else. I think what put us off was the fact we needed a mortgage to buy in the next village and we cleared our mortgage about 18 months ago so didn't fancy going down that route again, plus none of the properties we looked at were a patch on ours, which is why we thought we'd sold under value as they were very expensive compared to ours.

We're both glad we've pulled out and are now looking forward to having the extension done and being straight in time for the winter as we are looking at doing some other alterations around the place as well, including making a larger bedroom for Sandra which she is looking forward to, although that might not get done till next year depending on how much the extension is going to cost as we might have to save up a bit more money, but at least we won't need to get a mortgage which is the main thing and by the end of everything we'll end up with a larger bathroom, three double bedrooms and a large kitchen diner open plan to our living room and still have a large garden left over. At the moment OH is clearing the garage as that needs to come down, so at least we won't have the asbestos roof to worry about either.

I think OH and I will definitely sleep tonight, now we're not stressed :-) :-) It does feel strange not having this place on the market anymore, after almost six years, but it's a lovely feeling knowing we'll have no more viewings and can relax for the first time in ages :-D :-D

Brrrrrrrr!!! it's cold.That wind is really biting now.The fire is roaring away.Chris kept warm with another bonfire earlier.

Gill,it does sound like it is much better for you to stay where you are right now.I don't mean just in your bungalow ,but in the area.A move to Devon without knowing much about the county and the area you would taking a massive gamble.
Maybe if you decide to pull out from the sale of your house and do the alterations ,you could then think again in a year or so about a move.You may find too that the alterations you plan may actually make an easier sale :-D.Also it would give you more time to look at Devon and the various areas so that if you did decide in the end that is where you really want to go you will have a much better idea of things.
I'm sounding a bit bossy(sorry) but I think you need to make a decision and stick to it now :-)
I bet Sandra loves having all the Squirrels visiting :-D.They obviously know where to come for a good feed lol

Mel thats good you have managed to separate the 'boys' now.No more scrapping hopefully :-)
Can you not put your bins out the night before like we do.That way if the van comes early you won't be stuck with a load of rubbish until the next time.

That was lucky Conrad came Frank and sorted out the pooter for you.It is always good to know someone like him to put you right.I don't know what I would do if Chris wasn't here and mine was to go wrong .I couldn't ask Fitz as he is just as useless as me :-S

I am sure things will thaw with Harvey.That fact that you went out for a meal with him is a good starter :-D,and I am sure he will appreciate your words

Oh Anne your poor Niece .Quinsy is awful.I remember when I was in hospital on the ENT ward having an op on my blocked nose,there was a young girl in a side cubical with Quinsy.She was so poorly.I do feel sorry for your Niece and hope she starts to recover very soon.

OMG I am just seeing the dreadful news of the bombing attack in Ankara .So many killed and injured.....When will this ever stop !!!!!

Spag Bol tonight for us.Simple :-D........Chris is off to Cambridge in the morning.He loves going off there.There a few things he liked to get from John Lewis,like certain soaps,a pillow mist etc.I do say why doesn't he just order them on line,but I think it is a good excuse to escape from me for a few hours LOL.I'm not complaining :-D

Frank ..if you pull a face and the wind changes you wil stay like that :-D :-D.I was often told that as a child (and believed it for a while)

James is home and starving !!.....whats new.

That's really good Gill, and you sound a lot happier! You can now make plans for the summer, do things at your own speed and relax! I must say when you said you'd reduced your property by £10.000, it did sound a bit excessive, and might be difficult to find a comparable replacement for the same money particularly in the South West, so I think you've done the right thing!
Ian's finished the rotovating this afternoon, so ready for planting as and when! so we're getting on too Gill!
No, Cas didn't sleep! In fact she went for a run in the stubble field!!! But she did have a rest this afternoon!

We have made a decision Jane, we've taken the property off the market this morning and we're hoping to have an extension built if we have enough savings, if not then we'll keep saving until we can afford it. I noticed a builder driving past my mum's street earlier when we were coming home so I jotted down the number and will ring him as soon as we have cleared the garage as that needs to come down before the extension goes up. Plus we're a bit concerned about this white Easter we're suppose to be getting so don't want the extension started until the good weather gets here and stays here. We both feel so much more relaxed now we have made a decision and are looking forward to making this place a real home for the three of us.

Sorry to hear about your Niece Anne, I've never heard of Quinsy, but from what Jane was saying it doesn't sound to good. I hope she is okay soon <3

Cambridge looks a lovely place so I don't blame Chris for wanting to go there rather than order the things he wants online. I know what you mean when your OH is around a lot, I feel the same with my OH, I love him to bits but to be honest I'll be glad when he goes back to work tomorrow as I've hardly done anything while he's been off work as he's always under my feet. Mind you I doubt I would of got much more done anyway with messing around trying to find a new place to buy. I've decided I might do some baking soon and get back to my sewing, I've hardly used the sewing machine since OH bought it for me, so it'll be nice to do some of the things I like.

I heard about the bombings this morning on the news, it's dreadful and like you said when is it all going to stop? My mum used to say that saying to me when I was little and like you Jane I believed her for a while ;-) ;-)

Yes Sandra loves all the wildlife we get around here and now we're staying, next year, we can put up the bird nesting box with the camera we got ages ago, I was thinking of putting it onto the TV in the back room which is going to be Sandra's big bedroom when it's altered so she'll enjoy watching the birds if we're lucky enough to get any nesting in there.

What happened Liz your post came through four times? :-S :-S Yes we are a lot happier. That was good that Cass didn't feel she needed to sleep, maybe it's a cat thing as all our three cats slept after their jabs. At least she's had a bit of a rest after her run around. I do love to hear all about her <3

Oh Liz, I hope your hic-cups clear soon ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) four repeats even beats me !!!

Ros has been planting all afternoon. The driveway was full of bulbs, plants and schrubs that she bought on Saturday. I have been like an OLD MAN stumbling around. My left knee is really sore.

I had a call from the surgery this morning to tell me the doctor has arranged my MRI so I will be going down to the hospital tomorrow, when Ros is ready to take me.

So It looks like the PROPERTY HUNT is off then Gill. Just take things easy for a few days and get yoiur thoughts together. <3 <3

So you are all alone tomorrow then Jane. He (Chris) certainly likes his days out. Why don't you go with him ??

Not sure if I will go to he match tonight. I will either get Tony or Ros to take me if I decide to go

My gums are very sore tonight, I think I am falling apart.

I had a photo from my niece this morning of my GREAT GREAT NIECE who is six weeks old today. Lovely baby. Just like me !!!!

Evening all,

It's been such a lovely day ,the sun has been out all day but it's still really chilly in the wind , i did get all the washing dry ,so nice to get the things out on the line again they smell so nice and fresh when you get them in .

We were watching the Blue tits on the feeder and then one went over to the new tit box we put in the honey suckle and went inside :-D so we're hoping they will make their home in there we will have to keep an eye out and see if they start taking twiggy bits in .

Hubby was going to ring the hospital today as he hasn't heard a thing since he had the letter from them in January saying they would ring him to make an appointment ,
we were just going to get the letter so we could find the number and ring when the phone rang and it was the hospital !! he has an appointment now for the 12th of April so not to long to wait .

Gill i think you have done the right thing taking the bungalow off the market ,your happy living there ,OH has a job close by and your mum is close by too ,you can now start drawing up your plans for the extension getting it just as you would like it and it will add value to your property should you decide to sell at a later date .

Frank that's good Conrad got your computer all sorted for you .
I don't know what i'd do without son sorting mine out for me when it goes wrong .
I loved the diving Giraffe's email :-D
Is your knee sore because of all the stair climbing ?

So you should have one very happy Cockerel now then Mel, two girls will keep him busy !!

Enjoy the talk tonight Ann, they sound as if they were huge gardens if there's room for Offices ,Golf course and a big Lake ,you saying about the Rhododendrons made me think of Sandringham the Rhododendrons there are a picture when they all flower .

Anne your poor niece in hospital with Quinsy, i hope she soon feels better ,i'am sure DIL said one of the children in the little ones school had that too , there's also Scarlet Fever doing the rounds too.

Nice quiet day for you tomorrow then Jane :-D

Did anyone else see the tragic drowning of the 2 year old twin boys in the outside fish tank at the family home, poor little souls. I cannot understand their parents not making it secure and keeping an eye on their children at only two they need watching all the time. When our two granddaughters were young we completely fenced our ponds off so they weren't able to go anywhere near them.

Scarlet fever is going about here too. Mandy, Alice, Abbie & Beckie's oldest step sister's baby is just getting over it but fortunately wasn't too ill. When I had it at 14 it was taken much more seriously then and I had to keep in my bedroom until I got the all clear from the doctor and then my bedroom had to be fumagated

I read about that Anne poor little mites , awful losing one child but to lose two just doesn't bear thinking about .
It was a big tank quite long and so deep i think it was for keeping Koi in .

Anne, I quite agree with you. It's the most appalling accident but why oh why didn't those parents make absolutely sure that the tank was empty with a grill over the top? When our two were little we had a Water Garden Nursery and kept some stock at home, but we put up a high secure fence with a locked gate to separate the ponds from the garden, and even then I watched them like a hawk!! My parents had an above ground swimming pool, and I can remember moving the steps to prevent our son in particular climbing up and falling in. Again we were very aware of it !!!!! I suppose you could say that the landlord should have secured it, but I know that had it been us we would have insisted it was made safe or done it ourselves. God knows how they must be feeling poor souls.

O gosh that is really awful about the twins drowning. I don't suppose the parents will ever forgive themselves for not covering that tank. Anyway you don't leave two year olds unattended to play on their own, well I never did with my one.

Quinsy is horrid. its an abcess on one of the tonsils I think.

Yes, how could you not cover a tank like that with wire mesh or fence it off safely if you had 2 year old twins, especially as they were so precious and you'd gone through IVF to have them. I would be blaming myself.

Well I see you have decided Gill, so now you can focus on your alterations you have planned. What you have in mind for your lounge/diner/kitchen is what most of the houses around here are being built with now, including the new bungalows being built by the builder at the bottom of our close. It seems to be the modern way.

That will be very painful for your niece Anne, my best friend had Quinsy when she was at university and ended up in hospital. I noticed the rise of Scarlet Fever too and had it as a 5/6 year old. I was carted off to Isolation Hospital and parents could only see us through the windows from outside. We had everything fumigated before we went home too. Perhaps Jane could ask Doctor Chris if we are immune to it now being as we have already had it as children? :-)

Tonight's talk was very interesting. The railway part was because they built a standard gauge railway track off the railway in the next village to where the Asylum was to be built and there was a mile of it around the site it was to be that large! Then there were narrow gauge tracks off it on the site. British Rail didn't build the track in time for them starting, so they transported the Loco to the station in the next village and then moved it by road to the site. They did that by laying tracks on the road in front of it, dragging it forward onto the tracks, then removing the tracks at the back to place in front of it again! Two more Locos were hired from other quarries as well. The brickworks were built to make the bricks. The scaffolding was wooden poles lashed together with rope! The site covered 150 acres originally and the inmates were self sufficient, growing all their vegetables, had their own dairy, slaughter house and bakery. I was talking to a chap afterwards who worked there in the 50s and 60s and he was saying how good it was for the inmates to work with the animals and on the land. It was obvious from the talk that it was well built using expensive materials. It would have cost over £20 million to build today. After it was built, the railway to the next village was dismantled and everything was put back and the soil built up where it was dug out.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Nice day here yet again but it is also Dentist for me this morning.

Can't stop and I shall go to Lidl afterwards. Going on my own as its only a fitting as far as I can tell.

Morning to you all, Evening Kim,

You are the lucky one Mel, We have a very overcast morning. I wouldn't be surprised to see rain later, and the breeze looks chilly. Last night it turnd really cold, I kept my top coat on in the pub, as I just couldn't get warm.

Oh what a night I had. Went to bed about 10.45 was up again at 11.30 (couldn't settle) went back to bed at 2.00 am and clock watched every half hour until 6.00 am then slept until 7.30. I feel drained and tired.

I have decided not to go for the MRI today. See how I feel tomorrow. Those stairs certainly didn't help my knee or my right hip.

Mandy, don't hold your breath, the tits are nipping in and out of thee boxs in the garden. I think they are finding insects to eat. !!! Last year I had a Wren's nest in the one at the bottom of the garden, a Robin in the one on the garage, but nothing in the one on the pole in the flower bed.

Those poor parents will never have peace in their lives after that terrible thing that happened to the children. I did see on the news, that the Landlord might be held responsible for leaving that tank in the garden. That won't help bring back the little children.

Ann, you certainly find some interesting talks to go too, I would have found that of interest.

All sorted then Gill, I wonder how long it will be before you start looking at other properties ??? ;-) ;-) ;-) I do hope you settle where you are, and put other places out of your mind.

When Ros was sorting the things out under the bed, she found an envelope with £1,000.00 in it. I had written the amout on the envelope and the date which was 2003 So what a lovely surprise. She will be of the the Building Society to put that in the ISA, It must have been a cash bonus I had when working. Not that I can remember that far back.

Hope Mel gets on allright at the dentist this morning.

Ros had J K. on this morning. A women was telling how her 14 year old son hung himself, playing a CHOKING GAME. He put a phone cable round his neck. It's surpose to make you pass out and get a HIGH. Just proves it doesn't work. Poor woman and her mother were in bits. What are these children thinking of doing things like that.

Just spotting with rain here now !!!

Afternoon all

Lovely and sunny here but colder than yesterday.

OH and I have been planning all the things we want to do to our home. It's so nice to call it a home instead of the bungalow :-) :-)

We're thinking of moving the garage to the bottom of the garden reducing it in size a bit to make a summer house. It will also give us some storage space to put things while we have the extension done. We'll do Sandra's bedroom and the bathroom next year as we don't think we'll be able to afford everything this year. We've even started planning what we'd like to do in the garden as well. It's been such a great morning planning everything. I said it felt like we'd moved, unpacked and was now at the stage of doing it up the way we want it, but without all the hassle of actually moving. The surveyor didn't turn up so I guess the buyers got the message that we're not selling and I've checked online and our bungalow has been removed. We're just waiting for our solicitor to send us a bill as we expect he'll want something off us.

I've not had a chance to read the posts yet, OH is off to work soon, so I'm just about to sort out lunch. I'll catch up with the posts later <3

Home and had lunch and it is a beautiful day. Feel all floppy now as I think I have eaten too much.

It broke my heart to see the news about the 2 year old twins, did you see the size of the fish tank it was more like a swimming pool, what were the parents thinking of renting a place like that? Those poor boys would of suffered and been so frightened.

Sorry to hear you had another bad night Frank, have you managed to have a little sleep now? Wow what a lovely surprise finding all that money, I bet a lot of the notes won't be in circulation now, were you tempted to keep a few of the old ones as keepsakes? At least it's in a safe place now. Maybe you could search elsewhere in your bungalow, you never know what else you might find ;-) ;-)
I've never heard of a choking game Frank, what a silly game to play, it could only end badly. The poor mother, how must she be feeling right now?

How did you get on at the dentist Mel, hope everything is sorted for you? How's your cockerel doing today with his two hens, he'll be your best friend for life now LOL.

What an interesting talk you went to yesterday Ann, there is so much going on where you live. We had a space talk near us a while back which was interesting and there were people outside with their telescopes who allowed us to take a look through them, but that's about it here. I did enjoy it though and will go back next time it's on.

How is your niece doing today Anne and the rest of the family? Hope everyone is feeling a little better and will soon be fit and well <3

I hope the Blue Tits do make a home in your box Mandy does it have a camera in it, we bought one with a camera a while back but never put it up incase we sold this place, so now it's off the market I've said to Sandra we will put it up next year and rig it up to a TV in her bedroom. We would of done it this year for her but with wanting an extension we didn't want her disappointed if they didn't nest with all the noise around. I've been in touch with Everest and apparently they do tiled roof extensions so I've booked an appointment with them for next Monday to hear more about it and get a quote. I've got a feeling it might be to much like a conservatory which isn't really what we want, but it can't do any harm to listen to what they have to say. In the meantime I'll get some builders quotes for an extension. We want to get more than one quote anyway.
I'm pleased the appointment has finally come through for your hubby, I'll keep my fingers crossed that all goes well for him <3

Hope you feel up to going for your MRI tomorrow Frank and that all goes well for you too <3

It's very quiet on here today, where is everyone?

Afternoon Everyone
What a difference today with the weather.It has been very gloomy :-S and cold.I have been waiting in all day for this Black suit to arrive.So far nothing :-S.But a Shirt arrived from M&S.I am guessing it is a White one as James's white ones are a bit 'off' white now.Chris is back from Cambridge with his Pillow Mist and Soaps.I asked him to pop into Hotel Chocolat shop to get some Chocolates for Jess for Easter.Just a little box as they are so expensive there.He bought 2 different lots and said I could choose one for Jess and the other is for ME :-D

I see you have the ball rolling now then Gill :-D :-D.More busy days ahead LOL.It will be nice planning things and picturing what it will all look like once everything is done.You won't want to leave then :-D

Frank,I hope you don't have to wait long for your scan ,seeing you had to cancel today.Lets hope you have a better night sleep tonight.That was a bad one last night wasn't it !
Not long to wait for OH's appointment Mandy.These things take so long :-S..But I always think we are so lucky having the NHS.I have my appointment tomorrow with the GP to discuss my blood results.

What an interesting talk Ann.I bet you are glad you went.Were there many people there?

Mel does your LIdl have a fresh Bakery bit?Our one has one and the breads, rolls baguettes etc look really good.I must try it out .

Mandy you are lucky if you have Blue Tits going in the new box already.I don't think our box is being used yet and it must have been up for getting on for a couple of years.The problem is that I can't really see it from the house.So I suppose there might be activity happening.I must get a closer look.
My feet are cold .I think I'll go and find my warm slippers :-D