General Chat

Evening all,

Nice bright day here but a chilly wind has now got up ,we felt quite cold when we sat out having our cuppa this afternoon.

Nice to see you back Jane sounds like you both enjoyed your holiday and young Thomas was a good boy ,he will soon clear the garden of the little bunnies ,i bet he's missed the fresh meat .
Poor Hannah she's a nervous flyer at the best of times so not the best of starts to her holiday, it must have been really windy if they couldn't land , was this a hen holiday or the wedding ?

I hope Gill has enjoyed her day with Michelle and the meeting of the boyfriend has gone ok.

Took Max to be weighed at the vets this afternoon so we could pick up his next lot of Flea and Wormer treatment ,he now weighs nearly 9 kilos ,i did wonder if the tummy trouble he had would have made a difference but it doesn't seem to have done ,he's getting a right little puddin :-D
No test results back yet ,he's now finished his latest antibiotics so we will see how he
goes on .

Hubby had the hospital ring this afternoon it was a call for him to go to the hospital on the 4th June to discuss what things he might need after his hip op ,raised toilet seat and chair raisers etc ,he's hoping he can find out how long it will be before he hears when the op will be .

Just quickly. Gill I've emailed you!
9 kilos Mandy?! Cas weighs just shy of 11 kilos, but then she is a little mite!!! I think Max is going to be a lot bigger than Cas!!!

Evening all,

What with SOAPS and BGT. I wish I had gone to the pub. !! I can stand a bit of it but THREE HOURS a night is a bit much.

Carolyn wasn't admitted, she just had the biopsy done. Ros came home about 5.00 pm. John will go and collect her about 8.00 pm. There was no blood in her wee so the doctor was pleased and said she could go home. No doubt Ros will go round in the morning to check she's alright.

Lewis is driving up to see us tomorrow lunchtime, which will be nice. I must remember to give him some petrol money.

Harvey and family are driving down to their holiday caravan in the south of France on Thursday afternoon. I see there is trouble with petrol in France, due to strikes or something. I hope he can get petrol on his way down and back.

How did your day go today Gill with your Daughter and boyfriend ??

Mandy I see Max is getting a bit of weight on him. Once he starts getting across the fields and running around he will soon Mussle up !! ;-) ;-) ;-)

So you have been the "flying dutchman" today Jane. That's what you get from all these holidays. :-0 :-0 :-0 You will be fine after a couple of days. <3 <3 <3.

I went out earlier to water the garden, patio, greenhouse and the veg patch. I was glad I put a jacket on, as it was quite chilly. Ros has decided she wants to feed everything tomorrow. She has a big drum of Richard Jackson's plant food. One scoop to a watering can of water. It seems o work as all her plants look well.

I (well Ros) has bought a new door bell. Can I get it to work. NO WAY. she took it back and exchanged it and this one is just the same. The bell works on it's own as does the bell push. BUT NOT together.

I'm off to look around ebay for a while, then I think it will be an early night with my book.

See you in the morning.

They might be sorting things out for your hubby when they have a date in mind for his op Mandy so hopefully he'll get to know when he goes in June. Little Max with a big tummy then. It's good to know he's not losing weight with his poorly tum though and as Frank says, once he starts racing about and jumping in water he'll soon burn it off.

It will be nice to see Lewis Frank. I bet he's looking forward to the trip.....I hope his car isn't matt black now! :-S I hope Harvey doesn't have problems finding fuel. We've been on 2 holidays in this country when there have been fuel shortages and it was no joke spotting all the filling stations and whether they had signs up saying they were out of fuel.

OH got back from footie thoroughly depressed. He met 2 of his pals he sometimes sees there and they were updating him on who had died and then one said he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer and the other said he'd got an urgent referral for hospital!!

I reckon Gill must have taken her new garden to the Chelsea Flower Show! lol.

I'm off to watch the Great Sewing Bee I recorded now so night night!

‘Three hundred words suffice the linguistic requirement of unpretentious individuals’.

I just happened to read this statement during a recent dreary three-hour trip to London with a coach-load of talkative school youngsters. When their batteries of general conversation had run down, I dared the group to list 300 English words without the aid of their Ipads, et al. A doddle, they replied!

I listened, enthralled, to their varied suggestions - some words I had long forgotten; others I never heard before. Collectively, they managed 255 within one hour with the occasional input from the coach driver.

It was an entertaining interlude too.

Lost the post again. so will try again before I loose my RAG.

Morning Dermot and all, Evening Kim,

When I woke this morning the heating was on, so I expect it's cooler outside today. No sign of any sunshine here.

Where do you think Ros is ?? Carolyn rang to say she needed to go to Town to do a few things, so Ros said I will take you. WHERE'S her husband ?? I told her not to be late back as Lewis is coming.

I had a telephone call from my nice Asian Doctor regarding my blood test . My Kidneys are not functioning as well as they should be. Last test showed 76. this one 53. I don't understand what that really means, but she's not happy. I have to stop one of my tablets for two weeks, if I find I am getting more pain I am to up my Co-codemol. (sp)

Lewis has just arrived so will pop back later.

Frank. Forgive my observations, but from what your saying I think while Ros is willing to ferry your friend and generally do for her, her husband will be more than happy to stand to one side and let someone else take the flack! Try not to let Ros do too much, you don't want her worn out running round after someone else!! You can always look on line Frank to check out your kidney function. I do it all the time for various ailments real and imaginary!!!!
We're off tomorrow to stay with our son in Surrey. They've got friends coming on Friday evening that they want us to meet, and the theatre on Saturday! So a nice busy weekend. We come back Tuesday morning so it'll be a real break!
I must go and give a hand outside, that grass grows while you watch it!!

Afternoon all and hi to Kim,

Well now another nice post from Dermot.

Not a bad day here as its quite bright with some sun but a chilly breeze.

Off I went to the dentist and when I walked into reception I looked up as something caught my eye. There was a huge replastered patch on the ceiling in the shape of a dentist chair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did'nt ask... Told the receptionist I had an appointment with Melissa at 10am after rushing up from the carpark thinking I was 5 mins late only to be told my appointment was for 10.15am. What am I like? anyway it did'nt matter I would just have a longer wait. A man came in after me and went in before me and a little boy and his mum too. As I sat there suddenly all the lights went out so off goes one of the girls to see if it was only them or the whole street. It WAS the WHOLE street. The builders building a couple of new house a few doors away had gone through the main cable......... Bad news nothing working in the dentists no pc's to book appointments, no movement on the dentists chairs or any of their tools. I waited on and a girl said she had seen a leccy man and he said an hour and a half till they got it back on. Meanwhile another lady came in and also looked up at the ceiling but she asked the girls what had happened. Apparantly they had a water leak sometime ago and this huge patch of plaster came down months later while they were open with lots of patients in the waiting room and all over the girls on the desk. She said there was so much dust it was untrue. It is a very old house that has been converted into the dentists surgerys. Gosh it must have made an awful mess.

Anyway I have my teeth but she could'nt adjust them for me as no grinder thing working due to no leccy so I have to get on with them if they are not too bad and they are going to ring me later with an appointment in two weeks.

Went to Lidl after and got what I wanted in there but changed my teeth back to the old ones incase I could'nt talk properly!!!

Having said all that I am now going to feed oh. :-0

Afternoon all,

What a miserable day it's been drizzling since we got up, we nipped to Asda to get a few bits ,hubby needed some pyjama shorts ready for when he goes into hospital ,he doesn't wear any thing in bed but will need something in hospital he feels the heat so the shorts will be better for him, we bought some clothes for Lacey's birthday next month and i found a nice blue top that i liked so i got that.

Enjoy your long weekend and the theatre Liz ,i hope the weather is good for you .

I bet there was a mess when the ceiling came down Mel, plaster can make loads of dust, shame the electric went off while you were there so your teeth couldn't be adjusted for you properly .
You will be able to have an everyday pair of teeth and a pair for Sunday best :-D

I hope the kidney problem you have Frank improves with leaving the tablet off ,so many tablets affect the kidneys, lets hope it's all sorted before you go away on holiday.
Thats nice that Lewis can visit you now he has the car ,has he clocked many miles up in it ?

Hi all,

I was posting this morning when Lewis arrived. He said he wanted one NO TWO of my Bacon Sarnies, which I made those while he made the coffee's. I rang Ros to tell her he was here, and she was home within the hour.

He decided he was hungry again, so Ros made him he favourite Sarnie. Ham, cheese, onion, tomato, and pickle. That went in the blick of an eye !!! Then it was Crisps, and biscuits washed down with a Coke.

He has a "BLACK BOX" fitted in his car that records how he is driving. He has done almost 500 miles since he passed his test. His smoothness of driving in 10/10 Speeding 10/10 It even tells you how many days a week the car is in use. I am sure he will be a sensible driver, and obey the laws of the road. This box thing will help.

He helped me put up a hanging basket bracket to the Garage wall. He also asked if there were any jobs he could do while he was here. Even though I say it myself, he is a very thoughtfull young man.We are so proud of him.

So you didn't get a fitting then Mel, Hope you get on alright with them, NO BITING the OH to test them out.

The weather hasn't improved here Mandy. In fact I was out there earlier and it's very chilly. I can see the heating will be on tonight. I trust Max is being a good boy.

Liz, I take on board what you say, but John has been a spoilt person in all his married life (Over 50 years). It has always been "CAROLYN I will have my lunch now" or a cup of tea, coffee. He couldn't cook a meal as long as he draws breeth, I have never met a more LAZY, IGNORANT HIGH FLYER in my life. He was always a Chief Exect. in a lot of Major PLCs. He hired and fired like you or I would have a COT. He would boast that he sacked this one or that one. At a French Company meeting he declared that ONLY ENGLISH will be spoken, and if anyone didn't like it, they could leave.

Enough of him it's making my blood boil. That is why Ros is such a good friend to Carolyn. He has insulted so many of Carolyn's friends and husbands, that they never see them anymore. When he starts on me I give him, as good as he give me. I think this is the one reason he gets on with me. I just won't stand for it.

That's off my chest now. Sorry. !!!

No, not at all Frank! I can see that's it's difficult, and it's not for me to say. I had a friend years ago with a husband a bit like you've described. The marriage broke up as she couldn't put up with his unkindness and infidelity any longer. They had one child plus there was a son from a former marriage (his!) Friend eventually met and married someone else who was a lovely man and was very happy, but it was a horrible time for her and not at all clever while it lasted.
Lewis sounds such a nice thoughtful, helpful young man. From what you say he's one of life's bonuses! No wonder you're so proud/fond of him! I can remember many moons ago when our son still lived at home, he was always very good about helping OH with jobs in the garden. He'd always do the mowing if we were away, that sort of thing. Daughter not quite so keen and had to be chivvied into pulling her weight!!
Been dry here, but quite cold, I think we may need a fire! :-(

Liz, I was thinking of lighting the fire but turned the heating up instead.It has been quite a chilly day with some drizzle :-| :-|. I have been kept warm though with doing a huge load of ironing this afternoon.There is still a lot to do but I'll get that done tomorrow.

Frank maybe some of your meds are affecting your kidney function .Sounds like you are being eaten out of house and home LOL.Lewis must really enjoy coming to you for a good feed :-D :-D

Mandy,how is Max today? Anymore trots? He must have grown a lot now. Good idea to get some jim jams for OH.Shorts are a good idea.I can't stand the heat in hospital,and the beds are always hot too because of the plastic coating on the mattresses and pillows.Chris doesn't own any PJ's either so fingers crossed he doesn't need to have a hospital stay any time soon lol

Oh Mel what a pain not getting your teeth sorted again.You must be getting thoroughly fed up now.Whata shock for everyone in the waiting room when the ceiling fell :-0 :-0

Dermot I do enjoy your posts.You have a great way of writing :-D

I have had a new visitor on my window feeder yesterday and today.It is a Jay !!.I have not seen one before.What a big bird it is !!! and what a long beak !!.

Has David been on the thread lately? ...I hope yesterday was a great day for Gill .It will have been so nice to see Michelle again.

I'm trying to catch up on all the programmes I missed when I was away. I'm just on the last of the Eastenders now :-D..Marcella and Secret done too.So am getting there.

Sausages tonight,with a big tray of oven Charlottes,red,orange and yellow peppers,baby leeks,and courgettes and lots of mushrooms.

Ann ,have you had a nice lunch with your Sister today and that her back isn't too painful after her fall.
I'm not surprised that OH came home a bit depressed after hearing from his friends of deaths and various diagnoses .It all sounded pretty grim :-S.
I forgot to say that I had another weird eye problem on the last morning in `Avignon.I woke up feeling as though I was 'cross eyed' I couldn't make out what eye was the problem ,but after a few minutes I was seeing double in my left eye.Frightened me to death ,but after about 30 minutes it went back to normal.So it must have been another migraine thing,but in the other eye from before.That one was the flashing and zigzags.
I hope this isn't going to be a regular thing :-S.It's not nice.

Dinner is ready :-D

We have a fire ,it was really chilly ,Max goes and lays right in front of it so i can see where he will be laying in the winter.

Lewis knows where to come for a good feed :-) he sounds a really caring young man and very helpful too.

Max is fine Jane ,back to normal ,we're waiting to hear from the vets about his sample
he is growing and getting quite tall now the little devil can now jump up on the chairs .
lt must have frightening to see double ,you don't want that happening to often .

It wasn't the WINE was it Jane ?? <3 <3 <3 That sent your eye funny lol lol

I put the heating on earlier, now I am sitting with my dressing gown round my waist.

SNAP Mandy, Ros has bought me some "hospital shorts and tops" I found them great when I had my Stroke and was in hospital for over a month in 2004. I would advise any man has them available.

Jane like Chris and many men I don't own any PJs. I sleep in a pait of u/pants summer or winter. I can't stand being hot. It makes me irritable.

Yes Jane, the doctor wants me to drop a tablet for a couple of weeks, then have more bloods taken. Will see how it goes from there.

We had Lamb Shanks tonight with new potato's, runners, broad beans, brussels and fresh pod peas and carrots. Beautiful. I have a chicken out for tomorrow.

Haircut ESTIMATE tomorrow. It's so long, but held on till my holidays. !!!

Just heard that young girl of 11/12 years old. There is a star in the making. !!!

See you in the morning.

Evening All,

Yes, we were at the garden centre nearly 6 hours Jane and never even looked at any plants! lol My sister has never really been into gardening, We had a nice lunch and good catchup though. Her back is much better now, but she's having to be careful with it. She dreads the idea of not being able to drive and was glad to be out and about again after a few weeks at home. She hasn't got her new car yet, she's waiting for it to be modified for her. I hadn't told her anything about my car but she said she guessed it was me as soon as I pulled into the car park. Her comment was that it's fab!

That's just the same as OH had with double vision that time when I took him to the emergency eye clinic. It really scared him too yet his vision was fine again by the time he got there and the last thing we expected them to say was that it was Migraine!

I heard from David the other day and he said he'd found someone who would assess him for a car and thought there would be no problem modifying one to suit him, so it looks like he's getting nearer to being behind the wheel again.

What a caper with your teeth Mel and I bet you were glad you weren't there when the plaster came down. I had to laugh at Mandy saying you'd have a set for Sunday best!! lol. I wonder what they would have done when the leccy went off if you were halfway through a filling. :-S

That's been the problem as you say Frank. John has been spoilt all his life and who has spoilt him, probably his wife! How everything gets done at home probably wouldn't even cross his mind as it's never had to and he's become thoughtless, selfish and expects being waited on himself to be the norm not the other way round. Maybe Carolyn wasn't strong enough a character or was comfortable as things were and didn't sort him out! It's unusual though to be so detached and not even want to be sitting with her in hospital unless he's in denial.

My word, Lewis has certainly got a good appetite! Is he taller than you now Frank? Those black boxes are a good idea and a good incentive to drive sensibly and save some of the insurance cost.

Well, I'm off to bet now to watch the recorded GP prog. We love it and then there's Supervet. I think I would have had a crush on Noel when I was younger!! lol. :-)

We love Super Vet too Ann. Some years ago our sons partner worked for Noel Fitzpatrick. She said he was a lovely man and brilliant to work for, but sadly totally married to his career!! Apart from that, what a rubbish night on TV! Thank goodness for catchup!!
Frank, I sent you an email. I hope you find it interesting.

Morning all,

Nice bright morning again but a bit in the chilly side at the moment.

I wonder how I am going to get on today?

Morning Mel and All, evening Kim,

No bright weather here !! very overcast. I doubt we will see any yellow stuff today. Roll on next Wednesday when I will be in the sun for two weeks.

We heard from Jan this morning. She is driving up in her own car tomorrow, and wants to park it here until AUGUST when she comes back with Conrad. Will have to park it down the bottom of the drive. As long as I can get the bins and mower passed it. it won't be in the way. Otherwise it will have to sit outside the bungalow. She will go to Kerry's with Jo and Ella, and come back here when Jo picks up JJ on Monday.

Was going to hairdressers today, but don't feel I can be bothered, so Ros will take me tomorrow.It might be a bit chilly round my lug holes.!!!

Lewis is very tall now, He tucks his Nans head under his shoulder now. I am just about holding my own with him, but not for much longer. He might pop up while we are away and cut my lawns. It would be nice, but I think they will last two weeks. I will try to do them Monday or Tuesday, weather permitting.

How's the eye now Jane ?? better I hope. You don't want that happening while you are driving.

Glad David is getting help regarding alterations to the proposed car.

Ros has just made me Laugh. She has squirted her purfume into a small bottle, so she can take it through customs. I hate to see all the bottles and tins they take from people, what a waste of peoples money. RULES AND REGULATIONS. BAH !!!

Hope you are having better weather where you are. I'm going to get showered and shaved then prepare dinner for tonight.

The lovely little compact city of Exeter, in beautiful East Devon, is an ideal place to live & raise a family.

Dominated by the Cathedral which can be seen from many of the surrounding hills, Exeter has had some exciting historical stories to tell anyone willing to listen. St Peter’s Cathedral is an imposing Norman structure of beauty and antiquity in the heart of the city. The city straddles the meandering River Exe as it gently makes its way down south to the English Channel.

History books tells us that Adolf Hitler had his eyes on the area and in May 1942, ordered his Luftwaffe to launch a devastating attack in retaliation for earlier British air raids on his beloved Lubeck, a medieval town and a major port in Northern Germany. Exeter, on the other hand, was considered to be of little strategic importance in the UK as far as the ongoing war was concerned and was largely undefended.

Over 500 residents were killed in these raids and some 1,500 building were destroyed over a period of just two night attacks. The Cathedral was damaged as was the nearby Catholic Church of The Sacred Heart. Happily, both establishments continue to serve their respective parishioners where a welcome is always available for the thousands of tourists who holiday in the area each year.

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) was a regular visitor to Exeter & reportedly married a local lass in 1836. He moved his parents to a rented cottage in the city outskirts. The story was that his father was having a bit of bother with some London Bookmakers - they refused to accept his bet on Leicester City winning the championship. Charles hoped his father would behave himself in the quiet of Exeter. He didn’t.

Devon cannot be spoken of without mentioning a few other famous characters such as Francis Drake born in Tavistock in 1540. Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976) was born in the seaside town of Torquay; famous explorer Francis Drake (1542 - 1596) came from Tavistock & double-agent Guy Burgess (1910 - 1963) hailed from Davenport. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834), who we all remember from our school poetry lessons, began his life in a small village called Ottery St Mary, about six miles east of Exeter.

This then is where I moved to in 1991 along with some of my London work colleagues when our employer decided to relocate out of the capital. What an inspired destination. With an estimated population of 118,000, Exeter is a relatively small city with a circumference of about 20 miles. I have cycled that route on several occasions over the years.

Full of character and ancient history, Exeter is still able to offer all the amenities and comforts that would be expected of a modern day city. It is the capital city of the county of Devon and provides a central base for education, medicine, religion, commerce, sport and culture. And, don’t forget the delicious ‘Devon Cream Tea’ - a treat to die for! Much nicer than the alleged equivalent hodgepodge available on the far side of the Tamar.

The surrounding area of Devon with its sweeping countryside, its narrow hedged byroads and lavish green fields are only a stone's throw from the city centre. With its pivotal position within the county, Exeter is also ideally placed to base a trip to branch out visiting places such as the famous Dartmoor National Park and the unspoilt beaches of two coastlines.

Exeter does not have any underground trains; traffic jams, congestion charges, black taxis, bendy-buses or anything resembling the M25 motorway. We seem to survive without them! So, come on down sometime!

*Regrettably, I am well passed my sell-by-date, otherwise the local Tourist Board would surely offer me a job I couldn‘t resist. I’d do anything for Devon! :-D