General Chat

So Frank is off to the party now :-D.. Jelly and Ice Cream :-D.I remember Hannahs first birthday and I had I think it was 8 one year olds all around the table in their own highchairs :-D..What a mess !!!!!!.I have one pic of them all with their little faces all covered in chocolate lol.It was quite exhausting.

I bet JJ is loving it with Frank and vice versa :-D :-D

Anne what a pity that the flat can't be reduced for Paul.It does sound as though there is no problem with selling them though which is probably why they won't reduce the price.The 3 bought buy the man from Ascot will no doubt be let.

I only went to M&S this morning and Asda.Everywhere was so busy I couldn't be bothered trawling around various shops looking for a bargain.I just bought a pair of trousers and a shirt in M&S for either Chris or James.They can decide between them .And 3 pairs of pants for me how exciting lol.There was nothing else that took my fancy ,plus I don't really need any more clothes as I bought a load before we went on holiday.
It is feeling a bit muggy.No more sun now as it has turned really cloudy.Hope we are not in for any thunder.I think it is going be a bit of a lazy afternoon for us.Chris has hurt his knee so no gardening for him today.He has spent the morning doing the accounts.I got him the Guardian so he will no doubt be reading that later.
Thomas is out for the count still(since 8am) I let him out at 3.30 :-S..He needs to be out there catching bunnies.
Everywhere sounds very quite here.I think both lots of neighbours must be out or away.No dogs barking :-D

I am missing Fitzy.He is still down in Devon in Barnstable cat sitting.He has had such a bad back he is not sure if he will be able to do the visit to Lundy Island as it means a fair bit of walking.I do hope he gets there though as the last 2 years he was down there the weather was bad and the boat had to cancel the crossings.

How long is Liz away? I can't remember what she said now.
Where is Gill? It's been a while now since we heard from her.

Afternoon All,

Beautiful sunshine here and a lovely day. OH has gone to a match near Sandbach with 2 of his pals and I have been shopping and got some new mugs among other things.

Yes that was interesting Dermot. We have cows in the field at the back of us and they had a black bull with them a couple of years ago (Istanbull!) I watched them one evening when there was mist swirling around their feet and was surprised to see how gentle and affectionate the bull was with them.

Mel, you and your OH had quite a bit of land between you by the sound of it. I wasn't sure where your boundaries were when I came to see you! lol

I'm hoping to get 2 more birdboxes put up for next year. I was telling a friend at beading, the one whose hubby takes us to the NEC, about me cutting the slate to fit them and thinking I'd spoil it and she texted me today to say her hubby will cut it for me with his angle grinder! :-)

Paul may struggle to find another flat that is as nice Anne, but it's a good idea to keep looking at what there is. It's a good position to be in with his own house though.

Jane I was disappointed with what was left at the BHS at Nuneaton the other day. We have a Primark opening down the road this summer in the old BHS building that was there. I can't see me finding very much in there although I have bought a few things in the past.

Good news you've got a date for your knee op Frank. At least you don't have to wait too long now. Our tomatoes are growing much more strongly in the pots than in the ground this year. They are flowering already.

Well, I'm nipping out now to a factory store at Lutterworth. They were advertising birdboxes with cameras, but I wonder if the cameras are very good?

Afternoon all,

We have nice warm sun shine got all the doors and windows open but then in come the blessed flies.

Nice to know you have your date for the op on your knee Frank ,that was fairly quick really it doesn't seem that long since you went to the doctors about it.
I hope hubby soon finds out when he can have his hip op ,he goes next sat to a group session to discuss what is going to happen and see what aids he needs for after the op .
Enjoy the party ,will there be jelly and ice cream? LOL oh and Blancmange, i love Blancmange, you don't hear so much about that now i wonder if people still eat it .

Jane how are your eyes today?
I think Liz said they are back on Tuesday .
I bet Thomas is having a field day catching all the baby bunnies that have been born while he was away ,i suppose it's the light mornings that wake him ,it's light here by four ,i usually get out about that time for a wee.

I have bought a couple of new tops but i really need a light waterproof jacket for when i walk Max but i haven't seen one i like yet ,some are all flowery and patterned but i want just a plain one .

Spaghetti bol for us tonight nice and easy.

When is Frank's knee date? I must have missed that.
I will be good Mandy for OH to know what aids he can have for after his op.I do hope he doesn't have to wait too long now for it.He will just want it done and over with now.
I too would like a new rain Jacket/coat.Just a light weight one.As you say Mandy most seem to be flowery/patterned.Some are really nice ,but with all my patterned summer trousers I really need a plain one.

Ann we have a huge Primark in Corby.I don't think I have ever bought anything from there(they probably don't do my size anyway :-S. Hannah often gets some really nice things from there especially for holidays.They might not last long being so cheap ,but just for one season it is still good value.

Mandy ,my eye is still a bit fuzzy,but no pain behind it today. I must go and choose new specs as my prescription has changed a bit.

There have been no Cows in any of our fields now for quite a few months and there will be no more :-( as work will start for the new roads and houses.I do miss seeing them.It's just empty fields now.At least the horses are still there so I can look out the front bedroom window each day and see them.

Thomas has woken up and gone outside.But I see he is sitting on one of the patio chairs .It takes him a while to get going lol

I think Frank said he goes for an assessment on the 24th July and then he goes in on the 30th July for the op .

Well Max had his flea and wormer treatment done today ,i have to wait until he goes to sleep as it's easier to do it that way .
He walks nicely on the lead but he's picking up all sorts on the way :-0 today it was a dirty tissue ,a good sniff at a takeaway box ,a piece of plastic from a pen and a big bit of stick !! I carn't look were i'm going as i have to keep watching him all the time , and he had a good old time with the grass that had been cut in the churchyard ,it's not picked up so it lays in big clumps which he fills his mouth with and then he chucks it every where :-D

Oh i meant to say is the Yarmouth Isle of Wight Anne or Great Yarmouth on the coast here ?
I hope the weather is good for them.
It's good that he can take his time deciding about flats and move in with you for a while , thats not some thing to rush into he needs to find a place he will be happy with.

Snap ladies! I was looking at those lightweight waterproofs today too and thought just the same as you.......too much pattern and a plain one would be best. :-S One was covered in daisies like a lawn! lol. They didn't have any camera bird boxes left though so I drove on to the big Dobbies garden centre along the A5. Last week I'd seen some sunglasses there that I liked that were reduced so I got those this time. They wrap round your eyes (and have white frames to match my car! lol). The lady on the till made me laugh when she said I'd look like Jackie Onassis in them!! :-)

I can just picture Max with his nose in everything Mandy!! He must love going for walks with you now. Just wait till he finds some deep puddles! When OH and I were out for a walk yesterday, we were just going to turn into a field where there were deep ruts filled with water and a Spaniel carrying a stick charged round the corner and jumped into one that was deeper than his legs and splashed muddy water all up OH's trousers. Yes it will be good when your hubby hears about his hip. It must be difficult planning his work without knowing any dates.

Liz has been having some lovely weather if it's like it is here where she is.

I still like jelly and icecream :-) I like adding those flavoured whips too. I sometimes do a chocolate whip and top it with a caramel one when it;s set. :-) :-)

Fitz should get to Lundy as the weather and sea has been good for a couple of weeks now. I have rung the bells in the church on Lundy a few years ago. We have rung them twice. Once was for a cow for a foreign country.

Hi all

My router has been playing up again so I've not been able to get online since Michelle left yesterday.

I hope everyone is well and I will catch up with the posts tomorrow if my router is nice to me.

Going to watch the F1 qualifying with OH now then off to bed.
Night Night

I used to enjoy the occasional debates organised for us at school by our teachers. They did their best to show us how to stand in front of the class of smirking fellow classmates & argue 'our case' on whatever side of the discussion allocated.

These sessions usually turned out to be just a bit of banter on some subject or other. We were regularly reprimanded if we deviated too far from the topic under discussion & it was a definite 'no-no' to besmirch or belittle any other participant just because they had an alternative opinion. It is perfectly possible to air our views without being disrespectful to our opponents - as if we would!

Radio phone-in hosts keep a list of hot topics by their microphones. When the lines go quiet, the presenter reads out a contentious statement. They know very well that some listeners are easily wound-up & enjoy being irritated. We all like to express our personal opinion & enjoy being enraged occasionally. We all like to leap in defense of our pet cause.

I wonder why some radio phone-ins go awry when personal 'put-downs' are added. Is it to befuddle the listener(s)? While we should be careful about whose opinion we listen to, we should also be magnanimous in our criticisms.

We can always empathise with alternative views even if we don't agree with them.

Morning all and evening KIm,

Thunderbirds are go........thats what we have been this morning. Der derd a ler and all that.


Emergency operation retrieve the hedgehog from the kitchen drain...........

When oh did the drain the other day he did'nt put the slates back over it. Twice as I walked past I thought to myself, I must put those back and twice I DID'NT DO IT. Well this was the concequence, one smallish hog who was minding its own business rooting around in some dirt somewhere suddenly dropped down a black hole. I know this as it has earth on its nose.

Oh filled the bath this morning with cold water to flush the drain through and happened to go and look down to see everything was running ok when he spotted the little chap down there. Along he comes and wakes me up to get down on my poor old aching knees and reach down to get it out after finding something in the shed to put it in. I cleared out a plastic box as I had just burnt all the cardboard boxes I had in there. Anyway he is now down by my old chicken shed towards Prickerly Hollow in the shade till I know it is alright and I can let it go tonight whilst its dark and it can go whichever way it chooses. I shall of course offer food and water while it waits...........

Good to see Gill managed to pop in and I hope you had a lovely time with Michelle and liked her new guy.

Another interesting post from our Dermot. Are all these stories going around in your head all the time. It must be quite tireing but we love to hear them.

A lovely morning here so I think I shall strip the bed and get that washed. Oh want the lighter quilt on too as he gets too hot.

Just lost a BIG BIG posting, so I am giving up. Might try later.

Afternoon All,

Oh what a shame Frank! You must get Lewis to show you how to copy and paste next time he calls.

Mel that was lucky the little hog was spotted before it was too late! Some R&R is a good idea before you let it go. :-)

Dermot, I do wish we'd had debates at school. I would have enjoyed that! :-) Problems can arise in debates when people attack the 'person' not their 'opinion'. You see it on these boards. Others will see a criticism when it is just an expression of a different opinion. I do like the word 'magnanimous'. :-)

I hope Michelle enjoyed her visit Gill and that you liked her boyfriend.

There was nothing wrong with the hog and it was trying to climb up the side s if the plastic box so I took it over to the decking by the pond where they go at night and it ran straight under as if it knew where it was going. I must wash my box out though as it stinks of hog.

O frank not lost another post. You will have to more shorter posts.

Mel, pleased to hear that the little hog lived to see another day, he was lucky you found him in time.

We are having another lovely day here and have been busy in the garden all day with Richard & David's help we have had a good tidy up. I did a large cooked breakfast for them both and were just having home cooked ham and jacket potatoes with Baked beans later,I am doing a small roast tomorrow as there will only be the three of us which will seem strange


My brother, Colin has just got back from Barcelona, he went out there for his birthday and was staying with some American friends, I don't think he was lecturing this time,as far as I know his next working trip is to Amsterdam with ACE cultural tours at the end of June

Mandy, it is Great Yarmouth Paul is staying with the girls Does California Park ring a bell with you? He knows the area well as we had a few holidays on the Norfolk Broads when the boys were in their teens.

Frank, how annoying for you losing another post.

The air was blue in the kitchen this morning, I had cooked the ham in the oven and drained the fat from the roasting tin into a basin put it on the window sill to cool off out of the cats' way and promptly knocked it over all over the draining board.

Afternoon Everyone.It's lovely and sunny here and nice and warm.Plenty of bedding and other stuff dried on the line :-D

Well that was one lucky Hog Mel.Good job you found and rescued it.I t ake it you have covered the drain again now :-D :-D

I loved the debating society at senior school.I think every school should have one.
Ann you are so right about things (on threads) being read and interpreted the wrong way.Sometimes people are too quick to take umbrage and then arguments and slanging matches begin.It can be easy though to read things the wrong way.
I love the Sunday Morning programme(can't think what it is called now) Is it the big question ? or something like that.There are always a couple of people on there who are very vocal in their opinions .I remember a while ago one chap just wouldn't pipe down and nearly got taken off LOL..He was a right pain.
You should hear Chris and I sometimes !!!!.Things can get a bit heated if we are discussing something when we are on opposite sides.At least it never becomes a slanging match though :-D :-D(gets a bit close sometimes :-S )

So no Gill again today.At least she manages to get a post on last night.Maybe the drattted router is playing up again.

Frank how do you manage it !!.Maybe you could start a post and do a few lines ,then submit that and then do the same each time until the end of your post.It may be a bit disjointed but maybe that way you can get it all up with out losing anything.

Scampi and Chips for Chris and I tonight.James hates Scampi so is going to do himself a vegetable stir fry and noodles.

Did anyone see the new series on BBC4 last night called Disappearance ? It has sub titles bit I stuck with it .It was good :-D.Thomas was pestering to go out last night at 10.So I let him go and he was out for the night.I got up just before 6 for the loo and looked out the bedroom window and he was sitting under the patio table waiting to come in.I wonder how long he has been waiting there :-)

Hannah and all the friends including the bride to be and groom are having a meal right on the beach tonight in what looks like a lovely old typical Greek Taverna/Restaurant.Then it is an early night as they will all need beauty sleep before the wedding tomorrow afternoon.Hannah and Sarah have been exploring the island on a Quad Bike !!..(I might have already mentioned that ! )Sorry if I am repeating myself.(it's age you know :-S )

Hope Liz is still having a lovely time away.I wonder if poor Merlin is missing them.Hopefully not ,with their friend coming in to feed and water him and no doubt give him a few loving pats :-D

Our flipping over flow is going again :-S :-S..I will have to get Tony the plumber back again after the bank holiday.We are doing everything he told us to do if it runs but it's not working :-S :-S.

Tomorrow we are going to the Falcon at Fotheringhay for an Anniversary Lunch :-D
No cooking :-D :-D..James has a curry unless he is out with friends.

ooh Anne that must been a right mess :-S...all that grease Yuk.
I have heard of California Park.It is a big Mobile/Caravan Park.I often see it advertised in our local paper.Hope they are all having a lovely time there.How did your Brothers time go in Berlin?I think you said he was there for 6 weeks? He certainly gets around doesn't he .Amsterdam next.Now that is one place I loved and the Dutch are so friendly :-D.Barcelona too is a lovely place.I would happily visit there again ,but Chris says he preffered Berlin and Prague.So unless I was to go on my own it doesn't look like I will get there again.

Frank you must nearly be ready now for your next holiday.Just a few days away now :-D..Hope all your shorts and nice and clean :-D
I don't think James and Jess have anywhere planned yet for a holiday.Jess will be finishing her Masters Degree so I think they will wait until maybe September before they decide where to go.It will be a nice celebration too.
Hannah also completes her Phd this year.Where did those 3 years go !!!!! She will het her head down again once she is back from Santorini,as a whole week not being able to do her studies right now is a long time.

It is all clouding over now.I think rain may well be on the horizon.

Jane, as far as I can remember Colin was in Berlin for 6 days so I don't know if I typed weeks in by error. He is lecturing in Hamburg in July and will be looking at the artist Caspar David Friedrich he got his PHD on this artist. Sometimes I only know where he is when the postcards arrive or it's on the Ace website, Paul & Richard speak to him on Facebook but they only hear when he is back for security reasons. He doesn't say a lot about his tours, I suppose its all in a days work for him as he has been doing it for quite a while now.

It sounds as if Hannah and the rest of the wedding party have been having a good time I hope all goes well for them all tomorrow.

Evening all,

It's been fairly cloudy here most of the day ,family came this morning and the children had a fine old time with Max playing in the garden ,Jake brought his leather football and Max had a good chew on it ,it had seen better days really so Jake wasn't that bothered , it has worn Max out ,he's been sleeping most of the afternoon.

My sister and BIL also called in this morning they said how much Max has grown since they last saw him, sister is getting on well after her knee op and now walking with one stick .

Anne i have heard of California holiday park ,is that the one down near the horse racing track?
We haven't been to Yarmouth for several years now it wasn't a very clean place lots of empty and tatty buildings but i think the last few years the council have really gone to town and cleaned the place up.
Oh what a mess to have to clean up theres nothing worse than fat from the meat it leaves everything all smeary and greasy looking .

What luck OH spotting the little hog in the drain ,i'm glad he seems fine and has scuttled off under the decking .
Did anyone see on the news the other day about the poor dog that fell down a well in the farmers field ?
He had been down there for i think they said 26 days and it was a very very deep well too!! He's was checked over by the vet and didn't have one broken bone , how lucky was he !!

Not more water problems Jane , thats sounds lovely having a meal by the beach in one of those greek tavernas , i remember having some lovely stuffed peppers when we went to one of the greek islands i also loved the Yougurt with honey .
So your anniversary tomorrow Jane ,how many years ?
It's ours next sunday ,our Ruby wedding !! 40 years where has that time gone .

You have 5 years on us Mandy. 35 for us. Are you doing anything special for your Ruby?
I was just speaking to my Sister and talking about the people we remembered back home when we were young.We still imagine them as they were back in the late 60's/early 70's but they will be well on to being 80 now !!!!!!....It just kind of kicks in when you realise that we are that much older now even though we still think of ourselves as being 'youngsters' :-S :-S.All a bit scary really.