General Chat

I bet Max was ready for a sleep after playing with the grandchildren Mandy. It's good your sister is getting on well now after her knee op. That poor dog falling down a well. It's a wonder he wasn't badly injured and it's amazing he survived that long!

It sounds like Hannah is enjoying herself Jane! I bet they are looking forward to the big day tomorrow. I have never driven a quad bike, but I would if I got the chance! lol

Your brother does lead an exciting life Anne! I suppose when travel is to do with work it isn't quite the same though. Still he gets to see lots of places. It's good Richard and David have helped tidy the garden with you.

Our next door neighbours who are in the corner next to the new properties the builder is building are selling up!!! They have been told that there are now 7 developers trying to buy the 2 fields that are at the bottoms of our gardens!!! What with that and the proposed big development covering 4 fields behind that and down to the business park they have had enough! We expect those would be warehouse units, but as OH says, although they may be quieter than houses, there would be lorries delivering 24 hours a day. So..........I have stepped up looking for somewhere else now, but goodness knows where! We won't move for the sake of it, and love the bungalow we are in, but we love looking over the fields and having the privacy in the garden. There we we when we bought this place thinking we would be here till we could no longer manage!! :-S

Ann its such a shame when they develope the area around you and you lose your privacy. We had lovely 80 acre feilds behind us looking over a caperbility Brown landscape from the big house. Then the chap who owns it now planted all the trees on the 80 acres and we can't see out at all now.

Spilling fat like that is horrid. Its bad enough trying to clen the grill pan after doing bacon. I hate grease on my hands too and so does oh funnily enough. I knocked a new laid egg on the carpet on the kitchen floor yesterday. Caught it onj my cuff putting the banty eggs away. Thats something else thats hard to clean up and all slimey, yuk, but one sheet of Plenty did the job........true. Not quite as easily as on the ad on the telly as I had to wash the carpet after picking up the eggs and bits of shell.

I had a lay on the bed today during the day. Something i don't do very often but I felt so tired and I fell asleep for a couple of hours!!! Oh joined me at some point so you could say we have had a ver lazy day today.

Anne your brother must really enjoy visiting all the countries for his job. It must be very interesting for him.

We had a lovely sunny day again today, I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Oh is going to move the two banty houses in the morning probably before I get up so I had to take all my strawberry plants off the top of one of them tonight whne I fed the hogs and shut the banties in. I have shut them all in thier bedrooms so they will wonder whats going on when he moves them.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Beautiful morning here today in deepest Devon.

Anyone doing anything exciting today???

Oh moved the bantam houses for me this morning before I got up. Now all I have to do is find somewhere to put all my strawberry plants where the slugs won't get them as the houses are now backed up against a low stone wall in the shade.

Forgot to say yesterday early evening one of the pheasents came and she was followed by about 13 or 14 litttle chicks. They do make you laugh as they don't all follow mum together and she has to wait for them to catch her up in dribs and drabs and there's always a tiny one on the back.

"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know." (Donald Rumsfeld - USA Secretary of Defence - 2002).

I had it in mind to write a short essay about the abuse of our lovely language by the likes of Mr Rumsfeld. But I had subsequent doubts when someone told me that the Plain English Campaign group had no great problem understanding his American-English words & spellings. So, I won't. As our teachers might say - 'Stick within your comfort zone' - or something like that. I will so!

Anyway, my own language-skills deficit could leave me wide open to ridicule by readers of this dissertation no less than Mr Rumsfeld. Some understanding may be lost in translation too but, remember, the only way is English, despite the forthcoming referendum result.

Reared on a small family farm not unlike those in the picturesque Devon countryside, life constantly revolved around the farm animals because, one way or another, they were the ones to produce our living income to a great degree.

The countryside routine was fairly simple - animals first, humans second. It has ever been thus & probably will continue similarly until we have shuffled off this mortal coil - as Shakespeare's Hamlet described it.

Certain farm animals could be very friendly while others could seem aloof or give the impression of being a bit arrogant - similar to us really. They all had plenty of human contact as you would expect in such small surroundings & had no great fear of our presence in their midst.

The turkeys, for example, had a lovely time in our back field all year long with plenty to eat among the grass tufts & supplemented by high-grade special supplement usually handed out to them by my mum. Authentic free-range no less.

Of course, she'd never mention anything about Christmas in their presence and the need for turkeys to be pretty fat at that festive time of year as if that may raise their stress & anxiety syndromes - which it would do if only the turkeys had the sense to see what was coming their way. Luckily they didn't; birdbrain & all that.

Strangely enough, it is usually the thin & scraggy turkeys that survive having a Christmas Day walk-on part in the centre of the roasting tray, featherless & stuffed. The one nominated for the special meal could run around the garden faster than Usain Bolt.

Everything seemed to go faster even in those pre-kindle days. We need to invent ways for us slow-coaches to keep up. Anyway, some human guile had to be used to net the poor victim but, as it was said, his name was linked with the roasting pot that year & that was that. The story of the turkey's demise would be accurate. Very tasty he was too plus cold turkey sandwiches for days thereafter! Nothing was ever wasted.

And what a relief for all the other turkeys milling around the back garden that would strut up & down proudly gobbling amongst themselves about how lucky they were to keep their feathers on & survive for a little longer.

Farmers who rear geese know full well that they are one of the best 'guard-dogs' in any farm yard. When disturbed, they create such a rowdy rumpus with squawking all round. No sneaky fox would dare approach the geese's domain looking for a mouthful of poultry supper.

For those of us with aching necks, you might like to know that rubbing on the affected area with goose fat is a well-known cure to relieve such pains. Albert of Steptoe & Son recommended this cure to his son Harold in one episode broadcast many years ago. You cannot argue with that now, can you?

Of course, we have all heard of goose featherbeds which claim to offer a warm salubrious sleep to the lucky owner. They can be expensive to buy but keen poultry farmers sometimes make their own, remembering to air them well to get rid of the poultry smell. Nowadays, I suppose these young farmers or their lovely lady wives would just place an air freshener in the bedroom for the same purpose. Lazy devils!

Happy Bank Holiday to those of you who are looking forward to good weather & traffic free motorways. Miracles do happen - even in Devon. Come on down!

That's enough of this tomfoolery for now!

Morning all,

Very overcast this morning i don't think we will be seekng any sun here today , when you step out you can feel a very fine drizzle on your face and there is quite a strong wind .

Just need to go and get some milk ,i bought a big bottle the other day ,i hunted high and low for it yesterday then realised i had left it in the car!! i remembered putting it in another bag to hold it upright and put the bag to the back of the boot , i think it would have stunk the car out, when i poured it out it was all curdled :-0

Morning All

Oooh Mandy,just thinking of that smelly milk almost makes my tummy curdle lol,never mind the actual milk.

We are of shortly for lunch.Shame it is not nice and sunny as it would have been lovely to be able to sit in hte pub garden.But never mind they have a lovely restaurant in the Conservatory :-D.

Dermot you certainly have a way with words (I LIKE :-D :-) )
Neighbours who lived next to Fitz down the lane had 3 Geese...They used to strut around the place putting the fear of God into anyone who dared try and pass them..But I do believe that the Fox had them eventually..

I am being called.It takes a good half an hour to get there.... BBL

Is this the anniversary dinner??

Happy Anniversary Jane and Chris if it is.x <3 x <3 x <3

Oh has been in my pond up to his waist to get the big white water lily in there to give the fish more shade and shelter. I was pegging the under sheets and mattress cover on the line and was told not to look!! It took him ages to get in deep enough as it musdt have been quite cold and he is stiff in the legs most of the time anyway and it was a big step down from the shelf to the bottom of the pond. Anyway its all done now and he came in and had a shower.

Nearly time to get lunch.

O we had another pheasent come over from the back feild with her chicks. She came over our short wall in the back garden but the chicks could'nt make it so oh went and knocked a brick out the bottom of the wall and the mum waited while he did this calling the chicks all the time. As soon as he had removed the brick mum called and all the chicks came through about 10 of them.

Iv'e had a good hoover of the bed in all the nooks and crannies and the sewn swirls on the mattress. Just need to wash the rest of the bedding and remake the bed.

Yes Happy Anniversary to Jane and Chris <3 if it is today ,hope you enjoyed your lunch.

Oh Mel how lovely was that your OH removing the brick so the littlies could get through ,that will be their little place to come through now until they get to big then they will hop over the wall like mum, it must be lovely to see them all in your garden .

Now trying to rain here and not very warm out typical bank holiday weather, expect we will need a fire tonight .

I thought I had better pop in or I would have a search party out looking for me.

Been busy with mowing and watering, Ros has been doing the flower beds etc.

Jo,Jan and Ella turned up about 1.00 pm. JJ and co have gone home, leaving Jan with us until Wednesday when we all go off together.

Haven't read any posts, as I have to get showered and shaved, and then we are going out to eat. We have loads of meats in the freezers but VERY SHORT on Veg. So no cooking for me tonight or tomorrow. Jan will pay one night and I the other.

Is your Anniversary tomorrow Jane ?? I know you have said, but I can't remember.

Will try to read the posts before I come back on tomorrow.

Mel how lovely for the little chicks to have their own private doorway :-D.What a good idea of OH to take the brick out for them :-D

Yes it is our Anniversary today.Thanks for your wishes :-D.. We had a very nice meal and can hardly move now.That is the trouble when having all 3 courses lol. Chris had to go for a lie down when we got home.He has just resurfaced yawning his head off.The pub was totally packed.Every table full in the restaurant and all tables in the bar too.It got a bit hot and stuffy so it was nice to get out in the fresh air after a couple of hours.
Every pub we passed had full car parks so B H Monday is a good day for business :-D

Frank have you booked somewhere to eat? You might find it difficult to get a table if you haven't.Still it will be nice not to have to think about cooking ,tomorrow too :-D :-D
Where does Jan sleep when she is with you?

I can hear pics pinging through on my phone from Hannah .Better have a look :-D

Evening All,

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to JANE and CHRIS. :-) <3 <3 It sounds like you had plenty to eat Jane. :-) Most places around here were packed with diners too. It's seemed quite muggy here so we have been yawning like Chris too.

Those little chicks sound adorable Mel.....you should have got your camera out!

Our neighbours are moving to a very nice area of Wales fairly near the coast. It sounds lovely.

OH has been 'hedging and ditching' as he calls it in the field behind our bottom fence this morning. The brambles and nettles grow above our fence if he doesn't cut them a bit lower. What's left is still a deterrent to anyone wanting to climb over our fence and provides plenty of cover for wildlife. I have planted my tub up with green and purple lettuce. I see we have a few cucumbers forming in the greenhouse.

Happy Anniversary Jane & Chris <3 :-D <3 Pleased that you enjoyed your meal out.

Mel I would loved to have seen the Mum with her chicks her maternal instincts are so good not like some human Mums.

Dermot I also grew up with geese until the age of 7 , I use to call them" the peck a leg boys". When I first met my husband his family had geese and I was the only one of the brothers' girl friends that wasn't scared of them,

I keep thinking it's Sunday mainly because we had the big roast dinner today instead of yesterday. Richard took Amy for a long walk over the forest earlier so she is now fast asleep on her bed.

It's been quite a chilly day here with no sun at all

Are your neighbours moving because of the building plans Ann? It sounds from what you say ,you will be surrounded eventually with houses etc that you just don't want.We still have to wait until the end of June to see if the plans go through to demolish next door bungalow.I am trying not to think about it really.
Tummies still full here.I might just have a Banana later but don't even fancy that yet.

On the way to lunch we rounded a corner of the road down in the village and there were 3 Red Kites in the middle of the road pulling at what looked like what was a Pheasant (road kill).I wish I had been able to get a photo as it was quite an amazing sight.They flew off ,but I have never seen that before.They are such huge birds :-0.They look big enough in the sky ,but to see them right in front of you well they are gigantic !!!.
I'm having lots of problems tonight with the internet .It keeps going :-S.
Chris says his computer has been fine !! So it seems it is just me that has the Gremlins :-S

Is anyone watching this 'Modern' version of Midsummer Night's Dream? Not sure it is for me .But It might be good for youngsters if it can get them interested in Shakespeare .
Thomas is in .He has actually eaten a bowl of food.So no good hunting this afternoon.
He has looked a bit spooked as though something might have scared him.Next door on one side has had a big bonfire and the other side has been doing the back lawns so his normal route might just have been messed up lol.
The wind looks like it might be picking up a bit now as the big trees are swaying.Tomorrow doesn't look a brilliant day weatherwise .

I'm pleased you enjoyed your meal and anniversary Jane.

Its been a beautiful day here today. Really warm.

I am sad to say that old chicken went to the big coop in the sky today. She was ok in the morning when I fed her but later when I looked in to give her some corn she was still but had her eyes open so I touche dher and she was as stiff as a board,,,,bless. She is in a better place now and not in any pain.......

Anne I did get a couple of pics and a video I think of the chicks but not them going through their pop hole. The mum spent a long while sitting on them at the bottom of the back garden on a dead grassy hump in th elate sunshine. Oh hadgiven them corn and mealworms which the chicks loved and were chasing each other for the worm in the other ones beak. They were funny.

Off to watch Springwatch now and see if my little birds appear. Bet they don't.

My maths may not be quite on the button without the help of my old Abacus but in round figures we seem to spend the first half of our lives trying to be older and the second half trying to pretend we’re not as old as we really are.

I’m referring here mainly to ‘boys & men’ because ladies, young or old, have their own age calculation formulas. No calculator needed by them!

I think back to my first memories as a child, when an adult asked me what age I was. “Four & a quarter,” might be the answer – and the quarter was critical because it lifted me above the level of the mere younger four years old. Five and a half, six and three-quarters….all important quarterly dates on the road to another year.

On becoming a teenager, I lied with great extravagance – particularly when it came to getting into over-18 movies or being served alcohol in pubs. What a devious Devil!

I can only look back now with mortification on the little ruffian who had shaded in the bum fluff on my upper lip with a pencil or using the brown phosphorous from the head of a matchstick – to give the impression of greater growth in an area which, in reality, was as devoid of hair as Homer Simpson‘s head.

So I wanted to be 18 from the time I was 14 or earlier – and then when I hit 18, I wanted to be 21.

Now I have arrived; I look my true age and can get into clubs or other dens of inequity without flashing my tattered passport or ID card. The world is a beautiful place for a while. And then – just as I’m getting used to my perfect age profile – the big three-o comes bounding over the horizon.

But no matter….life is still good and I make jokes about thirty being the new twenty-one and I celebrate a little too forcefully which only serves to indicate that the tide is beginning to turn.

Still, I don’t have much time to deliberately lie about my years because my own children are now growing up in leaps & bounds. A mortgage still hangs around my neck just as fearfully comfortable as a Hangman’s rope. In other words, for these hectic years, I’m too busy to worry or care about what age anymore.

Old age is just something you grow into at a maximum rate of 60 minutes per hour. The first roots of decay are beginning to plant themselves – ironically often starting with the roots… the roots of my hair and a small drop of brown or black to keep the grey away. I don’t talk as much about age these days except to reminisce in articles like this one.

Birthdays aren’t particularly marked except for the odd birthday card and my age is vaguely passed off until the Senior Citizens Bus Pass appeared on the doormat.

Ladies tend to keep the age thing low key – and I can still remember a friend of mine who surprised his shy retiring wife on her fortieth by hiring their all-time favourite singer and booking a top restaurant with around 100 guests. A surprise it certainly was. I can still visualise the look on her face when the surprise was sprung – and it was less ‘thanks’ than pure thunder.

And finally, I end this lightweight topic with a less than cheerful Gaelic Proverb: ‘We all owe the grave many a day‘.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Hav'nt read Dermots post yet.

Its a lovely day here again today and I have just fed the pheasent with the babies. She still has eight this morning but one is limping badley. It was limping yesterday and its always the one way behind the others but she seems to wait for it.

O very good Dermot but I think it could apply to some ladies I have met in the past.....

Morning all, Evening Kim,

What a lovely story again Dermot. and very true I remember at 14 pulling down my "CHEESE CUTTER" to buy cimema tickets for over 18s films. with a "FAG" hanging from the corner of the mouth. Very grown up, and I am sure the ticket girl guessed we were under age.

Have only read the current page. Sorry !!

I hear you have babies Mel, Do you still get the old girls from "Waitrose" when they finish laying ??

Glad you had a nice meal yesterday Jane.

I booked a table a a very nice restaurant for 6.00 pm. Good job I did as it filled up in no time. I forgot it was Bank Holiday.

Ros has been in terrible pain all weekend, at one time I didn't think we would be going on holiday. It was touuch and go if I was going to ring for an ambulance. Her left side was so painfull she thought it was a HEART ATTACK. I made her drink hot water, and patted her back for a good hour. There were plenty of BURPS but still in pain. She managed to get a appointment at the Doctors this morning, and it's a CHEST INFECTION. She has checked her all over, and put her on Antibiotics. So it looks all go for tomorrow.

I checked my papers this morning and found I HADN'T printed Ros's BOARDING PASS. Good job I found out, or it would cost £50.00 at the airport. I have now printed hers off, so she can come NOW !!

The girls have gone to have their nails done and then popping around town. SO HOME ALONE.

I have sorted the fridge out, There are two carrier bags, of various root veg. Tomatoes, Mushrooms, creams, strawberry, which I will give to Tony or Pam. rather than throw them away.

I bet Many is have all this filthy weather. The wind is so cold out, I have made the girls put a coat on. They promise us heavy rain later today. The sky is as BLACK AS YOUR HAT. so I don't think it will be long.

See you all soon.

Well, what a lovely long weekend we've had. Got back here about midday as our hosts were back to.work today. The weather has been terrific, and we couldn't have been made more welcome, absolutely brilliant. Got back, Merlin was fine, and our lovely chap and his partner had mown the grass for us as well as looking after Merlin and the greenhouse which was really kind of them. It's his 31st birthday this Friday, so I must look for a present as a thank you. Something for their house maybe?!!
Bit of a grey day here so we're just taking it easy. Washing and jobs can wait till tomorrow. Cas has been such a good girl, but Jasper still slightly worrys her! I think she's glad to be home!
Enjoy your time away Frank, I'm sure the change will do you good. 100 years ago today was the battle of Jutland! Did you say your father was involved as a chief gunner? What a grim business that was.

Afternoon all,

What terrible weather we have had ,the rain was hammering on the window in the night ,it woke me up a couple of times it was so bad and it's been like that all the morning .

Frank are you all packed ? i hope you have a good holiday and that Ros soon feels better ,sounds as if she needs a good rest she has been running round after everyone just lately so the time away will do her good
Sounds as if you had a good time away Liz and that was very good of the chap to look after things for you while you were away , must be nice to know that some one is keeping an eye on things for you.


Max is in his crate ,he's been little tinker this weather isn't helping as he normally
plays out and wears his self out in the garden but it's just to wet out there for him