General Chat

Morning Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen.

I AM BACK.!!! Of course I haven't been able to read any posts, but I might try to skim over them later.

I trust you all have been good boys and girls while uncle Frank has been away.???

We had an excellant journey out and the service from the "Assistance people" was 1st Class. as it was in Murcia on our arrival. Conrad was waiting to transport us on to his appaertment, whick has SIXTY STAIRS for me to climb up and down if we were to go out.

GOOD NEWS. A client of his was coming to the UK on the 3rd June and offered us his 3 bedroom 3 bathroom Villa with swimming pool ALL ON ONE LEVEL free of charge until he returns this weekend. So we moved in on Sunday 4th until we left yesterday evening.

Terrible journey home last night. We were 40 minutes late taking off, but landed on time. Them the problems started. !! Those of us who needed assistance had to wait on the plane while they got the lift vehicle, that took 45 minutes. When we got to the wheel chairs, there was only one woman to transport 9 people waiting to go through Passport Control and customs. The long and short of it we didn't get to out car untill after 2.45 am Ros then had the drive home. The Motorway was very busy with HGVs One of which decided to use the fast lane to overtake two slower vehicles on his inside. I noted that it was a Foreign Number plate. So nothing new there. !!!

The tempreture has been in the mid 30s and last Monday was 39 degrees Hotest 13th June ever recorded ;-) ;-) ;-) We stayed indoors with the Air Con on.

I won't bore you now with the food we had and the accident I had on night. I will save that for later. !!!!

Ros has gone to do a shop, as we are out of everything. I have started the unpacking.

See you later.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Not a bad morning here at the moment as the suns out but I forgot to turn the washing machine on last night so the washing is out late. Also I did'nt get up till11am.

Have done the "Toast Maiden" duty.

My knee is not much better today so I shall be hobbling around again. It's the back and forth I don't do very well and us women are always back and forth in the kitchen, arn't we? :-(

Yes where's our Bouncy Boy?

Is he back yet or have we got the wrong day?

Did he have a lovely time or not?

Mandy thats good news about Colin's op date and not too long to wait now. He must be getting really fed up with himself by now not being able to do everything he wants to do. July will soon be here the way this months is passing. Where do the weeks go??

Oh is off on the mower and I am about to get on with cleaning the bathroom if thats poss with my knee.

Hello Frank good to see you back. What a to do you had at the airport having to wait 45 minutes to get off the plane then through passport control. You must both of been shattered. Hope you managed to get some decent sleep in the end?

That was nice of the client to offer you his villa and all on one level.... much better than having to climb up and down sixty stairs. Hope the accident you had wasn't to bad and that you are okay now. I look forward to hearing all about you hols later <3

Sorry to hear your knee still isn't right Mel. Maybe you could leave the cleaning for today and rest. I was just saying to OH yesterday how quickly this year has passed. We're almost through the first half. Before you know it it'll be winter again and Christmas to prepare for.

Well, I really must make a start on moving these boxes. That's the problem with the TINTERWEB you can get carried away looking at things, so I must get on now.

See you all later <3

Well I think Frank's post answered most of my questions and I did'nt even see it when I posted mine!!

Thats because oh had the telly on and was talking to me at the same time. I know us girls can multi task but that was not on at that time in the morning. I find it hard to read the posts when the tv is on as I like it quiet.

Washing machine has stopped again so its out on the line for that lot.


Gill do you have to take all the glass out of the greenhouse when you move it??

Yes, OH does take all the glass out apart from the door Mel, then Sandra and I help him move the frame then he puts the glass back in. We've moved the greenhouse three times already which is why I thought of putting it on the patio right up by the bungalow until the rest of the garden is sorted where the greenhouse is finally going to go, that way it won't need moving again. The problem I have is that I need the flag stones that are underneath the greenhouse to build the new patio area where the greenhouse is going to end up, so it has to be moved out of the way so I can get to them. We have tomato plants in there (which are in my kitchen at the moment) so we can't take the greenhouse down completely as it's being used. Luckily Sandra's strawberry plants are finished now so are outside as she has taken the last of them this morning so there's none left for the birds to take. They'll be okay outside until later.

To be honest I'm getting fed up of the garden and will be glad when I can finally get round to putting in all the plants and making it pretty. It's looking so big now with us taking the hedge away, it had grown outwards almost 4 foot and when the garage comes out we'll have even more space, as that is over 20 foot long and about 7 to 8 foot wide. I will need to get the council to take the roof off as it's asbestos and then I've been in touch with a man who said he can take the garage down after that. The garage is concrete panels so I'm going to use them right at the bottom of the garden where I've made a secret area, which is hidden behind the conifers, it will be much better to walk on rather than the soil that's there now. Mum took a look at the hidden garden yesterday and said it looks like a den, it's about 11 foot wide and around 35 to 40 foot long, it took me ages to cut it all back and screen it off from the house at the bottom. Her hedge has grown over quite high up so the hidden area is a bit like a tunnel or cave. I'm hoping to put some lights down there and it's also going to be useful to put some storage containers there so we don't have to put in another patio area and buy a shed. it'll be so nice to have a garden full of pretty plants instead of concrete garages and sheds filling the space, the only thing that'll be on show will be the greenhouse and that'll be tucked away behind the kitchen so won't be on show much but will still be in the sun.

I've just had a right to do with Argos, I was trying to order a wardrobe online, something I've never done before, there was an online chat to help me and he was useless. I got as far as the time slots and dates for delivery and couldn't seem to work out how to let them know which one I wanted, the fella on the chat wasn't answering my questions properly and then ended the chat as I was typing something to him. So needless to say I didn't order the wardrobe. That'll be another job for OH to do when he gets in later as he'll have to go to the shop and order it from there. What a waste of time online shopping is and don't even get me started on their customer service........useless :-| :-|

I've had a think about it since and can only assume that they only had Wednesday left for delivery as there seemed to be prices along that line, all the other boxes were blank, unfortunately OH is in work on Wednesday so it's the only day I didn't want it delivering as he needs to be here to put it up the day it arrives. I was so frustrated with it all I nearly ended up in tears. I thought online shopping was suppose to be easy and save you time. I still haven't started the boxes and don't feel like it now, so will leave that to another day as I've now got a headache............Sorry folks, moan over ;-) I think I'm just having one of those days we all get from time to time :-) I feel a bit better now I've got it all off my chest <3

Oh great. I have just lost a LOOOOONG POSTING

Not again Frank, try again, we'd all love to hear about your holiday.

I tried Argos again and I was right, the next available delivery slots were on Wednesday, so that's when the wardrobe will arrive.

I thought I was doing great being out of my comfort zone, so to speak, but then as I clicked the payment to go through Argos got back to me saying it didn't go through, talk about panic as I know the funds were available. Then a minute later I got a text off my bank asking me if I knew about the payment Argos were asking for and to reply "Y" if I did, so I replied and was then told to try the payment again, this time it went through. My heart was racing as I couldn't understand why my card didn't work the first time of trying, but I'm glad my bank wouldn't let it go through until I confirmed it was me making the payment. So all's good now and I feel more confident to buy other things online if needed in the future.

All the fella had to say to me on the chat was that if the box was empty then all those times had gone, but he never said that and just stopped the conversation. I didn't do the feedback as I didn't want him to get into trouble, after all once I'd worked out what to do it was quite simple so he was probably frustrated with me not being able to do what he said. So now I'll have to sort the boxes out and clear the room so OH can put the wardrobe up for me on Thursday when he's off work, then I'll be able to finally empty the boxes and sort out the bungalow.......it's starting to look like a storage place LOL :-D :-D

Gill,at least it is all sorted now :-D..I always try and do any ordering by phone rather than on line.Chris is the best one for doing that.I have often got so far with an order and then stuck when it comes to the payment bit :-S..You did well :-D

You sound as though you are going to be busy with the garden for months.It will look grand when it is all done.I love the sound of the secret garden :-D.You will have to take a pic when it is finished with the little fairy lights.Sandra will love that :-D

Oh Frank !!!!.Not a lost post again :-S..We are waiting to hear all about the holiday and what accident you had !!!!.Hope it wasn't a bad one. How lovely to be given the use of that Villa and pool :-D..That must have been so much easier for you rather than climbing all those steps at Conrads Villa.
I have sent a pic of Thomas on his harness in the garden...........FRANK .Thomas went missing for several days and was found by a neighbour.He was injured and has had a big operation on one of his back legs.The Head and neck of his femur has been removed so he has a long recovery ahead of him now..I thought as you haven't read all the posts you might wonder what had happened.Poor Puss.He has been through the mill.
The weather today has been atrocious.Thunder and so much rain.We had a brief time this afternoon when the sun shone .Now it is raining again :-S :-S and thundering !!!!!

I normally do ordering by phone Jane but thought I'd have a go at online ordering as I thought it would be quicker and easier. I'm quite chuffed with myself now it's all done, but it was a bit worrying when the payment didn't go through the first time of trying.

I hope Frank can get his posts to go through, it'll be nice to hear all about his hols, apart from the accident, I don't suppose that was very nice for him.

I love the photo of Thomas Jane, he's ever so good, I'd of thought he wouldn't of liked it and tried to escape, but then if he's still in a bit of pain he was probably just grateful at being outside.

We've had a dry day here for most of the day, unfortunately it started raining just as OH got home, thankfully it was only a few drops and has now stopped. Sandra and I have just helped OH move the greenhouse and he's putting the glass back in. I told him about your weather Jane, so he's hoping to get the greenhouse finished before it arrives here. The weather girl did say we were due for some rain later, so lets hope OH has finished by then.

Just going to watch the last corrie I recorded, then start dinner, I was going to start dinner now but OH asked me to wait so he can finish his job, which is fair enough and it's a good excuse to watch a bit of TV for an hour.

Hope the weather improves for you Jane :-) :-)
BBL

Welcome home Frank! I've bought a new kindle as the battery on my old one was kna...d! OH and I have spent all afternoon setting it up!! He's been so good and patient so I owe him one?!! We shall get a battery for my old one which OH can then use, so he's happy with that. I've now got a front facing camera, so the pics should improve Gill!!
Isn't it dreadful about that MP? Just shocking. What a world we live in.
Thanks Jane for the pic, glad that Thomas is making progress.

Pleased to see you back Frank, sorry you lost your latest post we are all waiting to hear your news.

Just heard that the Lady MP that was shot and stabbed has died, so sad as she was only young and very popular.

We have just had a terrific storm here it was right overhead for about 15 mins and is still rumbling around and raining hard, at least it stayed away for Ladies Day at Ascot to finish.

I am off out soon, as Ros is at the Choir I thought I would pop to the pub.

My accident was I got out of bed at 3.00 am to go to the loo. Everywhere was in total darkness. As I made my way back to the bed I missjudged my direction and ended up sitting (well trying) on the bottom corner of the bed. I slipped off banging my head on the wall and crashing to the floor on my right hip. Conrad heard me shout and came in to help me up back into bed. The next morning I had a throbbing headache. Now I have a nice bruise at the top of my thigh. So nothing serious.

Sorry to hear about Thomas Jane, poor little chap. So now he goes out on a lead. No more BUNNY's for the time being.

I had 97 emails to open this morning. One from my old school friend's wife who I had known from infants school and spent a great deal of time with into our teenage years. He had been back into Hospital for more treatment and passed away last Friday morning. I don't know where or when his funeral will be, plus it will be a long drive for Ros if I were to go. I think I might just send a donation to Cancer research in his memory. They have opened a site on FB.

Looking at the weather, I think I might be staying home to watch the football. We have thunder here, with clouds at black as your hat.

Conrad took us to some wonderfull restaurants, from SUSHI to STEAK. Last Sunday he said I have to pop out, he came back later with a big dish of pialla, Jan had made a delicious salad . We sat on the roof terrace and had a lovely afternoon, chatting and me drinking my beers (no one else drinks)

The sky is clearing, so I will take a chance and go out.

See you all later.

Liz ,I never got any pics of your garden :-( I'm glad you have your new Kindle up and running now.I think your kindle is a much more up market one than mine.I just read books on mine.

What a terrible thing to happen to that lovely young M P.I see she has young children :-( :-(..Their lives are shattered now.No doubt we will find out more about the crazy person who committed this dreadful murder.

Well I think those few minutes outdoors for Thomas has perked him up.The problem now is he is itching to get out again !!!!!.I need to keep reminding myself that he might look good on his leg,but he needs several weeks of resting it.He was remarkably good with the harness.I slipped it on while he was still asleep so he didn't struggle.

I can see some blue sky :-D..Just a little ,but it does look like the rain has cleared finally.

Waiting for Frank :-D :-D.......oops I see he has posted :-D

My kindle doubles up as a reader and computer. It does everything that a laptop does plus there a camera and camcorder! so it's pretty good value. It was a bit of a pig to get onto wifiI as you had to unlock it! you can imagine that caused a few huffs and puffs but we got there!
Much warmer tonight, should be better this weekend.

Good job Conrad heard you Frank, it sounds like a nasty fall, hope the bruising has gone down now. It sounds like you had a lovely time apart from your accident.
Sorry to hear about your friend, I'm sure Ros wouldn't mind taking you to the funeral if you find out when and where it is.

That was a good idea Jane to put the harness on when Thomas was asleep, he did look calm with it on in the photo you sent. He'll be looking forward to going out again tomorrow, even if it's still on the harness. At least it's a sign of him getting better, the time will pass quickly then he'll be able to go out on his own again, better to wait until he's fully recovered though, otherwise he could end up hurting himself again.

So your OH has sorted your kindle out now then Liz, that was nice of him. Sandra and I are looking forward to seeing more photo's when you take some.

It's raining here now after such a sunny day, the only problem is it's gone a bit cold with it. The weather girl said the weekend should be nice, hope so as OH and I want to finish off the frame work for the screening.

Off to bed now, I've got a bit of a headache and I'm tired.
See you all tomorrow
Night Night <3

Evening All,

Well I have just lost a long post too now so it must be catching! :-S

First (again) <3WELCOME HOME FRANK <3 :-D I bet you have found it cooler here after those sizzling temperatures! You were lucky to get chance to use that villa instead of all those steps to climb! Are you in the mood for weeding now?
You were lucky not to knock yourself out with that nasty fall. Mind you I pad around to toilet and kitchen at night with no lights on too.

Liz, my laptop has a camera and camcorder, but is obviously a bit unwieldy to pop in your pocket! Well done for getting your new one sorted. I'm getting to hate setting up new things.....the satnav was bad enough!!

Do you think Thomas may have worn a harness in his previous life Jane? He looks very relaxed in it and happy to be outside. :-)

Sorry you have hurt your wrist Gill but don't aggravate it trying to do too much with those flagstones. Once you have the next bit of your garden done you will soon be doing the more enjoyable bits. I don't think we'll be doing anything soon about buying a lodge. OH's first thoughts were just the same as Mandy's about what happens if a firm goes bust!! I suppose there may be insurances to cover that possibility but it all needs looking into.

Mel, what a nuisance with your poor knee on one leg and your hip the other side! If you twisted your knee it may take a while to get better.

I hope your OH's pre op assessment means he can get his operation done Mandy. He will be wanting it done quickly now.

Off to bed now, we're up early for OH's hospital results for his bone scan tomorrow.

I like the caption on the pic of Thomas. Very appropreate. "I'm pottering in the garden" Ha ha...... <3 it.

I have just found out how to save the pictures and they come out round the right way but if I will ever find it again I don't know.

You've been busy again Gill. You'll both be fed up with moving the greenhouse at this rate but it sounds like you are getting there at last. Would love to see some pics of what you are doing please.

The Devil’s Buttermilk.

Some of my current acquaintances might find it hard to believe that I was a 'Pioneer' in my very young days. And that's no lie either. Yes - I was young once and proud to be a Pioneer too as were some of my school pals.

At that time, we were signed-up members of 'The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association' (PTAA). As the title implies, we faithfully promised to stay clear of the demon alcoholic drinks until we reached a reasonable age of maturity - eighteen, I think. We wore a 'Pioneer Pin' on our lapel as proudly as if it was a uniform to show to everyone our uprightness as far as alcohol was concerned.

The local clergy encouraged us in our efforts although they themselves rarely refused a small glass of sweet sherry during their occasional house calls or maybe something a little stronger in the coffee during the cold weather. But, we did our best to stay clear of what was sometimes comically and disparagingly referred to as 'The Devil's Buttermilk'.

This did not prevent us from participating in other innocent shenanigans as all youngsters do. Apart from recently deceased Popes, it usually takes time & patience to become saints. And a few of us probably need a little more patience than others & a lot more time!

I have never seen any published figures to show how well or otherwise the PTAA pledges succeeded over the years but a few of my erstwhile school colleagues stuck to their original promise way beyond what was generally agreed. Good for them. As we know, youngsters have great optimism until it withers away gradually with age & life experiences. As well as that, old traditions get diluted through time. And a few readers of this thread know a thing or two about old age. Isn’t that so? So what! Old age is just something we all gradually & stealthily grow into.

If we are to believe in the accuracy of history books and I suppose we might as well, few generations have found life tolerable without some stimulant or another. Russian sports personnel seem to have taken this to the extreme. These days, we have a continuing debate about the pros and cons of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol is often the centrepiece around which many life events revolve, providing a social extension to births, christenings, marriages and funerals, not forgetting the weekends. And Jesus Christ himself stood his round by ensuring there was no shortage of wine at the Wedding Feast at Cana. By all accounts in the local newspapers at the time, it was good quality stuff too - not your average imported plonk.

Nevertheless, excess consumption is the devil in the ointment as often publicly demonstrated these days at chucking-out times in city centres and occasionally on football terraces - Euro 2016 included. It would be a shame if we are witnessing a losing battle with alcohol when it is acknowledged and a generally accepted component to enjoy responsibly at many social events.

Alcohol is romanticised and sometimes vilified at the same time. Several world-renowned composers & writers paid their regular respects at the bar of their local taverns. Drinking habits & stories of drink provide themes for many a song in the pubs and folk clubs.

I don't know what is it that convinces tone-deaf individuals, having imbibed just a little too much perhaps, that the one thing to liven-up a pub-full of mild-mannered people would be to hear the strangulation of a well-loved folk song via a Karaoke microphone. The obvious answer is drink of course, but most of us can enjoy a few pints without ever thinking we're a potential 'The Voice' candidate.

Drink sensibly as the booze adverts vainly implore. Sláinte.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Grey morning here and it dos'nt look like it is going to brighten up but it may surprize me, who knows. Raining a bit too. At least its not dringing.

Friday yet again and another week over. I don't know where the best part of June has gone and its only 4 days to the longest day and 7 days to Midsummers Day. That is Di's birthday. What a lovely day to have a birtday. I think that each year as I do her presents up and write her card.

I don't think Frank told us what the garden was like on his arrival home? Hope all the plants were ok or Ros will be back down the shops for more to replace them.

Up and running well this morning! Have just got to add 'catch up' to my repertoire, and then I'm completely setup! Books, photos, (and games most of which I shall delete, ) all automatically transferred from my my old kindle, which saved hours of faffing about. As you say Ann, it's the setting up of a new tablet, computer or whatever that fills people with dread, to the point that you just can't face it!! Getting onto WiF was the only real troublei that OH as at first it refused to recognise the BT pass word, but we got there in the end and after that it really was pretty plain sailing!
Sun trying to come out here and OH is making coffee!! Can't stop thinking about that MP, just so shocking!