General Chat

As we all know we are all living longer these days so you never know who will still be around in 2062 LOL. On the TV the other night there was a lovley eldery man of 101 who had just had a hip replacement and was up and walking again :-D

So down your shorts this afternoon then Frank :-D.I thought you might be as it is really very warm.After the rain this morning it turned ino a lovely day.

Well i got to the hairdressers for 11am only to find out it was supposed to be 12 ! :-S :-S..It was my fault .So I went off and got the bits of food shopping I needed and then headed back.Finally I have my hair cut :-D :-D :-D

Sandra sounds as though she has been very helpful today Gill.If you were nearer I would happily employ her to help me with a bit of dusting and hoovering :-D

Frank how will you get rid of your old mattress?Luckily we had a skip when our new mattress arrived.They weigh a ton don't they.I would see if you can get some help shifting your old one.You really don't want to do yourself any damage..not before you go in for your new knee.You need to be as healthy as possible then.

Mel I remember my first two wheeler bike.It was red and yellow and had the stabilisers on.I was probably about 5 or 6. I remember too the day Dad took the stabilisers off.We went along the road with Dad holding on to the back of my saddle.I was so scared I would fall off and kept shouting to him to keep holding on. He said he was and kept at the back of the bike,but I was in fact riding all by myself :-D :-D :-D.There was no stopping me then :-D

Thomas has the hump.I gave him his few minutes in the sun this afternoon .But now he is just wanting out at any opportunity.He hides and then when he sees one of us go to the back door or Patio door he tried to make a run for it. I say run..he can't quite do that ,it's more like a fast walk with a bit of a wiggle with his dodgy leg lol
His stitches come out on Wednesday morning,so another visit to the V E T :-S

Lamb Kleftico tonight with Lemon and Garlic and Thyme Potatoes.I wish I could waft the lovely smell to you all.It smells goooood :-D

I might actually watch the England Match tonight FRANK. :-D.I will be shouting as loud as you rooting for them.

We've got so many strawberries that we've got the jam book out with a view to making a few pots! It's lovely sun here but windy. Mel why do you have to the wash your hair when your OH is out?!! :-S. I always do mine when I have a shower and I don't think OH even notices!,! but then he doesn't notice much!!!Cas has had a very busy afternoon. First she lost her ball in some very long grass in the field behind us and spent about 10 minutes racing round trying to find it which she finely did looking very triumphant! Then about an hour ago she had another race around in our field, and she's now crashed out!!

well is a nice June evening here now. We have just finished dinner and I did all the washing up and drying up. Ros has been busy in the garden this afternoon so it's the least I can do. I have got a Large Chicken out for tomorrow, as a roast, then curry chicken on Wednesday.

Ros is at Linus tomorrow (BABY COVERS) She has about 20 to take, and will bring loads back to do between now and next moth. I think the two weeks away, has given her a new lease of life. She hasn't stopped since she got home ;-) ;-) ;-) <3 <3 <3 Bless her.

Thursday is Hospital day for Carolyn, so Ros is back into her routine. Taking her and sitting around while the blood tests are sorted, and of course it will be choir pratice Thursday evening.

I think I will walk to the pub tonight to see the match with the lads. I can ring Ros to pick me up later, if Tony doesen't come in later. He goes to a different pub first as the beer is a few pence cheaper.

Ros has picked a few strawberry's from the pots, but eats them almost at once.There is no way we would have enough to make Jam. !!!

Oh Jane, what a caper you have had with your hair appointment! lol. It's my hair appointment in the morning so I hope I have got mine right. I got their email last week but they haven't texted me this time! Poor old Thomas must feel like he is 'tagged' and in prison......no wonder he is itching to get out. I bet he doesn't find prison food as tasty as what he gets himself either. :-)

That's very helpful of Sandra Gill. She is a big help in lots of ways isn't she. I hope Michelle's things show up. It would be a shame if they were taken to the charity shop by mistake, but it's so easily done. I remember when our garden was like a building site a few years ago.......I must see if I can dig out a few photos to send to you!

Liz, you must have a bumper crop of strawberries!! There is nothing like home made strawberry jam though......mmmm!! I used to freeze the surplus years ago, but they tasted like tinned ones when they were defrosted.......not quite as nice.

Frank I hope your back is soon better. I find it so annoying that we don't bounce back like we used to when we were younger. I'm not surprised you had your shorts on. It's been really muggy here.

Yesterday the gardens at Hoby were very nice. It is a very old village with nice buildings and most of the gardens (8) were similar and cottagey with lots of perennials. At one place we walked through what seemed like an old skittle alley that was full of antiques like an antiques dealer's place and that's what the chap was!! The old rectory was most impressive and we had a long chat with the owner who was a most pleasant chap, probably aged about 80! He told us he bought the place about 36 years ago and couldn't live in it for a year till it was re-roofed and rewired etc as the church had 'let it go' and not kept up with maintenance. He said in the evenings he strolled down to the bottom of the garden with his G&T where the ha ha wall was and would sit and watch the sunset over the Wreake valley where the view is wonderful. We had a cream tea at the old Glebe house which dates from the 1700s and has a lovely walled garden like Mel.

Evening All

No football here this evening but next door have mixed loyalties as Martina is Slovakian and Mark, English. Luke their son is a keen footballer so I'm not sure which side he will be on.

Liz you are lucky having so many strawberries I have been buying them from Sainsbury not quite the same as home grown but still nice with fresh cream.

Love the picture of all those puddings Jane I can understand Hannah wanting to try them all, also the one of Thomas enjoying the great outdoors its a shame he can't go out on his own for a while yet. Hannah is a very clever girl, she has a good social life as well doesn't she.

Frank I wish I had some of Ros's energy she seems to be busy all the time plus spending time with her neighbour and the hospital trips she makes with her.

Sandra is a great help to you Gill by doing some housework I expect she enjoys doing it bless her. Lets hope Michelle's belongings turn up and you can all stop searching for them.

Hospital Visitors.

One of the corporal works of mercy, the Church teaches, is to visit the sick. But I have my doubts. After a short visit to our local hospital some years ago, I'm more convinced than ever that there should be a protocol to observe when visiting someone in their sick bed.

So I'm in hospital because of an illness. While there, I really don't want to hear of others who are also sick & I certainly never need to know of anyone who has just died especially if they were suffering from something even distantly related to my incapacity. I have an illness all of my own to worry about.

Talk to me about things that might actually take my mind off my problem for a few minutes – sport (other than Ireland’s dismal Euro 2016 display the other day), music, gossip or whatever - but not the EU Referendum please; and anything related to Omar Mateen or Thomas Mair is a definite ‘No no!’.

Bear in mind that there is no consolation for me in the realisation that things could be worse and that down the corridor there are others who are worse off than I am. Deploying that sort of logic is like encouraging a young child to eat broccoli because there are starving children somewhere in darkest Africa.

And on the subject of food – unless I'm in a very private and posh hospital which is highly unlikely – there is every chance that the food I'm given is of the boarding school variety; so a big Cornish Pasty (hot or cold) or snack box would be as welcome to me as stolen cheese & wine to a celebrity chef.

Speaking of drink, unless specifically requested, do not bring me Lucozade. A glucose drink is usually very refreshing when the container is newly opened and the contents ice chilled, but it tends to lose its lustre when it becomes tepid in the warm hospital ward and flat a Shrove Tuesday pancake.

Skip on grapes and fruit – it shows a shocking lack of imagination when you could be bringing me a Kindle or a quality newspaper. I would even settle for a get-well card if you want to go down that route.

Most of all, do not outstay your welcome; thirty minutes are more than adequate. And if other visitors come in while you’re there, then withdraw gracefully to allow them to chat a while. It's just not possible for everyone to sit on the side of my hospital bed especially while I'm still in it. The saline drip cannot be unplugged to make more room.

I know I’m extremely fortunate that the few times I’ve ever spent a night in hospital in my life, as far as I know, have been for my own birth and one other minor ailment not worth going on about here so early in the morning.

But I do know that if I was in hospital again, nothing would make me more ill than having to divulge the personal details of what caused me to be there in the first place. Yep - I know you'd like to know the full gory story, but not from me! Worst of all is when visitors come out in empathy, simulating chest pains or a touch of the Ebola virus as though this gives them a greater understanding of my condition.

I don’t need to know about their aches and pains any more than I want them to know about mine. After all, one presumes that the purpose of the visit is to cheer me up – not make me long for a long spell in solitary confinement or isolation just so I can have a little of peace and quiet away from the likes of you lot.

Away with ye now!

Good Morning Dermot, and all. Evening Kim.

"Oh what a beautifull morning" doors and windows open with me in my shorts, and sunshine and clear sky's.

Ros has gone to Linus so I am HOME ALONE. I might get out the new lounger she bought my and lay out in the sun for a while.

I just got out of thr shower and the bruise on my right hip has GROWN and has some lovely colours ;-) ;-) ;-) but the soreness has almost gone.

I can't believe how everything in the garden has grown so much in two weeks. I know we have had a lot of rain but the borders are like a jungle.

The football was a dissaster last . , I can't see that England will proceed much further in the Competion. It was surgested that a few of us should put on our boots and go and help them out :-D :-D :-D Mind you the poor little boys had played THREE GAMES IN NINE DAYS. So had the other teams SO WHAT !!! They are playing for the pride of their Country, but by their performance they were like a load of old hasbeens.

I hope you all have this lovely weather, and you can get in your gardens and enjoy it.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Not like that here Frank.

Well I wrote that about 50 mins ago and it has brightened up a bit since then.

I have been on the phone to my friend. Hwer hubby comes out of hospital this afternoon and he recons he is going into work tomorrow to do the wages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morning All,

Mel, fancy your neighbour wanting to go in to do the wages!!!! He needs to give that job to someone else just now. Mind you it s just like a man. I remember when OH had pneumonia and I took him to hospital, he insisted on standing outside before we went in to phone work to sort some things out!!!

Dermot, although they aren't allowed in hospitals around here now, the thing I haven't wanted when in hospital is flowers. I do like them, but I didn't like watching them die!!!

Glorious sun here and my hair is all shorn and cool now which is nice. I had a bit of a fright on the way back from the hairdresser's. I couldn't see properly and my outer vision was blurry with a halo and bits missing like the start of car number plates or road names. I kept rubbing my eyes and blowing up the inside of my glasses but it didn't change. It seems a lot better now and I think it must have been a bit of hair in my eye or on my glasses that was too small to see. I did wonder whether I'd manage to finish driving home at one point. Better go and prepare salad for lunch before OH gets back now. Homegrown lettuce and cucumber methinks!

Clouded over here now THANKS MEL, for sending it up here ;-) ;-) ;-)

Well chicken stuffed and potato's scaped, all the veg sitting in the saucepans, so nothing for Frankie Boy to do now, but read my book.

When I was in hospital for 5 weeks after my stroke. Ros asked if I would be allowed a small bottle of Red wine. The nurse said she didn't think it would do any harm. All my visitors bought red wine instead of grapes and bananas. To say the least I slept well most nights !!!

Surely he isn't serious about going into work Mel, his wife should put her foot down and say NO WAY !!!!

Ann, When Ros was in Oxford having a back operation. Harvey and Julia took a big bunch of fresh flowers. They were told they couldn't be left, so they had to take them home.

I can understand how you felt about that hair. It could have been caught on your eyebrow or eyelash. It takes very little to distort your vision.

We haven't bothered with Cues this year I don't eat them and Ros only has a couple of slices. I bet we gave 10 away last year. She has put in extra tomato plants, where the cues would have been.

Off for a sandwich and a coffee.

What are you having with your home grown lettuce and cue Ann?

I am off out shopping soon. Must try and find some lunch for oh first as he has eaten the scotch eggs I usual have for him on a Tuesday.

The clouds are quite thick now and the breeze is getting up. So no more sun today.

I had tomatoes, cress, spring onions, french radish, bacon and leek quiche, a babybel light cheese, boiled egg, half a slice of ham and a crispy tiger roll with light herby cream cheese on it Mel! It was more than I planned to have but I was really hungry today. I've got strawberries and cherries for later when OH has his salad. His will have pickles on as well. He wasn't hungry when he got home as they'd laid a buffet on.

There's no point growing what you won't eat is there Frank. I'm still puzzling what to do with these extra 3 tomato plants I got. I think I might risk putting them outside, by the fence where it gets lots of sun. Our veggies haven't had a good start this year. The slugs have had some of the runners, the french beans appear to be climbing and there also appears to be a melon/squash/courgette growing amongst them? How's the new lounger.......nice and comfy??

Afternoon all

Nice and sunny here and quite hot when you get out of the strong breeze ,we have just walked Max so he is konked out on the floor ,he likes laying on the tiles in the conservatory i think they must be nice and cool to lay on and he gets the breeze as it comes in the door.

Poor Thomas missing all this nice weather ,could you put his crate outside Jane so he could get some air ?

That was a nice salad you had Ann just my kind of thing but i would have to miss the boiled egg out .
We have Shepherds pie tonight with lots of veg .

Hubby has his pre op appointment early tomorrow it said it could take up to three hours so i shall take my book so i can have a read while hubby is being sorted out .

I had a reel to reel recorder too in fact i think it is still in the loft !! I don't think it works now so it really shouuld be dumped , but i havent the heart to put it out as i know on the tape i would hear my mum and dad voice and also my nanny , it would seem so strange hearing thier voices and i know it would really upset me .

I bet you have been under the tree laying in the shade on your new lounger chair Frank ,is it nice and comfy ? I bet you nodded off :-D

Afternoon All
It is late in the day for me.But Fitz came up for lunch and then after he went I took Thomas out in the garden on the harness but with the old extending dog lead attached.It gives him a little bit more freedom and i can sit or sand a fair way off from him so he feels a bit more relaxed.Mandy I won't use the crate again.He just sleeps on his little bed and mooches around the lounge or out to his tray and food bowls.He hasn't shown any interest in trying to jump on the furniture.So that makes me feel happier to not have to use the crate.I will check tomorrow with the vet when he has his stitches out just to make sure I am not doing anything I shouldn't be doing.He has had a good hour of fresh air today ,most of it just lying in the warm sun.

Ann I hope your eye is ok now.What you described was a bit like when I had my first weird episode .That sounded a very nice lunch you had.It is so good to be able to eat your own home grown things. Our mini cucumbers have been lovely.The next lot are ready now but long ones.They are massive.

I hope that your friends OH has some sense Mel and doesn't go into work to do the wages.He will no doubt have been advised to rest a while.MEN !! They think everything will go to pot if they are not there doing the job.

Three hours is long time for a pre op check Mandy.Take a nice cool drink with you as well as your book.Looks like another humid day tomorrow.We have had plenty of sun today but it is now really thick cloud and getting slightly dark.Last night was so light here ,even when I went to bed about 10.30.

Frank I thought the England match was so boring.Then when it ended in nil-nil I was then waiting for the Penalty Shoot Outs (or what ever they are called).But James informed me they don't do that in these matches.

Dermot.What you say makes so much sense.Visitors in hosptial can be a bit too much for some folk.Especially if they overstay their welcome and sit yabbering on by the side of the bed whan all the patient want to do is to have a sleep.
As for hospital food.These days I think most relatives/friends take in home cooked grub .Others have to stay and feed their loved ones ,just to make sure that they have actually eaten and won't go hungry .We hear too often of food trays being left for patients who are unable to feed themselves and there are no staff free to feed them.
I experienced this problem when my Mum was in Hospital and my Sister and I had to help feed 3 elderly ladies .If we hadn't done that then their trays would have been taken away with all the food still on them :-S :-S

No cooking for me tonight :-D..Chris has eaten out ,James has a curry and rice that just needs popping in the oven and I bought a cooked chicken this morning so I will have that with some salad. :-D

Well it did'nt turn out too bad today and was really hot in Bideford and sunny. clouded over as I got nearer home as usual but its still warm and then the sun came out for a bit.

Oh has been up the top outside the wall cutting some branches off the buig conifer one side of our road down to the house. I brought him down in my car when I got home and we had a cupps and a couple of doughnuts and he went back up there.

Ann your salad sounded lovely and as Mandy said so nice to have something in it home grown. It always has more taste. My toms are outside and doing well although nothing on them yet. My cues did'nt come up as they were old seed but I gave them a chance as I did with some out of date table dainty marrows and one came up!! My lettuce are doing well in a big pot on the decking and they are salad bowl lettuce which I like, red and green. My courgette is still in a three inch pot but I must put it in the grow bag I have nearly filled for it but I want it on the decking as the bantams like courgettes and I think they will eat them when they get fruit on them.

Did'nt see anything interesting on my trip out to tell you about. I must ring Gerry and see how Graham is.

I also have to do up Di's birthday presents as thats on the 24th. Hey ho always something to keep me busy.

Evening All,

Didn't get the lounger out today, due to the change of weather. Will see how it develops tomorrow. The forecast isn't that good, but Thursday should be better. Then heavy showers for Friday and Saturday.

I only took the top off the back lawn Sunday, so It will need another cut on a lower setting. That might be a Thursday Job.

All this healthy eating !!! Ros enjoys a nice salad, where as I are not bothered, the same with fruit. She's always tucking into a bowl of strawberry's and askes me if I want any. The answer is always NO.

Poor old Thomas. At least with a lead he can move about without to much restraint.

Martine call in on her way home from work this afternoon. She works a few miles down the road from us now. Ros was so pleased to see her, and gave her a small present that she bought back from Spain.

Not going out to see the football tonight. Might watch a bit in the conservatory.

I've decided to nip to the opticians in the morning to get my eyes looked at there first. It's occurred to me that it can't have been hair in my eye as it happened with both of them. There are strokes in my family and I have read that hairdresser wash basins can cause problems and I'd just been there. OH said the same as you Jane and that it might also be a migraine effect,and although mine in the past were just a pounding headache, things can change as we get older.

Yes, a summer salad is nice and all the better with some home grown ingredients. :-) Some new potatoes with melted butter on with it would have been a naughty but nice addition too. OH has polished his off and is watching the footie on the telly now. I've recorded the Alan Davies Dog Rescue prog to watch later. It's been fantastic up to now and amazing how rescue dogs have been trained to help people with disabilities and been given new homes.

Best wishes to your OH with his pre op assessment tomorrow Mandy. Yes take a good book with you! I expect you will be sitting waiting for blood tests etc. I know what you mean about hanging on to your old tape recorder. I remember trying to think what I had recorded on mine and that it would be lost once it had gone! I must have had recordings of the family on mine, including my first OH now I come to think of it. There must have been lots of TOTP too. :-)

Ann when I read your post my first thoughts were a migraine as that happens to me sometimes. I too thought I was going to get one the other day and a lot of sunshine in your eyes can also cause them. Best to get your eyes tested though as they can look into the back of your eyes now.

Saying night night now so see you all in the morning.

That overpaid, under-performing footballer known as Mario Balotelli has one redeeming grace in that he has a strict policy of never celebrating wildly when he scores goals – or at least he had when he used to score them. His explanation is that you wouldn’t expect a postman or woman to celebrate delivering letters, because that’s just called doing their job.

It’s taken for granted that Post Office employees will deliver down to the last letter and they do so in the worst of weather without the need for congratulations or fanfare when their sack or van is empty.

They should put such individuals in charge of a certain low-cost Airline, because one of the most annoying aspects of flying with them over the years is that bugle tape they always unleash on landing – were they not actually expecting to make it safely and on time to the end of the flight?

There are some things we take for granted – and other tasks we simply expect completed because we pay people to carry them out. So why then does the Government feel the need to inflict one or more of its Cabinet members onto the platform for every new job announcement?

Why does a Minister have to turn up for the photo call – especially when he’s the Minister for ‘Jobs’ whose primary, if not only, role is to help create these opportunities in the first place?

Stranger still is why then do so many of these jobs never actually materialise – or is this a sleight of hand that allows them to re-announce the same jobs two years later and get their smug mugs on the telly all over again? New jobs are good news at any time, but even more so when so many victims of the economic madness remain idle.

We voted for this Government to create jobs – and if they’re doing it, it’s no more than the rest of us putting in an honest day’s work in our own sphere.

PS: 11th Commandment: 'Thou shalt not be a Europhobic voter tomorrow‘.