General Chat

Mel,you missed my post just before yours :-D...No we didn't have any deserts yesterday.The men just had coffee and me nothing. The service was impeccable and only once were we asked if everything was ok.I hate it when they keep coming to the table to ask the same question.

Well ,I was off to get my veg and bits,and got in the car.But I couldn't press the clutch down as the pain in my knee was excruciating .So I had to get Chris to drive me :-S.He didn't complain so must have realised I wasn't trying to pull a fast one lol.
What a to do ! I bought a stronger Volterol Gel.The 12hour one,and slapped it on when I got home.I actually think it has helped a bit :-)

I think it might be the calm before the storm here.There is not a breath of wind .Tomorrow sounds as though it is going to be pretty bad in some places.I hope we are all safe and suffer no storm damage.

So you now fancy Whitebait Liz :-D.. I really didn't like the taste.I think I tried some years ago but they were smaller and crispier and didn't taste so fishy.But Idon't think I will try them again.

I have just made a Chicken Pie.With Filo pastry.The recipe is just Chicken,Leeks,Mushrooms and Baby Spinach,but I have added Asparagus and fresh Tarragon.So that is all ready now to just pop in the oven.

Mandy I am surprised The Range had no Eggcups. Saying that you don't seem to see Eggcups much .I only have a couple now.I used to have at least half a dozen. :-S What has happened to them all I have no idea.

Frank ,did you manage to read the Kindle? Have you made your appointment with the Opticians???.Don't forget now :-D

Young William and his Daddy have just flown to Fueoventura for a week.(I know that is totally the wrong spelling ) but I can't even think of the right name LOL. HELP?

Ann,is the 21st March any good for you for our lunch? It is a Tuesday.

Evening all,

Poured with rain here this morning ,we did manage to get some shopping done when it eased up a little , then this afternoon it dried up and now it's beginning to get a bit breezy out there , i hope we don't get it to bad tomorrow .
It was so funny last night when i let Max out or his last wee an empty large pot had blown over and laid upside down in the garden ,well Max went creeping up to it his tail between his legs as he got close the wind moved it a bit more well i've never seen him move so fast poor little boy .

I did say i bought Egg cups , it was the two i had that i said i couldn't find ,i must have thrown them out with the egg shells .

Son's throat seems a little better today ,Anne each time he's seen the nurse practitioner he's said it was tonsillitis but reading up on Quinsies it does sound like that .

Your meal sounded nice Jane , Colin loves whitebait ,i don't think i could put one in my mouth not with the eyes looking a me :-0 and they do smell really fishy and strong .
Lets hope the stronger gel will help the pain in your knee ,maybe an automatic car would be better ,i've never driven an automatic ,BIL got one when he had all his knee trouble .

Baton down the hatches everyone for the morning !!

Gill,I have just seen the weather for tomorrow!!!!.Looks like you are going to be in for a bit of a battering from Storm Doris
:-S :-S
Dinner nearly ready here .Just waiting for James now.

I thought of something the other night from an old TV advert. Plink Plink Fizz ! .Was that for Alka Seltzer ? (sp !! )

Have PM'd you Ann

Yes it was Jane.

My page on here won't scroll properly today it keeps jumping.

I did'nt get my hair washed!!!!!!!!!!! I am so cross because I had'nt remembered I was doing Lamb stew and by the time lunch was over and I had done something else it was too late to do it. Iv'e been trying to get in touch with my solicitor but he was going to ring me back and then did'nt so I had to ring again and he was then in a meeting so I spoke to his secretry.

Oh loves Whitebate and has it when he sees it on the menu if we go out to eat. I tried it and liked it. He told me not to look at it and I said I dn't like bones in fish.

Now my lettering is'nt coming out as I type but a little while afterwards. I think I will cross this page oput and start again and see if its any better.

I seem to have lost my last post! Yes Jane the 21st will be fine and I've noted the date in my filofax. Just let me know the time if you would please when it's booked. What a shame about your poor knee and I hope the stronger gel helps. It's a nuisance when you can't drive. How are you with stairs? I don't seem to remember that advert Jane.

I had a bad experience with my old washer Liz when I left it on overnight once as I often used to do. It got stuck on the heating bit of the cycle on a really hot wash all night!! It ruined some of the clothes. Now I'm like you and don't leave anything on overnight. We've never left central heating on overnight and we don't leave that on or set it to come on while we are out in the day either or any other appliance while we are out. It was seeing flames come out of the sides of a boiler we had years ago that made me switch heating off whenever we are out.

Today we noticed the bungalow opposite us has been sold so it looks like we should be getting new neighbours before long.

I had some of that curly kale today Frank as since Christmas they've started doing it where we went today. I love cabbage but am not keen on the kale and just have 2-3 sprigs of it now. It has quite a coarse texture and seems quite chewy to me. OH doesn't like it either. We had it somewhere else last year and thought the same then. You can't beat a bit of January King or Savoy! ;-) Sorry to hear you had another dreadful night!

No Gill today? I hope she hasn't gone cross eyed or got a headache from doing all that work on her tree.

It must look quite springlike in your neck of the woods Mel. We have had gorse in flower for a while but there is no sign of any Blackthorn blossom yet. It is mostly Blackthorn hedge in the field at the back so we soon notice when it flowers.

We grow curly kale Ann, it does need to be eaten when it's very young though as it tends to be tough if its left. The kale you buy in the shops tends to be tough and a bit strong, so I never buy it!
Tomorrow our car is going for a service so we shall have to be up in good time! OH has just had a shower and we're now snuggled down!

Whenever I have done curly klawe it has been what we grew and I used to take the rib out and cut the leafy bit in small slices same as I do for cabbage but leave the young ribs in. A good veg for over the winter as you just pick the young leaves and it keeps growing. We love it.

I have had another look at my family tree this evening. I have a newspaper artical for Newton St. Cyres for the death of my 2 x Gt Grandfather. I havebeen trying to look and see if I can find anything else on this as he was hit by a train and killed.

This is what I have :-

Newton St. Cyres.

A packer named John Labdon belonging to Crediton, Was killed on the railway on Saturday. He was on duty between Newton St Cyrus and Exeter, where the line is being relaid. and it was supposed that he was in the act of signalling a train
from Crediton, another train struck him in the side, broke his ribs and threw him forward several yards, when his head came into contact with one of the sleepers. Death was instantaneous. The driver of a goods train passing the place about 9.30 looked out for a signal, and finding none kept a look out, the train being driven very slowly. After going a short distance he saw in the open space between the up and down lines the body of the deceased lying apon his face near the up metals. On getting to Cowley he reported the affair to the signalman who telegraphed to Exeter and St Cyres, Mr Harris, Station Master at the latter place, went with some platelayers and took the body upon a trolly to the Railway Hotel. Newton St. Cyres. Upon the top of the forehead there was a large wound, and another at the back of the head. He had apparently been knocked forward.

I can't find any more about it anywhere and don't know when it happened only that it was Oct Nov Dec 1885. Looks like I need Ann to help me!

Morning all

What a terrible day here today, the wind is really strong and it's raining. Our conifers at the back are really swaying, hope they don't blow down and our greenhouse is swaying back and forth.

You say it was a newspaper article Mel, do you know the date of the article as that would give you a closer date. What a shock that must of been to read.

I'm almost done copying everything to my back up tree, I didn't realise how many people I'd found when Ancestry opened all their UK records. I've also been in touch with quite a few tree match's and they have opened their trees to me, So it looks as if I'm going to be busy again today. It is nice when you can sort out the loose ends. The name I'm researching now is quite a common name with so many of them, it's hard to know for sure if I'm on the right track sometimes, so I'm pleased I'm finally on a run.

Did you ring the opticians Frank, hope you don't have to wait to long for an appointment.

Sorry to hear about your knee Jane, hope it's feeling a little better today, the stronger gel sound like it's doing the trick. You meal sounded nice, not sure about the fish with the eyes looking back. You choice sounds much better.

How funny that would of been seeing poor Max jump like that Mandy, not so funny for him though. How is your son today?

Hope all goes well with the service on your car today Liz.

Isn't Ruby doing well settling in Anne, it sounds like you have the best behaved puppy ever ;-) ;-)

Well, I'd better get back to my family tree, hopefully I'll have all the copying finished in a day or two. Going to get a cuppa first.

What's the weather like for you all, hope it's better than here, it's really stormy. I'm so glad I don't need to go out in it.

Morning Gill and all,

We have a bit of sunshine in between the clouds blowing past at a hecktic rate. Yes hig winds here too.

Gill you be carefull taking things from other peoples trees. I was looking at a tree on ancestry and they had my 2 or 3 X gt gran with children born June 1866 and then another born September 1866. knowhere on any census is there this second child recorded with the family. When you look on the GRO index the mothers maiden name is completely different. Some people are just name grabbers.

I am expecting a call from the solicitor this morning so I better go and get the papers ready.

I'm sitting here trying not to cry, the screening we did last year has blown down and broken, the greenhouse has been blown six inches to the side and back, my pots plants are being blown over so we've had to move them. I'm so scared and OH has to go out now. I've never seen weather like it, hope it stops soon. I've got such a headache and feel sick.

Sorry Mel I didn't see your post. I always check everything before putting anything on my tree as I have noticed people are just collecting names. I think that's why it's taking me so long to do this part of my tree as I check all births deaths and marriages through the records, I also check the mother's maiden names too. Luckily I've already checked all the records so I'm just copying them all over to my back up tree now.

Hope it's nothing serious with the solicitor.

Morning all,

Very wet first thing but its now drying out and we've seen the sun ,the wind is now really picking up and just now there was an almighty gust !!

Oh dear Gill after all your hard work ,is the screening broken beyond repair ?
I hope your greenhouse stays intact and you don't lose any panes ,it's not worth the risk going out in this wind to try and move it back.

Hope every stays safe and doesn't have to much damage .

Thats awful Gill you must be so upset. Trouble with the screening is its not very strong and dos'nt let enough of the wind through. I suppose taking the garage down has made the garden more vunerable to the wind. Hope your pots are ok.

He's rung and he should have followed things up before now. He is now going to get in touch with her solicitors to see if the survey has been done which he should have done in the first place and not have left it a year.

I have washing on the line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, Mandy, up to now it's not broken beyond repair but it's never going to look as good again. I'm so nervous the wind is so strong it's moved the front of the greenhouse back over a couple of inches, but with it twisting around the back corner is now hanging over the patio area a couple of inches off the ground. In a way I'm glad we didn't screw it to the ground as I'm sure the glass would of broken by now under the pressure, this way it's moving with the wind and can always be straightened back again in the spring. I've just heard a bang, don't know what it is though. It's really scary. At least it's only the garden and not the bungalow that's getting damaged. There's lots of banging everywhere, not knowing what it is isn't a nice feeling. I hope the neighbours gardens are okay.

Sandra and I are making a large shepherds pie at the moment for dinner tonight and for tomorrow too just incase the electric goes off. It'll be easier to use a torch to heat it up and pop on the plates later. Luckily I have a gas cooker. I don't fancy trying to cook by torch light if the electric does go off. I don't use candles as I was in a house fire when I was 11 or 12....not a nice experience and one I never want to experience again. Better to be safe than sorry and use a torch instead.

Morning All

Oh Gill,it must be soul destroying see your hard work get blown about and broken.I can imagine how scary it must be for you hearing all the bangs . Hopefully it is just bins ,pots and garden stuff and not damage to properties . It is just a sit tight and wait now until it all blows over.The main thing is that you and Sandra are safe indoors. Has OH had to go to work?

It is very gusty here.My big pot with an Olive tree went over just now.I think the wind is actually getting stronger and there is a bit of rain too now.
I am keeping Thomas in,not that he would like to be out in this. He has a right face on him lol.
Chris sensibly decided not to drive to Cambridge as he had planned to do ,so he is in the Summerhouse painting.
I have hoovering to do so will get on with that now just in case power should go off.You never know with winds like this.

Morning all, Evening Kim,

Yes "DORIS" is letting us know she's around. I haven't been out, but I think everything is STANDING :-) :-) :-) I'm not letting Ros out in the garden today. She can do some Jewellery or sewing instead.

Was still awake at 3.00 am. after two attempts of sitting in the lounge, I think I need to get to see the Dr. to see if he can help. it seems my brain just comes to life when I lie down. The memories just flood into my brain from way back when.

Still haven't contacted the optician, will try to do it today !!!

Poor Ros, with this water infection she has to measure everything she drinks and passes for the next THREE WEEKS night and day. I can see she will be well PEED off by the end of it LOL LOL.

All the bedding is in the wash, I think she is hoping to put it on the line, but I have my doubts, I think she will have a job to peg it down enough. There is also rain in the wind. !!!!

Mel, How strange about your Relative being killed on the railway. My Grandfather was killed walking along on a railway in CANADA. He was a bit "MUTTON JEFF" and didn't hear the train.

What have you done to your knee Jane, not fallen over again have you ??? I hope the Gel helps with the pain. I thought about using it, but a waste of time on a knee replacement ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

Gill you have done so well with your tree. You are getting a real expert, like Mel and Anne <3 <3 <3

Mandy poor little MAX, I bet he was scared stiff when that happened. You wonder what must go through the poor little brains.

At the moment we have SUNSHINE and BLUE SKY'S. How long for I wonder ???
I think I will stick to my original cabbage and sprouts.

I think we are going to need a new shed. The old one was put up by Harvey and Conrad as a house moving present that's 20 years ago. So it's lasted pretty well. Now the sides are starting to ROT and the roof leaking. It has been recovered twice in the passed.
Ros has decided to put the washing on the airer in the conservatory, it gets the sun and should dry during the day.

I'm off for my shower and shave. I might take Ros out early evening for a bite to eat. It will save me cooking. Last night we ended up with Spag. Bol. which was very nice.

I don't blame Ros for not putting her washing out. You are very lucky having blue skies and sun. It's raining and cloudy and of course the very very strong wind. It seemed to calm down for half an hour and now it's picked up again.......wonder if the calm was the eye of the storm, hope it was then I know we only have a few more hours to go.

Yes, Jane OH is in work but should be back around 6pm tonight, he told me to ring him if anything happens and he'll come straight home. I'm not going to bother him unless something big happens to the bungalow and it's dangerous for Sandra and I. Like you said we'll just have the weather the storm until it passes. Damage in the garden can be fixed when the weather improves. At least the screening hasn't got any worse. It's the framework at the top that came down, the screening is still attached to it and has dropped in front of the fence, the banging I think is the wood knocking against the fence, so now I know what it is I'm a bit calmer.
Cooking always helps me to calm down, so making the shepherds pie is helping. My headache is easing a bit now too.
Good idea to keep Thomas in and for Chris to stay put too. I hope you all don't get it as bad as us, it's very frightening.

Going to check on the meal now and find some batteries for the torches, just in case.

We too have had very high winds, but everything so far is intact! Our greenhouse is sheltered by a tall hedge and the garage, so it is ok; Poor Cas nearly got blown away earlier!! but at the moment it isn't too bad, and the sun is shining! Son was coming tonight but I rang earlier to put him off. I'd rather he went straight home from work instead of coming here, there's always next week!
OH is re-jigging our sky package! Most of it we never ever watch, so it seems pretty pointless paying for things we don't want! We'll see!
Hope you're feeling better Gill. I think this storm will start to ease soon, thank goodness!!

Poor Cas Liz, is she okay, it must of been a shock for her? I've just had to pick up yet another big pot and noticed that the screening on the other side has blown backwards and is now covering some of next doors kitchen window, so that'll be another job to sort out. The problem is the neighbour can be a bit funny and I don't mean funny ha ha. He wasn't happy when we put the screening up so I'm half expecting him to come round and have a word. He can have as many words as he wants today, there is no way it's going to be fixed until the weather improves. He can always push it back if it bothers him that much anyway.

That's a good idea to get rid of the channels you don't watch. I agree Liz, there's no point in paying for it if you don't watch it. Hope you get a good deal on a new package. Pleased to hear there's no damage in your garden, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Good idea to tell your son to go straight home from work, you'd never forgive yourself if anything happened to him.

The sun is out here now, I just wish the wind would go away before it causes anymore damage. The greenhouse isn't doing a Wizard of OZ act anymore, so that's good :-) :-)