General Chat

Morning all,

Not nice here this morning so those of you who are seeing sunshine are lucky. We have grey sky today. It rained all day yesterday so AnnG is lucky with her weather and not too far away from us.

Gill I meant to say did Sandra like the little colouring book with her name on the front? That was a lst minuet find and I could'nt resist it. I know you saind she like her colouring.

Got up late again after working on Jane doll yesterday. The doll is all made but I may have to wait till the St Brigids cross dries out a bit as they some times get loose and need tightening up before the final tying of the ends.

We posted at the same time Annx. Yes our conservatory is the store for all Ros's pastimes, Jewellery making, needlework, seed collections etc. I don't even bother mentioning it. Like you we don't have a spare room. We have been considering having a new Conservatory built, but the price quoted is well in excess of £7,000.00 and I don't see that as an essential thing, that we need. PLUS I haven't got that sort of money.

Sorry about your bad weather Mel, lets hope it improves, they do say it's getting colder this week with a chance of ground frosts. I will have to cover the small plants in the veg patch. I have some fleece somewhere.

At the moment the sun is out and a slight breeze blowing the sheets on the line. They will smell delightful when they are bought in. I just love the smell, of fresh dried washing.

Just thought of a childhood memory, When Mum was folding the sheets, We would hold one end and her the other. We would sing."Turn the Bed, Turn the bed right over" and turn the sheet over above our heads. Where on earth did that come from. ??

Frank when I helped mum fold the sheets she would tel me to pull on one side and then the other to staraighten them out once they were folded in four. You brought that memory back to me. I too love the smell of washing dried in a cold breeze. So fresh...

I have had one broken egg this morning and one whole one. Still not enough to sell to Emm.

Car tax is the next thing to do after lunch.

I keep meaning to say that I hope Vera feels better today too. Have a few zzzz's during the day to catch up.

Cleaned the big girls out. Now I am going to have a cuppa and then get in the shower.

Dinner ready to go on a bit later.

We have been busy, well Ros really, she has been in the garden again all afternoon. Planted more things in the front garden, where she has taken out things that have gone over. I on the other hand, Emptied the rubbish bin in the kitchen, to the Black Bin. Emptied the food caddy into the one that is collected tomorrow, as well as the paper and plastic bag into the blue bin. Had a good clear out in the fridge of Ros's Salad stuff. I wish she would either not buy so much, or eat what she buys. Both trays needed to be washed where things had leaked or gone over.

She had TWENTY LILLY BULBS arrive this morning, so needs to get some John Innis No 2 for planting into Pots. I have told her to treat herself to some nice pots tomorrow, when out with Carolyn, BUT NOT TO GO OVER THE TOP. on price. !!!

I got all the washing in from the line, and buried my face into the Basket, It smelt devine. ;-) ;-) ;-) All folded up ready for ironing. Some of the things are a little to damp for ironing, so they are on the dryer, in the conservatory. I might even get some ironing done for her while she is out tomorrow.

She has the foot lady coming at 10.00 am So she will be walking on air afterwards. I;m wondering to ask her to do roe nails, as I am finding it difficult to get down to them.

It's stayed dry today, even though a bit cloudy. Has it improved for you today Mel. ?? A pity about the eggs again. You will have to see if you can get to the eggs, before they have a go at them. lol lol. Make a hole in the bottom of the nest box, where the eggs can roll into, that will surprise them ;-) ;-) ;-)

Often I would turn the handle on the mangle, and mum would feed the folded sheets through the rollers, that would save the ironing. With 4 beds to do each week, it kept her busy. Monday was WASH DAY. She would have the copper on by 6.00 am with the whites going in for a boil. Then they would go in a sink of cold water with the little "BLUE DOLLY BAG" to keep them looking white. Then through the mangle, and out on the line. Dad being a navy man, fitted an extremely long post, at each end of the garden,the line was at the top through pulleys, (double at each end) You would pull on one rope, and then the other, which would take the washing HIGH UP in the sky. Well it seemed that high as a child. <3 <3 <3 Only once can I remember coming home from school and finding mum and the neighbour, collecting the washing from the garden, when the LINE BROKE. All had to be washed again. Here I go again about washing and childhood memories. SORRY. !!!

Still bunged up, spoke to Pam next door this afternoon, she has had a cold and cough for SIX WEEKS. So I shouldn't complain. YET.

The book I am reading "THE WOLF AT THE DOOR" is all about the Provisional IRA the Russian KGB and the british MI 6 all spies, getting up to all sorts of things, very interesting, and difficult to put down. The VERA LYNN book, I have passed to Pam, to read. She's the same age as me, so remembers Vera and her songs, like I do.

I have gone on long enough this afternoon, so I will be off. I'm doing a VERA lol lol. I hope she feels better, and that you are all well. xxxx

Afternoon All
Mel ,thank you for making me one of your dolls :-D. I am looking forward to it arriving :-D.I hope I havent put you to too much bother.

Vera,are you feeling better now. I wonder does having hayfever make you feel really ill? Hannah used to suffer really badly with it when she was at school and often got sent home as she couldnt do her work .Her eyes would be so puffy and red she could barely see.She does seem to have grown out if it a lot now.

Ann,I bet you thought something was kicking off again when you heard that bang !!!
I wonder what caused the explosion at the recycling centre.As yousaid it will be shut now so good job you got rid of your rubish when you did.

AnnG I would be too worried about eating anything outside with all those pesky Seagulls about.They arent exactly the size of Sparrows are they :-0 Glad you are having an enjoyable time :-D. Honeycomb and Salted Caramel Ice cream sounds delish but possibly a little sickly for me. I would love the Salted Caramel but not sure about the Honeycomb.

Frank, you do sound like you have suffered with this nasty cold.Is Ros ok?
I havent heard that saying when folding sheets.I do fold mine like that though .I call Chris to come and grab the 2 corners on the other end and say 'PULL'. FOLD, PULL "
I remember doing the same with Mum and quite enjoyed helping with the folding.One of us always dropped one end when pulling tight :-D
Fancy getting a letter saying you had missed your eye appointment . Hope you didnt leave a really rude message ;-) It must have been some admin mishap.

I have had all the towels out on the line today but the bottoms are still a bit damp. We haven't had any sun at all today. It hasnt been to warm either so I have had long sleeves on .Even the heating has been tweaked up a bit higher.

Gill, it must be bliss with having no workers next door.Do you know when the drive will be sealed?
I did see the chap in the Big Ben outfit getting stuck :-D. It was so funny.He was trying to break some kind of record I think .I wonder if those few lost seconds when he was stuck made a difference. I really admire anyone running the Marathon.I dont mean the Elite runners but all the Joe Blogs running for their various chosen charities.I could never do it . Not even walking it !!!I

No Morning sickness Frank.....you must have missed the posts when we were discussing that :-D. Going to check these towels again and then watch 4 in a Bed.

Evening all. Yes Frank it is the Jurassic coast love the whole area.

Today we had light cloud and some weak sun until five o’clock when the sky cleared and the sun came out. There is a cut in the wind though.

We spent most of the day in West Bay of Broad Burch fame, one of our favourite small places. It is in a bit of a muddle at the moment as they are really doing a lot to build up the shore defences against the storms and flooding but we were still able to do our favourite walks and take photos. Of course as in other places in the area the cliff walks are fenced off because of the big rock falls they have had recently.

We had very nice fish and chips, fresh Haddock, for lunch in a local pub, The George Hotel.

When we got back to the cottage we filled a flask and too, it down to the bay to sit in the car for an hour looking at the sea. Then had a walk along the beach before coming back to the cottage at 5pm.

Folding sheets helping Mum feed a mangle, pulling the line up on a pulley contraption and Monday wash day, all part of my childhood. We had a timeshare in the Lake District near Newby bridge, it was built round an old mill and the wall still showed patches of dolly blue die because that is what was manufactured there at one time.

Actually when first married We had a line on pulleys and one rented apartment we had we had a line on pulleys fed out of the kitchen window on the first floor. I used to dread a high wind and the washing disappearing over the rooftops.
Jane when eating outside it is best to sit with your back to something, a wall or fence as the seagulls can’t then swoop in from behind. We actually sat on a seat, kept the food covered and didn’t wave it around. Honeycombs ice ream is not over sweet it has small pieces of honeycombe in vanilla ice cream.

Evening all,

We've seen the sun today it's been quite nice out ,i have been sweeping up the blossom from round the back door and doing a bit of weeding ,my Lily of the Valley are doing really well this year i'm very tempted t pick a few but they never last very long in a little vase so i think i'll leave them in the garden .
Colin has been out cutting some wood ,when he got out of bed this morning he got up to quickly and went a bit dizzy he nearly went down but he managed to land on the bedside cabinet ,he sat on the bedside light and squashed the shade ,luckily he didn't break the bulb ,now he has a bruised backside .

I had to go into the shop where we bought the cooker from this morning ,i don't think the oven is working properly ,every thing seems to take a lot longer to cook ,i know every oven is different but this one is just not right ,so long and short of it they are taking this one away and bringing me a new one on wednesday .

Vera i hope you had a better night and your feeling a bit more with it today .

Ann i bet you thought the bang was some thing out side in the close after all the goings on lately ,that was good OH got rid of all the rubbish though if they are going to be closed while they sort things out there .
I'm a devil when sorting magazines i tend to cut out patterns and recipes to keep and store them away and then they never get used .

You must feel a little better today if you've done all those jobs Frank ,yes there's nothing better than linen thats had a nice blow and smells really fresh and yes i pull the sheets into shape too .

Yes i saw Big Ben trying to get over the finishing line too Gill :-D
It sounds as if Sandra had a great day finishing off with her popcorn and Chocolate .
Oh Mel are those naughty girls still breaking the eggs ,you'll have to give them a talking too :-D

Oh AnnG nothing better than F&C by the sea ,we haven't been down to Wells lately ,we like to sit on the wall eating ours and watching the fishing boats come in when it's high tide .

Ooh Mandy that must have been a bit worrying with OH having that dizzy spell .Do you think he might have got up a bit quick and his BP dropped. At least it was just a bruised bum and a squashed lampshade.
You have not had much luck with your cooker. The falling off door and now not cooking properly. Fingers crossed the one you get on Wednesday will be fine.

Chris went on one of his walks this morning and was looking at the trees. Oak tree in particular. He said we might be in for a dry summer and told me this saying

Oak before Ash we are in for a splash
Ash before Oak we are in for a soak..... I have never heard this one before.
It is to do with what leaves appear first and it looks like it is the Oak .

I can't believe it is 7.30 and still daylight. Guess who is now wanting to go out :-S :-S

Oh poor Colin Mandy! I hope he won't be too bruised. I go like that sometimes from standing up too quickly. I hope the lampshade wasn't one of a matching pair! What a nuisance with your cooker, but it's good they are changing it without a quibble.

AnnG you are making me want our Cornish break to come quickly! We get our newspapers and sit in the car on the cliffs on the north coast and look out to sea. It's lovely and relaxing isn't it. I would enjoy your icecream too. Seaside F&C can't be beat either. Seagulls are a pest these days when you have food, but I can't remember them being as bad years ago.

Mel what a shame an egg was broken again. I wonder who the culprit is?

Frank, after I cancelled my NHS appointment at the hospital and the acknowledged it, I still got a reminder for it a few days before it was due.........somebody not doing their job! Ros certainly gets plenty of plants in doesn't she, but it will look a picture in the summer so worth the cost and effort she puts in. More flowers means less room for weeds. ;-)

That saying is a new one on me too Jane!

Evening all

Sorry to hear you have been feeling off colour Vera, I too wondered if it was hay fever as it does effect me like that.

AnnG we went to Dorset last year and I remember visiting West Bay it such a lovely area to holiday

Pleased that Sandra enjoyed her birthday bless her and is now reading her famous five books You must be more relaxed now the builders have finished.

Mandy hope you have more luck with your new cooker hopefully all is OK this time.

Jane I had heard that saying and these things are often correct the same as some old wives tales

When I used to help my mother with sheets for some reason I always got a fit of the giggles she always did a white boil wash on Mondays and Thursdays everything else, I don't think the outer clothes were changed so often then, dad always wore collar detached shirts for business.

Paul got a shock when opening his post on Saturday, it was a letter from both TSB and Tesco Banks , one had a bank card waiting to be activated and the other agreeing to a £1000.00 overdraft, he doesn't bank with either of these banks and never has done. He informed both of them and also the Police fraud department and has made his own bank aware. He's pretty sure someone has access to his post box, so he changed the lock and has his post redirected to my address. I think someone could have got hold of his utility bills as proof of his name and address. Fortunately the two letters came on Saturday when he wasn't at work
other wise he would have been blissfully unaware until it was too late, He also hadn't received the log book for the camper van which he bought a while ago. It isn't parked where he lives but at mine.

He's always getting up to quick Jane ,i keep telling him but you know what they are like.
I haven't heard that saying before but could it be that there's not so many Ash trees about now with all the Ash die back .

Yes Ann it was one of a matching pair , not a pair any more as that ones now in the bin !!!

Oh Anne what a good job Paul was there to get his post ,some one has got their hands on his post it was a good idea to redirect his post to yours .
Can he find out if the log book has been sent out ? they might have got that too .
There's some nasty people about how they can do that to hard working people i don't now .
Did you use to get told off for giggling when trying to help fold the sheets :-D

o thats dreadfull Anne. I hope he is safe now he's changed the locks and informed the bank.

You two talking about the oak and the ash I nearly put that up the other day when I saw the oak was well in leaf and not a sign on the ash. Oh always says the ash comes out before the oak anyway but I know he is wrong but it not worth arguing about it with him as he is ALWAYS right, I don't think.

Well I did'nt get my shower as I then cleaned out the bantams. Then I thought I would have it before dinner and then got lost in the garden so I did dinner and now I have read the posts I am going to shower now after I post this.

The sun put in an appearance at about 6.30pm here it has been cloudy all day and there has been no wind. I had a bit of a bonfire this afternoon too.

Poor Colin, its not nice when you get up too quickly and go dizzy. Good job he did'nt break the bulb in the side light Mandy or he could have more than a bruised botty.

Another nice day out AnnG. You are really making the most of your stay and going to some lovely places.

Jane I shan'nt be sending the doll yet as I have to wait for the St Bridids cross to dry out a bit so I can tie the end tighter so it dos'nt fall apart. When you get her only pick her up by her body as if you grab her skirt you may break the corn heads off. Thats what I did with my one and had to stick them back on again.

I rang for our repeat prescriptions this afternoon. They don't do it over the phone anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So now I would have to go to Holworthy to order them thats 9 miles there and nine miles back, 18 miles and then wait two days to go and collect them. NO WAY. Oh said they will make him die then. She gave me the email address to order them online. Something I did'nt really want to do but they will let me pick them up from the local shop in Shebbear which is next to the old doctors so thats not so bad if they will let me do that. The email address was 40 digits long. I did'nt think I was ever going to get to the end of it.

Hope you all sleep well tonight and all feel better in the morning those of you who are under the weather.

Night night.

Good morning to you all,

I was in bed by 10.00 pm reading, I had to put it down by 11.00 or I would have read on and on. Eos woke me at 1.30 coughing. I managed to get back to sleep until 5.00 am. It was light out and THICK FOG, as it is still.

I have been reading this Bl@@dy book all morning. Apart from looking at Barrels for planters for the garden. They don't come CHEAP, and the big ones are well over £100.00 each. So a big re-think in that department. We thought that wooden ones would be able to be SREWED to the tree stumps either side of the lawn. That way no-one would be able to HALF HINCH (PINCH) them. We might have to make do with plastic. I looked at a local stone place that make them, but forget it. I don't want to rake out a MORTGAGE to buy them. MIND BLOWING PRICES.!!!!

I am floating in tea, as I have had 5 since I got up. I expect I will have more when Ros gets up. I see the loo will be busy today. lol lol.

I see Colin has had a fall, he was lucky he didn't do what I did, and fall against the cabinet, you know what happened to me. :-| :-| :-|

Mel, I do think you should look into having your scrips. posted to you. No way would I want to travel 18 miles to get mine either. !!!

I didn't know about that saying either. You old COUNTRY FOLK. LOL LOL

Sitting beside me on the floor is the basket of ironing, there is so much of it the basket is too heavy to lift on top of the upright FRIDGE/FREEZER where it usually sits. So IF I have a go at it later, i will be in for a MARATHON ironing job. !!! Will let you know how I get on.

Still can't see the bottom of the garden for the fog/mist. See you later. xxx

Morning early bird Frank ,morning all,

Frank have a look at The Barrels Makers site there's some on there not to badly priced although it depends what size you want .

Mel could you have a word with the doctor to see if you could have two months of tablets at a time ,son is now having some of his tablets every two months ,it would save you having to go so often.

Trying to brighten up here ,there's lots of cloud this morning but no fog here like Frank has this morning .

Morning all

Bright and sunny here so far today but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is really bad including possible SNOW by Friday. We've covered the outside tap again with some bubble wrap, we do that in the winter so the tap doesn't freeze and can't believe we're having to do it this time of the year. It was only a week or so ago we had all that really hot weather. I think England is the only country to have all four seasons in one week. OH cut the lawns last night and they look really good now so at least they were done before the bad weather arrives.

We're not sure when the drive will be sealed Jane, we heard it was going to be the end of this week but with snow forecast I can't see it happening now. We've just been saying how quiet it is next door and we don't really mind when the workmen come back as everything outside is done and looks nice. The new neighbours have even cleaned up the front garden so that's looking better to. The seal on the drive will just make it look shinny so we don't care when they do it.

It sounds like you're having a great time away AnnG, there's certainly lots of places to visit where you are.

Sorry to hear you're still having broken eggs Mel, a hole in the nesting box where the eggs can roll down sounds like a good idea if it can be done that is.

That was lucky your OH took all your rubbish to the tip Ann, as like you said it'll probably be closed for a while. Do they know what caused the explosion? Health and Safety will probably be involved now. OH was telling me the other day that an old friend of his was on a conveyor belt clearing a blockage (recycled plastic) he'd turn it off but someone turned it back on while he was still on it and it dragged him through the shredder and killed him. Health and Safely closed it down while they sorted it out. Accidents happen all the time and it's never good. My tummy turned when he told me, I felt so sorry for his wife and young children, he was only in his 50's.

What a shock Paul had Anne, do you think they have taken the log book as well? Maybe he should get in touch with DVLA and let them know someone has been tampering with his post and also get back in touch with the person he bought the camper van off, if they have sent it then he might need to obtain a new one. At lest it's not parked at his place so it can't be taken.

I sound like Colin got up a bit to quickly Mandy, hope he's okay now and not to sore, he was lucky the bulb didn't break or it could of been a lot worse. Sorry to hear about your oven, they are replacing it quickly so that's good. I noticed our new cooker takes a bit longer and we have to turn the gas up a bit higher on the oven, we're got used to it now but it did feel strange at first, but your's sounds like it's broken. Hopefully the next one will work properly.

Have you still got the fog Frank? We've still got the sun but it's not very warm. Just been watching the birds on the feeder and it's so quiet out there, makes a nice change from all the noise over the last 6 months. Good luck with the ironing lol. Ros is lucky I think my OH is allergic to ironing lol. ;-) :-D

Morning all,

Not a bad morning here and its quite warm out but the skys a bit cloudy but its bright so thats good.

I have just seen a Greenfinch on our bird feeder. Its a bird we don't see very often since they had that virus. We used to get loads of them years ago then they got this bug thing and we would find them dead all over the garden so I am pleased to see one.

I have been trying to order our scripts online but am not getting any response so am getting worried now as oh's run out in two days time. I have a few of them for other days but not all of them.

Well the ironing is all done, apart from Ros's tops. I daren't do those in case I crease them. I think I must have used at least 10 hankies. Couldn't believe there were so many, during my heady cold. I just rubbed the iron over my Tee shits, as they are not seen, as I wear a shirt over them. But I did make a real effort on my shirts. They are something I always did when I lived at home 60 years ago. I still like to see a nice crease down the sleeves, to the cuffs. And of course during my RAF days in National Service I always ironed my shirts when they came back from the laundry. OLD Habits die hard. !!!

The fog has gone now, and the sun pops out, now and then, not that I have seen it. !!!

Gill, You will be one happy Lady, when the next doors drive is finished, and no more builders to disturb your peace and quiet. Have you heard if the neighbours are staying or selling.?? You would think that after all the expense they have incurred, they would a least move in, and see how they like it.

That explosion didn't sound nice Ann, Have you heard yet what caused it. ?? They had a bad explosion at Port Talbot the other evening. A train carrying molten metal BLEW UP, If I understand it properly.

Has everything quietened down with the neighbours now Ann. Do you know if the police took any action against the woman with the AIR RIFLE.

Mentioning the green rubbish going to the tip. Jan, in Paignton isn't allowed to put garden rubbish in her bin. She has to dispose of it herself. What she does though, is put it in the bottom of the bin and covers it with bags of rubbish from the kitchen. She needs to be careful, they don't have a look under the bags, then she would be in trouble.lol lol

Hows Colin doing now Mandy, ?? I bet he was shock up a bit after that. Tell him to take more water with it. lol lol.

I did't know about the virus that hit the bird population, or was it just small birds. ??

I seem to be asking a lot of ?? this afternoon, not being nosey, just enquiring. ;-) ;-) ;-).

I think I will grab a coffee and have a sit on the patio, as the SUN is out and it looks warm out. Even though I am not out there yet.

Afternoon All,

It was quite foggy here first thing too, but then the sun came out and is still shining now.

Oh Anne, how awful for Paul to get those letters in the post and realise someone had got hold of his details to try and commit fraud. His blood must have run cold when he saw the letters. He did the right thing though and has hopefully stopped any more attempts. I think I would contact DVLA too. I don't even carry anything with my address on in my bag/purse now if I can help it and wish they didn't put your address on prescriptions.

We have had 3 scam phone calls over the weekend and they were all automated, so it doesn't even cost them staff wages to man the lines. It's disgusting they can be sitting in another country, trying to rob the vulnerable or unwary of their hard earned cash without even needing to break into their house!!

I'm just the same with magazines Mandy, always cutting bits out, recipes, patterns, ideas for painting etc! It's why it takes me ages to sort them out!! lol.

What a game with your prescriptions Mel!! They shouldn't expect anyone to travel that distance for them. We have never been able to order prescriptions online or by phone and have to take them in to the surgery, then go to the pharmacy a few days later and hope the prescription has been sent to them. At least posting them to the shop you can pick them up there. I've thought about going through one of those firms that post them, but are often out and they wouldn't put them through the letterbox, being pills.

Frank when I was first married, we bought a big wooden barrel and hubby tightened the bands and cut it in half to make two tubs. We lined them with polythene, I painted the outsides and planted them up, but after a few years, even though they were made of oak, they still rotted and fell apart. There was no way you could repair them as only the bands held them together. I think you would be far better with the imitation ones anyway. Well done doing the ironing ..........more Brownie Points! :-) We saw the neighbours getting the caravan ready to go away when we got home today. They were full of chat about the electrical gadget they have to move it with, but never mentioned about the trouble. I bet they don't realise another neighbour had told us about it! If we hadn't been in a hurry to go out again I would have asked what the Police were there for to see what they said!!!!

Gill, there was nothing more in the paper about the explosion, just that the they are investigating the cause and that the tip will be closed till further notice. That accident you mentioned sounded an awful thing to happen to someone. I've never forgotten reading about two incidents. One was a poor man who fell into a slurry pit on a farm and died, the other was fixing something inside a big stone crusher at a quarry plant and someone switched it on with him inside it.

We went to Ikea this morning and popped into Decathlon next door to it first to look at the cross trainer bikes as I said before that I want to replace what I have with one machine that does both! Last time we went they had a huge selection of fitness machines............not anymore though! They hadn't even got one of what I wanted and seem to do more clothes for different sports these days. I did have a wistful swish with a superlight Badminton racquet that took me back to when I played in matches.. We had brekkie in Ikea, I just had a child's brekkie and chose a little omelette, mushrooms and beans and a yoghurt and OH had the usual breakfast. We both had toast and wondered how do they do it with drinks as well for £5 something in total!!!!! We got some clear plastic mats we wanted and some picture frames, but it seemed further to walk around after the alterations since last time and my knees wondered if they would make it at one point! On the way back we called in Armstrong Mill to look around and then called in their cafe for lunch. OH only wanted soup after his bigger brekkie and I had cod with mash and peas and parsley sauce. OH has now gone to a match near Derby.