General Chat

That was a very impressive sounding memorial service Gwyn. Glad to hear the rain stopped though as it would have been unpleasant.

Good that the fitter is working fast Ann, you will be pleased to get that all finished.
I just find it very hard to understand how people can let other people down. do they think their time id worth more than your OH's time?

I did go to town. Irained while I was having breakfast but stopped in time for me to go for the 10.14 bus. Had a coffee and pastry when I go thrtr and then spend about two hours wandering the shops. Got several things on the list.
One older teenage lad was lucky while I was having coffee. He was with 4 other adults having breakfast etc when he suddenly started to choke. The adults at the table all leapt up and started banging him on the back, he was obviously having trouble breathing and starting to panic. A lady walking into the cafe past their table, dropped her shopping manoevred him into standing and performed the abdominal thrust which immediately solved the problem. I just thought how good it was that she was there at that time as the other adults didn't seem to know what to do. She was so calm it seemed as if it was all in a days work for her.

I am tired now I got home about 1.30 but it was a good days shop. It rained heavily while I was in town but I managed to avoid getting wet.

Morning All,

We didn't sleep too well with having to be up, showered and ready for the fitter who we were told could arrive any time after 8.00am. It had rained in the night but had stopped thankfully. I was thinking he might not turn up till much later, but he actually arrived early at 7.50am so it was a good job we were ready for him. Apparently he only lives half a mile away from us. The factory van came shortly after to take the old units away and bring the new ones and has gone now and taken a pile of our old newspapers that we'd left in the porch to put in the recycling bin and will take them to the tip for us as well. It was a help as our bin gets so full we have to save some till it's emptied at times. The fitter is a quick worker and has nearly finished replacing the porch cupboard doors and the floor, so I think he might get the bedroom finished as well today which would be good.

I've renewed my car tax online and am having a tidy up and updating my 'to do' list just now. OH has gone for a walk into the village to call at the shop. He's not a happy bunny, having been let down yesterday by someone wanting his advice who was supposed to to have a team meeting with him yesterday and then let him down. but didn't let him know. He's made more arrangements for this morning twice now and they've let him down twice more without letting him know. You'd think someone being paid around £90,000 salary by the public wouldn't waste other people's time and would be more courteous and efficient wouldn't you. Standards have dropped since I was at work.

Still not sure about the knitting prog, but I thought Tom Daley the presenter was better this week. I'll keep watching though as some of the ideas are interesting, but difficult in the time allowed.

Gwyn it's nice you keep up the meetings with a pub lunch and I think it is lovely the primary school children were involved in the Remembrance Day service and read out the individual names from the War Memorial. That will have made a more lasting impression on them I think.

Good morning everyone.
Latop is telling me it's 12 degrees, but as that could anywhere in Kent, I'll go by what I see and feel and that is cool, damp and gloomy.
We are forecast some really heavy rain this afternoon though :-(

It was a busy weekend trying to get Christmas presents sorted to hand over to family, when we meet for a meal later this month.
When Mum died, we realised that her house had been the place where different branches of the family all met together, so if we wanted to have a group meet, we'd have to make the effort to organise that.
In recent years, round about Mum's birthday, we travel to Hampshire, place flowers on family graves, then all meet up with family from Hampshire and Surrey and we all have a pub lunch together and a great catch up.
It works well.

On Saturday too, I bought postage stamps for my overseas cards.
Thank goodness I only needed 6.
They were over £20 :-0 :-0

Earlier in the day, we visited what had been Folkestone Harbour station, now disused, but part of a well received redevelopment of what is now called The Harbour Arm.
Where the train tracks would have been,between the still existing platforms, there is a display of ceramic poppies and to the side,a small exhibition of photos and captions telling the important part Folkestone played as a port in the World Wars. Millions of passengers embarked for the crossing to Europe and the conflicts.Their last view of England, for so many, sadly.
They would have marched down Harbour Road, the steep hill from the town. This road has since been renamed the Road of Remembrance in their memory and honour.

Yesterday, my girls and I went to the war memorial in a nearby town for a Remembrance Day service. It was not too cold, but it started to rain just as the service got started, but thankfully it eased within a few minutes, so we were damp rather than drenched. A lot of young people in attendance, both in the parade with their various organisations and in family groups watching. We always have French visitors from our twin town, so their national anthem was played too. One year, we had 4 anthems, as we had Belgian and Canadian guests that year.
As the wreaths were placed, at the end of the service, local primary school children read out all the individual names from the war memorial or people who have died in conflicts since. So many, but remembered by name, not just as a group number.

Morning all,

Very cloudy again and we must have had rain in the night as the roads all wet ,just having a cup of tea then we're off out ,need to put the scripts into the doctors and do a bit of shopping .

Morning all 10 degrees here and I am just about to make a COC.

Hope you all slept well and are bright eyed and bushy tailed today.

Good morning all a bit grey but still 8 degrees so not too cold. I might try and get to town this morning. I just have to accept that I will be slow compared to what I am used to.

Ann I unload my shopping order at the door into a laundry basket and a cool bag. I make them wait while I check every item with a use by/sell by date. The drivers are usually happy to wait and a couple actually check the dates for me.

Vera how exciting to have a surprise to look forward to with your bulbs. As they usually all look fine together and I am sure you can find any that are smalle than others, it will be fine. :-D

The food order actually sent one item it said was out of stock. I handed back the sub I didn't want as they sent drained tuna instead of the one in olive oil, but as I put things away the Actimel drinks they sent only have 2 days left on them and there are 12 bottles in each to have 1 a day! I find it a nightmare locating the refunds section on the new website. Where it says 'Refunds' it just showed what I handed back to the driver and nowhere to add anything else. With some googling I eventually found where I could request refunds for the drinks so hopefully should get them.

Lots more fireworks from the big houses on the main road where a lot of asians live now. I thought the laws were specific about when you could set them off now. A friend's cat has an abcess and she can't get him to have his antibiotics or eat with all the firework noise.

Vera I've started looking at my FH again. More records get put on all the time and I hope to find new things! I haven't done much with OH's FH so want to start progressing that next. It sounds like you have a wonderful display of bulbs in the Spring, even though your OH has provided some mystery ones!

Good evening
Where has the time gone today? I can't believe that it is turned 6 pm already. This morning I dug out from their summer storage all the spring bulbs that we plant in pots. I have to take them up in the summer so I can use the pots for later flowers We do seem to have a lot, even though when I took them up April/May time I made up some packs with about 10 bulbs in each and they were sold on a plant stall at a club coffee morning in June. We've made a start on them and I've planted 3 low pots with mini tulips. They are either Heart's Delight or Honky Tonk or a mixture of both. I don't know because OH dealt with some of them last year and got things in a right muddle. While I was doing that he planted up a large half barrel with some tall white tulips. I still have 3 different sorts of daffs to go in big pots and two packs marked Mixed Daffs with a question mark, again a result of leaving OH to his own devices last year!!

Having done that I came in and prepared and cooked a roast dinner, followed by lemon cheesecake from the freezer. Then I came upstairs to the computer for a little while. Two and a half hours later I'm still here. I rarely touch my family history these days but I wanted to look on Ancestry for something and by chance came across my father's baptism. I was surprised to see he wasn't baptised till he was 8. He and his brother aged 7 were christened at the same time as his new baby sister. Dad was born in 1913 and his brother in 1914 and I suppose WW1 got in the way. After that I suspect my grandparents forgot all about it till they had another baby and decided to get all the children done as a job lot. The trouble with FH is you get absorbed and forget how long it all takes.

Mel, I looked at the cute birds but I have to admit that I thought straight away that it was computer generated. I could be wrong.

I am glad you had a good day with your grandson and the boys AnnG What a shame they had a rotten journey home. My daughter sent me a WhatsApp message around 7.30 Friday evening just to say she was home. It pinged onto my phone at 7.30 this morning. How could it take 36 hours? Good job it was nothing urgent.

I hope your fitter does a good job tomorrow Annx.

I had better close the computer down or OH will think I've left home. He'll tell me he's been reading or watching TV but he's the only person I know who can do these things with his eyes closed ;-)

Afternoon All,

Slept well but lay in for a while. Tomorrow we have to be ready for the fitter to arrive after 8.00am so no chance then. There are boxes of things everywhere again and I know despite throwing some things away it won't all go back in the new cupboards.

That video has been popping up a few times so I've seen the cute birds before and ones with a different bird. It made me wonder if they were AI generated. It's getting harder to know what is real now, but it does look lovely. It's dull and cloudy here too, so the sun seems to have gone to Many's today.

AnnG I was an only child till I was nearly aged 9 and was very quiet. It must have been good to have a catch up with your grandson, but the gt grandsons happily using their tablets sounds like so many others nowadays.

Better tidy up in here now before the food delivery arrives. Only 2 subs this time and they actually have our salads we like at last and we'll have tomorrow with the fitters being here.

Vera, the dogs sound lovely. I wonder if the reason Benji is chipped is because he belonged to somebody else before the bad place. Or maybe he was the original dog there before it all went downhill.

It was a nice day with Grandson and the boys although we only sat and chatted. that initself is hard woek, Grandson has always been quite introverted, happy in his own little world but he does, these days make an effort. However I seemed to be the one starting conversations. He did get a bit animated talking about his 'new lady friend'. The boys, as usual were quit 8 and 12 year olds don't hold conversatins, but they give lovely hugs and are always good mannered and seem pleased to see me. They spent a lot of time sitting in my office with their tablets, but they were here 4 hours. Then they had a rotten journey home as, they had not realised that the M4 was closed for maintenance so they were sent off on a diversion. Actually from what C said it sounds like the way that T and I always used to take going their way as it avoids part of the M4. they actually stopped at a servie station and had a meal in the end as the boys were hungry.

Went outside to have a look at my beech tree as I have been taking pictures of it as it loses its leave and looked across to my shed and there sitting on the string of fairy light was Robby. He must have been in there when I shut the shed up last night. At least he had plenty of food in there as I leave him fat sticks and sunflower kernels in one bowl and mealworms in another. I get loads of flies in there in the winter and have fly pen round the window so have to sweep up lots and lots of dead bodies but there were lot inthere yesterday I did'mt sweep up but they are gone this morning so he must have had his fill.

Mandy your kitchen will be smelling lovely again today. its many years since I had a homemade Christmas pudding. Mum used to make them when I was younger to my grans recipe. That is something I have never made.

Morning all,

What a difference to yesterday morning. I did hope we may get two nice days on the trot but no this morning is dull cloudy and grey but its 12 degrees. I need to do a bit of potting today abnd take some plants round to a neighbour if they are in.

With all the pond work with BIL yesterday I forgot to go to the shop!! Nothing urgent though I only get some ham and my Saturday paper and sometimes some other bits. I'll ring them and ask them to save my paper.

Anng I don't have the sound on when I watch youtube but I thought that little mother bird was amazing I just had to share it. I wonder if it is real or something people have made up?

Morning all,
We have lovely sunshine after such a dreary old day yesterday ,I have another pudding in the slow cooker so that will toddle along all day .

Vera that was good the dogs were OK at yours ,poor old Benji having all those teeth out but it must have been such a relief if he had pain from them, nice to know his right age too .

Anng did you have a nice day with your grandson and his family yesterday .

I think we're having a lazy day today ,I made a shepherds pie yesterday and there's enough for today so just need to do a few veg.

Oh Mel that little bird with her wings sheltering her babies so cute.

awe!!

Good morning all dry bright and 9 degrees. It was 11 just now and dropped suddenly.

Those birds were cute Mel but for some reason I got stuck with awful music and had to shut my PC down and restart to get rid of it.

Nothing planned for today so may, after a shower and washing my hair do some HW then wrap a few presents.

Bedding is in the washing machine so that is the first job.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ng8FrFsPIh8

Just look at the little bird

Did'nt have anything to eat in the end but put on roast tatoes, sprouts, roast carrots and roast beef in gravy so I am having a roast dinner and am just about to dish up. Mmmmmmm........

Now I am going to get something to eat as all Iv'e had today is a milky coffee.

How lovely to know just how old Benji is and have his birthday. I bet they could both tell stories you would'nt want to hear anyway.

I have just come in from the garden as BIL left about half an hour ago but he did help me get some leaves out the big pond but we broke the net and its a huge landing net so I am going to see if I can mend it as it has a very long handle which reaches right down to the bottom of the big pond.

I also managed to get some bits of the red waterlily out of one basket and some of the next one to it out of that basket too. They are now in a bucket of water each so I don't get them muddled up. I have also put all the netting back round the pond and BIL moved the very heavy wheelbarrow of that awful plaant over onto the road off the grass and the other barrow too. Thats horrid as the tyre is coming off the wheel on the silly barrow.

Posting this before it goes

Benji is becoming an older gentleman then Vera so he might be slightly deaf or just pretending! Having said that the Shih Tzu nextdoor is aged 15 now and small dogs do seem to live longer. Wouldn't it be good if they could tell you about their earlier life. It seems like he had a good start in life with owners who had him neutered and chipped, but not good once he was part of that huge amount of other dogs. It's good they both have a lovely home now though.

Afternoon All,

Lovely sunshine here now and 14 degrees. It did rain in the night though, which is the best time for it to water the garden. OH had physio this morning and I went to the shop for the paper and a few bits. While I was paying an elderly lady came up to the counter to say a girl of a different race had walked past her to pick up a bottle of wine and had gone out of the shop without paying and it appeared that a man was waiting for her outside. The man on the till quickly phoned someone to deal with it, but it didn't surprise me as the Co-op have reduced the staff to just 2 in the shop and they have to deal with everything now between serving customers and I often have to go and find someone to serve me. I have joked that they need a bell on the counter. A nice surprise when I got home was that OH had cleared the bottom of the porch cupboard ready for Monday. It had no end of stuff in there, the heavy hoover etc and a small chest of plastic drawers, ice spray for the cars and other things like umbrellas, walking poles etc. I'd assumed I would do it to save his back, but he'd taken each small drawer out like I was going to do to carry and had put everything in the conservatory.

I remember cleaning weed out of my pond and it being a stinky job! The frogs and birds used to bring duckweed into it from the pond in the field and the irises used to spread and need dividing. I still get duckweed in the little water feature with the lily competing. It's sensible to keep away from BIL while he has a cold Mel. It's hard to know what virus you have that gives you a cold these days with Covid and Flu around just now as well as RSV.

OH has gone to a more local match at Rugby now so I will tax my car online next and finish the food order for tomorrow.