General Chat

Was at the hospital for hours this afternoon. My neighbour fell whilst getting into the swimming pool at her villa in Crete last week. She went to the medical centre where she was xrayed but was told that it was inconclusive. On arriving home her hubby took her to the hospital who discovered a double fracture of the wrist. She is now in plaster for 4weeks and cannot drive etc. As her hubby was at a meeting this afternoon I volunteered to take her.
Mel I have just upgraded to Platinum a couple of months ago but have had nothing but trouble since and now they are talking of charging even more for new information.I have sent you an email re a look up for me please.
Jane and Annx What a wonderful day you must have had especially with your own guided tour. Luton hoo looks a super place to stay.
Time to watch the tele :-)

Maureen I bet you will love Phantom.I saw it some years ago.You will get a few goosebumps.

Fiona ,2 weeks will fly by.I bet her other Grandma can't wait to see Sofia.She will have changed a lot since they last saw her.At least you have some time to recharge your batteries lol

Hannah is off to Manchester tomorrow to see Take That.I will be sat by the phone waiting for her call so I can hear them .I would love to see them live but couldn't stand the crowd.Plus I don't think Madam would be too impressed if her old Mum was there making a fool of herself lolol.

Mandy.Fitz looks tall because Ann and I are little shorties lol.
Ann has forwarded me lots of pics so I will be sending some of them tomorrow.
We could have stayed there for a lot longer than we did as there was so much to see .Fitz wanted to stay the night lol
Winston made a speech there to 110,000 people to thank them for all their help and support during the war.

We have just had the biggest downpour with hail.It last for about 20 minutes.Now the sun is out.At least everything is watered now !
Better go and have a look at dinner.Shame it won't be silver service .
Yesterday when our main course was brought to the table out plates had the big silver lids on,and we had a waitress each who lifted the lids off at exactly the same time.it was very posh!!.

Evening All

SOB SOB :-( :-( Thats SIL just left with Sofia, and I won't see the little monster ;-) now for 2 whole weeks as they fly out to Italy tomorrow afternoon. I'll be lost :-\ Frank I will just have to go out and have coffee more often lol or spend more money shopping lol :-D

Annx , you should start writing tour books, very interesting infomation, I bet Fitz had an exciting day, to tred the actual boards of such inportant ancestors. lucky him.

Thanks Jane for the pictures, a beautiful place, I would love to be dressed up in a huge evening dress of the times and just glide down that staircase, and have a really handsome man meet me at the bottom, SHH don't let my OH know :-D :-D

Maureen I am really envious (sp) I want to come with you to see phantom of the Opera that is my favourite Musical

Dinner time
BBL

Just seen your post Pat. I see what you mean, I think it's the hair .......

Thanks Ann,that made a very interesting read. Isn't Fitz lucky to have such distinguished and interesting ancestors. Imagine just one couple living there and how nice that the hotel group are keeping it to its original state.

I'm off to see Phantom of the Opera musical tomorrow, looking forward to that, it better be good considering the price of the ticket., more than double the price for Blood Brothers.

Anne was it you who are paying their sub soon? If it was only have the ordinary one as we can look things up for you and send them by email.

GR searches are expensive and it is only worth having the £9.95 one as there is always plenty of people who will post things on the Find Ancestors board.

We have smoked haddock for tonights dinner with teddies out the tunnel and sweetcorn and a nice fresh poached egg.

Mandy Jane, Ann and I are about the same height.

Frank good luck for Ros tomorrow and I hope she makes a lot of money. Bet Lewis likes to help on the stall I know when I did a srall with mum when my boy was young and in the cubs he liked to help on the stall.

Help!!! we have wet stuff falling from the sky !!! what ever is it !!!

Your right Maureen ,if this keeps on i'll want me whellies !!
At least we won't have to water tonight .

Jane , what a lovely house , thanks for the photo's ,how lovely for Fitz to actually go in the house and walk around where his family had once lived ,i bet he's still talking about it !!
Fitz looks really tall !! or are you and Ann short lol

Frank, don't even think about trying to clean your windows !!! let the rain do the work lol
i hope it stops before Ros's fund raising do tomorrow , can they get under cover if it's a wet day ?
Fancy leaving the door unlocked lol we've done that too !!! lol

Pat , my spare rooms always look in a muddle , we put the grandchildrens toys in the bedrooms out of the way until they want them ,and i keep a spare hover up there so i don't have to drag the other one up the stairs .

Blooyt site, Just posted and lost the lot. The next thing to come up was page 1/10. What arew they doing to us.

Was just saying, it sounded like you had a good day yesterday girls, (It was in more detail than that, but I will pass.)

Liz, Great news on the house front, everytrhing is crossed.

Many, Your spending money seemed to goooo onnnnn and onnnn.You are a naughty girl

Mel, I just looked at my windows, they need a clean. Now you have started the ball rolling !!!!

Forgot to mention. Last night we went to bed, and left the FRONT DOOR unlocked. Good job we live in a nice area.!!!!

Ros is at the dentist with Lewis, he has to c.ome up here as they can't get a dentist in Toddington. Should be back soon

I potted up about 70 pots of Marrigolds. a few in each pot. used half a bag of compst. I also got ready a tray of pots with cabbage plants. As well as you know what (TOMATO'S) Ros has given the jars of Marmalade, books and jigsaws. Ros and Lewis will be up the playing field in the morning getting everything sorted with all the other helpers. It's on from 1pm till 4pm. So hope the weather holds out. (It's been peeing down here all afternoon)

Going to sort out something for dinner now.

BBL

Maureen

I have just changed my photo for a while for you too see


Jane I will changing after Maureen has seen it for one for you to see


Pat

When I get like that I just bung it all back if I can and walk away till another day!!

Well I am very pleased with myself as I have cleaned all the kitchen windows and doors inside and out and now having a cuppa. :-D

Mel I seem to get in as normal now.(at last)!
Pat I have been trying to gets things sorted in my my sons room as he brought so many things back from uni at Easter.Books ,papers, winter clothes,all sorts,but he didn't do anything with it all,just shoved it into any space.But very soon he will be back for good(oh my I hope not) with all his belongings ,pots ,pans ,etc etc as he has finished his 3 years at uni.I need to make room somewhere!!!!.Like you I have made more mess .It is just spread all over now lol :-( :-(

Maureen

Im still looking for the photo for my other half to scan..you dont look like me in that one lol

I have been having trouble getting on here today...I also work part at a school at lunch time...

Also have been busy rearanging the bedroom which I wish I hadnt started...more of a mess now :-(

Jane did you get in like I said in my email????????

I will get onto Kim and see if she can get in that way too.

Message I have had from our Kim.

Hello everyone,

GR won't let me on tonight, I keep getting Oops that page is broken. Thought you would like to see our friend Rod or Roddles as I call him. Here he is in dress uniform attending a retirement dinner for a colleague last year. You can see why we love him and will miss him so much - 63 years young.

Janey I loved your photos. What a sumptuous place and the gardens!!!! I can see you had an amazing day with Ann and Fritz.

I will try to get back on the site again, but it won't let me get past page 577 for some reason.

If not, have a good day. Kim

I'm back.Thanks Mel.
See I said Ann would do a better job at describing our day lol
Thanks Ann!!

I will be back .

Jane has asked me to put this up for you all to read.


Hi Mel
I have not been able to get on GR at all today !!!!!,and poor Ann has got
one of her eyes so puffed that she can't see to type properly.
Just in case I have trouble all day,maybe you could just pop up a message
from us please

Luton Hoo is an amazing house.It was just the Country Residence for Fitz'`
Gt Gt Aunt Alice and her Husband Julius Wernher .It is huge full of
beautiful furniture ,paintings,statues etc.A lot are copies now ,as some
things are in special collections and museums.Fitz was so excited about
being there,and the Lady Historian was so pleased to have met Fitz as she
has never met anyone from the Mankeiewicz side of the family.So she was told
the story of Fitz's Grandmother.Fitz is going to send her copies of letters
and photos whuch she said she would be thrilled to have.
The grounds were amazing,some designed by Capabilty BrownWe had a lovely
lunch in the "Wernher Restaurant" with the huge original Chandelliers (sp)
And Marble walls.It was something special.Silver Service too !!!
I think we were there for 6 hours,much longer than I expected,but there was
so much to see and the Historian spent much longer than the planned hour
with us.
All in all a fantastic day.

Thanks Mel

Jane xx

Hi Everyone,

I had a few attacks of the runny eyes yesterday and again today.......not overcome with 'emotion' at seeing the great house.....it was hayfever!!!

Well, what a super lovely relaxed day we had at Luton Hoo. It was great to see the big house that Alice, who was Fitz's grandmother's Aunt, lived at with Julius Wernher, the famous and immensely rich diamond magnate.

The entrance into the house has immense stone pillars which we were told later would cost £80,000 each to restore!!! The beautiful winding staircase and state dining room (where we ate!!) were designed based on the Ritz hotel in London which was nearly opposite their 'town house'. Julius and Alice had the state dining room done out in italian marble which at the time cost £300,000 which was more than they had paid for the house and estate when they moved in.

We had drinkies before we ate and had a table with a lovely view of the Capability Brown designed landscape. I am now a convert to their Ipanema cocktails, made with lime juice ginger ale, brown sugar lots of ice and other things!! Jane and Fitz had bottles of red and white (I didn't count them Frank.......but I would have been under the table after a couple of glasses anyway!! lol) The food and service were splendid, everyone so friendly, quietly spoken but not intrusive. They let us take photos of anything and took some of us together. A lot of the staff had foreign accents.

Fitz invited the historian, Zena, to join us for coffee before she took us around the house. What an interesting lady! She is employed by the Julius Wernher Foundation now and worked for the family for about 26 years. (now age 66 but doesn't look it!) She has extensive knowledge of the family and told us some interesting things!!! lol She was most interested to meet Fitz as she had never met anyone with a connection to Alice's family before and he is going to send her some copies of documents he has which she was very pleased about. She then took us on our tour of the house and even let us see some rooms that were to be occupied that night. Elite Hotels, who now own the mansion, have taken great trouble to get it looking as it did when Sir Julius and Alice owned it. They have even got the tapestries that hung on the walls copied in China, the paintings that hung there copied, as well as some of the beautiful statues. Some things are original like the chandeliers in the state dining room and the ballroom. Zena took us into the suite that the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh stayed in for part of their honeymoon, the suite that was Zia's, from the Russian Royal family who was Sir Julius's DIL. We saw the rooms that were filmed in Mrs Brown (Billy Connelly) and Four weddings and a Funeral.

After the tour we went outside to look at the formal gardens and fountain which were also lovely and kept by only 7 gardeners, compared to 52 when Julius lived there!! Orignally the back of the house was the front, but I can't remember why they changed it. We then had more drinkiepoos and Zena joined us for another chat when she had finished showing the wedding party planners for today around. Then Jane and I and a reluctant Fitz (I'm sure he would have loved to stay the night!!! ) said our farewells to go home.

All in all a very interesting and memorable day.

I'm sure Jane will add bits and bobs as there was so much to take in, but I am sending all my pics to her to decide which to send so we don't duplicate.

So sorry to hear about Rod, Kim, his poor wife must be devastated.