General Chat

Morning all,

13 degrees here and my goodness the wind is blowing well ,really gusty at times ,it was pouring with rain when we went to bed but the ground has dried up with the wind .

That's good you've sorted out your shopping Mel I hope it comes today .

Oh it will be interesting to see what plants you get Vera ,I think that was a lovely present to get.

Got the christmas tree boxed up its standing in the hall now until son comes its far to heavy for us to lift now especially with my wrists .

Colins just made a coffee so I'll sit and have that and then find the next job ,floors need mopping and the ironing is still there staring at me .

Thats right Vera make the gardener a nice coffee and he may do a bit more. Hope your plants are nice and things you hav'nt got.

Nothing to say that the shopping is going to arrive today so I think I may give them another ring.

Morning Mel and all

Fairly bright here. We had more rain overnight but it is supposed to stay dry today. It’s 12 degrees but there’s a fresh old wind blowing.

Mel, I hope your shopping arrives today. I’ll echo Mandy’s advice. Keep some long life milk on standby. I always have a carton in the cupboard. I don’t much like it in tea but it’s OK. It usually has a long shelf life, often around a year. If mine is getting near it’s best before date I use it on cereals, in sauces or in a rice pudding. I usually have a couple of pints of ordinary milk in the freezer as well but that does take a long while to defrost.

We’re still getting Christmas cards. There were another 2 yesterday.

Daughter texted me this morning to say she’s heard that the first lot of our plants will arrive today. You might remember she took out a sub for 8 perennial plants to be delivered every 2 months for a year. I wonder what will turn up. I’m also wondering where everything is going to go. OH is currently taking out a grass that we don’t want and putting the bird bath thing that son and dil bought us in its place.

I think it’s time to make the gardener a coffee and get on with the next job planned for today. I hope you are all free of aches and pains. Have a good day.

Morning all,

Very dark and gloomy here and pc says 12 degrees and cloudy.

I wonder if the shoping will turn up today?

Just lost it again but managed to retreave this.

Em came round and brought me a pint and a half of milk. also she went on the pc and couldn't get any further than i had trying to contact asda and then we found a number to ring and rang it on my mobile  and got through to a forgeing man but the line was breaking up and he waanted to return my money but I said I wanted my shopping. Then I rang on the landline and got another forgeign speaking person but the long and the shsort of it is it is supposed to be coming tomorrow now.

Pc is saying high winds and its not wrong. I am now going to watch the second half of Silient Witness.

Night night see you in the morning.

Evening all,

Its been a rainy old day and very dreary ,have even been out today so I don't know if it was milder as they said it would be .

Oh Mel could you ask Em if she has a little milk until you could get to the shop ,I'm sure she would help you out .
It might be that they didn't come because of the road but they must have sat navs ,your sure you checked you'd order out ,hopefully you'll get it tomorrow, might be an idea to add a bottle of the long life milk as a stand by in case the weather turns .

Anng that sad news about your grandsons marriage , covid has caused so many problems for so many .

Vera I was trying to show the girls cats cradle in the summer holidays ,some bits I could remember but I use to do several patterns years ago and you could hold it so the person next to you could take over .

Just got the tree here in the lounge to come down now the rest I've put away but we'll have to wait for son to lift the box for the tree back upstairs when weve done it as it so heavy .

I have stripped the bed and washed the bedding today, the ironing pile is getting bigger I haven't done any since just before Christmas so I must get some done tomorrow .

Was that the reason you didn’t get it Mel? The blocked road. Did they phone to let you know? That is not very good if you are out of milk. I would be ok as I can drink black coffee and also keep ginger and peppermint tea bags but it is not good is it.

I did'nt get my shopping today and I am right out of milk and the road to the local shop is bloked off so would have to go all around the houses to get there.

Good afternoon all. Despite the local forecast being dry patches and showery it has been constant rain all day but not too cold. We went to Keswick as planned and dodged in and out of the rain into the shops. Had a coffee and got a couple of tops and a pair of slippers in the Edinburgh wool shop. I didn’t actually need slippers but these are the kind I wear and are often hard to find and they were reduced to £9. And a pretty pink. Daughter and SiL also got some stuff so all happy. Daughter is now taking down the decs. A job that is waiting for me at home.

Vera strange how we moved confident that we were planning well for our old age only to be beaten by shops closing and bus routes changing. I am still more or less ok for buses but when w moved to the village there was a bank, a post office, a butcher, a greengrocer and a Somerfields supermarket in walking distance plus a chemist, a doctors, a dentist and an optician. We do now have a Tesco, dentist, optician and chemist the rest have gone. We have acquired a funeral director and the doctors is still in the village but much further to walk.

Vera so far it is an amicable split, I don’t think the children will suffer they are good parents and granddaughter in law has said she will make sure we still see the children, family is important to her. She comes from a large family. As far as we know there is nobody else involved. Apparently it is a lot to do with Covid, all four shut for weeks in a small house trying to educate the boys while Dad struggled to work from home. I am sure there will be a lot more broken families for the same reason.

Raining here too and still dull and miserable and my shopping has'nt arrived yet so I can't get on with much till he comes. I really hate having to wait when they say it will be here between 11am and 1pm. Its now 2.40pm and still no sign.

Good afternoon all

Mel, it's about time you got rid of that cough and cold. It must drain you of energy. I know a few people who have had a bad cold recently and say it hangs around for longer than a usual cold.

Sorry to hear about your grandson and his wife AnnG. I hope they can manage the split without too much trauma, particularly for the children who always seem to be the losers.

Will, (do you prefer to be called Will or William?), you and I know many of the same places. Many moons ago we lived at Rush Green. We were there for 7 years and I regularly walked to Chadwell Heath, pushing a pram with my toddler daughter on a seat on the front. At the time I made a lot of my clothes and all my daughter's and there was a good, cheap material shop at Chadwell Heath. When we moved from there we went to a village near Ongar and were there 14 years so I got to know the area around Ongar and Epping quite well. After that it was 26 years in a very rural hamlet in Suffolk. We were very happy there and loved the area and our large garden surrounded by farmland but, with no public transport or facilities, we had to look ahead to the time when we wouldn't be able to drive everywhere. 9 years ago we moved to the nearest town so that we could be closer to shops, public transport, doctors and so on. There were 3 buses all running hourly and overlapping so there was always a bus about every 20 minutes, and there was a little convenience store 2 minutes walk away. Within a year the shop had closed, one bus had been axed, one rerouted and the remaining one went from hourly to every 90 minutes. It's since been made 2-hourly! So we are still driving and when we can't any longer, we will be reliant on expensive taxis. So that's my potted history.

I had a lovely afternoon at my friend's yesterday. There were 8 of us there, invited for a cup of tea and a mince pie but she had laid on quite a little spread. OH dropped me off at 2.30 and said to ring when I needed to come home as my eyes won't let me drive once it starts to get dark. However, one of the ladies said she would bring me back which was really kind as we live at opposite ends of the town. I didn't get back till after 6.30 pm and didn't feel like cooking a dinner then but OH was happy to make do with soup again so that's what we had. Would you believe 8 ladies, all of a certain age, spent a good hour of the afternoon playing cat's cradle and laughing a lot.

Hospital have just rung to say they have a cancellation for this afternoon and if I could go in straightaway I could have my eye injection. I thanked them but turned it down as I want to shower and wash my hair beforehand as I can't do that for 3 days afterwards. But I don't have to wait long, they have given me an appointment for next Tuesday. It will be a long one as it is more than 2 weeks since I had all the tests so I have to go through all that again before the injection. I expect OH will doze off in the waiting room.

It was a very cold frosty night but when I went to the chiropodist at 10 am it was bright sunshine. Now it's pouring with rain again. The climate is certainly doing funny things at the moment. I can't remember the temperature going up and down as much as it has in the last couple of weeks.

OH is just making our lunchtime sandwich so I had better go.

Morning all,

It is nice to see Will coming on the thread.

Dull and dreary here this morningand not sure if it has rained inthe night or not. Hav'nt been out there yet.

The wild birds are eating me out of house and home, they know where the food is. At the mo there are Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long Tailed tits all on the feeders at the same time with the odd Sparrow thrown in.

My first shop after Christmas comes this morning and it seems ages since I had a delivery. I have just managed to get through with enough milk to make another cup of tea so I shall be glad when it arrives. Don't like being without milk.

When I got in bed last night I started coughing and thought at one point I had better get up again but did'nt I was wheezing away but did drop off in the end. I just wish it woukld go away and leave me in peace now but I suppose it will hang around for weeks.

Good morning folk. A bit more info for SuffoldVera about my origins. I can claim to be both an Eastender and also an Essex boy. I was born in Stratford (later London E15) in 1935 and my birth certificate is from West Ham, which at that time was in Essex. When the war broke out in 1939, our home, an upstairs flat in Cedars Road, Stratford, was badly war damaged. Mum, my brother and myself were evacuated to St Osyths, on the Essex coast. Meanwhile Dad found us a property to rent in Chadwell Heath and that's where I grew up. Even when I was in the RAF, my main posting was to RAF North Weald, between Epping and Ongar. It was on my demob that I relocated to the Midlands.
End of life story LOL
Must close, need to get to the post box, that's if Royal Mail are working. Our mail is all over the place and a lot of late pre Christmas mail is arriving. My latest booklet of poems posted out on December 19th are only just reaching recipients.

Still blowing my nose and coughing. BIL turned up again today and I was thinking I had a day crafting but in the end we cleared a bench at the back of the workshop of all the wood turning wood oh had on there so now we can put boxes of stuff on there up from the floor. Di's hubby came and took a load of wood for their rayburn and some things I had turned out in his size and gave them their presents. He gave me mine so I had two more to open today. One was a battery light with rice lights in it and butterflies on the glass and the other was a pair of hen salt and pepper pots. I think I gave her those last year or for her birthday! or something very very similar.

Just had an email from another neighbour wishing me a happy new year and reminding me its library thisThursday so don't let me forget please.

I must start my new diary as I forgot yesterday and wrote in the old one.

Feeling chilly tonight so I am going to put oh's dressing gown over my legs as I sit in the chair.

Good afternoon all a lovely sunny day here but quite cold, no wind though. We went to Dobbies this morning, quite a long way near Carlisle. Got some stuff in their sale and it was a nice run out, nice scenery.

Had a bit of sad news as we heard that eldest grandson and his wife are splitting up. Goodness knows how they are going to sort practicalities, they have the two boys, one of whom has been referred for autism. She doesn’t have a job, never went back to work after having the youngest who is six now. Which makes it difficult financially.nstill that is up to them to sort out.

Anyway Mel, kick that cold into touch soon.

Afternoon all,

Happy New Year to you too Gwyn I bet you'll hear all about what santa brought the children for Christmas, the children go back here on Wednesday.

Nice sunny day but very chilly I've started to get some Christmas decorations down and my goodness the dust ,I also been sorting out the Christmas China and cutlery and getting all that put away .

I'm having a rest this afternoon still got the owl to stitch and stuff so might have a go at that .

Mel hope your cold is easing a bit ,Colin is still coughing at times but he does seem to be getting better .
I noticed there's a new programme on this afternoon called Make it at Market it's a crafter programme a different craft each day about people turning their craft into a business and also on Friday there's a new lot of Father Brown .

Happy New Year everyone. I hope the coming months are kind to you.

We seem to be having a real mix of weather to start the New Year. The 31st brought very wild weather, with fierce winds throwing rain at the house for much of the day. Yesterday was better, but lots of areas very waterlogged and huge puddles at the side of some roads.
Thankfully there is no flooding in our area and never has been to my knowledge, but that doesn't stop us being in a declared ' at risk' area according to home insurance companies, who charge us to match that :-|
Today is a beautiful sunny day, after a damp, dull start.

So let's take one day at a time and go forward from there.

This week, I will go back into school to hear readers.
I'm sure the children will have lots to chat about, as they settle down to the new term.
On the home front, I look forward to seeing my grandson, who was working over Christmas and the New Year in the Lake District. I haven't seen him since we visited that area in July, so it will be great to spend more time with him.
We've always got on really well and I'm looking forward to his promise of a coffee and cake outing :-D
January is a month of some sad anniversaries and memories in our family, so it will be uplifting to have some happier things ahead of us too.

Mel, That cold is certainly lingering.
It seems that the pre-Christmas virus is leaving many with similar symptoms. All you can really do is rest, keep hydrated and avoid extreme changes of temperature, which seem to trigger a reaction.
Do seek medical advice if you have chest or ear problems though.
I hope you soon feel better.

Morning all

It’s a lovely bright and dry day but quite cold. There’s no heat in the sun and not much of a breeze so I haven’t bothered to hang the washing out.

I’ve been busy this morning. The third load of washing is just finishing, so there’s just sheets and pillowcases to do today, and towels tomorrow. I’ve prepared tonight’s veg and got the ingredients for leek and potato soup in the soup maker ready to switch on for lunch. I’ve had a general tidy round and watered all the indoor plants and now I’m having a coffee before going on to the next job.

Later I’m going to a friend’s for an afternoon cuppa. OH will drop me off and I’ll ring him when I’m ready to come home. I could drive there but it gets dark so early that I can’t risk driving back once it gets really gloomy.

I should think your tulips will be fine AnnG but might be late blooming, so you don’t want to plant them where you have other late spring/early summer flowers. Perhaps try them in a pot this year? None of my tulips or daffs are showing yet, even the early February Gold daffs in the garden aren’t yet through. I do have some muscari in a pot just showing.

I’ve drunk my coffee now so I had better go and check if the washing machine has finished. Enjoy the rest of your day everyone.

Morning All,

Bit brighter here this morning and there is some strips of blue sky among the grey and white clouds. Pc is showing Week Forcast and says 5 rainy days this week partly sunny and its 5 degrees.

A week today since this cold started and still I am coughing and blowing my nose.

My neighbour came down yesterday at some point and left me a box of shortbread and a card in my porch. I did hear anyone come so I expect she walked and saw BIL's car here so did'nt knock. I must ring her today and thank her.

How's everyone else today?? Did you get a better sleep last night?

That was energetic Vera, potting on geraniums Eric. Sound like you will have some good ones this year now.
I am a bit puzzled by the tulip bulbs I had for Christmas. It does say they can be planted in December but I am not sure what will happen planting them in January. And of course I need to be home to plant them.

Grandson and family came for an hour or so this afternoon. Both children full of beans and thus was the first time I have seen fourteen month old crawl. She was full of smiles today and not at all bothered at not really knowing me.