General Chat

I have never seen oh in his uniform. He would have been able to get into it when we were first together but he would'nt put it on for me. Too many bad memories I think. Theres still a uniform up in the potting sheds with his medal ribbon on it.

My pink rose of different types all smell lovely and I keep picking one to have on my desk.

It was a hot night, I just had a sheet over me and didn't sleep too badly I woke thinking it must be morning and it was 12.30 so I went to the loo and then slept until around 0530 which was quite good then dozed until 0715. I have picked some roses to put in front of T's photo. On this day he would often pick a rose from the garden to give to me.So he has white, red and a blush pink roses in front of him. they smell lovely.
Yes I think when in uniform they automatically straighten up because that is how they are trained when marching.

It was a hot night wasn’t it. I was very restless and kept waking so I feel a bit heavy headed today. It’s warm this morning but breezy and very overcast. We’ve got storm warnings for the area but they might miss us.

We’re still waiting for the gas man to service the boiler but we were only told it would be between 8 and 1. With our luck he won’t turn up till 1.

I hope you feel happier with your picture now Ann. It’s good to try different styles and mediums. Your OH is a hard worker with all his different jobs and responsibilities. I admire him.

I couldn’t cope with all these different TV set ups and planners. I’d just get confused. We’ve never had a “package” or connected the TV to the internet. We just have the terrestrial programmes and Freeview. That gives us so many programmes that sometimes OH spends longer scrolling through the list to choose something than he does actually watching a programme.

What lovely photos AnnG. They are happy memories to cherish and your T. does look smart. Annx is right - men do somehow seem to stand up straighter when they are in a suit or a uniform.

Gas man has just phoned to say he will be here in half an hour and OH has just brought me a cuppa.

Morning All,

I slept fairly well but it was hotter here as well and OH went and stood in the altogether outside for a few minutes as he was so hot!! I had to get up just before midnight as I remembered I hadn't asked for an Asda refund for the split yoghurt and Wednesday was the last day to report it.

Mandy it ended up being some hassle getting changed over then. It was lucky another engineer was at a neighbours the next day and that he came to help. Hopefully everything will be ok now and it's good to be able to record so many channels at once. The planners hold so many programmes at once now too which helps. I think OH will be doing the speech next week sometime Mandy. He never even seems to do any preparation for these things or need to practice. I think he works it all out in his head beforehand and it will be a subject he knows inside out. It's a National Conference and will be about his work as an Independent Person which he now does for 12 Local Authorities. Nowadays Councils have to seek the opinion and advice of an Independent Person in dealing with complaints about councillors. Before they could just do what they thought themselves. It is a voluntary role mostly, but he gets expenses paid with some and a small annual figure from others. This is in addition to his work with schools.

The field sounds well used Vera and is multi purpose with different activities and a nice space to walk around which was good that you managed to do ok and even another short walk later. There was a similar field at the bottom of the garden at my old house. We had a tall gate in our fence and would wheel our bikes across it to get to the old great central way railtrack to cycle into the city. They built a village hall at the bottom end and all sorts of events happen there now, or did till covid.

That's a lovely memory with happy thoughts AnnG. We need to remember the happy times we've had don't we. I bet T looked smashing in his uniform too. I do like a uniform or a suit. They seem to make a man stand up straight. All those uniformed men in the Queen's Jubilee looked so smart.

Torrential rain and possible hail is supposed to sweep up the country later as far as Lincoln. We could certainly do with some here but not so it bashes everything to bits.

I'm not happy with my painting as we have to use palette knives, stippling, crumpled paper etc which isn't accurate enough for my way of doing things!! lol. I think it will be one for the bin, but will try a few more tweaks and send it off quickly.

Morning all

Very humid this morning I think we might get thunder storms later just hope the rains not to heavy to bash all the plants .

Anng thats a lovely memory that first date is always one to treasure .

Picked a few cucumbers this morning and I see there's a few climbing French beans I can pick too, I can also see what looks like tiny marbles on the toms so they are coming along .

Better get on I have the bedding spinning so thats nearly ready to hang out and I have to make the bed and hoover round .

Good morning all. that is good Vera that you managed a couple of walks yesterday, little and often is good.
Yes it is an interesting place, probably a bit small for making a long special journey to get there but worth a detour if in the area. and what is strange to me is that I had never been there before. I think I did mention it to T once but notning came of it.

Today it is 66 years since my first date with T. do you know, I can remember every bit of that day. It was a lovely June day. and, strange that you should mention fetes Vera, it was the day of the church summer fete, held in the large garden of one of our church members. I was taking my sister who was aged 9 years old as I had to look after her because Mum was doing part time work in a cake shop. As we got off the bus and started to walk down towards Fareham creek a young RN Artificer apprentice in uniform came towards us and I recognised him as one I had been chatting to the previous Sunday after church. He had asked me if I was going to the fete. As we met him he asked if I would show him the way, naturally at almost 16 I said yes and we spent the afternoon together. and were practically inseperable for the next 64 years. I miss him but have so many memories like this.

Morning all,

Another nice morning here so far pc says 15 degrees at the mo and mostly sunny. Oh told me it was going to rain today so in a way I hope he is wrong but the garden needs a water after the couple of hot days we've had.

Hope you all slept well enough for the day ahead. I found it extremly hot last night when I went to bed and thats unusual for me.

I must move my triffid out into the garden today as it is heading towards me on the desk and the flower stalk fell over yesterday so I cut it off. It can go in the garden for the rest of the year and in the shed for the winter.

It has been hot today but there’s been a nice breeze that’s made it feel quite pleasant outside. However the breeze has died down now and it’s feeling quite heavy and muggy so it might not be a very comfortable night.

It sounds as though it was a bit of an upheaval for you Mandy getting your TV and phone sorted. I hope everything is working OK now.

I expect that bite will calm down in a day or two but do keep an eye on it Mel. They can occasionally turn nasty and need a dose of antibiotics. You’ve reminded me that, when I last cleaned out the medicine cupboard, I threw out the insect bite cream as it was well out of date. I meant to replace it but forgot. I must get some. The stuff I threw out was wonderful. I bought it in Vienna in 2019 when I had a nasty bite on my arm and it took away all the soreness and itching. What was more within hours the inflammation died down and the bite was completely cleared up within a day or two. I wish I could find it here.

As I said in my email I enjoyed reading about your visit to the NT house AnnG. That’s something else to go on my list of places to visit.

Ann, it’s good that you were able to do your walk even though you woke up with a painful knee. I feel very lucky that I don’t have much trouble with my hips or knees, apart from the occasional twinge. It’s the rest of me that’s falling to bits, lol. You asked about the field. We call it that, or the rec, but it is a local authority managed recreation ground. I couldn’t begin to estimate how many acres but basically it’s a fairly large area of grass bordered by a good number of large trees, which are clearly pretty old. One corner has a small children’s playground with swings, roundabout etc. and railings round and there are 4 or 5 benches dotted about and that’s it. The council keep the grass cut and I noticed that they are now leaving a narrow strip along one edge and a small triangle in a corner full of nettles and weeds, presumably for the wildlife. The field is mostly used early morning and early evening by dog walkers but the owners all seem very responsible and use the 3 poo bins provided. I’ve never seen any mess on the field. Before Covid there was always a fete and craft fair in June and a bonfire and fireworks in November. The youngsters marching band practiced there once a week and there were often small boys getting a bit of football training but none of that happens now. We had the Platinum Jubilee fete there so perhaps they will start to have more events again. I did have a walk round there this morning and had another very short walk round the road this evening.

We have to be up, dressed and breakfasted by 8 am as the boiler is being serviced tomorrow so I hope I get some sleep tonight or I will be grumpy.

I am getting far too hot as I’m at the computer upstairs under the sloping roof where all the heat seems to gather, so I’ll say goodnight, sleep tight.

Afternoon all,

Really hot out today we have got a few jobs done ,one was dead heading the roses and the other was weeding along the outside of our wall and giving it a good hose down .

We finally got sorted yesterday with the change over on Monday , the chap was late coming he should have been here between 8 and 1 but didn't arrive until half past four but did ring us to say he was held up ,he finished ar half past seven , we then had trouble getting the channels and the engineer had gone then but luckily an engineer was connecting another neighbour yesterday up so I went out and had a word and he came round and got the channels for us ,the phone was another thing he had connected our phone to the hub but the problem was there end so we had to wait for that to be done but it's OK now , I had an email from to say sorry and they credited our account with just over five pound .
Just have to get use to working the television box now ,it's very similar to sky and we can record four channels at a time .

Glad your arm feels a little better Mel oh its the time of year for those nasty bites ,don't they always itch more at night .

Ann good you got a walk in after your knee aching when you woke up ,perhaps you had lain in one position to long last night and once you got moving it eased it .
Hope OH's speech goes OK no way could I do any thing like that .

Vera be careful you don't aggravate your back again, you had a busy weekend sorting all the seating out and moving chairs about so have an easy day .

Anng hope you had a good chat this morning with your friend .

It's a degree cooler here Mel at 23 but indoors feels much cooler than outside. That's good the bite was better in bed last night. I never seem to see what gives the worst bites as they fly off before I notice. Is banty an old girl now?

Thanks for your write up of the NT place you went to AnnG. It was very interesting and thank goodness for Robert Parsons and his determination it should be restored and not allowed to become a ruin.

It itched at first Ann and then it hurt. It was much better in bed kast night as the night before I did'nt know where to put my leg to stop it aching.

Banty has laid her 12th egg of the season.

Its 24 degrees here but feels much hotter.

Morning All,

I slept well last night with just a sheet over me. I got up early with my L knee aching quite a lot as I got out of bed, but standing seemed better so I got ready and went for my walk before it got too hot. I was only going to do 1 lap anyway and I could turn back if it started to get worse. Anyway it was fine and not too hot, especially as a third is under shady trees. I had a closer look at the Hall and they have scaffold up and aren't painting it, at least not yet. A man seemed to be removing the plaster on the outside which is why it is a different colour. They must be redoing it. The council mower man was there on his ride on mower today, but the grass was short and scorched anyway so it wouldn't do it much good. I met the man with a new hip with his little Schnauzer, Darcy. I said she looked like she had been in the water as her beard was soaking wet, but he said she hates water, except drinking it. She was right up to me for fuss and was looking intently and I realised she was eying up my bread for the ducks! He reckoned she'd eat it as well! The Moorhens are growing fast and my throw into the bank foliage is getting better where they can hide with what they can grab. Soon I'll have muscles like Popeye. :-D There was no-one in the Co-op carpark on the way back so I popped in for a magazine and got an apple pie (still hot from being baked) and some half fat creme fraiche to go with it.

Had a shower when I got back and need to start painting now. OH is on zoom to do with arrangements for the keynote speech he is giving at the conference. It's right up his street, but something I would hate doing.

Which NT place was it ypu went to AnnG, it sounds good. Being high up would tend to be cooler with a little breeze maybe. Enjoy your coffee and chat with your friend.

Yes Vera, do be careful with your back. You were moving lots of things over the weekend for your visitors so it's probably had enough for now. I hope you manage a short walk but don't be tempted to go far as you say. I've had to do less, even with my short walks with it being so hot, but every little helps. The field sounds nice for a walk.......is there anything in it?

That does sound like a bad bite Mel. Does it itch as well? I realised I'd run out of insect repellant the other day and ordered some online as I was hinking the biting beasties would be out soon.

Well better get on now. BBL.

Morning all,

Really hot this morning pc says 23 degrees and sunny but we can see that. I think this is the first morning it has been this hot as this time of the day.

Nothing planned for the day but I must water the toms and top up their soil as it has sunk in thier pots.

Fish and chips tonight so no cooking for me so thats good.

Nasty earth quake in Afganistan and all those poor people injured.

Sorry your back is bad today Vera and I hope you manage your walk around the field. Take it easy and you will get there then have a little rest.

I went to bed just after 11pm last night and only got up once for the loo and then slept till 9.20am so youcould say thats the best sleep I have had in ages. My arm is not too bad at the mo and I have had a nasty bite on the back of my right knee which I thought at first was a varicous (sp) vein but oh had a look and its really red.

Good morning AnnG and all

A lovely bright start to the day and it looks as though it is going to be another hot one.

I didn’t have such a good night either and kept waking but probably had enough sleep in dribs and drabs.

My back wasn’t too good yesterday so I will have to be a bit careful today but I do want to get in a short walk, even if I just walk round the field at the bottom of the road, I’m still struggling to walk much. It’s not pain but my legs just feel stiff and heavy and don’t want to move. I feel as though I am dragging my feet along but I must keep going or it will never get any better.

Apart from that I haven’t any plans for today. I hope you all have a good day. Enjoy the sun while you can.

Good morning all, sunny again, a lovely early morning. Sleep was a bit mixed last night, couldn't get to sleep until gone 12 then woke a couple of times but probably actually did have enough sleep. It was very hot.

Have a friend coming for coffee this morning so that is nice.

We had a lovely time. The house was fascinating and the grounds beautiful. We actually chose not to walk far because the walks were steep and one of my friends has something wrong with one of her feet notvsure wgat. But although the sun shone and it was very warm it was not unpleasantly hot.we were fairly high in the Cotswolds.

Tired now after watering duties but I sat out on my patio reading until 7pm it was so lovely out there warm and peaceful with the birds singing and even a buzzard overhead in the clear blue sky.

Maybe more on the house tomorrow.

Is everyone warm enough! :-) Phew I just watered the greenhouse again and trimmed back a bit of the Leycestria. I hate to think what the temperature was in there. I must stick my thermometer n there tomorrow and see but the PC is showing 24 degrees even at 7.30 pm!

I hope you wore something cool AnnG if it has been as hot at the NT property!

OH has a busy week and is at another meeting and very glad to have working aircon in his car. I shall have an early night and hope to be up early and do the walk in the morning as long as it isn't too warm already. I hope Vera has another good sleep tonight. :-)

Morning All,

It's 19 degrees here now and the sun has mostly gone in with the clouds about but it still seems very warm outside. The blinds are shut and curtains drawn in the bedrooms where the sun is at the moment and we have the patio and conservatory doors open so it is quite cool indoors.

It does sound as if your arm needs to be seen now Mel. Maybe a nerve is trapping. I had pain in my wrist when I first had my underactive thyroid and the doc said it could happen with that. Once that was sorted it was fine. It might be more simple though and need a bit of physio like Vera suggested so it's best to have it looked at. Yes twisting around with knees can hurt can't it. You are doing right to keep using them though as that helps strengthen them as long as you don't overdo it like I do sometimes. It's good your hip is better than it was too.

Oh that is a lot of baskets with much lifting AnnG. When I used to have baskets I eventually got some you could lower which was a boon for watering and deadheading. I don't have any now as it can be quite breezy here and they used to spin and knock the flowers against the walls which spoiled them. The wall pots work better here. I am wondering whether to try a window box next year.

So glad you had a good night's sleep at last Vera. You feel like a different person don't you, but don't do too much. We have now stopped wiping down altogether the last two times and have stopped wiping the bin handles too as the binmen always wear gloves now and OH wears gloves to fetch them in. If cases keep increasing we'll go back to doing it all again though.

Some tarted up chicken and bacon pasta salad with 'extras' for lunch today so I'd better get it ready now. :-D Then I must make a start with some paint on my picture.

Morning Mel and all

Sorry to hear that your arm is still bad. Maybe you should talk to the doctor or can you self refer to physio in your area? They are very helpful round here.

Looks as though it is going to be wall to wall sunshine for the next couple of days. HOORAY I had a good night. It’s not often I say that, is it? I slept from midnight till 4 am, got up for the loo, went back to sleep fairly quickly and slept till 7 :-)

I’ve no plans for the day and will see what mood I’m in. Maybe a bit of h/w, a bit of gardening and a bit of shopping. For the last couple of years I’ve had a delivery every 2 weeks but am now trying to stretch it to 3 weeks, so I need to get a bit of fresh veg and fruit. I find that the shops aren’t very busy around 1 pm when people are at lunch and going then avoids all the mums fitting shopping in with the school run. With deliveries I now only wipe down what is going to be needed in the next couple of days so it doesn’t take long. That’s the level of risk I’m prepared to take but as we’ve said before it’s a personal decision.

I’m rabbiting on and I ought to be getting dressed and having some breakfast. I’ve had a nice cuppa but need to get myself going now.