General Chat

Yes sorry Mel finger trouble. She has been into Glos docks many times and once spent quite a long time here Couldn’t really see her properly today but it was like seeing an old friend she is beautiful and, I think probably the largest ship we get here.

Its the Kathleen & May and used to be at Bideford. At Christmas they put all fairy lights from mast to mast and she was all lit up with plain white lights.

Here's a bit of her history.

She was acquired by a film company in the early 1960s, used in a small number of films and then laid up in Southampton Water, where she was spotted in 1966 by master mariner Capt WP (Paul) Davis, a James Fisher skipper. He sold most of his collection of vintage and veteran motor cars to raise the money to buy her. With a crew of one (a retired agricultural engineer, McKenzie (Ken) Morgan), Paul sailed her around the coast to Appledore, where she was berthed on the mud in the estuary outside the port (to avoid port dues). Paul resigned his post with James Fisher and spent the next five years working on the restoration of the schooner with the help of friends, financed by the sale of more of his collection of vintage cars and on occasion by work conducting sea trials on new vessels for Appledore shipbuilders. Paul's ambition was to restore her to working condition and then to ply the Bristol channel as a merchantman again, but the job proved too big a challenge and in 1970 he sold her to the Maritime museum.

The Duke of Edinburgh in a bid to preserve a number of examples of Britain's decaying maritime heritage set up the Maritime Trust in London. The Trust moved her to Gloucester Docks, and began restoring her as a typical West Country schooner.,[1] but failed to secure a £2 million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant.

Businessman Steve Clarke from Bideford, Devon then bought her. Towed by sea to Bideford, in February 1999 she was hauled out of the water by two 1,000 tonnes (1,100 tons) heavy lift mobile cranes, and placed on to the disused Brunswick Wharf at East-the-Water.[2] 70% of the original planking was stripped from the frames, enabling most of her internal timbers to later be refitted. While the stern of the ship was stripped down to the keels, the reconstruction of the bow required the replacement of 6.5 tonnes (6.4 long tons; 7.2 short tons) of sacrificial oak timber. Once the frames were refitted, the surviving parts of the original frames were steam cleaned at 3000psi, to kill fungal spores.[1]

The ship was fitted with a 400 brake horsepower (300 kW) Detroit diesel ex-lifeboat engine, and the single propeller was replaced by a pair of hydraulically driven propellers. The ship now carries enough fuel to do 2,000 miles (3,200 km) under engine power alone. Redecked with new seasoned timbers, she was given a second refit, with all masts and rigging restored to the originally constructed and researched 1900 specification. On completion, she underwent a rigorous MCA CAT2 inspection.[1]

As a result of his efforts in restoring Kathleen and May, Councillor Steve Clarke was awarded the OBE in 2008.

I thought I got on well this morning!!!! I tidyed some stuff up in the lounge so I could get to my dolls house. Put lots of things away in their proper places. a general sort out of things and a draw or two and then thought I would get the lunch as oh was up the caravan. Just as I was starting lunch after taking my lunch time pill he turned the tv on for us to watch Doctors and it had finished!!!!!!!!!!!! Echo said the time was 1.40pm but it was actually 2.15pm. The leccy went out in the night so she must have been showing the wrong time. Funny thing is I usually get hungry around 1pm but today I did'nt.

So now I am all behind, well not literally but I have now lost the afternoon after a good morning. Blast blast blast :-| :-| :-|

Back from my adventure out with Anne. Sad really that it is so exciting visiting Sainsbury's. Actually it was nice although their lunch choices are very limited (especially when I can't bite on my front teeth). My only option was soup and a roll and the roll was a hard roll (meant to be hard) so I had to break it up and put it in the soup, which was tomato and roast pepper and very nice. No cooked meals at all. This store is on the bank of the canal, near the docks the cafe looks out over the canal.

I fought a bag full of shopping which with what I have in the fridge and freezer means I can cancel my Sunday Tesco delivery. I also bought a sweater for £10 and half price pair of joggers (for gardening) £6

After we had taken the stuff to the car We walked along the canal until we reached neilsons boatyard where he has several tall ships in including the Katherine May which I think is based at Charleston now and is used for a lot of filming, sadly she is mostly under wraps so not a good photography subject He is obviously doing well, he is one of the only boatyards that deals with tall ships.

Anne picked me up at 12 and I got home at 2.45. She is very good, when we drive home she always tries to drive a different way because she says I don't get out and about to see places so we came round by Gloucester park and down past where the solicitors we went to once is and she was pointing places out, where she lived, went to church and school as a child. I really enjoyed the afternoon..

After we had taken the stuff to the car And walked along the canal until we reached neilsons boatyalrd where he has several tall ships in including the katherine May which I think is based at Charleston now and is used for a lot of filming, sadly she is mostly under wraps so not a good photography subject

Anne picked me up at 12 and I got home at 2.45. She is very good, when we drive home she always tries to drive a different way because she says I don't get out and about to see places so we came round by Gloucester park and down past where the solicitors we went to is and she was pointing places out, where she lived, went to church and school as a child. I really enjoyed the afternoon.

Afternoon all,

We've seen a little bit of sun today still a bit breezy out but not that cold .

That was a surprise to see William had posted ,there will be lots of excitement at the end of the month with Carmen's birthday celebrations .

Vera enjoy your meal tonight looking forward to hearing what you have to eat .

Anng hope you enjoy your trip out too.

I got all my ironing done this morning had a good hoover through ,just watching Doctor's and then Hope Street is on thats quite good too.

I forgot to say I had a really good night last night. Put the light out at 11pm and woke at 0559 then dropped off again until 0800.

Morning girls from a very grey Devon.

Pc says 7 degrees and a pic of a nice grey cloud I don't think. I thought it was going to be nice weather th is week with sunshine but we've not seen much of it yet and there's only a couple of days to go to the end of the week.

Nothing planned for today so will see how it goes when I get going. Just having my COC.

Enjoy you're meal out tonight Vera and I hope its as good as the take away you had from the other one.

Enjoy your trip out to the Gloucester dock area don't spend too much money.

Good morning all, looks like slight drizzle out there, very grey PC says 6 degrees. Not sure what time she is picking me up but Anne is coming around 12 I think and might be going to Gloucester docks area. She said something about visiting the big Sainsburys there, hopefully it won't be too crowded,

Annx glad to be of service and look how much you got done. I half filled my bin but it will go down as it was all light prunings. Pleased I did it now it is too wet to go out there today.

OOh Vera, a meal out to look forward to how nice. Enjoy it.

Good morning all

It looks like another very grey day.

I had another awful night. It’s not that I didn’t sleep but I woke every hour, pretty much on the hour. After 10 or 15 minutes I fell asleep again so in total I probably got a few hours but only sleeping for about 45 minutes at a time I never got into a proper deep sleep.

OH wanted to go out for a meal to the Turkish restaurant in town, having enjoyed the takeaway we had from the other Turkish place. There will only be the 2 of us and they space their tables well so I said OK. I did ask him to book earlier than his usual 8 pm so we have a table for 6.30 tonight.

Other than that and the hairdresser at 3 pm I have no plans for the day.

Today was Candlemas the day the birds pair up. If you bred budgies this was the day to put your pairs together.

Well you put me to shame so I went out and filled 2 humpers with prunings AnnG! OH started protesting that the bin was nearly full, but he never allows for the fact that it settles down after a few days and there's more room then. They never emptied the garden bin last week and we wondered why and then we found someone had posted our 'PAID' sticker through the door so it must have come off the bin. The way the lorry handles the bins has also nearly taken off our house number too.

Oh Vera it's not been your day has it! What a nuisance the car decided not to start when you needed to get to your hair appointment. I must admit I have started to wonder about the battery on my car as it still has the original which is over 6 years old now. Still at least it should be ok tomorrow and your OH will get a new battery fitted soon.

You can enjoy a weekend without worrying about your tooth AnnG. I hope all goes well with your two appointments next week.

Hallo William. I knew your name but think you had more or less stopped posting on this thread before I started so it’s nice to “meet” you.

I see you are as busy as ever Gill. I wish I had half your energy. I bet that bungalow and garden will look amazing when it is finished. It will be a home to be proud of. It’s taken a long time for Sandra to get her boiler sorted. She must be really pleased she’s got heating and hot water at last.

There hasn’t been any sun here today. It stayed dry and was quite mild though there was still quite a nip in the breeze. The skies have been grey, grey, grey...matched my mood perfectly. I’ve had such a frustrating day. OH got the car out of the garage for me as I had a hair appointment at 10.30. He said it was a bit sluggish to start. It’s only a 10 minute drive to town and a few minutes walk from the car park to the hairdresser so I went out just after 10 am. Car wouldn’t start! After 3 attempts I came in and called OH who couldn’t get it going either. So I had to ring the hairdressers and get rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon while OH rang the breakdown people. We’ve got a Volvo so use their own VolvoAssist. While we were waiting for their engineer to come I got rid of some of my irritation by going for a short walk and then vaccing the downstairs and giving it a thorough dusting, doing all the bits OH misses when he dusts for me. The engineer arrived about 12 noon. It appeared to be a dead battery though the car has been used regularly. Anyway he spent a couple of hours testing and charging it up and it should be OK for a while but I expect OH will get a new battery fitted before too long. So I feel today has been wasted and my plans for tomorrow have gone to pot because I now have to go to the hairdressers. C’est la vie, as they say.

I’ve had enough for one day so I am not cooking a big dinner tonight. We’ll be having an easy egg and chips meal.

It has been and still is sunny here PC says 11 degrees. I did about an hour in the garden cutting back stuff. I thought I had cleared it all in the autumn but there is still plenty to do out there.

Mel, just the xray today. Monday he will do the impression, Tuesday he will take the tooth out and put the new denture straight in.

You can sleep easy for a few days now anng. So it was'nt as bad as you thought. Did you have the imprsessions done today?

Its 11 degrees here and quite pleasent out and Iv'e just put wasshing on the line and done some ironing and had a nice long shower while oh was at the doc's.

I am now going to do his pills for the week and mine too. Soi that will be another job out of the way.

We have had some sunshine and its still tryiing to come out over the back but the front is still grey.

Afternoon All,

Slept well again and it is dull and 10 degrees here.

Lovely to see you here again Will. I can't believe Carmel will be 90 this month and I expect she can't believe it either. I look forward to reading your poems. I don't know how you manage to come up with them all. Campers Cafe is well worth a visit for those who are on FB as are your other sites! Very best wishes to you and Carmel too.

A visit from Gill too which is good! What I did to level a step in the wall at my old house was to use a piece of wood a couple of feet long, one end on the high edge and the other on the low part and scrape it down over the filler to taper it from high to low. Any imperfections left can easily be patched once it's dry and then all sanded smooth. We bought most of our bathroom suite at different sales so have a look at B&Q or Wickes if you have one near you. Sometimes they are half price. It sounds like another busy year for you with still clearing some of those trees, but at least you are making progress and the bungalow is coming along nicely. Poor Sandra having to wait so long for her boiler to be fixed! I bet she iwill think she's in a heatwave once it is done now.

So you have it all to do again on Monday AnnG with your tooth. At least it isn't giving any pain though. I never trust alarm clocks either and never sleep well if I have an early appointment the next day. I have 2 small alarm clocks in the bedroom and often set both of them now!! lol.

I'd better go and see if the pork chops are ready and get lunch next. Not sure what to do this afternoon yet but I wish the sun would come out and tempt me into the garden for a stint!

He pushed and prodded it and said it was 'safe' and firm, then he Xrayed it. didn't take it out today, As I have to be without a denture overnight while the new one is made I didn't want to do that today as I hope to go out tomorrow, so I have an appointment at 0900 Monday (and I thought 0930 was bad enough! and will be gummy until 11.30 Tuesday when he will take the tooth out and put the new denture straight in. (always assuming it fits unlike Tony's when it was done two years ago.

Pity I didn't know that he would not take it out today I would not have been so nervous..

Morning Gill and Anng and all,

Another grey day here but its not windy which is good.

I am having to type with wrong fingers as my index hurts when I hit the keys. Only a very slight sign of grey on the nail this morning so I am hoping it is'nt going to go black.

Hope you get on ok at the dentist this morning Anng and it all goes to plan thinking of you.

Good morning all. Up early, as I didn't sleep well. totally predictable as I was worried about oversleeping. Never entirely trust the alarm. Appointment was put forward to 0930 so an extra 15 minutes to wait. Not looking forward to this at all, extractions are so unpredictable.

Hi all, we're still busy at the moment I'm sorting out the bathroom wall, where we had it extended using part of the hall we've noticed there's an inch difference in plaster thickness between the original bathroom wall and the hall wall so I'm trying to fill it to make it more even, where the wall was taken down, to bridge the gap. I asked OH to chase a bit of the wall out for me but he got carried away and made a massive hole, so last night I had to make a start fixing it while he was in work. Hopefully it won't take me to long to sort the walls out then they'll be ready to either paint or tile. I took a look online at the bathrooms and kitchen, and they are very expensive so it looks like it might be a while before we can have them both done. We'd like the bathroom done first, I don't mind waiting for the kitchen as we still haven't worked out how we'd like it yet.

OH is still clearing the roots out in the garden, doing an hour a day before going to work. All those hours have built up and he's almost finished one side now. As for what we're going to do with the garden once it's all cleared is anyone's guess as we keep changing our minds on what we'd like. There's still a lot to clear and I can't do the trees on the other side until the spring otherwise with them all being bare I won't know which ones I want to keep and which to cut down.

Hopefully the garden will be cleared of everything we don't want by the summer then when we can see the garden as a whole we might have some fresh ideas of how we'd like it. With being surrounded by fields it's very windy so we'll have to think about that as we don't want any plants we put in dying.

You asked about bulbs coming up Mandy, funny you should ask as I took loads out of the ground when I was clearing two boarders last year and popped them in empty pots that I put on our kitchen window sill and today I noticed they were showing signs of growing, so I'm going to have to plants them in pots for now until we've decided where to put them. If memory serves me right I think they were bluebells, we must have a few hundred of them.

Good news for Sandra, she's finally getting her boiler done on Friday, she's been without hot water and central heating for about 8 months now. She'll be complaining she's to hot next week lol. ;-) ;-)

My sleep pattern has been all over the place lately and I find I'm awake at night and sleeping during the day so I'm going to watch Coronation Street now as I was asleep when it was on. I've just had to watch Emmerdale on my laptop as it failed to record on Sky for some reason. I'm looking forward to the Winter Olympics starting on Friday, both OH and I prefer the Winter one to the summer and are looking forward to watching it.

Well I'd better go, hope everyone is okay. <3

O Will its lovely to see you pop in we still miss you you know. Sending love to you both. <3 <3

Whilst doing the dinner tonight I shut the cuttlery draw and my finger was in it so I now have a very sore index finger on my right hand and I think it its going to go black just above the half moon on the nail. That'll put my project back and its already hurting when I type. I shall have to cut the nail off I think. It is rather long.