General Chat

Morning Frank and all,

Yes its chilly here too today Frank, its the blimmin windy thats cold. The skies are grey too which dos'nt help but at least its not raining at the moment. I do hope you can find those passports Frank with the price of replacing them. More expense!! and what a price. Not a cheap holiday after all if you have to replace them. Good luck in your searches today.

I have just emailed back my cousin in Ohio as she asked if I had been in touch with a nephew she passed on an email address for and I had.

Oh is attacking the hedge again this morning and it looks like he is over half way with the side of the hedge.

Morning all,

Bright and very breezy here today so the washing is getting a good blow.

Frank have you put any bags or cases in the garage since you last went away ? might be worth a check especially if you bought new cases and stored the old ones ,just a thought.

Hope the doctor can find out whats wrong Gill and give you something to make you feel better.

Soon be lunch time ........we have a nice Cromer Crab Frank :-D

That's interesting Mel to be getting all this family info particularly when it's people you didn't know anything about!
We're lucky with our hedges as the farmer whose field runs alongside our property does it for us both sides, the same on the roadside, so apart from a bit on our side at the back of the bungalow which OH does in the autumn, it's one job we don't have to worry about.
Flipping cold here this morning the wind is horrible!! Tuna bake for supper tonight, ready meal I'm afraid!! I always used to make it but our appetites aren't what they were so it's easier to buy these days!
I must wash curtains the next lot of hot weather we get, they are 'dirty' to say the least, but being heavy they take a bit of drying so will have to wait awhile!!

Well I'll be Bug@ered, I was typing happily away, when the page went to WIGETS, what ever they are. So I will have to start again.


I have given up the search for the passports. I rang Peterborough to make an appointment. They were so busy, that the message said leave your number and someone will call you back. I thought oh yer,!! sometime never.!!! Anyway within the hour a very pleasant chap phoned back. He was so polite and Helpful, I could not do anything, but TO THANK HIM for all his help.

We have an appointment for 12.00 Noon next Wednesday, and will get the passports by Special Delivery the following Wednesday. All we need to take is the application forms and signed photo's. I paid the fee of £284.00 over the telephone. Fortunately JOHN, yes John, is a magistrate, and is able to sign the photo's. The doctors use to do it, but stopped a few years ago.

I am waiting for Ros to get back from Grocery shopping, then we can go and get my photo taken, fill out the forms, and get John to sign a declaration on the form and the photo's THEN I will put them in a SAFE PLACE for next Wednesday. I just hope everything is in order, and I haven't missed anything out on the applications. I will make sure whoever I see checks everything.

This is not a good time for me at the moment.I just don't seem to be able to handle stress and worry.

Both Conrad and Jan have said they will pay for the passports, NO WAY, they have already spent a lot of money for our flights and Villa. But knowing Conrad, the money will suddenly appear in our bank account. !!

I had better get changed and ready for the off. Catch you all later.

Have got an appointment for Physio! Hooray!! It's at Malmesbury Hospital so no distance which is lucky as its at 9.30am!!
Dull old afternoon here, so think I'll read my new kindle book!

Afternoon All
I have done enough now for today and it is time for a sit down. I feel quite pooped.

Frank,what a shame you havent found the passports. I hope they dont suddenly show up as soon as you get the new ones !!!!!!. Just remember when you go not to have anything sharp in your pockets as you have to go through a scanner. Hannah was asked if she had anything and said no, but had forgotten she had a set of Darts in her jacket pocket LOL They were taken off her until she left the building :-D She had been to a Darts match the night before. it was all a bit embarrassing :-S but funny. :-D

When is your Physio Liz? That came through quickly :-D I forgot to tell you that I bought one of the Freeze things to go on painful backs,joints etc. I was going to get the spray but got a roll on one .It is just like a roll on deodorant. So I am giving that a go instead of heat patches and think it might just be helping.

Gill I am glad you have an appointment today with your GP. Even if there is nothing really wrong at least you will have been checked out. You have had so much to deal with over the last year so it could be a contributing factor as to why you keep gettting ill.

Mel, you do make a lot of Sausage Rolls. Do you make them yourself ? It has been many years since I made any. I never ever make my own pastry these days as the ready rolled is just as good ,and I knw some of the top chefs even use that. So if it is good enough for them then I dont have to feel lazy by buying it
:-D :-D

The wind seems to be getting up a bit here now and it is all grey cloud.Not a bit od blue left at all. I have just seen Thomas with the wind up his tail tearing off at a rate of knots down the garden LOL. He did look funny.

Hannah rang earlier and said she had done her exam the other day. I said I know as she had already told me !!!! We had along chat . She just couldnt remember that conversation . She said she had been so exhausted she didnt know whether she was coming or going. I think she had been revising so hard and then having the exam she was just wiped out .She and Gareth are going to Cheltenham this afternoon as it is Gareths Sisters 30th .Hannah had got a special Card to go with her present and it is one where you open a little flap and inside it says"Will you be my Bridesmaid" :-D She said all the wedding invites will be going out next week.

I have had to put my cotton gloves on again as my fingers have got sore from all the housework I have been doing today. I have slathered on the cream and put the gloves on top.

We havent had one cold call now for 2 days !!!! :-D. I hope that will continue now for a while before they all start up again. I think we must do the telphone preference thing once again. I have the number written down .

Frank that really kind of Conrad and Jan to offer to pay for your new Passports. I cnt believe how expensive they are now :-0. I must check ours. I think we still have a few years left on them. Did you see that the first motorised Suitcase has been made :-D. I am not quite sure how that works.

I am going to have to go and get a cardi as I just have a sleeveless top on and my arms are really quite chilly.

June 5th Jane at 9.30!! It's for an assessment! Presumably that'll tell the physiotherapist the course of appropriate action!! We've lit the fire this evening, it's flipping cold!! Cas has settled herself down in front of it!!
I haven't made sausage rolls or mince pies for years now there's only the two of us, its easier to buy the par cooked ones and just finish them off in the oven. I think I'd buy ready roll pastry too if I used it. I always used to make everything but not now - too much hassle!!!!

Not too long to wait then Liz. It is good you wont have to travel far for your appointment :-D.
I can't light our fire now. Well I could, but we have removed all the logs now from the lounge and it wont be lit again until the Autumn/Winter.If we need a bit of heat I shall just put the central heating on for a while. I have long sleeves on now and feel much more comfortable :-D.
The main pre made pastry I buy is the Filo Pastry when I do that lovely Chicken Pie.I dont think I shall ever make my own pastry again. All that mess,and rolling out ,getting it stuck the rolling pin and board !!!!!. No thank you :-D Anything that makes cookng easier suits me fine :-D
I hope you enjoy your Tuna Bake. That is one dish I am afraid I hate. I dont mind tinned Tuna,but hate it hot. I actually cant remember the last time I had tinned Tuna. I bet there might be a couple of old tins lurking in the back of a cupboard :-D

I do sometimes make my own pastry as I think it is better than the bought ready made but I did try the Jusroll pastry sheet for the pie I m ade the other day and it was very nice so I bought two packs this week. It saves getting the kitchen all dusty too as when I sive the flour a great cloud goes up. Oh has a couple of sausage rolls in the morning for breakfast way before I get up.

Oh has reached the end of the box hedge this morning and went back out after lunch and it started raining so that put a stop to that job. I did some ironing and it suddenly came over very dark and it poured with rain. At precicly 6pm out came the sun and out went oh to pick up all the clipping and now he has mowed that lawn.

I am pleased Gill has made an appointment with the doc as she has been getting these viruses or whatever for some time now. I still think she does too much too soon after not feeling top notch.

I like Tuna Pasta Bake but i haven't made one for a while now ,i was thinking earlier we haven't had Pilchards for a while but i do hate the bony bits like a spine in the fish i have to pick all that out and scrape a lot of the tomato sauce off as i find that a bit rich.

We've just had beans on toast tonight we had the Crab at lunch time so we weren't that hungry .

It's turned quite chilly here ,we're thinking about lighting the fire .

Jane I have pm'd you.

Jane, I first had Tuna bake when I was working in an old folks home donkeys years ago. It was a private house with six ladies in residence at any one time + the family that ran it. The pay was awful, but it was a lovely place with a wonderful homely atmosphere and stood me in good stead when I joined care in the community a few years later. We did all the cooking in situ and Tuna bake was a favourite!! Thing is the pre cooked one is only 4.mins in the microwave! what could be easier?!!

Well, what a waste of money, I picked up my glasses and can't see a thing through them, everything is blurry and the frames don't fit properly either. I wish I could take them back and ask for my money back as I can't use them. Thankfully I still have my old glasses so will keep using those. I saw a lovely lady doctor this afternoon who has given me an inhaler and some antibiotics. She's not sure if I have a chest infection or not so told me if I still have a cough when I've finished the tablets in a weeks time, then it's a virus. So all in all not a good day. OH's been in a bit of a bad mood too as I asked him and Sandra for help with some housework this morning as I couldn't manage it on my own and our place really needed sorting. They helped, but weren't pleased about it.

I've not long woken up, I can't believe how much sleep I'm having lately. I assume it's helping me even if it doesn't feel like it yet.

Gill, that sounds odd about your glasses?! Surely the optician fitted them for you before you left the surgery to make certain that they were ok?! As they're unsatisfactory you'll have to take them back to the optician who prescribed them, get them to make them up properly or give you a refund for you to go elsewhere, specs are far too expensive to be unusable! Any difficulty, you can always murmur about trade descriptions and unfit for purpose!!!! Glad you did ok at the Dr's though!
The Tuna was delicious, and now we're off to Indonesia with a re locating family!!

Where did you go for your spec Gill? You should have had them fitted when you went to pick them up and they adjust them for you there and then and measure to make sure you are looking through the right bits. Spec savers took my frames back two weeks after me wearing them and have changed them for another style of frame with a smaller lens in them and I hav'nt had to pay anymore. They just were'nt ready for me to pick up this week becasue of the holiday. I said I would go in next week and they said that was fine. They also have a 2 year guarantee. I have my free pair to wear which are the ones that go dark in the sunlight.

Morning all

Nice and sunny here today and I've woken up feeling a little better now I'm taking the tablets and inhaler. the inhaler is really helping so I'm not coughing as much and managing a bit more sleep at night.

I'm going to go back to the opticians on Monday to see what they can do about my glasses. I did tell the man that I couldn't read through them properly but he just gave me bigger writing to read which didn't help when I tried to use my glasses for my laptop. Hopefully they'll be able to sort it out otherwise I'll have to ask for my money back as they weren't cheap and if I can't use them it's just a waste of money.

I went to our local opticians Mel, but there is a Specsavers two doors down so if I don't have any luck when I go back I'll try Specsavers and see if they can do a better job. At least I've still got my old glasses so I can use them for now. I bought a cheap pair of glasses once from the pound shop and they were the best ones I've ever had, the only problem with them is because they were cheap the frame broke after a few times of using them, but I'm tempted to go and get some more and just be a bit more careful with them next time.

You're right Liz they weren't fit for purpose so I'll mention that when I see them next week. I could do without having to go back with not feeling very well, but they cost so much I can't afford not to. Pleased to see you appointment has come through, that was quick wasn't it?

That was nice of Conrad and Jan to offer to pay for the passports Frank. I assume you still haven't found your old ones yet? Good job you checked and have the time to sort out new ones in time for your holiday.

The card Hannah bought sounds really lovely Jane, I've never heard of one with a little flap in it before, what a nice idea to ask someone to be your bridesmaid.

How is your OH getting on with the hedge Mel, it sounds like a big job. Hope the weather stays nice for him to finish it. It poured with rain here last night and the wind picked up. I didn't mind the rain as it waters all my plants and the grass we moved the other day. The last thing I want is for the two new lawn areas to die and it saves us watering it twice a day. I had to give my Red Robins a good drink the other day as all the leaves were wilting. It took me a while as I had to keep stopping with all the coughing I was doing. That's the problem with pot plants they dry out so quickly so you have to keep on top of the watering. It sounds like you're getting on well with all the new cousins you've found, you'll be able to sort out that part of your tree quite easily now.

Going to get a cuppa now and then I might take a little look at my family tree. OH is going to his mates and Sandra is still asleep so it'll be nice and quiet for me to concentrate. The qualifying for the F1 is on later so I'm looking forward to that, then Sandra wants to watch the Eurovision Song Contest, so that's our evening sorted ;-)

Good morning to all I have just lost very long post. BAH !!!

As I was saying, after a stressful couple of days we settled down for the evening, and filled out our passport form. Ros will make them roundto John to sign.

While searching the draws and cupboards I found a rube of "BIOFREEZE" pain relieving gel. Wonderful stuff. I . some last night and my neck and shoulder are still pain free this morning. It states it's for"ARTHRITIS, SORE MUSSELS, & JOINT & BACKPAIN. For those of you who suffer like I do, please google it, and find a supplier.

Jane, We always empty our pockets etc into a tray before going through the scanner. I bet Hannah was a bit RED in the face lol lol

I've never eaten a TUNE BAKE. I will have to check if Ros likes that and perhaps make one. For what pastry we use it's always JUST ROLL or similar.

Gill get back to the opticians, they should never have let you out of the shop with out first CHECKING they were right. Who did you use ???

Simon called in from his Hospital trip, to have his blood removed. He told me that last weekend they were out on the Narrow boat, and grounded in a lock. Some guy opened the lock to flood it so he could float. The pressure of water was so great that it hit the rudder so hard it swung the TILLER round and KNOCKED him off the boat. The lock was filling and he was taken under the boat, just missing the propeller. He came up the other side and the first thing he heard was SALLY screaming "MY HUSBAND IS DEAD" People came from everywhere, only to find Simon dragging himself up on to the boat. What a lucky escape.

Sally does her Marathon walk around London tonight. The forecast is RAIN, so won't be a pleasant adventure.

We have the 80th Birthday Party tomorrow afternoon/ evening. How long we stay will depend on the weather. The forecast is rain and cold.

Still siting around in our dressing gowns, I will have another cot then shower and dress.

See you all.Take care whatever you are doing xxx

Nice morning here for the minute!! Have hung a load of washing so fingers crossed it doesn't rain before lunch!!
Oh good Gill, I'm glad you're going to sort out your glasses. Tbh I expect they'll put them right for you without any trouble, so I wouldn't worry too much about it!
Eurovision?!!!! Oh no! that's one programme we would both PAY NOT to watch - enough said ;-)
Nothing planned for today so see what turns up!! OH is having a bonfire so we can get rid of a load of rubbish. This business with plastics is really bothering us, so as we don't have any close neighbours we shall try and incinerate what we can. Every little helps!!!

My page numbers are wrong so I am posting to see if I can get to the last page. It says I am on the last page but the posts are for 27 May 2010.

I get this sometimes Mel! I just cancel it and go back to the beginning and start again.
Bonfire is lit and burning well!! Your gel sounds just the job Frank! I'll look it up and maybe give it a whirl! I'm willing to try anything to relieve my poor old muscles!!!