General Chat

Frank, when I was feeding the Hedgehog last year Thomas was very interested in the food. I had to wiat until I got Thomas in before putting the food out. Sooo it could well be a puddytat scoffing :-D

Mel I have some swatches .Little squares of chiffon,satin different colours that are no use to me . Would you like them . Just thinking they might come in handy with your craft work. Let me know if you want them and I wlll send them.

Morning everyone,

Its still cloudy here but o so warm with it. We had a tiny bit of rain last night as I went out to watch a hog and could hear this dripping. It was the rain coming off the roof over the patio there's no gutter so it just drips on the decking of the big pond.

Jane thank you for your kind offer of the material and yes please they may come in handy. I hav'nt quite finished the envelope for the card yet with the show coming up everything went out of the window craft wise.

I just went out side to see if the washing was dry I put out last night and its covered in those tiny what I call harvest mites. Those little tiny black specs that get everywhere in your net curtains and pictures. We hav'nt been bothered by these for years now. I remember once when I lived in Suffolk I had white cupboards in the kitchen and one day I came in to find them covered in the little blighters.

Yesterday was my dads birthday and he would have been 97 so its 40 years since he died. :-( Today would have been my best friends birthday and she woud have been 69. :-(

Meant to say your onions look lovely and tasty Jane. They like the hot weather do onions and not rain cos they get neck rot.

Good morning Mel, and all you fair maidens,


"Neck ROT" I think that's what I might have, lol lol.It had me awake at 4.30 this morning, and from then, to when I got up I just tossed and turned. My wasn't it hot in bed last night as well ??

Just out of the shower after three COT. Don't feel at all hungry so will eat at lunchtime.

Like me Mel, and I expect the rest of us. We all remember the dates of our parents passing. I remember my Dads more than Mums, because of the traumatic time I had with him, leading up to his passing. He would be 132 on the 22nd of this month and dead 60 years last 30th January.

Now to happier things, Harvey will be coming up for dinner Sunday, but not until around 7.00 pm. He has so much work on at present, and with this HOT WEATHER is taking longer to do, will all the breaks he has to take. We rang him last night around 9,30 but no reply. He got in about that time, and went straight into the garden to do the watering. So caught him this morning on his Mobile.

Just had a call from VAL (Sid's wife) with a cry for HELP. She was visiting her daughter yesterday and when she went to come home, it would' start. Instead of ringing the RAC she got a lift home, and wants Ros to take her back this morning. She will then ring the RAC and have it bought back to the local garage. I hope it's no going to be expensive as it's an 03 plate, and just used by her to get around. Never used for long journeys.

Just checked on the Veg. situation for the weekend. I have everything we need and MORE !!! I think Ros is still shopping for the family lol lol. I have got half a leg of Lamb out of the freezer for Sunday, and also found a nice ICE CREAM DESERT, which I will get out Sundy evening. SO NO EXPENSE for dinner. What a nice change that is !!!

We have so many DOVES and WOOD PIGEONS around at the moment, all you can hear is them COOING from the roof tops. It's enough to send you LOOPY !!!!

Sun has disappeared and there is not a breath of air to be had. Both fans are working overtime. Roa has just gone to pick Val up and take her to her daughters.

I'm off with a new book, into the garden. Have a good day all. xxx

Morning Mel, morning all

Cloudy here today and they say we might have some rain later, so that'll do the gardens well.

Good news, the HOSEPIPE BAN has been cancelled.......Hooray. I was so worried with all the pots we have to water and of course the new plants in the front garden, so now I don't need to worry for a while. They say it was because the temperature dropped for a few days and we had some rain, I don't care what the reason was I'm just pleased I don't have to spend hours watering everything with a watering can.

More good news, we found the planters in the right size we wanted so have ordered two of those. We are going to put wheels on them and a bit of bamboo screen behind the lattice trellis for a bit more privacy from Mr Grumpy and of course paint it, but it's a lot less work than making them from scratch. They are 4ft wide 18 inches from front to back and 5ft high. I'm not sure how deep the actual planter is but I have plenty of plants to choose from that I'm sure will fit.

And more good news, well it started off bad then turned to good. We went to a garden centre we like, just a small once but the prices aren't to bad at the end of the season, to find that he is closing down :-( of course we were very disappointed as we buy quite a few plants from there. Anyway we got talking to the man who owns it and he told us about a few other small cheap garden centres we didn't know about, tucked away down a country lane, so off we toddled to have a look and I found some sedums I wanted, they were about 2ft tall and only £5.50 each. I also found some snow in summer (can't remember their proper name) they were only £2 so I bought 5 of them and 5 sedums. The lady who served us told us to turn left out of the garden centre rather than turning right, which was the way we came in, as it was quicker for us to get home....well, on the way home I noticed a sign for another very small garden centre, well it wasn't quite a garden centre more of a patch of land someone had popped a few plants on, so we went and had a look. The place was more of a country lane with very poor looking plants along each side, so I had a look around and found a few which didn't look to bad,
I managed to buy 5 plants for £5 so I re-potted them and they look really nice. Oh and I forgot to say when we went to the one that is closing down he was selling plants pots for 50p each so I bought a few which I used to re-pot the shabby looking plants I bought at the last place. So all in all we ended up having a really good bargain day. It's much better than working all day.

We called into the garden centre we go to at Christmas and then to the water feature place next door just to have a bit of a nosy around, but the sun came out and I ended up to hot......silly me hadn't eaten all day and my sugar levels had dropped a bit, couple that with the really hot weather and I started to feel faint, luckily they had a shop so I bought a bottle of pop and a bag of sugary sweets, I soon felt better, but must remember next time I go out to eat something first.

When we got home I put a couple of the sedums and snow in summer plants in the front garden. I think they will grow better in the ground and will fill in some of the spaces we have there. The rest of the plants are now in the pots I bought. So all in all, apart from feeling unwell for half an hour, we had a nice time out and now have some new plant places to re-visit in the future.

I haven't read the posts yet so will go and do that now. I also want to see if I can find the name of one of the plants I bought yesterday. I was told the name but can't remember what it was. It's a perennial, has lime green long thin leaves and will produce blue flowers. I've never seen one before, but hopefully I'll find it online so I know if I've planted it in the right compost, it would be a shame to loose it as it's really nice.

I don't suppose anyone knows what it's called from my description???

No Idea Gill, I'm not a Percy Thrower lol lol. You certainly have been busy, out buying up everything in sight. !!! You won't have any space left in your garden.

I think I will treat Ros to something to eat out tonight. By the time we finish at he Physo's it will be 6.00 pm. I don't think I will want to come home and start cooking then. I haven't treated her to a bite out at our nice pub for a few weeks, so it will make a change.

The sun is now out, so I will grabby book and a bottle of water and disappear into the garden. the front door is locked, and Ros has a key, so all safe and sound.

I see from a chap in Kettering that there has been a great number of burglaries, and cars being stolen. SO keep everywhere locked Jane, I would hate for you to report a BREAK IN, or a car stolen. BE SAFE. !!!

Has it got little ball type flowers or berries Gill?

Dianella tasmanica Grass Native Tasmania

There's nothing on it at the moment Mel, but I was told it has blue flowers, not sure if they are in the spring or later in the year. The area it was kept in was very overgrown and dark with the over hanging trees so maybe it likes the shade as it wasn't dying. I've put it in a bigger pot today and popped some gravel around the base of it. When I watered it the soil came over it and covered the bottom leaves, this way, hopefully the water will go into the pot and not flatten the plant into the soil.

Yes, I did buy quite a few plants yesterday Frank, but I will need a few to put in the planters when they arrive. I've ordered two 4ft long ones, so I'll have 8 foot to plant up. Hope all goes okay at your physio appointment today. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

It's still very cloudy and trying it's best to rain, we've had a few spots of rain already but nothing to speak of yet. I watched the weather earlier and it looks like we might get a decent downpour later. OH and I have decided to sort out the front lawn tomorrow, it's sunk in the middle so we need to dig that area up, put some soil down to level it and put the grass back. With the hosepipe ban cancelled we can keep it watered until it knits together again, it should only take a couple of weeks. Sandra and I keep falling into the large dip and hurting our ankles so it needs sorting. We are also going to re-shape it back into a circle and make the edges tidy again, the poor lawn has took a battering lately with all the work we've been doing, I don't think walking over it as much as we have lately has done it any good. The hot weather hasn't helped either.

I've just taken a look at the plant you mentioned Mel. My plant has lime green leaves so I'm not sure if they are the same. It looks a bit like spiderwort (My Sweet Kate) but my leaves aren't as long. Maybe the spiderwort I looked at was older and the leaves have just grown longer than mine. Once it flowers that will give me more clues as to what it is. I just hope I've planted it properly and it doesn't die before then.

You have lost m completely Gill, as Ros would tell you, I hardly know a flower from a weed.

It has been warm enough for me to sit out in the shade reading. Not sure I am going to enjoy the nw book. It started with this silly girl thinking the plane she was on was CRASHING where in fact it was turbulence, and she is telling a complete sranger next to her, all her life experiences, and what she hopes for the future. I am on chapter 4 so will give it a little longer.

Have just got out of the shower AGAIN, had a shave, and sitting in my u/pants cooling off. It will be bad enough latter, when I have to put a shirt and trousers on. Not knowing the practice , I don't think it would be right to go in shorts. Call m old fashion, but that's how I was bought up. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Roa bought home a prawn salad for lunch. neither of us liked it, there was far to much ROCKET and grated CARROT. So will be looking forward to having what I want this evening. I can almost say without a doubt that Ros will settle for a 5 oz Steak with Pepper sauce, the trimmings, plus a side salad. I tend to change my mind like the weather. lol lol. So it could be a Gammon or F & C, or even a steak. I will see what takes my fancy. It won't be the BARMAN OR BARMAID as they are just not my sort./type. :-| :-| :-| :-| (SORRY) !!!!

Lots of hazy sunshine this afternoon, but I expect the watering will still need to be done when I get home. Everywhere is still very dry. The three day forecast is sunny and dry with 90 degrees. So no let up yet. Glad your Hosepipe ban has been lifted now Gill. WATER AWAY to your hears content.

Just back from Fitz's. He did a lovely lunch but there was one uninvited guest . A blooming wasp that was determined to hang about and be a real pest. I batted it several times with my fan but it was a tough cookie . It seemed to like my Branston Pickle. It is so humid here now and really VERY uncomfortable .

Mel i have the bits of material ready to post tomorrow for you. As I said they are very small squares but you may find some use .
I havent read any posts from today yet. But just want to say I hope you get some help from the Physio Frank. You may well be on your way there now :-D

Haven't seen Thomas again since yesterday late afternoon. I hope he turns up soon.

My homeless man Steve has apparently been housed :-D :-D :-D. I was a bit worried as I hadnt seen him sitting outside the Co-op for a while ,so I asked one of the staff and she said he was given accomodation at the end of June . That is the best news I have heard in a long while. I hope he is much happier now :-D

Evening all,

It is so humid here now ,it's been sunny all day but has now clouded over and some of the clouds look so back.
Yesterday we had a lovely day out with the family ,we went to Hunstanton where the children went in the sea , built sand castles and collected shells from the beach , we went into the restaurant and had fish and chips ,i have a photo of sons plate as he had the larger portion :-D

Today the children have been here for their swim ,Lewis is now going across the pool on his own with the arm bands and his swim jacket on ,i think by the end of the summer he will be swimming .

I see that you've been buying lots of plants Gill so you'll be busy getting them all planted up .

I hope the Physio can help you with the pain Frank , it might take a couple of visits before you feel the benefit but i'm sure you'll feel better for it, enjoy your meal.

Jane that is good news about Steve the homeless man ,it's good to know he won't be out in the cold this winter .
We have had lots of wasps here ,they soon turn up when the drinks come out or the ice creams ,i've put an old jam jar out with jam and water in try and catch some and it seems to be working there are lots in there .

Good old jam jars are the best thing for wasp traps. I have three out at the moment and I have a hornet in my jammy one. The other two have a brown apple in and the dregs oh's cider bottles which I save up. I keep forgeting to buy a cheap jar of jam to do more. We think there is a wasps nest down between the hog houses as we have seen them flying in there a lot so oh asked me for a lid to one of his fish food tubs. He has a bottle of out of date lemonade in it and chopped up apples and I gave him some honey to put in there too. I also have an empty big water bottle hanging in an apple tree in the orchard which I put stuff in. The wasps are drinking from my pond. They settle on the lily leaves to drink.

I have done a bit more to the ground elder today and now have most of it out until its starts to grow again next yearI dug up my cyclemen I planted years ago and hav'nt seen for years with the rose bush growing all over the place. I did'nt damage the tuber bu knocked off two big long staky bits with lots of leaves on the top. It must have been really buried poor thing. I have replanted it further up where I can keep my eye on it and put the two stalks in a pot of the same earth from the garden. I was so cross with myself as when I pulled the first bit out I thought it looked like very juvile cyclamen leaves.

Did some ironing and not much more today. Its been quite hot here.

We had pasta for dinner in a cheese sauce with mushrooms toms and our first runners and that turkey ham. Fresh pasta strips of green and yellow. It went down a treat and not much cooking.

I also cleaned all the windowsil again today of dead flies and we had those tiny mites on all the washing too. Yesterday we had another ant day and my car roof was covered once again. Thats about the 6th time it has happened this year so far.

Jane I was going to ask you if you had seen Steve lately and now you know he has an address and a new home. How nice for him. Thats two homeless people now with a home, Niko and Steve.

Morning all you lovely people,

Went to bed early last night before 12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was sitting here watching gardeners world and just could'nt keep my eyes open so decided it was time for the off. Oh was still awake when I went to bed and he got up soon after I hit the sack.

This morning its a cloudy sky but its not a lot cooler, still very stuffy. We had a visit from a pheasent with two babies this morning and she brought them right up to the steps of the patio. These two are the samllest ones we've seen lately. No sorry I did'nt get a picture as I had only just got up and needed my tea.

Mandy that looks about the size portion of F & C oh has down here but he dos'nt have the mushy peas. In fact I have never had mushy peas.

Good morning to you all,

Where do I start. At the beginning I expect !!!

I think I wasted £43.50 p on the physio. We arrived early, as I always try to do for any appointment (I hate to be late) It was a 5.15 appointment. I got to see the guy at 5.55 No shake of the hand, and worse still no APOLOGY. :-| :-| :-| He sat and took notes until 6.20 then looked at my neck, did a bit of massaging, and said."SEE HOW IT GOES" If you need o come back RING ME. I thought NO WAY OLD SON. If I need anyone, it won't be you. What he did, I could have done myself. I asked when he qualified, 1987. I thought you need to go back for more training. I will have words with my Doctor when I next see him !!!!

From there, and it's now after 7.00 pm we went to the pub for a bite to eat. Ros had her usual 5 oz steak with peppered sauce etc. The salad they bought was just leaves, and going brown on the edges. I had the Scampi. Our peas were shrivelled up where he had been microwaved the chips were just luke warm. Ros tried to chew her steak, which was full of grizzle, and ended up with her steak half chewed on the side of the plate. They usually come to ask if the meal was satisfactory, NO WAY. So off I go to the bar to complain. Over comes this bit of a KID, who says I will have a word with he CHEF. (I was more a chef than he was) !!! All she did was go behind the bar and continue the conversation she was havhing with the girl who took my order, and would insist in calling me "DARLING" which got up my nose to say the least.

I have blamed off a complaint to Greene King and also left a report with "TRIP ADVISOR" What good the will do I don't know, but a least I have it off my chest.

Blooming wasps are all over the car, which is parked under the tree that must be dripping sap.

Good news about he homeless chap Jane, lets hope it's long term and he looks after it. :-D :-D :-D

Ros has taken Val to pick up "BIGGLES" he has been in kennels while his owners have been away. Strange they never asked us. I suppose it's that the girl who walks him is away also. They will drop him off in his home, the owners are back later. He had to be collected before 10.00 am.

Nice morning here, everywhere is open and there is the slightest of breezes. NICE.

Oh dear Frank, not a very satisfactory evening all round!! I'm a bit surprised at the Physio! Sounds very unprofessional to say the least!! Ian and I used to see an Osteopath years ago with very good results, but I wouldn't like to say what they would be like now. What with that and your rubbish meal you must have felt completely piddled off!!!
Lovely morning here and no hospital!! We're just going to pickle about and see what the day brings!!

Not a very satisfactory afternoon and evening then Frank. Shame about the meal and did they not come and talk to you about the meal? Surely they should have given you a second chance with something else or at least taken some money off.

It will be interesting to see if you go to phisio on the NHS whether you get better treatment. How is your neck today? Ros could have given you a neck massage and it would'nt have cost you £43 odd quid.

Is Ian getting on ok with his treatment Liz? Not many weeks to go now and then the holiday to look forward to.

Oh has just told me that Nicki Lauda has had a lung transplant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda is recovering in hospital after a lung transplant.

The 69-year-old Austrian had been suffering from "severe lung disease", Vienna General Hospital said in a statement.

"The transplant was successfully carried out," the statement added.

Lauda won three world drivers' titles in 1975, 1977 and 1984 with Ferrari and McLaren.

He had cut short a holiday in Ibiza last week and returned to Vienna after developing a lung infection, the Osterreich newspaper reported.

Lauda was appointed as Mercedes' non-executive chairman in 2012 and was involved in the signing of Lewis Hamilton to the team.

In 1976, Lauda crashed into an embankment at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. As flames engulfed his car, Lauda had to be rescued by his fellow drivers but despite suffering horrific burns and being given the last rites, he returned behind the wheel six weeks later.