General Chat

Belated Happy Birthday; Mary. Hope the day was a good one, Bucks Fizz...great way to start the day.

Weather fabulous again.

Enjoy the day.
Frances

Will you all please keep this thread going for me , i will be on again as soon as Possible

thank you for all your kind comments

Bridget

Mary, lovely start to the day. Hope you continue to enjoy your day and your promised shopping trip.

Ann
Glos

Hello everyone from a cool and damp JBay, I say damp because we haven't actually had rain only a slight drizzle.

Happy Birthday Mary, hope you have a lovely day . Mmm Bucks Fizz and croissant not a bad start to the day!! Enjoy your meal out to-night and have fun shopping.





Bridget, look forward to hearing from you again once you are settled.

Take care.



Val in SA..

Good morning All
Well today we have blue sky but a little windy - don't mind that it will dry the washing.
My day started with a crousant (spelling?) and a glass of bucks fizz - not the norm I hasten to add but today is my birthday so that was my treat. Hubby came home last night with a bunch of flowers for me and is taking me out for a meal tonight and promised a shopping trip on Saturday - that should be good as I do not know what I want - typical of me. Will let you know what I end up with - I did suggest a set of saucepans for my new kitchen - which is still waiting for the cupboard doors to arrive from France - but hubby was not that impressed with that idea.
Bridget hope everything goes well tomorrow for you and your suitcase is the required weight and look forward to hearing how you have settled down and all about the UK - it is 3 years since we went over but we are going over end November / early December for a wedding and to see our family - can't wait to see the grandchildren - bet they have forgotten what we look like.
Take care all and enjoy your day
Love Mary xx

*Hangs head in shame!! We have a Wii Fit and it has not been used for months and months!!! Too busy doing other things.

Bridget, if you pop on, I hope all goes well with the move, hurry back to us once you are established there wont you.

Love
Ann

Hi everyone,
Have just got back from the hairdressers so am feeling beautifully groomed and cared for, won't last...
Weather great at the moment but the clouds seem to be coming back. I feel so sorry for people who have come here on holiday, it has hardly been fit to do anything. When we were still working we always went away at this time of year and never had bad weather.
Hope you have a good flight Bridget.
Some friends of ours are up your way on a trip to look at ruins and things, hope they haven't got too wet.
Take care,
Frances

Good morning all
Bridget I hope you have a good flight to UK and look forward to you adding on your thread.

Hubby just phoned me to say there was an earthquake last night 10 miles outside of Gandia - neither of us felt the earth move - although someone did say to hubby that her husband said his chair moved - tp which he received the reply you have had too many brandys !!!!

This morning the sun was shining so I went down to the supermarket to get a few things but now the sky has clouded over - hope we do not get any more rain - I have some washing in the machine. Oh well always tomorrow........

Take care all and enjoy your day

Love Mary xx

Good morning Bridget,

What a beautiful day it is here to-day.

I have just had a lovely surprise, a friend who has been away doing a stress release course for, the past 5 months popped in with her two grandchilden, to say she is back and now qualified.

This town was relatively crime-free until a couple of years ago, unfortunately it is not just petty crime. There is a lot of unemployment niot only here but throughout the country.

A Wii for Christmas sounds wonderful, it will certainly provide lots of enjoyment.

I trust you will have a good flight and settle into things in the UK.

I also saw some pictures of the dust storm in Sydney and they were quite something, I wanted to cough just looking at them!!

Bye,

Val in SA.

Good morning Everyone


Berona, I am pleased to hear that you have not had any more storms with all the red dust. I simply cannot begin to imagine what I would do, I guess you just have to get on with it. I looked up Sydeny as we have some relatives there and there were photos showing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, well actually the oint was it could hardly be seen!

Val, so glad that you had some fun time with your daughter and your friend, my husband enjoyed playing tennis on his sons' WI when said son visited in the summer. I am thinking of buying hom one for Xmas...

..OH no I ahve mentioned Christmas and it is not quite October yet!
Slap on wristt!!!!


Hope that the funreral you attended was not too sad for you.
As to the huge rise in crime you mention I am not sure waht to say. Was it a low crime rate previously, is ther more unemployment, is the crime wht nowdays is described as Petty crime or is it more seroius crime......sometimes I wonder what is happening as the crime rates seem to be soaring across the world.
The R130 per K seems extortionet to me for Turkish Delight, have you ever made it?

Mary in Spain
We have now had torretial rain and amazing thunder storms for the best part of the last 4 days. The electricty is constanly going off, thank good ness we have 2 seperate circuits one up and one downstairs and the one up stairs seems to be more sensitive. However the do both go off although the downstairs one comes back on more quickly. We ahd 8 friends come to lunch yesterday and thakfully I mamged to get everything cooked before the powere went off again.

The storms we are experiencing now are some of the worst we have had in the 6 years we have been here. The final storm started around 13.00hrs yesterday and stopped around 06.30 this morning, water is still gushing down the mountain, we cannot see the sea clearly, the sky is vey ominus and grey and the stillness in the air is almost tangible....so yes I believ the storm will start again very soon.

The fishing boats have not gone out this morning...and that says a lot about the weather forecast.

As for my packing I shall do that today, also sorting out clothes which I have not usd for years and sending them to the charity shop in the next town as we do not have one here. Trying to persuade OH to throw or give clothing away is a nightmare so have to do it when he is engrossed in something ealse.


feeling a little sad this morning as I will not be seeing Jet and joe for some time, they are such good dogs and so loyal but they always seem to remember me and we have chosen the people who will care for them so they will be OK.

MAry just as soon as I get my comp up and running in the UK I wll be back. So I shall be relying on you all to keep this thread going for me....


Off now to start that packing and as flying with Ryanair very limited with what I can tak,e so feel a shopping trip coming on when I am in UK


Looking forward to reading your postings today


bye for now


bridget

Hi everybody,
We have had terrible weather for the last few days but dare I say that the storms seem to have gone and there is even some blue sky. Went shopping yesterday down to Media Markt at Alicante, bought a new TV and hi-fi, been looking for ages. Going down we went on the N road but decided to come back on the autovia....drove through a cloudburst and there was actually standing water on the road, but everybody was driving very carefully, not that there were many people about.
Hope I am not too late to wish Bridget 'Bien Viaje', hope you will still be able to look in now and again.
Take care
Frances

Goodmorning Mary and anyone else who comes along,

As we were approaching JBay yesterday afternoon we looked across a the sea, it was a beautiful blue with absolute white breakers, too lovely.

Today is cloudy but I did manage to get one load of washing done, not too sure whether it will dry though.

I plan to do a bit of gardening later, have a few more lettuce to plant out, hopefully the snails won't get to them again

Don't have plans to do much.

Take care,



Val in SA

Good Morning All
Although it is so dark I feel like saying good evening !!! We have, yet again, another thunderstorm going on - very loud, also lightening and it is raining cats and dogs. As our house has a flat roof hubby keeps looking for leaks - and he found 2 - both in the bathroom upstairs but as luck would have it both over the bath !! Well if you can call it luck. I do hope it all clears up soon as my 86 year old mom is coming out a week tomorrow and she will not be impressed if the weather is wet.

I did have the foresight of doing what washing was in the laundry basket on Saturday so I have now got a little bit of ironing to do and it will not get done by just looking at it - unfortunately.

Hope you all have a good Tuesday whatever you are doing.

Love Mary xx

Hello all, for once we seem to be having the best of the weather today, Don't like thunderstorms so wont swap you and certainly would not like the dust storm which seemed horrendous, I do hope it doesn't return to you.

Our day is grey and very still, complete cloud cover but not cold and doesn't look like rain. We have had a very dry September this year with some really lovely sunny and warm days so no complaints here.

Not doing anything much today just things around the house and maybe make a few cards later.

Ann x

Hello again, Bridget - and all who post on here.
That red dust is still everywhere. We still have wind, but it's not bringing the dust with it now. However, the forecast is that it could happen again.

Yes, people with breathing problems did have a bad day in the wind. The health authorities were broadcasting advice all day. I hope it doesn't happen again. Very interesting to look at - but a menace to clean!

Good morning to you all.

We are haqving a major storm here. It started around 20.00hrs last night with thunder growling all around us, that went on for a couple of hours becoming ever more loud. Just before midnaight the lightening started and it was or appeared to be so close it was amazing, then came the rain, torrential have rods of rain,. It has continued alll night, and had a small hiatus which lasted about 15minutes and now it is just as bad.

We were going to a beachside restaurant with some friends. They invited us out because I have started a family hoistory for the husband and he is so delighted that they are treating us to lunch. He called a while ago to say now the will pick us up at 13.00hrs and we are going to an Italian Restaurant instead and as I really enjoy Italian food all has turned out well.


Jet does not like storms so he found himself a tee shirt belonging to my OH and is now sleeping on it, he will not let uis move it. Joe has got his favourite toy with him and gives a gentle groan if we pretend to take it away,

Well there goes another hefty clap of thunder so bye for now, take care of yourselves


Bridget

Good Morning All
Yesterday we went for a walk down to Oliva Marina - went in the car, as the sky was very grey. but managed a small walk by the sea which was quite rough and grey looking. Had a glass of wine at the bar looking out to the sea - I never tire of gazing out to sea whether it is calm or rough. Came home and had lunch of bread. chesse and obviously a glass of red wine. Sometime around 5 o clock the heavens opened - thunder and lightening - and oh such heavy rain. September has been a very wet month and if I remember correctly so was last year. I just hope it all clears up as my mom is coming out a week on Wednesday and she would prefer the sun.
Anyway, the thunder went on until the early hurs of this morning accompanied by the heavy rain. And guess what ??? It is still raining now - no washing been done in this casa today.
Bridget - hope the packing is nearly all done - when did you say you fly back to the UK ? Will you still be able to keep your BBs Daily Diary going - I do hope so.
Well I think I will go and have a cup of coffee - hope you all have a good Monday.
Love Mary xx

Good morning,

Although the sun is shining it is quite a crisp day, slight breeze and no rain not even a drizzle. After the rain we had yesterday everything in the garden looks fresh. The mimulus which I planted last week are beginning to flower already, bright yellow flowers. My lobelias are also looking lovely.

How's the packing going Bridget , I have never mastered the art of travelling light so it's lucky for me that I don't do much flying.

I will be attending the funeral of an elderly relative to-day. This means travelling again as it takes place in Port Elizabeth.

According to a newspaper survey published at the weekend the crime in JBay has increased 76%, this is really scary.

Off for some tea.

Have a good day.



Val in SA.

Hello everyone,

I am popping in again .

On Friday evening we went to my daughter for supper and my friend, Meryl, and I played tennis and tenpin bowling on the Wii, we really had such fun.
We had just arrived back home at about 10p.m when our electricity went off so we sat around for a while by candle light and then decided to go to bed. Well the electricity came and went off again twice more during the night which is par for the course here.

Meryl and I went down to the festival again yesterday and listened to the steel band. There was a brass band and a parade down the main street in the morning, but no fancy costumes. We browsed round the stalls again, I believe there were 200, and had a lovely time. I thought I would treat Jimmy to some turkish delight which he likes, but nearly fainted at the price R130 per kg so he only got a few pieces!! The crowds all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

We had a little rain during the night and it has been drizzling on and off throughout the day and is actually quite cold.

I heard about the dust storm on the news Berona, it must have been quite an experience.

Happy packing Bridget.

Bye for now,



Val.

Berona

Your description mad eevrything so real. I saw some info on the news and also on my News page on the comp...there was a photo of Sydney Harbour Bridge and it could hardly be seen..... Does this dust stain and how are people managing who have breathing difficulties....

Keith gad to hear from you and hope you are enjoyed yourself with the grandchildren..
We have a log burning fire which we use in the winter and it is so relaxing and gives off a lovely heat.

To everyone thanks for the interesting messages.

I am busy as I am trying to pack ready fro the next adventure, working in UK for 6 to 12 months, OH is joing me at the end ofOctober so I will feel much happier then. Having never lived in rented accommodation before I am wondering what I shall find. The people who own the aoartment live in France and the agent calle dto see if I could delay my arrival, when I explained the situation the couple called me and told me not to worry, they would make alternative arrangements...now wasn't that good of them.!


Have more recipies to put on my Culinary thread today, so am going to be busy.


Today the weather is calm and warm, the sky is beginning to get that slightly grey blue colour which indicates that the Autumn is approching, the sea is very calm and the town is quiet, in fact not mush happeing here at all. Even the dogs who are left all day are quiet, No i do not mean my dogs. Jet and koe have had their morning run around and are now sitting quietly beside me, in fact one of them is asleep !


Trying to pack is becoming a nightmare as the luggae limitation on Ryan Air is not great...never mind will simply have to do some shopping!!!

Bye for now


Aand have a happy day everyone


Bridget