General Chat

Berona - just thinking of your ancestors - lots of pink sweaty bodies!!

My dad emigrated to Australia when he was 18 under the £10 scheme, but came back after three years.

I am smiling too about the shed couple
Regards
Gerard :-D

OH MY GOODNESS........I had not realised that it was a while since I had been on here! Thank you everyone for staying in touch. We have had such problems with our computers and it has caused a lot of annoyance, angry at times because we did not know what to do to put things right and knowing that the wonderful man who used to help us is now living in Holland!
My computer is working now but I find it difficult to remember new names etc which doesn't help!
OH has the biggest problem ..........the comp he uses for his music etc simply collapsed and then his main comp did the same......he worked so hard trying to get them both working but ........

We went to the next town, Bencarlo and was told that he needed a new drive etc....got home with 380€s worth of equipment and ........IT STILL DID NOT WORK....
Back to shop who once more were trying to be helpful...they tried everything and had the same result as us. Then they tried the 3 others they had in stock and.......none worked! All were faulty, they gave us a ful refund and we went to a shop we know and are hoping that the chap there will give us good news. Meanwhile OH found a very old comp in the shed and he worked for hours on there..finally it worked for about a day and then.........yes you have guessed right.....

So I am just hoping that today gives us good news.

Berona, my thoughts and prayers go out to all the families, firemen, police, hospitals etc during the dreadful time in Tasmania.....it must be so frightening and worrying, as for the youngsters you mention words fail me.

Gerard, what can I say that you have not already said.....I hope that you are feeling better each day :-)

Berona, words fail me and that does not happen very often. I hope that the people involved are given a long long sentence.

To everyone, take care of yourselves and your family and friends, where ever you live, but especially those who are in Tasmania.

Bridget
<3 :-) <3 :-) <3 :-)

We mostly have some way of keeping cool, Gerard. I don't know how our ancestors managed as they were all from the U.K. There was no refrigeration of any kind in their time.

Fires are still raging here. About 125 in this state alone. Whilst many have been extinguished, new ones start. Yesterday, 33 homes were lost in one fire, which is still burning, and still threatening more properties.

So far, only two incidents where schoolboys have been caught lighting fires. However, there was one other incident that brought a smile to my face when I heard about it.
It seems that a father and son had built a shed in the bushland to house their equipment for manufacturing the drug 'ice', and they were doing well hidden out there, for a few years. Apparently, they received a tip-off that the Drug Squad was on to them, so they decided to get rid of the evidence - by burning the shed down!
A spark from their fire ignited the dry leaves around them and a bush fire started raging towards where homes were - so the Rural Fire Service was called to that one - and thankfully, managed to extinguish it before it got to the homes - although it came very close!.....The fire fighters found the remains of the equipment and called the police - who are now enjoying themselves making a list of the charges - whilst the two men are keeping cool - in gaol!

What a terrible week.

Those fires in Australia look devastating

On Thursday on the way to my two hour in the evening job, I ricked my back getting off the bus whilst avoiding a passer-by. Could hardly walk by Friday morning, obviously exacerbated the problem by working for 2 1/2 hours. Had to go to the clinic for the AAA scan - my father died from Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm - got an all clear - if I don't have it now I won't get it - big sigh of relief. OH helped me on and off the bus, and I got home and went to bed to rest. On Sunday my team were beaten 2-0 at home and I think our other supported teams did not fare any better. Went to church to read the lesson and discovered that my name had been crossed off and someone else did the reading. Back to work this evening not quite 100% yet but getting there.

Love to all - prayers for those in need - keep warm in England (careful of the snow if you get some) - keep cool in Australia and anywhere else that is having good temperatures
Regards
Gerard
<3 <3 <3
:-) :-) :-)

I have seen reports of the fires that rage through, Tasmania, N.S.W and Victoria. it all looks terrifing.
I ahd wondered if any fires were started deliberately, as I know that this has happened in the past.

I don't know what the answer is for such behaviour, especially as the people responsible were schoolboys.

It has been rather wet in the UK, but recently it has been warm (for the time of yesar) too.
Today, it is a bit colder again, semms more like the January we know.


I ahve still been getting a lot of rest, but still doing more than I was previously been doing on "bad days" now my expectations of what I should be doing have raised considerably, which means that I am more easily disappointed!

Tonight I have been to my sisters for tea, and then we went to "Ladies Night at the Choir"
Brother-in-law is in a choir that reherses every thursday evening. The the ladies that are connected to the men in the choir have a get together on the second Thursday of every month.
We have a speaker, and then a cup of tea or coffee and a lot of chat.
A nice sociable evening.
This time my son came too. He rehersed with the men and said that they were singing some rather sad songs.

I should have started my exercise sessions again on tuesday (8th), but had other things to do.
I wil be going next tuesday and will be put through my paces.
Then I should be going to a football match in the evening (an F.A Cup 3rd round replay). Looking forward to it, but know that I will be rather nervous till the final whistle blows.

Hazel, I hope that everything went well with the CAB.

Mary, I am so pleased that you were able to wish your Mum a Happy Christmas on Christmas Day. Isn't modern technology great!
Mind you, I have bought myself a mobile phone, but have't got the hang of it. It lives in a drawer, out of sight and out of mind.


Bridget, so pleased that your Christmas turned out ok. All that worry for nothing. Don't put so much strain on yourself.

All for now,

Tess

I think I saw the same family as you did - in the water, under a jetty.... Unfortunately, there are still people unaccounted for in Tasmania. In other states, so far, no fatalities that we know of, but homes have been lost and livestock, pets and wildlife.

To-day's figures show 105 fires burning in this state alone, with 16 of them out of control and the forecast is for the wind to 'pick up', which is not good. And now, for the second time in a week, schoolboys have been responsible for lighting more fires which, thankfully, were extinguished. So much for school holidays!

The penalty for this type of arson is 14 years imprsonment. I don't know what will be done to kids. The Premier suggesedt that they should be made to assist in the euthanasia of the animals which have been hurt badly. I don't know about that. If they are thoughtless enough to light the fires, they may not have any feelings for anything. Their parents have obviously missed teaching them something, so that penalty may not have the desired effect.

Hi Berona, glad you are safe where you are, I was watching it on the news last night and it was very frightening. Makes our floods seem quite tame, although I suspect those caught in them wouldn't agree. It seems we are all experiencing extreme weather conditions. They showed the family from Tasmania who jumped into the sea to stay safe from the fire, luckily they all survived. They were saying on the news that lessons had been learnt from the previous year of bad fires when as many lives were lost in Victoria, this time people moved combustible things from their properties and evacuated when advised so have stayed safe. I hope the weather will soon cool down a bit for you and the fires will stay out.

Not much activity on this thread. Is everyone still getting over Christmas?

Here in Oz, we are experiencing some of the hottest temperatures known and of course, it is January, our hottest month, and we have bushfires burning everywhere. Our most southern state, the island of Tasmania, has had temperatures up to and over 40c - not known there before, and fires have destroyed homes and there are still people not accounted for.Normally, we would not have to travel that far south to go snow skiing!
Our other eastern states have fires burning too. Here in NSW, we had 145 fires burning yesterday. That is now down to 99, with only 30 burning out of control. Whilst some can be allowed to burn, where there are no people or homes, the Rural Fire Service and volunteers have worked non-stop for a week now. The temperature here, was 42 yesterday, 25 to-day, and tomorrow is forecast for 40 again. Very mercurial and unusually high.
My thoughts are with the people who have lost their homes, pets and livestock. An estimated 20,000 sheep and cattle have perished in the fires....and our wildlife will suffer too. This is why most of us live in the cities - on or near the coast and also why most of us have air conditioning, or at least some way of keeping cool. I don't know how our ancestors survived. Most of them came from the UK and there was no way of cooling anything in those days!

Morning everyone Happy new year.

Well glad we are back normal again. I am off to the CAB to see if they can help me with someone to come to a tribunal to do with my appeal for my benefits and ATOS. The solictor i have only helps with letters and advice.

I am over looking after Caitlin and Arron the weekend. Only got Arron the Friday night, Caitlin until Sunday night. They go back to school next week :-D Arron on the 7th Caitlin the 8th.

Will pop in when i can. Havent read back Hope you are all well

Cold and cloudy here again today but not raining which is good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~to you all

Hazelx

Well at long last it is me back on this thread. Hope you all had a good Christmas and may I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.

Well December our son and daughter in law came out for 8 days - this coincided with Paul's birthday - the one he got paid for !!! We had a nice meal out and he enjoyed his birthday. Then after taking son and dil back to airport we were off to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. We had two nights in Granada followed by 1 night in Nerja. Everyone was telling me it would be cold so I packed jumpers etc and I was so hot it was unbelievable. Our last night in Nerja we ate our evening meal outside and I did not put my coat on until 9.30 pm - can you believe that !! Anyway we had a lovely relaxing time.

Came back home and the weekend before Christmas I came down with FF - no I am not swearing - it stands for festive flu !! Needless to say Paul came down with it too - but we still managed to enjoy our Christmas and eat lots of the usual Christmas fare.

Christmas morning I had arranged with my sister so when she was visiting mom in the home I managed to wish her a Happy Christmas - she actually heard me on my sister's mobile phone. This was the first time I had spoken to her since our visit in October.

The weather here has been amazing but today there seems to be a nip in the air - but as Bridget has said the next few months will be the coldest.

Well must go and sort my kitchen out and write my shopping list - the cupboards seem to be bare.

Take care everyone and I will be back !!!

Love Mary xx

What a lovely surprise to find over the last few days. I feel very relaxed and content, I only hope that it stays that way.

My Christmas cake proved not to be quite the disaster I thought it was! Thankfully it was just a small part which was as described the rest turned out as usual, not bad for a rather unpredictable oven...but the prices here are quite ridiculous....we manage it's foils quite well now.
We still have 12 night to celebrate, which means lots of noise from music, singing, yet another parade and so on! Then we go back to normal.

Today the sun is shining and compared to the UK it is quite warm.....however January to March is normaly our coldest weather.

I wonder if we should try to encourage an addition to this site? I was thinking about our likes & dislikes and why, what we would have done differently if we started our lives again. What are our hopes for the future, etc etc.......Funny things that happened to us and so on. What do you all think? Perhaps you have some ideas?

Trusting that you all have a good day, and I look forward to reading your ideas thoughts etc.


:-) :-)

I hope that everyone who posts on here have started into what is the best and brightest year they can remember!

Best wishes to all.

Have had a lazy few days, after the hectic run-up to Christmas.
The last of the stuff I ordered for Christmas preents arrived on 23rd and 24th December. Arn't I lucky!
Managed to get them all wrapped (having bought some new sellotape) and sent off to their respective "new owners" So that all went well.
Had a beef dinner on Christmas day, I was very tired so was pleased to be alone.
Went to my sister and brother-in-law's for the family get together, al went well there too. Except that the Christmas Crackers I had provided were a disappointment.
One (of eight) had no gift. Another was empty too, but a gift had fallen out into the box, as the hole in the cracker was too big. Will have to (think about) take them back and ask for a refund.
Trouble is, I got them from a shop a few miles away, only went there (with my son taking me in his car) to get some curtains.

Luckily there were only five people at the "do" so I had spare crackers, otherwise someone would have gone without a gift.

Haven't been on here on worked on my tree much this last week. Have been catching up on my sleep.
But am feeling ok generally.
Just need to get ficused over the next few days.

Have a great 2013, to evryone on this thread.

Happy new year to all on Bridget's thread, hope you all enjoyed your new year celebrations. :-D

First on in 2013

I hope everyone is well - Quiet new year for OH and I, back to work tomorrow

Love - Hugs and Prayers to everyone and we trust that this year will be a good one for all of us

Gerard
<3 <3 <3 <3
:-) :-) :-) :-)

Hello Bridget - and all who look in. Hope you all had a happy Christmas and will have a New Year that is brighter than ever!

It's all over here. Thursday morning (9am) but very quiet. I think a lot of people have the day off in some way - either they take part of their annual leave or their employer closes down for a week or two, so there are not so many 'workers' on the roads this week - but that doesn't stop the accidents! Many people take their full annual leave, as it is coming into mid-summer, and with schools closed - an ideal time to take holidays with the family.

Hello Everyone

I hope that all your dreams and wishes for Christmas came to your fruition.

We had a splendid day. We opened the gifts which my daughter had sent to us and as usual they were great, nothing expensive but carefully thought about and even Jet & Joe had a present!

We managed through the wonders of Skype to not only talk to our 6 children and all the grandchildren, but also my two sisters and between them their 4 children and my nieces and nephews...........it made me realise just how lucky we are to live at such a time.
Does anyone recall how when I was a child and we wanted to speak to family abroad we had to book in advance at a time delegated by the provider and then we only managed about 3 or 4 minutes!!

Today we are just relaxing, the sun is shining but it is not very warm, but certainly warmer than the UK.
We have been invited out at 6pm for a few glasses of wine and nibbles, we will go but only stay for about an hour as we know that this is most likely to go on &on &on etc. The police are everywhere this year, in the past one hardly saw a policeman at this time of year but as Spain needs more money, maybe this is a chance to bring some in......

well that is about all except to say my Christmas cake was disappointing, not in flavour but it is crumbling, I have used the recipe for years but must have done something wrong.......

Bridget :-D :-D :-D

Special Christmas wishes to all of you - I am carrying the Cross at the Midnight Mass (OH is carrying a candle) - looking forward to it so much. Then carrying the Cross again tomorrow at the 10.30 Christmas service. For me Christmas has finally begun! <3 :-) <3 :-) <3 :-)
Gerard

Bridget, it all sounds marvellous!

Enjoyyourself.

Happy Christmas and a Great 2013 to all my cyber friends.

Tess

Sorry every one but a few unusual days so did not think about going on here.
All well now, so I want to wish you a happy and pleasant Christmas. :-D :-D :-D ;-) <3 ;-) <3


We are fully organised so not much do to do tomorrow except opening a few presents, mostly from the children and then relax, relax and so on......

Out for a few hours this evening as OH can set up a Karoki ( I think that is how it is written and we are coming home after a couple of hrs.

We are having Barbary Duck for our meal tomorrow with good wine, and for our desert we are having Stollen with cream........and will cut the Christmas Cake which I decorated early this weelk. We have a few Christmas bits and pieces around the sitting room/ dining room and will enjoy the day.

I will think of you all and send a special prayer to you all, that next year is good to you

Bless each and everyone of you, for listening to my rambles and for writing on here