General Chat

I have just seen some of the devastation on Sky News. It is almost beyond belief when one lives in a country that has only had some 5.3 Quakes which mostly brought down trees etc and then they are unusual if not rare.

Sympathy does not seem enough and one wonders sometimes about the value of prayer but nevertheless this is really the only thing I can offer.

so tonight at around 11pm European time I shall dedicate about 10 minutes simply contemplating about this tragedy and offering prayers and positive thoughts for the people who have survived.

If anyone would like to join me about the same time that would be wonderful.

Bridget

I have just had a look at some pictures of the earthquake damage on a link on Facebook, scary stuff.

nudge from bridget

Good morning everyone.
I am sure that all of you will be aware of the terrible devastation which has taken place in Christchurch NZ and will be sending your own messages but as the founder of this thread I do not think that anyone would object when I say
"from the bottom of our hearts and minds we send everyone in NZ and particularly to those living in or who have family / friends living in and around Christchurch a deepest sympathy if you have people close to you who have died and our positive thoughts and prayers to everyone else.
Nature still cannot be completely controlled, and is at times, very cruel.

God Bless you all on this very sad day.

Bridget

It is a very misty morning here so there will be another hot day ahead.

I have just seen on Sky News the devastation in Christchurch caused by the erarthquake. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. According to the news there are still people trapped under rubble, I do hope they are rescued safely. Thinking also of all those involved in the rescue operations.

Have a safe day.



Val.

Val hope that you enjoyed the visit by your niece and her husband and that they shared and enjoyed the raisin loaf.
This evening we had 6 people here all watching a film which we shall discuss tomorrow, we have decided to have a film review once a fortnight and this was the first trial. I will tell you more later today.
I am off to bed now so Goodnight and happy dreams to everyone.

Bridget

Good mornig,

It was the cousin
of the minister of our church Bridget. Unfortunately armed robberies are a daily occurence in this country and sadly farmers are easy targets.

I was thrown into a swimming when I was about 12 years old scared me half to death. We have also had swimming pools, we don't have one now, but I used to stay in the shallow end much to the amusement of my friends.

Had a pleasant surprise this morning when my niece and her husband poipped in for a short while, they were returning home having been away for the weekend.

I have just baked a rasin loaf so will go and sample it and have a cup of tea.

Take care.

Val.

Good morning everyone, the sun is shining through my bedroom window and the trees are still so perhaps it is going to be a warm day. 21 degrees is the forecast so i am keeping my fingers crossed.

Val, it seems to me that the education systems across the world has changed beyond the recognition for most of us.
When I was in primary school we had to sit still on our chairs. We stood up when the teacher entered the room and again when they left. We also had to say according to the time of day "good morning /afternoon Sister Margaret, Miss Walker, and as the left we stood again and said "Thank you Sister Margaret etc. we had to be quiet and listen to what was being taught and then we would be asked questions at random and we had to stand up and give our answers. In maths we had to learn our tables, be able to add and subtract at a very early age and then move on to percentages logarithms etc.

Similarly we learnt to read with each child reading ou loud and we did the same with spellings.

We had to practice our hand writing and and were encouraged in everything we did. Now I am not saying that is the best teaching method because it is the only one I know from experience but as far as I can see we were better educated then and generally speaking had a greater respect for the teachers.

I never learnt to swim due to a an incident in the local swimming baths when a young lad mistaking me for my younger sister who is a brilliant swimmer , pulled me under the water. the life Guard on duty realized that I was panicking and came and rescued me. I still feel sorry for that lad as he really did make a mistake but he had such a telling off I am sure that he never did that prank again. Anyway I never went swimming after that until I lived by the sea,,,but still can't swim and even have my own pool now!!

How sad to hear that the presidents cousin was murdered during a robbery, are guns used a lot.?
AnninGlos, I am intrigued by your craft, so I will have a look, I have never really tried craft work, embroidery and knitting used to be enjoyable but I ahve not done either of these for a while but did find
a tablecloth which I had started to embroider when spring cleaning the house last week so i have resurrected it and will try to finish it.

I am being very lazy this morning and OH brought me a very welcome cup of tea a few minutes ago so I am going to drink it now before it gets cold.
Have a great day everyone

Bridget

Bridget, it is a scrapbooking, card making and craft blog. Well I am hoping it will develop as more people send photos for it. Unfortunately at the moment nobody else is able to comment directly on the blog. But if somebody has somehting they want to say if they e mail it to me I will add it.

I will PM you the addy Bridget as you asked.

How delightful to hear from those we have missed on this thread. I have been in touch with one or two others as well so maybe they will also come back to let us know how they are.
Jenxx , welcome back, none of us seem to lead exciting fun packed lives but it is so uplifting learning about how people feel in their everyday life and as I know from recent experience the people who post here are kind, supportive, honest and uplifting. We share our thoughts and traumas as well as happy and momentous moments and as I have said before I equate this to the pen Pals that some of us may have had when we were younger.
I have had personal experience of the kindness of people on here who have assisted me through a very difficult and lonely time.
So now I look forward to seeing if anyone else comes back to us.

Do you all think we should have a theme each week or month which we could discuss, or do you have other suggestions. For example we used to write about the history of the places we live in etc....has anyone got and=y ideas or is there someone who would like to start the ball rolling.

Mary I shall add your friend to me quite moments each day and send a prayer hoping that you have good news soon.

I have to lock up now as we are going to have an early night, we have been out since 14.00hrs which is the longest period of time I have been out since I came home. I had a good time and only one or two slightly wobbly moments by OH noticed each time and helped me to settle again...a doctor friend has said I must not worry when this type of episode takes place so I will try to keep that in mind.

AnninGlos, setting up a blog...well this sounds very interesting and where do we find it?
Good night and positive thoughts to you all

Bridget

Hello everyone,

Clear blue sky here and need I say, very hoit.

Bridget when i was at school - a long time ago - we were there to learn.
We were taught English and Afrikaans and I have always thought it was a pity that we were not taught Xhosa which is the indigenous language spoken in this area. I played tennis at school, never learnt to swim, my father used to say I was the only one he knew who went to swimming and never got their costume wet! There is no discipline in our schools to-day, not allowed, and if learners , as they are now called, do not pass their exams they expect to be put through to the next standard anyway. To tell the truth our education system is a joke, if the teachers are not on strike the learners are. Sorry about the rant, it is just such a sad state of affairs, especially for those who want to learn.

A very sad thing this week was the murder of our Minister's cousin, he was killed in an armed robbery on his farm.

I will be remembering your friend, Mary and hope that her problem is sorted.

When I have finished at my computer I will be settling down to the crosswords from the Sunday paper, I always enjoy that.

Sorry I have nothing really exciting to write.



Val.

Thinking of your friend Mary, must have been very frightening for her.
Enjoy your day out.

Good to see you back on here Jen, most of us don't lead exciting lives so don't have anything momentous to post. However it is nice to jot down a few lines. I know I am bad at not adding every day, unless the thread leaps in front of me I sometimes forget it. I spent most of yesterday (with Jude's help) setting up a blog on scrapbooking and card making so wasn't chatting much. Today I must clear out another cupboard and do a few bits and pieces. But I may be back on here later.

Sorry good morning Bridget.

Good morning
Well blue sky and fluffy white cloud here too Bridget. We have decided to go for a ride, park the car and then go for a walk and I am even going to pack a picnic - so lunch out today !!

Went to a local Spanish restuarant last night and had a very enjoyable meal including tip 40 euros - did not think that was too expensive.

Had a phone cll on Friday from my friend's husband - my old school mate of 54 years - she is in hospital. It was her birthday on Thursday and I tried phoning her in the evening but got no reply - then tried twice before Derek phoned me. They were having a birthday lunch and she suddenly said her eye had gone funny and she could not see. They went to their doctors who wrote and letter and sent them off to Plumeliau hospital. Last night he told us she is to have an ECG, check on her veins in her neck and whatever it is called when you have electroids placed on your head. Must admit I am very concerned for her - but will not find anything out until at least Wednesday. May I ask you all to remember her in your thoughts and prayers.
Well must be off and sort out the picnic
Enjoy your Sunday
Love Mary xx

Good morning every one
just a quick hello as going out to lunch for sister's birthday
well its been a few months since I posted on this thread
not a lot happened in that time lol
Christmas came and went ... and now well into 2011
its a sunny day here in west Wales although staying cold
will be happy to see summer arrive it's been a long winter
wish I had a bit more to say but will try again tomorrow tc all
Jenxx

Well tomorrow has arrived and now it is today! The sun is shining and as I look across the Med the sky is bright although there are quite a lot of clouds and the sea is mostly blue and very calm. I fact the sea looks as if one could walk on it , it is so smooth.
The trees and plants are all still and the only sound is the barking of a dog further down the hill.

I have made my mug of coffee and am simple writing this as I contemplate. I have been thinking about those people who are not fortunate enough to live somewhere which has charm, or beauty, or is of special interest, or indeed simply wish they were somewhere else. I can recall a day at school some 54 years ago, when children used to take the 11plus exam, which I had realised was a very important exam.
My friend Joan and I stood together and locked our little fingers on our right hands and together we said, "Little finger Little finger let us pass our exam because we CAN!!!"

Well somehow or another I passed that exam but dear Joan did not. I had a great education and met girls from a life style which was way above the rather boring day to day life of my parents. I became engrossed in my education bur could never learn French, I learnt Latin and a little bit of Spanish but I read and read and read.

So why am I telling you this ? Because it was that education which gave me the power to make choices, to earn a decent and regular income, to show my children that education should be devoured and questioned and to try to make a difference to the world and its' people.

It also taught me supported by my parents the importance of putting something back into the community in which we live.

I do wonder if children and students today generally have the same view.
What do you think about your education and how it compares to the education of today.?
Do you believe that education is only learnt in schools? My OH turned down the opportunity to go to Grammar school and at the age of 16 left school and worked for one year in a flour mill laboratory and then joined the Civil Service. He was not ambitious and his hobby was and still is Sport of any description and West Ham United Football Club in particular. However he is also an avid reader, loves music of all kinds from Classical to Rock, from Romantic to Heavy Metal.
So is it strange that we never run out of things to discuss, we chat a great deal but also respect each others quiet times.
His memory is amazing and I envy him that.

I await the views and comments about education, life in general etc.

Now i am going to send short messages to those who no longer contribute on here to see if they would like to return to see how far we have come/ So a very big thank-you to those who post most days or a few times each week.

We must all have had a very busy day today! Maybe we will have more tome tomorrow.

Good night everyone and God bless

This morning we have a deep blue sea to look over and the sky is looking good for some sunshine today. there is a wind though so i expect that the temperature will remain at around 18c. It is very calm today in so far as there are very few houses occupied but by the middle of march the Spanish will start to visit at the weekends and Easter will show an influx of visitors, which hopefully will help the local economy. It is rather sad to see so many businesses failing or closing for the winter period. however as this appears to be a world wide problem there seems that there is little for the average person can do to put this right.

Val i used to do a lot of needlework when I was younger. I used to make my daughters dresses etc but did not attempt trousers or shorts for the boys. I also used to do a lot of knitting for babies, children, and adults. I also used to crochet and embroider all my napkins and table clothes. Sometimes I wonder where i found the time. When i found a table cloth which I had started so long ago that i thought I would finish it so I hope to start in the next few days.
Ann, Thank you for your message as well. I have looked on the internet this morning and having read several descriptions I think that i have Chronic Anxiety Disorder, which I have tended to push to one side in order to achieve everything I wanted to do. then of course there was the pressure at work because I allowed myself to stay longer than I really wanted to do and then the goalposts were constantly changed.

However should I have a relapse then I will certainly reconsider your view and also go to see a doctor.

It is wonderful to have "friends " I have never met, yet who are concerned about and for me. I find this very uplifting.
Well the chap has arrived to clean the pool, OH is in the shower and will be ready for breakfast so I will have to go now but will be back sometime later today.

I am thinking of sending messages to people who used to add something more or less each day to see if we can entice them back. however before I do this I would like the views of other contributors

Enjoy your day

Early this morning when I got up there was a very heavy mist and while I was having a cup of coffee down came a shower of rain, now at 7.00 a.m. the sun is shining. Temperature forecast for to-day 26 C.

My knitting is not as smooth as it used to be because of my arthritic fingers so I always knit a pattern so that the uneveness is not noticeable. When I was young I also did a lot of embroidery which I thoroughly enjoyed, embroidery is another thing I don't see much of these days. Some years ago candlewicking was all the rage over here. I was never much of a needlewoman although when my daughter was little I made a few dresses for her.

Hope you had fun at the quiz last night Bridget.

Must see if I can find something to-day to keep the mosquitoes away, they are driving us dilly. Don't know where they are coming as there is no stagnant water here.

That's all for now,


Val.

Bridget, you set me thinking by saying you wanted to be back in your home. Insinuating in the safety of. I have a friend who is the same age as me (70), she has suffered with agorophobia since she was about 15. She always has to have a 'safe Haven'. She goes on holiday and that is fine her holiday home becomes her safe haven. But when we used to work together and were in different parts of the town one day a week, I had to meet her to travel home. As long as she knew I was walking toward her she was fine. She is a lot better now she is older though. You could have a mild 'dose'.

Ann, I had simply never considered that I might have agrophobia, but you have set me thinking... I must look this up and maybe discuss it with someone. I wonder if there is a thread about this or should I start one...???

Val, how kind of you to do this knitting, I used ti knit a lot but it was never really even unlike one of my sisters' who made her knitting so smooth and even you would have thought that it was done by machine.

I am going to start my embroidery again as I used to reall enjoy that.
Well time to finish todays work, have a snack, and then a shower and get ready to go out.

Goodbye for today