General Chat

YEAH! Spain won, no need for penalties.

I waited to see what colour Spain would be wearing, and then put a blue tee-shirt on. Just to show my support.

Our 'Spanish Ladies' must be too busy celebrating to come on here.
I am delighted with the result, really must research the (probable) Spanish name in my tree!

Tess

I am still awake! Another of thoses nights when I just don't sleep, despite it being a good bit cooler.
It's raining at the moment, a typical English drizzle.

Last time I came back to the UK after living in theTropics, our plane was delayed in Istanbul for six hours, because of fog in the UK (this was October 1960).
In the end we landed at a "different" airport as the other one was still fogbound.
We were bussed back into London. It was a dismal drizzley day ... a big change from what I was used to. I promised myself then, that I would never complain if we got drizzle ... well that promise soon bit the dust!
But I sometimes take myself back to that day and try not to moan at 'typical English rain'
My Mum told me that in Ireland they would call it, 'a lovely soft day' which is a much more positive way of putting it.

So all of you in England, if you have got drizzle where you are - enjoy the soft day!

Tess

We have drizzle this morning and glad of it, so long since it rained that the garden was parched.

Good morning all, hope everyone is well. I shall be back to sorting out my new pc this morning, trying to get everything on here that I was used to, transferring stuff from the old pc etc which is on an external hard drive. (and that doesn't alkways work how we expect it to Lol!)

Good morning everyone,
What a wonderful night for Spain. Not the best of matches but the Spanish footwork was sensational. Pity about the ref though, the Hungarian one was so much better in the Germany-Uruguay match. Someone once said about the English ref that he couldn't control his children so how could he be expected to control a football match!!!
Quite hot here again today but there is a lovely breeze.
Enjoy the day,
Frances

Actually the ref had his work cut out, the Dutch were very aggressive and I am glad Spain won. I think any ref would have had a problem with that game. The papaer refers to the fact that the Dutch played the most thuggish game of the series.

I do so agree, Ann. Holland showed no finesse at all and their tactics were atrocious.

I made my way through these messages and the wondered when i will see some more of the promised writing??// of course if people feel it isn't worth persuing the that is fine it was after all only a suggestion.....
Any other suggested topics and I may just chance having another go as I quite enjoyed writing my few lines especially as I had never written in this form before.

Take care everyone, I will be here again tomorrow unless I can't sleep....

Bridget

Tess,
" A Lovely Soft Day " brought back such memeories, this is what my dad would say. thank you for reminding me.

I enjoyed the description very much

Bridget

I am missing you all. Are you hiding. Bridget

Good evening everyone what sort of day have you had?
Bridget

Aurora Areolas are two words that have haunted me since a small child.
I am not sure where I even heard them for the first time but as a child of around 8 I would skip in the road outside our house and sing these two words over and over again.
I started learning more about them by going to our nearest library in Bancroft Road off the Mile End Road in east London and next door to Bancroft Road Hospital where my father worked.
The librarians were somewhat surprised to find a young and small child asking for such books but they did their best and brought books from the adult section for me to look at.
What struck me were the wonderful colours and the space around them, I even had dreams of being able to fly over them...such grand ideas.
When I was married the first time we agreed that we would make this a trip for our honeymoon but it wasn’t to be. We didn’t have enough money for a Honeymoon but we had bought our house outright so did not have a mortgage.

I continued to desire see this wonder of the world and learnt so much about the lights through reading anything I could find. Many years passed children came along and Husband was working away from home for much of the time. Then he booked a surprise holiday and I was convinced that it was my dearest wish but it was a dream and not a reality. So we took the children to Thailand and I loved it, the children made friends with local children, met people whose style of life was very different to their cushioned life but still no Northern Lights for me.

Some years after when I was married for the second time I was told that we were going on a surprise holiday just for us and it was to be a very romantic place where I had always wanted to go...so full of joy and anticipation I was whisked of too.............Venice!
It is wonderfu, full of history, fine sculptures, full of amazing restaurants and the history is mind boggling and the gondola was expensive and a very romantic gesture..
So I have come to the conclusion that my favourite holiday is all in my head, a dream that will remain with me.
Unless I hint really hard that when I am 65 next year, please dear children the message is GET TOGETHER AND ARRANGE THIS FOR ME>>>>>> no more jewellery to leave to the next generation, no money to “treat yourself” no more expensive house plant which inevitably die in my house, simply buy my dream.
Interestingly I did not set out to write this story I was going to write about Irish hols or hols in Walton on Naze!
Bridget

Not so much a holiday more a way of life.

1955 - after over two and a half years we had just returned from the Tropics (where may had had been with the British Army).

While abroad we hadn't seen any cousins, or aunts, uncles etc. the only family I saw (or spoke to), were my parents and siblings.
We had already stayed with Aunty A. and her family, what a treat that was. When one of my older cousins was free Mum and us three (young) children went to Ireland. The country of my Mums birth. It was the first time for us children, and Mum hadn't been home for years. We went by train to Holyhead and then in the Irish ferry to Dublin. After more train travel, we went to my grandmothers home. This was the first time I had seen her, (or she had seen us). So that made it special.

Nan lived in the countryside, with a view of The Galties.
There was no electricity or tapped water. We slept in the loft, getting there via a steep ladder/srairway (no bannister.
Water from a rain barrel by the side of the house, or a spring across the fields. Cooking on an open fire, light from oil lamps (suspended from the ceiling) Toilet (a chemica loo I think) in a shed at the back of the house.
Free range chickens, roaming around the place.
The smell of soda bread cooling on the window-sill.
Eating potatoes with milk (instead of gravy).
Sounds of chickens and cattle the only thing to disturb the peace.
Very precious memories to treasure forever. Especially chatting to my Nan.
After a couple of weeks, on to an Aunts and Uncles, parents to a large family, so lots of new cousins to play with and talk to. They had electricity and tapped water. But the toliet was outside.
Several children to a bed, always room for one more at the bottom of the bed, no-one ever complained, not even the cousins who had to give some room in the bed to their "English" cousins
They too kept chickens. One day, while playing five-stones at the back of the house, the cockerill took a bite of my arm! I think that this was the only time I cried while we were there.
The was a stream just across the road, a gate to swing on, a donkey pulling a cart carrying milk churns.
On special a trip to Bally Bunion (the seaside).
Aunty Mary had a the knack of geting lots of children in one small car, no thought at all of health and safety.
The sands were great, and we also had some rocks to sit on, best of all, a new treat, perry-winkles in a paper-bag, yum-yum.
Home time, count the children back into the car, and sing "show me the way to go home"
A quick visit, to my Mums oldest sister, who lived in the house where Mum was bought up. This house had been modernised --- Aunty had a range! Wow! I wanted one.

A visit to a cousin of my mum we called her aunt B. and her husband Uncle J.
First introduction to Uncle J. was when approaching their home we saw a pair of feet and ankles, up in the air, just the other side of the hedge, the feet kept pace with us .. was it magic? No, it was Uncle J. a white haired man who must have been ariund 60, still able to walk on his hands, even in the fields. Something he often did to entertain us.
It rained while we stayed with Aunt B and Uncle J. another cause of celebration, I got my first pair of wellingtons, loved them us much, that I wouldn't take them off and went to bed in them that night.
Such a friendly, laid back sort of place. I lapped up everything Ireland had to offer. I'm sure I must have come back to England with an Irish accent, so became the Irish girl for a few weeks.

So no big material treats, just friendship, family, fresh air, and memories to last a life time.

Tess

Tess
I enjoyed reading you piece about holidays, it reminded me of very happy times as young child visiting my father home.......plenty of food, plenty of crack, meaning talking, not the nasty stuff! The freedom to wander comes across very well and I loved the description of how you had to climb up to bed.
Looking forward to your next piece, any ideas for subject.?
Take care
Bridget

Hi All
Sorry I have been awol - but very hot in the room where the computer is.
Anyway, my favourite holiday - well in actual fact I have 3
Number 1 and top of the list waas December 1992 - our 25th wedding anniversary and Paris here we come. We started off early in the morning to catch a train to London followed by another train to Dover. Boarded the ferry and sat down to half a bottle of champagne - with money my mom gave us - there were 4 people on another table and they asked me if we were newly weds - to which I replied no we have done 25 years !!! Paris was wonderful . we were there for 5 days but saw nearly every inch using the underground railway system. On the evening of our anniversary we had a romatic dinner in a restaurant where a pianist was playing a babt grand piano. Just wonderful. So far we have never been back - but one day who knows.

Holiday number 2 - was a week in Majorca with friends - to celebrate being 40 ' my mom looked after our two sons for us. This was the first time we had been abroad - never been on a plane before. Well, my friend always liked a little fun and games - so they sat me next to the window on the plane and just as it was taxing along the runway she put a large plastic bin liner over my head !!! Our hotel was situated just over the road from a wonderful sandy beach and blue sea. We saw most of the sights of Majorca in a week and I even found out I could rise a bike - although my rear end was feeling the strain !!

After this holiday I was determined our two sons would not have to wait until they were 40 before going abroad and we took them to the same hotel on Majorca the next year. To see their faces on the plane is something I will never forget . they were so exciited. They swam in the pool and we hired bikes and had a wonderful week. I will always remember one night the boys wanted to play pool - put the money in the slot on the table and our youngest shouted out 'what's Spanish for a ball is missing' - the place errupted with laughter. Happy days.

Hope my ramblings have not bored you all.

Enjoy your day and stay safe

Love Mary xx

I have had so many wonderful holidays and some rubbish ones. One of my favourites was our trip to the British Virgin Islands in 2006 for OH's 60th. birthday.....keeping the secret was very difficult as we told him he was going to Paris, a city he doesn't like, so packing for 10 days in the Caribbean when you are only supposed to be going to Paris for 5 days, in October, is not easy.We did go to Paris as we flew Air France from Charles de Gaulle.....our son had organised the trip and he refuses to fly Iberia so we couldn't go from Madrid which would have been better for us. We had a good holiday with lots of laughs and not a few insect bites.
I think childhood holidays remain the best though.....hindsight is a wonderful thing! We never went abroad but we always had two weeks somewhere in England. I can remember staying in a caravan at Primrose Valley on the East Coast and it rained for the whole two weeks. I can remember sunshine for a fortnight in Torquay......they were all great and I was so lucky as many of my friends never had holidays.

Frances.

Mary, Paris sounds wonderful. Even the journey there sounded exciting.

Your boys will never forget their first time on a plane, it is so good that you were able to share this special moment with them.

Frances, well done on keeping your secret holiday plan for your OH's 60th birthdaay a secret. It must have been really difficult. I imagine him trying not to look disappointed when you told him that you were taking him to Paris.
His face must have been a picture when you told him the truth! Did he take a French phrase book and a guide to Paris with him?

I had to get up early this morning, as I was expecting delivery of a new vacuum. Delivery time was between 7am and 7pm it came at 6.15 pm ! Just as well I hadn't had a day off work, waiting for it (I am retired).

Still recovering from getting up early!
Having said that, I would have been well on my way to work by 7am when I was still working, so I have got it very easy now.

Tess

What is true Love?
.
You my love are my true love
Always in my mind,
The one who knows my heart
Is broken, by you my love
by you

The stars above are dimming,
Always in my mind,
I am waiting for you my love,
the stars are dimming,for you
My love.


Take all my love,as the sky
Turns black, my love
as you slowly walk away,
My heart is broken, yet
you are my love.

Now my love, we stand
Side by side ,as we see
our love marry his love,
My heart is still broken
By you, my love by you.

I have never written poetry before and here I am writing my second piece.

Please tell me the truth should I continue or go back to prose.
Bridget
I feal very nervous about this but here goes

It is lovely Bridget.. It seems (to me)that thoughts of your sons upcoming wedding has made you think this way.

Do keep writing, these are words waiting to be set down on a page, before thet become buried again.

Tess

Theresa
Thank you for your reply, it is much appreciated.
You are of course quite right about what has brought all this to the surface again. Normally I have packed these emotions away in a special place, and only let them out now and again.

I am lucky in that I married for a second time, to someone who is very different, and we have been married 17 years on the 19th July, I do love him but it is so very different.
My marriage broke up because of a lie......and once a lie has been told it seeps into the depths of your mind and becomes a truth, it was years later that the lie was acknowledged.

I will keep writing and maybe I should save them or is that being somewhat vain??

Bye for now

Bridget

Bridget,
Why not write both?