General Chat

Good morning everyone

and so another day dawns. As I walked down the stairs today to come into the study/siiting room on the ground floor, I thought about how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place, where the atmosphere has not been polluted, where there is calm and tranquilty, where I could look out onto the horizon which seems never ending and the sky is a hue of many colours and peace reigns. And so my thoughts for the day started and I walked around the garden and then sat beside the pool and thought about life. Life in general and my life. I was born in 1946, unsure exactly which of two people is my father. But I was lucky for they both claimed paternity....However my mother divorced and remarried and I was borught up in a poor but loving home with a father who could not have loved me any more than he did. He never knew his parents, and his two daughters, I have a younger sisiter were the focus of his life.

We lived in the east end of London and I must have been about 11 before I realised that we were poor....
I went on to become a nurse, met a my first husband whilst working on Saturdays in a market and we were both ambitious and held the same principals. We were 16 when we met and married when we were 24. We had by then saved for and bought our first home in Upton Park, not far from West Ham Football Club. We moved to Buckhurst Hill and our house backed onto Epping Forest . As we became more successful in our work we moved several more times and became the proud parents of four wonderful children including a set of identical twins. Sadly for us both our marriage ended afte 23 years,. I was fortunate enough to meet someone else whom I had known since he was 14 and he had been divorced for many years and our children new each other and so 16 years ago we married and life is good.
So why am I telling everyone this? Well I know what it feels like when ths sky is dark even though it my have a wonderful sun shining, I know what it is like to go shopping in the supermarket and not have enough money to pay for what is in the trolley, I know the pain which divorce causes, I know how cruel life can be, and to think that life isn't worth living anymore, and walking down those stairs this morning reminded me that we all need support, that we all need to be the supporter, we can all learn to apprecaite what we have and not simply think about what we no longer have.

As I sat by the pool and thought about all those who feel that their heart is breaking, those people who are caring for family and friends in very troubled circumstances, for those who have lost loved ones and wonder if they could have done more, for those peole who are considering if life is really worth while. I hope that my prayers and positive thoughts help in some small way and that the pain and concern being experienced has a moment of relief each day. We can move on, life does improve but sometimes you have to realise that you cannot be all things to all peole, including yourself.


Now I have done it again have't I? IRambling on My OH calls it....so I hope no one is offended, I know life is both wonderful and hard, so please just write back and tell me what you think.

The day is already warming up, it is 25c outside, and the temp is due to be around 31c with a real feel of 35c, so very warm.

What is happening in your part of the world, what are you all doing today, , the sky has a range of colours from pale bleue to pale pink and a very pale yellow tinge. The sea is calm and this moring I was still asleep when the fishing boats went out.

I will come back later today in the hope that someone has visited and left messages.

Bye for now everyone and take care of youselves


Bridget

Morning Bridget and all


Just having for looking at my family tree and adding bits to it
Had a bit of a shock when i saw how much stuff i havent added to my tree ,But i think you where right about some kind of book Bridget,
So what i have been doing is putting it in the right order like a book and maybe get it ready to pass on to my kids
Well i must plot on with it BFN

Hello Bridget, although I haven't posted on this thread before, I have been reading it every day. I must say you have a way with words and sound so calm I really enjoy your writing.

I live in a seaside town in South Africa where the summers are very hot and the winters mild, for me anyway. To-day is a blustery day with rain on and off and the sea is quite rough and grey, I think the fishing boats will be taking shelter in the bay to-day.

Later I will be going to visit my husband who is in hospital after a knee replacement. This is a 45 minute journey as the hospital is in the next town.

I hope every has a good day.


Val in SA.

Good morning All
Late as usually .... Still have Grandson and now Granddaughter has come up for the day .....so its dinner and off to the beach ..... thank God its fine lol
New Quay Regatta on for the next 3 days so lots of activities going on
Hopfully I will have more time next week so see you all then
Jenxx

Had a great day yesday with new grandson. Took lots of photos with him with grand daugther.

Today went to doctors for letter to get new disable bus pass,

Paid bills yuk,

Then home for workmen to come fits my hot water timer..

Then next 3 days are going to be pjs days.

Have great day all of you.

Hazelx

Hello and good mormning everyone, I hope that you all have a good day.

Mummo
Delighted to hear that everything went well re your OHs visit to hospital and what good news it is that now he has only to visit the GP. I am sure that stopping smoking will in a few months begin to show what a good move that was, I expect he found it very difficult at first. re the bruising, unfortunately bruising easily is a side affest of medication and he will have to be careful about bumping ito furniture etc and sometimes simply playing with the grandchildren can also have an effect. However I am sure that all precautions are in place.

His cholesterol level sounds very good so you must be looking after him very well.!!!

When we lived in the UK I used to have a paddling pool for the grandchildren but often went "paddling" myself just to cool the feet down. However now I know what feeling hot really means, I don't know how people live near to deserts etc, unless of course they were born there and grew up with it. I hope the sun keeps shining for you.

KingKeith,
now that is a good idea, putting your tree into book format and perhaps writing about the ancestors you knew or where you have found out what they did and how they lived I am seriously thinking about doing an on line course re ancestry as I really would like to be able to learn more about the social history of the times.

Let us all know how you progress.

Ginny.

Oh dear! The idea is not to cause depression, what can I say!!!! Well I live in what was a very tiny fisdhing village until some years ago a famous film, El Cid was filmed here. After that the place became more popular with both the Spanish and the English and gradually it grew into a small town.
During most of the year the population is now around 10.000 mostly Spanish and spread across quite a wide area. The English population is fairly stable at around 100 people, but again this is spread around a large area which comes within the jurisdiction of Peniscola. In the summer the population swells with Brits, French, Diuch, Germans, a few Italians and a lot of Spanish. Quite a few Spanish people who live in Barcelona have second homes here and come at weekends and festive times.
We are more or less midway between Barcelona and Valencia.
This year the visiting populataion is considrerably lower than normal due the the recession across Europe and the rest of the world.
Spain has the worst record with Ireland a close second. The worrying thing is that many of the locals have invested heavily in the last four years, improving facilities for holiday makers and now we can see some going out of business...I guess the same is happening in many palces.
However from the perspective of simply living here it is a beautiful place to be and very calming. Then there are also some wonderful places in the UK..but here we usually have fantastic weather as well. I must also say that it is far removed from most Holiday places in Spain, no drunken louts of any nationality, a few merry people yes, but nothing serious, whilst English is spoken by many locals they do expect everyone to try and understand and use some Spanish.

So you want to come and have a swim...you are welcome, just drop by.....enjoy your day

I echo your thoughts about the TV programme you watched and my mind is twirling with ideas...I will send you a message...maybe, just maybe we could start something here.

Valerie,
welcome to my thread and I hope that you visit most days. I know a few people who have been to SA and they have all extolled the virtues of the country, where do you live? Can you write a little piece descibing your area to us.

How was your husband, I hope that he is improving and will add him to my quiet thought time,. I hope that you come back to this thread today and look forward to seeing your next message

JennyX

You sound as if you are enjoying your grandsons stay and your daughters visit. I look forward to reading all about the Regatta, it should be great especially if the weather stays good.

Hazel, lovely to hear from you, hope the workmen fitted the new hot water sytsem OK, and it must have been delightful to see your new grandson. We had another photo yesterday of our newest grandaughter who lives in Holland, she has an amazing head of hair and looks very bonny.

Well having sat and writen all these mesages it is time for a coffe!! I will then sit as usual and have my special 10 minutes, which I think may need to be expanded to a 15 minute break, but I do find that the morning is the best time for peace and tranquility. I have described many mornings on here so today it is time for a change. having said good morning to everyone I will be back this afternoon to describe what is happening in my part of the world. We are going out to lunch today, in town and opposite the beach, maybe I will find some inspiration there.


have good day everyone

Bridget

Good mormning everyone,
Having a great start to my day
I was looking for somebody whos name is in my family tree
Well it looks like someone off here is helping me Which is very kind of them
I will update you all if we are lucky
Another member has lots of info for me and is putting it in to print so i can put it all together
It should look good if i put a little story about any of the family next to there names
well i mush plot on to see what else i can find

Goodmorning and thank you for the welcome.

After yesterday's lashing rain and terrible wind to-day looks as if it will be lovely, the sun is shining and there is a slight breeze blowing.

I live in Jeffreys Bay, known as JBay or Jeffreys to locals. It is a lovely seaside town on the warm Indian Ocean at the southern tip of SA., east of the Garden Route which is the route between Port Elizabeth( now called Nelson Mandela Metro) and Cape Town. It is best known for it's surfing spots and the "Home of the Perfect Wave". Also known for the beautiful shells which can be found here. We have a Shell Museum with over 600 shells from all over the world. In the 1960's and 70's it was known as a hippie hangout. To-day most of the residents are pensioners.

It's a popular holiday spot for families , we have miles of beautiful
beaches. The summers are extremely hot and the winters are not really very cold although in July the temperature can go down to 8 degrees C in the night.

From our lounge window we look across the sea with mountains in the background. We have a lovely garden with a few citrus trees.

My husband is recovering well and may be home to-morrow.
I will be off in a while to visit him again.

Have a lovely day everyone.



Val in SA.

Morning Bridget and everyone,
I rather fancy the sound of where Val lives, perhaps we should all go for a visit, we could hire a charabanc!! lol
Weather once again hot and sunny, forecast to be 36+ over the weekend, lovely!
Enjoy your day wherever you are
Frances

Good morning everyone
just reading this thread and i need to say i think we all rather fancy the sound of where Val lives and you all must remember that i asked Val 1st lol
Anyway i cant do no more to my tree till Monday as a mate who helps me is away for a few days
So today i will get the car sorted and see the Grand kids i hope
i may even take the grandson fishing that should make his day
bfn

Good morning everyone, I hope that you all have a great weekend.

Keith enjoy the fishing trip and i hope that the car is OK.

I see that someone has deleted a thread...I wonder why? I read a thread on here yesterday about a lady who lives in very cramped conditions and some said that they wished they could help her. Well i did say that I would send a pm but now I can't do this....so if whoever it was sends a pm to me I will simply discuss an idea I had about how maybe we could help....so I await a message.

Had a naughty day yesterday...went out for lunch, ate to much, wnet back to friends house and indulged in the wine whilst sitting in the sunshine,,, came home and watched Wigan play and win so had another couple of glasses of the vino ..... outcome slept well and woke late!!! Oh well maybe it doesn't hurt to do this occassionally...

Had a couple of mugs of coffee before I came on here today so no hangover thank goodness.

My closest friend and her husband arrive tomorrow.I will really enjoy seeing her we both share a passion for family research, scrabble and read a lot of books so we get on just fine.

OH decided yesterday to invite 4 other couples so that they can watch a foottball match together...and then said" Bridget will do a meal for us all so no need to bring anything" so guess where I am off to later this morning. I have decided to have a variety of salads, meats, fish, cheese, lovely fresh bread, and fruit etc and keep it all simple. Any suggestions for anything else or fav foods please let me know.



Not a lot of time today but I may be back later and then I hope to see messages from you all.



Take care everyone, I am sorry this is so short today,,,,,,may be a relief to some I suppose


Bridget

Good Morning All
just popped on to say hello
kiddies watching Barney .....daughter having a lie in...long drive today ...
Well the bungalow looks as though we've been burgled (not kidding )
so the day is mapped out for me clean clean clean lol
last day of regatta and its raining ...but we did have 2 fine days so can't
complain ...
Barney finished so off to have one last play with William and Aidan before they go home
see you tomorrow TC everyone
Jenxx

Good afternoon to everyone.

Have just fetched my husband from the hospital and I must say we are pleased that the travelling is over. He must wear elasticised stockings for 8 weeks and have daily injections of anti-clotting medication for 3 weeks, and guess who will be giving the injections - me!! While the patient is sleeping I think I will settle down with a crossword puzzle.

This is a very nice place to live, the only drawback is the crime.

The day started off with a very strong wind blowing, but this has now dropped and it is quite warm.

Enjoy your weekend.


Val in SA.

Hello

You know the saying " If you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen" well I have just done that and come downstairs for a hideaway from the heat. We have a temp of 46 today with no wind chill so feels incredible hotter than we have had before.
I have been preparing food for tomorrow and trying to have a change from the usual BBQ so have cooked sausages in honey and Mustard, also others with a mint concoction, and others covered in horseradish wth cream. They smelt delicious whilst cooking so OH and I had a taster for our lunch. I have counted them so he can't sneak any more. have also made a Chickpea, Chirozo, garlic and onions with baby tomatoes Salad, had to cook it all first and that too is cooling down but I am not sure that I am, I will add fresh herbs tomorrow.

Does anyone have eany easy recipes they would wish to share.....
I was about to prepare a chicken and Advocado salad but then thought that the avaocado will go black over night so here I am out of the heat.

Jenxx Enjoy your time with the grandchildren before they go home. As for the house work, well we can all find something in that department most of the time. Take a breather and remind yourself of what a graeat time you have had.

Glad to hear that the Regatta was good, haven't been to one for years.

Valerie,

Great news that your husband is home and improving, don't worry about giving the injections you will soon be an expert, unless you are already of course.

If the weather is hot the eklastic stockings must be difficult to wear but I am sure that you will make sure that husband complies.

I hope that you are enjoying your me time with the crossword, did you manage to finish it?

Crime seems to be on the increase across the world, I do have very close friends who go to SA every other year. The husband has relatives, well the rest of his family are there, but although he loves the people and the surroundings he hates the gates having to be locked, the need for some people to carry guns all the time. His brother is a well known architect so I guess they must have a splendid house.

Well I am going to see if I can find a relative or two, hopefully from the past and then I do not have to remember to be good!!


Speak to you all soon.


Bridget

Good morning everyone. I have been awake for about 2 hrs, simply couldn't sleep due to the very warm night...OH is still in the land of nod.

Had what I hope is a big break through on my husbands side of the research and I am keeping my fingers crossed that someone who contacted me is correct withhis information...I have been searching on and off for some time now. There are some people on this site who appear to be amazingly fast at finding information...don't know what I would do without them so they are definetly in my positive thoughts slot today.

Well today you all have a respite from my little descriptions of what is happening in my part of the world. We know it is going to be hot, so nothing new there, and as today is Sunday nothing much will happen until the church bells start to ring around 09.30. Spain is still a very Catholic country and going to church is still important. Actually it is rather re assuring in many ways to see grandparents, parents, children, girl and boy friends all going to church together......However I was quite amazed when I first went to church here at how much talking goes on by the congregation during the service...it was so noisy compared to UK churches.
The christenings, first communion , confirmation and weddings are wonderful.

My close friends from Yourshire arrive this afternoon and around 15.30 hrs we have another 8 people coming, the men will be watching football and the ladies will be chatting, swiming and also may watch some football. I hope that the new menus I have used for the food turn out OK, didn't fancy doing yet another BBQ so prepared everything yesterday and simply have to put it together today. Anyone fancy sharing some favourite recipes???

To anyone who is feeling low or worried, I will think about you in my quiet moments, for those who have had good news or who are simply content today, I will also remember you and hope that yor peace continues.

Oh I do hope that everyone is well, so take care and I will be back tomorrow, although I may peep in now and again today,


Happy Sunday everyone.


Bridget

morning to you all
Not much sleep last night

I have been waiting on more info to carry with put stuff together about me tree
When you think about the peeps in your tree do you find that they become a part of you ?
Even when i look at the old photos there is always something there that says they are a part of me
Well thats all for now
have a nice day All

Good Morning All
What bliss to wake up to peace and quiet lol
Well its a sunny morning here so hopefully it is going to be fine today
I live in a little village just outside New Quay in West Wales
We have an 11th Century church just 50 yards from the doorstep
bell rings every hour (I like it )
Monday OH will start laying the new path around the Bungalow
so I wont see much of him for the next week or so ....think I might take myself off shopping lol
Today we are going to visit OH's sister who is quite poorly and is in hospital in South Wales so a bit of a drive down there
Have a good day where every you are
Jenxx

Just "peeped"! Should be checking room etc for friends arrival, also have to put the washing out.

Bye

Bridget

Good morning,

It's a lovely day to-day, sunshine and a breeze again to-day, not going to be hot.

Bridget, I can't imagine what 46 must be like, I thought 30-32 was hot!
Your menu sounds lovely, and I'm sure the food will be enjoyed by all.

The first injection went well this morning, no complaints from the patient.
He only really complains of pain when he is doing the exercises which he is very good about.

I must say that when we first went to church in JBay we were amazed at all the talking that went on before the service, sounds like a bazaar! We were used to sitting quietly and no talking.

Have a wonderful time with your friends.

Am off now to have some tea.



Val in SA.,

Dear Bridget,
Have a great time with your visitors. Not quite as hot as 46 here, mid 30s for us. Threw the breakfast tray all over the terrace this morning, tripped as I was going up the steps. Orange juice, butter, glass, broken plates all over the place and I have two wonderful bruises across my upper thighs!!! Luckily the bruises from when I fell off my bike on holiday have disappeared....accident prone or clumsy, OH says I should stop wearing flip-flops but boots are so unsummery!!!
Will look out some recipes for you.
Take care,
Frances
PS The Spanish are supposedly the noisiest people in Europe and secon only to the Japanese in the world.