General Chat

Hello again

1. How do I copy and paste from this forum?

2. Water and Spain. and please be aware that I will not be able to reply exactly as written previously.!


Last year in Spain, at least in the area from the Pyrenees down to Valancia we had severe shortages of water. The rain fall had been considerably lower than usual during the previous two winters and the reseviours were very low across the regioin.

Water was transported into Barcelona, my son had his water cut off in the house for an average of 6 hours per day for almost two months, in the middle of Barcelona.

This made us all think very carefully about how we used water and the wastage. I started our new approach by making sure that ANY water we used was not simply poured down the sink but was used for watering the garden plants and low and behold the Roses which in previous years had been very poor, bloomed way beyond previous years. The other plants did not show any sign of distress and we lowered the time for our automatic sprinkler system to twice a day for only 10 minutes each time.

The flushing system in the bath and shower rooms had bricks put into the system and we only put into the kettle the amount of water we actually need.

Now for the most shocking part but also the most informative.

About 40 minutes from where we live is our local reseviour set near the top of a mountain where the area is of outstanding national beauty.
The variety of birds and in particular the Eagles is amazing. There are wild flowers and herbs, and the aromas fill the air, the stillness is breath taking...

There is a famous restaurant there as well, and artists set up their easels to try and capture the images and then there are the photographers and of course the twitchers. We used to visit several times a year as each group of our visitors wanted to go there.

The reseviour is or was a large and deep lake with water running into a wide river. A bridge has been built over the reseviour and allows access to the banks of the river. It had become a well known swimming area offering depths for all swimmers, or if like ,me simply a paddler,...It was not unusual to see whole families there for the day. The braver or more foolhardy would dive from the bridge into the middle of the lake, this includes my OH, brother in law and one of my sons, and there had never been a serious injury or a fatalitty.

What a shock when last year we went , the river and reseviour were so low that it was possible to see the bed of the lake.!!
No one was allowed down to the edge of the forest around the water, which was the only access, and the restaurant had only two tables in use.
Wild life was and is being affected. The bird population were confused and it is expected that the population of the Eagles and other beautiful birds will be seiously depleted in the next couple of years. the wild flowers and herbs are noticably declining.....

I will never take water for granted again and compared to many parts of the world we are still very fortunate. Last winter though was in general terms very dry and this summer we have had high temps and no rain for many weeks...BUT can you believe that some people are complaining that they can only empty their swimming Pools once or twice a year...do they realise how much water it takes to fill a pool and yes I do have a beautiful large pool which gives us all great fun and enjoyment .

I am not asking anyone to change their lifestyle , that is for each person to decide for themselves..but minor changes have made a diffence to my life style.


I hope that this goes someway to repeating my sadly depleted message this morning. Yes it WAS me who deleted it in error , OH says maybe it is time to put me in for part exchange!

have a good day everyone.

Bridget

Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors it is now 42c and the air is still!

Thanks Bridget, even more informative, let's hope that you get enough rain this winter to re-fill the reservoir so that you get the wildlife back on track.

To copy and paste from threads. I first open a blank word document and minimise it. Highlight the area you want to copy by clicking with the left side of your mouse and holding it down while dragging the mouse over the area, it should change colour, mine goes blue. When you have highlighted the area, right click and you will see copy, click on that.
Open up the blank document, place the cursor on it, right click and click paste.

If right clicking doesn't work for copy and paste, go to edit where you will find both there.

Ann

Anne

We are just about ready to go out...I am supposed to be checking that all the doors are locked!

I will give it a try tomorrow and hope I do not lose it.

Have a good evening, we are doing out to a fish restaurant, my favourite food

bye

bridget

Good morning everyone, I hope all is well in your part of the world.

Had a chage of routine today and walked aound the garden dead heading, checking the fruit trees, and simply enjoy quiet time. Noticed that a neighbour, who live higher up the mountain than us was out at 06.00hrs taking photos across the sea and Castle, so looked to see what he was trying to capture and it simply had to be the amazing coulours in the sky which were being reflected onto the castle....Couldn't get to camera as it was downstairs and I did not want to disturb our visitors.

I will try to describe what I saw. The sky had bands of pale and dark blue and in between them were various coulours of pink and light violet, the sea was dark out on the horizen and in swathes became paler towards the beach. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the atmosphere was peaceful and awe inspiring, even the birds were quiet and still. Slowly all these colours started to fade and the sun came through and is reflected onto the sea, and the temperature started to climb. Once again we are expecting very high temps and with no wind chill factor it will feel 2 or 3 degrees higher than the actual temp.

We went out last night and enjoyed our meal, we could not park in town so we drove further along the coast and found a parking space almost outside an outdoor retsaurant. As it was only about 21.00hrs it was easy to have a table and we had excellent food at 3/4 of the price the first chice retaurant would have been. I had Dublin Bay Prawns, followed by sole which was superb and the Creme Catalana. We had a couple of glasses of wine and by then we decided to go home so that OH could also have a few drinks. the drink Driving laws have finally reached our area and they are very strict....so we do not want to upset them.


well everyone I will be back later today and hope that you are all well and enjoying life, if not I will add you to my Quiet moments of positive thoughts. I really look forward to hearing from you


Take Care


Bridget

Good morning Bridget,
Slept through the dawn this morning so missed the colours, better luck to morrow hopefully.
Yes it is going to be hot again today so will keep to the cool part of the house.
Enjoy your day.
Frances

What a shame you couldn't get to your camera Bridget, that sky sounds spectacular. And I am drooling over your meal. However, couldn't eat it at the moment as we have just had Tapas in Cheltenham, sitting indoors so not quite the same as relaxing in the sunshine of Tenerife, but the food is as good.

Ann
Glos

Good morning everyone,
Having a lazy day today i hope
having said that i bet the boss fines something for me to do
it looks like reain anytime now
why cant it just rain of a night and be sunny in the day time
now that would be great lol
hope you all have a good day wherever you may be

Good morning everyone and I hope you all have a relaxing day.

It is very quiet here in Peniscola. Sunday is always quiet, and around 10.00hrs the church bells will start ringing to invite people to church. There are two Catholic churches on the Castle walk and one was completely renovated internally a couple of years ago and the services are very well attended. The older church at the very top of the mound is stunningly beautiful on the outside, very simple but totall original, and the inside takes ones breath away with its simplicity. This is used by many people from across the world, who come to get married.

I stood today and had my quiet 10 minutes on a different terrace and looked across the sea towards the north. The sea was so calm it looked like glass and the sky was varing colours of blue, everything was so still. Not awe inspiring but simply calm and relaxing.


We do not have any plans today other than a roast English style dinner tonight...we do not usuall bother doing this for just the two of us but our friends have requested a real English Sunday roast so we bow to their request, and we will enjoy it...we also will have rhubarb crumble, something I can't resist.

Keith, maybe the rain will only lsat a short time and then the rest of the day could be fine. Enjoy not having to much to do.

Everyone else, just know that I peek on here several times a day and always look forward to your comments.

Frances, I haven't been to Cheltenham for soooo mnay years, I am glad you enjoyed your tapas. How about writing about what you see where you live and what it is that you like about Cheltenham?

Matbe everyone could try to describe where they live, what inspires them and what they woule like to change...do not say you can't do this because you simply never know until you try!!!


Take care everyone

bye for now


Bridget

Good morning Bridget. It was me who went to Cheltenham. We live between Cheltenham and Gloucester, two very different towns. If you take away the shopping areas which are both all crowds of people and hustle and bustle the buildings of the two towns are so different.

Cheltenham is much more graceful, as we travel in by bus we look at all the old regency buildings along the main road. Sadly, in a way, they are mainly now offices and flats instead of the beautiful large houses they were built as, but at least the buildings are preserved. As we approach the town we see the beautiful flower arrangements put up for the Cheltenham in Bloom. The main ones are begonias in orange, yellow and white this year, then the parks also have many flowers. There are hanging baskets full of flowers well into the town. It certainly makes for a relaxing bus ride into town and lifts the spirits to see the lovely flowers.

OH waiting to go out so more later.

Ann

OOps Ann

Thanks for your description I was able to visualise the journey, and it sounds rather relaxing and pleasing to the eye.
If you are going out today have a good time

Bridget

There is quite a bit of rivalry between Gloucester and Cheltenham and unfortunately Gloucester suffered from horrendous planning and building mistakes in the 60s. They are now trying to regenerate the town. This is difficult because the Council don't 'own' a lot of the areas where mistakes occurred and the leaseholders are very slow to move. The shopping area is, like many others, suffering from the recession in that we have some empty shops and a lot of charity shops and pound shops. Having said that I have never been into town when there have not been a lot of people around. Gloucester is very much a multi racial town with very little racial problems.

There are still some really old and attractive buildings in Gloucester with little alleyways and tiny shops. Our main shopping streets are in the form of a cross, pedestrianised with an old Tower - St Michaels Tower at the centre of the cross. The four streets are known as the gate streets (Eastgate, Westgate, Northgate and Southgate) Gloucester too has some beautiful flower arrangements and baskets, especially all along by the Gloucester Sharpness canal before the Docks. There are several churches including St Mary de Crypt church The church was first recorded c1140 when it was known as the Church of the Blessed Mary within the Southgate. The present structure is the result of a major rebuilding that took place in the late 14th century. It incorporated some of the earlier 12th and 13th century work. Further alterations took place in the 15th and 16th centuries. Below the western end of the nave lies the crypt alluded to in the name of the church. Gloucester's famous 18th century preacher, George Whitefield delivered his first sermon after ordination in 1734 from the 17th century pulpit in the nave.

We do also have the beautiful Cathedral and surrounds where parts of Harry Potter were filmed, and beyond the cathedral there are parts ogf the old wall. We have Blackfriars Priory , with its magnificent timbered roof, this is the most complete survival of a mediaeval Dominican priory in Britain. The original medieval cloister, completed in 1239, includes the Scriptorium where the monks once worked over 750 years ago. This is believed to be England's oldest surviving library building.

Then we also have Greyfriars. This was the house of the order of Friars which was founded c1231 by Thomas, Lord Berkeley. The present remains are the 16th century rebuilding of the nave and north aisle. Unfortunately parts of this have to be boarded up to protect against the inevitable graffiti.

Gloucester is very lucky to have the docks, unfortunately through some misguided ideas we lost the lovely Robert Opie Museum of packaging but the Waterways museum hangs on by the skin of its teeth. We also in the docks have the Soldiers museum where records can be found of the Glorious Gloucesters.

When we first lived here we used to often visit the docks as there was a small shopping complex plus restaurants there. Then the planners got hold of it and there have been a few arrid years while they have started to regenerate. I think the idea was to make it more like canary wharf but it has taken a while to get things sorted. They have turned many of the lovely old warehouses into blocks of apartments with balconies overlooking the docks basin, they have improved moorings for narrow boats etc and once a year we have the glorious tall ships festival when we are host to several of the old sailing ships. There is still one in at the moment undergoing repairs in the shipyard. We now re-visit the docks area as they have opened a brand new designer outlet centre. It is in the very early stages as yet but it is looking good and the atmosphere around the docks was vibrant the last time (last week) we visited. The second stage of the designer centre will be the restaurants some overlooking the water. Already in the docks there is an old paddle boat which will shortly be a floating restaurant.

So there you have the two towns. Cheltenham is always referred to as being more 'upmarket' than Gloucester and houses there are dearer, but to me Gloucester has the history and is more interesting and down to earth.

Good morning everyone
Not a lot to report today
Just have a good rest on Sunday A bit of reading and garden tidy up
Back to work today hope its a easy day , Then if i feel like tonight maybe i may just do some work in the house SHOCK lol

have a great day all bfn
KEITH

Just reading your post Ann i love to read the history of towns and any old city its good to know the past history

Good morning every one


Ann what a wonderful description of the two towns, I am going to attempt to save it as you kindly supplied the info on how to do this.
When reading your message ifelt as if I was walking around the areas with you and thik that now I will definetly have to visit. Please keep us informed of the progress made.


Keaith and anyone else who may visit today how about submitting a description of the area in which you live,?

Today the weather is a little cooler and we are promised rain tomorrow, of course what we would really like is for it to rain overnihgt. maybe even have a magnificent thunderstorm and then we could sit on the balcony drinking some white wine whilst we watched it!

I didn't get out of bed this morning until 08.00hrs...now that is VERY LATE for me , so still have to find my quiet time and suspect that this will not happen until sometime this afternoon...

Yesterday watched Wigan win the Rugby match and England win the cricket,,,what more could I have asked for. Well done to both teams!!!!


A few days ago I suggested that we should write our favourite recipes, well today I am making a tiramiso and am willing to share the recipe supplied by an Italian chef I know..it really is both easy and excellent. Now the big question..shoiuld this be on this thread or should I start a new one just for Culinary Skills..I await you replies.

I will be back on here thisafter noon so hope others have by then had some time to write a message or two.


bye for now



Bridget

Start a culinary thread Bridget.
Glad you liked the descriptions. Maybe I will write one on Tewkesbury next although I am not quite so familiar with it.

Morning Bridget and everyone,
Still haven't managed to wake up before the dawn...
Once again hot & sunny here, don't think there is much chance of rain though I have been known to be wrong, not often mind!! lol!
We live in a very green valley full of almond trees and orange trees. It is a picture in late January-early February when the almond trees are in blossom, people come from all over the place to see it. Our village is a typical small Spanish one, not very picturesque, clustered around the church, and there is a watchtower, there is also a museum which in typical Spanish style is yet to open...the renovation was finished almost two years ago but inside is just an empty space!!!
There are three bars, Spanish owned, in the main square and one, foreign owned, at the far side of the village. We have several restaurants on the outskirts , all serving a variation on 'English' food and all suffering to some extent from the economic downturn. We tend not to use them and go further afield for decent, cheap Spanish food.
We chose this area because of the wonderful views of the surrounding countryside and the stillness. The coast is about 20 minutes away and the main roads about 15minutes so if we want to explore we are very well-placed.
Enjoy the day
Frances

Where i live


Kirkby Old Photographs, Old maps, Old photos, People and Places ...Kirkby Merseyside old pictures, old maps, Merseyside historic books, Merseyside historic maps.
heritage.ukvillages.co.uk/old_pictures/Kirkby-Merseyside

Kirkby TowntrailThe use of sandstone is a good indication of an old Kirkby building. Further along stood the Post Office (KB43), the site is opposite Holy Angels School. ...
history.knowsley.gov.uk/.../print_text.msql?name=Kirkby...

Kirkby wildflowers - Old Rough on Flickr - Photo Sharing!Kirkby wildflowers - Old Rough. Kirkby wildflowers - Old Rough by digirose. its an awesome sight for all who pass this way. ...
www.flickr.com/photos/37731655@N07/3476008840/ -

Well a late start but Happy day everyone.

A quick visit this morning so no rambling , guess you will think"ythank goodness for that!

Ok some messages now.

Valerie. How are you and what have you been doing these last few days. Have you had any more chats with the friend who contacted you recently?

Mummo, we haven't heard from you in awhile, hope you are OK

Jennie X Did you go to visit your friend in South Wales? I have sons who live in Swansea, well one does and his twin brother is also butying the house with hime but as he is in the Army he is not there often. I hope that your friend felt better for seeing you.

Frances, are you ready now for your sons visit, it will be pleasant to have him to yourselves for a while.

Ann in Glos. What are you doing this week and yes I am going to start the Culinaru Club so look out for it this week...hope it works!!


Keith, now I was going to say that you cheated about the info for your area, but as I am in agood mood I shall simply say Thanks instead and look at all three sites..


Next week I shall write about some other palces where I live and though t that I would start trying to describe the mountans and the National park area, I will see if it works.



I shall as usual now go and spend 10 minutes or so and wander around the garden thinking of anyone who is feeling low, worried, concerned, unhappy and try to send positive thoughts to them.

Well Jet and Joe the cocker Spaniels have finished breakfast and are nudging me outside so bye for now

Bye
Bridget