General Chat

Morning from Melbourne....:>))

Persey. I only sing in the shower mate..lol
..will you answer true..o'h.ooo..ooo..
Brigadoon was on Tele last week here.
Van Johnson,Gene Kelly and the lovely Cyd Charisse (sp )

AnninGlos. Yes....i have seen your postings around the boards for many years. I joined GR in 2003 ( GC ) and again in 2004
Have been to Gloucesteshire,and what beautiful countryside it is. We only saw a small part though. We stayed in a B&B at Cheltenham, and a farm house B&B in Winchcombe. Visited Sudeley Castle ( Henry V111 ) We toured the Cotswold's mainly....Stow on the Wold,Bourton on Water, Upper and Lower Slaughter,and many of the small surrounding Villages. Absolutley loved it, and quite different to what you might see in Melbourne....lol

Allan. Will take you up on your offer when we do eventually get over to the West,as there is so much more to see in W.A

I dont normally visit or add to many threads now, as to be honest i really dont have the time.( work ) My main focus is the "Trying to find board", Records office and Tips boards to see if i can help others looking for relos in Oz....as my FH is now 40 years of research,and over this time i have collected many Australian cd's and resources regarding FH ....and hopefully try to help or assist others.
My grandkids are decendant from the First Fleet 1788 ( convicts ) on the "Scarborough" to the Colony, so writing up a FH album for them when they are old enough to appreciate their roots. I do enjoy a banter on the Chat boards or General when i'm not doing my tree or look-ups,and have spoken to some lovely folk on GR and met quite a few face to face.

Have a great day/night


Tony...:>)) Melbourne 8:30 am

Hello folks
Colin good to see you ~~~~~ x
Sandie . keep having a little look on F& D adding my contributions . not a cordon,bleu chef .x Tony & Allan Ann , wander on here just to see how folks are . been on GR since march 2009 talked to some great folks & had support over the time been on . opened new horizons . . well of to do my chores . dull day here & very cold Tatty Bye x Barbra

Colin, sorry I missed your post also.

Oooh isn't anyone as old or older than me *sobs*.

I am 70, head thinks I am forty body thinks I am 80 sometimes!!!

My sincere apologies, Colin, I have only just seen your post.

May you and your family have a very good New Year

Allan

Sandie, as I've said on other threads (and also on this one) I am 62 and will turn 63 in March. I am not yet eligible for a stae pension which kicks in at 65, and depends on your financial circumstaces, but am receiving a "Transition to Retirement" paymment from my pension fund free of tax.

My OH retired a couple of years ago as she was very unhappy in her job. Changes at work led to may conflicts. Being under 60, OH can receive pension from her fund but it will be subject to tax. Once she turns 60 it will be tax free.

By the way, lets put your do called 'c*ck up on the other thread down to this busy time of the year :0))

Tony, when you and Mrs Tony buy the Winnebago we would be delighted to see you down here and take you to places which may not be well known outside WA, including Gnomesville (Google it).

Persey, with a mind as sharp as yours, I'm sure that the glitch with your pills was due to the added pressures at this time of the year. I can take all my pills in the morning and then an hour later wonder whether I have taken them or not!

At least it gives me a reasonable excuse for not communicating with those members of my family whom I do not get on with!

Allan

Hi All, thank you for the welcome. Seems like you created another Aussie thread Allan. Nice to see people chatting anyway. (sorry Sandie, wasn't ignoring you i know you are a Brit!

Perse, no never been to Melbourne, never been to Oz, travelled quite a bit but OH doesn't fancy the long hours to get to oz or NZ no matter how much we'd like to see these places.

Feel so sorry for the people of Rockhampton, it is going to be some time before they get over this. Even our floods in the Lake District in 2009 have left places still not recovered and the flood were nowhere near as bad. And here in Gloucester we had floods back a few years and people are still scared when we get a lot of rain that they are going to flood again. The fear must be always there.

Most of you I have spoken to (Hi Tony) on other threads so you don't really feel like strangers but it is more like interrupting a conversation when you break into a thread.

"When I'm Calling You ooh ooh oo oo" c'mon Tony they were me mum's favourites. I think she did take me to one of theirs. She took me to Deanna Durbin movies and then we did all the musicals eg Brigadoon, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers etc.... my dad would never go to the flicks so I was the one as soon as I was 5 or 6.
Our pension kicks in at 65 - so my OH has that and a free bus/train/ferry pass. I am just too young to qualify - but I am older than Allan - all I get is a free cup of coffee at Maccas.

Hi there Glossy Ann - it is nice to see you on a different thread. Have you ever been to Melbourne Ann? The CBD traffic system there has a completely different set of rules to the rest of Australia. When we are there we do not turn right we go right out of the system around the outside and back in again. My OH could not get his head around someone stopping ahead in a bay on his left waiting to turn right. But that's not all there are the trams in amongst it all. However, the trams are wonderful especially the free ones, we have had many a lovely play on them.

Sandie - my tablets are in a memory pack but when your memory goes to the pack it doesn't work. My FIL couldn't remember which pills when etc when he was in Auckland for cancer treatment and my MIL was in the first throes of alzheimers. I drew up charts I had them ticking them as taken, I arrive to check and find that they have ticked off tomorrows as well.

Wednesday 5th Jan at 9.54pm

Persey xx

Arvo/Evening/Morning...to which ever applies....:>))

Allan. Best wishes with the upcoming work at the Shire of Waroona,mate.
Been a few years now ( 2000 ) but i vaguely remember passing through Waroona on our way to Bunbury on holidays.
After leaving Perth then Fremantle we stayed in Mandurah, and then headed down South to Bunbury.
It was my only visit to the West really ( apart from Broome & Darwin N.T ) Because of the size of Western Australia you would need a lifetime to see all of it or most of it, and OH and myself are waiting for full retirement to see the West properly.
We travel quite a bit O/seas while we are still young and fit enough to do so, but one of our dreams is to purchase a Winnebago ( Motorhomes) or similar, and spend our retirement years driving/camping around this big Country until we end up in the old age nursing homes,on a drip....lol We do a lot of trips up and down the east coast, but looking forward to doing the same in the West one day.
They do have the best sunsets....:>))


Persey. We lived in Longstaff Rd. ( 1970/80s ) New estate back then. I know where Opal crt is, as we rented in Orange grove, while waiting for our house to be built in Longstaff rd Bayswater.We also lived in Scoresby and later Wantirna, neighbouring suburbs to Bayswater.


Ann. Its a real worry with these Chinese lanterns, and perhaps the folk who lit them are newbies to Australia, and not properly educated about the devastation they could cause during our summer. I may also be wrong, and perhaps they were just idiot Aussie kids!
We ( Melbourne ) did have Fireworks to bring in the New year, but they were hosted in the CBD Melbourne ( Concrete jungle ) and under the watchful eye of the State's fire brigade no doubt. But when you see these Lanterns floating around in the semi rural area's beneath out ranges & national parks,that run for hundreds of miles to the boarders, its a real concern.....and a nightmare for our SES
I hope our laws will ban them. They may look nice up in the sky,but when they touch down and perhaps smoulder...MMmmmm

Sandie.I'm young at heart,mate...but do remember going to the pictures to see Nelson Eddy & Janette McDonald....lol
Both OH and myself are in our early 60s and both self employed,so no need to retire just yet.
We work at our own leisure and pace nowadays,so no pressure as to when we were younger.....Might call us semi-retired.
Full pension retirement for Aussie males is mid 60s and a little less for females. I have a friend ( on another site ) born in the U.K and moved here to Aussie in the 60s.
She receives two retirement pensions. One for her working years in the U.K and another for her working years in Aussie.
My OH is in the hairdressing business since the 60s and had her own Salon's, and had thoughts about retiring as was finding it harder as the years went by to find that get up n'go.
Five years ago we gutted an old Barn at the back of our property,and myself being a tradesman,with a few mates in the Electrical and Plumbing trade we turned it into a Hairdressing Salon for her ( after Council Approved ) and now she is 10 seconds walk to work.
Straight out of our house and straight into her Salon. ( stress free ) The salon is decked out with its own kitchen,Sitting room, and has a Tele,so she can watch her beloved Tennis and soapies during the day...plus,i get a fee hair cut....:>)) lol


G'day to Colin and Barbra ~~~~~~~

Hi all~~

Spoke to most of you on other threads today/yesteray, I think...?
Begining to question my every post after my c*ck up on my Food thread.lol.Allan.xx
Try and cheer up hun , know is't hard ,I stayed in bed today til 1,30pm despite having to get up for the postman then to pick up the phone and then was dispupted by 3 other calls (kept the phone in the bedroom atfer the 1st)

Cheers Barbra for your thoughts~~xx.. glad now the deccies are down..well only a tree and cards ! xx
Hi Tony and Colin~~~xx
In Oz terms, I believe from how Allan descibed the description you may be seniors....shoot my down in flames if I'm wrong , I'm hopeless on ages.
I think the definition arose when I said I had retired at 50.I don't get any pension til 60.then it is works pension only ,no state pension..but I wasn't happy with the change of management,and being forthright in work decided to call it a day! Could have done another 10 yrs to get a full works pension, but didn't feel it was worth the hassle, health comes before wealth.
Consider that, all you 'unhappy ones'if your personal circumstances allow!.

Our schools have gone back Tony so the roads are busy again in the mornings. Pain !

It does sound such stupidity of the peeps lettiing off those Chinese lanterns in such conditions you have at the mo:(
Such a contrast to Q'land, I was looking on my BBC homepage today at the dreadful sceens there and of their sufferings, my heart goes out to you all that suffer exteme weather conditions.

We are used to heavy snow in winter, it causes disruptions and car bumps on the roads,we're used to it.
I heard and Aussie say on the the news they were used to it, but nothing compares to the flooding of your home,loss of personal belongings, to a bump in car,what's a bit of metal!?
Don't get me wrong there have been many fataliities in the last snowfall with vehicle crashes whilst I don't know of any personally, I send the families concerned my sincere sympathies.

Perse~~~xx
I check the day by the daily paper or computer as now I'm not working I don't remember which day it is.
As for tablets be careful on doubling up or forgetting a day..seriouslyI
I used to use a weekly tablet box,with each day printed out for MIL,dad used to put his out every night for the next day..he had all his marbles at 91 more than I have now .lol
I used to use a tablet box myself when I was on different meds at different times.

Nite or good norning to anyone I haven't mentioned in person, I also go on the Aussie only thread, ..can't remember quite to whom I spoke on there.

Nice to see you on here AnninGlos.. xx ..they are a lovely bunch:))
Have to iron a shirt for hubby fo tomorrow, before I throw myself into bed so Byee all for now~~~~

Luv Sandie.xx

Hello everyone, and a belated happy new year to all, especially Allan, Barbs, $andie, Persey, Tony and Ann.
Yesterday was nice for much of the day so today of course is overcast. It is supposed to be summer, but better this than the high 30s that were threatened New Years Eve and NYDay. I don't know how high it actually got.
Hello again Ann, nice to see you. We pass like ships in the night on another thread.
I was back at work, not quite bright but early on Tuesday 4th. Had to be on site at 7 to 7.30 am, and about a 30 km drive. Then back to the office. One blessing, traffic is relatively light this week, being school holidays and many people still away. Even the woefully inadequate south west motorway, known locally as the M5 parking lot, was moving fairly freely.
I do think this is a nice time of year to be working in this country and NZ, where it is the warmer time of year.
Colin at 11.13 am Sydney time.

Evening All ;0))
Very wet & windy here today . wish i could hibernate till spring . not a lot going on . just now . but lets look forward & see what 2011 has in store for us Take Care Barbra xx

Hello Ann,

No need to feel like an interloper or even an anteloper :0))

I started this Thread way back when as a bit of a joke, as you will see if you read the first couple of pages.

It has now become more like a general chat thread now, with people joining in when they can. Sometimes we might not 'see' them again for a while.

So welcome and post when you feel like it.

By the way, I live in Western Australia about 170 kms south of Perth


Allan

First time on this thread, sort of fell in when passing by. Got to reading and see Perse is having senior moments. Doesn't know what day it is. I can emphasize with that.

Tony I am surprised they haven't banned Chinese lanterns in Oz, theya re dangerous enough here being a fire risk if they come down in the wrong place.

Isn't it strange when you go onto a long running thread for the first time? You sort of feel like an interloper.

I forgot what day it was on Monday and took Tuesday's tablet....

No idea why I knew it was Monday when I got up - it was rubbish collection day, and I changed the sheets like I always do but by the time I got to the kitchen to have breakfast the Monday had become Tuesday. My brain likes to stay ahead of itself.

Keep this up and the year will be over in no time.

Tony, My cousins house is brick - she lives in Opal Court.

Persey xx

Hello all,

I've not been on for the last few days, as I get depressed at this time of the year. My OH calls it the 'nothing' time of the year as the weeks are so disjointed.

Thunder forecast for today, which could mean bushfires. Like Tony in Melbourne we've had very high temps and no rain so the vegetation is tinder dry. Fortunately, dept of Conservation do carry out 'controlled' burns prior to summer to keep the vegetation thin.

I start at the Shire of Waroona tomorrow. two days this week, three days the next two weeks and then another two days. At least the money will cover the cost of the new computer and fridge, together with a service and a new set of tyres for my car.

Allan

Hello Ethics .glad you got through the festive season x the floods are awfull in queensland . it says peak time due shortly for the flood waters .
we cant comprehend whats happening . only hope & pray people are safe & get help,&, .the floods subside asap, saw the fireworks in Sidney on the tv sm world when you think . peeps can see good things & tragic , just switch TV on or radio there you are . just a little story there was a large Rabbit on our garden yesterday & our two westies saw it . omg they ran over the back lawn & tried to catch it . it went into next garden & sat looking at the dogs through the fence . but they couldnt do anything it was really funny bunny on one side & enemy on the other . it just hopped off . have plenty in the feilds near us but very rare in the garden Take care, To All xx hope youre ok Sandie x

G'day Perse.

Interesting your Cuz lives in Bayswater mate....:>))

We lived in Bayswater in the 70s & 80s ( 3 of my 4 girls born in Bayswater )
Bought my first brand new 12 square brick home in Bayswater, and thinking about it now i only paid $10,000 bucks for it....lol
Cant buy a new car for 10 grand these days.
I live about 15 min drive from Bayswater now.

Lived there during the Ash Wednesday fires 1983 ( Dandenong Ranges - Melbourne ) and would be lying if i said i wasn't frightened. Bayswater, as you might know is just below the Dandenong ranges,and during the ash wednesday fires we were in our swimming pool at the time with my children, with ash and cinders floating all around us.
One memory i could live without, and could see balls of fire, as big as a truck leap from tree to tree and across the mountain ranges at such a pace of speed. My children now in their mid 30s still remember that time, so when i hear of idiots lighting fires ect, ect on fire ban days....it brings my bloodpressure to boiling point mate.

Cant say i have seen Strawberry Toms here Perse.
We may have them, but cant be sure.
I grow Tom Thumbs and Sweet bites which are big as a marble.
Grow mostly all my own Vegies. Dont trust the chemicals that they add nowdays, to make things grow bigger and quicker.( cut throat market roulette ) Probably half the reason why we all get crook....lol


Tony...:>))

Tony -

Oh you sound so like my cousin who lives in Bayswater, Melbourne - she is always saying they got their brains out of a blimmin' Weeties box. She goes to genealogy meetings and educates the others about NZ.

We have strawberry toms here Tony, this is the first year I have seen them they are like cherries but a little bit bigger and shaped like a strawberry. Do you have them there?

We grow a lot of blueberries and that keeps a lot of people employed - but now we are told that we possibly will be importing them from Chile so the growers are none too pleased.

Persey

Arvo.

Happy New year....:>))

I'm so happy to be back at work....NOT....:>((

Well......at least there is no traffic on the roads around my area. Kids are on school holidays, so most are either down the beach, or up the country with their folks.
Bit like a ghost town in my suburb....:>))

Had a very quite New years eve up at eldest daughters. Was quite surprised to see the number of fireworks going off from numerous peoples back yards, as it was declared a day of total fire ban for Victoria/Melbourne ( 40c )....and saw a few fire trucks ( sirens blazing ) heading up and down the highways at various stages during the night. Also saw a few Chinese lanterns floating around..!!!
This is not a good idea ( Chinese Lanterns ) in a Country like Oz during mid summer, and i'm preety sure folk would understand why.
Place is a virtual tinder box this time of the year....and just one spark in the wrong place, and we will have a repeat of Black Saturday bushfires of two years ago, that wiped out an area larger than the U.K destroying many homes, people and wildlife.
I'm sure some people get there brains from out of a blahdy Weetbix box.

O'k...got that orf me chest...:>))

Wishing all a great 2011


Tony...:>))

Hi all~~
Barbra~~
Sorry to hear about your son's 'non ' work position must make the lad feel down, hope something comes up for him soon.

My boy still has his seasonal job in As*a,from when he was in Uni, he was 2 hours late going in today, we heard his alarm going off about 9, I had it in my diary he was supposed to be in at 10, ...but they often change the rotas. They phoned at 10.30 to see if he was going in ! He went in at 12. Stubborn or what !
I expected him to come home with his P45 !!

He's still looking for a job in IT but......no luck yet:(

Sandie.x
Sunday 18.26