General Chat

Morning all,

Currys rang just after 8am to say they will be here in half an hour so I'll let you know later how it goes.

Pc is saying afternoon rain but its so very dark here this morning it may be before then.
Its 9 degrees.

You're certainly right there Ann. My husband had his own minicab business but before that he earned £9 a week in a furniture shop. I had £5 a week housekeeping and I bought a joint of beef for £1 for the Sunday roast and the rest bought everything else we needed but I was working with mum then too and took my son with me to work at mums. We sold ladies dresses from her house so £4.15s came out of my wages for rent.

Glad you're feeling betteer now. I have a cold at the moment which is not a pleasent one. Had a nose bleed yesterday.

Can't wait till tomorrow now to get this new machine. I have a brimming linen basket!! I shall be washing for the week I think all the things that have been needing a good wash like a pile of towels and bedding. I shall have to get all the airers together but may put some in the dryer. I try not to use it too much just for the quilt covers mainly. and a bit of a blow to soften the towels up.

Been playing a bit today making tiny Tudor belt bags. I keep having to walk away when my fingers won't do what I want.

Yes I'm fine now thank you Mandy, but you will see below that we chickened out of being up early and lay in bed longer instead. I did have a quick look in the garden centre as I was olnly a couple of miles away after I'd been to the shop, but it was a small place and they didn't seem to have much yet, not like the bigger garden centres. You are good repairing the neighbour's dog's bedding and I hope he doesn't see your handiwork as a challenge and do it again! Is it a young dog? I know they chew anything when they are teething.

I got married the first time in 1969 AnnG. Our bungalow then cost £3500 and we paid £500 deposit. First OH's apprentice wages were £14 a week gross and he paid his mum £3.50 board money. I was left with £2.50 after mum took half my wages as board, so it wasn't easy saving that £500 deposit. At that time a wife's wages weren't considered when we applied for a mortgage, just your husband's so what you could borrow on a mortgage was based on just the husband's wages and if I remember right your monthly mortgage couldn't exeed your husband's weekly pay. First OH was an apprentice on poor pay till he was aged 21 and an apprenticeship was 5 years in those days not about 3 years like now. I think some youngsters would be shocked to hear how things were then.

When I got married in 1969 my mum and dad had bought a house and dad being a builder had made it into two flat. I had the bottom flat and garden all 175 foot of it. My nan bought us a twin tub washing machine, a cooker amd a drying cabinet and a fridge. Mum and dad bought us carpet for the lounge and lino for the kitchen and we had one of mums old carpets for the bathroom. . My grandfather gave us £200 as a wedding present so I went to Ilford and bought a double bed and a kitchen table and four chairs. When son came along I got his cot off the green shield stamps and his high chair later on and a little sort of chair to feed him when he was tiny that fitted on the kitchen table. Mum had had a new suite for the lounge and gave us the Ercol chairs and the settee that I used as a bed when at home. Later on we had the couple in the top flat spit up so we bought their harris tweed G Plan sofa which went into a double bed and the G Plan coffee table.

We lived in the flat for 4 and a half years when mum and dad bought a bungalow just four doors up from theirs and we moved into that and then eventually bought it from mum and dad. Lived there for 10 years and moved to Alphamstone in Suffolk in 1983 and lived there 8 years and moved down here.

I remember washing the bedding by hand or with a burco boiler and spin drier. once we moved to our new bungalow. Before that, before we moved we used to go to a laundrette. after a while in the bungalow we found a laundry that collected and delivered (ironed), sheets, pillow cases and T's horrid thick white RN shirts and detachable collars.

I didn't have a washing machine until early 1969 then it was a twin tub. I had been married 8 years by then and had two children.

We too didn't have any new furniture when we got out first bungalow (£2600 in 1962. we didn't have fitted carpets, we had Marley tiles and carpet squares so the surround had to be mopped. The only new furniture in the bungalow was daughter's cot bed which T's Dad bought for us. Some of the furniture was almost new but second hand including bed and mattress. I had a friend who worked in an estate agents and somebody whose wife had died who had moved into a new house wanted to get rid of all the furniture so we had G plan table. chairs and side board, bed and mattress, hardly used as only slept in a couple of times. Our three piece suite was T's Mum's and was sent up from Devon by his Dad after his Mum died and his Dad moved house, there was also a coffee table from him as well. we hired a TV, had my Mum's old cooker when she got a new one and the fridge was already in the house. We were just pleased to have bought our own house. By now I was not working as we had our daughter so the mortgage was just on T's salary, thank goodness for RN pay at the time.

Morning All,

We decided not to go for brekkie and lay in bed a bit longer instead. It blew our front gate off the latch last night and was really windy. It was making me glad we'd taken the tall tree on the front down a couple of years ago and also that the roof had been checked and pointed last year. Now it is rainy, sunny but calm.

I popped to the shop while OH went to his meeting and put washing on when I got back. We both reported new sets of 3 way traffic lights in new places and I was held up with a farmer cutting hedges on a brand new tractor.

Mel when I was first married and until we had saved up for a washing machine, I remember treading the bedding in the bath in soapy water at first till I found a laundry to take it to. You must be looking forward to loading up your new washing machine once it is installed.

Thinking about when I was first married, after saving for 4 years we managed to buy a new 2 bed detached bungalow and paid for fitted carpets, mostly from remnants, but could afford little else. We had no table and chairs till first OH built a drop down table in the kitchen, we just had a clothes rail till he built in wardrobes to go with the dressing table we made. No coffee table till he made that. We did buy a 3 piece suite and a 3 ring electric cooker. My parents bought us a bed and his parents bought us a fridge. I made us a heartth rug out of a Readicut kit and made all the curtains from material I bought from the market. We had bare bulbs in the rooms at first and an ancient B/W TV. We just wanted the home we set our hearts on first and didn't mind going without the rest for a while. I think we appreciated things more by having to wait for them or make them as well. .

Morning all,

Nice bright sunny morning here, we didn't have that much wind overnight and its just a bit breezy now .

It sounds like the new washing machine will be kept busy for a while Mel .

Ann hope your feeling better now and both enjoyed the breakfast this morning , good idea to have a good browse round the garden centre while it's quiet .

Hope you manage to find some seed potatoes Anng its nice to dig a few new potatoes up when you want and they have a better taste than the ones you buy.

Had a bit of sewing to do for my neighbour ,her daughters dog had chewed its bedding ,the zip was chewed so I had to take that out and sew a smaller opening ,I put some poppers on it ,I told her the best thing was to put the stuffing in and then sew up over the poppers just loosely so the stitches can be cut when it needs washing .

Better get a coffee and have a quick look at the jigsaw .

so calm here. The calm before the storm maybe. I have changed and washed the bedding from the spare bed. the window cleaners have been and I have given the kitchen what my Mum would have called 'a spit and a polish'.
I have also done some admin on the PC bringing my ever growing list of books read up to date.

Morning all,

We have a brightish morning here and the horrid strong wind of yesterday has gone but pc is saying strong winds later on and it 8 degrees.

Must have a tidy round today as hoping the shopping and the new washing machine comes tomorrow. I have a bin full of washing to try it out and will even change the bed today so that can go in too. Just as well I have loads of bedding as I could'nt wash that by hand but there a bath load to wash now. May even have to put the dryer into action if I do too much.

I was really scared last night as the wind was blowing a hooley and I was glad the trees had no leaves on them.

Good morning all 7 degrees here and, despite storm warnings there is not a breath of wind the trees are uncannily still. not sure if that is good or bad news.
I slept really well last night and woke just after 7am. spare bed sheets etc are now in the wash.
Nothing planned this morning but, if the weather is ok a quick visit is planned to a very small nursery/garden centre in an adjacent village is planned as they are the go to place for seed potatoes. I only want a few but they usually have more varieties of second earlies.
I guess I had better get round to tidying the kitchen as tomorrow I am having my oven cleaned. Not sure what it involves but as the oven is in the kitchen I guess they do it in there. :-D

Oh apparently 7;residents have it it is difficult to keep infection down because it is an Alzheimer’s home they won’t keep masks on and pull them off the carers because they don’t understand them.

I remember you saying now, but I don't think the residents' relatives would be impressed if they knew the manager was allowing that AnnG. No wonder so many people there are catching it and I wonder how many visitors it has spread to as well.

O dear Anng that dos'nt sound good. I know my neighbour has had it about three or 4 times now but how close together I don't know.

I am hoping BIL has sorted it out for me. He has ordered a new one which should be fitted on Tuesday and the old one taken away. I did'nt see the refurbished bit till I had paid for it. I have asked for a refund and it should be all sorted now. BIL paid for the new one and I will pay him back. He has the flu at the moment but your guess is as good as mine whether or not he just has a cold. You know what they say.... Men get colds and flu and women just get colds and get on with it.

Dark now and really windy and pc is saying cloudy and 11 degrees.

EDIT forgot to post this again.

She obviously caught it in the home where she works as five other people there have it. Not sure if staff or residents.if you remember the manager insists they should go in to work have it.

Evening all,

Oh Anng poor girl it's only been a few weeks since she last had it and she was really poorly then ,i hope it's not as bad for her this time .

The wind has got up a bit now but we've had a dry dry with the odd glimpse of the sun ,I don't think we should be to bad with this storm that's coming but for those of you who are getting it I hope you all stay safe .

Evening All,

Well after losing my post yesterday I'll try again. It's 11 degrees, blowing a gale and raining here. We just got the food order put away in time.

AnnG that does seem quick to get covid again, but the latest variant is much more infectious so maybe she has that this time. I hope she soon gets better and isn't as poorly this time. My hearing appointment was an NHS one and for when I go next year Specsavers do NHS ones and both supply NHS aids, but I don't know all the kinds the NHS do at the moment. It's one of the questions I will ask next year as well as about the different batteries. I would prefer the in ear aids, but I was told they are fiddly to adjust so I'll have to see. Thanks for sharing the bird link and the adult winner one with the Peregrine was a fantastic photo. Fancy it tackling a big bird like that as well.

Thanks Gwyn for mentioning that you don't get tinny sounds with your aids either like AnnG. I'm beginning to think the ones I tried maybe weren't properly adjusted but I'll ask about it next year. Yours sound like very clever ones and much better for you. I bet it was cold in the church for the funeral with no heating!

That little girl was good wasn't she Mel. They were at St Pancras station I think and the man was playing the Elton John piano that my friend Terry often plays. That's a nuisance with your washing machine delivery, but I would think they could put it inside for you till your BIL can connect it up. Like AnnG says, even a refurbished one should have some warranty.

I haven't been to the Space Centre since just after it opened Vera. It was very interactive for children then but was very interesting. I particularly liked a spacesuit they had but wished they had included some literature about it and all the gadgets you could see. I think they have added so much more to it since then from what I see in the paper from time to time so should be good and will be a very different kind of trip. It's a pity they couldn't have included a trip to the Richard !!! Visitor centre as well!

I was looking online at some of Boot's glasses and they seem to have some I like (unlike when I bought my current ones) so will see if I can go and try some this coming week. Like you Vera I think the reading ones will help in the afternoon and evening when they seem worse.

After a couple of days with a headache and tummy out of sorts I felt better today so need to catch up with some washing and HW this week. OH is out in the morning, but said if I bring my car too, we could have brekkie at a garden centre that's on the way to his meeting and then he could carry on there and I could have a browse. There won't be many, if anyone, at the garden centre first thing and his meeting is at 10.00am so it is good idea! :-D

Just heard that daughter's step daughter who had Covid quite badly over Christmas has just tested positive again. First time I have heard of somebody getting it a second time so quickly.

Did you buy it on line Mel or from a Currys shop?
A refurbished machine should come with a warranty. did it say when you were looking that it was re-furbished?

I can see that it is going to be a problem if BiL is not around. Is ther anyone else local who can help you?

Morning Anng and all,

It cloudy here this morning and 10 degrees pc says light rain.

I was woken at 7.33am this morning with a message from Curries to say my machine will be here on the 23 Jan which is my shopping day and a day when BIL is miles away at work. I have tried to cancel the order but it won't let me and they took payment on the 17th. I had'nt realised it was a refurbished machine either and am a bit worried.

Good morning all goodness it is 8 degrees already, I think there was a light shower over night and the PC says rain coming.

Nothing planned for today, my bedding in the wash. spare bed bedding needs doing since daughter went back so that might be next.

Also have some admin stuff to catch up on so that seems like my day sorted. :-) :-)