General Chat

Coughs and clears throat. Deposits into a lace edged hankerchief!!!!

Happy Birthday to Yoooooooo
Happy Birthday to Yoooooooo
Happy Birthday dear Cherrrrryyyyyyyy
Happy Birthday to Yoooooooo

As much as I would like to rally the troops dear, I think you will be merciful that we do not give you the bumps.

Tutty tut dear. You are as young as the man you feel dear.

Well it is very snowy here, and not warm at all. I have to go to the Bank very soon as I have a cheque to pay in. A refund from someone. The princely sum of £5, but I need it more than they! I have managed to rake out the old gum boots, they are either growing or I am getting shorter! They are passing my knees now. But they are waterproof, and that is what matters.

I have marked the date in my social diary dear Upsidedown Susan. I shall be ready at the end of the cyber hatch to catch the bouquet and a slice of cake. I am soooo excited.

Now, dear Beatrice is a whizz on the organ as I told you. And she get herself very comfortable on it. As she has an ample behind she needs to adjust herself until she is placed solidly, and then she tinkles away on the ivories, and the noise she manages from the pipes is amazing. Such depth, it reverberates around the church and reaches the rafters. She studied under a very famous professor dont you know. She was a pupil at the Royal Academy of Music and even taught a Lord of the Realm. It is my mission to make sure she replaces that Ponsonby couple. By whatever means.

It seems we have a newcomer dears. Dear little Haley who is an Empress I believe. As you know we welcome Royalty with open arms on this thread. Please come and sit by the fire dear, warm your tootsies. I have opened your link dear, what a jolly tune. I think I know of the popular beat combo, it seems they come from the North. And have the motto Keep The Faith. A sentiment I quite agree with. We should all have a little faith in our fellow man. Thank you dear, it was a very kind thought. I do not know the town in which it was filmed, not at all like my neighbourhood where it is very straight lines and tall houses.

Lesley dear, I hope you are filled with relief at your good results. Well done dear.

Teresa please smack your fruit for telling us of warm temperatures. She is tormenting us!!!! Mind you in her position, I would probably do the same.

I have been searching the tinternet for a suitable hat, so watch this space. I do not see why you should not all share my creation!

Mrs Berry is baking a cake in the kitchen for dear Cherry, a sponge, but she will ice it this afternoon. I have sent Pat-trish-aaaah down to the shops for candles, so we will have a tea for Cherry this afternoon. What Larks Pip!

Pip Pip
Auntie Petunia

you look much better today Petunia dear, and that photograph does you justice. basking in front of the log fire is clearly doing you a world of good. My compliments to the photographer, as well. I presume he is one of the society photographers. Never anything less than the best for you eh, dear !

Thank you so much for your kind birthday wishes. I think the current arctic blizzard will put a spanner in the works of my plans for Sunday. Ah well there will always be another Sunday just as sure as the Sun rises in the East every morning.

*sips hot tea* my word it IS cold outside. I have just returned from the Post Office, dressed like Nanook of the North braving the elements, and believe me anyone who has to venture out in today's elements is very brave indeed. Its snowing, quite heavily now, and there is enough snow for the neighbourhood children to build a snowman that can reach the moon. The wind is gusting. If this keeps up, they kiddie winkies will be able to build a snowman that reaches Jupiter.

I had to go out, because I had a parcel to return to a Hee Bay seller who sent me the wrong item, I've had a full refund for that. Now I shall wait for a refund of the First Class Recorded Delivery postage I paid for.

*gulps hot tea* I also had a form to post back about my Bus Pass, they're changing it from 3 years to 5 years; and another envelope containing a wee something I am sending to the first twins to be born in OHs mother's paternal family since the 1850s. I got them a little St Chris on a chain each. But these two envelopes were send Second Class Recorded.

*chokes on hot tea going down the wrong way* My hands are so cold in spite of wearing gloves, do you think I am going to get frost bite?

I also have a slight sore throat but this is most likely because I yelled at someone who had the temerity to dial my ex directory reg/with TPS phone line, to ask me some questions. I do not accept telephone survey calls, and I told him so - breaking the sound barrier in the telling (or yelling) ......... The thing is, this isnt the first marketing or survey call I have had where they actually know my name. Who is giving out this information - my name with the phone number .... this means its not just computer generated random digit dialling. And that is scarey.

The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing,
but I shall weather the storm
what do I care
if I have no fur coat to wear
I've got some gin to keep me warm ...... :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

I met a Good Samaritan today, on route to the post office. The parcel for the E Bay seller wasnt heavy but it was quite bulky and I felt that I didnt have a secure balance, what with having to hold a walking stick. I was treading very carefully, and a young lady asked if I was all right, so I said yes thanks I'm only going to the post office, and she said she could carry the bag the packages were in and I could hold her arm. So kind of her, and I felt so unsure of my footing that I accepted, but it did make me feel like my dear old Ma who has to hang on to my sister now every time Ma moves around. Normally me and my stick gets around quite well, but I am terrified of falling over. :-S :-S :-S

Trundles the hostess trolley along the hallway. My, my but the flames from the candles on the cake are very warm indeed. I shall have to be careful not to stoop too low, for they will singe my eyebrows.

Flings open door. Ah Cherry dear, just move slightly to the left so that I can push the trolley through..................here we are dear, Mrs Berry baked a cake for you to celebrate your 21st Birthday. Chokes! Really, 22 dear? You are looking very well, it must be the Ponds.

I am soo pleased that you like the new photograph dear. As you can imagine I have boxes full of my likeness, and yes, the new one was taken by a society photographer. Whispers...............dear Cecil. I shall show you a selection over the next few weeks. With a beauty such as mine, it seems a shame not to share..............

Chivalry is not dead dear. I too was offered a seat the other day by a young man. If he was kind enough to offer it to me, I thought it would be churlish not to accept. I smiled sweetly and sat down. What a kind thought.

Cut the cake dear. Here, take this dessert knife. A large slice for you, and I shall cut the rest, and send it down the cyber hatch to our friends.

Happy Birthday dear......................

Auntie Petunia

oh Wow but the cyber cake is a day early. Do I get another cake tomorrow please ? :-) :-)
on the other hand - that would be 300 candles to blow out over the weekend :-S

300 candles .... oh my word ..... well, Its the thought that counts - even if I will be out of puff by Monday :-D

What a nice dessert knife - its solid silver isnt it dear? Looks like Mappin & Webb to me .........

Cecil was the photographer? Would that be Cecil Banksy?

Well, I shall be hostessing an Afternoon Tea tomorrow afternoon, Petunia dear, in your drawing room if that is all right with you? Of course you shall be my guest of honour, since its your house, and everyone is invited to attend - even Pat rish aaaaah. We shall be a merry throng indeed, with a couple of bottles of Harveys sherry, served in the finest crystal glasses from your crystal glassware cabinet. Mrs Berry will be delighted to come back even though its a Sunday, and help with the catering. I shall be serving cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, sherry trifle, and of course slicing the second birthday cake so everyone gets a fair cut of the pie.

Its still snow laden outside. I watched my pussums trek dainty across the patio on the areas where the snow had receded, until she'd reached the area of the patio beneath the patio table where there is no snow laying. There was a quicker route, but that would have meant walking through snow.

BTW - why did you need a passport in 1955, Petunia dear ?????

One forgot to say - there will be no Bumping tomorrow
*gives dear Susan nz a gimlet stare* yes you dear.
you wouldnt want to put your back out, so close to The Wedding, would you.
LOL

Good Afternoon

Humouring Auntie Petunia over the pictures of Charlie playing in the snow ;-) Auntie Dear is that a Halloween collar that Charlie is wearing :- I wonder what your fruits pup would make of snow Susan :-0 I'm sure she and her new friend or is it her brother or sister would love it :-D

CC here's wishing you a Very Happy Birthday for tomorrow I hope you enjoy your day <3 wouldn't it be nice if the 160+ onlookers popped in with a birthday greeting :-) CC Dear you will have to let me have your address so I can send you those chipped Whimsies as a belated birthday pressie :-D :-D :-D

Teresa I trust your route to paid toil has been free of snow and ice :-)

Lazing on a Saturday (Sunday) afternoon.
Lesley x

hello Lesley thanks for your kind wishes for my birthday. Are you sure you want to part with the Whimsies? they are, after all, collectibles now, and you might in the future wish you'd saved them for baby E. A nail file, a felt tip pen to match colour, and some superglue fixes many a small bit of damage.
Having said that - if you really mean it that I can have them, I would be very glad to give them a good home. Thank you :-)

CC the Whimsies incur no fee
Tis a gift from me to thee
I will wrap the parcel with love and care
Your postman better not throw it in the air
Will add a post when I send
Hope you get pleasure while you mend

Tis the 20th here, so

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY CC", I am not so much shouting as singing lustily :-D.

Have fun mending the whimsies, I would not have the patience. Though having said that, I am in the throws of making table decs for 'our do'. I have been give 70 empty baby food tins... Some are to be candle holders, some to be table numbers.. I am going to be a busy gal. If the air should turn a pale shade of blue, tis only me
:-(...

Charlie is a sweetie, must be a tad chilly for him, he is much closer to the ground than our mutt. :-). Lesley, odds are our pup will never see snow ;-).

I seem to have whiled away a great part of the morning, I have things to do. I must away and get on with my day.

Keep safe and warm all,

Susan

PS: is anyone else sick of hearing about Lance Armstrong, I know he is a cheat but I am over the continual snippets of the interview he gave :-P

Ah Lesley, I must say how extremely kind you are,
And the Whimsies will be coming to a very good home
Its just a pity the little critters have to travel so far
But once with me, no more shall they roam.

I shall be gainfully occupied, filing and smoothing,
And I have assorted shades of felt tip pens, and glue,
And oddly enough it is work I find quite soothing
And while I whittle I shall be thanking you :-)

Tis very generous of you to send them post free
But I hesitate to take something for nowt
So I shall make a little something for thee
And pop it in the postbox - as soon as I can get out !

Hello Susan, and thank you for the birthday wishes. Well, you sure are going to be gainfully occupied putting all the baby food containers to good use. If you do decide to turn the air blue, please send some of that hot air this way. Its been snowing all day since daylight, and I am a prisoner of the white stuff. Needless to say, my trip to Sawbridgeworth is well and truly scuppered. I need a little Thaw now, with fingers X the meltwater doesnt make the already-soggy land worse.

The cat asked to go out of the back bedroom window, as is her wont. She sat on the window sill visibly shivering for a while, and I opened the window again to see if she wanted to come in, but then she walked along the extension roof to the garage roof, shaking her paws as she went; then she turned and looked at me. The expression in her eyes was "I cant stand this any more", and she walked back to the window and came inside. She went out of the back door later on fortunately, so we didnt have the unpleasant chore of cleaning litter trays. Do stop telling me that is what they are for ...... :-S

My daughter phoned and we chatted for a while. She too is marooned in a sea of snow, plus she may be harbouring Germs because her OH caught a cold at work. Some (not so) clever clogs decided to cough and sneeze all over him. What goes around ... sigh.

I indulged myself this morning by going back to bed with a DVD - guess which one. Yes, it was Phantom of the Opera, 25th anniversary show. I never tire of watching that. The ending, the way its performed, really wrings the emotions. I dont think Petunia heard it, although I had the volume up full blast. Someone in the north of Scotland complained though ;-)

I've had to do a pile of handwashing, which is now dripping over the bathtub, and still no sign of the repairman with the spare parts. I told the GOG next time he speaks to the warrantee people, to remind them our contract is with them and they shouldnt fob us off with a transfer to Hotpoint Service. As I understand the legalities of Extended Warrantees - the fact that Hotpoint have to supply the spare parts does not negate the contractual responsibilities of the warrantee firm - they're the ones who took our money upfront in advance.

Well the cucumber sarnies and the horsies doovers are laid out on the table, the sherry is waiting to be poured, the cake is ready to be sliced. Do please dive in ladies. Anything left over will be sent to the Old Seamen's Mission in Lavinia's memory.

Sits gracefully down on a straight backed chair, and smooths skirt.

Oooooh thank you dear, I do like a cucumber sandwich. Especially when the rind and the crusts are cut orf. Are you not supposed to slice it downwards rather then across? I think that a french stick is such a novel idear, especially with the long lengths of cucumber used. Of course the gels will be delighted when they come winging their way through the cyber hatch. The horsies doovers are wonderful too dear. Who would have thought a Ritz cracker, with cream cheese on top, adorned with a mini gherkin could look so, so erm, original. Well done dear, someone has some sense of humour.

Sherry too dear, I only partake of a sweet sherry, Cyprus out of choice. There is a tag line for one. A day without #~+*&% sherry, is a day without sunshine. How lovely, we could do with a bit of sunshine here. It has been snowing all day, and laying. We managed to acquire some industrial salt, so will be sprinkling it along the drive, so that the milkman, paperboy and the breadman can deliver our rations.

I hope you will not be sitting underneath the dripping washing dear. A cold show is no good to anyone. Good luck with the Whimsies. How very kind of dear Lesley to share them with you.

Dear Upsidedown Susan, the Charlie dog is a she. Ones family members who named her had a sense of humour!!!!
!!

Wishing you well with the empty babyfood jars dear. One knows of a Mama who spent an hour or ten filling gift boxes with sweeties, keyrings, bubbles, streamers, blowers, chocolates, and lots of glittery confettiti. The Papa had the job of printing all the names of the guests, in pencil, on the underside of the boxes, as his handwriting was neater!! What fun!

Helping dear Cherry to cut the cake, wrapping in a napkin and sending them down the hatch gels.

Pip Pip
Auntie Petunia

oh golly gosh. One does so appreciate the most generous birthday gift you bought for one, Petunia. It is absolutely spiffingly wonderful.

What is it, and what does it do? and where should I put it?? :-D

Coooeeee just rushing in and out, love all the puppy and doggy photos. I'm afraid the spirit of the docker popped up today. All the schools are closed in the local area for miles around :-| :-| :-| a pile of Fruits came by to collect FTY to go out. They didn't go very far but were throwing snowballs out the front near the houses and cars. I spied this activity from the front window whilst watching Father Brown. The spirit of the docker hollered out of the front door to the Fruits and told them to clear orff round the field nearby. How common! :-0


Teresa

Morning Ladies and peeps,

Charlie, I do beg your pardon. I fawt you was a boy :-D. I do know a dear little lass called Charlie, such a cute name. *** throws Charlie( the dog) a doggy treat ***.

LOL, Teresa, boys will be boys.... Your snow fall must be very heavy to have closed the schools?. Every kids dream, no school !!

CC, sorry you didn't get your drive out on Sunday, take a 'rain check' :-S. Has the weather improved any in your neck of the woods.? I hope your afternoon soiree went well., sorry I didn't pop in. I can't do afternoon tea in the middle of our night ;-).
Time the repairman fronted if he knows what is good for him me thinks. Drip dry will take an age to dry won't it?

~~~~~ to Lesley, hope you are safe and warm and not snowed in. Isn't winter a drag :-P. I have heard that Mrs Browns Boys is taking a live show to Australia next year :-).. I might just have to talk OH into taking me along... He loves the show as much as I do. ;-)

We have a long weekend coming up (Auckland Anniversary Day on Monday). We have been invited to stay with friends at their beach house. Yippeeee. Hope the sunshine holds up. Tis a long drive but worth it, a beautiful spot. Our friends love to go fishing so I have high hopes of some lovely fresh fish for dinner. Nothing nicer.

I had to take the car ( not the old car) in to get a new windscreen, our trip to Wellington a few weekends ago resulted in a huge crack in the screen. I remember hearing the clunk of a stone but didn't see the stone hit. Thankfully the insurance has paid in full. :-).

Time to get on with my day -

Toodle pip and a big woof to Charlie :-)

Susan

#whispers...............all this talk of Charlie will get Trickey Woo to attach the cushions again, but I will pass on the messages in doggy language!#

All this snow is horrid. I have had to abandon my high button boots in favour of gum boots, and they are nasty, rubbery and jolly cold!

I nearly had my bonnet knocked off by a snowball today. So I amazed them all and lobbed one back. Direct hit. I wasnt bought up in India for nought! Cricket was very popular over there, and even if I say so myself, I can bowl a fair old googly!!!!!

Now Cherry, surely you can see what I have bought you. It is purple, has a good grip, and it serves its purpose. The juice can be poured from the spout. Surely you have seen a grape peeler before. Tallulah can have the day orf? You could have had a green one, but green grapes are not so sweet. The seeds, should you buy the seeded variety, can be stored in the bottom, and emptied at a later date. Smiles serenely.

Teresa, I shall be sending a bar of carbolic down the cyber hatch. Tutty tut.

Ah fishing dear Upsidedown Susan, I used to go many years ago with a young man. I thought it would be romantic, but I could not speak all day, because the fish can hear apparently. Likewise the radio, that could not be played either. I sat and fed the rats!

Hey ho
Auntie Petunia

hoho Teresa, if I'd had a bunch of someone else's sprogs gathering too close to my front window, never mind the neighbors cars parked on the street, I would also have given them a rendition of Shovel Off.


Susan we are still frozen in. MFH had to turn out for his paid work of course. His pension pays the household bills and his part time employment generates the wherewithal to feed us. My pension is mine :-D. So, two really can live as cheaply as one. Especially while I am staying in Petunia's wonderful home, as her privileged guest. ;-)


Ah there you are, Petunia dear, I once went wishing with MFH, many many years ago. He had the rods. I had the boredom. I ended up watching an ant carry something bigger than itself, which was far more interesting. And he didnt catch anything either, so that was a waste of a day's make up.

your mention of dogs and cushions, reminds me. I will never forget the time I caught our old dog Ben "attacking" a huge orange draught excluder in the shape of a snake. He apparently thought the draught excluder was a ... *censored* ..., and I could never use it again.

Do you suppose we should chop down another tree? only its getting a tad chilly in here again, and you know the coalman will never return, not since Pat rish aaaah frightened him. I was really surprised she could have that kind of effect on a man. As we dont seem to need the Ark after all, perhaps we could chop that up for firewood next.

Bless my soul. A grape peeler. I have been so used to Beulah peeling my grapes I didnt know what a real grape peeler looked like. Thank you so much dear. Such a thoughtful gift.
*thinks* where is the nearest charity shop ...... before the grape peeler gives me the pip.

Good afternoon Ladies, I feel the nights are drawing out a little or is that the glare of the snow :-S

Thankfully the fruits are back at school today. They had a mass snowball fight on the way home. I did not ask where ;-)

FTE went through the Panama Canal, does that mean she has earned a Panama hat :-D

I do hope you are warm and toasty :-D


Teresa

Mr Bon Jovie is to be on BBC2 radio 9pm this Thursday :-D :-( :-D


Can be watched in concert on the Internet :-D :-D :-D


Teresa