General Chat

Morning ladies,

Tell me, do you have a lovely bright moon tonight?. As fruit, pup and I went on our morning walk this morning, the moon was still very bright in the sky, the sun was on the up too, I wondered if you could see the moon as I could?..

Tis Tuesday here, after a long weekend it feels like a Monday, I shall be at sixes and sevens today..

We had a lovely weekend away, though the weather was better here than at the beach :-(. Never mind.

The weather down under is a mess, poor Queensland are flooding, people have lost their lives. Very sad. NSW are in for the end of the storm too. Hard to reconcile, floods and fire, extremes to say the least.'
We have had a few fires too, not on the scale Australia faces though. Driving home yesterday, we both noticed how brown the paddocks are in places. Poor animals have no grass to eat.
Just heard on the radio there could well be evacuations in parts of Sydney. Oh dear.

Hope you are all well and you get some better weather soon.

Susan

Hallo Susan
So sorry to hear of the poor people who lost their lives.
I too saw the moon this morning, it was very big bright and low in the sky at 6.30 am when I got to paid toil. Very unusual and a bit spooky. We have flooding here after the snow and ice. The nights are pulling out a bit now as well which is good. Feels a lot less like living in the twilight zone. I go to work in the dark and get home and its dark.

Ladies I am also the eldest child who had to look after my younger sister. FTE also looked after FTY when I was to and from paid toil. It's character building :-D

I think I saw Pat rish aaa heading towards Southend in her mini skirt last time we passed :-D :-D :-D these young gals do not feel the cold nowadays.

I feel Lesley may be snowed or flooded in :-D Tis a little inclement along the road.

Now Mr Mick Fleetwood is here there and everywhere. It's the re release of Rumours LP/CD/downloads etc. I like Fleetwood Mac :-D

Tootling orff now to remove FTY from the devils x box

Teresa :-D

hello Susan, we had a bright full moon last night. I wondered if the cat would come home ...... but she did, so I guess its still too cold for her to sleep rough. She is a tinker for not coming home on the hot summer nights.

Yes the flooding in Australia is terrible, and coming right on top of the fires those poor people must be wondering whats coming next. My heart goes out to them. I got a glimpse of some newsreel footage of one person being rescued from floodwater but the clip finished before I could ascertain where in Aus this was.

I watched a fascinating documentary the other night about a very remarkable man in the outback who rescues joeys and raises them like their mother would.

I guess we'll have another full moon tonight but its wet and windy, with cloud cover, so there wont be anything to see. Some time ago - maybe last year, or maybe the year before that - the moon hung unbelievably low and large in the night sky and I had never seen it so clearly before and I rushed outside with my camera. Not doing that tonight .... too cold.

hello Teresa it must be depressing to go to work and go home again in the dark, but thats the price we pay for working shifts. At least its not dark for 24 hours a day for weeks at a time, like the northern Scandinavians get.

I think these young gels in their skimpy clothes have the resilience of youth. When they reach my age, they'll really feel the cold.

Oh forget Fleetwood Mac, there is a better band ... teehee. I asked my DJ daughter to find out when Bon Jovi's new album is being released and the name of it so I know what to order. I have the information. And the UK tour this year is called "the Because We Can" tour. I've seen them twice, live - Manchester and Twickers. I never expected to see them once. I'll be buying the album but I dont expect to see them perform live a third time. As "they say" - memories can be made to last a lifetime! and fortunately I have a good one.

Ooh Cherry Mr John Bon Jovie, wonder if the tickets will be the same price as Mick and co were charging a couple of months ago :-S

We are orff to see Mr J Kerr and his beat combo Simple minds in the spring. Also seeing Mr G Suggs :-D :-D sometime then as well.

Ladies I think the bad fairies are about. This week I have had two headlight bulbs replaced, a burn on the arm from the devils oven, the boiler is not working and I cannot get anyone in till tomorrow, the light bulb went in the living room and washing machine is on the blink :-(

Never mind, I'm getting the chimney swept this afternoon and will set a toasty fire
:-D

It's a little windy in these parts today. I have kept warm by doing unpaid toil with a vigorous hand. Just got to Hoover now and do the ironing and settle down to Sundays dancing on ice :-D

Did I see Auntie with Mr Selfridge on Sunday? A lady was in at
tendance with Miss Pavolva, was it you Auntie or a figment of my imagination ;-)

FTE is now in the land of the free :-D. Well she managed to get a new pair of sneakers which carry a heavy price tag in these shores for half the price. Also got a pair for FTY so all is well. FTE said it is very very cold in her parts. Well the FRuit has managed to chase the sun since the Autumn so I'm not surprised. Bet it's not as cold as this house at the moment :-|

Coeeeee to Susan and Lesley.


Orff now to generate a bit of heat whist finishing the chores


Teresa

Ladies have a look at Emma's thread(golden girl)

That will warm the cockles of you hearts ;-)



Teresa

"blows in with Dorothy and Toto"

Teresa !!!!! your avatar is snowed in. Get some shovels and dig yourself out, at once !!! :-D

I've now got that radio show concert on DVD, to put in the DVD player to listen to but still havent had time to listen to it. When he was on the One show he said something about tickets being "affordable" - but I dont think he realises that ticket agencies ie legalised touts are buying up blocks of "affordable" tickets then reselling them on at highly inflated prices .... or he may know and simply ignores the fact. These agencies should be forcibly prevented from buying blocks of tickets, but I guess the relevant box office (for whichever venue) sees it as an expedient way of offloading the seats as so many people cannot get to box offices.

Oh dear you do seem to be having a spate. I hope your washing machine gets sorted asap. We are still waiting ..... its nearly four weeks now.

No it wasnt dear Petunia that you saw on the arm of Mr Selfridge. It was Mrs Keppel, having a break from Edward VIII. Apparently, when the king died, Queen Alexandra allegedly said to one of her attendants "oh well, I know where he is now". ;-)

Good evening dear gels.

Now Teresa, please sit down dear, I have something to tell you. No not that dear, a woman in your position should know all about that..............no, I am afraid I have to tell you that there is no such things as fairies. Not even at the bottom of your garden. Even those gels at the turn of the last century, were using paper dollies when they 'captured fairies at the bottom of the garden'. Please dear, do not cry!!!

No twas not me on Mr Selfridge. Nor on anyone else. Tutty tut!!!!

Cherry dear, please batten down the hatches again, as you know this is an old, old house, and has many crooks and nannies for the cold wind to blow. I have used newspapers to block up the cracks, and cardboard to stop the windows rattling.

I am going to write to the Broadcaster General, to complain about the weather forecasts dears. They keep saying it is getting warmer, but I am blowed if I have noticed it. Windy, yes. Rainy, yes again. But warm? I think not!!!!

As I may have mentioned the Ponsonby's are on their way. Motification is good for their soul, and they have decided to move on. Apparently they were only here to look for a new residence, and they have a stately pile that they cannot upkeep in the country. So I think they will be pitching a tent on the common very soon.

Oh dear, how very sad...............................never mind!!

Never one to gloat......................much.

Auntie Petunia

good evening ladies. It is one of those nights where we should all have some warming soup On The Go. *throws another log on the fire*

Petunia dear I'm aware of a group of residents in a certain leafy suburb of London who get fairies at the bottom of their gardens. I know this for a fact. I heard Ted Rogers tell Dusty Bin many years ago, so it must be true.

Having spent the day listening to the wind whistling out of tune, I have been gainfully occupied ripping up the old telephone directories to stuff in all the cracks and gaps around the old sash cord windows. Dont nobody light a match near the windows tonight .....

Do you think the Broadcaster General will really do anything to change the weather forecasts to your liking? Somehow, I think he's too busy passing the buck to his underlings, and dashing orf to play golf.

I have some good news!!!!! I came home this afternoon from this month's U3A meeting, to find a message on the answerphone - I think the MD of a certain appliance manufacturer got my letter with the hot point about poor customer service. They are sending an engineer with a new drum next Tuesday morning. It is about time - I have "been without" since the 6th January. We've gone over the 21 days of non-repair as per the insurance company, but I wont press for a new machine since the old machine is being fixed - unless there are any hitches. Yippee !! and about bloomin time!

Good evening Ladies,

Ooooh Cherry, one should never be without for any length of time, let alone since 6th January. I can imagine you with a dolly tub and a rubbing board, then getting out the mangle. Or is that just in this household?

Needless to say, I got wet again today. I was promenading down to the Town, when the heavens opened. Luckily I have a teeny tiny gamp which I keep in my dolly bag. So my coiffure was still in tact.

You naughty gel, I know of the leafy place you are talking about. Tis not as popular as it once was. I think the fairies have moved to a more upmarket area. They flap their wings, orft they jolly well go.

I am to hold the WI meeting tomorrow. We are having a knitathon in a few weeks time. We are asking everyone to bring in balls of wall, so that we may knit squares, sew them together, and make blankets for the needy. Which is practically every pensioner I know, now that the services have raised their prices!!!

Send your balls down the cyber hatch please. All donations gratefully received.

Pip Pip
Auntie Petunia

I had to hand-wash all my lacy smalls and delicates for example the silk blouses, and leave them to drip dry over the bath tub. Oh the ignomy of it. Talk about "going back in time". I tried hand washing my skirts and trousers too but they didnt drip dry at all so after two days they were bagged up and taken to Oldest Offspring to be put thru her machine on a Delicates program; after which they dried OK hanging over my bathtub. However, O.O. lives too far away for me to take my laundry there on a daily basis.

Since that night, MIL has been doing our sheets and towels, and OHs shirts and smalls. She has been quite happy to help out but really we should never have been left in such a situation that we have had to rely on others for laundry help.

Many years ago when I was a new bride, we lived in a first floor apartment. I worked full time in the City - very long hours with the commuting, as you can imagine. I didnt have a washing machine so every Saturday I had to tread the sheets and towelling in the bathtub, rinse and wring it out by hand, and lug it dripping wet down a flight of concrete steps to drip dry on the line outside. Then I inherited a small sum of money from a deceased aunt which enabled me to purchase my first washing machine - a twin tub, no less, which was the height of home-laundry technology at the time.

Auntie had died some years earlier, but her will stipulated that the four inheritors must reach 21 before the money could be paid. There was a delay in payment from her solicitors and I didnt get the money when I reached 21. I mentioned it to an uncle (auntie's brother). His daughter was one of The Four. He wrote to the solicitors and they tried to fob him off. So, he threatened them with the Law Society, after which I received my money; and my cousin got her money as soon as she reached 21, some eight years later.

But I digress ... Auntie's will also stipulated her husband could spend the money as he chose, and oh boy he sure did Spend Spend Spend, until he died. Between auntie dying, and me turning 21, auntie's husband went through her legacy with a vengeance, so by the time I turned 21 there wasnt much left to be split four ways, but it was enough for me to buy my twin tub.

*opens cyber hatch*
lots of woolly balls coming your way Petunia dear. Dont stand beneath, or you will get hit on the head.

My O.O. has taken up knitting apparently. She bought An Idiots Guide to knitting. I told her - I could have shown her how to cast on and do all the basic stitches for free.

Cherry dear, read your last sentence again...................are you sure that is what you meant?

My lips are sealed!!!

Titters.

AP

well Petunia dear - what is wrong with my Oldest Offspring taking up knitting? All I said was, I could have shown her how to cast on and do basic stitches, without going to the expense of buying the book An Idiots Guide to Knitting.

*bewildered* .......
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Cherry dear, you may be bewildered, but I was overtired!!!!!! I misread your last paragraph, and read something completely different. Nothing wrong with knitting at all, as I am about to show the ladies when they turn up with their needles and wool. Moss stitch is my favourite, it looks so pretty! Give me a bit more notice when you open the cyber hatch dear, I had to move pretty sharpish when they all tumbled through.

I have seen the moving van today, the Ponsonbys are definitely on their way back to whence they came. The Back of Beyond.

Beatrice was accompanying us on the organ while we click clacked away. We are making 6 inch woollen squares, we are knitting, while a dear lady who has just joined us called Daisy, is sewing them together.

Daisy has just come to live with her daughter, after her daughter's husband did a bunk. So Daisy will be become a permanent fixture in the WI, I do believe, she is very affable, and hangs on to my every word. I have taken to her immensely.

I may need to move some of your boxes over a bit Cherry dear, these woolen blankets need to be stores somewhere, and the box room seems to be an ideal location. I shall let you do the removals dear, I would not want to break any of your treasures, it would cost me too much to replace them.

Getting colder tonight dears, chuck another log on the fire dears.

Toodle
Auntie Petunia

be careful with that box dear, its clearly marked Fragile. No I dont want that box piled up on top of ..... no its not to be placed beneath that big box either. Mind out please dear, the cardboard looks like its about to split.

Let me fetch Pat rish aaaaah, you really should sit down dear and have a nice cup of camomile tea.

There is a lovely trunk in the attic over the West Wing where all these knitted blankets could be stored. You really should make more use of the attic space, you could rent it out ;-) All those unfortunate people squeezed out by the stupid bedroom tax could squeeze in.

Ahhhh I see the coalman made a delivery today. Lovely little black gold nuggets, making a wonderful blaze. Stare long enough into the flames and we start to see pictures in the fire .......

Where is Pat rish aaaaah? Aaaahhhh - did anyone remember to unchain her after the coalman left here ????

Cherry dear, I will NOT touch anything of yours dear, but if you could manage to move them a little to the left, thats lovely!!

As you can imagine, as much as I agree with helping cold people, and collecting balls of wool, I dont actually want them in the lounge, bedroom, or anywhere else for that matter. The box room will suffice dear.

I see that Pat-trish-aaaah has indeed been helping the coalman. She has a sooty patch down the back of her cardigan. I know she is a strapping gel, but does she have to hump coal, and sling the sack on her back? That sooty smudge under her nose does her no favours either. It gives her an altogether masculine look. Not that she has to travel far in that direction.

But yes, I quite agree, tis cosy to be sitting next to the fire. Those flames dancing merrily. I can see nymphs dancing in diaphanous gowns. Prettily skipping around...............ouch, why does it always spit when a bit of nutty slack gets warm?

Pass the jug of water dear, that bit caught me in the eye!

Doing a passable Nelson impression................

Auntie Petunia

*dabs at Petunia's eye with a dampened lace edge handkerchief*

is that better dear? Perhaps you should stop watching Corrie .....? then your eyes wouldnt water so much.

When I was knee high to a grasshopper, and God was a lad, before sliced bread, my parents had a coal fire. I still remember, all these years later, how I was sitting in front of the fire one evening and a bit of nutty slack spat out and hit me on my bottom lip. How it STUNG!! and a lump developed. And I still have a lump there, to this very day.

Well if Pat rish aaaah was not chained up while the coalman was here, I suppose that is our last sack of coal, ever. Dont say I didnt warn you ....

You will be pleased to know that I have shifted all my boxes, and placed them in the shed. And tomorrow I am going to hire a pantechnicon for next week, to deliver all my boxes to be stored in a very safe place, so they will no longer be under your daintily shod feet.

Aaaaaah that is better,#surveys the empty box room# I had forgotton how big this room actually is!

I have stacked the blankets in the middle of the room, should I need to walk around them. Do you know dears, I did not know that there were so many cold needy people. I have had numerous enquiries as to when they can come and collect these much needed commodities.

Have you heard the information on the wireless dears? The one where they tell old folk to heat at least one room, and eat and drink warmly. Talk about teaching your grandmama to suck eggs. I know of many people who would love to heat one room, but are sitting in their hats and coats, frightened to move, for fear of losing heat. If I had more power gels, I would give all OAPs free heat and light. Alas, I am a pensioner myself, and I cannot get near my own fire, because Cherry is hogging it.

I have had a lazy day dears, because I am only looking through one eye. The other is in a sling. Moorfields on Monday for me, I fear.

I think I am turning into Captain Morgan.................and I do not mean the drink.

Auntie Petunia

I can take a hint Petunia dear, and shall move back from the fire. of course this means I will freeze, because more than two feet away from the fire this room becomes a veritable refrigerator.

Might I borrow your sable coat and fox fur hat and stole dear? I have become one of the cold needy people, all of a sudden.

Alternatively - you could wear your fur coat and hat, and I could stay sitting by the fire. :-D

I didnt know Captain Morgan drank. Is he any relation to Jack Daniels?