General Chat

Morning all,(well just) its a lovelly day here,have been out side early this morning having a cuppa and its so peacefull!!
Have some of our own new tatties to have with dinner,!!!John is disapointed in the yeild from the first bag he did,was only about 4lb in spuds .I am reading my books and on the internet to see how this can be increased. I have printed off your tips Fred ,so he can read what you have told me.!!
Dorothy,well now you have got a diagnosis,you know what you have to deal with,I expect you are still in shock.Its easy for us to say but it might not be as bad as you initially think.I am sure you will get all the help and medicicnes you need not to mention the love and support from your family and friends.
Have you arrange anything with Annes daughter about Neils new book yet?John needs me to help in the garden so I better get down there,See you all tomorrow.
Brenda

Hallo all,
Just thought I would write a few lines. I have just been reading the letters from Brenda, Badger etc. and cannot add anything on their lines as I don't have a garden - just living in a flat with a large balcony. However, my balcony is looking beautiful with lots of flowers and not too much hard work.
I am now going to the physiotherapeut twice a week to have lymph drainage on my legs. They are improving so will be able to have new elastic stockings soon.
I am only sleeping 4 hours a night which is not so good, but still hate sleeping with my mask.
My youngest daughter - next week 50 years of age - is on a luxury cruise at the moment where she has to dress up every evening for dinner. The number of suitcases she had to take with her was not normal. The terrific expense of ball gowns and her husband's dinner suits was enormous, and I am anxious to see the photos when they get back.
They are usually quite a careful couple with money so find this really strange for them.
So we have summer here at last. It is supposed to last as well.
Have a nice time.
Sylvia xxx

Hi all and nice to see you Sylvia I am sure you will be feeling a lot better soon with all your physio etc,and I hope your daughter enjoys the cruise,i have friends who love to have cruise holidays and say they are worth every penny.
Had agood day yesterday visiting my friend who lives in Australia,she is over visiting the family,its four years since her last visit and 10 years since i went to australia to see her.I saw her for the afternoon, .but will see her again at the end of next month whe.IIn she and her husband get back hedter seeing his family near Poole.
Hope Fred and Dorothy are ok and not to disapointed after the football on Sunday.The tennis is still good and have seen a bit of It each day on tv.
Better get on with my house work as I have a couple of errands again today, Take care Brenda

Hi Sylvia ,nice to see you again,and be good ,that mask has to stay on at night ,otherwise you will have even more problems than you have now.
Nice to hear that you are having your undercarriage repaired [legs] ,looks like the roller skate race between us could soon be on again he he.
Don't think you should have mentioned the word summer though ,it has been raining since last evening and shows no sign of letting up yet ,still .it will do the gardens the world of good ,so i must not complain.
The gas fitter is here at the moment putting a new meter in ,lol,i think they are worried that we are fiddling the gas somehow because we use very little ,even in winter,[tight ass** scot ,thats me ,lol]
We went out for the day yesterday ,going to the coast ,South Shields ,to the beach where my grandparents and children would have spent their picnics at,and was pleased to see that the whole area has been cleaned up and revamped,
We went into the town itself for dinner to the market ,what's left of it ,and found a nice little cafe in a back street near the station where we both had a very nice meal,the wife having a cheese omelette ,beans and chips ,and me having my usual fish ,chips ,and mushy peas,both meals were well prepared and cooked ,my fish being the best i have had in years far nicer even than the Waterfront cafe in north Shields fish Quay,so that is now my new watering hole come dinner time ,lol.
From then on though the day went somewhat pear shaped ,because after getting off the bus after a nice run down the coast from Shields ,we went into the station at Sunderland ,to find the place in termoil ,the trains backing up and loads of disgruntled passengers ,swo rather than wait for the train which looked as though it would be full even as it arrived we got the train the other way into South Hylton where the line terminates.to start off on an empty train for the return journey to Newcastle [crafty ,or so we thought] not a good move ,miles from a bus stop for two disabled people,and then finding that there was a fire at Sunderland station ,closing the whole system down ,metro lines and the main line through Sunderland from Kings Cross to Newcastle central.
So there we were ,stuck ,well and truly for thirty minutes while the fire service checked out the whole station before they would allow the station to reopen.
When it did start back up ,there were three metros including ours on the line before Sunderland and the intercity stuck in sunderland itself ,all to be cleared and restarted before ours could even shut the doors and move out of Hylton .
It took us two hours instead of 45 minutes to do the journey ,time to get from York to home via an express coach ,so ,ihave told the wife ,next time ,we park the car in the same place ,and go by bus ,lol.
The advantage was i suppose ,we were both totaly wiped out by the time we got home ,shut the greenhouse up just as the rain started ,fed Hissy who was NOT pleased at having no dinner ,oooops and a late tea,so we decided an early night was called for and slept very well.
The footy was a forgone conclusion Brenda the team playing like geriatrics,from start to finish ,in fact a team of geriatrics would have done a lot better ,these wayne Rooneys ,and others are paid far too much and i think they should be paid on resu;lts as are insurance companies ,you know ,no win ,no fee.
Our football players have no passion ,all they are interested in is getting as much money as possible for as little as possible,they will NEVER play to international standards while the attitude is as it is .
The other teams such as Australia ,America,new Zealand and Cameroon ,all shamed us,we don't deserve hosting the next world cup,we arn't nearly good enough.
Thank goodness we have the cricket ,golf and rugby sports ,and tennis of course something decent to watch.I'm afraid i would rather watch paint dry as look at the state of english football again.
\time to go and get the housework done ,not much today thank the lord ,only the dusting.Catch you later peeps ,Fred.

hello everyone nice to hear from sylvia her daughters cruise sounds very posh, well fred I have ot agree with you the football was so awful I was very embarrassed if my dad was alive he would have called them quite a few names. he played for englands juniour boys against belgium many years ago. sorry that your trip ended up so badly could not have been much fun, brenda how nice that your friend is visiting from aussie land and yes anne is going to order neils book for me and I will settle up with her re the cost etc. Last evening was Laura's graduation it did go well though she spent the day in bed with a raging strep throat her dad medicated her all day, up till 4pm we did not think that she would make it but she got dressed and we left at 4-30 she looked great and got through the cermonies ok but after was in tears and missed the dinner and little dance. we brought her home and she went to bed. of course I was very proud of her. just to let you know I am going to brampton on wedneday noon andrew is driving me down as he has a meeting in toronto and will not be back till monday I am going to stay with isobelle and we will watch the tennis to-gether and her son will drive me back on monday or even sunday night, so I am looking foreward to this as I have not been down for ages with the not driving situation, brenda yes I am ok with the diagnosis can't say that I like it but it could be worse Andrew is researching specialists and using all his medical contacts, helps to have a son in the medical field even though his speciality his all the drugs etc. her you have had some great weather we have quite a bit of rain, my sister is on holiday in arizona and texas she called the other day and the temp was 42 degree's yes that is right 42 about 114 in the shade sorry this is so long but I shall be back next week take care bye dorothy

hi off to brampton shortly the weather has turned nice in for a few hot days, Laura went to the doc's yesterday and has a abcess on her tonsils sohopefully the new meds will help her , hope you all have a nice few days and a good week-end bye for now dorothy

Morning all.we had a lovelly dtart to the day ,manged to do some ironing before it got to hot,but now the rain has started ,its mainly showers ,hope it does not get any heavier as I am at the hairdresser at 12 o'clock. Mind you we have been told we need some rain and quietea a bit of it apparently other wise we will be in a draught!!!.
Have had some good hot matches this time and two or three of my replies look very promisiing.
Was supposed to go out to a late lunch after my hair do but had to change as my friend needed to be some where at 4pm which did not leave us much time/So seeing her Monday instead.
Hope you have a great time seeing your friends Dorothy .
Hope Fred is enjoying what ever he is up to.
Have to take my car to the garage to morrow as the drivers window is broken ,or rather the motor it runs off is capute!!
see you all soon,Brenda

Mornin' troops ,Fred is in the building ,for a few minutes anyway ,lol,just about ready to go down the town to get my t mobile dongle sorted so that the wife can do her games whilst we are away next week ,huh ,the things us men do to keep the bosses happy,he he.
Did you check the front passenger door Brenda ,it might be just the fuse,but if 'tother door window is working it's probably the relay ,the motor dosn't normally go,unless water has got to it.
We got our bit rain overnight but never got the high winds we were expecting ,good job too,i have some lovely little courgettes coming on ,and don't want to loose them.
Enjoy Brampton Dorothy ,and may your weather stay nice and sunny for you all.
Have to go and get some work done,but will be back this afternoon,Fred.

Afternoon all,very fresh here this morning then went sunny ,now heavy and sultry,think we may have some rain ,hope its in the night as we are thinking of having a walk round the market tomorrow,
The passenger window is ok Fred,John check the fuses and all that before we went to the garage,even the garage are surprised at the motor and the band/belt going.However we went at 8am this morning and left the car there,then got a call at 11am to say they could not fix it as the new part was faulty and they would need to get another part,so we went to get the car and they have booked it in again for thursday,they are however coming for the car then bringing it back which suits us as its a twenty minute journey each way in light traffic and goodness knowsmhow long in the peak traffic and we have to skirt round town!!

Better go soon as I am making a shepards pie for tea ,see you tomorrow,Brenda

Evening Brenda, yes ,your car window trouble is very unusual ,he he ,you don't do things by halves ,that's for sure ,still ,your garage certainly seems to look after you.
Our weather seems to be the opposite to yours ,wet and dull first thing this morning ,turning to sunny with strongish winds by 1 pm,but still very enjoyable to sit out in .
i have certainly been enjoying my back garden today ,with all the flowers and shrubs in full bloom ,the herbs giving off a lovely scent ,mixed in with the smell of lavender and rosemary ,and looking forward to the first of my courgettes chopped up with some pak choi ,and salad leaf done with a stir fry sauce yum.
I went into town this morning Brenda,and sorted out my T Mobile dongle ,lol, i was sick of getting my ear bent by Liz ,he he ,everytime she tried to play banana lotto on the laptop it kept saying it couldn't allow that ,and had to be unblocked to allow gambling ,he he ,anyway it'd done now and this dongle is a lot faster than the vodaphone one,now that T Mobile have gone in with Orange,giving far better coverage countrywide.
Looking forward to my trip down to Oxford on ,Sunday/Monday,and have a lot to do down there ,and a call to my cousin on the way home,with a disc on our rellies of the Rowan,Baird family ,which she asked for.
I used to dread the once a week journey from Newcastle to Manchester Brenda,and dreaded the Manchunian way in the centre of town ,he he ,i never did feel comfortable ,with a big wagon under me ,bad enough trying to turn a car around there ,but a nightmare in a heavy wagon,and i expect it's a darned sight worse these days.
Well,time to get the tea ,a,pasta sauce i think ,after a Fratata with rough chopped new potatoes fried in oil with a little piri piri mixture for dinner,so ,we didn't fancy much for tea .
Hope Dorothy is enjoying her trip,Back tomorrow all.Fred.

Good morning all, sorry I have not been around for some time - been not very well for a while. Spells in hospital, some surgery and now recovering quite well.

Was fit to drive again, however my car isn't - it failed the MOT, hoping my sons can do a lot of the work to cut down the £450 quote to get it through. Still can't walk too far but I can get to the local shops so not too bad.

Hope you are all well, sorry to hear that not everyone is enjoying the sunny weather we are having down here. Will be back soon, take care - love to all
Kathleen

Afternoon all and hello Kathleen,good to see you,sorry you have not been well,hope its all behind you now,hope you get the car sorted soon as well.Had intended to give my car up this year with finishing work,but if they scrap the free bus pass I will need it as the bus fares are ridiculas.
The shepards pie last night was great and as there was only me and John,(David was out at his dads),we had the rest at lunch today and it was even better!!!. Just a salad and a small portion of sirloin steak tonight ,might get john to do a few of his pototo wedges,he does them really good,but don\t tell him I said so!!! the steak was half price a few weeks ago at Asda and I got three trays at 3.50/4.00 each ,the first one was really good,heres hoping the second one is as well,
Weather ok today breezy ,but sunny and not too hot.The washing was dry in no time,Hope Dorothy is having a good time visiting her friends,and hope Fred and Liz enjoy the visit to their grandson and Freds neice,Keep looking after yourself Kathleen,Just remembered I had a email from Bill in Oz the otherday .waiting on a reply as it was a greetinge card for July 4th !! Brendak

Hello from a windy and chilly manchester,we are supposed to have this weather for the next day or two!! I know we need the rain ,so we should not complain.
I have a few jobs to do around the house after I have sent some replies to my emails,so will not be sending a long message today.
I have had what looks like two good hot matches this time ,mind you I thought I had a good handfull when I first got the hot matches ,but two is not bad.
The mens final has just started at Wimbledon,hope Dorothys friend is understanding and she can watch it .
Think Fred will have started on his way to Oxford ,lucky man,]see you all tomorrow,
Brenda

evening all,I hope everyone had a good weekend andFred got of to Oxford ok and Dorothy get back from brampton ok.
Had a good day today,met a friend in town ,did a bit of browsing then had some lunch and then browsed some more,we both bought a cotton top each in the sales and some toiletries at half price,so did not do bad,weather still breezy,but washed some towels and they dried so quickly it was great.
hope someone gets onhere with me tomorrow,feeling like I am on the Marie Celeste!!!
Brenda

hi one and all I arrived back from brampton last evening after a grat few days away it was so nice to catch up with everyone, yes we did watch all the tennis of course we were sad that roger was knocked out but we enjoyed all the ups and downs all the same, on saturday isobelle's son and his wife brought the baby girl over to see me she is 8months now quite a lovely baby and on sunday her daughter and family had a bar-b-que and that was great we allhinbg out by the pool as you may have heard we are having a heat wave up in the 40's with the humidity, have been following the queens visit she leaves to-day for new york. good to hear from kathleen I hope you keep doing well and that your car passes its m.o.t. brenda you and fred appear to have been keeping busy and fred is going away again have a great time fred. my family are all ok Laura is recovering from her abcess. my daughter in law has been offered another job at the school she has been working at for the last three years the system of hiring is hard to explain it takes forever to obtain a full time contract ie a permanant job with all the benefits, but she is pleased with this one and it is nice to be aware of what you will be doing now at the beginning of the summer instead of having to wait till the end of august to wait and see what you might get. well I need to have a quick clean around the place before it gets tohot, my cat was pleased to see me this is the first time he has been alone since sasha died but my neighbour looke after him well bye for now dorothy

Afternoon all,its been mixed weather here again,but as i was not going out it was not that bad.Yesterday was good and i hope tomorrow will be as well, I am hopefully meeting my friends,but its been one of those things where each time we make arrangements it gets cancelled due to something or other,its been like that for the past two months!!!
Glad you had agood visit Dorothy,and you enjoyed the tennis,Its football again tonight,not really a fan of either team but i suppose we should support the europeon team!! don't know who we will support when Germany play Spain,mind you my friend has Spain in the sweep at work so I suppose I should support Spain as she will win money if they get into the final and more if they win the final.,Having a lazy day today and an easy tea,oven chips with oven fish and mushy peas,,Need to defrost the freezer so have to use up a lot of things,
Be back tomorow,Brenda

Gooooood morning campers,from a sunny Lyneham [not] he he ,can't complain though after a good trip down and a nice sunny following day.
The new motor did well despite having a very tight engine,and i did notice the average fuel usage dropping as we covered the miles ,finishing up at an average mpg of 53.5.
We have done 440 miles since we filled up for the first time ,and have used half a tank of diesel,and it will get better over the next couple of months ,so already it is cheaper than the Note ever got,and comfortable in every way? bliss.
Wow ,Chippenham has changed since i was in the town on a bender as a rookie in the R A F,but i notice the market square is as it was all those years ago ,and the old cafe we used to frequent was still going strong as well ,so the wife and i had a coffee while we were there.
All this kefuffle in Newcastle before we came away ? there was Fred sat on the patio having a well earned break [it was too ,so there lol] when that dirty great police chopper arrived over the back of the house ,and started hovering over the roundabout ,at the Junction of the a 1 /A 69,that i have mentioned more than once,and i thought hmmmmmm, yet another accident [one of many each month ,and then shortly afterwards ,the sound of many sirens ,def' a big accident,but ,of course i found out later that someone had been shot a couple of streets away,and they were looking for the gunman.
All this ,and the fella let out of Durham jail twenty miles away the day before,beggars belief ,a known sycopath saying that he was going to hurt his ex and her boyfriend ,and they let him out? the prison Govenor and the medical [experts]? at the jail need sacked ,and charged with incompetance at the very least,a whole community living in terror because some people can't do the job they are paid far to much for.
The new T -Mobile dongle is ace ,far quicker than vodaphone ,and orange ?,we can,teven get a signal in the house here ,the wife isn't pleased because her phone is unusable until we leave the area he he,i told her to use mine and leave the money on the table [only joking of course but she was NOT amused]
Time to go and let the wife on to do her games [now possible since i got the dongle unlocked for gambling].
Catch you later peeps ,Fred,in holiday mode.

Hi everyone ,well we have rain just asa hose pipe ban has been announced!! It was a warm humid day ,but I finally meet my friends and we had a lovely long lunch,catching up on different things .Had a walk around the arndale but did not buy anything today ,will be going to Bury on friday / Saturday to get t he things I need,some birthday cards and presents have a few this month,!!
Better get on my scanner soon have to scan some photos to get a birthday card made on Moonpig for my mates 60 th in two weeks,
John is watching the football and i will have to sort out what i am doing for tea tomorrow,I am only going to use whats in the house,as I find I spend more running out for bits etc,
Glad the holiday is going well Fred ,did not think you would be so near all the action
see tomorrw,Brenda

Hello everyone,its not too bad weather wise today have got the washing on the line,and thast drying ok.
They picked my car up at 10ambut don't know when its coming back can be any time up to about 7pm I think.But they will phone first to tell me its done and I pay with my card over the phone.The driver will give me the paper work when he brings the car back.
John had a look at the spring onions ,and they seem like the onion forgot to grow ,we have plenty of greenerynleaves and roots but no bulb!!!
We have realised the carrots are not in a tall/deep enougth container and so we have really small thin carrots and lots of leaves.Tomatos and potatos r doing good so is the aubrigne and the peas are great.
We will carry on next year learning we hope from this year.John wants to take up some of the patio flagg to put stuf in the ground!!.
Hope you are all ok and doing some enjoyable activities
Better go and start my steak and mushroom pie for tea. Brenda

hi well fred is alwaysnear the action glad the trip is going well brenda your plans sound good for the next few days hope that you get over to bury, I have the three grandchildren over night we had a fun evening it is about 9-30 so I guess they are having a sleep in will have to cook up a big breakfast for them soon. we had another heat wave yesterday topping 40 again but it is supposed to break to-day so we shall see bye for now dorothy