General Chat

Hi everyone,its still snowy outside and the wind is bitterly cold,had to go out for a few bits and peices today mainly credit for the phones for the holiday,manchester airport is still open up to now,but we are keeping an eye on the weather reports and the airport website.We have to leave home at 3,30 am to go to leave the car at our friends and we go to the airport in their car its booked on the car park,then we get a shuttle bus to the terminal,I don't think its worth going to bed and might curl up on the sofa.but John says we need some proper sleep even if its 4 hours,
Glad you are all stocked up for hibernating!! and home the weather clears for you to goto your grandsons.
Better get my horlicks now .Speak tomorrow
Brenda

Well we are all packed and ready to go ,just hope the snow holds off so we can at least get to the airport and take off!!
Hope it doesn't last too long over here and you will all be back to normal very quick;y what ever normal is!!
Will try and get on a pc when away we know a few places near the hotel.
Take care stay well and warm
Brenda
ps if I don't get on I am back dec 14th late at night so will be on DEc 15th

Morning all ,brrrrr,well ,that's it folks ,we are well and truly stuck up here ,the roads are a frozen mess ,even the A 1 and the A 69 about impassable once night approaches,our estates roads are a no go area ,not even the binmen ,or any heavy delivery lorries even trying to drive on them [wish now i had got a 4x4 ,he he.
Fred and liz are well prepared though ,having got wind of bad weather on the way from watching the animals ,birds ,and the trees for a couple of months,[being ex -country bumpkins] ,lol.
We are VERY well stocked up on everything ,so ,the weather can do it's worst ,we have battened down the hatches ,put the battle bus to bed ,and are hibernating until things improve .
Hope our Brenda got away okay ,and isn't sitting in Manchester departure lounge,swearing revenge on Santa claus ,he he,with any luck ,she will get stranded over there instead ,at lest she will be in a warmer climate.
The last thing i did was fill the battle bus up to the brim with diesel last weekend,so we have enough fuel to take us 800 miles plus so the weather can do it's worst..Have to go and get on with the dinner ,a nice piece of irish beef ,pounced on in Tesco just as it was being marked down on reductions ,lol.a nice little 3 lb piece for £1-95 p just the ticket for a slow oven roast,with spring cabbage from Devon ,reduced too ,39 p.and a few other veggies that were in the same tray.including spears of Asparagus ,for £1 20 ,can't be bad .
I notice that the novelty of the snow has worn off .lol,now i have to bodily eject the cat ,to make her go out for exercise ,he he ,the looks i get as i shut the door ,lol.the i don't love you any more sort that they do so well ,eeee,i issss hard on her he he.
I was astounded yesterday when next doors ourside garden pipe burst ,and i had to struggle next door to warn the ladies eldest son it was spewing water all over the place.
He then said that when his bro put the pipe in ,he didn't put a stop cock on it ,so i said well ,turn it off at the mains till you can fix it.,and then he said ,wish i could but Shriber fitted our new units last week ,and closed off the stop cock behind the new sink unit,well ,my mouth dropped open ,what a clanger for a so called proffesional firm to make. i ask you ..
I told him to rip through the back ,then threaten the firm with health and safety if thery didn't come out and refit the unit properly,tis a breach of the law to block any ancillary controls ,be it water ,gas or electric.So i suggest ,if anyone is thinking having new units fitted ,use a different company to do the job .lol,i wouldnt touch them with a bargepole ,and would opt for the clowns. from Bertram Mills Circus first .
Hope all are snug and warm this weekend,be care full everyone ,and if you have to go out ,take skies or a sledge with you,and have fun at the same time ,,Fred.

Heeeelooooo,anybody there,or are you all hiding under the blankets? he he.
We woke up late this morning to a day alight with sunshine [yippee] and despite a light smothering of fresh snow on top of the old ,it looks like a gentle thaw has started .
Things must be improving ,,lol,the bin collection restarted here this morning for the first time in nearly three weeks ,and blow me down if the recycle men were round haalf an hour later ,he he ,things are looking up .i may even get away to Wiltshire after all if the thaw keeps up.
I got in touch with vodaphone yesterday and said i was cancelling my broadband dongle ,because it was so slow it was a joke ,to be told that their dongle was much faster than anyone elses ,to which i replied Piffle .T Mobile is three times faster in at least three areas ,Cornwall ,Blackpool .and the North East,not to mention,Wiltshire.
Funny that when i got in touch again three hours later to confirm cancellation ,it was to find it had suddenly become much faster lots faster ,,hmmmmm ,too late fellas ,lol
I decided to have the day o from heavy cooking today ,and knocked up a little shepherds pie ,which in itself is big enough to do two meals [nice] and did some spring cabbage and calabrese to go with it.
Other than that ,nothing much going on here,so i will go and do a little dusting,catch you later all,Fred.

Thought i had better rescue this thread ,before it goes into the wide blue yonder ,he he ,peeps must be really busy getting ready for the holiday season.
I cleared the rest of the path outside the house of ice yesterday to make things easier for people getting to the bridge over the A 1 ,
Now i have a proper shovel for the snow ,with the ice out of the way ,i can do the path and drive daily to make it easier for all and sundry ,and giving me a daily workout ,lol.
The weather worldwide is going really crazy now .even Egypt is having flooding and storms,unheard of for many years,and the high winds and sandstorms have killed many ,and destroyed lots of homes and buildings.
We are off out to restock the larder and fuel stores,possibly for the last time before the return of the snow ,and arctic weather ,so i really must bite the bullet today and find my corning beef so that i can get it started off.
Hope everyone in this country is well prepared this time for the coming weather ,and if anyone is stranded up the north east ,there is a bed here if needed,just give me a holla.Fred.

Hi fred and many thanks for keeping things going while I was away on holiday,.
We had a great time weather was very mixed at first but from Thursday it was brilliant.Mind you we nearly did not get there,we boarded the plane and got away on time,then were told of the strike by Spanish air traffic control which the Canraian control people had noe joined!!! They hoped they would let us land ,but no we got turned round for home,then a half hour later we got told they had changed their minds and we could go back ,then they said no we are striking and you can not land ,so bavk we came!!! They kept us at the airport for 3 hours gave us food vouchers and then sent us home to go back sunday morning,!!!!!! luckily we did not have far to go others had miles so stayed in hotels near by others stayed in the airport as they did not have money for hotels.
Sunday was ok no problems at all they had a special checkin desk for us as we did not have any outward tickets,but things went alright.and we took off on time.The weather was really wet each day from sunday to Wednesday but from thursday it was great and we had a good holiday.
Coming home from our friends at 12,30 am John said the car wasn;t driving right and pulled over to fine he had a slow punture ,we couldn't do much last night and today he has been phoning round to get it done,So it was not a good end to the holiday,!!!
Now I have the washing to do and things to sort for christmas.!! Also have to start the tea which is a cottage pie. See you all tomorrow, Brenda

That sounds like an airport version of musical chairs Brenda but i bet it wasn't in the least amusing to anyone caught up in it.i know i wouldn't have been best pleased.
Yesterday morning ,having seen the projected weather forecast for the end of the week ,we decided to go out and top the shopping up.
We found a lovely piece of irish Topside of beef ,which i thought was very apt seeing as we intended to corn it ,for Christmas,and also found a beutiful piece of gammon ,both half price ,so we were well pleased.
We also found one of these new electric frying pans with a glass lid ,useful for many dishes ,and very controllable via heat & timer settings,which will save me standing over the cooker for longish periods.
The new B &M store is now open just up the road ,so we called in there on the way home,where we found a lovely lightshade and matching king duvet cover for the second bedroom,
We finished off topping up on veggies and came home ,giving me time to get the brine mix ready for the beef before going to bed,and getting it in the fridge.
The greenhouse [aka ] Marys Chalet ,is now stowed out with veggies of all types,where they will stay ,half frozen and fresh until needed over Christmas.
Just as well we decided to go because when i got up this morning it was snowing a day early ,But to heck with it ,Liz and i are battened down ,snug and warm ,so it can do as it likes ,we care NOT ,lol.
My son got caught by one of these insurance scam people two days ago ,swerving in front of him and slamming the brakes on to cause a collision,to claim damage on his insurance,thus putting up everyones insurance while these muppets make big money.
I have decided that isn't for me and have sent for two insurance video cameras for the car to cover front and back of my car.
These cameras do a 24 7 of the front and back of the car in recorded video with date and time stamped data on screen.
The video from these cameras is admissible in court,and can be used by the police on the scene to see who is to blame the cards fitted into the police car camera to store the evidence.
£80 well spent for the peace of mind i reckon,and i notice that a friend of mine who has them fitted says the difference is amazing because drivers who see the rear camera ,stay well back and don't tailgate and ditto on the front ,drivers realising that their driving ,good ,or bad is being recorded.
Made a lovely red Thia Curry for dinner ,and made a nice pot of Celery and carrot soup for tea.
Off to heat it up ,so i am off for now ,catch you later ,Fred

\\\afternoon Fred and anyone else looking in,We are laugthing now about the flight to no where,but it wasn't at the time,We are putting in a claim,which might get us a bit of compo only £30.00 each. but its better than a kick up the bum!!
Glad you got your shopping sorted,and are all tucked in for the weather ,we have had sunshine and freezing temps today and there is snow on the high ground but we have not got it here,
Making a nice chicken bake for tea with some baby potaoes and broad beans ,thoight I had some biggish spuds to bake but i didn't.
All the holiday washing ids done and most of it will just go into the case and spare drawers ready for the next holiday ,whenever that is.Johns mate was done by those drivers might tell hime about the cameras,Have all my presents to wrap tonight and tomorrow and a cake to ice ,so its busy round here tonight.
Take care ,brenda

Wel the snow arrive3d this morning ,and its about 4 inches deep,in our road,Jogn was going to Clevelelys to his mother but has postponed it for a few days.
david was working today and said it was a weird feeling walking to work at 5.30am,!!!
The cats don't like the snow and are walking about like lost soauls,
Hope every one is snug and war,Take care ,brenda

Morning Brenda,sorry to be missing yesterday ,but the oppertunity to get out in the garden which was still frozen hard ,but snow free ,was heaven sent .
I managed to get out ,wrapped up like a demented Eskisnow [lol],double mitts on hands,two pairs of socks on feet stuffed into wellies ,towing the garden refuse bin round behind me ,
I got all the old haulms stripped down,the roses pruned,most of the leaves up ,and the damaged Willow tree chopped up ,and stuffed it all in the bin which is now chokker.
I was frozen to the marrow by the time i got indoors ,but it was worth it to get cleared up out there ,the ground so hard that the wheels of the bin didn't do any damage at all.
I stripped down to the frozen skin ,and slipped into a nice warm bath where i soaked foor a good half an hour before getting dressed again,and sitting down to a tea of a hearty vegetable country soup ,the sort that has everything thrown in but the bones and horns ,he he ,just what was needed.
Looks like i was just in time as well ,as it looks as though the third band of snow is coming our way,and will hit us by mid day,but with all the outside work now done ,it can please itself .
It looks like the trip to Wiltshire is off ,this weather is sooo cold that to get Liz to the shops at all i have to spend 10 minutes at least getting the car warmed up before i can let her leave the house,as to ask her to walk in the cold air is making her really ill,so ,no chance of me going any distance with the remotest chance of getting stranded in it.
It is now a case of praying for a lottery win so that i can move her to a far warmer climate to live.it's that or she has to be on the move from spring to autumn ,and then hibernate ,he he.
Think today we will have a small practice Christmas dinner ,some ready cooked turkey slices out of the freezer ,some brussel ,cabbage.carrot ,and potato ,steamed in the small steamer ,with some nice hot chicken gravy,no roasties today though ,the next time i to the real deal will be Christmas day when i get the big guns out ,the corned beef,Turkey, and baked ham with the Kilties and all the trimmings.
Have to go for now ,time to turn my self into the kitchen and get the dinner prepared .
Stay safe and warm all ,and be careful out there ,boots on with good grips on the soles days ,isn't it ? Fred.

Hi Fred,we are still covered in the snow that came down on Friday night Saturday morning.we have not had anymore snow but it is still FREEZING,had to wait so long for the bus to town that I thought i had ice cubes for feet !! It will be two pairs of socks at least for me in future!!
Had to meet my friend to give her a present.Luckily she was held up as well waiting for the chemist to do her prescription,for the flu jab,its a long story as to why she couldn't get it done free at the doctors but could get a prescripton which is free as she is 60 then take it back to have the practise nurse give it to her.!!! Have emailed Dorothy and heard back from her,she is ok and still waiting to hear from genes .But is using emails only for now.She has been telling me her friend in Bury had to clear 4inches of snow from her drive and Dorothy had to clear 4 foot from her car !!
Better get on with Tea it was spag bol ,but David is out at a football match and I don't feel that hungry after having lunch out ,so it will be a quick egg and bacon job which after egg and chips is his favourite meal.
See you all tomorrow,take care,brenda

hi everyone,hope you are all keeping warm and well? hope so its a bit warmer down here today ,but the snow is still here we are supposed to be getting more tomorrow or Friday. So we are doing our last bits of shopping and delivering cards and pressies tomorrow so we shouldn't have to go out again.have john and davids pressie to wrap yet and some decorations to put up ,but it will be ok on the night ,Have to finish the icicng on the last three cakes tonight so we can give them out tomorrow.
Take care Brenda

Hello everyone,hope you are all well and warm? there does not seem to be any end to this cold snap.well if I have not got anything now its not being bought as I do not intend to go out again.
david has tomorrow off but will have to pay a day back next year when theydo a stock take.I suppose it stops them paying overtime!!!
I seem to have lost or misplaced some of our decorations we had a couple of those card holders which you put on the wall and put a number of christmas cards on them,but there is no sign of them !!They will have to go on string or some ribbon I have.
Mind you we do not seem to have as many cards this year which is not surprising really.
Better get on with those last minute jobs, see you all tomorow. Brenda

hello hello and guess what I think that I am back after much fiddling around with different new browsers etc so have been this boxing day morning catching up with all the notes from dec 1st I hope that you brenda and john and fred and liz had a wonderful day yesterday, I went over christmas eve and we all had a lovely dinner cooked by andrew lindy and the children had been ski-ing all day, then went to church for the carol singing then Ian had us up at 7am, the children were happy with all the santa gifts bryan and laura recieved lap tops and Ian an I pod something or other I am not sure about all this tech no stuff, I was very spoiled with my gifts an indoor terrium that I can grow vegatables in and a magic bullet chopper ( for veg and all kinds of reciepes) hard to describe, after a wondeful breakfast we watched the queens speech and had a nice visit, I came home about 3pm as they left to go to lindys sister's for dinner(supper) I did not want to leave simeon for too long as he is not well. the weather yesterday was cold but no snow but this morning we have a few flurries from the lake. the family are going to toronto to-day to the sewell/rowan annual dinner(Lindys side of the family) this has been going on since the late 1800's about 60 will be there for a buffet dinner and up to 200 in and out during the day, lindys aunt on her mothers side has a large home in the beaches area of toronto. her husband died earlier this year so this is the last year that she will be hosting it next year Lindys sister jane ( the eldest of three) will carry on the tradition it is a time for all the family to get to-gether and catch up on things the family are scattered around canada and India but all manage to get to boxing day dinner. it is so nice to finally be able to catch up with you all and I wish you and yours a very happy 2011 bye for now dorothy

nice to see you back Dorothy,and it sounds as though you had a good Christmas day,,interesting to hear of your connection to the Rowan family as well ,my grandmother was a Rowan by birth ,her parents being from Morneshore ,county down before emmigrating to tyneside in the 1850s.
i had heard rumours of a connection to canada,but i 'm not sure yet ,though there are def' connections to Oz and New Zealand and Scotland.
We had a quiet day ,part spent at The eldest sons ,and part at the youngest sons ,we were supposed top be down to Wiltshire today ,but Liz wasn't too clever after being in the cold twice in one day ,so we spent boxing day at home in the warm.
All being well we will go down south tomorrow as it reckons to be a little warmer through the week.,and if i warm the car before starting off ,we should be okay.
Hope everybody is having a great holiday,stay warm and safe all,and if for any reason i don't get back on line this coming week ,Happy New Year folks,god bless you all .Fred.

What a great surprise to see Dorothy back with us,like a late christmas present.
Hope you can stay along time Dorothy,glad you enjoyed your christmas,we had a very uiete one as usual with just John ,david and myself,wehad a nice lunch which was served late due to a few things not going right ,but it turned out ok on the night as they say.We had an ice cream dessert a while after the meal which went down well.John and David had sandwiches and pickles later in the evening but I was still to full.!!Today has been really lazy as John and I have both come down with colds and have been sneezing and coughing and have streamming eyes and noses!!! We have dosed up on lemon cold mixtures and will be having an hot toddy before bed time,
Fred ,hope Liz is feeling better todayand you manage to get down to your grandsons ,they have said the weather is turning milder after tomorrow so you should be ok ,really hope so.Try and keep in touch but if not all the best to you both and your grandson,
Dorothy will be back tomorrow unless I get out to the sales to look for a few bargains to use for birthday and house warming presents.
Take care brenda

good morning yes it is nice to be able to get back on line with this thread it sounds like you all had a nice christmas day sorry to hear that your house is full of colds brenda hopefully you will recover soon, fred have a nice trip out if you are able to go, the rowan's are on lindy's father side of the family they came from wales I believe when her grandmother rowan died a few years ago they had placed a lot of her belongings gathered from her travels around the world (she was in china in her late 80's) in a auction in toronto and I remember 4 small paintings of wales went for 25,000 dollars. no one in the family wanted them as they were very dark but someone reconised the name of the painter, all the family were allowed to take something from the estate lindy decided on a piano, andrew was out of town so he missed out on the paintings as he put it "I liked them very much" and I am sure that they would have cleaned up and shown the beauty of them. to-day it is cold but no snow though the snow has hit the states the airports at new york are all closed I guess it is there turn to see what a storm can do. brenda if you go to the shops you are braver than I after seeing the shops on the news packed with folks on boxing day, I will have another day at home and do a bit of housework, I may go out to-morrow as the Kings speech is playing at the movies near me and tuesdays are cheap day under 6 dollars for the show and I really want to see this film. also I need to pick up some potatoes and milk have everything else for the family coming for dinner on the 2nd just have to figure something for Laura (still vegatarian) maybe some sushi she loves that, well as usual I am rambling on so bye for now dorothy

Hi all,we are still sneezing like lunatics and I have an headache which is just about bearable.when i take the cold capsuals which have paracetamal in them,John is taking lemsips,.Hope we are better tomorrow,don't think we will be going to the shops as my legs are a bit like jelly still. and there is no rush for the things I was thinking of getting.
Its been raing here today so some of the snow is clearing but not much.
Johns mum said they have had more snow near them so its snowed on top of ice.which is not good at all. John is begining to think he will not get up there till next year.
Hope Fred and Liz managed to get off to the grandsons and don't encounter any adverse weather etc.
Hope you got to your film Dorothy,and enjoyed it ,don.t think they have offers like that at our cinemas.
see you tomorrow take care,Brenda

hi gosh brenda you and john are under the weather I do hope that you get well soon colds are so miserable, hope fred and liz are having a good time and a safe journey back, the weather looks good at the moment cold but no snow it is about 9am my time but they are calling for snow to-day still hoping to go to see that film but I don't have to leave till about noon so I shall see what the next couple of hours bring, I forgot to mention that andrew recieved an award from work a weeks trip to aruba at the end of january from his company lindy is trying to get the time off from school but if she can't as she is not on contract but doing a maternity leave (teachers can take up to 2 years off paid for the first year but not for the 2nd) then he will take bryan not a bad award he has been very lucky this year. take care and keep looking after yourselves bye dorothy

Hi all,feeling better today hada good nights sleep,and even got out to buy milk today,Called at the crem as it would have been my dads birthday to day ,took a small plant and a card.It is usually really cheerfull there at this time of year ,but the weather and mushy snow made it look really bleak I did not stay long.
Hope you got to the film and more importantly enjoyed it.
John also felt better and took the chance to get up to his mums ,he stayed a couple of hours and came back this afternoon.He did not see much snow near hers ,according to her it was bad yesterday,but it melted with the rain last night,but there was still plenty on the fields near the motorway,There was also a lot of mist/fog,which is supposed to get worse tonight. The weather men say we should not see any snow for the next few days but only at weekend they said it would snow again hard before new year.!!!
Hope Liz and Fred got to theire grandsons ok and are enjoying themselves.
See you soon.
Brenda