General Chat

Morning all from a wet and miserable Manchester, John is not at golf as thr course is closed again due to the weather,he will not be out Monday again as his golf buddies are away over the weekend at a golfing society bash,John is notin the society so doesn't go on these little jaunts.!!!
Hope the weather has not putting you off doing things Fred.
Have to go out shortly have an appointent ,then going shopping at M&S have some gift vouchers and a voucher for 20% off so going to see what they have that I need and at a price I want,
Hope you all have a good weekend,Takecare xx

Afternoon Brenda ,John,and anyone else who happens by .
We came home a day early Brenda ,we wern't going to go to see the submarine on a day that was so wet that we wouldn't enjoy it ,so we cut our losses and headed home.
We did have a fantastic time ,the weather on the whole being better than it was the first time we went down and were well pleased ,we even found a new cafe in Southport to replace the Highlander ,on the tip of the main drag on the Preston end.
We even went through to Preston on the bus ,lol,enjoying a nice meal on the top floor of the outdoor market that we went to the last time we were through that way.
The market is nearly as good as the one in Bury,and had a load of goodies that we spent a lot of time looking at .
I have never seen as many different sorts of savories in my life in one market ,around 10 different ones ,nothing like that to be had up here ,and next time i may call in on the way home and put a few in the freezer bag to bring home and try :-D.
I have now started to empty the water butts ,so that i can get them put away until next season ,and already have next year sorted out as to where the crops are going,and what i am putting in.
We have to watch what Italian and asian dishes we buy and eat Brenda ,i am okay with a lot of garlic in a meal ,but Liz isn't ,anything more that a hint ,and she is put off and won't eat it ,and so many so called Chefs ,and cooks ,put so much in a dish ,that it kills all the aromas ,and other tastes in a meal but the garlic ,which is soooo strong it is off putting ,to the point it makes some people ill.
Going to slide off now ,and get some tea ,probably a stir fry ,without garlic ;-).
Catch you all later Fred.xxx

Morning everyone,we have sunshine here ,which is very discepting as it is very cold.!!
So glad you had a good trip fred and well done on finding a good cafe ,the market at Preston sound really good. It will be next week before I can get to Bury again.
Have to go to the libaray later ,will pick up my friend ,who also retired from the library ,on the way,and we will have lunch with a friend who is still working there.
Have a couple of errands to do on the way home..
Having a couple of prok steaks for tea .Will be having spring cabbage and dry. roast potatoes with them
Hope the washing i have in the washer can be put out to dry ,they will take ages to dry on the clothes drier. Luckily they are not David uniforms so are not needed urgentky ,he is on holiday and staying at his fathers ,who is recovering from a kidney transplant.
take care and have and have a good weekend.
Brenda xx

Hi Brenda ,it's been a very productive morning in the garden ,starting with my picking the last of the beans after the frost hit them last night,i can't complain because they went in pretty late ,and we still did very well with them ,enough in the freezer to keep us going until the spring. :-).
I also picked what may be the last of the broccoli side shoots ,which have also done very well for us ,and finished off by cutting a laaaaarge Primo cabbage that weighed in at over 5 lbs ,after the outer leaves were removed :-).
The large bush tomato that was in the urn outside the back door has gone ,i removed all the green tomatoes ,and have them in the kitchen wrapped in newspaper until they ripen ,hmmmmm ,i think i will keep a couple for seed next season ,they have been brilliant.
The ladder has been moved from the fence to against the kitchen wall under the window ,and the trees and table /chairs put back ,and i still have loads of room to wheel the mower down the path ,result .lol
The space behind the B B Q is now taken up with the water butts,pinned well against the apple tree urn ,the fencing and the B B Q so that no matter how windy it gets ,they can't blow about like last winter. :-|.
Sorry to hear that the hubby couldn't get his golf in Brenda ,but if possible he needs to get away over the weekend before the ex hurricane gets here Monday,he he ,what with that coming over from America ,and another storm coming up from the med,we are going to be meat in the sandwich ,lol.time to batten down the hatches?:-.
Time to get on with dinner ,be back later once i have done the back lawn ,which will be the lot for today.
Take care all ,and enjoy your weekend ,Fred :-Dxx

Hi Fred,busy as usual I see,John has not got a game til Wednesday but hopes to go and get some practise in tomorrow,but it depends on the weather,
We have had a very lazy Sunday ,I have only cooked breakfast and dinner Johns washed both sets of dishes and we will be having a sandwich later,
Have not got much planned for the week but am waiting to hear from my friends.
Glad you have your garden all sorted ready for the big sleep over winter!!!
Take care Brenda x

Morning Brenda ,wow ,am i glad i got the work in the garden done when i did ,he he ,i couldn't even plant rice in this wind and rain ,lol,much less trim the hedging for the last time.
I went out this morning at 6am to put the two bins out for the collection ,wrapped up like an eskimo ,complete with wellie's because the patio ,and path are two inches under water ,too deep for shoes to cope with :-0.
Think the only chance your hubby has of a game this week is to hop a flight and take his clubs to the American open ,where the sun is shining [blast their eyes ] :-P.
The lass on this mornings early forecast said this was the first heavy rain of the Autumn,where has she been for the last month? in cuckoo land ,i'm thinking ,lol ,Britain has been in Autumn for four weeks .
Liz is getting on fine with the walker ,so i will start looking around for her own ,and send the borrowed one back ,too heavy to lug in and out of the car ,and it doesn't fold down as much as the three wheeled variety ;-).
Think today after i finish on the puter ,i will spend some time stationed in front of the patio door ,seated in my chair ,writing pad ,and pen in hand and start planning next seasons planting ,lol,it's as near i want to get to the garden in this lot ,even then i could do with a windscreen wiper on the window to see properly,he he. :-).
Next time you catch a bus ,tram ,ot boat to the big market Brenda ,could you have a look around the meat and bakery section for me please? i would like to know if your area does the varied savouries like Liverpool and Southport do ,if so ,it looks like a visit to the market next time i am down that way ,before i come home ,to transport some of the goodies home with us.
They used to do some lovely Sage ,and Onion ones up here ,but some pratt complained that they were too close to cooked ,and uncooked meats ,so the stalls stopped making them [whimper ] they were sooooo good too,the ones i noticed down there were in 8 different flavours ,you lucky so and so's.
Time to get on with some work ,so i will get the hoover out and get cracking ,upstairs today along with some dusting .
The puddy tat is by the patio window looking very despondent ,tail lashing too ,by gum ,she does NOT like the rain and high winds ,he he.
Catch you later peeps ,sorry for anyone who has to go out in this weather ,Fred.xxx :-D

Hi Fred we are lucky that we have not had any flooding here ,lots of rain but it is still draining away.
John knew the other dy that he would not be playing golf.so is getting ready to watch the Ryder cup.! think it will be a few late nights.
I had acouple of errands today and was ok with the first one as it was not raining,but on the second one I got very wet pushing the trolley from Asda to the car !!!!
I am out tomorrow night with some friends I worked at CIS with ,we get together a few times a year,we have been arranging this for three weeks and something has made s postpone it hope its third time lucky.
Hope you got your plans sorted for the garden Fred and I am pleased Liz is ok with the frame,
Take cvare Brenda

Morning Brenda ,Dorothy ,Jon ,ans uncle Tom Cobbely and all ,lol,din't do much yesterday apart from housework and a bit of cooking where i used up the last of my Perogies ,[blast it ,he he ] :-(.
Made a lovely Edith type dinner ,,Perogies ,chopped bacon ,fried first ,added onion to the bacon fat ,diced some potato into the mix ,chopped sweated carrot and cauli into the mix,put it all in a glass casserole dish and poured over a jar of cheese and bacon graten mix ,came out lovely too.
I have to go out this morning to see about the fence panels ,three need to be replaced ,at £20 each ,plus £30 delivery charge ,i may as well pay my mate who runs a garden fencing service to come and fix it too,and save myself a lot of aggro .
Actually ,the fence belongs to next door ,but the lass [Joan ] is on her own apart from her grandson,is still paying her mortgage ,and money is a bit tight for her ,and seeing as i need it fixed to keep her two dogs out ,i am going to have it done for her.lol .ainy i kind ? orrible that is :-P.
While out i will A go to The shopping centre at Benwell ,where there is a Polish food store [Perogies .and other stuff i can buy there ]And then run up to Cramlington where i can get into a few shops ,plus Asda to get the weekly shop ,and give the wife some exercise under cover. :-).
You know ,it was nice and mild this morning first thing ,so i feed the furry pest ,make a cuppa ,and take it ,and the cat outside ,and sit at my little table to relax ,so i thought anyway ,grrrrrrr ,i hadn't been there a minute ,and it started to drizzle ,hmphhhh,oh well ,the best laid plans and all that. :-0.
I kept my old phone Brenda which has your number on ,but choice as to buying a new one ,lol,the old contract was a£10 a month one for both the wifes phone ,and my own with 50 minutes a month on both ,plus 50 texts.
This contract is no longer available it being too popular and Orange not making a lot of money for it ,but the new orange contract is £20 a month ,two phones again ,free with the deal and double the amount of calls and texts on both.
I have put a £5 pay as you go sim into the old phone that i will only use if i have to ,and for connection in the car ,and that £5 will keep the phone active for a year,in case i misplace the new one,not a bad deal ;-).
See the latest news on the Buildings in Newburn is that the pilings and foundations are so bad that demolition is the only way forward,looks like the people from those buildings need to demand the money back plus damages against the builders and the council.
The Newcastle council are worse than most in the country ,corrupt ,thieving ,and wasteful ,too many jobs for the boys in past years up to the present day,still a T Dan smith culture here and too many fingers in too many pies wasting public money on daft schemes.
The new kitchen carpet runners arrived yesterday evening ,and so did the replacement camera cable i ordered ,so i don't have to stay in today ,yippee ,so it's a day out day ,before the weather turns really nasty again.
Be back later all ,take care ,and enjoy the day,Fred ,and the rest of the household ;-)

Hi all ,just checking to see if everyone has gone walkabout and left old Fred on his own,bet that Brenda is lost in darkest Bury market again ,sigh ,wish i was there too.
The best i can do ,is take the car to the Metro centre on Monday week ,park it up ,and take the missus ,and the walker through to Darlington for the day.
Monday is market day there ,both a massive outdoor farmers market with side attractions ,and a really big indoor covered market which is nearly as big as Bury's.
We were going to go this coming Monday ,but thought on ,it's the day the gas board come out to check ,and service our central heating ,and hot water fittings ,such as the shower and whatnot ,can't afford to screw that service up ,lol :-).
The fence got fixed today ,the chap was here at 8-30 on the button,had the 3 panels put in ,and told him i would be in touch around March for a 4th panel that i can't get out this minute because it will damage me brussel plants perish the thought.
i also succumbed to a fit of lazyitis and had him trim all the hedges to save my poor old back the job ,leaving me just the lawn to see to ,done ,result.
I even had the hedging between our house and next door reduced to match the rest of them ,making trimming the tops sooooo much easier in future ,and being a lot more Fred friendly ,he he ,no more up step ladders on these old legs ,so much better for me ,and the hedge :-D..
This evening ,while it is mild ,i am going to move the olive tree to the greenhouse for the winter,and move the Fig tree out front where it should be fine,some burlap sacking on standby in case it really drops down below 10 -c.
The idea of putting the third panel in the gap next to the plum tree was a belter ,i realise now ,with the space closed off completely what a difference it will make ,the wind off the Atlantic no longer howling against me back while i'm having my cuppa in the mornings ,i bet the plum tree will enjoy that as well in the spring and early summer ,it becoming a real sun trap.
With next door thew other way having an eight foot garden gate put out back has halved the wind from the east too ,a double bonus for the young plants come spring ,allowing the plants to establish a lot quicker. ;-).
I know who i can call on too if i have a bad spell next year the fencer says he will do the whole hedging ,both sides ,and the top ,all the lawns including the edges ,and take all the trimmings away,for £40 ,which ,considering the length and the size of them is pretty cheap.
Fred is off now ,note pad in hand to sit at the patio window ,planning next years planting schedule ,first to see how many troughs i have ,and how many plants to put into each planter ,and how many planters of each variety ,he he ,that should keep me busy for an hour at least,and by then the light will be failing :-0 cor ,it's nearly winter :-(.
Catch you later troops ,take care ,and enjoy what's left of the weekend.
Fred,The cat ,and the missus xx :-D

evening everyone,not to warn here again ,but at least its been dry ,hope it does not rain in the night Johns golf has been cancelled for two weeks and he is going a bit stir crazy!!.
It does look good for tomorrow as long as it is dry during the night.
I had a bit of a wander round the market at Bury on Saturday but did not stop long as it was so windy.Got my Christmas shopping started ,not that I am doing much this year,have already got the christmas cards in the sale in January.
I am also not doing all the christmas cakes that I usually do,.I am making two small Dundee cakes which will save on the icing which I am not that great at .
Need to go to the Charity shop soon have a few bags of different things to take ,will need John to come and help me carry them as the shop is not near the car park.
Went to see Johns mum yesterday and she had one of Johns neices visiting with her two little girls,who are absolutley gorgeous !!!
It was great to see them all.
We also got the news that one of Johns other neices is having her second baby next April,which was a s nice surprise.she already has a beatiful litle boy..
Think its time for my horlicks so,better get going.Take care
Brenda

Morning to Brenda ,Dorothy ,and John ,if he is around ,lol,hope you and Dorothy enjoy the new pics Brenda ,those teepee's looked great in the dark with the lights in the sky as a back drop ,but i don't envy the joker who took the pics ,sat there for a couple of hours in minus 30c temperatures ,he he ,lucky not to lose the pinkies i reckon :-0.
Made a stonking casserole for tea yesterday but nearly had a disaster when i went to the store cupboard to find there were no Herby dumpling mixes in ,no other ones either,and no self raising ,horrors :-( ,the wife having a fit at no dumplings to put in it. :-|
I had a look to see what we DID have in after i remembered my mum ,many moons ago making dumplings the old way ,i had plain flour ,baking powder,eggs ,marge ,and thought yessssss,off we go ,lol.
Donning my hat ,waving my two squares of kitchen towel ,i says ,fear not ,pretty lady ,dumplings you will have ,but not as you know them ,and set too.
Three table spoons of plain flour ,two level teaspoons of baking powder pinch of salt /pepper and a bit of dried herbs.,mix in 1 and a half ounces of marge ,and mix like a flour for pastry ,using a tad of milk ,one egg and a little water to a dumpling consistency and add to the casserole.,the wife was stunned to say the least ,she has never seen dumplings like these before [bless you mum ] and i think i have shot myself in the foot :-0 she says she won't bother buying mixes in future ,i can make these in future ,'eeeeeelp what have i done.
Yep ,i thought the savouries may have been a Liverpool thing ,what with there being so many Asians ,Chinese and other cultures in the mix,so if there are non in Darlington ,it may be a last minute shopping trip before we leave Liverpool next time ,or a call in at Preston on the way home :-),but i will really enjoy a trip round the Darlington markets anyway ,it will be an ace day out more so because i can relax and enjoy someone else doing the driving.
Looked at the Ford range of cars yesterday Brenda ,and it looks like we will be leaving Nissan ,their prices going through the roof,so i looked closely at Fords c max range and i can get one with a diesel engine,stop start ,and a brake front end shunt stopper for £150 advance payment with a better millage than even our present car too so i am very tempted ,it will only need me to see what the boot size is like to clinch it. :-).
We will be going out shortly to see how the Benwell shopping area is doing ,we need Iceland ,and Farmfoods anyway,and will have a look at this polish shop as well ,perogies def' on the menu for the future,meals ,the last lot were so tasty.
Keep your fingers crossed that John can get his game in before the next lot of rain comes over ,another deluge on the way they reckon ,as soon as Carla gran opens back up ,they may just get hit again,same as Morpeth and Newburn here ,i am thinking of getting one of those portable pumps for the back garden ,just in case ,i can always plug it in using the two electric points in the greenhouse.,The barrier over the doors and patio windows being there as a last resort.
Time for coffe before we go out on safari ,lol.catch you all later ,Fred the dumpling king ,Liz & Hissy ,who is upstairs on the bed Lazy baggage :-)xxx :-D.

Hi Fred, a few years ago,when I was on one of my diets they hada chicken casserole with herby dumplings,but they were made woith slices of bread , herbs and water and a couple of other ingrediations which I do not remember ,I keep looking in some of the recipe books i have had for a while and can not find the recipe.
!
Hope your shopping trip todsy gets what your after Fred and you manage your trip on Monday ok.Have a great weekend.everyone, what ever you do,
Brenda x

Morning Brenda ,and all the others if they look in :-).
Disaster has struck ,lol,we have found out that the bus company has withdrawn the service from Newcastle to Darlington ,worse still ,there is no direct service from here by rail either,huh ,modern transport ,it was easier in the old days going by stage coach or on horse back lol. :-P.
Looks like a car job after all ,but never mind ,we are still going just the same because it's so long since we have been.
We found a nice little chicken nesting in the bottom of the freezer yesterday morning ,so that is now ready ,and in the oven for today's dinner ,along with a foil carton of sage and onion stuffing we found in there too.
All the veggies are ready to go as well so in 20 minutes i will start dinner.
The first load of washing is on the line ,and the second lot is in the washer ,we will get it all done today while it is nice and sunny :-) next week looks a bit iffy so far :-(.
I managed to get the back lawn done before tea yesterday ,it having dried out nicely ,and the two barrels of tatties are now sitting there ,covers on ,waiting until November /December ,but the way the price of farm produce is shooting up ,i may have to mount an armed guard on my veggie patch in case of raids on my stock ,lol,i have some lovely leek ,carrot,onion and brassica coming on for winter use .
I sat out first thing this morning with the furry pest ,having my cuppa ,but it's so cold out there now ,that i think that will soon have to stop until early spring ,he he ,i 'aint as young as used to be ;-).
Time to start the dinner off now but i may well be back later,Fred.xx :-).

Evening all.we have had another great day weatherwise here today,wanted to get Davids bedding done and on the line .but he did not take it off,and I refuse to
go into his room and do things like that.
I will tell him tonight ,when he is home from the match that he needs to do it first thing in the morning or he will have to put it in the washer himself. and on the line.
Mind you he does do some washing himself.so he knows what to do.
Hoping to meet up with some mates for coffe tomorrow so will be out early.
Hope your veggies are ok FRed,I have heard some allotments have been robbed out not far from here so its not that far fetched.
How did you day out go?
Take care Brenda xx

Afternoon to smiling faces :-) - Its October already and next week Craig and Gemma fly to the Gold Coast for a belated honeymoon. I've been looking out for cheap grab a seat flights to Auckland but I seem to miss them - they are there one moment and next they gone. I saw some for $49 the other day which were snapped up almost they came available, obvious one has to be sitting on the airline's site waiting for them to appear. :-|
We have finally got the headstone organised but it will have to wait for Craig to comes home before getting that finally done.
Went down to our fruitshop this morning for a few things worked out cheaper than the supermarket. :-D :-D
Take care - John

Morning to John [glad to see you getting things sorted at last] re the Headstone ,we had an 8 month wait for my Uncle Rays to be erected ,still ,it looks good in place at last.know what you mean about the tickets as well ,lol ,you have to be really quick over here too.
Morning Brenda ,no ,we never got away on the bus to anyplace other than Newcastle ,even the bus to Durham ,but 12 miles away taking well over an hour away ,making it a waste of time going :-( sigh.
Never mind ,we did Newcastle again ,and found a small shop that did some nice savoury patties ,so we did okay .
We got off the bus and over the road just in time too ,the Dutchess coming through Blackett street minutes after we went through the market doors,he he ,wondered why the street was so busy as well :-).
The autumn market was on here the same day ,and after my missus dropped off her ill gotten gains [savings] we had a dawdle though the stalls,all much a muchness ,the farmers from the different countries all trying to flog their food stuffs and hot meats ,pastas ,all very dear and very bad for you ,so we didn't bother ,lol,i think the next market we go to will be the early December one ,when all the decorations will be up.
Social services came out Brenda ,and are going to be putting up a second handrail on the stairs while they try to get a government grant for the stair lift ,which they know will be needed within 12 months,and they are looking at taking out the bath and putting in a wet room instead ,which will be great ,both of us finding it hard to get our leg over [the bath side] i mean tsk tsk.and i find it impossible to sit down in it any more ,never mind getting out :-(.
Those foreign tomatoes we put in ,are still growing in the greenhouse ,and i have saved ,and marked the seed for next year ,i reckon ,these started off early under gentle heat ,will extend our tomato growing season by at least 8 weeks ,maybe a little longer.not to be sneezed at if the summers continue as they have been up here for the last 4 years. :-0.
Newcastle is under water again after last nights rain ,so i think i had better go now and give my daughter a ring to see if she is okay this time ,or if the house is flooded yet again.
Catch you later all ,Fred. :-)xx

Evening all,good to hear from you John ,like \fred says its the same hear from tickets for almost anything airline tickets, concert tickets ,etcglad your son and his wif e have managed to get a way.hope they enjoy it.
We have plaques on the chapel of rememberance wall for my mam and dad{they were cremated} and they took a while to oraganized .
Mage a Dundee cake today for christmas .lighter than a christmas cake,both in weight and cost!! It was Johns idea as he is the only one who ate the last christmas cake ,minus the icing!!! so asked if I would make the Dundee cake.
Going to Bury tomorrow with my sister ,she is at a loose end as her husband is at a train exihibition there and she wanted someone to have a walk round with her.So I am having a wander about with her
Sorry the day out did not go to plan Fred, Hope the rain does not cause you any problems.
Better go now just been given some fresh pineappl to eat.
take care Brenda.

Afternoon everyone,.change in the weather again,today,Back to the rain ,did not look to bad this morning so washed some towels and now will have to put them in the drier later to get them dry.
Went to town to have lunch with some friends today ,it was a belated birthday for one friend who was away on holiday when it was her birthday.Afterwards I had a look in a few shops looking at the christmas stuff ,not that I will be getting a lot at the prices they had !!
Need to phone another friend,who is having trouble with her lap top so can not email me./
Hope you are all ok
take care Brenda

Afternoon everyone,.change in the weather again,today,Back to the rain ,did not look to bad this morning so washed some towels and now will have to put them in the drier later to get them dry.
Went to town to have lunch with some friends today ,it was a belated birthday for one friend who was away on holiday when it was her birthday.Afterwards I had a look in a few shops looking at the christmas stuff ,not that I will be getting a lot at the prices they had !!
Need to phone another friend,who is having trouble with her lap top so can not email me./
Hope you are all ok
take care Brenda

Afternoon all from a miserable north east of England ,drizzling yet again ,half a gale blowing up my trouser legs while i spent a very few minutes out back checking on my Tomatoes ,and bringing in a couple of onions ,ready for using in some soup.
We have spent yesterday and part of today re arranging the kitchen and dining area ,giving us a good bit of extra storage space ,and so far it looks promising ,and we only now need the cupboard and shelving which we found yesterday to be delivered to finish it all off.
I made a quick dinner today ,hot dogs in buns with broiled sliced onions and a nice hot mustard,with some potato wedges done in the frying pan with a little cooking oil to brown them on all sides ,with a tad of sea salt and ground pepper.
The wife is on about Cramlington shopping centre tomorrow where she is hoping to find some A4 binders to put all our paperwork in ,paid bills ,order forms and whatever ,ready to go into the cupboard when we get it ,lol,hopefully a far tidier kitchen ,looking a lot less like Fagins den ,he he
Think you have just beaten us to the start of the Christmas shopping Brenda ,though ,like you ,we will be buying for mostly the two of us this year with the grand kids mostly grown up now ,and all gone their seperate ways,hmmmmm,something tells me the lass and i are getting old ,he he ,Christmas morning now being a time to hide under the bedcovers ,rather than ratching through pessies at 3 AM in the morning ,oh ,how times have changed ,lol
Wow ,that's it for now ,the cupboard has just arrived ,catch you later ,Fred. ;-) xx