General Chat

hello as usual fred I felt that I was on the journey with you it sounded great going through all those villages glad your new van is all that you want it to be. brenda glad you got your shelves up today it is a little cooler with a nice breeze I am meeting the family for dinner at 5pm at the maderian resturant a great chines buffet place it is to celbrate lindy finishing the extra cours she was taking in special education needs children. and then I believe she is going to take a long earned reat it has been a lon haul for everyons since last sept. so she now has a honours B>A in history a honours B.A in anthrapolpgy and her B.A in education so we are all very proud of her the first two degree's were of course earned when she was young at trent university were she and adrew met they will have been married 16yrs on friday. to-morrow I am having a new large front window installed and the best thing I do not have to pay for it the seal had gone on the other one. and it looked rather grubby so I am now off to get glammed up a bit take care bye dorothy

Afternoon folks,just a quick hello as I am in work and on a tea break. John put my shelves up in the spare room where the pcis nd now i have to sort it out and clean up.did a bit last night and will finsh it tonight.also have to find my cousins grandparents which is taking ages.!!! take care Brenda

Morning peoples ,from a very wet Newcastle,but hey,the sun has just come out ,so here's hoping. My son and i finally got away to go down to Kettering at two oclock,towing the shell of the caravan ,having stripped out all the gubbins for use on the new vsan ,or sale of on ebay ,if not needed. This new van is a foot shorter than the older one ,which is handy as it goes in and out of the gate a lot easier,and is 120 kilos lighter which means it's easier to tow. We had a good look at the photo's of it before we decided and it turns out ,we made the right decision,as will be revealled shortly. We made a bit of a mistake with the sattelite navigation though lol,applying the shortest route instead of the fastest resulting in us towing this shell up Blaydon bank 1 in 8 gradient and half a mile long [i thought i was going to have to get out and push] lol. Mind you ,we went through some lovely villages ,which broke the monotany somewhat Having dropped the shell off in Bishop aukland ,we departed for Kettering at three oclock,forgetting to change the navigation aid ,resulting in going through many towns on the way down,plus a lovelly drive through the remains of Sherwood forestand through a load of 16 century villages and towns ,loads of village ponds to be seen ,and thatched roofs ,many of which come down to within feet of the path ,and Fred,,huh,forgot his camera so ,no piccies [hears sigh of relief from Mary and a few others lol] Anyway,the heavens opened as we reached the storage park where the van was parked up,thunder forked lightening ,the works,with raindrops so hard that they bounced a foot into the air. We had a quick look inside the van,and all seemed okay,so the sale went ahead,and then started home. The car did very well ,going at a steady 60 all the way home ,and the van was a delight to tow,stable [working brakes] lol,and all the lights working [saves a lot of work],the storms followed us all the way home ,until we got to the top end of durham city,rain lashing all the way and ,then as we got it parked up ,we had a quick look inside and found rthsat dedspite all the water ,it was bone dry inside [yippee] so all that's needed is a good sealing to be on the safe side[Fred used sealants for years on his work ,so ,has a gun already] So ,thats it folks,we made the right decision,a nice little tourer at a giveaway price,and the money from the sale of the pieces from the other van ,will pay for it's disposal. So ,that's it for now,who is off to start work hee hee Fred.

Hiya,glad to see youall had good weekends,sylvia,you really sound like you are going through it chuck,hope it all comes right inthe end for you . Dorothy what are the 'Boyracers' thinking about,seems nothing really to them,they have probably stolem the cars so there is no insurance to cover anything.The poor victims are left clearing their mess. The weather was good to day not much rain,but there is plenty forcast for the rest of the week. Fred,sounds like you are still as busy even after wekend away. Sounds like thunder outside!!! so that rain might be here sooner than we thought, John has put my new cupboard up and everything is heaped in the middle of the floor,so I have been trying to tidy up will take a while to see what goes where.but should help a lot . Take care Brenda

hi one and all sylvia it sounds like you had a good fathers day and I hope that they can fix up your leg as soon as possible you will have to try wearing the stockings more. Fred your week-end sound realy grand and of course as usual after reading your discription of everything I felt that I was there with you nad the missus, what a lot of nature you saw. nothing much new here the weather is incredible hot but better than snow though we get thunderstorms to-morrow. the big highway(motorway) that goes by my town was closed on saturday for 17hrs both ways due to two cars racing and causing a 11 car pile up, some bad injuries and arrests of the racers, then to-day it is closed again due to another accident a truckdriver was cut off by two speeding cars hit the guard rail went through to the other lane and hit the ditch on pupose he was killed but he saved many lives by the choice he made still close as I write this at 7-30pm maybe midnight before it opens. why the young want to speed race I have no idea. I will be going to brampton at the end of the month I think that I shall use the slower side highway and avoid the 400. going to watch the american interview with the princes this evening I think that it is on for an hour. bye for now dorothy

Hi all, Well i had a very nice Fathers Day, which ended up with eldest daughter, her partner and my granddaughter staying for dinner. Made it easy though as we phoned the Chinese restaurant and my daughter went and picked up the food. I always think it is cosier eating at home Been trying to get through my ironing today. I also finished off the guest towel I was cross stitching for my daughter. It really has turned out lovely with cats running through the initials JANET. I made a card for my neighbour whose niece has just had a baby boy. I also went to the hospital today and they were going to bind up my left leg but when I produced an elastic stocking I had in the drawer at home - should have been wearing elastic stockings all the time! - they put on the stocking and said I must go back next Monday and be measured for some new stockings. The growth on my left leg looks like a miniature mount Etna with an eruption. They are scared of cutting out this growth for fear that I will be left with an open leg because of my diabetes. If the fluid is out of my leg then they will cut away the growth. May take some time though they say. I also have to see the urologist next week and he will carry out a cystocopie which means putting a tube in my bladder and seeing if there are any strange things there. I do hope all these hospital visits will end soon. I want to book a week in England but want to be sure I don't have to go into hospital before I book. Now have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi all, Well i had a very nice Fathers Day, which ended up with eldest daughter, her partner and my granddaughter staying for dinner. Made it easy though as we phoned the Chinese restaurant and my daughter went and picked up the food. I always think it is cosier eating at home Been trying to get through my ironing today. I also finished off the guest towel I was cross stitching for my daughter. It really has turned out lovely with cats running through the initials JANET. I made a card for my neighbour whose niece has just had a baby boy. I also went to the hospital today and they were going to bind up my left leg but when I produced an elastic stocking I had in the drawer at home - should have been wearing elastic stockings all the time! - they put on the stocking and said I must go back next Monday and be measured for some new stockings. The growth on my left leg looks like a miniature mount Etna with an eruption. They are scared of cutting out this growth for fear that I will be left with an open leg because of my diabetes. If the fluid is out of my leg then they will cut away the growth. May take some time though they say. I also have to see the urologist next week and he will carry out a cystocopie which means putting a tube in my bladder and seeing if there are any strange things there. I do hope all these hospital visits will end soon. I want to book a week in England but want to be sure I don't have to go into hospital before I book. Now have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Good morning peeps[,waves to Dorothy,Brenda,and Sylvia],back from our first weekend outing with the new toy ,and a little bit of a disaster in a way. We had a good weekend ,the van is very comfortable .dry ,and stable while being towed which is a bonus ,as some vans are a pig once you connect them to a towbar. The brakes on the van are not working at all however ,so it is confined to the drive till we find out what the problem is. The river and the site itself are fantastic for the bairns ,rabbits everywhere you go ,including around ,and under the vans,all over the tent fields ,and along the river bank. The river holds fish of many sorts,trout [brown] rainbow,chubb flounder, dace, salmon,perch ,and many other species,which you can fish for ,there are kingfisher ,cormorants ,ducks swans ,moorhen,tern,and lots of other birds,which the bairns can feed.and two great big parks for the bairns to play in. Liz loves the park ,and Saterday we walked two miles along the banks of the river [Wansbeck],which took Liz a long time ,stopping every couple of minutes to get her breathe back,but there are lots of seats dotting the banks on both sides for peepps to sit on,so there was no problem. I tried to get a couple of pics ' of the kingfishers but i might as well have tried to take photos of a lightning bolt so fast where they lol,the fish stand no chance at all. I did get some shots of the site,the river and the weir upstream,and the houses up there ,[cor] tudor style ,real ones ,some with thatched roofs,massive back gardens leading down to the river bank ,and your own fishing spot [some folk have all the luck] hee hee,one family even had two hazel nut bushes at the bottom of their garden with a bench between them,no doubt for the kids to fish from . The old car goes back this afternoon so after i finish here i will have to go and get all my gear removed ,and then clean it out.,can't be returning a scruffy car can i? The garden has done well in the two days we have been away,but with all this rain we have had ,i will need a mower on stilts to cope with the grass lol. See ya later people ,hope you all had a good weekend.Fred.

welcome back sylvia,glad you had a good visit, It is fathers day here as well and i am off to my dads sortly. The wedding we went to turn out really nice the weather dried out and even the sun shined when they came out of church, Had some sad news abouta lady I worked with years ago,and have been asked to phone some others for more information about her family as the person they phoned did not get a phone number and we would like to attend the funeral but haven't any info. Dorothy,John has been watching the golf,he has been enjoying it,He hasn't been out much this week as the club has had tournements on ll week.He got out early monday as it did not start till 10.00 that day. Have to go going to see Dad Brenda

hi brenda it is 11pm and hot as hades I am sweltering but have not turned the air conditioning on as I don'e like it on all night, glad you spoke to ann re jude I am glad to hear that she is allright. I spoke to anne this morning she said that she had a bad rain storm last night but it was sunny when I spoke to her about 3pm your time, I was asking her re some more items she might want bringing over, ie. french's onions in the can they are dried and you can dress up casseroles with the, and the tim hortons french vanilla cappcinio coffe time hortons is a coffe chain and food cafe over here very popular. so you can see why it is important that I bring two large suitcases. also was in the dollar store to pick out different gift bags that she likes. going to have a quiet week-end the us open golf tournement is on and it is six years to the day that while watching it I had a heart attack out of the clear blue, very grateful for allthis extra time and do feel well, so I guess I will try and get some sleep hope the weather improves for you bye dorothy

HI EVERYBODY. YES, IT'S LITTLE 'OL ME BACK FROM THE SOUTH. HAVEN'T SEEN THE WELCOME SIGNS OUT, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT. Now, back to normal. Johan and I went to Eindhoven last Sunday to our daughter's house. The weather was very hot, but we have air conditioning in our car so it was bearable. On Monday we went to visit Johan's sister who is 83 years of age and cannot walk and has lost part of her memory through an attack. On Tuesday we decided we didn't want to do too much because of the warm humid weather so visited the local shopping centre. On Wednesday we went into Germany, about 2 hour's drive away. On Thursday took it easy and just did some local shopping and bought some flowers to brighten up my daughter's house. We are not used to stairs any more and in my daughter's house had to use the stairs for the bedroom and for the washing machine another flight of stairs. My poor legs and knees are suffering. Anyway, it is good to get some exercise in. The trouble is it was so hot. Did try sitting out in the garden there but the sun was too scorching. We came come today and had some torrential rain on the way. We were fortunate that the roads were not too busy. I see that Fred has been doing a lot of writing on this thread, so have Brenda and Joanne and so it was not too difficult to find this thread. We have Father's Day on Sunday and I think it is in the uk also. I have already bought some tarts from Eindhoven, so am prepared. See you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

HI EVERYBODY. YES, IT'S LITTLE 'OL ME BACK FROM THE SOUTH. HAVEN'T SEEN THE WELCOME SIGNS OUT, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT. Now, back to normal. Johan and I went to Eindhoven last Sunday to our daughter's house. The weather was very hot, but we have air conditioning in our car so it was bearable. On Monday we went to visit Johan's sister who is 83 years of age and cannot walk and has lost part of her memory through an attack. On Tuesday we decided we didn't want to do too much because of the warm humid weather so visited the local shopping centre. On Wednesday we went into Germany, about 2 hour's drive away. On Thursday took it easy and just did some local shopping and bought some flowers to brighten up my daughter's house. We are not used to stairs any more and in my daughter's house had to use the stairs for the bedroom and for the washing machine another flight of stairs. My poor legs and knees are suffering. Anyway, it is good to get some exercise in. The trouble is it was so hot. Did try sitting out in the garden there but the sun was too scorching. We came come today and had some torrential rain on the way. We were fortunate that the roads were not too busy. I see that Fred has been doing a lot of writing on this thread, so have Brenda and Joanne and so it was not too difficult to find this thread. We have Father's Day on Sunday and I think it is in the uk also. I have already bought some tarts from Eindhoven, so am prepared. See you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Morning everyone,and what a morning ,cool ,and piddling down again. I was loading up the van last evening in the pouring rain ,when Liz called me over to where the car is parked and one has a good view of the front borders,Liz pointed over to the border directly behind the shedand there ,in all it's glory was a dark blue rose,eeeehh,i srared for qa good minute ,not believing what i was seeing ,and then the penny dropped. Late spring last year ,i planted half a dozen new roses that i found in a shop in town,cheap,20p each because all the labels had come off and no one knew what variety they were. Wow ,what a bonus hee hee,it isn't R A F or blue moon because i have them already ,and the colours are wrong for it to be one of those,and it isn't the other one that i know of because that variety is a floribunda,and this is an ht. I aint going to ttraips over the lawn at present because after all this rain there may be some of those giant slugs or leaches in there waiting to pounce lol,but as soon as it dries out ,i will get the camera out there. I'm now wondering if there are any more suprises with the other five ,when they bloom. I will be trying to get some off cuts later in the year ,a few if i can,mainly because i would like more roses of the same breed to spread around the front and back gardens,and ,if Fred is veeeeeery lucky,it may turn out to be a sport,a natural abberation that will stay true, colour wise to the parent plant. I have a load of clearing up in the kitchen this morning before i get my ear bent good style hee hee,the son and i had to use it last night to finish off the table for the van,and there are wood shavings and sawdust everywhere lol See you later on perhaps,if not,have a good weekend folks,and be good.Fred.

Hello everyone,Been wet and windy again here,and it looks like its here for a few days. we have another wedding on Saturday so i hope its at least dry for the pictures etc. Have not decided properly what to wear really does depend on the weather. Dorothy i have been intouch with ann about Jude myself and she has left,Ann sent me Judes email and i have sent her one. will let you know how she is. Time for bed ,might have to dig out my long pjs as it feels very chilly tonight. Hope Fred,Sylvia,John and the others are ok Brenda

hi brenda a fast hello to you I am melting it is 32 with a humidity of 36, went over and let the dog out while the family are at the graduation glad I am not there under canvas with crowds etc. I guess we have learned that jude is really gone I have sent her a message through the lady called ann who appears to be friends with her, off to get a cold shower and makes some tea bye for now dorothy

Just aquick hello as I am hoping to go and visit a friend tonight and will not have time to come on here.See you tomorrow Brenda.

goodmorning fred good to see you back and that your sisters funeral went well it sounds like she had a great family and a good life and that is all we can ever hope for. sorry that your weather is not good but it will be good for the garden. to-day is going to be a hot one it is only 8-30 am and allreaddy it is 30 degree's to-day the daughter in law has the official graduation from university it is being held outdoors in a large marque she called last night and said she had obtained an extra ticket would I like to join them all but the thought of about 3hrs in a marque in 32 degree temperatures did not tempt me so I declined. I will look at the video the son will take, the children are going but she said that they are more excited about having the day off school then watching mom get the diploma. if you have been reading the site you will have learned that jude is gone of gr. anyway glad to see you back bye for now dorothy

Good morning everyone,from a veeeeeery wet Newcastle ,fred is beggining to wonder if he is working on the wrong holiday transport and should have started working on the boat instead lol,boy ,am i glad i got those veggies in last week,at least i don't have to water them in,nature is doing it for me. The funeral went very well,sis is no doubt pleased with the turn out ,and even my uncle Ray despite ill health and a severe walking disability ,came all the way from Westbury ,in Shropshire to see her off [bless him]. I hadn't seen him for twelve years ,so we had a good chinwag before we both left to come home. Turns out Brenda,that he is the same age as richard,and armed with this info ,i spent a while last night looking for info using the new b,m,d, index on ancestry .com,and have found him,born Amersham 1935 ,plus his mothers surname [Murdock],so i think it's all coming together at last. Everyone went back to Jo's from the crem' for some light refreshments before coming home,and i got to meet a few more of Mal's friends that she had made since moving to Linc's all those years ago,cor ,she did well peeps,if half the number turn up for mine when the time comes ,i will be well sorted.hee hee. Jerry is going to be okay,i think ,his daughters have been [and still are ] bricks and will keep him busy,and this man is thinking ahead. His son in law is a builder and has made arrangements with him,to see that the bungalow is raized to the ground when he leaves,as he dosn't want anyone moving into a very happy house and despoiling it,which i can see the sense in it in a way. They only paid £30,000 for it forty years ago ,and it's in prime development country,four and a half acres sold off is going to make his children a very nice legacy. In the meantime ,he is putting a memorial garden in their orchard where they both spent many hours planting trees ,and shrubs ,so i can visit every time i go down. In the meantime ,i spent a few minutes yesterday morning ,putting the Hollyoak into it's new home ,and it does look good in the on the little patio out front along with a hollybush ,and another shrub which Liz put in ,in the third square.they are all young ,and can grow together. Everything is back to normal now and i spent a lot of time yesterday on the caravan getting it ready for the weekend . Talking to ray on Monday taught me a little more about him,and why he came all that way to see sis,for the last time,it seems he was there when she was born in wales all those years ago,and was at the raf station where my dad was stationed [lichfield] quite a few times visiting during the war. He also let slip that whilst playing with my sister in Twickinham a few years later ,he tied her to the table leg ,to keep her away from his toys lol,sounds like Ray all right lol. I loved Twickers myself too ,and spent many happy hours with my grandad and Ray ,Ray ,who nearly blew the kitchen door off the old victorian house with a home made firework ,and got a cuff round the ear from his mum,hee hee,you did NOT mess my grandma about ,no sir. His other claim to fame was the stinkbomb he set off in the garden shed ,pheeeeew,it did honk,we couldn't go down the garden for days afterward,it seemed to cling to everything,cor,a skunk would have been proud of that smell,it's about that time that grandpa and i escaped to the allotement for a week. The new navigation system worked so well too,the one i got from the insurance company as a freebie,for taking out a life insurance policy to save Liz any financial worrys after death,so i put the old pda on the ebay site for more pennies to spend on the caravan. This new one can also be updated by connecting it to the puter,but dosn't need it at the minute as i noticed that the new road at the junction of the A 1 and M 62 is already on it .brill. Well folks ,have to go out ,rain and all ,as i have to take Liz to the bank,but i will catch up to you later,have a nice day all.Fred.

Hello everyone,Dorothy I have been looking for Jude for a few days now and haven't seen hermall her contacts have gone from my lists .so i wonder if she has deleted and left ?? Any one know anything? Good luck with the tomato plant,dad grew three plants in a grow bagin a plastic mini gren house ,they florished but when he looked at the cost of them ,they worked out expensive.He still grows a couple each year but sees it has a hobbie not as a supply for tomatos. take care brenda

Hi troops,just to let you know that Liz and i got back okay late last night ,and all went well. Had a very busy day today ,so we are off to bed. Back to normal in the morning everyone,nite nite.Fred.