General Chat

Hi Everyone, well John its really brilliant weather here for a change and I am sorry you have had such a bad time with the weather over there.
Congratulations on your 65th birthday .My husband who is also called John was 65 a week go .
The film you mentioned is one a friend and I have wanted to see ,may have to get the DVD as its not on the cinema now.
This weather is really lovely at the minute but it will lead to drought conditions soon.
I am out to Bury market with my friend tomorrow ,she is on holiday and we go up there for her to have a walk round and do some shopping.
Might have a bit of a shop myself as I need a couple of birthday presents .
Hope everyone else is enjoying the weather .
take care Brenda

Hi again
Its been ages since I dropped by, actually four months. Last month I got the gold card having turned 65. I was filling in for another volunteer receptionist on my birthday and was treated to a birthday morning tea, then later Craig and Gemma took me home and gave me a photo of Gayle one of the last that was taken at my Mum's 90th birthday in 2011. I don't think she was aware of Craig taking the photo. Being part of the over 60's cinema club means going to see a film is cheaper and get a free coffee, but once a month the morning tea includes eats and chat with fellow club members. The last film I saw was 'The Lone Ranger' and it is good. Films seen so far are 'Les Miserables', 'The Impossible' and 'Hitchcock'; the film 'The Impossible' was really good and told the true story of a family struggling to survive a tsunami in Indonesia a few years ago. So if you are looking for a film to see these are good. (No I not a film critic)
Sunday just gone wasn't not a nice day and the wind was picking up. After church I had gone with some friends to help with a church at a rest home. During the afternoon the verocity of wind increased and flags hung outside the rest home blew down, anyway I got home and went to make a coffee and found I had no power. Help! The unit was cold no heating meant wearing extra clothes (actually my outdoor jacket). A box where there used to be a gas meter had fallen off in the wind then during the night completely vanished to neverland. I checked on my elderly neighbour who feared that her garden shed would blow over - I made sure it was ok and fortunately it didn't move during the night. Her garage door control wouldn't work without power and to secure her home the door had to be pulled down manually, but next morning it had somehow opened slightly and had to pushed back shut. The damage around the city was bad in some areas with roofing blowing off onto roads, illuminated signs being blown destroyed, trees downs and of course many areas without power. As it was so cold I went to bed at 7.30pm (the last time I did that was as a child), then around 9.15 I noticed the radio clock was on. Outside no street lights were working everything was pitch black and it reminded me of being back on the farm where is really dark. Crikey I've seemed to have written an essay. Catch you next time. John

Hi all hope this message doesn't go into orbit like the last one.!!!!
Sorry I have not been one for a couple of weeks,,but the bad penny has shown up again,
Hope you are all enjoying the weather . hope it lasts a while but perhaps dare I say with a small amount of rain before we get any droughts.
I had thought I got a message when anyone left a message on here but seems I don't ,but I have ticked the box again just incase.
Fred and LIz hope you are ok and this weather is not too much for you.
Hope the garden is doing ok as well.
Johns new shed is coming on Thursday and he can't wait. He has managed to re use some of the old shed to make some fencing panels. so he is pleased with
himself.
Out shopping for a birthday present tomorrow, meeting some friends for coffee but not sure about lunch yet.

John was 65 last week and we had a nice lunch out and on Sunday we went out for lunch with some friends which was really good.
we have been out with family a few times as well for different things. which have been good.

Take care
Brenda x

morning Brenda,huh ,hope your weather is better than ours she says [chortles under breath] we up here are still struggling with sub 18c days and 6 to 8 c nights ,and we are STILL using the heating first thing in the mornings including this morning the 1st of July. :-(.
sounds as though your car trouble may have been a damaged Cat' causing lack of compression ,and making the car run very slowly and unevenly ,that would be about right ,a new one would be anything from £300 ,up to £600 to replace.
I had a ford escort mk 3 with a fitted tow bar ,and got shunted up the back end ,making a small dent in the bumper ,but causing a lot of damage to the other fella's car ,i threatened to sue him for careless driving and damage ,plus loss of work due to the inability to get into work,
It cost him a new tow bar [ i got the top tow bar to ber had] plus the knocking out of the dent and the rear end respray ,all costing him £900 ,and that's without the damage to his car ,plus a caution off the police .bit expensive for travelling too close up my tailpipe ,lol.
Bet our Dorothy is enjoying her tennis ,a very unusual Wimbledon this year to be sure ,lots going on and a load of top seeds being put out by relative unknown players .
Think it might be an idea to put your shed on stilts ,or better on a raft ,in case of heavy rain,things aint looking too good for this year.half gone already ,and no spring to talk of ,never mind a summer :-0.
My car goes back in tomorrow ,the clutch being about impossible to use ,the ruddy thing is either in or out ,with no gradual control making it dangerous to drive in heavy traffic,so i have arranged to have the garage to pick it up ,let them have the joy of driving it through Newcastle in the rush hour :-|.
Well time to do some work before the missus takes it into her head to start pulling the front room to pieces [gulp] not looking forward to the decorating at all ,he he.
Catch you later Brenda ,keep your wellies handy ,just in case ,Fred. :-D.

evening Fred and anyone else looking in.
I am very sorry I have not been on here for a while, I have no reason apart from time and forgetting ,I have even forgotten to email my mate in Australia ,we email each week,and she was wondering if I was ill.!!

I am pleased Liz is feeling a bit better after her brothers death.

Glad you all enjoyed the holiday and that the house and garden had been looked after ok.
The problem with the car was sorted, months ago someone "bumped" the back bumper leaving a scratch and nothing else while we were in Asda.!!!
How ever it seems the bump caused more damage underneath than we could see.
it had split a join in something,(don't ask me the technical term) and that is what was leaking.
Because it had been bumped it was not covered by the warranty and cost us a few hundred pounds, we were not amused. If we ever get a scratch again we will really check it over and under, but like John said its not much use when who ever did it has gone,we are left with the damage.
The new shed has been ordered and will be delivered in about three weeks.
The garden is still a bit like Steptoe's yard ,but is getting better as John takes stuff to the tip etc.
I have also seen how Dorothy has been doing on Facebook. She has been busy with the family celebrations and her tennis.
Last weekend we had a very socialable time being out on Saturday night , Sunday afternoon, and Monday lunch , it will be years I expect before that happens again, All of them were very good.
Hope your weather is better than ours been a bit wet down here,
Take care Brenda xx

Morning to all ,back in the garden i have been ,while the sun shines ,he he ,and i have at last tidied the patio up ,so ,things are looking good.
we went to the town yesterday ,to the bank ,and then to the Metro centre to look in Lakeland where we at last managed to find the foam to line the veggie trays in the upright freezer ,as the old stuff was well past it ,a bit like me .lol.
where is you all i ask myself ,i thought the holiday season was over ,what with the terrible weather lately ,but there you go ,another wet miserable summer for all in blighty ,and a few other countries by the look of it.
The wife is busy this morning ,washing done and hung out,now sitting in front of the puter ,putting all her photos onto disc ,after i told her off for complaining that the computer is running slow ,even after a defrag' ,no ruddy wonder says i ,you have about twenty dvd discs worth of pictures on your hard drive ,get 'em onto discs and the external drive you have ,and then delete them all.
The new car has to go back in ,as ,after driving it a few [very few ] miles the clutch is way too fierce ,either in or out with no control over the slip on taking up the drive .not good for driving in heavy traffic,so i will get on the phone to Porland road ,and have it taken in for adjustment.
Time to be getting on with some work ,hope everyone is okay ,and getting on with their lives ,be back later ,,Fred . :-).

Morning all ,yep we is back Brenda ,and as planned ,the break which was already in the pipeline before Peter's death ,did do good ,Liz having come to terms with things.
There will be a dip tomorrow afternoon because of the funeral ,but once it is out of the way ,things should get back to normal :-).
Our garden ,watered by the eldest son whilst we were away is doing fine with little pears ,5 in total ,not bad for the second year ,loads of apples ,the fig tree looking hopeful .rhubarb ready to start cropping ,plus potatoes everywhere ,the barrels and grow bags doing very well. :-D.
The only tree looking a little iffy is the plum ,a shame ,but if it dosn't fruit this year ,it will be the first time in four years ,and we can't have it all ways.
I will get the lawns done later this morning ,and that's the gardening done ,apart from the never ending weeding ,but i will have to bring my contractor in to do the hedges ,it is too much for me these days :-(.
Came home to find the drive finished ,yippee ,the guys did a lovely job with the stop cock back fill ,and cover ,a new sort ,round ,not square like the old ones .but ,nice and neat.
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with the ford Brenda ,if it's on instalments and not a cash job ,next time ,think about a contract car ,it dosn't cost any more than hire purchase ,and you get a new one every three years ,best of all ,all you put in is petrol ,oil and water ,everything else is paid for ,and you will find ,the firm you get it from are more attentive if anything goes wrong.
Ours goes back in the next two weeks ,and we will pick the new one up the same day ,it saves a lot of bother.
Once we get back to normal these next few days i will get back into the swing of things ,lol,i keep my eye on Dorothy via Face book but won't talk on it because i don't trust the security on it ,i have people i know on there that are having lots of bother with hacking and the like ,and i can't be bothered with things like that :-|.
Off to do the lawns now ,lol,catch you later ,Fred. :-)xx.

Morning all
Fred I hope you are back safe and sound and had a good holiday,and Liz is feeling better.
The garden at the moment is like Steo toes yard ,! John has dismantled the shed at the bottom of the garden and levelled the ground as the new shed will be bigger,
When we get the car back we will be going down to look at the sheds we have been looking at on line and hopefully be ordering one.
The car is still being investigated at the garage,hopefully we will hear something later today.if not John will not be a happy bunny to say the least.
Going out to lunch today one of my friends is 65.and I have not seen her since New Year ,so it will be good to catch up.
Need to get some ironing done soon, before I go out, ironed a few things over the weekend but not the trousers I want to wear today.!!
Might do some window shopping on the way to the pub we are going to,have my cousins wedding in August.
Better get going Take care Brenda x

hi Fred, glad that the break down here is doing Liz some good.
Glad as well that your family have helped a little your daughter with Liz,and son withMissy.
Try to get over to Lytham St Annes its a lovelly little place with some nice
places to eat.especially a place on the front which has a carvery.however the name escapes me LOL.
My friend lives there and we have been a few times when we go to visit her.
John has demolished one of the sheds and is sorting out the ground work for the new shed.The garden is a complete mess,and it will be ages before its straight as John wants to relay the flags now as well.
The fence panels at the bottom of the garden need replacing and the guy who's garden is at the back of ours has said he will do it as we did the ones that are there now.Which will save some money.!!
Enjoy the rest of your break, hope the weather picks up,
Take care HUgs Brenda x

Hi to all from sunny Blackpool [not] but hey the change is what we wanted,and i ain't complaining as our first day proper was spent at Blackpool zoo,a place i have never been to ,not even to visit my relatives he he ,the apes ,lol
Liz is starting to get herself back together ,and the eldest daughter is a blessing for the extra support she is giving,so i suppose once we are back home and the funeral is out of the way ,she will soon get better.
I am missing my furry boss a lot already bless her ,she is very precious to me ,the first pet i have had in 40 years and funny with it ,my son will be looking in today to make sure her auto food supply is working okay and the big water bottle has plenty of fluid in :-).
Blackpool is the same as ever Brenda ,full of dirty streets .litter everywhere ,no wonder we prefer to visit the other places while we are down this way,with a trip up to Southport tomorrow before we come home,on Friday.
We may be off to the Tramway this morning for a late breakfast,and then out for the day stopping off on the way back for dinner ,probably the Carosel in Clevelys ,one of the nicer places that don't sell rubbish food ,or rip the tourists off ,as do some .
Catch you all later Fred.xxx :-D

Hi Fred,I have only just read your message and send Liz and yourself my deepest sympathy on the death of your brother in law.
What a shock for everyone,like you say its not something you anticipate.
Hope Liz is feeling ok ,well as ok as she can do.
When my brother in law died at 39 I stayed with my sister that night and all she wanted was for me to cuddle her througth the night,so don't beat yourself up about "only" being able to cuddle Liz.
Having physio on my back on Friday it may help my leg,
Looking at other things now like Acupunture ,even if its only for a temp relief on holiday etc
Love and hugs to Liz and yourself. x
.

Hi Fred,I have only just read your message and send Liz and yourself my deepest sympathy on the death of your brother in law.
What a shock for everyone,like you say its not something you anticipate.
Hope Liz is feeling ok ,well as ok as she can do.
When my brother in law died at 39 I stayed with my sister that night and all she wanted was for me to cuddle her througth the night,so don't beat yourself up about "only" being able to cuddle Liz.
Having physio on my back on Friday it may help my leg,
Looking at other things now like Acupunture ,even if its only for a temp relief on holiday etc
Love and hugs to Liz and yourself. x
.

Hi Brenda ,need the holiday even more now :-( , my bro in law was sent home from hospital yesterday ,being told he was well enough to go home ,got home at 12 fifteen P m ,and died at 12 -45 P M,well enough to be sent home to die more like. :-|.
The wife is in bits ,and i feel really down ,he and i spent some great times together ,worse for my wife who phoned round yesterday for Peters wife who had the police and coroner to deal with.
Think she coped well ,but let go when we were in bed ,and sobbed her heart out ,i fell so ruddy useless,all i could do is cuddle her ,and i had to wait until she cried herself to sleep before my tears came.
will get back to you in a couple of days ,when the wife is more like herself ,one never expects to bury a younger brother by nearly 20 years..Fred xxx

Hi fred and Liz, well theres never a dull moment atyour house is there Fred LOl,I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall when you where telling the water men where to go!!!!
I hope you have a brilliant holiday and it all goes well and so does the car swap.
Our car has to go in next week,there is aproblem with the wheel well where the spare goes it was full of water!!,we have nevr looked at the spare since we got the car so did not know..It was found last week when I had a flat and had to get the AA out the man said get it back to Ford to be checked out,Luckily it was in for a service a few days later so now a specilaist is going to look at it as they do not know how it gets ,Could be up to a week ,but we will get a curtisey car.
.Going up to Bury tomorrow,but am expecting a bit of hassle with the tram.with it being such nice weather everyone and his uncle tend to go.!!!
John is still sorting out the stuff we have been "collecting"in the sheds
We have been amazed by what we have found LOL and are trying to get rid of it ,we can take some to the tip ourselves but will probably still have to get a skip.
Take care Brenda

Hi fred and Liz, well theres never a dull moment atyour house is there Fred LOl,I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall when you where telling the water men where to go!!!!
I hope you have a brilliant holiday and it all goes well and so does the car swap.
Our car has to go in next week,there is aproblem with the wheel well where the spare goes it was full of water!!,we have nevr looked at the spare since we got the car so did not know..It was found last week when I had a flat and had to get the AA out the man said get it back to Ford to be checked out,Luckily it was in for a service a few days later so now a specilaist is going to look at it as they do not know how it gets ,Could be up to a week ,but we will get a curtisey car.
.Going up to Bury tomorrow,but am expecting a bit of hassle with the tram.with it being such nice weather everyone and his uncle tend to go.!!!
John is still sorting out the stuff we have been "collecting"in the sheds
We have been amazed by what we have found LOL and are trying to get rid of it ,we can take some to the tip ourselves but will probably still have to get a skip.
Take care Brenda

morning to all,sorry fort the delay ,lol,but i have been a tad busy this last week :-).
Had the water board come out yesterday,who insisted that they had to put a new stop cock in ,not just find the one that just needs digging out and a new cover put in place.
they were a little upset when i told them to get lost,all that waste money in digging through concrete hard against my garden wall and drive gates where they will destroy the fillet that stops the snow and ice getting between the wall and path causing damage that is so avoidable .
i showed the two workers where the cover used to be ,but no ,they could only dig where they were told to,huh ,no wonder that the water boards are losing money.
So i will have to start all over again ,getting the fella to come out to do a survey ,but this next time i will be waiting for him ,and show him where the pipe runs between the houses ,and THEN show him exactly where the stop cock is. :-| .
All my planting out is now done ,and i am about there with the whole garden ,lawns as well ,just a bit of weeding to do and that's it,,so ,time for me to relax a little.
we are about ready to start packing ready for the off on Friday morning,then ,when we get home it will be time to get the car sorted ready to return it for the change over.
Looks like a nice sunny day is in the offing ,the wife already has the washing out and i am thinking ,a nice salad for the dinner,out on the patio. :-D.
Got the downpipe sorted too ,the fella from the builder came out on Friday morning and put a whole new pipe in ,very reasonable price too ,so i can't complain about that :-).
Well ,time i got on with some work ,can't concentrate though ,he he ,longing for Friday when by now i will be over the other side of town picking the daughter up before setting off down the road,so ,catch you later Brenda time to get yer shorts on and get a sit down in your garden for a lazy day :-D xxx

Afternoon folks,We are having a wet dismal day here in Manchester,and its cold!!!
The washing has been hung all over the dining room and back bedroom,when I was sure it would be out on the line.!!
Sorry to hear about your brotherin law Fred,hope he recovers soon.
I do not buy the pie from M&S that often,but we enjoy it. tried doing my own a couple of times but the reuslts were not really edable.!!
Had a good afternoon yesterday we went out to celebrate my friends 70th birthday,
had a lovelly meal that was originally 10.00 but by getting two together it was only 6.00 each, Which allowed us to get a really great desert.!!
Tried to get the photos from my new camera on to the lap top but couldn't manage it am going to see what happens on the desk top .which is XP and the camera insructions say something about XP. I feel I am going backwards with trying to understand new techinical gargon. LOL
Hope you have a good weekend,take care Brenda x

Afternoon folks,We are having a wet dismal day here in Manchester,and its cold!!!
The washing has been hung all over the dining room and back bedroom,when I was sure it would be out on the line.!!
Sorry to hear about your brotherin law Fred,hope he recovers soon.
I do not buy the pie from M&S that often,but we enjoy it. tried doing my own a couple of times but the reuslts were not really edable.!!
Had a good afternoon yesterday we went out to celebrate my friends 70th birthday,
had a lovelly meal that was originally 10.00 but by getting two together it was only 6.00 each, Which allowed us to get a really great desert.!!
Tried to get the photos from my new camera on to the lap top but couldn't manage it am going to see what happens on the desk top .which is XP and the camera insructions say something about XP. I feel I am going backwards with trying to understand new techinical gargon. LOL
Hope you have a good weekend,take care Brenda x

morning all ,my hurried gardening over now seeing as it's raining out side,but hey ,i did get quite a bit done ,lawns front and back cut and the edges trimmed in time for the garden waste collection this morning.
All the troughs but 3 have been seeded and are set in their growing positions ,and i will hopefully get the last three done this morning which can stay in the greenhouse until the garden dries out again. :-).I even tried the new B B Q out yesterday ,and found that the new tray i brought to try with it is spot on ,all the cooking done in this tray keeping the fat and juices from getting inside the gubbins ,and enough space left round two sides of the burner ,to toast the buns on,finished ,take the tray indoors to clean and wash ,shut the lid of the burner ,job done. :-D.
My bro ' in law was sent home from hospital far too early ,was home three days ,and was rushed back in yesterday afternoon ,the R V I in Newcastle is a total waste of space ,no one department seems capable of working with another ,no communication between them ,to the detriment of all the patients,leaving them isolated ,treated incorrectly,and wondering what the hell is going on.
the same old trouble too many chiefs ,not enough indians ,and too much interference on the part of Mr Cameron and his cronies ,who ,by the way seem to be getting more and more confused them selves, and still a long way to go before the elections :-( .
no way i will pay that sort of money for a pie Brenda ,lol,i will wait two weeks until i can go to my little cafe in Fleetwood and have a piece there ,and remember to go into the pie shop as i come home ,buy two or three ,slice them when i get home and get them down in the big freezer..
Going to make some nice panninies for dinner today ,to go with some nice steak cut chips.
time to get on with some chores now ,the new carpet needs it's first proper hoover now that the pile has settled down,he he ,the cat won't be a happy bunny when the noise disturbs her sleep,but ,hey ho ,needs must and all that .lol ;-) .
Catch you later all.Fred.xxx

Afternoon folks,well the weekend has been great as the weather man has predicted,just hope he is wrong about tomorrow.and the rain holds off.(we can but dream)
Not been doing much apart from doing the holiday washing and catching up with normal household jobs.
Got my tooth sorted it was part of the tooth and not theffilling that had come out.so I relented and had it filled,!!
After seeing the doctor on Friday she upped the medicine for my nerve pain so we will see how we go on till I see the pain clininic,
Was going to my sisters this morning but I got my times mixed upp so I am going tomorrow,
Hope you enjoy the cheese and onion pie Fred ,I love the one you get in M&S it is great ,bit pricy at £3.40ish but really tastey.
Better get on with the dinner soon,the beef is taking ages to cook hope its tender and tasty when we finally get to eat it. !!!
Take care brenda xx