General Chat

Good morningDorothy ,Brenda and the rest of the stalwarts,on a freezing cold ,white morning that is threatening to get even colder and whiter,lol
Marta is now home safe and sound in Poland ,waiting for the next semester at uni to start,the poor lass hates the cold ,and lo and behold ,it started snowing again there an hour before she got home.
I will be going out later this morning to clean the car down yet again ,and get some grit put down on the drive before going to the metro centre and the sales .
Christmas was a lot better for us this season because we were spoilt rotten ,no cooking to do as regards main meals because we were out most of the time,our children spoiling us rotten he he.
I have the new printer to swet up sometime this week ,a wireless hewlett packard,thay will let me print from upstairs in the bedroom if i wish.
Other than that ,i havn't much on at the minute as there isn't anything i can do in the garden at all,i can't even get the new feeding station put out for the birds,the boxes i need to move being frozen in he he.
catch you later all,Fred.

Hi everyone,well the snow and ice are still with us and I am being a bit of a wimp and not going out,hope its gone a bit by tomorrow have an appointment at the doctors and work at 5pm-8pm.!!
Could do with looking for an old fashioned home accounts book,used to have one a while back and found it really usuefull.Don't like doing them on a spread sheet ,perhaps because we use them at work?
Came on here to check for an email from an old friend who is now on the internet and she sent me her address ,I have sent her an email but not had a reply yet. But had two from some other old friends so have been replying to them and looking at bookstores/stationers for thos book.!! must go back down stairs now and get the washing and ironing sorted.,it looks like a laundry in the dining room.
Hope you are all well and your weather is being kind to you .
Take care ,Brenda

Hi all.nice to hear from Maragret ,hope you managed to get some sleep.
Dorothywe also have the white stuff again ,not as heavy as last week ,but it will cause chaos somewhere I expect.
It did start to rain after the snow ,which turned it to slush on the roads,was going to Bury to see what was left in the sales ,but changed my mind,it will be two weeks before I am off on a Saturday again to go.Unless I go on the tram one Friday.
Need to be quick with this as my sister is due shortly.
Will be back tomorrow ,Brenda

happy new year from a snowy barrie it is snowing the light fluffy stuff and at the moment it looks very pretty it started last evening as I don't need to go out to-day I shall just admire it from the windows, anne phoned me this am at about 8am my time my first phone call of the new year I did not stay up till midnight I watched a film pelham 123 it was quite good. I wish all of you a very happy 2010 , the country at the moment is mourning the loss of 4 of our soldiers and a journalist the war is not very popular . bye for now dorothy

Happy New Year to you all Where ever you are
With all your freezing temperatures and snow
We have had a scorcher today 34.8 C But weather here is still changeable early hours of morning yesterday our temp dropped to 2 deg and it was a case of needing to get another blanket Tonight house will need to cool down before we can think of sleep Gale force winds are sweeping up country
Regards Margaret

Happy New Year everyone,hope it brings each of you all you wish for.
I really thought I had managed to send a few lines yesterday afternoon in work when it went very slow and quiete.But once again the gremlins seem to have struck!!
I woke up at 2.30am and could not get back to sleep ,so after an hour I got up to come on here,have replied to some emails and sent some new ones.and them came to see you all,but I am feeling the cold now so will go back to bed,if Ican not sleep I might have a read
.Looking forward to another long weekend , I will have one long weekend soon.I have about 12/13 weeks left to work but I have some holidays to have ,I would like to have them at the end and finish on my birthday ,but there are a few things coming up where I might need to use them so I will have to see.
Back to bed now I think its gone really cold now,
Hope to speak to you later today
take care
,Brenda

Afternoon all from a snow free but cold ,wet and miserable Manchester.
Like you said Dorothy it was great to catch up with Kathleen and John,sorry I have not been on before now ,we got a lap top for christmas and I know Fred will say we should not have any problems setting it up but we have and when we plug the wireless router in we can not use the normal pc Any suggestions Fred??
I am getting my nephew to come over at weekend and advise us,which I wanted to do in the first place ,but John said we could do it ourselves.
In work till 8pm and its miserable here everyone complaining about the weather and the cost of things.
Will be going for my meal break soon,
Hope to get back on at home to wish you all HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Brenda

goodmorning well the promised snow storm blew by us we recieved a little snow but the wind was so strong it blew most of it away, though yeterday was very cold -25 it did warm up a lttle later in the day the olympic torch relay came through town last evening the family went out to see it go by I did not as it was too cold for me but andrew called to tell me all about it later I did watch it on the local new quite interesting. I am off to the british store this morning to buy a little haggis Ian the youngest has requested this with his turkey dinner on sunday, fred I have no idea how to make this so it will have to be from the store he liked it the last time we had breakfast there they have a little cafe attached to the store. hope you all are fine with the weather I shall phone anne this am and check on her bye for now dorothy

Good afternoon - on a cold, very wet and breezy day. I turned my tree lights on to brighten up the place and to shine outside so that people passing would see something pretty to look at as they go by. it is so dark and miserable looking out.
Hope you don't get too much snow Dorothy, I remember last year you had so much and it seemed to go on forever.
This year all of my boys have been lucky enough to book time off over all of the holiday period. Although I think Philip has to go in on one night - tonight.
Being shift workers it usually works out that they get only one of the days off so it has been good to have them all around this year for both Christmas and New Year.
Nothing much exciting happening now. We hope to go to Solihull to see my youngest daughter and her family for New Years Eve, fingers crossed the weather co-operates. It is always nice to be there, gets very noisy with lots of music as both my son in law and eldest grandson play guitar - thankfully nobody tries to sing as none of us can!!!! Then there is the sport "discussions" Football v Cricket. Man U v Chelsea all very friendly but usually quite loud. Thankfully theirs is a detached house so the neighbours don't get too disturbed.
Hope you are all having a nice rest now after the Christmas festivities - now 361 days to go to the next one.

Take care
Love
Kathleen

hi how nice to read the updates from john and kathleen at the moment it is cold and the snow is blowing though we are only expected to recieve about 5-10 cm not much in this area but I don't have to go out till wednesday perhaps sylvia will pop on the site after the holidays I also hope that she is well, off to make a bit of supper bye for now dorothy

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Lost my address book so lots of my cards could not be posted as I could not remember addresses - still can't find it, so annoying. Even more frustrating, my Jacquie Lawson subs ran out on 21st December, I tried to renew but there was a glitch in the system and it would not accept either of my debit cards. Couldn't even send e-cards, will try again later today as I haven't been able to get on the computer (son has kept it occupied either playing chess or doing updates, scans etc)

John, I agree both GR and FB are often called anti-social but as you say they are a link to people around the world. I have kept in touch with quite a few people who are no longer members of GR but it is not quite as regular or frequent as in the days when we were all members.

Dorothy, you are so right - drivers in this country just do not know how to drive in snow. In my opinion all L drivers should have to go on a skid-pan as part of the test because, in this country, we are more likely to have icy roads than snow-bound. The main problem is that we are just not used to heavy snowfalls and local authorities are, only too frequently, slow to respond to the warnings that snow is forecast. I live close by Heathrow, very busy roads and frequent heavy traffic, the gritters should have been out in force but not on our side of the airport. I cannot comment on the North side as I haven't been on those roads in the past week or so - and that comes under a different borough. Here the roads were a nightmare of packed snow and ice - not to mention the dreadful state of the roads generally. Full of pot-holes and a nightmare to use, they only repair in patches which causes more problems, one road is like riding a switchback and plays havoc with your suspension.
A lot of people don't even get their cars serviced for the winter weather - lack of foresight and just plain carelessness causes more accidents and breakdowns - how many people "forget" to top up their anti-freeze and don't even think about it in their screen washers. Off my soap box now!!!

67 is quite a gathering Dorothy - but great fun I'm sure, in my house it would mean everyone would be getting very, very close!!! I think we managed to squeeze in 50 for one of my son's 21st (a few years ago now)
We had to move all the furniture to the bedrooms and landing (stopped any of the youngsters "disappearing" lol). I hope all goes well with your family gathering next Sunday, hard work but great fun to have all your family together.

Fred, so pleased that Sean and Sara are able to have some time in their new home. Great that Sean has been welcomed into Sara's family. I wish them many, many years of happiness together.
Yes please, may I have the recipe for the corned beef?

Brenda, enjoy your break - not too long now until March and having a well deserved rest from working. I hope the antibiotics work and John soon shakes off that chest infection. What a thing to bring back from your holiday !! Hope your weather does not get any worse. It is freezing here at the moment but all the snow has gone now. Trouble is we have had several heavy downpours so the roads (where it has flooded) are still treacherous.

Indira's job did not last long - it was pretty awful anyway and she hated it.
Somebody did say to her "She (the GM) will get rid of you next week as the busy time is past" Sure enough she was told "I haven't done the shift roster yet, will ring you later" she did and said "Don't bother coming back, I think you will do what all the others have done and ring in to say you don't feel well and not come back again" Apparently she has started 20 people in 3 weeks and none have stayed. Indira would have carried on working as she wanted to earn some money - but sounds like a pretty naff place to work for. Anyway she has applied for more jobs and keeping positive about it all. Hopefully the New Year will be more promising.

Does anyone know how Sylvia and Johan are? I am not sure that I have the correct e-mail address for her, I think she changed it. Would really like to know how they are.

Wishing you all A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and may you all stay healthy (and wealthy would be good!).

God bless and love
Kathleen

Belated happy Christmas to all on Friend & Neighbours Worldwide v2 - my visits to GR has decreased over the past year. Friends says sites like GR and Facebook are time wasters and anti-social. Be it so it is a worthwhile link to friends around the globe. Rumour abounds that Facebook will eventually charge its members and should that occur their client base will greatly reduce. When I started on GR contacts were formed and over time they too have dropped off becoming a memory. Each Christmas is a time remember family members who are no longer with us and friends who likewise are no longer here.
Our son joined us for Christmas and we had family time together and later went to my Mum's for Christmas dinner with family who are still in New Zealand. On Sunday [27th] Craig and I visited two cemeteries to photograph the graves of my grandparents and great-great grandparents. Both graveyards have this sense of peaceful serenity. Til next time, bless you heaps, John

hi everyone hope you all had a great christmas mine was very nice starting off on chriatmas eve we had a nice dinner then went to church and the church hall was packed I have never seen it that full the carols were wonderful and the weather was good we did not have any snow, christmas morning was a lot of fun opening the gifts then we went to jane's for dinner another wonderful meal, I came home on boxing day and spent the day dozing, the family went back to janes for the big boxing day gathering that has taken place for over a 100yrs started by one family member a great x3 grandmother of lindys, jane was expecting a total of 67 to be coming for drinks and then a buffet all hands on deck to help out. it was raining so not sure if all made it as it turned into icey rain later in the day. to-day I have planned my menu for next sunday when the family come I am looking at an old turnip and applesauce receipe I used to do years ago when andrew was small you can make it ahead a day or so. wll that is it for me take care bye for now dorothy and yes it was 67 not a misprint

Hi Brenda,he he .looks like just the two of us for the moment ,lol
Hope John is lots better now and it didn't spoil his Christmas at all.
Sean and Sara are enjoying their first Christmas as man and wife,and have been very thoughtful,they are going back to Lyneham on the 30th of this month to house warm their new house and spend their first new year in it ,very fitting ,they will have no family with them because we are all in the north east of England ,but they have neighbours on camp who they knew from Cyprus so they won't need to be alone unless they wish it.
I have given them the address of my cousin who lives in Chipping Norton which isn't very far away ,so ,i hope they will pop over and introduce themselves,which will help cousin Shaz out as well having just lost her much loved dad,and i feel she is missing him a lot..
We are off to the daughters for dinner and tea ,so i had better go and get ready,be bach this evening i hope.
Have a great New Year all of you,in case i don't get back on until much later ,Fred & Liz Plus Hissy [who is enjoying her ChristmasSalmon lol,Andsays meow to all ]

first of all MERY CHRISTMAS everyone,have been busy the last few days and did not find time to get on here.my apologies
I was helpinh John get his shopping ,he had been ill with a chest infection since the holiday and always leaves his shopping tothe last minute!!
Fred so pleased all your preperation has helped ypu amdthat your grandsosn is settling in ok
Dorothy hope the white stuff stays away from you ,and you enjoy the time with the family.
We will be very quiete this year just the three of us,so there is not much to doreally but it just seems like it!!
Going for a nice cup of tea before the other two get upand it will be bacon muffins/barmcakes for breakfast then we will start the dinner !!
Don't think there is any more snow but have not looked out the window yet,but as we are not going anywhere or expecting anyone I am not to worried yet.
Speak to you all later

LOVE brenda

Morning all ,weeeeeeee,the busiest day of the year for me ,but seeing as i have already hovered the floors ,done the washingup ,and sliced the corned beef and put it in the fridge,i am now having a few minutes with a cuppa ,before i start making the stuffing for tomorrow and Boxing day,all the ingedients are mixed before i put it in the fridge but the sliced and ground onion ,which goes in at the last minute will go into an airtight container until the morning.
Sean and Sara are settled in and looking forward to the outings to different family members over Christmas,weather permitting they will be going down to Lyneham on New Years Day so that Sara can have a few days in her new family home before flying back to uni in Poland.
I feel a lot happier now .knowing that her family ,realising that she is determined to get her doctorship ,rather than quitting uni ,have now accepted Sean with open arms.
This is great because he now has a mum and dad in lAW ,PLUS TWO BRO'S AND THREE SIS'IN LAWS ,GOOD FOR HIM AS HE IS NOW LEARNING TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE.
Time to go and get on with the work in hand .
Be back later .Fred.

hi everyone I have been folowing the weather news re the snow you are getting in the north I gather that people just don't have any idea on how to drive in the snow, about an hour from me they still have abour 6-8 feet, feet not inches we are lucky it is very cold but not that much snow about 3-5 inches which is nothing in the barrie area, we are supposed to get a storm on christmas day snow and maybe freezing rain as we are supposed to go to jane's in bolton I hope it passes us, I shall be going to the family sometime to-morrow they are going to come and pick me up so that we don't have three cars in the drive in case of the storm and I shall stay till boxing day, this morning I am loading up my car and popping over with the xmas gifts and to see how bryan is doing on his crutches he is not able to get out much with the snow and frozen ice underneath, his mom and siter and brother are off to the ski hills for the day they have been doing a lot of ski-ing since the holidays started, I would like to wish you all a wonderful christmas and a great 2010 I am not listing all the names on this site in case I forget any bye for now and take care as you travel in the weather brenda and fred bye for now dorothy

time to go and get brekkie before i clear the car so that i can see out of the windscreen,he he ,the poor thing has been sat behind Seans hire car for three days ,lol,so it's gonna be coooold in there lol.
Be back later Fred.

Morning Brenda and Margaret,we in the Baird household are about ready too,just the traditional trip to the Newcastle market now which i have been doing every year since moving back up here many years ago.
A magical time for all youngsters ith all the farmers market stalls scattered the length of the street from Greys Monument to grainger street,south,and all the way over to the old Grainger Street Market.
Everything is on offer from toys to french ,italian cheeses ,meats ,and deli' products,furnishings ,hot meats and chestnuts ,and all the stalls covered in fairy lights.
As i did a factory restore on my H P laptop last night to nullify the problem with windows 7 and office 2007 ,i have ,of course lost all my onboard files and pic's,but.no matter ,i will yake my camere today and kick off the new files with Christmas pics.

Goodmorning Xmas greetings to you all
Although its the longest day this week we dont seem to be getting the weather that produces long warm evenings and BBQs
But we arent having the snow etc that some of you have to contend with
A white christmas that would seem magical(prob the first time)
We will have the Traditional meal Turkey ham new potatoes peas carrots etc christmas pudding custard
Regards Margaret